Computer-based interactive learning environments in physics can help students to differentiate between their intuitive views on natural phenomena and the formalisms of Newtonian physics. This thesis describes empirical investigations of a specific type of interactive learning environments, computer-based simulations. In many cases computer simulations deal with a simplified and idealised version of the natural phenomenon. Presenting the user with a simplification of reality is seen as one of the advantages of simulations, since too complex and too realistic simulations may sometimes be overwhelming for learners and may not permit the identification of the underlying model. Yet implications arise about the degree to which students either expect or perceive simulations to be real and how these expectations and perceptions affect their interaction with the simulation. Reality for the purposes of this research is considered to be a construct comprising the visual fidelity (fidelity) and the complexity of the underlying physical model (complexity) of the simulation. Evaluation of a number of simulations, two case studies and interviews with simulation designers and educators suggested these components. Altering the relation between fidelity and complexity levels affects students' learning and contributes to the students' perception of reality. This is demonstrated in a study of a number of simulations of the same physical phenomenon (Newtonian collisions) with degrees of fidelity and complexity which have been examined to test this hypothesis. Two empirical studies were then conducted to investigate the use of simulations which represented different fidelity and complexity levels. Analyses were carried out on videotapes and questionnaires of students interacting collaboratively with the simulations (40 hours of computer based activity). The empirical approaches to these studies, reports on work done, including the emerging data in multiple forms (questionnaires, video and audio tapes of the students interaction) and its analysis are presented in this thesis. The work reported looks at students' interaction with the simulations (pre to post test learning gain and issues concerning pre and post testing), their comments on the interface and the model underlying the simulation. The thesis supports the view that well designed computer-based simulations can promote learning and that design issues are essential to the creation of successful simulations. The findings claim that: a) enhanced fidelity of an instructional simulation has positive effects on the learner outcome, b) interfaces which use multiple representations offer valuable information which facilitates problem solving strategies, and c) low complexity simulations are better suited to novice learners. These outcomes are presented as implications for simulation design and the use and development of a syntax in simulation design is also discussed (design criteria for how systems might be built). Finally the outcomes' applicability, the limitations of the studies, as well as the scope for further research that should lead to an understanding of the factors which promote successful use of simulations in the teaching of physics are presented.

This thesis concerns groupwork, Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) and social relationships. The use of the computer, especially when it involves the web, is claimed to be one of the most powerful tools for providing teachers and learners with an interactive and independent learning environment. This claim is justified by the immediate and wide accessed to resources. Although CSCL involves many technologies and functions, it is agreed that its universal feature is to encourage students to seek in-depth learning. The main purpose of this research is to empirically investigate the influences on learning outcomes in CSCL environments, specifically to understand how affordances for collaboration contribute to user experience as well as performance in groupwork; and to study social relationships and how they may affect learning performance. The main motivations behind this research are: 1) contradictions in the literature about the effectiveness of using the technology in groupwork, and 2) the shortcomings of existing collaborative environments, such as a poor sense of presence and limited non-verbal communication. Evaluations of collaborative technology have tended to follow either an ethnographic approach to investigate the context of use in depth, or more focused experimental analyses directed towards specific questions about collaboration. However, this research followed the mixed methods approach which has been successfully applied in HCI (Murphy et al., 1999; Ormerod et al., 2004), so this approach is suitable for investigating CSCL affordances and requirements. A series of seven field studies was conducted, using both quantitative (questionnaires) and qualitative (observations and interviews) methods. Synthesising the analysis of the seven studies involved experimentally comparing the affordances of some existing collaborative technologies (Blackboard and SecondLife). Overall, the results offer four main contributions. First, a conceptual model of the factors that impact performance in CSCL environments is developed, including three main dimensions: technology, group and learner features. Second, the key theoretical findings in this research show that social relationships and overall group activities do not correlate directly with performance, so our results appear to agree with previous findings that social relationships have no positive effect on learning performance. However, some social familiarity does appear to promote group interaction and performance. Comparing the use of technologies with face-to-face collaboration produced a complex picture. The 3D virtual world did not produce the expected benefit, probably because of usability problems encountered with the avatars. In contrast, the text-based virtual world was perceived as being more usable, even though for some groups it was considered to be boring and not a stimulating user experience. Although face-to-face collaboration was expected to be most effective, and indeed it was quickest and rated best on experience and positive emotions, it did not produce more accurate results. Third, was the mixed methods research approach and the discourse analysis method used to analyse the Blackboard threads in this research. Finally, the research provides guidelines for both educators and designers of CSCL environments. Although the exploratory nature of the study resulted in certain limitations, the study enriches existing knowledge in the area of CSCL and provides theoretical, methodological and practical insights that suggest promising opportunities for future research.

