Mining the Mind – Applying Quantitative Techniques to Understand Mental Models of Security

The personal information shared on Facebook can expose individuals to increased risk such as cybercrime and identity theft. While the perception of risk associated with online self-disclosure is increasing, this may not translate into risk management behaviours. This study explored why individuals choose to self-disclose on Facebook, often in spite of the risks. It was hypothesised that a personality style accentuated by impulsive and anti-social behaviour would help to explain this risk-behaviour dichotomy. In other words, individuals who are more narcissistic with less self-control were predicted to expose themselves to more risk on Facebook. An online questionnaire was completed by 263 Australians. This study found that individuals who had less self-control and higher narcissism exposed themselves to significantly more risk on Facebook. Hence, this study found that narcissism and self-control play a meaningful role in the risk-behaviour dichotomy. These findings add to the body of literature on online self-disclosure

Optimising Visual Layout for Training and Learning Technologies

The layout and arraying of information in electronic aids used for training can affect viewer comprehension and impressions. This paper explains existing layout guidance, and defines an integrated design model for applying these recommendations. To test the efficacy of this model, two similar presentations were created, which contained the same content. However, one of these presentations applied the integrated design model to shape the positioning of the visual content, and a variant was developed that flipped the layout, so it did not conform to this design approach. The experimental results demonstrated that developing layouts that bias the important visual material to the top and left positively influenced viewer impressions. These results will have design implications for predominantly text-based material (e.g. presentations, web-pages, e-learning systems); particularly when the content is being delivered to people who typically read from left to right and top to bottom

Using the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour to explain Healthcare Consumer Adoption of Electronic Health Records

An Electronic Health Record (EHR) can be defined as the digital version of an individual’s medical history. EHRs are intended to improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare, decrease costs and prevent medical errors. Previous studies have shown that achievement of the potential benefits from EHRs depends largely upon the adoption and continued use of EHR services by health care consumers (Esmaeilzadeh and Sambasivan 2017; Hanna et al. 2017). Further research, therefore, is necessary to better understand the factors that influence consumer EHR adoption. The proposed study aims to investigate the factors influencing consumer adoption of EHRs. A model based on the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour (DTPB) (Taylor and Todd 1995) provides the theoretical framework for the research. The goal is to improve understanding of how health care consumers perceive this technology and the factors that influence their intentions to use it

Short-term and Long-term Effects of Fear Appeals in Improving Compliance with Password Guidelines

Passwords are the most widely used method of authentication on the Internet, but users find compliance with password guidelines difficult, and we know little about the long-term effects of attempts to improve compliance. In this paper, we extend the work of fear appeals use in the IS security domain to investigate their longer-term effects. We conducted a longitudinal experimental study to examine fear appeals’ long- and short-term effects. Using a model based on protection motivation theory (Rogers, 1983), we found that fear of threat, perceived password effectiveness, and password self-efficacy predicted compliance. We also found that neither perceived vulnerability to a security attack nor perceived severity of an attack influenced compliance. Providing persuasive communication improved compliance with password guidelines and resulted in significantly stronger passwords, but the effects on compliance intentions were only short term. This study extends our understanding of the factors that influence compliance with password guidelines and how we can modify them to improve compliance. We raise interesting questions about the role of fear in different IS security contexts. We also highlight the need for more research on the long-term impact of persuasive communication

Public Acceptance of Internet Censorship in Indonesia

The rapid uptake of digital technologies promises great benefits for citizens to transact and communicate in a free and open space. Yet this freedom may also lead governments to impose regulation and to attempt to filter content that may be considered offensive or politicised in nature. We empirically study public perceptions of internet censorship, perceived personal consequences of internet filtering and the use of tools to circumvent censorship through a survey of 112 residents of Indonesia, analysing our results with PLS structural equation modelling. Our findings show that perceived need for filtering, as well as social norms strongly influence public attitudes. We also find that uncertainty avoidance – a cultural trait - also influences these attitudes. However, the use of circumvention tools is determined by perceived personal consequences rather than attitude. Our findings address the lack of research in this space while addressing implications for government and policymakers

Why students leave their ICT degrees: A gender comparison

Student attrition is of particular concern in the field of ICT because the industry faces staffing shortfalls, generally and a noticeable lack of female employees. This paper explores the reasons students give for leaving their ICT courses and examines gender differences in them. An online survey of early leavers from four Australian universities was conducted. The results show that, for many students, a combination of issues lead to their withdrawal. Whilst the gender imbalance was certainly noted, sexist behaviour from male staff or students was not rated highly as an issue in terms of the withdrawal of female students from their course. Females ex-students were however more likely to believe that they didn\u27t have the expected background knowledge for the course, didn\u27t understand the concepts, or didn\u27t understand the meaning of terms used in the course. Recommendations are made to address issues that could be mitigated by university action

Privacy Concerns and Acceptance of Government Surveillance in Australia

Increases in routine data collection and surveillance in recent years have resulted in ongoing tension between citizens’ privacy concerns, perceived need for government surveillance and acceptance of policies. We address the lack of Australia focussed research through an online survey of 100 Australian residents. Data was analysed using PLS, revealing that privacy concerns around collection influence acceptance of surveillance but do not influence enactment of privacy protections. Conversely, respondents’ concerns about secondary use of data were unrelated to their levels of acceptance, yet were a significant determinant of privacy protections. These findings suggest that respondents conflate surveillance with collection of data, and may not consider subsequent secondary use. This highlights the multi-dimensional nature of privacy which must be studied at sufficiently granular level to draw meaningful conclusions. Our research also considers the role of trust in government, and perceived need for surveillance and these findings are discussed with their implications

Cultural Factors and the Role of Privacy Concerns in Acceptance of Government Surveillance

Though there is a tension between citizens’ privacy concerns and their acceptance of government surveillance, there is little systematic research in this space, and less still in a cross cultural context. We address the research gap by modeling the factors that drive public acceptance of government surveillance, and by exploring the influence of national culture. The research involved an online survey of 242 Australian and Sri Lankan residents. Data was analyzed using PLS, revealing that privacy concerns around initial collection of citizens’ data influenced levels of acceptance of surveillance in Australia but not Sri Lanka, whereas concerns about secondary use of data did not influence levels of acceptance in either country. These findings suggest that respondents conflate surveillance with the collection of data and may not consider subsequent secondary use. We also investigate cultural differences, finding that societal collectivism and power distance significantly affect the strength of the relationships between privacy concerns and acceptance of surveillance, on the one hand, and adoption of privacy protections, on the other. Our research also considers the role of trust in government, and perceived need for surveillance. Findings are discussed with their implications for theory and practice

Usability Perceptions of Culturally Adapted Web Pages

The internationalization of websites should lead to highly usable web pages with excellent user experience. As a result, the understanding and implementation of users’ preferences for functionality, look, feel and aesthetics in website design has become a fundamental issue that needs to be adequately addressed. This research empirically demonstrates the interaction of user culture with user perceptions of perceived navigability, perceived aesthetics, and satisfaction, using a set of translated Australian and Chinese websites. The results show that by implementing culturally specific design elements it is possible to have a positive influence on these perceptions, but the relationships are more complex than originally hypothesized. This work highlights the importance of accommodating the different information presentation and interaction styles of culturally diverse users to improve their user experience when using websites