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AI-powered misinformation detectors—artificial intelligence tools that identify false or inaccurate online content—have emerged as a potential intervention for helping internet users understand the veracity of the content they view. However, the algorithms used to create these detectors are experimental and largely untested at the scale necessary to be effective on a social media platform. Furthermore, the assumptions programmed into these algorithms frequently conflict with everyday, non-threatening online communication, potentially leading to unwarranted censorship. Consequently, understanding the current limitations of AI interventions for misinformation detection on the internet is important for developing better iterations of these tools and forming effective policies around them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexual Objectification Theory posits that exposure to objectifying content, such as pornography, the purchase of sexual services, and adherence to traditional masculinity, can contribute to the acceptance of harmful beliefs about sexual violence. This study examined the relationship between rape myth acceptance and a range of attitudinal and personal factors using a sample of 1,603 internet users in Spain (51.6% women, M = 45.7 years old). The outcome variable was rape myth acceptance (α = .79), and the correlates included various forms of pornography consumption, purchasing sexual services, ambivalent sexism, comfort with sexuality, gender identification, and sociodemographic characteristics. The results indicate that rape myth acceptance was generally low (M = 2.03, range 1–5) and was associated with some sociodemographic characteristics, pornography consumption, ambivalent sexism, and comfort with sexuality. Ambivalent sexism, comfort with sexuality, and gender were the strongest predictors of rape myth acceptance, while pornography consumption had a limited impact on endorsing such beliefs. These findings provide insights into the factors influencing rape myth acceptance and offer guidance for developing policies to combat rape culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The internet is seen as a medium that enables older individuals with limited out-of-home mobility (OOHM) to maintain independence and social connections, but little attention has been given to their internet use so far. Utilising a previously developed typology of non-, basic-, selective- and allround internet users, aged 60 and above, and drawing on data from the Belgian Ageing Studies (N = 2,788), we examined the association between OOHM and internet usage profiles through multinomial logistic regression analysis. The findings indicate that individuals who did not use a bike or e-bike, drive a car or walk were more likely to be internet non-users or basic users, limiting their online activities to information searches and email communication. Additionally, by creating a dummy variable to distinguish between individuals with and without access to OOHM options, this study revealed that lacking OOHM options – not walking, nor using a bike or e-bike, driving a car, travelling by public transport or using on-demand public transport – was associated with a higher likelihood of being non-user. This association between OOHM and internet usage underscores the need for increased resources and support for older adults with limited OOHM to help them overcome barriers to internet usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Named in-network computing service (NICS) is a potential computing paradigm emerged recently. Benefitted from the characteristics of named addressing and routing, NICS can be flexibly deployed on NDN router side and provide nearby computing service to Internet users. But the NICS feature of dynamic deployment also causes serious security risk of access control. How to independently check out the subscription relationship between requester and requested computing service on NICS side become a challenge. To solve this problem, we propose a novel certificateless signature-based access control scheme (CS-ACS) in this paper. In CS-ACS, the entire user public-private key pairs consist of two parts, user side and source server side. Where, the user public-private key pairs (server side) are generated according to the user ID, service subscription relationship and subscription expiration time. Based on this special design, when authorized user signs the interest packet of invoking specific service using its private key, the NICS can verify the signature then check out whether the requester is a valid subscriber and the subscription is expired or not. Simulation results show that, comparing with fundamental solutions, CS-ACS can avoid extra secret key storage cost on NICS side and markedly shorten authentication delay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital technology significantly transforms economies by reducing transaction costs and promoting economic growth. Similarly, international remittances decrease poverty and improve employment. This article investigates whether digitalization increases international remittances in developing economies and how institutional development affects the nexus between digitalization and international remittances. The study employs internet users and fixed broadband subscriptions as proxies for digitalization and the difference generalized method of moments estimators to test the role of governance in the digitalization-international remittances nexus across 102 developing economies. The findings are counter-intuitive. First, digitalization and governance increase international remittances. Second, as a proxy for digitalization, the interaction term with internet users decreases international remittances, while the interaction term with fixed broadband subscriptions promotes them. Finally, trade openness, economic growth, and inflation are determinants of international remittances. From these findings, the article makes arguments to show the paradox of institutional development in developing economies and some policy lessons to improve institutional quality in promoting digital technology and attracting more international remittances. JEL Classification C23, G21, O47 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe increasing availability of technology-mediated cognitive stimulation tools is evident in the contemporary landscape. However, the acceptance of these tools by older adults is not always satisfactory. One of the reasons is that some were not designed with the perspective of older adult users. In light of this, user-centered design assumes paramount importance in enhancing technology adherence. This paper aims to elucidate the redesign process of a cognitive