Although the software development industry is one of the fastest growing sections in the labour market currently, computer science is one of the subject fields with the least growth in number of enrolments at tertiary institutions. Low enrolment figures and high dropout rates are common in computer science courses. Apart from the fact that programming is a difficult skill to master, irrelevant course material and out-dated teaching and learning strategies could be to blame for this phenomenon. When comparing modern technology with which young people engage outside the class room to the stereo typed old fashioned technology they are confronted with inside classrooms, it is discouraging. Games have been identified as a powerful and effective tool to create an attractive learning environment. Students find the competitive, fast-paced and interactive environment which serious games provide appealing. Progress has recently been made in incorporating digital educational (serious) games into the learning environment. Research on understanding the value that serious games can add to learning in computer science courses is limited. The purpose of this study is to address this issue by investigating the characteristic of serious games and establish the value these can add to learning in the computer science class. The identified characteristics were utilised as external variables in the technology acceptance model (TAM) in order to determine the students’ attitude towards the use of serious games in the computer science class. The TAM is a well-known predictor of the users’ attitude towards perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use as the internal factors motivating the acceptance of technology. These internal factors can be influenced by external factors which may differ in accordance to the technology being evaluated. The target population of this study comprised full-time computer science students enrolled at South African registered public higher education institutions (HEIs). For this study, a convenience sample of 547 computer science students was drawn from one traditional university and one university of technology. These two universities were selected by means of a non-probability judgement method. A self-administered questionnaire was hand-delivered to lecturers at each of the two HEIs. The questionnaire requested the participants to indicate on a six-point Likert scale the level of their agreement or disagreement on 41 items, designed to measure their attitude towards the use of serious games in the computer science class. Findings from this study suggest that computer science students exhibit a positive attitude towards using serious games in class. Usefulness was identified as the most significant internal variable predictor of attitude, with relevance to classwork, as the most significant external predictor of usefulness. Relevance of serious games to class work emerged as the strongest predictor of ease of use, followed by experienced and perceived enjoyment. Insights gained from this study will assist educators in designing and planning the implementation of serious games as part of the learning experience in class. Furthermore, educators can gain insights from the factors that students indicated to be the most significant in terms of serious game in class. The proposed model can be used by educators to evaluate the attitude of computer science students towards the implementation of a serious game in class. / MSc (Computer Science)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015

A vast body of literature shows that the populations of older persons aged 60+ are growing faster all over the world. South Africa has also shown a tremendous growth in the size of the older population, from 3.7 million in total in the year 2009, which is expected to count 4.25 million in 2015. Similarly, the level of mobile phone penetration in Africa and Sub-Saharan countries has grown significantly. This study aimed to explore older persons‟ competence in using a mobile phone in the Tlokwe municipal area, South Africa. The current study formed part of the iGNiTe sub-study, which is a sub-study of a larger project (An exploration of enabling context) and focuses on the user patterns of mobile technology by older people by using both qualitative and quantitative data. The current study aimed to explore older persons‟ competence in using mobile phones. Although the iGNiTe sub-study involved both qualitative and quantitative data-gathering methods, the current study only focused on the qualitative data aspect. This study is also the first to directly explore older persons‟ competencies regarding the use of mobile phones in the South African context. The study incorporated the Multiple Intelligences Theory, Technology Acceptance Model and The Mobile Phone Technology Acceptance Model to explain older persons‟ attitudes to and intentions for using a mobile phone as well as the knowledge and skills they possess regarding the use of mobile phones. The keywords that were used in different search engines included older persons, mobile phones, competencies, skills, knowledge and attitude. Participants included in the sub-study were older persons aged 60+ who met the inclusion criteria from a total sample of 128 older persons in three old-age day-care centres in the Tlokwe municipal area of the North West Province, South Africa. Since the current study only focused on the qualitative aspect of the sub-study, the study only used 48 participants who took part in semi-structured interviews and the Mmogo-method® in the sub-study. The study used a descriptive research design to understand meaning and experiences of older persons‟ competences in using mobile phones by using semi-structured interviews and the Mmogo-method®. The goal of this study was achieved by conducting a thematic analysis within a secondary dataset from the iGNiTe sub-study. Older persons‟ competencies in using a mobile phone were extracted from the interviews. The data revealed that levels of competences revealed by older persons differed according to the individual‟s experiences in using mobile phones. Both positive and negative impact of mobile phone complexities on older persons‟ abilities to use a mobile phone were found in the current study. The study suggests that, based on the findings, mobile phones be made more learnable and adapted to the needs of different age groups. / MSc (Research Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

