Research News
- IST/CSE researchers examine inaccuracies in mobile app maturity ratings
- As smartphones, tablets and mobile applications (apps) continue to become more widespread, there is a rising concern among parents who have experienced unreliable content maturity ratings for mobile apps that result in their children’s exposure to inappropriate content. Researchers at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) and College of Engineering have developed mechanisms to verify the maturity ratings of mobile apps and investigate possible reasons behind the incorrect ratings, which could have implications for platform providers (e.g. Google or Apple) as well as for regulatory bodies and application developers.
- "Friendly" privacy concerns on Facebook?
- In recent years, social network sites such as Facebook have become hugely popular platforms that provide users with various features to facilitate social connectivity, information sharing and relationship development. However, the highly interactive nature of communication and data exchange on those sites has led to an increasing number of privacy concerns by users. Researchers at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) are studying interpersonal privacy issues on social network sites through the use of a particular feature—Friendship Pages on Facebook.
- How are MOOCs changing the nature of education?
- The rise of online and distance education in recent years has brought quality learning to the masses but also presents challenges for educators and system designers. The shift from face-to-face interaction between instructors and students to computer-mediated forms of communication, according to Michael Marcinkowski , a doctoral candidate at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), highlights the importance of understanding how such interactions are affected by the way educational systems are designed.
- Red Cell Lab offers realistic terrorism lessons for future intelligence analysts
- UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Whether intelligence analysts are trying to predict the next moves of an insurgent group or determining how to best deliver aid after a hurricane, an excess of information can often cause just as many problems as a lack of it. Red Cell Analytics Lab, a laboratory in Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology, uses cutting-edge technology and the latest analysis to turn information into intelligence during fluid, complex situations that are as timely as today's headlines.
- Trauth researches: Do veterans with disabilities have interest in IT careers?
- Dr. Eileen Trauth, a professor at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) has focused her research on the role of diversity and social inclusion in information technology (IT) and the IT professions throughout her career. She is now expanding her research into an area that has previously received little attention—the perceptions about careers in the IT field held by military veterans with disability.
- IST researchers examine the implications of online networks used to recruit potential terrorists
- “Lone wolf” terrorists—individuals with no apparent ties to known extremist networks or conspiracies—have inflicted casualties in recent years and have drawn increasing attention from the law enforcement community. According to Dr. Peter Forster, senior lecturer at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), the revolution in information technologies has empowered individuals to become “networked participants” that are ultimately incited to actual violence through virtual interactions with terrorist groups and their facilitators.
- Researchers explore truth-telling on social networks
- Online social networks such as Facebook and Google+ create opportunities for users to share personal information, but also to bend or withhold the truth to suit their own purposes. While privacy may be a commonly voiced concern, according to two Penn State researchers, a social network user’s decisions to lie or withhold information are more closely tied to peer pressure and a desire for popularity. Anna Squicciarini, an assistant professor at the College of Information Sciences and Technology and Christopher Griffin, a research associate at the Applied Research Laboratory, recently won a best paper award for “An Informed Model of Personal Information Release in Social Networking Sites,” which Squicciarini presented to the 2012 Privacy, Security, Risk and Trust conference in Amsterdam. In the paper, Squicciarini and Griffin describe a game theoretic approach to characterizing a user’s willingness to release, withhold or lie about information depending on the behavior of individuals within the user’s circle of friends.
- Crowdsourcing: Hanging out with all the right people
- Can crowdsourcing help your business? According to Penn State researchers, crowds have characteristics that can be more or less useful depending on the organizational problem at hand. The Penn State study, “Hanging with the right crowd: matching crowdsourcing need to crowd characteristics,” offers specifics on how to match organizational needs with the “right” crowd. The study’s authors, Lee Erickson, a Ph.D. candidate at Penn State University College of Information Science and Technology and former CEO of Erickson Barnett Marketing Agency, along with Irene Petrick, a senior lecturer of Information Science and Technology at Penn State, and Eileen Trauth, a professor in the same department, identified four areas in which crowds are commonly used to solve problems: marketing/branding, improving productivity; product/service innovation and knowledge capture.
- Li investigates cross-cultural issues in online communications
- As the world has become increasingly interconnected, cross-cultural communication is becoming the new norm in organizations and education systems. As a result, cross-cultural issues in computer-mediated communication (CMC) have taken on importance. Na Li, a Ph.D. candidate at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) is investigating how language barriers and other cultural factors cause communication failures within small groups.
