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Understanding the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Cybercrime
Get PDFArtificial intelligence is one of the newest innovations that offenders also exploit to satisfy their criminal desires. Although understanding cybercrimes associated with this relatively new technology is essential in developing proper preventive measures, little has been done to examine this area. Therefore, this paper provides an overview of the articles featured in the special issue of the International Journal of Cybersecurity Intelligence and Cybercrime, ranging from deepfake in the metaverse to social engineering attacks. This issue includes articles that were presented by the winners of the student paper competition at the 2024 International White Hat Conference
Evolving an Intersectional and Equality Approach to Addressing Issues of Abortion in Nigeria
Get PDFAnti-abortion regulation and criminalization in Nigeria raises questions about religious, societal, and cultural dispositions to abortion. If one defers to religious and cultural norms that are against abortion, what remains are concerns about discrimination based on gender, age, and economic status. At the regional level, the focus of abortion activism has consistently been on the legal justification for permitting abortion on recognized grounds, particularly under the African Women Protocol, known as the Maputo Protocol. This work analyzes socio-economic grounds for legal justifications for permitting abortion, focusing on how inequality and discrimination can shape the regulation and governance of abortion, especially within developing and highly gender-unequal societies like Nigeria. This paper argues that the systematic maternal deaths resulting from unsafe abortions are avoidable as they stem from social status and an unequal distribution of economic resources. This paper adopts the theory of feminist intersectionality by Crenshaw to expose how inequities on multiple grounds contribute to ineffective reproductive governance, especially concerning abortion in Nigeria. It discusses the potential application of international and regional human rights instruments, especially the Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Maputo Protocol, and challenges in implementing their provisions within Nigerian reproductive rights jurisprudence. It identifies the doctrine of “Dual Publics” by Peter Ekeh and effects of legal pluralism on the regulation of abortion in Nigeria. It also draws lessons from similar treatment of such issues by the relevant human right bodies through their constituent instruments, case-laws, and jurisprudence. The paper argues that adopting an equality or intersectional approach to address the complexities surrounding abortion in Nigeria holds immense potential for mitigating the historical, legal, and cultural challenges that women face in accessing reproductive healthcare services
Toxic Masculinity and Passive Femininity: A Content Analysis of Pakistani Television Dramas
Get PDFWhen analyzing Pakistan’s current media scene, toxic masculinity in Pakistani television dramas is essential to discuss. This study explores portrayals of toxic masculinity and how women characters respond to them within Pakistani television series. Furthermore, this study is closely aligned with UNSDG 5 to promote gender equality by critically analyzing media representations and societal norms. A qualitative content analysis was used to address this issue. This research aligns with the social cognitive theory that suggests that individuals learn and adapt their behaviors by observing others. It examined the behavioral patterns of the main characters by highlighting toxic actions across the selected drama series. Moreover, this study aligns with feminist media theory of gender roles by offering an in-depth analysis of how masculinity is represented and normalized within these shows. This theory examines how gender roles are assigned to men and women in media, and whether these portrayals challenge or reinforce existing cultural norms associated with men’s behavior. This study gathered data from four popular drama series aired on private channels from 2019 to 2022 that were chosen for their widespread acclaim and numerous awards. The outcomes revealed recurring themes of destructive masculinity featured in these dramas, including various forms of violence, depictions of toxic men and passive women, and unhealthy romantic relationships
Women and Queer Researchers Cited, but Not in Sight: Rethinking APA Citation Style
Get PDFIn this article, I reflect on the APA citation practice of using last names and initials in references for psychological research. This practice reduces authors to their last names in the guise of gender-neutrality, thus making women and gender non-binary authors invisible despite being cited. Decades after Nancy Russo’s commentary recommending the use of first names along with last names, there have been no changes in APA style, while other citation styles have incorporated the practice of using first names and last names in references to address this issue. In the changing global socio-cultural landscape that acknowledges gender fluidity, including first names and gender pronouns in end references and in-text citations can be one of the ways of making women and non-binary authors’ works more visible in the field of Psychology or other disciplines that use APA style
