In this paper we explore the extent to which privacy enhancing technologies (PETs) could be effective in providing privacy to citizens. Rapid development of ubiquitous computing and ‘the internet of things’ are leading to Big Data and the application of Predictive Analytics, effectively merging the real world with cyberspace. The power of information technology is increasingly used to provide personalised services to citizens, leading to the availability of huge amounts of sensitive data about individuals, with potential and actual privacy-eroding effects. To protect the private sphere, deemed essential in a state of law, information and communication systems (ICTs) should meet the requirements laid down in numerous privacy regulations. Sensitive personal information may be captured by organizations, provided that the person providing the information consents to the information being gathered, and may only be used for the express purpose the information was gathered for. Any other use of information about persons without their consent is prohibited by law; notwithstanding legal exceptions. If regulations are properly translated into written code, they will be part of the outcomes of an ICT, and that ICT will therefore be privacy compliant. We conclude that privacy compliance in the ‘technological’ sense cannot meet citizens’ concerns completely, and should therefore be augmented by a conceptual model to make privacy impact assessments at the level of citizens’ lives possible.
Across the globe, linguistically heterogeneous populations increasingly define school systems at the same time that developing the ability to communicate cross-culturally is becoming essential for internationalized economies. While these trends seem complimentary, they often appear in paradoxical opposition as represented in the content and execution of nationwide education policies. Given the differing geopolitical contexts within which school systems function, wide variation exists with regard to how policymakers address the challenges of providing language education, including how they frame goals and design programs to align with those goals. Here we present a cross-continental examination of this variation, which reveals parallel tensions among aims for integrating immigrant populations, closing historic achievement gaps, fostering intercultural understanding, and developing multilingual competencies. To consider implications of such paradoxes and parallels in policy foundations, we compare language education in the US and in the EU, focusing on the Netherlands as an illustrative case study.
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The paper explores whether and under what conditions, vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 may become a mandatory requirement for employees. It includes a discussion on EU action on SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and its relevance for national level policy with emphasis on the legal basis and instruments used by the Union to persuade national authorities into action to increase vaccination uptake. The analysis then moves to the national level by focusing on the case of Hungary. Following an overview of the legal and regulatory framework for SARS-CoV-2 vaccines deployment, the analysis zooms into the sphere of employment and explores whether and how the SARS-CoV-2 vaccination may be turned into a mandatory workplace safety requirement. The paper highlights the decision of the Hungarian government to introduce compulsory vaccination for employees in the healthcare sector, and concludes with a discussion of the relevant rules and their potential, broader implications.
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