An eco-friendly hybrid urban computing network combining community-based wireless LAN access and wireless sensor networking

Computer-enhanced smart environments, distributed environmental monitoring, wireless communication, energy conservation and sustainable technologies, ubiquitous access to Internet-located data and services, user mobility and innovation as a tool for service differentiation are all significant contemporary research subjects and societal developments. This position paper presents the design of a hybrid municipal network infrastructure that, to a lesser or greater degree, incorporates aspects from each of these topics by integrating a community-based Wi-Fi access network with Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) functionality. The former component provides free wireless Internet connectivity by harvesting the Internet subscriptions of city inhabitants. To minimize session interruptions for mobile clients, this subsystem incorporates technology that achieves (near-)seamless handover between Wi-Fi access points. The WSN component on the other hand renders it feasible to sense physical properties and to realize the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm. This in turn scaffolds the development of value-added end-user applications that are consumable through the community-powered access network. The WSN subsystem invests substantially in ecological considerations by means of a green distributed reasoning framework and sensor middleware that collaboratively aim to minimize the network's global energy consumption. Via the discussion of two illustrative applications that are currently being developed as part of a concrete smart city deployment, we offer a taste of the myriad of innovative digital services in an extensive spectrum of application domains that is unlocked by the proposed platform

Location privacy: The challenges of mobile service devices

Adding to the current debate, this article focuses on the personal data and privacy challenges posed by private industry's use of smart mobile devices that provide location-based services to users and consumers. Directly relevant to personal data protection are valid concerns about the collection, retention, use and accessibility of this kind of personal data, in relation to which a key issue is whether valid consent is ever obtained from users. While it is indisputable that geo-location technologies serve important functions, their potential use for surveillance and invasion of privacy should not be overlooked. Thus, in this study we address the question of how a legal regime can ensure the proper functionality of geo-location technologies while preventing their misuse. In doing so, we examine whether information gathered from geo-location technologies is a form of personal data, how it is related to privacy and whether current legal protection mechanisms are adequate. We argue that geo-location data are indeed a type of personal data. Not only is this kind of data related to an identified or identifiable person, it can reveal also core biographical personal data. What is needed is the strengthening of the existing law that protects personal data (including location data), and a flexible legal response that can incorporate the ever-evolving and unknown advances in technology.postprin

Examining the interplay between universal behavioural tendencies, online social networks and social capital

Interaction with others is fundamental to well-being, as it serves to fulfil our basic needs. Thus humans have various behavioural tendencies, patterns of behaviour that serve as strategies to fulfil these needs. Given the increasingly crucial role of online social networks on our communication and interaction, it is important to study these factors in the online context. In this thesis we explore how universal behavioural tendencies, i.e. behavioural tendencies that have been observed across cultures, affect our online interaction and how these in turn affect social capital. Focusing on disclosure behaviour and social network structure as proxies for online interaction behaviour, this work consists of three main components developed over four studies. Firstly, we attempt to understand how the tendency to reciprocate affects individuals’ willingness to disclose information about themselves. Secondly, we study the interplay between individuals’ disclosure patterns and their positions in the network. Finally, we study how individuals, along with their differences in universal behavioural tendencies, accrue social capital from the structure of their immediate networks. Key findings include: (1) People tend to reciprocate the disclosure of personal information, both when the initial disclosure is directed towards them, and also when it is broadcast and directed to nobody in particular, (2) The centrality of individuals in a social network is related to how much information they disclose, and how much others disclose to them, and (3) Online social network structure is related to social capital, and network structure and empathy play an interconnected role in the creation of social capital. The empirical findings, discussions and methodologies presented in this work will be useful for HCI and social science researchers studying the fundamental aspects of humans’ use of social technologies.A interação com os outros é essencial para o bem-estar, visto servir para satisfazer as nossas necessidades básicas. Portanto, os seres humanos têm várias tendências comportamentais, padrões de comportamento que servem como estratégias para satisfazer essas necessidades. Dada a importância crescente das redes sociais online na nossa comunicação e interação, é importante estudar estes fatores no contexto online. Na presente tese exploramos como as tendências comportamentais universais, i.e., as tendências comportamentais observadas em diferentes culturas afetam a nossa interação online e como estas, por sua vez, afetam o capital social. Concentrando-se na divulgação comportamental e na estrutura da rede social como representantes do comportamento interativo online, este trabalho apresenta três componentes principais desenvolvidas em 4 estudos. Primeiro, tentamos compreender de que forma a tendência para a reciprocidade afeta a vontade dos indivíduos de divulgarem informações sobre eles mesmos. Segundo, estudamos a interação entre os padrões de divulgação dos indivíduos e as suas posições na rede. Finalmente, estudamos de que forma os indivíduos, juntamente com as suas diferenças nas tendências comportamentais universais, acumulam capital social a partir da estrutura das suas redes imediatas. As principais conclusões incluem: (1) As pessoas retribuem a divulgação de informação pessoal não só quando esta é dirigida ao próprio, mas de igual forma se publicada num espaço publico acessível a qualquer pessoa, (2) A centralidade dos indivíduos numa rede social está relacionada com a quantidade de informações que divulga e que os outros lhes divulgam, e (3) A estrutura da rede social online está relacionada com o capital social, e a estrutura da rede e empatia desempenham um papel próximo na criação do capital social. Os resultados empíricos, discussões e metodologias apresentados neste trabalho serão úteis para os investigadores de HCI e ciências sociais que estudam os aspetos fundamentais da utilização humana das tecnologias sociais