scholarly journals Subverting Surveillance or Accessing the Dark Web? Interest in the Tor Anonymity Network in U.S. States, 2006-2015

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Micah Lindner ◽  
Tongtian Xiao
Keyword(s):  
Political Ideology ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Web Search ◽  
State Surveillance ◽  
Issue Attention ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Mass Surveillance ◽  
Gain Access ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Dark Web

The U.S. government engaged in unprecedented forms of mass surveillance in the 21st century. Users of the The Onion Router (Tor), an anonymity-granting technology, mask themselves from state surveillance and can gain access to illicit content on the Dark Web. Drawing on theory regarding “exposure” to surveillance, this study examines how two issue-attention cycles (related to the Edward Snowden state surveillance revelations and the Dark Web respectively) are associated with public interest in the Tor browser in the U.S. Using data at the state-year level from 2006-2015, this study estimates fixed effects models, controlling for socio-demographics, the presence of journalism, tech, and political jobs, as well as multiple measures of state political ideology. The results indicate that state-years with greater popularity of Google searches related to the Snowden story had significantly higher popularity of searches for Tor. By contrast, there was no association between Dark Web search popularity and Tor search popularity. These findings are consistent with the notion that the Snowden incident increased Americans’ sense of exposure, leading to interest in anonymity-granting technology.

scholarly journals Subverting Surveillance or Accessing the Dark Web? Interest in the Tor Anonymity Network in U.S. States, 2006–2015

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 352-370
Author(s):  
Andrew M. Lindner ◽  
Tongtian Xiao
Keyword(s):  
Political Ideology ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Web Search ◽  
The United States ◽  
First Century ◽  
State Surveillance ◽  
Issue Attention ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Gain Access ◽  
Dark Web

The U.S. government engaged in unprecedented forms of mass surveillance in the twenty-first century. Users of the The Onion Router (Tor), an anonymity-granting technology, mask themselves from state surveillance and can gain access to illicit content on the Dark Web. Drawing on theory regarding “exposure” to surveillance, this study examines how two issue-attention cycles (related to the Edward Snowden state surveillance revelations and the Dark Web respectively) are associated with public interest in the Tor browser in the United States. Using data at the state-year level from 2006 to 2015, this study estimates fixed effects models, controlling for sociodemographics, the presence of journalism, tech, and political jobs, as well as multiple measures of state political ideology. The results indicate that state-years with greater popularity of Google searches related to the Snowden story had significantly higher popularity of searches for Tor. By contrast, there was no association between Dark Web search popularity and Tor search popularity. These findings are consistent with the notion that the Snowden incident increased Americans’ sense of exposure, leading to interest in anonymity-granting technology.

U.S. Political Corruption and Audit Fees

2020 ◽  
pp. 0000-0000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anand Jha ◽  
Manoj Kulchania ◽  
Jared Smith
Keyword(s):  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Political Corruption ◽  
Audit Fees ◽  
Internal Controls ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Department Of Justice ◽  
Additional Risk ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The U.S

Using data on corruption convictions from the U.S. Department of Justice, we find that auditors charge higher fees when a firm is headquartered in a more corrupt district. This result is robust to a wide range of time and location fixed effects, using capital city isolation as an instrument, and propensity score matching. We also find that, relative to those in non-corrupt districts, firms in corrupt districts are more likely to have weak internal controls and to restate earnings and that their auditors exert greater effort. This evidence suggests that auditing firms in corrupt areas entails additional risk, which auditors price into fees.

scholarly journals Tor and the City: MSA-level Correlates of Interest in Anonymous Web Browsing

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Micah Lindner ◽  
Jamie Elsner ◽  
Gina Pryciak
Keyword(s):  
Political Ideology ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Public Attention ◽  
The Public ◽  
Metro Area ◽  
Labor Statistics ◽  
Bureau Of Labor Statistics ◽  
The City ◽  
Mass Surveillance ◽  
Dark Web

In the 21st century, Americans have put more of their lives online, while the U.S. government has expanded its mass surveillance apparatus. Interest in anonymity-granting technologies like the The Onion Router (Tor) has grown substantially as citizens seek to protect their privacy. However, this same technology can be used to engage in illegal activity on the Dark Web. This study examines how interest in the Dark Web, public attention to the 2013 Snowden revelations, and metro area political ideology affect public interest in Tor. We link data from multiple sources including Google Trends, the American Community Survey, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Cooperative Congressional Election Study for the 49 largest U.S. MSAs from 2006-2015 (n=490). Broadly, we find that metro areas with liberal citizen ideology and greater interest in the Dark Web were more likely to search for Tor. When controlling for the level of interest in the Dark Web, the Snowden revelations of 2013 had no significant impact on interest in Tor. These findings tend to suggest that the lure of the Dark Web and left-leaning ideological contexts offer stronger explanations for interest in anonymity-granting technology than the public attention brought to mass surveillance by the Snowden revelations.

