Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

How It Professionals Acquire Soft Skills, Paul Majett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractIn this study, I investigated how information technology (IT) professionals learn/acquire soft skills. Little is understood about how IT professionals describe and apply the soft skills that they consider necessary for their own employability. Exploring how IT professionals describe and apply soft skills is important to their future work and career advancement. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to better understand how IT professionals learn/acquire soft skills. Bandura’s 1986, social learning theory served as the organizational conceptual framework of this study and guided the research question, which asked how IT professionals acquire learn/acquire soft skills. This research question …

Strategies To Increase Competitive Advantage In The Automotive Manufacturing Supply Chain, Amber Willis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some automotive manufacturing supply chain leaders lack strategies that are needed to implement information technology (IT) systems. Business leaders are concerned with implementing IT systems to achieve and maintain a competitive advantage. Grounded in the resource-based view theory (RBV), the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore information system strategies used by leaders in the automotive manufacturing supply chain to achieve competitive advantage. Participants were five leaders of an automotive manufacturing supply chain organization who implemented IT systems. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and a review of organization project documents. Through thematic analysis, five themes were …

Strategies Information Technology Leaders Used In Implementing Remote Work During The Covid-19, Jouliana Kamal Barghouth

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

With the imposed lockdown in many countries due to the spread of COVID-19, many leaders were forced to adopt online technologies in transitioning employees to remote work. Leaders not adopting online technologies or remote work during a pandemic are highly susceptible to business closure. Grounded in the technology acceptance model, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies information technology (IT) leaders in Kuwait used to successfully transition employees to remote work during the pandemic. The participants were six IT leaders from a single multinational IT organization who contributed to strategy development during the pandemic to …

Path-Safe :Enabling Dynamic Mandatory Access Controls Using Security Tokens, James P. Maclennan

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Deploying Mandatory Access Controls (MAC) is a popular way to provide host protection against malware. Unfortunately, current implementations lack the flexibility to adapt to emergent malware threats and are known for being difficult to configure. A core tenet of MAC security systems is that the policies they are deployed with are immutable from the host while they are active. This work looks at deploying a MAC system that leverages using encrypted security tokens to allow for redeploying policy configurations in real-time without the need to stop a running process. This is instrumental in developing an adaptive framework for security systems …

Effective Systems For Insider Threat Detection, Muhanned Qasim Jabbar Alslaiman

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Insider threats to information security have become a burden for organizations. Understanding insider activities leads to an effective improvement in identifying insider attacks and limits their threats. This dissertation presents three systems to detect insider threats effectively. The aim is to reduce the false negative rate (FNR), provide better dataset use, and reduce dimensionality and zero padding effects. The systems developed utilize deep learning techniques and are evaluated using the CERT 4.2 dataset. The dataset is analyzed and reformed so that each row represents a variable length sample of user activities. Two data representations are implemented to model extracted features …

Solidity Compiler Version Identification On Smart Contract Bytecode, Lakshmi Prasanna Katyayani Devasani

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Identifying the version of the Solidity compiler used to create an Ethereum contract is a challenging task, especially when the contract bytecode is obfuscated and lacks explicit metadata. Ethereum bytecode is highly complex, as it is generated by the Solidity compiler, which translates high-level programming constructs into low-level, stack-based code. Additionally, the Solidity compiler undergoes frequent updates and modifications, resulting in continuous evolution of bytecode patterns. To address this challenge, we propose using deep learning models to analyze Ethereum bytecodes and infer the compiler version that produced them. A large number of Ethereum contracts and the corresponding compiler versions is …

Encryption And Compression Classification Of Internet Of Things Traffic, Mariam Najdat M Saleh

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The Internet of Things (IoT) is used in many fields that generate sensitive data, such as healthcare and surveillance. Increased reliance on IoT raised serious information security concerns. This dissertation presents three systems for analyzing and classifying IoT traffic using Deep Learning (DL) models, and a large dataset is built for systems training and evaluation. The first system studies the effect of combining raw data and engineered features to optimize the classification of encrypted and compressed IoT traffic using Engineered Features Classification (EFC), Raw Data Classification (RDC), and combined Raw Data and Engineered Features Classification (RDEFC) approaches. Our results demonstrate …

Making Sense Of Big (Kinematic) Data: A Comprehensive Analysis Of Movement Parameters In A Diverse Population, Naomi Wilma Nunis

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to determine how kinematic, big data can be evaluated using computational, comprehensive analysis of movement parameters in a diverse population.

