Orientador(a): Maria Aparecida Chaves Jardim / Banca: Thaís Joi Martins / Banca: Antônia Celene Miguel / Banca: Renata Medeiros / Banca: Martin Mundo Neto / Resumo: O tema da inclusão digital tem crescido em importância para a inclusão social na medida em que a relação entre tecnologia e sociedade torna-se cada dia mais complexa. Durante o Governo Lula diversos esforços foram reunidos na defesa do uso do software livre tanto no setor público como em diversos programas de inclusão social. Em um estudo sociológico, buscamos apresentar que a agenda do software livre é resultado de uma rede de agentes sociais, políticos, técnicos e educadores. Tenta-se traçar a história dessa mobilização e mostrar como esses agentes sociais mobilizados trouxeram as condições para transformações institucionais que contradizem a tese dita neoliberal. O movimento software livre brasileiro se mostrou, comparado com seus equivalentes internacionais, como de grande eficácia: articulou-se com partidos e políticos tanto em nível local como nacional, mostrando-se influente a ponto de ver atendidas certas demandas; alguns de seus membros obtiveram cargos técnicos e administrativos; e foi possivelmente o grupo mais influente na constituição dos grupos que atualmente identificam-se sob o termo guarda-chuva "cultura digital" / Abstract: The theme of digital inclusion has grown in importance for social inclusion insofar as the relationship between technology and society becomes more complex every day. During the Lula government many efforts were gathered in defense of the use of free software in the public sector as in several social inclusion programs. In a sociological study,seeks to show that the free software agenda is a result of a network of social agents politicians, technicians and educators. Attempts to trace the history of this mobilization and show how these social agents mobilized brought the conditions to institutional changes that contradicts the neoliberal thesis. The Brazilian free software movement showed, compared with their international equivalents, as very effective: was articulated with political parties in both local and national level, being influential about to see met certain demands; some of its members have obtained technical and managerial positions; and was possibly the most influential group in the constitution of the groups that currently identify themselves under the term "digital culture" / Doutor

M.Com. (Business Management) / Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is pervasive in tertiary education, commerce and industry, yet many disadvantaged rural areas and townships lag behind in technological development. For example, in rural schools students have weak ICT background and consequently their progress at tertiary education level and career choices suffer, easpecially in the urban career context. This study sought to identify the urban-rural divide in ICT and determine the causes. Questionnaires were distributed to a purposive sample of 196 students at the University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein Campus. The results show that practical use of computers starts at high school ages between 11 and 15 years. The computer instructions are less pronounced. There have been some ICT development initiatives by government and some other organisations although not well coordinated. The resource needs for uninhibited expansion of ICT include computers, connectivity and skilled educators. Despite the current efforts, rural areas and townships lag behind for various reasons such as; technological under-development, low literacy levels and poverty. Thus students from these disadvantaged communities are constrained in career choices and also struggle to cope at university because of the demand for ICT ability. The pervasiveness of ICT in all walks of life has created a digital divide to the extent that township and rural folk remain marginalised although Internet cafes have played a part in making ICT somewhat accessible. The explosion in mobile telephony and its widespread use even in rural areas have immense potential for ICT growth. However, education and awareness campaigns on the utility of cell phones as a medium for ICT will be essential. A renewed focus on computer education in primary school learners will “catch them young” and revolutionalise the ICT in South Africa. The development in ICT will require further substantial investment in ICT infrastructure and hardware as well as improving the skills of educators. The digital divide need be closed so that marginalised rural areas and townships can also derive the socio-economic benefits that ICT bring. Education will raise the literacy thresholds, which will increase awareness of the potency of ICT. Use of local language and content on the Internet will enhance its cultural relevance and acceptability. ICT is a global phenomenon and South Africa cannot afford to take a back seat.

