From Syndicates to Protocols: Rethinking Organized Crime in the Age of Cybercrime

The resilience of an educational system during wartime is determined by its capacity for rapid adaptive response to exogenous threats, internal structural reconfiguration, and the preservation of equitable access to high-quality education for all stakeholders. Ensuring systemic resilience requires not only legislative and regulatory modifications but also the integration of advanced technological solutions, the implementation of innovative governance frameworks, and the reengineering of the educational ecosystem to sustain operational continuity. This study seeks to identify, critically analyse, and systematically categorise the principal managerial strategies, technological interventions, and policy frameworks that have reinforced the adaptive capacity of Ukraine's education system under wartime conditions. The study further explores the scalability of these resilience-enhancing mechanisms within the context of European Union (EU) educational infrastructures. The analysis concerns key administrative and pedagogical reforms enshrined within legislative and regulatory instruments that have facilitated the systemic stabilisation and operational resilience of Ukraine's education sector. Particular emphasis is placed on the evolution and institutionalisation of digital learning infrastructures, which have become integral to the functional continuity of the educational process at all levels. The study evaluates the deployment of digital information management systems, AI-driven educational analytics, cloud-based e-learning platforms, and dynamic decision-support dashboards developed by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. These digital tools have significantly optimised real-time communication channels, facilitated comprehensive situational monitoring, and enabled data-informed policy formulation within the sector. Furthermore, they have played a pivotal role in the large-scale implementation of distance learning modalities, the preservation and dissemination of Ukrainian-language instructional content for displaced learners, and the adoption of innovative, evidence-based pedagogical methodologies. The study conducts a rigorous assessment of the empirical outcomes of these strategic interventions, with a focus on their implications for educational achievement metrics, institutional stability, and the psychological resilience of students and educators. Additionally, the research systematically identifies and synthesises the resilience deficits within EU educational frameworks, particularly in response to crisis-induced disruptions. The compounded impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the unprecedented influx of refugee students from Syria, Ukraine, and various African regions have exposed critical vulnerabilities in the EU’s educational infrastructure, necessitating comprehensive structural recalibration. Ukraine's extensive experiential knowledge in maintaining educational continuity amidst severe sociopolitical upheaval presents a valuable repository of best practices. This accumulated expertise offers actionable insights for the European academic community, facilitating the development of robust contingency frameworks capable of sustaining inclusive, high-quality education in the face of systemic volatility.

With large social media platforms coming under increasing pressure to deplatform far-right users, the Alternative Technology movement (Alt-Tech) emerged as a new digital support infrastructure for the far right. We conduct a qualitative analysis of the prominent Alt-Tech platform Gab, a social networking service primarily modelled on Twitter, to assess the far-right virtual community on the platform. We find Gab’s technological affordances – including its lack of content moderation, culture of anonymity, microblogging architecture and funding model – have fostered an ideologically eclectic far-right community united by fears of persecution at the hands of ‘Big Tech’. We argue that this points to the emergence of a novel techno-social victimology as an axis of far-right virtual community, wherein shared experiences or fears of being deplatformed facilitate a coalescing of assorted far-right tendencies online.

Increasing pressure on water resources, exacerbated by climate change, calls for sustainable solutions in agriculture. This study analyzes smart irrigation technologies, which combine advanced sensors, automation and real-time data analysis, as key tools to optimize water use. Through a literature review, their main benefits were identified, including the reduction of water consumption by up to 30%, precision in water application according to specific crop needs, and reduced evaporation losses. However, significant barriers remain, such as high upfront costs and reliance on digital infrastructure, which limit adoption, especially among smallholder farmers. Suggested strategies include government incentives, accessible technical training, and promotion of more affordable technologies. In conclusion, smart irrigation technologies not only improve water sustainability and agricultural productivity, but also contribute to global food security. However, their effective implementation requires a comprehensive approach that combines financial, educational and technological support to ensure their accessibility and success in diverse agricultural contexts.

