Lennon Y.C. Chang

Choosing to be a defender or an outsider in a school bullying incident: Determining factors and the defending process

This study examined the determinants of students’ willingness to intervene in bullying incidents, as well as the process underlying students’ defending behaviors. The participants were 24 students (12 defenders and 12 outsiders) recruited from six secondary schools in southern Taiwan. The study used semi-structured interviews to collect qualitative data and a grounded theory approach to analyse the data. The results showed that bystanders in bullying situations tended to assess the perceived severity of a bullying incident, personal responsibility, affective factors, victim characteristics, relationship with the victim, and other factors before committing to an intervention. This study found four possible phases of defending behavior: a) personal assessment affects a bystander’s decision to act as a defender or an outsider; b) a defender evaluates the severity of a situation and the relationship with the bully to determine strategies for defending; c) defenders who come forward to intervene are interrogated or threatened by bullies; and d) defenders then reassess whether to intervene again. The results of this study suggest that bystander intervention programs can encourage students’ personal responsibility, awareness of the severity of school bullying, improvement of interpersonal relationships, and self-efficacy to raise bystanders’ willingness to defend a victim.

Reflecting on comparison: A view from Asia

This chapter reflects on themes developed in Comparative Criminology in Asia. It considers the practical and political character of asking comparative questions, and the theoretical traditions that inform comparative research. The chapter also summarizes a study by Setsuo Miyawaza that examines the reception of Asian research in mainstream Western criminology journals. This indicates that research about relatively few Asian countries, particularly China, reaches an audience in Western countries. The chapter ends with some optimistic thoughts on how Asian criminology might develop theories that recognize and address distinctive values, institutions, and practices in Asian countries.

Internet Vigilantism Attitudes and Experiences of University Students Toward Cyber Crowdsourcing in Hong Kong

With the development of the Internet, Internet vigilantism (netilantism) has emerged as a new phenomenon in recent years. Although there are several qualitative studies explaining netilantism, there is little empirical research on public perceptions of netilantism. This article aims to outline Hong Kong university students’ general perception of netilantism and investigate the differences between different roles in netilantism. By using empowerment theory as the theoretical framework, we will investigate whether Internet vigilantes (netilantes) (a) perceive the criminal justice system as effective, (b) possess high levels of self-efficacy in the cyber world, and (c) tend to believe netilantism can achieve social justice. Findings support the proposition that human flesh search engine is an empowerment tool for the netilante enabling him or her to achieve his goal of social justice. Different roles in netilantism (i.e., bystander, netilante, victim, and none of the above roles) have different perceptions of netilantism and the criminal justice system. The results will be explained by studying two representative cases of netilantism—the “Government Official Molestation” case and the “Cat Abuse in Shun Tin Village” case from China and Hong Kong, respectively.

Responding to cybercrime: current trends

The world has well and truly entered the digital age where technology is ever-present and all pervasive. The development of technological innovations facilitate our everyday lives. But they also ma...

The challenges facing specialist police cyber-crime units: an empirical analysis

ABSTRACT The growing threat of cyber-crime poses significant challenges for police organisations. This paper presents original, empirical research on specialist cyber-crime units in Australia to report on the issues and problems faced by police staff at the frontline of cyber-policing. Using a mix of survey data and in-depth interviewing with supervisors, key investigators, and civilian staff from two specialist cyber-crime units, this paper outlines the priority challenges as identified by members of these units. While staff report generally positive levels of job satisfaction working in the field of cyber-crime, three major themes emerged: (a) the accelerating quantity of the workload as cyber-crime becomes a bigger social problem; (b) the resourcing of the units has not developed commensurate with demand and (c) the level of skills and training within units are insufficient to address the unique nature and growing complexities of policing cyber-crime. Suggestions by staff regarding how to improve this situation are considered.

Characteristics of cybercrimes: evidence from Chinese judgment documents

ABSTRACT China has witnessed a rapid growth in internet use alongside an unprecedented increase in cybercrimes. Although studies have suggested that there are many factors that may contribute to the growing number of cybercrimes, such as the widespread use of online gaming, the low average income of internet users, and an increased access to IT skills, systematic analyses of actual convictions are rare. As the level of domestic cybercriminal activities increases rapidly, there is a growing call for empirical studies on cybercrime in China. Through the extraction of data from China Judgements Online, the newly released Chinese judgements service, this study examines the basic characteristics of cybercrimes in China by analysing 448 sentencing documents that cover four types of computer crimes: online frauds, real asset theft, virtual asset theft, and stolen accounts. We analyse cybercrime cases from the perspective of the underground economy, focusing on the roles that cybercriminals play in the value chains of the online underground market; more specifically, what kind of products and services are enabled through cyber theft, and how those products and services are integrated as components of the underground economy.

Cybercrime and Cyber Security in ASEAN

This chapter examines the trends in and challenges of cybercrime in the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) region. Although the ASEAN region is an emerging cybercrime market, there is limited research on cybercrime in ASEAN. What are the trends in and challenges of cybercrime in ASEAN? Is the current Council of Europe’s Convention on Cybercrime appropriate for ASEAN? What are the challenges faced by ASEAN countries when collaborating internationally against cybercrime? This chapter aims to answer these questions and to consider whether the strategies developed in the global north are relevant to ASEAN. This chapter will provide an overview of cybercrime trends in ASEAN, assess current measures adopted by ASEAN countries in combatting cybercrime, and make policy recommendations to strengthen those measures.