De nombreux travaux ont traité de l’échec scolaire, la question de l’insécurité langagière des adultes et des adultes natifs, en revanche, a été très peu étudiée. Nous définissons l’insécurité langagière comme la difficulté pour un locuteur de gérer de façon efficace les interactions verbales dans lesquelles il est engagé, d’un point de vue linguistique, interactionnel, pragmatique et social. Au-delà des débats politiques et idéologiques, la question scientifique aujourd’hui est de savoir si la maîtrise de la langue ou, en d’autres termes, si les insécurités langagières des locuteurs, permettent néanmoins à ces derniers de communiquer d’une manière efficace et satisfaisante avec les autres, quels que soient les éléments de communication. L’objectif de cette thèse est de repérer, d’analyser et de mesurer les problèmes langagiers rencontrés par des demandeurs d’emploi francophones natifs engagés dans une interaction avec un professionnel de l’insertion. Nous montrons qu’au-delà des problèmes lexicaux et syntaxiques, des problèmes liés à la gestion de l’interaction peuvent apparaître et gêner le déroulement des échanges. Cette gêne semble liée au niveau de qualification du locuteur demandeur d’emploi et se traduit notamment par une construction collaborative du discours qui demande de nombreux ajustements et négociations conversationnels. / A number of studies have dealt with issues of failure at school but the question of linguistic insecurity among adults - native speaker adults - has however been little analyzed. Linguistic insecurity is defined here as the difficulty a speaker has in efficiently managing the verbal interactions he or she participates in from a linguistic, interactional, pragmatic and social point of view.Beyond political and ideological debates, the scientific question today is to know if the level of command of the language can compensate for linguistic insecurity and enables a speaker to communicate in an efficient and satisfactory manner with others, whatever the elements of the communicative situation.The objective of this thesis is to identify, analyze and measure the linguistic problems native French-speaking job-seekers encounter when they are engaged in an interaction with a vocational advisor. The aim is to show that, apart from lexical and syntactical problems, difficulties related to the management of the interaction may appear and interfere with the course of the exchanges. This problem seems to be linked to the level of qualification of the job-seeker and is mainly apparent in the collaborative structure of the interaction which requires ongoing conversational adjustments and negotiations.

In the 21st century, e-commerce (electronic commerce) has witnessed explosive development, while the problems such as the imperfect logistics system and backward information platform exposed are also increasing. This research thesis focuses on the design of electronic commerce project logistics under collaborative theory. Firstly, this research analyses the current situation of e-commerce, and explains relevant theories of system engineering and collaborative theory. Secondly, a management framework of e-commerce under collaborative theory is discussed. Then it is about the construction of a new and novel logistics system, that is, a four-stage radial-spoke logistics network containing e-commerce hubs, e-commerce regional distribution centres, e-commerce physical stores, and e-commerce cooperatives. The existing logistics mode is innovated and developed with the “collaborative distribution” mode proposed, and the entire supply chain is connected through the four-stage radial-spoke logistics network, enabling all parties involved in the supply chain to achieve collaboration. Then based on the network, containers are differentiated and standardized into four classes. What’s more, with the design and development of a collaborative logistics system, this thesis presents countermeasures to integrate e-commerce with its internal management platform. So the growing information is effectively managed, timely and correct decision-making information and decision support are provided. Furthermore, previous e-commerce platform is strengthened and the collaborative theory is fundamentally applied in a novel context. Finally, combining together logistics alliance, e-commerce platforms as well as its management system, this research is aimed to improve e-commerce collaborative management and promote e-commerce collaborative theory. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Graduate School of Technology Management (GSTM) / PhD / Unrestricted

This qualitative doctoral dissertation investigates the influence of the characteristics and conditions of complex learning systems on the emergence, sustainability, and diffusion of learning of four professional learning communities (PLCs). These PLCs were associated with a large-scale initiative focused on enhancing mathematics teaching and learning in Grade 9 in Ontario, Canada. This study took place in 2021, five years after completion of the professional learning initiative in 2016 and focused on deepening understanding of how learning emerged during the initiative and how learning was sustained and diffused after the original initiative. The study employed a complexity science informed multiple-case study approach, utilizing a variety of data collection methods including secondary analysis of original project data, surveys, and interviews. Data analysis followed an iterative process, using complexity science as a framework, to analyze data and identify key themes. Findings revealed that all the characteristics and conditions of complex learning systems manifested across the cases and the whole initiative. Key conditions and characteristics such as decentralized control, self-organization, and nestedness supported neighbour interactions which contributed to teacher learning. The Diffusion of Innovation model was utilized to better describe how and why these themes supported teacher learning. These findings contribute to the understanding of how to support teacher learning in educational contexts and provide insights for educators and researchers seeking to promote effective professional learning initiatives. In conclusion, this study highlights the need to consider educational settings as interconnected nested systems that interact to influence learning across different systems. Professional learning initiatives within these systems need to incorporate teacher agency over an extended time period to allow for the development of professional relationships and communities of learners. These communities were observed to self-organize in ways that best supported and sustained their own learning and allowed the learning to diffuse to others in learning systems. These findings underscore the importance of creating supportive environments that fosters collaboration, connections, teacher agency, and shared purpose, thereby enhancing professional learning and educational outcomes.

