DEFACING THE ‘BOOK: EXAMINING INFORMATION REVELATION, INTERNET PRIVACY CONCERNS AND PRIVACY PROTECTION IN FACEBOOK

The focus of much research on social network sites (SNSs) has been on the amount and types of information revealed, the relatively open nature of the information, and the apparent lack of controls employed by users. The aim of the present study was to expand the research in this area by identifying the factors that influence information revelation and privacy protection on Facebook, as well as to examine the strategies developed by students to protect themselves against privacy threats. A mixed-methods data collection approach was employed that included a questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and profile analyses. Findings show that students manage their Internet privacy concerns by withholding personal information and address their concerns about unwanted audiences by altering the visibility of their information from within the site. The findings provide insight into students’ motivations for information revelation on Facebook and the ways in which they negotiate privacy on the site

A Content-Analysis Approach for Exploring Usability Problems in a Collaborative Virtual Environment

As Virtual Reality (VR) products are becoming more widely available in the consumer market, improving the usability of these devices and environments is crucial. In this paper, we are going to introduce a framework for the usability evaluation of collaborative 3D virtual environments based on a large-scale usability study of a mixedmodality collaborative VR system. We first review previous literature about important usability issues related to collaborative 3D virtual environments, supplemented with our research in which we conducted 122 interviews after participants solved a collaborative virtual reality task. Then, building on the literature review and our results, we extend previous usability frameworks. We identified twelve different usability problems, and based on the causes of the problems, we grouped them into three main categories: VR environment-, device interaction-, and task-specific problems. The framework can be used to guide the usability evaluation of collaborative VR environments

Coming to America: Iranians' use of Telegram for immigration information seeking

Purpose This study examines Iran-US migrants' use of the most popular messaging application in Iran—Telegram—and shows how they use it to manage their migration information practices. Design/methodology/approach This study took a qualitative observation approach. Over the course of six months, over 80 h of observations were conducted on Iran-US migration-related settings within Telegram. Findings This work identifies the information practices that emerge as users seek and share information related to Iran-US migration. Telegram plays a vital role across the immigration stages, predominantly in the pre-migration stage. This work also shows how the constraints and features of Telegram influence users' information sharing and seeking practices. Practical implications The findings support the implication that a social media platform that provides multiple ways to interact is likely to better support niche or unanticipated uses. Originality/value This study is the first of its kind to explore Iranian Immigrants information practices in the US. The immigration information practices observed during this study represent a valuable example of end-user appropriation within extraordinary constraints, which may be of use in other information-seeking contexts where dedicated or bespoke tools are impractical or ill-advised

Information and Communication Technologies and Work-Life Balance: Practical Recommendations for Employers and Individuals

For decades, the number and frequency of individuals who work from home has gradually increased, in many ways as a result of emergent Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). This gradual increase, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has weathered away boundaries between work at work and work at home, with some positive and many negative outcomes. Currently, however, because of a global pandemic which necessitates ICTs for working from home, the impact that organizational technology assimilation has on the way that people engage with each other is increasingly important. This chapter reviews theory and research regarding organizational technology and concludes with pragmatic recommendations for individuals and organizations regarding work-related technology use at home

Recolonizing carnivores: Is cougar predation behaviorally mediated by bears?

Conservation and management efforts have resulted in population increases and range expansions for some apex predators, potentially changing trophic cascades and foraging behavior. Changes in sympatric carnivore and dominant scavenger populations provide opportunities to assess how carnivores affect one another. Cougars (Puma concolor) were the apex predator in the Great Basin of Nevada, USA, for over 80 years. Black bears (Ursus americanus) have recently recolonized the area and are known to heavily scavenge on cougar kills. To evaluate the impacts of sympatric, recolonizing bears on cougar foraging behavior in the Great Basin, we investigated kill sites of 31 cougars between 2009 and 2017 across a range of bear densities. We modeled the variation in feeding bout duration (number of nights spent feeding on a prey item) and the proportion of primary prey, mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), in cougar diets using mixed-effects models. We found that feeding bout duration was driven primarily by the size of the prey item being consumed, local bear density, and the presence of dependent kittens. The proportion of mule deer in cougar diet across all study areas declined over time, was lower for male cougars, increased with the presence of dependent kittens, and increased with higher bear densities. In sites with feral horses (Equus ferus), a novel large prey, cougar consumption of feral horses increased over time. Our results suggest that higher bear densities over time may reduce cougar feeding bout durations and influence the prey selection trade-off for cougars when alternative, but more dangerous, large prey are available. Shifts in foraging behavior in multicarnivore systems can have cascading effects on prey selection. This study highlights the importance of measuring the impacts of sympatric apex predators and dominant scavengers on a shared resource base, providing a foundation for monitoring dynamic multipredator/scavenger systems

Assessment of Child, Mother, and Environmental Factors Associated with Undernutrition in Children Less than Five Years Old in a Maya Community in Yucatan, Mexico

