Visual Basic Programming Impact on Cognitive Development of College Students

This research investigated the impact learning a visual programming language, Visual Basic, has on cognitive development, as measured by the Proposition Logic Test (PLT). It is part of a series of cognitive and programming investigations. Prior research has shown that object-oriented and procedural programming involved a high level of cognitive development. Prior research also indicated procedural programming has no impact on cognitive development. This study found cognitive development remained the same after a semester course in Visual Basic. The author concludes that a single college programming course, either procedural or visual, does not impact college age students\u27 cognitive development

General Population Demographics of Responses to a Nationwide Catastrophic Cyber-Attack: Exploratory Research

A national catastrophic cyber-attack is coming, just like the unpredictability of an earthquake. This exploratory research looks at the related demographics to the respond to such an attack. The responses used were Technology Optimism and Cyber Self-efficacy. The demographics studied were age, education level, surprise of the severity of an attack, gender, prior countermeasures awareness and devastation surprise. Technology Optimism and Cyber Self-efficacy showed a significant drop with the attack reading. This study’s outcomes failed to support the influence of age, gender, and prior countermeasures awareness to significant drops in Technology Optimism and Cyber Self-efficacy. Devastation surprise was significant only with decreased Cyber Self-efficacy. Education level was significant with both technological optimism and Cyber Self-efficacy. However, what is interesting is that the higher the education level, the less Technology Optimism and Cyber Self-efficacy decreased. The results of this study will help policy makers develop effective strategies to help individuals deal with such an attack psychologically

English as the Infrastructure Language for a Multilingual Internet

English has been the dominant language of the Internet for users and infrastructure development. This is changing due to the increasing number of non-English speaking Internet users. While the Internet community will eventually become a multilingual environment; the development of the Internet infrastructure source will still be English. This will have an impact on global businesses and government’s education systems in non-English speaking countries. Eventually, English will be the global language for Internet developers and professionals of global businesses

An Empirical Investigation of the Relationship Between Success in Mathematics and Visual Programming Courses

Many universities do not have prerequisites for the introductory computer visual programming course. Therefore, faculty and students do not have any means of predicting the student’s performance in this course. This research addresses this issue. Past research and accepted theory are presented to show the cognitive requirements for success in a first procedural programming course to be similar to those required for success in a mathematics course. Such research is lacking for visual programming. This research shows similar correlations between math courses and visual programming courses. Significant positive correlations were found between grades from Freshmen mathematics courses, ACT math scores, SAT math scores and grades from a Sophomore introductory visual programming course. This indicates that students who perform well in Freshman level Math courses, possess the cognitive characteristics required to perform equally well in Sophomore level visual programming classes. We can predict that students who perform well in math courses will perform equally well in a visual programming course

Vendor and Professional Certification Where is it Headed?

Trade journals and magazines define three categories of computer certification: professional, industry, and vendor. The purpose of this study was to compare Information Systems IS) professionals\u27 value of professional and vendor certification types in relation to technical and management positions in IS. It appears that IS professionals value both certification types equally when not considering job position. Findings suggest technical and managerial IS professionals value the two types of certifications differently when job position is considered. Future research is warranted to determine why the respondents considered these two certifications differently for both technical (programmers and analysts) and managerial positions

Leadership Characteristics and Team Outcomes in the Development of a Marketing Web Page

Team structures are changing under the pressures of e-commerce and globalization. Today teams have to manage the challenges of working across functional boundaries, such as marketing and web development. In such an environment, research in the disciplines of management and psychology have found that shared leadership among team members may be superior to traditional leadership by a single team member, but this notion has not been tested in the contexts of marketing and web development. This paper presents the results of an empirical study showing that teams with shared leadership exhibited better performance and greater member satisfaction than teams with clear leaders. In addition, no relationship was found between the education, experience, Internet self-efficacy, or personal style of leaders and team outcomes of structure, performance, or satisfaction. This research suggests that the superiority of shared leadership found in the areas of management and psychology is applicable to teams in technical areas, such as web development and marketing. The reported study confirms previous research and applies it in an under-research context, marketing web page development

A Theory of the Relationships between Cognitive Requirements of Computer Programming Languages and Programmers’ Cognitive Characteristics

This paper formulates a theory that investigates the possible effects of two human cognitive characteristics, on the difficulties of learning specific programming languages. The two human cognitive characteristics are Piaget’s cognitive development and McCarthy’s cognitive hemispheric style. This paper consolidates prior research and accepted cognitive theory. It then presents a formulation of a theory that relates cognitive requirements of different computer programming languages and programmers’ cognitive characteristics. If the cognitive requirements for a programming language are beyond the cognitive characteristics of a programming student, the student may burn out. If the cognitive requirements are below the student’s cognitive characteristics the student may be bored. If they are similar to them, the student is able to meet the challenges. Motivation, interest, self-esteem and success may thus be optimized. Different programming languages are more suited for different cognitive characteristics. This theory extends prior research in cognitive theory and cognitive requirements of computer programming

EC93-129 Buying and Selling Alfalfa Hay

Alfalfa hay is an important agricultural product. Although often fed on the farms where it is produced, much alfalfa hay is also sold as a cash crop. It often constitutes a major source of income for those who sell it, or a major expense for those who buy it. Such transactions involve billions of dollars nationwide each year. This extension circular discusses the seller\u27s and buyer\u27s perspective on buying and selling alfalfa hay

Incorporating Global Information Security and Assurance in I.S. Education

Over the years, the news media has reported numerous information security incidents. Because of identity theft, terrorism, and other criminal activities, President Obama has made information security a national priority. Not only is information security and assurance an American priority, it is also a global issue. This paper discusses the importance of Global Information Security and Assurance in information systems (IS) education. Current university graduates will become tomorrow’s users and protectors of data and systems. It is important for universities to provide training in security and assurance of information systems. Are students getting adequate education in this area? If not, this leaves them ill-prepared for the needs of the workplace. The security of our information systems needs to be a major concern for educators and corporate leaders. We recommend that instruction in security and assurance be a core component of the curriculum for all IS and business students. The purpose of this special issue is to provide insights, ideas, and practical tips from IS educators and professionals. Along with the academic papers in this issue, a new section was added, advisory from professionals. Just as a university information systems department has an advisory board of professionals, this new section provides an advisory to academics; professionals provide insights into the corporate world and they need