METHODS

Retrospective data was collected, cleaned, and reviewed for further analysis of biomechanical movement in an active population using 3D collinear resistance loads. The active sample of the population involved in the study ranged from age 7 to 82 years old and respectively identified as active in 13 different sports. Moreover, a series of exercises were conducted by each participant across multiple sessions. Exercises were measured and recorded based on 6 distinct biometric …

An Empirical Assessment Of The Use Of Password Workarounds And The Cybersecurity Risk Of Data Breaches, Michael Joseph Rooney

CCE Theses and Dissertations

Passwords have been used for a long time to grant controlled access to classified spaces, electronics, networks, and more. However, the dramatic increase in user accounts over the past few decades has exposed the realization that technological measures alone cannot ensure a high level of IS security; this leaves the end-users holding a critical role in protecting their organization and personal information. The increased use of IS as a working tool for employees increases the number of accounts and passwords required. Despite being more aware of password entropy, users still often participate in deviant password behaviors, known as ‘password workarounds’ …

Corporate Social Responsibility In The Information Technology Industry, Natalie Louise Calhoun

Master's Projects and Capstones

Information technology companies contribute to greenhouse gas emissions via data servers, office administrative operations, and manufacturing of hardware components. Corporate Social Responsibility programs are a voluntary method of tracking and reducing negative environmental impacts. The 2019 Corporate Social Responsibility data from four Bay Area (California, USA) information technology companies (Adobe, Cisco, Salesforce, and Nvidia) all listed in sustainable index funds were compared to determine best reporting standards. The data analysis also allowed for research into how carbon emissions are categorized and reported on, and which emissions companies pay attention to through Corporate Social Responsibility projects. The physical ownership responsibility for …

Pad Beyond The Classroom: Integrating Pad In The Scrum Workplace, Jade S. Weiss

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The “story” format used in Scrum ticket writing is confusing to developers and leadsto insufficient ticket content, which lends to miscommunication between team members and administrators, and disrupts workflow from the bottom up. A burgeoning methodology in Technical Writing, Purpose, Audience, Design (PAD) is an alternative ticket format that is easier to teach developers and improves the aforementioned conditions than the existing “story” format. The goal of this paper is to lay out why and how PAD can benefit developers on smaller Scrum teams who are tasked with writing their own tickets. This paper does not offer solutions for …

Strategies For Information Technology Small Business Owners To Sustain Beyond The First 5 Years, Edward Alan Rodarte

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small businesses are the foundation of an economy and spawn innovation, but small business owners fail at an alarming rate because they lack strategies to sustain business operations. Since 50% of small businesses fail within the first 5 years, small business sustainability research is critical to support small business owners. Grounded in entrepreneurial theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to identify strategies information technology (IT) small business owners use to sustain operation beyond the first 5 years. The participants included four IT small business owners in the Southwestern United States who sustained operations beyond the first 5 …

Exploring Implementation Strategies Of Iot Technology In Organizations: Technology, Organization, And Environment, Khanhhung Hoang Pham

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractAfter organizations successfully adopt the internet of things (IoT) technology, many corporate information technology (IT) leaders face challenges during the implementation phase. Corporate IT leaders' potential failures in implementing IoT devices may impede organizations from integrating IoT solutions and promoting business benefits. Grounded in technology-organization-environment (TOE) theory, the purpose of this qualitative, pragmatic inquiry study was to explore strategies that corporate IT leaders use to implement IoT technology in their organizations. The participants were six corporate healthcare IT leaders who successfully used implementation strategies for implementing IoT solutions for their organizations. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and industry security …

Strategies For Adoption Of Innovative Information Technology For Business Performance Improvement, James Melvin Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Business leaders do not often consider investing in informational technology (IT) to increase performance. These business leaders lack knowledge of innovative IT adoption strategies to expand their revenue and reduce costs to sustain a competitive advantage. Grounded in the technology-organization-environment (TOE) theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore IT innovation adoption strategies business leaders use to increase performance. The participants were four successful business leaders selected from finalists for international entrepreneurial awards presented annually in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The data were collected using semistructured telephone interviews, media releases, and online publications. …

Strategies For Implementing Critical Success Factors For Improving Information Technology Information Systems’ Performance In Financial Organizations, Sherri L. Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Information technology infrastructure library (ITIL) business leaders lack strategies for implementing critical success factors (CSFs) to promote organizational effectiveness and project success. As a result, ITIL leaders may experience less project success if CSF strategies are not effectively implemented. Grounded in the balanced scorecard (BSC) theory, this qualitative multiple case study aimed to explore strategies ITIL business leaders use to implement CSFs successfully to improve organizational efficiency for project success. The participants comprised five ITIL business leaders in the financial industry located in the southwestern region of the United States who successfully implemented strategies to implement CSFs to improve organizational …

