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In my study, I present the mining, collection and analysis of GitHub projects data in an endeavor to understand how the activity and engagement on the different projects has been before and during the Covid-19 pandemic.  Data was collected from 20 repositories via Github API.  I eventually applied some statistical analysis of the data, applied the ANOVA tests measuring the p-values to understand the level of variance pre and during the Covid-19 pandemic.  Open-Source software have been used since long before and my study seeks to explore the magnitude to which Open-Source software participation on different projects has been affected by the different work environments that the users have become accustomed to lately.  Open-Source software has been under study previously by different authors ie on the participation of users etc.  No study has yet been done on the impact a global pandemic has on the engagement on Open-Source platform on different projects, analysing the trends of participation along the project’s life cycle pre and during the covid-19 pandemic.  In these unpredictable, interesting times the study is aimed at highlighting how Open-Source engagement has been behaving by looking at the trends, patterns of engagement, the decrease or increase of activity in certain projects.  From the results I realise trends and patterns in some projects and also interesting insights in the Github OS project lifecycles.  The findings of my study pointed to how participation and engagement on GitHub Open-Source increased During the Pandemic more than During the Pandemic and this is evidenced by 70% of all the 20 repositories I took under investigation. / <p>The presentation was held via Zoom </p>

De två viktigaste händelserna i varje man jordliv är födelse och död. Varje av dessa händelser händer en gång i en livtid. Varje individ kommer in i världen på en bestämd tid på en särskild dag. På samma sätt lämnar varje person denna värld på en särskild dag på en bestämd tid. Växelverkan av dessa två viktiga händelser definierar, till en stor grad, totalityen av den globala befolkningen på någon given tidsperiod. Huruvida det finns befolkningboom/explosionen, eller kollapsen i världen beror i sin helhet på dessa två naturliga källor. Några demographers, klassificerar emellertid flyttning (dvs. emigration och invandring eller inflyttning och ut-flyttning) som delen av källorna av befolkningtillväxt.Antecknar dessa händelser, som och, när de uppstår, inte för gyckel eller en avsluta till honom, men ganska som hjälpmedel till en avsluta. Befolkningen påverkar varje aspekt av människoliv, namely: ekonomiskt, politiskt, lagligt, socialt, kulturellt, miljö-, vård-, Etc. Det är för dessa, och annat lika viktigt resonerar att folk av vision liksom John Graunt (1620-1674); Thomas Malthus (1766-1834); Herrn James Steuart (1713-1780); William Godwin (1756-1836); och något liknande sökte, i de tidig sortdagar, att ge erkännande till befolkningen utfärdar. Detta upprättar faktumet att, även om de formella sätter in av demography, är en förhållandevis ny innovation, folk long har angå om storleksanpassa och kännetecknen av deras territoriella befolkningar för mycket en lång tid. Trots dess jättelika betydelse, verkar som om det lite tid och resurser kanaliseras in i befolkningledning i samtidaa tider.I Ghana som i många ett u-land mycket lite uppmärksamhet har givits sätta in av på varandra följande regeringar. Denna low-profile inställning in mot befolkning utfärdar, över åren, har motsatt påverkats landets samhällsekonomiska och politiska framsteg. Jag kan inte vara för fel att förutsätta att riktig utveckling har undsluppit mest afrikanska länder och framkallningsvärlden på stort främst, därför att sammanlagt av dessa länder riktig uppmärksamhet inte har varit fallen föra befolkningmaterier. Är det inte riktigt att brist av den riktiga metoden och resurser är det huvudsakligt orsakar av ledare seemingly care-free inställning in mot befolkning utfärdar i dessa ett u-land i förflutnan? Även om det kan verka, att många bevattnar, har passerat under överbrygga, och, att, saker verkar för att ha stupat apart (Chinua Achibe) där är alltid ett fönster av flykten, när alla dörrar är stängda.Informations- och kommunikationsteknologier (ICTs) är den nya utvecklingen av fönster och flyktruttar ut ur många hitherto oöverstigliga problem. Därför i detta te, skulle jag något liknande för att undersöka och undersöka hur ICTs och det berömda nya/sociala massmedia kan hjälpa att lätta problemet av non-registreringen eller den otillräckliga registreringen av livsviktiga händelser i Ghana. / THE two most important events in every man’s Earth life are birth and death. Each of these events happens once in a life time. Every individual comes into the world at a certain time on one particular day. In the same way, every person leaves this world on one particular day at a certain time. The interaction of these two important events define, to a large extent, the totality of global population at any given time period. Whether there is population boom/ explosion or collapse in the world as a whole depends on these two natural sources. Some demographers, however, classify migration (i.e. emigration and immigration or in-migration and out-migration) as part of the sources of population growth.Recording these events as and when they occur is not for fun or an end to itself, but rather as a means to an end. Population affects every aspect of human life, namely: economic, political, legal, social, cultural, environmental, health, etc. It is for these and other equally important reasons that people of vision such as John Graunt (1620-1674); Thomas Malthus (1766-1834); Sir James Steuart (1713-1780); William Godwin (1756-1836); and the like sought, in those early days, to give recognition to population issues. This establishes the fact that although the formal field of demography is a relatively recent innovation, people have long been concerned about the size and characteristics of their territorial populations for a very long time. In spite of its enormous importance, it appears that little time and resources are channeled into population management in contemporary times.In Ghana, as in many developing countries, very little attention has been given the field by successive governments. This low-profile attitude towards population issues has, over the years, adversely affected the country’s socio-economic and political progress. I may not be too wrong to postulate that true development has eluded most African countries and the developing world at large mainly because in all of these countries proper attention has not been given to population matters. Is it not true that lack of proper method and resources are the main causes of leaders’ seemingly care-free attitude towards population issues in these developing countries in the past? Even though it may seem that many waters have passed under the bridge and that, things seem to have fallen apart (Chinua Achibe) there is always a window of escape when all doors are closed.Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are the new generation of windows and escape routes out of many hitherto insurmountable problems. Therefore, in this thesis, I would like to explore and examine how ICTs and the famous new/social media may help alleviate the problem of non-registration or inadequate registration of vital events in Ghana.

A pesquisa traça o contexto mundializado dos dias atuais, onde as Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação (TICs) podem ser entendidas como oportunidades de cidadania a grupos excluídos que se encontram à margem do desenvolvimento humano local e global em plena era da informação, como as comunidades dos distritos de São Gonçalo do Rio das Pedras e Milho Verde no Vale do Jequitinhonha, Minas Gerais — uma das regiões mais pobres do país. Como principal objetivo, este estudo pretende identificar de que maneira a informação originada nos telecentros da Rede Rural de Telecentros Comunitários da ONG Gemas da Terra têm contribuído para o processo de inclusão social dessas comunidades, analisando o projeto de instalação do telecentro em relação a propostas de inclusão social e cidadania; avaliando o uso dos telecentros pelas comunidades analisadas; verificando a existência de ações que pretendam a integração dos freqüentadores dos telecentros às demais pessoas da comunidade, prevenindo uma possível concentração de opiniões e isolamento entre ambos; e apontando os resultados decorrentes das ações empreendidas pelas comunidades e sua conseqüente influência prática no cotidiano social local. A proposta metodológica inclui a análise documental do Guia Gemas da Terra de Telecentros Rurais, observação não-participante nos telecentros e entrevistas semi-estruturadas junto aos usuários, voluntários e representantes de entidades comunitárias das regiões pesquisadas, onde a disseminação e o uso das TICs são tidos pelas comunidades como apoiadores importantes para o estabelecimento de melhores condições de vida à população, ampliando as oportunidades de informação, trabalho, renda, educação e lazer. Entre as conclusões alcançadas por esta pesquisa, destaca-se que a maior contribuição social do projeto piloto da ONG Gemas da Terra é apresentar às comunidades envolvidas na proposta o potencial possível que a Internet pode proporcionar a esses distritos e, muito particularmente, às pessoas. Entretanto, a partir dos resultados obtidos neste trabalho, tornou-se evidente o longo trajeto a ser percorrido pela inclusão digital para a contribuição efetiva das questões sociais em grupos marginalizados e integrados à era digital, não sendo tal vislumbrado em totalidade no âmbito pesquisado.This study delineates the globalized context of the present time, where Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) can be understood as opportunities of citizenship for excluded groups who find themselves at the margins of local and global human development in the era of information, such as the communities in the districts of São Gonçalo do Rio das Pedras