Personal Information Management System Research Articles

ESPRESSO: A Framework to Empower Search on the Decentralized Web

The increasing centralization of the Web raises serious concerns regarding privacy, security, and user autonomy. In response, there has been a renewed interest in the development of secure personal information management systems and a movement towards decentralization. Decentralized personal online data stores (pods) represent a revolutionary example within this movement, built on the W3C’s existing guidelines – an approach exemplified by initiatives such as Solid (https://solidproject.org). In the Solid paradigm, individuals store their personal data in pods and have absolute discretion when choosing to grant access to different users and applications. A barrier to the adoption of the pod approach is the predominant reliance on centralized indexes for search functionality in current Web and Web-based systems. This paper introduces the ESPRESSO framework, which is designed to facilitate this new paradigm of large-scale searches within personal data stores while respecting the individual pod owners’ data access governance. The current ESPRESSO prototype integrates access control within pod indexes to enhance distributed keyword-based search. ESPRESSO’s unique contribution not only enhances search capabilities on the decentralized Web but also paves the way for future explorations in decentralized search technologies.

Design for Embedding the Value of Privacy in Personal Information Management Systems

Personal Information Management Systems (PIMS) aim to facilitate the sharing of personal information and protect privacy. Efforts to enhance privacy management, aligned with established privacy policies, have led to guidelines for integrating transparent notices and meaningful choices within these systems. Although discussions have revolved around the design of privacy-friendly systems that comply with legal requirements, there has been relatively limited philosophical discourse on incorporating the value of privacy into these systems. Exploring the connection between privacy and personal autonomy illuminates the instrumental value of privacy in enabling individuals to live their lives autonomously, highlighting the importance of intentionally embedding the value of privacy into these systems. To translate the value of privacy into concrete design requirements, this study constructs a values hierarchy consisting of values, norms, and design requirements. After analyzing the relationships between privacy and autonomy and identifying norms, the design requirements translated from the norms associated with the components of personal autonomy are specified at the lowest layer. These requirements include a design to prevent unauthorized access and dark patterns and to provide effective and efficient notices and choices. The findings contribute to expanding the requirements for designing the aspect of privacy as a legal requirement to incorporate the value of privacy into systems.

Post-mortem information management: exploring contextual factors in appropriate personal data access after death

ABSTRACT With the increasing size and complexity of personal information and data landscapes, there is a need for guidance and support in the appropriate management of a deceased person’s postmortem privacy and digital legacy. However, most people engage poorly with existing mechanisms for specifying and planning for access and suitable usage of their own data. We report on two studies exploring the ways in which contextual factors such as the accessor and the data type may affect the appropriateness of personal data flows differently during life and after death. Our findings indicate that suitable data access after death is highly individual and contextual, with differences in appropriateness between during-life and after-death data flows significantly affected by the accessor and the data type in question. We identify that ambiguous accessor motivation, failure to communicate intent, changing temporal context and latent data values further complicate the act of digital legacy planning. Our findings also provide further evidence for the existence of a postmortem privacy paradox in which reported user behaviors do not reflect intent. With this in mind, we offer design recommendations for the integration of digital legacy planning functionality within Personal Information Management (PIM) and Group Information Management (GIM) systems.

Blurring the moral limits of data markets: biometrics, emotion and data dividends

This paper considers what liberal philosopher Michael Sandel coins the ‘moral limits of markets’ in relation to the idea of paying people for data about their biometrics and emotions. With Sandel arguing that certain aspects of human life (such as our bodies and body parts) should be beyond monetisation and exchange, others argue that emerging technologies such as Personal Information Management Systems can enable a fairer, paid, data exchange between the individual and the organisation, even regarding highly personal data about our bodies and emotions. With the field of data ethics rarely addressing questions of payment, this paper explores normative questions about data dividends. It does so by conducting a UK-wide, demographically representative online survey to quantitatively assess adults’ views on being paid for personal data about their biometrics and emotions via a Personal Information Management System, producing a data dividend, a premise which sees personal data through the prism of markets and property. The paper finds diverse attitudes based on socio-demographic characteristics, the type of personal data sold, and the type of organisation sold to. It argues that (a) Sandel’s argument regarding the moral limits of markets has value in protecting fundamental freedoms of those in society who are arguably least able to (such as the poor); but (b) that contexts of use, in particular, blur moral limits regarding fundamental freedoms and markets.

