bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Impact of Collaborative Work on Technology Acceptance: A Case Study from Virtual Computing
Authors: Konak Abdullah , Kulturel-Konak Sadan , Nasereddin Mahdi , R.  Bartolacci Michael 
Published: October 2017

Aim/Purpose	This paper utilizes the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to examine the extent to which acceptance of Remote Virtual Computer Laboratories (RVCLs) is affected by students’ technological backgrounds and the role of collaborative work.

Background	RVCLs are widely used in information technology and cyber security education to provide students with hands-on experimentation. However, students may not exploit their full benefits if they do not accept RVCLs as a viable educational technology.

Methodology	In order to study the impact of collaborative work on technology acceptance, an empirical study was conducted using collaborative and individual versions of an introductory level computer networking exercise in an RVCL. Trials for the empirical study included students from technology intensive and non-technology intensive programs.

Contribution	The relationship between the technological background of students and their acceptance of an RVCL and the effect of collaborative work on this relationship were explored for the first time in the literature.
Findings	The findings of the study supported that collaborative work could improve non-technology students’ acceptance of RVCLs. However, no significant effect of collaborative work on technology acceptance was observed in the case of technology students.

Recommendations
for Practitioners	Educators should consider the benefits of collaborative work while introducing a new technology to students who may not have background in the technology introduced.

Recommendation
for Researchers	In this study, student technological background was found to be a significant factor for technology acceptance; hence, it is recommended that technological background is included in TAM studies as an external factor.

Future Research	Repeating similar studies with multiple exercises with varying degrees of challenge is required for a better understanding of how collaborative work and student technological background affect technology acceptance.
Learning by Doing: Twenty Successful Active Learning Exercises for Information Systems Courses
Authors: Mitchell Alanah , Petter Stacie , Harris Al 
Published: October 2017

Aim/Purpose: This paper provides a review of previously published work related to active learning in information systems (IS) courses.

Background: There are a rising number of strategies in higher education that offer promise in regards to getting students’ attention and helping them learn, such as flipped classrooms and offering courses online. These learning strategies are part of the pedagogical technique known as active learning. Active learning is a strategy that became popular in the early 1990s and has proven itself as a valid tool for helping students to be engaged with learning.

Methodology: This work follows a systematic method for identifying and coding previous research based on an aspect of interest. The authors identified and assessed research through a search of ABI/Inform scholarly journal abstracts and keywords, as well as additional research databases, using the search terms “active learning” and “information systems” from 2000 through June 2016.

Contribution: This synthesis of active learning exercises provides guidance for information technology faculty looking to implement active learning strategies in their classroom by demonstrating how IS faculty might begin to introduce more active learning techniques in their teaching as well as by presenting a sample teaching agenda for a class that uses a mix of active and passive learning techniques to engage student learning.

Findings: Twenty successful types of active learning exercises in IS courses are presented.

Recommendations for Practitioners	: This paper offers a “how to” resource of successful active learning strategies for IS faculty interested in implementing active learning in the classroom.

Recommendation for Researchers:	This work provides an example of a systematic literature review as a means to assess successful implementations of active learning in IS.

Impact on Society: An updated definition of active learning is presented as well as a meaningful list of exercises that encourage active learning both inside and outside of the IS classroom.

Future Research: In relation to future research, this study highlights a number of opportunities for IS faculty in regards to new active learning activities or trends to study further.
Pre-Service Teachers’ Intention to Use MUVEs as Practitioners – A Structural Equation Modeling Approach
Authors: Fokides Emmanuel 
Published: October 2017

Aim/Purpose: The study examines the effectiveness of university courses in shaping pre-service teachers’ intention to use 3D multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) when they become practicing teachers.

Background:	Four variables (perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, self-efficacy, and attitude toward use), as well as behavioral intention to use MUVEs, were used to build a research model that extended the Technology Acceptance Model, and structural equation modeling was used for parameter estimation and model testing.

Methodology:	Self-reported data was gathered from 325 pre-service teachers studying at the Department of Primary School Education at the University of the Aegean in Greece.

