The use of Zen - advertent or inadvertent - in the practice of artistic creation is not new. From Japanese Haiku poetry, the early poetry of Wordsworth and even aspects of Shakespeare's Hamlet, to the paintings of Cezanne and Dali, to the novels of Ben Okri and the work of Samuel Becket and Peter Brooke, we see differing efforts to transcend the dominant mode of understanding ourselves and the world around us: namely that of the duality of thought, of the kind our conscious, logical intellect can comprehend. One could even point to contemporary physics - and in particular the physics emerging out of quantum mechanics' - to see that efforts to transcend the limitations of our own intellect in the quest to understand the phenomena of life are not confined to artists. One could describe this quest as spiritual, in that it is concerned with understanding life predominantly through feeling. As a relatively young art form, first conceived and developed within a mechanistic paradigm, the film medium does not have a tradition that both filmmakers and audience alike can relate to in terms of transcending modes of dualistic thought and exploring our spiritual nature. With some notable exceptions who remain on the whole on the fringes of popular film culture - Ozu, Bresson, Dreyer and Tarkovsky being the most prominent of these - filmmakers have been confined to working predominantly within the idiom of cause and effect, conflict and resolution, and the logic of psychologically explicable character motivation and consequent plot development. With relatively few reference points, the process of examining and exploring the film form beyond this psychological realism is difficult, not least because of the economic restraints that have traditionally hampered innovation within filmmaking. While our conscious thoughts and emotional lives are amply studied within the bounds of largely Freudian and humanistic psychology, there remain aspects of human experience - feelings connected to our transcendental natures - which film does not adequately explore or express. Here, I shall seek to illustrate and evaluate the efforts I have made as a practicing filmmaker through three films - One Day Tafo, Reunion and Signs of Life - to explore and develop a film form which seeks to reveal a truth about myself and the world in which I live: a truth which goes beyond what may be psychologically and intellectually explicable, a truth which is essentially experiential and devoid of traditional concepts of meaning. I am tempted to refer to this as `Zen and the art of filmmaking'? For me, this work is only the beginning of a life-long process, the outcomes of which I hope others may be able to use for further research and exploration.

The processes of globalisation have led to a world which is more closely connected and interdependent than ever before. The use of information technology has been instrumental in facilitating these interconnections and as the processes of globalisation have unfolded, whole industries have developed which are not dependent upon location to trade with their customers across the globe. There is no industry more seemingly suited to the notion of time and place independence than software development and the relative labour costs have meant that some developing countries have become popular locations for the outsourcing of information systems development. There is no country more involved in the outsourcing of software than India which has rapidly emerged as a world leader in the provision of outsourced software development. There have been few studies which have holistically and longitudinally examined this form of software development as a process. This thesis is the result of such a study. The aim of this research is to investigate the process of information systems development across time and space involving teams located in different countries. The research is undertaken with an interpretivist approach and methodology derived from Context Process analysis. The analysis of data is informed by the sociologist Anthony Giddens's later writings on globalisation as well as theory derived from the study of culture and power in organisations. The data collection was undertaken using a range of qualitative techniques. The outcomes of the research include an improved understanding of the implications for information systems development involving teams located in different countries collaborating with information technology across time and space, with relevance to the context of Indian outsourcing. Theoretical outcomes include an improved understanding of the methodological, social and political dimensions of information systems development using teams separated by time and space. The implications for management include an exposition of the issues involved in undertaking projects where teams are separated by time and space and guidance for moves to global software outsourcing.

