A Tese constitui uma reflexão sobre emergentes comportamentos coletivos e individuais associados às TICs – Tecnologias da Informação e Comunicação - e que a partir de abordagem de pesquisa baseada na Perspectiva Eco-Sistêmica (construtivista, interacionista, sociocultural, afetiva e transcendente), procura reproduzir um caminho de referencias e reflexões teóricas e pessoais, individuais e coletivas. Pode-se considerar como ponto de partida desta Tese, a visualização de comportamentos individuais e coletivos relacionados às TICs associados a uma crescente necessidade de expressão e compartilhamento. Embora a Tese não esteja limitada ao aspecto musical, a reflexão que resultou neste trabalho, teve como principio a observação de uma intensa e crescente atividade musical, que não se limitavam apenas a trocas e escuta de arquivos, mas também a comportamentos protagonistas, criativos, não hierárquicos, relacionados à intervenção sobre os arquivos, composições coletivas, manipulação de códigos abertos e comunidades open code, e que são investigados pela linha de pesquisa em Música Ubíqua, que constitui uma das referências da Tese.Todos esses comportamentos, de forma geral, associados aos jovens, mas cada vez mais generalizados na sociedade e ampliados a todas as áreas. Comportamentos tribais segundo Maffesoli, ligados a uma visão cíclica que manifesta a necessidade humana de expressão de seus anseios, que são caracterizados por um estar junto, um presenteísmo, e um reenraizamento como necessidades profundas humanas, em resposta a uma sociedade estagnada pela racionalidade excessiva. Comportamentos que frisam, segundo Heidegger, o aspecto relacional do ser-aí como essencialmente ser-com-o-outro, e do jogo como parte da existência e dessa relação. Jogo, que por sua vez, se associa diretamente às nossas formas de relação com às TICs. Comportamentos emergentes que, para Johnson, estão ligados a padrões observáveis em diversos sistemas na natureza e na sociedade. Todos esses aspectos são relacionados à visão complexa de Morin sobre homo, em todas suas faces de manifestação no mundo: sapiens,faber,demens, ludens,mythologicus, que por sua vez impregnam nossas próprias relações com o mundo que construímos, e com a tecnologia que retroage sobre o mundo e sobre nós. Comportamentos que trazem potencialmente consigo um profundo questionamento do que somos, de nossos determinismos e possibilidades, de nossas constituições física, cerebral, mental, espiritual. De nossos limites e possibilidades. De nossos avanços e recuos. Trazem a possibilidade de reflexão sobre a ciência, e as tecnociências, que produzimos e que nos produz. Todas relações que refletem na forma como vemos, refletimos e fazemos educação em todos os níveis. A ideia das Diásporas mentais e das Mentes diaspóricas, procura sintetizar este movimento complexo, que nos potencializa a possibilidade de ser ao mesmo tempo, em vários espaços, tempos, que nos desimpede de limitações físicas, locais, sociais, que reafirma nossa identidade complexa, física e não-física, cerebral e mental, espiritual, contraditória e consensual, coletiva e individual. / The thesis is a reflection on emerging collective behavior and individual associated with ICT - Information and Communication Technologies -, and that from a research approach based on the Eco-Systemic Perspective (constructivist, interactionist, socio-cultural, emotional and transcendent), seeks to reproduce a path of references and theoretical personal, individual and collective reflections. The visualization of individual and collective behaviors related to ICTs associated with a growing need for expression and sharing may be considered as the starting point of this thesis. Although the thesis is not limited to the musical aspect, the reflection that resulted from this work had as a principal an intense and growing musical activity observation , which was not limited to file listening and exchanges, but also to the observation of protagonist, creative, not hierarchical behavior , related to the intervention on archives, collective composition, manipulation of open codes and open code communities, which are investigated by the line of research on Ubiquitous Music, which is one of the Thesis´ references. All these behaviors are generally associated with youth, but also are increasingly widespread in society and extended to all areas. Tribal behaviors according to Maffesoli, linked to a cyclical view that expresses the human need for their desires´ expression, which are characterized by a being together, a presenteeism, and a rerooting as a deep human need, in response to a stagnant society by an excessive rationality. Behaviors that, according to Heidegger, emphasize the relational aspect of being-there as essentially as being-with-the-other, and the game as part of the existence and this relationship. A game, which in his turn is directly associated to our way of relating to ICTs. Emergent behaviors that for Johnson are linked to the observable patterns in many systems in nature and in society. All these aspects are related to the complex view of Morin on homo in all its facets of manifestation in the world: sapiens, faber, demens, ludens, mythologicus, which in turn permeate our own relationship with the world we have built, and with the technology that retroacts on the world and on us. Behaviors that potentially bring with them a deep questioning of what we are, our possibilities and determinism, of our physical, brain, mental and spiritual constitution, of our limits and possibilities, our advances and retreats. Behaviors that bring the possibility of reflection on science, and technosciences, that we produce and that produce us, all relationships that reflect the way we see, reflect and make education at all levels. The idea of Mental Diasporas and Diasporic Minds, seeks to synthesize this complex movement, which enhances the possibility of us being at the same time in different spaces and times, which disengages us from physical, local and social limitations, which reaffirms our complex physical and non-physical, mental and cerebral, spiritual, contradictory and consensual, collective and individual identity.