Exploring Implementation Strategies Of Iot Technology In Organizations: Technology, Organization, And Environment, Khanhhung Hoang Pham

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractAfter organizations successfully adopt the internet of things (IoT) technology, many corporate information technology (IT) leaders face challenges during the implementation phase. Corporate IT leaders' potential failures in implementing IoT devices may impede organizations from integrating IoT solutions and promoting business benefits. Grounded in technology-organization-environment (TOE) theory, the purpose of this qualitative, pragmatic inquiry study was to explore strategies that corporate IT leaders use to implement IoT technology in their organizations. The participants were six corporate healthcare IT leaders who successfully used implementation strategies for implementing IoT solutions for their organizations. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and industry security …

Few-Shot Malware Detection Using A Novel Adversarial Reprogramming Model, Ekula Praveen Kumar

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The increasing sophistication of malware has made detecting and defending against new strains a major challenge for cybersecurity. One promising approach to this problem is using machine learning techniques that extract representative features and train classification models to detect malware in an early stage. However, training such machine learning-based malware detection models represents a significant challenge that requires a large number of high-quality labeled data samples while it is very costly to obtain them in real-world scenarios. In other words, training machine learning models for malware detection requires the capability to learn from only a few labeled examples. To address …

Realistic Virtual Human Character Design Strategy And Experience For Supporting Serious Role-Playing Simulations On Mobile Devices, Sindhu Kumari

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Promoting awareness of social determinants of health (SDoH) among healthcare providers is important to improve the patient care experience and outcome as it helps providers understand their patients in a better way which can facilitate more efficient and effective communication about health conditions. Healthcare professionals are typically educated about SDoH through lectures, questionaries, or role-play-based approaches; but in today’s world, it is becoming increasingly possible to leverage modern technology to create more impactful and accessible tools for SDoH education. Wright LIFE (Lifelike Immersion for Equity) is a simulation-based training tool especially created for this purpose. It is a mobile app …

Engagement Of Information Systems Professionals In Open Source Software Development, Md Saifur Rahman Bhuiyan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Open source (OS) development of software is becoming increasingly desirable for individuals and organizations alike. Organizations that heavily resisted this new way of developing software are now actively participating in this process. Participation of information systems (IS) professionals in the open source environment has been a focal point in this stream of research in information systems. The dissertation goes beyond participation and examines engagement of IS professionals in the open source environment. The concept of engagement facilitates a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between a person and a his or her work. The three essays in the dissertation examine …

Key Strategies For Successful Information Technology Projects, David Morris

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe successful implementation of information technology (IT) projects globally depends on the increasing reliance of project managers on IT innovations. Some project managers and business leaders do not possess the strategies to effectively manage and successfully implement IT projects. Grounded in coordination theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies used to successfully implement IT projects. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and from company documents. The participants comprised 6 IT project managers in Northeast Ohio who successfully implemented IT projects. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Four themes emerged: communication amongst all …

Strategies To Implement Big Data Analytics In Telecommunications Organizations, Delton Aneato

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Information Technology (IT) leaders who do not invest in big data projects may struggle to gain a competitive advantage and business insights to improve performance. Grounded in the Kotter’s change and Six Sigma models, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies IT leaders used to implement big data analytics successfully. The participants comprised 4 IT leaders from 2 telecommunication organizations in the United States of America, who effectively used strategies to promote and maximize competitive advantage using big data analytics. Data were collected from semistructured interviews, company documents, and project-related documents and were analyzed using …

Analysis Of Driving Forces That Ensures The Sustainability Of Voter Accreditation Technology, Lawrence Oluwagbenga Bayode

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nigeria’s electoral body, the independent national electoral commission (INEC), deployed a novel information technology (IT) based voter accreditation technology in 2015. Benefits realized included transparency and curtailed electoral malpractices. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship(s) between some variables categorized into technological, organizational, and economic factors, and Sustainability of voter accreditation technology (SVAT). The theoretical framework for the study was the e-voting system adoption model in combination with constructs from three other theories. A total of 138 IT experts participated and were asked (via SurveyMonkey) of the relationships between the following factors and SVAT: ease …

Strategies Used By It Project Managers To Integrate Icts In The Eastern Caribbean, Carl St. Aubin Roberts

