scholarly journals How to Watch the Watchers? Democratic Oversight of Algorithmic Police Surveillance in Belgium

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 228-240
Author(s):  
Rosamunde Van Brakel
Keyword(s):  
Crime Control ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Police Departments ◽  
Undue Influence ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Private Companies ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
Cloud Infrastructures ◽  
Police Surveillance

In the last decade and more recently triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, algorithmic surveillance technologies have been increasingly implemented and experimented with by the police for crime control, public order policing, and as management tools. Police departments are also increasingly consumers of surveillance technologies that are created, sold, and controlled by private companies. They exercise an undue influence over police today in ways that are not widely acknowledged and increasingly play a role in the data capture and processing that feeds into larger cloud infrastructures and data markets. These developments are having profound effects on how policing is organized and on existing power relations, whereby decisions are increasingly being made by algorithms. Although attention is paid to algorithmic police surveillance in academic research as well as in mainstream media, critical discussions about its democratic oversight are rare. The goal of this paper is to contribute to ongoing research on police and surveillance oversight and to question how current judicial oversight of algorithmic police surveillance in Belgium addresses socio-technical harms of these surveillance practices.

Who Ya Gonna Call? The Police as Problem-Busters

1987 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
John E. Eck ◽  
William Spelman
Keyword(s):  
Community Policing ◽  
Crime Control ◽  
Police Departments ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Underlying Causes ◽  
Standard Set ◽  
Problem Oriented Policing ◽  
The City

Current police practice is dominated by two, competing strategies—“community policing” and “crime control policing.” Both are limited: they each apply a standard set of police tactics to a wide variety of differing circumstances; they focus on incidents, rather than the underlying problems which cause these incidents. Recently, two police departments have developed an alternative. Through “problem-oriented policing,” officers focus on these underlying causes. They collect information from numerous sources, and enlist the support of a wide variety of public and private agencies and individuals in their attempts to solve problems. Case studies in these departments show that use of the problem-oriented approach can substantially reduce crime and fear. In the long run, problem-oriented policing will require changes in management structure, the role of the police in the community and the city bureaucracy, and the limits of police authority.

scholarly journals How does crop insurance influence pesticide use? Evidence from French farms

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffroy Enjolras ◽  
Magali Aubert
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Strategic Change ◽  
Crop Insurance ◽  
Pesticide Use ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Private Companies ◽  
Field Crops ◽  
Farm Accountancy Data Network ◽  
Farm Scale ◽  
Using Data

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to examine how crop insurance influences pesticide use, the two decisions being strategic for risk management at the farm scale. To that aim, the paper implements propensity score matching, difference-in-differences models, and a combination of these two methods in order to compare two similar populations of insured and non-insured farmers. Using data from the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN), we consider French farms which cultivate field crops and quality wine-growing, the two main productions that participate the most to crop insurance and that use intensively pesticides. The analysis is performed between 2008 and 2012 given a strategic change in the crop insurance system in 2010 that strongly incites farmers to purchase crop insurance with private companies. At the same time, pesticide use was progressively discouraged through public policies. Estimations show that while pesticide use decreases for all crops, the purchase of crop insurance policies has no impact for field crops and quality wine-growing. Meanwhile, the land allocated to each crop within the farm changes. These results question a possible substitutability, for some productions, between crop insurance and pesticides as risk management tools.

Art of the Sale: Recommendations for Sharing Research With Mainstream Media and Senior Leaders

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 589-593 ◽  
Author(s):  
Don C. Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Academic Research ◽  
Limited Time ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Senior Leaders ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
Research Collaborations ◽  
Sales Pitch

Research collaborations are two-way streets. To obtain support from organizations, academics must communicate the value of their research projects to the stakeholders. In their focal article, Lapierre et al., (2018) described this process as the academic “sales pitch”, one that must be “short yet attention grabbing” (p.20). Academic research in industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology, however, is rooted in esoteric jargon (e.g., validity and reliability) and unconvincing evidence (e.g., r and r2) (Highhouse, Brooks, Nesnidol, & Sim, 2017; Rynes, 2009). These concepts are difficult for non-academics to understand and may even undermine the value of our work (Brooks, Dalal, & Nolan, 2014; Kuncel & Rigdon, 2012; Mattern, Kobrin, Patterson, Shaw, & Camara, 2009). CEOs and other senior leaders often have limited time, attention, and expertise to process your pitch: A bad one could effectively derail the collaboration before it even began.

scholarly journals Is Independent Clinical Research Possible in Low- and Middle-Income Countries? A Roadmap to Address Persistent and New Barriers and Challenges

