This qualitative study focuses on a peer support system created and facilitated by a high school student. The peer support group was multifaceted, including one component on Facebook™. A review of literature on bullying, cyberbullying, Communities of Practice and hyperpersonal communications was compiled, studied and analyzed. The case study was comprised of a four one-on-one interviews with the creator of the support system, in which she discussed her experiences throughout its facilitation. The study discusses all the components that made up the support system and the benefits for the creator and students involved at her high school. The study focuses on the use of Facebook™ as a medium for support, in particular, the anonymity it allowed for the members of the support system to share. I utilized this study to identify the benefits of support systems for students that are facilitated and governed through peers.

Background: Cyberbullying involves the use of digital technologies to harass, humiliate, or threaten individuals or groups. This form of bullying can occur on various platforms such as social media, messaging apps, gaming platforms, and mobile phones. With the outbreak of covid-19, there was a drastic increase in utilization of social media. And this upsurge was coupled with cyberbullying, making it a pressing issue that needs to be addressed. Sentiment analysis involves identifying and categorizing emotions and opinions expressed in text data using natural language processing and machine learning techniques. SVM is a machine learning algorithm that has been widely used for sentiment analysis due to its accuracy and efficiency. Objectives: The main objective of this study is to use SVM for sentiment analysis of cyberbullying tweets and evaluate its performance. The study aimed to determine the feasibility of using SVM for sentiment analysis and to assess its accuracy in detecting cyberbullying. Methods: The quantitative research method is used in this thesis, and data is analyzed using statistical analysis. The data set is from Kaggle and includes data about cyberbullying tweets. The collected data is preprocessed and used to train and test an SVM model. The created model will be evaluated on the test set using evaluation accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 score to determine the performance of the SVM model developed to detect cyberbullying. Results: The results showed that SVM is a suitable technique for sentiment analysis of cyberbullying tweets. The model had an accuracy of 82.3% in detecting cyberbullying, with a precision of 0.82, recall of 0.82, and F1-score of 0.83. Conclusions: The study demonstrates the feasibility of using SVM for sentimental analysis of cyberbullying tweets. The high accuracy of the SVM model suggests that it can be used to build automated systems for detecting cyberbullying. The findings highlight the importance of developing tools to detect and address cyberbullying in the online world. The use of sentimental analysis and SVM has the potential to make a significant contribution to the fight against cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying has become a significant societal concern as people increasingly use computing technology to mediate all elements of their life. Cyberbullying can cause serious psychological and emotional problems for people who are impacted. Hence, developing automated ways for detecting cyberbullying is critical. While recent efforts to identify cyberbullying have specified advanced text processing approaches, the area of visual data processing has received significantly less attention.  This thesis presents multimodal approach on cyberbullying detection in social media by using a combination of visual and textual features. The work presents the prototype of cyberbullying detection system alongside its design and implementation details.  The foundings of this work prove that visual features can be used for the improvement of the textual approach. The results show that visual features is a best performing approach according to Naive Bayes and Random Forest algorithms and combination of textual and visual features reached the highest performance according to Support Vector Classification model. Furthermore, the result reveal that feature combination leading to the highest performance of Support Vector Classification is a combination of text description, text sentiment and image tags. The strongest feature performance with Random Forest and Naive Bayes model has been demonstrated by image tags. / Cybermobbning har blivit ett stort samhällsproblem i takt med att människor i allt högre grad använder datorteknik i alla delar av sitt liv. Cybermobbning kan orsaka allvarliga psykologiska och känslomässiga problem för de personer som drabbas. Därför är det viktigt att utveckla automatiserade metoder för att upptäcka cybermobbning. Medan de senaste insatserna för att identifiera cybermobbning har specificerat avancerade metoder för textbearbetning, har visuell databehandling fått betydligt mindre uppmärksamhet.  I den här avhandlingen presenteras en multimodal metod för att upptäcka cybermobbning i sociala medier med hjälp av en kombination av visuella och textuella element. I arbetet presenteras prototypen av ett system för upptäckt av cybermobbning tillsammans med detaljer om dess utformning och genomförande.  Resultaten av detta arbete visar att visuella funktioner kan användas för att förbättra den textuella modellen. Resultaten visar att visuella funktioner är det bästa tillvägagångssättet enligt Naive Bayes - och Random Forest­algoritmerna och att kombinationen av text- och visuella funktioner uppnådde den högsta prestandan enligt Support Vector Classification - modellen. Dessutom visar resultatet att kombinationen av funktioner som leder till den högsta prestandan för Support Vector Classification ar en kombination av textbeskrivning, textkänsla och bildtaggar. Den starkaste prestandan med Random Forest - och Naive Bayes -modellen däremot, har visats med bildtaggar.