A vast body of literature shows that the populations of older persons aged 60+ are growing faster all over the world. South Africa has also shown a tremendous growth in the size of the older population, from 3.7 million in total in the year 2009, which is expected to count 4.25 million in 2015. Similarly, the level of mobile phone penetration in Africa and Sub-Saharan countries has grown significantly. This study aimed to explore older persons‟ competence in using a mobile phone in the Tlokwe municipal area, South Africa. The current study formed part of the iGNiTe sub-study, which is a sub-study of a larger project (An exploration of enabling context) and focuses on the user patterns of mobile technology by older people by using both qualitative and quantitative data. The current study aimed to explore older persons‟ competence in using mobile phones. Although the iGNiTe sub-study involved both qualitative and quantitative data-gathering methods, the current study only focused on the qualitative data aspect. This study is also the first to directly explore older persons‟ competencies regarding the use of mobile phones in the South African context. The study incorporated the Multiple Intelligences Theory, Technology Acceptance Model and The Mobile Phone Technology Acceptance Model to explain older persons‟ attitudes to and intentions for using a mobile phone as well as the knowledge and skills they possess regarding the use of mobile phones. The keywords that were used in different search engines included older persons, mobile phones, competencies, skills, knowledge and attitude. Participants included in the sub-study were older persons aged 60+ who met the inclusion criteria from a total sample of 128 older persons in three old-age day-care centres in the Tlokwe municipal area of the North West Province, South Africa. Since the current study only focused on the qualitative aspect of the sub-study, the study only used 48 participants who took part in semi-structured interviews and the Mmogo-method® in the sub-study. The study used a descriptive research design to understand meaning and experiences of older persons‟ competences in using mobile phones by using semi-structured interviews and the Mmogo-method®. The goal of this study was achieved by conducting a thematic analysis within a secondary dataset from the iGNiTe sub-study. Older persons‟ competencies in using a mobile phone were extracted from the interviews. The data revealed that levels of competences revealed by older persons differed according to the individual‟s experiences in using mobile phones. Both positive and negative impact of mobile phone complexities on older persons‟ abilities to use a mobile phone were found in the current study. The study suggests that, based on the findings, mobile phones be made more learnable and adapted to the needs of different age groups. / MSc (Research Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Although the software development industry is one of the fastest growing sections in the labour market currently, computer science is one of the subject fields with the least growth in number of enrolments at tertiary institutions. Low enrolment figures and high dropout rates are common in computer science courses. Apart from the fact that programming is a difficult skill to master, irrelevant course material and out-dated teaching and learning strategies could be to blame for this phenomenon. When comparing modern technology with which young people engage outside the class room to the stereo typed old fashioned technology they are confronted with inside classrooms, it is discouraging. Games have been identified as a powerful and effective tool to create an attractive learning environment. Students find the competitive, fast-paced and interactive environment which serious games provide appealing. Progress has recently been made in incorporating digital educational (serious) games into the learning environment. Research on understanding the value that serious games can add to learning in computer science courses is limited. The purpose of this study is to address this issue by investigating the characteristic of serious games and establish the value these can add to learning in the computer science class. The identified characteristics were utilised as external variables in the technology acceptance model (TAM) in order to determine the students’ attitude towards the use of serious games in the computer science class. The TAM is a well-known predictor of the users’ attitude towards perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use as the internal factors motivating the acceptance of technology. These internal factors can be influenced by external factors which may differ in accordance to the technology being evaluated. The target population of this study comprised full-time computer science students enrolled at South African registered public higher education institutions (HEIs). For this study, a convenience sample of 547 computer science students was drawn from one traditional university and one university of technology. These two universities were selected by means of a non-probability judgement method. A self-administered questionnaire was hand-delivered to lecturers at each of the two HEIs. The questionnaire requested the participants to indicate on a six-point Likert scale the level of their agreement or disagreement on 41 items, designed to measure their attitude towards the use of serious games in the computer science class. Findings from this study suggest that computer science students exhibit a positive attitude towards using serious games in class. Usefulness was identified as the most significant internal variable predictor of attitude, with relevance to classwork, as the most significant external predictor of usefulness. Relevance of serious games to class work emerged as the strongest predictor of ease of use, followed by experienced and perceived enjoyment. Insights gained from this study will assist educators in designing and planning the implementation of serious games as part of the learning experience in class. Furthermore, educators can gain insights from the factors that students indicated to be the most significant in terms of serious game in class. The proposed model can be used by educators to evaluate the attitude of computer science students towards the implementation of a serious game in class. / MSc (Computer Science)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015

