Trolling in asynchronous computer-mediated communication: From user discussions to academic definitions

Whilst computer-mediated communication (CMC) can benefit users by providing quick and easy communication between those separated by time and space, it can also provide varying degrees of anonymity that may encourage a sense of impunity and freedom from being held accountable for inappropriate online behaviour. As such, CMC is a fertile ground for studying impoliteness, whether it occurs in response to perceived threat (flaming), or as an end in its own right (trolling). Currently, first and secondorder definitions of terms such as im/politeness (Brown and Levinson 1987; Bousfield 2008; Culpeper 2008; Terkourafi 2008), in-civility (Lakoff 2005), rudeness (Beebe 1995, Kienpointner 1997, 2008), and etiquette (Coulmas 1992), are subject to much discussion and debate, yet the CMC phenomenon of trolling is not adequately captured by any of these terms. Following Bousfield (in press), Culpeper (2010) and others, this paper suggests that a definition of trolling should be informed first and foremost by user discussions. Taking examples from a 172-million-word, asynchronous CMC corpus, four interrelated conditions of aggression, deception, disruption, and success are discussed. Finally, a working definition of trolling is presented

Emerging Cyber Threats Report for 2009

GTISC Emerging Cyber Threats Report Contributors: Mustaque Ahamad, Director of the Georgia Tech Information Security Center ; Dave Amster, Vice President of Security Investigations, Equifax ; Michael Barrett, Chief Information Security Officer, PayPal ; Tom Cross, X-Force Researcher, IBM Internet Security Systems ; George Heron, Founder, BlueFin Security ; Don Jackson, Director of Threat Intelligence, SecureWorks ; Jeff King, Doctoral Student, Georgia Tech Information Security Center ; Wenke Lee, Associate Professor, Georgia Tech Information Security Center ; Ryan Naraine, Security Evangelist, Kaspersky Lab, Americas ; Gunter Ollmann, Chief Security Strategist, IBM Internet Security Systems ; Jon Ramsey, Chief Technology Officer, SecureWorks, Howard A. Schmidt, Professor of Practice, Georgia Tech Information Security Center, Patrick Traynor, Assistant Professor, School of Computer Science at Georgia Tech, and member of the Georgia Tech Information Security Center.On October 15, 2008, the Georgia Tech Information Security Center (GTISC) hosted its annual summit on emerging security threats and countermeasures affecting the digital world. At the conclusion of the event, GTISC released this Emerging Cyber Threats Report—outlining the top five information security threats and challengesfacing both consumer and business users in 2009. This year’s summit participants include security experts from the public sector, private enterprise and academia, reinforcing GTISC’s collaborative approach to addressing information security technology and policy challenges. "As one of the leading academic research centers focused on information security, GTISC believes strongly that a proactive and collaborative approach to understanding emerging threats will help us develop more effective information security technologies and strategies," said Mustaque Ahamad, director of GTISC. "The annual GTISC Security Summit on Emerging Cyber Security Threats and our annual Emerging Cyber Threats Report seek to give us a better understanding of the cyber security challenges we will face in the years ahead." GTISC research and advance interviews with key information security experts from government, industry and academia uncovered five specific trends and some profound questions that will drive threats and countermeasures in 2009 and beyond, including: Malware, Botnets, Cyber warfare, Threats to VoIP and mobile devices, and The evolving cyber crime economy. In an effort to inform the broader community about current and future risks, this report will describe each emerging threat, existing or potential countermeasures, and how the threat may evolve in the coming year. In addition, our experts will offer their opinion on the role that Internet security education and regulation may play in further preventing the spread of cyber crime

The Political Economy of Mass Sport Participation Legacies From Large-Scale Sport Events: A Conceptual Paper

Sport event studies have demonstrated that relevant stakeholders must share objectives and coordinate efforts to leverage a large-scale sport event to secure positive legacies. However, the challenging and complex task of collaboration between networks of diverse organizational stakeholders to secure legacies has received little scholarly attention. In this conceptual paper, the authors explore, through a political economy lens, differences between the political economies of sports and sport events pertaining to mass sport participation legacies. The authors focus on the mesolevel and consider how divergences in political economy elements—structure and context, stakeholders and ideas/incentives, and bargaining processes—influence the likelihood of mass sport participation legacies from large-scale sport events. The authors suggest a need for event legacy stakeholders to engage more meaningfully with the complexities surrounding securing mass sport participation legacies. In addition, they provide pragmatic, actionable implications for policy and practice to assist stakeholders in addressing the challenges they face to maximize legacy outcomes.</jats:p