{"id":307,"date":"2026-05-04T21:21:45","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T21:21:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/amanda\/?page_id=307"},"modified":"2026-05-04T23:09:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T23:09:23","slug":"article-reviews","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/amanda\/article-reviews\/","title":{"rendered":"Article Reviews"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Article Review #01: A Study of Pattern of Cybercrime Abuse of Individual Internet Users<br>In Umuahia North LGA, Abia State of South-eastern Nigeria<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Introduction \/ BLUF<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>            The scholarly article in this review was published in the International Journal of<br>Cybersecurity Intelligence and Cybercrime in 2025. It is based on a study conducted via surveys<br>of individual internet users in Umuahia. The authors discovered that there was a lack of research<br>about cybercrime and victimization in south-eastern Nigeria and sought to provide new academic<br>literature on the subject (Nzeakor et al. 2025). This review will highlight the main purpose of the<br>article, which is to identify and analyze the pattern of cybercrime abuse in Umuahia, Nigeria,<br>with the findings showing a higher occurrence of information and communication technology<br>(ICT) gadgets like laptops and phones stolen (19%), fraud (17%) and hacking (15%), than<br>malware attacks.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Relation\/Connection to Social Science Principles<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>            The researchers incorporated some of the principles of social sciences throughout the<br>study. The authors remained objective as they reported the survey results derived from the<br>randomly selected participants. The article highlighted that ethical considerations relating to the<br>principle of ethical neutrality such as confidentiality, safety, voluntary participation, and<br>anonymity were ensured as the survey was conducted, by attaching a cover letter that explained<br>the request for information (Nzeakor et al. 2025). The information reported was based on factual,<br>measurable findings that were verified and checked for scientific accuracy before being analyzed<br>and presented in clear and simple language for the readers. This relates to the principles of<br>empiricism, skepticism and parsimony respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Research Question \/Hypothesis\/ Independent Variable\/Dependent Variable<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>The main research question the article addresses is: What is the incidence or prevalence of cybercrime abuse in Umuahia?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hypotheses 1: \u201cIndividual Internet users are likely to experience more cyber-enabled abuse than cyber dependent abuse\u201d (Nzeakor et al. 2025). <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hypotheses 2: \u201cIndividual internet users are likely to experience more property-based<br>cyber abuse than violent-based cyber abuse\u201d (Nzeakor et al. 2025).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Independent Variable: The individual internet users targeted for the questionnaire were the independent variables examined. The study focused on the behavior and demographics of the sample population.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dependent Variable: The dependent variable examined was the type of cyber abuse victimization reported by the individual internet users. The type of cybercrimes reported and the losses incurred were recorded.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Types of Research Methods used<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>           The study employed mixed methods of research by combining questionnaires and<br>supplemental interviews to collect data. The sample population consisted of individual internet<br>users between the ages of 20 and 70 from among the 223,134 consumers identified by a previous<br>Umuahia population census. Researchers reportedly used random, systemic, probability sampling<br>techniques in several stages to narrow down the selected group to 1056 subjects living in<br>households of 2 or more persons. 924 copies (87%) of the questionnaire were completed and<br>returned for analysis. 18 police officers from Zone 9 Police headquarters in Umuahia were also<br>interviewed for cybercrime report statistics and their experience with cybercrime victims. The<br>voluntary participants completed a two-part questionnaire and introduction that gathered<br>demographic information as well as the data needed for the hypotheses (Nzeakor et al. 2025).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Types of Data Analysis used<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>            The researchers used descriptive and inferential statistics from the Statistical Package for<br>the Social Sciences (SPSS) software to analyze the field data they collected (Nzeakor et al.<br>2025). According to the article, the question indexes were designed to extract information about<br>the prevalence and degree of victimization experienced by the participants. The SPSS software<br>compiled the raw data and assigned numerical scores (1 for yes, 0 for no) and percentages to the<br>answers given. These index scores were then illustrated in tables and charts to explain the results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Connections to other Course Concepts<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>            The study relates to concepts introduced throughout the Cybersecurity and the Social<br>Sciences course. One such concept is Victim Precipitation, where the behavior of victims can<br>contribute to their own victimization. The victims are not blamed for cybercrime, but they may<br>engage in activities that inadvertently place them at risk of victimization. For example, some<br>participants in the study admitted to trusting unknown parties online and giving them sensitive<br>information, resulting in victimization. This also relates to the personality theory concepts of<br>agreeableness of people willing to comply with others easily and openness where individuals<br>were naturally curious and open to trying new things without fore thought. Another course<br>concept found in the article is Research Strategies. Research can be conducted via quantitative<br>(field research); qualitative (Surveys and experiments) or mixed methods. This study effectively<br>used mixed methods as the research strategy to collect the data needed to answer the research<br>question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Connections to the Concerns or contributions of Marginalized Groups<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>            The preliminary questionnaire contained questions about age, household size,<br>employment status and education level. The participants who responded included single and<br>married men and women, various income and education levels, different religions and different<br>age groups. Although the researchers did not specify any parameters other than age limits and<br>geographical location for the study\u2019s participants, one can infer from the findings that cybercrime<br>victimization can affect all members of society that engage in online activities including<br>marginalized groups. Cybercriminals targeting Umuahia may have done so randomly, but their<br>victims were affected differently based on the groups they fell into. For example, individuals<br>living in low-income households may not have had the access to the educational or technological<br>resources that would have protected them from being victimized. They were also likely to be<br>more severely affected by a loss of money or property than others who could afford to maintain<br>the same living standard despite their losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Overall societal contributions of the study\/Conclusion<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>            In conclusion, the study provided the academic community with new and reliable data<br>about the nature and volume of cybercrimes and victimization experienced in the Eastern regions<br>of Nigeria, where no data was previously available. This opened the door for future explorations<br>in that area by cybersecurity analysts and reinforced the connection between cybersecurity and<br>the social sciences. The study contributes positively to society by giving policy makers a<br>snapshot of the types of cybercrime victimization that occurs in that region. The data can be used<br>to educate the population about avoiding online threats and mitigating the risks of future losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Reference<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Nzeakor, O. F., Okafor, R. N. &amp; Nwoke, C. N. (2025). PATTERN OF CYBERCRIME ABUSE<br>OF INDIVIDUAL INTERNET USERS IN NIGERIA. International Journal of<br>Cybersecurity Intelligence &amp; Cybercrime, 8(2), -. DOI: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.52306\/2578<br>3289.1183<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/vc.bridgew.edu\/ijcic\/vol8\/iss2\/5?utm_source=vc.bridgew.edu%2Fijcic%2Fvo\">https:\/\/vc.bridgew.edu\/ijcic\/vol8\/iss2\/5?utm_source=vc.bridgew.edu%2Fijcic%2Fvo<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--nextpage-->\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Article Review #02: University students\u2019 security behavior against email phishing attacks:<br>Insights from the Health Belief Model<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Introduction \/ BLUF<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>            The article discussed the findings of a study that was conducted to examine the<br>relationship between the Health Belief Model (HBM) and cyber security behavior of university<br>students. The context used to test various hypotheses was email phishing attacks. The bottom<br>line up front, based on the results is that \u201cindividuals who perceive phishing attacks as severe,<br>recognize the importance of proactive measures, respond to action cues, and have confidence in<br>their abilities are more likely to engage in security behaviors\u201d (Anderson, K. 2025).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Relation\/Connection to Social Science Principles<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>            The 7 principles of social sciences (determinism, skepticism, empiricism, objectivity,<br>parsimony, relativity and ethical neutrality) govern the way researchers conduct scientific<br>research and determine the validity of findings. Each principle gives a different guideline<br>regarding how data should be collected, hypothesized, verified, interpreted and accepted as<br>scientific facts. The researchers in the article demonstrated ethical neutrality and objectivity<br>when they collected unbiased quantitative survey data in a safe and ethical manner from<br>voluntary participants. They also used the principles of empiricism by using scientifically<br>measurable survey data about security habits to test their hypotheses and parsimony by reporting<br>the data and findings in a clear and simple manner, opting for tables and plain language text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Research Question \/Hypothesis\/ Independent Variable\/Dependent Variable<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>The main research questions the article addresses is: How does the HBM affect the security behavior of individual students when faced with email phishing attacks?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hypothesis: Anderson stated 6 hypotheses derived from the HBM research model where perceived susceptibility to phishing attacks, perceived importance of proactive measures, perceived severity (seriousness and consequences of attacks), self-efficacy (ability to protect oneself) and cues to action (alerts or warnings) will all demonstrate a statistically significant positive correlation with security behavior, while perceived barriers (inconvenience or challenges in security measures) will demonstrate a statistically significant negative correlation with security behavior (2025).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The independent variables studied were the concepts from the HBM model; perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived importance, self-efficacy, cues to action and perceived barriers of the students.