This thesis is designed to investigate the potential impact of multimedia on defined aspects of EFL learning practice and to explore the possibility of creating an interactive learning environment via multimedia to raise overseas students' cultural awareness. It focuses on aspects of practical cultural awareness and contrastive rhetoric. The thesis is based on a three-way comparison of learning outcomes for a group of students being taught in China, a matched group who followed an E-course as a supplement to their learning in China and a group who were based in the UK. The groups were compared on the basis of pre and post -tests. In addition, five approaches to learning via the website were compared and contrasted and five features of contrastive rhetoric were used in the E-course for raising cultural awarenessin academicw riting. The results show that the group with access to online multimedia learning was as successful in learning about defined aspects of culture as the UK based group. By the end of the course, the group with access to the E-course had attained a level of scores in relation to defined aspects of English rhetoric in academic writing similar to that of the native English speakers. Data analysis also showed that the pedagogical approaches that involved students' active learning functioned better than the other pedagogical approaches. It reveals that (1) a multimedia interactive learning environment is effective in helping overseas students acquire cultural knowledge for practical purposes; (2) multimedia is conducive to online interactive communication between students with different cultural backgrounds; (3) multimedia resources are useful for comparing rhetoric across cultures; (4) multimedia not only facilitates language and culture learning but also helps students to become autonomous and life-long learners.

Over the last two decades the introduction of interactive multimedia applications complimenting existing interpretative techniques in museum displays has become a widely accepted practice. Indeed fixed interactive multimedia applications can communicate large amounts of often complex information in a user friendly and accessible way. A drawback is their fixed position. This research project identified the potential of using a portable computer with an interactive multimedia application manipulated through a touch screen interface. This thesis describe& the results of a series of empirical studies to design and test the effectiveness of a portable computer as a new tool for interpretation in a museum gallery. The central aim of the research, funded by the GEMISIS 2000 initiative, was to examine potential innovative applications of new interactive technologies for heritage attractions and museums. Exploratory research progressed from discovery and gaining insights into the diversity of interactive multimedia applications in heritage attractions to the dynamics of interactive multimedia as a powerful communication medium. The main study fell into three distinct yet complimentary research pathways namely 1) to design an interactive multimedia application for a portable computer, 2) to examine the use and effectiveness of the portable computer with museum visitors, 3) to assess the application as a new tool for interpretation in a museum setting. The conclusions of this research project are based upon the results of a rigorous and comprehensive evaluation study, which combined a questionnaire survey, structured unobtrusive observation and interaction logging. As the research project was initiated there were few other projects in this field of study, and no formal evaluation had been published. At the completion, four research projects were identified and are detailed in the conclusion. The results of this research project have confirmed the hypothesis that a portable computer with an interactive multimedia application has the potential to enhance interpretation and to become a new tool for interpreting museum collections. As the number of homes with multimedia capable computers equipped with CD-ROM drives and connected to the Internet grows and exposure to computers at work and at school increases, visitors are well prepared to handle the new technology. The projects results show ease of use and an increased recall of exhibits by visitors. Visitors experienced discovery based learning at their own pace facilitated by a portable touch screen computer. Limitations of the project are discussed and future research topics identified. These included expanding the interactive multimedia application to cover the whole gallery, exploring alternative interaction models, evaluating the impact of age and gender, evaluating the portable computer within other categories of museums, to evaluating location aware positioning systems and to investigating Personal Digital Assistants as a potential hardware platform.