“Who Should I Trust with My Data?” Ethical and Legal Challenges for Innovation in New Decentralized Data Management Technologies

News about personal data breaches or data abusive practices, such as Cambridge Analytica, has questioned the trustworthiness of certain actors in the control of personal data. Innovations in the field of personal information management systems to address this issue have regained traction in recent years, also coinciding with the emergence of new decentralized technologies. However, only with ethically and legally responsible developments will the mistakes of the past be avoided. This contribution explores how current data management schemes are insufficient to adequately safeguard data subjects, and in particular, it focuses on making these data flows transparent to provide an adequate level of accountability. To showcase this, and with the goal of enhancing transparency to foster trust, this paper investigates solutions for standardizing machine-readable policies to express personal data processing activities and their application to decentralized personal data stores as an example of ethical, legal, and technical responsible innovation in this field.

Unique Human Identification under the GDPR Article 9 (1) (2)


 
 
 The rapid development of information technology has exacerbated the need for robust personal data protection safeguarded by the European Union instrument. Safeguarding a fundamental right to data protection entails new and significant challenges as technological advances expand the frontier of data processing. The large-scale employment of digital biometric technology has shaken the private sector. Biometric data processing already became crucial for a person’s unique identification in the private sector and posed a risk to the unique characteristics of a human being. The research seeks to study the recent defining biometric data and automatizing processing as legally established categories under GDPR Article 9 (1) (2) when the subject and object of the processing are uncertain. The study calls to protect a person from whom unique human data is extracted and finds a way to protect biometric characteristics based on its differentiation form defined in the studied article’s else special categories of personal data. To this end, the studied article assumes a natural person, but it is used only in the context of the finality of processing. Therefore, there are possible prior risks for the process and after processing that shall be defined and mitigated under the high level of legal protection. In this regard, a study thinks unique characteristics of human origin shall be carried in the legal field by having clearly defined status, preservation measures regardless of biometric nature, and finding a solution for a biometric data subject to control automotive employment as the Personal Information Management System in the EU does.
 
 

Operationalizing digital self-determination

Abstract A proliferation of data-generating devices, sensors, and applications has led to unprecedented amounts of digital data. We live in an era of datafication, one in which life is increasingly quantified and transformed into intelligence for private or public benefit. When used responsibly, this offers new opportunities for public good. The potential of data is evident in the possibilities offered by open data and data collaboratives—both instances of how wider access to data can lead to positive and often dramatic social transformation. However, three key forms of asymmetry currently limit this potential, especially for already vulnerable and marginalized groups: data asymmetries, information asymmetries, and agency asymmetries. These asymmetries limit human potential, both in a practical and psychological sense, leading to feelings of disempowerment and eroding public trust in technology. Existing methods to limit asymmetries (such as open data or consent) as well as some alternatives under consideration (data ownership, collective ownership, personal information management systems) have limitations to adequately address the challenges at hand. A new principle and practice of digital self-determination (DSD) is therefore required. The study and practice of DSD remain in its infancy. The characteristics we have outlined here are only exploratory, and much work remains to be done so as to better understand what works and what does not. We suggest the need for a new research framework or agenda to explore DSD and how it can address the asymmetries, imbalances, and inequalities—both in data and society more generally—that are emerging as key public policy challenges of our era.

