The online promotion of entrepreneurship education: a view from Canada

2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (9) ◽  
pp. 990-1006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Pizarro Milian ◽  
Marc Gurrisi

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine how entrepreneurship education is being marketed to students within the Canadian university sector. Design/methodology/approach A content analysis of the webpages representing 66 entrepreneurship education programs in Canada is performed. Findings Entrepreneurship education is found to be framed as providing students with a collaborative learning experience, useful hands-on skills with real world applications and an entrepreneurial mindset. Research limitations/implications This study looks at only one type of promotional material, and thus, further research is needed to triangulate its findings. Originality/value This is the first study that empirically examines the marketing of entrepreneurship education in Canada.

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 353
Author(s):  
Shaya Wolf ◽  
Andrea Carneal Burrows ◽  
Mike Borowczak ◽  
Mason Johnson ◽  
Rafer Cooley ◽  
...  

Research on innovative, integrated outreach programs guided three separate week-long outreach camps held across two summers (2018 and 2019). These camps introduced computer science through real-world applications and hands-on activities, each dealing with cybersecurity principles. The camps utilized low-cost hardware and free software to provide a total of 84 students (aged 10 to 18 years) a unique learning experience. Based on feedback from the 2018 camp, a new pre/post survey was developed to assess changes in participant knowledge and interest. Student participants in the 2019 iteration showed drastic changes in their cybersecurity content recall (33% pre vs. 96% post), cybersecurity concept identification within real-world scenarios, and exhibited an increased ability to recognize potential cybersecurity threats in their every-day lives (22% pre vs. 69% post). Finally, students’ self-reported interest-level before and after the camp show a positive increase across all student participants, with the number of students who where highly interested in cybersecurity more than doubling from 31% pre-camp to 65% post-camp. Implications for educators are large as these activities and experiences can be interwoven into traditional schooling as well as less formal camps as pure computer science or through integrated STEM.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 76-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jassim Happa ◽  
Michael Goldsmith

Purpose Several attack models attempt to describe behaviours of attacks with the intent to understand and combat them better. However, all models are to some degree incomplete. They may lack insight about minor variations about attacks that are observed in the real world (but are not described in the model). This may lead to similar attacks being classified as the same type of attack, or in some cases the same instance of attack. The appropriate solution would be to modify the model or replace it entirely. However, doing so may be undesirable as the model may work well for most cases or time and resource constraints may factor in as well. This paper aims to explore the potential value of adding information about attacks and attackers to existing models. Design/methodology/approach This paper investigates used cases of minor variations in attacks and how it may and may not be appropriate to communicate subtle differences in existing attack models through the use of annotations. In particular, the authors investigate commonalities across a range of existing models and identify where and how annotations may be helpful. Findings The authors propose that nuances (of attack properties) can be appended as annotations to existing attack models. Using annotations appropriately should enable analysts and researchers to express subtle but important variations in attacks that may not fit the model currently being used. Research limitations/implications This work only demonstrated a few simple, generic examples. In the future, the authors intend to investigate how this annotation approach can be extended further. Particularly, they intend to explore how annotations can be created computationally; the authors wish to obtain feedback from security analysts through interviews, identify where potential biases may arise and identify other real-world applications. Originality/value The value of this paper is that the authors demonstrate how annotations may help analysts communicate and ask better questions during identification of unknown aspects of attacks faster,e.g. as a means of storing mental notes in a structured manner, especially while facing zero-day attacks when information is incomplete.


2013 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 234-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Maritz ◽  
Christopher R. Brown

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to explore the components of entrepreneurship education programs (EEPs) and their interrelationships to develop a conceptual framework through which entrepreneurship education may be contextually evaluated and developed.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents an extensive literature review of the entrepreneurship education literature which is used to inform a comprehensive framework for entrepreneurial education; based upon contextualisation, outcomes, objectives, audience, assessment, content and pedagogy.FindingsThe paper develops a comprehensive and parsimonious framework for understanding and evaluating entrepreneurship education programs based on and adapted from the extended conceptualisations and contextualisation of previous research on entrepreneurship education programs.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper presents preliminary conceptualisation and as such requires subsequent testing in various entrepreneurship contexts.Practical implicationsThe framework elaborated upon can provide a comprehensive view of entrepreneurship education programs by examining and describing the relationships between the components. In so doing, the paper illuminates for educators and researchers a comprehensive view of an entrepreneurship education program which can be used by contextualising the components of outcomes, objectives, assessment and pedagogy.Originality/valueThe value of this work lies in its responsiveness to the calls in the academic literature for more appropriate evaluations of entrepreneurship programs and greater contextualisation of the programs to facilitate research into the effectiveness of such programs. The paper proposes that EEPs have to be developed, not only with objectives in mind, but in the context within which they operate.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stylianos Karagiannis ◽  
Emmanouil Magkos

