Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / A phenomenological philosophy underlies this research study which attempts to understand clinicians’ perception and understanding of an electronic patient record (EPR) system currently operational at a hospital in the Western Cape Province in South Africa (SA). Healthcare is a human right, thus patient records contain critical data and mostly paper-based in many SA hospitals. Clinicians are the EPR primary users and their attitude in its use is important for its success. This study explores, identifies and determines clinicians’ cognitive attributes towards EPR with a technology use framework developed. An initial quantitative approach was applied but unsuccessful due to low sample size. A pilot study was then conducted using 11 respondents. Purposive sampling was first initiated then snowball introduced later to improve the sample size qualitatively. Interviews were administered to 15 clinicians and tape recorded. Narrative content analysis was used as the preferred analysis technique because of the advantage of gaining direct information from study participants, unobtrusive and a nonreactive way to study the phenomenon of interest. Research findings tested 12 propositions and found high impact relationships between attitude (ATT) and each listed theme namely: perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU), complexity (COM), facilitating condition (FC), use behaviour (USE). Use behaviour had high impact relationships with storage (STO) and retrieval (RET). There were moderate impact relationships between PU and USE; PEOU and PU; RA and ATT; job fit (JF) and ATT; USE and share (SHA). The implication here is that any EPR system to be implemented should be tested using this framework to ascertain its usefulness and fit with a hospital's objectives and users expectations. By so doing, anticipated problems can be mitigated against and resolved before implementation. The study contributes to the information system (IS) body of knowledge through the technology use framework. The framework is for adoption by hospital management and its use by clinicians where EPR is operational. Traditional IS frameworks can be adopted for hospitals about to implement EPR because of the relevance of the "intent to use" theme.

The shift in the strategic role that knowledge plays in business is forcing business managers to actively participate in, if not lead, knowledge management for decision making. Unfortunately there are not enough generic models or even guidelines for incorporating the management of knowledge into business and especially business strategy formulation. This leads to business managers considering knowledge management as being separate from business, leading to an inability to align knowledge management goals with corporate goals. The goal of the study was therefore to investigate the interdependency between knowledge, knowledge management and business from a managerial/strategic perspective rather than from a technological perspective. This was done to supply practitioners and managers with guidelines for successful institutionalization and management of knowledge. In order to achieve this goal, research focused on the following objectives: <ul> <li>Heightening awareness of the critical role knowledge plays as a strategic corporate resource.</li> <li>Determining the issues/models/methods and perspectives available, to guide strategists in the quest to efficiently and effectively manage knowledge, within a strategic/managerial perspective.</li> <li>The progression of knowledge management maturity from a strategic/managerial perspective.</li> <li>Knowledge management’s performance in relation to the objectives and measures that determine the overall efficiency and effectiveness of an organization.</li> <li>Formulation of guidelines (a knowledge management maturity questionnaire) to aid practitioners and strategists to successfully assess knowledge management maturity.</li> </ul> Finally, to expand the research beyond purely theoretical and/or academic value, i.e. to validate all propositions made in the scholarly review as being valid and applicable in a real world scenario, the knowledge management maturity questionnaire was tested in South African industry. Although not directly supportive of the aim, the knowledge gained from conducting research in industry supply knowledge management practitioners with a baseline of data to benchmark knowledge management maturity upon. The thesis therefore concludes with a summary of the main findings of the knowledge management maturity in 86 South African-based organizations. In focusing on the evolution of strategy, it was determined that knowledge has played an enabling role in the formulation of strategies. It was proposed that the evolution of strategy will continue not by replacing previous notions, but rather by building knowledgeably upon previous thought. The proposition was made that in order to set the stage for the successful institutionalization of knowledge management, organizations should decide upon issues that are proven to lead to the implementation of a knowledge management culture. In order to ensure uniformity in the institutionalizing of these issues, it was proposed that not only should issues be encapsulated within policy, but also that the strategic management process be used to determine the priority of issues. In placing knowledge management issues, policies and strategies in a chronological order, a new maturity model was formulated to reflect the progression of knowledge management endeavours from within a strategic/managerial perspective. Differences in opinion with regard to innovation’s role as measurement criteria for knowledge management were also critically reviewed. It was found that although numerous authors support a link between knowledge management and innovation, empirical evidence is not supportive. It was argued that the link between knowledge management and innovation is blurred, primarily due to the interdependency between knowledge, strategy and knowledge management. Owing to the complex nature of managing knowledge as a strategic enabler, the argument was proposed that the sum of the input will not equal the output. It was therefore proposed that knowledge management enables strategists to formulate winning strategies. The key to determining the value of knowledge management therefore lies in the extent knowledgeable reasoning leads to organisational growth, profitability and sustainability and not purely within the amount of innovation it sparks. As mentioned earlier, building on the inductive reasoning followed in the literature review, a questionnaire of six sections, constituting 101 descriptive questions, was developed and used to empirically test the knowledge management maturity of 86 South African-based organizations. With regard to the level of knowledge management maturity reached it was found that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Information Management (IM) are fairly well institutionalised within South African industry. A large number of South African organizations still consider ICT, and especially, IM to be knowledge management. Most organizations understand the concepts and issues surrounding knowledge management. Organizations agree on the benefits of knowledge management. Findings also indicated that there are differences between the scores forwarded for small, medium, large and extra-large organizations. Also, it was found that there are significant differences between the score by the different managerial levels present within organizations. Organizations in general struggle with the successful institutionalization of formal knowledge management endeavours beyond their borders. Not only is there a strong indication that middle management (supported by senior management) hold the key to successful implementation and diffusion of knowledge management, but knowledge management maturity achievements seem to be more dependent on a deliberate, conscious and calculated managerial effort, than on factors such as organizational size, the industry competing within, number of managerial levels present and resources available such as ICT. The study not only commented on the knowledge management maturity of the 86 South African-based organizations, but also identifies the extent of maturity in South African organizations and industry groupings. It was found those organizations in the construction, building materials and mining sectors, banks and insurance, consulting, auditing, and service delivery and consumer goods and utilities were the leaders regarding knowledge management maturity. Score differences between groupings could mainly be attributed to the consistency of achievement over maturity. It was noted that sector leaders achieved higher than average scores in maturity sections, and in particular regarding the management of ICT and information, the formulation of knowledge management issues, plus policy and strategy. / Thesis (PhD(IT))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Informatics / unrestricted

