The purpose of this research is to examine virtual team members' use and perceptions of information technology (IT) support mechanisms. The study identifies the IT support mechanisms currently in use and focuses on differences between virtual and non-virtual teams in control and coordination, IT acceptance, and IT adoption.

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Despite the validity of arguments highlighting the inadequacy of existing theories to explain Third World and specifically African realities, criticism has perpetuated, rather than disarmed, status quo theories. This is because focus on (and thus within) the existing conceptual framework has impeded vision beyond these barriers, thereby hampering the formation of new, more applicable theories. The intellectual balance of power and methodological hegemony of the West is perpetuated, on the African continent through Western monopoly over course content in tertiary education as well as the preferences of publishers for Africanist rather than African contributions. This study provides a critical assessment of scholarly dominance on the topic of Africa in order contribute to a greater understanding of the dynamics acting to exclude non-Western ideas and experiences from the IR narrative. The study provides a content analysis of 25 peer-rated influential journals publishing IR content for the period January 2000 to August 2010. The aim was to identify dominant themes and scholars on the topic of Africa in IR. General biographical information on the five highest ranking scholars in terms of publication exposure was gathered in order to assess networks of academic and professional affiliation that could have contributed to their publishing success. Dominant themes vary between African, Third World and international-oriented journals. Governance is a prevalent theme throughout, but African journals prefer intervention to the international journals’ preoccupation with conflict in Africa. Third World Journals place development first. The five most prolific authors are Ian Taylor, Kevin C. Dunn, Cameron G. Thies, Nana K. Poku and Chris Alden. They are all currently lecturing at either American or British academic institutions and are all Africanists, save for Poku who is a diasporic African. Networks of affiliation are established through institutions of higher education primarily and through societal memberships. The internet does not seem to be an important tool of networking amongst Africanists. Dominant authors tend to collaborate, serve as article reviewers or on editorial boards of journals for which they also submit articles, and as research grant proposal reviewers, thus also constituting the gatekeepers in academia. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Ten spyte van geldige argumente wat aanvoer dat bestaande teorieë nie in staat is daartoe om Derdewêreld ervarings – spesifiek dié van Afrika – genoegsaam te begryp nie, het kritiek eerder hierdie teorieë versterk as ontsetel. Dit is omdat fokus op (en dus vanuit) bestaande teoretiese raamwerke die oorweging van elemente buite hierdie raamwerke onmoontlik maak, en sodoende die ontstaan van nuwe, meer verteenwoordigende raamwerke, teenwerk. Die intellektuele magsbalans en metodologiese hegemonie van die Weste word voortgesit, selfs op die Afrika kontinent, deur Westerse monopolie oor die kursusinhoude van tersiêre instansies, sowel as deur die voorkeur wat Afrikaniste se bydraes geniet bo dié van Afrikane vir publikasie. Hierdie studie bied ‘n kritiese analise van dominansie in kundigheid oor die onderwerp van Afrika om sodoende by te dra tot ‘n meer omskrywende geheelbeeld van die dinamiek wat nie-Westerse idees en ervarings uitsluit tot die diskoers van Internasionale Betrekkinge. Die navorsing is in die vorm van ‘n inhoudsanalise van 25 invloedryke joernale wat inhoud relevant tot Internasionale Betrekkinge publiseer, vir die periode Januarie 2000 tot Augustus 2010. Die doel is om dominante temas en kundiges oor die onderwerp van Afrika se internasionale betrekkinge te identifiseer. Biografiese inligting oor die vyf mees bedrewe kundiges in terme van publikasies is ingesamel om die netwerke van akademiese en professionele affiliasie wat moontlik tot hulle status kon bydra, te assesseer. Dominante temas verskil tussen Afrika-, Derdewêreld- en internasionaal-georiënteerde joernale. Regeerkunde is deurgaans ‘n prominente tema, maar die Afrika-joernale verkies intervensie teenoor die internasionale joernale se fokus op konflik in Afrika. Derdewêreld-joernale plaas meer klem op ontwikkeling. Die vyf mees bedrewe outeurs is Ian Taylor, Kevin C. Dunn, Cameron G. Thies, Nana K. Poku en Chris Alden. Hulle is almal lektore by Amerikaanse of Britse akademiese instansies en, behalwe vir Poku wat deel van die Afrika diaspora vorm, is hulle almal Afrikaniste. Netwerke van affiliasie word deur instansies van hoër opleiding of lidmaatskap aan professionele assosiasies bewerkstellig. Die internet is klaarblyklik nie ‘n baie belangrik instrument in kontakbouing vir Afrikaniste nie. Dominante outeurs is geneig om saam te skryf, hulle is dikwels die artikelkeurders vir joernale of dien op die redaksie en tree ook dikwels in ‘n hoedanigheid van keurders van navorsingsbefondsing op. As sulks is hulle gelyk die dominante akademici as die waghonde van die ivoortoring.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Information and Communications Technology, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2016. / Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are omnipresent in the world and that includes the worlds of sport, education and physical education (PE). However, there seems to be a scarcity of PE teachers who are well aware of the benefits of the use of ICTs in PE. The aim of this study is therefore to design a model of the factors affecting the perceived awareness of PE teachers of the benefits of the use of ICTs in PE. This aim is sub-divided into four research objectives: (a) to select relevant technology adoption theories for the design of a model of the factors affecting the perceived awareness of PE teachers of the benefits of the use of ICTs in PE; (b) to design a conceptual model of the factors affecting the perceived awareness of PE teachers of the benefits of the use of ICTs in PE; (c) to empirically test the above mentioned conceptual model; and, (d) to make appropriate recommendations from the knowledge of the factors affecting the perceived awareness of PE teachers of the benefits of the use of ICTs in PE. Objectives a, b, and d were accomplished through the review of existing literature on the factors affecting the adoption of e-learning by teachers. As for objective c, it was achieved through the survey of 73 teachers from Camperdown schools in the UMgungundlovu District Municipality of the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Here is a summary of how these objectives have been met in this study: (a) The Technology Adoption Model (TAM) serves as the theoretical model behind the choice of the research variables of this study; (b) This study hypothesizes that PE teachers’ perceived awareness of the benefits of the use of ICTs is affected by the following variables: demographics, performance expectancy, social influence, and computer attitude; (c) The survey conducted by this study confirms that PE teachers’ perceived awareness of the benefits of the use of ICTs is affected by their performance expectancy, and by three teachers’ demographics (computer usage, gender, and age group); (d) This study calls for more research on the factors affecting teachers’ awareness of the benefits of ICTs, since the study failed to find enough literature on this topic. / M