and Milho Verde in the Vale do Jequitinhonha, Minas Gerais — one of the poorest regions in the country. As a major goal, this study intended to identify how information originating from the telecenters of the Rede Rural de Telecentros Comunitários, of the NGO Gemas da Terra, has contributed to the social inclusion of these communities; to analyze the project for installing a telecenter for the communities studied; to verify any actions aimed at the integration of those who attend the telecenters with the other people of the community, to prevent a possible concentration of opinions and alienation between the two groups; and to point out results of the actions undertaken by the communities and their consequent practical influence on the daily life of local society. The methodology includes a document analysis of the Guia Gemas da Terra de Telecentros Rurais, non-participant observation at the telecenters, and semi-structured interviews with he users, volunteers, and representatives of the community organizations of the regions studied, where the dissemination and the use of the ICTs have been regarded by the communities as important supporters for improving conditions of life of the population by increasing opportunities for information, work, income, education, and leisure. Among the conclusions reached by this study, it was noted that the greatest social contribution of the pilot project of the NGO Gemas da Terra was to show the communities involved in the project the potential that the Internet offers to these districts, especially to the common people. Nevertheless, from the results obtained by this study, it became evident that the long way to be covered by informational inclusion toward the effective contribution of social questions in marginalized and integrated groups in the information era, was not totally explicit in the area studied. / on the social changes resulting from digital inclusion of poor communities in Brazil

This thesis describes how and what Wattana-dharm Thai [Thai culture] has influenced Thai PR practice through the eyes of Thai PR managers and practitioners. It also provides some background information about the evolution of Thai PR practice to link to the current Thai PR practice. The study employs a qualitative paradigm with in-depth interviews as the main method. Documentary sources are mostly used as a supplement. This thesis provides detailed qualitative data describing how Thai public relations (PR) practitioners operate in Thailand both offline and online. The findings highlighted that Wattana-dharm Thai has a strong influence on Thai PR practice. There are eight main Wattana-dharm Thai aspects that influence Thai PR practice: 1) Relationship orientation (relationships in a Thai style including Bunkhun, Pen-Mitr, and Alum aluay relationships); 2) Community-based orientation; 3) Sanook orientation; 4) Hierarchical structure; 5) Buddhist orientation, 6) Monarchy institution respect; 7) Face and eyes in society; and 8) Form over the content. Thai PR practice has an emphasis on Saang Kwaampratabjai [impression building] through Wattana-dharm Thai. For example, historically, Thais accepted westerners because they did Saang Kwaampratabjai by bringing technology and development to the country. Thais have a positive attitude toward westerners because of this history of impression. Thai PR practitioners also try to use Saang Kwaampratabjai influence the public, such as journalists and opinion leaders by offering incentives altruistically (e.g. Namjai, Bunkhun, etc). Thai PR practice Saang Kwaampratabjai based on Buddhism and their respect of the monarchy. Thai PR place an importance on details of public’s personal information to instigate Saang Kwaampratabjai. For online PR, Thai PR use Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to support Saang Kwaampratabjai. It would appear that ICTs, in part, are used to promote company’s image rather than having any practical use. Hence, the core of Thai PR is how to practice Saang Kwaampratabjai based solely on personal and social relationship. This thesis aims to fill in the gaps in knowledge relating to PR and culture. It will make a contribution to the academic literature on culture and public relations, not only in the West but globally. This will also provide a framework for Thai PR practitioners to improve and develop their work. This thesis examines culture and PR through the lens of Thai terminology and discourse facilitated by a native inside-out view moderated by the distance obtained by leaving my country for a substantial proportion of the period of the study. This distance allowed me to re-consider many taken-for-granted aspects of my own culture, as well as allowing me to take on board other cultural perspectives available in a Western but international university. Thus this thesis is in part autobiographical, product of my research journey that allowed me to engage with a range of fundamental issues central to cross-cultural living such as hierarchy, religion, political and regal institutional frameworks, and gender.

