Projektijuhtimine: Kodutöö 2

Locamotion projekti WBS (Work Breakdown Structure).

WBS on projekti kohta aktuaalsem, kuna tegelik ajagraafik saab olema tugevalt mõjutatud meeskonna ajast ning õppetööga seotud võimalustest.

Kodutöö autorid on Kristo Vaher ja Kairi Fimberg. Kogu info ja failid leiab Kristo blogist.

Task 6: Operationalising interactivity (article 2)

New Interactive Environments

Article summary

Kiousis, S. (2002). Interactivity: A Concept Explication.

As we read from the previous article by Jens F. Jensen, the meaning of interactivity has been relatively unclear ever since the word appeared in daily use with the rise of new media and communication technologies. The purpose of the project carried out by Spiro K. Kiousis, a professor at the University of Florida, is to engender a detailed explication of interactivity that could bring some consensus to how the concept should be theoretically and operationally defined.

Following Chaffee's framework for concept explication, the following steps were executed to complete the project: (1) provide a general background of interactivity; (2) survey relevant literature on the concept; (3) identify the concept's central operational properties; (4) locate present definitions of the concept; (5) evaluate and modify those definitions; (6) propose a conceptual definition; (7) propose an operational definition; and (8) discuss the implications on future research of the arrived-at definition.

Kiousis uses two dimensions to arrange the various conceptual definitions and cogent aspects of interactivity discussions from the fields of communication, sociology, psychology, and computer/science design: the object emphasized by scholars (technology, communication setting, perceiver), and the intellectual perspective from which the definition originates (comminication and non-communication). He organizes the different authors visually in a table and uses it as a reference for the remainder of his project.

According to Kiousis' modified definition, interactivity can be defined as the degree to which a communication technology can create a mediated environment in which participants can communicate (one-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many), both synchronously and asynchronously, and participate in reciprocal message exchanges (third-order dependency). With regard to human users, it additionally refers to their ability to perceive the experience as a simulation of interpersonal communication and increase their awareness of telepresence.

Operationally, interactivity is established by three factors: technological structure of the media used (e.g. speed, range, timing flexibility, and sensory complexity), characteristics of communication settings (e.g. third-order dependency and social presence), and individuals' perceptions (e.g. proximity, perceived speed, sensory activation, and telepresence). Operational measures are needed to examine each of these factors. Once the data is collected, it is transformed, producing technological, communication context, and perceived interactivity scores. Subsequently, an overall interactivity score can be manufactured.

On the whole, the operational definition offered not only describes the essence of the theoretical definition of interactivity, but may also help broaden the concept's boundaries. In comparison to previous versions, the interactivity definition provided by Kiousis is expansive, permitting analyses across media and individuals. Interactivity is understood as both a media and psychological factor that varies across communication technologies, communication contexts, and people's perceptions.

Inevitably, interactivity still remains a controversial concept.

Task 5: From interaction to interactivity, from sociology to informatics (article 1)

New Interactive Environments

What is interactivity?

In computer science, interactive refers to software which accepts and responds to input from humans; for example, data or commands. By comparison, noninteractive programs operate without human contact; examples of these include compilers and batch processing applications.

Interactivity is seen as a key association with new media as it basically sets apart the 'old' and new medias. Old media could only offer a sit-back type interaction, whereas new media is much more engaging to their audiences. Technologies such as DVDs and digital TV are classic examples of interactive media devices, where a user can control what they watch and when. However, the Internet has become the prime model of an interactive system. Users can become fully immersed in their experiences by viewing material, commenting on it and then actively contributing to it.

Designers have often wondered about the secret ingredient to make a website appealing. The combination of design and functionality is something every designer wishes to implement in a site. Many successful websites have one main secret ingredient, not every designer is aware about. That element is website interactivity.

Some examples of great interactivity websites
Left: Starbucks Coffee at Home. Right: Square Circle (Creative Agency)

Literature review

Jensen, J.F. (1998). Interactivity: Tracking a New Concept in Media and Communication Studies.

When Jensen wrote his review on interactivity as a new concept in media and communications studies in 1998, the term 'interactivity' (along with 'multimedia', 'hypermedia', 'media convergence', 'digitization', 'information superhighway', etc), was presumably among the words surrounded by the greatest amount of hype. At the same time, it seemed relatively unclear just what 'interactivity' and 'interactive media' meant, which made it one of the media community's most used buzzwords – to the extent where the meaning was watered down in daily usage.

However, one thing was sure. The concept appeared loaded with positive connotations along the lines of high tech, technological advancement, hypermodernity and futurism, along the lines of individual freedom of choice, personal development, self determination – and even along the lines of folksy popularization, grassroots democracy, and political independence.

Jensen made an attempt to track the concept of 'interactivity' and to suggest a new definition for the much-hyped but underdefined phenomenon, trying to overcome the blind spot at a time when most of the media handbooks remained silent on it. Referring to the matrix with four principally different communication patterns (transmission, consultation, conversation, registration), developed by Bordewijk and Kaam in 1986, Jensen came to a conclusion that the new media could hardly be described using traditional one way communication models and terminology. After a long, at some point confusing, analysis over the meaning of the concept of 'interactivity' in three main academic fields (sociology, communication studies and informatics), followed by 1- to n-dimensional models of the same concept from a number of different authors, he returned to the above mentioned matrix to build his suggestion on it.

According to Jensen, there appears to be a particular difference in interactivity which consists of a choice from a selection of available information content, interactivity which consists of producing information via input to a system, and interactivity which consists of the system's ability to adapt and respond to a user. Based on the four patterns, he suggested different – mutually independent – dimensions of interactivity and defined it as a measure of a media's potential ability to let the user exert an influence on the content and/or form of the mediated communication. Since consultational and transmissional interactivity both concern the availability of choice (respectively with and without a request) it is possible to represent them within the same dimension of selective interactivity. The four types of interactivity (transmissional, consultational, conversational and registrational) can then be presented in a 3-dimensional graphic model – an 'interactivity cube' with results in 12 different types of interactive media. Jensen admitted it was not a complete resolution, in the sense of finding the ultimate definition for 'interactivity', yet he had made a contribution toward a hopefully greater understanding of the meaning of 'interactivity'.

A dozen years later, we have, with one accord, agreed that interactive power of computer and communications technology, computer-enabled consumer devices (the possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community formation) and most importantly the Internet (which is why we talk a lot about website interactivity) forms the core of new media. In fact, this is what distinguishes new media from traditional media – the dynamic life of the content and its interactive relationship with the consumer. This dynamic life moves, breathes and flows with pulsing excitement in real time, which makes new media (and therefore also interactivity) a concept hard to track. What was new yesterday, or today, won't be new tomorrow.

