This thesis searches for an effective pedagogy with the use of computers or other types of information and communications technology (ICT) from the perspectives of pupil learning and reflective teaching. It begins with a review of factors that make learning and teaching with ICT effective on the ground of contemporary theories and models of learning and teaching. A model of effective curricular learning and teaching with the use of computers or ICT is proposed. It is used as the framework of investigation throughout the thesis. The investigation of learning looks at the interaction between computer-specific characteristics and other learning-related characteristics of primary pupils. It also investigates the in-school and out-of-school usage of ICT, subject differences, grouping and gender differences. The investigation of teaching and/or instruction looks at the combination of factors that affect each type of learning outcomes. With consideration into the causal relationships, the results are linked together to form as a path model. The measurement of effectiveness includes learning progress (i.e. educational value-added) and learning attainment of primary pupils, their developed abilities, and their attitude towards learning and towards themselves and school learning. The results show that the model helps to illuminate the inter-relationships between different components of learning and teaching. In particular, the interrelationships between teacher characteristics, teacher's practical knowledge, reflection and instructional practice concerning the extent of computer use. It is recommended as a framework for other investigations into effective use of ICT or the development of pedagogy with the use of ICT. Furthermore, a framework of promoting the use of ICT to support subject-based learning and teaching is proposed. It is examined in four classroom-based research and development projects. The findings show that it is applicable to different subject curriculum, to a spectrum of school-based learning contexts and to different features provided by computers.

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy / Information and communication technology (ICT) advances relating to the architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) sector have been rapid, offering efficiency gains and improved business effectiveness. However economic considerations, industry-specific conditions, legal, and business issues have limited their adoption by multi-firm project teams. ICT adoption rates are the manifestation of boundedly rational business decisions, formed by personal attitudes to innovation. Although attitudes are personal constructs they are phenomena that are experienced, can be personally reported, and observed from a distance. This research maps attitudinal influences wherein the attitudinal profiles of decision-makers can be located. Adopting etic and emic perspectives it reveals independent indication of the extent and features of the phenomenon, and the personal construction of meaning and rules for decision-making. These perspectives are obtained using an asynchronous, online Delphi study of 13 international experts, combined with investigation of the phenomenological experiences of 39 experienced practitioners through in-depth interviews. Thematic analysis, supported by appropriate correlation analysis reveals patterns and structure in each study, which are modeled. These are then synthesised into a unified, multi-dimensional model. This model reveals that individual attitude is composed of a number of components: exogenous issues include human, technological and business processes; an endogenous component relating to personal considerations; technological push, cultural pull, and a temporal dimension. It posits intra-firm and inter-organisational dimensions, observing variance along a continuum related to the context within which they are being considered. The significance of this research is twofold: it maps the domain within which ICT decision-makers in the AEC sector make their decisions; it provides a reliable basis upon which to base further investigations.

Proefschrift Universiteit van Amsterdam. / Met samenvatting in het Engels.

Proefschrift Universiteit van Amsterdam. / Omslagtitel: Decision- en controlfactoren voor sourcing van IT. Met lit. opg., reg. - Met samenvatting in het Engels.

Proefschrift Universiteit van Amsterdam. / Met lit.opg. en samenvatting in het Engels.

Proefschrift Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam. / Lit. opg.: p. 161-167. - Met een samenvatting in het Engels en Nederlands.

Proefschrift Universiteit Maastricht, 2001. / Auteursnaam op omslag: Edward Huizenga. Met bibliogr., lit. opg. - Met samenvatting in het Nederlands.

World-over, E-Government has been recognised as a tool for radically improving the way governments interact with their citizens. While the obvious benefits of E-Government include providing convenience and easy access to customers thereby resulting in improved services to citizens, reduction of costs (by re-deploying resources from back-end processing to front-end customer service); providing easier access to information, increasing transparency and communication between government departments and with the public, the long term benefit of E-Government is also to make it easier for people to conduct their daily lives and business in the nation, thereby making it an attractive location to attract global talent. On the other hand, introducing E-Government requires a transformation in the way the government structure functions – thereby requiring a change in the organisational culture, managerial styles, systems and procedures apart from large financial investments towards technology upgrades. In order to ensure that e-Government is actually bringing about the changes that are desired (via the benefits) it is vital that strict performance measures be instituted on a continuous basis to check the effectiveness of e-Government. This study investigates 8 government departments employing e-Government in Dubai through a case study method and seeks to identify the challenges faced by each department in providing their services to their customers, the performance measures that have been instituted by these departments to evaluate the effectiveness of their e-services and the benefits that they have derived there from. The key challenges and performance issues have been studied and how these challenges could be managed effectively has been analysed. The study utilised the case study method by interviewing key members from each of the 8 departments studied. Important documents were reviewed and the researcher made personal observations from visiting the websites and portals of each of these departments. The results show that while the e-Government initiative in Dubai is quite advanced in comparison with the similar initiatives in countries across the world, there are several challenges faced by these departments. These include – no clear and standardised performance measures being used across the board, lack of technological knowledge and education initiatives for department staff and perhaps not enough organisational learning to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the e-Government Initiative.

Includes bibliographical references. / 'Unknown to most of us, we are living inside and alongside a revolution of stupendous power and energy. It is not a communist, socialist, capitalist or even a religious revolution. It is the ICT revolution, the revolution of information communication technologies that is changing the nature and patterns of our social, commercial and political interactions. Like most revolutions, its true scope cannot yet be grasped nor can all the issues it raises be clearly understood even by those at its cutting edges". The Internet and other new technologies play an important role in today's global information society, are now essential in every sector of human life and can be used for the preparation and commission of serious and transnational crimes.

There are constraints hindering South Africa‘s ICT entrepreneurs form being internationally competitive. The purpose of this research was to explore them through experiential surveying of South African ICT experts who have successfully internationalised. The outcome of the research was an understanding of both internal organisational constraints and external environmental constraints. Six constraints were explored in detail: human resource, strategy and finance from within the enterprise and political/regulatory, economic and socio-cultural within the environment. It was established that internal constraints exert more influence than external constraints. Human resource was the critical constraint followed by financing which could be influenced both externally and internally. Other constraints are also explored including technology constraints and lack of national planning and collaboration. Recommendations are made to stakeholders. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted