The aim of this thesis is to assess potential environmental impacts of electronic media distribution and consumption—from a life cycle perspective—as compared to those of print media. The thesis consists of a cover essay and two papers appended at the end of the thesis. The cover essay summarizes the papers and puts them in context. The main objectives of the thesis are twofold: to assess potential environmental impacts of production and consumption of tablet editions of magazines from a life cycle perspective (Paper I), and to compare potential environmental impacts of a magazine’s print edition with that of its tablet edition (Paper II). The thesis examines the following specific research questions: (1) What are the main environmental impacts of print and tablet editions? (2) Which activities are giving rise to the main environmental impacts of the print and tablet editions? (3) What are the key factors influencing these impacts? (4) What are major data gaps and uncertainties? Based on the present assessment, it is clear that for the print magazine, pulp and paper production is the principal cause of most of the potential environmental impacts. For this reason, the use of recycled paper, rather than virgin fiber, in newsprint production may considerably offset environmental impacts. For the tablet edition, the content production dominates the potential environmental impacts when readers are few. This appears to be the case in an emerging state of the magazine, but with distribution of more media products to smaller groups of people, this may persist for “mature” products as well. As the number of tablet readers grows, more of the environmental impact of the is due to manufacturing of the device and electronic distribution. However, content production may still be a major factor, depending on the specific environmental impacts studied. / <p>QC 20130306</p>

Traditional retail with personal service is becoming scarce. The personal interaction is replaced with self service alternatives, and the consumer is now seen as a co-service producer. What is the general attitude towards the service provided within these automated experiences? Is the automated experience of service comparable to the traditional service that is expected from the customer, or is the industry moving too fast, risking the exclusion of certain consumer groups in the quest for automation? This study conducted semi-structured interviews with a broad range of consumers and used thematic analysis in an effort to discover consumers' unique motivations in regards to self service alternatives in physical stores. The result showed that most consumers are satisfied as long as the service works as intended. But when problems arise, many of the respondents point out the lack of standardization, human support, long waiting times, and control within the user interface. Findings in this study contribute to the industry by identifying traits within the technology viewed by the consumer as enablers or disablers.

M. Tech. (Department of Information and Communications Technology, Faculty of Applied and Computer Sciences), Vaal University of Technology. / Global companies tend to have problems in knowing the systems, assets and resources they have within their global footprint. This tends to be costly to the company as there tends to be purchases of the same systems, assets and resources that are already available in another business unit or department within the company. This leads to money being wasted on research, procurement and/or training, to name a few. You can't manage what you don't know about. This thesis will show how the visualisation of corporate data is possible and has sustainable benefit to a company. Knowing the status of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) environment in a company at some point in time is crucial in planning and implementing strategies with the future in mind. Global View, which will be explained in this thesis, is key in facilitating the extracting of information from all the sites globally and presenting the information in a logical and structured way. Information gathering from these sites using Global View needs to be done in an auditing fashion with the focus on accurate and precise information with an option which would allow the audit to be a continuous and automatic process. Global View is a tool to facilitate the implementation of ICT Industrialization through a process of gathering the relevant ICT information worldwide with specific reference to each site. Global View displays the relevant information from systems, assets, resources and environments in an easily accessible format. The functionality that is built into the concept in this thesis is the geographical and geospatial orientation which is linked to the relevant sites as well as time references related to Greenwich Mean Time to make users aware of differences in time when communicating with people in other countries either individually or multiple sites simultaneously.

