Benefiting from the process of globalisation and becoming an information and knowledge society, has become the vision for many governments throughout the world. However, as it has been demonstrated in this thesis, becoming an information and knowledge society is much easier for developed countries that already possess some of the prerequisite criteria, such as an efficient and effective ICT infrastructure. By investing in such an infrastructure, the interaction and exchange of data, information, and knowledge from a local knowledge system with the global knowledge system is enabled. Through this two-way flow of information, the other criteria these countries have to comply with are stimulated, making it much easier and faster for these countries to achieve their goal. However, for the developing countries that are still in the grip of the digital divide, the goal of becoming information and knowledge societies seem nearly unattainable. Owing to this digital divide that is experienced by developing countries, combined with other barriers such as the social barriers that include the overall health and education level of citizens, the citizens of these countries cannot take part in the interaction and exchange process. Thus, this interaction and exchange process cannot aid these countries in complying with the other criteria needed to become information and knowledge societies, and in this way, the progress of developing countries towards becoming information and knowledge societies are seriously hampered. How does the interaction and exchange of data, information, and knowledge between developing countries’ local knowledge systems and the global knowledge system contribute to their development and positive participation in the global information and knowledge society? This is the research question that has guided this thesis. To get an answer to this question the author addressed the following issues:<ul> <li>The author sketched the theoretical foundation of this thesis by providing a brief historical perspective of the Information Science domain. This provided a better understanding of concepts such as data, information, knowledge, global-, western-, and scientific knowledge as well as indigenous-, traditional-, and local knowledge as applied in this thesis. The underlying relationship between these concepts were also explored. Furthermore, the phenomenon of the global information and knowledge society was discussed as one of the opportunities presented by globalisation.</li> <li>The author then analysed the criteria of the information and knowledge society as discussed in Chapter 3, and identified indicators that the stated criteria are constructed from. To investigate whether developed countries are information and knowledge societies, these indicators were applied to Norway and the USA. It was concluded that both countries comply with the stated criteria and are thus information and knowledge societies. </li> <li>The author followed the same method of investigation and applied the indicators identified in Chapter 4 to two developing countries, namely Niger and South Africa. It was concluded that both these countries do not comply with the stated criteria and, thus, are not information and knowledge societies. Furthermore, barriers were identified by the author that inhibit these countries from becoming information and knowledge societies.</li> <li>Lastly, the author discussed proposed solutions and recommendations that can be used to overcome the various barriers that inhibit the progress of developing countries becoming information and knowledge societies. </li></ul> / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Information Science / DPhil / unrestricted

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(in English): The main goal of diploma thesis is to describe the internet business specifics with focus of identifying the causes of success or failure of companies on the Internet. At the theoretical level in context of thesis is to characterize the influence of the Internet on business principles and give to the reader a complete picture of its impact on current business. Following the main aim of the theses will need a virtually explore the possibilities which offer 21st century in the integration of modern business tools that allows smoother access to corporate infomation and knowledge and If their effective optimatization is the key to a uccessful business on the internet. The contribution of this thesis is to evaluate the practical challenges for companies which brings continual development of information and communication technologies that can be used for support of decision making in selecting an appropriate combination of business tools.