stimulation web lab (LABPSI) from the perspective of user experience and based on user-centered design, intending to improve accessibility and appeal for older adults, the targeted end users. Objective and subjective measures were recorded both before and after the web lab redesign to assess changes in participant performance and acceptance. The study included both healthy and mild cognitive impairment participants. Both groups demonstrated improved performance following the lab redesign. These findings suggest that the redesign process, guided by a user-centered perspective, results in a technologically satisfactory product tailored for the intended end users, in this case, older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Omni-media era, the in-depth advancement of intelligent process endowed public opinion information (referred to as public opinion) with unique spreading characteristics, and put forward new and higher requirements for its governance. Against this background, we proposed an improved public opinion propagation model coupling the possible factors to grasp its spreading rules. Then, the spreading characteristics of public opinion and its governance timing-intensity-effect in online social networks (OSN) were discussed through numerical simulations. Our results showed that the propagation of public opinion shows faster speed and is more dependent on netizens' attributes in open OSN with a wider scope and depends more on information content in closed OSN. During the governance process of public opinion propagation, the regulators' strategies should have priority: Governance timing ≻ governance proportion ≻ punishment intensity. Based on research findings, targeted countermeasures and decision-making references were provided for the regulators to reasonably guide the evolution trend of public opinion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the phenomenon of selective exposure in China's restricted online information environment. Through an experimental survey study, we measure to what extent features of online news, such as popularity (i.e. number of "likes"), influence information selection among Chinese internet users ("netizens"). We find evidence of preferences for news information according to news topic and the nationalist sentiments of individuals. Generally, for news about domestic affairs, Chinese netizens prefer articles that take the opposite position of the government; for foreign affairs, they prefer articles aligned with the government's position. However, nationalistic individuals are more likely to select domestic affairs articles congruent with the Chinese government's issue framing. We also find social endorsements to be highly influential on news selection behaviour. Popular posts with many "likes" attract Chinese netizens to the point where they select content they may not otherwise read, even though the internet environment is easily manipulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues, against the prevailing view, that consent to privacy policies that regular internet users usually give is largely unproblematic from the moral point of view. To substantiate this claim, we rely on the idea of the right not to know (RNTK), as developed by bioethicists. Defenders of the RNTK in bioethical literature on informed consent claim that patients generally have the right to refuse medically relevant information. In this article we extend the application of the RNTK to online privacy. We then argue that if internet users can be thought of as exercising their RNTK before consenting to privacy policies, their consent ought to be considered free of the standard charges leveled against it by critics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shared services have become an important IT-enabled organizational form for providing support business functions to internal users. The information systems that implement and deliver shared services are part of the organizational IT infrastructure that has a twofold effect on firm financial performance. On the one hand, with the shared services model, the IT infrastructure consolidates so that the costs are lowered for providing the common functions firm-wide. On the other hand, the systems delivering the shared services embody the workflow and business functions so that the value of shared services can be gained from improvements in the function performance at the process level. We perceive finance shared services as IT-enabled services for corporate finance and accounting functions, and propose that finance shared services improve firm profitability via cost savings at firm level and via increased working capital efficiency at the process level. We test our hypotheses with data on Chinese public firms from 2008 to 2019. Data analysis results show both direct effect of finance shared services on profitability and mediating effect of working capital efficiency. This study expands our understandings about impacts of shared services, and contributes to empirical research in IT business value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Social Sciences Research / Sosyal Bilimler Arastirmalari Dergisi is the property of ODU Journal of Social Sciences Research and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Every century brings its advancements, making it challenging to pinpoint a specific period as the most transformative. Historically, the 19th century introduced significant changes in power sources, transportation, mass production, and materials. The 20th century, on the other hand, was marked by developments such as solar cells, nuclear reactors, aircraft, and advancements in communication, including radio, television, and the internet. The evolution of the Internet has fundamentally transformed the global landscape, bringing significant and revolutionary changes. Undoubtedly, the growth of the Internet has greatly influenced the economy, paving the way for the digital transformation we experience today. Its extensive use has given rise to a model known as electronic commerce, which initially did not have a strong recognition of its value. Nowadays, electronic commerce is a vital resource for global growth, signaling a transformation in modern business practices and influencing the future trajectory of commerce. Moreover, this innovative tool has impacted businesses and served as a catalyst for human progress across various aspects of life. It has created opportunities for a competitive market, allowing consumers worldwide to operate as sellers without geographical constraints. To what extent have technological advancements been utilized in the Republic of North Macedonia? Was there a specific period that can be marked by significant growth, and what were the contributing factors? This