This research aims to investigate how sociocultural amorality has been portrayed in Malaysian films, and how can these taboos be alternatively portrayed cinematically to a Malaysian audience. Questions as to why Malaysian (mainstream) cinema is seemingly unable to produce films that connect with the Malaysian psyche and mirror its collective realities will be pitted against the notion that Malaysians themselves (as the primary audience) are not ready or unwilling to watch such films, and address the unattractive sides of their society onscreen. In order to investigate these questions, the work will experiment with alternative filmmaking techniques, film aesthetics and modes of representation that may depict taboos within a Malaysian context. It is envisaged that the findings of this research will lead to a more nuanced exploration of taboos within Malaysian cinema and Malaysian society. The approaches adopted by some Malaysian filmmakers in addressing difficult sociocultural issues in their work, and the locoregional challenges they faced in the process of making these films will be looked into in detail. These findings will then be compared with the filmmaking techniques used within a few unconventional non-Malaysian films which have dealt with taboos and difficult subject matters. The outcome of the analyses of both cohorts will then be utilised to inform practice - in this case the filmmaking portion of the work - and help shape the experimental feature film Haruan: The Snakehead which will form the majority of the final PhD submission. A parallel experiment of adopting an almost completely visual workflow using digital drawings - from the feature film’s early ideation, narrative, previsualisation to all the stages of its production process - will also be carried out within the practice component of the study. Two taboos which have raised significant concern within the Malaysian society due to the increase in their reported prevalence will be specifically addressed - infanticide/baby abandonment and incestuous rape - and the possible connection between the two. In interrogating how taboos - within their various sociocultural denominations - have been portrayed in Malaysian Cinema over the years, it is important to ascertain what taboos in the Malaysian context actually are. More importantly, do these so-called Malaysian-specific taboos even exist?

In our urban environment we are surrounded by strangers, observed via surveillance cameras and connected to millions via the global digital infrastructure. Our media is pervasive and immersive, implicit in everything we do, as the distinction between the real and virtual becomes increasing blurred. Whilst pervasive screens are becoming an essential personal tool, large format public screens form part of the furniture of our urban architecture. This study will ask how we can maximise opportunities for cultural engagement using urban screens and how this can impact on our culture. In the last ten years urban screens have been installed across the world, including in twenty-two cities in the UK funded by the BBC and Local Authorities for the Cultural Olympiad. The aim of the screens was to address local communities in order to reflect something of their respective location and community, “with a full programme of locally run community and sporting events”. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/bigscreens) Urban screens have a huge potential to play a role in changing the way that the public engages in urban space. Lucy Lippard identifies “place” as a hybrid of communal memories (Lippard, L. 1997, p9) and proposes that artist play a key role in offering community a framework from which to tackle issues, and debate. Urban screens are usually located in busy shopping centers and are ideally located to attract a broad demographic to contribute to a memory of place embracing an inclusive multicultural and tolerant approach. Through this thesis I explore how interactive works for urban screens can offer opportunity for public participation in the urban environment. Kristine Stiles and Ed Shanken propose that a key factor in interactive works is that they offer “agency” which involves freedom to make choices and to be creative in order to make a difference. (Stiles, K. Shanken E. 2011, p32) Through my literature review and current creative practice, including urban screen projects in collaboration with telematics artist Paul Sermon; “Picnic on the Screen” for the Glastonbury Festival BBC Village Screen 2009 and “Occupy the Screen” for Connecting Cities Berlin/Riga 2014, I explore how interactive artists can optimise agency, opportunities for play, creativity and self-representation to a diverse audience in order to change the way that we engage in the urban environment. Through this PhD I have developed a framework for engagement with public audiences through play.

This thesis considers how television reflects on its own output in the context of newly created television programmes which seek to reconsider, reframe and re-contextualise the content of television programmes that have already been broadcast. It does this by considering a range of programmes created between 2002 and 2009 as part of my work as a practice based researcher. These programmes cover some of the key genres in contemporary television and reflect the development of forms and themes within the medium. The broad focus of this work is to seek to gain an understanding of what fresh meanings can be derived from re-using existing television content in new programmes that contextualise it with the provision of newly commissioned and created visual content. More specifically the work seeks to explore the role of the implied viewer and his or her proxies on screen and how this affects the construction and delivery of these new programmes. The programmes under consideration include archive based retrospectives of television dramas, lifestyle programmes and property formats. These are viewed from the perspective of key ideas in television studies including fan studies, celebrity culture, intertextuality, hybridity and television history. Taken altogether, it is argued the work constitutes a meta-practice in television.