Life lessons from exciting film on Facebook founder & world's youngest billionaire Mark Zuckerberg

An article by Wilson Lee Flores

Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally. - David Frost

Life is nothing without friendship. - Marcus Tullius Cicero

Instead of indicating that you "like", will "accept" and "friend" the Hollywood film The Social Network, the author of this article urges you to turn off your Facebook and your computer, go to the cinema and watch this surprisingly excellent, well-crafted, funny, witty and immensely entertaining movie about the enigmatic founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg.

Here are some life lessons learned from this movie:

• People yearn for true friendships.
• Dream big and think long-term.
• Ideas change the world.
• Invest wisely.
• Be "cool".
• Be kind to all, never underestimate anyone.
• Keep your friends close but your enemies closer.
• Have passion!
• No matter who we are or become, don't be an a-hole!

Zuckerberg is incredibly smart, driven, hardworking, wily and eventually successful, yet his weaknesses, as shown in this movie at least, his often being too self-centered and lacking a balanced life. His remarkable success and personal pathos should be a reminder to those among us who may have forgotten the correct priorities in life.

Read the full article here.

Five Ways the iPad Will Improve Teaching

By Steve Goldenberg (Interfolio) – Apr 22, 2010

As an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown's McDonough School of Business and the CEO of Interfolio, I know that there’s nothing worse than teaching a class or presenting an initiative than looking out to see not one set of eyes looking back at you; everyone is staring blankly at their laptop screen. As if this wasn't annoying enough, Apple recently introduced a new product that is destined to end up in the hands of many students: the iPad.

If you're afraid that this new product is going to make a bad situation even worse, I'd like to offer some comfort. I believe it will be a boon to student learning and engagement and it will even help us all teach better. Here are five ways that the iPad is going to improve teaching:

It's active, not passive. Unlike a laptop, where you passively scroll through content, the iPad forces you into an active modality that feels much more engaging. For example, when browsing a web page, most people scroll with a mouse wheel to move down the page – a simple, single-finger movement. With the iPad, you "pinch", "flick", and "tap" your way to consume the information and connect more interactively with the content. Try it and you'll see what I mean.

It's a lot like paper. The new technology of the iPad was designed with an old technology in mind; paper. The screen has a ratio of 4:3, almost exactly like regular paper (US Letter size, anyway). This means that the content looks very much like it's on the printed page.

It's full of sensors. The iPad is filled with wonderful electronic sensors that will power some fascinating learning tools as developers build them. The tilt sensor would let a student "pour" chemicals in a chemistry class, for example. Some developes re-created Lewis Carrol's Alice in Wonderland for the iPad in a way that truly underlines the value of the device for younger learners as well. It really is breathtaking and this video shows why.

It's single minded. On the iPad, any application you run takes over the full screen. So, when you launch your note-taking app for class it's the ONLY thing you see. It improves focus and makes it more difficult for our easily-distractable students and employees to browse away to Facebook.

The angle is better. Because of its design, the best way to use an iPad is flat on a table or tilted up at a slight angle, similarly to how you might prop up a book. This eliminates the physical and visual barrier that most laptops create between the students and teacher.

So, once your classroom or conference room is full of iPads, you will have a new challenge to overcome – eyes staring blankly at you instead of at the screen. Regardless of what we manage to come up with, I believe the iPad will provide an exciting new way to learn.

iPad tuleb ja õppimine võib hakata lastele meeldima!

Heidit Kaio (EE) – 22. oktoober 2010

Riigi raha eest koolilaste õpikute asendamine tahvelarvutitega muudaks õppimise lastele huvitavaks ja koolikotid kergeks.

Teisipäeva hommikul kaalus mu neljanda klassi tüdruku õpikute ja töövihikute pakk 1,8 kilo. Mulle meeldib mõte, et ta oleks oma kotti pannud hoopis 600 grammi kaaluva tahvelarvuti. Koolis avaneksid sellest talle vajalikud raamatud.

Kujutan ette tulevast keemiaõpikut ja seal Mendelejevi tabelit. Näpupuudutusega avaneb ekraanil pilt voolavast elavhõbedast, kõrval arvandmed. Liigutades näppu ekraanil nagu dirigent keppi, saab kullakamakat uurida eest ja tagant. Juttu võib kuulata kõrvaklappides või ise lugeda, olulisemaid kohti arvutis alla kriipsutada ning lisada märkmeid. Tekstile lisatud videoklipilt saab vaadata keemiakatseid. Sealsamas on ka ülesanded, mis tuleb lahendada otse tahvelarvutis. Siin on raamat ja töövihik üheskoos, vajalik on vaid ühendus internetiga.

See jutt pole ulme, vaid tänane päev – sellised tahvelarvutid on poes müügil 10 000 krooni eest, raamatud on veel ingliskeelsed. Esialgu on tahvelarvutid kallid, kooliõpikutena võiksid nad olla mõeldavad 2000- või 3000kroonistena. Siis pole ka hirmu, et vargad lapsi vidina pärast ründaksid.

Loe lähemalt.

Week 6: Ethics and Law in New Media

October 18-24

Topic 11: From Hacktivism to Cyberwar

Find and blog about an illustrative case of hacktivism.

What is hacktivism?

If hacking "as illegally breaking into computers" is assumed, then hacktivism could be defined as "the nonviolent use of illegal or legally ambiguous digital tools in pursuit of political ends. These tools include web site defacements, redirects, denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, information theft, web site parodies, virtual sit-ins, virtual sabotage, and software development. It is often understood as the writing of code to promote political ideology - promoting expressive politics, free speech, human rights, or information ethics. Hacktivism is a controversial term, and can often be misconstrued as cyberterrorism. What separates hacktivism from cyberterrorism is a distinctly political or social cause behind the "haction".

TheHacktivist.com: What is hacktivism?

An illustrative case of hacktivism on the almighty Echelon

Hacktivists attempted to disrupt Echelon (the international electronic communications surveillance network we learnt about in a previous lecture) by holding "Jam Echelon Day" (JED) on October 21, 1999. On the day, hacktivists attached large keyword lists to many messages, taking advantage of listservers and newsgroups to spread their keywords further. The idea was to give the Echelon computers so many "hits" they overloaded. It is not known whether JED was successful in actually jamming Echelon, although NSA computers were reported to have crashed "inexplicably" in early March, 2000. A second Jam Echelon Day (JEDII) was held in October 2000, however the idea never regained its initial popularity. JED was partly denial-of-service attack and partly agitprop.

