This thesis explores how participatory online rituals of mourning serve to mediate public death events that are collectively experienced as forms of social injustice, and the modes of collectivity they engender. I introduce the term Social Media Memorialising (SMM) to describe this phenomenon. The mediated deaths of SMM are experienced as a transgression of the sacred, and in the process reveal societies' constant negotiation with death, virtuality and memorialising online. SMM entails appropriating the processes of public mourning such that the means of symbolic production shifts away from media and political gatekeepers and towards networked publics. In analysing SMM on YouTube, this thesis employs a mixed-methods research design premised upon a multimodal approach to discourse, system-network mapping, and thematic analysis. I present two case studies for comparative analysis: those of Neda Agha-Soltan in Tehran in 2009, and that of Lee Rigby in London in 2013. Both constitute emblematic examples of 'public death events': the death of individuals considered to be exceptional, morally significant, traumatic and worthy of public mourning and grief. This framework captures the complex forces involved in the mediation of death online, and the modalities and mechanisms of virtual space as ritual space. SMM manifests through innovative, strategic and performative forms of grieving that hybridise online and offline practices, highlighting the conditions of the death event as integral to the modes of grieving that follow. What emerges is a platform-specific vernacular that reflects the form, function and terms of engagement for online grieving. SMM coalesces the commemorative with the performative, shaping both the social significance of the death event and the attitudes regarding the death and its causes.

No / We propose an efficient alternative to commonly used parametric surfaces such as NURBS surfaces for definition of complex geometry in shared virtual spaces. Our mathematical model allows to define objects by only providing coordinates of the section curves in 3-space. The resulting parametric functions allow fast calculation of the coordinates of the points on the surface of the objects. We devise an algorithm which evaluates the coefficients of these functions in real time. Given the small size of the resulting formulas and interactive rates for their calculation, we are able to efficiently use such PDE-based models for making virtual objects in shared virtual spaces. We describe the modeling framework and illustrate the proposed theoretical concepts with our function-based extension of VRML and X3D.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-05T17:55:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 26 / Nenhuma / Este trabalho investiga a apropriação tecnológica realizada por organizações em espaços virtuais tridimensionais interativos, visando à atualização de seus processos comunicacionais, necessária para uma inserção competitiva na sociedade. Parte-se da formulação de que essa demanda de apropriação das organizações as insere no movimento entre virtual/real existente nesses espaços viabilizados pelas tecnologias e técnicas computacionais e que trazem uma contribuição à construção de reconhecimento organizacional, marcada por processos de adaptação. Busca-se compreender os espaços organizacionais presentes no Second Life através de cenários digitais, modelizados por imagens de síntese, que expressam a imbricação virtual e real, viabilizada por mecanismos tecnológicos computacionais e seus dispositivos. A opção metodológica tem como referência a netnografia, originária do campo da antropologia, vinculada ao entendimento das dinâmicas dos ambientes virtuais e às práticas comunicacionais mediadas por computadores. / This study investigates the technological appropriation carried out by organizations in interactive 3D virtual spaces aiming at the upgrading of its communications processes, which is a real need when it comes to competitive insertion within society. In doing so, it states, as a starting point, that such appropriation inserts organizations in the movement between virtual/ real, currently existent in spaces made possible by computer- mediated technologies and techniques, contributing to the construction of organizational acknowledgement in a media space characterized by adapting processes. It aims to understand the organizational spaces present in Second Life through digital sceneries, modeled by image synthesis which convey a virtual and real interweaving, feasible by computational technological mechanisms and devices. The methodological support used is the netnography, a field borne out of anthropology whose focus is the understanding of the dynamics of virtual spaces and the computer-mediated communications

The notions of community and identity are discussed and the various elements of each concept are analyzed in terms of their manifestation in physical and virtual spaces. A comparison of community and identity in physical and virtual spaces highlights the interdependent nature of these experiences in the intersection of these two spaces. Modern society functions through the use of technology that is ever increasing in speed and efficiency. We rely more and more on virtual technology as a tool to maintain relationships, perform various tasks, communicate and interact with others, and to manage our self-presentations. Thus, the fundamental experiences of community and identity must be studied in both online and offline contexts in order to determine how we can manipulate our use of technology for positive outcomes.

