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[Interview] Professor Anat Zeelim-Hovav Ranks in the ‘The Citations of Excellence Top 50 Papers’
2013.12.04 Views 2579 경영대학
Professor Anat Zeelim-Hovav has been serving as an MIS professor at KUBS for 8 years. Professor Anat was one of the first to specialize in an integrated Security and Business Administration research area and, in the academic world, she is already recognized as an expert in the field. Professor Anat’s recent paper, ‘User awareness of security countermeasures and its impact on information systems misuse: a deterrence approach’, which was featured in the Emerald Management Reviews, was ranked in ‘The Citations of Excellence Top 50 Papers’, contributing to raising the status of KUBS in the international academic community. The was able to have an interview with Professor Anat on November 15th (Fri.) regarding her research and her time at KUBS.
1. Could you give us a brief self-introduction?
I received my undergraduate degree from Montclair State University. After that, I got my master’s from University of Southern California and taught at California Polytechnic State University. I came to KUBS in 2005 as an assistant professor. As of this year, I have been teaching at KUBS for 8 years.
2. We heard that your paper (User awareness of security countermeasures and its impact on information systems misuse: a deterrence approach), which was featured in the Emerald Management Review, was recently ranked in ‘The Citations of Excellence Top 50 Papers’. In a field where new papers are written and published every day, this is a very big accomplishment not only for KUBS, but also KU and academia as a whole. Can you tell us some of your thoughts regarding this accomplishment?
Actually this was a paper written partly as a graduate these with one of my students. So it was a totally unexpected result. I didn’t even know that we had won an award.
My colleague, who was at a conference, told me that I had won an award and that’s when I knew. I wasn’t aware that my paper was being read and cited so much but now that I received this award, I am very thankful that the research that I have done up to this point is being acknowledged.
The topic of this paper is a very common theme in academia but it is also one that many scholars do not visit very often as well. I’m very happy that I was able to bring this issue up to the surface.
3. Is there a particular point of emphasis that you focus on when you do your research?
First, referred information security and behavior is my main research area.
But I also focus on understanding cultural differences. The global academic community mostly is centered on American culture when it comes to research. But I believe the culture of each country can produce different research results so I put an emphasis on various factors originating from different cultures in my research. Researching these things is the focus of my research area.
4. MIS is a field that can be unfamiliar for many students. Can you give a word of advice to students considering the MIS major?
MIS is one of the mandatory courses for KUBS students. On the first day of class, I ask my students, “How would you like it if you had to do your homework without your mobile phone, PC, etc. for one week?” Then they realize the importance of technology.
MIS is a study at the half-way point between technology and people but it is a fairly difficult field to study. There isn’t a specific area of study at the undergraduate level. But if you start with MIS and study other business areas, you can expand your field of studies immensely. For example, students who study MIS courses and then decide to go into law can take the cyber law path. In this way, if you can find a common point in various fields and obtain the necessary licenses, you can succeed in the MIS field.
Looking at it from the practical perspective, compared to American MIS graduates, the salary of Korean MIS graduates is not very high. Most CIOs in the US have MIS degrees but in Korea a lot of them have computer science degrees. But that doesn’t mean you have to go overseas. There are foreign consulting firms that have branched into Korea where you can get a job and these firms actually prefer MIS majors.
Modern business requires technology and a business without technology cannot exist. I believe Korean companies who demand individuals who are able to understand and apply this knowledge regarding technology will increase in the near future. So there will be many companies that will want students with MIS degrees and I hope KUBS students will be at the center of this change. My hope is for more students from KUBS to study MIS and work as a PM or systems analyst.
5. How did you become a KUBS professor?
To be honest it was a mistake (laughter). I came to KUBS as an exchange professor through former-KUBS-Professor Jinsoo Park. At that time I didn’t know anything about Korea. I really didn’t know anything when I first came here. I couldn’t speak Korean so I didn’t know where I would be living or how to teach the students. Actually there was an incident of misunderstanding due to “two beds” and “two bed rooms” being used interchangeably in Korea.
When I actually came to KUBS I was constantly amazed. The LG-POSCO Building and other education infrastructures as well as the whole-hearted research support from the school was already at a world-class level. I enjoyed working as an exchange professor so I became a tenure-track and I have been at KUBS ever since.
6. Could you give us some of your thoughts and impressions while teaching at KUBS?
I find that the students are very smart. And they get smarter every year. They also have a lot of passion to learn. All of my students are memorable but there is one that particularly stayed in my mind.
There was a student who came to my office everyday even though I wasn’t even his mentor professor. He wasn’t very good at English at first, but he told me that he decided that he needed to learn English after taking one of my courses. After a while his English improved a great deal. He graduated and worked at the national research center and he is now studying at a graduate school in the US. It is really meaningful for me that I was able to inspire a student and provide an opportunity for meaningful change in his life.
