Switching from a semi-computerized to an online employment application system: A case study

This case explores the switch from semi-computerized to an online employment application system. This case documents the struggles experienced with user expectations related to requirements and how customization of a third-party product derailed the project’s success. The project was eventually implemented, but not without a significant development effort to customize. The end project was over budget, over time, and did not have all of the functionality that the users were expecting. Key factors leading to the project failure were: lack of user involvement and participation throughout the project including documentation of requirements for the target system, lack of a dedicated project manager, resistance to the change, poor communication, inadequate requirements, and issues with the chosen software development methodology

A Case Study of Success Factors Associated with a Global Implementation of ERP/HRMS Software

This research observes a global implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)/Human Resources Management System (HRMS) software at an International company in Omaha, Nebraska. The software was implemented in sixteen countries. Variables such as cultural differences, communicationdistance, management support, trust, and fear of change were evaluated in the literature review. These variables have an impact on implementation success during global HRMS implementation. Further analyses on specific success factors faced with global implementations were evaluated using semi-structured interviews. The author prepared a questionnaire to further explore the data. Respondents rated questions related to management support the highest overall. An interesting find was that the semi-structured interview results indicated that the software chosen was not a perfect fit for the global community. The mean for Global HRMS Success was higher for respondents located in the United States than those located in other locations

Exploration of Security Concerns Related to Personal Devices When Accessing Cloud-Based Electronic Health Records

This research explores a relatively unchartered area of electronic health records – security concerns for consumer access from personal devices. The healthcare industry has had increases in cyberattacks related to data breaches; with nearly two a day occurring on average. Additionally, ransomware attacks for healthcare entities have been at an all-time high. While HIPAA normally provides added protection for patients and healthcare entities, access via personal devices can sometimes fall outside of HIPAA jurisdiction. This research will provide more information related to access via unsecured home networks

Identifying Factors that Influence Undergraduate Women to Leave (or Remain in) Computer Science Majors

The share of women in computing careers is significantly lower than the share of women in the United States workforce. This study seeks to examine the social, structural, and individual factors that influence the decision-making of undergraduates who identify as women to leave or remain in computer science-related disciplines. This research explores the broader computer science discipline including related disciplines such as cybersecurity, management information systems, business analytics, and information technology (IT) innovation. There have been studies targeting specific majors, but the categorization of computer science majors is not always reflective of all computing majors. It is imperative that research is performed to determine factors that could provide a more inclusive academic environment in these majors in hopes that higher education institutions can retain more students who identify as female

Electronic Health Records and User Participation: Digital Natives versus Digital Immigrants

The need for clarity in the healthcare management is a matter of frequent discussion and concern among healthcare professionals, practitioners, patients and academicians. Electronic Health Records would provide clarity, transparency, interoperability and transferability in the health care information and data of the patients. It will also reduce the human mistakes and will reduce the likelihood of wrongly reading or interpreting the information. This paper introduces this useful concept and links it to the two classes of health care practitioners- ‘digital natives’ and ‘digital immigrants’. The paper further identifies and discusses the relationship between user participation and system success and analyses the impact of moderation by digital natives and digital immigrants. The paper draws evidences from the existing state of literature to propose the relationships. Implications of the research to the practitioners and researchers are discussed

VPN Usage in Higher Education: A Study to Mitigate Risk Related to Public Wi-Fi Usage

Higher education settings have unique security risks in that they traditionally do not have robust security programs. Higher education network infrastructure can be outdated and resources for information security limited. These challenges are met with frequent faculty and staff travel for conferences and recruiting events in other states and countries. Frequent travel can leave university and faculty information and assets at risk; particularly when faculty and staff use public Wi-Fi in areas such as hotels, conference venues, coffee shops, and airports. Data in higher education institutions can be leaked when sent over channels that are not secure. This emergent research explores virtual private network (VPN) usage in a university setting using employer-issued devices. Emphasis is placed on VPN usage when using public Wi-Fi. The research focuses on the importance of risk to the university and its researchers as an influence on VPN usage behavior

