Podcasting in education: Are students as ready and eager as we think they are?

Instructors in higher education are disseminating instructional content via podcasting, as many rally behind the technology’s potential benefits. Others have expressed concern about the risks of deleterious effects that might accompany the adoption of podcasting, such as lower class attendance. Yet, relatively few studies have investigated students’ perceptions of podcasting for educational purposes, especially in relation to different podcasting forms: repetitive and supplemental. The present study explored students’ readiness and attitudes towards these two forms of podcasting to provide fundamental information for future researchers and educators. The results indicated that students may not be as ready or eager to use podcasting for repetitive or supplemental educational purposes as much as we think they are, but they could be persuaded.     

Understanding student simultaneous smartphone use in learning settings: A conceptual framework

Smartphone use in learning settings is a common behaviour amongst college students. Building on the theory of consumerism, self-efficacy and addictive behaviours, the current study developed a three-component conceptual framework to understand college students' smartphone use in organizational as well as self-directed learning settings. One thousand and thirty-three students in Shenzhen completed an online survey that measured their frequency of using smartphones in learning settings, motivation for using smartphones in learning settings, behavioural control self-efficacy, smartphone use time, problematic smartphone use, multitask habit and impulsiveness. Regression and configurational analytical approaches were used to examine linear and nonlinear relationships. Results support the use of the proposed framework to explain students' smartphone use behaviour in learning settings.     

Cyberloafing at the workplace: gain or drain on work?

This study examined the impact of cyberloafing on employees' emotion and work. We also examined gender differences in employees' perception towards cyberloafing. In general, respondents felt that some form of cyberloafing at work was acceptable. Men were also more likely to report that cyberloafing has a positive impact on work compared to women. As well, our findings suggest that browsing activities have a positive impact on employees' emotion while emailing activities have a negative impact. Results of our study provide useful insights for researchers and managers in understanding employees' attitudes towards cyberloafing, and how cyberloafing can result in gain or drain in employees' work productivity.     

Reducing the harmful effect of work overload on creative behaviour: Buffering roles of energy‐enhancing resources

This study investigates how employees' perceptions of work overload might reduce their creative behaviours and how this negative relationship might be buffered by employees' access to three energy‐enhancing resources: their passion for work, their ability to share emotions with colleagues, and their affective commitment to the organization. Data from a manufacturing organization reveal that work overload reduces creative behaviour, but the effect is weaker with higher levels of passion for work, emotion sharing, and organizational commitment. The buffering effects of emotion sharing and organizational commitment are particularly strong when they combine with high levels of passion for work. These findings indicate how organizations marked by adverse work conditions, due to excessive workloads, can mitigate the likelihood that employees avoid creative behaviours.     

Academic effectiveness of podcasting: A comparative study of integrated versus supplemental use of podcasting in second language classes

With podcasting gaining more mainstream adoption in higher education, it’s critical to examine its effectiveness in improving the student learning experience. To this end, this paper examines the effectiveness of podcasts integrated into the curriculum (PIC) versus podcasts as supplemental material (PSM). Considering recent empirical work on the effectiveness of podcasting, this study collected data from students enrolled in lower level and upper level language courses. Results revealed an inconclusive relationship among PIC students’ learning outcomes (as measured by their final grades). In contrast, however, our findings indicate a strong relationship between the use of PSM and students’ final grades, particularly in upper level courses.     

Exploring the effects of organizational justice,personal ethics and sanction on internet use policy compliance

Internet security risks, the leading security threats confronting today's organizations, often result from employees' non‐compliance with the internet use policy (IUP). Extant studies on compliance with security policies have largely ignored the impact of intrinsic motivation on employees' compliance intention. This paper proposes a theoretical model that integrates an intrinsic self‐regulatory approach with an extrinsic sanction‐based command‐and‐control approach to examine employees' IUP compliance intention. The self‐regulatory approach centers on the effect of organizational justice and personal ethical objections against internet abuses. The results of this study suggest that the self‐regulatory approach is more effective than the sanction‐based command‐and‐control approach. Based on the self‐regulatory approach, organizational justice not only influences IUP compliance intention directly but also indirectly through fostering ethical objections against internet abuses. This research provides empirical evidence of two additional effective levers for enhancing security policy compliance: organizational justice and personal ethics.     