The Infidel “I”
Get PDFBeing a girl in a media-saturated world is one of the hardest situations. Young girls coming of age are bombarded by media feeds that urge them to follow behavioral patterns set by patriarchal culture. Offered as a manual on how to behave like a “good girl,” these patterns direct young girls’ energies towards unattainable ideals they try to live up to throughout their lives. They also offer girls a narrow perspective through which to view life and their identities. This distorted lens foregrounds some aspects of a woman’s life while downplaying others. It gradually naturalizes some patterns as the dominant socio-cultural norms that define a woman. Meanwhile, it punishes those resisting these current patterns and makes an “other” out of them. As a costly charge, young girls join the game and conform to the norms. Such adjustment puts such undue pressure on the girls that they eventually feel worn out. For those who refuse to conform, the situation is by far worse. Labeled unwomanly, these girls are excluded not only by society but also by their fellow women. Since they look different, these girls are treated as traitors and otherized as infidels, despite all the social and educational success they may have achieved
Understanding Gravitational Lensing Using General Relativity
Get PDFGravitational lensing is typically modelled using thin-lens approximations which assume that the effect of the gravitational field of the intervening mass can be adequately described by the physics of an optical lens. In this project we derived equations to model how spacetime curvature alters geodesics available to light rays directly from the principles of general relativity and used these results to produce visualizations of these effects. We began with the Robertson-Walker metric to define a flat, unperturbed space time and determined a suitable mass density model for the galaxy cluster that will act as our gravitational lens. Employing this metric and potential, we obtained from the Lagrangian an integral for the angle swept out by the light ray as it bends around the lens, which also allowed us to determine the coordinates of the light ray at a given time. Using Mathematica, we applied numerical integration techniques using this model to generate visualizations of light ray geodesics and the distortion of the source object apparent to an observer due to the gravitational lens. Additionally, we used the set of differential equations resulting from the Lagrangian to generate plots of wavefronts emanating from a particular region. This work demonstrates how the observable effects of a gravitational lens can be generated from a model built from the principles of general relativity, rather than utilizing thin-lens approximations
Product vs Process: In Life and Literature
Get PDFIn her essay, “Modern Fiction,” Virginia Woolf speaks of “an analogy between literature and process,” and urges a move away from what she calls materialist writing. However, what is noticeably left out of this discussion is the notion of the product. Woolf views the history of literature as one that is about process not necessarily progress: “we do not come to write better; all that we can be said to do is to keep moving, now a little in this direction, now in that.” Woolf views literature as not a progress to a product, but rather a process of changing convention, adapting literature, and trying what has not been done. Accordingly, in her novel Mrs. Dalloway, Woolf portrays a similar notion. In a story centered around a character who has been troubled with the same issues for thirty years, Woolf gives the character only one day. Not to find resolution, but to disrupt her own resolution as living as a product. Therefore, the focus on process in the novel and the dismissal of resolved product is reflective of the lack of story structure and clear resolution as experienced in everyday life
Examining Psychology Majors: Perceptions, Motivations, & Goals
Get PDFWhile psychology is one of the United States’ most popular undergraduate majors, we face a shortage of mental health workers which has created a lack of access to quality care. A gap exists between students’ interest in psychology as an academic subject and their interest in mental health careers. Using quantitative survey data from psychology majors in a required orientational course, this study assessed why students major in psychology, their feelings about the psychology major, and their post-graduate plans. Many psychology majors reported wanting to help others, which was associated with wanting a psychology-related career. Students of color reported a lack of racial and ethnic representation in the psychology field, but this did not prevent goals of pursuing psychology-related careers. Feeling supported within the major and feeling positively about being a psychology major made students more likely to want a psychology-related career. Thus, psychology majors are a valuable recruitment source for the mental health field. Implementing more support and representation within psychology would improve the field and encouraging psychology majors to pursue mental health careers could alleviate strains on our mental healthcare system