Influence of Cyber-bullying on academic achievement of In-School adolescents in Anambra State, Nigeria

Digital technologies have given youth an unprecedented opportunity to communicate with their peers inside and outside of their face-to-face social networks. In their online exploration, students are often caught in the web of cyber-bullying. A blind eye must not be cast on the fact that the emotional injuries arising from cyber-bullying could lead to school related problems like poor school engagement and skipping of classes. The purpose of the study was to ascertain the influence of cyber-bullying on academic achievement of in-school adolescents in Anambra State. Two research questions were raised for the study while one hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of significance. Survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study consisted of 11, 023 Senior Secondary School II (SS2) students in the 257 public secondary schools in Anambra State. The sample for the study comprised 600 Senior Secondary School II (SSS2) students obtained through multi-stage sampling procedure.A researcher constructed identification questionnaire titled ‘IQCACB’ and students’ academic achievement were the instrument used for the study.IQCACBwas validated by three experts in the Department of Educational Foundations, NnamdiAzikiwe University, Awka. The reliability of the questionnaire was established using Cronbach alpha method and reliability indices obtained was 0.84. Statistical measure that was used to analyze the data collected was mean and standard deviation. The findings of the study revealed that there is no significant difference in the mean academic achievement scores of adolescents who have been cyber-bullied and those who are cyber-bullies. The study further revealed that indulging in cyber-bulling did not greatly affect the academic achievement of in-school adolescents. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended among others that federal Government should provide support to secondary school administration to obtain the desired educational facilities necessary for effective school running such as employment of qualified teachers and the provision of adequate classrooms. Such steps could improve students’ academic performance albeit the distraction of cyber-bullying

Strategies and challenges to facilitate situated learning in virtual worlds post-Second Life

Virtual worlds can establish a stimulating environment to support a situated learning approach in which students simulate a task within a safe environment. While in previous years Second Life played a major role in providing such a virtual environment, there are now more and more alternative—often OpenSim-based—solutions deployed within the educational community. By drawing parallels to social networks, we discuss two aspects: how to link individually hosted virtual worlds together in order to implement context for immersion and how to identify and avoid “fake” avatars so people behind these avatars can be held accountable for their actions

Islam and the Cyber World

The mixed reactions on the use of the internet technology which have resulted in different debates and crimes in the cyber world calls for assessment of the Islamic point of view of the issue. Cyber world created avenue for the Muslim Ummah in a form of virtual global community and it encouraged dialogue as well as access to information on a real time basis; and above all facilitated easy access to the Qur’an. Nonetheless, th same tool has opened doors for crimes such as pornography, victimization, bullying, stalking etc. Hence this study reviews the benefits of the internet technology and consequences of its misuse. The frame of reference in measuring both the negative and positive aspects of this technology will be the Islamic standpoint. DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2014.v4n6p51

Medical student attitudes toward video games and related new media technologies in medical education

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Studies in K-12 and college students show that their learning preferences have been strongly shaped by new media technologies like video games, virtual reality environments, the Internet, and social networks. However, there is no known research on medical students' game experiences or attitudes towards new media technologies in medical education. This investigation seeks to elucidate medical student experiences and attitudes, to see whether they warrant the development of new media teaching methods in medicine.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Medical students from two American universities participated. An anonymous, 30-item, cross-sectional survey addressed demographics, game play experience and attitudes on using new media technologies in medical education. Statistical analysis identified: 1) demographic characteristics; 2) differences between the two universities; 3) how video game play differs across gender, age, degree program and familiarity with computers; and 4) characteristics of students who play most frequently.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>217 medical students participated. About half were female (53%). Respondents liked the idea of using technology to enhance healthcare education (98%), felt that education should make better use of new media technologies (96%), and believed that video games can have educational value (80%). A majority (77%) would use a multiplayer online healthcare simulation on their own time, provided that it helped them to accomplish an important goal. Men and women agreed that they were most inclined to use multiplayer simulations if they were fun (97%), and if they helped to develop skill in patient interactions (90%). However, there was significant gender dissonance over types of favorite games, the educational value of video games, and the desire to participate in games that realistically replicated the experience of clinical practice.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Overall, medical student respondents, including many who do not play video games, held highly favorable views about the use of video games and related new media technology in medical education. Significant gender differences in game play experience and attitudes may represent male video game design bias that stresses male cognitive aptitudes; medical educators hoping to create serious games that will appeal to both men and women must avoid this.</p

A Review of Smishing Attaks Mitigation Strategies

Mobile Smishing crime has continued to escalate globally due to technology enhancements and people's growing dependence on smartphones and other technologies. SMS facilitates the distribution of crucial information that is principally important for non-digital savvy users who are typically underprivileged. Smishing, often known as SMS phishing, entails transmitting deceptive text messages to lure someone into revealing individual information or installing malware. The number of incidences of smishing has increased tremendously as the internet and cellphones have spread to even the most remote regions of the globe

A Design Science Artefact for Cyber Threat Detection and Actor Specific Communication

Over the past few decades, the number and variety of cyberattacks and malware patterns have increased immensely. As a countermeasure, computer emergency response teams were established with the responsibility of securing the cyber environment. However, recent studies revealed that currently performed manual processes and the unavailability of adequate tools impede the achievement of cybersecurity. To address these challenges, we followed the Design Science paradigm to develop an artefact that improves the evaluation of open-source intelligence obtained from Twitter as well as the actor-specific communication of cyber threat information. Subsequently, the implemented artefact will be evaluated through semi-structured interviews with subject matter experts. This research in progress article presents the identified research gap and describes the development process and the endeavor to contribute to the cybersecurity domain theoretically with design principles for the development of an instrument and practically by implementing an artefact that supports domain experts in their work