The rationale that effective internal communication plays a crucial role in aligning employees to organisational goals, and in so doing, inculcate employee engagement and help an organisation to succeed, is remodelling internal communication management within organisations. At the core of the preceding rationale lies the fundamental realisation and acknowledgement that effective internal communication is not the function of the communication department, but in effect a basic prerequisite that must be understood, embraced and practiced by all levels of management. Managers without effective internal communication and employee engagement cannot execute the responsibility of strategic alignment. The challenge is now to ensure that the internal communication process is approached as a properly structured and efficiently managed system, rather than a collection of fragmented messages that often cause confusion among employees and compel disengagement. This study explores to what extent the senior managers at the North-West University understand their fundamental role in facilitating effective internal communication and employee engagement. An extensive literature study revealed that there is a correlation between effective internal communication and understanding of organisational strategy and objectives among employees. In addition, a strong correlation between effective internal communication, employee engagement, employee performance and organisational profitability has been identified in literature. The empirical findings were obtained by means of a qualitative research method in the form of semi-structured interviews with senior and middle managers. The semi-structured interviews explored and described how the managers perceive the nature of their role in facilitating and sustaining effective internal communication and employee engagement. In comparing the actual role of senior managers at the University in internal communication and employee engagement with the ideal state related to D'Aprix's (1996) manager's communication model, as well as the principles of a convergence model of communication, information richness of communication channels, a leadership communication framework and the impact of highest scoring manager activities and attributes, it was concluded that this communication role is still misunderstood by senior managers and not properly structured and executed. Consequently, internal communication is not adequately fulfilling its strategic potential as a means to establish positive relationships, diffuse information, motivate, and align employees' actions and behaviour to the set goals of the University. It is suggested that future studies measure and determine whether the engagement levels of employees at the North-West University have increased as a result of managers fulfilling their internal communication role effectively. Another study could also assess and measure the effectiveness of internal communication channels, with the view to develop an internal communication channel guide or toolkit for managers at the North-West University. The key drivers of employee engagement and related effect on the North-West University's performance could also be explored and measured in future research studies. / Thesis (M.A. (Communication Studies))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

Communities of Practice regularly utilize virtual means of communication. The according software support provides its members with many sophisticated features for generating content and for communicating with each other via the internet or intranet. However, functionalities to monitor, assess, coordinate, and communicate the quality and development of the underlying electronic networks of experts are frequently missing. To meet this need of increased manageability, this contribution introduces a Social Network Intelligence software approach which aims at supporting the comprehension of the structure and value of electronic communities by automatically extracting and mining available electronic data of various types of virtual communication networks, like e-mail archives, discussion groups, or instant messaging communication. Experimental structural visualizations employing Social Network Analysis methods are combined with Keyword Extraction to move towards a Social Network Intelligence approach which generates transparency of complex virtual communication networks. Together with a comprehensive visualization method, an approach for software-supported communication network measurement and evaluation is suggested. It supports the identification of important participants, topics, or clusters in the network, evaluates the interpersonal communication structure and visually traces the evolvement of the knowledge exchange over time.

