Thesis (M.M. (ICT Policy and Regulation))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Graduate School of Public and Development Management, 2013. / The rollout of broadband through Information Communications Technology for Development (ICT4D) approaches can facilitate socio-economic growth in the country. Effective implementation of broadband programs under the policy guidance of the Department of Communications (DoC) and the Presidential Infrastructure and Coordination Committee (PICC) would enhance the availability of broadband, which in turn could improve delivery of many public and private services. Furthermore, municipalities should be key stakeholdersin promoting broadband rollout, using mechanisms that are suitable for either urban or rural areas. This research report presents a qualitative case study which attempts to establish the challenges for municipal broadband initiatives that are taking effect in South Africa. The study examinesa particular set of factors that affects the rollout of broadband and investigates how factors such as funding levels, technology adaptation, business models,policy intervention and regulatory effects either promote or inhibit broadband deployment. With attention to a single, in-depth case study, the reportconsiders the challenges that the City of Tshwane Municipality has experienced when rolling out pilot projects and the extent to whichthe success of municipal broadband infrastructure rollout depends on policy and regulatory interventions. The Broadband Policy (201 0) adopted by government to facilitate the broadband initiatives has beenreviewed in this ~tudy. The research findings indicate that decisions made in all three spheres of government i.e. national, provincial and local, influence these five factors, thus affecting the rollout of broadband at municipallevei.The findings indicated that the Ministry of Communications is reviewing the current broadband policy to include more detailed guidelines and ICASA is reviewing the regulatory framework. However, it remains unclear whether the importance of the five factors articulated here will be acknowledged in these revisions.Therefore, the recommendations in this report are directed to the policy maker, the Department of Communications and the ICT Policy Review Panel, to take cognisance of the factors that affect municipal broadband rollout. A coordinated inter-governmental approach on broadband initiatives is required to deliver high speed communications infrastructure to citizens.

A range of factors, both internal and external, is creating changes in teaching and teachers’ professional lives. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is just one of the major changes impacting on the teaching profession. As teachers face intense pressure to adapt to this tsunami, this study aims to investigate ways in which teachers can be helped. In South Australia, where this study is set, all teachers in Government schools are expected to be "ICT Smart", i.e. able to use appropriate forms of ICT to enhance the teaching and learning environment of their classrooms. From the researcher’s involvement for over a decade in professional development for teachers, and from visits to many schools, it appears that numerous teachers have not reached this standard. The greatest need is in Reception to Year 7 schools where the average age of teachers is nearly 50. Because no state-wide data exists, this study is intended to establish if there is a problem and if there is, to identify specific needs and offer possible solutions. The study is comprised of four parts: Part A, the Introduction gives an overview of the inter-relationships between these parts and the overall Folio. It establishes the setting and provides a rationale for the study and its focus on Professional Development in Information and Communication Technology. Part B, the Elective Research Studies, follows the writer’s involvement in this field since the 1980s. It establishes the theme of "Moving best practice in ICT from the few to the many" which underlies the whole study. Part C, the Dissertation, traces the steps taken to investigate the need for professional development in ICT. This is achieved by analysing and commenting on data collected from a state-wide survey and a series of interviews with leading figures, and by providing a review of the relevant literature and past and existing models of professional development. Part D, Final Comments, provides an overview of the whole Folio and a reflection on the research that has been conducted. The findings are that there is widespread dissatisfaction with existing models and that there is an urgent need for professional development in this area, because nearly 20% of teachers either do not use computers or are considered to be novice users. Another 25% are considered to be below not yet "ICT Smart". Less than 10% of ICT co-ordinators have a formal qualification in the field but more than 85% of them are interested in a Masters program. The study offers solutions in Part B where there is a discussion of a range of strategies to provide on-going professional development for teachers. Chapter 9 provides an outline of a proposed Masters level program and offers suggestions on how it could be best delivered. This program would meet the identified needs of ICT co-ordinators. The study concludes with a series of recommendations and suggestions for further research. The Education Department must address these urgent professional development needs of teachers, particularly those in the more remote country regions. There needs to be a follow-up survey to establish to what extent teachers in South Australia are now "ICT Smart ".

This thesis discovered how notions of place and community circulate in the literature on various forms of teletechnologies and place-making. To do this, its aim was, first, to understand the interactions and interconnections between teletechnologies (or, information and communications technologies), place, and community, both within and outside of the literature on teletechnologies, and, second, to ascertain what relevance place and community might continue to have in the electronic age. (For complete abstract open document)

Texte remanié de: Thèse de doctorat--Sciences de gestion--Paris-Dauphine, 2003. / En appendice, choix de documents. Bibliogr. p. 143-164.

This research examines loyalty marketing as an empirical case study of consumer surveillance. Focusing on the Canadian context, the research investigates the relationship between the personal information economy and loyalty marketing through several interrelated perspectives. These are marketing and business literature, theoretical frameworks of surveillance, the branding of consumers and corporations, consumer ambivalence towards surveillance and privacy issues, and the mutual shaping of consumers and these programs. These interrelated yet distinctive perspectives provide different means to understand loyalty programs as information portals in the increasingly monitored, measured and marketed lives of consumers. They are a means of surveillance through which corporations systematically collect consumption data in order to influence, manage, entitle, or control consumers (Lyon 2001). The research is based on interviews with loyalty program executives, international survey results, and focus groups to both describe the relationship between corporate information processing and consumers as well as the current and potential social effects and issues embedded in this relationship. Loyalty programs are seen as an important means for conceptualizing contemporary marketing practices, the use of personal information, and personal identity in an information oriented society. They are a complex manifestation of a ‘knowing capitalism’ (Thrift 2005) that has implications far beyond the accumulation of points and the ‘reward yourself’ appeal of participation by contributing to a cultural consumption circuit that perpetuates and reinforces already existing socio-economic differences. / Thesis (Ph.D, Sociology) -- Queen's University, 2008-04-24 10:19:22.99

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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Syracuse University, 2008. / "Publication number: AAT 3323071."

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leave 77-81).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of South Carolina, 1998. / Appendix 3 in Japanese. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 147-171).

Thesis (M.Com. (Information Systems)) - Rhodes University, 2006.