Factors influencing beliefs for adoption of a learning analytics tool: An empirical study

Present research and development offer various learning analytics tools providing insights into different aspects of learning processes. Adoption of a specific tool for practice is based on how its learning analytics are perceived by educators to support their pedagogical and organizational goals. In this paper, we propose and empirically validate a Learning Analytics Acceptance Model (LAAM) of factors influencing the beliefs of educators concerning the adoption a learning analytics tool. In particular, our model explains how the usage beliefs (i.e., ease-of-use and usefulness perceptions) about the learning analytics of a tool are associated with the intention to adopt the tool. In our study, we considered several factors that could potentially affect the adoption beliefs: i) pedagogical knowledge and information design skills of educators; ii) educators' perceived utility of a learning analytics tool; and iii) educators' perceived ease-of-use of a learning analytics tool. By following the principles of Technology Acceptance Model, the study is done with a sample of educators who experimented with a LOCO-Analyst tool. Our study also determined specific analytics types that are primary antecedence of perceived usefulness (concept comprehension and social interaction) and ease-of-use (interactive visualization).     

Analysing the role of a pedagogical agent in psychological and cognitive preparatory activities

There is a lack of studies that examine the role of a pedagogical agent on student development in a specific learning situation that involves psychological and cognitive preparatory activities in high school settings. We examined the effectiveness of pedagogical agent (APT) cognitive and affective feedback on learner motivation and well-being. We applied an experimental research design, involving 45 fourth-year high school students, divided in experimental and control groups (APT vs. human tutor). We performed a quantitative analysis to collect and analyse data of students using our APT. APT cognitive feedback had a positive effect on students' motivation for learning by encouraging students' proposals and initiatives and arousing students' interest in the topic. In addition, APT affective feedback fostered an appropriate emotional climate and creative environment for learning by enhancing students' curiosity, creativity and confidence for carrying out the activity, while reducing students' negative emotions such as boredom and anger. This study provided us useful insights about the affective (and cognitive) competencies that a virtual affective pedagogical agent needs to have in order to support students' mental and emotional health throughout a learning situation. Yet, further research is needed to consolidate these findings and make APT more adaptive to different learning situations.     

The impact of IT on decision structure and firm performance: evidence from the textile and apparel industry

Clarifying the relationships between information technology (IT), organizational performance, and decision structure remains an important area of inquiry in IS research. Through an empirical analysis and complementary case examples, our study examines these associations among firms operating in the US-based apparel and textile industry from 1992 to 1997. Based on data gathered from 50 public firms located across the USA, the study finds that IT used to enhance internal communication supports a decentralized decision structure, which in turn is associated with higher financial performance. Hence, IT exhibits an indirect performance effect. However, use of IT to enhance communication is also found to have a direct performance effect in large organizations. This paper proposes that use of communication enhancing IT can support organizational learning processes by facilitating flexible exchange of skills and knowledge across functional areas. Case examples are used to illustrate how these learning effects can materialize.     

Experimentarium as arena for common learning during change processes

The initiating question guiding this study is how employee participation can be established during an organizational change process in order to improve the employees' involvement in the design of their future work environment. A case study in which an “experimentarium” (learning lab) was conducted in a medium‐size Danish company is presented. The case study demonstrates that it is feasible to generate employee participation in designing their future working environment in the experimentarium when careful attention is given to the influence of situational factors and the pedagogical methods utilized are chosen carefully to suit the various learning situations through the process. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

An information security knowledge sharing model in organizations

Knowledge sharing plays an important role in the domain of information security, due to its positive effect on employees' information security awareness. It is acknowledged that security awareness is the most important factor that mitigates the risk of information security breaches in organizations. In this research, a model has been presented that shows how information security knowledge sharing (ISKS) forms and decreases the risk of information security incidents. The Motivation Theory and Theory of Planned Behavior besides Triandis model were applied as the theoretical backbone of the conceptual framework. The results of the data analysis showed that earning a reputation, and gaining promotion as an extrinsic motivation and curiosity satisfaction as an intrinsic motivation have positive effects on employees' attitude toward ISKS. However, self-worth satisfaction does not influence ISKS attitude. In addition, the findings revealed that attitude, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norms have positive effects on ISKS intention and ISKS intention affects ISKS behavior. The outcomes also showed that organizational support influences ISKS behavior more than trust. The results of this research should be of interest to academics and practitioners in the domain of information security.     