The rationale that effective internal communication plays a crucial role in aligning employees to organisational goals, and in so doing, inculcate employee engagement and help an organisation to succeed, is remodelling internal communication management within organisations. At the core of the preceding rationale lies the fundamental realisation and acknowledgement that effective internal communication is not the function of the communication department, but in effect a basic prerequisite that must be understood, embraced and practiced by all levels of management. Managers without effective internal communication and employee engagement cannot execute the responsibility of strategic alignment. The challenge is now to ensure that the internal communication process is approached as a properly structured and efficiently managed system, rather than a collection of fragmented messages that often cause confusion among employees and compel disengagement. This study explores to what extent the senior managers at the North-West University understand their fundamental role in facilitating effective internal communication and employee engagement. An extensive literature study revealed that there is a correlation between effective internal communication and understanding of organisational strategy and objectives among employees. In addition, a strong correlation between effective internal communication, employee engagement, employee performance and organisational profitability has been identified in literature. The empirical findings were obtained by means of a qualitative research method in the form of semi-structured interviews with senior and middle managers. The semi-structured interviews explored and described how the managers perceive the nature of their role in facilitating and sustaining effective internal communication and employee engagement. In comparing the actual role of senior managers at the University in internal communication and employee engagement with the ideal state related to D'Aprix's (1996) manager's communication model, as well as the principles of a convergence model of communication, information richness of communication channels, a leadership communication framework and the impact of highest scoring manager activities and attributes, it was concluded that this communication role is still misunderstood by senior managers and not properly structured and executed. Consequently, internal communication is not adequately fulfilling its strategic potential as a means to establish positive relationships, diffuse information, motivate, and align employees' actions and behaviour to the set goals of the University. It is suggested that future studies measure and determine whether the engagement levels of employees at the North-West University have increased as a result of managers fulfilling their internal communication role effectively. Another study could also assess and measure the effectiveness of internal communication channels, with the view to develop an internal communication channel guide or toolkit for managers at the North-West University. The key drivers of employee engagement and related effect on the North-West University's performance could also be explored and measured in future research studies. / Thesis (M.A. (Communication Studies))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

Les systèmes de production manufacturiers sont une classe des systèmes à événements discrets. Leur taille nécessite de distribuer le logiciel de contrôle sur une architecture industrielle de plusieurs ordinateurs reliés en réseau. Dans ce contexte, il devient essentiel d'être capable d'évaluer l'impact d'une architecture réseau spécifique sur les services des systèmes manufacturiers en termes de la performance et la qualité. Les performances du réseau sous-jacent peuvent notamment nuire à la productivité du système. Dans la méthodologie traditionnelle proposée dans la littérature, cet aspect n'est pas pris en compte au niveau conception. Cependant, la modélisation de tels systèmes est importante pour vérifier certaines propriétés. Dans cette thèse, nous proposons une approche de modélisation par composants à l’aide des réseaux de Petri haut niveau pour la modélisation de certains protocoles de réseaux afin d'évaluer les systèmes manufacturiers comme étant des systèmes distribués. La sélection des réseaux de Petri est justifiée par leur pouvoir d'expression en ce qui concerne la modélisation des systèmes distribués et concurrents. L’approche par composants permet de diminuer la complexité de la modélisation et encourage la généricité, la modularité et la réutilisabilité des composants prêt-à-utiliser. Cela permet de construire facilement de nouveaux modèles et de réduire les coûts de développement de systèmes. En outre, cela peut aider à une meilleure gestion des services et des protocoles et à changer facilement/modifier un élément du système. Notre modélisation permet enfin d'évaluer ces systèmes par le biais de simulations centralisées / Manufacturing systems belong to the class of distributed discrete event systems. Their size requires distributing the software to control them on architecture of several industrial computers connected by networks. In this context, it becomes crucial to be able to evaluate the impact of a specific architecture on the manufacturing systems services both in terms of performance and quality. The performance of the underlying network can notably affect the productivity of the system. In traditional methodology proposed in literature, this aspect is not taken into account in the design stage. Thus, modeling such systems is important to verify some properties at that stage. In this thesis, we propose a component-based modeling approach with High Level Petri nets based method for modeling some network protocols in order to evaluate the manufacturing systems as being distributed systems. The selection of Petri nets is justified by their expression power with regard to the modeling of distributed and concurrent systems. Component-based approach can decrease modeling complexity and encourages genericity, modularity and reusability of ready-to-use components. This allows building new models easily and reducing the systems development cost. Moreover, this can help in better managing services and protocols and to easily change/modify a system element. Finally, this modeling enables us to evaluate discrete event systems by means of centralized simulations

