196,523 research outputs found
Performing the Union: the Prüm Decision and the European dream
No full textIn 2005, seven European countries signed the so-called Prüm Treaty to increase transnational collaboration in combating international crime, terrorism and illegal immigration. Three years later, the Treaty was adopted into EU law. EU member countries are obliged to have systems in place to allow authorities of other member states access to nationally held data on DNA, fingerprints, and vehicles by August 2011. In this paper, we discuss the conditions of possibility for the Prüm network to emerge, and argue that rather than a linear story of technological and political convergence and harmonisation, the (hi)story of Prüm is heterogeneous and patchy. This is reflected also in the early stages of implementing the Prüm Decision which proves to be more difficult than it was hoped by the drivers of the Prüm process. In this sense, the Prüm network sits uncomfortably with success stories of forensic science (many of which served the goal of justifying the expansion of technological and surveillance systems). Instead of telling a story of heroic science, the story of Prüm articulates the European dream: One in which goods, services, and people live and travel freely and securely
The I/O complexity of Toom-Cook integer multiplication
No full textNearly matching upper and lower bounds are derived for the I/O complexity of the Toom-Cook-k (or Toom-k) algorithm computing the products of two integers, each represented with n digits in a given base s, in a two-level storage hierarchy with M words of fast memory, with different digits stored in different memory words. An IOAk (n, M) = Ω ([n/M)logk(2k–1) M) lower bound on the I/O complexity is established, by a technique that combines an analysis of the size of the dominators of suitable sub-CDAGs of the Toom-Cook-k CDAG (Computational Directed Acyclic Graph) and the analysis of a function, which we call “Partial Grigoriev's flow”, which captures the amount of information to be transferred between specific subsets of input and output variables, by any algorithm that solves the integer multiplication problem. The lower bound applies even if the recomputation of partial results is allowed. A careful implementation of the Toom-Cook-fc algorithm, assuming that M = Ω (k3 logs k), is also developed and analyzed, leading to an I/O complexity upper bound that is within a factor O(k2) of the corresponding lower bound, hence asymptotically optimal for fixed k. Both the lower and the upper bounds are actually derived in the more general case where the value of k is allowed to vary with the level of recursion, although the quantitative expressions become more involved. Extensions of the lower bound for a parallel model with P processors are also discussed
Bracketing off population does not advance ethical reflection on EVCs: A reply to Kayser and Schneider
No full textIn a recent contribution to this journal, Kayser and Schneider reviewed the relevance of external visible characteristics (EVCs) for criminal investigation [1]. Their aim was to broaden the debate about the scientific, legal, and ethical dimensions of the use of EVCs for criminal investigation, which will help to achieve a firm legal basis for the application of EVCs eventually. While we applaud Kayser's and Schneider's overall very thoughtful and nuanced discussion of this topic, we were surprised to read that they suggest that a discussion of ‘the challenges of using problematic definitions of populations […] has to be kept separate from using EVCs’ (p. 158). In contrast to these authors, we contend that questions about defining populations – both at the level of scientific research, and the application of EVCs in criminal investigation – lie at the core of most social, ethical, and legal issues raised by the translation of EVCs into forensic and police practice
Comportamento de um autômato celular sem e com ruído aleatório
No full textTrabalhamos com autômatos celulares de forma FrD , onde Fr é um operador aleatório que age nas medidas no espaço {0,...,m}^Z^d e D é um operador determinístico que age no mesmo espaço. Fr aumenta estado de cada ponto em Z^d com probabilidade r > 0 independentemente e D é qualquer operador determinístico com interação local monótona e uniforme. Os elementos de {0,...,m}^Z^d são chamados configurações. Chamamos ilhas as configurações onde o número de componentes com estado diferente de zero é finito. Dizemos que operador D erode uma ilha x se existe t tal que D^t = todos zeros . Chamamos um operador eroder se ele erode todas ilhas. Nos casos m = 1 e d = 1 condições de eroders foram pesquisadas por Toom (2001) e Galperin (1976). Chamamos D um eroder linear se existe c tal que D erode cada ilha em um tempo que não excede c vezes o diâmetro desta ilha. Toom (2001) e Galperin (1976) mostram que nestes casos todos eroders são lineares. Nesta tese consideramos o primeiro caso não pesquisado: m = 2 e d = 2 e descobrimos que neste caso existem eroders não lineares. Concentramos nossa atenção num exemplo G deste tipo. O teorema 2 mostra que a superposição FrG é ergódica para todos r > 0 . Comparamos nosso processo com a metaestabilidade, fenômeno físico caracterizado pela capacidade de um estado de desequilíbrio permanecer por um longo período de tempoCoordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superio
