No Way Out: Dual Channels of Manipulation in Agenda Institutions

A large body of literature in Political Science emphasizes the importance of limiting opportunities for manipulation of legislative institutions by self-interested actors. This note shows that that the very conditions that shield institutions from agenda manipulation are precisely those that expose them to capture by special interests. This result holds in a highly general dynamic framework that encompasses a broad range of empirically relevant agenda institutions and policy-making environments, including those with policy uncertainty and experimentation.Economic Insecurity: Causes, Consequences and Actions, EICC

Efficient Data Harvesting in Urban IoT Networks: DRL for RIS-UAV Communications

peer reviewedThe next generation of wireless communication networks is expected to utilise unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) to enhance spectrum and energy efficiency. This work establishes a theoretical foundation for RIS-assisted UAV implementation, capitalising on the passive beamforming capabilities of RIS alongside the adaptable deployment and dynamic mobility of UAVs to enhance internetof- things (IoT) network performance. A comprehensive framework for RIS-assisted UAV IoT data collection is represented and optimised to enhance critical performance metrics, including the quantity of served IoT devices and achievable data rates. This framework is instrumental in urban IoT networks, such as smart cities, where blockages and fading channels hinder reliable communication. The optimisation strategy deploys a deep reinforcement learning (DRL) algorithm to fine-tune UAV trajectories and IoT device scheduling decisions, complemented by a codebook for RIS beamforming to optimise the RIS phase shift matrix. This integrated approach addresses the everincreasing demand for efficient data collection in wireless IoT networks, providing a scalable and reliable solution for efficient data collection under dynamic urban environments channel conditions. Simulation results show substantial improvements in system performance, demonstrating the efficiency of the proposed algorithm. By coordinating the RIS phase shift matrix and UAV trajectory planning, the proposed framework achieves improvements in terms of the number of served IoT devices and achievable data rates. For example, compared to baseline methods, our approach outperforms benchmark scenarios by over 50% in terms of the number of served devices. The results reveal the potential of RIS-assisted UAV solutions in meeting the increasing demands of wireless IoT networks.11. Sustainable cities and communitie

Towards Modeling Human-Agentic Collaborative Workflows: A BPMN Extension

peer reviewedLarge Language Models (LLMs) have facilitated the definition of autonomous intelligent agents. Such agents have already demonstrated their potential in solving complex tasks in different domains. And they can further increase their performance when collaborating with other agents in a multi-agent system. However, the orchestration and coordination of these agents is still challenging, especially when they need to interact with humans as part of human-agentic collaborative workflows. These kinds of workflows need to be precisely specified so that it is clear who is responsible for each task, what strategies agents can follow to complete individual tasks or how decisions will be taken when different alternatives are proposed, among others. Current business process modeling languages fall short when it comes to specifying these new mixed collaborative scenarios. In this paper, we extend a well-known process modeling language (i.e., BPMN) to enable the definition of this new type of workflow. Our extension covers both the formalization of the new modeling concepts required and the proposal of a BPMN-like graphical notation to facilitate the definition of these workflows. Our extension has been implemented and is available as an open-source human-agentic workflow modeling editor on GitHub

RAML: Toward Retrieval-Augmented Localization of Malicious Payloads in Android Apps

peer reviewedAndroid malware detection and family classification have been extensively studied, yet localizing the exact malicious payloads within a detected sample remains a challenging and labor-intensive task. We propose RAML, a novel Retrieval-Augmented Malicious payload Localization pipeline inspired by retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), which leverages large language models (LLMs) to bridge high-level behavior descriptions and low-level Smali code. RAML generates class-level descriptions from Smali code, embeds them into a vector database, and performs semantic retrieval via similarity search. Matched candidates are re-ranked with LLM assistance, followed by method-level LLM analysis to precisely identify malicious methods and provide insightful role explanations. Preliminary results show that RAML effectively localizes corresponding malicious payloads based on behavioral descriptions, narrows the analysis scope, and reduces manual effort—offering a promising direction for automated malware forensics

