scholarly journals Phishing and Cybercrime Risks in a University Student Community

Author(s):  
Roderic Broadhurst ◽  
Katie Skinner ◽  
Nicholas Sifniotis ◽  
Bryan Matamoros-Macias ◽  
Yuguang Ipsen

In an exploratory quasi-experimental observational study, 138 participants recruited during a university orientation week were exposed to social engineering directives in the form of fake email or phishing attacks over several months in 2017. These email attacks attempted to elicit personal information from participants or entice them into clicking links which may have been compromised in a real-world setting. The study aimed to determine the risks of cybercrime for students by observing their responses to social engineering and exploring attitudes to cybercrime risks before and after the phishing phase. Three types of scam emails were distributed that varied in the degree of individualization: generic, tailored, and targeted or ‘spear.’ To differentiate participants on the basis of cybercrime awareness, participants in a ‘Hunter’ condition were primed throughout the study to remain vigilant to all scams, while participants in a ‘Passive’ condition received no such instruction. The study explored the influence of scam type, cybercrime awareness, gender, IT competence, and perceived Internet safety on susceptibility to email scams. Contrary to the hypotheses, none of these factors were associated with scam susceptibility. Although, tailored and individually crafted email scams were more likely to induce engagement than generic scams. Analysis of all the variables showed that international students and first year students were deceived by significantly more scams than domestic students and later year students. A Generalized Linear Model (GLM) analysis was undertaken to further explore the role of all the variables of interest and the results were consistent with the descriptive findings showing that student status (domestic compared to international) and year of study (first year student compared to students in second, third and later years of study) had a higher association to the risk of scam deception. Implications and future research directions are discussed.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roderic Broadhurst ◽  
Katie Skinner

In an exploratory quasi-experimental study, 138 students recruited during a university orientation week were exposed to social engineering directives in the form of fake emails, or phishing, over several months in 2017. The study assessed the risks of cybercrime for students by observing their responses. Three types of scam emails were distributed that varied in the degree of individualisation: generic, tailored, and targeted or ‘spear’. The study explored the influence of scam type, cybercrime awareness, gender, IT competence and perceived internet safety on susceptibility to email scams. Although tailored and individually crafted email scams were more likely to induce engagement than generic scams, differences were not significant. Analysis of the variables showed that international students and first year students were deceived by significantly more scams than domestic students and later year students.


Author(s):  
Diarmaid Lane ◽  
Sheryl Sorby

AbstractIn recent years, there has been a surge in research in spatial thinking across the international community. We now know that spatial skills are malleable and that they are linked to success across multiple disciplines, most notably Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). While spatial skills have been examined by cognitive scientists in laboratory environments for decades, current research is examining how these skills can be developed in field-based environments. In this paper, we present findings from a study within a Technology Teacher preparation programme where we examined first-year students’ spatial skills on entry to university. We explain why it was necessary to embed a spatial skills intervention into Year 1 of the programme and we describe the impact that this had on students’ spatial scores and on academic performance. The findings from our study highlight a consistent gender gap in spatial scores at the start of the first-year with female students entering the Technology Teacher preparation programme at a lower base level than male students. We describe how we integrated spatial development activities into an existing course and how an improvement in spatial scores and overall course performance was observed. The paper concludes by discussing the long-term sustainability of integrating spatial interventions within teacher preparation programmes while also highlighting the importance of future research to examine spatial skills as a fundamental component of technological capability.


2021 ◽  
Vol 38 (9) ◽  
pp. A4.2-A4
Author(s):  
Matthew Warren-James ◽  
Julie Hanson ◽  
Belinda Flanagan ◽  
Mary Katsikitis ◽  
Bill Lord

BackgroundWhilst there is evidence to suggest paramedics experience significant stress when working in the ambulance setting little is known about the experiences of first year paramedic students. This research aimed to: (i) identify whether levels of stress, anxiety and depression experienced by first year paramedic students changed after ambulance placement compared to a control group, and (ii) identify the main perceived and actual sources of stress around ambulance placement.MethodsA before-and-after quasi-experimental design was used to compare whether the experience of ambulance placement altered the levels of stress, anxiety and depression in an experimental group that attended an ambulance placement (n = 20) and the control group who did not (n = 10). Online surveys encompassing the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and qualitative questions about sources of stress were concurrently deployed to both the experimental and control groups before and after the ambulance placement. Participants were first year paramedic students working in Queensland Ambulance Service, Australia.ResultsThere was a significant reduction in levels of stress in participants after undertaking their first ambulance placement (Mdn = -4.00) when compared to a control group (Mdn = 0.00), U = 52.5, p = .035, n2 = 0.15. Responses to survey questions suggest anticipation about experiencing death and dying of patients was the most frequently reported stressor of student paramedics before undertaking ambulance placements, however insecurity about knowledge, competence and fear of failure was the most frequently experienced stressor reported after completing ambulance placements.ConclusionsThe findings from this study suggest that the fear of the unknown may be worse than the reality. Anticipatory stress is the foremost problem for first year paramedic students attending their first ambulance placement. Placement pre-briefing should focus on educational interventions to build knowledge and skills competency to reduce stress levels and fear of failure.