Denna uppsats ingår inom det vetenskapliga fältet Fat Studies där målet är att utmana den stigmatisering som överviktiga individer upplever socialt och psykiskt. Syftet med denna uppsats är att studera hur överviktiga karaktärer porträtteras i den amerikanska reality-serien Here Comes Honey Boo Boo samt hur genus och klass representeras i relation till fetma. Mina frågeställningar är följande: 1) På vilket sätt porträtteras de överviktiga karaktärerna i tv-serien Here Comes Honey Boo Boo? samt 2) Hur representeras genus och klass i relation till fetma Here Comes Honey Boo Boo? Mitt metodval ingår inom den kvalitativa innehållsanalysen. Jag har applicerat en textanalytisk metod på mitt studieobjekt där jag kartlagt nyckelscener och huvudteman. Jag har i relation till uppsatsens syfte försökt finna återkommande mönster att bygga min analys på. Den teoretiska begreppsramen består av Stuart Halls (2013) representationsteorier samt Bakthins (1984) begrepp carnivalesque. Sedan vävs begreppet panopticism in med understöd av Betterton (1996) och Kristevas (1982) teoretiseringar för att erhålla en allmän bild om hur kvinnan relateras till sin vikt. För att teoretisera begreppen klass och genus i relation till fetma används begreppsförklaringar tagna från Rothblum och Solovays (2009) antologi The Fat Readers studie. Studien visar flera intressanta resultat i relation till teoretiseringen. Det mest utmärkande resultatet är att serien Here Comes Honey Boo Boo försämrar den rådande bilden som finns av överviktiga individer genom att porträttera dem på ett förlöjligande, humoristiskt och groteskt sätt. Kroppsliga reaktioner och andra djuriska instinkter är ett genomgående inslag i serien och tyder på att Here Comes Honey Boo Boo är en serie vars handling utgår från begreppet carnivalesques grunder. Ett överraskande resultat är det faktum att överviktiga män och kvinnor porträtteras på olika sätt i serien trots att kroppshyddorna är lika stora. Det var svårt att borste från aspekter som klass och genus i relation till fetma, de är närvarande i form av kroppen som klassbeteckning och skillnader i representationer mellan könen.

E-Government is the use of information technology particularly web applications to deliver convenient services for citizens, business and government. Governments worldwide spend billions of their budgets in order to deliver convenient electronic services to their citizens. There are two important points; government offers online services, and citizens consume these services. In order to maximize the benefits of these projects and to avoid possible failures, the gap between these points should be addressed. Yet there are few empirical studies that have covered the relevant issues of adoption from the citizen perspective in developing countries. This research study investigates citizens’ acceptance of e-government services in the context of Saudi Arabia. It posits an integrated model of the key elements that influence citizens’ adoption of e-government. The framework includes a combination of attitudinal, social, control and trust factors as well as the influence of gender. The model is validated by surveying 533 citizens and utilising the structural equation modeling technique for data analysis. Findings show that both measurement and structural models exhibit good model fit to data. The study shows that all constructs satisfy the criteria of constructs reliability and convergent and discriminant validity. The paths estimations show that of the sixteen designed casual relationships, eleven paths relationships were found to be significant while the other five paths remained unsupported.