The Tail Wagging the Dog: An Overdue Examination of Student Teaching Evaluations

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of several factors beyond the professor’s control and their unique impact on Student Teaching Evaluations (STEs). The present research pulls together a substantial amount of data to statistically analyze several academic historical legends about just how vulnerable STEs are to the effects of: class size, course type, professor gender, and course grades. Design/methodology/approach: This research is utilizes over 30,000 individual student evaluations of 255 professors, spanning six semesters, during a three year time period to test six hypotheses. The final sample represents 1057 classes ranging in size between 10 and 190 students. Each hypothesis is statistically analyzed, with either analysis of variance or a Regression model. Findings: This study finds support for 5 out of 6 hypotheses. Specifically, these data suggest STEs are likely to be closest to “5” (using a 1-5 scale with 5 being highest) in small elective classes, and lowest in large required classes taught by females. As well we find support for the notion that higher expected course grades may lead to higher STEs. Practical implications: The practical significance of this research is important. First this research utilized a large data set spanning several years and hundreds of professors and thousands of students and rigorous statistical analysis to assert several important findings. Indeed STEs are impacted significantly by class type, class size, the gender of the professor and the expected course grade. With these findings we suggest a more comprehensive mechanism is in order for evaluation of teaching effectiveness. Social implications: This research could have great social implications if widely read across academic circles. Indeed the tail is wagging the dog; or the student is influencing teaching across America’s universities. It is time to examine teaching effectiveness through a different lens, because using teaching evaluations to determine promotion and tenure, sparse bonus allocation, and teaching awards may be short sighted. Research limitations: While this research is statistically accurate, it is limited by the notion that the data was collected from one large area. As such, care should be taken in generalizing these results to other areas that may have different demographic composition, funding etc. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge this research is the first of its kind to statistically analyze such a large body of data and provide a useful guide to help evaluate professors utilizing what information is available

Suspicion in Phishing and Organization Risk

Phishing emails are communications that are sent out in mass and are designed with the goal of obtaining sensitive information, installing malware on a user\u27s machine, or gaining access to a network. Training users about the dangers of phishing emails is common in organizations, but users will still frequently fall victim to phishing attacks. Organizations may feel that they are doing the necessary actions, such as providing user security training, to mitigate the risk of users\u27 lack of secure behavior. Organizations are faced with the challenge of the human element; the most undependable and uncontrollable part of an information system. As time has progressed, corporations are beginning to understand that they must put measures and controls into their security IT to mitigate the possible problems that arise from human interaction with IT. This research attempts to explore suspicion as it relates to emails and how-to better train individuals to recognize illegitimate emails

Phishing: message appraisal and the exploration of fear and self-confidence

Phishing attacks have threatened the security of both home users and organizations in recent years. Phishing uses social engineering to fraudulently obtain information that is confidential or sensitive. Individuals are targeted to take action by clicking on a link and providing information. This research explores fear arousal and self-confidence in subjects confronted by phishing attacks. The study collected data from multiple sources (including an attempted phishing attack). The survey results indicated that when individuals had a high level of fear arousal related to providing login credentials they had a decreased intention to respond to a phishing attack. Self-confidence did not significantly moderate the relationship between fear arousal and intention to respond to a phishing attack but it did have a significant direct positive influence on intention. The results from the experiment indicated that 18% of individuals overall clicked on the link. The combined data indicated that higher level of fear arousal resulted in a decreased intention to respond to a phishing attack and a decreased actual click behaviour. The research explores how fear of providing login credentials influences both intention to respond and actual response to a phishing attack. When fear arousal is high, individuals are less likely to respond

Enabling Digital Transformation Strategies with Hackathons in Large-Scale Critical Infrastructures

In order to be successful and effective, digital transformation requires a significant effort related to reinvention in an organization. In addition, there are many cultural changes and collaborative requirements that must be applied. The use of hackathons has gained in popularity as a method of collaboration to quickly solve a business problem. Companies have used hackathons to build prototypes, elicit design ideas, make decisions, and explore innovative ways to do things. This study utilized a qualitative dataset that was collected during multiple hackathons conducted in a large global commercial/consumer water pump company. The preliminary findings from this research project indicate that elements of digital transformation occurred both during and after the hackathon. Future research leads to the proposal of an updated framework for strategizing-as-practice that can be utilized to qualify strategizing and prototyping experiences from hackathons over complex large-scale critical infrastructures