M.Sc. (Information Technology) / The internet grew exponentially over the last decade. With more information available on the web, search engines, with the help of web crawlers also known as web bots, gather information on the web and indexes billions of web pages. This indexed information helps users to find relevant information on the internet. An extranet is a sub-set of the internet. This part of the web controls access for a selected audience to a specific resource and are also referred to as restricted web sites. Various industries use extranets for different purposes and store different types of information on it. Some of this information could be of a confidential nature and therefore it is important that this information is adequately secured and should not be accessible by web bots. In some cases web bots can accidently stumble onto poorly secured pages in an extranet and add the restricted web pages to their indexed search results. Search engines like Google, that are designed to filter through a large amount of data, can accidently crawl onto access restricted web pages if such pages are not secured properly. Researchers found that it is possible for web crawlers of well known search engines to access poorly secured web pages in access restricted web sites. The risk is that not all web bots have good intentions and that some have a more malicious intent. These malicious web bots search for vulnerabilities in extranets and use the vulnerabilities to access confidential information. The main objective of this dissertation is to develop a prototype web bot called Ferret that would crawl through a web site developed by a web developer(s). Ferret will try to discover and access restricted web pages that are poorly secured in the extranet and report the weaknesses. From the information and findings of this research a best practice guideline will be drafted that will help developers to ensure access restricted web pages are secured and invisible to web bots.

The most common application of hypertext today is found on the World Wide Web, with the numbers of sites and potential users increasing continually. Hypertext systems are characterized by hyperlinks that allow users nonsequential access to the documents contained within them. Because users are not constrained to read through these documents in a linear manner, new problems may arise not found in traditional paper versions. These problems are generally characterized by a sense of being "lost" within a hypertext system. The user may not know exactly where they are or how to get where they want to be. They have lost many of the visual cues that indicate position found in ordinary texts like books. Navigational aids or overview maps have been suggested as a means to help counteract this problem. These navigational aids can take a standard table-of-contents and extend it dynamically or provide a completely new paradigm of browsing. To that extent, many new varieties of maps (including three-dimensional ones) have been developed but not thoroughly studied. As well, it may be theorized that users of differing cognitive abilities may be helped or hindered by such devices. An empirical study was performed to investigate the effect of multidimensional maps. Three different navigational aids were examined which varied the way pages are displayed along one, two or three dimensions. Two hypertext systems were also where one was roughly twice the size of the other. The participants were given a search task twice to examine performance on page revisits. Finally, three cognitive tests were given to view the effects of individual differences. These included a spatial ability, verbal ability and visual memory test. The results indicated that no performance differences existed between the different navigational aids. However, a significant interaction was present between the maps and the type of Web site; smaller Web sites benefited from the 3D navigational aid. It is theorized that an observed effect for hypertext system was due to site complexity as opposed to size. The results from the cognitive ability measures were mixed. People with low verbal ability scores took longer to locate answers. People with high spatial ability scores found more answers and had scores that were less sensitive to the type of navigational aid used. No significant differences were discovered between people of high and low visual memory abilities. / Master of Science

One of the most important activities in the systems engineering process is the determination of the best implementation method from a set of alternatives. This project describes a process that can be followed to evaluate a set of implementation alternatives. This process consists of performing the following activities: Definition of the need, requirements and functional analysis, evaluation of the alternatives, requirements validation, and risk identification. To clarify the activities in the evaluation process, the project follows a case study in which the XYZ Corporation determines the best implementation approach for providing access to a remote database over low speed communications lines. Three alternatives were evaluated by the XYZ Corporation. After performing the evaluation, an HTML only implementation approach was selected. This implementation had the highest perfonnance and dependability compared to the other alternatives. Regional users will use a Netscape browser to view HTML pages stored at the corporate headquarters. A web seNer located at the corporate headquarters will interface with the database seNer by performing the required additions, updates, and queries to the corporate database. The web seNer will also fonnat the returns into HTML pages for viewing at the regional sites. / Master of Science

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Yes / What has generated the unprecedented fascination with the Internet? What future lies ahead for computing as the Internet and its associated infrastructure expand? Will the network be able to cope with rising demands for carrying capacity and response speed? Will it change the way scientists, designers, artists, computer professionals, and home users work in the future? These are some of the wideranging questions being asked about the Internet and World Wide Web.