Integrated project delivery (IPD) method has recently emerged as an alternative to traditional delivery methods. It has the potential to overcome inefficiencies of traditional delivery methods by enhancing collaboration among project participants. Information and communication technology (ICT) facilitates IPD by effective management, processing and communication of information within and among organizations. While the benefits of IPD, and the role of ICT in realizing them, have been generally acknowledged, the US public construction sector is very slow in adopting IPD. The reasons are - lack of experience and inadequate understanding of IPD in public owner as confirmed by the results of the questionnaire survey conducted under this research study. The public construction sector should be aware of the value of IPD and should know the essentials for effective implementation of IPD principles - especially, they should be cognizant of the opportunities offered by advancements in ICT to realize this. In order to address the need an IPD Readiness Assessment Model (IPD-RAM) was developed in this research study. The model was designed with a goal to determine IPD readiness of a public owner organization considering selected IPD principles, and ICT levels, at which project functions were carried out. Subsequent analysis led to identification of possible improvements in ICTs that have the potential to increase IPD readiness scores. Termed as the gap identification, this process was used to formulate improvement strategies. The model had been applied to six Florida International University (FIU) construction projects (case studies). The results showed that the IPD readiness of the organization was considerably low and several project functions can be improved by using higher and/or advanced level ICT tools and methods. Feedbacks from a focus group comprised of FIU officials and an independent group of experts had been received at various stages of this research and had been utilized during development and implementation of the model. Focus group input was also helpful for validation of the model and its results. It was hoped that the model developed would be useful to construction owner organizations in order to assess their IPD readiness and to identify appropriate ICT improvement strategies.