온라인 플랫폼을 활용한 수산식품 구매요인 우선순위 분석

Purpose The purpose of this study to explore factors consumers prioritize when purchasing seafood online. The originality of the study lies on adopting AHP-based approach in analyzing prioritized purchasing factors of seafood online. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted targeting Korean consumers who have purchased seafood online. AHP method was applied to rank factors consumers prioritize before making decision. Findings First, product’s factor ranked first among other high level factors including delivery service, seller, online platform. Second, sanitation, taste, country of origin ranked first, second, third respectively, within product’s factors. Third, safe delivery, timeliness, information accuracy ranked first, second, third respectively, within delivery factors. Fourth, consumer reviews, consumer response ability, promotion ranked first, second, third within seller factors. Fifth, Personal information management system, credibility, user-friendliness ranked first, second, third, within online platform factors. Research implications or Originality To activate seafood online market, it is crucial to assure consumers that the seafood is well managed in a sanitary way from the production site to table. Existing government programs such as seafood traceability system, HACCP, and cold-chain infrastructure needs improvement. Due to highly perishable characteristic of seafood , delivery factors matter when purchasing online. Online platforms needs to continue to improve delivery service. Seafood products are mostly not branded and without objective information about their properties. Creating quality classification and seafood brands are likely to help consumers chose seafood online.

A PIMS Development Kit for New Personal Data Platforms

The web ecosystem is based on a market where stakeholders collect and sell personal data, but nowadays users expect stronger guarantees of transparency and privacy. With the PIMCity personal information management system (PIMS) development kit, we provide an open-source development kit for building PIMSs to foster the development of open and user-centric data markets.

Defence against the dark artefacts: Smart home cybercrimes and cybersecurity standards

This paper analyses the assumptions underpinning a range of emerging EU and UK smart home cybersecurity standards. We use internet of things (IoT) case studies (such as the Mirai Botnet affair) and the criminological concept of ‘routine activity theory’ to situate our critique. Our study shows that current cybersecurity standards mainly assume smart home environments are (and will continue to be) underpinned by cloud architectures. This is a shortcoming in the longevity of standards. This paper argues that edge computing approaches, such as personal information management systems, are emerging for the IoT and challenge the cloud focused assumptions of these standards. In edge computing, data can be stored in a decentralised manner, locally and analysed on the client using federated learning. This can have advantages for security, privacy and legal compliance, over centralised cloud-based approaches, particularly around cross border data flows and edge based security analytics. As a consequence, standards should start to reflect the increased interest in this trend to make them more aspirational and responsive for the long term; as ultimately, current IoT architectures are a choice, as opposed to inherent. Our paper unpacks the importance of the adoption of edge computing models which could enable better management of external cyber-criminality threats in smart homes. We also briefly discuss challenges of building smart homes that can accommodate the complex nature of everyday life in the home. In addition to technical aspects, the social and interactional complexities of the home mean internal threats can also emerge. As these human factors remain unresolved in current approaches to smart home cybersecurity, a user's security can be impacted by such technical design choices.

EHealthChain-a blockchain-based personal health information management system.

Medical IoT devices that use miniature sensors to collect patient’s bio-signals and connected medical applications are playing a crucial role in providing pervasive and personalized healthcare. This technological improvement has also created opportunities for the better management of personal health information. The Personal Health Information Management System (PHIMS) supports activities such as acquisition, storage, organization, integration, and privacy-sensitive retrieval of consumer’s health information. For usability and wide acceptance, the PHIMS should follow the design principles that guarantee privacy-aware health information sharing, individual information control, integration of information obtained from multiple medical IoT devices, health information security, and flexibility. Recently, blockchain technology has emerged as a lucrative option for the management of personal health information. In this paper, we propose eHealthChain—a blockchain-based PHIMS for managing health data originating from medical IoT devices and connected applications. The eHealthChain architecture consists of four layers, which are a blockchain layer for hosting a blockchain database, an IoT device layer for obtaining personal health data, an application layer for facilitating health data sharing, and an adapter layer, which interfaces the blockchain layer with an application layer. Compared to existing systems, eHealthChain provides complete control to the user in terms of personal health data acquisition, sharing, and self-management. We also present a detailed implementation of a Proof of Concept (PoC) prototype of eHealthChain system built using Hyperledger Fabric platform.

Construction of Student Personal Information Management System Relying on Computer

With the development of computer technology, the application of computer software technology is very extensive. Software systems has also improved the development of all walks of life rapidly. The emergence of software systems has greatly improved the management of schools and students. This paper mainly analyzes and summarizes the significance and the main design of the student information management system.