Au cours des dernières années, l'utilisation d’appareils embarqués a augmenté rapidement en raison de la commodité qu'ils offrent dans la vie quotidienne. Les appareils embarqués se caractérisent par leur petite taille, leur portabilité ainsi que leur capacité d'échanger des données avec d'autres appareils grâce à leur service de communication réseau. L'analyse du comportement et les interactions entre ces appareils a abouti dans l'établissement d’un nouveau type de système, appelé systèmes embarqués en réseau.En tant que la popularité actuelle des systèmes embarqués en réseau grandissent, il y a une tendance de relever leurs défis de conception existants afin de développer d'applications fonctionnelles. Ces défis concernent l'utilisation de leurs ressources matérielles limitées (p.ex. la mémoire du processeur, l'unité d'alimentation) et l'hétérogénéité du système en termes de logiciel, de matériel et aussi des mécanismes d'interaction entre les appareils. A cet effet, dans cette thèse nous présentons une approche rigoureuse considérant tous les défis grâce à un flot de conception basée sur techniques de modélisation. Le flot utilise le formalisme BIP pour la construction hiérarchique de systèmes autour de composants et il est facilement utilisé, car chaque étape est entièrement automatisée par des outils et méthodes développés. En plus, ce flot perme la simulation des systèmes à chaque étape de développement, la vérification par l'exploration de l'espace de conception, la génération de code et la calibration des modèles développés, afin de présenter fidèlement le système réel. Les modèles calibrés peuvent analyser la performance de system et aussi valider des exigences sur le system. Finalement, les résultats d'analyse de performance peuvent apporter des améliorations sur la conception de système cible.Notre approche est présenté sur plusieurs bien connus domaines applicatifs des systèmes embarqués en réseau, comme les systèmes automobiles, les systèmes de l'automation industrielle, les systèmes de réseaux de capteurs sans fil (WSN systèmes) et les systèmes pour l'internet des objets (IoT systèmes). Chaque domaine inclut différentes caractéristiques et technologies, mais dispose également différent défis. Ces défis sont considérés par les outils développés pour chaque domaine, qui sont validées contre les outils existantes, comme MATLAB/Simulink, RTaW-Sim, OPNET Modeler et Cooja. La validation se fait grâce à les cas d’études sur les applications industrielles ou les benchmark réalistes des systèmes embarqués en réseau. Nos expérimentations illustrent le soutien d'une meilleure analyse par les outils développés en fournissant d'abord résultats similaires pendant la simulation et en plus les capacités de génération automatique de code et la vérification des exigences. / Over the latest years the use of embedded devices has expanded rapidly due to the convenience they offer in daily life. Embedded devices are characterized by their tiny size, their portability as well as their ability to exchange data with other devices through a dedicated network unit. The analysis of the behavior and interactions between such devices lead to the emergence of a new system type, called networked embedded systems.As the current popularity of networked embedded systems grows, there is a trend for addressing their existing design challenges in the development of functional applications. These challenges relate to the use of their limited hardware resources (e.g. processor memory, power unit) and the system heterogeneity in terms of software, hardware as well as communication mechanisms between the embedded devices. To this end, in this thesis we present a rigorous approach considering all the design challenges through a model-based design flow. The flow uses BIP as an underlying framework for the hierarchical construction of component-based systems and it is easily employed, as each step is fully supported by developed tools and methods. Its benefits include early-stage simulation and testing, verification of functional correctness, generation of deployable code and collection of performance data from real executions, in order to calibrate the developed models. Calibrated models represent faithfully the real system and can analyze system performance as well as evaluate accurately system requirements. Additionally, performance analysis results may provide design enhancements in the target system.Our approach is demonstrated in several well-known application domains of networked embedded systems, namely the automotive, industrial automation, Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) and Internet of Things (IoT) systems. Each domain includes different characteristics and technologies, but also features different challenges. These challenges are considered by developed tools for each domain, which are validated against existing domain-specific, such as MATLAB/Simulink, RTaW-Sim, OPNET Modeler and Cooja. The validation is facilitated through case-studies in industrial or benchmark networked embedded systems. Our experiments illustrate the support of a better fine-grained analysis from the developed tools by initially providing similar simulation results and additionally offering capabilities for automated code generation as well as requirement verification.