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Current practices used to guide information and communication technology (ICT) projects in the Caribbean and developing countries lead to high project failure rates. Project managers must adopt new innovative approaches for transformation towards a 21st-century information society and sustainable digital economies. Grounded in the technology acceptance model (TAM), the purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore strategies information technology (IT) project managers use to implement IT frameworks designed to guide Caribbean ICT integration. Data were collected from face to face interviews and company documents and analyzed using coding, thematic analysis, and methodological triangulation. The participants were 12 IT …

Strategies For The Development Of It Disaster Recovery Plans In The Manufacturing Industry, Michael Landry Sartwell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Information technology (IT) leaders have reported technology disruptions because of natural disasters, terror attacks, or adversarial threats. Information technology leaders are concerned with technology disruptions, as these disruptions are costing organizations as much as $22,000 per minute. Grounded in Zachman’s framework, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies IT managers in the manufacturing industry use to develop IT disaster recovery (DR) plans to support business operations. The participants included 3 manufacturing IT professionals, 2 Department of Defense manufacturing infrastructure specialists, and 1outsourcing contractor, each from firms located in the central United States who successfully developed …

It Security Managers' Strategies For Mitigating Data Breaches In Texas School Districts, Mercy Ikhuoria Nwankwo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

School districts are increasingly becoming a prime target for cybercriminals. As a result, information technology (IT) security managers in Texas school districts are concerned about hackers gaining access to network resources that could lead to data breaches on their network. Grounded in the technology threat avoidance theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies IT security managers use to mitigate data breaches in school district networks in Texas. The participants comprised 6 IT security managers in 3 Texas school districts whose roles involved managing and implementing data security strategies. Data collection involved conducting semistructured interviews …

Ecological Expenses Tracker – Ecoext, Asmer Bracho, Carina Lins, Eduardo Firino, Gabriel Oliveira, Miguelantonio Guerra

ICT

When talking about consuming and making purchases, it is always expected that there will also be a transaction in this act of trading and in this transaction a paper receipt is included, where the user gets a description of what they have spent and how much was spent.

The current dissertation demonstrates an application solution to reduce the cost of paper receipts that have been used in a daily basis stage and to track the value of expenses and incomes of a user who is consuming and spending their money when purchasing goods.

Additionally, we implement the Ecological Expense Tracker …

Women Leaders In Information Technology: A Phenomenological Study Of Their Career Paths, Michelle Newsome

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, women remain underrepresented in senior level positions in the information technology (IT) field. Despite this challenge, a few women have successfully ascended into senior leadership in IT. Using the social cognitive theory as the conceptual framework, the purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of senior women leaders in the IT field. The research question explored the lived personal and professional experiences of senior women leaders in IT to gain an understanding of their career advancement into senior leadership positions. Through the use of the modified Van Kaam method of …

Exploring Information Technology Return On Investment Reports For Planning, Budgeting, And Implementation, Constantine Bitwayiki

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The failure rate of new government information technology (IT) projects in developing countries is high, with 35% classified as total failures and approximately 50% as partial failures. The population for this study was 10 senior managers of a public sector organization in Uganda selected because of high IT project successes achieved through leveraging IT return on investment (ROI) reports. The purpose of this qualitative single-case study was to explore the strategies Ugandan senior public sector officials used to leverage IT ROI reports during planning, budgeting, and implementation of IT projects to reduce failure rates. The conceptual frameworks were the strategic …

Exploring Industry Cybersecurity Strategy In Protecting Critical Infrastructure, Mark Boutwell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Successful attacks on critical infrastructure have increased in occurrence and sophistication. Many cybersecurity strategies incorporate conventional best practices but often do not consider organizational circumstances and nonstandard critical infrastructure protection needs. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore cybersecurity strategies used by information technology (IT) managers and compliance officers to mitigate cyber threats to critical infrastructure. The population for this study comprised IT managers and compliance officers of 4 case organizations in the Pacific Northwest United States. The routine activity theory developed by criminologist Cohen and Felson in 1979 was used as the conceptual framework. Data …

Kbot: Knowledge-Enabled Personalized Chatbot For Self-Management Of Asthma In Pediatric Population, Dipesh Kadariya

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Asthma, chronic pulmonary disease, is one of the major health issues in the United States. Given its chronic nature, the demand for continuous monitoring of patient’s adherence to the medication care plan, assessment of their environment triggers, and management of asthma control level can be challenging in traditional clinical settings and taxing on clinical professionals. A shift from a reactive to a proactive asthma care can improve health outcomes and reduce expenses. On the technology spectrum, smart conversational systems and Internet-of-Things (IoTs) are rapidly gaining popularity in the healthcare industry. By leveraging such technological prevalence, it is feasible to design …