ISCAP Proceedings 2023

AI-based Hybrid Clustering Method in Improving VANET Communication

Biju Bajracharya
East Tennessee State University

Chandler Scott
East Tennessee State University

Mohammad Khan
East Tennessee State University

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSs) play a crucial role in enabling smart cities to operate efficiently, sustainably, and safely by facilitating communication of safety and non-safety messages. In ITSs, vehicles communicate with other vehicles (V2V) or infrastructure (V2I) to form Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs). While Artificial Intelligence (AI) based clustering methods hold promise in enhancing VANETs, current implementations lack the flexibility to adapt to different environments. Specifically, these AI-based clustering approaches are centralized and unsuitable for real-time requirements for safety-critical message exchanges in VANETs. To overcome these limitations, vehicular network infrastructure must be adapted and tailored to anticipate traffic patterns and improve vehicular communications. A region-based hybrid network approach is promising for these cases. The hybrid approach enables vehicles to acquire region-specific knowledge and share it with the infrastructure, allowing the infrastructure to establish network policies for each region. By implementing this approach, we can improve VANET communications, overcome existing research limitations, and ensure the safety and efficiency of transportation systems in smart cities.

Friday at 10:45 am
6062

AI-Builder Model LCNC Activities in Power Automate

Victor Berardi
Kent State University at Stark

Microsoft's Power Platform, specifically Power Automate, provides an extensive array of AI-Builder models, both prebuilt and customizable. In our presentation, we delve into the capabilities of the Power Automate AI-Builder Models and discuss our experiences teaching these technologies to non-technical, undergraduate business students. These models can be used to facilitate sentiment analysis and intent recognition in customer communications, translate communications between more than 90 different languages, perform handwriting recognition, process documents (both structured and unstructured), recognize objects and products within larger scenes; while also empowering individuals and organizations to automate tasks and refine processes associated with deploying these advanced AI capabilities at scale. The advantages are multifold: enhanced productivity, reduced costs, improved efficiency, novel capabilities, and potential strategic advantage.

Wednesday at 2:10 pm
6035

An AI-Assisted Cloud-based Web Development: A Case Study of Web Design and Programming

Taejin Kim
City University of Seattle

Sam Chung
City University of Seattle

Motivation The ever-evolving landscape of web development demands efficient tools and methodologies to streamline the creation of sophisticated and visually appealing websites. The emergence of cloud computing affords web developers the ability to operate within a cloud-based environment, obviating the need for software developers to undertake the downloading and configuration of essential tools onto their local workstations. A novel category of developmental milieus has surfaced in the shape of cloud-based resolutions such as GitHub Codespaces and VS Code Cloud. These pioneering advancements are displacing the established desktop-centric paradigm in software development, with the intention of enhancing the efficacy of software developers (Papageorge, 2022). In addition, an AI-powered code recommendation tool, GitHub Copilot, has emerged as a potential solution to alleviate the challenges encountered during the development process. According to the study of the opportunities of AI-powered pair-programming tools (Bird et al., 2022), AI-driven tools are poised to play a pivotal role in assisting developers across a multitude of tasks with their diverse functionalities. Notably, these tools are anticipated to extend their influence in tasks such as code recommendation, enhancement of code review processes, and the provision of constructive feedback on proposed changes. Another study underscores that GitHub Copilot holds the potential to markedly curtail development timeli

Friday at 4:35 pm
6058

An Exploration of Student ChatGPT Use in Higher-Education

Shawn Lough
James Madison University

Leigh Mutchler
James Madison University

Abstract After its release in November of 2022, initial reactions to ChatGPT included curiosity, amazement, fear, and suspicion (Cole, 2023; Denning, 2023; Roose, 2022; Stokel-Walker & Van Noorden, 2023). As educators, we would be naïve to think that students aren�t using this new tool to complete assignments to some degree (Usher, 2023), so it is up to us to help guide them in the appropriate use of generative AI resources in higher ed courses and to properly prepare students for the evolving workforce. To be able to implement the appropriate intervention that will encourage student learning and intellectual curiosity required for life-long learning, we must first know how they are using ChatGPT and other AI resources, when they are most likely to use it, and most importantly, whether they are using it to enhance their learning or to circumvent it. This study will utilize mixed methods design. Students enrolled in a College of Business course at a large southeastern USA public university will be the target population. We will apply the lens of self-determination theory to explore the motivations driving student use of generative AI such as ChatGPT. We expect our findings to benefit students and educators by contemporizing the learning process and adapting to the impacts of generative AI within higher education. Keywords: ChatGPT, Generative AI, Student Motivations, Self-determination Theory REFERENCES Cole, S. (2023, January 4). NYC Bans Students and

Wednesday at 2:30 pm
5996

Analyzing Cyber Defense Competencies: A Study of the NCCDC2016 Dataset and its Implications

Yoshito Kanamori
University of Alaska Anchorage

In cybersecurity research, the ideal scenario is to study intrusion detection in actual network environments. However, this is challenging due to the presence of sensitive institutional and employee data in the network traffic. Consequently, many researchers often use older public datasets, which may not accurately reflect current cyber threats. It is evident that the field requires more recent and illustrative network traffic datasets. DHS's IMPACT project offers datasets from the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competitions (NCCDC). These competitions challenge college teams to sustain a fictitious company's operations amid continuous cyber threats. The network data contains interactions between customers, employees (i.e., student team), and other company personnel, replicating a genuine business setting. The NCCDC dataset's notable advantage is its ability to illuminate attackers' tactics against varying defense capabilities. Each participating team starts with identical network configurations, but their defense readiness differs. For instance, while a seasoned participant like the University of Central Florida, having won the NCCDC multiple times, displays strong defenses, newcomers might be more vulnerable. This disparity allows one to observe how the red team (attacker)'s strategies perform against various defensive preparations, as assessed through detailed network traffic analysis. Surprisingly, despite its seemingly optimal structure for cyber rese