De plus en plus de cœurs sont maintenant intégrés sur une seule puce afin de satisfaire les exigences toujours croissantes des applications en matière de systèmes haute performance et basse consommation. Le nombre de cœurs ne cesse d'augmenter, tout comme le besoin en réseaux de communications à haute vitesse entre ces cœurs. A l’inverse des réseaux de communication traditionnels, les Networks-on-Chip (NoCs) ont émergé comme une alternative mature pour les architectures massivement multicœur du fait de leur meilleure passage à l'échelle et de leur efficacité énergétique accrue.Les routeurs de NoC typiques sont constitués de mémoires-tampons qui servent au stockage temporaire de données. Cependant, des études ont montré que ces mémoires-tampons sont souvent inutilisées, en particulier lors de l'exécution application avec des modèles de trafic non uniformes. Cela est dû au fait que la plupart des routeurs typiques consacrent ces bouts de mémoire à leurs ports d'entrée et/ou de sortie, et toute cette mémoire ne peut être exploitée que par un certain type de flux de données. Cela entraîne une dégradation significative des performances dans les cas non favorables. Par conséquent, les architectures de routeurs capables de maximiser l'utilisation des mémoires-tampons pour des gains de performance sont recherchées.Dans le but de maximiser l'utilisation des ressources, cette thèse propose un concept novateur de routeur pour réseau sur puce appelé Roundabout NoC (RiNoC) qui s'inspire des ronds-points à plusieurs voies que l'on retrouve dans la gestion du trafic routier. Contrairement aux approches existantes, RiNoC assure intrinsèquement une utilisation efficace des ressources. Cependant, les routeurs inspirés des ronds-points sont sujet aux interblocages à cause de leur forme en anneau. Le routeur "Rotary NoC" partage le même concept d'organisation en anneau que nous proposons, mais repose sur une d'évitement des interblocages qui introduit des surcoûts non négligeables en terme de surface et de consommation énergétique. A l'inverse, RiNoC empêche les interblocages et améliore les performances des réseaux sur puce sans compromettre la surface ou l'énergie du réseau. Cette thèse exploite en particulier l'architecture hautement paramétrique de RiNoC afin de produire différentes configurations de routeur avec des compromis topologiques variables pour différents gains de performance sans sacrifier la surface. / More computing cores are now being integrated on a single chip in order to meet the ever-growing application demands for high performance and low power computing systems. As the number of cores continues to grow, so is the demand for scalable on-chip communication networks that can deliver high-speed communication among the cores. Contrary to traditional on-chip networks, Networks-on-Chip (NoCs) have emerged as a mature alternative interconnect for manycore architectures since it provides enhanced scalability and power efficiency.Typical NoC routers consist of buffers which serve as temporary data storage. However, studies have shown that buffers are often unutilized (i.e. idle or underutilized) especially when executing applications with non-uniform traffic patterns or bursty behaviours. This is because most typical routers dedicate a set of buffers to their input and/or output ports and these buffers can only be exploited by data-flows using them, which leads to significant performance degradation. Therefore, router architectures capable of maximizing buffer utilization for performance gains are indispensable.In order to maximize buffer resource utilization, this thesis proposes a novel NoC router concept called Roundabout NoC (RiNoC) that is inspired by real-life multi-lanes traffic roundabout. Contrary to existing approaches, RiNoC provides intrinsic and effective resource utilization. However, roundabout-inspired routers are susceptible to deadlocks due to their ring-like architecture. The Rotary NoC router shares similar ring-like concept with propose but relies on a deadlock-free technique which introduces significant area/power overheads. Conversely, RiNoC achieves deadlock-freeness and enhanced network performance over typical NoCs without compromising network area/power. This thesis further exploits RiNoC highly parametric architecture in order to produce different router configurations with varying topological trade-offs for performance gains without sacrificing area.

