Public preferences for internet surveillance, data retention and privacy enhancing services: evidence from a pan-European study

This paper examines public preferences regarding privacy implications of internet surveillance. The study was based on a pan-European survey and included a stated preference discrete choice experiment (SPDCE) involving the choice of an Internet Service Provider (ISP) offering varying levels of storage, access and sharing of internet activity, continuous surveillance and privacy enhancing technologies. The survey obtained 16,463 individual responses across the European Union's 27 member-states1. Respondents expressed highest levels of concern about: Internet facilitated crime, namely using the internet to share and publish child pornography (68.2%); individual data protection and security threats – i.e., personal information not being handled in a legitimate way (62%); computer viruses (61.4%) and finally the theft of financial data or identity (61.4%). Such levels of concern affect trust in the Internet: 27.7% of respondents trusted websites for information exchange and a similar figure, 30.7% reported they trust websites for business transactions. Given this context, following our analysis of preferences, on average, respondents were more likely to choose an ISP that would not store any internet activity, would retain any data for up to 1 month and would not share data with anyone else. Interestingly, respondents did recognise the potential benefit for continuous state-surveillance (by the police), but only under an appropriate accountable legal basis. Also, respondents were in favour of an array of privacy enhancing technologies that would enhance their privacy when using the Internet. Finally, the analysis shows that in some cases, significant differences in preferences across countries and socio-economic characteristics suggest that individual privacy-preferences do vary across cultural/national settings, age, gender and education level

Appropriate Methodologies to Better Measure Consumer Preferences for Postal Services

This report summarises work undertaken testing the use of stated preference discrete choice experiments to measure consumer preferences for postal services. It discusses the importance of understanding and quantifying consumer priorities in the postal sector and presents different methods used for valuing non-market goods. We recommend the use of stated preference discrete choice experiments, and test the use of this approach in three member states. We provide the findings for these member states, as well as a “tool kit” for applying this methodology in other member states in future.Consumer preferences, postal services, discrete choice, two-sided market

The supply of personal information: A study on the determinants of information provision in e-commerce scenarios

Disjoint research efforts have so far considered latent constructs (e.g. privacy concerns) either as an independent variable to explore consumers' actual or stated intentions or - to a less extent - as dependent variable explained through a number of antecedents (e.g. privacy awareness, demographic differences). However, there has not been a formal link across antecedents, latent constructs and behavioural (or stated) intentions in the context of ecommerce or information disclosure. This paper aims to fill this gap in the literature in order to establish a better understanding of the role of attitudes in respondents' willingness to engage in online purchases. We employ a stated preference discrete choice experiment to collect respondents' choices across online retailers, conventional store and opt-out options under different levels of personal-information requirements. Personal information in the experiment is presented across three dimensions (attributes): amount/type of information collected, duration of storage and the likelihood of this information being shared with third parties. These dimensions are introduced in order to be able to capture risks involved in online transactions according to consumer perceptions. Using the Privacy Calculus as a guiding conceptual framework, the experiment also offers respondents trade-offs between benefits such as faster check-out, detailed reviews and priority shipping of the purchased product. The choice data are complemented with a set of attitudinal indicators (psychometric scales) describing individuals’ attitudes toward information privacy protection. The data comes from 502 participants representing the online-user population in the UK. We report results from Integrated Latent Variable models, which test the influence of these latent constructs in the consumers' decision to purchase a product online and their sensitivity upon attributes describing online retailers. Preliminary model estimation results show that the higher an individual's concern, general caution and technical protection the less likely a consumer is to purchase a product online. In a joint model, the influence of privacy concern is found to outweigh the influence of general caution and technical protection. Also, consumers with increased general caution are less sensitive in the case an online retailer shares their personal data with third parties

