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Purpose: The purpose of this research is to inspect the perceptions of MBA students regarding learning through podcasts. The author's goals are to reveal the students' attitudes toward the use of podcasts as a key learning tool in a graduate academic course, to examine the learning efficacy in this mode of learning, to inspect students' opinions regarding flexibility in learning with podcasts and to examine whether there is a different reference to podcasts as a mid-term assignment vs podcasts as a substitute for lectures. Design/methodology/approach: This paper examines the learning attitudes and effectiveness of postgraduate students in business administration toward combining podcasts as an e-Learning tool. This paper also explores the flexibility of this kind of asynchronous learning. Two types of podcasts for two different pedagogical purposes were examined in the study, one as a team mid-term assignment and second as recorded lectures. The main results of this study provide significant evidence that previous experience in listening to podcasts on the Internet has a significant impact on learning effectiveness, student attitudes and learning satisfaction while using this technology. In fact, this study establishes that students that are technologically oriented and have prior experience listening to podcasts learn more in the course, have positive attitudes toward podcast technology as a learning tool, have high learning effectiveness and are satisfied with the flexibility of the asynchronous learning process. Findings: The findings state that both in the mid-term assignment and in the course lessons as students listened to podcasts more frequently and gained experience listening to podcasts on the Internet, the students expressed more positive views toward learning using this technology, the students' learning effectiveness was higher and the students were more satisfied with the flexibility made possible by using this asynchronous technology tool of e-Learning. Moreover, the results of the study clearly indicate a positive correlation between listening to the podcast lessons in the course and the effectiveness of learning both in the mid-term assignment and in classes. Research limitations/implications: This study has some limitations. First, the findings are limited by the relatively small sample, with graduate students in an MBA program, in a course from the field of technological entrepreneurship. Furthermore, in this study, the students had partial freedom to choose the podcast for the students' mid-term assignment from a specific well-known program in the field of entrepreneurship and were not free to choose podcasts from any site available on the Internet. Although this process guided the students to use podcasts from a quality podcast program, the process also reduced the students' choice to some extent. Practical implications: Academic institutions must provide the appropriate technological infrastructure for the development, creation and recording of quality podcasts by lecturers for students, in addition to training lecturers to teach through podcasts as an integral part of e-Learning advanced tools. Furthermore, institutions must financially incentivize and educationally encourage lecturers to teach at least some of the content in the course using pre-prepared podcasts. Social implications: The author's first suggestion to lecturers that wish to use podcasts as learning resources is to familiarize themselves with the technology and resources available to introduce students to the basics of podcasting and to make the students aware of the podcast's benefits. Second, the study highly recommends to integrate podcasts into the teaching curriculum in academia as early as possible in the basic courses, before the students move on to advanced courses in undergraduate studies. In this way, students in advanced courses can make better use of this technology. Originality/value: As far as the author knows, this is the first study that combined two types of podcasts used for two complementary pedagogical purposes in an academic course: the first, open and available online podcasts as part of a mid-term assignment and the second type of podcasts that are recorded audio lessons as a complete replacement for course lectures. Additionally, the study sharpens the understanding that students' previous experience with technology is of great importance to learning effectiveness, as well as positive opinions and high learning satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim/Purpose This paper examines the behavior of financial firm employees with regard to information security procedures instituted within their organization. Furthermore, the effect of information security awareness and its importance within a firm is explored. Background The study focuses on employees' attitude toward compliance with information security policies (ISP), combined with various norms and personal abilities. Methodology A self-reported questionnaire was distributed among 202 employees of a large financial Corporation Contribution As far as we know, this is the first paper to thoroughly explore employees' awareness of information system procedures, among financial organizations in Israel, and also the first to develop operative recommendations for these organizations aimed at increasing ISP compliance behavior. The main contribution of this study is that it investigates compliance with information security practices among employees of a defined financial corporation operating under rigid regulatory governance, confidentiality and privacy of data, and stringent requirements for compliance with information security procedures. Findings Our results indicate that employees' attitudes, normative beliefs and personal capabilities to comply with firm's ISP, have positive effects on the firm's ISP compliance. Also, employees' general awareness of