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The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of micro-level place on identity theft victimization. This study uses the 2016 Identity Theft Supplement (ITS) to investigate whether aspects of an individual’s residence affect their likelihood of becoming identity theft victims.

The authors conduct logistic regressions of whether a respondent was an identity theft victim in the past year using the following variables as key predictors: number of housing units in a residence, whether the respondent operates a business out of their residence and if residence access is restricted.

The results suggest that location influences the likelihood of identity theft to a modest degree though some aspects of location (possibly those related to rewards perceptions) may be more relevant than others. Meanwhile, though location may influence initial target selection, whether someone is victimized may be more dependent on factors such as personal behavior.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this manuscript represents one of the first investigations into the relationship between microlevel place and the incidence of identity theft. Furthermore, it provides evidence that one does exist which bears further inquiry.

Scholarship on America’s K-12 economics curriculum reveals an inattention to many harmful economic realities, specifically wealth inequality. Critics of the present curriculum posit that its emphasis on out-dated concepts and models ignores crucial elements of reality that impact economic interaction and identities. In response to the dominant economic paradigm and methods, this practitioner-focused paper discusses an economically pluralist, pedagogically critical approach to interrogating destructive economic realities. It details how three social studies classroom simulations based on the board game Monopoly may be integrated with certain informational texts to explore economic factors that contribute to America’s unique form of wealth inequality.

This paper describes wealth inequality in America and rationalizes the need to make this social problem a focus of study in the secondary social studies classroom. First, I survey the present curricular apparatus of K-12 economics education and then argue for a pluralist approach that expands the curriculum’s dominant neoclassical paradigm. Connecting economic pluralism to critical citizen education, I draw upon emerging critical economic citizen education scholarship to explain attendant pedagogical and instructional approaches. The described lesson builds upon a tradition of Monopoly simulations, is rooted in critical citizen education pedagogy and aligns with Soroko’s (2023) critical economic literacy framework.

This paper progresses the curricular movement of economic pluralism through its critique of America’s current K-12 economics curriculum that does not focus on immediate, lived social problems. It further defines critical economics, citizenship and pedagogy, then details an instructional practice that employs critical disciplinary tools to investigate contributing factors of American wealth inequality.

This paper contributes to the growing field of pluralist economic perspectives and pedagogies. Specifically, it enriches understanding of critical economics citizenship education by further defining attendant pedagogy and explaining Monopoly as an instructional tool for critical economics citizen education. Previous works have discussed Monopoly’s utility for teaching various concepts within the social studies disciplines. This simulation lesson is unique in its instructional approach that merges simulation experiences with certain informational texts to cultivate critical economic knowledge of American wealth inequality and critical economic skills for critiquing and transforming oppressive economic realities.

The purpose is to understand how farmers in rural American communities perceive crime, safety and policing.

An online survey, adapted from a version used in Victoria, Australia (Harkness, 2017), was modified and administered through social media and farming organizations throughout three US states. The survey covers topics relating to crime and victimization, feelings of safety or fear in rural areas, policing practices and trust in police in their areas and any crime prevention practices that respondents use.

With nearly 1,200 respondents and four scales investigated, results indicate that those respondents with more favorable views of law enforcement and the criminal justice system had the highest fear of crime, those who had been prior victims of crime had a higher fear of crime than those who did not, those with higher community involvement had higher fear of crime, and those from Nebraska compared to Colorado had higher fear of crime.

A better understanding of the agricultural community’s perceptions of crime, safety and policing will aid law enforcement in community policing efforts and in farm crime investigation and prevention. Limitations of the study, including the distribution method will be discussed.

Farm- and agriculture-related crimes have serious financial and emotional consequences for producers and local economies. Stereotypes about rural areas being “safe with no crime” are still prevalent. Rural American farmers’ perceptions of crime, safety and police are largely absent from the literature and are important for improving farm crime prevention.

Initiator crimes, also known as near-repeat crimes, occur in places with known risk factors and vulnerabilities based on prior crime-related experiences or information. Consequently, the environment in which initiator crimes occur might be different from more general crime environments. This study aimed to analyse the differences between the environments of initiator crimes and general crimes, confirming the need for predicting initiator crimes.

We compared predictive models using data corresponding to initiator crimes and all residential burglaries without considering repetitive crime patterns as dependent variables. Using random forest and gradient boosting, representative ensemble models and predictive models were compared utilising various environmental factor data. Subsequently, we evaluated the performance of each predictive model to derive feature importance and partial dependence based on a highly predictive model.

By analysing environmental factors affecting overall residential burglary and initiator crimes, we observed notable differences in high-importance variables. Further analysis of the partial dependence of total residential burglary and initiator crimes based on these variables revealed distinct impacts on each crime. Moreover, initiator crimes took place in environments consistent with well-known theories in the field of environmental criminology.

Our findings indicate the possibility that results that do not appear through the existing theft crime prediction method will be identified in the initiator crime prediction model. Emphasising the importance of investigating the environments in which initiator crimes occur, this study underscores the potential of artificial intelligence (AI)-based approaches in creating a safe urban environment. By effectively preventing potential crimes, AI-driven prediction of initiator crimes can significantly contribute to enhancing urban safety.

The purpose of this research paper is to review and synthesize the role of blockchain technology (BCT) in various types of illegal activities, including but not limited to fraud, money laundering, ransomware attacks, firearms, drug tracking, cyberattacks, identity theft and scams.

The authors conducted a review of studies related to illegal activities using blockchain from 2015 to 2023. Next, a thematic review of the literature was performed to see how these illegal activities were conducted using BCT.

Through this study, the authors identify the relevant themes that highlight the major illegal activities performed using BCT, its possible steps for prevention and the opportunities for future developments. Finally, the authors provide suggestions for future research using the theory, context and method framework.

No other research has synthesized the illegal activities using BCT through a thematic approach to the best of the authors’ knowledge. Hence, this study will act as a starting point for future research for academic and technical practitioners in this area.

The purpose of this study is to determine the strategy adopted by small- and medium-scale enterprise (SME) owners in setting up internal control systems, examine the relationship between the numbers of employees’ fraud and strategy adopted in setting up internal control and evaluate the difference between proactive and reactive strategies in employee’s fraud prevention among SMEs.

A survey research approach was adopted to determine whether proactive or reactive strategies were adopted by the SME owners. Specifically, a survey questionnaire was used to gather primary data from selected respondents in Lagos and Oyo States. Descriptive statistics, Spearman correlation and the Mann–Whitney test were used to analyse the primary data.

The study found that most of the SME owners used reactive internal control strategies in setting up their internal control systems after they suffered financial losses occasioned by employees’ fraud. Also, the study found a positive relationship between the number of employees’ fraud and reactive strategy. Finally, the study found a significant difference in the number of employees’ fraud occurrences between proactive and reactive internal control strategies in SMEs.

The study provides further confirmation that where internal control is properly set up and strengthened, a lower number of employee frauds will occur. Thus, giving credence to the fraud theory. The study was, however, conducted in six selected local government areas in two states.

The study provides recommendations on the adoption of a proactive strategy for curbing employees’ fraud at the onset of business operations and not until devastating events of employees’ fraud become a reality.

The study is original, as it focuses on the strategy adopted by SME owners in setting up internal control systems, which is rare in fraud empirical studies, particularly for studies conducted in emerging markets like Nigeria. It provides the need for the sustainability of SMEs as engine of growth and employment through the adoption of appropriate strategies in setting up internal control systems.

The purpose of the study is to identify cybersecurity threats that hinder the adoption of digital banking and provide sustainable strategies to combat cybersecurity risks in the banking industry.

Systematic literature review guidelines were used to conduct a quantitative synthesis of empirical evidence regarding the impact of cybersecurity threats and risks on the adoption of digital banking.

A total of 84 studies were initially examined, and after applying the selection and eligibility criteria for this systematic review, 58 studies were included. These selected articles consistently identified identity theft, malware attacks, phishing and vishing as significant cybersecurity threats that hinder the adoption of digital banking.

With the country’s banking sector being new in this area, this study contributes to the scant literature on cyber security, which is mostly in need due to the myriad breaches that the industry has already suffered thus far.

This paper investigates how companies become resilient to supply chain (SC) piracy through using transactional and relational governance mechanisms to develop strategies effective in environments characterized by weak regulative institutions and mistrust.

This study developed case studies of nine large manufacturers with operations in Brazil.

The companies employed transactional and relational governance mechanisms to learn from past incidents, anticipate, and respond to the threat of SC piracy, becoming more resilient over time. Transactional governance mechanisms reduced risk triggers through technology, while relational governance mechanisms enhanced trust between SC and non-SC members, allowing the members to build social capital.

The authors provide practical guidance for managers and policymakers in developing risk management strategies based on technology and collaboration to reduce SC piracy in environments characterized by mistrust.

SC piracy is a serious problem for global operations and SCs in many low-cost manufacturing locations. Besides the cost and service level consequences, the authors also highlight worker safety consequences, including the potential for kidnapping, psychological trauma, injuries, and death.

This study focuses on the little-researched topic of SC piracy. The authors examine the negative effects of a weak institutional environment, while most prior research focuses on the positive effects of a strong institutional environment. The authors position transactional and relational governance mechanisms as essential elements of SC risk resilience.

Additive manufacturing also known as 3D printing is an evolving advanced manufacturing technology critical for the new era of complex machinery and operating systems. Manufacturing systems are increasingly faced with risk of attacks not only by traditional malicious actors such as hackers and cyber-criminals but also by some competitors and organizations engaged in corporate espionage. This paper aims to elaborate a plausible risk practice of designing and demonstrate a case study for the compromised-based malicious for polymer 3D printing system.

This study assumes conditions when a machine was compromised and evaluates the effect of post compromised attack by studying its effects on tensile dog bone specimens as the printed object. The designed algorithm removed predetermined specific number of layers from the tensile samples. The samples were visually identical in terms of external physical dimensions even after removal of the layers. Samples were examined nondestructively for density. Additionally, destructive uniaxial tensile tests were carried out on the modified samples and compared to the unmodified sample as a control for various mechanical properties. It is worth noting that the current approach was adapted for illustrating the impact of cyber altercations on properties of additively produced parts in a quantitative manner. It concurrently pointed towards the vulnerabilities of advanced manufacturing systems and a need for designing robust mitigation/defense mechanism against the cyber altercations.

Density, Young’s modulus and maximum strength steadily decreased with an increase in the number of missing layers, whereas a no clear trend was observed in the case of % elongation. Post tensile test observations of the sample cross-sections confirmed the successful removal of the layers from the samples by the designed method. As a result, the current work presented a cyber-attack model and its quantitative implications on the mechanical properties of 3D printed objects.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the original work from the team. It is currently not under consideration for publication in any other avenue. The paper provides quantitative approach of realizing impact of cyber intrusions on deteriorated performance of additively manufactured products. It also enlists important intrusion mechanisms relevant to additive manufacturing.

Safety and security (S&S) are critical concerns in South Africa, especially in Cape Town, one of the country’s most crime-ridden cities. The University of Cape Town (UCT), situated on a large, open campus, has experienced increased malefaction. Facilities management (FM) services at universities bear the primary responsibility for providing S&S to their communities. To comprehensively understand and address the community’s demands regarding S&S, the current study was conducted to investigate the challenges specific to open universities. This study aims to determine whether implementing community-based FM (CbFM) principles and using technological innovations could offer a more effective and sustainable solution.

The study adopted interpretivist overarching case study methodology, which is ontologically based. A mixed-method approach was used to incorporate the strengths and limitations of the weaknesses of both methods. The data collection took the form of an online survey of the university community and semi-structured interviews with university executive management to obtain data from the single case study of UCT. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the quantitative data, and thematic analysis was used to identify emergent themes from the qualitative data.

The study presents an overall view of the provision of S&S at UCT, the unique challenges faced by management and the main S&S issues affecting the community. Moreover, the study reveals that UCT has implemented community participation processes in the past with limited success. This is because the strategies implemented constitute a narrow perspective of community participation. Therefore, a much smarter and more inclusive perspective using technological innovation is required for successful community participation to occur and to be successfully used in providing S&S toward achieving future-proofing facilities.

This research has demonstrated the influence of CbFM and innovative technologies on the S&S of the open campus. Hence, future-proof facilities can be achieved when FM actively engages university communities in managing campuses through technological innovation.