This study explores the relationships that form among practitioners in the new media industry – focussing on a particular locale, Brighton, UK. An aim is to understand the meanings that work and peer relationships have for practitioners. Another is to explore how peer relationships affect practitioners' careers. Through the use of qualitative methods – semi-structured and unstructured interviews, and ethnographic observation – the research highlights the importance of locality and of interaction in shaping the meanings and practices around work and sociality in the new media industry. Drawing on Bourdieu's ideas on field, habitus and capital it is suggested that the meanings practitioners attach to work are reflected in the aspirations inscribed in their habitus and the position they occupy within a geographically specific new media field. It is also suggested that social relationships among peers are constructed through interaction within Brighton's new media community where personal biographies, industrial and local cultures structure and reproduce each other. The importance of interpreting practices within intersections of fields, in which people are embedded, is also emphasised. Drawing on Goffman's ideas on the social organisation of co-presence, the logic of the new media field and the strategies that practitioners utilise – which are reflected in the ways practitioners manage their personal preserves inside a co-working organisation – is described. How career opportunities differ based on the position people occupy in the industry and how the use of different types of capitals effect career changes is also demonstrated. This study contributes to the research literature on the clustering of new media industries, to research looking at work and employment in the new media industry and, finally, to the literature on the networking practices of new media practitioners.

Present organizational continual training process seems to be one of the key factors leads to the competitive advantages. The topic of the dissertation is ICT enabled online learning with a view to virtual teamwork. The aim is to draw out a theoretical base for changes in present teaching process at first. Second main aim is a description, comparison and finding the interface in online learning experience in pilot projects of online study programs focusing especially to the innovative approaches and comparison of present experience there. The other aim of the written work is formulation of concrete recommendation for preparation, organization and realization of virtual teamwork and formulation of recommendation for an utilization of ICT enabled social interactive online learning in telework.

This dissertation examines the socio-cultural conditions of Japanese society as reflected in factors that induce recent Japanese immigration to Canada. The examination is based on interview research done with six female and six male Japanese immigrants living in Vancouver, who arrived in Canada after the mid-1990s. While previous migration studies emphasized political-economic conditions as the causes of migration flow, the narratives of these interviewees reveal a different migratory pattern that is motivated by spiritual well-being and life values. In order to encapsulate the complexity of contemporary migration flow, the push/pull factors that induced interviewees' emigration are thematically categorized and analyzed within a frame that emphasizes both these factors' interdependence with the interrelationships of Japanese social systems that have swayed the interviewees' decision to emigrate from Japan, and the nature of complexity in Japanese society. Showing the pluralism of these factors, they are categorized into nine themes: 1)physical environment; 2) spiritual enrichment and a stress-reduced life style; 3) socio-cultural constraints; 4) family life; 5) education; 6) age restrictions; 7) gender roles; 8)diversification, and 9) self-actualization. Luhmann's theory of social systems and Foucault's notion of governmentality serve as touchstones for the re-interpretation of the push/pull factors based on the examination of the interrelations among three Japanese social systems of family, education, and employment. The analysis reveals the complexity of the push/pull factors. Moreover, the interviewees' image of a "simple Canada," which also contributes to their decision to immigrate, is explained in terms of the "double complexity" of Japanese society stemming from both the complexity of modern society and the complexity of an amalgam of "modern" and "pre-modern" elements in Japanese society. Through an extensive examination of the correlations between the experiences of contemporary Japanese migrants and Japanese social systems, this study brings new insights to discussions on tensions between human agency and social structure, and the importance of intangible, mental images in the ways people shape their lives.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 290-319).

This dissertation examines the socio-cultural conditions of Japanese society as reflected in factors that induce recent Japanese immigration to Canada. The examination is based on interview research done with six female and six male Japanese immigrants living in Vancouver, who arrived in Canada after the mid-1990s. While previous migration studies emphasized political-economic conditions as the causes of migration flow, the narratives of these interviewees reveal a different migratory pattern that is motivated by spiritual well-being and life values. In order to encapsulate the complexity of contemporary migration flow, the push/pull factors that induced interviewees' emigration are thematically categorized and analyzed within a frame that emphasizes both these factors' interdependence with the interrelationships of Japanese social systems that have swayed the interviewees' decision to emigrate from Japan, and the nature of complexity in Japanese society. Showing the pluralism of these factors, they are categorized into nine themes: 1)physical environment; 2) spiritual enrichment and a stress-reduced life style; 3) socio-cultural constraints; 4) family life; 5) education; 6) age restrictions; 7) gender roles; 8)diversification, and 9) self-actualization. Luhmann's theory of social systems and Foucault's notion of governmentality serve as touchstones for the re-interpretation of the push/pull factors based on the examination of the interrelations among three Japanese social systems of family, education, and employment. The analysis reveals the complexity of the push/pull factors. Moreover, the interviewees' image of a "simple Canada," which also contributes to their decision to immigrate, is explained in terms of the "double complexity" of Japanese society stemming from both the complexity of modern society and the complexity of an amalgam of "modern" and "pre-modern" elements in Japanese society. Through an extensive examination of the correlations between the experiences of contemporary Japanese migrants and Japanese social systems, this study brings new insights to discussions on tensions between human agency and social structure, and the importance of intangible, mental images in the ways people shape their lives.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Riverside, 2009. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 425-458). Issued in print and online. Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations.

Thesis (M.A.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of English, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 67-69).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 1986. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 118-127). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center.

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2005. Graduate Programme in Psychology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-68). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url%5Fver=Z39.88-2004&res%5Fdat=xri:pqdiss &rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR11830

The world today is faced with major threats to a stable future, such as the greenhouse effect, depletion of fossil fuels, desertification, poverty and the growing gap between rich and poor. People are becoming more aware of the importance of a sustainable relationship between social systems and ecosystems. These systems were investigated in a South African township in Hammanskraal, Gauteng. Fieldwork was done to determine the current land use of the residents, the land use impacts of the residents and the natural resources available to the residents. The current land use of the residents was determined by observations and interviews. The people modified the ecosystem to make decorative gardens, plant food crops and to fence the yards. The land use impact varied over the total area of the selected site. A TWINSPAN analysis divided the ecosystem into two major communities namely the Residential Major-community, which was divided into 5 sub-communities, and the Savanna Major-Community, which was divided into 3 sub-communities. The land use impact was determined for each sub-community of the Savannah Major-Community in terms of species composition, vegetation structure, grass biomass and grazing capacity. The land use impact of the residents is most destructive on the Residential Major-Community, though the impact in each sub-community is similar. The local ecosystem is used to discard waste and to cut trees for firewood. The land use impact of the residents on the local ecosystem is low compared to agricultural activities. It is concluded that the relationship between the social and the ecological systems of the selected site is dysfunctional, because some natural resources needed by the social system are limited or destroyed. These resources include soil, space, water and energy. An interesting question that was investigated is: Why do people plant ornamental plants if they do not have enough resources and food? The relationship between the social and the ecological systems are complex. Technologies are needed to reach sustainable household-based production, without requiring adaptations from the relevant systems. Technologies that were identified from the literature include the principles of plant communities, permaculture, conservation agriculture and intercropping. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Plant Science / unrestricted