Browsing by Author "Parti, Katalin"

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    Actual Policing in Virtual Reality - A Cause of Moral Panic or a Justified Need?
    Parti, Katalin (InTech Open, 2011-01-08)
    This study aims to describe those aspects that qualify a form of behaviour as a crime in the virtual communities, these highly organised societies of the Internet. But the image of deviances may not be complete without entities watching over them. It is an interesting question, who could lay down and enforce virtual norms, if not the community itself. Today, organised crime, drug trafficking, money laundering, trafficking in human beings, and sexual exploitation of children are such focal issues of criminal law, whose prosecution does not stop at the boundaries of virtual communities, or the Internet. But what justification does the real world's jurisdiction have to intervene in the everyday life of independent virtual communities? If they have the right, who decides on the involvement of real authorities? What legal regulations does real-life law enforcement apply in a virtual space? Is there an appropriate response to crimes committed in the virtual world by real-life jurisdiction, and can different forms of virtual deviance be prevented with the tools of reallife crime prevention? These are the questions that I wish to answer in the followings.
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    Architecture of aggression in cyberspace: Testing cyber aggression in young adults in Hungary
    Parti, Katalin; Kiss, Tibor; Koplányi, Gergely (Bridgewater State University, 2018-08-15)
    In order to test whether and how violence is exacerbated in online social networking sites, we utilized the BryantSmith Aggression Scale (Bryant & Smith, 2001), and included examples in the questionnaire offering solutions for 7 different hypothetical cases occurring online (Kiss, 2017). The questionnaire was sent to social work and law school students in Hungary. Prevalence and levels of aggression and its manifestation as violence online proved to be not more severe than in offline social relations. Law students were more aware than students of social work that online hostile acts are discrediting. Students of social work were significantly more prone to break into physical fights than were law students and higher level of aggression was observed in their online behavior as well. Those who spend more time online tend to be more active online and bear a significantly higher level of aggression compared to those who are less active online. To conclude, higher education has a significant role in establishing control. This is especially crucial with law students who might have to work closely with the police and local residents aiming to establish peaceful communication, problem solving, and cooperative solutions in grassroots community policing programs.
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    Beyond Obstacles: Toward Justice for Victims of Sexual Violence in Hungary. A Literature Review
    Parti, Katalin; Robinson, Robin A.; Kohlmann, David; Viragh, Eniko; Varga-Sabjan, Dora (SAGE, 2021-06-30)
    Alarmed by research that reveals Hungary as having one of the lowest reporting rates in cases of sexual violence in Europe, this article provides an overview of the research that explains why, historically, sexual violence has been and continues to be underreported all over the globe, from law enforcement and criminal justice perspective. Furthermore, we describe the unique circumstances that might influence Hungarian victims of sexual violence to make formal reports. Among other possible factors, we discuss rape myth acceptance, victim blaming, feminist activism, institutional betrayal, and media representations of rape. In an effort to provide insight into Hungarian gender politics, this article raises salient theoretical works on gender ideology and gender policy in contemporary Hungary. This article concludes with a discussion on what implications such research in Hungary may have on a global understanding of sexual violence reporting.
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    Changes in Online Illegal Drug Buying during COVID-19: Assessing Effects due to a Changing Market or Changes in Strain using a Longitudinal Sample Design
    Hawdon, James E.; Parti, Katalin; Dearden, Thomas E. (Springer Nature, 2022-11-11)
    This research uses longitudinal data to investigate if illegal online drug purchases changed over time during the COVID-19 pandemic, and if these changes were primarily driven by users adjusting to market conditions or by a heightened level of pandemic-induced strain that could drive a greater demand for drugs. Data were collected across four waves between fall 2019 and fall 2021 using an online survey. Data showed an increase in reported online drug purchases across the waves, but the online drug purchases remained consistent for the first year of the pandemic, but increased by approximately 44% between the fall 2020 and fall 2021 when over 13 percent of the sample admitted to buying illegal drugs online. Strain was also related to buying illegal drugs online as those respondents who made illegal online purchased had an average of 5.2 strain events in the past 12 months compared to only 2.4 events among those who did not report purchasing illegal drugs online. However, the influence of strain on online purchases remained consistent across time. These results suggest that the increase in online drug purchases was primarily driven by users adapting to changing market conditions rather than the cumulative strains associated with the pandemic producing a greater effect on purchases. Policy implications are also discussed.
