Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2010. / Title from title screen (site viewed July 6, 2010). PDF text: iii, 162 p. ; 657 K. UMI publication number: AAT 3398109. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

Scholars of cybercrime have used social learning theory (SLT) and routine activities theory (RAT) to explain the variation in offending and victimization; however, to date, only RAT has been used to explain the specific behavior of cyberbullying. Therefore, this study combines SLT and RAT concepts to explain the cyberbullying phenomenon. Today's adolescents are exposed early to cyberspace and this has given them more opportunities to bully their peers, especially in an environment that is difficult to monitor by adults. The results from this study of a sample of Southeastern middle and high school students suggest that the opportunity component of RAT explains both cyberbullying victimization and offending, and the differential association component of SLT increases youths' likelihood of offending. Additionally, the findings suggest a correlation between victimization and offending. The results also show that the differential association-opportunity interaction increases the likelihood of offending, but the relationship was not statistically significant.

Cyberbullying can be defined as the wilful and repeated harm inflicted upon others through the medium of electronic text (Patchin, 2002). Typically, cyberbullying involves sending harassing or threatening e-mails and instant messages, posting derogatory comments of someone on a website, or physically threatening or intimidating someone online. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between adolescents’ experience with cyberbullying and their level of self-esteem. There is a considerable amount of support, which has been accrued over the years, alluding to the fact that incidents involving bullying have damaging consequences upon adolescent development. One such correlation that has earned a considerable amount of interest is the consequence of bullying on selfesteem. Self-esteem can be defined as a favourable or unfavourable attitude toward the self. The current research study employed an exploratory, descriptive quantitative research design. Quantitative research focuses on using empirical data with findings based on certainty. Results are accumulated through formal measurements using prearranged instruments and analysed through the use of statistical measures. Research consisted of the completion of a biographical questionnaire which provided data on the demographics of the sample. The cyber bully/victim questionnaire provided information about the prevalence of cyberbullying behaviours among the participants. James Battle’s Culture-Free Self-Esteem Inventory was utilised to measure the construct of self-esteem. Participants were selected by means of non-probability sampling and comprised of a sample of grade seven learners enrolled at a primary school in George, Western Cape. Quantitativedata, obtained from the self-report questionnaires, were analysed through the use of descriptive statistics, ANOVA statistics and a Pearson R correlation coefficient. One key finding revealed that over fifty percent (51.40%) of the grade 7 participants had been involved in cyberbullying behaviours. No significant relationship was found to exist between cyberbullying and selfesteem in the grade 7 sample. Self-esteem scores did not vary significantly among the cyberbullies, cybervictims, cyberbully-victims and bystanders in the sample.

Mobile victimisation is one form of cyber aggression that is increasing and affecting many young people today. While several studies on cyberbullying and cyber victimisation have been done, the focus on mobile victimisation has been limited. In addition, findings presented in earlier studies have been inconclusive, and there is limited theory development to enhance conceptualisation and general understanding of this form of aggression. Calls have, therefore, been made to investigate mobile aggression and victimisation further. The present study aims to create better understanding of the nature of mobile victimisation in South African high schools. This study will also identify significant factors that influence mobile victimisation. Through an extensive review of the literature and theoretical works on victimisation, the researcher was able to develop a mobile victimisation typology that would guide this research. This typology is based on the premise that the frequency of mobile phone use, the technological advancement of a mobile phone and the emotional attachment to a mobile phone are key predictors of mobile victimisation. In addition, it predicts that the extent to which victims contribute to their victimisation is dependent on the extent to which the victim engages in these predictors. The typology divides victims into three categories: (i) innocent victims (victims who do not contribute to their own victimisation), (ii) victims with low contribution (those who make limited contribution to their own victimisation), and (iii) victims with moderate to high contribution (those who contribute largely to their victimisation).

The increasing use of mobile devices by high school learners has resulted in increased networking activities for learners who take advantage of opportunities presented by mobile technologies. Mobile technology continues to play a key role in facilitating online interactions amongst South African youth, and some learners use mobile technology to enhance their learning capabilities. However, such electronic operations have also presented new risks particularly in the developing countries where online bullying is on the rise and investigations of such incidents or threats are expensive. Mobile bullying and lack of discipline of bullies, for instance, are major concerns in the society at large. To control these incidents, learners and teachers need to know what to do when incidents arise. The process of digital forensic investigation is typically left for those specialising in the field of digital forensics. Those responsible for learner's safety in schools are often faced with situations where they have to perform basic investigations or preserve evidence for incident escalation to the specialists. However, schools often do not prepare themselves well enough for the challenges relating to mobile bullying. They find themselves not knowing where to start or how to preserve evidence. Digital forensic investigations are even more challenging in school settings because of the dynamic nature of these environments. While studies have been conducted in the developed countries, little is still known about how schools in the developing world, for instance South Africa, may handle mobile bullying. Very little is known about how schools in the developing countries may maximise their potential to use digital evidence while minimising the impact resulting from the incident. There is limited guidance on how to be digital forensic ready in schools where teachers, learners, principals, and other role players are not trained well enough to deal with mobile bullying. The objective of this study was to provide insight into factors that enhance the non-technical forensic readiness program in township schools and the ability of teachers to investigate mobile bullying incidents. The study aimed at employing concepts of forensic readiness to ignite schools' ability to prepare for response to mobile bullying incidents and create a digital forensic ready learning environment. The study was conducted in South Africa, Limpopo and North West provinces. Five schools agreed to participate in this study; eighty-two valid responses were obtained from teachers. The study followed mixed methods approach to the theory.

