Are 21st-century citizens grieving for their loss of privacy?

Although much research exists that examines cognitive events leading up to information disclosure, such as risk-benefit analysis and state-based and trait-based attributes, minimal research exists that examines user responses after a direct or indirect breach of privacy. The present study examines 1,004 consumer responses to two different high-profile privacy breaches using sentiment analysis. Our findings indicate that individuals who experience an actual or surrogate privacy breach exhibit similar emotional responses, and that the pattern of responses resembles well-known reactions to other losses. Specifically, we present evidence that users contemplating evidence of a privacy invasion experience and communicate very similar responses as individuals who have lost loved ones, gone through a divorce or who face impending death because of a terminal illness. These responses parallel behavior associated with the Kübler-Ross’s five stages of grief

A Privacy Calculus Model for Personal Mobile Devices

Personal mobile devices (PMDs) initiated a multi-dimensional paradigmatic shift in personal computing and personal information collection fueled by the indispensability of the Internet and the increasing functionality of the devices. From 2005 to 2016, the perceived necessity of conducting transactions on the Internet moved from optional to indispensable. The context of these transactions changes from traditional desktop and laptop computers, to the inclusion of smartphones and tablets (PMDs). However, the traditional privacy calculus published by (Dinev and Hart 2006) was conceived before this technological and contextual change, and several core assumptions of that model must be re-examined and possibly adapted or changed to account for this shift. This paradigm shift impacts the decision process individuals use to disclose personal information using PMDs. By nature of their size, portability, and constant proximity to the user, PMDs collect, contain, and distribute unprecedented amounts of personal information. Even though the context within which people are sharing information has changed significantly, privacy calculus research applied to PMDs has not moved far from the seminal work by Dinev and Hart (2006). The traditional privacy calculus risk-benefit model is limited in the PMD context because users are unaware of how much personal information is being shared, how often it is shared, or to whom it is shared. Furthermore, the traditional model explains and predicts intent to disclose rather than actual disclosure. However, disclosure intentions are a poor predictor of actual information disclosure. Because of perceived indispensability of the information and the inability to assess potential risk, the deliberate comparison of risks to benefits prior to disclosure—a core assumption of the traditional privacy calculus—may not be the most effective basis of a model to predict and explain disclosure. The present research develops a Personal Mobile Device Privacy Calculus model designed to predict and explain disclosure behavior within the specific context of actual disclosure of personal information using PMDs

Evaluating detection limits of next-generation sequencing for the surveillance and monitoring of international marine pests

Most surveillance programmes for marine invasive species (MIS) require considerable taxonomic expertise, are laborious, and are unable to identify species at larval or juvenile stages. Therefore, marine pests may go undetected at the initial stages of incursions when population densities are low. In this study, we evaluated the ability of the benchtop GS Junior™ 454 pyrosequencing system to detect the presence of MIS in complex sample matrices. An initial in-silico evaluation of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and the nuclear small subunit ribosomal DNA (SSU) genes, found that multiple primer sets (targeting a ca. 400 base pair region) would be required to obtain species level identification within the COI gene. In contrast a single universal primer set was designed to target the V1–V3 region of SSU, allowing simultaneous PCR amplification of a wide taxonomic range of MIS. To evaluate the limits of detection of this method, artificial contrived communities (10 species from 5 taxonomic groups) were created using varying concentrations of known DNA samples and PCR products. Environmental samples (water and sediment) spiked with one or five 160 hr old Asterias amurensis larvae were also examined. Pyrosequencing was able to recover DNA/PCR products of individual species present at greater than 0.64% abundance from all tested contrived communities. Additionally, single A. amurensis larvae were detected from both water and sediment samples despite the co-occurrence of a large array of environmental eukaryotes, indicating an equivalent sensitivity to quantitative PCR. NGS technology has tremendous potential for the early detection of marine invasive species worldwide

Romantic Partnerships and the Dispersion of Social Ties: A Network Analysis of Relationship Status on Facebook

A crucial task in the analysis of on-line social-networking systems is to identify important people --- those linked by strong social ties --- within an individual's network neighborhood. Here we investigate this question for a particular category of strong ties, those involving spouses or romantic partners. We organize our analysis around a basic question: given all the connections among a person's friends, can you recognize his or her romantic partner from the network structure alone? Using data from a large sample of Facebook users, we find that this task can be accomplished with high accuracy, but doing so requires the development of a new measure of tie strength that we term `dispersion' --- the extent to which two people's mutual friends are not themselves well-connected. The results offer methods for identifying types of structurally significant people in on-line applications, and suggest a potential expansion of existing theories of tie strength.Comment: Proc. 17th ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW), 201

Maternal/infant Characteristics And Birth Location Impact On Breastfeeding Initiation And Duration

PURPOSE: Healthy People 2020 goals emphasize the importance of breast milk as the best source of nutrition for infants. Variability in breastfeeding outcomes (initiation and duration) is attributable to maternal/infant characteristics and healthcare practices. Studies in Australia and Sweden reported no significant differences in breastfeeding duration by location; however, no U.S. study has evaluated duration outcomes in relation to birth location. OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the influence of maternal/infant characteristics and birth location on breastfeeding outcomes. Design: A descriptive, secondary analysis was conducted using the CDC’s National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) 2006-2010. Participants: Data were obtained from in-person interviews. The sample (N=4,485) consists of women between the ages of 15 and 44 who reported their first live birth. DATA ANALYSIS: ANOVA, Chi-Square, t-tests, and Pearson (r) were used to evaluate differences in breastfeeding outcomes among birth location and maternal/infant characteristics. RESULTS: Mothers who delivered in a birth center breastfed significantly (p ≤ .01) longer (M=44.1 weeks) than mothers who delivered in a hospital (M=17.2 weeks). Full term infants were breastfed significantly (p < .001) longer (M=19.2 weeks) than preterm infants (M=14.7 weeks). Maternal demographic factors that strongly influenced breastfeeding initiation and duration included race, education, marital status, smoking status, and poverty level. CONCLUSIONS: The results support that birth centers consistently practice care associated with longer breastfeeding duration. Improving access to birth centers for care and integrating Baby Friendly care practices into hospitals may enhance efforts to meet the Healthy People 2020 goals for breastfeeding

Comparison of Personal, Health and Family Characteristics of Children With and Without Autism

Today it is reported that one in 88 children in the U.S. has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with rates continuing to rise. Early diagnosis and intervention are imperative, as well as a systematic way to identify characteristics of children that put them at risk for ASD as well as associated comorbidities. Few studies have examined whether the health status of the child or the type of health insurance impacts the diagnosis and intervention. The aim of this study is to examine and compare the personal (child), family, and health status characteristics of children (< 18 years) with autism with a matched sample (age and gender) of children without autism as reported in the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS): 2009. A descriptive, exploratory study with secondary analysis was performed using data from the NHIS: 2009. Frequencies, chi-square, and ANOVA were used in data analysis. In this study there was a higher proportion of children with autism residing with biological, adoptive, and step parents. The study also reveals that children with autism have a significantly (p<.05) higher incidence of specific comorbidities such as developmental delays, learning disabilities/ADHD, and seizures, a higher number of health care visits, as well as lower average family health status scores. Identifying characteristics that are common among children with autism will help identify other health problems associated with ASD, create a systematic way to identify potential risks, and serve as a baseline for early intervention programs.University of Kansas School of Nursing. Bachelor of Science in Nursing Honors Progra