A new method for making software is stealthily gaining ground in the computer industry, offering a promise of better, cheaper software and the empowerment of the user. The open source movement could revolutionize the software industry...if it succeeds. Open source means software that you are allowed to copy, modify, and give to friends. Source code , the lists of instructions which tell computers how to run, is readily available, allowing you to look inside the workings of a program and change it to suit your needs. A group of programmers, companies, users, and activists have gathered in support of this empowering technology, seeking to persuade businesses and users that open source is the way to go. However, open source faces stiff challenges. The economic basis for the software industry is to charge users by the copy when they buy software. Copying and modification are illegal. The industry and its customers are so mired in this worldview that the idea of giving out a program's "recipe," along with a license to change or copy it at will, seems preposterous. Powerful players in the software industry, such as Microsoft, see open source as a threat to their bottom line, and have devoted their energies to discrediting and marginalizing the movement. Beginning from the assumption that cheap, reliable software that empowers the user is a good thing, this thesis looks at the claims made by advocates about the benefits of open source. I explore how the advocates make their case to the business world, the public, and government. I also look at ways in which the government could help bring about an open source revolution, using the policy tools of procurement, research funding, standards enforcement, and antitrust law. I conclude that programmers and public interest lobbyists must join forces to carry this revolution forward, and that the time for action is now, while Microsoft is on trial.

Planning for transportation within northern Canadian communities presents unique challenges, but new research tools offer opportunities for testing potentially innovative solutions that might help improve mobility within these communities. In particular, problem solving has been enriched in recent years by using the spatial modeling methods offered by Geographical Information Systems (GIS). This thesis first reviews various GIS methods before applying one method – the ‘Route Utility Theory’ – to a newly-developed set of metrics for determining the cost of alternate modes of intracommunity transportation. This set of metrics is applied to a data set that represents the trips or journeys made by non-car users in Iqaluit, the capital city of Nunavut Territory. GIS data on roads, walking trails, land contours, and public and residential neighbourhoods are analyzed. The results facilitate comparisons between road options and trail options for improving the movement of people within Iqaluit. Five bus routes were then custom designed and compared using the study’s metrics. The study found that increasing bus and trail options within Iqaluit would provide more efficient options for non-car users. It is argued that the study’s metrics can be adapted for application in other northern communities, and possibly in other isolated and rural communities in different world situations. / Graduate

Information and communication technologies (ICT) are having a rapid and increasing impact on all K-12 schools as school districts attempt, in a myriad of ways, to keep pace with the technological changes taking place in society. Unfortunately, this impact is increasingly a financial one as financial challenges continue to figure among the most extensive barriers to ICT use (Plante & Beattie, 2004). This research explores ICT options that are cost effective to our educational institutions and our communities while maintaining high functioning and sustainable technology for students and educators. Low-cost alternative technologies such as Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) and cloud computing lessen the socio-economic divide between students, encourage the sharing of technological advancements and collaboration and allow teachers to freely and legally give their students access to software necessary for success. In addition to the potential benefits of this technology’s use in an educational setting, this research also addresses the pragmatic aspects of introducing these tools district-wide. Complexity theory is utilized to lend an understanding of how to look at technological changes within the context of society as a whole, within enabling constraints that create the conditions for the emergence of new patterns of teacher, student, task and content interactions. This complexity frame informs themes in the study such as: (1) the importance of forward-thinking technology from recursive feedback loops on decision-making and planning in order to “keep up” with technological changes outside of school, (2) the critical impact educational leaders have on the change environment when both introducing these technologies into a school district and providing enabling conditions so that new ways of teaching and learning with technology can emerge and (3) the effect changing technological systems and support infrastructures have on enabling new teaching and learning processes. / Graduate / 0710 / 0524 / 0533 / katyconnelly@gmail.com

There are three essays on the economics of information technology innovation in my dissertation: 1. Procurement contracting strategies in a hierarchical supply network; 2. R and D offshoring and technology learning in emerging economies firm level evidence from the information technology industry; 3. Software design strategies in markets with open source competitors. The first essay addresses the impact of an information technology enabled hierarchical supply structure on a firm s procurement strategies. The second essay investigates information technology hardware innovation. I examine R and D offshoring of information technology hardware firms and its impact on R and D effort of firms in host countries. The third essay focuses on software innovation. I investigate open source software and its impact on the design of proprietary software in terms of number of features bundled in the software.