El contexto por la pandemia del COVID 19 ha originado un cambio en la educación, en todos los niveles fue necesario pasar de una propuesta formativa presencial a una remota, y con ello se pusieron en práctica el uso y desarrollo de innumerables recursos TIC. Por ello se realizó una investigación con el objetivo de demostrar el impacto del uso del Turnitin y del Mendeley para potenciar la redacción académica de textos originales en los estudiantes de un Instituto Pedagógico Público. Se utilizó el diseño preexperimental con pre y pos prueba, a una muestra de 30 estudiantes seleccionados de manera no probabilística. Para ello se empleó un cuestionario, como pretest y postest, obteniendo coeficientes de V de Aiken de 0,789 y Alfa de Cronbach de 0,743 que garantizaron su aplicabilidad. Para efectuar la propuesta se aplicó una estrategia que comprendió dos momentos: Uso de Mendeley y Uso del turnitin, en ambos casos fue necesario de un monitoreo constante de parte del profesor a partir del planteamiento de retos secuenciales. Los resultados obtenidos indican que el 85% de los estudiantes logran mejorar el nivel de originalidad de sus textos académicos. Superando hasta en 50 puntos el nivel inicial o diagnóstico. En tal sentido, la estrategia basada en el uso del Turnitin y el Mendeley demostró su eficacia a lo largo de la investigación, lo que pone de manifiesto la importancia del uso de estrategias y herramientas con apoyo de las tecnologías de la información, en especial en la producción académica de textos originales y por tanto la necesidad de utilizarlas para potenciar procesos indagativos en contextos de educación presencial, remota o a distancia. / The context of the COVID 19 pandemic has caused a change in education, at all levels it was necessary to go from a face-to-face training proposal to a remote one, and with this the use and development of innumerable ICT resources was put into practice. For this reason, an investigation was carried out with the objective of demonstrating the impact of the use of Turnitin and Mendeley to promote the academic writing of original texts in the students of a Public Pedagogical Institute. The pre-experimental design with pre and post test was used, to a sample of 30 students selected in a non-probabilistic way. For this, a questionnaire was used, as pretest and posttest, obtaining Aiken's V coefficients of 0.789 and Cronbach's Alpha of 0.743 that guaranteed its applicability. To carry out the proposal, a strategy was applied that included two moments: Use of Mendeley and Use of turnitin, in both cases it was necessary a constant monitoring by the teacher from the approach of sequential challenges. The results obtained indicate that 85% of the students manage to improve the level of originality of their academic texts. Exceeding the initial or diagnostic level by up to 50 points. In this sense, the strategy based on the use of Turnitin and Mendeley demonstrated its effectiveness throughout the investigation, which shows the importance of the use of strategies and tools with the support of information technologies, especially in the academic production of original texts and therefore the need to use them to enhance investigative processes in face-to-face, remote or distance education contexts.

[pt] Os principais problemas enfrentados hoje pelas cidades estão relacionados ao crescimento da população urbana e ao desenvolvimento sustentável. Deste contexto emerge o importante debate mundial sobre as formas de planejamento mais adequadas ao atual momento. Ao mesmo tempo em que estamos diante dos maiores desafios da história das cidades, o avanço tecnológico se mostra exponencial, direcionando não só a solução para os problemas, mas promovendo também uma série de mudanças de paradigmas em relação à forma como vivemos, nos relacionamos e trabalhamos. A Cidade Inteligente – termo conhecido mundialmente, mas com significado ainda pouco preciso – surge nesse contexto, em que a tecnologia é usada para resolver problemas urbanos, garantir o desenvolvimento sustentável e a qualidade de vida das pessoas. Esse trabalho tem como objetivo definir, a partir da revisão da literatura, o conceito de Smart City e relatar o movimento das Human Smart Cities, contextualizando o cenário brasileiro e as diferentes abordagens existentes. A partir da análise das iniciativas voltadas para o mercado de Smart Cities no Brasil, foi possível perceber a necessidade de um equilíbrio entre as abordagens top-down e bottom-up nos projetos existentes e futuros. É relevante sublinhar a importância do aspecto humano na definição de Smart City, valorizando a participação da sociedade através de ecossistemas de inovação que incentivem a co-criação das soluções, em conjunto com a esfera pública, empresarial e acadêmica. A descentralização das tomadas de decisão, juntamente com a integração dos sistemas inteligentes da cidade que definem a verdadeira Smart City. / [en] The majority of modern cities reflect old urban models and specific historical contexts and need to deal with global and local issues never dealt with before. One example is the significant increase of urban population and objectives to reach sustainable development. There are many challenges to be faced: demographical, environmental, economic and institutional. At the same time we are facing one of the biggest challenges in the history of urban life, technological development grows at an exponential rate, providing not only solutions, but also promoting a series of shifts in paradigms in relation to our way of life, in how we relate and work. Due to technology – especially Information and Communications Technology (ICT) –, today society can communicate more easily, which allows them to consolidate and grow in networks, collaborate among themselves and obtain knowledge – an abundant and intangible resource that can change the current economic logic. Economy based of mass production of homogeneous products – one that exploits the environment without considering its consequences – is increasingly losing ground to new economies such as creative, collaborative, and knowledge-based economies where product and service productions are decentralized and diversified. The concept of Smart City arises from that context of technological evolution, increase in data generation, knowledge and consequently, of innovation. It is a challenging historical moment, but it also offers a variety of technological opportunities.

