Individuals Online Research Articles

Individual internet usage and the availability of online content of local interest: A multilevel approach

This paper illustrates whether the availability of online content of local interest affects the likelihood of individuals to connect to the internet and spend more time online. While the literature demonstrates a number of factors which push or enable individuals to spend more time online, we know little about the conditions that pull or attract individuals online. Although we know that individuals use the internet to access information, we do not know whether such attraction forces are relevant at the local scale too. Gaining a better understanding of how such mechanisms work at the local scale can assist our efforts to bridge digital divides, which tend to be geographically clustered. To explore this we utilise innovative data, which contain all the archived webpages under the UK top level domain name (.uk) and we calculate the volume of internet content of local interest at the neighbourhood level using the geolocation information included in the text of these webpages. Specifically, we calculate the radius of gyration for every archived website using the different postcodes included in the archived webpages and then we create an aggregated measure at the neighbourhood level discounting websites that have less of a local focus. We merge this measure of Local Internet Content (LIC) with a large population survey, which contains information about the frequency of internet usage in the UK and estimate the effect of LIC on the likelihood of an individual being a frequent internet user. Multilevel models are employed to utilise both individual and geographical level characteristics. Our results indicate that even after controlling for the individual and geographical characteristics, which according to previous studies affect internet usage, the availability of internet content of local interest still attracts individuals online.

The Kids Are Alt-Right: How Media and the Law Enable White Supremacist Groups to Recruit and Radicalize Emotionally Vulnerable Individuals

Right-wing extremist violence represents “the oldest and most persistent form of terrorism in the United States and surprisingly the deadliest form of extremism in the US since 9/11. In fact, since 9/11 right-wing extremists have killed more Americans on US soil than jihadi extremists by almost two-to-one.” A joint bulletin from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security reported that the number of homicides committed by white supremacists from 2000 to 2016 was “more than any other domestic extremist movement.” The latest FBI report shows that, for the third year in a row, hate crimes are increasing, with a 17% increase from 2016-2017. Violence committed by white supremacists is also growing, making 2017 the fifth deadliest year for extremists violence since 1970. How is the growth within white supremacist groups able to occur when they are such a significant threat to our public’s safety? A few of the major causes are: the government’s refusal to label white supremacists as terrorists, the protection the courts have placed on first amendment rights at the cost of others safety, the spread of recruitment and visibility of these extremist groups on social media, and the lack of awareness of the public due to the inaccurate stereotyping and description of the threats and violence propagated by the media by labelling it as mental illness and not as terrorism. These factors insulate white supremacists from real consequences, stigmatizes minority groups, provides a false narrative to the public about the threat to their safety, allows white supremacists to recruit more individuals online with ease, protects their hate speech and propaganda, and stops government departments from utilizing resources that would prevent future attacks. The government and media must stop blaming acts of domestic terrorism by white supremacists as being committed due to mental illness, and instead call it domestic terrorism and place regulations on social media companies that are negligently allowing white supremacist groups to recruit online and incite violence. In the past months, we have seen The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Economist, and Time magazine run issues on the threat of white supremacy in the US and how the media and government have allowed this growth to occur. It is a recognized problem, however, there is little legal research that analyzes the real threats and consequences on the U.S. This paper addresses the issue as a whole. It analyzes the personality of those recruited by white supremacist groups, including the first psychological profile of the alt-right, the influence media has had on the growth and visibility of white supremacists, how the media and government blame the attacks on mental illness, how the courts and government protect white supremacists, the lack of an independent federal crime for domestic terrorism, and the necessary steps the government must take to raise awareness of this threat to the public by calling these attacks terrorism and the need to regulate social media platforms that allow these extremist groups to recruit, grow in visibility, and plan attacks on their platforms. This paper calls for accountability and presents evidence that refutes any dismissal of white supremacists not being a significant threat to the U.S.