Les motivacions entorn al programari lliure han estat sempre un tema de gran interès, sent la pregunta més obvia, "perquè les persones treballen de forma gratuïta?". Les motivacions dels desenvolupadors han estat establertes (per exemple, von Hippel (2001), Lerner and Tirole (2002)). De la mateixa manera que ho han estat per a les empreses grans i petites que adopten programari lliure basat en models de negoci (per exemple, Lakhani and von Hippel, 2003; Fitzgerald, 2006; Krishnamurthy, 2004). No obstant això, un nombre cada vegada més elevat de les PIMES amb estratègies que no estan directament relacionades amb aquest model de negoci estan contribuint a les comunitats de programari lliure. En aquest estudi s'investiga les motivacions d'aquestes empreses des d'un punt de vista de comportament mitjançant un model d'investigació basat en TPB (Theory of Planned Behavior). Hem demostrat que factors com la "obertura" d'una PIME, la importància percebuda del programari lliure, els desenvolupadors (empleats) d'una PIME, juntament amb l'ambient extern, podrien influir en la decisió d'una PIME a participar en comunitats de programari lliure. A més, hem demostrat que es poden identificar algunes diferències entre empreses d'alta base tecnològica i empreses amb poca base tecnològica. Aquestes conclusions poden ajudar governs nacionals o regionals per millorar el disseny de polítiques per tal d'incentivar l'ús i la participació de les empreses en les comunitats de programari lliure. Especialment ara, degut a la forta crisi econòmica que pateix Europa, el programari lliure pot ser una solució adequada per a fomentar la innovació. / Motivations in FLOSS have always been a subject of great interest, by starting with the most obvious question, “why people work for free?”. The motivations of developers have been well established (eg von Hippel (2001), Lerner and Tirole 2002). The same exists also for big and small companies adopting FLOSS based Business Models (eg Lakhani and von Hippel, 2003; Fitzgerald 2006; Krishnamurthy, 2004). However an increasing number of SMEs with strategies not directly related to the Business Model are contributing to FLOSS communities. In this study we try to investigate these motivations under a behavioral perspective by using a research model based on TPB (Theory of Planned Behavior). We demonstrated that factors like the “openness” of a SME, the perceived importance of FLOSS, the developers (employees) of a SME along with the external environment of a SME, could influence the decision of a SME to participate in FLOSS communities. Also, we have demonstrated that some differences can be identified between high tech firms and non high tech firms. These findings can help national or regional governments to design better policies in order to better promote the use and the participation of firms to FLOSS communities. Especially now, in times of heavy economical crisis in Europe, FLOSS can be an adequate solution to foster innovation.

