Privacy and security of consumer IoT devices for the pervasive monitoring of vulnerable people

The Internet of Things (IoT) promises highly innovative solutions to a wide range of activities. However, simply being a technology company does not exempt an IoT company from needing to comply with the legislation applicable to their operating region that safeguards personal information. This will result in security and privacy requirements for healthcare solutions. There are several mature frameworks that address these issues, but they have been developed within the context of organised hospitals and care providers, where there is the expertise, processing power, communications and electrical power to support highly robust security. However, for IoT solutions aimed at vulnerable people, either at home or within their local environment, there are significant additional constraints that must be overcome. These include technical (low processing capability, power constrained, intermittent communications) organisational (how to enrol and revoke users and devices, distribution of cryptographic keys) and user constraints (how does a patient with physical and/or mental challenges configure and update their devices). This paper considers at the legal frameworks and the security and privacy requirements for healthcare solutions. An overview of some of the primary frameworks is then provided followed by an assessment of how this is constrained within an IoT system

Your tenants are gay, get over it!: how housing services discriminate against LGBT+ users

Are public services delivering equality for LGBT+ service users? In a socially progressive society like the UK, the presumption is that probably they are. However, Peter Matthews and Chris Poyner's research suggests some very basic steps are still required to deliver equality. In 2017 gay men and LGBT+* allies in the UK are celebrating 50 years since sex between two men, aged over 21, in private, was decriminalised in England and Wales in the Sexual Offences Act 1967. The 2007 Equality Order then banned discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and the Equality Act 2010 brought together all equalities legislation in the UK, developing one of the most advanced statutory frameworks for promoting equality. Equal Marriage legislation removed the last legal barrier to equal treatment, except in Northern Ireland

Extra care : viable for couples living with dementia?

Purpose: The perspectives of people with dementia and their care partners regarding ‘extra care’ housing are currently unknown. This paper will report findings of a consultation study exploring the perceived barriers and facilitators of a relocation to extra care housing, from the perspective of people living with dementia, and their care partners. Design/methodology/approach: Fieldwork consisted of paired or 1-1 interviews and small focus groups with potential users of an alternative model of extra care support for people living with dementia in the South of England. The consultation took place between June and August 2013. The interviews and focus groups were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim. The transcripts were analysed thematically. Findings: Benefits of extra care were identified as the opportunity for couples to remain living together for longer, creating a supportive, dementia-friendly community, and a reduction in the strain experienced by the care partners. Barriers centred on a sense of loss, stress and uncertainty. Living and caring at home was perceived as preferable to shared care. Research limitations/implications: The findings presented here have limited generalizability for two reasons. First the shared care approach consulted on was very specific. Second our participants form a purposive sample and as such are not representative of a wider population. Despite best intentions the voice of people with dementia are under reported in this consultation. Only one person with early on-set dementia was interviewed and the remaining two people with dementia were interviewed alongside their care partner. Practical implications: The findings cast doubt on the viability of extra care facilities, designed for couples living with dementia, if extra care continues to be conceptualised and marketed as a preventative lifestyle choice. The findings indicate the value of consulting with people with dementia, and their care partners, when designing new forms of housing with care specifically for people living with dementia. Originality/value: This paper contributes to the body of literature, exploring the feasibility of new and innovative alternative care and housing options, for people with dementia. This paper is one of the first to explore extra care as a housing and social care option for couples with dementia

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer experiences of homelessness and identity : insecurity and home(o)normativity

Homelessness among the young lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans* (LGBT+) population is becoming an increasing societal concern, with alarmist reporting of high rates of homelessness compared to heterosexual people. This paper presents qualitative evidence from research with 20 LGBT + people who had experienced homelessness in Scotland. Significantly, it moves discussion of LGBT + homelessness out of a concern with public health and social work, to understand it in terms of homelessness research and housing theory. The analysis also brings in queer theory to our discussions of homelessness and housing. As a result, rather than understanding our participants as passive victims of a homophobic or transphobic society, we focus on their agency in developing a queer identity alongside their experiences of insecure accommodation. In their experiences of homelessness people were carrying out ‘edgework’ at the margins of heteronormative society. Routes out of homelessness were thus associated with people becoming more comfortable within their identities. We conclude by arguing that experiences of homelessness interacted in complex ways with sexual and gender identity, and that tailored mainstream housing provision is required for LGBT + homeless people