The UK's E-Government agenda was found on the principles of improving the quality of services offered to the public by Central and Local Government. This would be made possible through various national projects. Most notable were the use of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Community Informatics involving the use of public libraries and outreach workers. However there is growing fear on the emergence of inequalities between the information rich and information poor termed the 'digital divide'. This has prompted the subject of research - to explore the reality of e-government in reducing social exclusion. Both qualitative and quantitative research techniques are used to this end. Analysis is made on the use of CRM in 27 Local Authorities including a detailed case study at Newham Council and a public survey in Salford. Universal access and social inclusion is tackled through the analysis of public libraries in Salford offering ICT services. In addition the effects of free ICT courses organised by Salford City Council on a number of community groups was included in the survey. The findings confirm the widespread use of CRM and reveal a series of barriers to its success. These include a lack of skilled CRM staff, inefficiencies in channel management, high emphasis on technology, and low levels of ICT usage. Results from the public library survey also revealed some barriers. Inadequate staffing levels, inappropriate training, and lack of IT support were all identified. In addition the library failed to attract novices and new users. The evaluation of Community Informatics in Salford showed the problems faced by outreach workers. As well as providing some academic research in a field lacking representation in IS research (due largely to recent emergence), the thesis also contributes to E-Government practice by, highlighting issues often over looked in its implementation, addressing its failures, and providing some reasoning on the current situation.

The introduction of mobile learning in higher education institutions (HEIs) in Malaysia is an instinctive course of action in response to the high increase in rates of mobile phone ownership amongst higher education (HE) students. Mobile learning encapsulates learning opportunities undertaken with the usage of the students’ mobile phones. This study aims to explore how mobile learning activities, developed using social constructivist learning principles, can support undergraduate students learning in the context of the study. It identifies the learning opportunities that the different mobile learning activities provide as well as exploring issues and challenges in implementing these mobile learning activities. The results derived from this research are used to inform the development of pedagogical design guidelines for engaging Malaysian HE students via mobile learning activities to support a specific course. As depicted by interpretive paradigm upon which this study is founded, the students’ voices are emphasised as it is justified that the students’ participation is essential to move the technology in directions that they prefer. The methodology is design-based research (DBR) which emphasises the need for cyclic intervention and analysis as part of the research process. Hence, there were two stages of data collection which were designed to explore the students’ perspective on the mobile learning activities. The methods of data collection include a questionnaire (145), students’ blog posts (145) and online interviews (9). The study was implemented with two cohorts of student teachers over a period of two years. The findings of this study indicate that Malaysian HE students are prepared to accept mobile learning to support their study. However, educators must also be wary of issues such as the students’ familiarity in using the selected mobile application. There are several types of mobile learning activities which could be offered namely; contextual, reflective, collaborative, multiple-medium, communication and learning-management. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by providing a) conceptual benchmarks for future studies in the area of mobile learning and learning design, b) a rich insight into the mobile learning development in Malaysian HEIs, c) social constructivist pedagogical guideline considerations, and d) tactical advice for HE practitioners in considering mobile learning.

From a Critical Social Theory (CST) perspective this research critiques assumptions that the internet brings about consumer empowerment through increased product information. and opportunities to communicate and share knowledge with companies and other consumers. It demonstrates that this assumption derives from the technologically determinist school of Information Systems (IS) thinkingt,:ý w hich is 9 rounded in the myth that technology pet- se brings huge benefits, including wealth and empowerment. Illustrating that information systems development traditionally lacks a sense of "audience" failing to provide what the users want, it suggests that this phenomenon merits more sophisticated consideration of not only the technology, but also of eCommerce providers and users. The research demonstrates that complex phenomena such as that under study here require a multi-method approach to explore the range of voices or relevant perspectives of the stakeholders. A lens for reviewing the power relations governing the construction and use of consumer knowledge is developed and applied. The knowledge construction lens is used to review the synthesized findings from the multi-method assessment to reveal how congruence is connected to extant power relations, and positions those findings in the context of information provider / user relationships. Drawing on both theories of hermeneutics and serniotics the phenomenon is initially explored from the perspective of both companies and customers through questionnaires and reviews of commercial websites. This phase of the research sets the scene for a series of twenty-two in depth interviews with individual consumers to explore their experiences of using the internet in commercial activity. The research concludes that vast incongruity in the needs and values of customers and companies exists. Consumer empowerment remains a myth. Ingrained company / customer power relations distort communication and prevent 'true' empowerment. In the shadow of company power. customer inertia and feelings of powerlessness remain strong. Ultimately this serves companies well as increased buyer power continues to be regarded as a threat to competitive advantage.