Substantial resources are being directed towards use of the Internet in K-12 Education with over $2.25 billion annually distributed to K-12 schools from the Federal government alone (Maiden & Beckham, 1999). In 1998, 90% of schools had Internet access while only 2% of funds spent on software in K-12 schools were directed towards Web-based courseware (Jerald & Orlofsky, 1999). The Web-based instructional module Healthy Hearts was developed as a self-contained instructional unit delivered over the Internet, popularly referred to as "e-Learning", for fifth grade students to use as part of the classroom curriculum. Healthy Hearts teaches children about risk factors associated with heart disease, including physical activity, tobacco, and nutrition. After piloting and formatively evaluating Healthy Hearts in two fifth grade classrooms, Elliott (1997) made recommendations for future modification and implementation. No research regarding effects the Web-based instructional unit Healthy Hearts has on fifth grade children exists. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact Healthy Hearts has on fifth grade children's physical activity knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. Participants included 233 fifth grade boys and girls and 11 teachers who implemented Healthy Hearts during Spring 2001. A repeated measures experimental-control design was employed to measure Healthy Hearts effects on physical activity knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. The questionnaire used for this study included three attitude items adapted from Sport, Play, and Active Recreation for Kids (SPARK) (Sallis, Alcaraz, McKenzie, & Hovell, 1999a), six criterion referenced knowledge items developed from Healthy Hearts objectives, and a Weekly Activity Checklist to assess physical activity behavior, which was developed and validated for SPARK (Sallis et. al., 1993a). Classroom teachers administered the baseline test before students began using the module. For five weeks following the baseline test, the group 1 engaged in Healthy Hearts lessons by going to a computer lab for 45 minutes twice a week while group 2 participated in regularly scheduled classroom activities. After group 1 finished Healthy Hearts, both groups completed test 1 and then teachers from group 2 implemented Healthy Hearts with their classes. When group 2 finished using Healthy Hearts, both groups completed test 2. Dependent variables were physical activity knowledge, attitude, and behavior with group as independent variables. Other independent variables included school socioeconomic status, time allocated to Healthy Hearts, non-Healthy Hearts instruction time for related objectives, and speed of Internet connection. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed significant effects of Healthy Hearts on physical activity knowledge and attitude, however Healthy Hearts had no significant effects on behavior. Results of this study indicate Healthy Hearts could be an effective means of using the Internet to deliver health and physical activity instruction to fifth grade children, and suggest a need for further design, development, and evaluation of Healthy Hearts. / Ph. D.

The Internet presents a new phenomenon to educators and students in the K-12 environment. It's ease of use and ready access to material provides an overwhelming resource for use in the K-12 classroom. This study looked at content management of Internet resources in the K-12 school environment. Content management is defined as the methods of organizing access to the information available on the Internet allowing the teacher to effectively use resources in a classroom setting. Teachers have managed the material, or content, that they present to students for over a decade. Now that resources available on the Internet are also open to K-12 students, teachers must be aware of the need to manage Internet content, just as they would do for any other content being used in their classroom. This study looked at middle school students in 6th and 7th grades. An experimental design was used to determine if K-12 access to Internet resources provides a higher degree of results when students are presented with managed resources, or when students have open access to Internet resources. Analysis of the results of the study show that there is a significant difference in both the amount and the quality of material that was identified by the group with managed access to Internet content. / Ph. D.

Yes / Objective To assess the quality, readability and coverage of website information about herbal remedies for menopausal symptoms. Study design A purposive sample of commercial and non-commercial websites was assessed for quality (DISCERN), readability (SMOG) and information coverage. Main outcome measures Non-parametric and parametric tests were used to explain the variability of these factors across types of websites and to assess associations between website quality and information coverage. Results 39 sites were assessed. Median quality and information coverage scores were 44/80 and 11/30 respectively. The median readability score was 18.7, similar to UK broadsheets. Commercial websites scored significantly lower on quality (p = 0.014), but there were no statistical differences for information coverage or readability. There was a significant positive correlation between information quality and coverage scores irrespective of website provider (r = 0.69, p < 0.001, n = 39). Conclusion Overall website quality and information coverage are poor and the required reading level high.