The Effect of Security Education and Expertise on Security Assessments: the Case of Software Vulnerabilities

In spite of the growing importance of software security and the industry demand for more cyber security expertise in the workforce, the effect of security education and experience on the ability to assess complex software security problems has only been recently investigated. As proxy for the full range of software security skills, we considered the problem of assessing the severity of software vulnerabilities by means of a structured analysis methodology widely used in industry (i.e. the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (\CVSS) v3), and designed a study to compare how accurately individuals with background in information technology but different professional experience and education in cyber security are able to assess the severity of software vulnerabilities. Our results provide some structural insights into the complex relationship between education or experience of assessors and the quality of their assessments. In particular we find that individual characteristics matter more than professional experience or formal education; apparently it is the \emph{combination} of skills that one owns (including the actual knowledge of the system under study), rather than the specialization or the years of experience, to influence more the assessment quality. Similarly, we find that the overall advantage given by professional expertise significantly depends on the composition of the individual security skills as well as on the available information.Comment: Presented at the Workshop on the Economics of Information Security (WEIS 2018), Innsbruck, Austria, June 201

An Action Day for First-Semester Students, fostering Self-Reflection, Networking and many other Skills

[EN] Over the years, we observed that students have difficulties when moving from school to university. In order to support our first-semester students,we designed and performed an action day at the beginning of their first semester. This day is designed to create identification with the subject, to get them actively engaged, and to let students get in contact with each other in an unstressed atmosphere. Furthermore, we intend to assess students’ initial level of competences relevant for studying successfully. The first four applications achieved good results. Passive students turned to a more active attitude, as they understood that they are responsible for their academic success right from the beginning. In a survey the majority of students agreed that the action day helped to get in contact with their fellow students. Interviews with lecturers confirmed this statement. Moreover, through the assessments, lecturers get insights into their students’ competences at a very early stage. This helps to adjust the teaching to students’ needs or offer additional support to them. Taken together, we designed an approach that offers our students a better start into their life at our university and we will continue performing this action day.Zehetmeier, D.; Thurner, V.; Böttcher, A. (2017). An Action Day for First-Semester Students, fostering Self-Reflection, Networking and many other Skills. En Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Higher Education Advances. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 549-557. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAD17.2017.528854955

Development of Computational Thinking in Brazilian Schools with Social and Economic Vulnerability: How to Teach Computer Science Without Machines

Computational Thinking (CT) has been placing the focus of educational innovation as a set of troubleshooting skills. Unfortunately, there is not a consensus if the teaching methodology and the available materials attend the expectations of the lecturers. To prove the impact that CT training has in primary school, we attempted to evaluate primary school students with a Quasi-Experimental approach and taking Unplugged CT classes in Brazilian Schools with Social and Economic Vulnerabilities. The research happened in two schools to prove if the activities are effective for students who live in areas where there are no electronic devices, Internet or even electrical power can be also benefited. The results show statistically significant improvement. Our study finds shows that we are able to reinforce the claim that CS unplugged is an effective approach and it is an alternative for students who live in unprivileged areas

Exploring assessment of medical students\u27 competencies in pain medicine - A review

Introduction: Considering the continuing high prevalence and public health burden of pain, it is critical that medical students are equipped with competencies in the field of pain medicine. Robust assessment of student expertise is integral for effective implementation of competency-based medical education. Objective: The aim of this review was to describe the literature regarding methods for assessing pain medicine competencies in medical students. Method: PubMed, Medline, EMBASE, ERIC, and Google Scholar, and BEME data bases were searched for empirical studies primarily focusing on assessment of any domain of pain medicine competencies in medical students published between January 1997 and December 2016. Results: A total of 41 studies met the inclusion criteria. Most assessments were performed for low-stakes summative purposes and did not reflect contemporary theories of assessment. Assessments were predominantly undertaken using written tests or clinical simulation methods. The most common pain medicine education topics assessed were pain pharmacology and the management of cancer and low-back pain. Most studies focussed on assessment of cognitive levels of learning as opposed to more challenging domains of demonstrating skills and attitudes or developing and implementing pain management plans. Conclusion: This review highlights the need for more robust assessment tools that effectively measure the abilities of medical students to integrate pain-related competencies into clinical practice. A Pain Medicine Assessment Framework has been developed to encourage systematic planning of pain medicine assessment at medical schools internationally and to promote continuous multidimensional assessments in a variety of clinical contexts based on well-defined pain medicine competencies

Eye quietness and quiet eye in expert and novice golf performance: an electrooculographic analysis

