Estimating the Size and Structure of the Underground Commercial Sex Economy in Eight Major U.S. Cities

The underground commercial sex economy (UCSE) generates millions of dollars annually, yet investigation and data collection remain under resourced. Our study aimed to unveil the scale of the UCSE in eight major US cities. Across cities, the UCSE's worth was estimated between $39.9 and$290 million in 2007, but decreased since 2003 in all but two cities. Interviews with pimps, traffickers, sex workers, child pornographers, and law enforcement revealed the dynamics central to the underground commercial sex trade -- and shaped the policy suggestions to combat it

Navigating Research Waters: The Research Mentor Program at the University of New Hampshire at Manchester

This essay uses a journal format to describe the research mentor program at the University of New Hampshire at Manchester (UNHM). Librarians, Learning Center staff, and writing instructors at UNHM have collaborated to train class-linked tutors to present basic library instruction in the classroom and to provide one-on-one research assistance to students in freshman-level composition classes. This information literacy initiative has expanded our students\u27 community of learning by providing them with point-of-need research assistance from knowledgeable peers

Erasing Race? A Critical Race Feminist View of Internet Identity Shifting

Race and gender become even more abstract in the disembodied presence they inhabit online. This article outlines the importance of being sensitive to the under-identified online presence of race and gender related issues, with an in depth discussion of the complications these issues face

Building Digital Trust to Protect Whistleblowers - A blockchain-based Reporting Channel

Organizations today need internal reporting channels to report illegal/unethical misconduct. For this purpose, organizations set up one or more - often digital - internal reporting channels. Persons/Employees who want to report misconduct, so-called whistleblowers, expose themselves to reprisals and therefore need trustworthy reporting channels which ensure ´Digital Trust´. Blockchain, a technology that overcomes the need for trust due to its properties of immutability and integrity of data, could be promising as underlying technology for a digital reporting channel which is recognized as trustworthy. In our research, we explored multiple perspectives relevant to a trustworthy digital reporting system. Applying design science research, we evaluated the current state of the art of (digital) reporting channels and developed a prototypical blockchain-based reporting solution called “Integrity@Inside”. The prototype is being iteratively demonstrated and pre-evaluated

University youth and online safety in Egypt: use and trust

The Internet contributes significantly to the positive development of humanity. That being said, Internet accessibility presents a possibility for exposure to harmful content or interaction, specifically to young minds. This study aims at investigating how youth use the Internet in the context of Online Safety. It examines uses and gratifications of the Internet and trust levels of Internet Safety. Moreover, it attempts to explore the risks that could be faced online. A survey was conducted on a convenience sample of 402 University Youth students. The results of the study revealed that respondents use the Internet mainly to satisfy their interpersonal utility needs. It also suggests that they have high trust levels of the safety of certain online practices

Trust in Electronic Markets, A Review and Synthesis of Theories

Electronic markets have grown substantially, and they are considered as a significant form of retail. Despite this growth, the lack of physical transactions between different parties as well as concerns about the privacy of users and the security of transactions has led to a decline in users’ trust in these platforms. This deficiency has motivated many researchers to study the concept of trust in the e-commerce environment. In this paper, we have created a comprehensive and up-to-date framework that synthesises the findings of the previous studies. To achieve this aim, we use a systematic literature review method. We searched 17 top-ranked information systems journals and conferences and reviewed the resultant pool of 127 papers. Beyond investigating the antecedents and consequences of trust in e-commerce, we reviewed the theoretical basis used in the literature. The study concludes with implications of the literature for practice and a critical agenda for future research

Cybersecurity, Identity Theft, and the Limits of Tort Liability

This article considers to what extent database possessors (such as credit card companies and universities) can be held liable for harm caused to data subjects (such as consumers, applicants, and alumni) when information relating to those persons is hacked or otherwise subject to improper access. Addressing common-law and statutory sources (including new legislation in 17 states) the article clearly differentiates the duty to safeguard data from the duty to notify data subjects that the security of their information has been breached. By analogy to the “medical-monitoring damages” which some states award in toxic-exposure cases, the article argues that “security-monitoring damages” should be available in database-intrusion cases. More specifically, the article proposes that, in cases of ordinary negligence, the interests of society will be best served by limiting recoverable economics losses to the cost of security-monitoring damages once a database possessor discloses to the affected individual the fact that data has been improperly accessed. This approach will encourage database possessors to discover and reveal instances of data intrusion. It will also place data subjects in a position to protect their own interests by monitoring their economic and personal security when there is heightened vulnerability