As the Internet grows in importance, concerns about online privacy have arisen. The authors describe the development and validation of three short Internet‐administered scales measuring privacy‐related attitudes (Privacy Concern) and behaviors (General Caution and Technical Protection). In Study 1, 515 people completed an 82‐item questionnaire from which the three scales were derived. In Study 2, scale validity was examined by comparing scores of individuals drawn from groups considered likely to differ in privacy‐protective behaviors. In Study 3, correlations between the scores on the current scales and two established measures of privacy concern were examined. The authors conclude that these scales are reliable and valid instruments suitable for administration via the Internet, and present them for use in online privacy research.

This article examines the extant research literature on self-disclosure and the Internet, in particular by focusing on disclosure in computer-mediated communication and web-based forms – both in surveys and in e-commerce applications. It also considers the links between privacy and self-disclosure, and the unique challenges (and opportunities) that the Internet poses for the protection of privacy. Finally, the article proposes three critical issues that unite the ways in which we can best understand the links between privacy, self-disclosure, and new technology: trust and vulnerability, costs and benefits, and control over personal information. Central to the discussion is the notion that self-disclosure is not simply the outcome of a communication encounter: rather, it is both a product and process of interaction, as well as a way of regulating interaction dynamically. By adopting a privacy approach to understanding disclosure online, it becomes possible to consider not only media effects that encourage disclosure, but also the wider context and implications of such communicative behaviours.

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This paper presents the findings from a small-scale experiment investigating the presentation of a synchronous remote electronic examination. It discusses the students' experiences of taking such an examination. The study confirms that the majority of participants found the experience at least as good as a conventional written examination. In addition, typing answers does not prevent students from producing answers in the time available. However, the pressure of time continues to be a major cause of anxiety for students. The paper discusses technical issues, particularly those related to the loss of communications during the 3-hour duration of the exam. Although software processes were available to save and restore students' answers throughout the examination, problems still occurred and more robust software is required.

In the United Kingdom, government proposals for the introduction of an identity (ID) card have raised considerable privacy concerns. In the present research, opinions and attitudes about different ways of implementing ID cards are examined using an experimental methodology. Specifically, the level and type of compulsion and application process, and the use of a centralized database or trusted third party to hold personal information, are compared for attitudes towards ID cards. Moreover, the impact of implementation scenarios on people with different privacy concern profiles is examined. The results show that an implementation that combines high compulsion with a centralized database (the approach currently favoured by the UK Government) leads to the greatest negative shift in attitudes towards ID cards. Implementations proposed by others (e.g. the London School of Economics) show significantly less negative shift in attitudes. People’s pre-existing privacy concerns also influence their evaluation of the different implementation scenarios.

In this paper we present early results from a study which provides a detailed examination of the interaction between people's willingness to disclose personal information online and their privacy concerns and behaviors. An online survey was administered to participants in two parts using an Internet based surveying system. Part 1 of the survey measured participants' privacy concerns and behaviors. Part 2 measured participants' willingness to provide information using behavioral and dispositional measures of self-disclosure. Structural equation modeling identified two different types of privacy processes contributing to disclosure: a state process (trust and perceived privacy) and a trait process (privacy attitudes and behaviors), which were found to act independently on self disclosure. The results provide a valuable insight into people's privacy concerns and the disclosure of personal information to web sites.

The police do not usually ask child witnesses (under 10-years) to construct facial composites, as it is believed that they could not create images of sufficient accuracy. The main aim of the current experiment was to evaluate whether this age limit is a suitable threshold by comparing composites made by children of age 6-, 8-and 10-years and adults. Additionally, as children's lack of vocabulary to describe faces was considered a likely factor, a technique based on visual prompts was devised to obtain facial descriptions, and compared to construction based on verbal prompting. The experiment involved participants' construction of composites, which were subsequently evaluated subjectively (ranking and rating tasks) and objectively (matching task). Although adults' and older children's composites were, on average, more accurate than those of the younger children, the results demonstrated that children from the age of 6-years were able to produce facial composites of an unfamiliar face.