<p> Hackers external to the organization continue to wreak havoc upon the information systems infrastructure of firms through breaches of security defenses, despite constant development of and continual investment in new IS security countermeasures by security professionals and vendors. These breaches are exceedingly costly and damaging to the affected organizations. The continued success of hackers in the face of massive amounts of security investments suggests that the defenders are losing and that the hackers can innovate at a much faster pace. </p><p> Underground hacker communities have been shown to be an environment where attackers can learn new techniques and share tools pertaining to the defeat of IS security countermeasures. This research sought to understand the manner in which hackers diffuse innovations within these communities. Employing a multi-site, positivist case study approach of four separate hacking communities, the study examined how hackers develop, communicate, and eventually adopt these new techniques and tools, so as to better inform future attempts at mitigating these attacks. The research found that three classes of change agents are influential in the diffusion and adoption of an innovation: the developer/introducer of the innovation to the community, the senior member of a community, and the author of tutorials. Additionally, the research found that three innovation factors are key to successful diffusion and adoption: the compatibility of the innovation to the needs of the community, the complexity of the innovation, and the change in image conferred upon the member from adopting the innovation. The research also described the process by which innovations are adopted within the hacking communities and detailed phases in this process which are unique to these communities.</p>

<p> The quantitative content analysis compared virtual team leadership styles as described in peer-reviewed journal literature from 2005 to 2010 through the lens of two online education textbooks, <i>Transformational and Charismatic Leadership: The Road Ahead</i> (Avolio &amp; Yammarino, 2002) and <i>The Transformational Leader: The Key to Global Competitiveness </i> (Tichy &amp; DeVanna, 1990), which outline transformational leadership competencies. Bean&rsquo;s (2008) observation regarding the lack of alignment between textbooks and literature are explored. Based upon two alternative hypothesis the content of the two textbooks and the literature showed significant differences, thus agreeing with Bean (2008). Research on virtual learning and virtual teamwork in the past century focused on acceptance and normalization. Online team meetings are an important aspect of industry and education; more than 13 million workers are involved in virtual project teams (Arnold, 2008). According to various literature authors, virtual team leadership might be a natural extension of the transformational leadership model. The four concepts, <i> flexibility, interdependent, responsiveness,</i> and <i>identification </i> are essential skills for effective virtual team leadership and noted in the textbooks on transformational leadership. The study used Catpac II&trade; software to code textbooks and peer-reviewed journal literature for comparison of textbooks to literature. Implications for training and practice are discussed. Transformational leadership competencies are outlined using the Five Factor model (Antonakis &amp; House, 2002).</p>

<p> The Google Books project is germane for examining underappreciated dimensions of social justice and access to information from a Rawlsian perspective. To date, however, the standard account of Rawls as applied to information and technology has focused almost exclusively on rights to access and information as a primary good (Drahos 1996; van den Hoven and Rooksby 2008; Duff 2011). In this dissertation, the author develops an alternative to the standard account&mdash;the sociotechnical account&mdash;that draws on underappreciated resources available within discussions of Rawls' work. Specifically, the author focuses on the importance of Rawls' basic structure argument and the value of self-respect&mdash;two ideas that figure prominently in Rawls' theory and have been discussed extensively by its critics. After developing this alternative account, the author undertakes a disclosive ethical analysis of Google Books from a social justice perspective. As a method, disclosive ethics is concerned with identifying morally opaque features of artifacts and systems. Following Brey (2000; 2010), the analysis proceeds along three levels: theoretical, disclosure, and application. At the <i>theoretical level</i>, extant Rawlsian applications are scrutinized and rearticulated in light of advanced informational and technological practices. At the <i>disclosure level</i>, morally opaque dimensions of Google Books are disclosed as relevant to self-respect and social justice. In particular, the author focuses on three dimensions of the Books project that would go otherwise overlooked on the standard account of Rawls: quality of scans and metadata, visibility of indexes in Books' preview mode, and Google's conception of the value of information. At the <i>application level</i>, disclosed dimensions are examined according to both the standard and sociotechnical accounts. Ultimately, the author shows how, on a sociotechnical account, these three dimensions of Google Books raise otherwise overlooked questions regarding social justice, information, and technology today..</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Syracuse University, 2008. / "Publication number: AAT 3333583."