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The dependent variable was the behavior of the students examined.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Types of Research Methods used<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>            The research methodology employed in the study was quantitative. Researchers used a<br>close-ended questionnaire based on previous HBM studies. A student cybersecurity awareness<br>survey was administered to volunteer participants in Indonesia, using English \/ Bahasa<br>interpreters. Anderson reported that a sample size of 12 students was used for the pilot<br>questionnaire (10% of the recommended target population). When the survey was revised and<br>finalized, it was administered via QR code to all participants by an in-person teacher (2025). The<br>actual number of participants was 535.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Types of Data Analysis used<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>            The survey data collected was analyzed using various statistic software applications.<br>Participants gave responses based on their demographic information as well as personal<br>experiences with phishing and previous cyber awareness knowledge. The survey was structured<br>with a five point likert scale measuring degrees of agreement from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5<br>(strongly agree) The data was then analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences<br>version 27 (SPSS 27 and the Analysis of Moment Structures version 23 (AMOS 23) (Anderson,<br>2025). The software analyzed the relationship between the responses and the variables in the<br>model to evaluate the hypotheses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Connections to other Course Concepts<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>            This study connects course concepts such as victim precipitation, human error, and<br>personality theory. The victim precipitation concept refers to the victims\u2019 behavior or activities<br>that inadvertently contribute to their susceptibility to phishing attacks. This may include<br>unsecure accounts, lack of cyber awareness or negligence. Studies have shown that human errors<br>account for the highest number of cyber incidents. In the case of this study, erroneous clicking of<br>malware injected links can lead to successful phishing scams. Personality theory describes a<br>situation where a student\u2019s personality traits like agreeableness can lead to them giving out<br>sensitive information to seemingly trustworthy parties or conscientiousness which makes them<br>more careful and competent, reducing the likelihood of victimization. The study reinforced these<br>concepts, highlighting the fact that more cyber aware students were less susceptible to the<br>attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Connections to the Concerns or Contributions of Marginalized Groups<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>            The study did not address any marginalized groups per se, but the findings can apply to<br>groups such as impoverished communities and rural populations who may not have access to<br>cyber awareness training. These groups, without proper education, may be unaware of the threats<br>present in phishing scams and therefore may not use preventative security habits. They are also faced with underfunded and under equipped law enforcement As a result, marginalized communities are often targeted by cyber criminals as easy targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Overall Societal Contributions of the Study\/Conclusion<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>            In conclusion, the study helped to highlight the psychological factors in cybersecurity and<br>the importance of the social sciences when developing a human-centered approach to phishing<br>attack mitigation. The results of study accepted 4 of the 6 hypotheses. There was a positive<br>statistical significance in the correlation between security behavior and perceived importance,<br>perceived severity, cues to action and self-efficacy, but a negative correlation between perceived<br>susceptibility and barriers, and security behaviors (Anderson, 2025). What this means for society<br>is that by training citizens to recognize the potential severity of phishing attacks, the importance<br>of safety measures, the need to follow action cues like warnings, and build confidence in<br>themselves, we can improve their security habits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Reference<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Anderson Kevin Gwenhure, University students&#8217; security behavior against email phishing<br>attacks: insights from the health belief model, Journal of Cybersecurity, Volume 11,<br>Issue 1, 2025, tyaf034, <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/cybsec\/tyaf034\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/cybsec\/tyaf034<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Article Review #01: A Study of Pattern of Cybercrime Abuse of Individual Internet UsersIn Umuahia North LGA, Abia State of South-eastern Nigeria. Introduction \/ BLUF The scholarly article in this review was published in the International Journal ofCybersecurity Intelligence and Cybercrime in 2025. It is based on a study conducted via surveysof individual internet users&#8230; <\/p>\n<div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/amanda\/article-reviews\/\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":31529,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/amanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/307"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/amanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/amanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/amanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31529"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/amanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=307"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/amanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":310,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/amanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/307\/revisions\/310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/amanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}