The 21st century can be defined as the fast paced information age wherein people establish another dimension to living; existing and interacting as multiple pseudopersonalities in cyberspace. The main aim of the study is to provide a description of a group of people known as 'Generation Xers', who develop cyberspace culture whilst interacting in chat-rooms. It is a two-fold process; firstly they create on-line 'pseudopersonalities' different from their off-line ‘normal’ personalities, and secondly they share unique values that characterise cyberspace culture globally. The research process starts at the microlevel where individuals interact with each other in chat-rooms. On the mesolevel unique interaction patterns develop in chat-rooms that differ from traditional face-to-face interaction patters. On the macrolevel, cyberspace culture and specific values develop that Generation Xers share on a global basis. During the research process quantitative and qualitative methods were combined in order to compliment the limitations imbedded in each methodology. Summarising relevant theories, on a microlevel the developmental process of pseudopersonalities is described by starting with its manifestation in the off-line world. The Johari-window and Roger's person-centred approach are used to describe the same process in the on-line world. On a mesolevel, differences between computer-mediated communication and face-to-face communication are discussed within the Cyber Psychology paradigm. On the macrolevel, the Internet experience is described by means of the Symbolic Action Theory. The All Media and Product Survey (AMPS) database forms the basis of the longitudinal, statistical profile of the South African Internet-user population. Currently Internet access figures remain low at around 7-8% of the total population. South African Generation Xers, aged 16-49, are the richer and more affluent part of South African society, living in major metropolitan areas, earning R12 000+. A qualitative content analysis of chat room behaviour in 384 chat-rooms sheds light on the dynamics behind their usage patterns. The .co.za-dictionary reflects the creative way in which .co.za-emotion and memory are expressed and negotiated. Pseudopersonalities that are at play in the borderless world of cyberspace continuously reflect issues, problems and struggles of everyday life in South Africa such as racial tension, political struggles and sexual interaction governed by the following cultural values: -- Respect -- An openness to the unknown -- Looking towards to the self (not governing bodies) for direction, resulting in; -- Liberty with responsibility towards the common good, the core of every society across the globe. Finally the applicability of the Internet chat-room as a psychological research tool is explored within the South African context. It seems that although an effective tool for international surveys on sensitive topics, the South African research market is not ready for this tool to be implemented. South African Generation Xers perceive themselves as part of a global cyberspace culture and any distinction between the virtual and the real, does not imply a privilege to either, but rather a connection between the two. In this digital era, cyberspace is an electronic reflection of the way people communicate, interact, share and live life. / Thesis (PhD (Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Psychology / unrestricted

The aim of the thesis is to describe selected consequences of informatization on the basis of three different views' critical synthesis. First view is an historical perspective focused on medialisation of information and its influence on shaping of man's thinking. On the background of technological progress are shown the milestones in changing of social reality. Another view is to describe the infromation society as a present phenomenon with its general characteristics. The last point of view is based on the hypothesis sof Global brain, which describes mankind as a network of nerve cells, connected to global computer network. Thesis is not intended to be a comprehesive overview of the informatization's consequences but it tries to explain basic issues related to information society.

The main theme of the work is global governance of cyberspace. The objective of the thesis is to assess the threat of cybercrime to global governance of cyberspace. The first chapter helps to create a theoretical framework for the thesis through definition of the main concepts. Second chapter analyzes cybercrime. The goal is to better understand cybercrime as a whole, its different types and its process. The content of the third chapter is an analysis of the history of cybercrime as well as the international law of cyberspace (as a key component of global governance). The fourth chapter goes over the current state of the international law governing cyberspace. After that in the fifth chapter the thesis looks into specific problems of global governance in general and also in the cybernetics. Previous findings are then combined in the last chapter. It contains recommendations for the development of cyberspace global governance. These recommendations are then applied into a few models of cyberspace governance.

The aim of this study is to highlight: 1. how the introduction of new technologies in Drama Education at school can renew the context in which performance projects take place and 2. how the constraints imposed by a pandemic, such as those caused by COVID-19, can be overcome through cybertheatre. The phenomenological method is used to analyze a digital and a cyberperformance project, as theatre is an event that takes place between its creators and its spectators. With the use of digital tools in school performances a new experience emerges for students and spectators, as the "living" actor is combined with "non-human" actors. Besides, the cyberperformance provides a solution to a real problem in the midst of a pandemic crisis, as the spectators participate remotely from the comfort of their own home. In terms of interactivity, by giving the spectator the opportunity to use some information or to choose the action of the play, the performances become more interesting, while theatre is being highlighted, as an event that differs from other media such as T.V. or cinema. Finally, the dialogue that can be produced in a chat-forum in cyberperformance works as a reflection to it.

Diploma thesis analyses the potential of Cyber Threats towards critical energy infrastructure in terms of network theories originating in graph theories, complex networks and technological possibilities how to compromise security of networks belonging to critical infrastructure. By the analysis of defined dependent and independent variables the author finds out how networks behave under which circumstances, what means exist in the field of network security and if adopted measures to increase security are in accordance with the effort of creation safe and decentralized system of critical energy infrastructure. Main emphasis is put on the concept of smart grids as possible solution of decentralization. In these terms technical means of security are studied especially with emphasis on SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) systems and the Internet as one of the essential component of communication in modern communication technologies.

