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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]

Aim/Purpose: This paper examines how senior academic staff from a large sample of teacher education colleges regard the integration of digital games into teacher instruction. These colleges serve general or religious populations, and we examine what, in practice, their policy and vision were in this regard in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Background: The sudden adoption of online teaching-learning due to the pandemic has been termed disruptive in that it drastically disturbed higher education in Israel and worldwide. The senior academic staff of Israel's colleges of education was responsible for leading policy decision-making during this period. The use of digital games for pedagogic purposes may be direct when used for knowledge acquisition and reinforcement and student development or indirect. Methodology: Using semi-structured interviews, the current study applied an interpretive-constructivist approach to examine how senior academic staff from several teacher education colleges perceived the integration of digital games into teacher instruction and elicit their policy and vision in this regard, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Contribution: The Findings suggest that discussions surrounding technology-related vision and policy and their translation into practice should relate to the specific cultural needs and academic preparedness of the population(s) served by the college. Findings: Half the participants expressed a desire to integrate digital games into teaching and learning but acknowledged that in practice this was uncommon. Only a small minority considered themselves to have achieved successful integration in practice, with doubt and skepticism expressed by some of the religious colleges. Most colleges had policies to encourage the integration of technology in general into teaching, with these, in turn, supported by ongoing funding. Although a considerable gap between policy and implementation remained, the COVID-19 pandemic was viewed as having considerably accelerated the integration of digital games into preservice teacher instruction. Recommendations for Practitioners: Discussions pertaining to technology-related vision and policy and their translation into practice should relate to the specific cultural needs and academic preparedness of the population(s) served by the college. Recommendations for Researchers: The Findings reflect the spectrum of challenges faced by the different populations the colleges employ and serve and the outcomes of the colleges' ongoing attempts to negotiate and reconcile different concerns. Impact on Society: The Findings have implications wherever colleges serve other socially and culturally conservative populations that are interested in or compelled to adopt techno-pedagogies. Future Research: We call for further research into whether continued pandemic-related restrictions have increased the practical integration of techno-pedagogical tools such as digital games into the curricula of teacher education colleges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim/Purpose The current research examined the use of digital games in the fully online learning context imposed by lockdowns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, we sought to understand the contribution that digital games made to teacher educators and how they used digital games in their remotely delivered courses. Background Teacher educators experienced in using digital games in their teaching were interviewed regarding the contribution digital games made to their pedagogy when they were teaching remotely during COVID-19. Methodology This qualitative study included 34 participants who taught four-year-degree programs in 13 teacher education colleges in Israel. Contribution This study sheds light on a sparsely researched area by examining the contribution of digital games to teacher educators' pedagogy. The study also suggests practical implications for implementing digital games for teacher educators. Findings Many participants used digital games. Some used them extensively as an integral component of the curriculum while others used them to break up the lesson and thereby retain their students' interest and attention. However, a small number reduced their use of digital games citing work overload. Recommendations for Practitioners This study suggests that education systems may be able to obtain post-pandemic-related gains to further advance the use of digital games as a pedagogic strategy in teacher education in the future. Recommendations for Researchers An additional study using a more representative sample of teacher educators would be very valuable to gauge the roll-on effects of the sudden shift to remote online learning on the use of digital games following the return to face-to-face teaching and learning. Impact on Society The findings have implications for how the use of digital games should be addressed in teacher education at teacher colleges. Future Research Future research can address possible contributions or challenges that teacher educators face when using digital games, for example, in a hybrid learning environment to enhance engagement and promote active learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Israeli Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Program that called for the "adaption of the educational system to the 21st century", has been implemented in Israel since 2010. The program's purpose intended to introduce an 'ICT culture' in the educational system - pre-schools and lower-level schools, as well as in higher education institutions, including teachers colleges. Following this call, the current study is aimed at examining the integration of ICT in a teaching training college in the north of Israel, in the context of a technological-pedagogic setting, the ICT culture in the college, and how educators' metaphorical sensations contribute to their use of ICT tools and to student training in an ICT environment. The second aim of the research was to identify the operating factors in the course of educators' professional development that impact on the integration of advanced technologies in teaching. This mixed-methods study involved 120 educators. Through structural equation modelling, the findings show that educators' familiarity and mastery of ICT tools influence use for teaching purposes, more so than personal feelings, the ICT culture, and the availability of the tools. Findings emphasize the need for promoting the integration of technology in teachers colleges as a learning organization, from a systemic view, which emphasizes the teacher educator's personal-professional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]