As Facebook grows beyond a billion users (Zuckerberg, 2012), a decreasing percentage of those users are English-only speakers. Facebook provides a platform for multilingual conversation to occur, which requires that Facebook display non-Latin scripts. Because of the hegemony of English and the Latin alphabet on the Web, non-Latin scripts are often “ASCII-ized.” Displaying non-Latin scripts well facilitates communication for multilingual users and creates a place where they can explore their identity linguistically as they post on Facebook. This study examines what factors contribute to multilingual Facebook users making linguistic posting choices. Many have named Facebook as a successful multilingual Web site, thus it is reasonable to expect that Facebook is an exemplar of multilingual social networking sites. This study is an examination and critique of Facebook’s multilingual translations. To address questions of how Facebook’s interface facilitates or impedes multilingual conversation, the researcher recruited twelve active, multilingual Facebook users to participate in individual interviews and a small focus group. Besides English, these users spoke and posted in the world’s four other most widely spoken languages: Chinese, Spanish, Arabic and Hindi. The researcher found that multilingual Facebook users did not always have a choice in what language they would post. Users faced obstacles ranging from the Facebook app distorting script display to hardware bias limiting users’ text entry. Furthermore, participants’ linguistic presentation was not dichotomous between two languages; multilingual users and their friends are accustomed to operating in a multilingual space. The larger implication of these findings is that Facebook, despite pioneering massive translation projects, has not solved the problem of linguistic representation for social networking sites. Facebook’s solution is not scalable to less widely spoken languages because even languages with many millions of speakers, such as Spanish, have flawed implementations on Facebook. / text

For many decades in India, natural resource management (NRM) programs were implemented by government bureaucracies in a centralized, top-down manner. The programs were unsustainable and suffered from resource use inefficiency and inequity. In the 1990s, under pressure from civil society organizations and multilateral agencies, the Government of India and many State Governments introduced policies that decentralized NRM programs and mandated active participation of users in the management of resources. When implementation responsibilities were transferred to resource user-groups many of the problems associated with centralization could be reduced significantly. However, despite their proven capacity of being better resource managers than government agencies, the user-groups encountered difficulties as self-governed people's organizations. Participation of users declined and problems of equity resurfaced in many user-groups. This dissertation describes the research that examines the causes of problems in the governance of user-groups in villages of Mehsana District in Gujarat. Using an eight-fold criteria of good governance, the study looks at eight Water Users Associations (WUAs) that took over irrigation management responsibilities from the Irrigation Department. This program of decentralization of irrigation is called Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM). The assessment of each WUA on each of the eight criteria reveals a close link between characteristics of good governance and the process of democratization. It can be seen that the WUAs that performed well on participation, equity, transparency, accountability, rule of law and consensus-orientation were less likely to face situations of dysfunction than the WUAs that performed poorly on these criteria. These criteria for good governance are also the core elements of democratic governance. At the same time, the case-studies reveal the tension between the democratization process that is attempted within the WUAs and the historical and cultural legacy of the feudal, autocratic and patriarchal society that rural India has been for many centuries. The thesis supports the argument, with empirical evidence, that the decentralization process can be sustainable only when user-groups institutionalize democratic processes and the early leaders behave in a democratic manner. It also suggests that the transition from an undemocratic institution to a democratic one can be enabled when external support agencies play an important catalytic role.

Unwary computer users are often blamed as the weakest link on the security chain, for unknowingly facilitating incoming cyber attacks and jeopardizing the efforts to secure systems and networks. However, in my opinion, average users should not bear the blame because of their lack of expertise to predict the security consequence of every action they perform, such as browsing a webpage, downloading software to their computers, or installing an application to their mobile devices. My thesis work aims to secure software and systems by reducing or eliminating the chances where users’ mere action can unintentionally enable external exploits and attacks. In achieving this goal, I follow two complementary paths: (i) building runtime monitors to identify and interrupt the attack-triggering user actions; (ii) designing offline detectors for the software vulnerabilities that allow for such actions. To maximize the impact, I focus on securing software that either serve the largest number of users (e.g. web browsers) or experience the fastest user growth (e.g. smartphone apps), despite the platform distinctions. I have addressed the two dominant attacks through which most malicious software (a.k.a. malware) infections happen on the web: drive-by download and rogue websites. BLADE, an OS kernel extension, infers user intent through OS-level events and prevents the execution of download files that cannot be attributed to any user intent. Operating as a browser extension and identifying malicious post-search redirections, SURF protects search engine users from falling into the trap of poisoned search results that lead to fraudulent websites. In the infancy of security problems on mobile devices, I built Dalysis, the first comprehensive static program analysis framework for vetting Android apps in bytecode form. Based on Dalysis, CHEX detects the component hijacking vulnerability in large volumes of apps. My thesis as a whole explores, realizes, and evaluates a new perspective of securing software and system, which limits or avoids the unwanted security consequences caused by unwary users. It shows that, with the proposed approaches, software can be reasonably well protected against attacks targeting its unwary users. The knowledge and insights gained throughout the course of developing the thesis have advanced the community’s awareness of the threats and the increasing importance of considering unwary users when designing and securing systems. Each work included in this thesis has yielded at least one practical threat mitigation system. Evaluated by the large-scale real-world experiments, these systems have demonstrated the effectiveness at thwarting the security threats faced by most unwary users today. The threats addressed by this thesis have span multiple computing platforms, such as desktop operating systems, the Web, and smartphone devices, which highlight the broad impact of the thesis.