Magister Artium - MA / Telecentres in Malawi are being established to bridge the digital divide. Though the basic assumption is that once telecentres have been established many will adopt them, they are being used by a relatively small percentage of the population. However, limited systematic research has been done to understand why. The purpose of this study was to examine factors influencing the acceptance and use of telecentres and their services in Malawi. Specifically, the study aimed at establishing: the access and usage patterns of telecentres and their services; relevance of telecentre service to the community members; factors affecting the usage of telecentres; and challenges facing telecentres and their users. The study employed Rogers’s Diffusion of Innovation Theory which explains how innovations are taken up. This was a quantitative and qualitative case study of one Multipurpose Community Telecentre: Lupaso Telecentre. Questionnaires were given to 130 users who visited the Telecentre during a two-week data collection period in May 2014. Face to face interviews were conducted with three telecentre staff and management committee; and one Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority staff, the implementers of the project. Document and records analysis and observation were used to verify data from the Telecentre users, staff and the management committee; and to formulate some questions for interviews with some key informants. The study reveals that a majority (94.6%) view the Telecentre as an important project; it is improving human skills, increasing the finances and strengthening social capital of the community members and many (85%) users are satisfied with Telecentre service. The negative finding is that only a few people use and benefit from the Telecentre; there is uneven access: users are generally male, young, with low educational and income levels, farmers and Nkhondes; and the ICTs are not the chief attraction. The study finds that convenience and cheaper services; compatibility of services with community’s needs; communication channels, social system, visibility of the benefits of using the Telecentre; and complexity of ICTs influence the use and non-use of the Telecentre. Furthermore, the Telecentre and users are facing several challenges that have a negative impact on telecentre usage. Some of the challenges are: lack of Internet searching skills, frequent blackouts, lack of local content and high costs of services. The study concludes that working on these factors and challenges may help in increasing user base. Hopefully, the results will help those implementing and operating the telecentres on how best to attract more users to the telecentres. The results also add to the body of literature in general

The research focused on evaluating the feasibility into Microwave Monolithic Integrated Circuits (MMIC) fabrication capability, in the UK, using novel material type: all ternary In0.52Al0.48As/In0.53Ga0.47As lattice matched to InP substrate double heterojunction bipolar transistor (DHBT) technology; with the potential for providing high speed HBTs. The demonstration of a MMIC capability would follow with the development of a BiFET process that would satisfy SELEX Galileo circuit business needs. The research project complexity is divide into 5 phases: phase 1, the development of a high frequency In0.52Al0.48As / In0.53Ga0.47As lattice matched to InP substrate DHBT technology; phase 2, development of passive components; phase 3, the creation of two VBIC physical models; phase 4, the creation of a Process Development Kit (PDK) and phase 5, the design, simulation and fabrication of a divide-by-2 frequency divider using the technology developed in phase 1. Phase 1, concluded with a DHBT epitaxial design and fabrication that produced devices with a peak high frequency performance f_t = 140GHz and f_max = 95GHz at a current density Jc ≈ 1mA/µm2. This was achieved through the optimisation of the epitaxial design to reduce the base transit time τb through the introduction of a quasi electric field and thinning of base layer. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the highest f_t performance for a 1µm emitter width all ternary In0.52Al0.48As / In0.53Ga0.47As DHBT. The design, simulation and fabrication of a divide-by-2 frequency divider were only made possible by the successfully development of passive components (phase 2) and the VBIC model and PDK creation (phase 3 and 4). The divide-by-2 frequency divider design and simulation was done via the use of the PDK. The simulations resulted in a divide-by-2 frequency divider with a maximum operating frequency of 27GHz at a minimum input power of 2dBm. The fabrication of the MMIC resulted in a transistor component yield of 69%, which unfortunately resulted in a divide-by-2 frequency divider circuit yield of 0%. The fabrication of MMIC circuits is not possible with current state of the fabrication environment; however the only obstacle the University of Manchester (UoM) faces is low active component yield. To increase the active component yield to the 95% level required for high circuit yields, large capital investment into the fabrication equipment and human time into setting up the fabrication process to a repeatable and reliable standard is required.

Magister Legum - LLM / Global climate change is a serious, severe, and potentially irreversible problem. If no actions are taken to curb greenhouse gas emissions, global temperatures and sea levels will rise, wreaking havoc on earth, particularly in developing countries. The Stockholm Declaration of 1972 facilitated the first international consensus concerning the application of CBDR to international environmental problems. This was in reaction to the developing countries refusal to adhere to the same standards as the developed countries as they perceived this as a burden to their economic growth, which is unjust due to the developed countries historical culpability.

