International Center for Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities (IZEW)

Completed Projects at the Research Focus Security Ethics

BuildERS (2019-2023)

Building European Communities' Resilience and Social Capital

  • The research project BuildERS aims at identifying approaches to improve societal resilience by increasing social capital. By enhancing social networks, local communities are to be strengthened and supported in disasters. The project focusses particularly on especially vulnerable societal groups.

EKAMED (2020-2022)

Ethics in disaster medicine

  • Development, communication, implementation and establishment of an ethical guideline for members of the medical care units of the German national government in the context of the preparation and execution of disaster medicine missions.

HEIMDALL (2017-2021)

Multi-Hazard Cooperative Management Tool for Data Exchange, Response Planning and Scenario Building

  • The project aimed at improving preparedness of societies to cope with complex crisis situations by means of providing integrated tools to support efficient response planning and the building of realistic multidisciplinary scenarios. The project designed and developed a system for improving response planning strategies and scenario building (TRL 7/ 8) and facilitating organizational coordination among many actors, integrating a wide range of support tools to be used operationally by a large variety of stakeholders (firefighting units, medical emergency services, police departments, civil protection units, command and control centres). The devised system has integrated existing and newly developed tools to enhance the cooperation between autonomous systems (satellite-, sea-, land- and air-based) from different agencies as well as to consolidate the methodology for cross-border scenario-building.
  • archived website

KOPHIS (2016 - 2019)

Kontexte von Pflege- und Hilfebedürftigen stärken – Verzahnung von BOS, Pflegeinfrastruktur und aktiven zivilgesellschaftlichen Netzwerken

  • Supplying people during crisis and emergency situations challenges public authorities as well as aid organisations. Especially, the basic demands of people in need of care during a crisis have so far hardly been thoroughly examined. Here, stable networks are required between the people in need of care, the civil society and the authorities as well as the aid organisations in charge. These networks need to be established prior to an emergency in order to help in the event of a crisis.Thereby, KOPHIS understood the population not as the passive recipient of public aid, but aimed at treating them as an active subject. Thus, KOPHIS involved care recipients as well as people in need of help in the research process in order to give them an active role in co-designing the concrete research results. Moreover, care-giving relatives and supporters in the near social environment are involved directly and right from the beginning of the project. Additional to scientific analyses, the project’s goal was to practically implement the research results in a model region.It was the aim to strengthen the resilience of people in need of home care in private households, in all relevant phases of a crisis. Therefore, a significant contribution was made by interlocking the mostly separately existing fields of authorities and organisations with security tasks and disaster preparedness agencies on the one hand, and civil protection on the other hand, at all stages of the disaster-management cycle. Finally, the project seeked to mitigate existing risks and improve the means at hand for disaster management. Furthermore, the specific and practical concepts under development enable targeted measures in the event of a crisis, as well as a quick return to daily life.

 

 

FLORIDA (2016 - 2018)

Flexible, semi-automatic Analysis System for the Evaluation of Mass Video Data

  • FLORIDA was a German-Austrian cooperation project that developed a system for the visual and auditory analysis of image and video mass data. The German part of the project concentrated on image and video analysis, while the Austrian partners focussed on the evaluation of the audio track.The project developed a system for the visual and auditory analysis of heterogeneous mass image and video data, such as those provided by witnesses in the aftermath of terrorist attacks. The system will use methods such as geo-spatial crime scene reconstruction, visual analytics, generic object search and audio analysis. The ethical investigations at the IZEW dealt with the ethically acceptable collection, processing and analysis of mass image and video data.

 

AMBOS (2017–2019)

Defense of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Authorities and Organizations with Security Tasks

  • The German-Austrian cooperation project AMBOS will develop a system for the defence against drones in defined security areas. For this purpose, approaching drones are detected, their threat potential analysed and, if necessary, defensive measures initiated. The German part of the project deals with the research of acoustic sensors, radio reconnaissance and the implementation of interference impulses for drone defence. At the same time, a launcher for nets will be developed to intercept unmanned aerial objects, which have been identified as being dangerous. By merging the different sensor data, a comprehensive situation picture is created, which displays potentially dangerous flying objects and suggests suitable intervention options.

MUSKAT (2014–2017)

Multisensory based detection of offenders in crowds in complex police operations

  • The research project aims at developing a multisensory system in order to facilitate the localisation and prosecution of suspects in complex police operations. The interconnected surveillance system consists of mobile hand-held cameras, overview cameras and an operation centre. The deployment of this technology is expected to improve the documentation process and thereby the preservation of evidence in dynamic and complex situations.
    Within the project, the Ethics Centre will deliver two ethical expert reports. As a sub-contractor of the Fraunhofer IOSB, the Ethics Centre continuously assesses and supports the project research ethically. The ethical work package within the research project is thereby two-fold: The Ethics Centre will analyse the specific ethical consequences the developed technology brings about as well as the societal implications of the system at hand.
  • Archived website of the project

VERSS (2014–2017)

Aspects of a fair distribution of security in the city

  • The joint project, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), addressed the question of why a fair distribution of security in the city is important and which aspects need to be considered. In addition to the theoretical treatment of the values of justice and security and their relationship, subprojects included the empirical survey of relevant actors in civic engagement and their possible participation in municipal security policy. The result, the Leitlinien für eine gerechte Verteilung von Sicherheit in der Stadt, is aimed at actors in municipal security work and provides ideas and orientation at three different levels. First, criteria for a critical appreciation of security are presented that generally reflect the handling of security. Secondly, the brochure provides an overview of various aspects of justice that are important in municipal safety work. Thirdly, practical criteria for reflection are presented to support a fair distribution in planning, decision making and implementation. In addition, four extensions were developed which take a closer look at the guidelines for safety in rural areas, in disasters, in dealing with people with disabilities and as a goal of participation processes.
  • Main publication: Ammicht Quinn, Regina, Peter Bescherer, Friedrich Gabel and Alexander Krahmer (2017) Leitlinien für eine gerechte Verteilung von Sicherheit in der Stadt, Materialien zur Ethik in den Wissenschaften Vol. 13, Tübingen: IZEW.
  • Keywords: urban security, justice, city, security ethics
  • Archived website of the project

