L&OCI Semi-Detached: Killer: "Robert, don't you care about me?" "I know you care about me, I could see it" Goren: "I didn't mean for you to see it"

http://www.flickr.com/photos/axis/
Terry Bain's photo of Vincent D'Onofrio, Law and Order: Criminal Intent on Location in NYC

"Countries that do not control knowledge and information tend to do better because the average guy who is exposed to a lot of information can get ideas and profit from them." Tom Clancy[1]

Killer:
"Robert, don't you care about me? I know you care about me, I could see it"
Detective Bobby Goren
"I didn't mean for you to see it"[2]

1.0 Connecting with Information Personally TV, Search, Database, Killer, Writer, Actor

When studying for a college class sometimes the materials springboard the student into a new way of viewing the same old things, such that it changes their viewpoint on how metadata works in culture. Here is an example of this, how information is a pivot point in a plot of a TV series, to examine the information and the character’s human and emotional reaction to it, and subsequent rendering attachment as evidence, with specifics on how personal contact was made using available information, search tools, and relevant artifacts.

Such was the case for a student, let’s call her, Diana watching the popular program Law and Order, Criminal Intent (hereafter L&OCI) after reading the classic Information Management for the Intelligent Organization: The Art of Scanning the Environment, Chapter 1: The Intelligent Organization, written by C. W. Choo [3]Diana's tools included:
1. Television itself,
2. a channel changer
3. World Wide Web,
4. through the computer screen, high speed internet connection, and mouse
5. Access to Google, and other web sites
6, Experience using the Web and searches to interpret results quickly

As a student money is limited, and even paying for information in the “Deep Web” Diana has found from experience may not provide the actual information needed, when by appropriately using the tools at her disposal, may produce the exact results she expects. More limited than money, however, is time, so she must quickly reflect on the process she will use.

Her quest for information is specific to a specific episode, "Semi-Detached" where the lead character Detective Goren befriends a suspect -- both out of a desire to find out if the female suspect is indeed a murderer, and out of a sense of attraction. How the information he accumulates pivots on his personal weakness and shows just exactly how far he has gone to get both pieces of information, the viewer becomes aware of the change in his view both of the information he has gathered and his intention in a single brilliant exchange.

Diana wants to discuss with the show’s writer how he came to display this level of insight into both information itself and the show’s characters. Being impatient and wishing to complete reading Choo’s long text she wants to meet and discuss the L&OCI screenplay with the author by midnight of the same night she viewed the show and read Choo’s text.

Here are the steps Diana took to acquire the information she needed to find the show’s author and contact him, and communicate in the same evening. Because this information may be presented in both brief and complex ways the overview, or simple outline is presented first and the detail specifics with her reasoning are withheld here so as to meet deadline for presenting this information by midnight Friday September 29, 2006.

1.1 Brief Outline of Obtaining Data Specifics From Live Information1. Document line from TV show2. Get Show and Episode specific Info from live TV
3. Search on specifics in Google search engine (safe search option on)
4. Scan through and interpret results[4]
5. Choose IMDB.com[5] as expert source for information on L&OCI
6. Discard information purchase offered from IMDB site to purchase information agent’s contact email
7. Locate name of the author of screenplay (story)
8. Query on story author’s name, Gerry Conway
9. Select Wikipedia as expert site for additional information (perhaps contact or email) and scan details on his history for keys for how to contact him and what to say10. Copy large section of text from story author’s blog quoting family history[6]
11. Query on Google, scan and locate Gerry Conway’s blog Things I Wish I'd Thought of Sooner [7]
12. Find Gerry Conway’s email address on his blog, under “Go on email me, I dare you”
13. Write and send email to Mr. Conway with appropriate references and question
14. Email does not bounce but a forwarded address arrives immediately, resend email
14. Mr. Conway responds within 1 hour
15. Mr. Conway replies that did not write that section, the actor playing Detective Goren, Vincent D'Onofrio, ad-libbed the sensitive line.

1.2 Artifact: Partial Text of the Sent inquiry from Diana “Anyway I love the insightful use of the Gorn[8] [sic] character,
Killer:
"Robert, don't you care about me?" "I know you care about me, I could see it"
Gorn
"I didn't mean for you to see it"
Man that just works on so many levels. I just started studying for my executive Masters of Science in Information Management at the University of Washington, and I am seeing evidence documents text and information at a whole new level. Oh - anything you want to tell me about your hyper reasoning for the line I'd love to hear it.”



1.4 Artifact: Partial Text of the Received Email from Mr. Conway

Hi Diana

Oddly enough, the line in question was ad-libbed by the actor on set (though it's consistent with the tone and direction of the script). So I can't take credit for it.

Thanks for your kind words,

Gerry[9]

1.5 Conclusion

Diana's interest in the ways she views the world and the speed with which she can connect changed with both the experience of reading about and using information. This experience was almost magical – it has changed her viewpoint in some depth.

The accidential framing of information and emotion becoming evidence, she noted to the story author, was only made possible by his well-written script, this framework became a spring board for the actor to act in response to the immediate events, allowing the story to evolve naturally and bloom with hyper realism.