Privacy Governance for Institutional Trust

Currently, we frame individuals online as in a series of exchanges with specific firms, and privacy, accordingly, is governed to ensure trust within those relationships. However, the focus on the relationship between consumers and specific firms does not capture how the online environment behaves. The aggregation and secondary use of consumer data is performed by market actors behind the scenes without any relationship with consumers. Trusting a single firm is not enough; individuals must trust the online market in general. Such institutional trust has gone under-examined in regards to privacy online. Little has been done to measure how aggregating and using consumer data supports a larger online market and impacts institutional trust online. This paper explores how privacy governance should also be framed as protecting a larger market to ensure consumers trust being online. In a series of studies, I empirically examine (a) how typical secondary uses are judged along a generalized (for the good of the market) versus reciprocal (for the good of the consumer) exchange and impact institutional and consumer trust, and (b) whether governance mechanisms (limitations on the use of data such as adequate notice, auditing, non-identifiable information, limited storage, etc.) increase consumer trust in companies. I find: • Respondents find secondary uses of consumer data more appropriate if judged more within a generalized exchange (academic research) or within a reciprocal exchange (product search results) or both (credit security). However, most secondary uses of data are deemed privacy violations and decrease institutional trust online. • Using privacy notices is the least effective governance mechanism of those included here whereas being subject to an audit was as effective as using anonymized data in improving consumer trust. • Institutional trust online impacts a consumer’s willingness to engage with a specific online partner in a trust game experiment The findings have implications for public policy and practice. Secondary uses of information online need not only be justified in a simple quid-pro-quo exchange with the consumer but could also be justified as appropriate for the online context within a generalized exchange. However, the majority of secondary uses currently popular cannot be justified as within either a general exchange or a reciprocal exchange and are judged inappropriate, violations of privacy, and decrease both interpersonal and institutional trust. Second, if privacy violations hurt not only interpersonal consumer trust in a firm but also institutional trust online, then privacy would be governed similar to insider trading, fraud, or bribery — to protect the integrity of the market. Punishment for privacy violations would be set to ensure bad behavior is curtailed and institutional trust is maintained rather than to remediate a specific harm to an individual.

The Use of Data-Driven Technologies for Customer-Centric Marketing

The latest technologies are shifting how businesses capture, analyse and distribute data from the individual users’ online activity. Therefore, this contribution critically reviews the latest developments on big data analytics and programmatic advertising. Moreover, it sheds light on the use of blockchain; as this distributed ledger technology provides secure, verified transactions among marketplace stakeholders. The findings suggest that the service providers are increasingly utilising data-driven technologies including programmatic advertising tools to target and re-target individuals online or on their mobile. However, individuals and organisations are becoming increasingly aware on data protection issues, as they often block marketers from tracking them and serving them ads. In conclusion, this contribution puts forward a theoretical framework that explains how, why, where and when practitioners are capturing, analysing and distributing data. In sum, it implies that the data-driven technologies are facilitating the businesses’ customer-centric marketing.

A performance assessment of web-based respondent driven sampling among workers with precarious employment in Sweden.

ObjectivesPrecarious employment (PE) is a social determinant of poor health of workers. However, this population usually lack a sampling frame, making it challenging to identify the characteristics of this group. Web-based respondent driven sampling (webRDS) recruits individuals online through the social network and can provide population estimates. This study aims to assess the performance of webRDS in a population of workers with PE.MethodWebRDS was used for recruitment and data collection in the PRecarious EMployment In Stockholm (PREMIS) study. Cross-sectional questionnaire data was collected between November 2016 and May 2017. Eligible participants were living and/or working in Stockholm County, 18–65 years old, had a personal identification number and were currently employed. WebRDS performance was assessed by the total sample size, length of recruitment chains, sample composition, sample proportions and estimated RDSII population proportions with confidence intervals.ResultsThe webRDS process resulted in a sample of 358 recruits and a total sample of 415 participants, recruited over 1–15 waves. Of the participating seeds and recruits, 60% and 48%, respectively, successfully recruited at least one peer. The sample composition stabilized for all variables assessed. The sample proportions and RDSII estimates differed by 1–8% and the confidence intervals included the sample proportions for all variables except one.ConclusionsWebRDS successfully recruited a sufficient sample of workers with precarious employment from which population estimates could be made. Future studies should consider implementing webRDS on a national level in order to further study this population.

