Profiling the mobile customer – Is industry self-regulation adequate to protect consumer privacy when behavioural advertisers target mobile phones? – Part II

Mobile customers are increasingly being tracked and profiled by behavioural advertisers to enhance delivery of personalized advertising. This type of profiling relies on automated processes that mine databases containing personally-identifying or anonymous consumer data, and it raises a host of significant concerns about privacy and data protection. This second article in a two part series on “Profiling the Mobile Customer” explores how to best protect consumers’ privacy and personal data through available mechanisms that include industry self-regulation, privacy-enhancing technologies and legislative reform.¹ It discusses how well privacy and personal data concerns related to consumer profiling are addressed by two leading industry self-regulatory codes from the UK and the U.S. that aim to establish fair information practices for behavioural advertising by their member companies. It also discusses the current limitations of using technology to protect consumers from privacy abuses related to profiling. Concluding that industry self-regulation and available privacy-enhancing technologies will not be adequate to close important privacy gaps related to consumer profiling without legislative reform, it offers suggestions for EU and U.S. regulators about how to do this.²     

Genetic study of 15 STRs loci of Identifiler system in Angola population

Angola is located in the African continent, in the area of southern Africa and has a population of approximately 14 million inhabitants. The Angola population has origin from Occidental and Southern Bantu people that came from the great lakes region, creating the most ever known African migration of our days.Allele frequencies for the 15 STRs loci in the AmpFlSTR Identifiler kit (D8S1179, D21S11, D7S820, CSF1PO, D3S1358, HUMTH01, D13S317, D16S539, D2S1338, D19S433, HUMVWA, TPOX, D18S51, D5S818, HUMFIBRA/FGA and including the segment of the X-Y homologous gene amelogenin) were studied for Angola population.The genotype frequency of the 15 STR loci showed no significant deviations from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium expectations and great values for the combined power of discrimination and combined power of a priori exclusion validate the application of these markers in forensic genetics. Comparative analyses between Angola population data and other relevant population database from Africa, Europe and American are presented.     

股权分置改革有效改善了公司绩效吗？——基于双重差分模型的估计

本文基于2004年到2008年上市公司样本数据,研究股权分置改革的政策有效性。考虑到股权分置改革的分批逐步推进特性,本文运用双重差分方法进行分析。研究结果发现,股权分置改革显著改善了公司绩效,总资产收益率提高了2．19％,并且股改具有一定的持续效应,股改当年总资产收益率提高了1．14％,股改后第一年进一步提高1．69％,但第二年开始股改政策效应减弱,在第三年甚至变为显著为负的影响。本文的研究对于认识股权分置改革的有效性及其长期影响有重要意义。     

高等学校“概论”课开放式教学方式探索——“听、读、评、写、研”教学模式实践及启示

在“毛泽东思想和中国特色社会主义理论体系概论”课程教学中开展“听、说、读、评、研”教学活动,是深化教学改革,培养创新型人才的可行途径之一。在教学中结合课程内容让学生读一些相关的书目,搞一些同学们有兴趣又能参与其中的活动,使同学们在了解历史但又不脱离现实生活的状态下,既掌握了知识又活跃了课堂气氛,提高了同学们的理论素养以及分析问题和解决问题的能力,从而坚定在中国共产党的领导下走中国特色社会主义道路的理想信念。     

Simulated foreign policy exchanges: A formal theory of foreign policy interaction (part II)

This article presents the underlying rationale for a theory of foreign policy dynamics, and is the second part of a two‐part series which specifies a theoretical perspective for explaining the exchanges between nations. The task of the first paper was to discuss the substantive thrust of the research, and to give a view of the Monte Carlo simulation which lies at its core. The theory deals with the relevance of such concepts as reciprocity, uncertainty, third party effects, bureaucratic politics and domestic events for explaining foreign policy. This article provides the axioms which structure our theory and formal theorems that follow from these axioms.     

Data development for international research—Phase I: International conflict and national characteristics

In 1986 developers and users of quantitative data in international and comparative politics organized to maintain, extend, and develop major datasets and to provide a stronger basis for coordinating data‐related activities. National Science Foundation funding established for a three‐year period Data Development for International Research. Its first phase (DDIR‐I) focused on improving datasets on both national capabilities and international conflict; and generating renewed efforts to better the data collections on internation events and international political economy. DDIR‐I's work, now virtually complete, augmented the quantity and quality of this national data resource and set the stage for another NSF‐funded project on internation event data (DDIR‐II). A final report on DDIR‐II is forthcoming in summer 1994.     

Violence Against Civilians: A Disaggregated Analysis

Disaggregated approaches to conflict research have led to new insights into the patterns and processes of political violence in developing countries. This article uses the most comprehensive subnational political violence data (ACLED) to observe where and when violence against civilians occurs within civil wars. Several new conclusions are evident from an event-based analysis of civilian violence: retribution or collateral damage are poor explanations for attacks on the unarmed. Instead, civilians are targeted because they are accessible; rebel groups kill more civilians, often in an attempt to create new frontlines for conflict. However, governments are also responsible for high rates of civilian death, yet they often “contract” this violence out to militias. This analysis confirms that there are multiple violent groups within civil war spaces, and small opposition groups commit higher levels of violence against civilians in local spaces. The strength of a violent group compared to its competition shapes how much civilian violence it commits. The results suggest that theories that emphasize civilian support and retribution as a basis for violence against civilians have overlooked the importance of how multiple violent opposition groups compete within civil wars, and how civilians suffer as a result.     

Intraobserver Error in Macromorphoscopic Trait Data, ,

As part of a much larger investigation into the use of macromorphoscopic trait data by forensic anthropologists to estimate ancestry from unidentified skeletal remains, we conducted a fourteen‐year (2002–2016) intraobserver error study. Motivated by the development of a large macromorphoscopic database―which will potentially utilize data collected in 2002―quantification of observer error, the impact of technological improvements in macromorphoscopic trait data collection and observer experience is necessary. To maximize comparisons between the two samples, ten macromorphoscopic traits were assessed. Results revealed three patterns of error relating to observer experience, the introduction of new technologies, and error inherent in the method. Overall, this study found the effect of error on macromorphoscopic trait analysis could be predicted and did not significantly impact their utility.