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2018-06-04T12:34:33Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Maria Helena Brito de Sousa.pdf: 2365874 bytes, checksum: 42af8e0a44671f22a0bd39751428f8a1 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-06-04T12:34:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Maria Helena Brito de Sousa.pdf: 2365874 bytes, checksum: 42af8e0a44671f22a0bd39751428f8a1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-02-23 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The main objective of this paper is to examine the incidence of ICMS – Comunicação (State Tax on Communication Services) in the scenario of technological convergence. The development of telecommunications provides new activities and technologies to society, which must be analyzed to be included in the ‘ICMS – Communication’ incidence hypotheses. Starting by the presentation of the historical evolution of telecommunications in Brazil, bringing to the fore basic concepts for understanding the theme. Furthermore, the notion of the legal system adopted is exposed, emphasizing the instrumental character of the law. Subsequently, the distribution of tax jurisdiction system in the Federal Constitution of 1988 is examined, with special attention giving to the authorization to impose tax on communication services. Having defined these premises, the meaning of the term "onerous service of communication services" is scrutinized to establish the criteria of the standard norm of incidence of the state tax.Finally, we will analyse the incidence of ICMS-Comunicação on some activities associated to the advances in telecommunications, especially the Internet, highlighting the technological repercussion for positive law / A presente dissertação de mestrado tem por principal objetivo examinar a incidência do ICMS-Comunicação no cenário da convergência tecnológica. Com a evolução das telecomunicações, novas atividades e tecnologias são disponibilizadas para a sociedade, as quais devem ser submetidas a análise para o seu enquadramento à hipótese de incidência do ICMS-Comunicação. Inicia-se o presente estudo discorrendo sobre a evolução histórica das telecomunicações no Brasil, trazendo à baila conceitos básicos para a compreensão do tema. Dando continuidade ao trabalho, expõe-se a noção de sistema jurídico adotada, destacando-se o caráter instrumental do direito. Posteriormente, é objeto de análise o sistema de repartição de competências tributária na Constituição Federal de 1988, especialmente a norma que autoriza a instituição do imposto sobre serviços de comunicação. Fixadas tais premissas, cumpre perquirir o significado da expressão “prestação onerosa de serviços de comunicação”, para fixar os critérios constantes da norma padrão de incidência do imposto estadual. Por fim, analisar-se-á a incidência do ICMS-Comunicação sobre algumas atividades, associadas aos avanços na área das telecomunicações, em especial da Internet, destacando, ao final, a repercussão tecnológica para o direito positivo