Some recent hactions of hacktivism

On August 1, 2009. The Melbourne International Film Festival was forced to shut down its website after DDoS attacks by Chinese vigilantes, in response to Rebiya Kadeer's planned guest appearance, the screening of a film about her which is deemed "anti-China" by Chinese state media, and strong sentiments following the July 2009 Ürümqi riots. The hackers booked out all film sessions on its website, and replaced festival information with the Chinese flag and anti-Kadeer slogans.

On February 10, 2010. Anonymous DDoS-attacked Australian government websites against the Australian governments attempt to filter the Internet.

On July 23, 2010. European Climate Exchange's website was targeted by hacktivists operating under the name of decocidio #ϴ. The website showed a spoof homepage for around 22 hours in an effort to promote the contention that carbon trading is a false solution to the climate crisis.

Topic 12: Social Engineering in Social Networks

Blog about a good case of social engineering. Formulate some measures which can reduce the effectiveness of social engineering attempts.

What is social engineering?

Social engineering is the act of manipulating people into performing actions or divulging confidential information, rather than by breaking in or using technical cracking techniques; essentially a fancier, more technical way of lying. While similar to a confidence trick or simple fraud, the term typically applies to trickery or deception for the purpose of information gathering, fraud, or computer system access; in most cases the attacker never comes face-to-face with the victim.

The best way to obtain information in a social engineering attack is just to be friendly

One morning, a stranger walked into a Swiss Bank and walked out later having access to the entire corporate network. How was it done? By obtaining small amounts of information, bit by bit, from a number of different employees. First, he did research about the company for two days before even attempting to set foot on the premises. For example, he learned key employees' names by calling HR. Next, at the front-door he pretended to service the companies Lexmark printers, and the front-desk allowed him to access the building. When entering the third floor secured area, he had "lost" his identity badge, smiled, and a friendly employee opened the door. Once at the Lexmark printer, a wireless access point was placed on the local network. Thus, leaving the internal network to be accessed from the street, where some more criminals were waiting to gain access to the internal network. From there, they used common network hacking tools to elevate privileges and to gain super-user access on critical system.

E-mail can also be used for more direct means of gaining access to a system. For instance, mail attachments sent from someone of authenticity can carry viruses, worms and Trojan horses. A good example of this is the AOL hack. In that case, the attacker called AOL's tech support and spoke with the support person for an hour. During the conversation, the attacker mentioned that his car was for sale cheaply. The tech supporter was interested, so the attacker sent an e-mail attachment with a picture of the car. Instead of a car photo, the mail executed an exploit that created a backdoor connection out from AOL through the firewall. This allowed the attacker to remote control its victim.

Education is the only defense against social engineering attacks. Employees need to be educated about what a social engineering is and what to do if they are in certain situations.

Creating and maintaining a security-aware culture

Social engineering attacks are personal. Hackers understand that employees are often the weakest link in a security system - they are susceptible to trickery, and their varied responses can give attackers many opportunities for success. One of the greatest dangers of social engineering is that the attacks need not work against everyone. A single successful victim can provide enough information to trigger an attack that will affect an entire organization. Creating a security-aware culture requires the commitment of the executive staff, the involvement of all employees, and effective security policies and procedures for everyone tied to the organization, including vendors and partners.

Top-down security culture. Executive commitment is vital to a security-aware culture. When security awareness is emphasized by the top levels of management, employees are more likely to view security as a business enabler instead of a hindrance to productivity. An executive staff that takes the initiative to be informed and involved in security issues, rather than off-loading responsibility to a security team, will encourage a security culture that is collaborative, structured, and ingrained throughout the organization's processes and people.

Security-awareness training. Most employees do not cause security problems intentionally. Accessing unsecure websites, deploying unauthorized wireless access points, or falling victim to social-engineering ploys are common employee actions that result in security breaches. The best way to avoid unintentional security problems is to provide all employees with regular security-awareness training. This training must inform employees of new threats and refresh their understanding of how to identify and avoid social-engineering attacks. An annual seminar or occasional memo is not an effective approach; organizations must treat security-awareness training as a normal, enduring aspect of employment.

With proper training, every employee should understand the company's physical security measures, know how to handle and protect confidential data, and be able to recognize and respond appropriately to social-engineering attempts. Employees in higher risk positions for social-engineering attacks, such as help-desk staff and network administrators, may benefit from specialized training. An ongoing risk assessment that tests the resistance of employees to social-engineering attempts and techniques can help assess the validity of the training program and further raise security awareness.

Emma Loves Pink: The first Estonian e-book for children

Many of us probably haven't heard, but the first Estonian e-book for children has already been published. That happened soon after iPad came out in April 2010. The i-version of the book from the award-winning Estonian artist Piret Raud was published in cooperation with WingedChariot Press on 25 May 2010. The lovely app of a little hare is available for iPhone, iPod and iPad in Estonian, English and Japanese.

WingedChariot is a young British publisher of picturebooks and a pioneer in digital development of stories and pictures on various touchscreen handheld devices.

A charming story with stickers to play with

Welcome to Emma's fantasy world of pink. Join the adorable little hare as she takes you through an imaginative and comic catalogue of her favourite colour.



First review

I have twin girls who are almost four. The book is utterly charming and the young narrator is adorable and lovely. Keep up the good work.

Survey: Children like e-books, parents not so much

By Hillel Italie (AP) – Sep 28, 2010

NEW YORK – Children are ready to try e-books, with some thinking that a bigger selection of electronic texts would make reading for fun even more fun, according to a new study. But a solid majority of parents aren't planning to join the digital revolution.

The 2010 Kids and Family Reading Report, released Wednesday and commissioned by Scholastic Inc., offers a mixed portrait of e-books and families. Around six out of 10 of those between ages 9 and 17 say they're interested in reading on an electronic device such as the Kindle or the iPad. Around one out of three from the same age group say they'd read more "for fun" if more books were available on a digital reader.

Among the books that can't be downloaded: the "Harry Potter" series, published in the U.S. by Scholastic. J.K. Rowling has said she prefers her work to be read on paper.

The e-market has grown rapidly since 2007 and the launch of Amazon.com's Kindle device, from less than 1 percent of overall sales to between 5 to 10 percent, publishers say. But the new report is also the latest to show substantial resistance. Just 6 percent of parents surveyed have an electronic reading device, while 76 percent say they have no plans to buy one. Sixteen percent plan to have one within the following year.

In a recent Harris Poll of adults, 80 percent said they were not likely to get an e-reader.