scholarly journals Tor and the City: MSA-Level Correlates of Interest in Anonymous Web Browsing

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 507-521
Author(s):  
Andrew M. Lindner ◽  
Gina Pryciak ◽  
Jamie Elsner
Keyword(s):  
Political Ideology ◽  
First Century ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Public Attention ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Government ◽  
Bureau Of Labor Statistics ◽  
Mass Surveillance ◽  
Dark Web

In the twenty-first century, Americans have put more of their lives online while the US government has expanded its mass surveillance apparatus. Interest in anonymity-granting technologies like The Onion Router (Tor) has grown substantially as citizens seek to protect their privacy. However, this same technology can be used to engage in illegal activity on the dark web. This study examines how interest in the dark web, public attention to the 2013 Snowden revelations, and metro-area political ideology are associated with public interest in Tor. We link data from multiple sources including Google Trends, the American Community Survey, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Cooperative Congressional Election Study for the forty-nine largest US Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) from 2006–2015 (n=490). Broadly, we find that metro areas with liberal citizen ideology and greater interest in the dark web were more likely to search for Tor. When controlling for the level of interest in the dark web, the Snowden revelations of 2013 had no significant impact on interest in Tor. These findings suggest that the lure of the dark web and left-leaning ideological contexts offer stronger explanations for interest in anonymity-granting technology than the public attention brought to mass surveillance by the Snowden revelations.

Immigration and the tech industry: As a labour shortage remedy, for innovation, or for cost savings?

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman Matloff
Keyword(s):  
Immigration Policy ◽  
Brain Drain ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Foreign Workers ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
It Service ◽  
Labour Shortage ◽  
Labour Costs ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The U.S

The two main reasons cited by the U.S. tech industry for hiring foreign workers--remedying labour shortages and hiring "the best and the brightest"--are investigated, using data on wages, patents, and R&D work, as well as previous research and industry statements. The analysis shows that the claims of shortage and outstanding talent are not supported by the data, even after excluding the Indian IT service firms. Instead, it is shown that the primary goals of employers in hiring  foreign workers are to reduce labour costs and to obtain "indentured" employees. Current immigration policy is causing an ‘Internal Brain Drain’ in STEM.

Philip Wayne Powell, the Cold War, and the Conquest of Northern Mexico

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-304
Author(s):  
Raphael B. Folsom
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Colonial Mexico ◽  
Northern Mexico ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
The U.S

The writings of the U.S. scholar Philip Wayne Powell have had an enduring influence on the historiography of colonial Mexico and the Spanish borderlands. But his writings have never been examined as a unified corpus, and so the deeply reactionary political ideology that lay behind them has never been well understood. By analyzing Powell’s political convictions, this article shows how contemporary scholarship on the conquest of northern Mexico can emerge from Powell’s long shadow. Los escritos del estudioso estadounidense Philip Wayne Powell han ejercido una influencia perdurable sobre la historiografía del México colonial y las zonas fronterizas españolas. Sin embargo, dichos escritos nunca han sido examinados como un corpus unificado, de manera que la ideología política profundamente reaccionaria detrás de ellos nunca ha sido bien comprendida. Al analizar las convicciones políticas de Powell, el presente artículo muestra cómo puede surgir un conocimiento contemporáneo sobre la conquista del norte de México a partir de la larga sombra de Powell.

scholarly journals Country of Origin Effects on the Average Annual Values of NHL Player Contracts

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Aju J. Fenn ◽  
Lucas Gerdes ◽  
Samuel Rothstein
Keyword(s):  
Quantile Regression ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Country Of Origin ◽  
Large Datasets ◽  
National Hockey League ◽  
Dummy Variables ◽  
Country Of Origin Effects ◽  
Performance Statistics ◽  
Career Performance ◽  
Using Data