Wednesday at 2:30 pm
6044

Applications Of Multidimensional Scaling With Co-plot Analysis

Priyanka Poosapati
University of North Carolina Wilmington

Yao Shi
University of North Carolina Wilmington

Judith Gebauer
University of North Carolina Wilmington

Yang Song
University of North Carolina Wilmington

Exploratory graphs play a crucial role in suggesting relevant statistical analyses and models while diagnosing various aspects of data during data analysis. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) is a widely used data analysis method that allows visualizing large and complex datasets in a smaller space, preserving pairwise differences or similarities between data points. However, to unlock the full potential of MDS, Co-Plot analysis has been introduced as a complementary data visualization technique. Co-Plot analysis extends MDS capabilities by presenting additional scatter plots or line plots alongside the traditional MDS plot, enabling a multidimensional view of relationships between variables from different datasets. This technique is particularly valuable when exploring with multidimensional data or comparing variables from different domains or measurement scales. Co-Plot Analysis aids in identifying patterns, clusters, correlations, and influential objects that affect the MDS plot's setup. In this study, Co-Plot Analysis is applied to: (1) multidimensional dataset of MBA Programs, focusing on the similarity among IT concentrations in MBA programs and the correlations among IT courses of different universities, (2) ecological community analysis, particularly for comparing species or communities across multiple sites or environmental contexts thus enabling the comparison of various groups within a dataset. The analysis is carried out using Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS

Friday at 8:45 am
6025

Classroom GSM Configuration Monitoring and Remediation

Shawn Zwach
Dakota State University

Kyle Cronin
Dakota State University

Many academic institutions were charged with a move to online at the beginning of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and for that reason, certain adjustments had to be made to their programs. Dakota State University has offered most of our programs both on campus and entirely online for several years. These programs include both an undergraduate and doctoral degree offering in cyber operations and as part of those programs, we must offer cellular and mobile communications course work to both our on-campus students and those attending from afar. Offering remote access to physical gear is not a new problem in academia, but this course in particular posed unique challenges. First, we needed to create a confined environment for the signals to emanate within. Second, we needed software defined radios and cell phones that students could access from a distance. Finally, we needed to mitigate risks of enabling certain functionality of the wireless networks and identify collisions in configurations among student participants. The first two components are achieved by staging ESXi hosts for our campus lab environment within radio frequency shielded racks and placing all radios within. Our administrators for that environment then connect pairs of cell phones and radios to the virtual machines via USB passthrough for that environment. While students are assigned certain configuration parameters for the environment, sometimes mistakes are made. In this situation, troubleshooting can be i

Thursday at 8:40 am
6047

Conversational AI: Design AI Dialogue Systems With Object-Oriented Methodology

Thuan Nguyen
The University of North Texas

OpenAI stunned the world when it releases ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence (AI) service, to the public in December 2022. Several months later, Alphabet (Google) introduced its generative AI product, BARD, in May 2023, which was followed by Claude, another large language model (LLM) chatbot owned by Anthropic, a well-known AI start-up. The transformative power of the technology is obvious and overwhelming. It potentially changes various aspects of human life, including work, study, and even daily activities. The advancements of AI, like generative AI, have led to a new technology that can perform multiple tasks done only by human beings before but also take the role of one of the speakers in a conversation. One of the most important applications of conversational AI is creating chatbots that can communicate with human users using natural languages. These chatbots can engage with human users in contextually relevant dialogues. While still an emerging technology, recent advances in natural language processing (NLP) for both goal-oriented and generative conversational AI have resulted in significant progress in developing AI dialogue systems that can serve a broad range of applications, showing an increasingly sophisticated level of natural language understanding (NLU). Worldwide companies of various sizes (big, mid-size, and small) have employed well-known enterprise services like Google Cloud Platform (GCP) Dialogflow CX to build AI dialogue systems used in their dai

Saturday at 10:35 am
6042

Creating a Safety Visualization Dashboard for Construction Site Risk Analysis and Management

Kevin Matthews
University of North Carolina Wilmington

Olivia Moss
University of North Carolina Wilmington

Identifying, assessing, and prioritizing potential risks is a crucial aspect of success within any organization, but especially construction organizations. Without risk management, construction organizations could potentially incur losses greater than those caused directly by the risk itself. If safety observations are in an indistinguishable table of data, it can be hard to differentiate between the observations that require immediate attention and those that can be addressed at a later time with a lower priority.?We worked with an existing IS firm that offers a project information management system with various software products to help construction organizations manage and collect data. Within their scope of products, they handle a software we call SafetyLog which is a hosted SaaS (Software as a Service) application created to help clients effectively manage and report on their safety program. Currently, SafetyLog is storing more than a million records involving safety observations around a construction site that may be deemed risky to an organization. This data is stored but not thoroughly analyzed. Analyzing data associated with risk and observations can help mitigate future occurrences of unsafe events. By building a dashboard to easily analyze data at a glance, safety personnel can advise their colleagues of potential location of a more severe event to occur. Prevention and mitigation measures should be taken when there is an anomaly from past trends. For this data ana