A sector affected by a constant rate of organizational growth is the healthcare sector. Consequently, the increased demand for healthcare services underline the importance to have a well-functioning organizational control that pushes towards continuous improvements to enhance the quality of care. This requires high standards regarding the formulation of objectives that are shared by the workforce and efficiently integrated into the organizations day-to-day operations, with the help of technological solutions.The purpose of this study was to investigate how the organizational control in the healthcare sector could be improved, in order to enhance the work towards the achievement of the objectives among the employees. To achieve the purpose, the research was conducted as a case study at the infectious disease department at Danderyds University Hospital, where the findings were derived from both qualitative and quantitative methods. To address the department’s objective areas, interviews with representatives from the management were conducted. A questionnaire was then distributed to gain insight in how the department’s operational activities are anchored, in relation to the employees’ respective profession.The findings showed a considerable gap between the employees’ awareness and their understanding of the objective areas, resulting in a misalignment of how each profession contributes towards the achievement of the objectives in their day-to-day operations. By analyzing the findings in relation to the selected theory of organizational control and change management, four improvement measures were identified: (1) visibility of the effects and outcomes of goal fulfilment, (2) establishment of incentives in relation to goal fulfilment, (3) formulation of well-defined internal key performance indicators related to each objective and (4) providing continuous feedback regarding the progress of each objective area. These areas need to be integrated into the department’s current information technology system in order to further streamline their operational work in reaching objectives. With the help of a strong coalition to initiate the change, the improvement areas can be found to affect the employees’ understanding and attitude toward the fulfilment of the objectives in the healthcare sector.

The dissertation is focused on Information a communications technology (ICT) development's analysis and its economic coincidence. The aim of dissertation is the ICT progress general rules' formulation, gathering from historical data analysis, future progress prediction and consequent economic and social coincidence research. The analytical section assesses the state of technological development and compared its dynamics in various related fields (microelectronics and ICT) metrics of technical parameters (computing power) or economic data (ICT revenue). They are mainly analyzed historical data from the U.S. market over the past 53 years (which are available in an appropriate structure and detail) as well as other 8 states (representatives of the EU: Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium; representatives of Asia: Japan, China, India; representatives of Latin America: Brazil and Argentina) for past 13 years. The main part is devoted to analyzing the time dependence of the ratio of revenues from ICT and GDP in the examined country, which best reflects the influences of the surrounding progress and defines the individual progress stages. It monitored the dynamics of ICT sales, depending on its form (or investment services) and the influence of global and local economy. The output of work is the confirmation of theories: - A smoother development of ICT in their delivery of services in the form of investment compared to sales, - Primary dependence of ICT development on global changes and secondary dependence on changes in local economies. ICT development cycle was formulated in the frame of confirmed theories, it was certified its compliance with J.Schumpeter's theory of innovation cycles according and it was designed by its mathematical model. This work allowed to justify the development of ICT trends and contributed to the prediction of its further progress.

The master's thesis deals with the importance of information and communication technologies (ICT) for destination marketing. At first define the current status of ICT in tourism and subsequently constitutes e-marketing tools and are initially listed tools which can destination motivate potential visitors, and then presents the information sources during their stay. This master's thesis aims to analyze e-marketing tourist area Kladske pomezi and using questionnaire to find out importance ICT for tourists. Primarily, what technologies are used while traveling and for what purposes. Afterwards, to find out what information to tourism participants in the terrain most lacking, how they evaluate a website Kladske pomezi and what information is most lacking at the websites of destinations. Subsequently derive conclusions and determine recommendations for destination management and marketing Kladske pomezi.

Information and communication technology has for long been integrated into learning and teachers utilize all forms of digital technology for communication as well as to simplify learning. To adapt, teachers need to personally or through informal learning process, learn about new technologies and how to utilize them to improve learning. To personally educate themselves, the teachers need to dedicate time and resources to identify ICT competence areas where is needed and sort for resources to solve it. This thesis investigates the process of self-directed learning with a group of teachers in a planned competence development program within a local municipality’s educational department, on the use of digital technology to integrate into classrooms. With action research that integrates instructional learning from the organizations perspective and inquiry learning from teacher’s perspective, self-directed learning process was tested as a simple and structured process for self/collaborative learning, for participants. The result was a series of events that summarized why teachers could not follow the learning process, with a conclusion that in order for teachers to be self-directed in learning new ICT, the organizational need to allocate time not only for instructional learning, but also for inquiry learning.