"I'm not surprised to know that. I think we're still at the beginning of e-books," said Scholastic Book Club president Judy Newman, adding that the expense of digital devices was a likely problem for potential e-book fans.

The 2010 report shows, as other studies have, a decline in reading for fun as children grow older. More than half read for fun between ages 6 and 8, but the percentage drops to around 25 percent by ages 15 through 17 and just 20 percent for boys in that age group. Newman sees technology as both a problem and possible solution.

"We know that around age 8 children start to lose interest in reading," Newman says. "Obviously, digital media is competing for kids' attention. It's very important that we as publishers make sure we're engaging kids in reading for fun. There's an opportunity to use technology to engage kids. We can have great content presented in a digital way."

The Kids and Family report was compiled by the Harrison Group, a marketing and research consulting firm. The survey was conducted in the spring of 2010, with 1,045 children and 1,045 parents interviewed. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

The 2010 Kids and Family Reading Report

One in four children has read an eBook...

% of kids who have read a book on each device

Desktop computer 17%
Laptop computer or netbook 13%
Handheld device like an iPod Touch, PSP, cell phone, Nintendo DS, etc 8%
Electronic device made just for reading digital eBooks (like a Kindle, Nook, or Sony Reader) 7%
Apple iPad 3%

...and many more are interested in doing so.

% of kids (age 9–17) who are interested in reading a book on each device

Electronic device made just for reading digital eBooks (like a Kindle, Nook, or Sony Reader) 38%
Apple iPad 36%
Handheld device like an iPod Touch, PSP, cell phone, Nintendo DS, etc 34%
Laptop computer or netbook 32%
Desktop computer 30%

Highlighting unique and innovative educational uses of Apple's iPad

Browsing the web, I came across a WordPress site iPad in Schools. Michael Kaufman set up a blog to profile and highlight the use of Apple's iPad in schools. He plans on writing reviews of applications, showing the iPad in use, and feature unique and innovative educational experiences using the iPad.

Week 5: Ethics and Law in New Media

October 11-17

Topic 9: The Hacker Ethic in a Networked World

Browse The Jargon File. Write a small blog entry about a term/definition which was the most intriguing for you. Write a short analysis about the hacker ethic found in today's world (is it there or not, how much of it, etc).

It comes with no surprise, because this is what The File is all about, but the definition of hacker is what I found important to further explicate here. Contrary to the mainstream media use of hacker (someone who uses programming skills to gain illegal access to a computer network or file, or a programmer who breaks into computer systems in order to steal or change or destroy information as a form of cyber-terrorism – TheFreeDictionary), the term hacker originally and authentically means someone who is proficient at using or programming a computer, who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and how to stretch their capabilities, as opposed to most users, who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary. They program enthusiastically (even obsessively) or simply enjoy programming rather than just theorizing about programming. The correct term for the malicious hacker described above is cracker. True hackers subscribe to a code of ethics, known as hacker ethic, and look down upon crackers. However, the code empowers "ethical" cracking. It may be one of the highest forms of hackerly courtesy to (a) break into a system, and then (b) explain to the sysop, preferably by email from a superuser account, exactly how it was done and how the hole can be plugged.

Almost all hackers are actively willing to share technical tricks, software, and (where possible) computing resources with other hackers. Huge cooperative networks such as Usenet, FidoNet and the Internet itself can function without central control because of this trait; they both rely on and reinforce a sense of community that may be hackerdom's most valuable intangible asset. True hacker ethic is essential in today's networked society to promote freedom of word and thought and resist censorship. As we learnt in previous lectures, if we pass a law that regulates information production too strictly, then we will have not only too little consumption of information today, but also too little production of new information for tomorrow (Yochai Benkler). Hacker money ethic says that hackers tend to view money as a means to something more valuable, not as a value per se. Many central things of today's infrastructure would have been impossible without it. The same applies to the future, the spread of technology can best continue with the best practice of hacker ethic. Though the values of hacker ethic have changed or evolved in time (as described in Himanen's book "The Hacker Ethic"), the code still exists and determines the hacker culture. Stephen Wozniak or "Woz" (famous for being the "other Steve" of Apple), Timothy Berners-Lee (credited with inventing the World Wide Web) and Linus Torvalds (best known for having initiated the development of the FOSS Linux kernel) are some excellent examples of ethical hackers (or white hats) in today's world.

I also enjoyed browsing the infamous Crunchly cartoons woven into The Jargon Lexicon. Some examples: an early space-cadet keyboard and a really serious case of drop-outs :)



Things hackers detest and avoid

All the works of Microsoft. Smurfs, Ewoks, and other forms of offensive cuteness. Bureaucracies. Stupid people. Easy listening music. Television (with occasional exceptions for cartoons, movies, and good SF like Star Trek classic or Babylon 5). Business suits. Dishonesty. Incompetence. Boredom. COBOL. BASIC. Character-based menu interfaces.

Topic 10: Different People, Digital World

Choose a minority group and describe how they can make use of Internet to reduce alienation and prejudice.

In the early days of the Internet, it was men that dominated the online landscape. Now women are driving a solid majority of Internet usage, being, however, still a minority group in the IT industry. Siobhan Chapman, nicknamed MicroChick, writes on Computerworld UK how women are shaping the web. Women, who make up less than half of the global online population, spend more time online and their behaviour varies wildly from men, especially when it comes to the social web.

Women engage in a host of social activities on the web, such as photo-sharing, gaming, video viewing and instant messaging. According to comScore recent global report on women's online usage, women spend 30% more time on social networking sites than men. They are more likely to use the Internet to stay in touch with friends, and spend an average of 16.3% of their online time per month on social networks. Women are also the primary drivers of online and group buying. "There is perhaps a misconception that women prefer to do more of their shopping in-store while men prefer the instant gratification of online shopping, but in fact that's simply not the case," concedes comScore analyst Andrew Lipsman. Furthermore, health sites show some of the largest overall differences in reach between female and male, with a nearly 6-point gap between global women and men.

Chapman admits the report struck a chord for her. "When my boyfriend goes online, he spends his time looking at football fixtures and the news. I'm more likely to look at fashion and cooking blogs, and fashion social networking sites like Lookbook.nu. The whole social aspect of the web is very attractive to me." There were some findings that raised her eyebrow though. The traditional view is that men are more likely to use the Internet for online titillation. However, comScore reveals online gambling and adult content websites are no longer the exclusive territory of men.