research aims to address these two questions. To analyze the usage of technological advancements, both the internet and electronic commerce, we will conduct a comparative analysis of the growth of internet usage and electronic commerce over the past five years in the Republic of North Macedonia. The analysis will be conducted by utilizing data from secondary sources obtained from the State Statistical Office of the Republic of North Macedonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uncovers an increasingly dominant hyper-nationalistic digital landscape in mainland China, illustrated by the prohibition and complete removal of Chinese actor and celebrity Zhehan Zhang after he posted on Instagram photos of a trip to Japan, which included pictures of the Yasukuni Shrine buildings, a potent symbol of Japanese militarism. This landscape of pervasive censorship impacts public figures and regular netizens alike, in which context nationalism becomes a powerful tool for ousting individuals based on 'past mistakes'. Our analysis reveals a dual consequence: a combined censorship approach by authorities and netizens, targeting various individuals, while reinforcing implicit approval of this cyber-nationalistic atmosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much research has studied the impacts of atmospheric factors on immersion in commercial websites and on consumer online behaviour. However, it has, each time, tested the impact of the virtual technologies separately keeping unexplored their simultaneous impact on Internet users' attitudes and behaviors. Therefore, this study examines the simultaneous effects of avatars and the 3D decor in the context of guesthouse websites on online immersion and explores the consequences in terms of mental imagery and behavioral intentions. The results of an experiment validate the hypotheses and offer interesting managerial recommendations. This research provides a better understanding of online immersion and consumer behavior in a hyper-real environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of information on multiple health websites necessitates assessing its credibility. Users use a search engine to look for content on the website. Internet users do not have time to pay enough attention to websites' credibility. It may be riskier when the user is searching for health data. It could put their lives at risk. When users want to search for data related to content-driven health websites, accessing credibility is necessary, as using the wrong information threatens users' lives. The eHTrust (Electronic Health Trust) model is designed and implemented to automate the credibility of websites. Using the XGboost algorithm, the eHTrust model eliminates all phishing URLs. The XGboost algorithm has a 93.8 accuracy rate. After obtaining legitimate websites, we extract the values of credibility-determining features from their content, such as response time, expert reviews, updated date, responsiveness, and SSL-certified values. The data set is prepared based on the values of the identified features. The Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) method PAPRIKA (Potentially All Pairwise Rankings of All Possible Alternatives) assigns weights to the scale values on each feature, representing the relative importance of the attributes. All the websites are clustered into three groups using a KMeans algorithm. The model's cluster-wise mean credibility score is calculated and labeled with the trust value. The trust values are then compared with the cluster-wise mean credibility score of WOT (Web of Trust). The correlation was found to be 0.8976, thus verifying the model's validity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to measure the impact of cloud computing on economic growth in China by measuring the relationship between China's GDP and cloud computing. Quantitative methods were used to estimate the relationship between the study variables. The research results showed a strong correlation between some of these variables compared to the correlation of each of them with the gross domestic product. The explanatory variables with the highest correlation were chosen. These variables are: Exports of technological goods and information, the number of workforce in software services, the size of the cloud computing market, the number of Internet users, revenues (income) from software, exports of information and communication technology services, where the values of the simple correlation coefficients between the gross domestic product and each of the variables reached the values of The simple correlation coefficients between GDP and each of the variables are about 0.95, 0.91, 0.80, 0.99, 0.96, and 0.97, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Internet users in Indonesia are growing from year to year. Based on the latest data from the Indonesian Internet Service Provider Association, known as Asosiasi Penyelenggaraan Jasa Internet Indonesia (APJII), in 2022, internet users in Indonesia reached 210 million. With a large number of internet users, there are positive and negative consequences that occur. Internet addiction began to be studied by many researchers. These studies include research on the factors that cause internet addiction, as well as its correlation with loneliness. To explain the correlation between internet addiction and loneliness. Methods: Literature review. Results: Loneliness is a complex and usually unpleasant emotion that is thought to be a factor in individuals experiencing internet addiction. Loneliness is the thought of loss and dissatisfaction that occurs due to a mismatch between the individual's social interaction and the social interaction one expects. Hence to overcome the loneliness that is felt, individuals express themselves better in cyberspace than in person. Internet addiction is a condition in which internet users use the internet excessively, due to a lack of self-control and interferes with their daily tasks and functions, to the detriment of themselves. This sums in several negative consequences. Studies showed that internet addiction and loneliness are correlated and mutually reinforcing. Conclusions: The relationship between loneliness and internet use is bidirectional in the sense that just as the internet may drive individuals towards loneliness, loneliness can also encourage individuals to spend more time on the internet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflammatory responses may lead to tissue or organ damage, and proinflammatory peptides (PIPs) are signaling peptides that can induce such responses. Many diseases have been redefined as inflammatory diseases. To identify PIPs more efficiently, we expanded the dataset and designed an ensemble learning model with manually encoded features. Specifically, we adopted a more comprehensive feature encoding method and considered the actual impact of certain features to filter them. Identification and prediction of PIPs were performed using an ensemble learning model based on five different classifiers. The results show that the model's sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and Matthews correlation coefficient are all higher than those of the state-of-the-art models. We named this model MultiFeatVotPIP, and both the model and the data can be accessed publicly at https://github.com/ChaoruiYan019/MultiFeatVotPIP. Additionally, we have developed a user-friendly web interface for users, which can be accessed at http://www.bioai-lab.com/MultiFeatVotPIP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet real‐name system is widely implemented among Chinese Internet users, and many commonly used apps in China exist the functions of real‐name authentication. However, our study found that many apps do not have effective restrictions on user's operations of real‐name authentication, resulting in users being able to frequently perform unsuccessful real‐name authentication attempts. This vulnerability can help an attacker crack celebrity's ID card number by enumeration attacks, and a feasible cracking method was proposed in this paper. First, the information of birth date, birth place, and life experiences of a celebrity is collected from the platforms that display celebrities' personal information (e.g., Wikipedia, Baidu Baike, etc.). In this process, an information extraction method is used to infer permanent residences from life experiences. Then, the possible ID card numbers of a celebrity can be constructed by using the information of birth date, birth place, and permanent residences. Finally, these possible ID card numbers will be verified by sending requests to platforms that have vulnerabilities in the function of user real‐name authentication, until the real ID card number of a celebrity being cracked. This paper conducted cracking experiments on two groups of celebrities. The first group of celebrities is collected from the news events of privacy leakage that were publicly available online, and the second group of celebrities is randomly selected from two encyclopedia platforms. The experimental results showed that the success rate of cracking the ID card numbers of celebrities is 53.9%, which verified the effectiveness of the proposed cracking method. Besides, this paper proposed some security precaution suggestions to solve this security problem, and the implementation, feasibility, potential impact, expected effectiveness of these measures were also analyzed. To our knowledge, our paper is the first to point out the issue of privacy leakage of celebrity's ID card number caused by apps' real‐name authentication functions in China. We believe that our research will attract widespread attention from society regarding celebrity's privacy information protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses the case of the Henan health code scandal and Chinese netizens' response to it to illustrate the local politics in the age of automated decision-making systems in China. It examines how a local stability maintenance endeavour has become a sign of the misuse and abuse of power and technology by an authoritarian Party-state and its ruling elites to safeguard their own interests and power. The performative disciplining of local culprits by the central government demonstrates not only the tension between local and central authorities but also the pitfalls of big-data-driven digital governance and social control systems when such systems are arbitrary and lack provision for human rights protection. Chinese netizens' response to the scandal demonstrates the possibilities and limits of networked communicative mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The popularity of IoT devices has penetrated our daily life while posing new challenges in user authentication. Today's solutions, e.g., passwords, fingerprints, and FaceIDs, primarily rely on specialized sensors or user interfaces to collect user's identification information, which may not universally exist on heterogeneous IoT devices. In this paper, we propose a novel user authentication method that exploits the Electromagnetic (EM) emanations radiated from IoT devices. Our design is motivated by the observation that human touches on the IoT device can lead to time-varying coupling between these two. Consequently, it impacts the device's EM emanations that can be picked up by its inertial ADC (analog-to-digital converter) interfaces. We ask the user to tap on the device rhythmically following a self-determined melody, such that the human-coupled EM emanations vary accordingly. We thus extract the rhythm pattern as the user's secure password named EM-Rhythm. To examine its effectiveness, EM-Rhythm is implemented on a wide range of IoT devices. We show that our scheme achieves authentication accuracy as high as 98.67% with less than three login attempts. Besides, it is robust against various types of attacks and maintains stable performances under various settings. EM-Rhythm also exhibits satisfactory usability in terms of memorability and time consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the underlying aspects of netizens’ reactions and actions when viewing philanthropic organizations’ posts on social media. The reactions of netizens in question are pressing the like and/or share buttons and writing comments. Meanwhile, the action is to donate. Our data comes from a survey with open-ended questions. Our respondents totaled 583 people. We found that the reaction of pressing the like button is most often done and generally without a specific reason. Netizens will press the share button when the philanthropic organization’s post evokes emotions. Netizens comment to convey trust and as a way to show sympathy for the beneficiaries. Video is a medium with higher news value and makes netizens more willing to donate than photos. Netizens will donate to a philanthropic organization’s post when they trust the institution, and it contains transparent information about the beneficiaries’ conditions and accountability and touches emotions. The presence of relevant religious quotes in the narrative of philanthropic organizations’ posts also increases netizens’ motivation to donate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the role of governance quality in the relationship between the Internet and financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan African countries. The study uses data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) database for indicators of financial inclusion, World Development Indicators (WDI) for