Contribution: The study demonstrated the applicability of the TAM as a model that can adequately explain pre-service teachers’ intention to use MUVEs as practicing teachers.

Findings: Results analyses revealed a good model fit and, overall, 64% of the variance in behavioral intention was explained. Perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use were the most influential factors.

Recommendations for Practitioners: In order to increase the odds of a successful use of MUVEs in educational settings, institutions need to address specific organizational factors that will positively influence pre-service teachers’ intentions to use them and provide experiences relevant to that technology. Also, more emphasis is needed on the usability of MUVEs.
Ransomware: A Research and a Personal Case Study of Dealing with this Nasty Malware
Authors: Ali Azad 
Published: October 2017

[This Proceedings paper was revised and published in the journal Issues in Informing Science and Information Technology]

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
Browser App Approach: Can It Be an Answer to the Challenges in Cross-Platform App Development?
Authors: Q. Huynh Minh , Ghimire Prashant 
Published: October 2017

Aim/Purpose: As smartphones proliferate, many different platforms begin to emerge. The challenge to developers as well as IS educators and students is how to learn the skills to design and develop apps to run on cross-platforms.

Background:	For developers, the purpose of this paper is to describe an alternative to the complex native app development. For IS educators and students, the paper provides a feasible way to learn and develop fully functional mobile apps without technical burdens.

Methodology: The methods used in the development of browser-based apps is prototyping. Our proposed approach is browser-based, supports cross-platforms, uses open-source standards, and takes advantage of “write-once-and-run-anywhere” (WORA) concept.

Contribution: The paper illustrates the application of the browser-based approach to create a series of browser apps without high learning curve.

Findings: The results show the potentials for using browser app approach to teach as well as to create new apps.

Recommendations for Practitioners	: Our proposed browser app development approach and example would be useful to mobile app developers/IS educators and non-technical students because the source code as well as documentations in this project are available for downloading.

Future Research:	For further work, we discuss the use of hybrid development framework to enhance browser apps.
Factors Affecting Social Network Use by Students in Indonesia
Authors: Kristianto Budhi 
Published: October 2017

Background:	Although Indonesia is one of the world’s most populated countries with a high penetration of internet usage there has been little research on SNS usage in Indonesia, especially involving children. Instead, SNS research in Indonesia has focused on university students and political, marketing, and disaster mitigation issues.

Aim/Purpose: In order to address this gap a theoretical model is formulated from a review of previous studies incorporating basic constructs found in the Technology Acceptance Model (Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, and Attitude) as well as other influences, motivations, and individual characteristics that affect a child’s attitude toward the use of SNS.

Methodology	: The model is evaluated and developed using data collected from 460 children in primary school grades 4, 5, and 6 in five cities in Indonesia. The statistical techniques implemented with SPSS and Amos computer software (t-tests, correlation coefficients, principal component factor analysis, Cronbach alpha coefficients, and structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis).

Findings: The results confirm many of the effects on a child’s attitude toward SNS reported in previous studies due to: the usefulness and ease of use of SNS; parental influence; feelings of flow experience and risk; and the child’s level of access, technical expertise, and experience with SNS. New findings include significant correlations and causal effects involving: the influences of peers and parents; the child’s level of technical expertise; and feelings of flow experience.

Contribution: Despite limitations related to sampling and the administration of a questionnaire among young children, the findings contribute to theory as well as practice and provide guidance on effective ways to improve children’s attitudes towards the use of SNS.
Enhanced Critical Thinking Skills through Problem-Solving Games in Secondary Schools
Authors: D McDonald Scott 
Published: October 2017

[This Proceedings paper was revised and published in the Interdisciplinary Journal of E-Skills and Lifelong Learning (IJELL)]

Aim/Purpose: Students face many challenges improving their soft skills such as critical thinking. This paper offers one possible solution to this problem.

Background:	This paper considers one method of enhancing critical thinking through a problem-solving game called the Coffee Shop. Problem-solving is a key component to critical thinking, and game-playing is one method of enhancing this through an interactive teaching method.

Methodology: Three classes of Vietnamese high school students engaged in the Coffee Shop game. The method seeks outcome measurements through the use of analysis of multiple surveys to assess and interpret if critical thinking may have been improved.

