Adams, Anne; (2001) Users' perceptions of privacy in multimedia communications. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), University of London.

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Abstract

This thesis seeks to provide the domain of Human Computer Interaction (HCI), specifically multimedia designers and deployers, with an empirically based model of users' perception of multimedia communications. Without this information, multimedia communication systems are currently being designed and implemented which increase the likelihood of unintentional invasions of privacy. The social science method Grounded Theory has been used to both structure this thesis and as a research methodology. A Grounded Theory literature review appraises relevant privacy research from the sociological, legal and technical perspective. It is noted that within the HCI domain the complex nature of privacy and traditional research approaches have restricted effective evaluation of users' perceptions of privacy within multimedia communications. This evaluation highlights the necessity to identify a model of users' perceptions of privacy. The initial three studies reviewed the security discipline through which current privacy protection is often implemented. These studies also identified the key privacy model factors of information sensitivity, receiver and usage for the environments of video conferencing (VC) and virtual reality (VR). The next two studies verified these factors (for various multicast scenarios) and detailed how they interact to produce acceptable and unacceptable privacy trade-offs. These studies also identified the processes involved in privacy invasions (the privacy invasion cycle) and distorted perceptions of privacy. Subsequently a model of both situation specific and general privacy design guidelines are detailed and reviewed by privacy experts and designers. The HCI contributions and limitations of this thesis are reviewed along with the inadequacies of current security approaches to privacy within multimedia communications. Finally an account of how this model should be developed by further research is detailed.

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