Diploma thesis The transformation of communication models within cyberspace deals with the topic of communication on five current social network sites (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram). First part of the thesis focuses on theoretical background of traditional communication models. Selected models include: Shannon and Weaver Communication Model, Cultural and Ritual Model, Jakobson's Model, Publicity Model and communication model created by Vilem Flusser and Palo Alto School. Networked communication has been undergoing fast development which has caused that some communication models became obsolete. Thus it is necessary to define new communication features on social network sites, since these changes in conjunction with technology development and needs of contemporary society. User activity, cycle and egocentric communication processes, up-to-date and spontaneous content are the characteristic features of current communication on social network sites.

No description available.

No / Rapid advances in software systems, wireless networks, and embedded devices have led to the development of a pervasive and mobile cyberspace that provides an infrastructure for anywhere/anytime service provisioning in different domains such as engineering, commerce, education, and entertainment. This style of service provisioning enables users to freely move between geographical areas and to continuously access information and conduct online transactions. However, such a high mobility may cause performance and reliability problems during the execution of transactions. For example, the unavailability of sufficient bandwidth can result in failure of transactions when users move from one area (cell) to another. We present a context-aware transaction model that dynamically adapts to the users' needs and execution environments. Accordingly, we develop a new mobility management scheme that ensures seamless connectivity and reliable execution of context-aware transactions during mobility of users. The proposed scheme is designed and developed using a combination of different queuing models. We conduct various experiments in order to show that the proposed scheme optimizes the mobility management process and increases the throughput of context-aware transactions.

This dissertation examines the politics of representation in biotechnosciences. Through web representations, I examine three emerging endeavors that propose to create large-scale human population genomic databases to study complex, common diseases and conditions. These projects were initiated in different nations (US, UK, and Iceland), created under different institutional configurations, and are at various stages of development. The websites, which are media technologies do not simply reflect and promote these endeavors. Rather, they help shape these database projects in which the science is uncertain and the technologies not yet built. Thus, they are constitutive technologies that affect the construction of these database projects. More needs to be done to explore how to interpret the 'virtual' realm and how it relates to the 'real' world and specific situations. By bringing hypertextuality into the analysis, I explore how knowledges, practices, and subjectivities are created. By adapting the methods of a number of science and technology (STS) authors, I develop a more dynamic lens in which to investigate web representations and 'emerging' biomedical projects. My concern however, is not only in what represents what, but how representations are constructed. The power of the latter derives from its invisibility. In re-conceptualizing representation and new media technologies, I show that these sites are techno-social spaces for creating knowledge, specific ways of seeing, and practicing biomedicine today. The narrowing time/space between generating data, releasing information, and incorporating publics into their endeavors raises crucial issues as to how biomedicine is represented and how broader audiences are engaged. In the dominant discourses, these projects are all situated within biomedical, (post)genomic, and information revolutions. Here, they hang on the technological object, the database, with the ability to contain what we are coming to understand as life/genetic/bio information. Through the moves of both treating these databases as part of a complex system and investigating them through a lens of representation, I begin to include potential participants and broader audiences into the analysis. Informatic bodies, populations, and subjects are co-created at, by, and through these sites as the developing database projects and information are (re)presented. / Ph. D.

This thesis investigates the potentially complex power effects generated in Online Social Networking Sites (‘OSNS’), such as YouTube and Facebook, when legal values, such as copyright and personal data, are protected and/or violated. In order to develop this analysis, in Chapter Two, I critically analyse key academic writings on internet regulation and argue that I need to move away from the dominant ‘regulatory’ lens to my Actor-Network Theory-Foucauldian Power Lens (‘ANT-Foucauldian Power Lens’) in order to be able to capture the potentially complex web of power effects generated in YouTube and Facebook when copyright and personal data are protected and/or violated. In Chapter Three, I develop my ANT-Foucauldian Power Lens and explore how key ANT ideas such as translation can be used in conjunction with Foucauldian ideas such as governmentality. I utilise my ANT-Foucauldian Power Lens in Chapters Four to Seven to analyse how YouTube and Facebook are constructed as heterogeneous, contingent and precarious ‘actor-networks’ and I map in detail the complex power effects generated from specific local connections. I argue five key points. Firstly, I suggest that complex, multiple, and contingent power effects are generated when key social, legal, and technological actants are locally, contingently, and precariously ‘fitted together’ in YouTube and Facebook when copyright and personal data are protected and/or violated. Secondly, I argue that ‘materialities’ play key roles in maintaining the power effects generated by specific local connections. Thirdly, I argue that there are close links between power and ‘spatialities’ through my analysis of the Privacy Settings and Tagging in Facebook. Fourthly, I argue that my relational understandings of YouTube and Facebook generate a more comprehensive view of the power effects of specific legal elements such as how specific territorial laws in YouTube gain their authority by virtue of their durable and heterogeneous connections. Finally, I argue that we can extrapolate from my empirical findings to build a small-scale theory about the power effects generated in OSNS when legal values are protected and/or violated. Here I also consider the contributions made by my research to three distinct fields, namely, internet regulation, socio-legal studies, and actor-network theory.