<p dir="ltr">In the modern, internet-connected world, online actions have a big impact. Organizational information system security is a complex issue, with both external attacks and internal vulnerabilities posing serious risks. Although there is ample evidence linking job discontent and stress in the context of insider threat prediction, the stress caused by a perceived lack of social support is mostly unstudied. This research seeks to address this gap by assessing how aggressive behaviors outside the workplace and the absence of offline social support can predict insider threat behaviors within organizations. Given the prevalence of insider threats, a comprehensive investigation into their motivations and actions is imperative. Understanding these dynamics can provide organizations with crucial insights to effectively manage this persistent risk. The widespread nature of insider threats calls for a thorough study into their roots, motives, and behaviors. By comprehensively analyzing these factors, companies can gain valuable insights into insider threats' dynamics and develop effective risk management strategies.</p><p dir="ltr">The study conducted a survey with 206 participants recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk), analyzing data using SPSS. The survey consisted of several questionnaires, including demographic information, insider threat traits, cyberaggressive behaviors, online and offline social support. The correlational analysis revealed significant variables related to insider threat characteristics. The results of the study suggested that Cyberbullying and Deception were significant predictors of Hacking and Identity Theft. Additionally, individuals displaying traits of Unwanted Contact and Online Harassment outside the workplace were more likely to exhibit insider threat behaviors within an organization. Notably, the lack of online social support was not found to be indicative of insider threats. However, the absence of offline social support was associated with an increased probability of individuals engaging in cybercrimes within organizational settings.</p><p dir="ltr">The findings suggest that organizations and information security policymakers should implement strategies to mitigate insider threats effectively. To manage insider threats, organizations should focus on behavioral cues, implement positive interventions and utilize technical monitoring to track online actions of insiders. Understanding the psychological, behavioral, and technical aspects of insider threats is crucial for early detection and prevention. Policymakers at companies should not only focus on traditional background checks related to criminal history but also consider psychological and behavioral factors to prevent insider threats effectively. By integrating these insights into policies and practices, companies can enhance their ability to mitigate potential insider threats effectively.</p><p dir="ltr">The present study augments the existing literature on insider threats and cyber aggression by examining the influence of stressors on employee behavior. Building upon prior research, this investigation delves into the nuanced impact of both offline and online social support systems on stress levels experienced by employees. It explores how the absence of adequate offline and online social support can exacerbate stress levels, consequently increasing the likelihood of insider threats and cyber aggression. In conclusion, the findings of this research contribute significantly to our understanding of the pivotal role of offline social support in mitigating workplace stress. Moreover, it underscores the importance of understanding individual online presence and background verification processes in evaluating potential risks within the workplace.</p>

Denna magisteruppsats undersöker hur skolpersonal och vårdnadshavare upplever ansvaret kring hantering av nätmobbning i svenska kommunala grundskolor. Uppsatsen fokuserar på var rektorer, lärare och vårdnadshavare drar gränser för skolans roll i att hantera nätmobbningen, och hur ansvaret förhandlas utifrån deras yrkesroller och roller som vårdnadshavare. För att undersöka dessa teman har en kvalitativ metodansats använts, där semistrukturerade intervjuer och tematisk analys av materialet har genomförts. Materialet har analyserats med hjälp av ett teoretiskt ramverk som inkluderar olika gränsteorier, såväl som olika professionella och privata logiker, vilka härstammar från teorier om institutionella logiker. I resultaten av studien identifierades tre olika typer av gränsdragningar, där gränsdragningar kopplade till kännedom, fysisk plats, och tidsmässiga aspekter var mest framstående. Resultaten pekar även på att rektorer i stor utsträckning styrs av en byråkratisk logik, lärare av en yrkesprofessionell logik, och vårdnadshavare av en vårdnadshavarlogik, vilka påverkar deras förhandlingar om ansvar över hantering av nätmobbning. / This master's thesis examines how school personnel and guardians perceive the responsibility of dealing with cyberbullying in Swedish elementary schools. The thesis focuses on where principals, teachers and guardians draw the boundaries of the school's role in handling cyberbullying, and how the responsibility is negotiated based on their professional roles and roles as guardians. To investigate these themes, a qualitative methodological approach has been used, where semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis of the material have been carried out. The material has been analyzed using a theoretical framework that includes different boundary theories, as well as different professional and private logics, which derive from theories of institutional logics. The results of the study show three different types of border creations, where demarcations linked to knowledge, physical location, and temporal aspects were most prominent. The results also indicate that principals are widely governed by bureaucratic logic, teachers by professional teacher logic, and guardians by guardian logic, which influence their negotiations about responsibility of handling cyberbullying.

