The Impact of Digitalization in Higher Educational Institutions

Digital Technology has changed the education scenario in the educational institutions by enhancing teaching and learning, research and governance. There is great need of adequate infrastructure, better internet connectivity, up to date digital equipment’s, safe platform and digitally competent professionals. In India, higher education institution is evident with the increasing use of ICT, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, robotics and virtual reality in day-to-day practices which enhances competencies and help in aligning with industry-based skills. This article presents the issues related to implementation of digitalization process in higher education institutions.

How to Educate to Build an Effective Cyber Resilient Society

The possibility that computers, in particular, personal computers, can be used for harmful actions affecting global computer systems as a whole, due to two main reasons: (1) hardware and / or software failures, which are caused by problems related to their manufacture which must be solved by their respective manufacturers and (2) failures due to actions or inactions of their users, in particular people with low computer skills, people of very low age groups, e.g. children, or very old age groups, e.g. ageing people, or others without a minimum of computer skills. This problem is aggravated by the continuous proliferation of equipment, namely mobile devices, IOT devices and others that have Internet connectivity, namely through a browser. There are the possible ways in the area of cyber education that can contribute to cyber resilience of society and these are developed in this work.

Implementasi BGP dan Resource Public Key Infrastructure menggunakan BIRD untuk Keamanan Routing

The validity of the routing advertisements sent by one router to another is essential for Internet connectivity. To perform routing exchanges between Autonomous Systems (AS) on the Internet, a protocol known as the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is used. One of the most common attacks on routers running BGP is prefix hijacking. This attack aims to disrupt connections between AS and divert routing to destinations that are not appropriate for crimes, such as fraud and data breach. One of the methods developed to prevent prefix hijacking is the Resource Public Key Infrastructure (RPKI). RPKI is a public key infrastructure (PKI) developed for BGP routing security on the Internet and can be used by routers to validate routing advertisements sent by their BGP peers. RPKI utilizes a digital certificate issued by the Certification Authority (CA) to validate the subnet in a routing advertisement. This study aims to implement BGP and RPKI using the Bird Internet Routing Daemon (BIRD). Simulation and implementation are carried out using the GNS3 simulator and a server that acts as the RPKI validator. Experiments were conducted using 4 AS, 7 routers, 1 server for BIRD, and 1 server for validators, and there were 26 invalid or unknown subnets advertised by 2 routers in the simulated topology. The experiment results show that the router can successfully validated the routing advertisement received from its BGP peer using RPKI. All invalid and unknown subnets are not forwarded to other routers in the AS where they are located such that route hijacking is prevented.

Enabling Rural Telehealth: Focus Group Study with Older Adults in Underserved Rural Communities (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Telehealth is often suggested to improve access to healthcare and has had significant publicity internationally during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, there is limited research examining the telehealth needs of underserved populations such as rural communities. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate enablers for telehealth use in rural underserved populations to improve access to healthcare for rural older adults. METHODS 7 focus group discussions and 13 individual interviews were held across 4 diverse underserved rural communities. 98 adults, aged 55 years and over, participated. Participants were asked if they had used telehealth, how they saw their community’s health service needs evolving, how telehealth might help provide these services, and perceived barriers and enablers to telehealth for older adults in rural communities. Focus group transcripts were thematically analysed. RESULTS The term ‘telehealth’ was not initially understood by many participants and required explanation. The likelihood of using telehealth varied between those who had used telehealth and those who had not. Those who had used telehealth reported very positive experiences (time and cost savings) and would be more likely to use telehealth again. Two main themes were identified through an equity lens. The first theme was “trust” with three sub-themes – trust in the telehealth technology, trust in the user (consumer and health provider) and trust in the health system. Having access to reliable and affordable internet connectivity and digital devices was a key enabler for telehealth use. Most rural areas had intermittent, unreliable internet connectivity. Having easy access to user support was another key enabler. Trust in the health system focused on waiting times, lack of/delayed communication and coordination, and cost. The second theme was “choice” with three sub-themes – health service access, consultation type and telehealth deployment. Access to health services by telehealth needs to be culturally appropriate and enable access to currently limited or absent services such as mental health and specialist services. Accessing specialist care by telehealth was extremely popular but some participants would rather be seen in person. A major enabler for telehealth was deploying telehealth by a fixed community ‘hub’ or on a mobile bus, with support available, and especially when combined with non-health related services such as online banking. CONCLUSIONS Overall, participants were keen on the idea of telehealth. Several barriers and enablers were identified. The term ‘telehealth’ is not well understood. The unreliable and expensive connectivity options available to the rural communities has limited the telehealth experience to phone or patient portal use, for those who have connectivity. Having the opportunity to try telehealth, especially using video, would increase understanding and acceptance of telehealth. The study highlights that local rural communities need to be involved in the design of telehealth services within their community.