The Use of Data-Driven Technologies for Customer-Centric Marketing

The latest technologies are shifting how businesses capture, analyse and distribute data from the individual users' online activity. Therefore, this contribution critically reviews the latest developments on big data analytics and programmatic advertising. Moreover, it sheds light on the use of blockchain; as this distributed ledger technology provides secure, verified transactions among marketplace stakeholders. The findings suggest that the service providers are increasingly utilising data-driven technologies including programmatic advertising tools to target and re-target individuals online or on their mobile. However, individuals and organisations are becoming increasingly aware on data protection issues, as they often block marketers from tracking them and serving them ads. In conclusion, this contribution puts forward a theoretical framework that explains how, why, where and when practitioners are capturing, analysing and distributing data. In sum, it implies that the data-driven technologies are facilitating the businesses' customer-centric marketing.

Weight Stigma Goes Viral on the Internet: Systematic Assessment of YouTube Comments Attacking Overweight Men and Women.

BackgroundAnonymous verbal attacks against overweight individuals on social media are common and widespread. These comments often use negative, misogynist, or derogatory words, which stigmatize the targeted individuals with obesity. These verbal attacks may cause depression in overweight individuals, which could subsequently promote unhealthy eating behavior (ie, binge eating) and further weight gain. To develop an intervention policy and strategies that tackle the anonymous, Web-based verbal attacks, a thorough understanding of the comments is necessary.ObjectiveThis study aimed to examine how anonymous users verbally attack or defend overweight individuals in terms of 3 themes: (1) topic of verbal attack (ie, what aspects of overweight individuals are verbally attacked), (2) gender of commenters and targeted overweight individuals, and (3) intensity of derogation depending on the targeted gender (ie, the number of swear words used within comments).MethodsThis study analyzed the content of YouTube comments that discuss overweight individuals or groups from 2 viral videos, titled “Fat Girl Tinder Date” and “Fat Guy Tinder Date.” The twin videos provide an avenue through which to analyze discussions of obesity as they organically occurred in a contemporary setting. We randomly sampled and analyzed 320 comments based on a coding instrument developed for this study.ResultsFirst, there were twice as many comments verbally attacking overweight individuals (n=174) than comments defending them (n=89). Second, overweight women are attacked for their capacities (eg, laziness, maturity; 14/51, 28%), whereas overweight men are attacked for their heterosocial skills (eg, rudeness, annoyance; 24/29, 83%). Third, the majority of commenters who attacked overweight women are male (42/52, 81%). Fourth, attacking comments generated toward overweight women included more swear words (mean 0.44, SD 0.77) than those targeting men (mean 0.23, SD 0.48).ConclusionsOur data elucidate a worrying situation of frequent disinhibited aggressive messages against overweight individuals online. Importantly, the patterns of verbal aggression differ depending on the gender of the targeted overweight individuals. Thus, gender-tailored intervention strategies that specifically tackle Internet users’ verbal aggression against overweight individuals need to be developed.

In-person and online social participation and emotional health in individuals with multiple sclerosis.

Individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) sometimes have barriers to social participation. The advent of the internet has created online support systems for social participation such as websites for individuals with MS. However, minimal research has been conducted about determinants of individuals' in-person and online social participation or how types of social participation contribute to emotional well-being. The present study aims are: (1) to assess the role of access to resources and other determinants as enabling in-person and online social participation, and (2) to analyze the association between social participation and emotional health of individuals with MS. The sample consisted of 508 individuals diagnosed with relapsing/remitting or secondary/progressive MS. Data from NARCOMS registry and data from original questionnaire on determinants of social participation and emotional health were merged. Logistic and linear regression analyses were performed. Individuals with access to the internet were more likely to participate online with friends (OR 5.47, p<.001) and the community (OR 47.7, p<.001). Individuals who regularly participate in in-person social participation with friends reported being happier (B=.38, p<.001), less depressed (B=-2.01, p<.001), and less anxious (B=-1.21, p<.001) than those who did not. However, there was no evidence of a relationship between emotional health and online social participation. Increasing access to in-person social participation with friends will likely have the most positive impact on emotional health. Future research should examine the aspects of online participation that are helpful or harmful.

Face-ism from an International Perspective: Gendered Self-Presentation in Online Dating Sites Across Seven Countries

The present study analyzed whether the face-ism phenomenon, which argues that the media visually depict men with more facial prominence compared to women (whereas women are shown with greater body prominence), exists for self-selected photographs worldwide. Based on a content analysis of a sample of 6286 profile photos drawn from online dating sites in seven countries (Austria, Denmark, Hungary, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States) in 2013, we did not find any overall gender differences in facial prominence. However, further analysis showed gender differences in facial prominence for certain age groups: whereas there were no gender differences in the 25–41 year-old age group, young women between 18 and 24 had a higher facial prominence than men, and men older than 41 had higher facial prominence than women. These changes by age are driven by a pattern wherein facial prominence generally remains stable for men, but declines for women with age. In short, older users follow more traditional gender depictions in accordance with the face-ism phenomenon, whereas among younger people, women sport an even higher facial prominence than men do. In contrast to this significant interaction between gender and age in facial prominence, we found no significant interaction between culture (as measured by Hofstede’s masculinity dimension) and gender, which indicates that culture plays no discernible role in gender differences in facial prominence, possibly because macro-level sexism (Hofstede’s masculinity dimension) and micro-level sexism (photographs of individuals online) are not the same.

Design and Development of an Ajax Enabled Knowledge Sharing System

The paper seeks to describe the design and development process of an Ajax enabled knowledge sharing system using ASP.Net, which provides detailed up-to-date Questions and Answers information on different popular topics. Using Object Oriented Web Modelling approach we were able to model the system requirement specification to generate Use case, Class object and navigational diagrams which are used as a blue print for the system development. In particular more attention was given to the ability of new visitors and registered members to Ask Questions by posting their questions on visited destinations to alert other members who have the answers to their required questions in the Questions and Answers Forum. The result shows that with the use of AJAX, the developed system allowed various students, professionals and the general public to receive information from other individuals online as required. Furthermore, the system design, Ajax and ASP.Net framework were implemented for web content management in order to develop the system. Using ASP.Net several API (Application Programming Interface) were integrated inform of module extensions to develop the user interface functionalities and collect real-time information from other websites inform of RSS feeds and weather report. Also the system utilized hierarchy base structural model to develop the system interface layout allowing us to breakdown the system interface into sections consisting of categories and articles.

Consumer to Consumer (C2C) Online Auction Transaction Intentions: an Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour

There has been a dramatic growth of individuals using online auctions especially within Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) e-commerce coupled with increasing academic attention to behaviour in the online environments. Literature has identified the influence of attitudes, perceptions, trust and security on individual’s online auction transaction intentions and behaviours. The aim of this study, therefore, was to predict and understand individuals online auction transaction intentions and behaviours through the application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). Three hundred and seventy-two respondents completed the survey within two geographical regions. Findings reported that attitudes, self-efficacy and trust significantly influenced intentions; while intentions and self-efficacy significantly influenced online auction behaviours. Interestingly, social pressures, perceived control and security failed to have any influence. Overall, the study provided greater insight into which salient drivers influence transaction behaviours and intentions.