Thursday at 8:40 am
6048

Cybersecurity the Future of Non-Profit Rural Organizations: A Pilot Study

Bharat Sharma
Penn State University

Dusan Ramljak
Penn State University

Jennifer Breese
Penn State University

Introduction Cybersecurity poses a growing threat to organizations of any size. The cost of cybercrime is predicted to hit $8 trillion in 2023[1] and is showing a growing trend with projections to hit $10.5 trillion mark by 2025. While major companies have dedicated resources for digital security non-profits often lack these assets and are vulnerable to exploitation. A 2019 ransomware attack on 7 hospitals in Alabama led to major disruption in emergency services [2]. In 2020, the National Urban League was the victim of a ransomware attack that forced it to shut down its IT systems. The attack cost the organization an estimated $1 million [3]. The attacks on non-profits including hospitals, municipalities, and other entities of public service, have strongly demonstrated the need for enhancement of cybersecurity for this sector. Research Design To assess and critically analyze the state of cybersecurity among non-profits in the state of Pennsylvania, this study conducted a non-profit cybersecurity survey focused on the various critical cyber factors that propose risk. 1000 nonprofit organizations in state with different sizes and aim received the survey. Questions centered on organizational traits, technology usage, cyber-attack experiences, contingency procedure, and the assessment protocols. This study evaluated different statistical metrics like population distribution, issue severity and the percentage of the non-profit population affected for each investigated cy

Wednesday at 2:10 pm
6013

Designing Trust: The Impact of Website Design on User Confidence

Michelle Louch
University of Pittsburgh Greensburg

Jason Ferguson
Bellevue University

In the contemporary landscape, the influence of website design on an individual�s responses to businesses and their offerings is readily apparent. Corporations invest billions pursuing the perfect logo, the most effective website design, and the best color scheme. The ultimate goal of these investments is to produce specific emotions in consumers, guiding them towards an idea, a product, or a service. The creation, or destruction, of a website�s credibility begins with a nonverbal exchange between the individual and the design; it is an exchange based on the page�s appearance and person themselves and is based on the concept of surface credibility, where � essentially � what the individual believes they see is what they get (Fogg, 2003). This dynamic implies a degree of passivity on the viewer's part and casts the design itself as the active agent in the interaction, telling the individual what to feel. Understanding how design affects credibility has been studied extensively in the last two decades, particularly in marketing. Hagtvedt�s 2011 study on complete vs. incomplete logos revealed that a �complete� logo was more likely to inspire trust and help mitigate the feelings of risk that might discourage a person from purchasing a particular product or service. Lowry, Wilson, and Haig (2014) built on those findings, applying source credibility theory (SCT) to logos and website design, finding once more that specific design elements will shape a consumer�s percept

Wednesday at 2:10 pm
6036

Empowering Novice Coders: Integrating Artificial Intelligence Tools in an Introductory Computer Programming Course

Diana Linville
Northwest Missouri State University

Artificial Intelligence tools are continuously advancing, and educators have observed an increase in student utilization of these tools to fulfill coursework. As educators, we have a choice: we can either resist the advancement of AI or embrace its potential. By integrating AI into the curriculum, we can equip students with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in a world increasingly influenced by AI. The Introductory Computer Programming course consists of undergraduate students who are primarily novice programmers. The authors aim to empower students by teaching them how to analyze and interpret AI-generated code, utilize AI technologies for code development, and apply study strategies. Through a critical examination of generated code, students can gain insights into the underlying algorithms, identify potential limitations of AI tools, and become aware of their own limited coding proficiency. Applying AI techniques, students can streamline the development process and unlock new possibilities in programming, enabling them to assess its effectiveness in solving a given problem. Exploring effective strategies for studying with AI tools enhances students understanding of programming concepts. The purpose of these objectives is to showcase the capabilities of AI for certain tasks, while simultaneously enlightening students about the significance of cultivating their programming skills and deepening their understanding of coding principles. Exposing students to these diffe

Friday at 11:35 am
6022

Enhancing Business Education Through Exploratory Teaching of Generative AI

Mark Pisano
Southern Connecticut State University

With the advent of ChatGPT, a surge of interest has emerged both in the academic and commercial realms for harnessing the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Universities are racing to strike a balance between preserving academic integrity and integrating AI into their curriculum. The unmistakable reality is that AI is becoming an indispensable facet of the evolving workforce. Teaching AI, however, takes diverse forms across disciplines. Computer science courses centered around AI tend to delve into technical intricacies, while business courses emphasize technology application. Consequently, the tools, courses, and student expectations diverge significantly. Among the prevailing AI applications in the commercial landscape, generative AI stands out prominently. Its capabilities span text summarization, question answering, and creative writing generation, and have extended to image and voice synthesis. This particular strain of AI possesses immense potency and is poised to disrupt multiple facets of the business world. This paper undertakes a comprehensive review and expansion of methodologies, tools, and insights gleaned from an exploratory course focused on the practical implementation of AI for business students. The cornerstone of this course revolved around generative AI concepts, with substantial emphasis on ChatGPT. Students were tasked with assignments that entailed utilizing ChatGPT to achieve specific output, thereby nurturing an understanding of the input-ou

Thursday at 11:35 am
6052

Enhancing Information Systems Education through Location Analytics

Dan Farkas
Pace University

Namchul Shin
Pace University

The abundance of publicly available geographic and demographic datasets offers an untapped reservoir of opportunities for enhancing Information Systems (IS) education. This paper introduces an innovative course designed to engage IS students in research projects utilizing diverse datasets from sources such as the US Census Bureau, providing them with hands-on experience in data manipulation and location analytics. The course will guide students through the process of identifying relevant datasets, formulating research questions, applying appropriate data analysis techniques, and developing a coherent research narrative. Students will work on projects focusing on a variety of data, including income, population, crime, education, spending, and health, in different locations at different scales (e.g., zip code, county, state) culminating in research outputs suitable for conference publication. Keywords: Information Systems, Location Analytics, GIS, Demographic Data, Geographic Data, Methodology: In pursuit of understanding the impact of integrating Location Analytics into IS education, our research follows a systematic approach: Hypotheses: H1: Utilizing public datasets in IS education enhances students' engagement and comprehension of real-world data analysis. H2: This pedagogical approach fosters tangible skill development in GIS, research, analysis, and presentation. H3: Real-world impact and post-course success are positively influenced by t