The diploma thesis deals with the teaching of programming at elementary schools in the Czech Republic. The theoretical part of the thesis focuses on mapping the current state of the teaching of programming at elementary schools. In addition, the currently used resources to support the teaching of algorithmization and programming for children are mapped. These resources are evaluated by selected evaluation criteria. On the theoretical basis of thesis, a teaching model focused on programming is designed as a practical output, including learning materials and a methodological manual for teachers. The design of the model of teaching is verified in practice.

The practice of education promotes both social interaction and the utilization of technology. Although significant research has explored the role of technology in education, less attention has considered the effect of technology on group learning processes. This experimental study examined the way in which technology affected group interactions among primary grades youth who were engaged in a learning task. The social processes in the learning groups that used technology showed little difference from the groups not using technology, except for a measure that tracked role fulfillment. The report compares the groups and discusses ICT mediated collaborative learning.

Students learning English at school and another language at home comprise a rapidly growing segment of U.S. student populations. Language learners can benefit from using technology, but do not always use it advantageously (Katz & Gonzalez, 2016). Many studies address technology’s scholastic use, but few investigate how bilinguals use digital technology at home (Hinostroza, Matamala, Labbé, Claro, & Cabello, 2015), or what it means to them (Toboso-Martin, 2013). This qualitative multiple-case study focuses on the intersection between bilinguals, intergenerational learning, and digital technology. Specifically, it studies how bilingual, Hispanic family members interact around information and communication technology (ICT), and their attitudes toward ICT. Language patterns emerged during paired ICT use. Data were gathered from six Hispanic, bilingual families in the Midwestern U.S. through interviews, observation, and tasks where intergenerational pairs were asked to teach each other about ICT. This study adds to the literature on bilingualism, digital literacy, sociocultural theory, and intergenerational learning. Findings included parental ICT policies of vigilance, access, and trust. Findings support arguments that the digital divide persists as digital literacy. ICT both impeded and promoted intergenerational learning. Findings shed light on bilinguals’ contextualized linguistic needs, and echoed Vygotsky’s writings on gesture, internalized speech, and serial thought processing. English dominated as the language of ICT, but participants used Spanish and English to contextualize problems and negotiate meaning. Findings affirmed factors affecting the quality of ICT use. The author argues that Grosjean’s Complementarity Principle can be applied to digital literacy. Implications for parents, teachers, and researchers are given. Key words: bilingualism, families, intergenerational learning, information and communication technology (ICT), digital technology, digital literacy, home language practices, sociocultural theory, translanguaging

The World Economic Forum (WEF) found that Botswana's information and communication technology (ICT) networked readiness index (NRI) had declined from position 89 in 2012 to 104 in 2015. A decline in Botswana's ICT NRI resulted in a modest gross domestic product (GDP) growth increasing from 4.2% in 2012 to 5.0% in 2015. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies ICT service provider managers use to build employee competencies to address ICT infrastructure performance deficiencies. The target population for this study consisted of over 120 managers from 2 ICT service providers located in Gaborone and Francistown in Botswana. The conceptual framework for this study was information technology (IT) competency model. Face-to-face interviews with 15 managers and a review of 12 company documents were gathered and all interpretations from the data were subjected to member checking to ensure the trustworthiness of the study findings. The thematic analyses of participants' interviews and company documents resulted in the emergence of 3 common themes: developing professional employee competencies through training, promoting knowledge acquisition and skills transfer, and developing budgets for funding the development of employee competencies. Participants cited training and professional development as a reason for ICT infrastructure performance deficiencies. Social implications from this study include developing strategies business managers can use to build employee competencies to improve ICT infrastructure performance, which could result in improved services to citizens and enhanced national development, social transformation, and economic diversification.