Personal information management systems: a user-centric privacy utopia?

Personal information management systems (PIMS) aka personal data stores (PDSs) represent an emerging class of technology that seeks to empower individuals regarding their data. Presented as an alternative to current ‘centralised’ data processing approaches, whereby user data is (rather opaquely) collected and processed by organisations, PDSs provide users with technical mechanisms for aggregating and managing their own data, determining when and with whom their data is shared, and the computation that may occur over that data. Though arguments for decentralisation may be appealing, there are questions regarding the extent to which PDSs actually address data processing concerns. This paper explores these questions from the perspective of PDS users. Specifically, we focus on data protection, including how PDSs relate to rights and the legal bases for processing, as well as how PDSs affect the information asymmetries and surveillance practices inherent online. We show that, despite the purported benefits of PDSs, many of the systemic issues of online/data ecosystems remain.

Personal Data Portability In The Platform Economy: Economic Implications And Policy Recommendations

Abstract Article 20 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) gave consumers in the European Union the right to port their personal data between digital service providers. We critically assess the economic implications of this new right in the light of the extant economic literature and with a focus on competition and innovation in the digital platform economy. In particular, we conclude that observed user behaviour data should clearly fall under the scope of data portability and that, above and beyond the regulations set out under GDPR, a right to port personal data continuously and in real-time would be necessary to truly empower consumers in the context of the digital platform economy. We also discuss the economics of Personal Information Management Systems (PIMSs), which many policymakers see as an essential tool for consumers in an economy where data portability becomes more widespread. However, we are sceptical that PIMS will be self-sustainable and instead advocate to facilitate the development of open-source projects, which have made little progress so far due to a lack of interfaces (which would come about with a right to continuous data portability) and due to a lack of common standards.

Personal Information Management Systems: A User-Centric Privacy Utopia?

Personal information management systems (PIMS) aka personal data stores (PDSs) represent an emerging class of technology that seeks to empower individuals regarding their data. Presented as an alternative to current ‘centralised’ data processing approaches, whereby user data is (rather opaquely) collected and processed by organisations, PDSs provide users with technical mechanisms for aggregating and managing their own data, determining when and with whom their data is shared, and the computation that may occur over that data. Though arguments for decentralisation may be appealing, there are questions regarding the extent to which PDSs actually address data processing concerns. This paper explores these questions from the perspective of PDS users. Specifically, we focus on data protection, including how PDSs relate to rights and the legal bases for processing, as well as how PDSs affect the information asymmetries and surveillance practices inherent online. We show that, despite the purported benefits of PDSs, many of the systemic issues of online/data ecosystems remain.

Defence Against Dark Artefacts: An Analysis of the Assumptions Underpinning Smart Home Cybersecurity Standards

This paper analyses the assumptions underpinning a range of emerging EU and UK smart home cybersecurity standards. We use internet of things (IoT) case studies (such as the Mirai Botnet affair) and the criminological concept of ‘routine activity theory’ to situate our critique. Our study shows that current cybersecurity standards mainly assume smart home environments are (and will continue to be) underpinned by cloud architectures. This is a shortcoming in the longevity of standards. This paper argues that edge computing approaches, such as personal information management systems, are emerging for the IoT and challenge the cloud focused assumptions of these standards. In edge computing, data can be stored in a decentralised manner, locally and analysed on the client using federated learning. This can have advantages for security, privacy and legal compliance, over centralised cloud-based approaches, particularly around cross border data flows and edge based security analytics. As a consequence, standards should start to reflect the increased interest in this trend to make them more aspirational and responsive for the long term; as ultimately, current IoT architectures are a choice, as opposed to inherent. Our paper unpacks the importance of the adoption of edge computing models which could enable better management of external cyber-criminality threats in smart homes. We also briefly discuss challenges of building smart homes that can accommodate the complex nature of everyday life in the home. In addition to technical aspects, the social and interactional complexities of the home mean internal threats can also emerge. As these human factors remain unresolved in current approaches to smart home cybersecurity, a user’s security can be impacted by such technical design choices.

