In this paper, we consider the problem of predicate encryption and focus on the predicate for testing whether the hamming distance between the attribute X of a data item and a target V is equal to (or less than) a threshold t where X and V are of length m. Existing solutions either do not provide attribute protection or produce a big ciphertext of size O(m2). For the equality version of the pro...

In this lecture, we’ll give a brief introduction to mechanism design, and see how differentially private mechanisms can be used as a building block in building truthful mechanisms. We’ll start with the very simple example of a single item auction. Suppose an auctioneer has a single item for sale. Bidders i ∈ [n] each have a private valuation for the item vi. If a bidder i wins the item, but mus...

The purpose of this study was to detect social desirable response bias on Chinese nurses’ attitudes and beliefs toward sexuality care of cancer patients. A cross-sectional self-reported questionnaire based survey was used. Measures included a 12-item Inventory of Sexuality Attitude and Belief Survey (SABS) and a 10-item Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Total social desirability scores ...

Personality is an important predictor of various outcomes in many social science disciplines. However, when personality traits are not the principal focus of research, for example, in global comparative surveys, it is often not possible to assess them extensively. In this article, we first provide an overview of the advantages and challenges of single-item measures of personality, a rationale f...

The present study was conducted to investigate the relationship between the perceived social self-efficacy of the students of English and their foreign language classroom anxiety. The required data were gathered through the application of the original versions of two standard questionnaires: Smith and Betz’s (2000) 25-item Scale of Perceived Social Self-Efficacy (SPSSE) and Horwitz, Horwitz and...

We present a formal model for studying fashion trends, in terms of three parameters of fashionable items: (1) their innate utility; (2) individual boredom associated with repeated usage of an item; and (3) social influences associated with the preferences from other people. While there are several works that emphasize the effect of social influence in understanding fashion trends, in this paper...

OBJECTIVE In a multisite study, the authors examined the construct validity and utility of a brief self-report Satisfaction With Life scale, an expanded 21-item version of one of the earliest measures of subjective satisfaction with life used with individuals with serious and persistent mental illness. The Satisfaction With Life scale measures satisfaction in four domains: living situation, soc...

Background The burden of major depressive disorder includes suffering due to symptom severity, functional impairment, and quality of life deficits. The aim of this study was to compare the differences between electroconvulsive therapy and pharmacotherapy in reducing such burdens. Methods This was a pooled analysis study including 2 open-label trials for major depressive disorder inpatients re...