An Exploration of the Factors Influencing Home Users' Cybersecurity Behaviours

<p>Cybersecurity has been a concern for businesses and governments since their initial uptake of the Internet in the 1970s. As more and more people started using the internet for personal use, cybersecurity has become an important concern for home users as well. However, most research on cybersecurity has been undertaken at an organisational rather than at the individual level. Individual behaviours online have became increasingly important as the line between home and business use has blurred and users’ actions on their home computers has begun to have more wide ranging implications. There appears to be a lack of agreement on how to approach the topic of internet security outside of an organisational perspective. This research focuses on the individual home user perspective and seeks to (1) identify factors relate to users’ cybersecurity behaviours, and (2) examine how the identified factors relate to users' cybersecurity behaviours. A conceptual framework was developed based on the literature to guide the data collection. To identify the relevant factors relating to home users’ security behaviours, a qualitative study comprised of three focus groups and 20 individual interviews was carried out. From the data, a revised model was developed. In the revised model, awareness threats was identified as a necessary first cybersecurity step before users can form opinions about the danger of threats. Awareness of threats was influenced by users' characteristics, opinions, and experiences as well as by factors in their external environments. The combination of internal factors, external factors, and awareness led to users’ perceptions about the danger of threats online. This perception of danger led to users’ intentions to engage in protective behaviours. However, these intentions were strengthened or weakened based on users’ perceptions about the barriers to and enablers of security. By applying the revised model, it was possible to identify different types of security users. Through the identification of these user types, eight factors emerged as being particularly important in influencing users' perceptions of threats and dangers: knowledge, perceived self-efficacy, trust, threat awareness, safeguard awareness, prior experience, reliance, and security orientation. These factors from the model are used as a starting point to understanding how users make decisions about what they will do to protect themselves online. Further, through the identification of these user types suggestions are made about how to promote security for different types of individuals.</p>

An Exploration of the Factors Influencing Home Users' Cybersecurity Behaviours

<p>Cybersecurity has been a concern for businesses and governments since their initial uptake of the Internet in the 1970s. As more and more people started using the internet for personal use, cybersecurity has become an important concern for home users as well. However, most research on cybersecurity has been undertaken at an organisational rather than at the individual level. Individual behaviours online have became increasingly important as the line between home and business use has blurred and users’ actions on their home computers has begun to have more wide ranging implications. There appears to be a lack of agreement on how to approach the topic of internet security outside of an organisational perspective. This research focuses on the individual home user perspective and seeks to (1) identify factors relate to users’ cybersecurity behaviours, and (2) examine how the identified factors relate to users' cybersecurity behaviours. A conceptual framework was developed based on the literature to guide the data collection. To identify the relevant factors relating to home users’ security behaviours, a qualitative study comprised of three focus groups and 20 individual interviews was carried out. From the data, a revised model was developed. In the revised model, awareness threats was identified as a necessary first cybersecurity step before users can form opinions about the danger of threats. Awareness of threats was influenced by users' characteristics, opinions, and experiences as well as by factors in their external environments. The combination of internal factors, external factors, and awareness led to users’ perceptions about the danger of threats online. This perception of danger led to users’ intentions to engage in protective behaviours. However, these intentions were strengthened or weakened based on users’ perceptions about the barriers to and enablers of security. By applying the revised model, it was possible to identify different types of security users. Through the identification of these user types, eight factors emerged as being particularly important in influencing users' perceptions of threats and dangers: knowledge, perceived self-efficacy, trust, threat awareness, safeguard awareness, prior experience, reliance, and security orientation. These factors from the model are used as a starting point to understanding how users make decisions about what they will do to protect themselves online. Further, through the identification of these user types suggestions are made about how to promote security for different types of individuals.</p>

Cannabis in Homes with Children: A Survey on Use, Storage, and Attitudes

Introduction: The recent legalization of cannabis in California has the potential to affect cannabis prevalence in households with children. This eventuality, combined with suboptimal cannabis storage practices, could lead to adverse effects such as unintentional pediatric ingestion, which occurred in Colorado after legalization. Our objective was to assess prevalence and storage practices of cannabis in households with children, and attitudes on use and storage education in a state that has legalized cannabis. Methods: We administered electronic surveys to 401 adults in a pediatric emergency department in California. Participants were excluded if they were not English- or Spanish-speaking or did not live in a household with children <18 years old. They answered questions regarding cannabis use, storage, and attitudes on cannabis storage education. We used convenience sampling and analyzed data using descriptive statistics. Results: Research assistants approached 558 participants of whom 401 completed the survey. Three participants did not respond regarding past or current cannabis use, and 14.5% (58/401) reported cannabis use in their home in the prior six months. Both users and non-users rated safe storage of high importance in homes with children. Only 44.8% of home users (26/58) reported that their cannabis was both locked and hidden. Among home users, the most common source of storage advice was friends and family (21/58, 36.2%), and 45% of home users (26/58) received no storage information whatsoever. Most cannabis users (53/67, 79.1%) and non-users (241/330, 73%) reported that they would feel comfortable receiving cannabis education from their primary care provider. Conclusion: Cannabis is used and stored in homes with children; however, safe storage is not clearly defined in California, and storage education is lacking. Healthcare providers in primary care and the emergency department may play an important role in educating the public about cannabis use and safe storage.

