The transition from printed to electronic sources of information has resulted in a profound change to the way procurement officers seek information. Furthermore, in the past decade there have been additional technological revolutions that are expected to further affect the procurement process. In this paper, we conduct a survey among forty nine university procurement officers in Israel to examine to what extent procurement officers have adapted to smartphones and tablets by testing how frequently officers use notebooks, smartphones, and tablets for work-related and leisure purposes. We find that while officers prefer electronic sources of information over printed sources of information, officers have not yet adapted to the later technological advances (i.e., smartphones and tablets). Notebooks are more frequently used than either smartphones or tablets for work-related and leisure purposes. One explanation behind this result is that officers are not skilled in using smartphone and tablets applications. This implies that training officers in the use of these devices may improve their performance.

This longitudinal, quasi-experimental study investigated students’ cognitive personality type using the Myers-Briggs personality Type Indicator (MBTI) in Internet-based Online and Face-to-Face (F2F) modalities. A total of 1154 students enrolled in 28 Online and 32 F2F sections taught concurrently over a period of fourteen years. The study measured whether the sample is similar to the national average percentage frequency of all 16 different personality types; whether specific personality type students preferred a specific modality of instructions and if this preference changed over time; whether learning occurred in both class modalities; and whether specific personality type students learned more from a specific modality. Data was analyzed using regression, t-test, frequency, and Chi-Squared. The study concluded that data used in the study was similar to the national statistics; that no major differences in preference occurred over time; and that learning did occur in all modalities, with more statistically significant learning found in the Online modality versus F2F for Sensing, Thinking, and Perceiving types. Finally, Sensing and Thinking (ST) and Sensing and Perceiving (SP) group types learned significantly more in Online modality versus F2F.

The authors present the results of a study conducted at a comprehensive, urban, coeducational, land-grant university. A quasi-experimental design was chosen for this study to compare student performance in two different classroom environments, traditional versus flipped. The study spanned 3 years, beginning fall 2012 through spring 2015. The participants included 433 declared business majors who self-enrolled in several sections of the Management Information Systems course during the study. The results of the current study mirrored those of previous works as the instructional method impacted students’ final grade. Thus, reporting that the flipped classroom approach offers flexibility with no loss of performance when compared to traditional lecture-based environments.

Aim/Purpose: This article examines how learning activities draw on resources in the work context to learn. Background The background is that if knowledge no longer is seen mainly as objects, but processes, how then to understand boundary objects? Our field study of learning activities reveals the use of pictures, documents and emotions for learning in the geographically distributed Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority Methodology: The study is a qualitative study consisting of interview data, observation data, and documents. Contribution: Contribute to practice based theorizing. Findings: Three ideal types of representing practices have been identified, i.e., ‘Visualizing’, ‘Documenting’ and ‘Testing’. All three are combined with storytelling, sensing, reflections and sensemaking, which point at the importance of processes in learning. The article also add insights about how emotions can be an important resource for boundary spanning – and sensemaking – by creating the capability of reflecting upon and integrating different knowledge areas in the in- practice context. Recommendations for Practitioners: Look for boundary objects within your field to promote online learning. Recommendation for Researchers: Study boundary objects in work context to understand learning. Impact on Society Role of objects in human learning. Future Research: Focus on how emotions can be used for online learning.

Aim/Purpose: Assess the affordances and constraints of SimReal+ in teacher education Background There is a huge interest in visualizations in mathematics education, but there is little empirical support for their use in educational settings Methodology: Single case study with 22 participants from one class in teacher education. Quantitative and qualitative methods to collect students’ responses to a survey questionnaire and open-ended questions Contribution: The paper contributes to the understanding of affordances and constraints of visualization tools in mathematics education Findings: The visualization tool SimReal+ has potential for learning mathematics in teacher education, but the user interface should be improved to make it more usable for different users. Teachers need to consider technological and pedagogical affordances of SimReal+ at the student, classroom, and mathematics subject level Recommendations for Practitioners: Address technological and pedagogical affordances of SimReal+ Recommendation for Researchers: Improve the design of SimReal+ to make it technologically and pedagogically more usable Impact on Society: Understand the affordances and constraints of visualization tools in education Future Research: Implement a next cycle of experimentation with SimReal+ in teacher education to ensure more validity and reliability

Aim/Purpose : Share research finding about ransomware, depict the ransomware work in a format that commonly used by researchers and practitioners and illustrate personal case experience in dealing with ransomware. Background: Author was hit with Ransomware, suffered a lot from it, and did a lot of research about this topic. Author wants to share findings in his research and his experience in dealing with the aftermath of being hit with ransomware. Methodology: Case study. Applying the literature review for a personal case study. Contribution: More knowledge and awareness about ransomware, how it attacks peoples’ computers, and how well informed users can be hit with this malware. Findings: Even advanced computer users can be hit and suffer from Ransomware attacks. Awareness is very helpful. In addition, this study drew in chart format what is termed “The Ransomware Process”, depicting in chart format the steps that ransomware hits users and collects ransom. Recommendations for Practitioners : Study reiterates other recommendations made for dealing with ransomware attacks but puts them in personal context for more effective awareness about this malware. Recommendation for Researchers: This study lays the foundation for additional research to find solutions to the ransomware problem. IT researchers are aware of chart representations to depict cycles (like SDLC). This paper puts the problem in similar representation to show the work of ransomware. Impact on Society: Society will be better informed about ransomware. Through combining research, illustrating personal experience, and graphically representing the work of ransomware, society at large will be better informed about the risk of this malware. Future Research: Research into solutions for this problem and how to apply them to personal cases.

Aim/Purpose: Despite millions of apps on the market, it is still challenging to develop a mobile app that can run across platforms using the same code. Background: This paper explores a potential solution for developing cross platform apps by presenting the hybrid app approach. Methodology: The paper first describes a brief evolution of the different mobile app development approaches and then compares them with the hybrid app approach. Next, it focuses on one specific hybrid app development framework called Ionic. Contribution: The paper presents the hybrid app approach as an emerging trend in mobile app development and concludes with the highlight of its advantages and teaching implications. Findings: The hybrid app approach reduces the learning curve and offers tools to allow the reuse of code to create apps for different mobile devices. Recommendations for Practitioners: The experience that the paper describes in using Ionic framework to create a hybrid app can be adopted in a web design or mobile app development course. Impact on Society : The advance in hybrid framework in general and the growing acceptance of open source framework, such as Ionic in particular, may provide an alternative to the native app domination and may trigger the rapid rise of hybrid apps in the years to come.

Aim/Purpose: Executive doctoral programs in higher education are under-researched. Scholars, administers, and students should be aware of all common delivery methods for higher education graduate programs. Background This paper provides a review and analysis of executive doctoral higher education programs in the United States. Methodology: Executive higher education doctoral programs analyzed utilizing a qualitative demographic market-based analysis approach. Contribution: This review of executive higher education doctoral programs provides one of the first investigations of this segment of the higher education degree market. Findings: There are twelve programs in the United States offering executive higher education degrees, though there are less aggressively marketed programs described as executive-style higher education doctoral programs that could serve students with similar needs. Recommendations for Practitioners: Successful executive higher education doctoral programs require faculty that have both theoretical knowledge and practical experience in higher education. As appropriate, these programs should include tenure-line, clinical-track, and adjunct faculty who have cabinet level experience in higher education. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers should begin to investigate more closely the small but growing population of executive doctoral degree programs in higher education. Impact on Society: Institutions willing to offer executive degrees in higher education will provide training specifically for those faculty who are one step from an executive position within the higher education sector. Society will be impacted by having someone that is trained in the area who also has real world experience. Future Research: Case studies of students enrolled in executive higher education programs and research documenting university-employer goals for these programs would enhance our understanding of this branch of the higher education degree market.