The purpose of this research is to identify how bridging the online gender divide can accelerate the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. At present 200 million fewer women are online than their male counterparts, highlighting the gender inequality that exists online. The disparity in the number of women online is having a detrimental effect on the ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by the United Nations target date of 2030. The research first endeavours to understand the current discourse of what is understood by the term "digital gender divide" within contemporary literature. Drawing knowledge from existing literature, the reasons for the digital gender divide are critically assessed and conceptualised within an empirical framework before offering an insight into how such barriers can be addressed and overcome. The removal of such obstacles therefore paves the way for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to flourish. The evidence collated throughout the study details the intricate connection between sustainable development and gender equality, concluding that considerable advancements towards sustainable development can be made if more women are online.

This dissertation focuses on architecture in the information age.Information technology is evolving at an alarming rate, which opens up a vast landscape of possibilities within the architectural realm. These possibilities are discussed and implemented into anarchitectural intervention, with a specific focus on the relationship between the real and the virtual. A digital art pavilion is proposed on the corner of Proes and van der Walt streets in Pretoria CBD, where the Munitoria Complex (Tshwane Municipal Offices) is currently situated. This intervention should act as a catalyst for positive change by narrowing the digital divide that is currently causing social and cultural segregation; providing a tool for upliftment by informing city dwellers. This negates the current "culture of ignorance" by stimulating a culture of knowledge. / Dissertation (MArch(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Architecture / unrestricted

abstract: In 2016, the United Nations reported a historical high of 65.6 million globally displaced people. Within the current protectionist and isolationist climate, the U.S is accepting a fewer number of refugees for resettlement than ever before and less governmental funding is being allocated to resettlement organizations, which provide support services for refugee resettlement and integration. Increased migration and the advancement of communication technologies with affordable access to these technologies have produced extensive communication networks and complex relational ties across the globe. While this is certainly true of all migrants, building and maintaining relational ties has added complexity for refugees whose journey to resettlement, economic insecurity, political disenfranchisement, and vulnerability impact the motivating factors for digital engagement. This dissertation seeks to understand to what extent Diminescu’s (2008) concept of the connected migrant addresses the lived experience of resettled refugees in Phoenix, Arizona. The connected migrant through Information Communication Technology (ICT) use maintains transnational and local networks that produce mobility and belonging. Connected migrants are able to produce and maintain socio-technical sociality abroad and in the country of settlement to create and access social capital and resources. Using a grounded theory approach and qualitative methods, this research project explores concepts of mobility, connectivity, and belonging in relation to resettled refugees. The research indicates that age, imagined affordances, digital literacy, language, and time moderate connectivity, belonging, and mobility for resettled refugees. Finally, I offer the concept of transnational contextual relationality to understand refugee communication strategies with the transnational and local network. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Communication Studies 2019

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China is moving into an aging society, and the quality of life of the elderly has become a topic of public concern. With the development of ICT technology, China’s digital level is increasing, and there is a digital literacy gap between the young and the elderly, and the intergenerational digital divide is widening. This paper combines the unique Chinese social context with smartphones as a representative digital tool aiming to analyze the dig- ital dilemmas experienced by the elderly living in Dongying, a fourth-tier city in China. Two research questions guide this study in the digital dilemmas of the elderly: 1)the role of smartphones in the lives of older people, and 2)the specific manifestations of digital dilemmas of older people and the influencing factors. The two theories UTAUT model and Cultural reverse form a theoretical framework to enhance our understanding of the digital dilemma.This study employed qualitative methods to collect (semi-structured interviews) and ana- lyze (substantive coding) data. Six elderly people over 65 years old living in Dongying participated in the study as interviewees. The results show that using smartphones is a re- quirement for the elderly from society and their children, therefore most of them no longer have difficulties in acquiring smartphones. However, smartphones still play an entertain- ment role in seniors’ lives, and most seniors only use their smartphones to make video calls with their children and watch short videos. They still lack an understanding of digital technology and are unable to apply it in a meaningful way. Such a dilemma is caused by a combination of technological limitations and psychological factors. They were born in an era when the country was still poor, their families were unable to support them in school, most of them did not graduate from elementary school, and their poor literacy skills would create obstacles for them to use smartphones. In addition, they did not have adequate learning access and had to rely on their children to help them learn smartphones, and their learning was entirely dependent on the cultural reverse ability of their children. In addition, they have resistance to learning smartphones, repeated learning due to memory loss, and a lack of confidence in themselves prevent them from further learning of digital skills.