The Influence of Social Media Use, Online Information Seeking, and Acceptance on Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Patient Shock Anxiety

ABSTRACTThe implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) saves lives in patients at risk for potentially life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias via the use of low energy pacing, and high energy, painful shocks. The current study used an online survey of 217 adult ICD patients to better understand how living with an ICD related to their anxiety. Information seeking variables, age, acceptance, and shocks were included in a linear regression equation that accounted for 63% of the variance in ICD related anxiety (R2 = .63, F(6,146) = 43.31, p < .001). Understanding how to effectively dialogue with these individuals online may increase their acceptance of their ICD and reduce shock anxiety.

The curious case of cyberchondria: A longitudinal study on the reciprocal relationship between health anxiety and online health information seeking

The current study is the first to longitudinally investigate the reciprocal relationship between online health information seeking and health anxiety, i.e., cyberchondria. Expectations were that health anxious individuals who go online to find health information, experience an increase in health anxiety, which in turn will reinforce online seeking. A 4-wave longitudinal survey study among 5322 respondents aged 16–93 was conducted. Our results showed that individuals who are more health anxious than others, search online for health information more. Moreover, the results provided initial evidence for the expected reciprocal relationship between health anxiety and online health information seeking in respondents with non-clinical levels of health anxiety at the start of the study. However, this reciprocal relationship could not be found in a subsample of clinically health anxious individuals. Although for these individuals online health information seeking did not seem to exacerbate health anxiety levels, it might still serve as a maintaining factor of clinical health anxiety.

How crowdfunding discourse threatens public arts

Crowdfunding platforms, such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo, have been the focus of considerable popular press news coverage in the past few years, with stories emphasizing how crowdfunding can bring indie creative projects into being through monetary contributions from several individuals online. As a method for financing small or risky artistic products unlikely to receive mainstream corporate or government support, crowdfunding has been celebrated in press coverage for “democratizing” the arts funding process. However, these same celebratory claims about crowdfunding giving everyday people a voice in bringing art into fruition eerily echo arguments in the United States by conservative groups to de-fund public arts programs. The very language crowdfunding proponents use may well fuel politicians hoping to unravel public arts funding. This article presents a critical discourse analysis of news coverage about crowdfunding, analyzing the similarities between pro-crowdfunding sentiments and anti-public arts funding advocates. An uncritical embrace of an Internet trend may threaten public funding for the arts by aligning with neoliberal ideological language.

A study of relationship between family communication patterns and online political communication

A survey using a convenient sampling of korean undergraduate students was conducted to investigate the relationships between family communication patterns and online political communication behavior. Results showed that from conversation-oriented families tend to have a significantly positive relationship on online political communication participation (in the fields of chatting and online group discussion) through attitude and intention, while there was no significant relationship between socio-oriented communication pattern and online political activities. Based on the results, the author argues that the domestic communication environment of open discussion and sharing ideas would be an important trigger to increase an individuals online political participations. Implications of the study and future research topics were discussed.

Unresponsive or un-noticed?: Cyberbystander intervention in an experimental cyberbullying context

With increasing reliance on computer-mediated communication, emergencies and negative communication will also increase. Nearly one-fifth of adolescents report being cyberbullied, and over 25% of those report multiple occurrences. Though important gains have been made to understand the adverse effects and possible risk factors of cyberbullying for victims and cyberbullies, most individuals (70%; Pew Research Center, 2014) online fall into a third group—cyberbystanders. This experiment tests the first step (i.e., cyberbystanders notice the cyberbullying incident) of the five-step Bystander Intervention Model in a virtual environment. Data were analyzed from 221 cyberbystanders who witnessed in real time multiple episodes of cyberbullying. Results confirm that noticing cyberbullying significantly predicts intervention, indirect or direct. Nearly 68% of participants noticed the cyberbullying, but only 10% directly intervened by engaging with the bully. Most participants (68%) intervened indirectly after the incident and threat were removed. Further research is necessary to understand other boundary conditions, and to test the remaining steps of the Bystander Intervention Model in a virtual environment. This model has been very effective in understanding and increasing bystander intervention in the real world. We hope that the model will have similar effects on understanding and increasing cyberbystander intervention in the virtual world.

