<p> This research investigates the discourse around the terms web 2.0 and cloud computing, which are used as metaphors for information technology. In addition to the disruptive technologies and applications to which they refer, both of these terms have affected information technology, its use, and the way it is perceived. This research examines how this impact has varied over time and by audience. The usage of the terms is examined through a rhetorical analysis of a sampling of articles from the general publications The New York Times, The Washington Post, and USA Today, and the professional publications InformationWeek and CIO Magazine. The research is an analysis of these artifacts using critical methods influenced by metaphoric analysis, symbolic interactionism, and Burke's concept of symbolic action. Metaphors serve as cognitive tools in discourse communities for understanding new domains, the tenor or target of the metaphor, through references to shared symbols, the vehicle or source of the metaphor. Metaphors may be mostly descriptive, as epiphors, or persuasive, as diaphors. This research shows that the web 2.0 and cloud computing metaphors served a persuasive purpose for helping people understand disruptive technology through familiar experiences. Rhetors used the metaphors in persuading audiences whether or not to adopt the new technologies. As the new technologies became accepted and adopted, problems arose which were obscured in the original metaphor, so new metaphors emerged to highlight and conceal various aspects of the technologies. Some of these new metaphors arose with systematicity in the same domain of the original metaphor, while others came from different domains. The ability of the metaphor to be used in various rhetorical situations as the technology evolves affects the usefulness of the metaphor over time. The usage of web 2.0 shortly after the dot com boom and bust cycle of the late 1990s and early 2000s allowed rhetors to frame web 2.0 as an economic phenomenon, casting the collaborative aspects of the technology as tools for making money in a perceived second dot com bubble. The failure of the second dot com bubble to materialize, along with user frustration with the emphasis of the economic aspects of collaboration and the limited usefulness of the software release cycle in representing continuous technical change, led to infrequency of the use of web 2.0 as a metaphor. Other metaphors, like social networking and social media, arose as a new source domain to represent some of the collaborative aspects of the original technologies. Some minor referents of web 2.0, like software as a service and data centers, became referents of cloud computing, which uses a natural archetype of clouds as the source domain to reference the target domain of hosted information technology services accessible through multiple devices. As a natural domain, the cloud metaphor is more extensible than web 2.0 and as a result may have more longevity than web 2.0. The cloud computing metaphor also became associated with lightning, electricity, experimentation, and utility through a fuzzy semantic relationship. The utility metaphor worked with cloud to emphasize the ease of implementation of cloud based solutions. As practical problems arose with implementing cloud solutions, new metaphors arose. Some of these worked within the cloud domain, such as the idea of storms, to emphasize the downsides of cloud computing. Other metaphors arose in new source domains to emphasize territory and private ownership in hosted solutions. By providing an in-depth rhetorical analysis of these IT metaphors, this research can serve as a guide for evaluating rhetorical and metaphoric responses to future disruptive technical changes.</p>

<p> The community college serves a diverse student population with numerous programs and degrees designed to complete general education requirements and prepare students for job placement. As these students enter their anticipated occupation, most are unprepared for the oral skill requirements of their new job. They lack confidence to navigate any number of scenarios demanding interpersonal poise, teamwork, conflict resolution, presentation skills, and other occupation-specific speaking tasks. Since many of these degrees and certificates are offered partially or completely online, this Project presents a practical means of introducing speaking skills into the coursework of the growing online learning environment. The research examined the ethos of the community college and the impact of oral proficiency on the academic, personal, and occupational lives of students. Expanding on the core required speaking course, the study and resultant project informed by a genre study, presented genre-specific oral skill activities in online coursework integrating the application of multimedia tools. Constructivist learning theory was foundational to the experiential and dialogical instructional design. Interviews and ethnographic studies in online and live courses informed the teaching and assessment rubrics integrated into the Project. Reducing perceived transactional distance in online learning is critical to student success and a relational approach to teaching engenders favorable student responses.</p>

