The fundamental nature of the research question for this study was centred on the functions of internal communication. It was within this context that functionalism as theoretical approach was selected for the study of internal communication within the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) in South Africa. Functionalism’s interest in the structure and function of communication is evident in its major assumption, namely that the phenomenon of mass communication is a system that is a whole consisting of several interrelated and interdependent parts. In addition two related theories, systems theory and classical management theory, were employed as departure for the study. Related literature on internal communication bears evidence that the flow of internal communication differs from one environment to the other. This depends on the type of information that has been communicated and the type of organisation in which the internal communication occurs. Managing employees effectively requires communication and the quality of communication amongst the people that comprise an organisation is a crucial variable in determining organisational success. This requires a common understanding of the role and structure of communication and its functions. Internal communication is the strength of any organisation. Communication scholars such as Verwey and Du Plooy (2003), Kitchen and Daly (2002), Gibson and Hodgetts (1991), Murabe (1990) and numerous others already demonstrated the overwhelming importance of internal communication in today’s business environment. Internal communication creates a platform for participative decision making, employees’ interaction, information sharing, creativity and innovation, as well as an environment that fosters productivity and creates a sense of organisational ownership.A comprehensive internal communication system is required to unambiguously translate the vision, mission and strategic objectives of any organisation into reality. Furthermore effective internal communication has a potential to build and sustain social interaction within the organisation and most importantly to drive a service delivery message to all employees. Effective communication and service delivery have recently become issue of exceptional importance in government departments in South Africa, particularly in government agencies. Factors such as organisational culture and leadership style have an influence on internal communication. Organisational culture defines and describes what the organisation stands for. Leadership is very critical for internal communication as it informs the organisation’s vision. If the leadership is negatively inclined, there is no way in which the internal communication will thrive. It is always advisable to strike a balance between organisational culture, leadership and internal communication. The findings of this study indicate that management and employees of the GCIS perceive the function of internal communication differently; that both management and employees have inadequate general understanding of the communication channels and communication structure within the GCIS and reveal that though there are numerous communication channels available, only few are used and preferred within the GCIS. The selection and the understanding of communication channels within the organisation are critical elements for internal communication. Therefore, the communication department or division should ensure broader consultation with all key stakeholders within the organisation. It is regrettable to have communication channels within the organisation that are not understood by the majority of employees and to discover that out of the twenty that are implemented, only five are mainly used and two preferred by most of the management and the employees. / Dissertation (MPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / hb2013 / Marketing Management / unrestricted

A geographic information system (GIS) was used to create landform measurements and maps for elevation, slope, aspect, landform index, relative phenologic change, and slope position for 3 topographic quadrangles in Virginia. A set of known observation points of the Northern dusky flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus) was used to build 3 models to delineate sites with landform characteristics equivalent to those known points. All models were built using squirrel observation points from 2 topographic quadrangles. The first model, called "exclusionary", excluded those pixels with landform characteristics different from the known squirrel pixels based on histogram analyses. Logistic regression was used to create the other 2 models. Each model resulted in an image of pixels considered equivalent to the known squirrel pixels. Each model excluded approximately 65% of the Highland study area, but the exclusionary model excluded the fewest known squirrel pixels (12.62%). Both logistic regression models excluded approximately 10% more known squirrel pixels than the exclusionary approach. The models were tested in the area of a third quadrangle with points known to be occupied by squirrels. After the model was applied to the third topographic quadrangle, the exclusionary model excluded the least amount of full-area pixels (79.30%) and only 14.81% of the known squirrel pixels. The second logistic regression excluded 81.16 % of the full area and no known squirrel pixels. All models proved useful in quickly delineating pixels equivalent to areas where wildlife were known to occur. / Master of Science

The purpose of this study consists of gaining an understanding about Augmented Reality (AR) and if this technology can help land-surveyors to visualize cadastral parcels using an iOS app. In addition, the app is also used to get insights of what it takes for an AR system to replace 2D paper maps completely. In land-surveyors daily work, they usually bring annotated 2D paper maps to locate their assets when they do field work. However, the 2D paper map can be cumbersome to use because the map visualizes assets in 2D while the working environment for land-surveyors is in 3D. Therefore, this study presents an AR app that can visualize cadastral parcels in 3D in collaboration with a company called InfoTrader. This dissertation utilizes a qualitative methodology with a design and creation strategy as well as semi-structured interviews. To get feedback and evaluate the proposed app it was tested with professionals with experience in the land-surveying business. The findings from testing the app indicated that the app could be very useful in different scenarios. Nevertheless, to completely replace the 2D paper map, the AR system should integrate all the layers of information that the 2D map provides.