IS, as well as awareness to ISP within the firm, positively affect employees' ISP compliance. Recommendations for Practitioners This study can help information security managers identify the motivating factors for employee behavior to maintain information security procedures, properly channel information security resources, and manage appropriate information security behavior. Recommendations for Researchers Researchers can see that corporate rewards and sanctions have significant effects on employee security behavior, but other motivational factors also reinforce the ISP's compliance behavior. Distinguishing between types of corporations and organizations is essential to understanding employee compliance with information security procedures. Impact on Society This study offers another level of understanding of employee behavior with regard to information security in organizations and comprises a significant contribution to the growing knowledge in this area. The research results form an important basis for IS policymakers, culture designers, managers, and those directly responsible for IS in the organization. Future Research Future work should sample employees from another type of corporation from other fields and should apply qualitative analysis to explore other aspects of behavioral patterns related to the subject matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Virtual teams are more and more common since the internet and mobile revolutions. Organizations are facing new challenges due to the lack of interpersonal relationships between the members of these teams. This study examines common team processes in an e-environment, relying upon two virtual team types: temporary and ongoing teams. Literature review: The aim of the review is to provide an overview of the challenges of such teams and to understand the complexity of team processes in such an environment. Research questions: 1. Does the type of virtual team have an impact on the quality of common team processes? 2. Can criteria be identified to determine which type of virtual team is more appropriate for given tasks? Research methodology: A quantitative test was conducted to compare the mean gaps between temporary and ongoing teams in trust, communication, and five collaborative processes. Then, by employing qualitative thematic analysis, we constructed a conceptual model to understand the reasons for these mean gaps. Results: Primary findings indicate that all but one of the tested processes achieved higher levels in ongoing teams rather than in temporary ones. Also, the more the collaborative process entails complex activities involving social bonds, the greater the gaps between the two team types. Conclusion: At the initiation of a virtual team, it would be best to focus on projects limited to elementary activities. If more complex team activities are anticipated, virtual team members should work together for an extended period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Around two decades have passed since higher education institutions began incorporating the internet as an alternative studying environment, together with frontal class teaching and learning. This kind of environment still poses meaningful challenges for students and teachers that take an active part in E-learning courses. Today it is quite clear that taking part in online courses requires new technological, behavioral, and thinking skills, in order to best handle and even successfully finish the course. Although technological skills are a must for taking part in an online course, a majority of students participating in these kinds of courses have arrived thus far without suitable prior computer experience or background, internet working skills, and internet based studies skills. This research tests the effects of teaching and pedagogical elements in academic e-courses on the change of intellectual thinking dispositions according to the dispositional theory of Perkins, Jay and Tishman (1993). The study tested the changes that occurred in the thinking dispositions of 285 students from the Department of Information Science and the Department of Political Studies at Bar Ilan University as a result of studying in an e-learning environment. In the course of the study asynchronous and synchronous courses, which are transferred fully through the web (except for one frontal orientation meeting), were tested. The quantitative data was collected using three questionnaires in three phases. In the first phase was a 'previrtual course' questionnaire, which tested the seven thinking dispositions before taking an e-course. The second phase: at the end of each course a second questionnaire was distributed, which tested the seven thinking dispositions 'post virtual course'. The third questionnaire (post - part 2), also distributed at the end of the course, constituted the third phase and tested previous computer and internet knowledge and experience, further e-courses taken and the students' personal information. We found that in the e-courses there is an interactive system of relations between a number of elements that work together: the e-environment, study technologies, the teacher's activity and the teaching process and its elements. These components worked well together and brought on a change in the students' thinking dispositions in a functionally balanced and complete way. The study's results show that there is a significant statistical effect of studying in an e-environment on the changes of intellectual thinking dispositions in all seven thinking dispositions. This effect is evident in the pedagogical and technological elements of e-courses, in all seven thinking dispositions, in changing levels of positive power. The conclusions of the study show that studying in an e-environment online contributes to the change in thinking dispositions and, so, promotes intellectual thinking and behavioral patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]