Thesis (M.Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 176-183) Also available in print.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 123-128) Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering)--University of California, Davis, 2004. / Cover title. Includes bibliographical references (p. 149-161). Also available online via the University of California Transportation Center website (http://www.uctc.net/).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008. / Michele Ingram Mobley, Committee Member ; Sara J. Czaja, Committee Member ; Ruth Kanfer, Committee Member ; Arthur D. Fisk, Committee Member ; Wendy A. Rogers, Committee Chair.

M.A. / The information economy, brought about by the advances in information and communications technology, has led to significant changes in the work environment. Organisations and workers must be flexible and are required to adjust quickly to demands from external and internal market forces. Employees are expected to be knowledge workers who are not only computer literate, but information literate as well. The high demand for flexibility has led to a trend that allows workers to perform their duties in locations outside of their traditional workspace. This trend has been named teleworking or telecommuting. A literature study revealed similarities and differences between the work environment of the knowledge worker and that of the teleworker. Both the teleworker and the knowledge worker are interacting in an environment that consists of individual, group and organisational processes. These processes are interrelated and none of them can be viewed in isolation. The factors that influence the knowledge worker also affect the teleworker, but the extent and focus of the influence vary. The features of the work environment of the knowledge worker and the teleworker provided the context for investigating the information environment of both. The information environment of the knowledge worker revealed certain distinct features, such as the manner in which documents and information were managed and the systems that were used. These features were compared with the information environment of the teleworker through an investigation of teleworkers in South Africa. Although very few, if any, South African organisations were involved in formal teleworking programmes, it was possible to establish certain trends through employees who had an ad hoc arrangement with their organisations. In conclusion, it was found that the information environment of the teleworker was somewhat similar to that of the knowledge worker, but certain distinctions also came to the fore. Further areas for research were also identified.

M. Comm. / Virtual working arrangements, including telecommuting, are on the increase globally due to the challenges that organisations face in the current global economy. Virtual working arrangements present considerable possible benefits to organisations, employees and the community at large if correctly implemented. It is estimated that 45 million Americans teleworked in 2006 alone (O’Brien & Hayden, 2007) with predictions of the number reaching 100 million in the United States of America by 2010 (Wilsker, 2008). However, in South Africa this organisational form is not well documented or implemented presently. As a result, local organisations are unaware of the employee benefits and challenges that will be faced when implementing a telecommuting programme and how best to implement teleworking arrangements with these factors in mind.

The rapid advancement of computer and telecommunications technology has made working in the home a practicality. Dubbed ?telecommuting,? this manner of work describes a circumstance where the employee, through the use of some form of telecommunications device (most often a computer with some form of modem), works at a location other than a centralized office (Hill, Hawkings & Miller, 1996). In many cases, the location of work is the home. Current estimates place the number of telecommuters in the United States at 19.6 million and growing (Swoboda & Grimsley, 2000). However, while emphasis has been placed on the positive consequences of telework, thus far little attention has been given to the latent negative consequences of telecommuting. The focus of this work is to develop a theoretical paradigm that explains how telecommuting may potentially contribute to abuse in home. The types of abuse targeted by the theoretical paradigm are: child, spouse, and elder abuse. In particular this model helps identify those telecommuters who are at greatest risk for the perpetration of abuse. This model is informed by a stress paradigm of abuse and identifies five variables that are considered to be crucial in affecting violent outcomes among telecommuters: 1.) socioeconomic status / occupational status; 2.) gender; 3.) crowding; 4.) social isolation; and, 5.) boundary control. How these variables interact within the telecommuting paradigm is described. Ultimately this work serves as a platform from which future empirical research may be conducted. / Master of Science

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published_or_final_version / abstract / Transport Policy and Planning / Master / Master of Arts in Transport Policy and Planning