- Wu, Liu receive $499K from NSF to support system security research
- System security is a foremost concern for many computer users, but current monitoring systems can interfere with the programs they are designed to protect. Dinghao Wu, assistant professor of information sciences and technology (IST), and Peng Liu, professor of IST, are developing an innovative security monitoring technology called “software cruisin4g3wsg,” that detects software bugs and vulnerabilities without compromising a program’s effectiveness. To enable this research project, dubbed “Software Cruising for System Security,” the pair has received an award of $499,745 from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
- Image analysis system developed by IST helps amateur photographers improve their skills
- The advent of digital cameras opened up the field of photography to a new breed of amateurs. While the increased accessibility has been an advantage to many hobbyists, some may say that it has also led to an overall decrease in quality of photos. Consulting a professional photographer may not be an option for many amateurs, but researchers at Penn State are developing an online system that automatically analyzes the qualities of photographs and gives users immediate feedback based on highly rated photos with similar properties.
- NSF award supports Carroll’s creation of mobile time-banking app
- There is a growing international movement to facilitate economic exchange and build social capital through an alternative form of currency – time. Time banking refers to community-based volunteering in which participants provide and receive services valued by the amount of time they require to perform. Dr. Jack Carroll, Edward M. Frymoyer Professor at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) is working on a project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that is intended to strengthen communities through a mobile time banking system.
- Tennessee State University grant funds Liu’s research to combat hackers
- Hackers, viruses and other security threats are among the greatest hazards faced by companies today. While network security systems avert many of those dangers, they are not equipped to combat the full array of cyber risks that currently exist. Peng Liu, a professor at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), in conjunction with Tennessee State University, is developing an advanced intrusion detection system that would spot even the stealthiest attackers.
- Kvasny, Trauth examine the factors that steer black males toward IT careers
- Black males are among the heaviest users of mobile technology, according to Dr. Lynette Kvasny, associate professor of information sciences and technology (IST) at Penn State, but relatively few of them are inspired to become leaders in the field. She and her colleague at IST, Dr. Eileen Trauth, with the aid of a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), are seeking answers as to what social and environmental factors steer black males towards careers in information technology (IT).
- IST researcher uses social media to predict aurora borealis “light show”
- The aurora borealis, aka Northern Lights, is a source of mystery and wonder for professional and amateur astronomers alike. Predicting the movement of the spectacular light show, however, can be a test in patience and perseverance. Yan Cao, a doctoral student at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), in partnership with the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico, is developing a website that harnesses the power of public participation and social media to provide information on the natural phenomenon.
- IST researchers examine interplay of cognition, physiology and behavior
- Researchers at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology are using cognitive architecture – a broad theory of human cognition based on a wide selection of human experimental data and implemented as a running computer simulation program – to understand how cognitive processes interact with biological systems and influence social behavior.
- Grant allows IST researchers to examine intelligence preparation of the battlefield
- Military intelligence analysts, when devising strategies for operations, must take a number of threat conditions into account. "Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield" is a term used in the military that defines the methodology employed to reduce uncertainties concerning the enemy, environment, and terrain for all types of operations. Researchers at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) recently received a grant that will enable them to explore the ways in which battlefield planning methods can be improved, with the ultimate goal of helping the U.S. Army develop a technological game plan for winning on the battlefield.
- Hard/soft data fusion research has broad potential
- Human observations are playing an increasingly important role in gathering information related to a wide range of phenomena, including natural and man-made disasters, environmental changes over time, law enforcement, and efficient energy utilization. Jeff Rimland, a research technologist and Ph.D. candidate at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), is exploring in his research how combining information from human observations (“soft data”) and data from physical sensors (“hard data”) could help military personnel and emergency responders gain a more comprehensive understanding of crisis situations.
- Trauth: Acknowledging differences leads to equality in STEM
- Trauth: Acknowledging differences leads to equality in STEM Diversity in higher education is widely viewed as desirable, but how to achieve it is a hotly debated issue. Dr. Eileen Trauth, professor of information sciences and technology, believes that equality can be realized in the areas of science technology, engineering and math (STEM) and in society at large, by acknowledging differences among groups rather than pretending that they don’t exist. “Our goal is to acknowledge differences and then transcend them,” she said.
- Cain awarded NSF fellowship, examines race issues in STEM education
- Curtis Cain, a Ph.D. student at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), became the first IST student to be awarded a Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation (NSF). He is receiving funding from NSF over a three-year period to support his project, “Black Males in STEM Higher Education,” in which he examines how race, in addition to gender, impacts people’s views on technology and their interest in pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