Denna kvalitativa flerfallsstudie syftar till att skapa en fördjupad förståelse av digitalt socialt arbete. Vi vill undersöka det digitala kunskapshöjande arbetet och det digitala stödet så som det beskrivs på stödorganisationerna Bris, ECPAT och Storasyster hemsidor, avseende barns sexuella utsatthet på internet. Studiens material analyseras med hjälp av tematisk analys .Resultatet presenteras genom två centrala teman, digital informationsspridning och digitala praktiska åtgärder med tillhörande fem subteman. I diskussionen diskuteras stödorganisationernas digitala arbete utifrån teorin om nätverks- och informationssamhälle. Slutsatsen visar att stödorganisationernas informationsspridning på deras hemsidor görs i nätverkssamhället där individer kopplas samman via nätverk. Storasysters “onlinesyster” och“onlinebror” är mer lik massamhällets uppbyggnad med starkare kontakter, medan ECPATs“ snabbhjälpen” och Bris “brisboten” är mer lik nätverkssamhällets ideal med minimal kontakt. Uppsatsen har skapat en fördjupad förståelse av variationer av digital informationsspridning samt av digitalt stöd. / This qualitative multi-case study aims to create an in-depth understanding of digital socialwork. We want to examinate the digital knowledge-raising work and digital support as described on the support organizations Bris, ECPAT and Storasyster websites, regarding children's sexual vulnerability on the internet. The material of the study consists of supportorganizations’ websites and digitally published texts that are analyzed using thematic analysis. The discussion highlights the support organizations’ digital work with the theory ofnetwork and information society. The conclusion shows that the support organizations’ dissemination of information on their websites is done in the network society where individuals are connected via networks. “Onlinesyster" are more similar to the mass society with stronger contacts, while "snabbhjälpen" and "brisboten" are more similar to the ideal ofthe network society with minimal contact. The thesis has created an in-depth understanding of variations in digital information dissemination as well as digital support.

The trust in news sites is presented through the prism of social capital concept. The news sites are considered as new media in the context of information society formation. Based on materials of empirical-sociological research it was identified the place of online mass media in the structure of young people’s news information sources, including its advantages and disadvantages. It was determined the place of trust in system of factors affecting the choice of regional news sites by youth audience. / Доверие к новостным сайтам представлено через призму концепции социального капитала. Новостные сайты рассмотрены как новые медиа в контексте становления информационного общества. На материалах эмпирико-социологического исследования выявлено место онлайн-СМИ в структуре источников новостной информации молодежи, их преимущества и недостатки. Определено место доверия в системе факторов, влияющих на выбор региональных новостных сайтов молодежной аудиторией.

ICT has become so deeply embedded into the fabric of European society – in economic, political, and socio-cultural narratives, practices, and structures – that it has been constructed as holding tremendous untapped and inestimable potential for instigating and unleashing far-reaching societal transformation, addressing key societal challenges, and solving all societal problems. It has recently been seen, given its ubiquity, as a critical driver and powerful catalyst for sustainable urban development due to its potential to enable substantial energy savings and GHG emissions reductions in most urban sectors, especially buildings. However, related to this ubiquity, there are also a lot of visions (of limited modern applicability), hopes, myths, fallacies, and oxymora, which applies for the environmental subsystem of information society where debates focus on whether ICT can advance environmental urban sustainability. There are intricate relationships and tradeoffs among the multidimensional effects of ICT for the environment that flow mostly from the use and application of ICT – e.g. energy efficiency technology - throughout the urban sphere. Regardless, the technological orientation and framing of the sustainable city and the green economy has gained dominance in European society and become prevalent in what has come to be identified or known as the discourse of ICT for sustainable urban development (ICT4SUD). The aim of this study is to carry out a critical reading of the social construction of ICT4SUD, the underlying ideology about the ICT potential in advancing environmental urban sustainability. To achieve this aim, a Foucauldian-Faircloughian discursive approach is employed to examine the selected empirical material. This approach consists of nine stages: (1) surface descriptors and contextual elements; (2) historical-diachronic dimension; (3) epistemic and cultural frames; (4) discursive constructions and discourses; (5) social actors and framing power; (6) discursive strategies; (7) discursive mechanisms; (8) political practice, knowledge, and