Internet users and World Governance Indicators (WGI) for governance indicators from 2004 to 2020. Analyzing the data using the System Generalized Method of Moments (SGMM), the results show that the Internet can be effectively complemented with the quality of governance to improve financial inclusion. Thresholds of governance that are needed for the Internet to promote financial inclusion are provided. Policies aimed at reinforcing the quality of governance in SSA countries could help consolidate Internet infrastructure to promote Internet usage and, in turn, improve financial inclusion. Other policy implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fast expansion of the information technology industry has removed the limitations of time and location for Internet users. Individuals now use electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) while engaging online, especially on community-focused platforms such as e-commerce websites (Shopee, Lazada, TikTok Shop, etc.). This research investigates how eWOM information influences customers' purchase intentions on e-commerce platforms, using the Information Acceptance Model (IACM). Additionally, the research investigates how perceived risk moderates its impacts on the usefulness of information and its acceptance, as well as the connection between acceptance of information and the desire to buy. The proposed model was validated using partial least squares (PLS) via data from 339 respondents interested in eWOM information during online purchases on e-commerce websites in Vietnam. Based on the findings, the usefulness of information was positively impacted by factors such as its quality, credibility, information needs, and attitude towards information. The usefulness of information positively influenced its acceptance. Similarly, the acceptance and attitude towards information positively impacted purchasing intention. Perceived risk performed as a negative moderator in the association involving the usefulness of information and its acceptance, as well as in the link between information acceptance and purchase intention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is easier to assume that educated older adults will find digital gadgets or the Internet as simple to use as the young generation does. However, it is not as simple as that. The generation that was not born into the digital world but has had to make an effort to learn to use digital technologies during their middle or late middle age is referred to as Digital Immigrants (DIs). Most of these individuals were forced to adapt to information technologies due to environmental pressure to survive and thrive at their workplace. The objective of this study is to investigate if the proposed "digital divide" that differentiates digital immigrants from digital natives (DNs) exists among e-commerce users in India, and if so, are digital immigrants less likely to adopt and use e-commerce services? Data was collected through a self-administered survey questionnaire from 432 Indian Internet users aged 19 to 65. Multigroup structural equation modeling analysis (M-SEM) of data revealed that DIs and DNs perceive e-commerce services differently. Though digital immigrants find e-commerce services challenging to use, their higher perception of its usefulness propels them to adopt and use e-commerce. This study contributes to the existing body of literature by extending our understanding of the technology adoption behavior of digital immigrants. The study's implications and the scope for future research are discussed at the end of the article. Plain language summary: Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate if the proposed "digital divide" that differentiates digital immigrants from digital natives (DNs) exists among e-commerce users in India, and if so, are digital immigrants less likely to adopt and use e-commerce services? Method: Data was collected through a self-administered survey questionnaire from 432 Indian Internet users aged 19 to 65. Multigroup structural equation modeling analysis was used to investigate the proposed hypotheses. Conclusion: Digital immigrants and digital natives differ in their approaches toward e-commerce adoption and use. Implication: Though digital immigrants find e-commerce services challenging to use, their higher perception of its usefulness propels them to adopt and use e-commerce. Limitation: Studies in the past pointed out that the digital divide and generational cohorts cannot be defined merely based on the year of birth. It should be based on a complex mix of shared experiences, life events, and socioeconomic developments during individuals' growing-up years. Hence, rather than seeing the difference between "digital natives and digital immigrants" as a rigid dichotomy based on age, we should have used the "Technology Readiness Index (TRI)" scale developed by Parasuraman or Digital Natives Assessment Scale (DNAS) to distinguish digital immigrants from digital natives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political expression has flourished online, especially on social media platforms, but there are also participation gaps associated with long-standing social and digital inequalities including socio-demographics, political capital, and internet practices. In this study, we examine how network characteristics such as size and diversity contribute to gaps in online political expression and content creation, as well as whether they mediate the stratificational effects of antecedent factors. We test these possibilities using data from a two-wave panel survey of adult internet users in the United States collected just before and after the 2018 U.S. midterm elections. Our findings show relatively wide participation gaps associated with network diversity, which also mediates the influence of political interest and digital news use. We argue that more attention should be paid to network inequalities in online participation, particularly whether they arise from fundamentally unfair social conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study uses different statistical techniques to understand the relationship between variables explaining the digital divide and classification based on The Inglehart-Welzel Cultural Map for 2023. To achieve this purpose variables focusing on Digital Penetration (the percentage of internet and social media users and mobile cellular connections), Operating Systems share (iOS and Android), Device Traffic (laptop/mobile phone-based web traffic) as well as Mobile Commerce variables (bills and payments using mobile internet) were included in the analysis. To minimize any effects arithmetic means of data was calculated.: The results from one-way ANOVA tests indicate significant differences among groups classified