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Typical hospital setups comprise units such as clinics, inpatient wards, outpatient services, casualty services, operating theatres, laboratories, medical schools (for university hospitals) and out-reach medical camps. Healthcare professionals are required to support these different units hence the need to be constantly mobile in undertaking their duties. These duties require that they frequently consult colleagues, receive handover from previous duty staff or share information on previous work undertaken. Successful use and adoption of handheld devices such as PC tablets, PDAs and smartphones integrated to health information systems can minimize the physical mobility. Information sharing using M-health solutions in complex and diverse healthcare settings draw focus beyond the spatiality gains to the coordination of the teams, processes and shared artefacts in healthcare. CSCW research abounds with various concepts that can be useful in characterizing mobility and communication amongst collaborating health workers. Design for mobile health solutions, therefore, provides an opportunity to further ground theoretical frameworks from exemplary studies on health information systems. The overall objective of the study is to propose design suggestions that target successful information sharing in the deployment and use of M-health solutions. To achieve this objective, the thesis investigates and analyses factors influencing the use and adoption of M-health solutions. A qualitative literature review is used in the study to explore significant factors in the acceptance and use of health information systems. A questionnaire developed from these key factors is used to determine the perceptions of healthcare professionals on M-health solutions based on related literature and on a field study. Finally, the findings are discussed using concepts from CSCW literature namely, mobility, common information spaces, temporality and cognitive and coordinative artefacts. As a result, a conceptual model integrating constructs from the Technology acceptance model (TAM) and IS Success model was developed that can be useful in investigating perceptions in the use of M-health solutions. Design suggestions were proposed for the development of future M-health solutions that aim to achieve successful information sharing amongst healthcare professionals.

A study on the relationship of mindfulness to empathy was conducted with undergraduate students at a large southwestern university. Previous studies suggest that mindfulness may be related to empathy, but are inconclusive due to measurement and methodological limitations. A mindfulness construct that includes axioms related to intention, attention, and attitude is suggested for researching empathy, along with statistical models that include mediation. A multifactored measure of mindfulness was hypothesized to predict perspective taking and empathic concern empathy components, which in turn would mediate the relationship of mindfulness facets to individual and interpersonal outcomes. Study results suggest a relationship of mindfulness to perspective taking, but not to empathic concern. Results from the mediation procedures were not supportive of the theorized role of empathy in relation to mindfulness on individual and interpersonal outcomes. Implications and limitations to the study design and theory are discussed. / text

Multi-criteria decision aid has emerged from the operational research field as the answer given to a couple of important questions encountered in complex decisions problems. Firstly, as decision aiding tools, such methods do not replace the decision maker with a mathematical model, but support him to construct his solution by describing and evaluating his options. Secondly, instead of using a unique criterion capturing all aspects of the problem, in the multi-criteria decision aid methods one seeks to build multiple criteria, representing several points of view. This work explores the application of multi-criteria decision aid methods for optimising food chain countermeasure strategies after a radioactive release to the environment. The core of the thesis is dedicated to formulating general lines for the development of a multi-criteria decision aid model. This includes the definition of potential actions, construction of evaluation criteria and preference modelling and is essentially based on the results of a stakeholders’ process. The work is centred on the management of contaminated milk in order to provide a concrete focus and because of its importance as an ingestion pathway in short term after an accident. Among other issues, the public acceptance of milk countermeasures as a key evaluation criterion is analysed in detail. A comparison of acceptance based on stochastic dominance is proposed and, based on that, a countermeasures’ acceptance ranking is deduced. In order to assess “global preferences” taking into account all the evaluation criteria, an ordinal method is chosen. This method allows expressing the relative importance of criteria in a qualitative way instead of using, for instance, numerical weights. Some algorithms that can be used for robustness analysis are also proposed. This type of analysis is an alternative to sensitivity analysis in what concerns data uncertainty and imprecision and seeks to determine how and if a model result or conclusion obtained for a specific instance of a model’s parameters holds over the entire domain of acceptable values for these parameters. The integrated multi-criteria decision aid approach proposed makes use of outranking and interactive methodologies and is implemented and tested through a number of case studies and prototype tools.