Gender differences in labor markets and within households have been investigated by researchers for a long time. This dissertation adds new findings to the body of gender-related empirical studies on labor markets and demographic decisions. The first essay deals with the firm size selection behavior of workers and the firms' employment patterns by size in the United States. Using the Current Population Survey, I find that the changes in firm size distribution show different trends by gender between 1987 and 2001. While the percentage of female workers in large firms has increased gradually, that of male workers has hardly changed over time. These trends are not explained by changes in the distribution of demographic and job characteristics alone. I also find that the gender gaps in size-wage premia of workers in large firms decline over the period studied. Using these results, I show that gender wage convergence is partly accounted for by the changes in size distribution and size premia. The second essay examines how internet use affects job search and match outcomes of young workers in South Korea. Using the Youth Panel surveyed in 2001, I find that workers successfully employed through internet search have a significant wage premium over those employed through traditional methods, except for referrals or social networks. The positive wage effect is pronounced among women and previously unemployed workers. I also find that new employees who have ever searched online for jobs are more likely to search for other jobs. The third essay focuses on an idiosyncratic social norm and its effects on demographic outcomes. South Koreans have traditionally considered that the year of the Horse bears inauspicious implications for the birth of daughters. Using monthly longitudinal data at the region level between 1970 and 2003, I find that in the year of the Horse, the sex ratio at birth significantly increases while fertility decreases. The last essay examines how family cultural values, proxied by lunar calendar use for birthday, affect young individuals' marriage and fertility decisions in South Korea. Employing the Youth Panel, I find that young people with lunar birthdays, regardless of gender, are more likely to be married. More interestingly, young married men with lunar birthdays are more likely to have children, while young married women are not influenced by the tradition. These results are consistent with the hypotheses that young men from more traditional families enter into early marriages and that they are more likely to have offspring at earlier ages. / text

The purpose of the study was to investigate the prevalence and quality of on-line friendships, to find which individual characteristics differentiate people who look for and form on-line friendship(s) from those who don't, and to discover factors which are of importance for the development of on-line friendship(s). 574 Internet users completed an on-line questionnaire. The results showed that: (1) almost 50% of respondents had on-line friendship(s); (2) off-line friendships were better developed than on-line friendships. However, there was only a minor difference between the quality of the best off-line and best on-line friendships; (3) the Internet was a safe place for building personal relationships, especially for shy individuals; (4) people who felt lonely were more likely to turn to the Internet to find friends; (5) Internet usage and attitudes to the Internet were significant factors that differentiated those who looked for and formed friendship(s) on-line from those who didn't. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

New mass media impact on the nature of public communication and the use and gratification of existing mass media because each new medium is used and experienced differently. As a new mass medium, the Internet offers different forms of communication, such as Internet Relay Chat, Multi-User Dungeons and chatrooms. It has also combined traditional mass media, namely print, radio and television, into a single powerful medium. Due to the fact that the Internet is still an emerging medium, its long-term effects on the nature of public communication and traditional mass media warrants ongoing investigation. The first part (Part A) of this dissertation situates the Internet chronologically within the development of traditional mass media and their impact on public communication. Part B investigates Internet use among a group of professionals in South Africa. The objective is to identify how they use the Internet and the gratification they derive from it. / Communication Science / M.A. (Communication)

Fundação Araucária / Este estudo examina a hipótese que usar folksonomias induzidas dos sistemas de tagging colaborativo em modelagem conceitual deve reduzir o número de divergências entre os atores envolvidos no processo quando eles elicitam termos para serem usados no modelo, usando-se como baseline os termos extraídos de páginas Web baseados na frequência de termos. Usa como medida de eficiência o número de divergências, pois quanto menor o número de divergências, menor o tempo e o esforço necessários para criar o modelo conceitual. Descreve os experimentos controlados de modelagem conceitual que foram realizados com grupos experimentais que receberam a folksonomia e com grupos de controle que receberam termos extraídos de páginas Web. Os resultados descritos mostram que grupos experimentais e de controle obtiveram números similares de divergências. Outras medidas de eficiências, assim como o reuso dos termos nos artefatos da modelagem e a facilidade percebida ao realizar a tarefa de modelagem confirmaram os resultados obtidos pelo número de divergências, com uma eficiência ligeiramente maior entre os grupos experimentais. / This study examines the hypothesis that using folksonomies induced from collaborative tagging systems in conceptual modeling should reduce the number of divergences between actors when they elicit terms to be used in a model, using as baseline terms extracted from webpages based on term frequency. It uses as efficiency measure the number of divergences, because the fewer the divergences, the less time and effort required to create a conceptual model. It describes the controlled conceptual modeling experiments that were performed using experimental groups that received a folksonomy and control groups that received terms extracted from webpages. The results show that the experimental and control groups obtained similar numbers of divergences. Other efficiency measures, such as reuse of terms in the phases of conceptual modeling and perceived ease of performing the modeling task, confirmed the results obtained by the number of divergences, with slightly greater efficiency among the experimental groups.

Fundação Araucária / Este estudo examina a hipótese que usar folksonomias induzidas dos sistemas de tagging colaborativo em modelagem conceitual deve reduzir o número de divergências entre os atores envolvidos no processo quando eles elicitam termos para serem usados no modelo, usando-se como baseline os termos extraídos de páginas Web baseados na frequência de termos. Usa como medida de eficiência o número de divergências, pois quanto menor o número de divergências, menor o tempo e o esforço necessários para criar o modelo conceitual. Descreve os experimentos controlados de modelagem conceitual que foram realizados com grupos experimentais que receberam a folksonomia e com grupos de controle que receberam termos extraídos de páginas Web. Os resultados descritos mostram que grupos experimentais e de controle obtiveram números similares de divergências. Outras medidas de eficiências, assim como o reuso dos termos nos artefatos da modelagem e a facilidade percebida ao realizar a tarefa de modelagem confirmaram os resultados obtidos pelo número de divergências, com uma eficiência ligeiramente maior entre os grupos experimentais. / This study examines the hypothesis that using folksonomies induced from collaborative tagging systems in conceptual modeling should reduce the number of divergences between actors when they elicit terms to be used in a model, using as baseline terms extracted from webpages based on term frequency. It uses as efficiency measure the number of divergences, because the fewer the divergences, the less time and effort required to create a conceptual model. It describes the controlled conceptual modeling experiments that were performed using experimental groups that received a folksonomy and control groups that received terms extracted from webpages. The results show that the experimental and control groups obtained similar numbers of divergences. Other efficiency measures, such as reuse of terms in the phases of conceptual modeling and perceived ease of performing the modeling task, confirmed the results obtained by the number of divergences, with slightly greater efficiency among the experimental groups.

La justice pénale est aujourd’hui confrontée au numérique et le développement des données dématérialisées, dont la valeur patrimoniale ne cesse de s’accroître, lui pose des défis de nature idéologique, sociologique, économique, géopolitique et, bien évidemment juridique. Elle doit faire face à la cybercriminalité qui se joue du temps, de l’espace et des législations puisque les actes illicites se déroulent désormais dans le cyberespace. Mais, pour que le système de justice pénale puisse contribuer efficacement à la lutte contre la cybercriminalité, les États doivent pouvoir s’appuyer sur un ensemble de règles juridiques contre cette criminalité et des systèmes de justice pénale qui fonctionnent correctement, doivent avoir les capacités nécessaires pour démêler les affaires pénales qui peuvent être complexes et coopérer à la répression de la cybercriminalité au plan international / Nowdays, Criminal justice is confronted to digital and the development of dematerialized data, whose heritage value is still increasing, raise challenges of ideological, sociological, economical, geopolitical and of course legal nature. Criminal justice needs to deal with cybercrime which make light of time, space and legislation because illicit acts now take place in cyberspace. However, so that the criminal justice system can contribute effectively to fight against cybercrime, states should be able to lean on a set of legal rules against crime and criminal justice systems which work correctly, should have the necessary abilities to get to the bottom of legal affairs which can be complex and cooperate in cybercrime repression on the international level

The aim of this thesis is to statistically determine the dependence rate of software piracy in the cultural foundation of the country and other factors. Data obtained from internet were the resources of my work. They were from the results of different surveys and case studies. The data contain values of individual indicators, each for a maximum number of countries. The nature of the collected data leads to the analysis of quantitative variables such were selected correct statistical methods. Dependence of the quantitative variables was measured by simple linear regression. The rate of this dependence determines the correlation analysis. In my case Spearman's correlation coefficient was used. Any dependence was investigated with a pair of indicators. In each of pairs was as the dependent variable rate of software piracy. For better understanding I have used the graphs. From my thesis, I expect evaluate past and current situation about software piracy in the Czech Republic and in the world, and that shows influences the amount of computer crime.

The present study draws on uses and gratifications and media system dependency perspectives for examining factors related to Internet usage behaviors of international students and their motives to use their home-country Internet resources.

The researcher investigated internet usage among students at the University of Nairobi using a quantitative case study method. A questionnaire-based survey was done among 381 students and face-to-face interviews were conducted with the university‟s library staff. The research findings indicate that the students' level of awareness about the internet services offered at the university was high. The students had good basic computer and internet skills; however, they lacked more advanced skills and this negatively affected their use of internet resources. The students used the internet for various purposes, including to study, teach and do research; to communicate; and for social interaction. The major recommendations of the study include providing formal internet training and adequate facilities; implementing a better, inclusive policy on internet use; and better co-ordinated university efforts. Free internet access should be made available to all the university students, if not all members of the university community. / Information Science / M.A. (Information Science)

The researcher investigated internet usage among students at the University of Nairobi using a quantitative case study method. A questionnaire-based survey was done among 381 students and face-to-face interviews were conducted with the university‟s library staff. The research findings indicate that the students' level of awareness about the internet services offered at the university was high. The students had good basic computer and internet skills; however, they lacked more advanced skills and this negatively affected their use of internet resources. The students used the internet for various purposes, including to study, teach and do research; to communicate; and for social interaction. The major recommendations of the study include providing formal internet training and adequate facilities; implementing a better, inclusive policy on internet use; and better co-ordinated university efforts. Free internet access should be made available to all the university students, if not all members of the university community. / Information Science / M.A. (Information Science)