Orientador: Maria Beatriz Machado Bonacelli / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Geociências / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-22T03:11:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Canhos_DoraAnnLange_D.pdf: 4584795 bytes, checksum: 0096e2a4a1b77389778670564e53faae (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: A tese apresenta como tema a influência das tecnologias da informação e comunicação (TICs) na circulação do conhecimento científico e o seu efeito na elaboração de políticas públicas em biodiversidade. O avanço das TICs está afetando a forma com que o conhecimento é produzido e como os resultados são difundidos. As TICs tornaram possível o envolvimento de mais atores na gênese do conhecimento, atores de diferentes disciplinas, especialidades, instituições, localidades, países, culturas e realidades sociais. O paradigma tradicional de compartilhamento de dados e resultados científicos por meio apenas de publicações em livros e revistas especializadas não é mais suficiente para atender à demanda contemporânea que necessita não só da disponibilidade dos dados, mas dos processos, análises e métodos e, quando possível, em tempo real, proporcionando uma maior transparência e reprodutibilidade dos resultados. Também não basta a disponibilidade dos dados on-line; estes precisam estar organizados de forma padronizada em formatos úteis e utilizáveis, acessíveis, tanto por interfaces humanas, como também via serviços web. Além da tecnologia e da necessidade científica de compartilhar dados, métodos e análises em diferentes escalas e disciplinas, existe uma necessidade de acesso e uso dos dados e aplicativos para processos de tomada de decisão, também em diferentes escalas, do local ao global. Isso é particularmente verdadeiro quando o tema é meio ambiente e desenvolvimento sustentável. A tese argumenta que a política para dados sobre biodiversidade deve promover o seu acesso livre e aberto. Destaca a importância de políticas de longo prazo voltadas ao desenvolvimento e manutenção contínua de infraestruturas de dados para armazenar, organizar, preservar, recuperar e disseminar on-line, de forma livre e aberta, em formato útil e utilizável, dados e informações sobre biodiversidade, geradas com recursos públicos. Indica a necessidade das agências e do poder público se capacitarem para se apropriarem desses dados e informações disponibilizadas nessas e-infraestruturas. Na tese são analisadas três infraestruturas de dados sobre biodiversidade: a rede global GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility); a rede mexicana Conabio (Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad, Mexico) e a rede brasileira speciesLink. Para cada rede é apresentada uma breve análise dos pontos fortes e fracos, buscando elementos para avaliar a adequação das políticas de fomento para o desenvolvimento e manutenção desses sistemas. São também apresentados três exemplos de uso da infraestrutura brasileira, a rede speciesLink: (i) para o monitoramento e acompanhamento de programas e projetos e para avaliação e valorização dos serviços científicos prestados por curadores e taxonomistas; (ii) para a identificação de lacunas de dados e conhecimento sobre a ocorrência de espécies da flora e fungos do Brasil; e (iii) para a definição de estratégias de apoio à informatização dos acervos de coleções biológicas do país. A tese procura mostrar a oportunidade, viabilidade e importância de usar e-infraestruturas em biodiversidade, não só para ampliar o acesso e a usabilidade dos dados para o desenvolvimento científico, mas para a elaboração e avaliação de políticas públicas, inclusive para melhorar a qualidade, confiabilidade e completude dos dados e informações / Abstract: The theme of this thesis is the influence of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the circulation of scientific knowledge and its effect on the formulation of public policies on biodiversity. Advances in ICTs are affecting the way in which knowledge is produced and how results are disseminated. ICTs have enabled the involvement of more actors in the genesis of knowledge, actors from different disciplines, specialties, institutions, localities, countries, and from different social and cultural backgrounds. Thus, the traditional paradigm of sharing scientific data and results through books and journals is not sufficient to attend contemporary demands that require not only the availability of data, but also processes, analysis, and methods and, when possible, in real time, providing increased transparency and reproducibility of results. But just making data available on-line is not sufficient. It must be organized following accepted standards, in useful and usable formats, and accessible, both through human interfaces and as web services. In addition to the technology and the need to share scientific data, methods and analysis in different scales and disciplines, there is the need to use a data infrastructure with tools for decision making, also in different scales, from local to global. This is particularly true when the theme is environment and sustainable development. The thesis argues that policy for biodiversity data must promote its free and open access. It also stresses the importance of long term policies for ongoing maintenance and development of electronic biodiversity data infrastructures, responsible for storing, organizing, preserving, recuperating, and for on-line free and open dissemination of information and data, generated with public funding. The thesis also indicates the need for public agents and authorities to make efficient and effective use of the data and information provided by such e-infrastructures. The thesis analyses three biodiversity data infrastructures: the global network GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility); the Mexican network Conabio (Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad, Mexico); and the Brazilian network speciesLink. A brief analysis is presented for each network, evaluating strengths and weaknesses, seeking elements to assess the adequacy of policies to promote the development and maintenance of these systems. Three examples of possible uses of the Brazilian network speciesLink are also presented: (i) for monitoring programs and projects and for the evaluation and acknowledgement of scientific services provided by curators and taxonomists; (ii) to identify data and knowledge gaps on the occurrence of species of flora and fungi of Brazil; and, (iii) to define strategies to support the computerization of biological collections in the country. The thesis aims at showing the opportunity, feasibility and importance of using e-infrastructures in biodiversity, not only to increase access and usability of data for scientific development, but for the development and evaluation of public policies, including those to improve the quality, reliability, and completeness of data and information / Doutorado / Politica Cientifica e Tecnologica / Doutora em Política Científica e Tecnológica

