Leveraging Trust and Privacy Concerns in Online Social Networks: an Empirical Study

Unprecedented success of Online Social Networks, such as Facebook, has been recently overshadowed by the privacy risks they imply. Weary of privacy concerns and unable to construct their identity in the desired way, users may restrict or even terminate their platform activities. Even though this means a considerable business risk for these platforms, so far there have been no studies on how to enable social network providers to address these problems. This study fills this gap by adopting a fairness perspective to analyze related measures at the disposal of the provider. In a Structural Equation Model with 237 subjects we find that ensuring interactional and procedural justice are two important strategies to support user participation on the platform.

Swiss Social Report: Generations in Perspective

Based on systematically prepared data and indicators, the Social Report 2012 informs about the current status and development trends in the Swiss society. This issue focuses on intergenerational relationships: How, for example, are intergenerational transfers carried out and what are they caused by? Does different cultural behaviour depend on the age group or do other social differences play a role? Do age-specific discriminations exist? Are young adults less politically involved than their parents? What impact has the demographic development of recent years had on the geographic structure? In addition to a selection of 75 indicators on these and other subjects, the Social Report contains five analytically oriented in-depth articles that are written from the perspective of the generational issue and which are dedicated to the following individual aspects: Equality of opportunities, cultural behaviour, age-specific discrimination, political involvement and the spatial reflection of the demographic changes. The Social Report 2012 is rooted in the tradition of the earlier issues of 2000, 2004 and 2008, which have been completely updated and supplemented with additional indicators. All the data are graphically presented and available in electronic form on this website. The five in-depth articles and all the short commentaries on the indicators were completely rewritten.

Thinking Time : a multidisiplinary perspective on time

"Time" has been much less widely studied in psychology and related disciplines than has "space". This book offers theoretical and empirical insights into the study of time-related perception, memory, identity, learning, and reasoning. With carefully selected chapters by a truly international and interdisciplinary team of authors, this book provides an unterstanding of time and mind that goes beyond psychophysiology and experimental psychology to encompass wider phenomena, both social and eduational. By providing a philosophical basis for understanding how the mind "graps" the concept of time and the timing of behavior in a cultural context, this unique book should help promote a cross-fertilization of research on this important dimension, which ist so often neglected in cognitive and sociocultural research.

Effectiveness of Justice-Based Measures in Managing Trust and Privacy Concerns on Social Networking Sites: Intercultural Perspective

The unprecedented success of social networking sites (SNSs) has been recently overshadowed by concerns about privacy risks. As SNS users grow weary of privacy breaches and thus develop distrust, they may restrict or even terminate their platform activities. In the long run, these developments endanger SNS platforms’ financial viability and undermine their ability to create individual and social value. By applying a justice perspective, this study aims to understand the means at the disposal of SNS providers to leverage the privacy concerns and trusting beliefs of their users—two important determinants of user participation on SNSs. Considering that SNSs have a global appeal, empirical tests assess the effectiveness of justice measures for three culturally distinct countries: Germany, Russia and Morocco. The results indicate that these measures are particularly suited to address trusting beliefs of SNS audience. Specifically, in all examined countries, procedural justice and the awareness dimension of informational justice improve perceptions of trust in the SNS provider. Privacy concerns, however, are not as easy to manage, because the impact of justice-based measures on privacy concerns is not universal. Beyond theoretical value, this research offers valuable practical insights into the use of justice-based measures to promote trust and mitigate privacy concerns in a cross-cultural setting.

Does upward social mobility increase life satisfaction? A longitudinal analysis using British and Swiss panel data

A main assumption of social production function theory is that status is a major determinant of subjective well-being (SWB). From the perspective of the dissociative hypothesis, however, upward social mobility may be linked to identity problems, distress, and reduced levels of SWB because upwardly mobile people lose their ties to their class of origin. In this paper, we examine whether or not one of these arguments holds. We employ the United Kingdom and Switzerland as case studies because both are linked to distinct notions regarding social inequality and upward mobility. Longitudinal multilevel analyses based on panel data (UK: BHPS, Switzerland: SHP) allow us to reconstruct individual trajectories of life satisfaction (as a cognitive component of SWB) along with events of intragenerational and intergenerational upward mobility—taking into account previous levels of life satisfaction, dynamic class membership, and well-studied determinants of SWB. Our results show some evidence for effects of social class and social mobility on well-being in the UK sample, while there are no such effects in the Swiss sample. The UK findings support the idea of dissociative effects in terms of a negative effect of intergenerational upward mobility on SWB.