This thesis investigates visual, spatial and temporal qualities of video based reconstruction with respect to telepresence. State of the art was improved and validated through a new parallelisation of an established algorithm; a tool that allows visio-spatial impact of algorithm and camera arrangement to be visualised; and a set of experiments to derive requirements and investigate outcomes. The motivation is to support the exchange of appearance and attention between moving humans through video based reconstruction. A previous research project showed moving humans could faithfully convey attention in virtual environments and appearance through video-conferencing, suggesting that it may be possible to combine the two. Video based 3D reconstruction of humans appeared to be able to achieve both, but it was uncertain whether this could be achieved at sufficient quality. Research began by justifying the approach and setting the requirements. A literature survey and initial experiments indicated that the visual hull provided a form suitable for modeling humans. However, evidence of visual and temporal qualities necessary to support gaze was not found. A state of the art visual hull reconstruction algorithm was parallelised to run on a modern multi-core processor, enabling human reconstruction on a single computer, thus providing stable visual and temporal qualities. A parallelisation scheme theoretically better suited for execution on a single multi-core processor than distributed over a network is proposed. Importantly, the way in which the problem is parallelised has been optimised to reflect the various stages of the process rather than the need to minimise data communication across a network. A utility application has been developed providing a framework for rapidly testing algorithms, validating requirements, and as a platform for conducting experiments. This underpinned a collaborative experiment that showed for the first time that eye gaze could be conveyed to accuracies sufficient for human social interaction. To facilitate the analysis, the utility allowed the impact of camera placement on spatial and visual quality to be investigated.

In this digital technology era, e-commerce (EC) has revolutionised the way people engage in business activities. Users now enjoy tremendous advantages, such as buying and selling between multiple parties at different levels of business through computers and smart devices, regardless of their geographical locations, thereby being provided with better choices and prices. However, EC brings its own challenges and users face unknown risks when moving to the digital market. Some countries have been quicker in providing the necessary requirements for the expansion of EC and helped in addressing users’ worries about trust and fraud. Others have been slow in adopting EC, and both customers and business are missing considerable opportunities. In general, EC is well adopted and used in the advanced countries but struggles to take off in developing countries. Saudi Arabia (SA) is one such country. This study has developed a theoretical framework appropriate to the implementation of Business to Customer (B2C) EC in Saudi Arabia, after reviewing the literature on B2C EC, and testing several factors pertinent to the Saudi Arabian context. The researcher has adopted a novel approach by securing the perceptions of Saudi nationals living in Saudi Arabia and those living in the UK with a view to appreciating the differences and learning from the experience of these two communities. Additionally, the researcher conducted a survey of a sample of Saudi companies to understand their views and aspirations in adopting B2C EC. Data was collected using mixed methods and embracing both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The data was collected in Saudi Arabia via a questionnaire survey of 606 Saudi nationals, and in the UK from 169 questionnaires and interviews with 25 companies. The questionnaire responses were analysed quantitatively by descriptive and statistical methods (percentages and t-test for two independent samples), and the findings were validated by the interview data. From the results, the theoretical framework was developed, thus allowing for an understanding of Saudi customers’ attitudes towards online shopping in the two different environments of B2C EC (SA as a developing country and the UK as a developed country) to be gained. The influence of different environmental variables upon customer choice is seen as significant variations occurred in the two different environments. The framework is potentially useful for policy-makers, the commercial sector, and the government in SA. Hence, the research contributes to knowledge about the key differences in customer behaviour toward B2C EC in SA. The study signifies the first of its kind and thus lays the ground for further research in the area.