An Empirical Assessment of the Effectiveness of Deception for Cyber Defense

The threat of cyber attacks is a growing concern across the world, leading to an increasing need for sophisticated cyber defense techniques. The Tularosa Study, was designed and conducted to understand how defensive deception, both cyber and psychological, affects cyber attackers Ferguson-Walter et al. [2019c]. More specifically, for this empirical study, cyber deception refers to a decoy system and psychological deception refers to false information of the presence of defensive deception techniques on the network. Over 130 red teamers participated in a network penetration test over two days in which we controlled both the presence of and explicit mention of deceptive defensive techniques. To our knowledge, this represents the largest study of its kind ever conducted on a skilled red team population. In addition to the abundant host and network data collected, we conducted a battery of questionnaires, e.g., experience, personality; and cognitive tasks, e.g., fluid intelligence, working memory; as well as physiological measures, e.g., galvanic skin response (GSR), heart rate, to be correlated with the cyber events at a later date. The design and execution of this study and the lessons learned are a major contribution of this thesis. I investigate the effectiveness of decoy systems for cyber defense by comparing performance across all experimental conditions. Results support a new finding that the combination of the presence of deception and the true information that deception is present has the greatest effect on cyber attackers, when compared to a control condition in which no deception was used. Evidence of cognitive biases in the red teamers’ behavior is then detailed and explained, to further support our theory of oppositional human factors (OHF). The final chapter discusses how elements of the experimental design contribute to the validity of assessing the effectiveness of cyber deception and reviews trade-offs and lessons learned

Collaborative Online Education: A Case Study of an Ed.D. Program

This dissertation discusses collaborative teaching and learning models of online courses. Four research questions guide the study: How do instructors design online courses to facilitate instruction using collaborative teaching and learning models? When instructors co-teach online, how do they utilize collaborative teaching and learning models? How do students build online learning communities from collaborative teaching and learning models? and How do instructors and students evaluate online collaborative teaching and learning models? We conducted a case study of an Ed.D. cohort of Chinese students in the College of Education of the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL). We employed a qualitative approach to this study, using a sample of seven students and four instructors who participated in online courses that used collaborative approaches to learning and teaching. We collected data from three primary sources: interviews, questionnaires, and relevant documents. The data analysis and discussion focus on the perspectives of instructors and students on collaborative learning and teaching in online contexts and offer insights into improving the design and implementation of collaborative online education. Our findings revealed that collaborative approaches in online settings are relatively complex and can effectively support instructors and students in achieving teaching and learning goals. The findings provide support for the following arguments, that professional development for instructors, effective communication, varied strategies to increase classroom interaction, and clear roles and expectations are all factors that influence successful approaches to online teaching and learning. Finally, this study may be a valuable resource for instructors who intend to implement successful collaborative education in an online setting

Head Start Preschool Teachers’ Perceptions of Reggio Emilia Principles Practiced Within Their Own Setting: A Case Study

The Reggio Emilia Approach (REA) and Head Start (HS) value high-quality early education, support for families, and community partnerships according to the literature. Exploring principles of REA in relation to the HS program model may reveal alignment that will inform high-quality developmentally appropriate practices that are meaningful and enhance learning outcomes. This multiple case study explores the REA in alignment within three Head Start programs in New Mexico, Massachusetts, and Tennessee. Participant groups include one education director, one education leader, and four teachers in each of the three locations. In New Mexico, the HS program was located on a Native American pueblo. In Massachusetts the HS program was located in a diverse urban community, and the HS program in Tennessee was located in rural east Tennessee. Data to demonstrate participant’s alignment with nine REA principles include a survey, an interview, and observations without children present at each location. All participants responded with some alignment to the REA principles, yet lack of clear understanding was found among a majority of participants. Classroom observations revealed stronger alignment with REA principles in New Mexico. An interesting finding was that across cases there was one teacher who had more experience with including Reggio-inspired principles in her teaching practices. Teachers were interested in professional development beyond HS mandates. A small ungeneralizable sample is a limitation, which suggests future research using the survey and development of the 3 observation tool with a larger sample. Implications suggest future professional development introducing the REA may inform teaching practices in Head Start programs

Information literacy learning experiences of fourth-year psychology students in Kenyan universities.

Doctor of Philosophy in Information Studies.This study explored the information literacy (IL) learning experiences of Kenyan undergraduate students by focusing on fourth-year psychology students in four universities. Although there is a growing advocacy for IL in higher education, there seems to be little effort to understand how it is experienced by students. Several studies have concentrated on firstyear students, with a limited number focusing on those who are exiting the university. This study addresses the following key questions: What are the IL learning experiences of psychology students in Kenyan universities; what are the goals of the IL programme; what pedagogical approaches are applied in delivering IL; what is the role of information communication technology (ICT) in the delivery of IL; what are the perceptions of students and staff towards IL; and what are the challenges affecting delivery of IL. This research adopted the seven faces of IL model by Bruce as its theoretical framework; and applied both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Empirical data collected from indepth interviews, questionnaires and document reviews demonstrate the different conceptions and experiences of IL by students. Results revealed that IL learning experiences of fourthyear psychology students positively related to activities such as using ICTs, interaction among students and interactions between students and librarians. There appeared to be no single experience or set of activities that affected IL learning. The findings place academic librarians at the forefront in championing IL learning in their respective universities, but note that they cannot do it alone; there is need for a collaborative approach that includes faculty and senior administrators. Challenges that faced IL initiatives included lack of adequate learning resources and facilities, low number of qualified staff to teach IL, lack of IL training for lecturers and librarians and large class sizes. Further challenges included limited time allocated for IL learning, unavailability of students during IL sessions and lack of an IL policy framework at institutional or national level. The study recommended that all stakeholders in the university be involved in IL initiatives to produce an information-literate graduate, because successful IL interventions are a shared responsibility. The study further recommended increased lecturerlibrarian collaboration and support from academic leadership. Universities must ensure there is an IL policy that would guide development and implementation of IL