SECTOR (2014–2017)

Secure European Common Information Space for the Interoperability of First Responders and Police Authorities

  • The aim of this project was to develop a common information system for first responders and police authorities in order to facilitate interoperability and cooperation between regional data systems in the event of a natural disaster and to improve civil protection. The IZEW contributed to the project's results through in-depth technology assessment, ethical monitoring and a workshop on privacy-by-design.
  • Keywords: security ethics, common information space, first responders, civil protection
  • Archived website of the project

Scientific Advisory Committee: Research Agenda for Civil Security (2012–2017)

SmartSec (2015)

How Smart Is ‘Smart Security’? Exploring Data Subjectivity and Resistance

  • This case study seeked to examine ethical and human rights implications of ’smart security’ systems that operate based on population data at scale. The main point of inquiry was the qualitatively new level of potential discrimination through automated algorithmic analyses of large datasets and the possibility to enforce human rights by challenging security decisions based on algorithms.
  • Main publication: Baur-Ahrens, Andreas, Marco Krüger, Regina Ammicht Quinn, Matthias Leese and Tobias Matzner (2015) How Smart Is “Smart Security”? Exploring Data Subjectivity and Resistance. Final Report. Tübingen: IZEW.
  • Keywords: airport security, human rights, data analysis
  • Archived website of the project

KRETA (2011–2014)

Body scanner: Reflection of ethics on technology and application contexts

  • The KRETA project, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, focused on body scanner security technology. The aim of the project was to analyse the introduction and use of this technology ethically, sociologically and psychologically. Starting from "security technologies and people with deviating body images", KRETA dealt with general questions about inclusion and exclusion mechanisms of security technologies, and thus also raised questions about the relationship between security and justice. KRETA continued the work of the project THEBEN, which was successfully completed in December 2010.
  • Archived website of the project

Alert for all – A4A (2011–2013)

  • "Alert for All" was a European research project funded under the 7th European Framework Programme (FP7). The aim of the project was to develop an advanced European approach to alert and inform the population in crisis situations.
  • Archived website of the project

BaSiD (2010-2013)

Barometer Security in Germany. Security, Perceptions, Situation, Conditions and Expectations – A Monitoring on Security in Germany

  • The research project aimed at creating a barometer on objective and subjective securities in Germany. The complex, emotionally and normatively charged term "security" raises complex, overarching questions that were investigated within the framework of BaSiD in an interdisciplinary research network. Accordingly, the social science disciplines criminology, media and communication sciences, (social) psychology, law, sociology and ethics were involved in the network.
  • Archived website of the project

Live Detect 3D (2010–2013)

Ethical support in the Live Detect 3D project

MuVit (2010–2013)

MuViT: Pattern Recognition and Video Tracking: socio-psychological, sociological, ethical and legal analyses

  • MuViT was a three-year collaborative project, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research within the framework of the Civil Security Research Programme since May 2010. The aim of this network was to support several technical projects in the process of developing pattern recognition or video tracking techniques (MEVTT). MEVTT is intended to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of conventional data evaluation (for example in video surveillance). MuViT was based at four German universities, and integrated perspectives from social psychology, sociology, ethics and law.
  • Archived website of the project

THEBEN (2007–2010)

Terahertz detection systems: Ethical monitoring, evaluation and standardisation

  • The project THEBEN dealt with the theoretical-conceptual and concrete application-related questions of an ‘ethics of safety’. To be more specific, this was done in the context of research, development and implementation of security technologies, in particular terahertz detection systems. The project critically reflected the technology where it was applied to humans. In addition, it developed and evaluated implementation scenarios, drew up application recommendations, analysed and evaluated social concepts of security in connection with security technologies, and finally offered political and research consulting.
  • Archived website of the project

E-SOLD (2009)

Ethical expertise for research into stand-off lie detectors

  • The E-SOLD project deals with ethical questions of research, development and implementation of so-called stand-off lie detectors.
  • Archived website of the project

TeraSec (2006)

Active Terahertz Imagining for Security

  • The EU research project TeraSec dealt with radiation in the spectral region of 0.1 - 10 THz (3mm - 300cm-1), the frequency between 1011 and 1012 Hz. Terahertz rays have the property of penetrating paper, plastic and clothing. Research focused on the application of terahertz radiation for security checks, for example at airports. The beams make it possible to depict the naked body of the controlled person on the screen.
  • Archived website of the project

COPRA Expert Group

Comprehensive European Approach to the Protection of Civil Aviation

  • The EU FP7 project COPRA aimed at researching current and future aviation security requirements, analysing threats to aviation security, identifying appropriate security solutions and concepts, and at developing a roadmap of the requirements of European aviation security research. The project was coordinated by the Fraunhofer EMI.
  • Archived website of the project

LiSS

Living in Surveillance Societies

  • The European Research Network (COST Action IS0807, 2009-2013) had set itself the task of improving our knowledge of life and work in the age of surveillance. The IZEW supported LiSS with a research team.
  • Archived website of the project