Aim/Purpose: The primary objective of this research is to build an enhanced framework for Applied and Computational Math. This framework allows a variety of applied math concepts to be organized into a meaningful whole. Background: The framework can help students grasp new mathematical applications by comparing them to a common reference model. Methodology: In this research, we measure the most frequent words used in a sample of Math and Computer Science books. We combine these words with those obtained in an earlier study, from which we constructed our original Computational Math scale. Contribution: The enhanced framework improves the Computational Math scale by integrating selected concepts from the field of Data Science. Findings: The resulting enhanced framework better explains how abstract mathematical models and algorithms are tied to real world applications and computer implementations. Future Research: We want to empirically test our enhanced Applied and Computational Math framework in a classroom setting. Our goal is to measure how effective the use of this framework is in improving students’ understanding of newly introduced Math concepts.

Aim/Purpose: The proposed Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) for Empowerment (PKM4E) Framework expands on the notions of the Ignorance Map and Matrix to support the educational and informing concept of a PKM system-in-progress. Background: The accelerating information abundance is depleting the very attention our cognitive capabilities are able to master, contributing to widening individual and collective opportunity divides. Support is urgently needed to benefit Knowledge Workers irrespective of space (developed/developing countries), time (study or career phase), discipline (natural or social science), or role (student, professional, leader). Methodology: The Design Science Research (DSR) project conceptualizing the PKM System (PKMS) aims to support a scenario of a ‘Decentralizing KM Revolution’ giving more power and autonomy to individuals and self-organized groups. Contribution: The informing-science-related approach synthesizes and visualizes concepts related to ignorance and entropy, learning and innovation, chance discovery and abduction to inform diverse audiences and potential beneficiaries. Findings: see Recommendation for Researchers Recommendations for Practitioners: The PKM4E learning cycles and workflows apply ‘cumulative synthesis’, a concept which convincingly couples the activities of researchers and entrepreneurs and assists users to advance their capability endowments via applied learning. Recommendation for Researchers: In substituting document-centric with meme-based knowledge bases, the PKMS approach merges distinctive voluntarily shared knowledge objects/assets of diverse disciplines into a single unified digital knowledge repository and provides the means for advancing current metrics and reputation systems. Impact on Society: The PKMS features provide the means to tackle the widening opportunity divides by affording knowledge workers with continuous life-long support from trainee, student, novice, or mentee towards professional, expert, mentor, or leader. Future Research: After completing the test phase of the PKMS prototype, its transformation into a viable PKM system and cloud-based server based on a rapid development platform and a noSQL-database is estimated to take 12 months.

Aim/Purpose: This paper describes and information system for the maintenance and management of municipal lighting systems that also serves as a decision support tool for reducing power consumption on urban lighting. Background: Many municipalities are financially constrained and unable to invest in improving their lighting infrastructure. We propose a very efficient and inexpensive way to set up the database and provide city leaders with tools to improve their system efficiently. Methodology: An information database for the data management and an Integer Programming model for deriving the optimal investment plan. Contribution: This paper contributes to the fields of urban economics and sustainability. Findings: Informing management and workers about the status of the system and how to optimize it will reward the city with considerable savings and improve the service quality. Recommendations for Practitioners: The application of this model, even in a small scale such as a neighborhood can improve citizen’s quality of life without a heavy burden on the city budget. Recommendation for Researchers: There is a growing need for cost-effective means to improve urban management. Innovative ideas that meet these goals should be researched and developed. Impact on Society: First, it allows reduction in carbon emissions and light pollution by reducing power consumption and over-luminous lighting levels. Second, financially constrained municipalities can manage their systems at a very low cost. Future Research: A full scale application is needed in order to evaluate the city-wide benefits of the system.

Aim/Purpose: Medical images are very sensitive data that can be transferred to medical laboratories, professionals, and specialist for referral cases or consultation. Strict security measures must be utilized to keep these data secured in computer networks when transferred to another party. On a daily basis, unauthorized users derive ways to gain access to sensitive patient medical information. Background: One of the best ways to which medical image could be kept secured is through the use of quantum cryptography Methodology : Applying the principles of quantum mechanics to cryptography has led to a remarkable new dimension in secured network communication infrastructure. This enables two legitimate users to produce a shared secret random bit string, which can be used as a key in cryptographic applications, such as message encryption and authentication. Contribution: This paper can make it possible for the healthcare and medical professions to construct cryptographic communication systems to keep patients’ transferred data safe and secured. Findings: This work has been able to provide a way for two authorized users who are in different locations to securely establish a secret network key and to detect if eavesdropping (a fraudulent or disruption in the network) has occurred Recommendations for Practitioners: This security mechanism is recommended for healthcare providers and practitioners to ensure the privacy of patients’ medical information. Recommendation for Researchers: This paper opens a new chapter in secured medical records Impact on Society Quantum key distribution promises network security based on the fundamental laws of quantum mechanics by solving the problems of secret-key cryptography . Future Research: The use of post-quantum cryptography can be further researched.

Aim/Purpose: Although cassava is one of the crops that can be grown during the dry season in Northeastern Thailand, most farmers in the region do not know whether the crop can grow in their specific areas because the available agriculture planning guideline provides only a generic list of dry-season crops that can be grown in the whole region. The purpose of this research is to develop a predictive model that can be used to predict suitable areas for growing cassava in Northeastern Thailand during the dry season. Background: This paper develops a decision support system that can be used by farmers to assist them determine if cassava can be successfully grown in their specific areas. Methodology: This study uses satellite imagery and data on land characteristics to develop a machine learning model for predicting suitable areas for growing cassava in Thailand’s Nakhon-Phanom province. Contribution: This research contributes to the body of knowledge by developing a novel model for predicting suitable areas for growing cassava. Findings: This study identified elevation and Ferric Acrisols (Af) soil as the two most important features for predicting the best-suited areas for growing cassava in Nakhon-Phanom province, Thailand. The two-class boosted decision tree algorithm performs best when compared with other algorithms. The model achieved an accuracy of .886, and .746 F1-score. Recommendations for Practitioners: Farmers and agricultural extension agents will use the decision support system developed in this study to identify specific areas that are suitable for growing cassava in Nakhon-Phanom province, Thailand Recommendation for Researchers: To improve the predictive accuracy of the model developed in this study, more land and crop characteristics data should be incorporated during model development. The ground truth data for areas growing cassava should also be collected for a longer period to provide a more accurate sample of the areas that are suitable for cassava growing. Impact on Society: The use of machine learning for the development of new farming systems will enable farmers to produce more food throughout the year to feed the world’s growing population. Future Research: Further studies should be carried out to map other suitable areas for growing dry-season crops and to develop decision support systems for those crops.

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify how Advanced level Mathematics and Mathematics course units offered at university level do impact on the academic performance of theoretical Computer Science course units. Background: In Sri Lankan state universities, students have been enrolled only from the Physical Science stream to do a degree program in Computer Science. In addition to that, universities have been offering some course units in Mathematics to provide the required mathematical maturity to Computer Science undergraduates. Despite of this it is observed that the failure rates in fundamental theoretical Computer Science course units are much higher than other course units offered in the general degree program every year. Methodology : Academic records comprised of all 459 undergraduates from three consecutive batches admitted to the degree program in Computer Science from a university were considered for this study. Contribution: This study helps academics in identifying suitable curricula for Mathematics course units to improve students’ performance in theoretical Computer Science courses. Findings: Advanced level Mathematics does not have any significant effect on the academic performance of theoretical Computer Science course units. Even though all Mathematics course units offered were significantly correlated with academic performance of every theoretical Computer Science course unit, only the Discrete Mathematics course unit highly impacted on the academic performance of all three theoretical Computer Science course units. Further this study indicates that the academic performance of female undergraduates is better than males in all theoretical Computer Science and Mathematics course units. Future Research: Identifying other critical success factors contributing to the students’ academic performance of the theoretical Computer Science through empirical studies