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    CIVIIC: Cybercrime in Virginia: Impacts on Industry and Citizens Final Report
    Gainey, Randy; Vandecar-Burdin, Tancy; Albanese, Jay; Dearden, Thomas E.; Hawdon, James E.; Parti, Katalin (CoVA CCI, 2023-01-01)
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    Cybercrime and Strain Theory: An Examination of Online Crime and Gender
    Parti, Katalin; Dearden, Thomas E. (Lifescience Global, 2024-09-11)
    Purpose: Historically, cybercrime has been seen as a near exclusively male activity. We were interested to learn whether the relationship between strain and crime holds for both males and females. Methods: We utilized an online survey instrument to collect data from a national sample of individuals (n=2,121) representing the US population by age, gender, race and ethnicity. We asked offending related questions regarding various cybercrimes. In the current study, we use data from 390 individuals who reported a cybercrime activity within the past 12 months. Results: We find strong support for prior strains correlating with both specific (e.g., illegal uploading) and general cyber-offending. We further examine whether gender interacts with strain. While general strain theory (GST) correlates with cyber-offending for both males and females, we did find a few important differences. Except for lack of trust in others and receiving unsatisfactory evaluation at school or work, there are different variables responsible for online offending for men and women. Parents’ divorcing, anonymity, and online video gaming increase cybercrime offending in women, whereas falling victim to a crime, breaking up with a significant other, and darkweb activity are correlated with cyber-offending for men. Conclusion: Although GST functions differently by gender when it comes to engaging in cyber-offending, the theory is indeed gender-specific, as different strain variables are responsible for engaging in cyber-offending in women and men. Components of general strain responsible for cyber-offending need to be further studied concerning gender. According to our results, GST is gender-specific, and these variables need to be further studied.
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    Cybercrime victimization among Virginia businesses: frequency, vulnerabilities, and consequences of cybervictimization
    Hawdon, James E.; Parti, Katalin; Dearden, Thomas E.; Vandecar-Burdin, Tancy; Albanese, Jay; Gainey, Randy (Taylor & Francis, 2023-09-04)
    The Commonwealth of Virginia, USA, is one of the most vulnerable states to cyberattacks and breaches. Analyzing data from 428 online surveys collected from Virginia businesses from multiple vendors and several unique resources, this study provides an in-depth view of the nature and extent of cybercrime victimization in Virginia, highlighting specific vulnerabilities, how the victimization occurred, the consequences of victimization, and if and to whom these breaches were reported. In addition, we describe the extent to which businesses perceive their vulnerabilities, the extent in which companies engage in behaviors that can potentially make them vulnerable, the policies and practices they have in place to reduce vulnerability, and their experiences with victimization. The results provide a quality baseline for understanding cybercrimes against businesses in Virginia.
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    Cybercrime, Differential Association, and Self-Control: Knowledge Transmission Through Online Social Learning
    Dearden, Thomas E.; Parti, Katalin (Springer, 2021-11-10)
    In an increasingly digital world, our social interactions are increasingly moving online. Differential association and social learning theories suggest that we learn both moral definitions and the how-to of crime from those we associate with. In this paper we examine whether online or offline social learning leads to more selfdisclosed forms of cyber-offending. Using a national online sample of 1,109 participants, we find both online and offline social learning are important correlates to cyber-offending. In addition, we predict that lower self-control will interact with social learning to further increase the likelihood of cyber-offending. Overall, we find that both social learning and self-control, individually and as an interaction, have a large effect-size in predicting cyber-offending.
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    Differentiating Insider and Outsider Cyberattacks on Businesses
    Dearden, Thomas E.; Parti, Katalin; Hawdon, James E.; Gainey, Randy; Vandecar-Burdin, Tancy; Albanese, Jay (Springer Nature, 2023-08-01)
    The use of information and communication technologies in business has opened several new ways for employees to commit cybercrimes against their employers. Utilizing opportunity theory, the current paper investigates the characteristics of businesses victimized by employee-committed cyberattacks and compares insider- and outsider-committed cybercrime in terms of the damage they cause to the business. We used online sampling to obtain information on 350 businesses in the Commonwealth of Virginia, revealing 29 outsider cases and 17 insider attacks that were clearly identified. We found that insider attacks were more costly, resulting in more damage than external attacks; the most frequent attack type was impersonating the organization online for insiders, and viruses, spyware, and malware for outsiders. Our data suggested restricting personal devices, making cybersecurity a priority, cybersecurity updates among management, and employee training do not significantly lessen the risk or mitigate the effects of insider attacks. We suggest that organizational security culture must be refined and strengthened to identify and prevent insider attacks successfully.
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    “Elder Scam” Risk Profiles: Individual and Situational Factors of Younger and Older Age Groups’ Fraud Victimization
    Parti, Katalin (2022-11-01)
    In an attempt to understand how differently fraud works depending on a victim’s age, we have examined the effects of situational (lifestyle-routine activities), self-control, and sociodemographic variables on scam victimization across age groups. The analysis was carried out on a national sample of 2,558 Americans, representative by age, sex, and race, and includes additional factors such as their education, living arrangement, employment, and propensity for reporting a crime or asking for help. The results substantiate research findings of the contribution of self-control and LRAT in predicting victimization in general but could not identify major situational and individual differences between older and younger Americans’ scam victimization. However, employment can function as a protective factor for older individuals in some online fraud scenarios. Furthermore, older adults show significantly more reluctance in asking for help or reporting than do younger ones. Future research must address these differences. The author also suggests developing specific variables for measuring how lifestyle-routine activity theory works in scam victimization.
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    Evaluation of a University-Based Bullying and Cyberbullying Prevention Program
    Englander, Elizabeth; Parti, Katalin; McCoy, Meghan (Academic Star Publishing Company, 2015-11-02)
    An independent evaluator spent an academic year evaluating a unique bullying and cyberbullying prevention program in Massachusetts: an academic Center utilizing students and faculty to bring high-quality, no-cost programming to primary and secondary education. Quantitative and qualitative findings suggest that the program’s elements that are most effective and helpful are its emphasis on research findings, especially research on digital problems; its use of high-status peers and positive strategies for student programs; and its focus on practical and concrete tips and strategies. Although the evaluation was conducted with the goal of adopting the model in Hungary, suggestions from Budapest pointed to significant obstacles that remain before such an adoption could be successful.
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    The Future of Interdisciplinary Research in the Digital Era: Obstacles and Perspectives of Collaboration in Social and Data Sciences - An Empirical Study
    Parti, Katalin; Szigeti, Akos (Informa, 2021-01-01)
    In the last decade, a transition in research design and methodology is identified in social research methodology; however, the high entry threshold (i.e., technical knowledge) to utilize computational methods and the ethical concerns seem to slow down the process. A possible way out is that social sciences collaborate with computational or data scientists in interdisciplinary research projects to rely on each other’s skills and to develop jointly accepted ethical principles. In this exploratory study, we collected data from researchers with a variety of academic backgrounds to find out their views of interdisciplinary projects and related methodological or ethical issues. Our findings derived from one-on-one interviews (n = 22) reinforce the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and highlight the significance of “interpreters,” i.e., individuals able to communicate with and connect various areas of science, education, and academic institutions’ role in enhancing interdisciplinary collaborations of sciences. Additional concerns of participants emerged in terms of research methodology applied in the digital world (i.e., data validity, credibility and research ethics). Finally, participants identified open science and the transparency of research as the key to the future development of social sciences.
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    "If We Don't Listen to Them, We Make Them Lose More than Money:" Exploring Reasons for Underreporting and the Needs of Older Scam Victims
    Parti, Katalin; Tahir, Faika (MDPI, 2023-04-28)
    Highly manipulative online and telephone scams committed by strangers target everyone, but older individuals are especially susceptible to being victimized. This study aimed to (1) identify why older individuals decide not to report scams and, in parallel, (2) explore the needs of victims. Thirty-five interviews were conducted with Virginia residents who were 60 years or older in 2021. The interpretive phenomenological analysis of the semi-structured interviews revealed that victims are reluctant to report crimes or ask for help from their family or community because much-needed emotional, educational, and technical help is often inaccessible or inadequate. In particular, we found that family responses tend to intrude on privacy, community responses are not meaningful or are non-existent, police responses are inadequate, and prevention programs are inaccessible and not specified to meet the needs of older age groups. We recommend developing age-appropriate prevention and education programs, by applying the intergenerational group approach, and actively listening to victims’ concerns before deciding what means of help should be applied. Research implications and recommendations are presented.
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    “If We Don’t Listen to Them, We Make Them Lose More than Money”: Exploring Reasons for Underreporting and the Needs of Older Scam Victims
    Parti, Katalin; Tahir, Faika (MDPI, 2023-04-28)
    Highly manipulative online and telephone scams committed by strangers target everyone, but older individuals are especially susceptible to being victimized. This study aimed to (1) identify why older individuals decide not to report scams and, in parallel, (2) explore the needs of victims. Thirty-five interviews were conducted with Virginia residents who were 60 years or older in 2021. The interpretive phenomenological analysis of the semi-structured interviews revealed that victims are reluctant to report crimes or ask for help from their family or community because much-needed emotional, educational, and technical help is often inaccessible or inadequate. In particular, we found that family responses tend to intrude on privacy, community responses are not meaningful or are non-existent, police responses are inadequate, and prevention programs are inaccessible and not specified to meet the needs of older age groups. We recommend developing age-appropriate prevention and education programs, by applying the intergenerational group approach, and actively listening to victims’ concerns before deciding what means of help should be applied. Research implications and recommendations are presented.