power; and (9) ideological standpoints.As a scholarly discourse, ICT4SUD is inherently part of and influenced by economic, societal, and political structures, and produced in social interaction. ICT4SUD is thus neither paradigmatic nor value-free, but rather socio-politically situated. It is shaped by cultural frames that are conventionalized by European society and attuned to its values, and it is a matter of a pre-intellectual space where ICT and sustainability constitute salient defining factors of the dominant configuration of knowledge, institutions, and material forces of European society. Indeed, ICT4SUD is impacted by earlier representations of reality and how they were reproduced in relation to the significance of discursive constructions of ICT and sustainability issues in the broader context of European culture. Moreover, the ICT4SUD discourse plays a major role in (re)constructing the image of the ICT industry as a social actor and in defining its identity and relation with other constituents of society, in that it is relocated new roles and attributed new societal missions. The dominant framing of the reports is clearly the one advanced by the ICT industry: it is constituted into the main definer of the represented reality. Further, positioning the ICT industry as the driver of the low-carbon city/economy aids the construction of an image of leadership in creating a low carbon society. The reports’ construction of energy efficiency technology is a powerful legitimation of the ICT industry’s views and actions. In addition, the ICT4SUD discourse is exclusionary, namely a number of facts and issues pertaining to structural, indirect, and systemic effects of ICT and the associated rebound effects are left out, concealed, or neglected. Also, the discourse is inclined to be deterministic, i.e. it postulates that ICT, supported by policy, will achieve SUD while it falls short in considering social behaviour and socio-economic relationships. It moreover tends to be rhetorical – that is, it promises environmentally SUD without really having a holistic strategy to achieve that goal. Furthermore, given the scientific discourse and the legitimation capacity of computing, climatology, and sustainability indicators, one can subsume a range of social and political effects under the category of discourse mechanisms through which ICT4SUD operates, which both show the power of discourse and potentially empower the ICT industry and its cohorts. There are different justifications for the development of energy efficiency technology in relation to decision-making processes. Plus, politics, as a consequence of its interaction with ICT4SUD, forces, though different mechanisms, the emergence and development of the ICT4SUD discourse, which is, simultaneously, influenced by the power/knowledge relations established in European society that bounds or expands its success. Finally, as to ideological reproduction, the ICT4SUD discourse reconstructs cultural claims, conveys ideological messages, and reproduces and legitimizes power structures.

(in English) The thesis "Information Policy of European Union in Bangemann's activities period in comparison with USA" is devoted to the Information policy issue applied by the European Union and the United States of America. The thesis structure is defined at the earliest; afterwards the basic terms are followed. The thesis describes the European Union history, which provides context needed to be able to understand the European Union Information policy. The description and evaluation of the European Information policy in Bangemann's activities period in comparison with USA in the same time period and the possibility of mutual utilization of pros of the Information policy of both countries is the aim of this thesis. The following part is occupied with the comparison of EU and USA Information policy at the beginning of 21st century.

Le domaine de recherche scientifique sur les cyberdépendances présente de multiples définitions de cette pathologie. À partir du matériel empirique issu des débats relatifs à la proposition d'inclure l'addiction à Internet dans le Manuel Diagnostique et Statistique des Troubles mentaux (DSM-V), ce mémoire vise à comprendre les processus sociaux bornant le développement de cette pathologie au regard de la théorie de la biomédicalisation. À cette fin, un premier travail sociohistorique retrace les voies de la biologisation progressive des pratiques sociales de communication en ligne amorcées dès 1980. Un second travail d'analyse de discours systématise ensuite le processus normatif se dégageant des controverses scientifiques liées à son inclusion dans le DSM-V. La recherche menée suggère une interprétation théorique de cet objet située à l'intersection de tendances sociales propres à la société d'information. Le projet d'inclusion révèle la volonté d'une régulation sociale effectuée à partir de la transformation technoscientifique du vivant selon des processus santéistes et néolibéraux. Il donne ainsi à penser les discours scientifiques sur l'addiction à Internet comme avant tout politiques et économiques. / The proposal of "Internet Addiction" in the fifth edition of the DSM : a case study