Commentary to Article 21a of Prospectus Regulation

editorial reviewe

The Regulation of Social Media Commerce Under the DSA: A Consumer Protection Perspective

peer reviewedSocial media commerce, defined as the direct selling of goods and services through social media, is emerging as a prominent business model in the platform economy. As social media platforms introduce e-commerce features, they are becoming what I call social marketplaces: a new category of online platforms found at the intersection of social networks and online marketplaces. This article examines how the Digital Services Act (DSA) protects consumers in relation to social media commerce, and what specific obligations it imposes on social marketplaces to increase transparency in online transactions. While the DSA does not explicitly address social media commerce, it indirectly applies through Section 4 which imposes obligations on ‘online platforms allowing consumers to conclude distance contracts with traders'. I argue that because social marketplaces fall within this category of online platforms, they are subject to the obligations laid down in Section 4 DSA, namely Article 30 DSA (traceability of traders), Article 31 DSA (compliance by design), and Article 32 DSA (right to information). This article critically analyses the application of these provisions to social marketplaces and examines their interaction with EU consumer laws. Based on the analysis, it identifies three shortcomings in the DSA’s approach to protecting consumers on social marketplaces: (i) regulatory complexity due to overlaps with the EU consumer acquis, (ii) interpretative ambiguity, as the DSA was not designed with social marketplaces in mind, and (iii) an enforcement gap specific to social media commerce. Rather than calling for new legislation, this article concludes that effective consumer protection on social marketplaces requires clarifying the interaction between legal instruments, interpreting existing provisions in light of evolving platform practices, and ensuring coordinated enforcement across relevant actors

Consent and Cookies: Has Orange Crossed the Line? An Analysis of CNIL Decision SAN-2024-019

peer reviewe

CD-ROMs versus Online in the 90s: Hybrid Paths to Datafication

peer reviewedThis presentation aims to retrace part of the history of data-sharing, storage, and information management, by focusing on the 90s and the hybridization as well as transition from CD-ROMs to online databases. Our starting point is anchored in the debates within the library community, where librarians, as early adopters, engaged critically with these emerging technologies. Drawing on these secondary sources, as well as archives from the EU Publications Office, and insights from a dozen oral interviews, we aim to analyze the role of CD-ROMs as a “transient technology” , then the hybrid data management practices, based on the case study of the EU Publications Office, and finally the broader impact of CD-ROMs on the process of datafication. The first part focuses on the discussion within the library community about CD-ROMs as a “transient technology”. This adoption was influenced by the need to store, manage and disseminate large amounts of data efficiently. However, as online databases also emerged, the role of CD-ROMs was increasingly questioned. Scholars like Stratton (1994) and Bevan (1994) engaged in discussions based on an original article published in 1990 by McSean and Derek and entitled “Is CD-ROM a Transient Technology?”. These discussions reflected a broader uncertainty about the longevity of CD-ROMs and the evolving landscape of data management. The second part examines the hybridization of data management practices within a specific context, using the EU Publication Office as a detailed (and in progress) case study. This institution exemplifies the complex interplay between traditional print, CD-ROMs, and online platforms during the 1990s (Schafer, 2020). The EU Publication Office, tasked with disseminating of numerous data and notably the daily publication of the Official Journal as well as public tenders, faced the challenge of managing multiple formats simultaneously. The Office itself, as a user of these technologies, had to navigate the challenges of integrating different formats into a cohesive information management strategy. At the same time, the end-users of the Office’s data were also adapting to the new formats, illustrating the dual-user dynamic in this transitional period. The case of the EU Publication Office thus provides a concrete example of how institutions managed the shift from analog to digital data and the co-existence of print, CD-Roms based, and online information. Finally, we will conclude with the broader role of CD-ROMs in the process of datafication. CD-ROMs were instrumental in the conversion, dissemination, and transmedia movement of data, which set the stage for the web. In this way, CD-ROMs served as a catalyst for the broader process of datafication.U-AGR-7339 - C23/SC/18097856/CD-Hist - SCHAFER Valéri

Iterative Data Modeling. Metadata Construction for War Testimonies from Ukraine

This training is designed to introduce the concept of iterative data modeling and to emphasize that it is not a one-time task, but an evolving process.U-AGR-7299 - INTER/NCN/23/17880643/U-CORE - VENKEN MachteldThis work is licensed under CC BY-NC-S