Contribution: The study may help to understand the importance of problem-solving in the context of an entrepreneurial setting and add to the variation of methods used to deliver the lesson to students in the classroom.

Findings: The findings show that practicing problem-solving scenarios with a focus on critical thinking in a time limited setting results in a measured improvement of this skill.

Recommendations for Practitioners	: The findings suggest that educators could use games more as tools for problem-solving to contribute to their students’ learning outcomes around developing critical thinking.

Recommendation for Researchers: More research could be devoted to developing problem-solving and critical thinking skills through game-play models.

Impact on Society: Improved critical thinking skills in individuals could make a greater contribution to society.

Future Research: A comparative study between different high school grades and genders as well as between different countries or cultures.
A Proposed Framework to Understand the Intrinsic Motivation Factors on University Students’ Behavioral Intention to Use a Mobile Application for Learning
Authors: H. Shroff Ronnie , J Keyes Christopher 
Published: October 2017

Aim/Purpose: By integrating a motivational perspective into the Technology Acceptance Model, the goal of this study is to empirically test the causal relationship of intrinsic motivational factors on students’ behavioral intention to use (BIU) a mobile application for learning.

Background:	Although the Technology Acceptance Model is a significant model, it largely remains incomplete as it does not take into consideration the motivation factors and/or outside influences in the adoption of new technology.

Methodology: A Mobile Application Motivation Instrument (MAMI) was developed from a comprehensive review of literature on intrinsic motivation and verified using a formalized card sorting procedure. Four intrinsic motivation scales were developed: perceived competence (COM), perceived challenge (CHA), perceived choice (CHO), and perceived interest (INT). Consequently, a scale to assess students’ behavioral intention (BIU) to use mobile applications was developed using existing scales from prior TAM instruments.

Contribution: Incorporating the motivational factors into TAM may provide better explanation and prediction of student acceptance and usage of mobile applications. A potential contribution of this study is the development of a reliable and valid instrument that could be further used by a growing community of researchers, instructional designers, and instructors.

Findings: Data were collected from 193 participants to test the causal relationship of perceived competence (COM), perceived challenge (CHA), perceived choice (CHO), and perceived interest (INT) on students’ behavioral intention to use (BIU) a mobile application, using a structural equation modeling approach. The structural path model indicated that perceived competence (COM), perceived challenge (CHA), perceived choice (CHO), and perceived interest (INT) had a significant influence on students’ behavioral intention to use (BIU) a mobile application for learning. Implications of this study are important for researchers and educational practitioners.

Future Research:	One environmental dimension, understudied but with likely implications for intrinsic motivation, is the social environment.
Can Learners Become Teachers? Evaluating the Merits of Student Generated Content and Peer Assessment
Authors: E Murray David , J. McGill Tanya , Thompson Nik , Toohey Danny 
Published: October 2017

[This Proceedings paper was revised and published in the journal Issues in Informing Science and Information Technology]

Aim/Purpose	: The aim of this project was to explore student perceptions of the value of both the creation of video content and exposure to other students’ work though peer assessment and inclusion of exemplars as unit materia

Background: The research was in a first year information technology flipped-learning unit, where the assessment involved students developing video presentations that were peer assessed and exemplars incorporated into the unit as teaching material.

Methodology	: Data was gathered using a mixed methods approach using an online questionnaire followed by semi-structured interviews with a selection of questionnaire respondents. The interviews were designed to further explore issues identified from the analysis of the questionnaire data.

Contribution: Informs on student perceptions of peer review and the integration of student generated content into University teaching.

Findings: Most students enjoyed the video assessment (58%) with many preferring it to a written or programming task (55-58%). In the subsequent peer assessment, many liked seeing the work of others (67%) and found the approach engaging (63%) yet some other perceptions were mixed or neutral.

Recommendations for Practitioners	: University IT students generally enjoyed and perceived peer assessment and found student generated content to be valuable.

Recommendation for Researchers : Further investigation of peer review and student generated content in contexts where the student cohort represents a variety of cultures and age categories

Impact on Society: Contributes to a body of knowledge regarding peer assessment and student generated educational materials.

