Andrew Power | Institute of Art, Design & Technology, Dun Laoghaire, Ireland (original) (raw)

Books by Andrew Power

Cybercrime is a growing problem in the modern world. Despite the many advantages of computers, th... more Cybercrime is a growing problem in the modern world. Despite the many advantages of computers, they have spawned a number of crimes, such as hacking and virus writing, and made other crimes more prevalent and easier to commit, including music piracy, identity theft and child sex offences. Understanding the psychology behind these crimes helps to determine what motivates and characterises offenders and how such crimes can be prevented. This textbook on the psychology of the cybercriminal is the first written for undergraduate and postgraduate students of psychology, criminology, law, forensic science and computer science. It requires no specific background knowledge and covers legal issues, offenders, effects on victims, punishment and preventative measures for a wide range of cybercrimes. Introductory chapters on forensic psychology and the legal issues of cybercrime ease students into the subject, and many pedagogical features in the book and online provide support for the student.

A short biography of the Paraguayan guitarist and composer Agustin Barrios. It looks particularly... more A short biography of the Paraguayan guitarist and composer Agustin Barrios. It looks particularly his influences and the innovations and range of techniques and styles found in his work.

Hacking is an activity which has long been tied with ethical and legal complications. The term ha... more Hacking is an activity which has long been tied with ethical and legal complications. The term has evolved to have both ethical and unethical connotations, which can be confusing to the uninitiated. Hacker subculture has a myriad of terminology, sometimes with subtle variations, and this chapter identifies the main subcategories of hackers. The methods used by hackers to infiltrate systems will also be briefly examined, along with the motives for the activities. The question of whether or not hacking can be an ethical activity, and how it should be dealt with by the legal system is considered in this chapter. Consideration is also given to the international legal perspective. The evolving hacker ethic is described and examined, and the justifications provided by hackers are investigated.

The development of a legal environment for virtual worlds presents issues of both law and ethics.... more The development of a legal environment for virtual worlds presents issues of both law and ethics. The cross-border nature of online law and particularly law in virtual environments suggests that some lessons on its formation can be gained by looking at the development of international law, specifically the ideas of soft law and adaptive governance. In assessing the ethical implications of such environments the network of online regulations, technical solutions and the privatization of legal remedies offer some direction. While legal systems in online virtual worlds require development, the ethical acceptability of actions in these worlds is somewhat clearer, and users need to take care to ensure that their behaviors do not harm others.

As more individuals own and operate Internet-enabled devices and more critical government and ind... more As more individuals own and operate Internet-enabled devices and more critical government and industrial systems rely on advanced technologies, the issue of cybercrime has become a crucial concern for both the general public and professionals alike.

The Psychology of Cyber Crime: Concepts and Principles aims to be the leading reference examining the psychology of cybercrime. This book considers many aspects of cybercrime, including research on offenders, legal issues, the impact of cybercrime on victims, punishment, and preventative measures. It is designed as a source for researchers and practitioners in the disciplines of criminology, cyberpsychology, and forensic psychology, though it is also likely to be of significant interest to many students of information technology and other related disciplines.

Online identities need not reflect the true identity of the user. Relatively little is known abou... more Online identities need not reflect the true identity of the user. Relatively little is known about the use of online identities during e-learning and blended learning programmes, and if these reflect the students’ true self. Online identities may impact on student achievement and satisfaction and as such are an important consideration for educators. Following an overview of the relevant literature regarding online identities, this paper describes findings from a survey of students currently engaged in a programme delivered using these techniques and where an awareness of online identities is to the fore. Several strengths and weaknesses of online identities in education are identified, and while students generally felt that they were portraying their own true identity online, many felt that others in the group were not. Implications for practice are described.

