Cultural Values, Information Sources, and Perceptions of Security

Mason, Robert M.; Dupuis, Marc J.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/47267 Copy

Description

Title

Cultural Values, Information Sources, and Perceptions of Security

Author(s)

• Mason, Robert M.
• Dupuis, Marc J.

Issue Date

2014-03-01

Keyword(s)

• values
• culture
• Hofstede
• mechanical turk
• Snowden

Abstract

This exploratory study examines the relationships among cultural values, sources of information about a current event, and perceptions of national security. The study uses the case of Edward Snowden and his actions in releasing information classified as secret by the U.S. Federal government. The study compares the perceptions of survey respondents from India and the U.S. at two times soon after Snowden released the information and examines the relationship among cultural values, information sources, and perceptions of Snowden and his actions. The cultural dimension follows the Hofstede cultural values measures of power distance and individuality, measures in which India and the U.S. exhibit significant differences. The survey was conducted using Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTURK) to solicit responses in July and August 2013. The results reveal that the U.S. and India respondents agree on some aspects of the case (e.g., that Snowden is a courageous individual) and do not shift their viewpoints from the first survey to the next. However, the respondents differ significantly in their use of information sources and report significantly different opinions on the potential impact of Snowden's actions on national security issues. This limited study revealed an unexpected difference from Hofstede's work in the power distance cultural dimension, raising questions about the use of MTURK for cross-cultural studies.

Publisher

iSchools

Series/Report Name or Number

iConference 2014 Proceedings

Type of Resource

text

Language

english

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/47267

DOI

https://doi.org/10.9776/14367

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2014 is held by the authors of individual items in the proceedings. Copyright permissions, when appropriate, must be obtained directly from the authors.

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