Future Research: Future work is needed to better understand this domain, in particular the role of learners’ individual differences in order to successfully integrate these approaches into modern learning environments.
The Elements Way: Empowering Parents, Educators, and Mentors in the Age of New Media
Authors: Cohen Zilka Gila 
Published: October 2017

[This Proceedings paper was revised and published in the journal Issues in Informing Science and Information Technology]

Aim/Purpose: This study was designed to examine the effectiveness of mentor’s work with immigrant children and adolescents at risk, using the Elements Way.

Background: The New Media offers our “screen kids” a lot of information, many behavioral models, and a new type of social communication. The Elements Way is an educational method designed to enhance openness, development, breakthroughs, goal achievement, and transformation in the age of media and social networks.

Methodology: The Elements Way was developed following research on communication in the diversified media, especially new media such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and television reality shows, and the study is an examination of the effectiveness of mentors’ work with immigrant children and adolescents at risk, using the Elements Way. All mentors had been trained in the Elements Way. The study population included 640 mentors working with immigrants’ children in Israel. The work was conducted in 2010-2013. The mixed-methods approach was selected to validate findings.

Contribution: Empowering children and enhancing their ability to cope; Creating openness and sharing, making children more attentive to the significant adults in their lives; Supporting children who face the complex reality that characterizes our age.

Findings: Significant differences were found in the mentors’ conduct with the children. Work programs were designed and implemented with care and consistency, and mentors succeeded in generating change within the children and achieving desired goals. Of the 640 participating mentors, 62 were not able to promote the child, and interviews with them revealed that their work with the children was not consistent with the Elements Way and began from a different vantage point.

Recommendations for Practitioners: Success factors: Self-awareness and awareness of one’s surroundings. Empathy. Willingness to engage in significant interactions. Self-cleansing and self-reflection. Ability to engage in a personal and interpersonal dialogue. Ability to accept and contain the child. Cooperation with the child in creating a work program and assisting the child to achieve the goals that were set in the program.

Recommendation for Researchers:	Future studies should focus on analyzing the discussions of children and adolescents, to add depth to our insights regarding children and adolescents’ perception of the mentors’ work from their perspective.

Impact on Society: Finding the “keys” to openness, development, goal achievement, and transformation in our work with “screen kids.”

Future Research: Studies that are designed to examine the effectiveness of mentor’s work with immigrant children and adolescents at risk, using the Elements Way.
Fitness, Extrinsic Complexity and Informing Science
Authors: Gill Grandon , Mullarkey Matthew 
Published: October 2017

[This Proceedings paper was revised and published in Informing Science: the International Journal of an Emerging Transdiscipline (InfoSci)]

Aim/Purpose: We establish a conceptually rigorous definition for the widely used but loosely defined term “fitness”. We then tie this definition to complexity, highlighting a number of important implications for the informing science transdiscipline.

Background:	As informing science increasingly incorporates concepts of fitness and complexity in its research stream, rigorous discussion and definition of both terms is essential to effective communication.

Methodology: Our analysis consists principally of a synthesis of past work in the informing science field that incorporates concepts from evolutionary biology, economics and management.

Contribution: We provide a rigorous approach to defining fitness and introduce the construct “extrinsic complexity”, as a measure of the amount of information required to predict fitness, to more fully differentiate this form of complexity from other complexity constructs. We draw a number of conclusions regarding how behaviors under low and high extrinsic complexity will differ.

Findings: High extrinsic complexity environments are likely to produce behaviors that include resistance to change, imitation, turbulence and inequality.

Recommendations for Practitioners: As extrinsic complexity grows, effective search for problem solutions will increasingly dominate employing recommended solutions of “best practices”.

Recommendation for Researchers:	As extrinsic complexity grows, research tools that rely on decomposing individual effects and hypothesis testing become increasingly unreliable.

Impact on Society	: We raise concerns about society’s continuing investment in academic research that discounts the extrinsic complexity of the domains under study.

Future Research: We highlight a need for research to operationalize the concepts of fitness and complexity in practice.