The University of Bophuthatswana Act (No. I0 of 1978) led to the appointment, by President Mangope, of the University Council, which held the first meeting on 28 September l 978. The Act charges the Council with the control of the University and all its affairs and activities. "Uppermost in my mind was the wish to create in our own country a university whose structures will be determined by the actual needs of today's people in today's world" (President, Kgosi Dr Lucas Mangope, 1992: 15) Today the universities key goal is teaching and learning. To better serve the need of its students, staff and clients while at the same time achieve its goal, the institution has pursued a vigorous changes on its IT system and IS policy. As part of the institution's communication strategy. it uses e-mail. Internet and Intranet as forms of electronic communication. Because of developments in technology and the high premium placed by the University on quality education. there is a need for the current mail system to be upgraded. This project seeks to provide brief definition of GroupWare systems as well as an overview of its features and benefits ·with particular reference to Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Notes and Novell GroupWise. This report explores the features of Group Wise 6.0 and highlights some of its benefits to the University of the North West. This entails evaluating options for group-based user computing, collaborative systems and their impact on Teaching & Learning, Course Administration and Internal Communication. This report also compares the use of GroupWare application in production at other institutions and a local company.· Other areas of investigation that can improve the system both for Teaching & Learning. Course Administration and Internal communication are proposed. / M.Admin. (Comm.) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2004

<p> Information Technology (IT) professionals use the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) process to better manage their business operations, measure performance, improve reliability and lower costs. This study examined the operational results of those data centers using ITIL against those that do not, and whether the results change when traditional facilities engineers are included in the process. Overall, those IT departments using ITIL processes had no statistically significant improvements when compared to those who do not. Inclusion of Critical Facilities (CF) personnel in the framework offered a statistically significant improvement in their overall reliability of their data centers. Those IT departments who do not include CF personnel in the ITIL framework have a slightly lower level of reliability than those who do not use the ITIL processes at all.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Central Florida, 2008. / Adviser: Anthony Grajeda. Includes bibliographical references (p. 155-179).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2005. / Advisor: Dr. Joey F. George, Florida State University, College of Business, Dept. of Management Information Systems. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Sept. 14, 2005). Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 119 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

The problem discussed in this dissertation is to gather evidence of good practice and derive strategy for the development of ICT access in rural Zambia. Access to ICT services is important, also in rural areas of Africa. The challenges are many. There is a distinct void in tangible descriptions of the realities of ICT Access in rural areas or actionable guidelines for practitioners. This study involves a case study in the rural areas of Zambia. It does so through ethnography involving 10 years of observation of aspects of ICT access in rural Macha, Zambia. In this community, emerging from an articulated vision, ICT access in the form of the Internet arrived in 2004. Macha Works with its ICT unit LinkNet provides the basis for this interpretive approach from within the rural cultural setting. The purpose of the study is to benefit the local rural community, addressing the fundamentals of reality to add to the body of knowledge. The study involves cross cultural interaction and takes a trans-disciplinary view on science. It involves Participative Action Learning and Research aimed at recognising the complex adaptive systems while being aligned with the ethics of the rural African environment. Emphasis is on the needs of the community, rather than of the individual utilising empirical evidence. The good practices in Macha that inform strategy to make ICT accessible in rural areas are: engaging the community, building relationships; workforce development, unlocking productivity; thought leadership, establishing authority.

This thesis is intended to cover two of the most basic, important and highly applied multiple access communication techniques in modern age. It will provide an in-depth literature on the history, evolution, present and future of FDMA (Frequency Division Multiple Access), TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) and CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access). Along with the basics of TDMA and CDMA, this research will also explain the systems implementing these techniques and an active attempt is made to elaborate their fundamentals, operation, parameters, protocols and other relevant details. / A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science. / Spring Semester, 2004. / April 13, 2004. / DS-CDMA, 3GPP, IS-95, cdma2000, 3G, UTRAN, UMTS, TDMA, CDMA, GSM, WCDMA, 3GPP2 / Includes bibliographical references. / Bruce Harvey, Professor Directing Thesis; Krishna Arora, Committee Member; Simon Foo, Committee Member.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Melbourne, Dept. of Information Systems, 2010. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 265-297).