Increasingly the perceived benefits of using networked computers, software applications and computer simulations in learning activities are being exploited at all educational levels and within all curricula areas. As web-based and online software applications such as browsers, search engines, communication tools and data-bases mature, so does educator's use of this medium for teaching and learning. How we can investigate the impact of these technologies upon the educational experiences of learners was the fundamental concept addressed by this thesis. The study reports on the design, development and validation of a web-based survey instrument for use in online learning environments in tertiary education. The thesis investigated both previous psychosocial learning environment instrument development studies and the nature of environments created by the use of information and communication technologies. The research followed a two-phased instrument development process. Phase one focused on content validity, identifying salient scales and items and piloting the instrument with a limited audience. Phase two focused on construct validity, conducting an extensive field test with a web-based form and performing statistical analysis on the online data collected. Principal components analysis, with oblique and orthogonal rotations, confirmed the structure of a 35-item 7-scale instrument. The thesis concludes by confirming the new instrument, the Online Learning Environment Survey (OLLES), will allow conclusions to be drawn about student perceptions on the interactions occurring in their online environments in an economical and efficient manner.

The New Zealand construction supply chain today is inefficient. From a literature review it is found that non value adding activities including waste of time and materials are caused by islands of information with ineffective communication between supply chain participants. This represents an opportunity for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to provide a strategic supply chain management model for the industry enabling interaction and shared information between all parties. To evaluate the performance of ICTs in the New Zealand construction supply chain, this thesis uses as a case study newly launched software---BlueSky. BlueSky was developed by the Building Integration Software Company located in AUT Technical Park. BlueSky was designed to integrate the fragments of the current information flow of the chain from architect through to the end property owner. Supporting Data was gathered by distributing a structured questionnaire designed to find the opportunities and inhibitors for utilizing ICTs to facilitate the synthesis of the chain. 200 responses were received. The study was funded by a TEC grant. The BlueSky case study is based on two pilot sites; one is an architectural design company and the other is a master contractor company in Auckland. The case study also evaluated the potential problems which may bring risks to supply chain members and provide possible recommendations for future research. The study found from the results of the questionnaire that a significant shift in the mindset of participants of the supply chain will be necessary in terms of collaboration and team work if mutual benefits are to be achieved. It is found that in the two pilot sites BlueSky did make a significant difference in terms of reduced cost, accuracy of information, improved documentation management, and overall increased speed and clarity of information. In the wider community of the industry as a whole considerable education is needed to break down mistrust between members. In general each member appears to be determined to secure the best result as individuals rather than considering the overall outcome for the whole chain. This reluctance to co-operate is coupled with a reluctance to utilize ICTs. Recommendations are made to overcome this mindset.

For future generations to maximise their capability to operate within technologically driven economies, it is critical to foster computer abilities at every level of the schooling process. Teachers are central to this process. Yet, for many teachers, the need to integrate computer use in their teaching is threatening and overwhelming. This thesis argues that, given the rapid rate of technological change, skills-based approaches to computer education inadequately prepare teachers for a career of continued technological change. Effective computer education for teachers requires more than skills training. It involves changes in attitudes, values and beliefs that provide confidence for ongoing learning. Furthermore, it involves learning to adapt to change, to be flexible, intuitive and above all persistent. It requires the fostering of teachers who know how to be self-directed and independent in their computer learning, rather than those dependent on structured routines or guidelines. This thesis is the ‘story’ of an action research initiative underpinned by a belief in the importance of approaches to computer education which foster lifelong computer learning. It traces the journey of a reflexive process of change and iterative development in the teaching of an educational information technology (computer) unit to pre-service teacher education students. Over a period of three years (1999-2001) I pursued a central research question, namely: How can I develop my teaching practice to better facilitate the development of capable computer users? The research explores the distinction between a ‘competent’ and a ‘capable’ computer user and trials a range of teaching and learning approaches that aim to facilitate the development of capable computer users.From this constructivist research and teaching process a multidimensional approach to computer education emerged, founded on metacognition and reflection. This approach is demonstrated to offer many advantages over a skills-focused approach. This thesis maps the complexity of the computer learning and teaching context, arguing that simplistic approaches to teaching will produce narrow and limited learning outcomes. Rather, a holistic approach is proposed, one that moves beyond the development of computer competency toward a longer term vision of facilitating computer capability. It is argued that the role of the computer ‘teacher’ is to foster reflective awareness and develop a learning environment that can assist computer learners to become comfortable existing on the ‘edge of chaos’.This research supports previous studies which indicate the important role of computer self efficacy and the influence of factors such as perceived usefulness, anxiety, support and frequency and duration of use. However, the research also documents the unpredictable influence of these factors on individuals’ resultant approach to computers and challenges dichotomous interpretations of such factors. Appropriate attribution is also shown to be a major influence on computer capability, as are factors such as help-seeking, motivation and goal-setting, although again, these influences are non-linear. It is argued that computer capability cannot be ‘taught’ but, rather, computer educators should look to creating environments where its emergence can be facilitated. The metacognitive computer learning context developed and explored through this research is one such approach.