<p> Since the early 2000s, a new type of working environment has developed in which individual workers&mdash;usually in a technology profession&mdash;share office space in a large, open, nontraditional environment that transcends traditional organizational boundaries. These new environments, called coworking spaces, present opportunities for communication, information sharing, and knowledge creation because of their open physical environments, the reduced presence of organizational barriers, and as a result of intentional efforts of the leaders of coworking spaces to encourage collaboration. While there is a substantial body of knowledge focused on how workers share information and build knowledge in traditional workplaces, there is little academic research on these novel coworking environments. This study examines the lived experiences of members of a specific coworking space located in the Phoenix, Arizona area in the United States. </p><p> Through interviews with key informants, this study evaluates the communication channels that members of a coworking space use to share information and uses the Nonaka SECI model to determine the types of information sharing and knowledge creation that happen at the space. </p><p> This study finds that members of the coworking space heavily lean toward using in-person communication and next-generation instant messaging to share information, and that they primarily create knowledge through combining the explicit knowledge of members to create new explicit knowledge. The findings of this study lead to specific implications for researchers to further examine the communication channels used in coworking spaces, especially next-generation instant messaging tools. The researcher also recommends specific steps that leaders of coworking spaces can follow to improve the level of involvement of members of their spaces, and to position non-profit spaces favorably against competing for-profit coworking spaces.</p><p>

<p> Agile Software Development methods such as Scrum, SAFe, Kanban, and Large Scale Agile (LeSS) promise substantial benefits in terms of productivity, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, quality project management overhead, and time to market. As Agile methods have become widespread in the software development industry and begin to take root in the overall business community, there is an increasing need to understand the firm level impact of the implementation of these methods. To build the most effective business case for organizations in and out of the software development industry, it is imperative that a case be made to show that the implementation of Agile frameworks has constituted a competitive advantage. This study investigated the organization level performance impact of switching from traditional methods to the use of Agile frameworks. The results showed that changing from a traditional methodology to an Agile framework resulted in higher return on assets and lower operating expense ratios. The interaction between time and methodology for OER, ROA, or revenues in Table 6 did not show a significant difference, indicating that the null hypothesis cannot be rejected. Thus, we cannot say whether performance differs as a function of type of agile methodology. That said, the non-parametric sign test shows that the median improvement in Operating Expense Ratios were highest for Scrum while SAFe seemed to show a slightly higher improvement in Return on Assets. On the whole, Scrum seems to outperform SAFe in terms of operating efficiency (as measured by OER) but lags in terms of ROA.</p><p>

<p>Abstract Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems present a management problem for various industries including institutions of higher education (IHEs) because they are costly to acquire, challenging to implement, and often fail to meet anticipated expectations. ERP systems are highly complex due to the nature of the operations they support. This dissertation was conducted via a systematic review of the literature from 1998-2017 to synthesize available knowledge in various industries including IHEs in the United States. Through the lenses of Change Management Theory and The Diffusion of Innovations Theory, this systematic review highlighted critical success factors (CSFs) affecting the implementation of ERP systems in various industries and, also, sought to discover CSFs unique to institutions of higher education. Despite the challenges ERP presents to businesses, implementation of ERP systems continues to grow. This dissertation found that for various industries, the most often cited CSFs were: top management support, change management skills, effective communications, and ERP systems user training. For IHEs, institutional governance, staff engagement, lack of internal expertise, and conflicts with other priorities were the critical factors that played a significant role in ERP implementation. These findings suggested that industries must not only pay careful attention to the CSFs in various industries but that they can utilize the specific CSFs in IHEs, even though they may not appear to be as crucial for other industries. Future research may consider the extent to which organizations have mastered the skills necessary to effectively implement ERP systems. Keywords: enterprise resource planning systems, critical success factors, CSFs, implementation, higher education, innovation management

