Leveraging Human Thinking Style for User Attribution in Digital Forensic Process

User attribution, the process of identifying a human in a digital medium, is a research area that has receive significant attention in information security research areas, with a little research focus on digital forensics. This study explored the probability of the existence of a digital fingerprint based on human thinking style, which can be used to identify an online user. To achieve this, the study utilized Server-side web data of 43-respondents were collected for 10-months as well as a self-report thinking style measurement instrument. Cluster dichotomies from five thinking styles were extracted. Supervised machine-learning techniques were then applied to distinguish individuals on each dichotomy. The result showed that thinking styles of individuals on different dichotomies could be reliably distinguished on the Internet using a Meta classifier of Logistic model tree with bagging technique. The study further modeled how the observed signature can be adopted for a digital forensic process, using high-level universal modeling language modeling process- specifically, the behavioral state-model and use-case modeling process. In addition to the application of this result in forensics process, this result finds relevance and application in human-centered graphical user interface design for recommender system as well as in e-commerce services. It also finds application in online profiling processes, especially in e-learning system

Eighth graders' web searching strategies and outcomes: The role of task types, web experience and epistemological beliefs

Abstract This study reported an investigation of eighth graders' (14-year-olds) web searching strategies and outcomes, and then analyzed their correlations with students' web experiences, epistemological beliefs, and the nature of searching tasks. Eighty-seven eighth graders were asked to fill out a questionnaire for probing epistemological beliefs (from positivist to constructivist-oriented views) and finished three different types of searching tasks. Their searching process was recorded by screen capture software and answers were reviewed by two expert teachers based on their accuracy, richness and soundness. Five quantitative indicators were used to assess students' searching strategies: number of keywords, visited pages, maximum depth of exploration, refinement of keyword, and number of words used in the first keyword. The main findings derived from this study suggested that, students with richer web experiences could find more correct answers in ''closeended" search tasks. In addition, students with better metacognitive skills such as keyword refinement tended to achieve more successful searching outcomes in such tasks. However, in ''open-ended" tasks, where questions were less certain and answers were more elaborated, students who had more advanced epistemological beliefs, concurring with a constructivist view, had better searching outcomes in terms of their soundness and richness. This study has concluded that epistemological beliefs play an influential role in open-ended Internet learning environments

Is it really a neuromyth? A meta-analysis of the learning styles matching hypothesis

Learning styles have been a contentious topic in education for years. The purpose of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis of the effects of matching instruction to modality learning styles compared to unmatched instruction on learning outcomes. A systematic search of the research findings yielded 21 eligible studies with 101 effect sizes and 1,712 participants for the meta-analysis. Based on robust variance estimation, there was an overall benefit of matching instruction to learning styles, g = 0.31, SE = 0.12, 95% CI = [0.05, 0.57], p = 0.02. However, only 26% of learning outcome measures indicated matched instruction benefits for at least two styles, indicating a crossover interaction supportive of the matching hypothesis. In total, 12 studies without sufficient statistical details for the meta-analysis were also examined for an indication of a crossover effect; 25% of these studies had findings indicative of a crossover interaction. Given the time and financial expenses of implementation coupled with low study quality, the benefits of matching instruction to learning styles are interpreted as too small and too infrequent to warrant widespread adoption

Der Einfluss von Inhaltsgestaltung und Lernereigenschaften auf Navigation und Wissenserwerb in hypermedialen Lernumgebungen

Educational software increasingly finds its way into classroom learning. The question arises whether the currently available products ensure effectiveness and efficiency of learning. So far investigations on the learning process when using hypermedia environments and moreover the factors impacting on the software use are scarce. The presented doctoral thesis, set in a realistic classroom scenario and presenting a complex learner-controlled hypermedia environment, aims to brigde this gap. Four evaluation variants of a CD-ROM on cell biology offering different didactical and graphical designs but the same content were produced. Specifically, the impacts of 3D-models, close-up views, static picture as well as animation design were investigated. About 700 students of 15 schools and 3 universities in 5 different German ôBundeslaenderö participated in the study. The knowledge acquisition and navigation behaviour of the examinees was documented with encoded log-files and correlated with the individualÆs learner characteristics such as learning style, prior domain knowledge and visual spatial ability as well as the design features of the software variants. Individual as well as group learning was analysed. Principle component analysis (PCA) was applied to get main usage factors that served as dependent variables in the subsequently calculated statistical tests. The dissertation suggests various influences of learner characteristics and content design on the learning process thereby contributing to the design of learning software that is well adapted to usersÆ needs. The studyÆs results are discussed in light of an extended cognitive load theory for hypermedia learning environments.Neue Medien kommen immer öfter auch im Klassenzimmer zum Einsatz. Die Frage stellt sich daher, ob die derzeit erhältlichen Produkte die Effektivität und Effizienz des Lernens gewährleisten. Untersuchungen, die den Lernprozess bei der Nutzung hypermedialer Lernumgebungen und darüber hinaus die die Softwarenutzung beeinflussenden Faktoren beleuchten, sind bislang rar. Die vorliegende Doktorarbeit, unter Verwendung einer Nutzer-kontrollierten hypermedialen Lernumgebung im Klassenraum durchgeführt, und damit die realistische Lernsituation simulierend, zielt darauf ab, diese Lücke zu schließen. Vier Evaluationsvarianten einer CD - ROM zum Thema Zellbiologie verschiedenen didaktischen und graphischen Designs aber gleichen Inhalts wurden produziert. Insbesondere wurden der Einfluss von 3D-Modellen, Detaildarstellungen, des Designs statischer Bilder sowie von Animationen untersucht. Etwa 700 Schüler/innen und Studierende aus 15 Schulen und 3 Universitäten in 5 verschiedenen deutschen Bundesländern nahmen an der Studie teil. Navigation und Prozess des Wissenserwerbs der Teilnehmer wurde mit codierten Logfiles erfasst und mit individuellen Eigenschaften wie Lernstil, fachlichem Vorwissen und räumlichem Vorstellungsvermögen sowie den Designmerkmalen der Softwarevarianten korreliert. Sowohl Einzel- als auch Gruppenlernen wurde untersucht. Mittels einer Faktorenanalyse (PCA) wurden Hauptnutzungsfaktoren ermittelt, die in den nachfolgend durchgeführten statistischen Tests als abhängige Variablen fungierten. Die Studie zeigt verschiedene Einflüsse der Nutzereigenschaften und des inhaltlichen Designs auf den Lernprozess und unterstützt dadurch die Entwicklung von Softwareprodukten, die den Bedürfnissen der Nutzer ausreichend Rechnung tragen. Die Ergebnisse werden im Zusammenhang einer erweiterten kognitiven Beanspruchungstheorie („Cognitive Load Theory“) für hypermediale Lernumgebungen diskutiert