Sociological Reflections on Security Through Surveillance

This article initiates a Sociology of Security. Such a field should analyze how conditions transpire for security—however defined—to surface as a value in individual and collective living, how this value comes to be articulated, and how different kinds of individual and collective experiences shape its meaning. In addition, a Sociology of Security should pay attention to how the kinds of individual and collective responses to particular understandings of security, institutions and policies put in place to this end (or lack thereof), and consequences of such practices are shaping the nature of our social world and the aesthetics of our physical environment. Specific focus is on the relationship between security and surveillance.     

Under the watchful eyes of men: theorising the implications of male surveillance practices for feminist activism on social media

Abstract

While early internet research often explored social media’s potential for increasing political participation, scholars are now problematising the manifestations of state and corporate control over political activism in these spaces. Yet despite an increased academic focus on the shape and implications of online power relations, there is a noticeable lack of critical theory that considers how strategies of male dominance on social media platforms influence feminist activism. This article conceptualises individual men as monitorial actors invested in surveilling feminist speech online, and brings together literature from within feminist, social movement, and critical internet studies to address this research gap. Situating contemporary feminist activist tactics in relation to second-wave priorities, this article extends current conceptualisations of the dangers of social media surveillance practices for political action. It draws on recent examples of online feminist organising to elucidate the ways in which social media platforms provide men with increased opportunities to surveil feminist activity. The article calls for further research into the ways in which male surveillance practices on social media platforms are shaping women’s ability to organise for social change.     

The Effects of Computerized Auditory Feedback on Electronic Article Surveillance Tag Placement in an Auto-Parts Distribution Center

In this report from the field, computerized auditory feedback was used to inform order selectors and order selector auditors in a distribution center to add an electronic article surveillance (EAS) adhesive tag. This was done by programming handheld computers to emit a loud beep for high-priced items upon scanning the item's bar-coded Universal Product Code (UPC). Adding the auditory component to the visual component of the handheld computer significantly decreased the number of untagged EAS items leaving the facility. The role of the organizational behavior management practitioner in applied settings in designing interventions—some of which can be quite simple and inexpensive, yet add tremendous value—was examined.     

Generalized Scan Statistics for Disease Surveillance

In applying scan statistics for disease surveillance, it would be valuable to have an integrated model that simultaneously includes environmental covariates and spatial correlation. In this paper, a generalized scan statistics under quasi‐likelihood functions is proposed to address this issue. We use a two‐step estimation process to obtain estimates of coefficients and adapt a bootstrapping method for the minimal p‐value to address the multiple‐testing problem. Under suitable conditions, the proposed method is consistent and can control the type I error rate. Simulations and applications to real data sets are used to evaluate the method.     

中国特色的宪法实施监督模式研究

宪法实施监督制度是保证宪法正确实施并对违反宪法的行为进行监督的制度.它是维护宪法权威和尊严的一项重要制度,是现代民主政治的重要组成部分.综观当今世界各国宪法,依据宪法实施监督主体来划分,宪法实施监督的模式主要有五种类型:一是以英国为代表的议会型宪法监督模式;二是以美国为代表的普通法院型宪法实施监督模式;三是以德国为代表的宪法法院型宪法实施监督模式;四是以法国为代表的宪法委员会型宪法实施监督模式;五是以中国为代表的最高权力机关型宪法实施监督模式.五种宪法监督模式在世界范围内并存,从理论和实践上看,它们各有利弊.中国特色的宪法实施监督模式是根据人民主权原则,由全国人民代表大会及其常委会行使国家最高权力,根据分权制约监督原则,应当在全国人大下设立法院、国务院、最高法院、最高检察院,分别行使立法、行政、审判和检察权的宪法实施监督体制.这种模式的优点主要是:(1)从根本上克服了人大或其常委会本身既立法,又审查自己所立之法是否合宪的不足;(2)有利于人大从繁重的立法任务中解脱出来,把主要的精力用在最高决策权的行使和宪法实施监督上;(3)立法院制订出的法律案由全国人大或其常委会对其进行合宪性审查后,做出批准决定,由国家主席公布实施,这样既符合人民代表大会的民主集中制原则,又兼有"两院制"立法的优点;(4)可以解决目前宪法解释和法律解释一个主体造成的效力判断标准难问题;(5)能够保证国家的法制统一.     

武汉城市圈节约型服务业运行机制构建

分析了武汉城市圈节约型服务业发展总体概况,阐述了武汉城市圈发展节约型服务业运行机制的2种模式,即市场主导型运行机制和政府主导型运行机制,及其3个子机制(激励机制、惩罚机制和监督机制),提出了政府角色定位、激励、惩罚和信息流通等构建武汉城市圈发展节约型服务业运行机制的详细设想。     

Authentication Methods and Recent Developments

Abstract

This segment of the “Sharpest Tool” column provides an overview of the current options for authentication for electronic resources and discusses recent developments in this area. Remote access to electronic resources is increasingly important as libraries purchase more and more electronic content. This column attempts to provide a baseline use for many terms relating to authentication, while incorporating discussions and concerns surrounding recent developments in authentication methods.     

Multivariate outbreak detection

Online monitoring is needed to detect outbreaks of diseases such as influenza. Surveillance is also needed for other kinds of outbreaks, in the sense of an increasing expected value after a constant period. Information on spatial location or other variables might be available and may be utilized. We adapted a robust method for outbreak detection to a multivariate case. The relation between the times of the onsets of the outbreaks at different locations (or some other variable) was used to determine the sufficient statistic for surveillance. The derived maximum-likelihood estimator of the outbreak regression was semi-parametric in the sense that the baseline and the slope were non-parametric while the distribution belonged to the one-parameter exponential family. The estimator was used in a generalized-likelihood ratio surveillance method. The method was evaluated with respect to robustness and efficiency in a simulation study and applied to spatial data for detection of influenza outbreaks in Sweden.     

Persistent Ambivalence: Theorizing Queer East German Studies

ABSTRACT

The German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany) had an ambivalent relationship with homosexuality. Under the principles of socialism, everyone was welcome to contribute to the greater good. The situation for queer people, here lesbians and gay men, was different: one of illegality and invisibility. A difficulty in analyzing these experiences is the theory and methodology necessary to find them and draw them together in a historical narrative. This essay offers a mode of analysis in which theories of affect illustrate long-term trends in East German conceptualizations of same-sex sexuality. By discussing a 1950 court ruling and a 1989 film, the essay demonstrates the persistence of homophobic prejudice and fear of homosexual seduction of young people and the links to historical and legal developments.