by cultural values for almost all measured variables of digitalization. The mean squares and F-values across variables like cellular mobile connections, internet users, and active social media users are significant indicating a shift towards more secular and self-expressive cultural values. The results of the GLM procedure show that significant portions of the total variance in digitalization variables are associated with membership in groups based on the cultural map. This suggests that cultural classifications can explain substantial differences in digital behavior and preferences across populations. Spearman's correlation coefficients showed strong positive correlations between Traditional/Secular values and several digitalization metrics, such as the use of mobile phones or the internet for payments, and negative correlations with others like share of web traffic by device type (mobile vs. laptop/computer). These correlations suggest that cultural values play a substantial role in influencing digital habits and accessibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the global expansion of the Internet and the World Wide Web, users are becoming increasingly diverse, including their language proficiencies. In particular, there is now a significant number of polyglot Web users, i.e., users who are proficient in more than one language. However, even such users with potential access to a broad range of information from multiple languages often continue to suffer from unbalanced and fragmented news information, as traditional news access systems seldom allow users to simultaneously search for and/or compare news in different languages. To overcome language barriers, the majority of research has focused primarily on improving retrieval and translation accuracy, while paying comparably less attention to multilingual user interaction aspects. In particular, relatively little human-centered research has been conducted to better understand and support multilingual user abilities and preferences, and even less so regarding news search and different access modalities (such as desktop and mobile interfaces). The research presented in this article provides the first comparative analyses of polyglot users' preferences and behaviors with respect to different multilingual news search interfaces on both desktop and mobile platforms. Specifically, through a set of task-based user studies in laboratory experiments, the key contribution of this article is the presentation of the first human-centered studies in multilingual news search result interfaces, aiming to drive the development of human-centered multilingual news access systems for both desktop and mobile platforms. This contribution includes a detailed analysis of different interface design paradigms, as well as a series of implications for design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to explore the heterogeneity in the symptoms of pathological Internet use. The predictive role of online cognitions and online dissociative experiences on pathological Internet use were investigated. Three hundred and ninety Turkish undergraduate students (261 females) participated in the study. Latent class analysis (LCA) was performed. Items responses on the 26-item Chen Internet Addiction Scale were subjected to LCA. The LCA identified three latent classes: (1) Normal Internet Users (n = 141, 36.15%), (2) Problematic Internet Users (n = 148, 37.95%), and (3) Pathological Internet Users (n = 101, 25.90%). The multinomial regression analysis showed that online cognitions, anxious arousal, and online dissociation were significantly associated with pathological Internet use. Our findings showed that the online dissociation as measured by the Van Online Dissociative Experiences Schedule and mental dissociation as indexed by the Dissociative Experiences Scale are qualitatively different constructs in relation to addictive behaviors on the net. Online dissociation and online cognitions seem to be crucial vulnerability factors for pathological Internet use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People's perception of privacy can primarily be directed to themselves or to the value of privacy for society. Likewise, privacy protection can repel both individual and collective privacy threats. Focusing on this distinction, the present article examines Internet users' privacy protection behaviors in relation to individual privacy concerns and their perceived collective value of privacy over time. We conducted a longitudinal panel study with three measurement points (N = 1790) to investigate relations between and within persons. The results of a random-intercept cross-lagged panel model revealed positive relations between the perceived value of privacy, privacy concerns, and privacy protection between persons. At the within-person level, only a temporal increase in the perceived value of privacy was related to increased protection behaviors. This suggests that individual privacy concerns are not as important for temporal protection as assumed, but that a recognition of collective privacy may temporarily change people's privacy behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Political Science Studies / Studia Politologiczne is the property of University of Warsaw and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Online privacy policies or terms and conditions ideally provide users with information about how their personal data are being used. The reality is that very few users read them: they are long, often hard to understand, and ubiquitous. The average internet user cannot realistically read and understand all aspects that apply to them and thus give informed consent to the companies who use their personal data. In this article, we provide a basic overview of a solution to the problem. We suggest that software could allow users to delegate the consent process and consent could thus be automated. The article investigates the practical feasibility of this idea. After suggesting that it is feasible, we develop some normative issues that we believe should be addressed before automated consent is implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Click behavior is a typical user behavior in the web search. How to capture and model users' click behavior has always been a common research topic. However, there are few review studies on this topic. In this paper, we present a survey to comprehensively analyze click models of web search via types of models. Based on differences in research hypotheses and modeling methods, click models are generally divided into probability graph-based click models, neural network-based click models, and hybrid click models. Firstly, we give a discussion of click models in the extant literature, within which