In recent years, the field of design has met new grounds with the growing awareness among design researchers of the potential relationships between cognitive studies of creativity and computational modeling. The turn of the studies has given rise to the emergence of a new paradigm of modeling and understanding mental processes in creative design. This study tries to gain further insight into the creative occurrence by blending virtual experiences with designer actions in a model of creative thinking in concept generation phase based on the Geneplore Model by Finke et al. (1995) and supported by analogy construction incorporating the implementation of a computer based tool (Black Box) running on PC platform as a potential immanent part of the concept generation phase. Black Box is devised in such a way that the core of the constructive process of the analogy relies on the designer&amp / #8217 / s expressional, perceptual and conceptual actions which are presented in the traditional methods of sketching and writing, whereas the change and expansion of the design space is realized through the virtual worlds the tool offers via the computer screen. The research method is based on the development of Black Box tool and its subsequent implementation in a study with eight experienced design consultants, utilizing a procedure composed of preliminary interview, observational protocol analysis, questionnaire and retrospective interview. Through encoding actions of individual designers by means of their maps in the computational tool, the study yields significant results in revealing differing thinking maps of different designers which have been used to propose a general creative thinking map of concept generation in Black Box presented in a way to be adapted for further studies. Moreover, the study provided insight on the methods used to assist creativity in concept generation by different designers, on the selection of inspirational material and on the integration of analogies as knowledge transformers to evoke design concepts.

O desenvolvimento das tecnologias da informação e comunicação, em especial a Internet, cria novos canais de comunicação dos quais a sociedade tem se utilizado, de forma inovadora, no desenvolvimento de atividades sociais e econômicas. Governos, em todos os níveis e em diversas partes do mundo, têm utilizado os recursos de TIC no aumento da eficiência dos processos internos da administração pública, ou na prestação dos serviços aos cidadãos. Mais recentemente, estão sendo implementadas experiências que utilizam os meios eletrônicos para a ampliação da prática democrática – a e-Democracia. Este trabalho foca-se nas iniciativas de democracia eletrônica que utilizam a Internet para a criação de espaços virtuais de participação do cidadão e da sociedade nos processos decisórios do governo. O objetivo é identificar um conjunto de elementos que, potencialmente, influenciam a implementação de espaços virtuais de participação pelos governos, seja como habilitadores da sua implementação, seja como inibidores. A pesquisa realizada é de natureza exploratória. A partir da revisão de literatura e de uma entrevista com roteiro aberto a cinco especialistas no campo, montou-se uma lista preliminar de elementos habilitadores e inibidores. Depois, seguindo o método survey na Internet, a lista foi enviada a 155 especialistas, dos quais 55 manifestaram o seu grau de concordância com os elementos listados e a eles atribuíram importância. Os questionários foram respondidos por agentes públicos envolvidos na implantação e operação de projetos de governo eletrônico com ações de e-Democracia, por pesquisadores acadêmicos desse campo e consultores ligados a organizações da sociedade envolvidas na sua execução. Como resultado, este trabalho identifica um conjunto de habilitadores e outro de inibidores nas dimensões política e de governança, sócio-cultural, econômica, tecnológica e legal-regulatória. Conclui-se que há diferenças entre as visões dos respondentes de diferentes setores de atuação (governo, academia e consultoria). Também há diferenças entre os resultados da pesquisa e a literatura consultada. Na visão política, a literatura dá ênfase aos aspectos legais e regulatórios, que não aparecem com ênfase nos resultados da amostra. O tamanho da amostra (55 respondentes) foi uma limitação para realização de análises estatísticas mais robustas. Sugere-se que estudos futuros aprofundem a análise de fatores habilitadores e inibidores em cada um dos