Privacy concerns and identity in online social networks

Driven by privacy-related fears, users of Online Social Networks may start to reduce their network activities. This trend can have a negative impact on network sustainability and its business value. Nevertheless, very little is understood about the privacy-related concerns of users and the impact of those concerns on identity performance. To close this gap, we take a systematic view of user privacy concerns on such platforms. Based on insights from focus groups and an empirical study with 210 subjects, we find that (i) Organizational Threats and (ii) Social Threats stemming from the user environment constitute two underlying dimensions of the construct “Privacy Concerns in Online Social Networks”. Using a Structural Equation Model, we examine the impact of the identified dimensions of concern on the Amount, Honesty, and Conscious Control of individual self-disclosure on these sites. We find that users tend to reduce the Amount of information disclosed as a response to their concerns regarding Organizational Threats. Additionally, users become more conscious about the information they reveal as a result of Social Threats. Network providers may want to develop specific mechanisms to alleviate identified user concerns and thereby ensure network sustainability.

The phenomenology of lucid dreaming: An online survey.

In lucid dreams the dreamer is aware that he or she is dreaming. Although such dreams are not that uncommon, many aspects of lucid dream phenomenology are still unclear. An online survey was conducted to gather data about lucid dream origination, duration, active or passive participation in the dream, planned actions for lucid dreams, and other phenomenological aspects. Among the 684 respondents who filled out the questionnaire, there were 571 lucid dreamers (83.5%). According to their reports, lucid dreams most often originate spontaneously in adolescence. The average lucid dream duration is about 14 minutes. Lucid dreamers are likely to be active in their lucid dreams and plan to accomplish different actions (e.g., flying, talking with dream characters, or having sex), yet they are not always able to remember or successfully execute their intentions (most often because of awakening or hindrances in the dream environment). The frequency of lucid dream experience was the strongest predictor of lucid dream phenomenology, but some differences were also observed in relation to age, gender, or whether the person is a natural or self-trained lucid dreamer. The findings are discussed in light of lucid dream research, and suggestions for future studies are provided.

A new method to measure higher visual functions in an immersive environment

BACKGROUND: Higher visual functions can be defined as cognitive processes responsible for object recognition, color and shape perception, and motion detection. People with impaired higher visual functions after unilateral brain lesion are often tested with paper pencil tests, but such tests do not assess the degree of interaction between the healthy brain hemisphere and the impaired one. Hence, visual functions are not tested separately in the contralesional and ipsilesional visual hemifields. METHODS: A new measurement setup, that involves real-time comparisons of shape and size of objects, orientation of lines, speed and direction of moving patterns, in the right or left visual hemifield, has been developed. The setup was implemented in an immersive environment like a hemisphere to take into account the effects of peripheral and central vision, and eventual visual field losses. Due to the non-flat screen of the hemisphere, a distortion algorithm was needed to adapt the projected images to the surface. Several approaches were studied and, based on a comparison between projected images and original ones, the best one was used for the implementation of the test. Fifty-seven healthy volunteers were then tested in a pilot study. A Satisfaction Questionnaire was used to assess the usability of the new measurement setup. RESULTS: The results of the distortion algorithm showed a structural similarity between the warped images and the original ones higher than 97%. The results of the pilot study showed an accuracy in comparing images in the two visual hemifields of 0.18 visual degrees and 0.19 visual degrees for size and shape discrimination, respectively, 2.56° for line orientation, 0.33 visual degrees/s for speed perception and 7.41° for recognition of motion direction. The outcome of the Satisfaction Questionnaire showed a high acceptance of the battery by the participants. CONCLUSIONS: A new method to measure higher visual functions in an immersive environment was presented. The study focused on the usability of the developed battery rather than the performance at the visual tasks. A battery of five subtasks to study the perception of size, shape, orientation, speed and motion direction was developed. The test setup is now ready to be tested in neurological patients.

NakInfo online: Developer's manual

The Local Urban Observatory in Nakuru (LUO, Kenya 2003) has developed a progressive and to date unique electronic information service called NakInfo. The objective of LUO is to make residents aware of public services delivery by their Local Authority, in this case the Municipal Council of Nakuru, and give them a voice in achieving improved quality of life. NakInfo facilitates community participation in local government business and demonstrates how to implement such participation in a developing country. The LUO project was formally initiated by the Municipal Council of Nakuru in January 2003, in collaboration with the Centre for Development and Environment (CDE) of the University of Berne (Switzerland) with funding from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).