This is an investigation of the diffusion of new information and communication technologies (ICTs), particularly the Internet, by community broadcasting organisations. In order to understand ICT diffusion processes in community radio stations, this study focuses on a particular project which saw a large scale diffusion of Internet technologies across Australian community radio stations at the beginning of 1998. The Community Access Network (CAN) project was an initiative of the Australian government, and saw funding for the provision of an Internet ready computer to every licensed community radio station in Australia. In approaching this subject, this research employed social constructivist assumptions, expecting that ICT use, and in particular the CAN workstations, would vary from station to station, reflecting the cultural and organisational conditions in each environment. As such the study aimed to understand the ways in which ICT technologies have been used and understood by community ralo station management and their participants. Since community radio stations are organisations, this study employed Everett Rogers' framework for understanding diffusion of innovation processes within organisations, acknowledging that organisational variables act on innovation behaviour in a manner over and above that of the aggregate of individual members of the organisation. This approach provided scope for the investigation and comparison of organisational factors, as well as meaning making on the part of individual participants. The research was based on data collected from two case studies, chosen on the basis of their divergent social, cultural and organisational environments; 4EB in Brisbane, a metropolitan, ethnic community radio station; and 2NCR-FM in Lismore, a regional, generalist community radio station. Ethnographic methods of observation and interviews were employed to collect qualitative data, providing insider accounts of community broadcaster's use, experience, and understanding of the new technologies in their day-to-day broadcast practices. By looking at two different community radio stations, this research acknowledges points of similarity and difference across these organisational situations, identifying factors that contribute to variation in technology take-up in particular station programming emphasis, perception of need, organisational resources, role of innovation champions, training, ICT policy and broadcaster variables. Evidence drawn from these case studies, and the specific ICT investigated, contributes to a general understanding of factors in the diffusion of ICT technologies across the community broadcast sector, providing a frame of reference for anticipating subsequent innovation diffusion. In particular, there are implications for future diffusion projects which plan to deploy new technologies across the community radio sector. It also contextualises community broadcasting and ICT use within the field of new technology uptake by broadcast sectors in general.

The impact of information and communication technologies (ICTs) is a significant issue in today's tourism industry. The development of the internet has made information easily accessible to consumers, and has therefore established a direct link between consumers and suppliers. As a result, traditional travel distribution channels are changing rapidly. A major feature of this change is "disintermediation", with principals such as airlines, hotels and rental car chains bypassing intermediaries and sell directly to consumers. Travel agents (TAs) are considered to be particularly vulnerable to this process. ICTs have the potential to replace their core competencies, which include transaction processing (ticketing and settlement) and information provision (raw product information provided by suppliers).This thesis focuses on the impact of ICTs on the TA sector, and specifically on the New Zealand TA case. A theoretical approach based on regulation theory combined with a mixed method approach was used to investigate the main issues in New Zealand. The research included a case study to identify the principal issues and trends in the TA sector, in-depth interviews with TAs and industry specialists to refine the main issues and allow the formulation of some theoretical assumptions, in-depth interviews with consumers regarding the role of TAs in the internet era and the quality of service they provide, and a fully-structured, national on-line survey of TAs to verify the assumptions made in the earlier interviews and test the applicability of the post-Fordism model for the New Zealand TA sector.Based on the findings, it is argued that disintermediation is particularly pronounced in the relationship between airlines and travel agents. To minimise the risk of disintermediation and improve business performance, TAs need to reposition themselves and review their core strategies to compete efficiently in the changing business environment. The thesis reveals that consumers perceive TAs as mainly "transaction facilitators". Nevertheless the thesis show that process of "reintermediation" is a reality for some New Zealand TAs.An application of regulation theory to the New Zealand TA case reveals that in its traditional form, the regulation theory cannot explain the complexities found in the modern TA environment. The thesis reveals several distinct modes in TA perceptions of their business environment and their survival strategies, which indicates a heterogeneous, clustered population. A "formula for success" is developed for TAs in New Zealand. In this respect, TAs that perceive ICT as a strategic tool and are orientated towards consumers appear to have a business advantage.