U.S.-U.K. Executive Agreement: Case Study of Incidental Collection of Data Under the CLOUD Act

In March 2018, Congress passed the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act, also known as the CLOUD Act, in order to expedite the process of cross-border data transfers for the purposes of criminal investigations. The U.S. government entered into its first Executive Agreement, the main tool to achieve the goals of the statute, with the United Kingdom in October 2019. While the CLOUD Act requires the U.S. Attorney General to consider whether the foreign government counterpart has a certain level of robust data privacy laws, the relevant laws of the United Kingdom have generally been questioned numerous times for their inadequacies in protecting privacy. Thus, the privacy of U.S. citizens may be in jeopardy under the new agreement. Although the texts of the CLOUD Act and the Executive Agreement clarify that the UK government cannot explicitly target the data of U.S. citizens, it does not guarantee that such information will not be gathered incidentally. First, the UK courts do not adhere to the equivalent level of probable cause standard that is demanded under the Fourth Amendment. Therefore, they may issue judicial orders to force the U.S.-based service providers to deliver certain data, which may include information that belongs to the U.S. citizens, to the UK government upon finding mere possibility of relevance to the investigations. Coupled with this fact is arguably less robust privacy protection in the United Kingdom, from which it is not difficult to imagine a situation where the private information of U.S. citizens is extracted while the UK government seeks data belonging to citizens of its own. This Article argues that the threat to the data privacy of U.S. citizens via incidental collection is not only possible, but probable. At the same time, this Article explores possible solutions to fill in the identified gaps in the CLOUD Act that would enhance the protection of U.S. citizens’ data privacy from incidental collection

Fault Localization in Multi-Threaded C Programs using Bounded Model Checking (extended version)

Software debugging is a very time-consuming process, which is even worse for multi-threaded programs, due to the non-deterministic behavior of thread-scheduling algorithms. However, the debugging time may be greatly reduced, if automatic methods are used for localizing faults. In this study, a new method for fault localization, in multi-threaded C programs, is proposed. It transforms a multi-threaded program into a corresponding sequential one and then uses a fault-diagnosis method suitable for this type of program, in order to localize faults. The code transformation is implemented with rules and context switch information from counterexamples, which are typically generated by bounded model checkers. Experimental results show that the proposed method is effective, in such a way that sequential fault-localization methods can be extended to multi-threaded programs.Comment: extended version of paper published at SBESC'1

Eddie Collins

UNF Oral History Project Interview of Eddie Collins by James B. Crooks on May 4, 200

Colleen : An Irish Love Song

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/3482/thumbnail.jp

Lunar drill footplate and casing

To prevent hole collapse during lunar drilling operations, a casing has been devised of a graphite reinforced polyimide composite which will be able to withstand the lunar environment. Additionally, this casing will be inserted into the ground in segments two meters long which will penetrate the regolith simultaneously with the auger. The vertical action of the mobile platform will provide a downward force to the casing string through a special adaptor, giving the casing the needed impetus to sink the anticipated depth of ten meters. Casing segments will be connected with a simple snap arrangement. Excess casing will be cut off by a cylindrical cutting tool which will also transport the excess casing away from the hole. A footplate will be incorporated to grasp the auger rod string during rod segment additions or removals. The footplate grasping mechanism will consist of a set of vice-like arms, one end of each bearing threaded to a common power screw. The power screw will be threaded such that one end's thread pitch opposes that of the other end. The weight of the auger and rod string will be transmitted through the arms to the power screw and absorbed by a set of three ball bearing assemblies. The power screw will be driven by a one-half horsepower brushless motor actuated by radio control. The footplate will rest on four short legs and be anchored with pins that are an integral part of each leg

Option-Implied Volatilities and Stock Returns: <i>Evidence from Industry-Neutral Portfolios</i>

Recent studies demonstrate the profitability of stock portfolios constructed according to implied volatility measures inferred from option prices. This article examines industry effects on such portfolios’ performance. Results show that quintile portfolios constructed using volatility skew and volatility spread are subject to substantial industry effects, which are particularly strong during market turbulence. The authors form industry-neutral portfolios and compare their performances to those of full-universe portfolios that do not consider industry exposure. Results show significant improvement when portfolio strategies are implemented in an industry-neutral manner, based on either volatility skew or volatility spread