Amala V. Rajan

Social networking by the youth in the UAE: A privacy paradox

This paper has been written to take a deeper look into the influences which affect the way people decide to use the social networking websites. The main focus of the paper is to find why identities are being hidden by the youth in the UAE while using the social networking websites. It is believed that UAE social networking users do not reveal their identities mainly because of the culture and privacy. A survey has been conducted to collect data about the most visited online social networking websites in the UAE, the gender who uses them to the most. Also, the survey questions were prepared to explore the reasons for hiding personal information by some users, analyze the results and define the advantages and disadvantages of this hiding personal information.

E-government failure and Success Factors Rank Model an extension of Heeks Factor Model

E-governance has been a major hurdle to governments around the world due to their immense requirements for change and modernization. Many of e-government projects experience issues and challenges that drive them to fail or hinder them from achieving success and delivering their goals. There is a lack of information that addresses the failure and success factors in the e-government implementation in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) specifically, therefore a knowledge gap to be addressed. This paper reviews current status of e-government implementations based on Heeks Factors Model [1] and proposes ranking to the success and failure factors that applies on the UAE e-government implementations using two models: the UAE E-government Failure Factors Rank Model and the UAE E-government Success Factors Rank Model.

Cloud and mobile computing: Affordances of the 21st century teaching and learning

The role of technological advancements such as cloud and mobile learning has grown beyond mere consumption of knowledge and become a knowledge creation process. This research has explored the potential use and challenges of using cloud and mobile computing in the higher education context. It has attempted to find relationship between 21st century learners skills and affordances of the cloud and mobile computing which can support the need to adopt this advancement for the benefit of 21st century learners. Also, it has addressed the challenges in integrating cloud and mobile computing teaching.

The impact of social networking on Emirati teenagers

Social Networking is a very popular term which refers to online services or websites that focus on building social networks among people who like sharing common interests and activities. It allows people to socialise and network with others in an online environment. This research paper aims to study the positive and the negative impact of Social Networking on Emirati teenagers. By studying the impact, the work also aims to create awareness among teenagers, parents, schools and the community about the same.

Internet of Things (IoT): Application systems and security vulnerabilities

IoT (Internet of Things) is a system where objects are embedded with sensor technology to interact with each other over wireless communication medium to generate, exchange and transfer data without human interaction. It provides interaction between physical world and cyber world which is known as cyber physical systems. IoT can be implemented as smart cities, smart homes, traffic management systems etc. Research has proven that, any system with the characteristics of remote management, dynamic topology, resource constraints and wireless communication medium are always susceptible to security issues. This research aims to investigate and identify the specific types of IoT applications suitable for UAE, analyse the potential security threats associated them and their impacts on these applications. A thorough exploration and review of the available literature has been done to identify the IoT application systems and related cyber vulnerabilities.

Protecting teenagers from potential internet security threats

Latest advancement in technologies has impacted the modern day teenagers both positively and negatively. One of the major impacts is the addiction to internet. The purpose of this research is to investigate and identify the various cyber security threats which may affect the teenagers and propose the countermeasures to support them and their parents on how to avoid or deal with the cyber security threats. Qualitative and quantitative methods have been used to analyze the internet usage patterns of the Emirati teenagers, the awareness that the Emirati teenagers have on the various cyber security threats and ways to deal with them. Recommendations were made based on the findings.

Modern dental practice for the dentists in the UAE using social networking tools

Over 45% of the UAE population are using social networking tools such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogs etc. and more and more people depending on digital media to search for information. Therefore it is crucial for the dentists to change their approach towards their patients in order to enhance their business. This paper has focused on the dentists in the UAE, analysed their social networking practices and proposed effective methods of using social networking tools to enhance their business aspects. The paper mainly emphasises two issues: increasing the online visibility and enhancing the business through social media marketing.

UAE cybercrime law and cybercrimes — An analysis

While the internet has had a profound effect on all aspects of modern living, its use does make businesses and individuals vulnerable to being targeted by cybercriminals. Cybercrime rates have been found to increase year-on-year, and the consequences include financial and reputational damage, loss of privacy and breaches of intellectual property. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has become a major target for cybercriminals due to its high levels of economic activity and tourism, significant uptake of technology, and the rise of the oil and gas industry. The UAE Government has introduced changes to its single cybercrime law, but there are concerns that it is not suitably comprehensive to provide adequate protections of UAE citizens and residents. This article reviews the protections provided by the law through interview results, and comparisons to other, similar laws internationally. It then offers recommendations on how the law can be improved, to make people feel safer in their usage of the internet and internet-connected technologies.

Smart device applications for higher level IT courses

Smart devices such as iPads and other tablets have expanded globally and people use them in their life to make their life easy by getting information ubiquitously. Educational sector also has started embracing these mobile and smart technologies in order to meet up the expectations of the students, the native technology users of the modern era. Recently, Federal Higher Educational organizations in United Arab Emirates (UAE) have adopted iPads to laptops and traditional teaching strategies at the foundation level. Using smart devices (iPad) will make the teaching and learning process to be more interactive and creative and students of this digital age can develop their talent and increase their creatively. But applicability and usage of devices such as iPad in subject specific higher level courses like computer programming and networking are yet to be explored. This research has investigated the use of smart devices for Information Technology (IT) networking courses. The propositions made in this research will play a major role in making the learning process effective.

Enterprise Systems (ES) integration into academic curriculum across multiple campuses of a leading Academic Institution in the UAE

Enterprise Systems such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Supply Chain Management (SCM) can be regarded as the most innovative developments in modern day information systems. Leading Enterprise systems such as SAP, Oracle, Sage, Microsoft etc. With high adoption of these Enterprise systems, it is no longer sufficient for a new graduate to have knowledge of an academic subject as increasingly it is necessary for students to gain those skills which will enhance their prospects of employment. In order to bridge this gap, Universities and Technical Institutes to incorporate training on enterprise systems technology with curriculum of related courses. A leading Academic Institution in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has established an initiative to ensure that each of its students engages with hands-on skills and has embedded this within the academic curriculum for all disciplines under its “Learning By Doing (LBD)” strategy. The integration project was conceptualized after thorough Literature Review, followed by meticulous planning, implementation and validation phases. The objective of the paper is to illustrate a successful model of experiential learning through design of a curriculum that is enriched through the hands-on experience gained by students working on a leading Enterprise System (ES) system - SAP.