Aim – The paper at hand has three aims which are based on the recent adjustments made to the Swedish curriculum which take effect in summer 2018 and stipulate the implementation of digital competence in all subjects. Firstly, the study examines the effect of ICT and digital media/ aids on the WTC and motivation of second language learners. Secondly, a look is taken at how ICT and digital media/ aids are implemented in teaching today and thirdly, the challenges teachers face by the diverse interpretation and definition of the term digital competence and its realization in the classroom are investigated. Design/methodology/approach – The study is a literature review in which recent literature and research papers in the field of ICT in teaching with focus on second language teaching and learning were examined. Findings – According to the results, the author found that the use of ICT and digital media/ aids have a positive effect on the WTC and motivation of second language learners when used appropriately. The challenges teachers face in this respect is a lack of methods and strategies as well as technical support that are needed to successfully implement ICT in their lessons. Especially the lack of technical support is viewed as a time consuming one as it requires teachers to have a back-up-plan which in effect means more lesson planning on their part. Additionally and in regard to the implementation of digital competences in all subjects, teachers are faced with new challenges which comprise a technical; theoretical and didactical knowledge of the term and its practical realization. Due to the recency of the changes made to the curriculum, the investigation of the challenges that present themselves to the teachers open up for new research that can be made in this field.

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The study examines the Western Cape municipal Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) and questions whether these IDPs include Information and Communication Technology (ICT) initiatives that promote development. IDPs are used by municipalities as multi-sectoral plans that provide situation analyses of municipal areas and determine development priorities in municipal areas. These development priorities must be met within certain budget and time constraints. Globalisation and the technological revolution have led to the rapid development and convergence of technology. Technology, such as the Internet and cellular telephones, has had various influences on society. One of these influences includes the possible application of ICT for the purpose of development. Therefore both IDPs and ICT can be applied for developmental purposes. The study thus brings together two seemingly unrelated concepts, namely Integrated Development Plans and Information and Communication Technology and aligns them with one another through the concept of development. The study includes three main objectives. Firstly, the Integrated Development Plans of the municipalities in the Western Cape were examined to ascertain whether these municipalities address ICT in their IDPs. Secondly, the nature of the ICT