7. Currently KUBS is investing a lot of effort into increasing the number of exchange students. Can you give a word of advice to students in other countries who are considering studying at KUBS?
If you come to KUBS, you can be confident that you are studying at a school that has the best professors, the best students, and the best facilities. You can also enjoy KUBS’s own traditional and unique culture. It is a blessing to be admitted to and to complete one’s studies at Korea University. Come to Korea University and enjoy the various benefits and opportunities that are provided here.
1. Could you give us a brief self-introduction?
I received my undergraduate degree from Montclair State University. After that, I got my master’s from University of Southern California and taught at California Polytechnic State University. I came to KUBS in 2005 as an assistant professor. As of this year, I have been teaching at KUBS for 8 years.
2. We heard that your paper (User awareness of security countermeasures and its impact on information systems misuse: a deterrence approach), which was featured in the Emerald Management Review, was recently ranked in ‘The Citations of Excellence Top 50 Papers’. In a field where new papers are written and published every day, this is a very big accomplishment not only for KUBS, but also KU and academia as a whole. Can you tell us some of your thoughts regarding this accomplishment?
Actually this was a paper written partly as a graduate these with one of my students. So it was a totally unexpected result. I didn’t even know that we had won an award.
My colleague, who was at a conference, told me that I had won an award and that’s when I knew. I wasn’t aware that my paper was being read and cited so much but now that I received this award, I am very thankful that the research that I have done up to this point is being acknowledged.
The topic of this paper is a very common theme in academia but it is also one that many scholars do not visit very often as well. I’m very happy that I was able to bring this issue up to the surface.
3. Is there a particular point of emphasis that you focus on when you do your research?
First, referred information security and behavior is my main research area.
But I also focus on understanding cultural differences. The global academic community mostly is centered on American culture when it comes to research. But I believe the culture of each country can produce different research results so I put an emphasis on various factors originating from different cultures in my research. Researching these things is the focus of my research area.
4. MIS is a field that can be unfamiliar for many students. Can you give a word of advice to students considering the MIS major?
MIS is one of the mandatory courses for KUBS students. On the first day of class, I ask my students, “How would you like it if you had to do your homework without your mobile phone, PC, etc. for one week?” Then they realize the importance of technology.
MIS is a study at the half-way point between technology and people but it is a fairly difficult field to study. There isn’t a specific area of study at the undergraduate level. But if you start with MIS and study other business areas, you can expand your field of studies immensely. For example, students who study MIS courses and then decide to go into law can take the cyber law path. In this way, if you can find a common point in various fields and obtain the necessary licenses, you can succeed in the MIS field.
Looking at it from the practical perspective, compared to American MIS graduates, the salary of Korean MIS graduates is not very high. Most CIOs in the US have MIS degrees but in Korea a lot of them have computer science degrees. But that doesn’t mean you have to go overseas. There are foreign consulting firms that have branched into Korea where you can get a job and these firms actually prefer MIS majors.
Modern business requires technology and a business without technology cannot exist. I believe Korean companies who demand individuals who are able to understand and apply this knowledge regarding technology will increase in the near future. So there will be many companies that will want students with MIS degrees and I hope KUBS students will be at the center of this change. My hope is for more students from KUBS to study MIS and work as a PM or systems analyst.
5. How did you become a KUBS professor?
To be honest it was a mistake (laughter). I came to KUBS as an exchange professor through former-KUBS-Professor Jinsoo Park. At that time I didn’t know anything about Korea. I really didn’t know anything when I first came here. I couldn’t speak Korean so I didn’t know where I would be living or how to teach the students. Actually there was an incident of misunderstanding due to “two beds” and “two bed rooms” being used interchangeably in Korea.
When I actually came to KUBS I was constantly amazed. The LG-POSCO Building and other education infrastructures as well as the whole-hearted research support from the school was already at a world-class level. I enjoyed working as an exchange professor so I became a tenure-track and I have been at KUBS ever since.
6. Could you give us some of your thoughts and impressions while teaching at KUBS?
I find that the students are very smart. And they get smarter every year. They also have a lot of passion to learn. All of my students are memorable but there is one that particularly stayed in my mind.
There was a student who came to my office everyday even though I wasn’t even his mentor professor. He wasn’t very good at English at first, but he told me that he decided that he needed to learn English after taking one of my courses. After a while his English improved a great deal. He graduated and worked at the national research center and he is now studying at a graduate school in the US. It is really meaningful for me that I was able to inspire a student and provide an opportunity for meaningful change in his life.
7. Currently KUBS is investing a lot of effort into increasing the number of exchange students. Can you give a word of advice to students in other countries who are considering studying at KUBS?
If you come to KUBS, you can be confident that you are studying at a school that has the best professors, the best students, and the best facilities. You can also enjoy KUBS’s own traditional and unique culture. It is a blessing to be admitted to and to complete one’s studies at Korea University. Come to Korea University and enjoy the various benefits and opportunities that are provided here.