Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-29T13:17:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Nelson Novaes Neto.pdf: 2137731 bytes, checksum: 25a81aebe23bcbbf562d10e4ca33ea55 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-10-19 / The present research had as primary goals: 1) To present a proposal for experimental procedure involving the use of the Internet as a laboratory for analysis of human behavior. 2) To use an online chat environment in order to assess whether users behavior of switching between chat rooms in a chat service can be influenced by the introduction or removal of a stimulus (CAPTCHA). A total of 700 users participated in an experimental design (three phases) to verify whether the manipulation of the CAPTCHA stimulus in stages 2 and 3 would affect users behavior as they enter the chat rooms. Two measures were employed to measure behavioral changes: a) number of times each user entered a chat room; and b) amount of time daily spent in the chat rooms for each user. It was hypothesised that for a considerable number of users, the removal of the CAPTCHA would increase the chances of switching to another chat room because of the elimination of the nuisance of answering the test. The results indicated that the pattern of behavior of users who entered the chat rooms was influenced by the effect of the manipulation of the CAPTCHA variable. However, the results were not significant enough to confirm the hypothesis. The measures employed to assess behavior changes were shown to be statistically significant when the CAPTCHA variable was reintroduced (Phase 3) to the participants after a 15-day period without the presence of the independent variable (Phase 2). This effect has shown that the reintroduction of CAPTCHA to the chain of gaining access to the room has significantly affected the behavioral pattern of all users, as compared to the previous stages, indicating that the process of reintroducing VI had, in part, aversive properties. All the same, it is important to consider that it has not been possible to determine whether this effect was caused by the influence of the CAPTCHA stimulus or by the simple change of environment with the inclusion of another component and condition in the chain of gaining access to the room. Since more and more people are increasingly using the Internet, the study of this environment can make a strong contribution to the science of behavior analysis / A presente pesquisa pretendeu: 1) Apresentar uma proposta de procedimento experimental para utilizar a Internet como um laboratório para o estudo do comportamento. 2) Utilizar um ambiente de bate-papo online para avaliar se o comportamento de troca de sala por participantes em um serviço de bate-papo pode ser alterado pela apresentação ou remoção de um estímulo (CAPTCHA). Um total de 700 participantes foram submetidos a um delineamento experimental (três fases) para verificar se a manipulação do estímulo CAPTCHA nas Fases 2 e 3 estabeleceria algum efeito sobre o comportamento de entrar nas salas, avaliado por duas medidas: a) número de acesso às salas de cada participante (entrada em uma sala); e b) permanência em uma sala por dia de cada participante. A hipótese da pesquisa era a de que, para boa parte dos participantes, a remoção do CAPTCHA aumentaria a probabilidade de mudança de sala, pela eliminação do incômodo de responder ao teste. Os resultados indicaram que o padrão comportamental de entrar nas salas pelos participantes foi influenciado pelo efeito da manipulação da variável CAPTCHA. Porém, os resultados não foram significativos para comprovar a hipótese de que a remoção do CAPTCHA aumentaria a probabilidade de mudança de sala. As medidas para o comportamento de entrada, número de acesso às salas e tempo de permanência nelas sofreram mudanças estatisticamente significativas apenas quando a variável CAPTCHA foi reapresentada (Fase 3) aos participantes após um período de 15 dias sem a presença da variável independente (Fase 2). Este efeito demonstrou que a reintrodução do CAPTCHA na cadeia de acesso à sala afetou consideravelmente o padrão comportamental de todos os participantes, quando comparados às fases anteriores, demonstrando que o processo de reintrodução da VI apresentou, em parte, propriedades aversivas. Mesmo assim, é importante considerar que não foi possível decidir se este efeito foi devido à influência do estímulo CAPTCHA ou à simples mudança no ambiente com a inclusão de um componente e condição na cadeia de respostas para acesso à sala. A tendência para o uso desse tipo de ambiente cresce consideravelmente e, nas condições gerais, seu estudo pode oferecer uma grande contribuição para a ciência da análise do comportamento