Background: Health information system (HIS) performance has been defined as “data quality and the continuous use of information †. The quality of data, as well as the culture of data use in an organisation has been shown to shape the way data is used. In order to fully understand data use practices with the aim of strengthening the HIS, one needs to first understand whether the context and “culture†in the organisation is conducive to data use. Are the policies, structures, processes and people within the organisation aiding data use? In what ways do managers view and use data? Aim: In this study, we sought to explore the culture of health information use on a district and sub district management level. The aim was to contribute to the wider knowledge on information use by exploring the data use practices and factors that shape its use among these managers. What is the culture of data use in the district management structures? When, why and in what way does data get brought into the management discussion? Do managers feel that the information produced are useful in aiding their decision making, and what do they recommend be changed? What are the key factors that affect data use practices? Methods: This thesis comprises a literature review of published articles, conducted in order to provide context for the study of the culture of data use, whilst defining the problem to be investigated. The full thesis comprises the literature review, the original study protocol, a full manuscript in the format of a publishable article and a set of appendices. The study was granted ethical approval and permission from the provincial department of health. Given the exploratory purpose of the study, we conducted a mini ethnographic case study using qualitative research methods in a rural health district of the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The researcher employed ethnographic methods that included participant observation, in depth key informant interviews, document reviews as well as informal conversations to collect data. We used the PRISM framework as a guide for analysing our findings. Findings: Our findings suggest that there is a strong focus in this district on reporting requirements and technical aspects of producing good quality data. The drive to achieve excellence in production of quality data may be in tension with another important organisational value, which is the need of managers, for ease of access to relevant data, to facilitate decision-making and improvement of health service delivery. Managers’ overall experience is of not receiving the health information support they require. Instead, they experienced an organisational culture of using health information to narrowly measure targets and performance, which left them feeling unsupported and frustrated. Managers were resilient in managing these challenges and created alternative ways of accessing the data they needed for decision-making. Conclusion: We conclude that in our setting where the technical component of producing good data was well performed, this was not sufficient to guarantee effective use of data for quality improvements. Behavioural and organisational factors were found to play an important role as both obstacles and facilitators in shaping the culture of data use, information that is useful to inform design of interventions for health information strengthening.

In partnership with the USDA Forest Service and the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands, a geographic information system (GIS) was used to create a wildland fire assessment methodology. GIS layers (or themes) include topography, infrastructure, vegetation, climate, "sensitive" natural values, and fire history. Two phases of assessment are presented: a preliminary analysis designed for planning use at the landscape level, and a detailed analysis for site-specific use. Results of the phase 1 assessment are density grids delineating areas of high fire occurrence and suggesting to managers where a phase 2 assessment is needed. By using the environmental, human, and topographic information listed earlier, probability maps of wildland fire occurrence were developed with a GIS and multiple logistic regression. In both cases, high fire danger areas can be overlaid with protection areas (natural or human-made value areas) to identify critical fire danger areas. Because GIS is commonly used in land management, it facilitates the sharing and updating of geographic information between resource professionals of different agencies and organizations. Local officials will be able to use GIS spatial and tabular data for planning, zoning, and fire ordinance development. Land management specialists can locate, prioritize, and target high and critical fire danger areas for presuppression mitigation efforts such as prescribed fires, defensible-space projects, and fire-break construction (e.g., greenbelts, parkways). Furthermore, GIS assessment layers can be manipulated and exported to create the required raster GIS data themes for FARSITE (a fire growth simulator). Fire managers will be able to spatially predict fire spread, intensity, and behavior under complex topographic and climatic conditions. This method, combined with the expertise of fire specialists, offers an improved and cost-effective assessment technique for wildland fire management.

This research demonstrates the ability to integrate a computer simulation model with a geographic information system (GIS) to predict forest community dynamics in both the spatial and temporal dimensions. A landscape scale computer simulation model, LANDSIM, was coupled with the Arc/Info GIS to simulate the interaction of forest fires and forest succession at Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, and to produce maps of the predicted community types. The sensitivity of the model was tested with respect to the fire return interval, maximum neighbor spread, and the effect of slope upon the spread of simulated fires. The model predicts that each fire return interval will result in an unique distribution of community types upon the landscape. The model's results are discussed in terms of their implications for management alternatives at Bryce Canyon National Park.