Wednesday at 2:30 pm
6037

Evaluating and Awarding Work and Experiential Credit for a Non-traditional IT Program

Leah Schultz
Tarleton State University

One of the top things that adult learners look for when returning to college is credit for life experience (Hoover, 2010) and as competency-based education programs proliferate, some universities and colleges are trying to accommodate a large population of adult learners. The state of Texas allows universities to offer degree completion programs in a variety of fields using the Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences (BAAS). These programs allow students to use a combination of training and work experience to earn college credit towards a degree. Many of these credits are awarded for completion of courses at the community college that are not traditionally accepted for transfer credit to a four-year institution. These courses mostly reside in technical associate degree programs where the content and the applicability to the BAAS curriculum is readily apparent. However, the guidelines for the program also allow awarding of credit for previous training as well as work experience which can be more difficult to apply. General guidelines have been proposed for awarding credit for work experience (Sharon, 1976) but the purpose of this research will be to determine a framework for the awarding of credit for prior work experience and training for a degree completion program specifically in Information Technology. Initially, the problem will need to be defined in relation to the unstructured nature of the credit being awarded. Different stakeholders may have different concern

Friday at 4:35 pm
6056

Fostering Student Identities in Introduction to Programming

Marc Schmalz
Boise State University

Amy Connolly
James Madison University

Daniel Rush
Boise State University

IS curricula typically include at least one course that introduces students to principles of programming in an object-oriented language. The literature is split on whether this language should be Python, Java, C# or something else. No matter the language, students in an IS major or minor can be resistant and unprepared to learn programming or any topic involving math skills (unlike those studying Computer Science or Engineering). Some researchers have investigated how to make the course more accessible for beginning students. Students� own resistance and lack of self-confidence can make teaching this course challenging. If student apprehensions are not managed, programming courses can directly lead to high rates of attrition from the IS major, particularly by underrepresented students who do not see themselves reflected in mainstream role models. We suggest that a new approach is needed to reach all IS students and to help them to both see the value of learning how to code in an object-oriented language and to connect that value to their individual sense of identity. We present an assignment used in an introduction to programming course that seeks to make individual and multi-faceted identities salient throughout the course by allowing students to work through these identities and to observe relevant connections to themselves in the course. This assignment was developed based on the instructor�s research expertise in identity theory. This teaching approach has helped the inst

Thursday at 9:40 am
5970

Gamification for Higher Education Business Students

Seth Williams
Tennessee Tech University

Jimmy Jenkins
Tennessee Tech University

Grant Clary
Tennessee Tech University

Throughout history, humans have used games as a source of entertainment and motivation. Recent rises in technology have brought game-like elements to non-game scenarios (a phenomenon called gamification). Gamification tactics are commonly used to train employees, treat medical conditions, help students in school, and many other non-game scenarios. This abstract is intended to explain a research-in-progress project on implementing gamification in the classroom to help students review course material. The goal of this initiative is twofold: improve knowledge retention of the course material and improve student satisfaction with the course. As we develop the game elements to be included in the classroom, we turn to the literature for recommendations on improving the design of the gamification initiative to ensure we improve student satisfaction and knowledge retention. One such body of literature is andragogy. Andragogy emphasizes the self-directed and independent nature of adult learners (Knowles, 1970). Andragogy differs from pedagogy by suggesting that adult learners are more motivated to learn if the knowledge is relevant and applicable to their lives. When designing the game-like elements, special consideration will be given to ensure we incorporate autonomy, relevance, and real-world application of knowledge. As for satisfaction, self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000) suggests humans have three innate needs for intrinsic motivation and well-being: autonomy

Friday at 11:10 am
6057

Hardware Reverse Engineering Platform: An Open-source Educational Tool

Michael Ham
Dakota State University

Andrew Kramer
Dakota State University

Human dependency on Internet-connected devices, broadly known as the Internet of Things (IoT), continues to rise. Unfortunately, due to the manufacturing of these devices occurring across the globe, these devices are often vulnerable to attacks and cannot implicitly be trusted. Successful compromises against IoT devices can have outcomes ranging from mild inconveniences to disruptions in critical infrastructure. Detecting vulnerabilities in these devices is commonly performed via hardware reverse engineering (HRE); this requires expertise to determine device functionality, information I/O, and data storage. Widely recognized designation requirements underscore the demand for students studying in cybersecurity programs to acquire hands-on HRE skills. The National Security Agency (NSA) specifically lists HRE as an optional knowledge unit for the Center of Academic Excellence (CAE) designations. Students meeting HRE learning outcomes will be equipped to probe, measure, and collect information from devices in the context of understanding and manipulating device functionality. Approximately 375 universities and colleges across the United States have CAE-designated programs in cyber operations and cyber defense. However, not all of these schools offer HRE in their curricula. Various factors influence the exclusion of HRE offerings in coursework. Such barriers include the lack of faculty expertise, credit limitations imposed by mandatory program requirements, and a scarcity o

Thursday at 9:00 am
6050

Improving Student Collaboration and Teamwork through Increasing Self-Awareness

Katarzyna Toskin
Southern Connecticut State University

Teamwork can be one of the most challenging endeavors for Information Systems (IS) students. It affects student course experience, their learning outcomes, and ultimately the quality of the deliverable(s). Yet, it is one of the most widely used and sought after skills by employers. So how do we prepare IS students for effective teamwork in college and on the job? One idea is to boost student self-awareness. Per Eurich (2018), self-awareness increases confidence, creativity, and collaboration, aids in building stronger relationships, better decisions, and more. However, only about 10% of people are truly self-aware and this number is much lower among students. To mitigate this gap, faculty can incorporate various activities into their courses to help students build self-awareness, preferably before any team assignments are introduced in the course. Some of such activities can include behavioral or personality assessments that can reveal their motivations, attitudes, emotions, and preferred ways of interacting with others. Additionally, many employers utilize behavioral and/or personality assessments for new hires to ensure the positions are filled with the best fitting candidates (Bersin & Chamorro-Premuzic, 2019). Therefore, helping IS students learn about themselves during their college career can have long lasting positive effects not only for team based schoolwork but also during early career years. Having increased self-awareness early on can help IS students choo