Orientadores: Rúbia Barcelos Amaral, Samuel Rocha de Oliveira / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Educação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-24T08:53:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Stivam_ElenPriscila_M.pdf: 2054215 bytes, checksum: e6d20b9bbaa3aac9aa234af2e64c2e2f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo investigar a integração entre TIC (Tecnologia da Informação e Comunicação) distintas no que tange ao ensino de Função do 1º grau. Algumas TIC entre vídeos, softwares, livros didáticos e Caderno do Aluno (originado a partir da Proposta Curricular do Estado de São Paulo) foram selecionadas com o propósito de compreender os aspectos que cada uma traz como diferencial quando entendidas como recurso didático, e assim analisar possibilidades de se integrarem, de modo a permitir que o aluno construa seu próprio conhecimento, com mediação constante do educador. Apoiada na abordagem qualitativa de pesquisa, os potenciais educativos das TIC foram analisados a partir de estudos que avaliaram estes recursos. Posteriormente, foi realizada uma discussão envolvendo as possibilidades de integração entre elas, com base nas ações da Espiral da Aprendizagem, apresentadas através do Construcionismo, que busca contribuir com a autonomia do aluno, a partir de suas reflexões. Concluo que é possível a realização de integrações entre as TIC, envoltas por seus potenciais didáticos, porém é necessário que o professor se aproprie destes recursos, adequando seu uso para diferentes situações, considerando as necessidades e os tipos de atividades propostas. Estas integrações podem contribuir para que o aluno interprete as minúcias do conteúdo de Função do 1º grau, através de diferentes perspectivas. Assim é possível desenvolver Micromundos, compostos pela integração de diferentes tecnologias, envolvidos por aspectos construcionistas, trazendo contribuições para o ensino de Função do 1º grau. / Abstract: This research studies the integration of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) regarding the teaching first degree functions. Some ICT among videos, software, textbooks and the Caderno do Aluno (Student's Notebook - originated from the Curriculum Proposal of the State of São Paulo) were selected with the purpose of understanding the aspects that differentiate each one of them when regarded as a teaching resource, and thus analyze possibilities to integrate them in order to allow students build their own knowledge with the constant mediation of the educator. Supported by the qualitative approach of the research, the educational potential of ICT was analyzed from studies evaluating these resources.This was followed by a discussion involving the integration possibilities between them, which was based on the actions of the Spiral Learning, presented by the Constructionism, which aims to contribute to student's autonomy from his reflections. I conclude that it is possible to perform integrations between ICTs, surrounded by their didactic potential, but it is necessary that the teachers get a total control of these resources, adapting their use for different situations, considering the needs and the types of activities proposed. These integrations can help the student grasp the minimum details of the subject of first degree functions through different perspectives. So it is possible to develop Microworlds, composed by the integration of different technologies, related by constructiveness, bringing contributions to the teaching of first degree functions / Mestrado / Mestra em Multiunidades em Ensino de Ciências e Matemática

Abstract The study began out of curiosity to research stakeholders perception about decommissioning visitors centers in Sweden. Decommissioning visitors centers is an ongoing trend caused by the change in visitor behaviour. A major cause to this change is the new information- and communication technologies such as more advanced digital platforms. Through an inductive research approach and a qualitative research method have we studied the phenomenon decommissioning of visitor centers. The empirical material is gathered through unstructured telephone interviews with relevant stakeholders. We concluded that stakeholders at both destinations have experienced a greater responsibility for the hospitality given. They also got the impression that visitors do not gain enough essential information upon arrival and gets baffled by this lack of information. In addition to this, the result of the study indicates a blurred line around who is responsible for the personal and the digital hospitality at the destinations. The confusion about who's in charge for handing out tourism information is present at both destinations.