During the last two decades the bank marketing literature has been characterised by a concern for service quality and information technology (IT) within the industry. IT and customer service are relatively new `strategic weapons' for banks, both being concerned with the deployment of information. The two concepts relate to the building and maintenance of long-term profitable relationships between the customer and the bank. With increasing competition it has become necessary for banks to keep ahead of rivals by differentiating themselves and IT is seen as an opportunity to achieve a sustainable `competitive advantage', especially in terms of improving service quality. In the light of this, the aim of this study is to investigate the influence of IT on the quality of service in the Jordanian banking sector. To accomplish the study objectives a questionnaire survey was conducted with two independent samples (bank customers and branch managers). The empirical work involved the development of questionnaires which were used for data collection and the study sample consisted of 550 bank customers and 67 branch managers. Initially, the data in the questionnaires were analysed to provide a general description of the respondents' characteristics and their perceptions of individual variables of service quality, IT-based service, customer satisfaction / loyalty and bank selection criteria. The research hypotheses were tested using Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney, Spearman Correlation Coefficient and t-tests. The main results of the study show a significant and positive relationship between IT and customer service. The more IT is used, the better the perception of service quality be. The results also give another strong indication that IT is playing a crucial role, with regard to bank selection criteria. Additionally, the findings revealed that the least important factor in influencing customers' choice of their banks is higher interest on savings and deposits, which is strongly related to religion and cultural background. On the other hand, it has been found that the most important factors in motivating the adoption of electronic channels by customers are time-saving, followed by the convenience of these channels. The study suggests several recommendations in order to increase the effectiveness of IT in Jordanian banks and improve their strategic and `competitive positions'. Finally the thesis ends by setting out an agenda for further work.

During the early stages of a construction project, clients often have difficulties in identifying and communicating their actual requirements to designers or other project participants. This is mainly due to their difficulty in comprehending the vast amount of information involved. In order to effectively address this information during the briefing process, this study has modelled such information into structured data models using EXPRESS-G technique. These data models represent a framework for the presentation of the client's brief, with the aim of establishing a computerised tool to assist both clients and designers to carry out this process effectively. The process of developing the brief is then modelled using IDEFO technique. A two step process modelling has been undertaken. Firstly, in the form of an abstract representation of the briefing operations deduced from literature review, and secondly, within the context of the forthcoming prototype development. The latter considers two viewpoints; system architecture of the prototype and the information to be elicited from the user. The developed models establish the foundation for the development of a prototype which utilises an object oriented environment. The use of structured analysis techniques for the modelling process entails the relevant constructs of the developed models to be transformed into their equivalents in the object oriented environment. The implemented object oriented data models, then form the framework for the textual presentation of the client's brief. The resulting prototype is called AUTOBRIEF (AUTOmated BRIEF development). AUTOBRIEF is a prototype for the generation of the client's brief, which provides access to project information prior to the brief generation. The implementation of the prototype has been tested to reflect how effective it is in support of the briefing process, using IT as a tool. At the end of the study, conclusions are drawn and recommendations are made for future research.

This thesis is concerned with the development of an intelligent inventory management system. The aim of the system is to bridge the substantial gap between the theory and the practice of inventory management and to help industrial inventory managers to achieve an effective and successful inventory management. The proposed system attempts to achieve this by providing automatic pattern identification and model selection facilities. Such a hybrid knowledge-based inventory system consists of a collection of techniques (or pattern identifier) for identifying demand and lead time patterns and a knowledge base (or rule base) for subsequent selection of a suitable inventory model taking into consideration aspects of the practical situation. There are no previous attempts in the inventory literature to develop such a system to guide model selection. In order to integrate the system into the established computer-based intelligent inventory management system and facilitate the function of the pattern identifier, a data manager has been developed to manipulate the history data required for statistical analysis and to load the data into the system from other applications. In order to establish the system's model base, the study of the modelling of inventory and the features and evolution of expert systems are reviewed. The published models which deal with similar inventory problems have been compared based on its applicability, clarity, and being suitable to be computerised. It was necessary to further develop and amend published models to fill gaps in the model base. The overall structure and salient features of the proposed system and the development of the system using Visual Basic have been described. The system has been tested using real life data supplied by the co-operating companies. Finally, achievements and shortcomings of the system are discussed and some suggestions for further research are outlined.

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.