initiatives was determined. This refers to whether the ICT initiatives are for use in the community or for use in the municipality. Finally, a framework was developed, which includes the classification of the different types of municipalities, together with the different types of ICT initiatives. Recommendations were made based on this framework. The various theoretical issues discussed in this study include the transformation of local government in South Africa and the establishment of developmental local government. Various issues concerning the use of ICT for development are also discussed and they include the ‘Information Society’, the ‘Digital Divide’ and ICT for development. This discussion emphasises that success of ICT initiatives for development depends on the nature of the underlying policy agenda; this agenda must be demand-driven and pro-poor. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie ondersoek die Wes-Kaap munisipale Geintegreerde Ontwikkelingsplanne (GOP’s) en bevraagteken of dié GOP’s Inligting en Kommunikasie Tegnologie (IKT) inisiatiewe wat ontwikkeling bevorder, insluit. GOP’s word deur munisipaliteite as multi-sektorale planne gebruik wat toestandsontledings van munisipale gebiede voorsien en die ontwikkelingsprioriteite in munisipale gebiede bepaal. Hierdie ontwikkelingsprioriteite moet binne sekere begrotings- en tydsbeperkings bevredig word. Globalisering en die tegnologiese revolusie het tot die spoedige ontwikkeling en samevoeging van tegnologie gelei. Tegnologie, soos die Internet en selulêre telefone, het verskeie uitwerkings op die samelewing teweeggebring. Een van die uitwerkings sluit die moontlike aanwending van IKT vir ontwikkelingsdoeleindes in. Beide GOP’s en IKT kan dus vir ontwikkelingsdoeleindes aangewend word. Die studie bring daarom twee oënskynlik onverwante onderwerpe, naamlik Geintegreerde Ontwikkelingsplanne en Informasie en Kommunikasie Tegnologie deur die konsep van ontwikkeling by mekaar uit. Die studie bevat drie hoof doelwitte. Eerstens om die Geintegreerde Ontwikkelingsplanne van die munisipaliteite in die Wes-Kaap te ondersoek om vas te stel of hierdie munisipaliteite IKT in hul GOP’s aanspreek. Tweedens is die aard van die IKT inisiatiewe vasgestel. Dit verwys na IKT inisiatiewe wat binne die gemeenskap óf binne die munisipaliteit plaasvind. Laastens is ’n raamwerk ontwikkel. Dit sluit ’n klassifikasie van die verskillende soorte munisipaliteite, asook die verskillende soorte IKT inisiatiewe in. Aanbevelings wat gemaak word, word op hierdie raamwerk gegrond. Verskeie teoretiese kwessies word ook verder in hierdie studie bespreek. Dit sluit die transformasie van plaaslike regering in Suid-Afrika en die totstandkoming van ontwikkelingsgerigte plaaslike regering in. Verskeie kwessies wat die gebruik van IKT vir ontwikkeling betref, word ook bespreek. Dit sluit die ‘Inligting-gedrewe Samelewing’, die ‘Digitale Gaping’ en IKT vir ontwikkeling, in. Hierdie bespreking beklemtoon dat die geslaagdheid van IKT inisiatiewe vir ontwikkeling van die aard van die onderliggende beleidsagenda afhang; dié agenda moet aanvraag-gedrewe en ten gunste van armes wees.

