Evaluating Factors Contributing to Misalignment of the South African National Cybeersecurity Policy Framework

This paper evaluates factors contributing to misalignment of the South African National Cybersecurity Framework (SA-NCPF) and suggest better ways to align the national policy framework to national, regional and global cyberlaws. The SA-NCPF is designed to mitigate, address and provide the regulatory guidelines relating to escalating cybercrimes, however, the complexity and interplays of factors contributing to misalignment make it difficult to achieve and measure alignment of national cyberlaws. The SA-NCPF recognises the complexities, inconsistencies, fragmentation and poor coordination of e-legislation, thus, it is imperative to recommend the removal of hindrances. By reviewing various literature, we were able to discuss and integrate a number of theoretical works that explain inconsistencies/misalignments in law. We synthesised literature to produce an integrated theoretical framework, which is a major innovation of this study. The integrated theoretical framework provides a broader perspective of the influencing factors and their interplay resulting in complex relationships which are difficult to understand. The researchers used the integrative theoretical framework and the configuration approach to develop a conceptual model. This model guides the measurement of the extent of alignment of the influencing factors and the identification of that combinations of these factors that yields an effective Cybersecurity Policy Framework. The conceptual model will be validated in a later study

Predictors of Successful Adoption of Technology Supported Learning in Universities in Uganda: A Students’ Perspective

This study identified the predictors of successful adoption of technology supported learning (TSL) among students in universities. Presumably, the perspective of the students in understanding this study is crucial because students are key users of TSL systems and are faced with challenges in the adoption of such systems in learning institutions. We argue in the present study that predictors can be identified using Gestalts approach given the complex interactions between the organizational and individual factors. The extent of interaction between the factors was accomplished using the clustering algorithm. Data was collected from 184 students from Makerere and Gulu universities. Six clusters emerged out of the findings of which Cluster 4 students adopted TSL the most. These students indicated that successful adoption of TSL is best achieved when there is coherence between financial support and when they are in their second year of study

Mobile Bullying Among Rural South African Students: Examining the Applicability of Existing Theories

Mobile bullying, which is one form of cyberbullying, is escalating in schools in South Africa. Research can contribute to better understanding of the nature of this aggression, and provide guidance in determining appropriate interventions and administration of justice. However, studies into cyberbullying tend to focus mainly on the urban environment. Rural South Africa involves a large percentage of mobile phone users and experiences in relatively different cultural and social-economic conditions. Lack of research on rural mobile bullying calls into question the applicability of existing theories of crime and cyberbullying to the rural context and their effectiveness in guiding legal and policy interventions. The present study investigated mobile bullying among high school rural students, the influencing factors, the applicability of earlier theories, and legal and policy implications. A survey of 3500 students found that mobile bullies are intensive users of chat rooms, Facebook and Twitter. Certain forms of bullying increase with age, which is not consistent with earlier claims. Bullying by teasing increased up to 14 years, dropped at 15 but rose again from 16 to 18 years for a different group of students. Bullies mainly came from unstable residential areas and lack of self-control predicts mobile bullying the most. We found support for the applicability of the Life-course, Self-control, and Social disorganization theories. Legal and policy implications are discussed

The Nature Of Mobile Bullying & Victimisation In The Western Cape High Schools of South Africa

Cyberbullying is often operationalized as an aggression conducted by various electronic devices. However, these technologies differ in their characteristics and the distinctive aspects of their effects are not clearly known. The present study examined the nature and influence of cyberbullying committed using mobile phones in high schools in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. We surveyed 3621 students and the findings suggest that mobile phones could have greater cyber-bullying effect than other electronic devices. School culture had the greatest influence on mobile bullying, followed by anonymity. However, the influence of anonymity does not only depend on non-identification of the bully but on other factors like safety risk. We also found that it is important to examine gender influence at various stages of the bullying activities. Gender appears to influence mobile bullying at its initiation stage than at the promotion and maintenance stages. The implications of these findings are discussed