The objective of this study was to examine child, mother, and environmental factors associated with undernutrition in children less than five years old in a Maya community in Yucatan, Mexico. This investigation was designed as a case-control study. All cases (n=42) of undernutrition were included, and a sample of 52 controls was randomly selected from the study population. The frequency of investigated exposure factors was compared between cases and controls by using logistic regression. Undernutrition was associated with child’s age (> 36 months old; OR = 3.53; 95% CI = 1.04, 18.40) and mother’s marital status (married; OR = 0.29; 95% CI = 0.09, 0.90). The odds of undernutrition were 2.81 times higher in children infected with Giardia spp, but this association was not significant (P = 0.18) after controlling for child’s age and mother’s marital status. In conclusion, child’s age and mother’s marital status were associated with child undernutrition in study subjects. Futures studies on undernutrition in children should examine more carefully how mother’s marital status alone or in combination with other factors (e.g. socio-economic, psychological factors) can influence child nutrition

Notch ligation by Delta1 inhibits peripheral immune responses to transplantation antigens by a CD8⁺ cell–dependent mechanism

Notch signaling plays a fundamental role in determining the outcome of differentiation processes in many tissues. Notch signaling has been implicated in T versus B cell lineage commitment, thymic differentiation, and bone marrow hematopoietic precursor renewal and differentiation. Notch receptors and their ligands are also expressed on the surface of mature lymphocytes and APCs, but the effects of Notch signaling in the peripheral immune system remain poorly defined. The aim of the studies reported here was to investigate the effects of signaling through the Notch receptor using a ligand of the Delta-like family. We show that Notch ligation in the mature immune system markedly decreases responses to transplantation antigens. Constitutive expression of Delta-like 1 on alloantigen-bearing cells renders them nonimmunogenic and able to induce specific unresponsiveness to a challenge with the same alloantigen, even in the form of a cardiac allograft. These effects could be reversed by depletion of CD8⁺ cells at the time of transplantation. Ligation of Notch on splenic CD8⁺ cells results in a dramatic decrease in IFN-γ with a concomitant enhancement of IL-10 production, suggesting that Notch signaling can alter the differentiation potential of CD8⁺ cells. These data implicate Notch signaling in regulation of peripheral immunity and suggest a novel approach for manipulating deleterious immune responses

The capacity of the fecal microbiota from Malawian infants to ferment resistant starch

In Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC), weaning is associated with environmentally acquired and inflammation-associated enteric disorders. Dietary intake of high amylose maize starch (HAMS) can promote commensal fermentative bacteria and drive the production of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs). By stabilizing commensal gut microbiology, and stimulating the production of anti-inflammatory metabolites, HAMS supplementation might therefore influence enteric health. However, the extent to which the gut microbiota of LMIC infants are capable of fermenting HAMS is unclear. We assessed the capacity of the fecal microbiota from pre-weaning and weaning Malawian infants to ferment HAMS and produce SCFAs using an in vitro fermentation model. Fecal microbiota from both pre-weaning and weaning infants were able to ferment HAMS, as indicated by an increase in bacterial load and total SCFA concentration, and a reduction in pH. All of these changes were more substantial in the weaning group. Acetate production was observed with both pre-weaning and weaning groups, while propionate production was only observed in the weaning group. HAMS fermentation resulted in significant alterations to the fecal microbial community in the weaning group, with significant increases in levels of Prevotella, Veillonella, and Collinsella associated with propionate production. In conclusion, fecal microbiota from Malawian infants before and during weaning has the capacity to produce acetate through HAMS fermentation, with propionate biosynthetic capability appearing only at weaning. Our results suggest that HAMS supplementation might provide benefit to infants during weaning

Abundant small RNAs in the reproductive tissues and eggs of the honey bee, Apis mellifera

Background: Polyandrous social insects such as the honey bee are prime candidates for parental manipulation of gene expression in offspring. Although there is good evidence for parent-of-origin effects in honey bees the epigenetic mechanisms that underlie these effects remain a mystery. Small RNA molecules such as miRNAs, piRNAs and siRNAs play important roles in transgenerational epigenetic inheritance and in the regulation of gene expression during development. Results: Here we present the first characterisation of small RNAs present in honey bee reproductive tissues: ovaries, spermatheca, semen, fertilised and unfertilised eggs, and testes. We show that semen contains fewer piRNAs relative to eggs and ovaries, and that piRNAs and miRNAs which map antisense to genes involved in DNA regulation and developmental processes are differentially expressed between tissues. tRNA fragments are highly abundant in semen and have a similar profile to those seen in the semen of other animals. Intriguingly we also find abundant piRNAs that target the sex determination locus, suggesting that piRNAs may play a role in honey bee sex determination. Conclusions: We conclude that small RNAs may play a fundamental role in honey bee gametogenesis and reproduction and provide a plausible mechanism for parent-of-origin effects on gene expression and reproductive physiology