Title: From Contextualizing to Context Theorizing: Assessing Context Effects in Privacy Research
Over the past two decades, behavioral research in privacy has made considerable progress transitioning from acontextual studies to using contextualization as a powerful sensitizing device for illuminating the boundary conditions of privacy theories. Significant challenges and opportunities wait, however, on elevating and converging individually contextualized studies to a context-contingent theory that explicates the mechanisms through which contexts influence consumers’ privacy concerns and their behavioral reactions. This paper identifies the important barriers occasioned by this lack of context theorizing on the generalizability of privacy research findings and argues for accelerating the transition from the contextualization of individual research studies to an integrative understanding of context effects on privacy concerns. It also takes a first step toward this goal by providing a conceptual framework and the associated methodological instantiation for assessing how context-oriented nuances influence privacy concerns. Empirical evidence demonstrates the value of the framework as a diagnostic device guiding the selection of contextual contingencies in future research, so as to advance the pace of convergence toward context-contingent theories in information privacy. This paper was accepted by Anindya Ghose, information systems. more »« less
To account for privacy perceptions and preferences in user models and develop personalized privacy systems, we need to understand how users make privacy decisions in various contexts. Existing studies of privacy perceptions and behavior focus on overall tendencies toward privacy, but few have examined the context-specific factors in privacy decision making. We conducted a survey on Mechanical Turk (N=401) based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to measure the way users’ perceptions of privacy factors and intent to disclose information are affected by three situational factors embodied hypothetical scenarios: information type, recipients’ role, and trust source. Results showed a positive relationship between subjective norms and perceived behavioral control, and between each of these and situational privacy attitude; all three constructs are significantly positively associated with intent to disclose. These findings also suggest that, situational factors predict participants’ privacy decisions through their influence on the TPB constructs.
Wickersham, Kelly; Zheng, Peiwen; Wang, Xueli; Prevost, Amy
(, Community College Review)
Objective: In Spring 2020 when COVID-19 hit, community colleges moved almost all classes online. This disruption impacts recent math reforms, including contextualization, raising concerns about sustained faculty and institutional leadership commitment. This study investigated how community college faculty teaching contextualized math courses adapted their instruction in response to COVID-19-related disruptions and how community college and instructional leadership addressed math contextualization efforts in response to COVID-19. Methods: Using multiple case studies, we conducted interviews with faculty and institutional leaders from two large community colleges in a Midwestern state. We also integrated field notes, observations, lesson plans, project documentation, and other contextual information as complementary data. Results: Three themes revealed how faculty and institutional leaders navigated the process of adapting contextualization efforts throughout the pandemic: reaching out to create community remotely, reimagining contextualization or pushing the pause button, and skilling up to persist through and toward change. Contribution: This study provides insight into the unique challenges and innovations due to sudden yet enduring disruptions that impact instruction, faculty development, and institutional support around instructional reform in the community college. This research informs faculty and institutional leaders navigating sustained efforts around math reform to identify actions to help institutions and their faculty continue advancing high-impact approaches and initiatives to math instruction in any environment.
Engineering education research has long been rich in behavioral observations and inquiries. These investigations span a range of levels, from individual behaviors to group dynamics to organizational influences. Such behavioral research delves into the complex interplay of behaviors and actions, exploring their origins and impacts on educational environments and structures. Topics encompass learning, identity development, engagement, and professional practices, among others, that benefit from understanding behavioral choices and their underlying motivations. Ultimately, behavioral research in engineering education aids in comprehending and predicting how individuals operate, form habits, and transform themselves and their surroundings through their chosen actions. Regrettably, behavioral research in engineering education has traditionally relied on a limited set of frameworks, like EVT, SDT, and self-efficacy, thereby restricting the analytic depth of behavioral choice. These frameworks primarily focus on whether individuals feel they can perform a certain behavior or which behaviors are most salient in given situations while overlooking the justifications, or the why, that drive behavioral choices – a critical aspect of the complete picture. Justifications are important; behaviors are context-specific and dynamic, closely tied to an individual's interpretations of their surroundings, expectations, self-concept, and goals, among other factors. Therefore, understanding why behaviors are performed yields a more nuanced image that combines these influences with their eventual outcomes. In an effort to explore behavioral choices and investigate why they are, or are not, performed, this paper presents the Reasoned Action Approach (RAA) framework. This approach emphasizes the pivotal role of intention in individuals' behavioral choices. It proposes that personal beliefs, norms, and abilities are the key determinants of intentionality. Whether or not an individual performs a behavior is therefore contingent upon their beliefs about performing the behavior, specifically their behavioral, normative, and control beliefs. These beliefs reveal their feelings toward a behavior, their expectations of social acceptability, and their perceived capability to execute the behavior. As a result, the RAA transcends contextual constraints and can be applied to a wide spectrum of behaviors, environments, and systems, shedding light on how individuals perceive actions and decide whether to act upon them. We introduce the RAA to offer engineering education research a substantive theory for extracting and investigating the determinants behind individuals' preferential behaviors. Further, the RAA broadens existing behavioral analysis by emphasizing the factors behind behavioral choices, specifically focusing on the intricate interplay between beliefs and social norms in the decision-making process. In this context, the RAA represents a distinctive and novel approach to conceptualizing behavior, which will benefit fellow researchers. This paper begins with a review of pertinent engineering and higher education literature to situate the RAA within similar behavioral choice studies. It then explores the components of the RAA, delving into their significance and implications. The paper concludes with select research both within and beyond the engineering education domain to underscore the applicability, utility, and relevance of the RAA and provide examples for future inquiries.