Table of Contents for IISIT Volume 15, 2018

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine whether grit was a contributing factor to student persistence and success at minority serving institutions. Background: A number of studies conducted in the past fifteen years have concluded that grit is a positive predictor of achievement across many domains. But, is grit really the ultimate panacea for student success? This longitudinal study sought to answer that question by specifically focusing on business students attending a mid-Atlantic minority-serving institution that primarily serves low-income and first generation learners. Methodology: The research study under consideration used quantitative methods for data collection and analysis. It was initiated in the Fall of 2014 with the administration of the standard 12-item Grit assessment to all freshmen students enrolled in a university business department. Students were then followed longitudinally over a five year period with GPA and persistence to graduation documented. During the analyses, grit score was compared to participant first year GPA’s as well as retention and persistence to graduation via comparison tables and ANOVAs. Contribution: A lack of substantive studies conducted at HBCUs and other minority serving institutions poses a major gap in the existing literature available on grit. A number of authors have put forth a call to action for faculty at minority serving institutions to conduct meaningful studies focused on grit and student persistence in order to better inform the HBCU community. This study is specifically purposed to help fill some of the gaps in the available literature. The results of the research presented in this paper hopefully shed light on the need to explore non-cognitive factors that may affect student performance. In particular, research should explore factors that may, or may not, contribute to the success of under prepared college students in particular those who are from low income, first generation, and minority groups. This form of exploration is part of a commitment to positive student outcomes. Findings: According to the findings, there is a significant positive correlation between higher grit scores and both GPA and persistence to graduation. First year GPA, however, was not found to be a reliable predictor of academic success. Recommendations for Practitioners: As part of a commitment to positive student outcomes, faculty and administrators in higher education must be constantly exploring factors that may, or may not, impact student success. Recommendation for Researchers: The results of this research help to shed light on the need to explore elements that may help to contribute to the success of under prepared college students in particular those who are from low income, first generation, and minority groups Future Research: The authors conclude that while building the grittiness of freshmen students may lead to positive student outcomes, grit alone might not be enough. In fact, they postulate that grittiness without clarity of purpose, positive self-efficacy, and growth mindset may mean that students who may be gritty may not be exerting their energies appropriately. During the next phase, a model that is currently under development will be used as part of a mindset intervention to edify students about grit, growth mindset, locus of control/self-efficacy, and clarity of purpose. A complimentary research study examining student performance and perceptions will also be conducted.

Aim/Purpose: The aim of this study was to develop a prototype of an information-generating computer tool designed to automatically map the dental restorations in a panoramic radiograph. Background: A panoramic radiograph is an external dental radiograph of the oro-maxillofacial region, obtained with minimal discomfort and significantly lower radiation dose compared to full mouth intra-oral radiographs or cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) imaging. Currently, however, a radiologic informative report is not regularly designed for a panoramic radiograph, and the referring doctor needs to interpret the panoramic radiograph manually, according to his own judgment. Methodology: An algorithm, based on techniques of computer vision and machine learning, was developed to automatically detect and classify dental restorations in a panoramic radiograph, such as fillings, crowns, root canal treatments and implants. An experienced dentist evaluated 63 panoramic anonymized images and marked on them, manually, 316 various restorations. The images were automatically cropped to obtain a region of interest (ROI) containing only the upper and lower alveolar ridges. The algorithm automatically segmented the restorations using a local adaptive threshold. In order to improve detection of the dental restorations, morphological operations such as opening, closing and hole-filling were employed. Since each restoration is characterized by a unique shape and unique gray level distribution, 20 numerical features describing the contour and the texture were extracted in order to classify the restorations. Twenty-two different machine learning models were evaluated, using a cross-validation approach, to automatically classify the dental restorations into 9 categories. Contribution: The computer tool will provide automatic detection and classification of dental restorations, as an initial step toward automatic detection of oral pathologies in a panoramic radiograph. The use of this algorithm will aid in generating a radiologic report which includes all the information required to improve patient management and treatment outcome. Findings: The automatic cropping of the ROI in the panoramic radiographs, in order to include only the alveolar ridges, was successful in 97% of the cases. The developed algorithm for detection and classification of the dental restorations correctly detected 95% of the restorations. ‘Weighted k-NN’ was the machine-learning model that yielded the best classification rate of the dental restorations - 92%. Impact on Society: Information that will be extracted automatically from the panoramic image will provide a reliable, reproducible radiographic report, currently unavailable, which will assist the clinician as well as improve patients’ reliance on the diagnosis. Future Research: The algorithm for automatic detection and classification of dental restorations in panoramic imaging must be trained on a larger dataset to improve the results. This algorithm will then be used as a preliminary stage for automatically detecting incidental oral pathologies exhibited in the panoramic images.

Aim/Purpose: Providing both formative and summative assessment that allows students to learn from their mistakes is difficult in large classes. This paper describes an automated assessment system suitable for courses with even 100 or more students. Background: Assessment is a vital part of any course of study. Ideally students should be given formative assessment with feedback during the course so students and tutors can identify weaknesses and focus on what needs improvement before summative assessment, which results in a grade. This paper describes and automated assessment system that lessens the burden of providing formative assessment in large classes. Methodology: We used Checkpoint, a web-based automated assessment system, to grade assignments in a number of different computer science courses. Contribution: The students come from diverse backgrounds, with a wide range of ages, previous qualifications and technical skills, and our approach allows the students to work at their own pace according to their individual needs, submitting their solutions as many times as they wish up to a deadline, using feedback provided by the system to help identify and correct their mistakes before trying again. Findings: Use of automated assessment allows us to achieve the goals of both summative and formative assessment: we allow students to learn from their mistakes without incurring a penalty, while at the same time awarding them a grade to validate their efforts. The students have an overwhelmingly positive view about our use of automated assessment, and their comments support our views on the assessment process. Recommendations for Practitioners: Because of the increasing number of students in today’s courses, we recommend using automated assessment wherever possible.

Table of Contents for IISIT Volume 16, 2019

Aim/Purpose: The need for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to maximize the use of their intellectual property and strategic resources for research and teaching has become ever more evident in recent years. Furthermore, little attention is paid in developing an enabling system that will facilitate knowledge transfer in the Research-Teaching Nexus (RTN). Hence, this study assesses the current state of practice in knowledge management of the nexus in higher education in Oman. It also explores the context of how Knowledge Management System (KMS) for the nexus can be designed and utilized by HEIs and challenges them to rethink their traditional approaches in managing their knowledge as-sets to boost individual and organizational learning. Background: This study provides a Knowledge Management-based framework and design of a knowledge management system that support the academic community towards the improvement of the nexus. This study sets out ideas from various academic and professional experts on how academic stakeholders in the higher education can improve and promote knowledge transfer and make better use of its knowledge and research assets for teaching and learning. It stressed the importance of having the knowledge assets or resources that can easily be pooled, accessed, and made available to its intended stakeholders. Methodology: Data were gathered from 29 out of 49 institutional quality audit reports of all HEIs in Oman. The panel comments were coded and analysed to extract valuable insights regarding the management of knowledge assets in research. Additionally, data were gathered from the institutional accreditation outcomes page of the same website. Manifest and latent content analyses were used in reporting the findings of the panel. Contribution: The study will contribute to a greater understanding and acceptance of Knowledge Management (KM) in higher education and extended the body of knowledge concerning knowledge management for the RTN. Findings: The reports revealed a very limited practice of the nexus in terms of people and culture, structure ad processes, and computing and web technologies. A few staff are involved in RTN work, there is an uneven understanding of the RTN among staff, limited joint research between staff and students are some of the reasons for this. Significantly, there is no explicit research framework or policy for the RTN, and systems and/or mechanisms are limited. Further-more, the reports did not account any use of computing and web technologies for the nexus. These limitations can lead to students with less academic, research, and graduate skills. Hence, this study presents a feature design of a KMS that incorporates various RTN best practices, as informed by the reports and literature. The design will allow the staff to utilize the research assets in the classroom, at the same time, engages students in research and scholarly under-takings. Recommendations for Practitioners: All HEIs must have a innovative system that integrates a formal agenda and approach, and set initiatives, strategies, policies, and procedures for knowledge management in utilizing research assets for teaching and learning. It must be designed so that RTN practices remain up-to-date, relevant, and responsive to the needs of the stakeholders, as well as, address academic accreditation challenges. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers can evaluate the knowledge management of RTN practices of other HEIs outside of Oman to effectively recommend the proper course of action for teaching and learning improvement. Impact on Society: This study will redefine the role and contribution of HEIs, which are key players in advancing a knowledge economy. HEIs are expected to be powerhouses where academic knowledge is discovered, created, disseminated, shared, and re-invented. They must be able to fully grasp the value of managing knowledge to be able to effect positive and purposeful change to the community. Future Research: Future work should include staff and student surveys that examine the knowledge management need of the learning organization to better inform the design of a KMS for the RTN. Thereafter, future research can test the stage to test the effectiveness of the conceptual design.