A rapid review of the Greek research and development system

Η παρούσα έκθεση παρουσιάζει τα ευρήματα μιας σύντομης ανασκόπησης του ελληνικού συστήματος έρευνας και ανάπτυξης (Ε&Α). Η ανασκόπηση προετοιμάστηκε σε μια μικρή περίοδο τεσσάρων μηνών (Απρίλιος – Ιούλιος 2011) και επικεντρώθηκε στα Ερευνητικά Κέντρα (ΕΚ) που χρηματοδοτούνται από το δημόσιο υπό την εποπτεία της Γενικής Γραμματείας Έρευνας και Τεχνολογίας (ΓΓΕΤ) τα οποία και αντιστοιχούν περίπου στο ένα πέμπτο της ερευνητικής δραστηριότητας στην Ελλάδα. Ο έλεγχος βασίζεται σε μια ανάλυση SWOT των δυνατών σημείων, των αδυναμιών, των ευκαιριών και των απειλών που σχετίζονται με το ελληνικό σύστημα έρευνας. Η ανάλυση SWOT διαμορφώθηκε μέσα από συνεντεύξεις και συζητήσεις με την ηγεσία των ΕΚ, ανασκόπηση εγγράφων και βιβλιογραφίας, ανασκόπηση εξωτερικών αξιολογήσεων που έγιναν το 2005 (από ομότιμους κριτές), δευτερογενή έρευνα και βιβλιομετρική ανάλυση. Η βιβλιομετρική ανάλυση αφορούσε σειρά έγκριτων ερευνητικών δημοσιεύσεων και αναφορών της ελληνικής έρευνας μεταξύ του 2000 και 2004. Η ανάλυση κατέληξε στα εξής: 1. Το ελληνικό σύστημα Ε&Α χρειάζεται άμεση μεταρρύθμιση. Η ανάλυση SWOT εντόπισε αρκετές αδυναμίες στο υπάρχον σύστημα που είναι αναγκαίο να αντιμετωπιστούν. 2. Με βάση την ανάλυση SWOT, παρουσιάζεται ένα προσχέδιο μιας μελλοντικής στρατηγικής για το σύστημα Ε&Α, περιλαμβανομένου ενός συνόλου υποκείμενων αρχών και επτά “ιδεών” που μπορούν να ληφθούν υπόψη για τη δημιουργία του προγράμματος

An Internet-Based Stated Choices Household Survey for Alternative Fuelled Vehicles

The development of alternative fuelled vehicle technology is a key strategy towards environmental sustainability and improved air quality in cities. Analysis of the role of vehicle technology in fulfilling sustainability targets requires estimates of future vehicle demand. The inability to observe actual car-type preferences for cleaner vehicles has led researchers to the development of stated choice methods. This paper reports on the design and descriptive analysis of a stated choices survey on the demand for alternative fuelled vehicles in the Census Metropolitan Area of Hamilton, conducted through the Internet. Respondents were asked to select the vehicle they would most likely buy out of a set of conventional, hybrid and alternative-fuel options over a time horizon of five years. Characteristics such as vehicle purchase price, fuel and maintenance cost, acceleration, alternative fuel incentives, fuel availability and pollution levels were used to describe each vehicle presented. To our knowledge, this is the first study of its kind that focuses at the urban level and the Canadian context and also, it is the first to demonstrate the time- and cost-efficiency of the Internet in designing and collecting Stated Choices data for automobile demand

An insight into the impacts of COVID-19 on work-related travel behaviours in the Cardiff Capital Region and following the UK’s first national lockdown

Traveller responses to transport disruptions can be used to understand individual travel choices and the potential barriers restricting the uptake of sustainable travel behaviours. Using the Cardiff Capital Region as the study area, this research employed a cross-sectional survey to determine the immediate and anticipated long-term impacts of COVID-19, as a transport disruption, on work-related travel behaviours. This research identified that COVID-19 had the greatest significant impact on travel frequencies for office-based workers, with reductions identified during and in expected frequencies following COVID-19. Similar modal changes and intentions to shift were identified as an immediate and potential post-lockdown impact. Meanwhile, departure times before and after the pandemic are expected to remain between similar hours. Additionally, no statistical relationships were identified between respondents' socio-demographics and attitudes towards the avoidance of public transport and the exclusive use of a private car in the future. Overall, the research indicated the potential for low-frequency work travel but increased car dependency following the pandemic. This signifies the importance for local policymakers and planners to continue to improve existing active and public transport infrastructure, to secure a low-carbon recovery and future

Factor structure and construct validity of the Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit for Carers (ASCOT-Carer)