of biomedicalisation : The representation of Internet excessive practices as an addiction is a highly criticized fact in the scientific field. The proposed inclusion of the mental disorder "Internet Addiction" in the fifth version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel, has ended in March 2013 in the inclusion of the "Internet Gaming Disorder" in the Appendix section caracterised by the need to further research. The aim of this master thesis is to understand the processes which get through the debate over this inclusion. Therefore, from a socio-historical perspective, the analysis first exposed the biomedicalized process that create the pathology. Then, empirically, through discourse analysis, that process is systematized in order to understand the representation of the "internet addict" that emerge from these scientific discourse. Finally, we suggest that this pathology reflect a specific way of governing in the information society era throught the technoscientific transformation of life, which is a political debate.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:28:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Aline Lamha.pdf: 806293 bytes, checksum: 8e3154dc65032430a0ae9b6d0e5e453f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-03-12 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This thesis aims to analyze the need to create new perspectives for society and law, considering the challenges imposed by the present frame of economic globalization, characterized by over&#8208;integration and under&#8208;integration. In this sense, firstly it studies two alternative proposals towards a new global law. Following this study, it defends the need to rethink such theories, as well as to insert new variables to the debate, mainly due to the particularities verified in the peripheral regions of the globe, considering the existing interdependence in the society. It exposes as well the informationalism as the most evident characteristic of the contemporary global society, consequently recognizing the inevitability of the economic globalization and the importance of the technological innovation in such scenario. Finally, it proposes to re&#8208;evaluate the priorities set by such social model (and, therefore, by the law), using the arsenal already formed by the information society towards the construction of a new knowledge society. We aim to demonstrate that such alternative presupposes the transfer of the focus from the purely economic achievements in detriment of the social ones, towards the expansion of the human capacities, evoking, therefore, the need to adapt the law to this new reality / Este trabalho objetiva analisar a necessidade de criação de novas perspectivas sociais e do direito, em face dos desafios postos pelo quadro atual de globalização econômica, marcado pela sobreintegração e subintegração. Deste modo, primeiramente estuda duas propostas alternativas para um novo direito global. Em seguida, defende a necessidade de repensar tais teorias, bem como a de inserir novas variáveis ao debate, notadamente por conta das particularidades verificadas nas regiões periféricas do globo, dada a interdependência existente na sociedade. Também expõe o informacionalismo como a característica mais evidente da sociedade mundial contemporânea, conseqüentemente reconhecendo a inevitabilidade da globalização econômica e a importância da inovação tecnológica nesse cenário. Por fim, propõe reavaliar as prioridades estabelecidas por este modelo social (e, assim, pelo direito), utilizando o arsenal já formado pela sociedade informacional para a construção de uma nova sociedade do conhecimento. Procuramos demonstrar que esta alternativa pressupõe a transferência de enfoque das realizações puramente econômicas em detrimento das sociais, para a ampliação das capacidades humanas, evocando, por conseguinte, a necessidade de adaptação do direito à referida nova realidade

This work emerged from the interest in studying the increasing use of information and communication tools available on the Internet for strengthening the political activism online and offline. To verify the characteristics and specificities of this new type of collective action and its relation to the question of mediatic visibility, we have chosen as the empirical object the electronic discussion group LGBT National Alliance, created by the Brazilian Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transvestite and Transgender (ABGLT), which has articulated and consolidated the largest LGBT network in Latin America. The comprehension of the functioning mode of this network and its strategic actions required the theoretical and conceptual supply of social networks, collective action, repertories of action and mediatic visibility applied to the practices of interaction and communication of LGBT movements observable both in digital platforms as well as offline activities. Due to the specificities of this object, the empirical study was based on two complementary methodological approaches: content analysis and virtual ethnography. The first one guided the structural analysis and the analysis of the discussion group dynamics, as well as data collection