Η διπλωματική εργασία στόχο έχει την ανάδειξη του πολιτισμικού πλούτου του χωριού Άγιος Θωμάς Ηρακλείου Κρήτης και προβολή του στον παγκόσμιο Ιστό. Για να πραγματοποιηθεί αυτό θα χρησιμοποιήσουμε τεχνολογίες διαδικτύου ανοιχτού κώδικα καθώς και περιφερειακές συσκευές απεικόνισης και σάρωσης ώστε να επιτύχουμε τη βέλτιστη ψηφιοποίηση του υλικού που διαθέτουμε. Το υλικό μας είναι τόσο φωτογραφίες, βίντεο και ηχητικά αποσπάσματα, όσο και γραπτά κείμενα που αφορούν την ιστορία του χωριού αλλά και τη σημερινή του ζωή. Μέσω των νέων τεχνολογιών αποσκοπούμε στην διατήρησή τους σε κατάσταση αναλλοίωτη στο χρόνο και προσβάσιμη από παντού και από οποιονδήποτε ενδιαφερόμενο. Ο ιστότοπος που θα δημιουργηθεί θα αποτελεί ένα κόμβο ενημέρωσης και περιήγησης στο χωριό και την ιστορία του παράλληλα με την ενημέρωση που θα παρέχει στο χρήστη για τις προσεχείς εκδηλώσεις του πολιτιστικού συλλόγου. Με λίγα λόγια θα είναι ένας τόπος συγκέντρωσης όλων όσων κατάγονται από τον Άγιο Θωμά προσφέροντάς τους ένα πλούσιο αποθετήριο της πολιτισμικής κληρονομιάς του τόπου, σε μια προσπάθεια να έρθουν πιο κοντά στο χωριό από όποιο μέρος του κόσμου κι αν βρίσκονται. Χρησιμοποιώντας γλώσσες προγραμματισμού όπως PHP, CSS, JavaScript, HTML, βάσεις δεδομένων MySQL καθώς και Content Magement Systems όπως η Joomla θα προσπαθήσουμε να δείξουμε πως είναι εφικτό να φτάσουμε σε άρτια προβολή και παρουσίαση του ψηφιοποιημένου υλικού με μικρό κόστος και σε μικρό χρονικό διάστημα αφήνοντας παρακαταθήκη για περαιτέρω εργασία και μοντελοποίηση του συγκεκριμένου CMS ώστε να τεθεί στην υπηρεσία του πολιτισμού. Ψηφιοποίηση πολιτισμικού αποθέματος του χωριού Αγ. Θωμά Ηρακλείου Κρήτης και προβολή του στον ιστότοπο του πολιτιστικού συλλόγου Αγ. Θωμά «Ο Λόγιος» www.logios.gr, μέσω νέων τεχνολογιών διαδικτύου ανοικτού κώδικα. / The MSc thesis aims to highlight the cultural wealth of the village of St Thomas Heraklion and demonstrate it on the web. To do this we will use Internet technologies and open source peripherals imaging and scanning to achieve optimal digitization of materials available. Our material is so photos, videos and audio clips, and writings on the history of the village and its current life. Through new technologies we intend to keep them in a state invariant in time and accessible from anywhere and from anyone interested. The site created will be a hub for information and tour the village and its history along with information that will provide the user about forthcoming events of the cultural association. In short it is a meeting place for all those descended from St. Thomas, offering a rich repository of cultural heritage site in an effort to come closer to the village from anywhere in the world they are. Using programming languages such as PHP, CSS, JavaScript, HTML, MySQL Databases and Content Magement Systems like Joomla will try to show that it is possible to reach a well-promotion and presentation of digitized material at low cost and short time leaving legacy for further work and modeling of specific CMS to put at the service of culture.