Master of Science / Computing and Information Sciences / Eugene Vasserman / The increase in penetration of Internet technology throughout the world is bringing an increasing volume of user information online, and developing countries such as those of East Africa are included as contributors and consumers of this voluminous information. While we have seen concerns from other parts of the world regarding user privacy and security, very little is known of East African Internet users’ concern with their online information exposure. The aim of this study is to compare Internet user awareness and concerns regarding online privacy and security between East Africa (EA) and the United States (U.S.) and to determine any common attitudes and differences. The study followed a quantitative research approach, with the EA population sampled from the Open University of Tanzania, an open and distance-learning university in East Africa, and the U.S. population sampled from Kansas State University, a public university in the U.S. Online questionnaires were used as survey instruments. The results show no significant difference in awareness of online privacy between Internet users from East Africa and the U.S. There is however, significant difference in concerns about online privacy, which differ with the type of information shared. Moreover, the results have shown that the U.S. Internet users are more aware of online privacy concerns, and more likely to have taken measure to protect their online privacy and conceal their online presence, than the East African Internet users. This study has also shown that East Africans Internet users are more likely to be victims of online identity theft, security issues and reputation damage.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to contribute with a cross-country approach to the research about consumers’ online privacy concerns by investigating Greek and Swedish consumers’ privacy attitudes and behaviours in the digital marketplace. Theoretical framework: The study’s theoretical framework is based on the Power-Responsibility Equilibrium Theory (PRE) perspective and three of Hoftsede’s cultural dimensions; uncertainty avoidance, power distance, and individualism. Methodology: The study has a deductive approach with a quantitative research method. The data was collected by a questionnaire in each country which resulted in 232 answers in total. The answers were then analyzed in Microsoft Excel 16.41, SPSS 26.0, and SmartPLS 3.3.3. Findings: Findings indicate that the impact of power-holders on consumer privacy concerns, privacy empowerment and trust is more prominent for Swedish than for Greek consumers. Moreover, the impacts of privacy concerns, privacy empowerment and trust on consumers’ power-balancing strategies are more substantial for Greek than for Swedish consumers. Implications: The study contributes to the marketing field and academics studying consumers’ behaviour as it adds a cross-cultural approach to the investigation of consumers’attitudes on e-commerce from a PRE theory perspective. Additionally, they can have practical implications for marketers and policymakers in the e-commerce sector as they can gain some insight into how essential corporate privacy responsibility and regulations are to gain the trust of consumers and decrease their privacy concerns. Limitations: Since the study covers Greek and Swedish consumers, it is limited to countries with similar characteristics. Moreover, the majority of the respondents were under 35 years old and their opinions contradicted, not allowing most of the effects to be statistically significant enough to be considered. Originality/Value: Consumer privacy attitudes and behaviours on e-commerce have not been studied from both a power-responsibility equilibrium and a cultural dimensions perspective. This study adds a cross-country approach by studying Greek and Swedish consumers, while at the same time combining two theoretical perspectives.

Users have limited knowledge and control over their data, while needing personalization-based services that are requesting their data. The Automated Privacy Negotiation Agent (APNA) model is brought up as a solution by assisting users’ privacy management with less effort, but more accurate options. To bring insights for APNA to gather requirements from different users, this research described how users have been managing their privacy settings and consenting, and their preferences when it comes to their data processing through semi-structured interviews. We conducted interviews on 11 participants with different levels of motivation and knowledge to enhance privacy, from ages 21 to 35, living in Jönköping, Sweden. By thematic analysis we identified and described 5 types of behaviour and how users have articulated their considerations behind each of the 5 types of behaviour. We found 22 privacy preferences of users when it comes to how their data should be collected, stored, and used. These could be considered as required options to be implemented in the preference set-up.

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“Vi använder cookies för att förbättra webbplatsen och din användarupplevelse”, är troligtvis en mening som många känner igen. Idag är det svårt att använda internet utan att stöta på små pop-up-meddelanden som vill ha ditt samtycke kring datainsamling, så kallade cookies. Medvetenhet och förståelse kring cookies är en grundläggande del i EU´s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Den infördes för att ge användare makt över sin personliga data, delvis genom informerat samtycke. Trots lagen godkänner majoriteten av användarna cookies utan att reflektera. Att inte ge samtycke till datainsamling genom cookies tillhör ovanligheten, vilket gör det intresseväckande att undersöka vilka faktorer som samspelar med valet att faktiskt neka cookies. Studien syftar till att undersöka hur tre faktorer; ålder, kunskap och oro, påverkar internetanvändares inställning till att neka cookies. En kvantitativ metod, i form av en besöksenkät har använts för att samla in empiri. Insamlingen har skett utanför mataffärer i tre olika kommuner i Västra Götalandsregionen, och resulterade i sammanlagt giltiga 200 svar. Resultaten från studien visar att ålder och oro är faktorer som kan leda till att internetanvändare nekar cookies; en tredje faktor kunskap visar däremot inget samband med nekandet. Både internetanvändare som lämnar ifrån sig data, och aktörer som hanterar personlig data kan dra nytta av resultatet från studien. / "We use cookies to improve your experience on the website". This is most likely a phrase that you may recognize. Today, it is difficult to use the internet without encountering small pop-up messages asking for your consent regarding data collection through so-called cookies. Awareness and understanding regarding cookies are two fundamental parts of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The law exists to provide internet users with control over their own personal data, through informed consent. Despite the law, the vast majority of users accept cookies without reflecting. Denying consent to data collection through cookies is an unusual choice among users, which makes it interesting to investigate which factors affect the choice to reject cookies. The study aims to investigate three factors; age, cookie knowledge and privacy concern, and how they affect internet users' attitudes towards rejecting cookies online. A quantitative method, in the form of a public survey, was conducted in three cities in the Swedish region Västra Götaland. Empirical evidence was collected outside grocery stores where a total of 200 responses were collected. The results from the study show a connection between rejecting cookies and the factors age as well as privacy concerns. No correlation between cookie knowledge and cookie rejection could be provided. Internet users who provide data, as well as actors who handle personal data could benefit from this study. The study is conducted in Swedish.