SolGS: a web-based tool for genomic selection.

BackgroundGenomic selection (GS) promises to improve accuracy in estimating breeding values and genetic gain for quantitative traits compared to traditional breeding methods. Its reliance on high-throughput genome-wide markers and statistical complexity, however, is a serious challenge in data management, analysis, and sharing. A bioinformatics infrastructure for data storage and access, and user-friendly web-based tool for analysis and sharing output is needed to make GS more practical for breeders.ResultsWe have developed a web-based tool, called solGS, for predicting genomic estimated breeding values (GEBVs) of individuals, using a Ridge-Regression Best Linear Unbiased Predictor (RR-BLUP) model. It has an intuitive web-interface for selecting a training population for modeling and estimating genomic estimated breeding values of selection candidates. It estimates phenotypic correlation and heritability of traits and selection indices of individuals. Raw data is stored in a generic database schema, Chado Natural Diversity, co-developed by multiple database groups. Analysis output is graphically visualized and can be interactively explored online or downloaded in text format. An instance of its implementation can be accessed at the NEXTGEN Cassava breeding database, http://cassavabase.org/solgs.ConclusionssolGS enables breeders to store raw data and estimate GEBVs of individuals online, in an intuitive and interactive workflow. It can be adapted to any breeding program.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12859-014-0398-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

STRATEGIC IMAGE MANAGEMENT ONLINE

Communication technology is challenging traditional self-presentation strategies and behavior. Deliberate image construction is becoming more difficult because of the increasing number of information sources about individuals online. The present study examines a range of self-presentation behaviors on social network sites (SNS) by drawing on impression motivation, contingencies of self-worth, and the analysis of social network structure. Results from the survey data show that users (N = 248) who stake their self-esteem on public evaluations and have heterogeneous social networks are more strategic in the management of tagged photos and text-based updates in the form of wall posts. Furthermore, the interaction between network size and diversity predicts how often users share photos. Implications for improving privacy management tools on SNS and educating users about strategic self-presentation are discussed.

Sharing Experiences via Social Media as Integral Part of the Service Experience

Social media has empowered customers to express their feelings and opinions online and to share their experiences with other individuals through video sharing platforms (e.g., YouTube), photo sharing sites and communities (e.g., FlickR), or virtual opinion sharing platforms (e.g., TripAdvisor or Yelp). Sharing experiences with other individuals online is not only part of the service experience for a multitude of consumers, but enhances the impact of successful service providers on current and potential customers. However, the value of experience sharing activities via social media is less discussed in the literature. In this chapter, we firstly clarify the concepts of sharing, empowerment, and engagement before, secondly, discussing the value of experience sharing from three perspectives: the sharing individual, the individuals consulting the shared experiences, and the service providers. Finally, the importance of experience sharing in what is often referred to as the sharing economy and the problems of marketers’ deceptive behaviors will be addressed in our conclusion.

The Dark Data Cycle: How the U.S. Government Has Gone Rogue in Trading Personal Data from an Unsuspecting Public

While the historical and legal relationship in the U.S. between privacy expectations and privacy protections has remained a continuously evolving topic, this thesis demonstrates how this relationship has grown increasingly muddled since the midtwentieth century. Contrary to existing law, this thesis argues that a new phenomenon, the “Data Cycle,” has developed in the twenty-first century whereby governmental entities employ private companies as middlemen to buy and sell individuals’ data. Politicians in particular are extremely interested in obtaining information about their constituents. This thesis contends that the Data Cycle has developed due to a shift in informational power between the government and private companies, permitting the government to indirectly acquire large amounts of personal information from individuals online. Although Americans remain concerned about their waning privacy protections, individuals’ increasing addiction to the very technologies that spur the Cycle has pushed privacy to a crossroads in 2012.