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2018-08-13T13:07:15Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Marco Aurélio Ferreira.pdf: 1954364 bytes, checksum: 5a80165bae241ad8ff13768ccec6d249 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-13T13:07:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marco Aurélio Ferreira.pdf: 1954364 bytes, checksum: 5a80165bae241ad8ff13768ccec6d249 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-07-02 / The ideas generated in any locality soon accede the virtual space. They spread and are concretized in different places, be it a business room, a factory floor, a schoolyard, a family house or even in streets and public spaces. At the turn of the century, several large-scale protest demonstrations took the streets of urban centers around the world and an unprecedented element could be perceived among its agents: the intensive association of protesters with communication networks, which have as main characteristic the abundance and high-speed circulation of information. However,in the midst of so many transformations and novelties, digital information and communication technologies remain, to some extent, surrounded by unknowns about their potentialities, properties and functions in the context of contemporary democracy, as well as the cultural consequences of their application, reason which expresses the urgency to reflect on its nature and form of participation in collective dynamics, political mobilizations and social movements. This research analyzes the role played by digital communication networks in protests occurred in the city of São Paulo in June 2013, in order to delineate, analyze and understand some of the characteristics of its successful way to disseminate information and its power to persuade and engage citizens that were not previously linked to cultural-political groups or social movements. In sum, it is proposed to investigate how and why the ICTs used in digital communication networks have assumed a preponderant role in June’s disputes and to raise interpretations about their nature and the issues ofcommunicationin contemporary society. The methodology of the work assumes hybrid formulation between bibliographic research, documentary analysis and, consequently, conceptual articulation, from which the analyzes were carried out / As ideias geradas em qualquer localidade logo acedem ao espaço virtual. Disseminam-se e se concretizam em diferentes lugares, seja uma sala de empresa, um chão de fábrica, um pátio de escola, um cômodo da casa ou, ainda, as ruas e espaços públicos das cidades. Na virada do século, diversas manifestações reivindicatórias de grandes proporções tomaram as ruas de centros urbanos em todo o mundo e um elemento inédito pode ser percebido entre seus agentes: a associação intensiva das redes de comunicação, cuja marca característica versa sobre a abundância e aceleração da circulação de informações. Em meio a tantas transformações e novidades, entretanto, as tecnologias de informação e comunicação digitais permanecem, em certa medida, cercadas por incógnitas a respeito de suas potencialidades, propriedades e funções no contexto da democracia contemporânea; além das consequências culturais de sua aplicação, motivo pelo qual se expressa a urgência da necessidade de refletir sobre sua natureza e forma de participação nas dinâmicas coletivas, mobilizações políticas e movimentos sociais. Esta pesquisa analisa o papel desempenhado pelas redes de comunicação digitais nas manifestações ocorridas na cidade de São Paulo, em junho de 2013, a fim de delinear, analisar e compreender algumas das características desse modelo exitoso na difusão de informações, convencimento e engajamento de manifestantes não vinculados diretamente a coletivos político-culturais ou membros dos movimentos sociais. Em suma, propõe-se investigar como e porque as TICs utilizadas em redes digitais de comunicação assumiram papel preponderante nas disputas de junho e levantar interpretações acerca de sua natureza e de questões comunicacionais da sociedade contemporânea. A metodologia do trabalho assume formulação híbrida entre pesquisa bibliográfica, análise documental e, consequentemente, articulação conceitual, a partir das quais foram realizadas as análises