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to illuminate the learning that happens in assuming a supervisee’s role during the postgraduate study. Background: The facilitators and barriers students encountered while pursuing postgraduate studies, strategies to achieve success in postgraduate studies, and how to decrease attrition rates of students, have been sufficiently explored in literature. However, there is little written about the personal and professional impact on students when they are being supervised to complete their postgraduate studies. Methodology: Autoethnographic method of deep reflection was used to examine the learning that transpired from the supervisee’s perspective. Two lecturers (a Senior Lecturer in Nursing and an Aboriginal Tutor) focused on their postgraduate journeys as supervisees, respectively, with over 30 years of study experience between them, in Australia and abroad. Contribution: Future postgraduate students, researchers, would-be supervisors and experienced supervisors could learn from the reflections of the authors’ postgraduate experiences. Findings: Four themes surfaced, and these were Eureka moments, Critical friend(s), Supervisory relationship, and Transformative learning. The authors highlighted the significance of a supervisory relationship which is key to negotiating the journey with the supervisor. Essential for these students also were insights on finding the path as well as the destination and the transformative aspects that happened as a necessary part of the journey. Conclusion. The postgraduate journey has taught them many lessons, the most profound of which was the change in perspective and attitude in the process of being and becoming. Personal and professional transformative learning did occur. At its deepest level, the authors’ reflections resulted in self-actualization and a rediscovery of their more authentic selves. Recommendations for Practitioners: This article highlights the importance of the supervisory relationship that must be negotiated to ensure the success of the candidate. Reflections of the transformation are recommended to support the students further. Recommendation for Researchers: Quality supervision can make a significant influence on the progress of students. Further research on the supervisory relationship is recommended. Impact on Society: The support in terms of supervision to ensure postgraduate students’ success is essential. Postgraduate students contribute to the human, social, professional, intellectual, and economic capital of universities and nations globally. Future Research: Further reflections of the transformative learning will advance the understanding of the personal and professional changes that occur with postgraduate supervision.

Aim/Purpose: The aim of this study is to explore the role of service-learning in Information Systems (IS) education. Background: While the use of modern technologies presents many operational benefits, such as the lowering of the costs, it may also aggravate social-economic is-sues. IS professionals should account for these issues as well as exhibit the skills demanded by modern-day employers. Hence, why there is a need for IS educators to adopt a new pedagogy that supports the development of more holistic and socially responsible IS graduates. Methodology: In this qualitative exploratory case study, two IS service-learning courses at a South African university were studied. Interviews, course evaluations, and reflection essays were analyzed to gain insight into the implications that service-learning may have for students. Contribution: This study contributes to IS education research by advancing discussions on the role of service-learning in providing learning outcomes such as the development of important skills in IS, civic-mindedness, and active participation in society. Findings: The findings showed that the courses had different implications for students developing skills that are important in IS and becoming civic-minded due to the variation in their design and implementation. Recommendations for Practitioners: It is recommended that IS educators present their courses in the form of service-learning with a careful selection of readings, projects, and reflection activities. Recommendations for Researchers: IS education researchers are advised to conduct longitudinal studies to gain more insight into the long-term implications that service-learning may have for IS students. Impact on Society: This paper provides insight into how IS students may gain social agency and a better understanding of their role in society. Future Research: It is recommended that future research focus on mediating factors and the implications that service-learning may have for IS students in the long-term.

Aim/Purpose: In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tracks the disease activity using data collected from medical practice's on a weekly basis. Collection of data by CDC from medical practices on a weekly basis leads to a lag time of approximately 2 weeks before any viable action can be planned. The 2-week delay problem was addressed in the study by creating machine learning models to predict flu outbreak. Background: The 2-week delay problem was addressed in the study by correlation of the flu trends identified from Twitter data and official flu data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in combination with creating a machine learning model using both data sources to predict flu outbreak. Methodology: A quantitative correlational study was performed using a quasi-experimental design. Flu trends from the CDC portal and tweets with mention of flu and influenza from the state of Georgia were used over a period of 22 weeks from December 29, 2019 to May 30, 2020 for this study. Contribution: This research contributed to the body of knowledge by using a simple bag-of-word method for sentiment analysis followed by the combination of CDC and Twitter data to generate a flu prediction model with higher accuracy than using CDC data only. Findings: The study found that (a) there is no correlation between official flu data from CDC and tweets with mention of flu and (b) there is an improvement in the performance of a flu forecasting model based on a machine learning algorithm using both official flu data from CDC and tweets with mention of flu. Recommendations for Practitioners: In this study, it was found that there was no correlation between the official flu data from the CDC and the count of tweets with mention of flu, which is why tweets alone should be used with caution to predict a flu out-break. Based on the findings of this study, social media data can be used as an additional variable to improve the accuracy of flu prediction models. It is also found that fourth order polynomial and support vector regression models offered the best accuracy of flu prediction models. Recommendations for Researchers: Open-source data, such as Twitter feed, can be mined for useful intelligence benefiting society. Machine learning-based prediction models can be improved by adding open-source data to the primary data set. Impact on Society: Key implication of this study for practitioners in the field were to use social media postings to identify neighborhoods and geographic locations affected by seasonal outbreak, such as influenza, which would help reduce the spread of the disease and ultimately lead to containment. Based on the findings of this study, social media data will help health authorities in detecting seasonal outbreaks earlier than just using official CDC channels of disease and illness reporting from physicians and labs thus, empowering health officials to plan their responses swiftly and allocate their resources optimally for the most affected areas. Future Research: A future researcher could use more complex deep learning algorithms, such as Artificial Neural Networks and Recurrent Neural Networks, to evaluate the accuracy of flu outbreak prediction models as compared to the regression models used in this study. A future researcher could apply other sentiment analysis techniques, such as natural language processing and deep learning techniques, to identify context-sensitive emotion, concept extraction, and sarcasm detection for the identification of self-reporting flu tweets. A future researcher could expand the scope by continuously collecting tweets on a public cloud and applying big data applications, such as Hadoop and MapReduce, to perform predictions using several months of historical data or even years for a larger geographical area.