Thursday at 2:35 pm
6065

LASRCOP: Lightweight Automated Session Recording to Certify Original Programming

Andrew Kramer
Dakota State University

The proliferation of sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) tools poses a significant threat to academic integrity in programming courses. Generative AI models capable of solving complex programming problems based only on a written prompt are a powerful tool but present a great temptation to students seeking a shortcut on their programming assignments. Worse yet, this creates a new challenge for instructors in detecting and substantiating instances of academic misconduct as each generated code sample is unique, reasonable, and difficult to differentiate from human work. A solution is needed, but must ensure fairness and privacy, while also being simple to implement and unobtrusive. To solve this, we propose LASRCOP (Lightweight Automated Session Recording to Certify Original Programming), a novel system designed to mitigate cheating among programming students by recording their work in real time while also protecting their privacy, not requiring them to install any additional software, and being quick and easy for instructors to implement. Since AI-assisted cheating can be difficult to detect and prove, ideally an instructor would observe a student�s work live to ensure the code is an original creation. This is clearly impractical in a classroom setting and is impossible for assignments which students complete outside the classroom. A naive solution might be to require that students record their screens as they program, however this presents many additional proble

Friday at 8:45 am
6051

Leveraging CubeSats to Support Space Education and Research in Information Systems Field

Daniel Freburg
Illinois State University

Elahe Javadi
Illinois State University

Abstract Cube Satellites (CubeSats) are disruptive educational and research technologies that have attracted many students and early career professionals during the past two decades. The CubeSats were created nearly twenty years ago at California Polytechnique State University so that graduate students could engage in experiential learning related to satellites. These small satellites have become inexpensive and accessible to colleges to create and launch. These qualities have made the small satellites an instrument of choice for universities to advance competencies in areas of engineering, electronics, astronomy, physics, and other fields. Currently, the US has launched approximately 2,000 of the total 4,000 CubeSats in the world. A basic CubeSat cost is about $10,000 - $50,000 and takes 2 years to plan, build, test, and prepare for launch. Since the creation of CubeSats, most of the research and education work has been in the engineering field. This paper identifies the pathways through which the information systems field can leverage CubeSat projects to advance space technology research and education. The areas of space technology that intersect with the information systems fields include Networking, Internet of Things Applications, Systems Analysis and Design, Data and Information Management, and Infrastructure. Incorporating CubeSats in the IS curricula would help create a more diverse community of professionals in the fields as Information Systems programs are more di

Friday at 8:45 am
6054

Manipulating the Real World in an Introduction to Computer Science Course

Ira Goldstein
Siena College

A manipulative is a physical object used in the classroom to help make abstract concepts more concrete. In mathematics, manipulatives are frequently used in primary and middle schools to teach a range of topics from geometric solids and measurement to fractions and number bases. In computer science education, languages such as Logo with its turtle graphics and Alice with its drag and drop story telling ability have been used so that students can have immediate visual (on-screen) feedback of their programming efforts. While these approaches have been useful, they do not provide the ability to manipulate real world physical objects. Originally developed at the Carnegie Mellon CREATE Lab, the Finch is a small, inexpensive robot that allows students to write programs to manipulate and interact with a physical device. The Finch robot contains light sensors, an accelerometer, compass, and an ultrasonic obstacle/distance sensor. It also has a marker holder that allows it to draw on paper. Most of the published research using the Finch has been in primary and secondary settings. We propose a study to evaluate the use of the Finch in a college introductory computer science course. Specifically, we will look at how well the Finch helps students understand the key concepts of iteration and of conditional statements.

Thursday at 9:40 am
6059

Mapping Certificates to Courses: A Preliminary Data Model Proposal

Mark Segall
Metropolitan State University of Denver

Academic departments wanting to help students improve their employment opportunities advise them to pursue third party certifications as a way to demonstrate skills and knowledge to employers. Certifications are also a way for students to start the journey of lifelong learning habits, an important trait for a career in information systems. This paper will start with an outline of the long-term goal to develop an advising tool to allow students to see what industry certifications they can pursue based on the courses they have taken in a given department. This advising tool is envisioned to be web-based with a graphical user interface. A data model is presented to map course objects with certificate objects in support of this mapping advising tool.

Friday at 4:10 pm
6034

Navigating PMI's New Body of Knowledge in IS Project Management

Daniel Rush
Boise State University

Amy Connolly
James Madison University

The Project Management Institute (PMI), the premiere organization offering certifications in project management, has drastically revised its Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) in the latest 7th edition from a process-based standard (which the 6th and all prior editions were based on) to a principles-based standard. This radical update will affect those teaching IT/IS project management in a number of ways, such as the need to update or source new textbooks, revise course content and structures, and learn new terms, concepts, and expectations for certification exams (CAPM and PMP) taking effect in the coming years. We have taught IS Project Management in business schools for the past decade and during that time, the general format of PMI's Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) has remained relatively stable - until now. It is still unknown how the field of project management itself will adapt in response to the PMBOK changes, but when it does, instructors need to be prepared. To help other instructors meet this upcoming challenge head-on, we will present our detailed plan for revising the project management course. We will briefly define the new terms and present a systematic process for mapping existing project management concepts to the new concepts, as well as identify gaps and opportunities to expand the course to meet students' current and future needs. This paper will interest anyone who teaches project management to IT and IS students and who is not yet up to speed on the