Quiet eye (QE) is the final ocular fixation on the target of an action (e.g., the ball in golf putting). Camerabased eye-tracking studies have consistently found longer QE durations in experts than novices; however, mechanisms underlying QE are not known. To offer a new perspective we examined the feasibility of measuring the QE using electrooculography (EOG) and developed an index to assess ocular activity across time: eye quietness (EQ). Ten expert and ten novice golfers putted 60 balls to a 2.4 m distant hole. Horizontal EOG (2ms resolution) was recorded from two electrodes placed on the outer sides of the eyes. QE duration was measured using a EOG voltage threshold and comprised the sum of the pre-movement and post-movement initiation components. EQ was computed as the standard deviation of the EOG in 0.5 s bins from –4 to +2 s, relative to backswing initiation: lower values indicate less movement of the eyes, hence greater quietness. Finally, we measured club-ball address and swing durations. T-tests showed that total QE did not differ between groups (p = .31); however, experts had marginally shorter pre-movement QE (p = .08) and longer post-movement QE (p < .001) than novices. A group × time ANOVA revealed that experts had less EQ before backswing initiation and greater EQ after backswing initiation (p = .002). QE durations were inversely correlated with EQ from –1.5 to 1 s (rs = –.48 - –.90, ps = .03 - .001). Experts had longer swing durations than novices (p = .01) and, importantly, swing durations correlated positively with post-movement QE (r = .52, p = .02) and negatively with EQ from 0.5 to 1s (r = –.63, p = .003). This study demonstrates the feasibility of measuring ocular activity using EOG and validates EQ as an index of ocular activity. Its findings challenge the dominant perspective on QE and provide new evidence that expert-novice differences in ocular activity may reflect differences in the kinematics of how experts and novices execute skills

Competencia digital: Una propuesta para su integración en el currículo español de primaria del inglés como lengua extranjera

Despite the vast array of research on digital competence, digital literacy and computational thinking in schools, there is a lack of application of these concepts and proposals for their integration in the foreign language classroom. Existing literature mainly centers on L1 learners or simply connects digital competence to mathematics and science. This paper explores possible activities which allow the successful integration of digital competence in the English as a foreign language classroom, in order to maximize class time and including a variety of English teaching and learning methods, as well as those elements of digital competence most appropriate for Primary level English learners. This paper concludes not only that the successful integration of digital competence in EFL is possible, but that it can, and must, be taken much further.Pese a la multitud de investigaciones sobre competencia digital, pensamiento computacional y alfabetización digital, es latente una falta de aplicación de estos conceptos en la clase de inglés como lengua extranjera, así como propuestas para su integración. La bibliografía existente se centra de manera mayoritaria en los estudiantes de inglés como lengua materna o simplemente en la conexión entre la competencia digital y los ámbitos científico y matemático. Este trabajo de fin de grado explora actividades que permiten la integración de la competencia digital en la clase de inglés como lengua extranjera, con el objetivo de maximizar el horario lectivo e incluyendo varias metodologías de la enseñanza y aprendizaje del inglés, así como aquellos elementos de competencia digital más apropiados para los estudiantes de educación primaria. Este trabajo concluye no sólo que la integración exitosa de la competencia digital en el aula de inglés es posible, sino que puede, y debe, ser llevada más allá.Depto. de Didáctica de las Lenguas, Artes y Educación FísicaFac. de EducaciónTRUEunpu

21st Century Skills: Integrating Digital Competence in the Spanish EFL primary education curriculum

Despite the vast array of research on digital competence, digital literacy and computational thinking in schools, there is a lack of application of these concepts and proposals for their integration in the foreign language classroom. Existing literature mainly centers on L1 learners or simply connects digital competence to mathematics and science. This paper explores possible activities which allow the successful integration of digital competence in the English as a foreign language classroom, in order to maximize class time and including a variety of English teaching and learning methods, as well as those elements of digital competence most appropriate for Primary level English learners. This paper concludes not only that the successful integration of digital competence in EFL is possible, but that it can, and must, be taken much further

Uncovering the drivers of customer engagement behaviours:Investigating key mediating mechanisms underlying the link between customer satisfaction and customer engagement behaviours in a higher education context

This study aims to explore cognitive and affective mediating mechanisms between Customer Satisfaction (CS) and positive Customer Engagement Behaviours (CEBs) that are of direct benefit to a firm (i.e. Participation, Word-of-Mouth, Monetary Giving) or indirect benefit (, i.e. Human Capital Performance). Two studies were carried out, in England and Austria, in a higher education context. Study 1 comprised of: 8 focus groups with 48 undergraduate business students from England and Austria, 21 semi-structured interviews with alumni of undergraduate business studies from England and Austria, and 9 background expert interviews. Study 2 encompassed a mail survey with 209 multi-source cases from undergraduate business students, who had conducted a placement year, and their immediate managers or supervisors, in England. Findings reveal that the relationships between CS and CEBs are not direct as assumed in literature. Perceived Employability was found as a central cognitive mediator between CS and CEBs of direct and indirect benefit to a service provider. In addition, Gratitude and Love are of importance as affective mediators between CS and CEBs that are of direct benefit to a firm. This study contributes to the service field by developing and empirically testing a conceptual framework on CEBs, including often neglected CEBs; for instance, CEBs of indirect benefit to an organisation and monetary CEBs. The study also provides the first empirical evaluation of the serial mediation effects of two distinct positive emotions, Gratitude and Love, between CS and CEBs of direct benefit to a service provider. Finally, while most studies have focused on affective mediation effects and CEBs of direct benefit to a service provider, this study has found Perceived Employability to have a simple cognitive mediation effect between CS and CEBs of indirect benefit to a service provider

Education for Environmental Citizenship

This Special Issue includes 14 empirical, theoretical, methodological research articles and reviews in various fields considering EEC. It provided a platform for researchers to share their research work on the field of education for environmental citizenship, including aspects of civic engagement and civic participation, democratic action, social and environmental change, individual and collective actions, environmental actions, socio-political actions, environmental justice, inter- and intra-generational justice, and connectedness to nature