Aim/Purpose: Board of Directors seek to use their big data as a competitive advantage. Still, scholars note the complexities of corporate governance in practice related to information security risk management (ISRM) effectiveness. Background: While the interest in ISRM and its relationship to organizational success has grown, the scholarly literature is unclear about the effects of Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) leadership styles, the alignment of the governance of big data, and ISRM effectiveness in organizations in the West-ern United States. Methodology: The research method selected for this study was a quantitative, correlational research design. Data from 139 participant survey responses from Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) in the Western United States were analyzed using 3 regression models to test for mediation following Baron and Kenny’s methodology. Contribution: Previous scholarship has established the importance of leadership styles, big data governance, and ISRM effectiveness, but not in a combined understanding of the relationship between all three variables. The researchers’ primary objective was to contribute valuable knowledge to the practical field of computer science by empirically validating the relationships between the CTOs leadership styles, the alignment of the governance of big data, and ISRM effectiveness. Findings: The results of the first regression model between CTOs leadership styles and ISRM effectiveness were statistically significant. The second regression model results between CTOs leadership styles and the alignment of the governance of big data were not statistically significant. The results of the third regression model between CTOs leadership styles, the alignment of the governance of big data, and ISRM effectiveness were statistically significant. The alignment of the governance of big data was a significant predictor in the model. At the same time, the predictive strength of all 3 CTOs leadership styles was diminished between the first regression model and the third regression model. The regression models indicated that the alignment of the governance of big data was a partial mediator of the relationship between CTOs leadership styles and ISRM effectiveness. Recommendations for Practitioners: With big data growing at an exponential rate, this research may be useful in helping other practitioners think about how to test mediation with other interconnected variables related to the alignment of the governance of big data. Overall, the alignment of governance of big data being a partial mediator of the relationship between CTOs leadership styles and ISRM effectiveness suggests the significant role that the alignment of the governance of big data plays within an organization. Recommendations for Researchers: While this exact study has not been previously conducted with these three variables with CTOs in the Western United States, overall, these results are in agreement with the literature that information security governance does not significantly mediate the relationship between IT leadership styles and ISRM. However, some of the overall findings did vary from the literature, including the predictive relationship between transactional leadership and ISRM effectiveness. With the finding of partial mediation indicated in this study, this also suggests that the alignment of the governance of big data provides a partial intervention between CTOs leadership styles and ISRM effectiveness. Impact on Society: Big data breaches are increasing year after year, exposing sensitive information that can lead to harm to citizens. This study supports the broader scholarly consensus that to achieve ISRM effectiveness, better alignment of governance policies is essential. This research highlights the importance of higher-level governance as it relates to ISRM effectiveness, implying that ineffective governance could negatively impact both leadership and ISRM effectiveness, which could potentially cause reputational harm. Future Research: This study raised questions about CTO leadership styles, the specific governance structures involved related to the alignment of big data and ISRM effectiveness. While the research around these variables independently is mature, there is an overall lack of mediation studies as it relates to the impact of the alignment of the governance of big data. With the lack of alignment around a universal framework, evolving frameworks could be tested in future research to see if similar results are obtained.

Aim/Purpose; Fostering student engagement is one of the great challenges of teaching, especially in online learning environments. An educators’ assumptions and beliefs about what student engagement is and how it manifests will shape the strategies they design to engage students in learning. However, there is no agreement on the definition of concept of student engagement and it re-mains a vague construct. Background: Adopting the principles of user-centered design, the author maintains that to design learning experiences which better support student engagement it is important to gain insights into how students perceive and operationalize the concept of engagement in learning. The recent challenges of teaching effectively online prompted the author to reflect more deeply on the concept of engagement and how it might be achieved. Methodology: In the tradition of reflective teaching, the author undertook an informal, qualitative inquiry in her classroom, administering a brief questionnaire to students in her online class. When the themes which emerged were integrated with other literature and findings from the author’s earlier classroom inquiry, some insights were gained into how students ‘operationalize’ the concept of engagement, and weight was added to the authors’ premise of the value of humanistic approaches to university teaching, the need for greater emphasis on student-teacher connection and the necessity of considering the affective domain alongside the cognitive domain in learning in higher education. The insights were brought together and visualized in a conceptual model of student engagement. Contribution: The conceptual model presented in the present paper reflects the author’s present ‘mental model’ of student engagement in classes online and, when the opportunity arrives, in face-to-face classes as well. This mental model shapes the authors’ course design, learning activities and the delivery of the course. Although the elements of the model are not ‘new’, the model synthesizes several related concepts necessary to a humanist approach to under-standing student engagement. It is hoped that the model and discussion presented will be stimulus for further rich discussion around the nature of student engagement. Findings: Interestingly, the affective rather than the cognitive domain framed students’ perspectives on what engagement ‘looks like to them’ and on what teachers should do to engage them. Recommendations for Practitioners: By sharing the process through which the author arrived at this understanding of student engagement, the author has also sought to highlight three key points: the importance of including the ‘student perspectives and expectations’ against which educators can examine their own assumptions as part of the process reflective teaching practices; the usefulness of integrating theoretical and philosophical frameworks in our understandings of student engagement and how it might be nurtured, and finally the necessity of affording greater influence to humanism and the affective domain in higher education. The findings emphasize the necessity of considering the affective dimension of engagement as an essential condition for cognitive engagement and as inextricable from the cognitive dimension of engagement. Recommendations for Researchers: The emphasis in research engagement learning and teaching is on how we (the educators) can do this better, how we can better engage students. While the student perspective is often formulated from data obtained through surveys and focus groups, researchers in learning engagement are working with their own understandings (albeit supported by empirical research). It is crucial for deeper insight to also understand the students’ conceptualization of the phenomena being researched. Bringing the principles of design thinking to bear on educational research will likely provide greater depth of insight. Impact on Society: Empirical, formal, and structured research is undeniably essential to advancing human endeavor in any field, including learning and teaching. It is however important to recognize informal research in the form of classroom inquiry as part of teachers’ reflexive practice is also legitimate and useful to advancing understanding of complex phenomenon such as student engagement in learning through multiple perspectives and experiences. Future Research: Further research on the nature of student engagement in different contexts and against different theoretical frameworks is warranted as is empirical investigation of the premise of the value of humanism and the affective do-main in defining and measuring student engagement in higher education.

Aim/Purpose: The low proportion of women currently working in the field of business information systems presents an opportunity to attract more women to this field. For example, in Germany, the proportion of women studying business information systems is currently 21%, compared to 48% in business administration (Statistisches Bundesamt, 2020). Which characteristics make the professional field of business information systems appear attractive to women and men – and which characteristics do not? Background: Studies on careers in business information systems are important to mitigate the long-lasting shortage of IT specialists, yet research is limited in this area. Methodology: To capture empirical data, graduates of the Business Information Systems program at the University of Applied Sciences in Hannover were surveyed. Contribution: The results show that women and men perceive the work climate and working conditions very differently and are also satisfied to a different extent. Characteristics of the work climate place significantly more restrictions on satisfaction for women than for men. Women primarily criticize characteristics that can be described as involving “a lack of fairness”. Findings: The differences in perceived work climate may negatively impact the proportion of women in business information systems. A number of measures have already been established to support women in coping better with the prevailing climate. However, some measures bear the risk that women are thus accused of assimilating to the prevailing climate. This can seem pre-sumptuous since the dominant male culture is taken for granted and “set”. Measures for team-building and personnel development appear to be more suitable if these address the actual values and norms of teamwork, question them where necessary, and change them for everyone. Recommendations for Practitioners: Women’s career goals are clearly different from men’s goals, and women do not achieve goals with high priority very well. Work climate is perceived more critically by women than by men: less fair, less supportive. Advantages of diversity and plurality are put at risk if women should put aside their different “other” perceptions of cooperation and negotiation in order to act according to the rules of the male-dominated system. Impact on Society: Studies on careers in business information systems are important to mitigate the longer-lasting shortage of IT specialists. The low proportion of women currently working in IT presents an opportunity to attract more women to business information systems.