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Carlos H. Barrios ◽  
Max S. Mano
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Research ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
High Income ◽  
Ethical Framework ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Important Challenge ◽  
Barriers And Challenges ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Cancer is an increasing and significant problem for both high- and low- and middle-income countries. Basic, translational, and clinical research efforts have been instrumental in generating the outstanding improvements we have witnessed over the last few decades, answering important questions, and improving patient outcomes. Arguably, a substantial portion of currently ongoing research is sponsored by the pharmaceutical industy and specifically addresses questions under industry interests, most of which apply to high-income countries, leaving behind problems related to the much larger and underserved population of patients with cancer in low- and middle-income countries. In this scenario, discussing independent academic research is an important challenge, particularly for these countries. Although different countries and institutions face different problems while establishing independent research agendas, some generalizable barriers can be identified. A solid regulatory and ethical framework, a strong and sustainable technical supporting infrastructure, and motivated and experienced investigators are all paramount to build a viable and productive academic research program. Securing funding for research, although not the only hurdle, is certainly one of the most basic hurdles to overcome. Noticeably, and as an added impediment, public and governmental support for cancer research has been decreasing in high-income countries and is almost nonexistent in the rest of the world. We propose an initial careful diagnostic assessment of the research resource scenario of each institution/country and adjustment of the strategic development plan according to four different research resource restriction levels. Although not necessarily applicable to all situations, this model can be helpful if adjusted to each local or regional situation.

scholarly journals The The Making of Crime Predictions: Sociotechnical Assemblages and the Controversies of Governing Future Crime

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-215
Author(s):  
Daniel Edler Duarte
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Risk Assessments ◽  
Risk Scores ◽  
Police Departments ◽  
Think Tank ◽  
Private Companies ◽  
Migrant Communities ◽  
Local Police ◽  
Gut Feelings

We are witnessing an upsurge in crime forecasting software, which supposedly draws predictive knowledge from data on past crime. Although prevention and anticipation are already embedded in the apparatuses of government, going beyond a mere abstract aspiration, the latest innovations hold out the promise of replacing police officers’ “gut feelings” and discretionary risk assessments with algorithmic-powered, quantified analyses of risk scores. While police departments and private companies praise such innovations for their cost-effective rationale, critics raise concerns regarding their potential for discriminating against poor, black, and migrant communities. In this article, I address such controversies by telling the story of the making of CrimeRadar, an app developed by a Rio de Janeiro-based think tank in partnership with private associates and local police authorities. Drawing mostly on Latour’s contributions to the emerging literature on security assemblages, I argue that we gain explanatory and critical leverage by looking into the mundane practices of making and unmaking sociotechnical arrangements. That is, I address the chain of translations through which crime data are collected, organized, and transformed into risk scores. In every step, new ways of seeing and presenting crime are produced, with a significant impact on how we experience and act upon (in)security.

Co-creation in Migration Studies

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Migration Studies ◽  
Research Strategies ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Creative Methods ◽  
Research And Policy

Co-creative methods are increasingly used to understand and facilitate integration processes of migrants in immigrant societies. This volume aims to contribute to the debates on the ways in which co-creative methods may advance migrant integration. More specifically, the contributions investigate how co-creative research strategies can provide insights into how integration processes into various domains of immigrant society (e.g., language learning, housing, employment) are shaped, and how they can contribute to policy making and new policy practices. Because co-creative methods are relatively new approaches to research and policy making, the authors evaluate and demonstrate the pitfalls and benefits of using them. Starting with a theoretical and methodological overview of co-creative methods, empirical chapters document and critically assess ongoing research experiences and studies to incorporate co-creative methods in academic research across Europe. Co-creation in Migration Studies analyses the use of co-creative methods in migrant research and policy making, reflects upon the conditions required to successfully implement these methods, and offers new insights and recommendations for future research and policy making practices.

Community Policing: Where are We Now?

1997 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 345-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jihong Zhao ◽  
Quint C. Thurman
Keyword(s):  
National Survey ◽  
Community Policing ◽  
Crime Control ◽  
Police Departments ◽  
Police Agencies ◽  
Professional Model ◽  
Primary Mission ◽  
Evolutionary Pace

Data from a national survey of police departments are presented to explore the progression of American policing from a traditional orientation to a community policing model. Despite widespread support for the idea of community policing and its service-centered orientation, the authors' findings suggest that crime control remains the primary mission of most police agencies. We infer from these data that the demonstrable transition of police agencies from a professional model to a community policing one typically is moving at an evolutionary pace rather than a revolutionary one in most places.

scholarly journals A Practical Do-It-Yourself Recruitment Framework for Concurrent eHealth Clinical Trials: Simple Architecture (Part 1) (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah L Palac ◽  
Nameyeh Alam ◽  
Susan M Kaiser ◽  
Jody D Ciolino ◽  
Emily G Lattie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Task Assignment ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Successful Recruitment ◽  
Referral Management ◽  
Study Staff ◽  
Do It Yourself ◽  
Participant Flow ◽  
Group Interviews