Climate change involves long-term change in the state of the climate. It is expected to have negative effects which include the increased frequency and intensity of climate extremes such as droughts, floods and storms. In addition, agricultural seasons and productivity are generally expected to be affected. This is likely to compound the problems that rural people in Africa face, especially the smallholder farmers. Thus, adaptation is of paramount importance. However, many factors limit the ability of farmers to adapt to climate change. This includes lack of information and knowledge about climate change. In rural areas an important source of information is agricultural extension; however, in some cases it is not effective and efficient. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have been noted to play an important role in the dissemination of agricultural information, and recently, their potential in contributing to climate change awareness and adaptation has received increased attention. Therefore, the study aims to explore how ICTs contribute to climate change awareness and adaptation amongst communal farmers. The study was conducted in Seke and Murewa Rural Districts (herein Seke and Murewa) situated in Mashonaland East Province of Zimbabwe. The target population were communal farmers who are mainly dependent on agriculture (field crops, horticulture, fruit production, and livestock rearing). The two districts have climate associated with natural agro-ecological region II, with an average rainfall of 500-700 mm. The study used the mixed methods approach, which combined the quantitative method based on a survey of 300 farming households and the qualitative method based on key informant interviews. A multi-stage sampling approach was used for the survey. The data was collected in 2011. The Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) package was used for data entry and descriptive statistics, while Stata data analytical package was used for regression analysis. The first objective was to determine the level of access to ICTs by communal farmers in the two districts. Most of the respondents in both districts knew and owned the following ICTs namely, the radio, the mobile phone, and the television (TV). The main power sources for the ICTs were solar power, national grid electricity, and rechargeable batteries. Most of the respondents in both districts read newspapers, and church magazines. For almost all the print media in both districts, the main source of the media was through friends and relatives, buying and to some extent libraries and public places. The majority of respondents understood the language used in various ICTs, though some had difficulties in understanding the English language. The second objective was to assess how access to ICTs influenced climate change awareness amongst communal farmers in the two districts. The majority of respondents in both districts were generally found to be aware of climate change. Nevertheless, some of those who perceived themselves as being aware were actually not aware or had low awareness as revealed by the climate change awareness index. The respondents had limited understanding of the issues relating to causes and intervention measures to address climate change. From the regression analysis, the following factors were found to have a significant positive influence on climate change awareness: access to mobile phone, access to radio, access to newspapers, access to agricultural extension, participation in developmental and farmer organisations, having talked about climate change, education level, and age of the respondent. One variable namely position of authority had a significant negative relationship. The third objective of the study was to investigate the contribution of ICTs in climate change adaptation amongst the communal farmers. This objective was fulfilled by mainly concentrating on assessing how farmers accessed forecasting and early warning information. Up to two-thirds of the respondents indicated that they did not have access to timely early warning information on droughts and violent storms. In addition, around half of the respondents indicated that they were not getting information on the likely rainfall amount and distribution in the coming season. Respondents ranked deciding the planting dates and the choice of crop varieties as the most important farm decision-making activities that were influenced by forecasting information. Some of the channels through which farmers accessed early warning and weather information were radio, extension, direct enquiry, TV, other farmers, newspapers, mobile phone, and farming magazines. This study showed that both old and new ICTs are important in information dissemination and capacity building for climate change adaptation and awareness. In order for rural people to benefit from various applications and capabilities of ICTs, in particular, mobile phone applications, there is need to improve telecommunications and broadcasting infrastructure. Agricultural extension workers who are an important source of information in rural areas, had less knowledge on climate change issues hence the need to incorporate such issues into their training. Initiatives to promote climate change awareness and adaptation should provide platforms for diverse stakeholders to share and exchange information and knowledge on climate change. There is need to improve the reliability of weather forecasting information as well as training farmers on how to interpret the information. Most importantly, complimentary agricultural information, inputs, and technologies should be available and accessible to the farmers. / Environmental Sciences / D. Litt. et Phil (Environmental Management)