The objective of this thesis is to understand the impact of satisfaction with innovative benefits on the intention to stay of the information and communications technology industry (ICT) workers. In order to investigate this question, a general research hypothesis was presented based on a literature review and on Blau’s social exchange theory (1964) and Maslow’s theory of needs (1943). The general research hypothesis states that satisfaction with innovative benefits increases intention to stay through time. The data used in this thesis were collected as part of a larger research on the relationships between compensation, training and skills development and attracting and retaining key employees. The longitudinal data come from an office located in Montreal of a major international company from the ICT sector. The study population consists of workers newly hired between April 1st, 2009 and September 30th, 2010. The results confirm the research hypothesis showing that satisfaction with innovative benefits increase intention to stay through time. Among the various innovative benefits studied, the results indicate that it is the satisfaction with the gym at work that best predicts intention to stay of workers. Other innovative benefits significantly related to intention to stay are the games library, the lounge, the medical clinic and the library in the workplace. Also, longitudinal analyses reveal that it is mainly the differences between the individual characteristics of the employees who best explain intention to stay than the differences across time of the same worker. This thesis concludes by discussing the best way for industrial relations managers to use the results in order to retain their employees. Then, the limits of the study and some directions for further research are also presented. / L’objectif de ce mémoire est de comprendre l’impact de la satisfaction envers les avantages sociaux novateurs sur l’intention de rester des travailleurs du secteur des technologies de l’information et des communications (TIC). Pour étudier cette question, une hypothèse générale de recherche a été émise basée sur la revue de littérature ainsi que sur les théories de l’échange social de Blau (1964) et de la théorie des besoins de Maslow (1943). L’hypothèse générale de recherche soutient que la satisfaction envers les avantages sociaux novateurs fait augmenter l’intention de rester des travailleurs dans le temps. Les données utilisées dans ce mémoire ont été recueillies dans le cadre d’une enquête portant sur les relations entre la rémunération, la formation et le développement des compétences avec l’attraction et la rétention des employés clés. De nature longitudinale, les données proviennent du bureau situé à Montréal d’une entreprise d’envergure internationale du secteur des TIC. L’échantillon est composé d’employés embauchés entre le 1er avril 2009 et le 30 septembre 2010. Les résultats confirment l’hypothèse générale de recherche voulant que la satisfaction envers les avantages sociaux novateurs fait augmenter l’intention de rester des employés dans le temps. Parmi les différents avantages sociaux novateurs étudiés, les résultats indiquent que c’est la satisfaction envers le gym au travail qui prédit le mieux l’intention de rester des travailleurs. Les autres avantages sociaux novateurs trouvés significatifs en lien avec l’intention de rester sont la ludothèque, le lounge/salle de repos, la clinique médicale et la bibliothèque sur les lieux du travail. De plus, les analyses longitudinales révèlent que ce sont surtout les différences entre les caractéristiques individuelles des employés qui expliquent le mieux l’intention de rester et non les différences à travers le temps chez un même travailleur. Ce mémoire se termine en discutant de la meilleure façon pour les gestionnaires en relations industrielles d’utiliser les résultats dans le but de retenir leurs employés performants. Puis, les limites de l’étude et certaines pistes de recherches futures sont également présentées.

Œuvre dédiée à Alioune Camara; merci au Prof. Denis Dougnon de l’Université de Bamako pour le parrainage / Cette recherche examine comment et pourquoi les éducateurs en Afrique de l’Ouest, au Mali en particulier, s’approprient pédagogiquement les technologies de l’information et de la communication (TIC) et avec quels effets. L’appropriation consiste à intégrer, personnellement et dans son milieu, la nouveauté et à la mobiliser de façon stratégique pour répondre aux objectifs contextualisés, souvent en résistance au statu quo. Une méthodologie qualitative et des approches interprétatives ont permis de comprendre les significations que les éducateurs donnent à leur réalité et leurs expériences. Trente-et-une personnes ont été interviewées: 23 enseignants du primaire et du secondaire, six professeurs d’université, et deux gestionnaires. Les éducateurs ont assimilé les TIC jusqu’à ce qu’elles deviennent partie intégrante de leur être et de leur vie quotidienne. En adaptant les TIC à leur milieu, ils ont travaillé comme des agents culturels, jouant le rôle d’interface entre les TIC et la société. Les professeurs, en particulier, ont exprimé leur souhait d’utiliser les TIC pour faciliter et renforcer la participation africaine aux débats mondiaux et à la production scientifique, et pour