[1] http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/tomclancy290237.html
[2] http://www.tv.com/law-and-order-criminal-intent/show/1381/do-goren-and-eames-ever-fight/topic/1173-472556/msgs.html
[3] Choo. C. W. (2002) . Chapters 1-2. Information Management for the Intelligent Organization: The Art of Scanning the Environment. Medford, NJ: Information Today, Inc. <eReserves>
[4] http://www.tv.com/law-and-order-criminal-intent/show/1381/do-goren-and-eames-ever-fight/topic/1173-472556/msgs.html
[5] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0629569/
[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerry_Conway
[7] http://homepage.mac.com/gconway/Sites/blog/Blog.html
[8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorn As a “Gorn” is a character that any Star Trek Science Fiction fan would recognize, Diana was not concerned about spelling the Detective’s name Goren correctly because Mr. Conway has written science fiction for years and it would only add a layer of interest to the email.
[9] I:\Documents and Settings\Linda\My Documents\Resume\Re Howdee! Law & Order Criminal Intent for Semi-Detached.doc

Poverty = lack of access to information - Charles in Space Blog

Q. Can spaceflight be justified with the extent of world poverty?
Mike, Ireland

A. I am not certain if it can be justified to your satisfaction. Nor am I certain that it needs to justified any more than hundreds of other human activities and industries that take up much more space and human resources than space, from higher education to rail transport, need to be justified. These days the concept of poverty includes the lack of access to information resources that are frequently space based. We should not try to eliminate poverty by eliminating those things that people strive for.
Charles Simonyi, blogging from outer space
http://blog.charlesinspace.com/category/ask-charles/?&paged=2

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/space/04/09/russia.space.ap/index.html

See my earlier post at:
http://wonderlane.blogspot.com/2007/03/charles-in-space.html

Utmost attention will be paid to secure personal privacy

Densely typed in, nearly 2,000 words over four pages, the policy statement of The University of Washington’s Electronic Information Privacy Policy on Personally Identifiable Information lays out in clear terms what PII is at the University and who can provide exceptions to the rules. The document requires familiarity with technical information and communication systems and at least some knowledge of the University -- how it is structured and administered.

The document regulates the ideas behind the University’s goals in relationship to Personally Identifiable Information (PII), to be “in full compliance with all related federal and state statutes and regulations, and demonstrate a rigorous commitment to core values of maximizing trust, integrity, and respect for privacy.” It is a statement of clear commitment which using the methods outlined in this case study can be accomplished through a collaborative, enterprise wide community commitment to the ideal, so that the insurance costs do not escalate beyond the UW’s ability to pay, and to maintain a sense of respect, responsibility, and dedication to humanity.

There can be no doubt that the tone of this document is intended to protect people, enumerating who “they” are in some detail. The document outlines the exceptions for control of information, by detailing which executives may take responsibility for PII.

In contrast to the stated commitment and ideal, the reality is more difficult to practice because “60% to 80% of consumers' PCs are infected with spyware”, as Kirk Bailey, UW’s Chief Information Security Officer told MSIM2008 interviewers, “But much, if not all of any individual’s Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is already available through other online sources. In fact if an organization looses control of someone’s PII, it would be very difficult to prove who the source really was.”

The truth is most if not all PII is already publicly available. This was demonstrated by Kirk Bailey’s study reported in the New York Times and Seattle Post Intelligencer, in which his valid birth certificate was obtained with little difficulty, and leveraged to gain control of bank accounts. By cross referencing a number of sources, such as databases, and search behaviors other information may be inferred.

There are several motivating factors underlying the reasons to protect Personally Identifiable Information, but the primaries are reputation and risk management. Reputation and cost are inextricably linked, because it is the law to remediate each case as applied to individual people.

Organizations and individuals have been successfully sued for millions of dollars in privacy claims. Common practice is to settle out of court in class action and group lawsuits, to avoid further degradation to the organization, reputation, tarnishing of their brand, and disturbing influences on the business in terms of compliance and audits. The expense really never ends; the costs are ongoing in the form of insurance.

The definition and legal application of privacy standards such as HIPAA are being tested in practice, due to recent enactment. Company executives have lost their jobs and organizations their reputations because they could not show they complied with best practices in relationship to securing PII data on systems, or worse yet, intentionally misused their customers PII by selling it to a third party without permission.

Loosing control of PII is expensive to remediate. By statute in Washington State, when a persons PII has been compromised they must be informed. At the University of Washington it is estimated last year it cost $187.00 per personal contact. The University’s reputation, as well as its brand is at stake, due to the lost of PII. And it is no fun for the people who have to make those calls. In order to assume responsibility and restore some faith that the organization’s intentions are good the senior staff speak with truly irate individuals.

At the current time security breaches and PII loss appears inevitable; as the University’s CISO Kirk Bailey takes a four fold method to reduce risk, and obtains insurance against such losses. Enterprise-wide, voluntary, even eager, compliance with regulations and statues is a best practice in terms of lost prevention. This is a major factor in the methods he applies.

Regarding how companies abuse privacy Kirk Bailey detailed in his Hackers PBS interview, he said unscrupulous companies do this with “The placement of "cookies" or the requesting of information when you log onto the site. Forms that are filled out and then that information is rolled up into databases, or tracking your activities on their Web sites to create a profile of what your interests might be, then using those conjectures and that real data and wrapping it within a profile and selling it that information. We know those things take place. I resent those kinds of things. I find that unacceptable. It's not necessary. . . .”

-Kirk Bailey, PBS interview, 2001 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/hackers/interviews/bailey.html


Shukovsky, P. “’Good Guys’ show just how easy it is to steal ID” Seattle Post Intelligencer. March 5, 2005 (retrieved from the web March 19, 2005). http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/214663_googlehack05.html

Collaborative, Enterprise Wide, Information Security C-Level Management

“…distributed leadership requires shared values and a sense of community.”
- UW Provost Phyllis Wise

Executive Summary
The state supported University of Washington (UW) is faced with a Herculean set of information age problems to ensure its reputation, which may be viewed as risk management issues, framed within its own mission of providing educational excellence for the state, the region, and the nation. As limited economic resources are used to protect and manage information, paying for information management and security reduces the amount of funds remaining to serve the University’s primary mission, ”the preservation, advancement, and dissemination of knowledge.” (Board of Regents, 1998)

The University’s senior management strategy is that a collaborative, institution-wide model (Strategic Risk Initiative Review Committee, 2006) built on best practices will work best within their framework while reducing costs. Using this method will protect its decentralized, collaborative and entrepreneurial culture, and its information technology, including Personally Identifiable Information, and education information assets, while conforming to state and federal regulations.

Upon the request of UW President Mark Emmert a study was conducted, and, after an in-depth analysis and public comment period (Strategic Risk Initiative Review Committee, 2006), they chose to hire one executive as a C-Level manager, their Chief of Information Security, Kirk Bailey. Although he has no staff, he has the ability to summarily shut down any system. His objective is to advise and inform the three campus and sixteen colleges, and their information manage teams to secure sensitive and other information, and provide a clear direction for information risk management based on his expert knowledge domain, including dynamic social networking (Interview with Kirk Bailey, 2007).

Background
Founded on November 4, 1861, the University of Washington is comprised of three campuses: Seattle, with sixteen schools and colleges ranging from first-year undergraduates through doctoral-level candidates; and the Bothell, and Tacoma campuses, with upper-division undergraduates and graduate students.

As a core value to serve its purpose “the University is committed to maintaining an environment for objectivity and imaginative inquiry and for the original scholarship and research that ensure the production of new knowledge in the free exchange of diverse facts, theories, and ideas.“ (Board of Regents, 1998) In effect this means allowing colleges and schools a great deal of self-governance within the University, because those organizations are the best at understanding what they do.

As a large educational, research, and medical facility the UW acquires, stores, disseminates, and uses vast amounts of data, through its libraries and collections, courses, faculty scholarship, and publications. It advances new knowledge through research, inquiry, and discussion; and disseminates it through classrooms, laboratory, scholarly exchanges, creative practice, international education, and public service. As such the University itself can be considered both a consumer of vast amounts of data, and a source of information.

Some of this information is directly related to individuals – this essentially private data is termed “Personally Identifiable” and has broad implications in its use in credit, grades, tracking and membership, medical, and as related to other types of sensitive research, such as intelligence. Personally Identifiable Information (Executive Officers of the University of Washington, 2001) is regulated by state and federal laws, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) catching up to the ramifications of easily collectable, storable, and frequently transferable information (PII). As a best practice there is also a wealth of compliance issues related to private data housed within a public institution. (Strategic Risk Initiative Review Committee, 2006)

References:
Title: UW Role and Mission Statement
Author: Board of Regents
Publication: http://www.washington.edu/home/mission.html
Date: February 1981; revised February 1998, modified: November 5, 1998

Title: Collaborative Enterprise Risk Management
Author: Strategic Risk Initiative Review Committee, V’Ella Warren, Vice President, Financial Management, David Hodge, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, co-chairs
Publication: www.washington.edu/admin/finmgmt/erm/ermsummary021306b.pdf
Date: February 13, 2006

Title: Enterprise Risk Management, University of Washington
Author: Strategic Risk Initiative Review Committee, V’Ella Warren, Vice President, Financial Management, David Hodge, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, co-chairs
Publication: http://www.washington.edu/faculty/facsen/sec_minutes/05-06/sec_021306.pdf.
Date: January 9, 2006

Title: Privacy Policy, University of Washington
Author: Executive Officers of the University of Washington; the President, the Executive Vice President, the Provost, and the University's Privacy Officer, Vice President for Computing and Communications
Publication: http://www.washington.edu/computing/rules/privacypolicy.html
Date: October 6, 2001

Title: Interview with Kirk Bailey
Location: University of Washington, Seattle
Date: February 22, 2007