Garry L. White

Cognitive Differences Between Procedural Programming and Object Oriented Programming

Software development is moving from procedural programming towards object-oriented programming (OOP). Past studies in cognitive aspects of programming have focused primarily on procedural programming languages. Object-oriented programming is a new paradigm for computing. Industry is finding that programmers are having difficulty shifting to this new programming paradigm.Findings in prior research revealed that procedural programming requires Piagets formal operation cognitive level. New from this research is that OOP also requires Piagets formal operation cognitive level. Also new is that OOP appears to be unrelated to hemispheric cognitive style. OOP appears to be hemispheric style friendly, while procedural programming is preferential to left hemispheric cognitive style.The conclusion is that cognitive requirements are not the cause for the difficulty in shifting from procedural to OOP. An alternative possibility to the difficulty is proactive interference of learning procedural programming prior to learning object oriented programming.

Narcissism as a Predictor of Facebook Users' Privacy Concern, Vigilance, and Exposure to Risk

A model is developed and tested to explain the relationships among narcissism, privacy concern, vigilance, and exposure to risk on Facebook, with age and gender as controlling variables. Two important constructs are conceptualized and measured in this research. Facebook exposure is defined as the opportunity for privacy and security breaches on Facebook. Facebook vigilance is the extent to which consumers stay focused, attentive, and alert to potential security and privacy risks on Facebook by restricting who can access and post to their Facebook accounts. Data from a survey of 286 adult Facebook users in the U.S. support the hypothesized relationships in the model. Results suggest that narcissism is related to increased Facebook exposure and lower Facebook vigilance, despite greater stated concern for privacy and security. Furthermore, females and younger users have greater risk exposure compared to males and older users. Implications of the findings and future research directions are discussed.

Education and Prevention Relationships on Security Incidents for Home Computers

The home computer is quickly evolving from a productivity tool into a digital-lifestyle management hub that is connected globally. Home computer security should be on top of the list of online defenses. The purpose of this study was to show how increase in education and preventive behavior would lower security incidents for home computers. Findings showed the reverse. Increases in education and preventive behaviors increased security incidents. Possible reasons for these phenomena are better recognition of incidents better, more risk taking since more confident in prevention, and greater exposure due to greater interactions.

On the global knowledge components in an information security curriculum---a multidisciplinary perspective

Because of the borderless feature of the Internet, information security threats could come from anywhere around the globe. In this research, we propose adding global knowledge components in the information security curriculum using a multi-disciplinary approach. We argue that a global perspective has been lacking in the current information security curriculum. We then propose several knowledge components to be added in the curriculum to enhance the global perspective. We also examine how to incorporate knowledge from various related disciplines, including political science, criminal justice, and business administration. Through our empirical study on faculty from various disciplines and the industry practitioners with first-hand information security knowledge, we confirm that the proposed knowledge components are relevant to the information security education and practice. Analyzing the similarities and differences among responses from various disciplines, we also found that albeit different disciplines have slightly different emphases on the curriculum components, they all tend to agree on the importance of adding the global perspectives in information security education. Our research could be of value to the educators in the information security field when considering incorporating a global perspective into the curriculum. It could also shed some lights when examining the relevance of global information security to various disciplines.

Relationship Between Information Privacy Concerns and Computer Self-Efficacy

Individuals have two types of focus involving privacy and technology: a person’s concerns with organizational practices towards the privacy of personal information (management focus), and the person’s self-efficacy of computers (technology focus). People view management of personal information and information technology as unrelated issues. The authors hypothesize that there is no relationship between a person’s concerns for information privacy (management focus) and his/her self-efficacy towards computers (technology focus). The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between computer self-efficacy, and concerns for personal information privacy.

Privacy Protection Overseas as Perceived by USA-Based IT Professionals

Privacy laws for the Internet are difficult to develop and implement domestically and internationally. A clear problem is how such laws are limited to national jurisdictions. What is legal in one country may be illegal in another. Due to differences in cultures and values, and government types, it may not be possible to establish global standards and legislations to ensure privacy. Due to the nonexistence of global privacy standards, multinational (international) companies usually select one of the following two possible solutions: (1) implement a most restrictive “one size fits all†privacy policy that is used across various countries, or (2) implement different privacy policies that meet the privacy regulations of different countries and expectations of those citizens. In order to investigate a solution that may be used by multinational companies, and how companies view domestic privacy laws, the authors conducted a survey of U.S.-based employees of domestic and multinational companies. The results of the survey suggest that the majority of the multinational companies prefer the first solution—most restrictive “one size fits all†approach. They develop and implement a single set of privacy policies that is used across their operations in different countries. The majority of the companies surveyed consider domestic privacy laws in the United States to be practical, but ineffective.

Analysis of Protective Behavior and Security Incidents for Home Computers

ABSTRACT This study analyzes the factors that affect security protective behavior and perceived security incidents. Protective behavior is found to have a positive impact on the perceived security incidents, especially for the more educated home computer user. Human factors such as “perceived barriers” (to use new security software tools), “self-efficacy” (confidence), and “cues to action” (awareness) are found to influence both the protective behavior and perceived security incidents.

The Impact of Online Training on Facebook Privacy

ABSTRACT Facebook is a major part of the lives of many consumers who share a considerable amount of information with friends, acquaintances, and commercial interests via the platform, leading to greater exposure to privacy risks. Training has been shown to be effective in reducing computer risk in a variety of contexts. This study investigates the effectiveness of training on consumer attitudes and behavioral intentions toward Facebook privacy risk. The study highlights the importance of training consumers on how and why they need to protect their privacy. Findings suggest that training can reduce consumer risk, but effectiveness can vary across types of training. For example, Facebook’s Privacy Tour was less effective than third-party training videos in improving consumer vigilance. Implications of the findings for consumers and privacy advocates are discussed.

Global Information Security Factors

The Internet has changed security and because the Internet is borderless, security threats are now on a global scale. In this paper, the authors explore the global nature of information security from the perspectives of corporate professionals. Through an empirical study with corporate professionals, who have first-hand information security knowledge, the authors confirm that the proposed knowledge topics are relevant toward a comprehensive understanding of information security issues. Analyzing the empirical data, the authors found two global security factors: business protection of data and government/social issues.