Αντικείμενο αυτής της μεταπτυχιακής διπλωματικής εργασίας είναι η ανάλυση της Ελληνικής Ιστορίας στο Διαδίκτυο, αλλά και η δημιουργία ενός ολοκληρωμένου ιστοτόπου που θα έχει ως αντικείμενο την Ελληνική Ιστορία και πιο συγκεκριμένα την ιστορία της πόλης της Ναυπάκτου. Η Ναύπακτος είναι μια πόλη με μεγάλη και ιδιαίτερα ενδιαφέρουσα ιστορία, στην οποία έλαβαν χώρα σημαντικά γεγονότα που επηρέασαν την ιστορία ολόκληρου του Ελληνικού έθνους, κυρίως κατά τη διάρκεια της Οθωμανικής περιόδου (με τη θρυλική Ναυμαχία της Ναυπάκτου – Naval Battle of Lepanto το 1571). Όταν ένας λαός έχει επίγνωση της ιστορίας του, έχει επίγνωση και της ταυτότητάς του. Η ιστορία σφραγίζει την ιδιαιτερότητα και το μέγεθος της παρουσίας ενός λαού. Συνεπώς, ένας άνθρωπος που δεν γνωρίζει την ιστορία του τόπου του δεν μπορεί να θεωρείται ολοκληρωμένος. Στις μέρες μας, το Διαδίκτυο έχει συμβάλει σημαντικά στην προβολή, την ανάδειξη και την εκμάθηση της ιστορίας κάθε τόπου. Με το Διαδίκτυο άνθρωποι από διαφορετικούς τόπους, κουλτούρες και συνήθειες μπορούν να «επισκεφθούν» και να γνωρίσουν τη χώρα και τα στοιχεία της που την έχουν κάνει ξακουστή σε όλο τον κόσμο. Η Ελλάδα δεν θα μπορούσε φυσικά να λείπει από το Διαδίκτυο με την πλούσια και μακροχρόνια ιστορία της. Η Ελληνική Ιστορία αποτέλεσε και αποτελεί αντικείμενο μελέτης από ιστορικούς ολόκληρου του κόσμου. Μάλιστα, για πολλούς ο αρχαίος Ελληνικός πολιτισμός θεωρείται ίσως ο κορυφαίος πολιτισμός που έχει ποτέ υπάρξει. Σίγουρα, υπάρχουν πολλοί ιστότοποι που έχουν ως θέμα τους την Ελληνική Ιστορία. Σε αυτή την εργασία έγινε προσπάθεια να δοθεί μια ολοκληρωμένη εικόνα της υφιστάμενης κατάστασης. Για αυτό το λόγο, αναφέρθηκαν ορισμένοι από τους πιο αξιόλογους ιστοτόπους της Ελληνικής Ιστορίας στο Διαδίκτυο. Έτσι, αυτή η εργασία μπορεί να αποτελέσει ένα χρήσιμο οδηγό για όλους εκείνους τους χρήστες του Διαδικτύου που ενδιαφέρονται να επισκεφθούν ιστοτόπους που θα τους δώσουν χρήσιμες πληροφορίες για την ιστορία της Ελλάδας. Επίσης, για την ανάπτυξη του ιστοτόπου που αφορά την ιστορία της Ναυπάκτου, χρησιμοποιήθηκαν νέες τεχνολογίες Διαδικτύου ανοικτού κώδικα και πιο συγκεκριμένα το εργαλείο Joomla!. (Ακόμα, χρησιμοποιήθηκε το εργαλείο ΧΑΜΡΡ για την εγκατάσταση του Apache HTTP Server και των MySQL, PHP και Perl). Το Joomla! είναι ένα δωρεάν σύστημα διαχείρισης περιεχομένου (Content Management System - CMS). Χρησιμοποιείται για τη δημοσίευση περιεχομένου στον Παγκόσμιο Ιστό (World Wide Web) και σε τοπικά δίκτυα (intranets). Το βασικό χαρακτηριστικό του είναι ότι οι ιστοσελίδες που εμφανίζει είναι δυναμικές, δηλαδή δημιουργούνται τη στιγμή που ζητούνται. / The purpose of this postgraduate thesis is the analysis of Greek History on the Internet and the development of a complete web site which will focus on Greek History and more specifically on the history of the city of Nafpaktos. Nafpaktos is a city with a long and very interesting history, in which important events occurred (especially during the Ottoman period, with the legendary Naval Battle of Lepanto in 1571) which affected the history of the entire Greek nation. When the people of a country have awareness of their history, then they are also aware of their identity. History seals the specificity and the magnitude of the presence of the people of a country. Therefore, when a person does not know the history of his country, then he can not be considered a complete person. Nowadays, the Internet has significantly contributed to the promotion and learning of the history of each country. With the Internet, people from different countries and with different cultures and traditions can "visit" and learn about the country and its details that have made it famous around the world. Of course, Greece could never be absent from the Internet with its rich and long history. Greek History was and still is the main point of the study of many historians around the world. Indeed, for many people the ancient Greek civilization is perhaps considered the most significant civilization that has ever existed. There are surely many web sites which are refered to Greek History. In this thesis, it was made an attempt to be given a complete picture of the current situation. For this reason, they were reported some of the most remarkable web sites of Greek History on the Internet. Thus, this thesis can be a useful guide for all the users of the Internet who are interested in visiting web sites which will give them useful information about the history of Greece. Also, they were used new Internet “open source” technologies and more specifically the web development tool Joomla!, for the development of the web site which concentrates on the history of Nafpaktos. (It was also used XAMPP for the installation of Apache HTTP Server, MySQL, PHP and Perl). Joomla! is a free Content Management System (CMS). It is used for publishing content on the World Wide Web (WWW) and on intranets. The key feature of Joomla! is that it displays dynamic web pages, namely web pages which are created when required.

