New Management Service Mode in RFID University Libraries

With the adoption of RFID in library, many technical and management problems occur, such as the unmet needs of library due to insufficient RFID device function, the standards to be unified, the invasion of privacy, the lack of supervision on book damage and the mis-shelving. This paper puts forward new methods to promote the application of RFID in library based on the analysis of the management service mode of library.

14. Invasion of privacy

This chapter discusses different aspects of privacy. It shows that there is no general common law right to protection from invasion of privacy (the so-called ‘right to be let alone’), but that limitation has been largely subverted by the new law in the second section on the protection of personal information and the reasonable expectation of privacy that has developed significantly in recent years. This shows the potential power of the Human Rights Act 1998 and the European Convention on Human Rights, and is the subject of considerable controversy, especially in relation to the protection of celebrity privacy. The final section considers remedies in privacy cases.

16. Invasion of privacy

This chapter examines the nascent ‘tort’ of invasion of privacy. It first considers why no free-standing tort of invasion of privacy exists, before looking at breach of confidence—a legal concept straddling tort and equity and concerned with ‘secrets’ and judicially adapted to protect privacy by developing the new tort of misuse of private information. The chapter then asks whether developments in the law protecting privacy—particularly in the wake of the Human Rights Act 1998—threaten freedom of expression and therefore the general public’s ‘right’ to information, particularly about celebrities, including royalty and politicians.

Tort Law

Tort Law encourages the reader to understand, engage with and critically reflect upon tort law. The book contains five parts. Part I, which is about the tort of negligence, looks at the basic principles of the duty of care and at special duty problems relating to: omissions and acts of third parties, psychiatric harm, public bodies and economic loss. It also covers breach, causation and remoteness, and defences to negligence. Part II considers occupiers’, product and employers’ liability and breach of statutory duty. Part III looks at personal torts and explains trespass to the person, defamation and the invasion of privacy. Part IV concerns land torts and Part V looks at liability (including vicarious liability), damages and limitations.

The Battle for Backdoors and Encryption Keys

This paper argues that the use of backdoors in software is inherently counterproductive and leads to invasion of privacy, either by federal or state governments or by intrusive hackers. The essay outlines encryption’s nature, pointing out that a software backdoor is a secret means of ignoring data authentication. Several examples of known backdoors known to terrorists, criminals, and governments alike are highlighted. Arguments in favor and opposing backdoors are provided, where the Apple Computer, Inc. v. FBI controversy is discussed. Finally, the balancing of harms test as proposed by John Stuart Mill is introduced, where the article concludes that when balancing the opposing positions, the scale tips toward data encryption because an innocent party would suffer the most harm from the existence of a software backdoor.

Re-imagining the Dignitary Torts

In the article, we make three claims. First, we argue that a large number of what are traditionally seen as separate torts are, at their core, all about affronts to the dignity of the victim. These include offensive battery, assault, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, invasion of privacy, some nuisances, and abuse of process (malicious prosecution). These torts do not involve direct physical harm but, rather, emotional distress from having your dignity attacked. Second, we argue that as these torts have developed inside of their own doctrinal silos, there are important differences among the laws governing them. Third, we argue that these differences are not justified and that it would be better to create a consistent tort approach to dignitary harm: tort recovery should lie for injuries resulting from wrongful conduct that is highly offensive and causes more than minor harm. This, it turns out, is the standard that currently applies in a majority of jurisdictions for privacy invasions. If more widely adopted, this standard would, for example, far more easily allow recovery for nasty verbal sexual (or other) harassment, since intentional infliction of emotional distress currently requires a much stronger showing. At the same time, it would preclude recovery for minor physical touchings that technically now qualify as offensive battery. We think this achieves the balance much better.

Policing with Big Data: DNA Matching vs Crime Prediction

Sorell focuses on two state (police) uses of big data that have elicited concern: the creation of DNA databases and the use of past data to predict future crimes and criminals. In response to the former, Sorell argues that there is nothing intrinsically wrong with large-scale, indiscriminate databases of DNA profiles. These do not constitute an invasion of privacy, and nor do they necessarily render an entire population suspect, although he accepts that in the current climate they may be interpreted that way. As regards predictive policing, Sorell’s argument is that these uses are more concerning, basing future decisions on past information that may no longer be pertinent and could well be discriminatory.

Renaissance’s Accelerated Reader: Does It Really Work?

The school library is an open place for students to learn, imagine, and be free to research information of their choosing. Renaissance’s Accelerated Reader is a reading level-based program that assigns point values to books when students pass the quiz assigned to each book. Accelerated Reader unfortunately promotes censorship and invasion of privacy due to how the program is structured. This paper examines the flaws with Accelerated Reader to help examine if the program is beneficial to students. The American Association of School Librarians’ position statement will be used to help emphasize the point of the paper being that Accelerated Reader is inefficient. Collaboration between school librarians and teachers would be more beneficial instead of computerized reading level programs. Accelerated Reader’s structure unfortunately causes censorship of materials and invasion of privacy for children’s reading choices.