Using data from 2005 to 2016, this paper examines if players in the National Hockey League (NHL) are being paid a positive differential for their services due to the competition from the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). In order to control for performance, we use two different large datasets, (N = 4046) and (N = 1717). In keeping with the existing literature, we use lagged performance statistics and dummy variables to control for the type of NHL contract. The first dataset contains lagged career performance statistics, while the performance statistics are based on the statistics generated during the years under the player’s previous contract. Fixed effects least squares (FELS) and quantile regression results suggest that player production statistics, contract status, and country of origin are significant determinants of NHL player salaries.

scholarly journals Are the Self-Employed Mentally Healthier Than Salaried Workers? Evidence From Korea, Mexico, and the United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 40-41
Author(s):  
Hankyung Jun
Keyword(s):  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Unobserved Heterogeneity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Fixed Effects Model ◽  
Reverse Causality ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Salaried Workers ◽  
The U.S

Abstract Self-employed workers are often reported to have better health than salaried workers. Whether this is because self-employment has health benefits or healthier workers are self-employed is not clear. Self-employed workers may have higher job satisfaction due to higher levels of self-efficacy and autonomy, but may also experience higher job stress, uncertainty, and lack of health insurance leading to mental health problems. Self-employed workers in the U.S. may have different characteristics than those in Mexico and Korea given different working and living environments as well as different institutional arrangements. This study will examine the association between self-employment and mental and cognitive health for older adults in the U.S., Mexico, and South Korea. It uses harmonized panel data from the Health and Retirement Study, the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging, and the Mexican Health and Aging Study. We compare the health and selection effect of self-employment using a pooled logistic model, fixed-effects model, and a bivariate probit model. In addition to comparing self-employed and salaried workers, we analyze differences between self-employed with and without employees. By using rich data and various models, we address reverse causality and estimate the relationship between self-employment and health. We show that the positive health effects of self-employed workers in the U.S. disappear once controlled for unobserved heterogeneity, indicating the possibility of healthier workers selecting into self-employment. Interestingly, for Korea and Mexico, healthier individuals seem to select into wage work which reflects the difference in working conditions across countries. Further analysis will show effects by business size.

scholarly journals Timing of social distancing policies and COVID-19 mortality: county-level evidence from the U.S.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes ◽  
Neeraj Kaushal ◽  
Ashley N. Muchow
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Death Rate ◽  
The United States ◽  
County Level ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Level Information ◽  
Alternative Measures ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Pharmaceutical Interventions

AbstractUsing county-level data on COVID-19 mortality and infections, along with county-level information on the adoption of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), we examine how the speed of NPI adoption affected COVID-19 mortality in the United States. Our estimates suggest that adopting safer-at-home orders or non-essential business closures 1 day before infections double can curtail the COVID-19 death rate by 1.9%. This finding proves robust to alternative measures of NPI adoption speed, model specifications that control for testing, other NPIs, and mobility and across various samples (national, the Northeast, excluding New York, and excluding the Northeast). We also find that the adoption speed of NPIs is associated with lower infections and is unrelated to non-COVID deaths, suggesting these measures slowed contagion. Finally, NPI adoption speed appears to have been less effective in Republican counties, suggesting that political ideology might have compromised their efficacy.

The Shari’a Approach to Contemporary Problems of Mass Surveillance

2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sattam Eid Almutairi
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Personal Data ◽  
Legal Systems ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
Muslim Countries ◽  
Norms And Values ◽  
The World ◽  
State Surveillance ◽  
Mass Surveillance ◽  
Do So

AbstractThe phenomenon of mass surveillance has confronted legal systems throughout the world with significant challenges to their fundamental norms and values. These dilemmas have been most extensively studied and discussed in relation to the kind of privacy cultures that exist in Europe and North America. Although mass surveillance creates the same kinds of challenges in Muslim countries, the phenomenon has rarely been discussed from the perspective of Shari’a. This article seeks to demonstrate that this neglect of mass surveillance and other similar phenomena by Shari’a scholars is unjustified. Firstly, the article will address objections that Shari’a does not contain legal norms that are relevant to the modern practice of state surveillance and that, if these exist, they are not binding on rulers and will also seek to show that, whatever terminology is employed, significant aspects of the protection of privacy and personal data that exists in other legal systems is also be found deeply-rooted in Shari’a. Secondly, it will assess the specific requirements that it makes in relation to such intrusion on private spaces and private conduct and how far it can benefit from an exception to the general prohibition on spying. Finally, it is concluded that mass surveillance is unlikely to meet these Shari’a requirements and that only targeted surveillance can generally do so.

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