IRISS (Increasing Resilience in Surveillance Societies) FP7 European Research Project, Deliverable 3.2: Surveillance Impact Report

External research report produced for the European Commission as part of the FP7 IRISS project: Increasing Resilience in Surveillance Socieities, containing European case studies on the varying formats of neighbourhood watch, including the cultural and historical factors which may influence the creation of neighbourhood watch groups in the first instance. Overview of neighbourhood watch in the United Kingdom and analysis of the changing role of the police in relation to community policing and the impact which this has had on the primary purpose of neighbourhood watch organisations.This deliverable was written as part of the IRISS project which received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under Grant Agreement No. 285593. Additional co-authors: Alessia Ceresa, Chiara Fonio, Walter Peissl, Robert Rothman, Jaro Sterbik Lamina, Ivan Szekely, Beatrix Vissy, Wolfgang Bonß, Daniel Fischer, Gemma Galdon Clavell, Reinhard Kreissl, Alexander Neumann, Nils Zurawsk

Bitcoin and the Japanese Retail Investor

The objective of this research is to examine the Bitcoin rally of 2017 as it occurred in Japan and establish a greater context for why it was the Japanese retail investors that propelled the nation to being the largest trader of the cryptocurrency at the end of the year. This dissertation begins with the examination of the technical and economical properties of Bitcoin by classifying it as fulfilling two roles: that of a means of payment and that of an investment commodity. Following that is a description of Bitcoin’s roots and the history of its non-speculative usage. These chapters serve as a base for examining the cryptocurrency’s role in Japan. The third chapter examines the Japanese retail investor and the Japanese retail investment landscape with a focus on the question of the low rates of risk-asset participation in face of a favorable investment environment. Historical context is drawn upon to argue that the present situation, wherein most financial assets are kept as cash, is rather the result of the historical path dependence than the present-day conditions in which Japanese retail investors operate. The final chapter addresses the question of high-risk activities in the form of gambling and margin trading by a group of predominantly middle-aged men and connects this propensity to engage in zero-sum games with Bitcoin’s success in Japan. The author argues that the solitary practice of high-risk financial activities enabled by trusted institutions is separate from the general savings tradition that suffered shocks following the low interest-rate regime and that it was the high-risk gambles that became the primary cause for the popularity of Bitcoin. The dissertation concludes with the argument that the success of Bitcoin in 2017 had been in no small part achieved precisely by inverting the hard-line libertarian values of its creators and making it a centrally-held commodity offered by a banking-like institution with a strong public presence

Making Space for Capital: The Production of Global Landscapes in Contemporary India

This study investigates the construction of globally familiar landscapes of malls, office towers, and high-rise housing complexes in Indian cities. Across the country, firms eager to produce these elite landscapes are snatching up industrial estates, inner-city slums, and peri-urban agricultural land, displacing the poor and forcing up land prices in the process. This study draws on interviews with foreign and Indian investors, developers, and consultants, as well as participant observation with a European real estate fund in India, in order to examine the decisions and practices of the industry members who are constructing these landscapes; it argues that they are transforming Indian land and buildings into new, international routes of capital accumulation. This dissertation examines the ways in which real estate industry members use representations of a prosperous globally integrated Indian future to fuel the expansion of global finance capital into Indian real estate. It highlights the creative role that stories about the future play in shaping investors’ actions, thus contributing to our understanding of the productive power of speculation. This study also examines the image-work and politics that marks collaborations between Indian developers and their foreign investor-partners, who differ on how to conduct business, value land, and define construction quality. By examining how industry members struggle to overcome differences in order to close deals and construct buildings, this research demonstrates that the expansion of capitalism and the transformation of space are cultural projects, dependent on the reproduction of social ideologies, business cultures, and figures of personhood

Virtual punishment in the making: When citizen journalism enables processes of shaming and online victimization

