Automated consent through privacy agents: Legal requirements and technical architecture

The changes imposed by new information technologies, especially pervasive computing and the Internet, require a deep reflection on the fundamental values underlying privacy and the best way to achieve their protection. The explicit consent of the data subject, which is a cornerstone of most data protection regulations, is a typical example of requirement which is very difficult to put into practice in the new world of “pervasive computing” where many data communications necessarily occur without the users' notice. In this paper, we argue that an architecture based on “Privacy Agents” can make privacy rights protection more effective, provided however that this architecture meets a number of legal requirements to ensure the validity of consent delivered through such Privacy Agents. We first present a legal analysis of consent considering successively (1) its nature; (2) its essential features (qualities and defects) and (3) its formal requirements. Then we draw the lessons of this legal analysis for the design of a valid architecture based on Privacy Agents. To conclude, we suggest an implementation of this architecture proposed in a multidisciplinary project involving lawyers and computer scientists.     

Detection of Acetone Processing of Castor Bean Mash for Forensic Investigation of Ricin Preparation Methods*

Abstract: Samples containing the toxic castor bean protein ricin have been recently seized in connection with biocriminal activity. Analytical methods that enable investigators to determine how the samples were prepared and to match seized samples to potential source materials are needed. One commonly described crude ricin preparation method is acetone extraction of crushed castor beans. Here, we describe the use of solid‐phase microextraction and headspace analysis to determine whether castor beans were processed by acetone extraction. We prepared acetone‐extracted castor bean mash, along with controls of unextracted mash and mash extracted with nonacetone organic solvents. Samples of acetone‐extracted mash and unextracted mash were stored in closed containers for up to 109 days at both room temperature and ?20°C, and in open containers at room temperature for up to 94 days. Acetone‐extracted bean mash could consistently be statistically distinguished from controls, even after storage in open containers for 94 days.     

It's not the time they spend, it's what they do: The interaction between delinquent friends and unstructured routine activity on delinquency : Findings from two countries

This study examines whether having delinquent friends interacts with other peer-related variables in the explanation of adolescent offending. We hypothesise that the relationship between delinquent friends and offending might be conditioned by the effect of (1) how much time they spend with their friends, (2) how much time they spend in unstructured routine activities and (3) their emotional relationship with their friends. To test these three hypotheses we use data from two independent samples of young adolescents in Halmstad, Sweden (N = 1,003) and in Cologne and Freiburg, Germany (N = 955). The results found strong support that the effect of delinquent friends on adolescent offending is conditional on the level of time they spend in unstructured routine activities. This indicates that delinquent friends have a stronger effect on offending for adolescents who often spend their free time in unstructured routine activities.     

Legitimacy is Not Authority

The two leading traditions of theorizing about democratic legitimacy are liberalism and deliberative democracy. Liberals typically claim that legitimacy consists in the consent of the governed, while deliberative democrats typically claim that legitimacy consists in the soundness of political procedures. Despite this difference, both traditions see the need for legitimacy as arising from the coercive enforcement of law and regard legitimacy as necessary for law to have normative authority. While I endorse the broad aims of these two traditions, I believe they both misunderstand the nature of legitimacy. In this essay I argue that the legitimacy of a law is neither necessary nor sufficient for its normative authority, and I argue further that the need for legitimacy in law arises regardless of whether the law is coercively enforced. I thus articulate a new understanding of the legitimacy and authority of law.     

Privacy regulations on biometrics in Australia

This paper aims to provide an analysis of the current regulatory environment, at the federal level, of privacy protection concerning biometrics in Australia. The study only focuses on the federal Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Biometrics Institute Privacy Code. The discussion is based on the legal concerns of the use of biometrics, and an analysis is made concerning the implications of privacy protection sources.     

Race,ethnicity, and prison disciplinary misconduct

It is well known that racial and ethnic minorities (both male and female) have felt the effect of increased incarceration more than Whites, and a large amount of prior research has investigated the factors that influence higher levels of inmate misconduct, including the influence of race/ethnicity. This body of research has produced mixed results. Using recent data from one of the largest state prison systems, this study sought to determine the level of racial and ethnic disparity in the commission of inmate misconduct. Results indicate that Black inmates were significantly more likely than other inmates to commit general rule violations, serious rule violations, and assaultive rule violations. Correlates of inmate misconduct and policy implications stemming from the findings are discussed.     

Population data at two short tandem repeat loci D2S1338 and D19S433 in the sample of multinational Bosnia and Herzegovina residents

POPULATION: We have analyzed the distribution of allele frequencies at two short tandem repeats loci (D2S1338 and D19S433) in a multinational sample of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) residents. A total of 110 unrelated male and female individuals (Caucasians) from different regions of B&H were sampled for the analysis. We ensured that the sample reflected approximate proportional participation of the three main ethnic groups in the population of B&H (Bosniacs-Muslim [45%], Serbs [34%], Croats [21%]).