grupos, assim como investiguem o fenômeno a partir do ponto de vista dos cidadãos. / The development of information and communication technologies, particularly the Internet, creates new communication channels which the society has been using, in innovative ways, to develop social and economic activities. Governments at all levels and in various parts of the world have used ICT resources to increase the efficiency of public administration’s internal processes, or to provide services to citizens. More recently, experiments are being implemented using electronic means to enhance democratic practice - e-Democracy. This work focuses on electronic democracy initiatives that use the Internet to create virtual spaces of participation for citizens and the society in decision making processes of government. The goal is to identify a number of elements that enables or inhibits the implementation of these virtual spaces by governments. The research is exploratory in nature. After the literature review and interviewing five experts in the field, with open script, a preliminary list of enabler and inhibitor elements was set up. Then, applying the survey method, on the Internet, the list was sent to 155 experts, of which, 55 expressed their degree of agreement with the elements listed, and attributed a level of importance. The questionnaires were answered by public officials in charge of the implementation and operation of egovernment projects with actions of e-Democracy, by academic researchers in this field and by consultants connected to other organizations of the society, involved with the implementation of e-Democracy projects. As a result, this study identifies a set of enablers and other of inhibitors in the following dimensions: political and governance, socio-cultural, economic, technological and legal-regulatory. The study concludes that there are differences between the views of respondents from different sectors of activity (government, academia and consultancy). There are also differences between the results of the research and literature. In the political view, the literature emphasizes the legal and regulatory aspects, which do not appear with emphasis on sample results. The sample size (55 respondents) was a limitation for performing more robust statistical analysis. It is suggested that future studies should deepen the analysis of enabling factors and inhibitors in each group, as well as investigate the phenomenon from the viewpoint of citizens.

O desenvolvimento das tecnologias da informação e comunicação, em especial a Internet, cria novos canais de comunicação dos quais a sociedade tem se utilizado, de forma inovadora, no desenvolvimento de atividades sociais e econômicas. Governos, em todos os níveis e em diversas partes do mundo, têm utilizado os recursos de TIC no aumento da eficiência dos processos internos da administração pública, ou na prestação dos serviços aos cidadãos. Mais recentemente, estão sendo implementadas experiências que utilizam os meios eletrônicos para a ampliação da prática democrática – a e-Democracia. Este trabalho foca-se nas iniciativas de democracia eletrônica que utilizam a Internet para a criação de espaços virtuais de participação do cidadão e da sociedade nos processos decisórios do governo. O objetivo é identificar um conjunto de elementos que, potencialmente, influenciam a implementação de espaços virtuais de participação pelos governos, seja como habilitadores da sua implementação, seja como inibidores. A pesquisa realizada é de natureza exploratória. A partir da revisão de literatura e de uma entrevista com roteiro aberto a cinco especialistas no campo, montou-se uma lista preliminar de elementos habilitadores e inibidores. Depois, seguindo o método survey na Internet, a lista foi enviada a 155 especialistas, dos quais 55 manifestaram o seu grau de concordância com os elementos listados e a eles atribuíram importância. Os questionários foram respondidos por agentes públicos envolvidos na implantação e operação de projetos de governo eletrônico com ações de e-Democracia, por pesquisadores acadêmicos desse campo e consultores ligados a organizações da sociedade envolvidas na sua execução. Como resultado, este trabalho identifica um conjunto de habilitadores e outro de inibidores nas dimensões política e de governança, sócio-cultural, econômica, tecnológica e legal-regulatória. Conclui-se que há diferenças entre as visões dos respondentes de diferentes setores de atuação (governo, academia e consultoria). Também