Purpose This paper aims to highlight the potential of using capture the flag (CTF) challenges, as part of an engaging cybersecurity learning experience for enhancing skills and knowledge acquirement of undergraduate students in academic programs. Design/methodology/approach The approach involves integrating interactivity, gamification, self-directed and collaborative learning attributes using a CTF hosting platform for cybersecurity education. The proposed methodology includes the deployment of a pre-engagement survey for selecting the appropriate CTF challenges in accordance with the skills and preferences of the participants. During the learning phase, storytelling elements were presented, while a behavior rubric was constructed to observe the participants’ behavior and responses during a five-week lab. Finally, a survey was created for getting feedback from the students and for extracting quantitative results based on the attention, relevance, confidence and satisfaction (ARCS) model of motivational design. Findings Students felt more confident about their skills and were highly engaged to the learning process. The outcomes in terms of technical skills and knowledge acquisition were shown to be positive. Research limitations/implications As the number of participants was small, the results and information retrieved from applying the ARCS model only have an indicative value; however, specific challenges to overcome are highlighted which are important for the future deployments. Practical implications Educators could use the proposed approach for deploying an engaging cybersecurity learning experience in an academic program, emphasizing on providing hands-on practice labs and featuring topics from real-world cybersecurity cases. Using the proposed approach, an educator could also monitor the progress of the participants and get qualitative and quantitative statistics regarding the learning impact for each exercise. Social implications Educators could demonstrate modern cybersecurity topics in the classroom, closing further the gap between theory and practice. As a result, students from academia will benefit from the proposed approach by acquiring technical skills, knowledge and experience through hands-on practice in real-world cases. Originality/value This paper intends to bridge the existing gap between theory and practice in the topics of cybersecurity by using CTF challenges for learning purposes and not only for testing the participants’ skills. This paper offers important knowledge for enhancing cybersecurity education programs and for educators to use CTF challenges for conducting cybersecurity exercises in academia, extracting meaningful statistics regarding the learning impact.


2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kayleigh Watson ◽  
Pauric McGowan

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to focus with the university-based business plan competition (BPC) and proposes how the theory of effectuation might inform a new model. Such a purpose is timely given the under-challenged nature of the BPC methodology. Design/methodology/approach Extant literature pertaining to business planning and the business plan within entrepreneurship education and effectuation is reviewed; numerous conceptual issues which undermine BPC provision in its traditional form are then identified. In response to these identified issues, a series of principles which could underpin the introduction of an effectuation-led business coopetition (EBC) are outlined. Findings Strong emphasis on business plan production within a conventional BPC model raises questions about its capacity to release the entrepreneurial potential of the higher education institution student and provide them with an authentic and relevant entrepreneurial learning experience. Through using the ideas of effectuation to rethink provision, the action of business plan production can usefully be replaced with the action of business implementation. As well as facilitate a beneficial shift from competition to coopetition-based entrepreneurship education. Originality/value This paper valuably critiques the efficacy of a commonly employed yet under-challenged methodology for entrepreneurship education; the BPC. The propositions offered can guide competition provision in a more authentic, realistic and relevant way that is potentially better suited to inspiring and supporting entrepreneurial new venturing amongst students and graduates now rather than in the future. The paper thus has practical value to those designing and delivering competition-based entrepreneurship education.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 106-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahalingam Ramkumar

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the blockchain as a trusted computing platform. Understanding the strengths and limitations of this platform is essential to execute large-scale real-world applications in blockchains. Design/methodology/approach This paper proposes several modifications to conventional blockchain networks to improve the scale and scope of applications. Findings Simple modifications to cryptographic protocols for constructing blockchain ledgers, and digital signatures for authentication of transactions, are sufficient to realize a scalable blockchain platform. Originality/value The original contributions of this paper are concrete steps to overcome limitations of current blockchain networks.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcelo Worsley

