This dissertation develops three game-theoretic models in each of its three chapters to explore the strategic implications of transparency in the administrative state. Each model contains a similar set of three players: a political principal, an agent representing an agency or a bureaucrat, and an interested third party. The models consider the utility of transparency as a tool for mitigating regulatory capture, in which the third party influences the agent to serve its interest rather than the principal's. Chapter 1, "Transparency and Media Scrutiny in the Regulatory Process," models transparency as the volume of records that the media receives from the agent, which raises the likelihood of news alleging low costs to the interest group after the agent's proposal of lax regulation. Such reports cost these two players and may deter the group from capturing the agent. Among other things, the model describes costs due to distorted policy proposals and loss of information when greater transparency causes inaccurate reports to increase along with accurate ones. In Chapter 2, "Transparency and Power in Rulemaking," transparency is a requirement for the agent to disclose an item of information, such as his message from the regulated party or his signal about the cost of regulation. The agent can always disclose this information, but doing so may increase the principal's power to set regulation higher than he or the regulated party desires. A key result is that transparency is not necessary for the principal to know as much as the agent does but may discourage the generation of the message or signal. Chapter 3, "A Reverse Rationale for Reliance on Regulators," suggests that an agent can benefit a principal not by gathering information from an outsider that she cannot access, but by preventing her from obtaining or acting on this information. The agent benefits the principal when he induces additional effort in the outside party's information generation because he is more adversarial toward that party than she is. Mandatory disclosure of the agent's information is harmful because it effectively allows the outsider to communicate directly with the principal and provide lower quality information.

The first chapter of this dissertation analyzes voting behavior across multiple elections. The voting literature has largely analyzed voter turnout and voter behavior separately, focusing on individual elections. I present a model of voter turnout and behavior in multiple elections. The assumptions are consistent with individual election preferences and decision is derived from utility maximization. Additionally, I provide necessary moment conditions for identification. The framework is applied to the 2008 California elections. The exit polls made national headlines by linking the historic turnout of African-Americans for Presidential candidate Obama in helping pass Proposition 8. The results show that the African-American turnout and voting share for Proposition 8 was lower than indicated by the exit polls. As a counterfactual, I look at the turnout and outcome of Proposition 8, without the presidential race on the ballot. As predicted, there is lower voter turnout: on par with midterm elections. I also find a lower share of Yes votes on Proposition 8 - enough that the referendum would not have passed. / Economics

Data is increasingly represented in annotated graphs, but graphs pose novel security and privacy challenges that at present lack solutions. We begin by identifying the new challenges graphs introduce and explain why existing security approaches are insufficient. / Engineering and Applied Sciences

published_or_final_version / abstract / Law / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

No description available.

Advances in information technology have amplified issues related to privacy and the disclosure of personal information. New technologies have enabled an explosion in the amount and variety of information created, stored, and potentially shared about people, and there has been a corresponding explosion in privacy-related concerns and conversations in academic and non-academic forums. This dissertation contributes to one such conversation, adding to our understanding of the mechanisms that shape individuals' privacy concerns in the context of disclosure of personal information. Individuals must overcome their information privacy concerns in order for personal information disclosure to take place, but the mechanisms surrounding this process are highly dependent on the context of disclosure. Accordingly, this research seeks to build understanding around the ways in which privacy concerns are mitigated or counterbalanced in three different disclosure contexts. Essay 1, positioned in the e-commerce context, contributes uniquely to an emerging stream of disclosure research that considers irrationality within the privacy disclosure decision process. Essay 2 is focused on a less frequently examined disclosure context - online social networks - and examines the tension between individuals' privacy concerns and their desire for social benefits and personal expression, focusing especially on the social network technology's ability to support impression management behavior. Finally, Essay 3 examines the mitigation of privacy concerns in the context of involuntary disclosure - increasingly common in the modern online environment - wherein the primary goal is to reduce concerns or anxiety regarding the information already disclosed. In comparing disclosure processes across these contexts, this research provides insights regarding consistencies and distinctions among the different domains. Insights gained, both within and across these contexts, are valuable to both privacy researchers and professional stakeholders.