  • Illiberal and Populist Political Narratives on Gender and Underreporting of Sexual Violence
    Parti, Katalin (2023-04-05)
    The paper was presented in a webinar "Gender Equity Series - Violence Against Women in Europe" organized by CEUTTSS.
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    Illiberal and Populist Political Narratives on Gender and Underreporting of Sexual Violence: A Case Study of Hungary
    Parti, Katalin (Cogitatio Press, 2022-11-15)
    Sexual violence is underreported all over the world. In this article, I argue that democratic backsliding undermines the reporting of sexual violence even further. The author’s team conducted in‐depth interviews (n = 15) with representatives of civil society organizations, victims’ services, clinical practitioners, and child and family welfare in Hungary in 2017 and 2018, in search of organizational and structural causes to why sexual violence remains vastly underreported in the country with the least reported case numbers in Europe. The small but diverse sample helped identify associations between the reporting of sexual violence and repressive, gender‐related political decisions such as threatening the existence of civil organizations undertaking victim support roles and providing victim services, a family‐centered political narrative, and confining women’s roles solely for reproductive purposes. It is not possible to maintain causation since there are other factors interfering the association. Thus, instead of discussing it as a single cause of underreporting sexual violence, I present the Hungarian case to illustrate the consequences of illiberal politics on reporting. Furthermore, utilizing Slovič’s risk‐benefit model, I argue that recent products of illiberal politics such as politicizing “gender” undermine trust, a precondition of asking for help and providing support for victims of sexual violence.
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    Institutional Anomie Theory and Cybercrime-Cybercrime and the American Dream, Now Available Online
    Dearden, Thomas E.; Parti, Katalin; Hawdon, James E. (SAGE, 2021-03-24)
    As the world becomes increasingly connected and interdependent upon technology, crimes are moving online. Research on cybercrime is beginning to test the applicability of traditional criminological theories for understanding crime in this new medium. Using a national sample of 215 self-admitted cybercriminals, we examine Messner and Rosenfeld’s institutional anomie theory. Negative binomial regressions reveal that expressed levels of institutional anomie correlate with increased cybercrime activity. A curvilinear relationship was found, such that low and high levels of institutional anomie lead to higher levels of cybercrime. Our findings reveal how the dark side of the American Dream can lead to online criminality. Specifically, the penetration of, and accommodation to economic values dictated by American capitalism can lead individuals to adopt values such as the fetishism of money that, in turn, affects their online behavior and criminality.
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    The Legal Challenges of Realistic and AI-Driven Child Sexual Abuse Material: Regulatory and Enforcement Perspectives in Europe
    Parti, Katalin; Szabó, Judit (MDPI, 2024-10-30)
    Although the escalation in online child sexual abuse material (CSAM) is not a novel problem, recent digital proliferation has brought about new alarming challenges in addressing the issue. CSAM poses significant risks to children and society in general, the most serious being the long-lasting harmful effects on depicted victims. The already distressing problem is exacerbated by the worldwide appearance and spread of AI-driven or virtual CSAM, as AI offers a fast and increasingly profitable means for the sexual exploitation of children. The paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of current legislative measures focusing the European Union for combating online CSAM. With a particular focus on AI-driven CSAM, we will systematically evaluate the effectiveness and applicability of these regulations in addressing virtual CSAM. The paper will conclude with policy recommendations to address identified gaps in the European legislative framework concerning virtual CSAM.
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    Perspectives of Paid Panel Survey Research in Cybercrime Victimization and Offending: Validity of global online market research sampling and data collection
    Parti, Katalin; Dearden, Thomas E.; Hawdon, James E. (Routledge, 2024-08-27)
    Surveys are common tools for gathering data on myriad topics, including the study of online deviance and cybercrime. Topics such as teen cybervictimization (Wright et al., 2021), differential association and self-control applied to cybercrime (Dearden & Parti, 2021), cyber hatred (Reichelmann & Costello, 2021), cybercrime and institutional anomie theory (Dearden et al., 2021), and cybercrime and COVID (Hawdon et al., 2020; Kemp et al., 2021) have been studied using the non-probability data collected from online panels and tools such as Mechanical Turk. However, the validity of these data is of concern. This chapter considers the validity of using online polling for cybercrime data. First, we compare data from two of the most prominent global data vendors. Next, we use a control question about the 2020 presidential election. This item allows us to consider the validity of both internet-polling services by comparing our online surveys with data from FiveThirtyEight’s “polls-only” and actual election results. Finally, we provide estimates of cybercrime offending and victimization from our data, and we discuss the differences in the estimates from the two samples.