Thursday at 2:35 pm
5971

Perceptions of Soft Skills by Computer and Information Technology Students and Professionals: A Preliminary Analysis

Tara Whitson
Tarleton State University

Leah Schultz
Tarleton State University

Specialized skill development, hard skills or technical skills, measure competence and/or ability to complete tasks within Computer and information technology (C&IT) positions and are considered an indicator of expertise (Tokarcíková et al., 2020). C&IT students or professionals working towards career advancement place primary focus on skill development related to a chosen specialization in information technology (Jones et al., 2018). The purpose of this exploratory study is to determine if there will be a significant difference in the perceptions of C&IT students without professional experience compared to C&IT students with professional experience in relation to soft skills. Multiple studies were conducted to determine how soft skills are defined and the importance of these skills for C&IT professionals (Jones et al., 2018; Joseph et al., 2010; Hazlett, 2017; Ahmed et al., 2012). In related studies, C&IT professionals identified important soft skills including: communication, critical thinking, team skills, professionalism, responsibility, and work ethic (Downey et al., 2008; Robles, 2012). In a survey completed by C&IT recruiters, the top five sought after soft skills included (a) teamwork, (b) communication, (c) critical thinking, (d) personal motivation, and (e) creative thinking (Fang et al., 2005). Students enrolled in C&IT programs at a university in the southwestern United States completed a survey that was adapted from an instrument developed by Bailey and Mi

Saturday at 9:45 am
6053

Standards For Cybersecurity Laboratory Exercises

Glen Sagers
Southern Utah University

Hands-on laboratory exercises which teach students the applied side of what they learn in lecture are vital to student success. This fact has been recognized by both the IEEE/ACM and NCAE (formerly CAE) model curricula, in 2017 and 2020, respectively. Both mandate the use of lab environments to give students a chance to practice skill learned. However, for the instructor, developing and maintaining labs creates many challenges. Among these are the need for deep technical knowledge, time to create the lab exercises, and the time to maintain the lab in the face of constant changes to operating systems, user and server software and other tools, and the changing threat environment. Much has been written about automating lab development and grading, which greatly helps instructors with the time demands. Unfortunately, very little has been written about whether the labs developed and automated are pedagogically correct. Do the labs actually teach what they claim to teach, are they efficient in teaching it, and similar questions remain unanswered. There must be a better way. Luckily, about 60 years ago, the same question was asked in the engineering discipline, and 20 years ago, a comprehensive push to map lab outcomes to ABET accreditation standards was undertaken (Feisel, 2002). This question apparently has not yet been asked in IT, CS, IS, or cybersecurity programs. The time for coasting along on labs that are not optimized is in our past as a field. We need to have

Friday at 11:35 am
6027

Student Learning in an Online Environment

Lisa Kovalchick
Pennsylvania Western University - California

Many authors have studied online learning and compared it to face-to-face instruction. Peslak, Kovalchick, Wang, and Kovacs (2023) surveyed students across three universities, who were enrolled in Computer Information Systems courses and utilized two-step cluster analysis to build profiles of a typical online student and a typical face-to-face student. In comparison to face-to-face students, the authors found that online students are slightly older, exhibit better organization and prioritization skills, are more self-reliant, and, thus, do not heavily rely on classroom interaction and are less inclined to learn using hands-on methods (Peslak, et al., 2023). Most universities offer a mixture of face-to-face and online courses and we know that sometimes students need to take courses in a format that they do not prefer. These student profiles can be used to assist faculty in delivering online courses to students, by helping them to understand which students learn best in an online environment. This knowledge will also help faculty to develop online courses that meet the needs of students who prefer online learning. In addition, it provides faculty with insights into characteristics and attitudes of students who prefer face-to-face instruction; so that those faculty can understand how to assist students who prefer face-to-face instruction to excel in an online environment. In this study, the author used the student profiles presented by Peslak, et al. to modify an existing

Thursday at 9:40 am
5960

Sustainable Development and Societal Impact: Child Poverty and Policy

Joseph Woodside
Stetson University

Fred Augustine
Stetson University

With the importance of sustainable development and societal impact as part of approved accreditation standards and principles, this manuscript describes a teaching case with data visualization skillsets for examining child poverty rates and policies throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The experiential learning activity is developed in the context of an undergraduate upper-level course on data analytics. The contributions of this teaching case are an experiential learning activity applied to a real-world current event and an interdisciplinary learning activity that allows students to apply and develop their curricular knowledge across core competencies. The overall case objectives are to conduct an exploratory data analysis, visualize the impact of various policies relating to their effects on child poverty rates, and support student learning around the societal impacts of policies.

Friday at 9:35 am
6004

The Design of Complementary Information Security and Cybersecurity Courses

Arthur Ream III
Bentley University

David Yates
Bentley University

This talk describes the design of an information security and a cybersecurity course, both taught at the same business-focused four-year university. The focus of these courses is on the principles and practices of their respective realms. The scope of these courses is summarized by the Venn diagram that von Solms proposed more than ten years ago. This diagram illustrates that information security and cybersecurity have distinct and overlapping concerns. We argue that this model for information security (infosec) and cybersecurity (csec) still holds and helps students (and instructors) understand different areas of focus that are considered mostly infosec, mostly csec, or at the intersection of both. We illustrate the utility of this model from a theoretical perspective by presenting three comprehensive frameworks -- one for each area of focus -- and from a practical perspective by considering the CISSP domains and ACM/IEEE/AIS/IFIP CSEC knowledge areas. In both courses, we motivate the need to augment security models with overarching principles, e.g., privacy, risk management, defense in depth, and zero trust. Finally, we argue that lifelong learning in security-related disciplines is supported by many of the infosec and csec certifications.