on topics that motivated larger participation, which concentrated on the years 2012 and 2013. The second one based the online participant observation of performances in the network and semistructured interviews carried out with members from all regions of the country. From these procedures, it was selected four representative case studies of the two main paradigmatic axes identified as the guidelines of the activism of the network: the political-institutional antagonism (conflicts with the evangelical countertop); and the mediatic antagonism (conflicts with traditional media). Among the conclusions of the research are: the repertories of action (on network, mediatic, cyberactivists) emerge as strengthening tactics of political activism, aiming at expanding its reverberation in public debate and in the political sphere; the search for mediatic visibility is an imbricated strategy in activist actions which covers the |intermedia| mobilizations on digital platforms and recurrent attempts of guiding journalistic vehicles; online and offline articulations, mobilizations and interventions are correlated and can be started either in spaces of mediated interaction as in the traditional political spaces and vice versa; the mobilization of occasional activists and other informal partners is a strategic practice to visualize and reinforce the mechanisms of pressure; the discussion group is potentially more active in civil conversations for purposes of exchanging information, conjuncture analysis, specialized consulting, planning and evaluation of actions; cyberactivism is notably more successful in situations in which the Internet plays a relevant role in the dissemination of alternative informative channels for the collective awareness and engagement; the association of political activism to a number of mediatic repertories, online and networked has contributed to increasing public visibility, the set of alliances and the support of society around anti-homophobia struggles in the country. / O presente trabalho surgiu do interesse em investigar a crescente utilização das ferramentas de informação e comunicação disponíveis na Internet para o fortalecimento do ativismo político online e off-line. Para verificar as características e as especificidades desse novo tipo de ação coletiva e sua relação com a questão da visibilidade midiática, escolhemos como objeto empírico o grupo de discussão eletrônico Aliança Nacional LGBT, criado pela Associação Brasileira de Lésbicas, Gays, Bissexuais, Travestis e Transexuais (ABGLT), que articulou e consolidou a maior rede LGBT da América Latina. A compreensão do modo de funcionamento dessa rede e de suas ações estratégicas exigiu o aporte teórico-conceitual das redes sociais, da ação coletiva, dos repertórios de ação e da visibilidade midiática, aplicados às práticas de interação e comunicação dos movimentos LGBT observáveis tanto no âmbito das plataformas digitais quanto na atuação off-line. Em razão das especificidades desse objeto, o estudo empírico apoiou-se em duas abordagens metodológicas complementares: a análise de conteúdo e a etnografia virtual. A primeira orientou a análise estrutural e da dinâmica do grupo de discussão, assim como a coleta de dados nos tópicos que motivaram maior participação, os quais se concentraram nos anos de 2012 e 2013. A segunda embasou a observação participante online das atuações na rede e as entrevistas semiestruturadas realizadas com membros de todas as regiões do país. A partir desses procedimentos, foram selecionados quatro estudos de caso representativos dos dois principais eixos paradigmáticos identificados como norteadores do ativismo da rede: o antagonismo político-institucional (embates com a bancada evangélica); e o antagonismo midiático (embates com a mídia tradicional). Entre as conclusões da pesquisa estão: os repertórios de ação (em rede, midiáticos, ciberativistas) surgem como táticas de reforço do ativismo político, visando ampliar a sua reverberação no debate público e na esfera política; a busca pela visibilidade midiática é uma estratégia imbricada nas ações ativistas que abrange as mobilizações intermídia nas plataformas digitais e as tentativas recorrentes de pautar os veículos jornalísticos; as articulações, mobilizações e intervenções online e off-line estão correlacionadas, podendo ser iniciadas tanto nos espaços de interação mediada quanto nos espaços políticos tradicionais e vice-versa; a mobilização de ativistas ocasionais e demais parceiros informais é uma prática estratégica para visibilizar e reforçar os mecanismos de pressão; o grupo de discussão é potencialmente mais ativo nas conversações civis para fins de troca de informações, análise de conjuntura, consulta especializada, planejamento e avaliação de ações; o ciberativismo é notadamente mais bem-sucedido nas situações em que a Internet exerce um papel relevante na disseminação de canais informativos alternativos para a conscientização e o engajamento coletivos; a associação do ativismo político a uma série de repertórios midiáticos, online e em rede tem contribuído para ampliar a visibilidade pública, o conjunto de alianças e o apoio da sociedade em torno das lutas anti-homofobia no país.