Thesis (MS)--Montana State University--Bozeman, 2008. / Typescript. Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Jian Tang. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 53-54).

The research reported in this thesis is concerned with the provision of telecommunications infrastructure to rural areas in developing countries. The primary focus is to improve the current practice in the planning of such infrastructure. An in depth analysis of the critical issues that characterise rural telecommunications in developing countries revealed that the rural telecommunications system is not just a technological system but a complex system of people and technology interdependent on other systems/subsystems. A systems approach lead to a conceptual model of The Rural Telecommunications System as an open complex sociotechnical system. Consequently the planning of rural telecommunications infrastructure requires an approach that addresses such complexity. Critical systems thinking was chosen as the overall systems thinking approach for the development of a systemic planning framework for rural telecommunications infrastructure, that accommodates the system of problems inherent in the complex sociotechnical rural telecommunications system. The framework was built on the principles of Multimethodology and consists of Interactive Planning as a general orientation, mixed with Interpretive Structural Modelling and Critical Systems Heuristics. The framework is enhanced by the inclusion of current techniques from Systems Engineering practice, and softer techniques such as rich pictures. A case study based on the Mapumulo rural area in KwaZulu Natal was used for the practical validation of the framework. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2001.

Power Line Communications (PLC) is a recent and rapidly evolving technology, aiming at the utilization of the electricity power lines for the transmission of data. PLC technology opens up new opportunities for the mass provision of local, last-mile access at a reasonable cost. PLC can furthermore provide a multitude of new Information Society services - both in the energy and telecom domains - to residential and commercial users that are difficult or costly to implement through other technologies. PLC technology has a number of important strengths: it offers a permanent on-line connection as well as symmetric, two-way communication; it has good performance, very good geographical coverage, and is relatively cheap because most of the infrastructure is already in place. Currently, the main weaknesses of PLC technology are that it is still in the developmental stage. It is likely not to be the only one: rather, it will be part of a range of complementary technologies, because each technology yields a different compromise between bandwidth, reach, noise immunity, and cost. This report starts by looking at access technologies and describing the power line as a communication medium and then frequency response and noise characteristics. A transmission technique (OFDM) that avoids power line noise and uses the common modulation formats is also explained. The results of this work shows that the power line technology can be used as a communication channel for urban areas and fast developing rural areas. This is because of the bandwidth is uses. A proposed future research for slow developing rural areas is found in the conclusion. / Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)- University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.

In the last few years the demand for organic products has increased rapidly, resulting in a strong growth of the organic industry worldwide. Organic certification is used globally to guarantee that organic labelled producers follow the principles and standards of organic agriculture set by international and national organic certification bodies. Currently the lengthy and complex process of organic certification is entirely paper based, requires organic primary producers to have access to the certifying body, and involves precise data capture and transfer over a long period of time. The paper based organic certification process has some significant disadvantages such as being time-consuming, error-prone (particularly transcription errors) and complex. Any improvement of the paper based organic paper certification process can lead to higher efficiency, lower costs and time savings for primary producers and certifying bodies. / Australia is a major supplier of organic produce, holding almost half of the organic farmland worldwide. However, Australia's unique geography provides challenges due to huge distances and poor rural telecommunication coverage for the sustainable agriculture sector. Up until now there has not been a software solution supporting organic primary producers in their certification process, let alone a mobile software solution. There are many farm management software solutions available but they do not take into account the specific issues in organic agriculture such as soil management, pest control, or fertilisation. / The Mobile Organic Certification (MobiCert) project was created to overcome these disadvantages by focussing on the development of a mobile information portal which can be accessed through mobile Internet using GPRS or 3G technology, thus enabling primary producers to access organic certification related information in the field using their mobile phones. / The results of the proof-of-concept MobiCert project suggest that organic primary producers can benefit from a mobile information platform to access and provide information in rural and remote areas. The benefits and acceptance of the MobiCert solution have to be affirmed in follow-on field studies incorporating other issues such as the underlying business models. / Thesis (PhDInformationTechnology)--University of South Australia, 2007.

The study examined how the introduction of high-speed internet into a rural community affected audience members' use of their local radio station. A qualitative case study was guided by uses and gratifications and niche theory. The author conducted interviews with KMMR FM audience members in Malta, Montana, to investigate how the introduction of high-speed internet impacted listener habits. Twenty participants who either listened to or produced content for KMMR FM were interviewed. The author performed a thematic analysis of different uses for the radio guided by typologies created by Rubin (1983), Palmgreen and Rayburn (1979), and Katz, Haas, and Gurevitch (1973). The results showed the internet and the radio gratify different needs for audience members: radio was used the most for local information and the internet for more specialized needs that could not be met by the radio. The findings also showed that the radio is important in fostering a sense of social cohesion within the community