Does gender-fair language pay off? The social perception of professions from a cross-linguistic perspective

In many languages, masculine forms (e.g., German Lehrer, “teachers, masc.”) have traditionally been used to refer to both women and men, although feminine forms are available, too. Feminine-masculine word pairs (e.g., German Lehrerinnen und Lehrer, “teachers, fem. and teachers, masc.”) are recommended as gender-fair alternatives. A large body of empirical research documents that the use of gender-fair forms instead of masculine forms has a substantial impact on mental representations. Masculine forms activate more male representations even when used in a generic sense, whereas word pairs (e.g., German Lehrerinnen und Lehrer, “teachers, fem. and teachers, masc.”) lead to a higher cognitive inclusion of women (i.e., visibility of women). Some recent studies, however, have also shown that in a professional context word pairs may be associated with lesser status. The present research is the first to investigate both effects within a single paradigm. A cross-linguistic (Italian and German) study with 391 participants shows that word pairs help to avoid a male bias in the gender-typing of professions and increase women's visibility; at the same time, they decrease the estimated salaries of typically feminine professions (but do not affect perceived social status or competence). This potential payoff has implications for language policies aiming at gender-fairness.

A Functionalist Perspective on Social Anxiety and Avoidant Personality Disorder

A developmental-evolutionary perspective is used to synthesize basic research from the neurosciences, ethology, genetics, and developmental psychology into a unified framework for understanding the nature and origins of social anxiety and avoidant personality disorder. Evidence is presented that social anxiety disorder (social phobia) and avoidant personality disorder may be alternate conceptualizations of the same disorder because they have virtually the same symptoms and genetic basis, and respond to the same pharmacologic and psychotherapeutic interventions. A functionalist perspective on social anxiety is formulated to (a) explain the origins of normative states of anxiety, (b) outline developmental pathways in the transition from normative anxiety to social anxiety and avoidant personality disorders, and (c) account for the processes leading to gender-differentiated patterns of anxiety-related disorders after puberty.

Dialect features indexing hipster identity on social media: the case of the city of Malaga

Identity is a recurrent research interest in current sociolinguistics and it is also of primary interest in digital discourse studies. Identity construction is closely related to stance and style (Eckert 2008; Jaffe 2009), which are fundamental concepts for understanding the language use and its social meanings in the case of social media users from Malaga. As the specific social meanings of a set of dialect features constitute a style, this style and the social (and technological) context in which the variants are used determine the meanings that are actually associated with each variant. Hence, every variant has its own indexical field covering any number of potential meanings. The Spanish spoken in Malaga, as Andalusian Spanish in general, was in the past often times considered an incorrect, low prestige variety of Spanish which was strongly associated with the poor, rural, backward South of Spain. This southern Spanish variety is easily recognised because of its innovative phonetic features that diverge from the national standard. In this study several of these phonetic dialect features are looked at, which users from Malaga purposefully employ (in a textualised form) on social media for identity construction. This identity construction is analysed through interactional and ethnographic methods: A perception and an imitation task served as key data and were supplemented by answers to a series of open questions. Further data stems from visual, multimodal elements (e.g. images, photos, videos) posted by users from the city of Malaga. The program TAMS Analyzer was used for data codification and analysis. Results show that certain features that in spoken language are considered rural and old-fashioned, acquire new meaning on social media, namely of urbanity and fashion. Moreover, these features, if used online, are associated with hipsters. That is, the “cool” social media index the “coolness” of the dialect features in question and, thus, the mediatisation makes their indexical fields even more multi-layered and dynamic. Social media users from Malaga performatively employ these stylised dialect features to project a hipster identity and certain related stances.