2017 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 300-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marilynne Coopasami ◽  
Stephen Knight ◽  
Mari Pete

e-Learning and other innovative open learning multimedia modalities of delivering education are being introduced to enhance learning opportunities and facilitate student access to and success in education. This article reports on a study that assessed students' readiness to make the shift from traditional learning to the technological culture of e-Learning at a university in Durban. A quasi-experimental study design was employed to assess such readiness in first year nursing students before and after an appropriate educational intervention. A modified Chapnick Readiness Score was used to measure their psychological, equipment and technological readiness for the change in learning method. It was found that, while students' psychological readiness for e-Learning was high, they lacked technological and equipment readiness. Although e-Learning could be used in nursing education, technological and equipment readiness require attention before it can be implemented effectively in this institution. Fortunately, these technical aspects are easier to resolve than improving psychological readiness.


Author(s):  
Samuel Olmos Peña ◽  
Magally Martinez-Reyes ◽  
Anabelem Soberanes-Martín

Traditional teaching has been changing with the development of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Blended learning is a new approach that enriches the education of students in order to improve their performance in their different subjects. Mathematics learning is a subject matter that is particularly difficult for students. The present chapter targets the application of a cybernetic model for blended learning in the teaching of mathematics, that is, the elements of communication and control are incorporated into this learning paradigm. It applies to first-year students of mathematics at the university level in the area of engineering. The results show an improvement in tests applied to students before and after the inclusion of activities with technological applications.


2020 ◽  
Vol 129 (8) ◽  
pp. 767-771 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir A. Hakimi ◽  
Simon P. Lalehzarian ◽  
Aaron S. Lalehzarian ◽  
Ariel M. Azhdam ◽  
Benjamin D. Boodaie ◽  
...  

Objectives: To introduce an inexpensive method for objectively evaluating otoscopic visualization of the tympanic membrane wherein learners match what they visualize in standardized patients to tympanic membrane photographs. Methods: Two standardized patients had photographs taken of their tympanic membranes using a commercially-available digital otoscope. First- and third-year medical students were asked to perform an otoscopic examination on each patient using a conventional handheld otoscope and to match what they saw with the correct tympanic membrane image among distractor photographs belonging to other patients. The ability of students to match the standardized patients’ tympanic membrane to the correct photographs was assessed before and after a didactic training session. These measurements were compared between the two cohort groups for construct validity. Results: Fifty-one first-year medical students (with no previous otoscopy experience) and 44 third-year medical students (with otoscopy experience from completing pediatric and family medicine clinical clerkships) were recruited to voluntarily participate in this study. At baseline, a larger percentage of third-year students correctly matched both tympanic membranes compared to first-year students (27% vs 8%, P < .01). After otoscopy training, correct matching of both tympanic membranes significantly improved among both first-year students (8-31%, P < .01) and third-year students (27-54%, P < .01). Conclusion: The use of tympanic membrane photographs from standardized patients provides a novel technique for objectively assessing proficiency in otoscopic visualization of the middle ear. The concept is low cost, uses live patients, and can be easily implemented in pre-clinical instruction and beyond.