Aim/Purpose: Designing augmented reality (AR) experiences for education, health or entertainment involves multidisciplinary teams making design decisions across several areas. The goal of this paper is to present a classification schema that describes the design choices when constructing an AR interactive experience. Background: Existing extended reality schema often focuses on single dimensions of an AR experience, with limited attention to design choices. These schemata, combined with an analysis of a diverse range of AR applications, form the basis for the schema synthesized in this paper. Methodology: An extensive literature review and scoring of existing classifications were completed to enable a definition of seven design dimensions. To validate the design dimensions, the literature was mapped to the seven-design choice to represent opportunities when designing AR iterative experiences. Contribution: The classification scheme of seven dimensions can be applied to communicating design considerations and alternative design scenarios where teams of domain specialists need to collaborate to build AR experiences for a defined purpose. Findings: The dimensions of nature of reality, location (setting), feedback, objects, concepts explored, participant presence and interactive agency, and style describe features common to most AR experiences. Classification within each dimension facilitates ideation for novel experiences and proximity to neighbours recommends feasible implementation strategies. Recommendations for Practitioners: To support professionals, this paper presents a comprehensive classification schema and design rationale for AR. When designing an AR experience, the schema serves as a design template and is intended to ensure comprehensive discussion and decision making across the spectrum of design choices. Recommendations for Researchers: The classification schema presents a standardized and complete framework for the review of literature and AR applications that other researchers will benefit from to more readily identify relevant related work. Impact on Society: The potential of AR has not been fully realized. The classification scheme presented in this paper provides opportunities to deliberately design and evaluate novel forms of AR experience. Future Research: The classification schema can be extended to include explicit support for the design of virtual and extended reality applications.

Aim/Purpose. The most crucial aspects of teaching a foreign language to more advanced learners are building an awareness of discourse modes, how to regulate discourse, and the pragmatic properties of discourse components. However, in different languages, the connections and structure of discourse are ensured by different linguistic means which makes matters complicated for the learner. Background. By uncovering regularities in a foreign language and comparing them with patterns in one’s own tongue, the corpus research method offers the student unique opportunities to acquire linguistic knowledge about discourse markers. This paper reports on an investigation of the functions of multi-word discourse markers. Methodology. In our research, we combine the alignment model of the phrase-based statistical machine translation and manual treatment of the data in order to examine English multi-word discourse markers and their equivalents in Lithuanian and Hebrew translations by researching their changes in translation. After establishing the full list of multi-word discourse markers in our generated parallel corpus, we research how the multi-word discourse markers are treated in translation. Contribution. Creating a parallel research corpus to identify multi-word expressions used as discourse markers, analyzing how they are translated into Lithuanian and Hebrew, and attempting to determine why the translators made the choices add value to corpus-driven research and how to manage discourse. Findings. Our research proves that there is a possible context-based influence guiding the translation to choose a particle or other lexical item integration in Lithuanian or Hebrew translated discourse markers to express the rhetorical domain which could be related to the so-called phenomenon of “over-specification.” Recommendations for Practitioners. The comparative examination of discourse markers provides language instructors and translators with more specific information about the roles of discourse markers. Recommendations for Researchers. Understanding the multifunctionality of discourse markers provides new avenues for discourse marker application in translation research. Impact on Society. The current study may be a useful method to strengthen students’ language awareness and analytic skills and is particularly important for students specializing in English philology or translation. Beyond the empirical research, an extensive parallel data resource has been created to be openly used. Future Research. It should be noted that the observed phenomenon of “over-specification” could be analyzed further in future research.

Aim/Purpose. This study examined the self-perception of adolescents and young people aged 17-21 – how they perceived their personal characteristics, self-image, vitality, belonging to a local and global (glocal) society, happiness index and activity, media usage habits in general and smartphones in particular – in other words, it sought to produce a sketch of their character. Background. Different age groups are influenced by various factors that shape them, including living environment, technological developments, experiences, common issues, events of glocal significance, and more. People belonging to Gen Z were born at the end of the previous century and the beginning of the 21st century (up to 2010). This generation was born into the digital technological age and is the first one born into the environment defined by smartphones, and social media. Its members are referred to as “digital natives” because they were born after the widespread adoption of digital technology in the Western world. They entered an environment characterized by the widespread daily use of smartphones, the Internet, and technology in general. Methodology. This was a quantitative study based on a sample of 418 Israeli adolescents and young people aged 17-21. The following questionnaires were administered anonymously and disseminated online to an audience of youths aged 17-21 across Israel: A demographic questionnaire; Self-esteem; Vitality; Belonging vs. alienation; Social-emotional aspects; Usage habits in digital environments; Usage habits of learning on a smartphone; Open questions. Contribution. The current study tried to define clusters to characterize adolescents and youth aged 17-21. Findings Results show that study participants had high self-esteem and vitality, felt be-longing, happy, and satisfied with their life, and perceived themselves as active and enterprising at an average level or above. The study identified two clusters. Participants in Cluster 1 were characterized by higher parameter averages than those in Cluster 2 on the self-image, vitality, belonging, happiness, and activism scales. Participants in Cluster 1 felt that using a smartphone made life easier, helped them solve everyday problems, made everyday conduct easier, and allowed them to express themselves, keep up to date with what is happening with their friends, disseminate information conveniently, be involved in social life, and establish relationships with those around them. They thought that it was easy to collaborate with others and to plan activities and events. Recommendations for Practitioners. When examining cluster correlations with data in relation to other variables, it is apparent that participants in Cluster 1 had more options to reach out for help, report more weekly hours spent talking and meeting with friends and feel that using a smartphone makes everyday life easier and facilitates their day-to-day conduct than did participants in Cluster 2. The smartphone allows them to express themselves, keep updated regarding what is happening with their friends and disseminate information easily, helps them be involved in social life and establish connections with those around them. They find it easy to communicate and cooperate with others and to plan activities and events. By contrast, participants in Cluster 2 felt that the smartphone complicates things for them and creates problems in their daily lives. They feel that the use of social networks burdens them and that the smartphone prevents them from being more involved in their social life, and from establishing relationships with those around them. They felt that communication by smartphone creates more problems in understanding messages. Recommendations for Researchers. One of the challenges of this generation is forming an independent identity and self-regulation in a digital, global, across-the-border era that offers a variety of possibilities and communities. They must examine the connection between the digital and personal spaces, to be able to enjoy virtual communities and a sense of togetherness, and at the same time maintain privacy, autonomy, and individuality. Many studies point to the blurring of boundaries between the private-personal and the public, at numerous problems in social networks, including social problems, shaming, and exclusion from various groups and activities. The fear of shaming and the desire to keep up with everything that is happening create a state of mental stress, and adolescents often feel that they urgently need to check their smartphones. Sharing with others can help them deal with negative content and experiences and avoid the dangers lurking in their web surfing. Yet sharing, especially with friends, often causes intimate content to become public and leads to shaming and invasion of privacy. Impact on Society. Gen Z was born into an environment where smartphones, the Internet, and technology in general, are widely used in everyday routine, and they make extensive use of technological means in all areas of life. One of the characteristics of this generation is “globalization.” The present study showed that about 84% of participants felt to a moderate degree or higher that they were citizens of the world. Future Research. The findings of this study revealed a significant difference in self-image between males and females. An attempt was made to explain the findings in light of previous studies, but the need arose for studies on the self-image of young people of Gen Z that would shed light on the subject.