El objetivo de la presente tesina es el estudio técnico para la Autoridad del Servicio Civil - Lima, orientado a diseñar un sistema de Videovigilancia IP, lo cual es una tecnología de vigilancia visual con las ventajas digitales de las redes de comunicación IP (Internet Protocol), lo cual permite la supervisión local y/o remota de imágenes y audio así como el tratamiento digital de las imágenes. Existe una gama muy amplia de cámaras con diferentes funcionalidades para satisfacer todas las necesidades y presupuestos. El objetivo es diseñar un sistema de Videovigilancia IP, el cual permita vigilar y controlar a todo el personal para así poder disminuir las pérdidas de los activos. 1. Diseñar un sistema de Videovigilancia IP para una supervisión continua de los datos enviados por la cámara IP. 2. Diseñar la red lógica y física de la Videovigilancia IP. 3. Propuesta de un plan de capacitación de personal involucrado en el manejo de los equipos de Videovigilancia IP, alcanzados en este trabajo. The aim of this thesis is the technical study for the Civil Service Authority - Lima, guied at designing an IP video-surveillance system, which is a visual surveillance technology with digital advantages of IP communication networks (Internet Protocol), allowing the local supervision and/or remote images and audio; and the digital image processing. There is a wide range of cameras with different features to satisfy all needs and budgets. The goal is to design an IP video-surveillance system, which allows monitoring and controlling all personnel in order to reduce losses of assets. 1. Design an IP video-surveillance system for continuous monitoring of the data sent by the IP camera. 2. Design the logical and physical network of video-surveillance IP. 3. Proposal of a training plan for staff involved in the management of IP video-surveillance equipment, made in this work.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-10-19T11:49:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 gustfreire2004.pdf: 813616 bytes, checksum: 86f5b33ac9df89049239d69315302ba8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2004-03-23 / Contemporary society is based on two pillars: information and knowledge, supported by digital technologies. It brings the necessity of a new attitude and the acquisition of new skills by the users, mainly in the process of communicating the information. This new attitudes and skills result in a search for continuous learning and in the use of intellectual technologies. This process occurs in every single level of contemporary society, involving activities such as training and capability improvement and, mainly, production and management of information. In this sense, learning virtual networks are fundamental to facilitate the communication of information in a society whose structure is becoming more and more distant of hierarchy. This digital network is presented in a new channel of communication of information: the cyberspace. In this process, professors and professionals of information are seen as facilitation agents; on the other side, in learning virtual networks, a professional of information can also be a manager of virtual environment / A sociedade contemporânea tem na informação e no conhecimento os seus pilares, sustentados pelas tecnologias digitais. Para os usuários, isto implica em novas atitudes e na aquisição de novas competências, principalmente no processo de comunicação de informação. Por sua vez, estas novas atitudes e competências resultam em uma necessidade de aprendizado contínuo e no uso de tecnologias intelectuais. Este processo ocorre em todos os níveis da sociedade, envolvendo atividades de treinamento e capacitação e, principalmente, produção e gestão de informação. Neste sentido, as redes virtuais de aprendizagem são fundamentais para facilitar a comunicação de informação em uma sociedade que se estrutura cada vez mais de forma nãohierarquizada. Estas redes digitais se apresentam em um novo canal de comunicação de informação: o ciberespaço. Nesse processo, os professores e profissionais de informação são vistos como facilitadores, sendo que o profissional da informação pode atuar também como um gestor de redes de comunicação da informação em ambiente virtual

Submitted by Rachel Pereira (rachelprr@yahoo.com.br) on 2015-12-17T17:39:09Z No. of bitstreams: 1 HVPS2015_Informação de Investimentos (b)_ECO-IBICT.pdf: 4738697 bytes, checksum: 1670ca06d985bdd247e91c2071c90c04 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-12-17T17:39:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 HVPS2015_Informação de Investimentos (b)_ECO-IBICT.pdf: 4738697 bytes, checksum: 1670ca06d985bdd247e91c2071c90c04 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-05-04 / Pesquisa qualitativa em Ciência da Informação com o objetivo de explorar e mapear o dispositivo de informação e comunicação de investimentos no capitalismo global. Um estudo de caso exploratório é o ponto de partida para se examinar um tipo de dispositivo informacional e tecnológico de organização e controle da informação de investimentos e negociações em Bolsas (Exchanges) ― a mídia de investimentos. O estudo de caso concentra-se em um grupo chave de agências composto por três modelos paradigmáticos ― a Reuters, a Dow Jones e a Bloomberg, três fórmulas de organização e controle da informação de investimentos. A classificação das “agências de notícias financeiras”, sob o modelo clássico de “organizações