Assignment #4
Due by noon on Friday, May 15 2009
Length limit for this assignment: 8 pages for individual assignments (including citations), double-spaced, normal font.
For the final assignment you can choose one of two projects below. This is not designed as a research project. In each project I have provided pointers to some relevant materials. With these materials, the text of the proposed rule (in a) or the knowledge you have of the projects from our in class discussion and the brief summaries below (in b), and relevant materials covered this semester you have more than enough to complete this assignment.
You may work in teams. If you team up, the work-product should be commensurate -- reflected in scope and/or depth of analysis (not necessarily length, although in most situations it likely will)-- with the additional work-force.
Grading -- Given the excellent overall effort and performance on assignment number 2 (and length) I plan to count assignment 2 towards 25% of your overall grade and drop assignment 4 down from 35% to 25%. However, if you would like to remain under the earlier weighting with assignment 2 at 15% and assignment 4 at 35% just let me know and I will honor it.
Assignment Options:
a) A public comment for submission to the Federal Trade Commission in the rulemaking on the Proposed Breach Notification Rule for Electronic Health Information http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/04/healthbreach.shtm.
Please consider the FTC's powers as they relate to this new authority as well as course materials related to security breach issues when drafting your analysis and comments to inform the rulemaking.
For an examples of comments submitted on behalf of non-lawyers see: http://courses.ischool.berkeley.edu/i205/s09/readings/week14/electronic_passports_comments.pdf
or
b) An analysis of the policy issues raised by one of the projects presented in class on 4/22(see below), or a project of your choice (please clear with me first) and proposed technical, contractual, design, education or policy options for ameliorating or advancing them in the form of a memo to the project team. You may address numerous issues, a limited set, or one more comprehensively.
Projects for Assignment Option b:
Hyoumanity
(plus 45cfr and excerpt deidentification docs)
Crowdsourcing medical diagnosis.
- Patients post a publicly anonymous medical profile on the Hyoumanity online marketplace, including the extensive information they have collected about symptoms, signs, lab results, imaging, etc.
- Patients offer a cash reward for information leading to a correct diagnosis.
- Physicians register, verifying their licensure, then search and review targeted cases pertinent to their expertise.
- Physicians offer suggested diagnoses that may not have been considered or adequately explored, including rationale and guidance for confirming diagnosis.
- 5. Suggested diagnoses are reviewed for quality control and then released to patients.
- Patients will explore suggested diagnoses face to face with their local doctor, maintaining the traditional doctor-patient relationship.
- When a correct diagnosis is secured, the promised payment will be released to the doctor who suggested the diagnosis via Hyoumanity, with Hyoumanity retaining a commission.
Powerfall
(plus
http://stlr.stanford.edu/2007/01/taking_the_long_view_on_the_fo.html and Ca Utility code )
Ambient, community-based fountain in an apartment building lobby that monitors electricity use for each apartment vis-a-vis the building as a whole. The rate of falling water is representative of the real-time electricity use of each apartment unit. The objective is to facilitate both individual usage monitoring and convey the collective nature of the energy problem and encourage response.
As an individual approaches the fountain their key fob causes the tube associated with their apartment to illuminate. A resident could then see how her power consumption compared to that of other residents. If she walks right up to the fountain, a small LCD would display detailed visualizations of her power use for the past 30 days as well as indicators of whether she and the building community were on track with their power consumption that day. The level of detail about a resident's power consumption increases with her proximity to the fountain. Fobs could be turned off at any time.
Sempervitae.org
(plus "Storing Our Lives Online" from syllabus and
http://news.cnet.com/Yahoo-denies-family-access-to-dead-marines-e-mail/2100-1038_3-5500057.html
and http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,1000000097,39195962,00.htm)
This website will allow individuals to establish an account through which they can set post-death triggers (PDTs) on other online accounts. The individual will designate a set of individuals, presumably individuals she believes are likely to know of their death, who have the authority to pull the PDTs upon the individual's death. When the PDTs are activated the dead.org account will log into a number of third party websites, applications and services, to accomplish the wishes of the deceased.
For example, actions that could be triggered could include:
- Log into Facebook and set the status message or close the account
- Log into Twitter and send tweets or close the account
- Log into Gmail and set an out of office message, close the account, send messages, or download contacts or specific messages
- Send messages on the user's behalf directly from the site itself (e.g. 'John Doe left you the following message prior to his death')
- Other services such as MySpace, del.icio.us and others will also be added as time allows
In addition, a secure message center will allow individuals with dead.org accounts to create confidential messages to be delivered posthumously.
Due by noon on Friday, May 15 2009
Length limit for this assignment: 8 pages for individual assignments (including citations), double-spaced, normal font.