basic assumptions and their extensions, advantages and disadvantages for click models are presented. We also compare and analyze the characteristics and application scenarios of different types of models. Secondly, we choose eight representative click models and conduct comparative experiments on two real-world session datasets to compare their performance. Finally, we identify current research trends, main challenges and potential future directions of click models worthy of further explorations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Egyptian Journal of Information Sciences is the property of Beni Suef University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Behind everyday websites, a hidden shadow world tracks the behavior of Internet users. Web tracking analyzes online activity based on collected data and delivers content tailored to users' interests. It gathers vast amounts of information for various purposes, ranging from sensitive personal data to seemingly minor details such as IP addresses, devices, browsing histories, settings, and preferences. While Web tracking is largely a legitimate technology, the increase in illegal user tracking, data breaches, and the unlawful sale of data has become a growing concern. As a result, the demand for technologies that can detect and prevent Web trackers is more important than ever. This paper provides an overview of Web tracking technologies, relevant research, and website measurement tools designed to identify web-based tracking. It also explores technologies for preventing Web tracking and discusses potential directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly many studies have provided practical suggestions for fashion YouTubers as fashion information sources, but no research has yet investigated the resources exchanged in the relationships between fashion YouTubers and viewers. Based on interviews with three Korean fashion YouTubers and ten of their viewers, this study examined social support in their relationships. Viewers acquired information from fashion YouTubers and, therefore, experienced informational support. Subsequently, as a sense of belonging to fandom emerged, established mainly by viewers subscribing to a fashion YouTube channel, network support was experienced by both fashion YouTubers and viewers. Along with constant communication, they shared their values and experienced emotional support through mutual empathy. Therefore, this study verified previous theories according to which both informational and emotional exchanges are possible in online relationships. Furthermore, network support was an important process, which may be connected to emotional support, since these relationships were autonomously established by online users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The integration of the Internet into daily life has potential implications for public health, especially in promoting preventive healthcare measures like annual health checkups. This study explores the association between Internet use and the likelihood of participating in these checkups among older Japanese citizens. Methods: Participants aged 65 and older were randomly selected from 37 municipalities in Japan, ensuring they required no long-term care. Out of 24,313 responses to a postal questionnaire, 11,495 participants were deemed eligible for analysis, achieving a valid participation rate of 70.1%. We applied propensity score matching to balance Internet users and non-users, resulting in 6,504 matched cases. Poisson regression analysis was then used to adjust for demographic, socioeconomic, and behavioral variables that could act as potential confounders. Results: Our findings show that 55.1% of participants used the Internet several times a month, and among these, 63.5% had attended an annual health checkup in the preceding year. After adjusting for potential confounders, Internet users were found to be 9% more likely to participate in annual health checkups compared to non-users (95% Confidence Interval: 1.02–1.15). Conclusions: This study concludes that there is a positive association between Internet use and participation in annual health checkups among older individuals in Japan. The results suggest that Internet use may serve as a tool to promote preventive healthcare practices in older populations. However, the study underscores the need for further investigation to understand the underlying mechanisms of this association and to establish a causal relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fear of missing out (FoMO) has become a significant issue experienced by internet users. However, research on FoMO has not been extensively explored. Therefore, the current study examines whether there is a relationship between self-confidence and self-control on Fear of missing out. This is a quantitative study with a descriptive correlational design, involving a sample of 164 students. The result show that self-confidence is significantly negatively correlated with fear of missing out. Addictionally, self control is also negatively correlated with Fear of missing out. Hence, in addressing FoMO, counselors need to enhance individuals' self-confidence and self-control as protective strengths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relevance of the subject of this study is due to the widespread use of web animation techniques in the development of modern Internet resources and the related need to examine the degree of influence of the created effects on user perception. The purpose of this study is to examine modern methods of web animation in the context of their use to increase the number of visitors to a web resource. The methodological approach is based on a combination of an experiment and a subsequent survey to identify the marketing and psychological aspects of the impact of web animation on the perception of visitors to an Internet resource and their level of engagement. The results obtained reflect various ways of constructing web animations and their characteristic features and elements that are important in terms of influencing the perception and reducing the number of refusals by users of Internet resources. A number of examples of building web animations in various ways are presented, and the characteristic features of using a skeleton loader are considered, which is an example of a user interface template that is used to improve user interaction when downloading content in web applications and mobile applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article demonstrates how mediatization facilitates the (re)production of mock language. Through an examination of Chinese netizens' reactions to a series of viral internet commercials that feature three Hong Kong actors speaking nonstandard