7,227 research outputs found
Lex Informatica: The Formulation of Information Policy Rules through Technology
Historically, law and government regulation have established default rules for information policy, including constitutional rules on freedom of expression and statutory rights of ownership of information. This Article will show that for network environments and the Information Society, however, law and government regulation are not the only source of rule-making. Technological capabilities and system design choices impose rules on participants. The creation and implementation of information policy are embedded in network designs and standards as well as in system configurations. Even user preferences and technical choices create overarching, local default rules. This Article argues, in essence, that the set of rules for information flows imposed by technology and communication networks form a âLex Informaticaâ that policymakers must understand, consciously recognize, and encourage
Interpretable Machine Learning for Privacy-Preserving Pervasive Systems
Our everyday interactions with pervasive systems generate traces that capture
various aspects of human behavior and enable machine learning algorithms to
extract latent information about users. In this paper, we propose a machine
learning interpretability framework that enables users to understand how these
generated traces violate their privacy
Sex differences in attitudes towards online privacy and anonymity among Israeli students with different technical backgrounds
Introduction. In this exploratory study, we proposed an experimental
framework to investigate and model male/female differences in attitudes towards
online privacy and anonymity among Israeli students. Our aim was to
comparatively model men and women's online privacy attitudes, and to assess the
online privacy gender gap. Method. Various factors related to the user's online
privacy and anonymity were considered, such as awareness of anonymous threats
made online, concern for protecting personal information on the Internet,
online privacy self-efficacy, online privacy literacy and users' tendency to
engage in privacy paradox behaviour, i.e., personal data disclosure despite the
awareness of anonymity and privacy threats. Analysis. A user study was carried
out among 169 Israeli academic students through a quantitative method using
closed-ended questionnaires. The subjects' responses were analysed using
standard statistical measures. We then proposed a summarized comparative model
for the two sexes' online privacy behaviour. Results. We found that a digital
gap still exists between men and women regarding technological knowledge and
skills used to protect their identity and personal information on the Web.
Interestingly, users' tendency to engage in privacy paradox behaviour was not
higher among men despite their higher level of technological online privacy
literacy compared to women. Conclusions. Women's relatively high online privacy
self-efficacy level and their low awareness of technological threat do not
match their relatively low technological online privacy literacy level. This
leads to a lower ability to protect their identity and personal information as
compared to men. We conclude that further steps should be taken to eliminate
the inter-gender technological gap in online privacy and anonymity awareness
and literacy
Contributions to the privacy provisioning for federated identity management platforms
Identity information, personal data and userâs profiles are key assets for organizations
and companies by becoming the use of identity management (IdM) infrastructures a prerequisite
for most companies, since IdM systems allow them to perform their business
transactions by sharing information and customizing services for several purposes in more
efficient and effective ways.
Due to the importance of the identity management paradigm, a lot of work has been done
so far resulting in a set of standards and specifications. According to them, under the
umbrella of the IdM paradigm a personâs digital identity can be shared, linked and reused
across different domains by allowing users simple session management, etc. In this way,
usersâ information is widely collected and distributed to offer new added value services
and to enhance availability. Whereas these new services have a positive impact on usersâ
life, they also bring privacy problems.
To manage usersâ personal data, while protecting their privacy, IdM systems are the ideal
target where to deploy privacy solutions, since they handle usersâ attribute exchange.
Nevertheless, current IdM models and specifications do not sufficiently address comprehensive
privacy mechanisms or guidelines, which enable users to better control over the
use, divulging and revocation of their online identities. These are essential aspects, specially
in sensitive environments where incorrect and unsecured management of userâs data
may lead to attacks, privacy breaches, identity misuse or frauds.
Nowadays there are several approaches to IdM that have benefits and shortcomings, from
the privacy perspective.
In this thesis, the main goal is contributing to the privacy provisioning for federated
identity management platforms. And for this purpose, we propose a generic architecture
that extends current federation IdM systems. We have mainly focused our contributions
on health care environments, given their particularly sensitive nature. The two main
pillars of the proposed architecture, are the introduction of a selective privacy-enhanced
user profile management model and flexibility in revocation consent by incorporating an
event-based hybrid IdM approach, which enables to replace time constraints and explicit
revocation by activating and deactivating authorization rights according to events. The
combination of both models enables to deal with both online and offline scenarios, as well
as to empower the user role, by letting her to bring together identity information from
different sources.
Regarding userâs consent revocation, we propose an implicit revocation consent mechanism
based on events, that empowers a new concept, the sleepyhead credentials, which
is issued only once and would be used any time. Moreover, we integrate this concept
in IdM systems supporting a delegation protocol and we contribute with the definition
of mathematical model to determine event arrivals to the IdM system and how they are
managed to the corresponding entities, as well as its integration with the most widely
deployed specification, i.e., Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML).
