Thesis (Ph.D)--Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010. / Committee Chair: Mynatt, Elizabeth D.; Committee Member: Edwards, W. Keith; Committee Member: Grinter, Rebecca E.; Committee Member: McDonald, David W.; Committee Member: Potts, Colin. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Design in the Faculty of Informatics and Design at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2013 / As healthcare is such a widespread issue in South Africa, this research focuses on non-profit organisations in the health sector. Non-profit organisations take on much of the work that the government cannot deliver with respect to the overall wellbeing of patients at hospitals, in specialised care, in basic healthcare, and most significantly, in areas where private healthcare is unaffordable. This study investigates online marketing, fundraising activities and strategies of non-profit organisations in Cape Town’s health sector. It illustrates the growing popularity of these channels, and argues that many non-profit organisations are not using online marketing tools effectively to raise the funds and support they need. Two longstanding non-profit organisations based at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, are the subject of the study, as this hospital is a prime example of how a government-run institution relies on the support of effective non-profit organisations. The conceptual framework required extensive reviews of the existing literature on the South African non-profit sector, the health sector and the role of non-profit organisations in these sectors. Furthermore, it reviewed successful marketing practices for non-profit organisations, including appropriate online marketing and fundraising strategies. A qualitative and quantitative research approach was employed, using semi-structured interviews and an online survey of twenty-seven health sector non-profit organisations. Key people in the non-profit health sector, the non-profit communication design sector and the corporate online marketing sector were interviewed. The online survey was conducted to gain a clear insight into the current online marketing practices and activities of Cape Town based health sector non-profit organisations. Grounded theory was used as an analytical tool in this research where themes emerge and theory is constructed based on insights and knowledge gained during the research. The results reveal that many non-profit organisations in the Cape Town health sector do not seem aware of the benefits of implementing an online marketing and fundraising strategy. This study concludes that online marketing and fundraising is vital for a non-profit organisation’s success. It is recommended that all members of non-profit organisations learn as much as they can about the importance of online marketing, as well as the importance of having a solid strategy. A unique framework for branding, strategy, online marketing and fundraising is proposed as a solution to the research problem, and further recommendations include the design of a textbook or eBook and an online platform connecting non-profit organisations in the health sector in South Africa.

A social navigation system collects data from its users--its community--about what they are doing, their opinions, and their decisions, aggregates this data, and provides the aggregated data--community data--back to individuals so that they can use it to guide behavior and decisions. In this thesis, I document my investigation of the user experience for social navigation systems that employ activity data. I make three contributions in this thesis. First, I synthesize social navigation systems research with research in social influence, advice-taking, and informational cascades to construct hypotheses about the social navigation user experience. These hypotheses posit that community data from a social navigation system exerts informational influence on users, that users egocentrically discount community data, that herding in social navigation systems can be characterized as informational cascades, and that the size and unanimity of the community data correspond to the strength of the community data's influence. The second contribution of this thesis is an experiment that evaluates the hypotheses about the social navigation user experience; this experiment investigated how a social navigation system can support online charitable giving decisions. The experiment's results support the majority of the hypotheses about the social navigation user experience and provide mixed evidence for the other hypotheses. The implications that arise from the experiment's findings compromise the final contribution of this thesis. These implications concern improving the design of social navigation systems and developing a general framework for evaluating the social influence of social navigation systems.

This study examined the profile of the potential online donor to a small, private, liberal arts institution. Attitudes towards online giving were studied between participants who donated online and those who did not. Additionally respondents of differing class years were compared to determine which age groups were more likely to donate over the Internet. A total of 576 surveys were returned for an effective response rate of 38%. Collected data were entered into an SPSS database. The data revealed most respondents had been using the Internet for over 5 years, and accessed the Internet almost everyday. Data also revealed that most respondents accessed the Internet from their homes or offices and own two e-mail addresses. Through data analysis, it was discovered that a small percentage of respondents currently donated to other nonprofits over the Internet. However, the majority of respondents were unsure about online giving and its role in the philanthropic process. Additionally, respondents' attitudes towards online giving did not differ between class years. Respondents' preferred method of communication was through the mail, however, the majority of respondents reported they would be willing to receive monthly e-mail communications from the institution. Conclusions and recommendations included that credit card security and information privacy were viewed as very important to donors if they were to donate over the Internet. In addition, it was concluded that donors who made financial transactions over the Internet were more likely to make a charitable contribution over the Internet. Recommendations included the institution should begin the process of educating their alumni as to the benefits of online giving, and integrate online giving into their comprehensive fundraising process.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2008. / Title from PDF title page (viewed May 28, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 55-59)