Article publié dans le journal « Journal of Information Security Research ». March 2012. / Chaque année, le nombre d’utilisateurs des réseaux sociaux augmente à une très grande vitesse. Des milliers de comptes usagés incluant des données privées sont créés quotidiennement. Un nombre incalculable de données privées et d'informations sensibles sont ainsi lues et partagées par les différents comptes. Ceci met en péril la vie privée et la sécurité de beaucoup d’utilisateurs de ces réseaux sociaux. Il est donc crucial de sensibiliser ces utilisateurs aux dangers potentiels qui les guettent. Nous présentons Protect_U (Hélou, Gandouz et al. 2012), un système de protection de la vie privée des utilisateurs de Facebook. Protect_U analyse le contenu des profils des utilisateurs et les classes selon quatre niveaux de risque : Low risk, medium risk, risky and critical. Il propose ensuite des recommandations personnalisées pour leur permettre de rendre leurs comptes plus sécuritaires. Pour ce faire, il fait appel à deux modèles de protection : local et communautaire. Le premier utilise les données personnelles de l’utilisateur afin de lui proposer des recommandations et le second recherche ses amis de confiance pour les inciter à participer à l’amélioration de la sécurité de son propre compte. / Social networking sites have experienced a steady and dramatic increase in the number of users over the past several years. Thousands of user accounts, each including a significant amount of private data, are created daily. As such, an almost countless amount of sensitive and private information is read and shared across the various accounts. This jeopardizes the privacy and safety of many social network users and mandates the need to increase the users’ awareness about the potential hazards they are exposed to on these sites. We introduce Protect_U (Hélou, Gandouz et al. 2012), a privacy protection system for Facebook users. Protect_U analyzes the content of user profiles and ranks them according to four risk levels: Low Risk, Medium Risk, Risky and Critical. The system then suggests personalized recommendations designed to allow users to increase the safety of their accounts. In order to achieve this, Protect_U draws upon both the local and community-based protection models. The first model uses a Facebook user’s personal data in order to suggest recommendations, and the second seeks out the user’s most trustworthy friends to encourage them to help improve the safety of his/her account.

Chaque année, le nombre d’utilisateurs des réseaux sociaux augmente à une très grande vitesse. Des milliers de comptes usagés incluant des données privées sont créés quotidiennement. Un nombre incalculable de données privées et d'informations sensibles sont ainsi lues et partagées par les différents comptes. Ceci met en péril la vie privée et la sécurité de beaucoup d’utilisateurs de ces réseaux sociaux. Il est donc crucial de sensibiliser ces utilisateurs aux dangers potentiels qui les guettent. Nous présentons Protect_U (Hélou, Gandouz et al. 2012), un système de protection de la vie privée des utilisateurs de Facebook. Protect_U analyse le contenu des profils des utilisateurs et les classes selon quatre niveaux de risque : Low risk, medium risk, risky and critical. Il propose ensuite des recommandations personnalisées pour leur permettre de rendre leurs comptes plus sécuritaires. Pour ce faire, il fait appel à deux modèles de protection : local et communautaire. Le premier utilise les données personnelles de l’utilisateur afin de lui proposer des recommandations et le second recherche ses amis de confiance pour les inciter à participer à l’amélioration de la sécurité de son propre compte. / Social networking sites have experienced a steady and dramatic increase in the number of users over the past several years. Thousands of user accounts, each including a significant amount of private data, are created daily. As such, an almost countless amount of sensitive and private information is read and shared across the various accounts. This jeopardizes the privacy and safety of many social network users and mandates the need to increase the users’ awareness about the potential hazards they are exposed to on these sites. We introduce Protect_U (Hélou, Gandouz et al. 2012), a privacy protection system for Facebook users. Protect_U analyzes the content of user profiles and ranks them according to four risk levels: Low Risk, Medium Risk, Risky and Critical. The system then suggests personalized recommendations designed to allow users to increase the safety of their accounts. In order to achieve this, Protect_U draws upon both the local and community-based protection models. The first model uses a Facebook user’s personal data in order to suggest recommendations, and the second seeks out the user’s most trustworthy friends to encourage them to help improve the safety of his/her account. / Article publié dans le journal « Journal of Information Security Research ». March 2012.