há diferenças entre os resultados da pesquisa e a literatura consultada. Na visão política, a literatura dá ênfase aos aspectos legais e regulatórios, que não aparecem com ênfase nos resultados da amostra. O tamanho da amostra (55 respondentes) foi uma limitação para realização de análises estatísticas mais robustas. Sugere-se que estudos futuros aprofundem a análise de fatores habilitadores e inibidores em cada um dos grupos, assim como investiguem o fenômeno a partir do ponto de vista dos cidadãos. / The development of information and communication technologies, particularly the Internet, creates new communication channels which the society has been using, in innovative ways, to develop social and economic activities. Governments at all levels and in various parts of the world have used ICT resources to increase the efficiency of public administration’s internal processes, or to provide services to citizens. More recently, experiments are being implemented using electronic means to enhance democratic practice - e-Democracy. This work focuses on electronic democracy initiatives that use the Internet to create virtual spaces of participation for citizens and the society in decision making processes of government. The goal is to identify a number of elements that enables or inhibits the implementation of these virtual spaces by governments. The research is exploratory in nature. After the literature review and interviewing five experts in the field, with open script, a preliminary list of enabler and inhibitor elements was set up. Then, applying the survey method, on the Internet, the list was sent to 155 experts, of which, 55 expressed their degree of agreement with the elements listed, and attributed a level of importance. The questionnaires were answered by public officials in charge of the implementation and operation of egovernment projects with actions of e-Democracy, by academic researchers in this field and by consultants connected to other organizations of the society, involved with the implementation of e-Democracy projects. As a result, this study identifies a set of enablers and other of inhibitors in the following dimensions: political and governance, socio-cultural, economic, technological and legal-regulatory. The study concludes that there are differences between the views of respondents from different sectors of activity (government, academia and consultancy). There are also differences between the results of the research and literature. In the political view, the literature emphasizes the legal and regulatory aspects, which do not appear with emphasis on sample results. The sample size (55 respondents) was a limitation for performing more robust statistical analysis. It is suggested that future studies should deepen the analysis of enabling factors and inhibitors in each group, as well as investigate the phenomenon from the viewpoint of citizens.

Submitted by Thiago Bronzeado de Andrade (thiago@ch.uepb.edu.br) on 2018-06-11T13:17:56Z No. of bitstreams: 1 PDF - Edvana dos Santos Vieira.pdf: 20953380 bytes, checksum: 3fca2487ac390f6097a86f8a12122cab (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Milena Araújo (milaborges@ch.uepb.edu.br) on 2018-06-11T13:31:58Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 PDF - Edvana dos Santos Vieira.pdf: 20953380 bytes, checksum: 3fca2487ac390f6097a86f8a12122cab (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-06-11T13:31:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 PDF - Edvana dos Santos Vieira.pdf: 20953380 bytes, checksum: 3fca2487ac390f6097a86f8a12122cab (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-08-26 / CAPES / This paper aims to reflect on the contribution of the use of virtual spaces for the teaching and learning of black literature in elementary school in order to know how these spaces can motivate students to read literary texts and at the same time to reflect on the ethnic and cultural diversity of the Brazilian people. It consists of an interpretative analysis of the kind action research, developed in a largely qualitative approach. For over a decade, official documents determine the teaching of African history and culture and african-Brazilian in basic education, but the applicability of this teaching is still not a reality in everyday school life, especially with regard to the teaching of literature. At the same time we experience this problem in basic education, another phenomenon calls into question: the use of new technologies