Running title: Personality and cyberbullying victimisation / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-120) / The aim of this study was to gain insight into the relationship between personality and cyberbullying victimisation using a sample of 107 adult participants. The participants were found using the social media site Facebook in particular and assessed by means of the Big Five Inventory and a cyberbullying measure developed by the researcher. The study also explored the relationship between personality and coping behaviours using the COPE Inventory. The study findings indicate that neuroticism and cyberbullying victimisation are correlated, albeit weakly, with the largest correlation being between neuroticism and online impersonation and harassment. In addition, the study found a weak correlation between openness to experience and online impersonation. Coping and personality were moderately correlated; with neurotic individuals and victims of cyberbullying often resorting to maladaptive coping strategies. These results may suggest that there are other, more significant risk factors in the cyberbullying field that merit further exploration, while the relationships highlighted in the study also require further investigation. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

Inledning: Sociala medier har utvecklats och skapar en ny arena för integration. Den psykiska ohälsan ökar hos unga flickor tycks påverkas av sociala medier. Syftet med litteraturöversikten var att undersöka några hälsorisker flickor i åldern 11 till 17 år födda efter 1993 har utsatts för via sociala medier. Metod: Tio originalartiklar publicerade de senaste fem åren har sökts fram via PubMed. Relevanta artiklar har granskats och tematiserats utifrån hälsorisker vilka återfinns i litteraturöversikten. Resultat: Litteraturöversikten undersökte tidigare forskning kring hälsorisker hos unga flickor födda efter 1993 vid användning av sociala medier. Flickor tenderar att bli mer påverkade av kommentarer och påverkas under längre tid vilket kan leda till depression och ångest. Självskadebeteende och självmordsbenägenheter är direkt kopplade till depression. Självförtroendet påverkas av kommentarer på sociala medier. Flickor tenderar i högre grad att drabbas av psykosomatiska besvär till följd av användning av sociala medier. Sociala medier kan öka känslan av rädsla och otrygghet. Flickornas kroppsbild påverkas via sociala medier vilket i förlängningen kan leda till ätstörningar. Diskussion: Användandet av sociala medier kan ses som hälsorisk hos unga flickor. Likväl kan påverkan av sociala medier ses som enbart utlösande faktor för andra bakomliggande orsaker. Sociala medier kan även ge hälsovinster. / Introduction: Social media has created a new arena for integration. Social media seems to affect young girls mental health. The purpose of the literature review is to examine some health risks among girls aged 11 to 17 years born after 1993 witch has been exposed to through social media. Method: Ten original articles published in the past five years have been sought out through PubMed. Relevant articles were reviewed and thematized based on health risks which are found in the overview. Results: The literature review examined previous research on health risks in young girls born after 1993 in the use of social media. Girls tend to be more affected by the comments and are affected over time which can lead to depression and anxiety. Self-harm and suicidal tendencies are directly linked to depression. Self-confidence is affected by comments on social media. Girls tend increasingly to suffer from psychosomatic disorders due to use of social media. Social media can increase the feeling of fear and insecurity. The girls' body image is influenced by social media, which ultimately can lead to eating disorders. Discussion: The use of social media can be seen as a health risk in young girls. Nevertheless, the impact of social media is seen as on of the triggers for other underlying causes. Social media can also provide health benefits.

