Developing a Public Interest Mandate for the Governance and Use of Administrative Data in the United Kingdom

This article addresses the legal and ethical uncertainties surrounding the use of administrative data for research. Drawing upon best practices developed by the authors in previous data initiatives and engagement with research communities, the article suggests a problematic organizational culture as the most significant barrier to proportionate and good governance of administrative data. Accordingly, it offers a novel means for data custodians to identify key considerations by introducing a decision‐making template that supports public authorities' assessment of preparedness for data reuse through identification of challenges faced, related to sector‐specific practices. As a catalyst for change, the authors advocate a public interest mandate – commitment to safely and ethically use administrative data when it is in the public interest to do so. This is delivered through implementation of the decision‐making template, overt commitment to principles of public interest and proportionality, and engagement with stakeholders to address remaining areas of uncertainty.     

Foreign Direct Investment,Regime Type,and Labor Protest in Developing Countries

We explore the relationship between FDI, regime type, and strikes in low‐ and middle‐income countries. We argue that FDI produces social tensions and opportunities for protest that can result in higher levels of industrial conflict. However, the effect of FDI is moderated by regime type. While democracies tend to have higher levels of protest overall, they are better able than authoritarian regimes to cope with the strains arising from FDI. We cite two reasons. First, political competition forces regimes to incorporate workers, which shifts conflict from industrial relations to the political arena. Second, democracies provide workers with freedom of association rights, which facilitate institutionalized grievance resolution. We test the argument using a new dataset of labor protest in low‐ and middle‐income countries for the period 1980–2005.     

Overcoming the tragedy of super wicked problems: constraining our future selves to ameliorate global climate change

Most policy-relevant work on climate change in the social sciences either analyzes costs and benefits of particular policy options against important but often narrow sets of objectives or attempts to explain past successes or failures. We argue that an ??applied forward reasoning?? approach is better suited for social scientists seeking to address climate change, which we characterize as a ??super wicked?? problem comprising four key features: time is running out; those who cause the problem also seek to provide a solution; the central authority needed to address it is weak or non-existent; and, partly as a result, policy responses discount the future irrationally. These four features combine to create a policy-making ??tragedy?? where traditional analytical techniques are ill equipped to identify solutions, even when it is well recognized that actions must take place soon to avoid catastrophic future impacts. To overcome this tragedy, greater attention must be given to the generation of path-dependent policy interventions that can ??constrain our future collective selves.?? Three diagnostic questions result that orient policy analysis toward understanding how to trigger sticky interventions that, through progressive incremental trajectories, entrench support over time while expanding the populations they cover. Drawing especially from the literature on path dependency, but inverting it to develop policy responses going forward, we illustrate the plausibility of our framework for identifying new areas of research and new ways to think about policy interventions to address super wicked problems.     

Implementation and Validation of the Teleshake Unit for DNA IQ™ Robotic Extraction and Development of a Large Volume DNA IQ™ Method

Abstract: Automated platforms used for forensic casework sample DNA extraction need to be versatile to accommodate a wide variety of sample types, thus protocols frequently need modification. In this study, DNA IQ? methods previously developed for the Biomek^® 2000 Automation Workstation were adapted for the Teleshake Unit using normal volumes and all deepwell extraction, and a large volume DNA IQ? method developed. DNA purification without detectable contamination of adjacent reagent blanks is reported in the extraction of tissue samples containing several micrograms of DNA. Sensitivity and contamination studies demonstrated similar performance with the manual organic extraction method for bloodstain dilution samples. Mock casework samples demonstrated the effectiveness of the Teleshake and Teleshake large volume methods. Because of the performance and increased versatility of the DNA IQ? extraction with these modifications, the Teleshake Unit has been implemented in both normal and large volume automated DNA extractions at the Virginia Department of Forensic Science.     

The Situational Prevention of Terrorism: An Evaluation of the Israeli West Bank Barrier

Objectives

Informed by situational crime prevention (SCP) this study evaluates the effectiveness of the “West Bank Barrier” that the Israeli government began to construct in 2002 in order to prevent suicide bombing attacks.

Methods

Drawing on crime wave models of past SCP research, the study uses a time series of terrorist attacks and fatalities and their location in respect to the Barrier, which was constructed in different sections over different periods of time, between 1999 and 2011.

Results

The Barrier together with associated security activities was effective in preventing suicide bombings and other attacks and fatalities with little if any apparent displacement. Changes in terrorist behavior likely resulted from the construction of the Barrier, not from other external factors or events.

Conclusions

In some locations, terrorists adapted to changed circumstances by committing more opportunistic attacks that require less planning. Fatalities and attacks were also reduced on the Palestinian side of the Barrier, producing an expected “diffusion of benefits” though the amount of reduction was considerably more than in past SCP studies. The defensive roles of the Barrier and offensive opportunities it presents, are identified as possible explanations. The study highlights the importance of SCP in crime and counter-terrorism policy.

     

When finding nothing may be evidence of something: Anti-forensics and digital tool marks

There are an abundance of measures available to the standard digital device users which provide the opportunity to act in an anti-forensic manner and conceal any potential digital evidence denoting a criminal act. Whilst there is a lack of empirical evidence which evaluates the scale of this threat to digital forensic investigations leaving the true extent of engagement with such tools unknown, arguably the field should take proactive steps to examine and record the capabilities of these measures. Whilst forensic science has long accepted the concept of toolmark analysis as part of criminal investigations, ‘digital tool marks’ (DTMs) are a notion rarely acknowledged and considered in digital investigations. DTMs are the traces left behind by a tool or process on a suspect system which can help to determine what malicious behaviour has occurred on a device. This article discusses and champions the need for DTM research in digital forensics highlighting the benefits of doing so.     

Combatting those who intentionally access images depicting child sexual abuse on the Internet: A call for a new offence in England and Wales

In England and Wales, there are four main categories of offence surrounding images depicting child sexual abuse, those of making/taking, publishing, distributing and possession. Despite being in force for almost 40 years, it is argued that now, additional regulation is required. In response to technological provision such as private browsing, streaming and encryption which are providing investigative difficulties for digital forensic analysts, this article proposes the need to implement a fifth offence, one of ‘intentional accessing’ and debates the feasibility and justifications for doing so. Such an offence would also arguably support the effective transposition of Directive 2011/93/EU into English law. This proposal also coincides with the recent enactment of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, which enforces new data retention requirements on Internet Service Providers allowing offender Internet connection records to be stored for up to 12 months and potentially retrospectively investigated.