A moderated mediation model linking entrepreneurial leadership to green innovation: An upper echelons theory perspective

Despite the dominant discourses on the important role of entrepreneurial leadership in firms' development, related theoretical and empirical studies are still lacking in the environmental management area. Adopting upper echelons theory, this study develops a moderated mediation model that examines how entrepreneurial leadership affects the adoption of green innovation (GI) through organizational learning culture and how environmental dynamism moderates the mediating effect. This theoretical model is tested using a sample of 248 Chinese firms. Findings support the positive impact of entrepreneurial leadership on GI and the mediating role of organizational learning culture. The moderated mediation path analysis shows that environmental dynamism moderates the indirect effect of entrepreneurial leadership on GI via organizational learning culture. Overall, this study adds to entrepreneurship and environmental management scholarship by providing novel insights into the key role of entrepreneurial leadership in embracing GI.     

Organizational culture and radical innovation: Does innovative behavior mediate this relationship?

Product innovation, in particular radical product innovation, is considered to have a positive effect on company success. As a consequence, there is growing interest in the literature on how to foster radical product innovation. Organizational culture is frequently cited as an antecedent. The underlying assumption is that the culture facilitates radical innovation by encouraging employees' innovative behavior. However, empirical research on the mediating role of employees' innovative behavior in the relation between organizational culture and radical product innovation is scarce. The purpose of this paper is to analyze this mediating role using a sample of Spanish firms. Findings show that adhocracy and market cultures are positively related with the degree of radicalness of product innovation and that employees' innovative behavior mediates that relation, but only in the case of the adhocracy culture.     

Consumers’ adoption of information services

This paper reports on a design science research study that seeks to investigate how information service components affect consumers’ potential adoption of such services. More specifically, the paper develops a conceptual model that uses the theory of organizational information services (TOIS) and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) as a basis. The results indicate that individual constructs can be linked to service components. In turn, this result can potentially be instrumental in progress toward a deeper understanding of consumers’ adoption of information services and how this affects the development of such services and systems that support them.     

Predicting ICT integration into classroom teaching in Chinese primary schools: exploring the complex interplay of teacher‐related variables

Available research has explored a wide variety of factors influencing information and communication technologies (ICT) adoption and integration in classroom teaching; however, existing research seldom centre on the combined impact of these variables. In addition, the little research available is set up in the Chinese context. The latter is important given that the different cultural context in which the interplay between teacher beliefs and educational practices has only been documented quiet little. The present study centres on the complex interplay of a number of internal teacher variables to explain ICT classroom integration. These variables comprise ‘teachers’ constructivist teaching beliefs’, ‘teacher attitudes towards computers in education’, ‘teachers’ computer motivation’, ‘teacher perception of ICT‐related policy’. A survey was set up, involving 820 Chinese primary school teachers. Path modeling was used to explore the direct and indirect effects of the teacher‐related variables on their level of ICT classroom integration. Firstly, two distinctive types of ICT use can be distinguished in the Chinese context: (a) teacher supportive use of ICT that refers to the use of ICT for e.g. student administration, preparing worksheets, developing evaluation activities; and (b) classroom use of ICT to support and enhance the actual teaching and learning process. The results show that classroom use of ICT directly depends on teachers' computer motivation and the supportive use of ICT. Teachers' constructivist beliefs, their attitudes towards computers in education and perceptions about the ICT‐related school policy influence ICT integration in an indirect way. The results demonstrate how the complex interplay between teacher‐related variables and ICT integration in the classroom is partly in line with findings in non‐Asian contexts. A number of differences can be explained by the particular Chinese context. In particular an indirect relationship was found between teachers' constructivist beliefs and their level of ICT integration.     