<p> Information Governance (IG) professionals are overwhelmed by the complexities and ever changing regulations regarding data and information. To compound the issues are the increased volume, velocity, and variations of data from social media to corporate applications. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to determine critical success factors in implementing information governance within an enterprise information management program. The logic for using the qualitative method of research was to capture the lived experiences of the participants regarding the implementation of an information governance program. Phenomenology accentuates the subjective experiences and interpretations of the participants. Interviews were conducted with 20 IG professionals. The participants were interviewed using a semistructured interview providing open ended responses. The interviews were transcribed and six major themes emerged from the study that may provide insight into understanding the critical success factors in implementing information governance: (a) executive support, (b) risk management, (c) change management, (d) communication, (e) technology, and (f) strategy and planning. The study recommends further research from the findings of the study. Executive support must be engaged for the long-term IG program and support the IG professional by providing the necessary resources to manage risk, promote change management, and encourage open communication. Recommendations for IG professionals to consider based on this study include nurturing of executive sponsorship, the need to balance risk management with business value, the necessity of speaking the language of internal customers, building collaborative relationships, and leveraging the learning.</p>

<p>This dissertation study examines the role of the public library in fostering digital literacies in underserved Illinois communities. Over the course of two years I collected data on the library as an institution, and as a context, by investigating people, policies, activities and infrastructure related to how individuals learn, comprehend and apply digital technologies in collaboration with and in relation to the library. The data was collected during visits to libraries in sixteen locations around the state with significant levels of poverty, including a selection of rural localities and predominantly African American and Latino communities. Research methods included several kinds of site observation as well as interviews with librarians. As a collective whole, these case studies yield a series of interesting and surprising stories that reflect some of the connections between social roles and service roles, as well as the particular innovations and challenges present in underserved communities. </p><p> These findings support a number of related theories and initiatives, including the need to reconstruct digital literacy as digital <i>literacies </i>, in the plural, and the impetus to see them primarily as a function of community engagement, especially in underserved community settings. The data suggests that library roles related to digital literacy are changing in several substantial ways. First, libraries are moving beyond merely providing internet to proactively promoting assisted public computing. Second, they are shifting their view of themselves as a community space to include leadership in community networking. Finally, they are working to cultivate information experiences that progress beyond consumption to involve a dimension of generative learning. </p><p> When considered in conversation with existing scholarship, these findings have important implications: they show new avenues for research into diversity and social inclusion, critical discourse analysis and dynamic models for learning. They also suggest new directions for the field of Library and Information Science (LIS) and offer a compelling reason for libraries to both participate in and help guide movements and initiatives to promote digital literacies. </p>

<p> Video games are more than just entertainment. In fact, video games like <i> Minecraft</i> develop &ldquo;Four Cs&rdquo; skills in young gamers. These 21st century skills include critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration (National Education Association, 2010) and are considered essential skills for future employment by workforce executives (Sardone &amp; Delvin-Scherer, 2010). This study explores predictors of academic success and the 21st century skills gamers are learning through video game experiences. </p><p> This sequential mixed model study analyzed descriptive data to explore the video game experiences of 3D Modeling and Animation students enrolled at a South Texas area high school. The study analyzed data collected from 66 quantitative subjects and 4 qualitative participants. Three classes engaged in four weeks of gameplay to complete a modeling project in <i>Minecraft </i>. Data was collected during both phases of the project study through survey and case study methods.</p><p> The findings revealed that the Group Project Grades were heavily skewed indicating a significance that prior gaming experience affected the students&rsquo; academic performance. The significance was supported by the unexpected high frequency of perfect scores (65%) and the high concentration of experienced gamers. Over half (54%) reported to have played video games for over 10 years. It was also noted that gender was statistically significant with Class Rank. Females had higher class ranks overall then the males. The qualitative data analysis led to the development of five major findings: 1.) The Strategist: Accomplishing the Mission, 2.) The Creator: The Art of Gameplay, 3.) The Communicator: Building Relationships and Communities, 4.) The Hero: To Be the Hero of a Great Adventure, and 5.) I am an &ldquo;Elite&rdquo;: A Digital Native. These major findings represent trends of the gaming phenomenon, gamer traits, and 21st century skills learned through playing video games.</p><p> The findings for this study have implications on teachers&rsquo; perspectives and attitudes toward video game integration. Recommendations for future research include a longitudinal study with the four participants to provide a better understanding of applied 21st century skills over time, a content analysis of various video games, and a mixed model study exploring the reading habits, literacy skills, and genre interests of gamers.</p>