The digital divide, a global issue shaped by disparities in access to information and communication technologies (ICTs), has far-reaching implications for individuals, societies, and economies. This paper explores the roots and impacts of the digital divide, emphasizing the economic, social, and cultural inequalities it perpetuates between developed and developing nations and within different demographic groups. Key areas of concern include the imbalance in digital infrastructure, digital literacy, and affordability, which hinder equitable access to education, employment, and democratic participation. The paper also examines the role of digital hegemony, economic polarization, and the Matthew Effect in widening this gap while highlighting the societal and cultural challenges, such as linguistic and ethnic divides. To address these challenges, the paper proposes strategies focusing on infrastructure development, affordable technology, digital literacy promotion, and robust ICT regulations. Bridging the digital divide offers significant opportunities for fostering socioeconomic development, reducing global inequalities, and enhancing democratic engagement. This study underscores the need for collaborative efforts from governments, private enterprises, and international organizations to create a more inclusive and equitable digital future.

PurposeThe current research aimed to investigate the external enablement role of Digital Infrastructures (DI) in the interplay of entrepreneurial cognitions and innovation.Design/methodology/approachData from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) and Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) were used for analyses. This yielded a sample of 8,601 Generation Z entrepreneurs operating in 25 European countries.FindingsApplying hierarchical moderated regressions showed that socio-cognitive components of an entrepreneurial mindset (self-efficacy, risk propensity, opportunity identification) affect innovation among Generation Z entrepreneurs. More importantly, DI plays an external enablement role in the interplay of cognitions and innovation among Generation Z entrepreneurs.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the socio-cognitive theory of entrepreneurship by integrating an external enablement perspective into the study of cognitions and entrepreneurial outcomes (here, innovation). It contributes to the digital technology perspective of entrepreneurship by connecting the conversation about the socio-cognitive perspective of entrepreneurship regarding the role of cognitions in innovation to the conversation in information systems (IS) regarding technology affordances and constraints. This study extends the application of the external enabler framework to the post-entry stage of entrepreneurial activity and integrates a generational perspective into it.

The interplay between (criminal) organizations and (law enforcement) disruption strategies is critical in criminology and social network analysis. Like legitimate businesses, criminal enterprises thrive by fulfilling specific demands and navigating their unique challenges, including balancing operational visibility and security. This study aims at comprehending criminal networks’ internal dynamics, resilience to law enforcement interventions, and robustness to changes in external conditions. Using a model based on evolutionary game theory, we analyze these networks as collaborative assemblies of roles, considering expected costs, potential benefits, and the certainty of expected outcomes. Here, we show that criminal organizations exhibit strong hysteresis effects, with increased resilience and robustness once established, challenging the effectiveness of traditional law enforcement strategies focused on deterrence through increased punishment. The hysteresis effect defines optimal thresholds for the formation or dissolution of criminal organisation. Our findings indicate that interventions of similar magnitude can lead to vastly different outcomes depending on the existing state of criminality. This result suggests that the relationship between stricter punishment and its deterrent effect on organized crime is complex and sometimes non-linear. Furthermore, we demonstrate that network structure, specifically interconnectedness (link density) and assortativity of specialized skills, significantly influences the formation and stability of criminal organizations, underscoring the importance of considering social connections and the accessibility of roles in combating organized crime. These insights contribute to a deeper understanding of the systemic nature of criminal behavior from an evolutionary perspective and highlight the need for adaptive, strategic approaches in policy-making and law enforcement to disrupt criminal networks effectively.

This research assesses the performance and cyber-resilience of Zimbabwe’s digital tax collection infrastructure, with a focus on the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA)’s e-filing platform, using the Bookmakers and Punters Tax (BPT) as a case study. The aim was to determine the robustness of the system against web threats, value levels of tax authorities' trust and knowledge in issues of taxation in the digital world, and devise actionable recommendations to enhance system security and user engagement. At the core of the investigation were intersectionalities between cybersecurity resilience, taxpayer digital literacy, and trust in government-run digital environments. The study employs the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Trust Theory, and Social Exchange Theory (SET) to conceptualize perceived security, usability, and mutual expectations between citizens and tax authorities as predictors of voluntary compliance and long-term usage of electronic tax systems (Davis, 2021; Rousseau et al., 2020; Cropanzano & Mitchell, 2022). A quantitative research design was employed with a combination of descriptive and inferential designs. Data were gathered through standardized questionnaires filled in by a purposive sample of 100 participants, i.e., gamblers, betting operators, and ZIMRA officials—selected due to their direct and frequent engagement with the BPT e-filing system. They played a critical role in the comprehension of the lived experiences, operational difficulties, and trust relationships at the frontline of digital tax compliance. The questionnaire included closed and open-ended questions, and a 5-point Likert scale was employed to measure perceptions of fairness, security, digital literacy, and trust in institutions. Descriptive statistics provided descriptions of respondent characteristics and patterns of attitudes, whereas inferential techniques, including correlation and regression analysis, explored the interdependencies among cybersecurity awareness, user trust, and system utilization. Results showed that 45% of respondents believed the e-filing system to be secure while 60% had previously been aware of cyberattacks on the tax system. Illiteracy in the contemporary era and doubt about ZIMRA's data protection methods emerged to be key hindrances to system use and compliance. Based on these insights, the study recommends the implementation of an integrated cybersecurity enhancement framework comprising public awareness campaigns, participatory system design, transparent data handling practices, and interactive feedback loops. These strategies are essential for cultivating trust, reducing systemic cyber-vulnerability, and fostering durable compliance in Zimbabwe’s increasingly digital tax environment.