Purpose This paper aims to compare two types of prompts, encouraging participants to think about real-world examples or engineering principles to show how these two approaches can result in vastly different design practices. Design/methodology/approach Two studies (N = 20, N = 40) examine the impact of two different prompts. Non-expert students, from high school and university, completed a hands-on, engineering design task in pairs. Half were prompted to ideate using real-world examples, while the other half were prompted to ideate using engineering principles. The findings are based on human coding and artifact analyses. Findings In both studies, and across multiple measures, students in the principle-based condition performed better than students in the example-based condition. Research limitations/implications A seemingly small difference in how students are prompted or encouraged to approach a problem can have a significant impact on their experience. The findings also suggest that leveraging engineering principles, even when those principles are only loosely formed, can be effective even for non-experts. Finally, the findings motivate identifying student reasoning strategies over time as a potential means for assessment in Makerspaces. Practical implications Encouraging makers to think about different ways for approaching problems can be an important way to help them succeed. It may also be a useful way to chronicle their learning pathway. Originality/value To the author's knowledge, explicitly looking at ideation strategies has not been widely discussed within the Maker community as a way to support learners, or as a way to evaluate learning.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 126-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masoud Mansoury ◽  
Mehdi Shajari

Purpose This paper aims to improve the recommendations performance for cold-start users and controversial items. Collaborative filtering (CF) generates recommendations on the basis of similarity between users. It uses the opinions of similar users to generate the recommendation for an active user. As a similarity model or a neighbor selection function is the key element for effectiveness of CF, many variations of CF are proposed. However, these methods are not very effective, especially for users who provide few ratings (i.e. cold-start users). Design/methodology/approach A new user similarity model is proposed that focuses on improving recommendations performance for cold-start users and controversial items. To show the validity of the authors’ similarity model, they conducted some experiments and showed the effectiveness of this model in calculating similarity values between users even when only few ratings are available. In addition, the authors applied their user similarity model to a recommender system and analyzed its results. Findings Experiments on two real-world data sets are implemented and compared with some other CF techniques. The results show that the authors’ approach outperforms previous CF techniques in coverage metric while preserves accuracy for cold-start users and controversial items. Originality/value In the proposed approach, the conditions in which CF is unable to generate accurate recommendations are addressed. These conditions affect CF performance adversely, especially in the cold-start users’ condition. The authors show that their similarity model overcomes CF weaknesses effectively and improve its performance even in the cold users’ condition.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
S.R. Toliver ◽  
Heidi Hadley

Purpose This paper aims to identify how white preservice teachers’ inability to imagine an equitable space for Black and Brown children contributes to the ubiquity of whiteness in English education. Further, the authors contend that the preservice teachers’ responses mirror how the larger field of English education fails to imagine Black and Brown life. Design/methodology/approach Using abolitionist teaching as a guide, the authors use reflexive thematic analysis to examine the rhetorical moves their preservice teachers made to defer responsibility for anti-racist teaching. Findings The findings show preservice teachers’ rhetorical moves across three themes: failure to imagine Black and Brown humanity, failure to imagine a connection between theory and practice, and failure to imagine curriculum and schooling beyond whiteness. Originality/value By highlighting how preservice teachers fail to imagine spaces for Black and Brown youth, this study offers another pathway through which teacher educators, teachers and English education programs can assist their faculty and students in activating their imaginations in the pursuit of anti-racist, abolitionist teaching.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Masahiro Hosoda

Purpose This study aims to examine how the COVID-19 pandemic affected telework initiatives in Japanese companies and investigate the factors that affect telework based on the technology, organization and environment (TOE) model, through the analysis of published documents. Design/methodology/approach Document analysis was adopted. Documents were collected from English news articles in the Nikkei Asian Review and Nikkei Asia which cover Japan's economy, industries and markets. The results of surveys by the Persol Research Institute and Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry were also provided to discuss factors promoting and hindering telework. Content analysis was adopted to analyse the documents. Findings COVID-19 had an unavoidable impact on the implementation of telework that the government had previously failed to instigate. Japanese listed companies tend to implement telework, whereas small- and medium-sized companies are struggling. The ratio of telework has been low even after the declaration of the state of emergency because there exist organizational, technological and environmental barriers to telework in Japan. Originality/value This study contributes to discussions on work style reform by focusing on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on telework. This research also gives new insight into operationalization of telework in organizations not only in Japan but also in other countries known for low rates of telework and inflexible work styles such as Korea.


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