Towards a Security, Privacy, Dependability, Interoperability Framework for the Internet of Things

A popular application of ambient intelligence systems constitutes of assisting living services on smart buildings. As intelligence is imported in embedded equipment, the system becomes able to provide smart services (e.g. control lights, airconditioning, provide energy management services etc.). IoT is the main enabler of such environments. However, the interconnection of these cyber-physical systems and the processing of personal data raise serious security and privacy issues. In this paper we present a framework that can guarantee Security, Privacy, Dependability and Interoperability (SPDI) in IoT. Taking advantage of the underlying IoT deployment, the proposed framework not only implements the requested smart functionality but also provide modelling and administration that can guarantee those SPDI properties. Moreover, we provide an application example of the framework in a smart building scenario

From Economic to Symbiotic Constitutionalism: A Belated Post-Lisbon, Post-Crisis Transformation?

This paper departs from the traditional portrayal of the relationship between economic and social constitutionalism as an antagonistic pair in a never-ending struggle. Instead, it propounds a more conciliating thesis in light of the post-Lisbon and ongoing developments at EU level, which have advanced social constitutionalism further. The thesis is better explained by the concept of symbiotic constitutionalism, which aims at keeping its economic and social components in balance. Symbiotic constitutionalism gives effect to the social market economy paradigm introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon and acknowledges the incremental socialisation of the Union, reawakened in the aftermath of the crisis. Finally, it bestows a constitutional telos upon the EU that is not detrimental towards its economic and social components. The latter are no longer pitted against each other, but understood as a complementary pair

Gendered capital and litigants in EU equality case-law

This is the final version. Available on open access from Wiley via the DOI in this record. This article problematises the gendered dimension of litigation in EU equality case-law.Relying on feminist readings of Bourdieu’s concept of capital,it introduces the notion of gendered capital as an explanatory framework to illustrate and evaluate the distinct experiences between women and men litigants in the legal field. The article puts this framework to the test by undertaking a macro-level mixed-methods study of 352 preliminary references on EU non-discrimination law, drawing on the Equality Law in Europe: A New Generation database. The findings confirm the plausibility of this framework, with gendered capital varying depending on the period when and the Member State where the case was lodged, as well as on the ground of discrimination raised. As a result, by looking at the role of litigants’ gender in EU equality case-law, this article joins the emerging field of mixed-methods studies offering novel insights into the effectiveness of judicial decision-making

The UK out, Social Europe in? Rethinking EU social integration in the wake of Brexit

This article considers the impact of Brexit on the future of Social Europe. Through recourse to key moments in the history of European social integration, where Britain more often than not vehemently opposed any coming together, its role as an important veto player in EU social policy-making is established. With the UK set to leave the Union, the option for further social integration is no longer inconceivable. It is featured as one of the possible scenarios in the Reflection Paper on the Social Dimension of Europe, and recent developments, such as the European Pillar of Social Rights, together with its accompanying initiatives appear to lay the groundwork towards that. The article concludes that although the realisation of Social Europe is more likely post-Brexit, there are other Member States willing to take over the UK’s role and act as veto players on their own terms

Social policy and the judicial making of Europe: capital, social mobilisation and minority social influence

This is the final version. Available on open access from Cambridge University Press via the DOI in this recordThis article puts forward a cohesive narrative to explain the contribution of European social policy to the judicial making of Europe. By making a case for the inclusion of social policy as part of the discourse on the constitutional practice of the Court of Justice of the European Union, together with focusing on a socio-legal deconstruction of four seminal social policy judgments of the Court (Defrenne II, Von Colson, Harz and Francovich), the article undertakes a systematic approach to tracing the contribution of the field, and more specifically of its labour and non-discrimination law strands. To formulate its socio-legal analysis, the article adopts an explanatory framework, which draws on Bourdieu’s concepts of capital and field, the theory of legal mobilisation and Moscovici’s minority social influence, and which is applied to the selected judgments as a case-study. The framework enables the analysis to shed light on the dynamics between stakeholders in the social dimension of the European legal field and to persuasively showcase how social policy case-law, despite its sui generis dynamics, merits to have a place in the conversations surrounding the transformation of Europe

From Economic to Symbiotic Constitutionalism: A Belated Post-Lisbon, Post-Crisis Transformation?

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Kluwer Law International via the link in this recordThis article departs from the traditional portrayal of the relationship between economic and social constitutionalism as an antagonistic pair in a never-ending struggle. Instead, it propounds a more conciliating thesis in light of the post-Lisbon and ongoing developments at EU level, which have advanced social constitutionalism further. This line of argument is better explained by the concept of symbiotic constitutionalism, which aims at keeping its economic and social components in balance. Symbiotic constitutionalism gives effect to the social market economy paradigm introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon and acknowledges the incremental socialization of the Union, reawakened in the aftermath of the crisis. Finally, it bestows a constitutional telos upon the EU that is not detrimental towards its economic and social components. These are no longer pitted against each other, but understood as a complementary pair

The UK out, Social Europe in? Rethinking EU social integration in the wake of Brexit

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Queen's University Belfast, School of Law via link the in this recordThis article considers the impact of Brexit on the future of Social Europe. Through recourse to key moments in the history of European social integration, where Britain more often than not vehemently opposed any coming together, its role as an important veto player in EU social policy-making is established. With the UK set to leave the Union, the option for further social integration is no longer inconceivable. It is featured as one of the possible scenarios in the Reflection Paper on the Social Dimension of Europe, and recent developments, such as the European Pillar of Social Rights, together with its accompanying initiatives, appear to lay the groundwork towards that. The article concludes that, although the realisation of Social Europe is more likely post-Brexit, there are other Member States willing to take over the UK’s role and act as veto players on their own terms

The Interoperability of Things: Interoperable solutions as an enabler for IoT and Web 3.0

This paper presents an overview of the interoperability concepts along with the challenges for the IoT domain and the upcoming Web 3.0. We identify four levels of interoperability and the relevant solutions for accomplishing vertical and horizontal compatibility between the various layers of a modern IoT ecosystem, referred to as: technological, syntactic, semantic, and organizational interoperability. The goal is to achieve cross-domain interaction and facilitate the proper usage and management of the provided IoT services and applications. An interoperability framework is also proposed where the involved system components can cooperate and offer the seamless operation from the device to the backend framework. This by-design end-to-end interoperation enables the interplay of several complex service composition settings and the management of the system via patterns. The overall proposal is adopted by the EU funded project SEMIoTICS as an enabler towards the IoT and Web 3.0, even when products from different vendors are utilized

UK Agriculture and Care Visas:Worker Exploitation and Obstacles to Redress

This research report looks into the conditions attached to visa routes for both the care and agricultural sectors, known as ‘tied’ and short-term visas respectively, and the increased vulnerability to exploitation associated with these visas.The findings show significant issues of debt and deductions of wages across both sectors and barriers to reporting concerns.This report is based on research conducted by five academics (led by Primary Investigator Dr Inga Thiemann) in partnership with four NGOs: Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX), the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), Southeast and East Asian Centre (SEEAC) and Kanlungan Filipino Consortium (Kanlungan), with support from Unison