In regard to user profile management, we define a privacy-awareness user profile management
model to provide efficient selective information disclosure. With this contribution a
service provider would be able to accesses the specific personal information without being
able to inspect any other details and keeping user control of her data by controlling
who can access. The structure that we consider for the user profile storage is based on
extensions of Merkle trees allowing for hash combining that would minimize the need of
individual verification of elements along a path. An algorithm for sorting the tree as we
envision frequently accessed attributes to be closer to the root (minimizing the accessâ
time) is also provided.
Formal validation of the above mentioned ideas has been carried out through simulations
and the development of prototypes. Besides, dissemination activities were performed in
projects, journals and conferences.Programa Oficial de Doctorado en IngenierĂa TelemĂĄticaPresidente: MarĂa Celeste Campo VĂĄzquez.- Secretario: MarĂa Francisca Hinarejos Campos.- Vocal: Ăscar Esparza MartĂ
Technology-enabled Learning (TEL): YouTube as a Ubiquitous Learning Aid.
The use of social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube in the society has become ubiquitous. The advent of communication technologies alongside other unification trends and notions such as media convergence and digital content allow the users of the social network to integrate these networks in their everyday life. There have been several attempts in the literature to investigate and explain the use of social networks such as Facebook and WhatsApp by university students in the Arab region. However, little research has been done on how university students utilise online audiovisual materials in their academic activities in the UAE. This research aims to elucidate the use of YouTube as a learning aid for university students in the UAE. We adopt the technology acceptance model (TAM) as the theoretical framework for this investigation. A quantitative methodology is employed to answer the research question. Primary data consisting of 221 correspondents were analysed, covering patterns of using YouTube as an academic audiovisual learning aid. Statistical techniques including descriptive, correlations, regression tests were used to analyse the data. The study concluded that students use YouTube as a learning tool for their academic studies and enriching their general knowledge; and there is a positive relationship between the use of YouTube videos in academic settings and the studentsâ overall performance. This study can shed light for teachers, curriculum designers, government entities, and other stakeholders on how to best utilise and integrate the online technology â YouTube â as a learning aid
Linking Disability and Intercultural Studies: the adaptation journey of the visually impaired migrant in Ireland
This study focuses on the lived experiences of the visually impaired migrant in Ireland and this is the first study to document the lives of these members of Irish society. It examines how visually impaired migrants are simultaneously adapting to their disability and a new cultural environment while living in Ireland. In so doing this study aims to link the two academic fields of Intercultural Studies and Disability Studies and theoretical underpinnings for this study are drawn and woven together from both fields. As such this study draws from the development of theories relating to disability as well as the intercultural aspects of migration.
Qualitative in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 participants living in the larger Dublin region, which comprised of two groups; migrant users and providers of services for the visually impaired. Data analysis was assisted through the software package Atlas.ti. A grounded theory approach to collecting and analysing data was adopted as this facilitates the flow from raw data to codes to concepts. Purposive sampling was employed and the typical method of grounded theory of constant comparison was not used, rather interviews were analysed individually once they were all completed then compared. Research findings indicate that the cultural perceptions of disability may help or hinder the individualâs adaptation process both to their visual impairment and to living and integrating into a new culture in Ireland. Findings cluster around the three areas of cultural perceptions of disability, support networks and cultural barriers to adaptation. Synergising theoretical concepts and data steered the development of a new integrative model which identifies the inhibitors and facilitators for the process of adaptation to visual impairment for a migrant in Ireland
Privately Waiting â A Usability Analysis of the Tor Anonymity Network
As the Internet is increasingly absorbing information from the real world it becomes more important to prevent unauthorized collection and abuse of personalized information. At the same time, democratic societies should establish an environment helping not only their own people but also people who face repressive censorship to access public information without being identified or traced. Internet anonymization tools such as Tor offer functionalities to meet this demand. In practice, anonymization of Internet access can only be achieved by accepting higher latency, i.e., a longer waiting time before a Web site is displayed in the browser, and therefore reducing its usability significantly. Since many users may not be willing to accept this loss of usability, they may refrain from or stop using Tor â at the same time decreasing the anonymity of other users, which depends on shared resources in the Tor user community. In this paper1, we quantify the loss of usability by measuring the additional latency of the Tor software and combine our measurements with metrics of the existing Web usability and performance literature. Our findings indicate that there is still a major usability gap induced by Tor, leading to its possible disuse accompanied by a higher risk exposure of Internet users
A User-Focused Reference Model for Wireless Systems Beyond 3G
This whitepaper describes a proposal from Working Group 1, the Human Perspective of the Wireless World, for a user-focused reference model for systems beyond 3G. The general structure of the proposed model involves two "planes": the Value Plane and the Capability Plane. The characteristics of these planes are discussed in detail and an example application of the model to a specific scenario for the wireless world is provided
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