This descriptive study used preexisting student and parent surveys to examine cyberbullying in two rural middle schools. This study was guided by the social dominance theory, which says that individuals establish themselves in social hierarchies, and by the social-ecological framework theory, which suggests that behavior is influenced by many related systems. This study identified the rates of occurrence of methods used for cyberbullying, types of Internet access available, parental awareness, intervention, and resolution of cyberbullying issues. A simple random sample of 162 parents and 213 students completed the survey. Compared to national results, more local students (9.9%) admitted cyberbullying in the past 30 days, and more local survey students (14.1%) reported being cyberbullied in the past 30 days. For 9 of the 18 methods of cyberbullying examined, chi-square tests revealed that the local usage rates were significantly higher than national rates. Results from the parent survey suggested that parents were aware of the use of social media and that cyberbullying was taking place. Of those surveyed, 24% reported some knowledge of cyberbullying, and 75.6% of parents were concerned that their children could be cyberbullied. Results of this survey study helped in designing a project action plan to educate, to provide professional development for teachers, and to offer parent workshops to assist with preventing cyberbullying. Efforts to accomplish a positive social change may evolve after successful implementation of anti-cyberbullying programs in the middle schools.

Cyberbullying is a term that encompasses aggressive behaviours performed through different information and communication technologies (ICT), with the intention to harm or cause discomfort to others. Cyberbullying has gained prominence due to reported cases of teenage suicides linked to cyberbullying. Researchers have studied the prevalence and outcomes of cyberbullying (e.g. truancy) and strategies used by victims to deal with cyberbullying (e.g. email address change). However, researchers have not taken into account victims’ perceptions of the severity of the cyberbullying they experience and how those perceptions affect them at a personal level and their experience with ICT. This study combines Transactional Theory of Stress and Coping with the Expectation-Confirmation Theory and proposes two research models that will aid in understanding (i) the contextual factors that affect victims’ perceptions of cyberbullying, and (ii) the consequences of those perceptions on victims’ satisfaction with the ICT through which cyberbullying occurs. In addition, this study proposes two secondary objectives aimed at (i) developing and validating a scale to measure victims’ perception of cyberbullying severity and (ii) exploring its impact on victims’ use of different coping mechanisms. A survey-based study involving 229 cyberbullying victims is employed to empirically validate the proposed theoretical models, using structural equation modeling techniques. Results indicate that victims’ perception of the severity of a cyberbullying episode affects her/him at a personal level and negatively impacts her/his ICT beliefs, which in turn, impact her/his satisfaction with ICT. The analysis of different contextual factors indicates that the harshness of the message(s) the victim receives, the importance of the ICT through which cyberbullying occurred to her/him, her/his self-esteem, and knowing who the bully is affect a victim’s evaluation of the severity of a cyberbullying episode. Implications of these results for academics and practitioners, as well as limitations of this study, are discussed. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences. / Department of Sociology

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences. / Department of Sociology

Cyberbullying (CB) has been a growing concern that has affected students, parents, and professionals in significant ways.One of the main professionals that have been affected by CB are school social workers. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify what social workers need to know about CB. This study used a qualitative study design because we wanted to obtain an in-depth examination of CB views and beliefs.Data was gathered from 8 middle school teachers, a school principal and a school counselor from a public school in the western region of the United States.In the study participants were interviewed with ten questions focusing on CB. This study’s findings indicated 10 major themes which are the following:almost all participants were able to provide examples of CB occurring in the social networking website Facebook, more than half of all participants could not name any specific CB school policies or laws,the majority of all respondents had distinct views of the protocol for reporting CB,more than half of all the participants had different views of CB symptoms,the respondents were split in half on their beliefs of CB occurring more than traditional bullying,almost all participants believed that this public elementary and middle school took CB seriously, almost all of the teachers were uncertain whether CB was a problem at this public elementary and middle school, almost all of teachers had different ideas for preventing CB, almost all middle school teachers had different ideas for what helping professionals should know about iv CB, almost all teachers suggested different ideas for social workers to prevent CB. Future research should include training for school professionals on how to address CB as our results found that most participants were uncertain as to what to do and thus would be better able to provide suggestions for what social workers should know on CB.