in school teaching and learning. Digital technologies have proliferated in a fast way in our daily lives, which requires new teacher perceptions of learning and teaching, to include in their teaching practice the use of these technologies in order to promote student learning. It is from these contexts, we think in carrying out this study of black literature and the use of virtual spaces. The survey was conducted in a class of 9th grade of elementary school of EEEFM Teacher Raul Cordula, the city of Campina Grande-PB. It is based on a didactic sequence, involving work with reading black literature on websites and blogs of african-Brazilian authors and the production of a website and a blog to disseminate this literature. Data were obtained from a questionnaire administered to study subjects and speeches made in the discussions in the classroom and in virtual spaces throughout the development of the sequence. Implementation of the work in the classroom and beyond the school walls allowed a plurality of activities in which students, away from behave as information from passive recipients, actively acted in the search, exchange of information, collaborating with the teacher to an end: study black literature which certainly contributed to the creation of a positive imagery of the black. The theoretical references were sought, especially in Duarte works (2008), Cuti (2010), Fonseca (2006), Birth (2004), Souza (2005), Munanga (1999), Bezerra (2014), Oliveira (2014) Kenski (2007 and 2008), Moran (2009), Marcuschi (2010), Levy (1999), JJ (2010 and 2013), as well as consultations with blogs of writers / the african-Brazilian / as, and specific sites on the literatures african-Brazilian and African, with scientific articles and literary texts, as Literafro and Quilombhoje. / Esta dissertação tem como objetivo refletir sobre a contribuição do uso dos espaços virtuais para o ensino-aprendizagem da literatura negra no Ensino Fundamental, a fim de saber de que maneira esses espaços podem motivar os alunos à leitura de textos literários e, ao mesmo tempo refletir sobre a diversidade étnica e cultural do povo brasileiro. Consiste numa análise interpretativa, do tipo pesquisa ação, desenvolvida sob uma abordagem basicamente qualitativa. Há mais de uma década, documentos oficiais determinam o ensino de história e cultura africana e afro-brasileira na educação básica, porém a aplicabilidade desse ensino ainda não é uma realidade no cotidiano escolar, especialmente no que diz respeito ao ensino de literatura. Ao mesmo tempo que vivenciamos esse problema na educação básica, um outro fenômeno se põe em questão: o uso das novas tecnologias no ensino-aprendizagem escolar. As tecnologias digitais têm se proliferado de forma veloz no nosso cotidiano, o que exige do professor novas percepções do aprender e do ensinar, de forma a incluir em sua prática docente o uso dessas tecnologias, a fim de promover a aprendizagem discente. É a partir desses contextos, que pensamos em realizar esse estudo envolvendo a literatura negra e o uso dos espaços virtuais. A pesquisa foi realizada em uma turma do 9º ano do Ensino Fundamental da E. E. E. F. M. Professor Raul Córdula, da cidade de Campina Grande-PB. Tem como base uma sequência didática, envolvendo o trabalho com a leitura de literatura negra em sites e blogs de autores afro-brasileiros e a produção de um site e um blog para divulgação dessa literatura. Os dados foram obtidos a partir de um questionário aplicado aos sujeitos pesquisados e dos discursos produzidos nas discussões em sala e nos espaços virtuais ao longo do desenvolvimento da sequência. A consecução do trabalho em sala de aula e além dos muros da escola permitiu uma pluralidade de atividades em que os alunos, longe de se portarem como receptores passivos de informações, atuaram ativamente na busca, troca de informações, colaborando junto com o professor para um fim: estudar literatura negra que certamente contribuiu para a criação de um imaginário positivo sobre o negro. Os referenciais teóricos foram buscados, especialmente nos trabalhos de Duarte (2008), Cuti (2010), Fonseca (2006), Nascimento (2004), Souza (2005), Munanga (1999), Bezerra (2014), Oliveira (2014), Kenski (2007 e 2008), Moran (2009), Marcuschi (2010), Lévy (1999), Seabra (2010 e 2013), além de consultas aos blogs de escritores/as afro-brasileiros/as, e sites específicos sobre as literaturas afro-brasileira e africanas, com artigos científicos e textos literários, como, Literafro e Quilombhoje.

