Andrea J. S. Stanaland

Self-Regulatory Safeguards and the Online Privacy of Preteen Children

Online advertisers are increasingly enjoying the ability to target messages to specific segments based on information collected at Web sites. Information collection, particularly from children, has been an ongoing concern of regulators, consumer advocates, and advertising industry organizations. Although the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has advocated the implementation of safeguards (such as warnings, threats, and barriers) designed to limit childrens online disclosure of sensitive information, little research to date has examined the effectiveness of these safeguards. We address this issue by first examining the current state of online safeguards for Web sites that target preteen children, a group shown to be particularly vulnerable to the persuasive efforts of marketers. We then present a quasi-experimental investigation of online safeguard types and how their effectiveness in limiting preteen information disclosure is moderated by the mediation strategies of parents. Implications for advertisers, policymakers, parents, and educators are discussed.

Using Protection Motivation Theory to Predict Condom Usage and Assess HIV Health Communication Efficacy in Singapore

The number of individuals infected with HIV/AIDS continues to rise in Asia. Condom use is considered to be the first line of defense against AIDS (UNAIDS, 2006). Using protection motivation theory (Rogers, 1983), this research aims to first understand the factors affecting condom usage intention among homosexual and heterosexual men in Singapore, and then to utilize those findings to assess the efficacy of HIV-directed health communications. We collected survey data from 484 men and analyzed the data using hierarchical regression and structural equation modeling. We found self-efficacy to be a significant predictor for both groups of men, together with perceived severity for homosexuals and response efficacy for heterosexuals. Next, we analyzed HIV-directed condom usage communication materials and found that the use of threat appeal themes is more common than themes promoting self-efficacy. Implications for health communications and policy are discussed.

The impact of surfer/seeker mode on the effectiveness of website characteristics

This research examines how two commercial website design variables, visual complexity and source of interactivity control, are more or less effective depending on a consumer’s purpose for visiting a website (consumer user mode). An online experiment was conducted in Singapore utilising over 70 experimental mock web pages. The authors find that goal-directed Seekers prefer a consumer-controlled interactive environment as well as a visually simple design, whereas experiential Surfers prefer marketer-controlled interactivity and a visually complex layout. This suggests that earlier research findings that supported both higher levels of interactivity and simplification of website format are in fact moderated by the user mode of the consumer. The study is also the first to empirically examine the distinction between consumer- and marketer-controlled forms of interactivity.

Online Privacy Trustmarks: Enhancing the Perceived Ethics of Digital Advertising

ABSTRACT Consumer views of advertiser ethics are of industry concern due to growing consumer angst regarding data privacy and behavioral advertising. several privacy trustmarks have been created to address consumer concerns, potentially acting as seals of approval regarding privacy practices. The authors examine whether a privacy trustmarks ability to influence consumer perceptions of advertiser ethics and privacy concerns is moderated by consumer desire for privacy and attitude toward advertising in general. using an online advertising context, the results show that a privacy trustmark can enhance the perceived ethics of an online advertiser for certain market segments but not for others.

The privacy dyad

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the business communication-related variables of reputation, communication quality and information sensitivity are mediated by trust and privacy concern to influence the privacy dyad (i.e. promotion- and prevention-focused privacy behaviors). Design/methodology/approach – Regulatory focus theory (RFT) is used to build a framework to examine antecedents of promotion- and prevention-focused privacy behaviors as well as mediators of these relationships. Hypotheses were tested using a 2 (firm reputation: strong/weak)×3 (communication quality: high/neutral/low)×2 (data sensitivity: high/low) between-subjects factorial design. Findings – The findings support the proposed model. Specifically, high reputation and communication quality increased promotion-focused behaviors and were mediated by trust. In contrast, low communication quality and high data sensitivity increased prevention-focused behaviors and were mediated by privacy concern. Consistent with RF...