Aim/Purpose. The problem statement in the proposed study focuses on that, despite the growing recognition that teenagers need to undergo security awareness training, little is known about the impacts security training experts believe implementing a mandatory gamified security awareness training curriculum in public middle schools will have on the long-term security behavior of students in Texas. Background. This study was guided by the research question: What are the impacts security training experts believe implementing a mandatory gamified security aware-ness training curriculum in public middle schools will have on the long-term security behaviors of students in Texas? The study gathers opinions from experts on the impacts of security awareness training on students. Methodology. Our research used semi-structured interviews with twelve experts chosen through the use of purposive sampling. The population for the study consisted of experts in the fields of security awareness training for and teaching middle school-aged children. Candidates were recruited through the Cyber-Texas Foundation and snowball sampling techniques. Contribution. The research contributed to the body of knowledge by using interviews to explore the impacts of security awareness training on middle school students based on the opinions and views of the teachers and instructors who work with middle school students. Findings. The findings of this study demonstrate that middle school is an ideal time to provide cybersecurity training and will impact student behaviors by making them more conscious of cyber threats and preparing them to be more tech-savvy professionals. The research also showed that well-designed cybersecurity games with real-world application combined with traditional teaching techniques can help students develop positive habits. The research also suggests that teachers possess the skills to teach cybersecurity classes and the classes can be integrated into the current school day without the need for any significant changes to existing daily schedules. Recommendations for Practitioners. A well-design gamification-based curriculum implemented in Texas Middle Schools, combined with traditional teaching techniques and repeated over an extended time period, will impact students’ behaviors by making them more able to recognize and respond to cyber risks and will transform them into more secure and tech-savvy members of society. Recommendations for Researchers. The research shows middle school instructors and technology experts believe the implementation of a security awareness training program in middle schools is both possible and practical, while also beneficial to the students. The recommendation is to encourage researchers to explore ways to build curricula and games capable of appealing to students and implementing the instruction into school programs. Impact on Society. Demonstrating that training provided in middle school will make lasting impacts and improvements to student behaviors benefits children and their families in the short-term and workplaces in the long-term. The development of a more security-conscious workforce can reduce the significant number of data breaches and cyber attacks resulting from the poor security habits of companies’ users. Future Research. Future research that will add significant value to the body of knowledge includes testing the effectiveness of habit-shaping games to determine whether existing long-term games maintain student interest. Qualitative studies could interview parents of teenagers using habit-shaping games to determine the effectiveness of the applications. Another qualitative study could interview teachers to determine how teachers’ ages affect their comfort level teaching technology classes. Both studies could provide valuable insights into how to implement security awareness training in schools.

Aim/Purpose. The goal of this publication is to explore methods for advancing student success in technology related disciplines via improved program classification and selection within higher education. Background. Increased demand for information technology (IT) professionals has been cited as a challenge in many fields including cybersecurity and software development. Many highlight the challenge as not just a numbers gap but a skills gap when comparing industry needs to the curricula in traditional disciplines within higher education. Closing the gap by increasing the number of skilled graduates remains a critical challenge we must address. Methodology. This publication leverages a systematic literature review to identify factors that classify existing higher education programs within the discipline of information technology. Contribution. Research in this area can act as a catalyst to increase relevance of IT related programs as well as graduation rates in technology and engineering. Findings. Authors analyzed forty-four primary studies and found that 56.8% of the publications referenced programs that meet the IT framework definition although they were not classified as IT programs. The findings and further analysis highlight direct challenges between program classification and the potential impact on student success. Recommendations for Practitioners. Research in this area is relevant for academic administrators, private sector executives and others working to increase the technology pipeline. Recommendations for Researchers. Researchers may benefit by exploring thematic analysis as a means of generating relevant classifications and taxonomies that highlight opportunities for improvement in a broad set of subject areas. Impact on Society. Research in this area can serve as a catalyst to increase graduation rates in programs related to technology and engineering. Future Research. This area would benefit from further research by comparing program success rates within varied disciplines. Future research may also produce a classification process.

Aim/Purpose. This paper aims to answer the research question, “What are the development phases of the academic discipline of information technology in the United States?” This is important to understand the reason for the growing talent gap in the information technology (IT) industry by reviewing the evolution of information technology across time, how the discipline was formed, evolved, and gained independence from other information and computing disciplines. Background. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the shortage of IT professionals in the workplace. The root reason for this talent shortage requires understanding from both industry and academic perspectives in order to implement effective initiatives to prepare, recruit, and retain diverse IT professionals at an early stage. Methodology. This paper used a systematic literature review methodology and retrieved 143 primary studies from the ACM and IEEE Xplore digital libraries to review the development phases of the IT discipline as a contributing factor in understanding why, when, and how the population of professionals in IT and other relevant computing disciplines has changed and continues to fluctuate. Thematic analysis was applied to the abstracts of the primary studies, which spanned the period of 1982 to 2021. Contribution. This paper contributes to the understanding of the discipline of IT in the US and contributes foundations to researchers and educators who are working on strategies to fill the talent gap. Findings. Based on the thematic analysis in this paper, the academic discipline of IT has evolved over four phases across a timeline from 1982 to 2021. These phases were: Phase 1 (1982-1991) – Advent of Information Technology; Phase 2 (1992-2001) – Industry IT & DevOps; Phase 3 (2002-2011) – Information Technology and Management in Evolving Industry, Academia, and Research Areas; and Phase 4 (2011-2021) – Information Technology Research & Education. Recommendations for Practitioners. IT occupies an independent disciplinary space from computer science, computer engineering, and information systems. The paper suggests that practitioners seeking to fill the talent gap in IT invest in enabling its academic programs. Recommendations for Researchers. The depth of the IT disciplinary space and its continued evolution over time is ready for exploration. Continued research in this area may yield a better understanding of its role in society, the skills needed to succeed, and how to build programs to empower students with these skills. Impact on Society. Examining the discipline of IT and understanding its independence and interrelated connection with other computing disciplines will help address the shortfalls in academia across the nation by identifying the distinction between each discipline and creating comprehensive programs, degrees, and curricula suitable for various students and professionals across all educational levels. Future Research. Future research will integrate papers’ introductions and conclusions in addition to abstracts, increase the number of databases and reviewers, as well as incorporate papers that focus on other information and computing disciplines such as computer science and information systems to explore the possibility that IT as a discipline was initially practiced in an existing information or computing discipline before it gained independence.

Aim/Purpose. In this study, we examined, from the perspective of the participants, aspects of information and communications technology (ICT) and resilience, comparing first-generation students in higher education with students whose parents had higher education. Methodology. We examined self-image, motivation, happiness, and the use of ICT. This was a quantitative study. Respondents answered a questionnaire that contained open and closed questions. The sample included 307 students from academic institutions in Israel between the ages of 18 and 64. Findings. The findings were grouped into four clusters: (a) second-generation students under the age of 25 years, members of Generation Z; (b) second-generation students over the age of 25; (c) first-generation students over the age of 25 years (the largest group in the sample), mostly members of the Generation Y; and (d) first-generation students under the age of 25. We found consistent differences on all scales between the group of first-generation students over the age of 25 years and those in the other groups. The research findings indicate that the group with the highest resilience was students who were the first generation acquiring higher education and were over 25, mostly members of the Y generation. Impact on Society. This research allows an instructive look at Generation Y and Generation Z and the academic abilities of this generation. Future Research. Future studies should examine the correlation between a sense of resilience (which was examined in this study) and academic achievement (which was not).