A finite variant of the Toom Model
No full textWe present results for a finite variant of the one-dimensional Toom model with closed boundaries. We show that the steady state distribution is not of product form, but is nonetheless simple. In particular, we give explicit formulas for the densities and some nearest neighbour correlation functions. We also give exact results for eigenvalues and multiplicities of the transition matrix using the theory of R-trivial monoids in joint work with A. Schilling, B. Steinberg and N. M. Thiery
Forensic genetics and their technolegal worlds
No full textIn this introductory chapter to the volume, we chart the complex relationships between forensic genetics technologies, the law and society, reflecting on what in this book we call the ‘technolegal worlds’ of this technoscience. The neologism technolegal invites authors and readers to attend to the materialities of forensic discourses and practices; it moves beyond a sole focus on forensic technology and investigation as technical practice to consider the wider norms, values, interests, legitimacy and resolutions that co-constitute the political economies of forensic technoscience. This volume sets the technolegal in conversation with worlds. The notion of worlds refers to various issues the chapters in this book aim to capture. The first and most apparent is that of geography and scale, that of global science and local technolegal rules. But the notion of ‘world’ has further connotations. Worlds are inhabited by subjects and objects who (re)produce them. Consequently, worlds are emergent, and the processes of (re)production can be conceptualised as the descriptor worlding. The focus on worlds and worlding is an invitation to be attentive to the specific, contextual politics and normativities of forensic sciences – the good, the bad and the nuanced. This applies to the various jurisdictions discussed in the volume, to emerging technologies in criminal investigation and to the many issues in the context of legitimacy, including social acceptability
Inquisitorial forensic DNA profiling in the Netherlands and the expansion of the forensic genetic body
No full textErgodicidade de um eroder unidimensional com ruído aleatório
No full textEstudamos a ergodicidade da seguinte classe de autômatos celulares. O espaço configuracional é o das seqüências em A = {0,1,...,m} com índices inteiros. Cada elemento x deste espaço é chamado uma configuração. Consideramos uma classe de operadores determinísticos D dependendo de um número natural r (o raio de interação) e uma função monótona f assumindo valores em A e cujo domínio é o conjunto das (2r+1)-uplas ordenadas de elementos de A. Uma configuração x é chamada uma ilha se o conjunto onde x não se anula é finito. D é chamado conservativo se existe uma ilha x tal que para todo t natural o resultado de t aplicações de D à ilha x contém pelo menos uma componente igual a m . Dizemos que D eroda uma ilha y se existir um t natural tal que o resultado de t aplicações de D a y é a configuração nula. Chamamos D de erosivo se todas as ilhas são erodadas por ele. Também consideramos um operador aleatório S dependendo de um parâmetro p em (0,1) que transforma cada componente em m, independentemente das outras componentes. Foi provado por Toom que no caso m = 1 as seguintes três condições são equivalentes: (i) D é conservativo; (ii) D não é erosivo; (iii) a composição S D é ergódica para todo p em (0,1). Provamos neste trabalho que no caso m = 2 cada duas destas três condiições não são equivalente
Forensic DNA databases in England and the Netherlands: governance, structure and performance compared
No full textHow do liberal democracies govern forensic DNA databasing? That is the question being asked in this contribution by focussing on the rules for inclusion of DNA databases in England & Wales and the Netherlands. The two different modes of governance shall be evaluated by taking into account models and ideas in each society regarding the two imperatives of 'crime control' and 'due process'. Another question tentatively examined in this contribution is how these modes of governance impact the performance of national DNA databases. The analysis provided in this article argues that, when compared with the English and Welsh mode of governance, the Dutch mode of governance is more beneficial for the protection of individual rights and the effective use of resources
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