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Yes / The paper examines the views, often associated with Porter, that clusters with deep collaborative networks and established local supply chains have good performance. The view that good cluster performance is not connected to the industrial sector is also assessed. Data from a Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) study on UK clusters are used to assess the impact on performance (employment growth and international competitiveness) of cluster depth, the stage of development of local supply chains, and industrial sector. The results of the analysis of the DTI data on clusters do not provide strong support for Porter-type views on cluster policy. Although established clusters are linked to employment growth, deep clusters are not associated with employment growth or international competitiveness, and clusters in the services, and media, computer-related and biotechnology sectors are more likely than manufacturing clusters to have good performance. Some of the major policy implications of the results are discussed in the light of the literature on the importance of regional, national, and international networks for the performance of clusters.

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Les sciences humaines et le progrès social ne peuvent pas se poursuivre sans collaboration. Avec le développement rapide des technologies de l'information et la popularité des appareils intelligents, le travail collaboratif est beaucoup plus simple et plus fréquents que jamais. Les gens peuvent travailler ensemble sans tenir compte de leur emplacement/ location géographique ou de la limitation de temps. Les environnements de travail de collaboration basés sur le Web sont conçus et consacrés à supporter/soutenir le travail individuel et le travail en groupe dans divers domaines: la recherche, les affaires, l'éducation, etc. N'importe quelle activité dans un système d'information produit un ensemble de traces. Dans un contexte de travail collaboratif, de telles traces peuvent être très volumineuses et hétérogènes. Pour un Environnement de Travail Collaboratif (ETC) typique Basé sur le Web, les traces sont principalement produites par des activités collaboratives ou des interactions collaboratives et peuvent être enregistrées. Les traces modélisées ne représentent pas seulement la connaissance, mais aussi l'expérience acquise par les acteurs via leurs interactions mutuelles ou les interactions qu'ils ont avec le système. Avec la complexité croissante de la structure de groupe et les besoins fréquents de collaboration, les interactions existantes deviennent de plus en plus difficiles à saisir et à analyser. Or, pour leurs travaux futurs, les gens ont souvent besoin de récupérer des informations issues de leurs activités de collaboration précédentes. Cette thèse se concentre sur la définition, la modélisation et l'exploitation des différentes traces dans le contexte d'Environnement de Travail Collaboratif et en particulier aux Traces Collaboratives dans l'espace de travail partagé de groupe (ou l'espace de travail collaboratif). Un modèle de traces de collaboration qui peuvent efficacement enrichir l'expérience du groupe et aider à la collaboration de groupe est proposé et détaillé. Nous présentons ensuite et définissons un type de filtre complexe comme un moyen possible d'exploiter ces traces. Plusieurs scénarios de base d'exploitation des traces collaboratives sont présentés. Pour chacun d'entre eux, nous présentons leurs effets et les avantages procurés par ces effets dans l'environnement de travail collaboratif. En effet, un cadre de l'exploitation des traces général est introduit et nous expliquons mis en œuvre dans un ETC. Trois approches collaboratives générant des traces sont discutées à l'aide d'exemples: l'Analyse SWOT, l'intégration de modèle de maturité de la capacité (CMMI) et le Système de Recommandation de Groupe. Une expérimentation de ce modèle a été réalisée dans le cadre de la plate-forme collaborative E-MEMORAe2.0. Cette expérience montre que notre modèle de trace collaborative et le cadre d'exploitation proposé pour l'environnement de travail collaboratif peuvent faciliter à la fois le travail personnel et de groupe. Notre approche peut être appliquée comme un moyen générique pour traiter différents sujets et problèmes, qu'il s'agisse de collaboration ou de l'exploitation des traces laissées dans un ECT. / Human science and social progress cannot continue without collaboration. With the rapid development of information technologies and the popularity of smart devices, collaborative work is much simpler and more common than ever. People can work together irrespective of their geographical location or time limitation. In recently years, Web-based Collaborative Working Environments (CWE) are designed and devoted to support both individual and group work to a greater extent in various areas: research, business, learning and etc. Any activity in an information system produces a set of traces. In a collaborative working context, such traces may be very voluminous and heterogeneous. For a typical Webbased Collaborative Working Environment, traces are mainly produced by collaborative activities or interactions and can be recorded. The modeled traces not only represent knowledge but also experience concerning the interactive actions among the actors or between actors and the system. With the increasing complexity of group structure and frequent collaboration needs, the existing interactions become more difficult to grasp and to analyze. And for the future work, people often need to retrieve more information from their previous collaborative activities. This thesis focuses on defining, modeling and exploiting the various traces in the context of CWE, in particular, Collaborative Traces (CTs) in the group shared/collaborativeworkspace. A model of collaborative traces that can efficiently enrich group experience and assist group collaboration is proposed and detailed. In addition, we introduce and define a type of complex filter as a possible means to exploit the traces. Several basic scenarios of collaborative traces exploitation are presented describing their effects and advantages in CWE. Furthermore, a general traces exploitation framework is introduced and implemented in CWE. Three possible traces based collaborative approaches are discussed with comprehensive examples: SWOT Analysis, Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) and Group Recommendation System. As a practical experience we tested our model in the context of the E-MEMORAe2.0 collaborative platform. Practical cases show that our proposed CT model and the exploitation framework for CWE can facilitate both personal and group work. This approach can be applied as a generic way for addressing different types of collaboration and trace issues/problems in CWE.