Snowden’s revelations and the attitudes of students at Swedish universities

• Purpose – This study aims to map Swedish students’ attitudes towards Snowden’s revelations and their effects in the political and socio-cultural environment of Sweden.Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was answered by 190 Swedish university students. The quantitative responses to the survey and qualitative considerations of free text answers were statistically analysed.Findings – Swedish students had a high level of knowledge about the Snowden revelations; they actively searched for information, gave a positive judgement of Snowden’s actions and were willing to follow his example in Sweden, although not in the USA. They trusted their country and most of its institutions and authorities except for secret service agencies and the internet and computer software companies.Practical implications – This study could be used as a design of education for university students, especially in information technology programmes.Social implications – The study can be used for developing and applying policies on privacy, surveillance and whistle-blowing.Originality/value – This study is part of a bigger international study to map students’ attitudes towards Snowden’s revelations and their opinions about privacy, surveillance and whistle-blowing opening up for cross-cultural analyses.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Data- och informationsvetenskap -- Människa-datorinteraktion (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Computer and Information Sciences -- Human Computer Interaction (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Data- och informationsvetenskap -- Medieteknik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Computer and Information Sciences -- Media and Communication Technology (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Psykologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Psychology (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap -- Systemvetenskap, informationssystem och informatik med samhällsvetenskaplig inriktning (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Media and Communications -- Information Systems, Social aspects (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap -- Mänsklig interaktion med IKT (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Media and Communications -- Human Aspects of ICT (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Statsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Political Science (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Sociologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Sociology (hsv//eng)

HUMANIORA  -- Filosofi, etik och religion -- Etik (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Philosophy, Ethics and Religion -- Ethics (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Sweden

Surveillance

Privacy

Snowden

Human-Computer Interaction

Människa-dator interaktion

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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