This paper examines the sociodigital experiences of political and religious minorities in contemporary India to understand matters of voice and power, as well as feelings of belonging, identity and citizenship. It builds out from research conducted in New Delhi between February and June 2019 during and after the Indian national elections and focuses on WhatsApp as an everyday space where Hindu nationalism is (re)produced and articulated through memes, forwarded messages, videos and political talk. In the shadow of right-wing nationalisms, it examines how civic and political relationships are being transformed. Drawing on experiences and narratives of political and religious minorities we contend that the ‘digital denizen’ represents a new digital-political subject, one who is increasingly outcaste within a global conjuncture of exclusionary politics, technological affordances and local histories of power and coercion. Digital denizenship represents the regression of citizenship which connects ways of acting and articulating within intimate and digital storytelling infrastructures shaped by the articulation and defence of ‘truth’. We show how being a digital denizen means recognising, anticipating and navigating the oppressive expressive power of exclusionary sociodigital practices in order to quietly resist difference, disorientation, danger and unbelonging in everyday life.

Purpose Despite the increasing importance of digital technology in the global economy, there is a significant gap in understanding its impact in the informal sector of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), which could exacerbate the digital divide, increase marginalisation and expand the skills gap among entrepreneurs in this crucial area. In this paper, the authors investigate the application and implications of digital technology tools in entrepreneurial activities within SSA’s informal sector. Design/methodology/approach The current paper uses a qualitative approach, with open-ended in-depth interviews to explore how entrepreneurs in the informal sector leverage digital technology to scale their businesses and drive social change in underdeveloped contexts. The authors interviewed 60 informal entrepreneurs in Jos, Nigeria. Findings The study reveals that the digital technology, specifically in the forms of social media platforms and digital payment infrastructure, has led to a significant transformation in how informal entrepreneurs conduct their businesses. It has enabled them to enhance customer relationships and promote social and financial inclusion. However, the research identifies limitations, such as issues related to trust that hinder the effective use of digital technology in the informal sector. Additionally, the extent of digital technology utilisation among informal entrepreneurs in Sub-Saharan Africa remains relatively underdeveloped. Research limitations/implications The study contributes to the theoretical framework by extending the technological affordance and constraint theory (TACT) to the informal sector in Sub-Saharan Africa. The findings also have important implications for policymakers and entrepreneurs. Policymakers can develop policies and programs to support micro-entrepreneurs in adopting digital technologies. Entrepreneurs can use the findings to identify opportunities to leverage digital technologies to improve their business operations and reach new customers. Practical implications This study has implications for policymakers and entrepreneurs operating in Sub-Saharan Africa. It provides insights into how digital technology adoption can enhance business operations, foster social change and promote financial inclusion within the informal sector. Policymakers and entrepreneurs can use these insights to develop and implement strategies for the effective integration of digital technology into informal entrepreneurship. Originality/value The novelty of this paper lies in its exploration of the ways in which informal entrepreneurs in Sub-Saharan Africa are adopting digital technology to scale their businesses and drive social change. It underscores the importance of bridging the digital divide in underdeveloped contexts and offers valuable insights into the potential benefits and challenges associated with digital technology adoption in the informal sector. This research serves as a valuable resource for academics, policymakers and entrepreneurs seeking to navigate the intersection of technology and informal entrepreneurship in the context of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionize various aspects of human life, including employment and personal well-being. In rural areas, where women often struggle with economic and social constraints, AI-driven solutions can bridge the gap between traditional gender roles and modern employment opportunities. This paper examines how AI facilitates work-life balance for rural women by enabling flexible job opportunities, automating domestic responsibilities, and providing access to education and healthcare. However, despite its promise, challenges such as digital literacy, infrastructure gaps, and societal norms hinder AI adoption among rural women. Through a comprehensive analysis, this paper presents possible solutions to overcome these barriers, including government initiatives, affordable technology, and digital education. By addressing these issues, AI can be leveraged as a transformative tool for empowering rural women economically and socially, thus enhancing their overall quality of life.