Background: The ASCOT-Carer is a self-report instrument designed to measure social care-related quality of life (SCRQoL). This article presents the psychometric testing and validation of the ASCOT-Carer four response-level interview (INT4) in a sample of unpaid carers of adults who receive publicly-funded social care services in England. Methods: Unpaid carers were identified through a survey of users of publicly-funded social care services in England. 387 carers completed a face-to-face or telephone interview. Data on variables hypothesised to be related to SCRQoL (for example, characteristics of the carer, cared-for person and care situation) and measures of carer experience, strain, health-related quality of life and overall QoL were collected. Relationships between these variables and overall SCRQoL score were evaluated through correlation, ANOVA and regression analysis to test the construct validity of the scale. Internal reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha and feasibility by the number of missing responses. Results: The construct validity was supported by statistically significant relationships between SCRQoL and scores on instruments of related constructs, as well as with characteristics of the carer and care recipient in univariate and multivariate analyses. A Cronbach’s alpha of 0.87 (7 items) indicates that the internal reliability of the instrument is satisfactory and a low number of missing responses (<1%) indicates a high level of acceptance. Conclusions: The results provide evidence to support the construct validity, factor structure, internal reliability and feasibility of the ASCOT-Carer INT4 as an instrument for measuring social care-related quality of life of unpaid carers who care for adults with a variety of long-term conditions, disability or problems related to old age

The validity of the preference profiles used for evaluating impacts in the Dutch National Risk Assessment

This report summarises the results of the assessment of the validity of the preference profiles used in the National Risk Assessment (NRA) by answering two main questions:Are the preference profiles that are used in the NRA valid?What is the most appropriate method for developing one or more weight set(s) that are representative of the Dutch population? CONTENT: 1. Introduction 2. Overview of the National Risk Assessment Methodology 3. Research approach 4. Assessing the validity of the preference profiles 5. Alternatives for improving the validity of the NRA preference profiles 6. Concluding observation

An internet-based stated choices household survey for alternative fuelled vehicles

The development of alternative fuelled vehicle technology is a key strategy towards environmental sustainability and improved air quality in cities. Analysis of the role of vehicle technology in fulfilling sustainability targets requires estimates of future vehicle demand. The inability to observe actual car-type preferences for cleaner vehicles has led researchers to the development of stated choice methods. This paper reports on the design and descriptive analysis of a stated choices survey on the demand for alternative fuelled vehicles in the Census Metropolitan Area of Hamilton, conducted through the Internet. Respondents were asked to select the vehicle they would most likely buy out of a set of conventional, hybrid and alternative-fuel options over a time horizon of five years. Characteristics such as vehicle purchase price, fuel and maintenance cost, acceleration, alternative fuel incentives, fuel availability and pollution levels were used to describe each vehicle presented. To our knowledge, this is the first study of its kind that focuses at the urban level and the Canadian context and also, it is the first to demonstrate the time- and cost-efficiency of the Internet in designing and collecting Stated Choices data for automobile demand

Factors associated with care-related Quality of Life of adults with Intellectual Disabilities in England: Implications for Policy and Practice

Over the last three decades, quality of life (QoL) has been advocated as an indicator of social care outcomes for adults with intellectual disabilities. In England, the Adult Social Care Survey (ASCS) is conducted annually by local authorities to contribute to the evidence base of the care-related QoL of people receiving publicly-funded adult social care. This study explores relationships between QoL and non-care related factors to identify relationships that could inform social care policy and practice. Cross-sectional data collected from 13,642 adults who participated in the 2011 and 2012 ASCS were analysed using regression to explore the factors associated with QoL measured using the Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit (ASCOT). Self-rated health, rating of the suitability of home design and anxiety/depression were all found to be significantly associated with ASCOT. Other individual and survey completion factors were also found to have weak significant relationships with ASCOT. The models also indicate that there was an increase in overall ASCOT-QoL and in five of the eight ASCOT domains (Personal comfort and cleanliness, Safety, Social participation, Occupation and Dignity) between 2011 and 2012. These findings demonstrate the potential value of QoL data for informing policy for people with intellectual disabilities by identifying key factors associated with QoL, the characteristics of those at risk of lower QoL, and QoL domains that could be targeted for improvement over time. Future research should establish causal relationships and explore the risk-adjustment of scores to account for variation outside of the control of social care support