Search

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.clsr.2010.01.002 Byline: Kevin Aquilina Abstract: Technology invades a person's privacy but this has been justified in law on public security grounds. The more technology advances, the more difficult it is to control its privacy intrusive use. This paper argues that there are a number of difficulties posed by such use concerning the respect of one's privacy. The meaning of 'public security' is not entirely clear and there are various laws which authorise the invasion of privacy for public security reasons. Technology is developing at such a fast pace and in a more diffused manner without taking on board its privacy implications whilst technological privacy enhancement mechanisms are not catching up. The law of privacy is not sufficiently elaborate and is slow in coming to terms to deal with these novel situations posed by rapid technological advances. The paper thus develops universally legally binding minimum core principles that could be applied indiscriminately to all privacy intrusive technology. Author Affiliation: Department of Media, Communications and Technology Law, Faculty of Laws, University of Malta, Malta

Public policies with geographical consequences are often difficult to analyze because they affect multiple stakeholders with competing objectives. While such problems fall conceptually into the domain of multiobjective evaluation, associated analytical techniques often search for a single optimum solution. Within the context of geographical problems, optimality often means different things to different stakeholders and, thus, an optimum optimorum may not exist. In this article, we present a new technique based on an evolutionary algorithm (EA) that produces a large number of optimal and near-optimal solutions to a large class of land management problems. As implemented for this article, solutions represent landscape patterns that produce services that meet stakeholder needs to varying degrees. The construction of curves that illustrate the trade-offs among various services given limited resources is central to this approach. Decision makers can use these curves to help find solutions that strike a balance among conflicting objectives and, thus, meet stakeholder needs. To provide context to this work we consider the impact of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Conservation Reserve Program on rural landscapes. Three objectives are assumed: (1) maximize farm income, (2) maximize environmental quality, (3) minimize public investment in conservation programs; the first two are viewed as services desired by stakeholders. Analytical and visualization tools are developed to reduce the burden associated with exploring the large number of solutions that are produced by this technique. The results illustrate that the EA-based approach can produce results equal to and significantly more diverse than conventional integer programming techniques. Key Words: spatial evolutionary algorithms, muhiobjective optimization, decision support, agricultural policy.

New challenges has hit public policies due to complexity in the relation between technologies and economics.The proposal for a foresight method which provides a taxonomy of future technologies and to provide a better understanding of industrial dynamics both in France and in Germany are presented.

Japan and Europe, which are behind the U.S. in biotechnology, tend to have less restrictive patent laws. This may inhibit the development of biotechnology in these areas.

In this paper we examine the role of policy when forming a R&D joint venture is costly. Contrary to previous studies, we document an active role for public policy, since the interests of firms are not necessarily aligned with societal interests. The nature of policy, however, depends on the joint venture cost. If it is relatively low, then policy may call for subsidizing the joint venture to encourage collaboration. If forming a joint venture is very costly, however, then there are cases where social welfare is improved if policy encourages R&D competition with no joint venture.

This article explores the relationship of policy to organizational structure. Using an interpretive paradigm, two military organizations are examined. One of these organizations is a National Guard Unit and the other is a department at a military base. The article explores two issues: what effects, if any, a change in environment has upon the organization; and to what extent organization structure is affected by a policy change. A dialectic between organizations and policy becomes apparent., The changes caused by public policy are difficult to determine, as no policy change succeeds in doing exactly what it hopes. It is normal to assume that policy affects the structure of organizations, whether they be macro or micro in scale. However, organizations also seek to defer change by reacting appropriately to it, reducing the effect of policy decisions. The action thus initiated is akin to a dialectic, wherein each actor seeks to alter the behavior of the other. This dialectic can be considered the focus of actual policy administration.

The manner in which gaps in lobbying disclosure rules allow lobbyists to engage in lucrative political advocacy activities aimed to influence public policy, without necessitating their disclosure is discussed.