Les Smart Grids sont des réseaux électriques intelligents permettant d’optimiser la production, la distribution et la consommation d’électricité grâce à l’introduction des technologies de l’information et de la communication sur le réseau électrique. Les Smart Grids impactent fortement l’ensemble de l’architecture d’entreprise des gestionnaires de réseaux électriques. Simuler une architecture d’entreprise permet aux acteurs concernés d’anticiper de tels impacts.Dès lors, l’objectif de cette thèse est de fournir des modèles, méthodes et outils permettant de modéliser puis de simuler une architecture d’entreprise afin de la critiquer ou de la valider.Dans ce contexte, nous proposons un framework multi-vues, nommé ExecuteEA, pour faciliter la modélisation des architectures d’entreprise en automatisant l’analyse de leurs structures et de leurs comportements par la simulation. ExecuteEA traite chacune des vues métier, fonctionnelle et applicative selon trois aspects : informations, processus et objectifs. Pour répondre au besoin d’alignement métier/IT, nous introduisons une vue supplémentaire : la vue intégration. Dans cette vue nous proposons de modéliser les liens de cohérence inter et intra vues.Nous mettons, par ailleurs, à profit des techniques issues de l’ingénierie dirigée par les modèles en tant que techniques support pour la modélisation et la simulation d’une architecture d’entreprise. Notre validons ensuite notre proposition à travers un cas métier Smart Grid relatif à la gestion d’une flotte de véhicules électriques. / In this thesis, we propose a framework that facilitates modeling Enterprise Architectures (EA) by automating analysis, prediction, and simulation, in order to address the key issue of business/IT alignment. We present our approach in the context of Smart Grids, which are power grids enabled with Information and Communication Technologies. Extensive studies try to foresee the impact of Smart Grids on electric components, telecommunication infrastructure, and industrial automation and IT. However, Smart Grids also have an impact on the overall EA of grids operators. Therefore, our framework enables stakeholders to validate and criticize their modeling choices for the EA in the context of Smart Grids. What we propose is a multi-view framework with three aspects – information, processes, and goals – for each view. In addition to thebusiness, functional and application views, we add an integration view to ensure inter and intra-view consistency. We rely on Model Driven Engineering (MDE) techniques to ease the holistic modeling and simulation of enterprise systems. Finally, we show the utility of our approach by applying it on a Smart Grid case study: the management of an electric vehicles fleet.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The United States has invested over $40 billion in digitizing the health care system, yet the anticipated gains in improved care coordination, quality, and cost savings remain largely unrealized. This is due in part to limited interoperability and low rates of health information exchange (HIE) use, which can support care coordination and improve provider decision-making. Primary care providers are central to the US health care delivery system and frequently function as care coordinators, yet capability and HIE use gaps among these providers limit the potential of these digital systems to achieve their intended goals. I study HIE use in the context of primary care to examine 1) factors associated with provider HIE use, 2) the extent and nature of team-based HIE use, and 3) differences in HIE system use patterns across discrete groups of system users. First, I use a national sample of primary care providers to analyze market and practice factors related to HIE use for patient referrals. Overall, I find that only 43% of primary care provider referrals used HIE. Furthermore, I find substantial variation in HIE use rates across electronic health record (EHR) vendors. Second, I use HIE system log data to understand the breadth and depth of HIE use among teams, a care model underpinning primary care delivery reform efforts. I find that although use of HIE systems remains low, in primary care settings it overwhelmingly takes place in a manner consistent with team-based care workflows. Furthermore, team-based use does not differ in breadth from single provider HIE use, but illustrates less depth before and after visits. Third, I apply cluster analysis to 16 HIE use measures representing 7 use attributes, and identify 5 discrete user groups. I then compare two of these user groups and find user-level variation in volume and efficiency of use, both of which have implications for HIE system design and usability improvements. Ultimately, these findings help to inform how HIE use can be increased and improved in primary care, moving the US health care system closer to realizing the coordination, quality, and cost savings made possible by a digitized delivery system.

The main topic of the thesis is problem of the security of the web application. Spheres that are likely to be vulnerable are thoroughly examined and ways of protecting the application in the area of access control, data transfer, user input, output and state keeping are suggested. Furthermore, with regard to the security, possible solutions of audit, backing up, web server security, database design and protection against spam robots are described. This project is also concerned with the analysis of requirements, detailed design and implementation of the club information system with demonstration of mentioned security solutions. The systems of members' evidence, evidence of breeding dogs and their pedigrees, publication of actions and results and the content management system of other sections of the web presentation are among others implemented within the scope of this IS. All the implementation solutions are based on HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP and MySQL technologies.

The diploma thesis contains a clarification of the fundamental notions and the principles utilized in the informational systems issues. The analysis of the contemporary condition of the information system applied in a particular company and the evaluation of its effectiveness are the essential parts of the thesis. On the basis of these analyzes, a set of solutions is designed to improve present conditions and eliminate the risks, in terms of stability and effectiveness of the information system.