Mobile bullying : investigating the non-technical factors that influence forensic readiness in township schools in South Africa

The increasing use of mobile devices by high school learners has resulted in increased networking activities for learners who take advantage of opportunities presented by mobile technologies. Mobile technology continues to play a key role in facilitating online interactions amongst South African you...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Nembandona, Phillimon
Other Authors: Kyobe, Michael
Format: Dissertation
Language:English
Published: University of Cape Town 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20706
Description
Summary:The increasing use of mobile devices by high school learners has resulted in increased networking activities for learners who take advantage of opportunities presented by mobile technologies. Mobile technology continues to play a key role in facilitating online interactions amongst South African youth, and some learners use mobile technology to enhance their learning capabilities. However, such electronic operations have also presented new risks particularly in the developing countries where online bullying is on the rise and investigations of such incidents or threats are expensive. Mobile bullying and lack of discipline of bullies, for instance, are major concerns in the society at large. To control these incidents, learners and teachers need to know what to do when incidents arise. The process of digital forensic investigation is typically left for those specialising in the field of digital forensics. Those responsible for learner's safety in schools are often faced with situations where they have to perform basic investigations or preserve evidence for incident escalation to the specialists. However, schools often do not prepare themselves well enough for the challenges relating to mobile bullying. They find themselves not knowing where to start or how to preserve evidence. Digital forensic investigations are even more challenging in school settings because of the dynamic nature of these environments. While studies have been conducted in the developed countries, little is still known about how schools in the developing world, for instance South Africa, may handle mobile bullying. Very little is known about how schools in the developing countries may maximise their potential to use digital evidence while minimising the impact resulting from the incident. There is limited guidance on how to be digital forensic ready in schools where teachers, learners, principals, and other role players are not trained well enough to deal with mobile bullying. The objective of this study was to provide insight into factors that enhance the non-technical forensic readiness program in township schools and the ability of teachers to investigate mobile bullying incidents. The study aimed at employing concepts of forensic readiness to ignite schools' ability to prepare for response to mobile bullying incidents and create a digital forensic ready learning environment. The study was conducted in South Africa, Limpopo and North West provinces. Five schools agreed to participate in this study; eighty-two valid responses were obtained from teachers. The study followed mixed methods approach to the theory.