This research focuses on Big Data Facilitators, companies that can help to reduce the complexities of Big Data and offer the value residing in it. These types of companies are highly unexplored, thus the purpose of this research paper is to create an understanding of Big Data Facilitators by studying their drivers and barriers concerning Big Data application, and their general role in the business ecosystem. To answer the overarching purpose four research questions has been proposed: RQ1: What drivers are prominent for Big Data Facilitators concerning the application of Big Data Analytics? RQ2: What barriers are prominent for Big Data Facilitators regarding the application of Big Data? RQ3: What value do Big Data Facilitators offer for their customers? RQ4: What type of customer do Big Data Facilitators offer value to? To answer these questions two phases of research were conducted. Phase one consisted of interviews with 10 different Big Data Facilitators, with the primary focus of understanding their drivers and barriers. The second phase consisted of qualitative analysis of text on websites from 27 Big Data Facilitators, with the primary focus of understanding what value these companies offer and what general customer type they target. The study found that the primary drivers for these companies are Technology as an Enabler, Organisational Knowledge, Agile Organisational Structure and Innovative Foundation and the barriers are Finding Correct Expertise, Process Difficulties, Resource Restrictions and Security Issues. This resulted in the adapted force-field model which shows a weighted representation of these factors. The identified generalizable value being offered was found to be Improved Processes, Innovative Technology, Insight and Convenience. A model called the Four-dimensions model was created with the two phases as basis. It represents an aggregation of the primary factors of influence affecting Big Data Facilitators as well as the value that they offer and most importantly, how the parts interrelate. This thesis provides further depth to the research around Big Data and Big Data analytics, as well as insight in the highly unexplored topic of SMEs relationship with Big Data and Big Data analytics. This since the Big Data Facilitators at hand were either start–ups or small enterprises. Moreover, the research added insight into the almost non-existent research area of Big Data Facilitators and analytics vendors. The managerial implications suggest that companies should strive to, first create an environment for innovation to prosper and continuously strive for keeping an agile organisation structure, by ensuring flexibility, adaptive processes and short lines for data-driven decision making. Second, to create awareness and utilization of the tools and open source–software available during its rapid development. Third, create an attractive environment for managing organisation knowledge and attracting the right expertise needed to understand the complexities of Big Data and handle the abstract algorithms in machine learning and deep learning

Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) licences channel the exclusionary and individualising force of copyright to establish a qualitatively different, somewhat subversive, system for the exploitation of software. This thesis examines how it is that FOSS licences establish this 'system within a system' under both German and United States law. The inquiry begins with a detailed examination of FOSS licence templates as the instruments which transform code from its default position as the 'res' of proprietary relations to its status as 'open' or 'free'. The thesis then considers whether FOSS licence templates, as the legal basis for this subversive move, are valid and enforceable under domestic law. In addressing this question, the thesis undertakes a critical analysis of the leading case law in each jurisdiction. Going beyond the immediate case law, the thesis considers the broader systemic effects of FOSS licence enforcement. It highlights how building a system within a system foments certain tensions and contradictions within the law, in turn giving rise to unintended consequences and legal uncertainty. By highlighting these tensions, the thesis argues that the questions of FOSS licence enforcement in Germany and the United States may not be as settled as some may think.