Author(s):  
Katja Fleischmann

Digital technology is reshaping the way higher education subjects are taught, including design. Various design disciplines use studio teaching as a pedagogy to educate students for professions in art and design. Studio teaching bases a high premium on face-to-face interactions which guide learning through dialogue and feedback on individual work. Many design educators believe it is difficult or even impossible to teach design online because of studio-based interactions. Is design one of those disciplines that cannot be taught online because of the studio culture? This study explores that question by investigating the effectiveness of teaching design subjects that employ a virtual classroom to manage peer-to-peer critiques, instructor feedback, and assignments. Twenty-eight first-year students participated in two online design subjects that required them to interact with fellow students and the design instructor via a Learning Management System. The experienced benefits and challenges of students and instructors are presented, and future research is highlighted.La technologie numérique transforme la façon dont sont enseignées les disciplines de l’éducation postsecondaire, y compris le design. Différentes branches du design se servent de l’enseignement en studio comme pédagogie permettant de former les étudiants pour les métiers des arts et du design. L’enseignement en studio accorde une importance considérable aux interactions en personne qui orientent l’apprentissage par l’entremise du dialogue et de la rétroaction offerte sur le travail individuel. De nombreux enseignants de design croient qu’il est difficile, voire impossible, d’enseigner le design en ligne à cause des interactions en studio. Le design est-il l’une de ces disciplines que l’on ne peut pas enseigner en ligne à cause de la culture des studios? Cette étude explore la question en investiguant l’efficacité de sujets qui étudient le design à l’aide d’une salle de classe virtuelle, qui sert à gérer les critiques entre les pairs, les rétroactions de l’instructeur, ainsi que les travaux à effectuer. Vingt-huit étudiants de première année ont pris part à deux cours de design en ligne qui exigeaient d’eux qu’ils interagissent avec leurs camarades et avec l’instructeur par l’entremise d’un système de gestion de l'apprentissage. Les avantages et les défis dont les étudiants et les instructeurs ont fait l’expérience sont présentés, et des pistes sont proposées pour des études futures.


Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomislav Mikuš ◽  
Mario Ostović ◽  
Ivana Sabolek ◽  
Kristina Matković ◽  
Željko Pavičić ◽  
...  

This survey was the first one investigating opinions of veterinary students in Croatia towards companion animals and their welfare, with special reference to dogs and cats as the most popular companion animals in the European Union. The study included students of all six years of the integrated undergraduate and graduate veterinary medicine study programme in Croatia. First-year students were surveyed twice, before and after having attended the course on animal welfare. Student opinions were assessed on the basis of their mean responses to five-point Likert scale questions and frequency of responses to Yes/No/I do not know questions and ratio scale questions. Study results revealed students to have strongly positive opinions towards companion animals and their welfare. The majority of student statements did not differ significantly between the first and sixth study years or before and after having attended the animal welfare course in the first study year, mostly yielding a straight, non-fluctuating line. Students were not sure whether welfare of companion dogs and cats was compromised. Study results pointed to reliable and reasonable opinions of veterinary medicine students in Croatia towards companion animals and their welfare, as well as to the welfare issues these species may be facing nowadays.


2011 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 373-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janice Miner Holden ◽  
Kathy Oden ◽  
Kelly Kozlowski ◽  
Bert Hayslip

In this article, we reviewed results of research on near-death experiences (NDEs) over the past 3 decades and examined the effect of viewing the hour-long 2002 BBC documentary The Day I Died: The Mind, the Brain, and Near-Death Experiences on accurate knowledge about near-death experiences among advanced undergraduates at a southwestern university. In a quasi-experimental research design, the experimental group completed a 20-item questionnaire before and after viewing the documentary ( n = 66; 45 females, 21 males), and the waitlist control group completed the questionnaire as pre- and posttest before viewing the documentary ( n = 39; 36 female, 3 male). The two groups' scores at pretest were not significantly different ( p > .05). Group by occasion repeated measures ANOVA revealed the experimental group's posttest scores moved significantly in the direction of correctness with a large effect size ( p < .001; η2= .56), whereas waitlist control group posttest scores remained similar to pretest scores. We discuss two exceptions to the effectiveness of the documentary and recommendations for educators using it as well as for future research.


2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-116
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Grabara

SummaryStudy aim: To assess the effects of yoga exercises on the flexibility of the spine in male and female students aged 19–22 years old. Material and methods: The study comprised 59 male and female first-year students, aged 19–22 years old (mean 19.6 ± 0.9), studying Sport and Tourism Management at the Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education in Katowice. The participants took part in an obligatory yoga class, of 90 minutes duration, once a week over a 13-week period. The ranges of motion of the spine in the sagittal, frontal and transverse planes were measured using the Rippstein Plurimeter-V. Results: The study indicated a statistically significant increase of the spine flexibility in forward and lateral bending before and after the yoga classes in the entire studied group. In the men, a significant increase of the range of motion in backward bending was also noted. In the women, and in all of the participants (women and men together), a significant increase of the range of motion in the torsion was noted. Conclusions: Regular yoga exercises could increase the flexibility of the spine and the hamstring muscles. Hatha yoga training may be a good intervention for improving flexibility, but for better results it should be performed more often than once a week.


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