Wednesday at 2:10 pm
6033

The Evolution of an IT Student-Run Venture: A Follow-up Study

RJ Podeschi
Millikin University

Research was published in 2020 regarding the creation and operation of an IT student-run venture at a small private university in the Midwest (Podeschi). Student-run ventures are owned and governed by the university, can be profit-motivated or socially focused, and can be either co-curricular or integrated into a for-credit course (Morris, Kuratko, & Cornwall, 2013). Student-run ventures allow students to gain experience of working �in a business� and �on a business� simultaneously. Moreover, student-run ventures allow for students from across different disciplines to engage, thereby mimicking a real-world work environment. This specific student-run venture is a for-credit course and has now been in operation for seven years. While the foundational elements have remained the same, students have evolved the venture into something different from its conception as students� core operation are now focused on web design/development rather than unique one-off client engagements. Students continually implement new tools and revise business processes for efficiencies, and knowledge is strategically passed on to the next generation of student consultants. In addition, the population of students have become more diverse in both field of study and demographics. This purpose of the abstract is to outline the proposal for a seven-year longitudinal study on the student learning outcomes achieved through this unique curricular experience while also articulating how the student-run venture h

Thursday at 9:00 am
6005

UAVNetAI: An AIOps Approach for Stable Network Connectivity to Enhance Seamless Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Operations in a Metropolitan Area

Taejin Kim
City University of Seattle

Sam Chung
City University of Seattle

Problem Statement Essentially, the UAV acquires real-time directives for control from the operator through the network, enabling precise execution of maneuvers, navigation, and responsiveness to mutable circumstances. Furthermore, the interchange of information between the UAV and external sources, such as GPS satellites and mapping services, relies on a network connection to form the basis for safe flight planning and navigation. Moreover, UAV procures and disseminates data in actual time, such as aerial surveys, performance data, and monitoring, for timely decision-making and analysis. Collectively construed, drones depend significantly on network connectivity with ground operators and interconnected peripherals. For that reason, it is necessary to devise effective remedies to ensure enduring and steadfast network linkages (Gupta & Vaszkun, 2015; Nawaz et al., 2021; Kim et al., 2023) In the rapidly evolving landscape of UAV technology, maintaining stable network connectivity emerges as a fundamental prerequisite for ensuring seamless operations and safety. For that reason, In this paper, we challenge how we can make network connectivity stable during Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) operations. Motivation Previous work emphasized the necessity and importance of stable network connectivity for UAV operations. Based on the research of predictive UAV maintenance using cloud computing and IoT (Kim et al., 2023), the study underscores the critical significance of e

Saturday at 10:10 am
6055

Using Social Network Analysis to Analyze Student Interactions in an Online Asynchronous Course

Pratibha Menon
Pennsylvania Western University - California

Lisa Kovalchick
Pennsylvania Western University - California

Alan Peslak
Penn State University

Asynchronous online discussion plays a key role in online and blended courses by supporting a variety of educational activities (Gunawardena et al., 2016). It is a useful tool that allows both teachers and students to express their ideas, communicate with their peers and share experiences unconstrained by geographic location or time. From the sociocultural perspective, knowledge is commonly socially constructed by collaborative work toward shared or common objectives or by discourses and challenges produced by differences in persons� perspectives (Vygotsky, 1978). Knowledge gradually emerges through interaction and is distributed among those who interact. Online discussion boards provide a means to facilitate social interaction and knowledge construction through collaborative and shared learning goals. To explore the affordances of online discussion forums for the facilitation of online learners� interactions and collaborative learning, this study examines the use of asynchronous text based online discussion forums in an online course. An associated goal of this study is to use social network analysis methods to identify the how students interact with others in an online discussion forum. Student interactions will be studied by characterizing the types of online posts that students create to ask questions, share their experiences and to respond to others. Data collected from the online discussion posts of a 15-week computer programming course will be analyzed to uncover t

Thursday at 9:20 am
6028

Vehicular Network Integrity Against Jamming Attacks

Biju Bajracharya
East Tennessee State University

Thomas Justice
East Tennessee State University

Mohammad Khan
East Tennessee State University

A vehicular network serves as a sophisticated communication framework, facilitating seamless interaction between vehicles and the surrounding roadside infrastructure. This infrastructure comprises stationary nodes like roadside units (RSUs), traffic lights, road signs, toll booths, and more. These RSUs act as communication hubs, empowering vehicles to access and exchange real-time data regarding traffic status, weather conditions, road hazards, and other pertinent information. Through these components, functions like traffic management, emergency response, smart parking, autonomous driving, and public transportation are bolstered, leading to enhanced road safety, reduced congestion, and an improved driving encounter. These enhanced driving experiences can be intentionally disrupted by cyber attackers, potentially resulting in fatal accidents or congestion. One prevalent method utilized by such adversaries is wireless jamming attacks where attackers employ jamming devices to emit high-powered radio signals on the same frequency that the vehicular network is using. This interference leads to communication disruptions, causing delays or even complete prevention of legitimate data exchange with vehicles. Consequently, vehicles lose the capability to react to obstacles, emergency services, and crucial warning messages, culminating in severe outcomes. This security vulnerability poses a substantial threat to transportation system safety and efficiency. This presentation intends to

Friday at 1:50 pm
6063

Web Application Attack Data Collected in the Wild

Geoff Stoker
University of North Carolina Wilmington

Thomas Janicki
University of North Carolina Wilmington

ABSTRACT In this article, we provide access to sets of attack data seen in the wild that were used against two different web applications in spring 2023. This data, we believe, will be of benefit to cybersecurity-interested teachers and students. We also conduct a brief analysis of the attack strings and offer suggestions about how this data might be used for instructional and learning purposes. 1. INTRODUCTION On April 10, 2023, an attacker attempted ~400 times to compromise a web application with a database backend being used to register users for an information technology event. Ten days later, an attacker tried over 550 times to compromise a different web application. The nearly 1,000 database records of attack data left behind provide an opportunity to observe and analyze an attack �in the wild� and, we expect, is likely of interest to cybersecurity teachers and students. 2. ATTACK DATA SETS The attack data is partly listed in Appendix A. We provide there the first 50 entries for each attack session and provide Dropbox links to two comma-separated value (CSV) files that contain the entire set of attack data. The two sets of attack data are noticeably different. The first set includes attempts at command injection (https://owasp.org/www-community/attacks/Command_Injection) where the attacker is trying to get the web application to pass known commands to the underlying operating system (Weilin, 2022). This set of attack data used the same string for th

Thursday at 2:35 pm
6021

What can Information Systems Education Learn about Professionalization from Law Education?