BACKGROUND The ability to identify, screen, and enroll potential research participants in an efficient and timely manner is crucial to the success of clinical trials. In the age of the internet, researchers can be confronted with large numbers of people contacting the program, overwhelming study staff and frustrating potential participants. OBJECTIVE This paper describes a “do-it-yourself” recruitment support framework (DIY-RSF) that uses tools readily available in many academic research settings to support remote participant recruitment, prescreening, enrollment, and management across multiple concurrent eHealth clinical trials. METHODS This work was conducted in an academic research center focused on developing and evaluating behavioral intervention technologies. A needs assessment consisting of unstructured individual and group interviews was conducted to identify barriers to recruitment and important features for the new system. RESULTS We describe a practical and adaptable recruitment management architecture that used readily available software, such as REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) and standard statistical software (eg, SAS, R), to create an automated recruitment framework that supported prescreening potential participants, consent to join a research registry, triaging for management of multiple trials, capture of eligibility information for each phase of a recruitment pipeline, and staff management tools including monitoring of participant flow and task assignment/reassignment features. The DIY-RSF was launched in July 2015. As of July 2017, the DIY-RSF has supported the successful recruitment efforts for eight trials, producing 14,557 participant records in the referral tracking database and 5337 participants in the center research registry. The DIY-RSF has allowed for more efficient use of staff time and more rapid processing of potential applicants. CONCLUSIONS Using tools already supported at many academic institutions, we describe the architecture and utilization of an adaptable referral management framework to support recruitment for multiple concurrent clinical trials. The DIY-RSF can serve as a guide for leveraging common technologies to improve clinical trial recruitment procedures.

scholarly journals Key issues in fighting organised crime in the Balkans

2005 ◽  
Vol 57 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 71-99
Author(s):  
Aleksandar Fatic
Keyword(s):  
Political Violence ◽  
Crime Control ◽  
White Collar Crime ◽  
Organised Crime ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Private Companies ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Motivating Factor ◽  
Systemic Corruption

Traditional definitions of organised crime tend to focus on its links with the market. They depict organised crime as an alternative industry based on the stable supply of a criminal market, characterised by the use of force or threat by it, and motivated by illicit profit or a quest of political power. These definitions arise from the historically most common depictions of specific activities of organised crime, which in most parts of Europe and North America have traditionally been associated with the illegal collection of debts, extortion rackets, contract murders or systemic corruption leading to, and associated with, a transnational trade in drugs. Through the evolution of the definitions, these stereotypes have gradually waned away, and the use of violence, as well as the primary motivation by material profit, has been omitted from the lists of obligatory characteristics that a crime must fulfill in order to be classified as ?organised crime?. More recently, in the European Union definition, the use of violence and motivation by profit alone have been made only conditional criteria, and the quest of institutional power has been recognised as a motivating factor for organised crime equal to that of generating illicit profit. These new definitional approaches have opened the way to revolutionary ways of understanding the development of organised crime, specifically to including white-collar crime and massive fraud in the future definitions of organised crime, as well as further elaborating the aspect of political violence that is present in many organised crime activities across the world. In the Balkans, these new moments in defining organised crime appear to have been tested particularly directly in Serbia, where, first, there has been a long public debate over a systematic ?siphoning away? of public funds to the accounts of private companies through the mass corruption of a former, post-communist government until 2001. Subsequently, organised criminal rings have been accused of having masterminded and executed the assassination of the late Serbian Prime Minister, Dr Zoran Djindjic. The Balkans, and particularly Serbia, have been exposed to some of the most destructive consequences of organised crime. Correspondingly, the region can serve as a polygon or testing grounds for the exploration of the conceptual issues associated with organised crime. Finally, the experiences in crime control gained in this process could be valuable tools to address organised crime elsewhere. This especially concerns the emergence of what has recently become known in criminological discourse as the ?New War-Making Criminal Entity?. This paper explores the key features of organised crime against the background of the Serbian, and, by extension, Balkan circumstances, and draws conclusions as to how these experiences can be useful more globally.

scholarly journals Psychedelic Harm Reduction and Integration: A Transtheoretical Model for Clinical Practice

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingmar Gorman ◽  
Elizabeth M. Nielson ◽  
Aja Molinar ◽  
Ksenia Cassidy ◽  
Jonathan Sabbagh
Keyword(s):  
Harm Reduction ◽  
Transtheoretical Model ◽  
Addiction Treatment ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Clinical Approach ◽  
Mental Health Providers ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Mainstream Media

Psychedelic Harm Reduction and Integration (PHRI) is a transtheoretical and transdiagnostic clinical approach to working with patients who are using or considering using psychedelics in any context. The ongoing discussion of psychedelics in academic research and mainstream media, coupled with recent law enforcement deprioritization of psychedelics and compassionate use approvals for psychedelic-assisted therapy, make this model exceedingly timely. Given the prevalence of psychedelic use, the therapeutic potential of psychedelics, and the unique cultural and historical context in which psychedelics are placed, it is important that mental health providers have an understanding of the unique motivations, experiences, and needs of people who use them. PHRI incorporates elements of harm reduction psychotherapy and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, and can be applied in both brief and ongoing psychotherapy interactions. PHRI represents a shift away from assessment limited to untoward outcomes of psychedelic use and abstinence-based addiction treatment paradigms and toward a stance of compassionate, destigmatizing acceptance of patients' choices. Considerations for assessment, preparation, and working with difficult experiences are presented.

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