“Warning! You’re entering a sick zone”

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 1046-1062 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott S.D. Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Privacy Concerns ◽  
Contagious Diseases ◽  
Cultural Historical Activity ◽  
Modes Of Governance

Purpose Traditional public health methods for tracking contagious diseases are increasingly complemented with digital tools, which use data mining, analytics and crowdsourcing to predict disease outbreaks. In recent years, alongside these public health tools, commercial mobile apps such as Sickweather have also been released. Sickweather collects information from across the web, as well as self-reports from users, so that people can see who is sick in their neighborhood. The purpose of this paper is to examine the privacy and surveillance implications of digital disease tracking tools. Design/methodology/approach The author performed a content and platform analysis of two apps, Sickweather and HealthMap, by using them for three months, taking regular screenshots and keeping a detailed user journal. This analysis was guided by the walkthrough method and a cultural-historical activity theory framework, taking note of imagery and other content, but also the app functionalities, including characteristics of membership, “rules” and parameters of community mobilization and engagement, monetization and moderation. This allowed me to study HealthMap and Sickweather as modes of governance that allow for (and depend upon) certain actions and particular activity systems. Findings Draw on concepts of network power, the surveillance assemblage, and Deleuze’s control societies, as well as the data gathered from the content and platform analysis, the author argues that disease tracking apps construct disease threat as omnipresent and urgent, compelling users to submit personal information – including sensitive health data – with little oversight or regulation. Originality/value Disease tracking mobile apps are growing in popularity yet have received little attention, particularly regarding privacy concerns or the construction of disease risk.

Why people need privacy? The role of privacy fatigue in app users' intention to disclose privacy: based on personality traits

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Tang ◽  
Umair Akram ◽  
Wenjing Shi
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Information Disclosure ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Privacy Concerns ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Novel Concept ◽  
The Impact

PurposeMobile Applications (App) privacy has become a prominent social problem. Compared with privacy concerns, this study examines a relatively novel concept of privacy fatigue and explores its effect on the users’ intention to disclose their personal information via mobile Apps. In addition, the personality traits are proposed as antecedents that will induce the personal perception of privacy fatigue and privacy concerns differently.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 426 respondents. Structure equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe findings describe that App users’ intention toward personal information disclosure is determined by privacy fatigue and privacy concerns, but the former has a greater impact. With minor exceptions, the two factors are also influenced by different personality traits. Specifically, neuroticism has positive effects on privacy fatigue, but agreeableness and extraversion have presented the opposite results on the two variables.Practical implicationsThis research is very scarce to examine the joint effects of privacy fatigue, privacy concerns and personality traits on App users’ disclosing intention. In doing so, these results will be of benefit to App providers and platform managers and can be the basis for a variety of follow-up studies.Originality/valueWhile previous research just focuses on privacy concerns, this study explores the critical roles of privacy fatigue and opens up a new avenue of emotion-attitude analysis that can further increase the specificity and richness of users’ privacy research. Additionally, implications for personality traits as antecedents in the impact of App users’ privacy emotions and attitudes are discussed.

Modeling guests’ intentions to use mobile apps in hotels

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (9) ◽  
pp. 1968-1991 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristian Morosan ◽  
Agnes DeFranco
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Structural Equations ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Privacy Concerns ◽  
The Usa

Purpose The unprecedented development of hotel-branded mobile applications (apps) has been instrumental in facilitating the rich guest–hotel interactions, thus contributing to a high personalization of services. For true personalization, guests need to provide personal information via apps. Yet, no study to date has addressed how guests develop intentions to use such apps given the current personalization and privacy challenges. Therefore, this study aims to investigate hotel guests’ intentions to use hotel apps to access personalized services. Design/methodology/approach Drawing from personalization-privacy theory, this study conceptualized perceived personalization and privacy concerns as distinct constructs while recognizing two different privacy concerns constructs: general and app-specific privacy concerns. To build a comprehensive structural model that is appropriate for explicating intentions to use hotel apps, this study incorporates consumer psychology and information systems theoretical streams that provide constructs that unequivocally capture the unique set of consumer–app interactions in highly experiential settings such as hotels (e.g. innovativeness and involvement). Using a nation-wide sample of hotel guests from the USA, the model was validated using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equations modeling. Findings The predictors explained 79 per cent of the variability in the intentions to use hotel apps to personalize hotel services. The strongest predictor of intentions was involvement, followed by app-related privacy concerns and perceived personalization. Research limitations/implications First, this study’s extended theoretical framework was well supported, as it captures relevant elements of the mobile commerce ecosystem (e.g. personalization and privacy), thus extending the classic paradigmatic approach to information systems adoption beyond system beliefs. Second, this study clarifies the distinct roles of personalization and privacy in the context of hotel apps, which has not been examined in the context of m-commerce in hospitality. Third, the study clarifies the role of involvement as the most critical factor that can influence guests’ intentions to use hotel apps when personalization options and privacy concerns exist. Practical implications This study offers hotel decision-makers a mapping of the factors, leading to use of hotel apps for purchasing personalized hotel services. Originality/value This study provides a first theoretical perspective on the hotel app utilization behaviors that have not been studied so far, but carry a strong strategic and financial significance for the hotel industry (direct distribution, brand consolidation and extensive contact with guests).