Film clips and still pictures captured by civilians, or citizen journalists, are increasingly used as evidence by judges or the police to prove specific accounts of events. This kind of visual data is, however, not without problems. The aim of this paper is to analyse how viewers perceived a mobile phone film clip as naturalistic data, enabling processes of shaming and eventually a ‘justice’ process on the Internet, including virtual punishment of the person filmed by the photographer. In the clip, a taxi driver records video of an agitated female customer whom he hinders from leaving the taxi. The film is then distributed on YouTube, where it attracts remarkable negative attention. However, the film clip is only one of several possible accounts of the filmed incident, as demonstrated by the police report about the incident as an alternative account showing that viewers cannot rely on the citizen journalistic film clip as objective, naturalistic data

Whistleblowing for Change

The courageous acts of whistleblowing that inspired the world over the past few years have changed our perception of surveillance and control in today's information society. But what are the wider effects of whistleblowing as an act of dissent on politics, society, and the arts? How does it contribute to new courses of action, digital tools, and contents? This urgent intervention based on the work of Berlin's Disruption Network Lab examines this growing phenomenon, offering interdisciplinary pathways to empower the public by investigating whistleblowing as a developing political practice that has the ability to provoke change from within

A criminological analysis on safety and security of African foreign nationals in Durban, South Africa.

Doctor of Philosophy in Criminology and Forensic Studies. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2019.The South African local citizens are not xenophobic, but they are rather forced to behave as such due to poverty, unemployment and serious social inequalities that characterise their communities. If these conditions are addressed through improved service delivery, foreign nationals could be spared from the blame. The scapegoating theory shows that local citizens do not hate foreigners but rather blame them because of strains caused by unsatisfactory life conditions which lead them to violent reactions against foreign nationals mostly from African countries. This research was undertaken to explore the threatening factors and experiences faced by foreign nationals on their safety and security in the city of Durban South Africa. The study adopted a qualitative methodology consisting of 50 in-depth interviews with African foreign nationals living in the city of which 16 African countries were represented in the research. Nevertheless, the displayed acts during the xenophobic [violence] attacks are of serious concern within the field of criminology holistically. Common law offences, such as; [physical] assault (I.e. Grievous Bodily Harm - GBH), arson, rape, injuries verbal abuse, house robberies, property damage as well as discrimination are serious crimes characterised by xenophobic violent attacks on foreign nationals. This urges for the re-definition of the concept “xenophobia” from a criminological perspective. Previously considered as mere hatred sentiments or negative attitudes towards foreigners, this research provides a different way of understanding xenophobia. This criminological analysis on safety and security of African foreign nationals in the city of Durban suggests that xenophobia can best be understood as a series of crimes against foreign nationals -which are violent in nature leading to physical beating, killing and the looting of goods as well as destroying of properties owned by foreign nationals. These crimes are a serious violation of human rights affecting the human security of the people victims as they constitute a violation of both the international humanitarian laws and national laws providing protection of the human rights of every individual. The issue of safety and security of African foreign nationals is threatened by constant fear owing to experiences of violence and discrimination, social exclusion marked by anti-immigrant attitudes by some local citizens. Local authorities, community members and the government need to come together in association with foreign nationals’ representatives and re-think possibilities of social integration and cohesion. As with anyone, foreigners’ nationals living in South Africa must have unhindered access to the socio-economic and cultural facilities available in communities they live. This will make them feel part of the community. Since the South African government is a signatory of different international frameworks and treaties accepting to temporarily and permanently host people from other countries worldwide, different awareness campaign programs are needed within the communities aiming at creating an environment of understanding the importance and need of living with people from different nationalities. This itself will create a safe and happy place for both South African citizens and foreign nationals residing in the country

Whistleblowing for Change

The courageous acts of whistleblowing that inspired the world over the past few years have changed our perception of surveillance and control in today's information society. But what are the wider effects of whistleblowing as an act of dissent on politics, society, and the arts? How does it contribute to new courses of action, digital tools, and contents? This urgent intervention based on the work of Berlin's Disruption Network Lab examines this growing phenomenon, offering interdisciplinary pathways to empower the public by investigating whistleblowing as a developing political practice that has the ability to provoke change from within