This thesis reports a research work whose objective was to derive a grounded model of the user education domain, which was identified as pertaining to subject librarians' expertise, using a knowledge elicitation approach in the field of agricultural sciences. The knowledge elicitation framework adopted was that which sees knowledge acquisition as a process of modelling expertise, and the models derived as qualitative in nature. Accordingly, the main methodological approach involved was based on qualitative research and use of grounded theory methods. The research design was divided into three studies, all based on interview data. The research started by studying the role of subject librarians in academic libraries in the UK (Study One), which identified the area of user education for further study. Study Two proceeded to elicit information seeking practices and user education processes from academics and librarians. Finally, Study Three elicited information seeking practices of students who were engaged in library research. A model of the user education domain in the field of agricultural sciences in a Brazilian university was derived from the combination of the analysis of Study Two and Three. The model describes the library research process of individuals as happening in discipline specific contexts, influenced by the world at large. The process takes place through a series of information-seeking tasks and task-related strategies, which are employed to search external knowledge sources and satisfy an information need. During this interaction, internal knowledge sources are used and modified according to the tasks and strategies being carried out. If these internal knowledge sources are deficient for effective use of external knowledge sources, mediation strategies by an expert can help readjust the information-seeking process and alter the state of related internal knowledge sources The model proposed is used to derive recommendations for the design of user education programmes, subject librarians' work, and domain modelling using grounded theory.

The thesis investigates the elaboration of text to improve the acquisition of computing skill by casual users. Manuals are currently the main method by which these users are helped to acquire such skills. However, since there is no control over the way that the manual will be made use of, and no control over the sequencing of task learning, manuals are rarely entirely satisfactory in supporting learning processes. The issue investigated in the present thesis is whether manuals can be modified by the elaboration of text in order to support learning. The thesis also investigates skill measurement techniques, methods of specifying training devices and the applicability of controlled laboratory experiments to this applied setting. A comparison of computing skill measurement techniques showed that the most valid and practical method consisted of short tasks to be carried out using the computing system. These tasks were used as the basis for the study of the effectiveness of manuals. Examination of the pertinent literature in the light of the problems of producing texts for casual users and a model of skill acquisition based on hierarchical task analysis produced several theoretical devices for improving manuals. A formal method of applying the devices to a standard text enabled the controlled examination of the theories…

The main objective of this thesis was to develop a substantive theory that explained the phenomenon of detoxification from psychoactive drugs such as alcohol, tranquillisers, opioids, and amphetamines in a medical treatment unit for licit and illicit drug users. The other objectives were to (a) determine if the differences reported in earlier studies between licit and illicit drug users in terms of socio-demographic and drug use variables remain extant, and (b) assess the extent of minor psychiatric morbidity among the participants. Both grounded theory and quantitative methods of data collection and analysis were used in the study.The findings of the quantitative component of the study indicated that there were significant differences between licit and illicit drug users in regard to age, drug use characteristics, and completing the treatment program. That is, illicit drug users were younger than licit drug users, more likely to be poly drug users, and drop out of the program. The prevalence of minor psychiatric morbidity among the participants was 93.6%, and was largely independent of socio-demographic and drug use variables. The high prevalence of minor psychiatric morbidity suggests that the majority of participants warranted further follow-up support in the community after they left the treatment unit. The uptake of referrals for follow-up support, however, was 55.9%.The basic or core social psychological problem identified by the constant comparative method of grounded theory was found to have two parts, both of which were interpreted as forms of disequilibrium. The first part of disequilibrium, which was a precursor to treatment, was conceptualised as Hitting the Wall. The events associated with the symbolic "wall" interrupted the participants' drug focussed lifestyles and induced them to enter treatment. These events and problems were not resolved whilst in ++ / treatment, they lingered with the participants while they were in the unit, and remained to be addressed when they left. Whilst undergoing detoxification the participants encountered the second part of disequilibrium which was categorised as Incompatibility. The problem of Incompatibility was related to the heterogeneity of the participants and the structure of the treatment program that in many cases was unable to accommodate individual differences and needs.The core or basic social psychological process was conceptualised as Seeking Balance through Hanging In. The participants engaged in this process to deal with the disequilibrium of the precursor problem of Hitting the Wall and the problem of Incompatibility encountered in the unit. Seeking Balance through Hanging In was found to have four phases. The phases were Making the Break, Submitting to Cleansing, Fitting In, and Moving On. The process was linear in that the phases were sequential, and failure to complete a phase meant dropping out of the detoxification program. The experience of detoxification was modified by several contextual conditions. These were the physical enviroment, the participants' expectations of withdrawal symptoms, and the workload of the staff.The substantive theory, Seeking Balance through Hanging In, integrated all emergent categories, and explained the experience of the phenomenon of withdrawal from psychoactive drugs in a particular context. Recommendations for further research include testing the described phases and relationships of the substantive theory in similar environments, exploring the importance of the modifying conditions on client outcomes, and undertaking follow-up studies to determine the outcomes of those who completed the program as compared to the outcomes of those who dropped out. In addition, further studies are recommended to assess the transientness of the level ++ / of minor psychiatric morbidity detected among the participants in this study.The findings of this study make an important contribution to understanding the experience of detoxification from the perspective of the participants. The substantive theory has implications for clinical practice, professional education, management, and further research.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2008. / Title from title screen (site viewed Apr. 9, 2009). PDF text: v, 140 p. : ill. ; 594 Kb. UMI publication number: AAT 3338898. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio State University, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 30-35).

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- Mississippi State University. Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 1996. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 122-142). Also available on the World Wide Web.