Talking about alienation and prejudice, how can women find help on the Internet? Minorities find ways to live their cultures online, they use it to discuss these cultures, to critique them and to pass their knowledge along to diaspora members hundreds of miles away. For example, The Pink Chaddi Campaign started to raise awareness of and protest the public sexual harassment of women in India. The site gained international press, and received messages of support from people of Indian origin, especially women, around the world. Minorities also use the Internet to find love. BharatMatrimony is one of the world's most successful matrimony portals (recognised as the Best Matrimony Website 2007 by PC WORLD), where Diaspora Indians and Indian nationals find husbands and wives practising the same culture. It is unashamed in its promotion of sharing a culture as a factor in a happy and successful marriage, something many of its users firmly believe. Sepiamutiny is another site, where mostly second-generation Indian Americans discuss their diverse cultural experiences, but also where Indian Diaspora members from across the world visit.

Social networking brings a whole new angle to this cultural dominance online as sites like Facebook offer users the tools to build 'mini-sites' on whatever cultural grouping they choose, reflecting their view of the world. "Lauded as a tool for social mobilisation, the web now offers affluent minorities space to air their views on their own terms, in their own voices. And in doing so is shattering stereotypes – the lascivious Latina is replaced with the intellectual Hispanic American, the demure Indian woman with an outspoken feminist, who has a penchant for channeling Steve Biko," writes Aneshree Naidoo on Memeburn, a website with a particular interest in technology trends in emerging markets.

Related news

Topics we've discussed. A news related to minority groups, cyberbullying and a network of support.

Facebook Forms "Network of Support" to Combat Anti-LGBT Cyberbullying

By Ben Parr (Mashable) – Oct 20, 2010

In order to combat anti-LGBT bullying, Facebook has announced that it is teaming up with MTV, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and others to form a "Network of Support" for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender teens.

The initiative is a follow-up to last week's partnership between Facebook and GLAAD, but goes several steps further by providing LGBT teens and their parents with information, resources and support to combat cyberbullying. The goal is for this "Network of Support" to help address issues the LGBT community faces in the online world. Read more »

One Laptop per Child (OLPC)

Last week I heard about the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) program which aims "to create educational opportunities for the world's poorest children by providing each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop with content and software designed for collaborative, joyful, self-empowered learning." Unless you already know about it, here's a short overview of the non-profit project led by Nicholas Negroponte, a Greek-American architect.

The OLPC laptops, known as the "$100 Laptop" or "Children's Machine", are sold to governments, to be distributed through the ministries of education with the goal of distributing "one laptop per child". The laptops are given to students, similar to school uniforms, and ultimately remain the property of the child. The operating system and software is localized to the languages of the participating countries.

When the laptop started mass production in November 2007, the unit price was estimated to be $188 when bought by thousand units. At the same time, the laptop was made available under the "Give 1 Get 1" program at $199 for a single unit, or $399 for 2 units.

In October 2007, Uruguay placed an order for 100,000 laptops. Since then, 200,000 more laptops have been ordered to cover all public school children between 6 and 12 years old. The country reportedly became the first in the world where every primary school child received a free laptop on 13 October 2009 as part of the Plan Ceibal (Education Connect). The South Pacific island nation of Niue also claimed this in August 2008. However, the total number of laptops ordered by now is the biggest in Peru (550,000 laptops, most recently ordered in March 2010).

Other participants in the project include for example Mexico, Haiti, Rwanda, Ghana, Afghanistan and Mongolia. A number of other countries are participting in pilot projects (from a few dozen to a few hundred laptops), including Mozambique, Madagascar, Nicaragua, Nepal, India, and many others.

Task 3: Comparison of descriptions of creating a study plan

New Interactive Environments

Take the descriptions of (at least) 5 other participants and look for similarities and differences.

1. What elements, components, etc have been used by others to describe their activity?
2. What level of detail?
3. What structural aspects are showing up in their descriptions/visualizations?
4. What is missing?
5. What are pros and cons of the different approaches?

I picked out and analyzed the following study plans: Kersti, Kerstin, Kristo, Mehrnoosh, and Rasa.

To start with, I noticed that most of my coursemates (at least the ones I looked into) have used concept maps to describe their activity of creating a study plan. We have been introduced to this graphical tool at another course and it seems to be received with open arms. Concept maps are both easy to read and to draw, saving us from pages of written text.

So, what are the similarities and differences I was able to perceive in those boxes and circles, connected with labeled arrows and linking phrases, such as "includes", "consists of", "results in", "contributes to", etc? The process of creating a study plan can't obviously vary too much in detail as most of us are in a similar situation of combining work and study and we are all IMKE students (same courses, same tasks, same tools). Even the same timetable, squeezed into a Google Calendar that we have all found very useful.

All the above mentioned maps show the differentiation of curriculum into general subjects, major subjects and free electives. However, Kristo was the only one to point out that he is also preparing for Master Thesis, while the others included it as one of the courses with the same objective: Master Seminar I. As both general and major subjects include compulsory and elective courses, the primary focus fell on the first ones, while electives were chosen based on personal interest (or, as Kersti names it, emotional factors). Makes sense, doesn't it? Other main factors considered were personal time and work load. For most of us, subjects that are not obligatory or take place in the middle of work day, were excluded from the study plan at an early stage. The free electives were mostly left for a backup plan to have more flexibility later in the studies. To make decisions, course programs (descriptions) were consulted. One thing we all seem to have forgotten is the human factor, did anyone else influence our decision making (fellow students, 2nd year students, lecturers, friends, family)?

Rasa's study plan is a bit more complex including lectures from BMF, IMKE and language institutes. Being an exchange student, she is also involved in other activities organized by ESN and International Club. Kerstin and Mehrnoosh also mentioned the tools they have had to become acquainted with, such as Blogger/WordPress, CmapTools, Dropbox, etc. Mehrnoosh's mind map has a deeper level of detail - her activity starts with studying the IMKE website and admission procedure, without which she wouldn't have created the study plan. Clever! She has also listed our interactive study materials, such as Wikiversity, weblogs, forums, etc, and the groups we have had to form to carry out homework. One thing that was missing in all other concept maps, but is a very important component in creating a study plan, were the course credits (ECTS). Minimum 22.5 per semester, 120 altogether. Mehrnoosh didn't forget them. Well done!

I must say, although this task seemed a bit questionable to me at first, I found it very interesting and useful exploring the train of thought of my fellow students. I got to know what they consider important in their lives, decision making and time management, and what they are involved in after school, unless I already knew :) I also wised up about the web-based task and time management application Remember the Milk that Kerstin is using. I might check it out. Thanks!