Contexto: A morbimortalidade por causas externas constitui um dos mais graves problemas de saúde pública global. Dentre as estratégias preventivas primárias, a educação para a segurança é uma das áreas em que é mais nítida a influência das concepções das pessoas sobre as atitudes e determinantes de vulnerabilidades e resiliências. Especialistas da disciplina do controle de injúrias físicas, no âmbito da língua inglesa, hegemônica, advogam pela proscrição do termo acidente, pelo menos do léxico acadêmico, mas também evitando o seu emprego na promoção da saúde, por conta de um potencial efeito negativo de suas alegadas acepções pré-científicas de imprevenibilidade nas ações educativas. Essa questão, ainda polêmica entre os pesquisadores de língua inglesa, nunca foi estudada na língua portuguesa. Seu estudo tem grande relevância para a inserção da pesquisa brasileira nas iniciativas em andamento, no âmbito mundial, para a normalização terminológica nesse campo de conhecimento. Observa-se uma tendência crescente na utilização do termo injúria, nos textos acadêmicos originais em português, com definição equivalente à dos textos em inglês, fenômeno que merece um olhar mais atento. Objetivos: Promover a inserção da discussão terminológica no campo das ciências médicas, por meio do olhar crítico sobre o impacto da passagem de falantes do português por cursos de graduação selecionados sobre suas concepções dos vocábulos acidente e injúria, principalmente quanto à associação com noções de causalidade, intencionalidade, previsibilidade e prevenibilidade. Métodos: Estudo observacional, transversal, com coleta de informações quantitativas por meio de enquete autoadministrada realizada integralmente pela internet. A amostra alvo compreendeu estudantes de primeiro e último ano de medicina, direito, comunicação e educação de todas as escolas da cidade de Porto Alegre, Brasil. Desenvolvemos um aplicativo original, capaz de recrutar respondentes, enviar convites pessoais por e-mail, armazenar as respostas e exportar os dados. O software e os dados foram hospedados em um site específico do projeto, com acesso permanente pela internet. As variáveis preditoras foram os seguintes atributos dos sujeitos: idade, sexo, estágio do curso, curso, inclinação política, espiritualidade, arrojo, hábito de ler instruções sobre produto de limpeza, fonte de orientação sobre segurança, uso do cinto de segurança, uso de assento infantil de segurança, uso de capacete de ciclista, modo de armazenar arma de fogo, experiência com perda de ente querido por causas externas, experiência de hospitalização por causas externas e conhecimento de causas de morte de crianças e de adolescentes. As variáveis de desfecho foram as seguintes concepções dos sujeitos acerca dos termos acidente, injúria e lesão: tipo de dano; associações de ideias com as três palavras; noções de fatalidade, intencionalidade, previsibilidade e prevenibilidade associadas à palavra acidente; associação de traumatismo cranioencefálico com injúria, acidente ou lesão; grau de prevenibilidade atribuído a cada uma das três palavras e culpabilidade da vítima num caso definido de acidente com criança. Para investigar a associação entre atributos e concepções submetemos os dados à análise de correspondência simples e ao teste qui-quadrado com análise de resíduos. Resultados: A taxa de resposta à enquete foi de 34,5%. Metade dos sujeitos responderam até o segundo dia, 66,3% durante a primeira semana. 4,2% dos sujeitos se recusaram a revelar sua religião e 19,2% se recusaram a revelar sua inclinação política, enquanto apenas 2,8% se recusaram a responder questões sobre concepções e atitudes. Não houve diferença significativa entre os que responderam cedo ou tarde, quanto a atributos e concepções selecionados. Estudantes de medicina se distinguiram dos demais pelas associações com a arreligiosidade, com o conhecimento de que a mortalidade de crianças e jovens se dá principalmente por causas externas e com o hábito de buscar orientação sobre segurança em fontes especializadas. Os sujeitos revelaram percepção preponderante de que os chamados acidentes são preveníveis e tal percepção não mudou se a palavra usada na pergunta foi injúria ou lesão. A palavra acidente evocou noções de prevenibilidade em 85,1% dos sujeitos, previsibilidade em 50,3%, fatalidade em 15,1%, e intencionalidade em 2,3%. Religiosidade apresentou correspondência com noções de não previsibilidade e fatalidade atribuídas à palavra acidente. Calouros associaram a palavra acidente a noções de não