March 09, 2009
‘Conference on Privacy and Security’ is March 24
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- By now, most people are aware that secrets posted on Facebook or MySpace or any other social networking site are not at all secret. What isn’t equally as obvious is who might be watching.
The Center for the Study of Crime, Delinquency and Corrections (CSCDC) at Southern Illinois University Carbondale will host a “Conference on Privacy and Security” on March 24. Center Director Kimberly Kempf Leonard said the sessions and guest speaker will cover topics pertaining to civil rights, particularly as affected by surveillance and security measures.
“This conference should, by design, appeal to a general audience,” she said. “We highlight our faculty here, and we invited a prominent guest speaker to cover topics that affect all of us.”
Gary T. Marx, professor emeritus from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is the Hixon-Riggs Professor of Science, Technology and Society at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, Calif. His recent book, “Undercover: Police Surveillance in America,” assesses undercover operations as a form of social control. The book “speaks to our understanding of contemporary social control and to what undercover tactics say about our society,” he writes. The book received the Outstanding Book Award from the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.
The conference is from 3 to 5 p.m. in Ballroom C in the Student Center. The guest speaker comes on at 7 p.m.
Here’s what’s on the roster:
• Daniel Hillyard, assistant professor and undergraduate director in CSCDC at SIUC, “Conceptual Challenges in Surveillance and Privacy Research.”
Hillyard recently published “Sin No More: From Abortion to Stem Cells, Understanding Crime, Law and Morality in America,” with co-author John Dombrink. The book examines how the legal system has been used to legislate morality. The book examines topics such as abortion, gay rights, assisted suicide, stem cell research -- even legal gambling. In this discussion, Hillyard turns his focus to the challenges inherent in researching surveillance methods and privacy.
• Joseph Schafer, associate professor and graduate program director in CSCDC at SIUC, “Social Networks: Implications for Police, Security and Privacy.”
Schafer is an expert in future trends in police work, and is part of the Futures Working Group, a collaboration between the FBI and the Society of Police Futurists International. He studies current and near-future technological advances, and forecasts how they will affect law enforcement. Here, he turns his focus to online social networks.
• Daryl Kroner, assistant professor in CSCDC at SIUC, “Policy and Privacy Issues in Prison Segregation Units.”
Kroner brings to the table an extensive career background as a prison psychologist. His current research includes such topics as offender assessment, particularly mental health assessment of female offenders, dynamic risk assessment during community supervision and evaluation of community intervention.
• James LeBeau, professor in CSCDC at SIUC, “Issues Living with Sex Offenders.”
Is there a sex offender living near you? Sure, you can visit the Illinois State Police Web site and find out, but there is more to the story than a posted picture and a short, legal description of an offense. LeBeau addresses some of the issues surrounding sex offenders in the community.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call CSCDC at 618/453-5701 or visit http://www.siu.edu/~ajsiuc/index.htm.