Ghost trace on the wire? Using key evidence for informed decisions

Modern smartphone messaging apps now use end-to-end encryption to provide authenticity, integrity and confidentiality. Consequently, the preferred strategy for wiretapping such apps is to insert a ghost user by compromising the platform's public key infrastructure. The use of warning messages alone is not a good defence against a ghost user attack since users change smartphones, and therefore keys, regularly, leading to a multitude of warning messages which are overwhelmingly false positives. Consequently, these false positives discourage users from viewing warning messages as evidence of a ghost user attack. To address this problem, we propose collecting evidence from a variety of sources, including direct communication between smartphones over local networks and CONIKS, to reduce the number of false positives and increase confidence in key validity. When there is enough confidence to suggest a ghost user attack has taken place, we can then supply the user with evidence to help them make a more informed decision

An exploration of how creative arts lecturers in higher education talk about reflecting on their teaching

There is considerable literature on the concept of reflective teaching and the importance of reflective practice for developing as a teacher in higher education. However, few studies have explored the content and premise for reflection - how and what lecturers reflect upon in relation to their local contexts for teaching. Without an appreciation of these stimuli, academic development initiatives to encourage teacher reflectivity may lack authenticity in the setting of everyday teacher reflection. This thesis takes a unique stance to this gap in knowledge, by exploring how creative arts lecturers talk about reflecting on their teaching through their own words, phrases, metaphors, events, experiences, and incidents. The focus on creative arts provides an opportunity to gain a critical understanding of some of the forms, interpretations and underpinning values of teacher reflectivity that are more attuned to creative arts educational practices. The research inquiry uses a qualitative-interpretive methodology to explore the reflective teaching talk of ten lecturers working in two specialist creative arts universities in the south of England. To align with the intention of the research to gather more contextualised responses to reflection, a social-constructivist theoretical framework has been developed. This framework is based on existing literature, which takes into consideration the sociocultural (teaching and learning norms and practices, cultures, and conventions) and structural conditions (institutional policy and practice, external regulations, and environment) mediating the talk. The research findings highlight that pedagogic theories and concepts used in reflective teaching can be alienating for dual professionals in higher education, where reflection and practice may be understood through a disciplinary or practitioner-based lens and where lecturers may be seeking more meaningful pedagogic expressions that relate to their values and beliefs in creative education. The research encourages a foregrounding of disciplinary discourse (and associated practices), as a means of more authentically engaging academics in conversations about teaching that are embedded in the context of real-world relationships, opportunities, and constraints. By highlighting the socio-cultural contexts and structural conditions of the reflective teaching talk, the research presents new forms of practice-based academic development for developers working in higher education settings

Leading from the Margins: Black Women\u27s Experiences Navigating Historically Black Colleges and Universities

A capstone submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the Ernst and Sara Lane Volgenau College of Education at Morehead State University by Christina R. Caul on March 30, 2023

Women\u27s Perceptions of Flourishing Through Quilting as a Leisure Activity

Quilting is a self-chosen leisure activity for millions of women in the United States. Previous research on quilting suggested that quilting is influenced by the emotional state of the quilter. However, the emotional experiences generated during quilting have not been fully explored. The purpose of this qualitative narrative study was to explore quilters\u27 perceptions of what quilting as a leisure activity does to enhance their well-being and increase flourishing. Positive psychology well-being theory was the theoretical foundation for the study. Semistructured interviews with 12 adult women who quilt as a leisure activity were the basis of the narrative inquiry. Data were recorded through in-person and telephone interviews that were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis to develop overarching themes. Findings revealed that quilting contributed to participants\u27 well-being and built flourishing through three primary avenues: creativity, relationships, and positive emotion. Quilting provided an opportunity for creative expression and growth as artists. Quilt-making activity was centered around relationships with other quilters and with the larger community, and quilting was linked with positive emotion as participants experienced great joy in their quilting activities. This study has implications for increasing well-being and building flourishing in women through the adoption of quilting as a leisure activity

Residential Faculty Members’ Differential Use of Blackboard Tools: A Case Study

The purpose of this single instrumental case study was to understand the differential use of Blackboard tools for residential faculty members at a large private nonprofit university in the Southeastern part of the United States. The differential use of Blackboard tools was generally defined as the tendency of residential faculty members in universities to use certain Blackboard tools over others available to them. The theory that guided this study was the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) by Venkatesh, Morris, Davis, and Davis (2003) as it explained factors influencing faculty members’ use of Blackboard tools. The central research question for this study was: Why do residential faculty members select certain Blackboard tools to integrate into their courses more than others? Participants were residential faculty members, information technology administrators and designers, and faculty support coordinators drawn from a large private nonprofit university in the Southeastern part of the United States. Data was collected using interviews, focus groups, and document analysis. Data were analyzed both manually and using NVivo computer software to find codes and themes that explained the causes of the phenomenon. The key themes answering the central question of this study are time, Blackboard, requirements, social support, and fear. Sub-question one was answered by Blackboard and motivation themes. Social support, technical team and support, and requirements are addressed in the second sub-question. The third sub-question was answered by the following themes: Blackboard, requirements, and technical team and support. Theoretical, empirical, and practical implications and recommendations are offered