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1. Exploring the Relationship Between Student Characteristics and their Transformative Experience from Short-Term Study Abroad Programs

   Shandliya, Sukeerti; Kwuimy, Cedrick; Yoon, So-Yoon (June 2024, American Society for Engineering Education)

   Literature has consistently pointed to the significant role of personality in students’ decisions to participate in study abroad programs. Studies have highlighted how such experiences are impacted by key personality traits such as extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism, and social traits such as social information processing, social skills, and social awareness. Yet there remains a notable gap in the limited examination of students’ personality attributes and their impact on study abroad outcomes. To address this gap, this study investigates the effects of students’ personality attributes and demographic attributes on their transformative learning experiences during their study abroad programs using Mezirow’s transformative learning theory. The research integrates quantitative data collected through instruments. Qualitative insights gathered from open-ended questions in the survey to comprehensively investigate important associations between student attributes and their transformative learning experiences during study abroad programs. Results showed that personality traits, particularly openness and agreeableness, and social skills (a social intelligence scale construct) had a strong correlation with different phases of the journey of transformation. Additionally, the results indicated a potential association between students’ academic majors and the likelihood of experiencing shifts in their epistemic dimension of habits of mind during their respective short-term study abroad programs. 

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2. A Typology of Perceived Triggers for End-User Security and Privacy Behaviors

   Das, Sauvik; Dabbish, Laura A; Hong, Jason I. (January 2019, USENIX Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS))

   What triggers end-user security and privacy (S&P) behaviors? How do those triggers vary across individuals? When and how do people share their S&P behavior changes? Prior work, in usable security and persuasive design, suggests that answering these questions is critical if we are to design systems that encourage pro-S&P behaviors. Accordingly, we asked 852 online survey respondents about their most recent S&P behaviors (n = 1947), what led up to those behaviors, and if they shared those behaviors. We found that social “triggers”, where people interacted with or observed others, were most common, followed by proactive triggers, where people acted absent of an external stimulus, and lastly by forced triggers, where people were forced to act. People from different age groups, nationalities, and levels of security behavioral intention (SBI) all varied in which triggers were dominant. Most importantly, people with low-to-medium SBI most commonly reported social triggers. Furthermore, participants were four times more likely to share their behavior changes with others when they, themselves, reported a social trigger. 

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3. An Examination of Industry Standards of Success within Penetration Testing Groups

   Ducoste, M. (January 2021, IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference)

   While security technology can be nearly impenetrable, the people behind the computer screens are often easily manipulated, which makes the human factor the biggest threat to cybersecurity. This study examined whether college students disclosed private information about themselves, and what type of information they shared. The study utilized pretexting, in which attackers impersonate individuals in certain roles and often involves extensive research to ensure credibility. The goal of pretexting is to create situations where individuals feel safe releasing information that they otherwise might not. The pretexts used for this study were based on the natural inclination to help, where people tend to want to help those in need, and reciprocity, where people tend to return favors given to them. Participants (N=51) answered survey questions that they thought were for a good cause or that would result in a reward. This survey asked for increasingly sensitive information that could be used maliciously to gain access to identification, passwords, or security questions. Upon completing the survey, participants were debriefed on the true nature of the study and were interviewed about why they were willing to share information via the survey. Some of the most commonly skipped questions included “Student ID number” and “What is your mother’s maiden name?”. General themes identified from the interviews included the importance of similarities between the researcher and the subject, the researcher’s adherence to the character role, the subject’s awareness of question sensitivity, and the overall differences between online and offline disclosure. Findings suggest that college students are more likely to disclose private information if the attacker shares a similar trait with the target or if the attacker adheres to the character role they are impersonating. Additionally, this study sheds light on the research limitations, emphasizes the relevance of the human factor in security and privacy, and offers recommendations for future research. 

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4. Relationship Between Goal Orientation, Agency, and Motivation in Undergraduate Civil Engineering Students

   O'Hara, R.; Benson, L.; Ogle, J.; Bolding, C.J. (July 2021, 2021 ASEE Annual Conference)

   Understanding the underlying psychological constructs that affect undergraduate engineering students’ academic achievement and persistence can inform curricular and programmatic changes in engineering education, with the goal of increasing access and advancement in engineering for a diverse population of students. As part of a larger study examining student experiences in a civil engineering department undergoing curricular and cultural changes, this quantitative study investigated the relationship between goal orientation, agency, and time-oriented motivation, differences in this relationship across academic years, and potential influences from personality types. The larger project seeks to examine the motivation, identity, and sense of belonging for undergraduate civil engineering students; this paper seeks to construct a conceptual model explaining the interactive nature of some of these constructs. A previously tested and established survey that draws from multiple theories of motivation and other affective factors such as agency and identity, and that includes Big 5 personality constructs, was used to collect data from second, third-and fourth-year civil engineering students over a two-year period. Prior studies have focused on the instrument’s latent constructs with sense of belonging. However, no analysis has been conducted to examine how some of the constructs influence each other. Specific latent constructs of goal orientation, agency (students’ beliefs that their career in science or engineering can lead to positive effects on the world), FTP, and personality were selected for secondary data analysis based on theory presented in the literature about relationships between motivation, goal setting, agency, and student perceptions of their future. The sample size of respondents was 843; data cleaning and deletion of missing data (65cases; 7.7%) resulted in a final sample size of 778(92.3% of the original data). This included328 second year, 294 third year and 156 fourth year students. Statistical analyses and modeling included bivariate correlational analysis, MANOVA and MANCOVA. Results indicated significant correlation between goal orientation, agency, and time-oriented motivation. Furthermore, differences in these constructs between academic years and personality type influenced the relationship. FTP differed between sophomores and seniors, with seniors having higher scores, suggesting motivation increases as time in the program increases. Personality significantly influenced these relationships in different ways but had the strongest effect on agency. The findings that certain types of people are not only motivated to go into civil engineering but believe their major will make a difference in the world, have implications for educational practice. Results align with current literature but also shed light onto the effects of personality on time-oriented motivation and agency, expanding theory in engineering education. Further research is needed to determine if the effects of personality hold true for other engineering and science majors. 

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5. Establishing the Sociology and Cybersecurity Nexus Through Experiential Learning: Cybersecurity Innovation on a HBCU Campus.

   Buchanan Turner, Carlene M; Turner, Claude F; Ashe, Austin W (April 2022, The Journal of Negro education)

   This article examines the integration of cybersecurity into the sociology curriculum at a HBCU. The article is based on two of the twenty-six modules that were created and taught in a three-year project. The research questions are: • Is there increased cybersecurity awareness after the infusion of the Password and Phishing Modules? • Is there a relationship between the use of experiential pedagogy and learning outcomes? The socio-cybersecurity modules are grounded in Vygotsky’s experiential learning theory. The methodology included a pre-test survey of cybersecurity awareness, the module’s lecture and experiential activities, then a post-test survey of cybersecurity awareness. T-test analysis was performed on the data obtained from quasi-experimental survey data. Content analysis was performed on in-class assignments. Students found the experiential pedagogy helpful and demonstrated their new knowledge. Significant pedagogical research is occurring with African American students. Traditionally, this population has been sidelined in the digital race and its new employment opportunities. When exposed to cyber-education their learning outcomes are primarily significant. 

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