Elections, Oxford-style

Oxford University is a highly democratic institution, governed by a Congregation of its academic and senior administrative staff and electing every committee and position imaginable. Of course, these elections have a distinctive Oxonian flavour:

1. Ballot papers ask for the voter's name, signature, faculty and college. I suppose the University does predate the secret ballot in the UK by 800 years.



2. Candidates are listed simply according to their degrees and previous Oxford positions (with positions at lesser universities relegated to an "Other relevant posts" section). No manifesto or information about how candidates might exercise their powers if elected is included.

I am as excited about voting for library and parks curators or members of the building and estates subcommittee as Americans must be at voting for their state sewage commissioner. Still, at least it is likely to be a century or two before anyone suggests the use of e-voting.

E-curator seminar at OeRC

SlideShare is addictive! Here is a presentation I just gave to the Oxford e-Research Centre on our e-curator project (which is coming along very nicely.)

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The OeRC audience were interested to hear about our work and had some good ideas on how we might collaborate in future with their geometry imaging research.

Skype presentation on Internet blocking

I just had the interesting experience of giving a presentation (at Computers, Freedom and Privacy 2008) by Skype video. It seemed to work well — with minimal technical difficulty, we had a reasonably interactive panel discussion as well as my talking through my slides. It saved me two days of travelling; 1.3 tonnes of CO₂ emissions; and having my photo and fingerprints taken by US Customs. Of course, I miss the opportunity to now go for a drink with the panel and audience :)

I'm also experimenting with SlideShare. Thanks to them you can see my presentation below (on proposals for "three-strikes" legislation that would force ISPs to terminate the accounts of alleged copyright infringers). All comments welcome!

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DPhil studentship available

This September at Oxford we'll be kicking off a major new research project on privacy. If you have or will shortly have the equivalent of a distinction in a relevant social science Master's degree and are interested in conducting outstanding research leading to a doctorate, you might be interested in our associated studentship. This will cover home fees and a tax-free stipend of £12,940 per annum. Apply soon — the deadline is only three weeks away!

The beauty of the blogosphere

Matthew Hurst's hyperbolic mapping of blog links.

Einstein on religion

"The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish." —Albert Einstein

Legislating for Web 2.0

The Society for Computers and Law is holding its third annual policy forum this September in London, with a theme of "Legislating for Web 2.0". Speakers (including yours truly) will discuss the impact of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive and the Commission's reviews of the communications and consumer acquis, and UK government plans on copyright, spectrum trading and updating the Communications Act. Full details at the SCL website.

GikIII is coming!

GikIII, a two day workshop on the intersections between law, technology and popular culture, will be held on September 24-25, 2008 in Oxford.

Previous Gikiis have featured net neutrality explained via LOLcats, the surveillance implications of Harry Potter, how to regulate Killer Robots, the first ever Facebook privacy paper, why Japanese manga porn is a challenge for TRIPS, fansubbing and the law, self regulation and slash communities on Live Journal, privacy as seen through sf films, 5D sensory trademarks, blogging and data protection, and why Irish medieval history foresaw Creative Commons. They are generally well attended, mind-blowing and fun:) Numbers will be limited to c. 40 to enable participation. A small number of attendees not presenting papers may be allowed in at cost price if numbers allow.

If you would like to participate, email your abstract of no more than 500 words to either l.edwards@soton.ac.uk or a.guadamuz@ed.ac.uk by July 15 2008. We will confirm acceptances by August 1. Abstracts may be accepted after this date depending on whether the workshop is full.

FIPR is 10!

I have vague memories of the sunny spring afternoon when we met in Holborn to set up the Foundation for Information Policy Research. How quickly ten years of information policy has passed by; and what a different landscape we now see…

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Surveillance, the Database State, Online Crime ... What Next?

WHAT: An open meeting to celebrate FIPR's tenth birthday.

WHEN: 2:00-5:30pm, Tuesday 27 May 2008, followed by a reception.

WHERE: JZ Young Lecture Theatre, Anatomy Building, UCL, Gower St, London WC1.

The Foundation for Information Policy Research was set up in May 1998 to bring together engineers, lawyers, economists, policy people and others who are interested in the interaction between technology and society. It has become the UK's leading Internet policy think tank.

On May 27th 2008 we will be celebrating our tenth birthday with a conference at the JZ Young Lecture Theatre, University College London, from 2:00 - 5:30pm, followed by a reception. The first two sessions will discuss the big information policy challenges of the last ten years, while the third may attempt some crystal ball gazing:


1. Surveillance, privacy and technology

The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, NHS databases, children's databases, behavioural advertising.

Chair: Lord Phillips

Panelists: Caspar Bowden (Microsoft), Simon Watkin (Home Office), Terri Dowty (Action on Rights for Children), Richard Clayton (FIPR)


2. Crime, consumers' rights and the law

IP enforcement, online contracts, the resolution of financial and other disputes, service personalisation.

Chair: William Heath

Panelists: The Earl of Erroll, Ian Brown (OII), Roland Perry (e-Victims), Nicholas Bohm (FIPR), Joris van Hoboken (IViR, the Netherlands)


3. The next ten years

What will be the interesting policy challenges as computers and communication become embedded invisibly everywhere?

Chair: Baroness Miller of Hendon

Panelists: The Earl of Northesk, Nigel Hickson (BERR), David Howarth MP, Tom Steinberg (mySociety), Ross Anderson (FIPR)

Admission is free to the public but space is limited.

Please register by sending email to < birthday2008 AT fipr.org >