Children’s and parents’ perceptions of online commercial data practices : a qualitative study

Children's personal data are often collected for commercial aims. Although regulations in different countries aim to protect children's privacy (e.g., by imposing websites to request parental consent for the processing of children's data for commercial purposes), concerns about protecting children's online data continue to rise. This article therefore aims to get insights into parents' and children's privacy coping strategies and perceptions underlying these strategies. In-depth interviews with ten parents and nine children (8-11 years) were conducted. Findings show that although children engaged in avoidance (e.g., leaving the particular website) and confrontation (e.g., seeking support) strategies, they mainly did this to protect their privacy from malicious individuals-and not from commercial parties. Participating children also lacked general knowledge about both explicit and implicit data practices. To protect their children's privacy, parents in this study mainly adopted restrictive mediation strategies, but lacked the knowledge to undertake concrete actions in the case of implicit data collection. Implications for policymakers are discussed

The Use of Marketing Knowledge in Formulating and Enforcing Consumer Protection Policy

The purpose of this first chapter of the handbook is to discuss how the findings and approaches offered by the marketing discipline are used in consumer protection policy

Young people's views regarding participation in mental health and wellbeing research through social media

Social media is a central component in the lives of many young people, and provides innovative potential to conduct research among this population. Ethical issues around online research have been subject to much debate, yet young people have seldom been consulted to provide a youth perspective and voice. Eight (8) focus groups involving 48 Grade 9 Western Australian secondary school students aged 13-14 years were held in 2012, to investigate how young people perceive the feasibility and acceptability of social media when used as a research tool to investigate various issues relevant to their mental health and wellbeing. Whilst young people recognise many benefits of researchers using social media in this way, such as its relevance, innovation and accessibility, there were salient issues of privacy, consent, and practicality that require careful negotiation. There is a need for continued exploration and scientific debate of the moral and ethical implications of using social media for research, to help ensure this is employed in an appropriate and effective way that is respectful of and sensitive to the needs and views of young peoplepeer-reviewe

Innovative public governance through cloud computing: Information privacy, business models and performance measurement challenges

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze challenges and to discuss proposed solutions for innovative public governance through cloud computing. Innovative technologies, such as federation of services and cloud computing, can greatly contribute to the provision of e-government services, through scaleable and flexible systems. Furthermore, they can facilitate in reducing costs and overcoming public information segmentation. Nonetheless, when public agencies use these technologies, they encounter several associated organizational and technical changes, as well as significant challenges. Design/methodology/approach: We followed a multidisciplinary perspective (social, behavioral, business and technical) and conducted a conceptual analysis for analyzing the associated challenges. We conducted focus group interviews in two countries for evaluating the performance models that resulted from the conceptual analysis. Findings: This study identifies and analyzes several challenges that may emerge while adopting innovative technologies for public governance and e-government services. Furthermore, it presents suggested solutions deriving from the experience of designing a related platform for public governance, including issues of privacy requirements, proposed business models and key performance indicators for public services on cloud computing. Research limitations/implications: The challenges and solutions discussed are based on the experience gained by designing one platform. However, we rely on issues and challenges collected from four countries. Practical implications: The identification of challenges for innovative design of e-government services through a central portal in Europe and using service federation is expected to inform practitioners in different roles about significant changes across multiple levels that are implied and may accelerate the challenges' resolution. Originality/value: This is the first study that discusses from multiple perspectives and through empirical investigation the challenges to realize public governance through innovative technologies. The results emerge from an actual portal that will function at a European level. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Investigating attitudes towards online safety and security, and evaluating a peer-led Internet safety programme for 14– to 16-year-olds: final report

Research Grants 2009 - Harnessing Technology Project. Recognising the significant e-safety issues facing young people, students aged between 14 and 16 were encouraged to engage peer-based activities to raise their own awareness of threats and appropriate responses