Task 2: Self-observation and analysis of creating a study plan

New Interactive Environments

The process sequencing, interactions and instruments of finding suitable courses for this semester, making decisions about the courses and scheduling them with other activities in life. For me the most important question was how to divide time between full-time work and full-time studies, and have some of it left for myself (to rest). Therefore, half of the subjects I chose are online courses or courses scheduled at weekends.

I used Glogster to visualize and map the structure of this activity. Some of the fun elements were added to experiment with this new tool I discovered a few weeks ago.

Week 4: Ethics and Law in New Media

October 4-10

Topic 7: The Digital Divide

Investigate and describe an illustrative case of digital divide in your country. Analyse and describe Internet availability. How big is the availability difference for urban and rural regions? Do you consider this a problem?

Estonia has one of the highest Internet penetration rates in the world. In the first quarter of 2010, 75% out of 1.34 mln people in the country used Internet according to Statistics Estonia (compared to 28% in 2000, a decade ago). Only 2% of the million Internet users use dial-up connections. 97% of businesses use computers on a daily basis, and 99% of these use Internet.

Computerization and digital connection for people are encouraged and supported by the state. A program named KülaTee3 (VillageWay3) was implemented from 2005-2008 to bring the opportunity of broadband Internet connectivity to the rural areas of Estonia. The primary goal of the program was to ensure broadband Internet connectivity for 90% of Estonia. Today, an estimated share of 98% of Estonia has been covered with the help of this program. Still, it must be taken into account that households located in valleys or surrounded by forest may need additional equipment for achieving connection (for example, putting up an antenna on the roof).

However, the statistics shows that the percentage of households who have Internet access at home is lower than the EU's average (65%): 63% of Estonian households have Internet at home, compared to 78% in Finland, 79% in Germany, 86% in Sweden, 90% in Netherlands (Eurostat). Is it people's own choice to not establish permanent Internet connection at home? Perhaps it is. Just about every Estonian has access to the Internet if and when they want it. Internet is available in all schools and libraries. Of Estonia's 45,000 square kilometres, there are more than 1,140 publicly registered wireless Internet points, most of which are available without cost. It is difficult to find a café or restaurant without free, wireless Internet, and the majority of local governments are also covered by wireless. Even under the most extreme circumstances it is only a few hundred metres to the nearest signal.

The way a modern society exercises its right to free Internet in daily life can be admired in Estonia. Some digital divide will always remain between different generations, just as some people may choose not to use Internet on a daily basis or not to use it at home after a whole day of sitting at the computer in the office, like they may choose to live in the countryside rather than hectic (capital) cities. To reduce the digital gap and bring an active e-life to those who, because of their age or other reasons, might have otherwise remained behind, a program named Vaata Maailma ("Look at the World") continues to offer free computer and internet training courses throughout Estonia. Thanks to the Vaata Maailma program, IT-savvy pensioners are not a rare sight in Estonia. Many actively handle their affairs via the Internet.

Similarly, to reduce the generation gap between parents and children, eKool helps parents stay involved in student education goals, and keeps them informed through the 24/7 web access to student information. Parents can communicate with teachers, have access to homework assignments and grade reports, see notes and communicate with teachers, get information about field trips and other school events. (The photo above portrays an example of the digital gap between generations, probably still quite common also in Estonia.)

Under this light, I don't consider the digital divide or the Internet availability a real problem in Estonia. It can always be better and Estonia is surely working on the progress. To overcome the digital gap between urban and rural areas, the common communications network must be taken to a new quality level enabling large volumes of data to be transmitted to all consumers in Estonia, not only to the nearly 70% of the population who lives in cities. Therefore, the state-funded development project EstWin is to build a new generation broadband network which would reach every Estonian resident by the year 2015 with connection speeds up to 100Mbit/s.

According to The Global Information Technology Report 2009-2010 (that highlights the key role of ICT as an enabler of a more economically, environmentally and socially sustainable world), Estonia ranks 25th in the Networked Readiness Index and is the highest ranking Central & Eastern European country.

     

Topic 8: Ubiquitous Computing

Compare the current situation in Estonia to the four scenarios of "Estonia 2010". Which one is the closest to the reality? How important do you deem the social cohesiveness (or caring) in reaching ubicomp?

The four possible scenarios proposed in 1995 to predict and analyse future trends were:

1. "Militaristic information oasis" - "little angry country" (like the one in Middle East) with good technological progress but little openness and overall freedom. "Military Estonia".
2. "South Finland" - soft-spoken, well integrated into Europe (and decisively distanced from Russia), but with low innovation capacity. "Subcontractor Estonia" - perhaps the closest to current reality.
3. "The Ferryman" - well-developed, but fully transit-based economy. Innovation and ICT are only to serve the main goal and thus of inferior importance. "Merchant Estonia", which is quite alike to the 'Singapore' scenario of Himanen seen in a previous lecture.
4. "Grand Slam" - the best realisation of both geographical location (transit) and innovative and educational potential. "Innovation/ICT Estonia".

It is quite clear that neither the first nor the third scenario is the case of contemporary Estonia. While the last scenario of "Grand Slam" was seen as the most desirable, I agree that the second scenario of "South Finland" is perhaps the closest to current reality. Or perhaps the combination of these two.

During the last 20 years, Estonia has developed a well functioning and secure e-state (Estonia is the only nation in the world which has survived a full-on cyberattack, emerging unscathed by mounting a vigorous self-defence). For citizens of Estonia, e-services have become routine: e-banking, e-taxes, e-elections, e-healthcare, e-school, to be named some. Most Estonians would not even consider doing things the oldfashioned way by physically visiting an office. Their time may be devoted to other pursuits. Many solutions engineered in Estonia have been later exported, including e-elections, e-school, and m-parking. Estonia is exporting its e-government technology and expertise across the globe, currently preparing new projects for the Palestinian territories, Afghanistan and Haiti. The e-Governance Academy has trained over 600 participants from 36 countries. This shows sufficient grounds for Estonia's innovative and educational potential.

Many important and fundamental innovations in e-Estonia have already been accomplished, but easing up after establishing momentum is out of the question. Significant projects continue, including EstWin. Also in the works is the full application of our digital healthcare system. And there is the daily work of keeping the existing system of e-services up-to-date, simplifying it, and making it increasingly user-friendly. This coming week, from October 13-15, E-Health Tallinn 2010 conference is held at Swissotel to provide an overview of problems and successes related to the implementation of the Estonian National Health Information System. Estonia is also to host a new European Union IT agency, after a deal with France which was the only other nation in the race. The headquarters of the EU's future IT agency will be located in Tallinn and it is expected to become operational in 2012.