changer la perception présente et future de l’Afrique et des Africains. Les éducateurs ont embrassé les TIC pour les possibilités de transformation qu’elles offrent. Des changements apparaissent dans les rapports entre enseignants et étudiants (plus d’interactivités), dans les salles de classes (plus d’échanges) et les contenus des cours (plus actualisés et diversifiés), suggérant que les TIC peuvent avoir un rôle de catalyseur dans l’évolution des pratiques pédagogiques, y compris dans des contextes où l’accès aux documents est difficile et où l’héritage du colonialisme se fait encore sentir. Les perspectives et les expériences des éducateurs utilisant les TIC dans l’éducation en Afrique peuvent enrichir la théorie, la pratique et la politique éducatives et permettre d’avoir une meilleure compréhension du concept d’appropriation comme processus de changement culturel. / This research investigates how and why educators in West Africa, in Mali in particular, pedagogically appropriate information and communication technologies (ICT) and with what effects. Appropriation involves integrating newness into one’s very being and mobilizing it strategically to meet contextualized objectives, often in resistance to the status quo. It is assumed that ICT use is shaped by the values and objectives of users as well as by the local and global hierarchies of the milieus in which they are used. Qualitative research methods and interpretive approaches revealed meanings educators give to their reality and experiences. Interviews were conducted with 31 persons: 23 primary through high school teachers, six university professors, and two administrators. As educators digested ICT, it became part and parcel of their beings and everyday lives. As they adapted it to their milieus, they worked as cultural agents, mediating between ICT and society. The professors in particular expressed desires to use ICT to facilitate and enhance African participation in global debates and scholarly production and to transform how Africa and Africans are projected and perceived. Educators harnessed ICT for its transformative possibilities. The changes apparent in student-teacher relations (more interactive) and classrooms (more dialogical) suggest that ICT can be a catalyst for pedagogical change, including in document-poor contexts and ones weighed down by legacies of colonialism. Learning from the perspectives and experiences of educators pioneering the use of ICT in education in Africa can inform educational theory, practice and policy and deepen understandings of the concept of appropriation as a process of cultural change.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T18:13:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Vania de Moraes.pdf: 2752468 bytes, checksum: 886e84196c1efff494145c855e839dea (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-02-17 / Universidade de Taubaté / Considering all educational practice also consists of a communicative practice , this proposal is resulted from an investigation by the architecture of virtual learning environments (VLE ) about three IES that offer superior Degree in Visual Arts , in a distance mode .. About the materials and methods, the investigation was done through exploratory research and utilization of educational materials available in AVA. The theoretical framework consists of publications related about studies of the Semiotics of Culture, the General Theory of Systems and Information Technology and Communication ( ICT ) , with emphasis on Instructional Design . Highlight for Lotman (1999 ) Beatalanffy (1977 ) . The research was also significant with the theoretical support of the Semiotics of Culture with Machado and Pinheiro , the General System Theory , with Vieira and Bunge , and with Vygotsky . The result did not favor interactive practice the act of teaching teach art , due to technical and pedagogical shifts . In this context , through instructional design , are desired continuous architectural proposals for balanced service user organizations representing the plural context and Brazilian mongrel / Considerando que toda prática educativa consiste também em uma prática comunicativa, a presente proposta é resultada de uma investigação na arquitetura dos Ambientes Virtuais de Aprendizagem (AVA) de três Instituições de Ensino Superior (IES) que oferecem curso superior de Licenciatura em Artes Visuais, na modalidade a distância. Quanto aos materiais e métodos, a investigação se deu por meio de pesquisa exploratória e utilização de materiais educativos disponíveis nos AVA. O referencial teórico consiste em publicações referentes aos estudos da Semiótica da Cultura, da Teoria Geral dos Sistemas e das Tecnologias da Informação e Comunicação (TIC), com ênfase para o Design Instrucional. Destaque para Lotman (1999) Beatalanffy (1977). A pesquisa contou, também com o apoio teórico significativo da Semiótica da Cultura, com Machado e Pinheiro; da Teoria Geral do Sistema, com Vieira e Bunge, e com Vygotsky. O resultado não favoreceu as práticas interativas do ato de ensinar a ensinar arte, devido aos desvios técnico-pedagógicos. Nesse contexto, por meio do design instrucional, são desejadas propostas contínuas de arquitetura, para atendimento equilibrado de usuários que representam o contexto plural e mestiço brasileiro