w8: Ethics, Database Access Control & Big Data Basics

Data Privacy

Right to control access to personal/organizational data (e.g., GDPR, Australia’s Privacy Act 1988)

Data Governance

Framework for managing data quality, security, and compliance

Components

People (roles), Processes (standards), Technology (tools)

Benefits

Improved decision-making, risk mitigation, cost reduction

Ownership (EP)

Individuals control their data

Transparency (EP)

Clear data usage policies

Intention (EP)

Ethical purpose for data collection

Outcomes (EP)

Avoid harm (e.g., bias in algorithms)

Three levels of ethics

Systematic, organisational, individual

Deontological

Rights/duties, "Is this violating anyone’s rights?"

Consequential

Outcomes, "Who is harmed, and how?"

Care Ethics

Relationships, "Does this foster trust?"

Virtue Ethics

Personal integrity, "Does this align with my values?"

7-Step Process

1. Assess facts

2. Identify biases

3. Apply ethical principles

4. Evaluate options

5. Consider virtues

6. Comprehensive assessment

7. Justify decision.

Grant

is used to give user access privileges to a database

Revoke

is used to revoke authorisation, i.e., to take back permissions from the user

Deny

explicitly prevents a user from receiving a particular permission

Big Data

Large and complex sets of raw data (difficult or impossible to capture in ER models)

Volume (BD)

Scalability (e.g., 100TB datasets).

• Scaling Out: Distribute load across servers (vs. scaling up with larger hardware)

Velocity (BD)

Real-time processing (e.g., streaming social media data)

Variety (BD)

Data types (structured, unstructured, semi-structured)

Structured Data

Any data types that clearly defined be stored, accessed and processed in a fixed format (eg. SQL tables)

Unstructured Data

No predefined format (eg. Social media posts, videos)

Semi-Structured

Flexible schema (eg.XML, JSON)

Big Data Challenges

• Privacy Risks: Profiling (e.g., Target identifying pregnant customers)

• Shift from Third-Party Cookies: Less granular tracking → rise of contextual ads and AI-driven analysis

The move away from third-party cookies

• Shift to First-Party Data

• Contextual Advertising

• Reduced Granularity of Tracking

• Changes in Data Analysis