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T16:57:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Mauricio de Souza Machado.pdf: 3959956 bytes, checksum: 820cad58290947bf960784bd8e8e5f75 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-09-30 / Secretaria da Educação do Estado de São Paulo / This piece of work had as aim to verify in which measure a pedagogical strategy with use of several technologies, traditional ones as well as those ones called ICTs, could promote the learning of concepts involved in rule of signs when used with arithmetic operations. The people whom participated of this research were students of a fundamental cycle s recover class with huge cognitive problems, including difficulties with use of basic operations with integers. The methodological approach, in an ample sense, used the principles of Didactic Engineering and qualitative research techniques, as contents analysis, in order to analyze, by Didactic Situations Theory perspective, the protocols produced by students from three research instruments. The interfaces of these instruments were planned to use pencil and paper, calculators and the Geogebra software. The pedagogical strategy adopted allowed to the students understand the rule of signs and the concept of the symmetric of an integer number, using it to improve their own performance related to operations on integer numbers. Moreover, during the investigation, the students could develop the autonomy and the capacity to reflect about the errors made by them, which allowed rebuilding the strategies planned earlier. More than simply provide answers to arithmetic operations, the students could to understand its real meaning / Este trabalho de pesquisa teve como objetivo verificar em que medida uma estratégia pedagógica com o uso de tecnologias diversas, tanto as tradicionais como aquelas conhecidas como TICs, poderia fomentar a aprendizagem dos conceitos envolvidos nas chamadas regras de sinais quando utilizadas em conjunto com as operações aritméticas. Os sujeitos desta pesquisa foram os alunos de uma turma de recuperação de ciclo II do Ensino Fundamental II os quais apresentavam enormes defasagens cognitivas, inclusive no que se refere às operações básicas com números inteiros. A abordagem metodológica, de caráter amplo, valeu-se de pressupostos da Engenharia Didática e de técnicas de pesquisa qualitativa, como a análise de conteúdo, para analisar, à luz da Teoria das Situações Didáticas, os protocolos produzidos pelos sujeitos a partir de três instrumentos de pesquisa, cujas interfaces previam, respectivamente, o uso de lápis e papel, o uso de calculadoras e o uso do software GeoGebra. A estratégia pedagógica adotada permitiu que os estudantes compreendessem, para além das chamadas regras de sinais , o conceito de simétrico de um número inteiro, empregando-o para melhorar o próprio rendimento em relação às operações no âmbito deste conjunto. Além disso, no decorrer da investigação, os estudantes puderam desenvolver a autonomia e a capacidade de refletir sobre os erros cometidos, refazendo as estratégias que permitiam, mais do que simplesmente fornecer uma resposta a uma operação aritmética e entender o seu significado intrínseco

<p>We are currently in an ongoing internationalisation period, demanding organizations to coordinate activities spanning geographically through time and traditional boundaries. Co-workers begin to work more frequently geographically dispersed from each other creating new challenges for leaders and organisations all over the world. The distance requires groups to use technology to cooperate, bringing both advantages and disadvantages. These changes demand organizations to go from traditional team formations to virtual. This leads us to our topic of research, investigating Marina Systems' experience with the previously stated work setting.What problems can be found at Marina Systems regarding their dispersed work setting and how can they be solved?The purpose of our research was to find the challenges and possibilities that Marina Systems perceive, as well as contributing with sustainable solutions for managing their distant teams. We conducted a qualitative case study with interviews. Different theories used in this case study regarded geographically dispersed teams, virtual teams, hybrid teams and distant leadership.The results found in the interviews showed that Marina Systems had some ofthe challenges and problems found in the theory chapter. They can become more successful in their planned expansion if they start considering their employees as members of a hybrid team and start adapting their leadership behavior to what such groups need. Areas of communication and a lacking reward system were some of the opportunities for improvement.</p>

We are currently in an ongoing internationalisation period, demanding organizations to coordinate activities spanning geographically through time and traditional boundaries. Co-workers begin to work more frequently geographically dispersed from each other creating new challenges for leaders and organisations all over the world. The distance requires groups to use technology to cooperate, bringing both advantages and disadvantages. These changes demand organizations to go from traditional team formations to virtual. This leads us to our topic of research, investigating Marina Systems' experience with the previously stated work setting.What problems can be found at Marina Systems regarding their dispersed work setting and how can they be solved?The purpose of our research was to find the challenges and possibilities that Marina Systems perceive, as well as contributing with sustainable solutions for managing their distant teams. We conducted a qualitative case study with interviews. Different theories used in this case study regarded geographically dispersed teams, virtual teams, hybrid teams and distant leadership.The results found in the interviews showed that Marina Systems had some ofthe challenges and problems found in the theory chapter. They can become more successful in their planned expansion if they start considering their employees as members of a hybrid team and start adapting their leadership behavior to what such groups need. Areas of communication and a lacking reward system were some of the opportunities for improvement.

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of Communication

In this thesis computer-mediated human interaction and human computer interaction in responsive spaces are discussed. Can such spaces be de-signed to create an affective response from the players? What are the de-sign heuristics for a space that allows for the establishment of affective dy-namics? I research the user experience of players of existing spaces built by the Topological Media Lab. In addition to that I review other relevant ex-perimental interfaces, e.g. works by Myron Krueger and my own earlier piece Riviera in order to analyze their affective dynamics. Also, I review the different applications and programming paradigms involved in authoring such spaces (e.g. Real-time systems like Max/MSP/Jitter and EyeCon) and how to apply them in compliance with the design heuristics.