Out-of-Pocket Expenditures for Delivery for Maternity Waiting Home Users and Non-users in Rural Zambia

Background: Utilizing maternity waiting homes (MWHs) is a strategy to improve access to skilled obstetric care in rural Zambia. However, out-of-pocket (OOP) expenses remain a barrier for many women. We assessed delivery-related expenditure for women who used MWHs and those who did not who delivered at a rural health facility. Methods: During the endline of an impact evaluation for an MWH intervention, household surveys (n = 826) were conducted with women who delivered a baby in the previous 13 months at a rural health facility and lived >10 km from a health facility in seven districts of rural Zambia. We captured the amount women reported spending on delivery. We compared OOP spending between women who used MWHs and those who did not. Amounts were converted from Zambian kwacha (ZMW) to US dollar (USD). Results: After controlling for confounders, there was no significant difference in delivery-related expenditure between women who used MWHs (US$40.01) and those who did not (US$36.66) (P=.06). Both groups reported baby clothes as the largest expenditure. MWH users reported spending slightly more on accommodation compared to those did not use MWHs, but this difference represents only a fraction of total costs associated with delivery. Conclusion: Findings suggest that for women coming from far away, utilizing MWHs while awaiting delivery is not costlier overall than for women who deliver at a health facility but do not utilize a MWH.

Aligning Medicaid and Medicare Advantage Managed Care Plans for Dual-Eligible Beneficiaries

To coordinate Medicare and Medicaid benefits, multiple states are creating opportunities for dual-eligible beneficiaries to join Medicare Advantage Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) and Medicaid plans operated by the same insurer. Tennessee implemented this approach by requiring insurers who offered Medicaid plans to also offer a D-SNP by 2015. Tennessee’s aligned D-SNP participation increased from 7% to 24% of dual-eligible beneficiaries aged 65 years and above between 2011 and 2017. Within a county, a 10-percentage-point increase in aligned D-SNP participation was associated with 0.3 fewer inpatient admissions ( p = .048), 13.9 fewer prescription drugs per month ( p = .048), and 0.3 fewer nursing home users ( p = .06) per 100 dual-eligible beneficiaries aged 65 years and older. Increased aligned plan participation was associated with 0.2 more inpatient admissions ( p = .004) per 100 dual-eligible beneficiaries younger than 65 years. For some dual-eligible beneficiaries, increasing Medicare and Medicaid managed plan alignment has the potential to promote more efficient service use.

Do Rural Second Homes Shape Commensal Microbiota of Urban Dwellers? A Pilot Study among Urban Elderly in Finland

According to the hygiene and biodiversity hypotheses, increased hygiene levels and reduced contact with biodiversity can partially explain the high prevalence of immune-mediated diseases in developed countries. A disturbed commensal microbiota, especially in the gut, has been linked to multiple immune-mediated diseases. Previous studies imply that gut microbiota composition is associated with the everyday living environment and can be modified by increasing direct physical exposure to biodiverse materials. In this pilot study, the effects of rural-second-home tourism were investigated on the gut microbiota for the first time. Rural-second-home tourism, a popular form of outdoor recreation in Northern Europe, North America, and Russia, has the potential to alter the human microbiota by increasing exposure to nature and environmental microbes. The hypotheses were that the use of rural second homes is associated with differences in the gut microbiota and that the microbiota related to health benefits are more diverse or common among the rural-second-home users. Based on 16S rRNA Illumina MiSeq sequencing of stool samples from 10 urban elderly having access and 15 lacking access to a rural second home, the first hypothesis was supported: the use of rural second homes was found to be associated with lower gut microbiota diversity and RIG-I-like receptor signaling pathway levels. The second hypothesis was not supported: health-related microbiota were not more diverse or common among the second-home users. The current study encourages further research on the possible health outcomes or causes of the observed microbiological differences. Activities and diet during second-home visits, standard of equipment, surrounding environment, and length of the visits are all postulated to play a role in determining the effects of rural-second-home tourism on the gut microbiota.

Implementation of Controlling Home Appliances Via Secure Short Message Service Technology

These days, homes include a variety of electrical devices that are important to families for accomplishing daily tasks. These devices are powered by electricity and in some cases, require a lot of power consumption. Home users must control these devices manually by switching them ON/OFF; this exposes them to potential electric shock and can give rise to other dangerous situations. This paper presents a new approach for creating an electrical system that makes it easy to control household domestic appliances via short message service from a smartphone device. In this manner, users can be provided with a relaxed and safe approach to using electrical devices. The result of this work, users can access to the home devices easily and interact with them without any problem of electrical shock and personal effort