Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM

Wang Awarded NSF Grant to Study Online Privacy Models, Decision Tools

Thursday, April 23, 2015, By Diane Stirling
Share
Research and CreativeSchool of Information Studies

School of Information Studies (iSchool) Assistant Professor Yang Wang has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to conduct research on mental privacy models and the way those models may influence the privacy decisions and behaviors of online users.

Yang Wang

Yang Wang

The grant, in the amount of $159,586, was awarded to Wang as principal investigator on the project. It will fund research to be conducted over a two-year period, starting this September and running through August of 2017.

This project will involve the investigation of two main concepts related to privacy. One concept is determining individualized mental models of privacy, research that will involve investigating mechanisms and building tools to help people make privacy-aware decisions in different online contexts. The other area is assessing the potential of creating a universal privacy dashboard for Internet users. The research will determine if a universal dashboard could help people better understand their personal privacy preferences and behaviors, thus enabling them to better manage their privacy on the Internet.

A dashboard approach to establishing online privacy “would enable people to monitor, reflect and, if technically feasible, directly change their privacy decisions,” Wang notes. It could provide “a principled way to provide transparency regarding an individual’s mental privacy models and behaviors.” The research would assess the models and behaviors exhibited in two example domains: online tracking and Android app permissions, Wang says.

The issue of Internet privacy is one that is highly pertinent in today’s society, Wang adds.

“Technology advances have brought numerous benefits to people and society, but also heightened risks to privacy. People often have differing mental models of privacy or preferences that are context-dependent. However, it has been shown that people’s actual decisions or behaviors often divert from their stated privacy preferences. This project will examine whether people will make privacy-preserving decisions when their individualized mental models and their decision choices are presented to them on the same user interface,” he says.

There are two main goals for the research, Wang says. First, “We’d like to achieve a deeper understanding of how individuals think about their privacy in different online contexts.” Second, he adds, “is a privacy ‘mirror’ that helps people better understand themselves regarding how they think about and act on privacy. And in turn, we hope this better self-awareness can help people make more informed decisions about privacy. If individual people can better manage their online privacy, the society as a whole can better  protect privacy as a fundamental human right.”

“Dr. Wang’s work is perfectly timed and aligned with current trends in social media, cyber security and user-based design,” notes iSchool interim dean Jeffrey Stanton. “Because many people take their privacy for granted until it has been breached, this research provides the possibility that users could take a more proactive approach to controlling their personal information.”

Wang says the research project ultimately is designed to inform Internet standards and governmental policies on Internet privacy, while also resulting in the creation of tangible designs that can be integrated into mobile app markets and web browsers. It will  have important educational and training benefits at the undergraduate and graduate levels, as well, he notes. The research efforts will include privacy-related class projects and modules and training opportunities “that will help students to become more aware of potential privacy issues in technologies, and to develop technical skills in building privacy-enhancing mechanisms.”

Wang is sole principal investigator on the project. iSchool doctoral-degree student Corey Jackson contributed significantly to the development of the NSF proposal, Wang says.

  • Author
  • Faculty Experts

Diane Stirling

  • Recent
  • University Musicians, West Point Band to Perform Together This Weekend As Part of Events Around Military Appreciation Day
    Friday, September 22, 2023, By Christine Weber
  • Turning Young Enthusiasts Into Scientific Researchers
    Friday, September 22, 2023, By Wendy S. Loughlin
  • Languages Unlock Opportunities for English for Lawyers Alumna
    Thursday, September 21, 2023, By Hope Alvarez
  • Fall 2023 Career Week: Helping Students Achieve Professional Goals
    Thursday, September 21, 2023, By Gabrielle Lake
  • A Commitment to Arts and Sciences Excellence
    Thursday, September 21, 2023, By Dan Bernardi

More In STEM

Turning Young Enthusiasts Into Scientific Researchers

Miguel Guzman ’24, a native of Lima, Peru, is a senior biotechnology major in the College of Arts and Sciences with an entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises minor in the Whitman School of Management. His research centers on developing bio-enabled protein…

Center for Sustainable Community Solutions and Environmental Finance Center Announces New Director

The College of Engineering and Computer Science is pleased to announce the transition of Melissa Young into a new role as director of the Center for Sustainable Community Solutions-Environmental Finance Center (CSCS-EFC) at Syracuse University. CSCS-EFC is housed within the…

Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Attends UN Session on Reducing Plastic Pollution

Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Svetoslava Todorova attended the second session of the United Nations (UN) Intergovernmental Negotiations Committee on Plastics this summer in Paris, France. Todorova was invited as an academic expert based on her research on the environment,…

Experts Say Federal Agency or Global Organization Should Govern AI, New Survey Co-sponsored by Two University Institutes Finds

A new survey co-sponsored by two Syracuse University institutes finds that a majority of computer science experts at top U.S research universities want to see the creation of a new federal agency or global organization to govern artificial intelligence (AI)….

Q&A With School of Information Studies Dean Andrew Sears: Seeing Countless Opportunities in the Ever-Changing Tech World

In the rapidly changing world of technology, School of Information Studies Dean Andrew Sears knows it’s hard to predict how technology and the iSchool will evolve if you look too far into the future. But, he knows if you pay…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2023 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.