Johnson, Sydney; Muhammad, Jean
(, The 2025 ADMI Symposium.)
As mobile devices become increasingly integral to daily life, the need for robust security measures has intensified. Continuous user authentication (CUA) is an emerging paradigm designed to enhance security by verifying user identity throughout device usage, rather than solely at login. This study aims to explore user perceptions, experiences, and preferences concerning CUA methods, such as biometric scans (e.g., fingerprints, facial recognition) and behavioral analytics (e.g., typing patterns, swipe gestures). We will investigate the importance users place on continuous authentication for safeguarding personal data, as well as the usability challenges they encounter. Specifically, we will delve into how users perceive the reliability and accuracy of biometric and behavioral authentication methods, considering factors such as the perceived invasiveness of biometric scans and concerns about data privacy. Additionally, we will examine how perceptions and preferences for CUA vary across different age groups, as younger generations may be more accustomed to biometric authentication and less concerned about privacy implications, while older generations may have different preferences and concerns. The findings of this study will provide insights into user trust, privacy concerns, and the overall effectiveness of CUA in improving mobile security. By understanding user attitudes, this research seeks to inform the development of more intuitive and secure authentication solutions that align with user needs and expectations across various demographics.
Hartig, Renée; Wolf, David; Schmeisser, Michael J.; Kelsch, Wolfgang
(, Cell and Tissue Research)
Abstract Olfaction supports a multitude of behaviors vital for social communication and interactions between conspecifics. Intact sensory processing is contingent upon proper circuit wiring. Disturbances in genetic factors controlling circuit assembly and synaptic wiring can lead to neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), where impaired social interactions and communication are core symptoms. The variability in behavioral phenotype expression is also contingent upon the role environmental factors play in defining genetic expression. Considering the prevailing clinical diagnosis of ASD, research on therapeutic targets for autism is essential. Behavioral impairments may be identified along a range of increasingly complex social tasks. Hence, the assessment of social behavior and communication is progressing towards more ethologically relevant tasks. Garnering a more accurate understanding of social processing deficits in the sensory domain may greatly contribute to the development of therapeutic targets. With that framework, studies have found a viable link between social behaviors, circuit wiring, and altered neuronal coding related to the processing of salient social stimuli. Here, the relationship between social odor processing in rodents and humans is examined in the context of health and ASD, with special consideration for how genetic expression and neuronal connectivity may regulate behavioral phenotypes.
Xu, Heng, and Zhang, Nan. From Contextualizing to Context Theorizing: Assessing Context Effects in Privacy Research. Retrieved from https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10432392. Management Science 68.10 Web. doi:10.1287/mnsc.2021.4249.
@article{osti_10432392,
place = {Country unknown/Code not available},
title = {From Contextualizing to Context Theorizing: Assessing Context Effects in Privacy Research},
url = {https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10432392},
DOI = {10.1287/mnsc.2021.4249},
abstractNote = {Over the past two decades, behavioral research in privacy has made considerable progress transitioning from acontextual studies to using contextualization as a powerful sensitizing device for illuminating the boundary conditions of privacy theories. Significant challenges and opportunities wait, however, on elevating and converging individually contextualized studies to a context-contingent theory that explicates the mechanisms through which contexts influence consumers’ privacy concerns and their behavioral reactions. This paper identifies the important barriers occasioned by this lack of context theorizing on the generalizability of privacy research findings and argues for accelerating the transition from the contextualization of individual research studies to an integrative understanding of context effects on privacy concerns. It also takes a first step toward this goal by providing a conceptual framework and the associated methodological instantiation for assessing how context-oriented nuances influence privacy concerns. Empirical evidence demonstrates the value of the framework as a diagnostic device guiding the selection of contextual contingencies in future research, so as to advance the pace of convergence toward context-contingent theories in information privacy. This paper was accepted by Anindya Ghose, information systems.},
journal = {Management Science},
volume = {68},
number = {10},
author = {Xu, Heng and Zhang, Nan},
}
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