PRISM 2.0: Technical Challenges

PRISM 2.0 was designed to run on Android tablets and made use of both customized apps that relied on Google’s browser and e-mail functionality as well as commercial apps, such as Microsoft’s Skype for videoconferencing. We also made use of functionality provided by our partner AT&T, such as their sim cards to provide cell-based internet connectivity to participants who did not have access to Wi-Fi internet services to their home (cable, DSL), as well as tablet management software to deploy updates. The Miami site provided central management and tablet deployment and redeployment services and support as well as coordinating locally provided tech support at the three sites. We discuss some of the technical challenges associated with these arrangements. We focus on how changes to the operating system broke some of our apps necessitating substitution of other apps and provision of new training, and how Covid-19 affected technical support.

AN ASSESSMENT OF UMS PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ READINESS ON ONLINE EXAMINATION

Pandemic COVID-19 has given a significant impact on the education culture whereby online learning has become the main way in teaching and learning activities. In line with the important use of online learning, it is very important to identify whether the students are ready enough for an online class or not. The study on ‘An Assessment of UMS Pre-University Students’ Readiness on Online Examination’ sought to answer the questions about students’ readiness on the preferred mode of learning and the student's readiness on an online examination. The respondents of the study were UMS Pre-University students who enrolled in the Foundation in Science program (AUMS) in the year 2020. Specifically, there was 105 male, and 153 female students were included in the study. Through Google form online survey, the questionnaires were sent through their email and WhatsApp group. Then, the data were gathered, collected, and analysed. Descriptive statistics analysis and item level mean related to students’ internet connectivity is provided in the form of percentage, mean and standard deviations. The study reveals that AUMS students’ internet connectivity was moderately ready for their online examinations, as it depends mainly on their location. If the students are staying in an urban areas, then their internet connections should be good and vice versa. This study also reveals that problems in Wi-Fi connection are the main concern of students’ accessibility to online learning.

Can Satellite Mega-constellations Justify Their Impact on Astronomy?

Near-earth space is being increasingly commercialised by private space companies. This has many consequences for science, particularly, astronomy. Some estimates show that more than 100,000 satellites may orbit the Earth by 2030. Satellite mega-constellations for satellite Internet connectivity are one of the main drivers behind the explosion in the number of satellites. Here, we briefly note whether such satellite mega-constellations can justify their impact on astronomy.

Can Satellite Mega-Constellations Justify Their Impact On Astronomy?

Near-earth space is being increasingly commercialised by private space companies. This has many consequences for science, particularly, astronomy. Some estimates show that more than 100,000 satellites may orbit the Earth by 2030. Satellite mega-constellations for satellite Internet connectivity are one of the main drivers behind the explosion in the number of satellites. Here, we note whether such satellite mega-constellations can justify their impact on astronomy.

Tele-Ultrasound

Ultrasound is a noninvasive, nonionizing, relatively low-cost imaging modality that has increased in use in all fields of medicine over the past few decades. With growth in internet connectivity as well as marked improvements in ultrasound technology, ultrasound can now help guide remote clinical decision making using either synchronous or asynchronous imaging. Implementing a tele-ultrasound program requires an ultrasound machine with the ability to share or transmit images, a provider to perform the exam, and a remote expert for guidance and/or interpretation. Tele-ultrasound can therefore be used by a variety of health care professionals with less ultrasound training under the remote guidance of an experienced physician trained in ultrasound to help care for patients. Tele-ultrasound enables more advanced care in resource-limited settings. As telehealth continues to grow, the use of tele-ultrasound will undoubtedly have an important role in guiding clinical care.