AI and privacy concerns: a smart meter case study

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jillian Carmody ◽  
Samir Shringarpure ◽  
Gerhard Van de Venter
Keyword(s):  
Private Information ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Consumer Information ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Smart Meter ◽  
Smart Meters ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Privacy Concerns ◽  
Privacy Legislation

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate privacy concerns arising from the rapidly increasing advancements and use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology and the challenges of existing privacy regimes to ensure the on-going protection of an individual’s sensitive private information. The authors illustrate this through a case study of energy smart meters and suggest a novel combination of four solutions to strengthen privacy protection. Design/methodology/approach The authors illustrate how, through smart meter obtained energy data, home energy providers can use AI to reveal private consumer information such as households’ electrical appliances, their time and frequency of usage, including number and model of appliance. The authors show how this data can further be combined with other data to infer sensitive personal information such as lifestyle and household income due to advances in AI technologies. Findings The authors highlight data protection and privacy concerns which are not immediately obvious to consumers due to the capabilities of advanced AI technology and its ability to extract sensitive personal information when applied to large overlapping granular data sets. Social implications The authors question the adequacy of existing privacy legislation to protect sensitive inferred consumer data from AI-driven technology. To address this, the authors suggest alternative solutions. Originality/value The original value of this paper is that it illustrates new privacy issues brought about by advances in AI, failings in current privacy legislation and implementation and opens the dialog between stakeholders to protect vulnerable consumers.

What drives internet users’ willingness to provide personal information?

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 923-939 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ching-Hsuan Yeh ◽  
Yi-Shun Wang ◽  
Shin-Jeng Lin ◽  
Timmy H. Tseng ◽  
Hsin-Hui Lin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Taking ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Information Privacy ◽  
Extrinsic Rewards ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Privacy Concerns ◽  
Internet Users ◽  
Information Privacy Concerns ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Least Squares Approach

Purpose Considering that users’ information privacy concerns may affect the development of e-commerce, the purpose of this paper is to explore what drives internet users’ willingness to provide personal information; further, the paper examines how extrinsic rewards moderate the relationship between users’ information privacy concerns and willingness to provide personal information. Design/methodology/approach Data collected from 345 valid internet users in the context of electronic commerce were analyzed using the partial least squares approach. Findings The result showed that agreeableness, risk-taking propensity and experience of privacy invasion were three main antecedents of information privacy concerns among the seven individual factors. Additionally, information privacy concerns did not significantly affect users’ willingness to provide personal information in the privacy calculation mechanism; however, extrinsic rewards directly affected users’ disclosure intention. The authors found that extrinsic rewards had not moderated the relationship between users’ information privacy concerns and their willingness to provide personal information. Originality/value This study is an exploratory effort to develop and validate a model for explaining why internet users were willing to provide personal information. The results of this study are helpful to researchers in developing theories of information privacy concerns and to practitioners in promoting internet users’ willingness to provide personal information in an e-commerce context.

Understanding framings and perceptions of spillover

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 396-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaine Tweneboah Lawson ◽  
Fidelia Ohemeng ◽  
Jesse Ayivor ◽  
Melissa Leach ◽  
Linda Waldman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Intrinsic Value ◽  
Communication Strategies ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Zoonotic Disease ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Content Type

Purpose Bats provide many ecosystem services and have intrinsic value. They also act as host reservoirs for some viruses. Several studies have linked zoonotic diseases to bats, raising questions about the risks bats pose, especially to people living close to bat roosts. Through a series of case studies undertaken in three communities, the purpose of this paper is to explore the various ways in which framings and perceptions of bats can influence a potential spillover of bat-borne viruses to humans in Ghana. It assesses the social, cultural and economic factors that drive human-bat interactions and posits that understanding the socio-economic contexts in which human-bat interactions occur is key to the success of future communication strategies. Design/methodology/approach Primary data collection methods included participatory landscape mappings, transect walks, focus group discussions and questionnaire surveys. Findings Perceptions of bats vary and are influenced by personal beliefs, the perceived economic benefits derived from bats and the location of bat roosts. Activities that put people at risk include bat hunting, butchering and consumption of poorly prepared bat meat. Those who live and work close to bat roosts, and bat hunters, for example, are more at risk of bat-borne zoonotic disease spillover. Disease risk perceptions were generally low, with high levels of uncertainty, indicating the need for clearer information about personal protective practices. Originality/value The results of the study may well inform future risk communication strategies as well as help in developing effective responses to zoonotic disease risk, disease outbreaks and the conservation of bats in communities.

