The world of today allows groups of people who are geographically-distributed to communicate through information and communication technologies (ICTs). In the workplace, these geographically-distributed teams are referred to as virtual teams. Quantifying and understanding issues in virtual teams has been a focus of research for the past two decades. This thesis aims to quantify generational differences between the Millennials and the Baby Boomers in the context of virtual teams in the engineering and construction sectors. This thesis consists of two studies. The first study broadly focuses on generational differences in regards to cultural, temporal, and technological issues faced in virtual teams. The results from the first study show that Millennials may be better suited to deal with cultural and language differences as well as time-distributed team members when compared to the Baby Boomers. However, the results for the technology hypothesis were mixed and motivated further research. Therefore, the second study focused on generational differences in views on specific ICTs. This study found that Millennials favored some ICTs more than their Baby Boomer counterparts. However, these generations also had indistinguishable views for many of the ICTs examined. The second study shows that the digital divide between generations is true for certain technologies but is unobservable in others. This thesis indicates that Millennials have relative strengths when handling the difficulties of virtual teaming when compared to the Baby Boomers. / Master of Science

The practice of ECDL testing system analysis in the Intitute of Information Technologies is presented in this work. By analyzing modelling methods, LAP (Language/Action Perspectyve) was chosen for the system analysis. The main feature of Language/Action method is process loop, i.e. beginning of process is linked to process ending or emerged problem is linked to solution results. By analyzing the system using another methods, information flows are optimized according to chosen criteria, however these methods doesn’t take into account user convenience. In Language/Action method every communication is treated as four phases loop: preparation, negotiation, performance, acceptance. Every phase can be divided into smaller phases, which in turn can be treated as independent communication loops. After system modelling using LAP method, some workflows where decided to improve.

This dissertation asks why the system of time measurement set up towards the end of the nineteenth century took the form that it did. The answer is partially dependant on the advent of new technologies such as railways, steamships, and telegraphs. However, instead of focusing on a teleological story of technological progress, this dissertation derives its answer by examining the social, political, and cultural context of the individuals involved. The dissertation uses the 1884 International Meridian Conference as a case study to suggest that time reform was driven by professional context more than by technological imperatives or national interest. Astronomers and engineers came to the conference with very different visions for modern timekeeping. Using a constructivist lens, this dissertation examines the decision-laden process by which temporal knowledge was constructed. Questions about the very nature of accurate time was at the heart of the debate: was time a public good, a commodity, or a specialized tool? The answers to these questions depended heavily on one’s profession, and as a result the conference, directed by astronomers who preferred time as a specialized tool, rejected standard time as a broad reformation of civil timekeeping for the public. The process of construction continued after the conference as well, as the universality of standard time became wrapped up with the heightened accuracy required by specialized astronomical time. Entrepreneurs latched on to this, selling accurate time as a desirable symbol of modernity, while at the same time large numbers of people continued to use older timekeeping methods that were more convenient. New timekeeping methods did not sweep aside the old, leaving timekeeping a more complex, rather than a simplified, process. The standard time system which emerged from this complexity was far from inevitable, and in fact remained largely incomplete. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This dissertation asks why the system of time measurement set up towards the end of the nineteenth century took the form that it did. While partially dependent on new technologies such as railways and telegraphs, timekeeping was shaped more directly by the cultural context of the individuals involved. The dissertation uses the 1884 International Meridian Conference as a case study to suggest that time reform was driven by professional norms more than by national interest or changes in technology. Astronomers and engineers came to the conference with very different visions for modern timekeeping. Indeed, questions about the very nature of accurate time was at the heart of the debate: was time a public good, a commodity, or a specialized tool? The answers to these questions depended heavily on one’s profession, and as a result the standard time system that emerged was far from inevitable, and in fact remained incomplete.

No description available.