Thesis (MEd(Psych) --Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Bullying seems to be a pervasive problem in most secondary schools and teachers have the daily task of dealing with it. Not only do teachers have to unravel the complex dynamics of bullying, they also often have to navigate a school climate and culture that is not conducive to addressing bullying. In South Africa, there are many unique contextual factors which impact on teachers’ management of bullying, such as community violence overflowing into the school, increased administrative load and limited support from school management, parents and education authorities. Therefore, teachers’ abilities to conceptualise bullying, recognise and respond to incidents of bullying, and their knowledge of the nature and extent of bullying behaviour impact greatly on anti-bullying strategies. The theoretical framework which informed this study is the social context perspective which drew on views from both social constructionism and the bio-ecological framework. The social context perspective emphasises the interactions between individuals and the systems as delineated in the bio-ecological model. Furthermore, this study did not aim to reveal the “truth” about school bullying. The intention has rather been to provide a comprehensive picture as was portrayed by the participants in this study. This picture included the nature and extent of bullying in their secondary school, the teachers’ perspectives and experiences of bullying, and proposed prevention and intervention strategies which they aim to implement at their school. In keeping with the constructionist nature of the process of inquiry, a qualitative, interpretivist research approach was used. Purposive sampling was used to identify potential participants who were then asked to volunteer to be part of the study. Data was generated through semi-structured interviews with individuals and focus groups. Furthermore, the constant comparative method was used to analyse the data. The research findings indicated that the teachers experience and perceive a wide variety of bullying behaviours which take place at various sites, both within and outside the school grounds and that involve a diverse range of individuals within the school community. Furthermore, the teachers conveyed several factors which they experienced as maintaining bullying and highlighted their perceived effects thereof. In addition to this, the participants shared knowledge about their teaching practices and suggested a few strategies on how to deal with bullying more effectively in their school community. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Afknouery word beskou as ‘n deurlopende probleem in hoërskole en onderwysers moet die gevolge daarvan daagliks hanteer. Onderwysers moet nie net die komplekse dinamiek van afknouery ontrafel nie, maar worstel ook met ‘n skoolklimaat en -kultuur wat nie toepaslik is om afknouery te bekamp nie. In Suid-Afrika is daar unieke kontekstuele faktore wat ‘n invloed het op hoe onderwysers afknouery hanteer. Dit sluit onder andere in die geweld wat oorvloei vanuit die gemeenskap na die skool, verhoogde administratiewe werklading asook beperkte ondersteuning van die skool se bestuurspan, ouers en die onderwysowerhede. Daarom speel onderwysers se vermoëns om afknouery te konseptualiseer, insidente van afknouery te herken en daarop te reageer, asook hulle kennis van afknougedrag ‘n groot impak op anti-afknouery strategieë. Hierdie studie word gekonseptualiseer vanuit ‘n sosiaal-konstruktiwistiese en bioekologiese perspektief. ‘n sosiale konteksperspektief beklemtoon die interaksies tussen individue en die sisteme wat uiteengesit is in die bio-ekologiese model. Die doel van hierdie studie was nie om die “waarheid” oor afknouery in die skool te openbaar nie. Dit was eerder om die deelnemers se perspektief in diepte te analiseer en beskryf. ‘n Kwalitatiewe, interpretivistiese navorsingsbenadering is daarom gevolg. ‘n Doelgerigte steekproef is gebruik om potensiële deelnemers te identifiseer en hulle is gevra om vrywillig deel te neem aan die studie. Data is gegenereer deur semi-gestruktureerde individuele en fokusgroeponderhoude. Verder is die konstante vergelykende metode gebruik om die data te analiseer. Die navorsingsbevindinge het aangedui dat die onderwysers ‘n wye verskeidenheid afknougedrag van diverse groepe en individue binne en buite die skoolterrein ervaar. Die onderwysers het verskeie faktore identifiseer wat afknouery moontlik instandhou en het die moontlike gevolge van afknouery uitgelig. Laastens het die deelnemers kennis oor hulle onderwyspraktyke gedeel en voorstelle gemaak oor hoe om afknouery meer effektief in hul skoolgemeenskap te hanteer.

This thesis deals with the issue of cyberbullying and it examines the differences in its perception depending on gender. In the beginning the thesis describes transformation of communication based upon time and technologies used to communicate. It is followed by the comparison of cyberbullying and bullying where similarities and differences are shown. After this theoretical part comes the practical part of the thesis which is started by the justification of the chosen research method - qualitative research, individual interviews with grammar school children in the age 10 to 15 years. The following part describes the construction of the research - creating the scenario of the interviews followed by the description of the interviews which were afterward transcribed and analyzed. The interviews were analyzed by open coding and showed that there are differences regarding cyberbullying and gender but they also showed that there are similarities in the usage of communication media. The results proved that in the selected sample of children girls are more likely to take part in cyberbullying than in bullying. The results also showed that girls are more likely to share more personal information and photos on the internet than boys although we can observe that this is starting to change because boys are...

The diploma thesis analyses the impact of online behaviour on a real life. It is divided into a theoretical (chapters 1 to 3) and practical part (chapters 4 to 7). The first chapter introduces the current trends and generally the topic of social networks, the internet, online communication and relationships. The second chapter describes main forms of cyber antisocial behaviour. The third chapter is focused on the process of socialization and growing up from the point of view of developmental psychology. It also shows individual mental and behavioural frames of the cyber reality which penetrates the real world. The practical part deals in four chapters with different forms of a research which aim was to verify outlined hypotheses and facts mentioned in the theoretical part. The selected methods are quantitative research among high school students distributed through questionnaires, the qualitative interviews among high school teachers and the quantitative analysis of the educational journal. The fourth chapter describes theoretically the methodology of the research. The last three chapters document each part of the research, partially verify the outlined hypothesis and interpret the results.