scholarly journals Infectious Disease Risk After the Great East Japan Earthquake

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 741-745 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satoshi Mimura ◽  
◽  
Taro Kamigaki ◽  
Hitoshi Oshitani
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Great East Japan Earthquake ◽  
Public Health Services ◽  
Infectious Disease Outbreaks

Infectious disease outbreaks in postdisaster settings provide significant social impact although those outbreaks do not always occur. It is important to assess the potential risks of infectious disease in each setting. The Great East Japan Earthquake, which occurred March 11, 2011, imposed a huge impact on public health services. After the earthquake and following tsunami, many evacuation centers were sites of crowding as well as poor sanitation conditions because of the large- scale of destruction. Some shelters became sites of infectious disease outbreaks such as influenza and norovirus enteritis, although the size of these outbreaks was quite localized. Improvements in the response to infectious diseases through lessons learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake are expected to be the triggers for improving preparedness for public health emergencies.

Mobile app users' privacy concerns: different heuristics for privacy assurance statements in the EU and China

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Hudson ◽  
Yi Liu
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Ecological Rationality ◽  
Mobile Users ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Privacy Regulation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Privacy Concerns ◽  
Validation Experiment ◽  
The Eu

PurposeAs mobile apps request permissions from users, protecting mobile users' personal information from being unnecessarily collected and misused becomes critical. Privacy regulations, such as General Data Protection Regulation in the European Union (EU), aim to protect users' online information privacy. However, one’s understanding of whether these regulations effectively make mobile users less concerned about their privacy is still limited. This work aims to study mobile users' privacy concerns towards mobile apps by examining the effects of general and specific privacy assurance statements in China and the EU.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on ecological rationality and heuristics theory, an online experiment and a follow-up validation experiment were conducted in the EU and China to examine the effects of privacy assurance statements on mobile users' privacy concerns.FindingsWhen privacy regulation is presented, the privacy concerns of Chinese mobile users are significantly lowered compared with EU mobile users. This indicates that individuals in the two regions react differently to privacy assurances. However, when a general regulation statement is used, no effect is observed. EU and Chinese respondents remain unaffected by general assurance statements.Originality/valueThis study incorporates notions from fast and frugal heuristics end ecological rationality – where seemingly irrational decisions may make sense in different societal contexts.

Laziness as an explanation for the privacy paradox: a longitudinal empirical investigation

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakob Wirth ◽  
Christian Maier ◽  
Sven Laumer ◽  
Tim Weitzel
Keyword(s):  
Private Information ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Smart Devices ◽  
Self Disclosure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Privacy Concerns ◽  
Privacy Paradox

Purpose“Smart devices think you're “too lazy” to opt out of privacy defaults” was the headline of a recent news report indicating that individuals might be too lazy to stop disclosing their private information and therefore to protect their information privacy. In current privacy research, privacy concerns and self-disclosure are central constructs regarding protecting privacy. One might assume that being concerned about protecting privacy would lead individuals to disclose less personal information. However, past research has shown that individuals continue to disclose personal information despite high privacy concerns, which is commonly referred to as the privacy paradox. This study introduces laziness as a personality trait in the privacy context, asking to what degree individual laziness influences privacy issues.Design/methodology/approachAfter conceptualizing, defining and operationalizing laziness, the authors analyzed information collected in a longitudinal empirical study and evaluated the results through structural equation modeling.FindingsThe findings show that the privacy paradox holds true, yet the level of laziness influences it. In particular, the privacy paradox applies to very lazy individuals but not to less lazy individuals.Research limitations/implicationsWith these results one can better explain the privacy paradox and self-disclosure behavior.Practical implicationsThe state might want to introduce laws that not only bring organizations to handle information in a private manner but also make it as easy as possible for individuals to protect their privacy.Originality/valueBased on a literature review, a clear research gap has been identified, filled by this research study.

Users' affect and satisfaction in a privacy calculus context

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad S. Najjar ◽  
Laila Dahabiyeh ◽  
Raed Salah Algharabat
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Device ◽  
Information Disclosure ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Perceived Benefits ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Perceived Risks ◽  
Privacy Calculus ◽  
The Impact

PurposeMobile device users are frequently faced with a decision to allow access to their personal information that resides on their devices in order to install mobile applications (apps) and use their features. This paper examines the impact of satisfaction on the intention to allow access to personal information. The paper achieves this by acknowledging the affective and cognitive components of satisfaction derived from affect heuristic and privacy calculus theories, respectively.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data was collected from mobile device users who download and install mobile apps on their devices. Overall, 489 responses were collected and analyzed using LISREL 8.80.FindingsThe findings suggest that personal information disclosure decision is mainly a matter of being satisfied with the mobile app or not. We show that perceived benefits are more critical than perceived risks in determining satisfaction, and that perceived benefits influence intention to allow access to personal information indirectly through satisfaction.Originality/valueThis study offers a more nuanced analysis of the influence of satisfaction by examining the role of its two components: the cognitive (represented in perceived benefits and perceived risks) and the affective (represented in affect). We show that information disclosure decision is a complicated process that combines both rational and emotional elements.

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