de notícias” (news organizations) é problemática. Uma observação mais atenta revela a operação dessas organizações complexas e lança luz sobre o conceito de informação de investimentos. O estudo contribui para esclarecer a distinção entre os conceitos de notícias financeiras, informação financeira e informação de investimento. Em especial, destacaram-se os instrumentos especializados para operações de investimento: taxonomias de indústrias, índices e indicadores. Entender o papel desse dispositivo estratégico em seu aspecto de construto social no contexto do capitalismo cognitivo é revelador de processos políticos e econômicos subjacentes aos conceitos de “sociedade da informação” e “globalização”. Ao procurar entender a “informação que move mercados”, encontramos a especificidade da “informação de investimentos” e identificamos um segmento chave no interior da mídia financeira ― a “mídia de investimentos”, resultante dos processos de transformação social e das inovações tecnológicas em direção à constituição de um sistema capitalista global. As agências de informação e notícias financeiras mostraram operar em sua lógica própria ― financista e supranacional. A mídia de investimentos se apresenta, hoje, não apenas como protagonista dos processos de inovação tecnológica, mas também como operador linguístico ― códigos e discursos ― essencial aos mercados financeiros globais. / This work is a qualitative research in Information Science aimed at exploring and mapping an information and communication device essential to global markets. An exploratory case study is the starting point to examine a system of information organization and control in Stock Exchanges and financial markets― the investment media. The focus is a group of paradigmatic organizations ― Reuters, Dow Jones and Bloomberg. To categorize these organizations as "financial news agencies" under the classic model of "news organizations" is problematic. An in depth look reveals the operation of a complex social apparatus ― the “investment information”. The research aims to contribute to the distinction of the concepts of financial news, financial information and investment information, with emphasis on specialized investment tools ― industry taxonomies, indexes and indicators. Understanding the role of this strategic device as a social construct in the context of cognitive capilism reveals political and economic processes that are underlying the concept of “information society” and “globalization”. Focusing on the “information that moves the markets” we are able to identify a new quality of information ― the investment information ― and a specific segment of financial media ― the investment media. Investment information and investment media are part of the processes of social transformation and technological innovation that constitute a global capitalist system. The financial news agencies operate according to their peculiar logic ― a financial and supranational logic. The investment media are not only in the forefront of technological innovation but also play an essential role in global financial markets as linguistic operators of discourses and codes.

Orientador: Paulo Cardieri / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Eletrica e de Computação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-15T01:33:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Costa_Maiced´Utrada_M.pdf: 2051224 bytes, checksum: e8c46bc8a5164a0114e1cbe417191351 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Resumo: A evidente subutilização dos recursos de freqüência tem incentivado discussões e trabalhos visando propor uma transformação no uso do espectro. O acesso oportunista ao espectro é uma proposta bastante atraente nessa busca pelo uso mais eficiente dos recursos de freqüência e propõe o compartilhamento do espectro por redes licenciadas e redes oportunistas. As redes oportunistas utilizam os recursos com restrição espaço-temporal, enquanto as redes licenciadas são protegidas de possíveis danos causados por interferência. Este trabalho considera uma rede sem fio dotada de características cognitivas para a detecção de oportunidades de transmissão em um canal compartilhado com uma rede licenciada. São apresentados um estudo sobre o sensoriamento do espectro em ambientes com desvanecimento e um estudo de vazão nessa rede, determinando as probabilidades de colisão de pacotes e adotando um modelo de captura. Os resultados são validados por simulação de eventos discretos. / Abstract: The apparent underutilization of frequency resources has encouraged several research works on innovative spectrum usage schemes. The opportunistic spectrum access is an attractive proposal aiming at an efficient use of frequency resources by spectrum sharing among licensed and unlicensed networks. The unlicensed opportunistic networks use the spectrum with geographical and temporal constraints, while licensed networks are protected from interference. In this work, a wireless network with cognitive features is considered. This unlicensed network searches for transmission opportunities in a shared channel, using the resources in an opportunistic manner. A study on spectrum sensing under fading conditions is presented, as well as a throughput analysis, determining the packet collision probabilities and adopting a capture model. The results have been validated by discrete events simulation. / Mestrado / Telecomunicações / Mestre em Engenharia Elétrica