Papers by Andrew Power

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This article considers the emerging technologies known as Web 2.0 and how changing technologies m... more This article considers the emerging technologies known as Web 2.0 and how changing technologies may change the way we think about governance. In the last thirty years digital computing has had a transformational effect on the way governments view the world. The use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) by governments has led to a more quantitative approach to solving problems; seen in the emergence of new public management and managerialism in public administration. This article uses a theoretical framework, built on the phenomenology of tools and governance through choice, to argue that recent developments in the technologies generally referred to as Web 2.0, and social networking in particular, are leading to governments using technology in different and more interactive ways. The author concludes that these developments will broaden the impact of technology on governance, produce a more qualitative approach and empower the interconnected citizen.

Social networking gives a public voice to individuals and allows them to engage with society in w... more Social networking gives a public voice to individuals and allows them to engage with society in ways not previously possible. Shirky (2010) argues that a driver for building civic engagement is the group working which is fundamental to social networking technologies and that this is building skills in governance amongst those who actively participate. The ‘wiring of humanity’ lets us treat free time as a shared global resource, and lets us design new kinds of participation and sharing that take advantage of that resource. Flexible, cheap, and inclusive media offers opportunities to do new and different things. In a study by the Pew Research Centre those using social networks were more likely to be politically active (Evangelista, 2011). The increase in political engagement is suggested to stem from the fact that active social networkers tend to become more aware of issues from those in their network who are politically active. It acts as a ‘social sharing machine’; increases the visibility of issues and ‘speeds up that collective action model’.
Young active citizens are finding new ways to engage, often through volunteering and especially through networked digital media. Social networks have provided a means of engagement between young people and their communities in a way that previous communications technologies failed to do. This paper builds on the previous work in this field and reviews examples of social networking and active citizenship in the community.

As both citizens and the state increasingly use online mediated environments, the nature of the p... more As both citizens and the state increasingly use online mediated environments, the nature of the public and thus public law has changed. As individuals and state actors use avatars as their online representatives in virtual environments, the notion of the cybercitizen is growing in importance.

In these environments, rules, protocols and acceptable behaviours exist amongst participants and are no less respected by the community they affect for their current lack of legal status. As governments move more of their activities online the state is recognising and legitimising a new public, or at least a new expression of public.

This paper looks at examples of the application of law to this new constituency and seeks to examine different ideas of identity and governance in an online mediated environment. It seeks to answer the question of whether the public can have coherent, congruent meanings across disparate areas of law, and to broaden the understanding of cyberlaw.

The purpose of this paper is to review the arguments and examine the case for the legitimacy of t... more The purpose of this paper is to review the arguments and examine the case for the legitimacy of the European Union (EU) and its institutions. In terms of the scope of the paper the author sought to, examine the literature in this area, engage with current issues, and speak with practitioners. This paper was written in the months leading up to the 2009 elections to the European Parliament. A number of interviews were done including two Irish members of the European Parliament (MEPs) who were standing for re-election at the time. This was done to ground some of the ideas brought forward by the literature in the experience of those most directly involved. The paper goes on to look at some of the approaches to democratising the EU such as the way in which the EU has used information and communication technologies (ICT) to connect with the citizens of Europe. The author concludes that, while the EU does not conform to ideal models of legitimacy and accountability, it is evolving in that direction and a case can be made that the EU is at least as accountable as the nation states of which it is composed. It is also the view of the author that developments in social networking and virtual environments, offer states and politicians the opportunity to better engage with citizens and contribute to the speed of this evolution.

This article begins with the international legal environment and the differences between internat... more This article begins with the international legal environment and the differences between international law and domestic law. Although the state is still the central subject of international law, the sovereignty of the state has been under challenge since the latter part of the 20th century. Developments in international law have resulted in the opening of the legal system of the international community to entities beyond the state. The inclusion of non-state actors in a system of international governance may provide lessons for the governance of the international “virtual” environment. Much current thinking about Internet law is either of the “Grand Internet Treaty” variety, in which the online environment is a simple extension of the territory of a state, or sees the Internet as a libertarian “lawless” environment, unhindered by any restrictions. These views are examined and the nature of the law of the Internet considered in light of the lessons from international “soft” law.

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