This book considers the interplay between the affordances of technologies, the experiences and processes of technological systems, and the process of learning and adaptation by state actors as part of governance reform in China. It offers detailed studies of specific projects and applications that are automated or quasi-automated in organising and governing social, economic, and cultural lives in the world’s largest techno-authoritarian regime. Written by scholars from six countries across four continents, case studies illustrate new modes of digital governance employed by the Chinese government, as it interacts and collaborates with technology companies, ordinary citizens, and other key stakeholders. They offer new insights on the deployment of automated decision-making in authoritarian governance, and on its application and implementation in real-life scenarios. In a broader sense, the book contributes to global debates about the integration of decision-making technologies in governmental practices.

In the digital era, India's national security has extricably been linked with its cyber security. However, although India has digitalized its governance, economy and daily life on an industrial scale, it has never paid adequate attention to adopt a programme side-by-side to securitize its digitalization plan. Resultantly, not only India's cyber space but also its physical spheres have been exposed and facing constant attacks from its rivals and enemies. India is the single biggest supplier of cyber professionals around the world and successfully leading cyber space across the globe. But India's army of cyber professionals falters when it comes to detect the simplest of cyber crime, which often led to devastating consequences. Cyber security is ensuring secure use of computers, smart phones as well as computer network including internet from security threat – physical or virtual (emphasize mine). There are two types of threat attached with cyber security. First is threat to digital equipment from unauthori...

From ignorance to familiarity: Contextual knowledge and the field researcher

This article employs the concept of sociotechnical imaginaries to examine the broader political ecology of particulate air pollution, especially the connections between novel technoscientific practices of making pollution perceptible and data-driven modes of urban governance. Drawing on ethnographic material from Beijing, a city notorious for its pervasive smog, the article highlights the role of air quality data—such as particulate matter measurements (PM2.5) and air quality indexes (AQI)—not only in informing citizens of the health-threatening air pollution but also in influencing new regimes of visibility and shaping practices of urban citizenship. Through the conceptual lens of sociotechnical imaginaries, the article shows that air quality data, increasingly shared digitally in the form of real-time continuous data streams, are not merely technoscientific indexes, nor are they value-neutral. Rather, their conceptualization is informed by technocractic visions of human-air relations and shaped by digital infrastructures. Learning from Beijing, the article argues that in order to generate an expanded understanding of the life-structuring effects of urban air pollution in the era of data-driven urbanism, political ecology of urban air needs to be considerate of how the numbers, which represent pollution, are conceptualized, amassed, and circulated, as well as what and whom they include or exclude.

‘Smart cities’ has become a hegemonic concept in urban discourses, despite substantial criticism presented by scholarly research and activism. The aim of this research was to understand what happens when one of the big digital corporations enters the field of real estate and land use development and urban planning, how existing institutions respond to this, and how modes of urban governance are affected. Alphabet Inc.’s plans for Toronto’s waterfront provided insights into these questions. Our investigations traced a complex web of place-making practices that involved all levels of government, the general public, and networks of actors throughout the private sector. Methodologically, the discourse was reconstructed with local fieldwork, interviews with key actors, participating in tours and public meetings, and secondary sources. It was found that Alphabet Inc.’s plan to build a world-class digital city contained some lessons for urban studies and urban planning practice. First, Alphabet Inc.’s plans, which unfolded amidst initiatives to expand the knowledge economy, confirmed concerns that the trajectory of neoliberal, market-driven land use and speculation along the waterfront remains unchanged. Second, digital infrastructures are potentially a Trojan Horse. Third, it was seen that municipalities and their modes of urban planning are vulnerable to the political economic manoeuvrings of large corporate power. Fourth, Alphabet Inc. operates as a post-political package driven by a new coalition of politics, where the smart city is sold as a neutral technology. The controversies surrounding the project, however, stirred a civic discourse that might signal a return of the political.