La telefonía móvil : el impacto social

El objetivo de este proyecto ha sido el de realizar un análisis del importante desarrollo que han sufrido las telecomunicaciones, haciendo un especial hincapié en la telefonía móvil y el impacto y repercusión que ha causado actualmente en nuestra sociedad. Para ello se hará un repaso evolutivo de las tecnologías de la información y las telecomunicaciones, y se establecerá una relación entre la gran difusión de éstas y su efecto sobre los usos, y cambios percibidos por los consumidores del nuevo siglo. Ciertamente la historia de la tecnología, nos enseña que la gente y las organizaciones acaban utilizándola para unos propósitos muy diferentes de aquellos que inicialmente fueron concebidas. Además cuanto más interactiva sea una tecnología, tanto más probable será que los usuarios se conviertan en productores o modificadores de la misma. Por tanto, la sociedad necesita resolver las incógnitas que pueda suscitar el rápido y continúo cambio de las comunicaciones. Este proyecto trata de ayudar a responder alguna de las cuestiones que actualmente se están planteando. ¿Son los teléfonos móviles una expresión de identidad, artilugios de moda, herramientas de la vida cotidiana, o todo lo anterior? ¿Existen nuevos modelos de comportamiento y conducta social? ¿La comunicación móvil está favoreciendo la aparición de una nueva cultura joven con un lenguaje propio basado en la comunicación textual y multimodal? ¿Tienen los teléfonos móviles efectos nocivos en la salud? La respuesta a estas preguntas afecta a nuestras vidas y también condiciona las políticas públicas y las estrategias de negocio, por eso requiere adquirir un conocimiento cimentado en la información, y la recopilación de datos de diversas fuentes, tanto de estadísticas provenientes de diferentes estudios e investigaciones, como de empresas consultoras, siempre basada en una perspectiva global. En conjunto, se espera dentro de los límites del conocimiento actual, contribuir a establecer las bases para el análisis y valoración de la relación existente entre comunicación, tecnología y sociedad en todo el mundo. Abstract The purpose of this project has been to analyse the significant development undergone by telecommunications, putting a special emphasis on mobile phones and the impact it has caused in society. We will go over the evolution of IT technologies and telecommunications as well as establish a relationship between its spread and effect of its uses and changes understood by the new century consumers. Technology history shows us that people and organizations use it for very different purposes from those originally thought. Furthermore, the more interactive technologies are, the more users will modify or produce it. Therefore, society needs to solve the mysteries of the quick and continuous change of communications. This project tries to help and answer some of the questions considered these days. Are mobile phones an expression of identity, fashionable devices, tools for everyday life or all at once? Are there any new models of performance and social behaviour? Is mobile communication favouring the existence of a new young culture with a typical language based on textual and multimodal communication? Are mobile phones bad for our health? The answer to these questions affects us all and conditions public politics and business strategies so it is required to get firm knowledge based on information. It is also important to compile data from various sources, from statistics of research and studies, based on a global perspective. As a whole, we hope to contribute to establish the bases for the future analysis and assessment of a fundamental trend that is redefining the relationship between communication, technology and society worldwide by transforming the wireless networks that make our lives.

I'm Not Who I Thought I Was: A Contextual Resolution to the Identity Loss of Combat PTSD.

Given the historical rates of combat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), one can expect 30% of soldiers returning from current military conflicts to suffer from PTSD. For these individuals, various cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT) are the most commonly employed treatments. Unfortunately, however, symptom relapse can be expected with the various CBT approaches, as traumatic memories remain. Soldiers are imbued with a militarized identity, and the identity loss experienced by those soldiers who suffer from PTSD is particularly painful for this population, as the militarized identity effectively disavows personal suffering. For this reason, many combat veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder experience undue, prolonged suffering as they struggle to make sense of the different person they fear they have become. This paper contrasts certain versions of Western philosophy, which view the self as a fixed and reified entity with certain versions of Eastern philosophy, which view the self as more contextual and fluid, in order to illuminate the value of employing third wave behavioral treatments, specifically Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), to treat the identity loss experienced by military veterans with PTSD. ACT echoes the Buddhist principle that attachment to verbally-constructed conceptual notions of self contribute to undue suffering, and that more vital living can be achieved by assuming a more contextual and experiential perspective on identity. Research and anecdotal accounts are cited to illustrate why treatment for identity loss associated with combat PTSD should be less focused on reconstructing a historically substance-oriented self and more focused on an epistemological reorientation to a deconstructed, contextual self.

Broadening the Scope of Ethnic Identity: A Social Sustainability Solution for Pan African Communities through Ethnically Relevant Educational Programming

This conceptual study explores ethnic identity development theory in order to argue that ethnic identity development education is a means of developing broad senses of community in the African Diaspora that expand beyond a tribal, local, familial level. This study suggests that the broadening of community understanding would contribute to establishing social sustainability on regional, national and international levels within the Pan African community. Establishing such social sustainability would have direct effects on the areas of economic and environmental sustainability. One of the goals of this project is to offer suggestions for ethnically relevant education that can develop social sustainability in several places throughout the Diaspora, such as in Nigeria where ethnic conflicts are a contemporary concern.

Social determinants of sexual satisfaction in Spain considered from the gender perspective

Aims: To describe gender- and social class-related inequalities in sexual satisfaction and analyze their relationship with self-perceived health status. Methods: This population-based, cross-sectional study included 7384 sexually active people aged 16 years and over residing in Spain in 2009 (3951 men and 3433 women). The explanatory variables were gender, age, social class, share in performing domestic tasks, spend time looking after oneself, collaborate economically in supporting the family, caring for children, self-perceived health status, and the desire to increase or decrease frequency of having sexual relations. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were fitted. Results: Among women, sexual satisfaction declines progressively after age 45. Sexual satisfaction is 1.7 times higher among women who look after themselves and who feel good compared with those who do not. The odds of wanting to increase sex is 3.3 times higher for women who are satisfied compared with women who desire a lower frequency of sexual intercourses; and good perceived health was associated with sexual satisfaction. In satisfied men, the corresponding odds is 1.9 times that of men desiring to reduce their frequency of sex. Conclusions: Gender and social class inequalities are found in sexual satisfaction. This is associated with perceived health status, adding evidence in support of the World Health Organization definition of sexual health.