Four new (or revised) scenarios have been proposed for Estonia 2018: "South Finland", "Hanseatic League II", "Skype Island" and "Return of the State". You can listen to the descriptions of these scenarios on Estonian Development Fund's videocasts webpage (in Estonian). The vision for 2018 in brief would be globally competitive and locally attractive Estonia.

Social cohesiveness (or caring)

Pekka Himanen, a Finnish philosopher and a public intellectual, suggests a model for meeting the challenges to the global development of the information society. It's a model of the information society combined with the welfare state where caring (or the social cohesiveness) plays a fundamental role. It can also be called fairness or the inclusion of all. Caring means that we work to create equal opportunities for all. This is the key idea of the welfare state. In the global development, it means that we protect the equal opportunities of all the people in the world. In Estonia, every citizen is encouraged to offer proposals for new e-services or present questions via the e-participation portal, osale.ee. Thanks to this process, the state's actions serve the actual needs of the citizens.

Caring for people's needs is an important factor in reaching ubicomp. The value of any IT solution is greater the more useful it is in everyday life, e-services are only useful if the citizenry is aware of them. On the other hand, caring helps to prevent the negative consequences of overcompetitive scenarios. In Estonia's case, it means the necessity to build network society rather than the society of brilliant and innovative businessmen. According to Manuel Castells, power now rests in networks: "the logic of the network is more powerful than the powers of the network". It is something Estonians have still got to learn - to care for each other, socialize and share their knowledge and information rather than everyone pushing forward on their own career- and success-driven path. Because too often the success lies in good communication and co-operation. Quoting another wise futurist author, Robert Theobald: "In the future, the development of our own personal styles and skills will be central. We shall come to understand that satisfaction, and effectiveness, develop as we learn to play and work with others. The compassionate era will be defined in terms of relationships rather than individualism." The individualism can, however, be understood in a country that has been repressed for so long and has finally gained the long-awaited independence. The society will eventually mature.

John Lennon Google Doodle

Google is celebrating John Lennon on his 70th birthday with a Google logo that plays one of Lennon's most loved songs "Imagine". Wonder how many views is a YouTube video advertised by the most visited page in the world able to get!?

iHelp for Autism

SF Weekly, the free alternative weekly newspaper in San Francisco, California, recently published an article about 9-year old Leo Rosa, a boy with intense autism, and his positive encounter with an iPad. "With the iPad, Leo electrifies the air around him with independence and daily new skills," said his mother Shannon.

Since the iPad's unveiling in April, autism experts and parents have brought it into countless homes and classrooms around the world. Developers have begun pumping out applications specifically designed for users with special needs, and initial studies are already measuring the effectiveness of the iPod Touch and the iPad as learning tools for children with autism. Through the devices, some of these children have been able to communicate their thoughts to adults for the first time. Others have learned life skills that had eluded them for years.

Though there are other computers designed for children with autism, a growing number of experts say that the iPad is better. It's cheaper, faster, more versatile, more user-friendly, more portable, more engaging, and infinitely cooler for young people.

Leo has plenty of toys, including this circular balance beam, but nothing tops the iPad.

View more photographs in the iHelp for Autism slideshow.

The article by Ashley Harrell can be found here.

Week 3: Ethics and Law in New Media

September 27 - October 3

Topic 5: The Big Brother on Menwith Hill

Read the "Inside Echelon" by Duncan Campbell. Write a blog opinion about the present situation of the system, what it is used for and how it can influence the global community. You can also draw a couple of hypothetical scenarios (what if).

Echelon - what it is (supposed to be) and what it is used for

Echelon was reportedly created to monitor the military and diplomatic communications of the Soviet Union and its Eastern Bloc allies during the Cold War in the early 1960s, but since the end of the Cold War it is believed to search also for hints of terrorist plots, drug dealers' plans, and political and diplomatic intelligence.

Intelligence monitoring of people has caused concern in the global community. Some critics claim the system is also being used for large-scale commercial theft, international economic espionage and invasion of privacy. Although routinely denied, commercial and economic intelligence is now a major target of international sigint activity - in short, to promote the economic well-being of countries like the US and the UK in relation to the actions or intentions of persons outside. An article in The Baltimore Sun reported in 1995 that European aerospace company Airbus lost a $6 billion contract with Saudi Arabia in 1994 after the US National Security Agency (NSA) reported that Airbus officials had been bribing Saudi officials to secure the contract.

Campbell reveals: "During the WWII as well as in the Cold War and since, British and US intelligence agencies monitored the signals and broke the codes of allies and friends, as well as of civilians and commercial communications around the world. The diplomatic communications of every country were and are attacked. In 1960, two NSA defectors, Bernon Mitchell and William Martin, told the world what NSA was doing: "Both enciphered and plain text communications are monitored from almost every nation in the world, including the nations on whose soil the intercept bases are located." These networks could carry anything from birthday telegrams to detailed economic or commercial information exchanged by companies, to encrypted diplomatic messages. Together with the leaders of African guerrilla movements, many prominent Americans were added to the 'watch lists'. The international communications of the actress Jane Fonda, Dr Benjamin Spock and hundreds of others were put under surveillance because of their opposition to the war in Vietnam. Black power leader Eldridge Cleaver and his colleagues were included because of their civil rights activities in the US.

How does Echelon operate?

The first component of the Echelon network are stations specifically targeted on the international telecommunications satellites (Intelsats) used by the telephone companies of most countries. The next component of the Echelon system intercepts a range of satellite communications not carried by Intelsat. A group of facilities that tap directly into land-based telecommunications systems is the final element of the Echelon system. Besides satellite and radio, the other main method of transmitting large quantities of public, business, and government communications is a combination of water cables under the oceans and microwave networks over land. Since most countries' microwave networks converge on the capital city, embassy buildings can be an ideal site. Protected by diplomatic privilege, they allow interception in the heart of the target country.

Any information sent via global communications satellites is pulled down by one of the main UKUSA spy stations around the world and automatically decoded by computer. The messages are put into bundles according to key words. Workers at GCSB (Government Communications Security Bureau) and its UKUSA partners type in a category and then are able to download a bundle of documents which they can read, translate from a foreign language or summarise. Reports prepared in one agency are available to others. The basic framework is set by the NSA and largely serves US spy interests.

A lesson to re-learn

In the information age, we need to re-learn a lesson now a century old. Despite the sophistication of 21st century technology, today's e-mails are as open to the eyes of snoopers and intruders as were the first crude radio telegraph messages.