O desenvolvimento das tecnologias da informação e comunicação, em especial a Internet, cria novos canais de comunicação dos quais a sociedade tem se utilizado, de forma inovadora, no desenvolvimento de atividades sociais e econômicas. Governos, em todos os níveis e em diversas partes do mundo, têm utilizado os recursos de TIC no aumento da eficiência dos processos internos da administração pública, ou na prestação dos serviços aos cidadãos. Mais recentemente, estão sendo implementadas experiências que utilizam os meios eletrônicos para a ampliação da prática democrática – a e-Democracia. Este trabalho foca-se nas iniciativas de democracia eletrônica que utilizam a Internet para a criação de espaços virtuais de participação do cidadão e da sociedade nos processos decisórios do governo. O objetivo é identificar um conjunto de elementos que, potencialmente, influenciam a implementação de espaços virtuais de participação pelos governos, seja como habilitadores da sua implementação, seja como inibidores. A pesquisa realizada é de natureza exploratória. A partir da revisão de literatura e de uma entrevista com roteiro aberto a cinco especialistas no campo, montou-se uma lista preliminar de elementos habilitadores e inibidores. Depois, seguindo o método survey na Internet, a lista foi enviada a 155 especialistas, dos quais 55 manifestaram o seu grau de concordância com os elementos listados e a eles atribuíram importância. Os questionários foram respondidos por agentes públicos envolvidos na implantação e operação de projetos de governo eletrônico com ações de e-Democracia, por pesquisadores acadêmicos desse campo e consultores ligados a organizações da sociedade envolvidas na sua execução. Como resultado, este trabalho identifica um conjunto de habilitadores e outro de inibidores nas dimensões política e de governança, sócio-cultural, econômica, tecnológica e legal-regulatória. Conclui-se que há diferenças entre as visões dos respondentes de diferentes setores de atuação (governo, academia e consultoria). Também há diferenças entre os resultados da pesquisa e a literatura consultada. Na visão política, a literatura dá ênfase aos aspectos legais e regulatórios, que não aparecem com ênfase nos resultados da amostra. O tamanho da amostra (55 respondentes) foi uma limitação para realização de análises estatísticas mais robustas. Sugere-se que estudos futuros aprofundem a análise de fatores habilitadores e inibidores em cada um dos grupos, assim como investiguem o fenômeno a partir do ponto de vista dos cidadãos. / The development of information and communication technologies, particularly the Internet, creates new communication channels which the society has been using, in innovative ways, to develop social and economic activities. Governments at all levels and in various parts of the world have used ICT resources to increase the efficiency of public administration’s internal processes, or to provide services to citizens. More recently, experiments are being implemented using electronic means to enhance democratic practice - e-Democracy. This work focuses on electronic democracy initiatives that use the Internet to create virtual spaces of participation for citizens and the society in decision making processes of government. The goal is to identify a number of elements that enables or inhibits the implementation of these virtual spaces by governments. The research is exploratory in nature. After the literature review and interviewing five experts in the field, with open script, a preliminary list of enabler and inhibitor elements was set up. Then, applying the survey method, on the Internet, the list was sent to 155 experts, of which, 55 expressed their degree of agreement with the elements listed, and attributed a level of importance. The questionnaires were answered by public officials in charge of the implementation and operation of egovernment projects with actions of e-Democracy, by academic researchers in this field and by consultants connected to other organizations of the society, involved with the implementation of e-Democracy projects. As a result, this study identifies a set of enablers and other of inhibitors in the following dimensions: political and governance, socio-cultural, economic, technological and legal-regulatory. The study concludes that there are differences between the views of respondents from different sectors of activity (government, academia and consultancy). There are also differences between the results of the research and literature. In the political view, the literature emphasizes the legal and regulatory aspects, which do not appear with emphasis on sample results. The sample size (55 respondents) was a limitation for performing more robust statistical analysis. It is suggested that future studies should deepen the analysis of enabling factors and inhibitors in each group, as well as investigate the phenomenon from the viewpoint of citizens.

Amongst its innumerable effects on society, the proliferation of digital media has transformed the institution of art, with new forms and channels of digital content delivery allowing unprecedented levels of reproducibility. This reproducibility has allowed artworks and artifacts to be copied, shared, and experienced in a multitude of new ways, often far beyond the original artist’s intentions or expectations.  Contemporary technologies such as advanced 3D object rendering, photogrammetry and Virtual Reality have established a new era of reproduction beyond simplistic image replication. This new era has not only revolutionised the artwork itself, but also the relationship between the viewers of art and the original piece, or the aura. The power of reproduction through digital media has even allowed the complete simulation of traditional spaces for art themselves, as seen in the growth of entirely digital museums and digital art galleries.  As an ever-increasing number of museums are joining the trend of digitising and releasing objects in their collections online, and with existing literature mainly focused on 2D image-based reproduction, but not the affordances brought by photogrammetry and 3D replication technology, this study will explore how the new possibilities inherent to these technologies challenge prior research on digital aura within art galleries.  By contributing to the body of Walter Benjamin scholarship, and building from previous research by Ding (2017), this thesis is centred around exploring a case study of a group of Swedish museums who have begun digitising artifacts in their collection through photogrammetry and freely releasing them to the public online.