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Masters of Technology: Information Technology, Durban University of Technology. Durban. South Africa, 2015. / Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are ubiquitous nowadays, and there are many situations where they are overall perceived either as advantageous or as disadvantageous; but there are other situations where it is unknown whether they are overall advantageous or disadvantageous. For example, ICTs are perceived as advantageous for communication, but texting during driving is perceived as worse than drinking while driving. Concerning for example eLearning which is the use of ICTs in education, the fact that it has not yet eliminated the problem of poor academic performance raises the question as to whether ICTs are advantageous or not in education especially when one considers their high cost. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine the perceptions of educators on the advantages and disadvantages of eLearning. This aim will be subdivided into three types of research objectives: (a) to select from existing literature suitable theories that can be applied to the examination of educators’ perceptions on the advantages and disadvantages of eLearning; (b) to design a model of the factors affecting educators’ perceptions on the advantages and disadvantages of eLearning; (c) to empirically test the above announced model; (d) to propose recommendations on how to optimize the impact of eLearning. Objectives a, b, and d were accomplished through the review of existing appropriate literature on teaching and learning, and on eLearning; but objective c was met through a survey of 65 educators of Camperdown town schools in the Pinetown district of KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The outcomes of these four objectives are as follows: (a) Constructivism, Progressivism, and Self-regulated learning can be used as suitable theories applicable to the examination of educators perceptions on the advantages and disadvantages of eLearning; (b) It makes sense to hypothesize that educators perceptions on the advantages and disadvantages of eLearning are affected by their demographics and by their adherence to learning theories; (c) Empirical test conducted by this study confirm that educators perceptions on the advantages and disadvantages of eLearning are affected by their adherence to constructivism and to progressivism; (d) It can be concluded that the impact of the use of ICTs on teaching and learning will be optimized through the deployment of constructivist and progressivist educators as champions of eLearning projects in schools.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Technology: Information Technology, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2015. / Education is constantly challenged by rapid technological changes both in terms of curriculum renewal and in terms of students’ awareness of these new technologies. This is the reason why the aim of this study is to analyse factors affecting computing students’ awareness of the latest ICTs. This aim is further divided into four research sub-aims: the selection of the relevant theories for this research; the design of an appropriate conceptual model to support it; the empirical testing of the above mentioned model; and finally, recommendations arising from the research results. The first research sub-aim is accomplished through selection of the Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT) as the theoretical framework of this study after a review of different theories of technology adoption. The second research sub-aim is accomplished through the design of a conceptual model which is an adaptation of the relationship between the prior conditions construct and the knowledge/awareness construct of IDT. The prior conditions that were studied are students’ perceived exposure to career guidance and students’ perceived curriculum currency. These prior conditions were analysed as possible predictors of computing students’ technology awareness. The third sub-aim is accomplished by means of a survey of 116 computing students from the four universities of the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa, the results of which validated most of the relationships hypothesized by the above mentioned model. Having knowledge/awareness as the main variable of the current study can be seen as its main contribution in view of the fact that only two studies from the reviewed literature on IDT are examining the awareness/knowledge construct. The fourth sub-aim is accomplished by means of some recommendations, one of which is that gender and ethnicity be considered when curriculating computing courses both at the high school level and at the university level.

This thesis offers dialogue about the relations between learning and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). The dialogue is guided by the question of how to design education to increase perceived values of learning. It pays attention to how learners approach learning availabilities in various learning settings based on learners’ perceived values of learning. The aim is to understand the perceived values of learning in order to reflect its relation to ICTs. The field of learning is understood from the perspectives of formal, non-formal and informal learning. The field of ICTs is understood from the perspectives of information, communication and technology. The perspectives of learning and ICTs are chosen as a way to understand them by ‘going back to basics’ to find an origin or a point of departure for reinterpreting and understanding them. This approach has influenced the presentation of the thesis and how it is structured so that dialogic and interpretive research opens up dialogic spaces for reflections regarding the relations between learning and ICTs. Two studies in two different education systems, formal and non-formal, are included in the thesis work. The data are collected via qualitative methods such as photo interviews and individual and group interviews in which learners’ expressions of learning are in focus. The approach of the included articles that present the two studies was to first understand learning and then relate it to the understanding, potential and use of ICTs. The results and contributions from the articles are summarised via the three perspectives of the perceived values of learning, the relations between learning and ICTs and the influences of perceived values of learning. The theoretical tools, pedagogical attitude and positioning of ICTs guide the discussions and analysis of these perspectives towards the conclusions of the thesis work. The reader of the thesis can expect a journey along a winding road, which both addresses and involves policies’ and researchers’ implications and conceptions of learning and education. A framework for the perceived values of education when perspectives of learning and ICTs are related is considered to represent the understanding of the coherent whole of the thesis work. Three main contributions of the thesis work are put forth. The first contribution is the framework for perceived values of education, or the perceived value framework (PVF). The second contribution is the understanding of perceived values of learning. The third contribution is the specific photo interviews about learning situations that is considered to be a contribution to already existing methods such as photo-eliciting (Cappello, 2005) and stimulated recall (Haglund, 2003).