In our highly digitalized society, cybercrime has become a common crime. However, because research into cybercriminals is in its infancy, our knowledge about cybercriminals is still limited. One of the main considerations is whether cybercriminals have higher intellectual capabilities than traditional criminals or even the general population. Although criminological studies clearly show that traditional criminals have lower intellectual capabilities, little is known about the relationship between cybercrime and intelligence. The current study adds to the literature by exploring the relationship between CITO-test scores and cybercrime in the Netherlands. The CITO final test is a standardized test for primary school students - usually taken at the age of 11 or 12 - and highly correlated with IQ-scores. Data from Statistics Netherlands were used to compare CITO-test scores of 143 apprehended cybercriminals with those of 143 apprehended traditional criminals and 143 non-criminals, matched on age, sex, and country of birth. Ordinary Least Squares regression analyses were used to compare CITO test scores between cybercriminals, traditional criminals, and non-criminals. Additionally, a discordant sibling design was used to control for unmeasured confounding by family factors. Findings reveal that cybercriminals have significantly higher CITO test scores compared to traditional criminals and significantly lower CITO test scores compared to non-criminals.
Crime scene investigations are highly complex environments that require the CSI to engage in complex decision-making. CSIs must rely on personal experience, context information, and scientific knowledge about the fundamental principles of forensic science to both find and correctly interpret ambiguous traces and accurately reconstruct a scene. Differences in CSI decision making can arise in multiple stages of a crime scene investigation. Given its crucial role in forensic investigation, CSI decision-making must be further studied to understand how differences may arise during the stages of a crime scene investigation. The following exploratory research project is a first step at comparing how crime scene investigations of violent robberies are conducted between 25 crime scene investigators from nine countries across the world.Through a mock crime scene and semi-structured interview, we observed that CSIs have adopted a variety of investigation approaches. The results show that CSIs have different working strategies and make different decisions when it comes to the construction of relevant hypotheses, their search strategy, and the collection of traces. These different decisions may, amongst other factors, be due to the use of prior information, a CSI’s knowledge and experience, and the perceived goal of their investigation. We suggest the development of more practical guidelines to aid CSIs through a hypothetico-deductive reasoning process, where (a) CSIs are supported in the correct use of contextual information, (b) outside knowledge and expertise are integrated into this process, and (c) CSIs are guided in the evaluation of the utility of their traces.
MULTIFILE
In cross-border e-commerce, electronic retailers (e-retailers) aim to extend their sales activities via the Internet beyond national borders. Unlike large companies, small and medium-sized enterprises are struggling with their international online expansion. This phenomenon is not limited to countries with a developed e-commerce market; e-retailers from emerging e-commerce markets, too, face the problem. This study investigates what the drivers are of business performance of SMEs in cross-border e-retailing, and how drivers differ between developed and emerging e-commerce markets in Europe. Structural equation modelling analyses with the lavaan package in R on a sample of 453 owners and directors of SMEs from 20 countries, show that foreign market orientation not only directly influences business performance in cross-border e-commerce, but also indirectly through communication efforts in foreign markets. These results hold for both developed and emerging markets, however, there are two interesting differences. First in the influence of foreign market orientation and communication efforts on business performance, and second in the impact of the number of years the electronic e-retailer is active in cross-border e-commerce.
The AR in Staged Entertainment project focuses on utilizing immersive technologies to strengthen performances and create resiliency in live events. In this project The Experiencelab at BUas explores this by comparing live as well as pre-recorded events that utilize Augmented Reality technology to provide an added layer to the experience of the user. Experiences will be measured among others through observational measurements using biometrics. This projects runs in the Experience lab of BUas with partners The Effenaar and 4DR Studio and is connected to the networks and goals related to Chronosphere, Digireal and Makerspace. Project is powered by Fieldlab Events (PPS / ClickNL)..
Mode heeft een cruciale functie in de samenleving: zij maakt diversiteit en inclusiviteit mogelijk en is een middel voor individuen om zich uit te drukken. Desalniettemin is mode ook een raadsel op het gebied van duurzaamheid, zowel aan de sociale als aan de milieukant. Er bestaan echter alternatieven voor de huidige praktijken in de mode. Dit project heeft tot doel de ontwikkeling van een van die initiatieven te ondersteunen. In samenwerking met twee Nederlandse MKB bedrijven in de mode-industrie, willen we een of meer business modellen co-designen voor het vermarkten van circulair ontworpen laser geprinte T-shirts. Door lasertechnologie te introduceren in plaats van traditionele inktopties, kunnen de T- shirts hun CO2 voetafdruk verder verkleinen en een verstandig alternatief zijn voor individuen, die op zoek zijn naar duurzame modekeuzes. Maar hoewel de technologische haalbaarheid vaststaat, vereist het vermarkten sterke, schaalbare, bedrijfsmodellen. Via een haalbaarheidsstudie willen we dergelijke businessmodellen ontwikkelen en de commercialisering van deze producten ondersteunen. Wij zijn van plan de reacties van de consument op een dergelijke innovatie te bestuderen, evenals de belemmeringen en stimulansen vanuit het oogpunt van de consument, en de inkoop-, toeleveringsketen- en financiële kwesties die kunnen voortvloeien uit de schaalbaarheid van een potentieel bedrijfsmodel. Om praktische relevantie voor de bredere industrie te verzekeren, streven we ernaar om de resultaten te presenteren op evenementen georganiseerd door een van de consortiumpartners (in 2023), als ook om een teaching case en een wetenschappelijk artikel te ontwikkelen op basis van de resultaten van het project.
Many Caribbean reefs have shifted from coral-dominated to algal-dominated ecosystems. The high algae cover reduces coral recruitment, making the reef unable to recover from other disturbances and resulting in flatter reefs with lower biodiversity. One of the reasons for the proliferation of algae is a mass die-off of the herbivorous sea urchin Diadema antillarum in the early 1980s. Natural recovery of Diadema populations is slow to non-existent, making active restoration of this important grazer a top priority in Caribbean coral reef management, especially since Diadema densities were reduced by another mass mortality event in 2022. The marine park organizations of Saba and St. Eustatius want to restore Diadema populations by restocking cultured individuals. However, important knowledge gaps need to be addressed before large numbers of Diadema can be restocked on the reef. Current culture methods can only produce a limited number of competent larvae. In addition, only 8% of the settlers survive and after restocking, survival on the reef is low as well. In the RAAK PRO Diadema II project, the bottlenecks in Diadema culture will be addressed by comparing larval survival across multiple culture methods and investigating the relation between larval size and post-settlement survival. Growing-out juveniles at sea is likely to help prepare them for life in the wild, while restocking at an optimal size might also increase survival. Finally, a thorough restocking site selection based on high shelter availability and settlement rates will increase the long-term Diadema densities. The acquired knowledge and developed practices will be verified in a larger scale restocking experiment involving at least 5000 Diadema urchins. By restoring Diadema populations through restocking, macroalgae will be more intensively removed and corals will have a chance to settle and to survive, increasing the ability of the reef to cope with other stressors.