Jeffry Babb
West Texas A&M University

Joanna Kimbell
West Texas A&M University

The global impact of information technology cannot be overstated and, many years into the Information Age and at the cusp of even deeper impacts of Information Technology. Cybersecurity, and Artificial Intelligence, the Information Systems discipline remains unclear of its place and its voice in the broader context of societal impacts. Whereas the computing disciplines� impact to society can be established with increasing clarity and gravity, the structures of self-governance and disciplinary organizing in computing are less clear. Overall, as disciplines mature and transform, the academy can play a role in defining responsibility, accountability, and leadership, in alignment with professional practice. This paper examines key developments in the history of Law and Law education from the unique perspective of the practice of and education in Law in the State of Texas. With a unique history in a journey to become one of the 50 states in the United States of America, the structures of professionalizing in the Law profession in Texas, and the constraints under which those structures evolved, can provide actionable insights for pathways for Information Systems education to embrace. An analysis of the history of the professionalizing of Law, and Law education in Teas, provides opportunities to better understand professionalizing within the computing disciplines. The paper offers recommendations for IS educators from which the ethical considerations relevant to computing can

Friday at 4:10 pm
6032

Wireless Networking in a Remote Classroom: A Solution

Kyle Cronin
Dakota State University

Shawn Zwach
Dakota State University

Virtualization offers many solutions to the issue of scaling teaching of technologies to students at a distance. Yet year over year, one particular technology still resists this implementation: wireless. While a great deal of curriculum exists which leverages a constructionist approach�students must read, memorize, and interpret the content. While this approach may be effective for those beginning their educational experience, gaining real world experience requires hands-on learning experiences. Due to the nature of wireless networking protocols, this poses a challenge. Our solution we have created involves remotely accessible virtual machines with 802.11 physical hardware implemented. The physical infrastructure involves several rackmount servers with individual small PCI/USB cards installed. With a provisioned hypervisor on the system, the PCI cards may be configured to connect into each individual virtual machine. Once this step is completed, students that remotely leverage the virtual machine environment are able to interact with any physical hardware connected to the PCI card. When ready to begin the 802.11 units in the course, the instructor simply connects USB 802.11 wireless adapters to the system in question. Students are able to then access the physical 802.11 network environment around the physical servers, only from a distance. This allows students to investigate real world networking situations, configure their own access points, and conduct 802.11 network mo

Thursday at 9:20 am
6061

AI-based Hybrid Clustering Method in Improving VANET Communication6062

AI-Builder Model LCNC Activities in Power Automate6035

An AI-Assisted Cloud-based Web Development: A Case Study of Web Design and Programming 6058

An Exploration of Student ChatGPT Use in Higher-Education 5996

Analyzing Cyber Defense Competencies: A Study of the NCCDC2016 Dataset and its Implications6044

Applications Of Multidimensional Scaling With Co-plot Analysis 6025

Classroom GSM Configuration Monitoring and Remediation6047

Conversational AI: Design AI Dialogue Systems With Object-Oriented Methodology 6042

Creating a Safety Visualization Dashboard for Construction Site Risk Analysis and Management6048

Cybersecurity the Future of Non-Profit Rural Organizations: A Pilot Study 6013

Designing Trust: The Impact of Website Design on User Confidence 6036

Empowering Novice Coders: Integrating Artificial Intelligence Tools in an Introductory Computer Programming Course6022

Enhancing Business Education Through Exploratory Teaching of Generative AI6052

Enhancing Information Systems Education through Location Analytics6037

Evaluating and Awarding Work and Experiential Credit for a Non-traditional IT Program6056

Fostering Student Identities in Introduction to Programming5970

Gamification for Higher Education Business Students6057

Hardware Reverse Engineering Platform: An Open-source Educational Tool6050

Improving Student Collaboration and Teamwork through Increasing Self-Awareness6065

LASRCOP: Lightweight Automated Session Recording to Certify Original Programming6051

Leveraging CubeSats to Support Space Education and Research in Information Systems Field 6054

Manipulating the Real World in an Introduction to Computer Science Course6059

Mapping Certificates to Courses: A Preliminary Data Model Proposal6034

Navigating PMI�s New Body of Knowledge in IS Project Management5971

Perceptions of Soft Skills by Computer and Information Technology Students and Professionals: A Preliminary Analysis6053

Standards For Cybersecurity Laboratory Exercises6027

Student Learning in an Online Environment5960

Sustainable Development and Societal Impact: Child Poverty and Policy6004

The Design of Complementary Information Security and Cybersecurity Courses6033

The Evolution of an IT Student-Run Venture: A Follow-up Study6005

UAVNetAI: An AIOps Approach for Stable Network Connectivity to Enhance Seamless Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Operations in a Metropolitan Area6055

Using Social Network Analysis to Analyze Student Interactions in an Online Asynchronous Course6028

Vehicular Network Integrity Against Jamming Attacks6063

Web Application Attack Data Collected in the Wild6021

What can Information Systems Education Learn about Professionalization from Law Education?6032

Wireless Networking in a Remote Classroom: A Solution6061