In 2001 the Temporary Committee on the Echelon Interception System recommended to the European Parliament that citizens of member states routinely use cryptography in their communications to protect their privacy, because economic espionage with Echelon has been conducted by the US intelligence. Until such protections become effective and ubiquitous, Echelon or systems like it, will remain with us. Though the largest surveillance network is run by the US NSA, it is far from alone. Russia, China, France and other nations operate worldwide networks. Dozens of advanced nations use sigint as a key source of intelligence.

Let us have an intelligence agency, but let all its methods and results be public

Spying thrives on secrecy and this is nowhere more true than in the world of signals intelligence or sigint. This entire process is so secret that even most politicians know almost nothing about it. According to Brian Martin, sigint is remarkably useless. It is hard to point to a single "success", namely a benefit to society that would justify the expenditure on this sort of spying. "It seems that covertly sifting through vast volumes of electronic communications seldom provides any insight beyond what is available in publicly available sources. This suggests that the best way to develop real "intelligence" is through an open system. By all means let us have an "intelligence" agency, but let all its methods and results be public, open to scrutiny. This would be much more democratic. A regular process of scrutiny and debate would undoubtedly produce better insights into world affairs", he writes in his review of Secret Power by Nicky Hager.

Hager says, regarding the Echelon system, that "the secrecy surrounding it makes it so impervious to democratic oversight, that the temptation to use it for questionable projects seems irresistible" (p. 52). This is the crux of the matter. Highly secret spy operations are not appropriate in a democracy. Hager quotes a GCSB officer: "The secrecy is not for the Russians, it is for the general public. If they knew what the bureau does, it would not be allowed to continue." (p. 250).

Duncan Campbell names Secret Power by Nicky Hager the best informed and most detailed account of how Echelon works.

Free version of the full book can be downloaded here.

"An astonishing number of people have told him things that I, as Prime Minister in charge of the intelligence services, was never told. It is an outrage that I and other ministers were told so little." - David Lange, Prime Minister of New Zealand 1984-1989

Topic 6: Rid the Fools of Their Money: The Online World of Crime and Fraud

Write a blog description of an Internet fraud (scam) scheme. Review the scambaiting websites mentioned. Analyse them from an ethical point of view.

As pointed out in the lecture material, Fraud.org gives a good overview of the trends. The statistics have been updated and list the 2007 Top 10 Internet Scams. The highest % of complaints is now filed against Fake Check Scams, 29% (only 6% in 2005), and General Merchandise, 23%, average financial loss being $3,310.87 and $1,136.84 accordingly. The Nigerian Money Offers have also gained a bigger 'market share', 11%, fortunately with a notable decline in average loss from $6,937 in 2005 to $4,043.14 in 2007. Despite the drop, it is still the most expensive scam. At the bottom of the Top 10, two new scams can be found: Prizes/Sweepstakes and Friendship and Sweetheart Swindles. The saying "love hurts" is proving true for consumers who have searched for romance online, only to lose thousands of dollars to a supposed suitor. The average loss per victim is similarly high here, $3,038.31. However, the full extent of the fraud is unknown, given many victims' reluctance to admit to being scammed.

Love Stinks: The Scheme of the Scam

The Sweetheart Swindle is often a long, drawn out process in which the con artist nurtures a relationship, and eventually convinces the victim to send money repeatedly over an extended period of time. Scammers lurk in chat rooms and on online dating sites, attempting to earn someone's affections and trust so that they can persuade him or her to send money. What consumers using these dating websites fail to recognize, is that they may be working with professional con artists, many who may even be using stolen identities with which to fabricate information they're giving out.

Though the details of the scammers' stories vary with each individual case, the scenario commonly revolves around a tragedy having befallen the scammer, and he or she desperately needs money. After spending time communicating and building a relationship with the victim, the scammer asks for help in the form of money.

An Example Tale of 'Love' Gone Wrong: Victim Sweethearts

In April 2007, Donna cautiously ventured into the world of online dating. Within a week, she was contacted by a man with whom she began to chat. They chatted multiple times a day for seven months. He said he was a wealthy business man, who lived in a nearby city and was temporarily in Africa on business. In October, he said his contract in Africa would soon be up and that he wanted to meet, but he needed $250 to hold him over until a check cleared. Donna offended her new sweetie when she expressed her hesitancy to give money to a stranger. So she sent him the money, and later another $1,500, never to hear from him again.

Note: Another such scam is when a woman contacts several, sometimes many, men, usually older and lonely. First she starts up a email relationship. Then within a week or two, it gets heated, then she hits the mark. She wants to visit him in person. She has sent him her picture, usually a picture of a model taken from an online website. He is smitten. She asks either for money to buy a 'first class' airline ticket, or asks him to buy the ticket, which she can resell. She may do this to 10 or 20 men. A first class ticket, especially across country (U.S.), can run $1000 to $3000. Multiply that by 10 or 20 men, a sizable sum. He never hears from her again. She moves to another town or state, and starts all over again. The next time you hear a song "love hurts", you know.

Read more: News from Fraud.org

Social Engineering Supreme: Letting the Scammers Taste Their Own Medicine

Scambaiting's objective is to keep the scam going as long as possible, costing the scammer time and energy, and to gather as much information as possible to share with authorities. Amusement that the baiter may gain from the interaction include fooling the scammer into falling for claims just as ludicrous as the ones that the scammer is using to bilk the victim of money. It is, in essence, a form of social engineering that may have an altruistic motive or may be motivated by malice.

Having visited a few scambaiting websites, such as 419 Eater, theScamBaiter, Scam-O-Rama and WhatsTheBloodyPoint, my impression was rather dodgy from the start. Is it possible to fight the bad with bad, fraud with fraud? How do I know the roles won't change and I won't end up in a position of a victim? Although scambaiting tips can be found on all of the above mentioned websites and 419 Eater even invities newcomers to join their mentor program, it is strongly advised that you must not enter into any communications with scammers unless you feel you are adequately prepared to deal with them.

Scambaiting veterans call it a great cybersport, and invite you to have fun while doing a public service. Most decent people who stumble across these sites are initially amused by the antics but then start to feel some pangs of conscience. Scambaiters themselves have no problem with baiting. "Every scammer baited, every lad who poses with a sign for a baiter, every false form filled in, every fake bank taken down means that less victims are scammed. We keep the scammers busy with 'safe' targets. We occupy them and waste their time. Hopefully some will decide it's not worth it and get an honest job. Others may get caught in a sting," they say. Nontheless, this kind of vigilanteism remains reprehensible and legally questionable, just like the 'fun' part of it.

Don't try this at home. Though it may seem very tempting to reply to one of these scam letters to see just what happens, your best friend is the button on your computer that is marked "delete", use it often. This is a piece of advice given by Mike Potter, an experienced scam baiter from England.