Do Intelligent Leaders Make a Difference? The Effect of a Leader's Emotional Intelligence on Followers' Creativity

This research investigates the connection between emotional intelligence (EI) and creativity. This was studied by exploring: (i) an association between leaders' EI and their followers' creative output; (ii) an association between six sub‐dimensions of EI and creativity; and (iii) a mediating role of climate in the link between EI and creativity. Two questionnaires (one for leaders and one for employees) were used to collect data in a hospital. Sixty‐six usable leader‐employee dyads were collected. The findings confirmed a positive relationship between leaders' EI and employees' creativity. At an EI's sub‐dimensions level, the current research showed an association between creativity, on one hand, and self‐encouragement and understanding of own emotions, on the other. Finally, no mediating effect of climate was observed. The absence of a mediating effect is interesting, since it suggests a direct link between leaders' EI and employees' creativity, regardless of the climate. This is important, since it calls attention to the paramount role of leaders in shaping individual and organizational behaviours as far as creativity is concerned. The paper also discusses implications for management and practice.     

Business-to-business e-commerce adoption: An empirical investigation of business factors

We develop an overarching model to explain the adoption of business-to-business e-commerce using five business factors: external environment, organizational context, decision-maker’s characteristics, technology context, and organizational learning. Data collected from IS executives was analyzed using logistic regression. Our model has a good fit with over 77 % variance explained. Findings indicate that the existence of informal interest groups, and the tolerant attitude of decision makers towards negative information about business-to-business e-commerce have significant influence on the adoption decision. In addition, our results indicate that price intensity and perceived barriers negatively affect the adoption decision.     

Podcasting: A new technological tool to facilitate good practice in higher education

The literature has frequently highlighted the usefulness of podcasting in higher education; however, there is an important gap between the theory on good practice in higher education and empirical studies about podcasting. With this in mind, we carried out an empirical study on an undergraduate degree course in Information Systems Management. The study consisted of the creation and broadcast of 13 podcasts, distributed over four months in which ninety distance students took part. The analysis follows the suggestions proposed in previous literature about the evaluation of technologies in a university learning environment. The findings, discussed within the framework of principles for good practice in higher education, suggest some interesting issues in distance courses, such as: (1) podcasting is a powerful tool as a complement to the traditional resources on a course, but not a substitute for them; (2) the characteristics of podcasting increase the impression of permanent contact between students and teachers, increasing students’ motivation; (3) the use of podcasting allows for a diverse range of student skills and learning methods. Other secondary findings are discussed and some suggestions for future research are proposed at the end of this paper.     

Semi-automatic assembly of learning resources

Technology Enhanced Learning is a research field that has matured considerably over the last decade. Many technical solutions to support design, authoring and use of learning activities and resources have been developed. The first datasets that reflect the tracking of actual use of these tools in real-life settings are beginning to become available. In this article, we present an exploratory study that relies on these datasets to support semi-automatic assembly of learning activities and resources for specific contexts. Starting from learning designs and other online sources that describe well designed learning experiences as they were used in practice, we derive sequencing patterns that capture re-occurring patterns of activities. A semi-automatic assembly framework uses these patterns to support teachers in the design and authoring of course activities. We present a case study that integrates recommendation support for sequencing activities as well as associated resources in the LAMS learning activity environment. Results indicate that the perceived usefulness is high: both teachers with expertise in the use of learning design tools as well as teachers with no background knowledge in the area indicate that the recommendations helped them in the authoring process. In addition, they feel more confident using learning design tools when support is provided that is driven by best practice knowledge.     

Semi-automatic assembly of learning resources

Technology Enhanced Learning is a research field that has matured considerably over the last decade. Many technical solutions to support design, authoring and use of learning activities and resources have been developed. The first datasets that reflect the tracking of actual use of these tools in real-life settings are beginning to become available. In this article, we present an exploratory study that relies on these datasets to support semi-automatic assembly of learning activities and resources for specific contexts. Starting from learning designs and other online sources that describe well designed learning experiences as they were used in practice, we derive sequencing patterns that capture re-occurring patterns of activities. A semi-automatic assembly framework uses these patterns to support teachers in the design and authoring of course activities. We present a case study that integrates recommendation support for sequencing activities as well as associated resources in the LAMS learning activity environment. Results indicate that the perceived usefulness is high: both teachers with expertise in the use of learning design tools as well as teachers with no background knowledge in the area indicate that the recommendations helped them in the authoring process. In addition, they feel more confident using learning design tools when support is provided that is driven by best practice knowledge.