This study took a novel experimental approach from the field of cognitive linguistics to quantitatively describe the impact of culture on the use of mobile information and communication technology (ICT) in the context of peace and conflict. Beginning with the hypothesis that ICT reflects a mono-cultural perspective for collecting and organizing information, this study tested how a failure to adapt at a cognitive level resulted in distorted narratives. This distortion has problematic implications for democratic participation in postconflict contexts and in data aggregation initiatives that inform policy decisions related to governance, election monitoring, human rights abuse reporting, and conflict management more broadly. Fieldwork from the Acholi region of Uganda supported the conclusion that current ICT tools used in conflict management contexts fundamentally distort the narratives they were designed to collect at a cognitive level. Findings from this research also presented avenues for software development around a new variable for cultural communication preference.

Dissertation Mgr. Ilona Trtíková Research Group Collaboration Using Information and Communication Technology: Situation in Selected Groups in the Czech Republic Abstract The dissertation deals with collaboration within research groups and with their environment using information and communication technology. A qualitative probe research was conducted to see how the collaboration works, at what levels, what kind of information and data is shared with the use of what software tools and services. An overview of available types of collaboration software was made. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in selected research groups on the basis of which the patterns and tools for collaboration were established. The grounded theory method was chosen to process the data collected from interviews and analyses. The result of the thesis is the research cycle with marked activities in which cooperation is taking place in the studied groups. This documents the state of usage of information and communication technology in research collaboration. It was found that information and communication technology does have an impact on research work in the whole scientific cycle in the studied research groups. Keywords: research groups, e-science, e-research, ICT technology, collaboration

The demographic time bomb means that older people will become a major part of tomorrow's society. This has become an increasingly pressing issue for older people and government policy alike. ONS (2009) statistics suggest that past retirement age, the sense of quality of life (QoL) experienced by older people begins to decrease, with the fastest decline occurring after the age of 70. This research therefore began by investigating how ICT could be implicated in the social life of the older person and thus improve their QoL. Literature reviews of the field of older people's involvement with ICT indicated that there was very little research between the more general studies of ICT involvement (which include far more than the purely social aspects) and the very specific (which involve examining the social impact of just one piece of technology). This study therefore aimed to fill the gap between the two extremes. It also aimed to generate theory in an under-theorised area. The study began with a focus group and interviews asking questions around how people thought social life had changed with the advent of new technologies, how they experienced the technology, and how things could be improved in the future. The study was qualitative in nature and adopted a grounded theory approach in order to inductively generate theory. The study of the lived experience of ICT also contributed to a phenomenological approach. Comparative analysis of transcripts obtained in Phase One (Year One) enabled a set of Grounded Theory Categories to be created which accounted for what was happening in the data. A core category of identity was identified which influenced subsequent data collection in Phase Two (Year Two). Phase Two participants were then involved in more focused interviews around identity concepts. Further analysis in Year Two enabled a Schema of Subject Positions to be created concerning (digital) identities which accounted for all of the participants in the study and the ways in which they viewed and interacted with technology. The Categories were also subsumed within a Grounded Theory Model involving a tripartite identity schema aligned with Giddens theory of the reflexive project of the self. Findings suggest that participants are implicated in methods of identity involvement which can be playful or pragmatic; can be viewed in moral, immoral and amoral ways (leading to ideas of the authentic and the inauthentic); and can represent the individual or explore new identities. Identity construction can ultimately be implicated positively with the use of ICT, and may lead to a virtuous cycle of ICT usage which can improve quality of life by affirming better self-views or enabling the testing of new views of selfhood. Positive technology identities can be offered as identity role models for other older people to follow.

In Sweden the need to recruit care assistants is increasing because of a growing older population together with their demands to stay in their own homes as long as possible. Swedish municipalities are responsible for organizing the social care and services for elderly with a coordination of some private provider companies. Moreover, to improve the care work a range of information and communication technologies (ICTs) e.g. safety alarm and electronic health record system are used to support care assistants’ daily activities and communication with elderly. Thus qualitative research aims to explore the care assistants’ use and experiences of existing ICTs. Furthermore, it examines the impact of the ICTs on their daily activities. The thesis pay attention also to care assistants demands, ideas and visions about future ICTs. The research found that care assistants were satisfied with the ICTs, they use today. However, the research also identified some problems related to ICT, which the care assistants are confronted with during their everyday work e.g. alarm buttons loosen and falsely triggered sensors. Care assistants expressed their ideas and visions about the ICT’s degree of involvement in their care activities and elderly’s lives. They had contradictions in their point of views related to the use of monitoring technologies for elder’s care. They also had negative feelings about these technologies. In short, the thesis explored two things; firstly, it reflected ICTs and care assistants’ demands and ideas related to the ICTs. Secondly, the daily activities of care assistants were examined. Therefore this research brings forward care assistants’ activities and makes their work more noticeable in order to be used in the development of new IT systems in the social care work.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze internal communication in a specific company and propose possible improvements. Such proposal is based on surveys and interviews with company owner. Theoretical part includes definition of internal communication, its effect on company´s functioning process and factors that influence it. Mentioned are also different communication instruments, mainly ICT instruments that can be effectively used for company´s internal communication. Practical part applies acquired findings on a specific situation in a specific company. Aim of this research is to analyze current situation of internal communication, determine its weaknesses and propose possible solutions of their removal.

The thesis is concerned with the use of computers and ICT technology in nursery schools in the Czech Republic, those in particular where children have the opportunity to work with Kid Smart computers. The assignment should chart and analyze the information and communication literacy of school directors, to document available ICT technologies suitable for nursery schools, and define potential barriers that prevent their wider usage and to propose measures to directors that would lead to a gradual overcoming of these issues. A comparison with the situation abroad includes schools in Iceland and Portugal. A portion of this thesis deals with research regarding this topic and its subsequent evaluation. The assignment should provide directors with a well arranged description of available ICT for nursery schools and should familiarize them with the appropriate software for managing administration.