previsibilidade, enquanto formandos foram significativamente distintos em considerar que acidentes podem ser previstos. Os sujeitos associaram injúria com dano moral, de modo quase unânime e, em menor grau, com noções de calúnia e difamação; uma porção limitada associou injúria com dano físico e ferimento. Associaram mais a palavra lesão com dano físico, mas também revelaram concepções igualitárias de dano físico, moral e material. Estudantes de cursos e estágios diferentes variaram significativamente em suas concepções de acidente e injúria. Estudantes de medicina se colocaram em franca oposição aos de todos os demais cursos no tangente à associação de injúria com danos físicos. Estudantes de direito associaram acidente com noções de negligência, dano moral e difamação. Estudantes de educação associaram acidente com noções de não prevenibilidade e fatalidade. Conclusões: A enquete online para investigar concepções de estudantes universitários acerca de injúrias físicas é factível e produz taxas de resposta similares às da literatura. Um período de acompanhamento superior a três semanas não é recomendável; limitar os esforços de recrutamento de respondentes a esse tempo restrito permite uma concentração mais racional de recursos. A enquete online é efetiva na abordagem de questões sensíveis, como atitudes em segurança, inclinação religiosa e política. A análise geométrica de dados é eficaz em evidenciar correspondências entre um grande número de modalidades de variáveis categóricas e denota de modo apropriado as suas associações estatisticamente significativas. A análise de resíduos ajustados mais ratifica do que enfraquece a análise geométrica. O currículo médico promove a terminologização da palavra injúria. Um modelo conceptual da injúria como entidade nosológica tem que respeitar o fato da terminologização da palavra injúria no âmbito médico, assim como conceder que a significação leiga da palavra acidente é um evento antecedente não intencional e prevenível, potencialmente gerador de injúria. No âmbito da linguagem médica, há uma definição de espaços semânticos específicos para os termos lesão (com acepção de dano anatomopatológico sem causação externa) e injúria (com acepção de dano físico, com ou sem lesão). Noções populares vinculadas à palavra acidente têm mais sutilezas do que sustentam os que propugnam pelo seu banimento do léxico acadêmico. / Background: Morbidity and mortality due to external causes constitute one of the most serious public health problems worldwide. Among primary preventive strategies, safety education is one of the areas in which people's conceptions are more likely to influence both attitudes and determinants of vulnerability and resilience. Injury control experts, within the hegemonic English language, advocate for proscribing the term accident at least from the academic vocabulary, but also for avoiding its use in health promotion, due to a potential deleterious effect of its alleged pre-scientific notion of nonpreventability upon educative actions. Such issue, which is an ongoing controversy among English speaking researchers, has never been studied within the Portuguese realm. Its study bears great relevance towards introducing Brazilian research into the current worldwide initiatives pursuing terminology normalization within this field of knowledge. There is a growing trend of original academic texts written in Portuguese to use the term injury with an equivalent meaning to that used in English; this phenomenon deserves a harder look. Objectives: To promote the introduction of terminology discussion in the field of medical sciences, by means of a critical gaze upon how the passage of Portuguese speakers through selected undergraduate university courses may have an impact on their conceptions of the words accident and injury, mainly as to associations with notions of causality, intent, foreseeability and preventability. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study, which collected quantitative information by means of a self-administered web-based questionnaire. The target sample comprised first-year and last-year students of medical, law, communication and education schools in Porto Alegre, Brazil. We devised an original software application, which was capable of organizing the recruited information concerning prospective respondents, sending out customized e-mail invitations, gathering and housing response data in an online database, and exporting data to statistical softwares. All softwares and data were hosted in a project specific site with continuous Internet access. Predictor variables were the following subjects' attributes: age, sex, course stage, political and religious persuasion, risk-taking proclivity, habit of reading cleaning products' package insert instructions, source of safety orientation, safety belt wearing habits, use of child safety seat, cycling helmet wearing habits, gun storing, personal (or close relation) injury history, and knowledge about child and adolescent causes of death. Outcome variables were the following conceptions of the terms accident, injury and lesion: type of damage; associations of some ideas with the three words; notions of fatality, intent, foreseeability and preventability associated with the word accident; association of head trauma with accident, injury and lesion; degree of preventability attributed to each of the three words; and victim culpability in a case of child accident. We investigated associations between attributes and conceptions by means of simple correspondence analysis and chi-square test with residual analysis. Results: The response rate was 34.5%. Half of the subjects responded by the second day, 66.3% during the first week. 4.2% subjects refused to disclose religious persuasion, and 19.2% refused to disclose political persuasion, whereas only 2.8%, on average, refused to answer questions on conceptions and attitudes. There was no significant difference between early and late respondents in respect to selected attributes and conceptions. Medical students were distinguished from the rest due to their associations with nonreligiosity, knowledge that most child and youth deaths have external causes, and searching safety orientation in specialized sources. Subjects showed preponderant perception that so-called accidents are preventable, and such perception did not change whether the question used the word injury or lesion. The word accident evoked the notion of preventability to 85.1% of the subjects, foreseeability to 50.3%, fatality to 15.1%, and intentionality to 2.3%. Religiosity showed correspondence with notions of nonprevisibility and fatality being attributed to the word accident. First-year students associated the word accident with notions of nonprevisibility, while last-year students were significantly distinct as they considered that accidents can be foreseen. Subjects unanimously associated injury with moral damage, and to a lesser degree with notions of calumny and defamation; a limited portion associated injury with physical damage and wound. They mainly associated the word lesion with physical damage, but also revealed equivalent conceptions of physical, moral, and material damage. Students from different courses and stages significantly varied in their conceptions of accident and injury. Medical students were in stark opposition to those from the other courses as to their association of injury with physical damage. Law students associated accident with notions of negligence, moral damage, and defamation. Education students associated accident with notions of nonpreventability and fatality. Conclusions: Web surveying university students' conceptions about injuries is feasible and yields response rates similar to those found in the literature. A follow-up period longer than three weeks is not warranted; restricting recruiting efforts to such period of time allows a more rational allocation of resources. A web survey is effective in tackling sensitive issues, such as safety attitudes, religious and political persuasion. Geometric data analysis is efficacious in evincing correspondences among a great number of categorical variable modalities, and appropriately denotes their statistically significant associations. The adjusted standardized residual analysis ratifies more than weakens the geometric analysis. Medical curriculum promotes the terminologization of the word injury. A conceptual framework of injury as a nosologic entity must acknowledge the fact of terminologization of the word injury in the medical realm, as well as concede the lay signification of the word accident as an anteceding, unintentional, and preventable event, which potentially causes injury. Within the realm of medical language, there is a definition of specific semantic spaces for the terms lesion (with the acception of anatomopathological damage without external causation) and injury (with the acception of physical damage, with or without lesion). Lay notions of the word accident carry more subtleties than those who advocate for banning it from the academic lexicon maintain.