Personal factors and personal information activities behaviors of faculty in selected universities in Ghana

This study examined how demographic characteristics of faculty influence their personal information activities behaviors, namely information creation, information organization, and information storage. Data was collected from a sample of 235 faculty in six universities in Ghana using a questionnaire. Age, gender, rank and university of affiliation predicted personal information activities behaviors in different directions and with different magnitudes. Gender made a difference in information organization and information storage while age made a difference in respect of information creation and information organization only. Faculty ages 4049 years created information the most, followed by those above 50 years. Males stored information more than females. Rank made a difference in information creation, organization and storage, but university of affiliation made a difference in information creation and information storage, and not information organization. It is common among information system designers and managers to implement information management systems without considering the differential influence of personal variables on human information behaviors. This omission denies information users adequate access and maximum use of the information in their information space. Institutional leaders and PIM systems designers should consider demographic and other personal factors of faculty in information literacy programs. Profiling of users' personal characteristics when designing personal information management systems will enhance maximum access and utilisation of personal information.

Reputation portability – quo vadis?

Establishing and curating online reputation is becoming more important and inherent in day-to-day life. Until now, a plethora of research has focused on either a) the role of reputation within given (but enclosed) platform environments or b) the general idea of data portability between platforms. However, little scholarly attention has been paid to the question of cross-platform reputation portability. With this work, we introduce reputation portability as one aspect of a broader dialogue on digital identity management. We propose a comprehensive conceptual model, portraying the most important actors, mechanisms, data types, and external influences. By detailing these dimensions, we deduce the need for clear regulatory guidance and identify a large gap in empirical research. Where today’s leading platforms currently forgo implementing adequate mechanisms for users, Personal Information Management Systems (PIMS) and blockchain technology may provide means to factually establish reputation portability. To that end, we derive future scenarios, implications and critical assessments for platforms, PIMS, and governing bodies to inform the ongoing debate among researchers and practitioners.

Keeping found things found

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the usefulness and challenges of personal digital information management (PDIM) as perceived by engineering faculty members.Design/methodology/approachQuantitative research strategy based on survey design was used to collect data through structured questionnaire. Simple random sampling technique was applied to obtain a representative sample from faculty members of University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore.FindingsFindings indicate that faculty members understand the usefulness of PDIM practices for their teaching and learning. They opined that these practices improve their performance along with effective utilization of resources. PDIM practices save their time, energy and money. Nevertheless, they have to face challenges in managing their personal information in digital format including technology obsolescence, bulk of incoming emails, prediction of future value of information, information fragmentation and memory load in remembering the location of information. It is also noted that PDIM practices are equally useful for both male and female faculty members. However, female faculty members have to face more PDIM challenges than male faculty members.Practical implicationsOverall, findings of the study reveal that there are benefits of PDIM and it is useful for faculty members with certain challenges. This study identified five major challenges. All these challenges were from technological and cognitive psychology domain. It is noted that assessing future value of information plays important role in overall process of PDIM.Originality/valueThe present study would be valuable addition in literature and it would be helpful in devising information literacy instructions programs in academic libraries. This study would also helpful for improving quality services for teaching as required by Pakistan Engineering Council. Findings of this study would helpful for system engineers, software developers and system librarians in designing and developing personal information management systems in Pakistan.

Use of Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing and Information Management System in a Survey among HIV High-Risk Groups in India: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats Analysis.

Objectives:In India, integrated biological and behavioral surveillance was carried out in 2014–2015 among high-risk key population as a part of second-generation HIV surveillance system. Computer-assisted personal interviewing and integrated information management system were used for the first time in this large national field based survey. We evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of technology use in this survey.Methods:Mixed methods comprising of the key informant's interviews and structured data collected from field interviewers were used to do the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis with defined attributes.Results:Despite the challenges, the technology use in this survey was a huge success with respect to data coverage, response rates, real-time data, and acceptance by respondents. However, such techniques require more focus on the competency of human resource, training, and concurrent evaluation systems to get better data quality, time adherence, and effective use of technology.Conclusion:The recommendations resulted from this analysis will help for strategic management while designing such systems in field-based community surveys.