Mandarin, it uncovers the processes whereby Gangpu (Hong Kong Mandarin) has become increasingly perceived in China as funny. The vast scale of uptake formulations enabled by mediatization has made it possible for Chinese netizens to engage in a collaborative effort not only in highlighting certain features of Gangpu and certain elements of the commercials but also in presenting them in ways that evoke specific meanings and interpretations. Ultimately, it is through the parodic revoicing of Hong Kong celebrities speaking nonstandard Mandarin that this non-native variety has come to be keyed as humorous. This study shows that we gain a better understanding of how mock practices reinforce and build on each other by tracing their uptake and circulation. (Mediatization, mock language, parody, listening subject, Mandarin Chinese, Hong Kong, China) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital literacy affects how people use the internet. However, we argue that the concept of "digital literacy" cannot usefully be applied to all internet users; there is simply too much heterogeneity across devices, platforms, and social contexts. We conduct surveys in Mexico and Colombia to understand how these people use the internet. We find that WhatsApp is by far the dominant platform across all sectors of society. In contrast to evidence from the US, we find that education is a better predictor of two measures of digital literacy than is age. We then conduct a survey experiment to test how people understand news shared on WhatsApp. We find that the inclusion of a link to source material increases respondents' trust in a message shared on WhatsApp, but that the platform-supplied note that a message has been shared many times has no such effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, there has been significant interest in the deployment of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellations as a potential solution to provide broadband internet access to remote regions [1]. One such constellation, Starlink, run by SpaceX, promises fast internet connectivity via its constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit. In this study, a comprehensive analysis of Starlink’s performance in Nigeria was given, assessing five performance metrics: latency, packet loss, throughput, routing strategy, and environmental influences. The tests were conducted for the various metrics using command-line tools like Ping (Packet Internet or Inter-Network Groper), tracert (traceroute), iperf3 (Internet Performance Working Group), and Python scripts which were used to both automating the test procedures and analysing the collected data. Our findings reveal that Starlink’s latency was higher than advertised but still low compared to most Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in Nigeria, making it suitable for the majority of internet users. On average, the study found that packet loss remained relatively low, jitter was within acceptable limits, and throughput exhibited variations but generally maintained satisfactory levels. Also, heavy rainfall was found to affect Starlink’s performance, highlighting the impact of environmental factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the internal law of online public opinion spreading under the conditions of different types of spreaders by constructing the model of public opinion spreading by subtypes of spreaders. The new S I S I O I N model is constructed by abstracting factors such as netizens' interests, emotions and views on hot events in the Internet into propensity indices. The simulation results show that the spread of public opinion after categorizing netizens is more in line with the spread of public opinion in reality. Moreover, netizens tend to show different spreading behaviors in different public opinion cases, and the degree of change in netizens' propensity varies greatly. All the data used in the simulation experiments are real data and analyzed with real events. The research results are helpful for what kind of control strategies are adopted after the occurrence of hotspot events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Jurnal Ekonomi Manajemen Sistem Informasi (JEMSI) is the property of Dinasti Publisher and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Facilitating direct citizen participation through online channels is considered as an opportunity for including harder to reach groups in participation. Because young adults (18‐25) are heavy internet users, this group is expected to be easier to include online. Evidence shows, however, that also in online direct participation young adults remain underrepresented. To better understand this discrepancy from the perspective of participants, this research asks how young adults explain their intention to participate online. Thematic analysis highlights that young adults' intention to participate in online direct participation can be explained through: (1) cause‐oriented participation, (2) the role of social (media) networks, (3) selective attention to cope with information overload, and (4) navigating misinformation and negativity. In the discussion section, this article considers how these explanations can inform government strategies for better including young adults in online direct participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Journal of Language Academy is the property of Rota Kariyer and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

During the last two decades, Internet use has increased in all parts of the world. Although, the trend of actively using the Internet for seeking health-related information was already on the rise, it accelerated soon after the COVID-19 pandemic. Along with the increased use of the Internet for health decisions, serious concerns have been raised due to fake or misinformation. This study aims to determine the impact of Internet use for gathering health-related information on the disease management behavior of patients and to identify the mediating role of perceived credibility of online information. The study surveyed 200 chronic disease patients with diabetes and hypertension from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Islamabad, Pakistan. It is concluded that overall health-related Internet use has a positive impact on the disease management behavior of chronic disease patients. The study further confirms the mediating role of the perceived credibility of online information. Patients who are frequent users of the Internet for health information, who perceive online information more credible, reported better disease management behavior as compared to the less frequent users and those who perceive online information less credible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]