The first essay examines the relation between fund performance and stock selection process. I classify mutual funds into two groups according to their distinctive stock selection approaches: tire kickers who rely on fund managers' personal judgment and fundamental analysis to pick stocks, and quant jocks who use computer-based models to select stocks. I examine how the stock selection approach affects mutual fund performance and economies of scale. I document an increasing trend of quantitative techniques used by mutual funds, in addition to some unique characteristics of quant jocks. Quant jocks and tire kickers have similar factor-adjusted alphas, but quant jocks have higher Sharpe ratios. Quant jocks tend to be much smaller than tire kickers. I explore possible explanations for the size difference. I find that although quant jocks can cheaply screen a large universe of stocks, the stocks that quant jocks invest in are smaller and less liquid, which results in higher transaction costs and limited scalability of quantitative investment strategies. The second essay investigates mutual fund managers' private information about future stock returns as revealed in their portfolio holdings. Specifically, we develop three different stock alpha estimators to predict stock returns based on portfolio compositions and past performance of mutual funds. We find that investment strategies based on our stock alpha estimators perform well, when using information on recent fund holdings and fund purchases. This evidence suggests that fund managers' stock selection skills are quite persistent, and vary widely in the cross-section. We also compare our strategies with 12 quantitative investment signals based on market anomalies, and find that our strategies are not subsumed by these quantitative signals. Thus, our stock alpha estimators reflect private skills of active fund managers that are unrelated to known anomalies. Finally, we develop a conditional stock alpha estimator using information on stock characteristics and fund characteristics. Investment strategies based on the conditional stock alphas deliver further improved performance.

Young adults who self-injure may prefer to disclose these experiences to peers versus professionals, however, past research has demonstrated that their responses are rated as less helpful compared to other recipients. To better understand this phenomenon, the current study sought to investigate NSSI disclosures from the point of view of the disclosure recipient. Given the relation between various interpersonal trait variables (e.g., receptiveness, responsiveness, agreeableness), relationship factors (friendship quality, duration), and intimate self-disclosures, aspects of particular individuals and relationships may also play a role in the context of peer-to-peer NSSI disclosures and how effective these disclosure responses may be. An online battery of questionnaires was administered to examine these research questions in a population of 230 university students (178 females, M age = 18.38). 107 participants reported receiving a NSSI disclosure from a friend. Having a history of NSSI, lower social support, and greater perceived relative power were found to significantly predict receiving a NSSI disclosure from a friend and receptiveness and social support were found to significantly predict the recipients’ degree of helpful responding to the NSSI disclosure. Findings illuminate the important role of friends and of the friendship itself in facilitating the help-seeking process and promoting NSSI cessation. Research directions and implications are discussed.

More than ever before, two imperatives, ‘the right to know’ and ‘the need to keep secret’, find themselves in a contest for a position of primacy in the contemporary legal system. The need to keep secret is antipathetic to the right to know. The Canadian Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms has entrenched a person’s right to disclosure of both exculpatory and inculpatory material in possession of the prosecution. Moreover, the common law has placed the additional responsibility on the prosecution to inquire of third parties as to the existence and production of material relevant to the defence. Despite the entrenchment of the right to disclosure the demands by the state have steadily grown for more evidence to be withheld from defendants, parties to proceedings and the public in general. The applications for in camera or ex parte hearings are common place and frequently acceded to. This thesis seeks to examine the clash of the two imperatives from the Canadian perspective. By using a comparative analysis of other jurisdictions throughout the thesis, it examines the various legislative instruments and common law employed in the Canadian Courts in respect of ‘ordinary’ criminal trials as well as trials of suspected terrorists, specifically, in respect of disclosure and the ability to withhold material from other parties and refrain from the obligation to disclose. The thesis includes a full analysis of disclosure options, public interest immunity, informer privilege, special advocates and other regimes, and claims of privilege in the interests of national security. The thesis provides a number of detailed recommendations as to how Canada can better balance rights of accused against the public interest and the needs of those who enforce the law.. The recommendations call for legal reforms, some new institutions for better accountability and new internal standards for those engaged in the investigation of crimes and national security matters. / Thesis (Ph.D, Law) -- Queen's University, 2012-04-25 15:01:59.292

<p><font size="4" face="TrebuchetMS,BoldItalic"><font size="4" face="TrebuchetMS,BoldItalic"> <p>The study used a qualitative approach. Fourteen (14) in-depth interviews were conducted with English and Luganda speaking adult male and female clients on antiretroviral treatment (ART), in TASO Mulago. A focus group discussion (FGD) was conducted with 8 purposively selected ART clients who were considered to be &lsquo / expert&rsquo / clients in TASO Mulago. These participants were expert clients/ peer educators, who were open about their HIV status and have been involved in HIV/AIDS education and advocacy. The individual interviews and the focus group discussion were transcribed verbatim, and subjected to thematic and content analysis. Male and female participants who were married (primary relationship) disclosed their sero-status to their sexual partners, while few of those cohabiting or in steady relationship (only one) disclosed to their partners. Enabling factors to disclose to current sexual partners included: desire for partner to get treatment, need for the partner&rsquo / s support, having prior knowledge of partner&rsquo / s HIV status, out of anger, and having anxiety about the future. Some of the barriers to disclosure included: fear of blame and disappointing the partner, fear of abandonment, fear of stigma and discrimination. Participants suggested that couple counselling and testing, economic independence, peer support and involvement of the TASO staff in disclosure should be considered to facilitate or promote disclosure to sexual partners.</p> </font></font></p>