Aim/Purpose. This study addresses the research question: “What are the developmental phases of Information Technology in the industry?” Existing research has explored the impact of Information Technology (IT) on specific industries. However, it is essential to understand the evolution of IT within industries, its influence on the workforce, and technological advancements. Addressing this knowledge gap will enhance future workforce development and IT integration across diverse sectors. Background. IT can significantly transform industries and drive innovation to meet client demands. Understanding IT phases in industry through literature helps governments and businesses worldwide recognize its importance. This knowledge can guide strategies to address the shortage of highly skilled workers by prioritizing education and training programs to meet future demands. Methodology The methodology involved a systematic literature review of 110 IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, and Google Scholar articles. Thematic analysis was used to understand the development of IT in distinct phases since the 1990s. This development has resulted in a continuous demand for new workforce skills and evolving customer expectations. Contribution. This study aims to fill the knowledge gap by enhancing our understanding of how evolving IT influences the industry and shapes IT jobs and skills. It provides a historical perspective, illustrating how IT advancements have led to new applications to meet changing needs. Additionally, the study identifies patterns in the evolving IT skill requirements due to technological advancements and discusses implications for curriculum development and higher education. Findings. The study identified three significant phases through a systematic literature review and thematic analysis. The first phase, “Advent of Industry IT” (1990-2000), established the digital framework and built essential systems and infrastructure. The second phase, “Connectivity & Information Revolution” (2000-2010), saw exponential internet growth, transforming information access and communication. The third phase, “Emerging Industry IT” (2010-present), focuses on artificial intelligence, automation, and data-driven insights, continuing to disrupt and transform industries. Recommendations for Practitioners. The changing phases of IT within the industry should inform the development of innovative programs. These programs should address diverse skill sets across eras, preparing the workforce for evolving job roles in various sectors, such as healthcare in North America, automotive manufacturing in Japan, telecommunications in Africa, and innovations in other parts of the world. Recommendations for Researchers. Researchers can conduct longitudinal studies to explore the ongoing evolution of IT, tracking its trajectory beyond current delineated phases to understand future trends. Comparative studies across various industries can assess how IT evolution varies among sectors and delve deeper into its practical implications. Researchers can also conduct impact assessment studies to determine how various IT phases directly affect organizational strategy, worker dynamics, and organizational structures across industries. Examples include logistics in the Netherlands, retail in the United Kingdom, and agriculture in Brazil. Impact on Society. Policymakers and planners can use knowledge of these phases to predict technological shifts and industry trends. This knowledge helps develop strategies and policies supporting entrepreneurship, education and training alignment, technical innovation, economic growth, and job creation in line with the changing IT landscape. Examples of policies include Singapore’s Smart Nation initiative, Germany’s Industry 4.0 strategy, Ghana’s digitization efforts, and India’s Digital India campaign. Future Research. Future research can provide a thorough understanding of the evolutionary patterns of IT within sectors by validating the study through various datasets and conducting in-depth examinations of individual industries. This will contribute to a deeper understanding of sector-specific IT evolution and their varying impact on societal interactions and industry dynamics. Comparative studies across various sectors, such as logistics in the Netherlands, retail in the United Kingdom, and agriculture in Brazil, can assess how IT evolution varies.

Aim/Purpose: To investigate the impact of the evolution of Information Technology on global workforce skills and explore emerging approaches that address the IT talent shortage faced by diverse companies in finding skilled IT workers. Background: This paper explores diverse approaches to bridge the skilled IT workers shortage gap, especially in the context of the widening gap following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study emphasizes the need to consistently leverage business and information technology strategies for competitive advantage. Methodology: This study followed the systematic literature review methodology on 809 articles from ACM, IEEE Xplore, and Scopus digital libraries by utilizing an integrative mixed methods approach with topic modeling and manual content analysis. Contribution: This paper aims to understand and describe the impact of the evolution of the IT industry on its workforce. It contributes additional evidence to our understanding of IT workforce development to support researchers and educators working towards developing effective strategies to bridge the IT talent gap. Findings: On the one hand, the study finds that the evolution of the IT industry produces a shift in required skills and knowledge, resulting in workers needing to adapt and embrace lifelong learning. On the other hand, the evolution of IT creates new opportunities for workers and results in a more globalized and interconnected workforce. Recommendations for Practitioners: Practitioners are recommended to adapt to the shifting skills landscape, encourage lifelong learning, explore new opportunities for workers, and embrace a more globalized workforce. Recommendations for Researchers: Researchers are encouraged to further explore the identified themes and delve into the nuances of the evolving impact of information technology on workforce skills. Impact on Society: The findings have implications for industry growth, emphasizing the importance of aligning business and IT strategies to address the shortage of skilled IT workers on a global scale. Future Research: Future research should focus on the continuous evolution of information technology and its impact on workforce skills, considering the identified themes as a foundation for further exploration.

Aim/Purpose. The aim of this study is to recognize the factors that contributed to the development of IT in the healthcare industry. Background. The healthcare Information Technology (IT) solutions market has experienced remarkable growth, with the healthcare sector emerging as a $303 billion industry. However, despite its substantial size, the healthcare industry has faced criticism for its slow adoption of innovative technologies. This study aims to explore factors driving the evolution of IT in the healthcare sector. Methodology. The researchers conducted a systematic literature review, searching the PubMed and Emerald databases for relevant peer-reviewed articles. After filtering based on defined criteria, 433 articles were included for analysis. Thematic analysis was applied to the abstract of articles which spanned the period of 1997 to 2023. Contribution. This study provides a conceptual framework elucidating the key factors driving the evolution of IT in the healthcare industry. By systematically analyzing the existing literature, the research identifies four overarching themes – government policies, technological potentials, healthcare delivery needs, and organizational motivations – that have propelled the development and adoption of healthcare IT solutions. Provide a conceptual model for understanding, and design of the healthcare it solutions. Findings. Based on the analysis in this paper, four themes emerged: government policies promoting IT adoption through initiatives like incentives for electronic health records; technological breakthroughs enabling new healthcare IT capabilities; healthcare delivery needs to drive IT integration for improved quality and safety; and patient experience and organizational motivations to leverage IT for streamlining processes and knowledge management. Recommendations for Practitioners. The conceptual model can guide practitioners in developing IT solutions aligned with policy drivers, technological capabilities, care delivery needs, and organizational imperatives. Recommendations for Researchers. The conceptual framework developed in this study offers a lens for researchers across disciplines to continue investigating the role of information technology in the healthcare industry. Impact on Society. Examining the evolution of IT in the healthcare industry revealed the importance of information technology in enhancing the delivery and affordability of healthcare services and addressing issues of accessibility and inequality. Future Research. Future research will explore global perspectives showcasing the successful impact of IT on healthcare, as emerging technologies impact healthcare delivery and patient outcomes.

Aim/Purpose. Capture the Flag (CTF) challenges are a popular form of cybersecurity education where students solve hands-on tasks in a game-like setting. These exercises provide learning experiences with various specific technologies and subjects, as well as a broader understanding of cybersecurity topics. Competitions reinforce and teach problem-solving skills that are applicable in various technical and non-technical environments outside of the competitions. Background. The Information Search Process (ISP) is a framework developed to under-stand the process by which an individual goes about studying a topic, identifying emotional ties connected to each step an individual takes. As the individual goes through the problem-solving process, there is a clear flow from uncertainty to clarity; the individual’s feelings, thoughts, and actions are all interconnected. This study aims to investigate the learning of cybersecurity concepts within the framework of the ISP, specifically in the context of CTF competitions. Methodology. A comprehensive research methodology designed to incorporate quantitative and qualitative analyses to draw the parallels between the participants’ emotional experiences and the affective dimensions of learning will be implemented to measure the three primary goals. Contribution. This study contributes significantly to the broader landscape of cybersecurity education and cognitive-emotional experiences in problem-solving. Findings. The study has three primary goals. First, we seek to enhance our under-standing of the emotional and intellectual aspects involved in problem-solving, as demonstrated by the ISP approach. Second, we aim to gain in-sights into how the presentation of CTF challenges influences the learning experience of participants. Lastly, we strive to contribute to the improvement of cybersecurity education by identifying actionable steps for more effective teaching of technical skills and approaches. Recommendations for Practitioners. Competitions reinforce and teach problem-solving skills applicable in various technical and non-technical environments outside of the competitions. Recommendations for Researchers. The Information Search Process (ISP) framework may enhance our understanding of the emotional and intellectual aspects involved in problem-solving as we study the emotional ties connected to each step an individual takes as the individual goes through the problem-solving process. Impact on Society. Our pursuit of advancing our understanding of cybersecurity education will better equip future generations with the skills and knowledge needed to ad-dress the evolving challenges of the digital landscape. This will better pre-pare them for real-world challenges. Future Research. Future studies would include the development of a cybersecurity curriculum on vulnerability exploitation and defense. It would include practice exploiting practical web and binary vulnerabilities, reverse engineering, system hardening, security operations, and understanding how they can be chained together.