Yes / The relationships between policies, their values, and outcomes are often difficult for citizens and policymakers to assess due to the complex nature of the policy lifecycle. With the opening of data by public administrations, there is now a greater opportunity for transparency, accountability, and evidence-based decision making in the policymaking process. In representative democracies, citizens rely on their elected representatives and local administrations to take policy decisions that address societal challenges and add value to their local communities. Citizens now have the opportunity to assess the impact and values of the policies introduced by their elected representatives and hold them accountable by utilizing historical open data that is publicly available. Using a qualitative case study in a UK Local Government Authority, this article examines how e-participation platforms and the use of open data can facilitate more factual, evidence-based, and transparent policy decision making and evaluation. From a theoretical stance, this article contributes to the policy lifecycle and e-participation literature. The article also offers valuable insights to public administrations on how open data can be utilized for evidence-based policy decision making and evaluation.

No / Opportunities to participate with enjoyable activities is one of the most frequently reported unmet needs by the person living with dementia. Enabling and intuitive technologies may offer accessible ways to engage with such activities. Objectives: To explore how tablet computers might encourage participation in enjoyable activities by people with moderate levels of dementia and to consider how such technologies might be incorporated into the repertoire of activities currently provided through day care settings. Methods: A focused visual ethnographic approach was developed specifically to meet the research objectives. Twelve participants attending a community day care centre and nine supporters (both volunteers and paid staff) consented to take part in the research. Technology facilitated group activity sessions took place twice a week for a period of four weeks and all were video recorded. Findings: Video analysis demonstrated that the majority of people with dementia found the technology an effective means of participating in enjoyable activities. Analysis also revealed the extent to which participation relies on the existence of effective support. It showed how maintaining focus on retained strengths and abilities enabled the group overall to meet and often exceed their own and others perceived capacity to participate. Finally, analysis confirmed the importance of enjoyment of activities ‘in the moment’ and the need for those supporting people in the moderate stages of dementia to acknowledge and work with this. Conclusion: The use of tablet computers to enhance participation in sociable and enjoyable activities in day care settings is realistic and achievable if supported appropriately.

The streaming of audiobooks is a new and fast-growing phenomenon amongst Swedish consumers. There exists a lack of knowledge on this topic as it is previously unexplored within academia. As the audiobook streaming services are growing it is important for providers and competitors to understand the key factors determining usage intention from an end-user’s perspective. This thesis therefore examines what factors influence end-user’s adoption of audiobook streaming-services, the examination extends both for consumers intention to begin using as well as continue using the service. Factors related to the end-user’s usage intention were explored and identified in a Swedish context. A theoretical model consisting of eight hypotheses was constructed to examine the relationships between five variables. The model is based on previous literature of technology adoption and in particular the technology acceptance model (TAM). Additional theory was gathered on previous research on similar technologies such consumers adoption of E-books and E-readers. To achieve the research purpose of the thesis, a quantitative method was used and data was gathered through an online questionnaire with 935 (769 valid) responses. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used with RStudio to test the collected data on our theoretical model. The results showcased that our model was successful in explaining key factors influencing usage intention. The findings indicate that perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use influence usage intention positively, while end-user’s attachment to paper books and reading impact usage intention negatively. Further results and the implications of these results are discussed.

Discute, tendo como cenário o atual ambiente tecnológico baseado na mídia digital, as potencialidades do emprego das chamadas tecnologias de informação e comunicação na preservação do patrimônio cultural e no desenvolvimento da memória coletiva contemporânea, além de contribuir para a construção de um referencial teórico sobre o tema. Inicialmente conceitua patrimônio, memória e mídia, fazendo uma ligação entre eles. Em um segundo momento, aprofunda na discussão sobre modos de tradução de bens culturais para ambientes virtuais, estabelecendo possíveis critérios de abordagens de projetos dessa natureza, que serão aplicados, ao final da dissertação, na análise de uma dessas experiências. / It is discussed, in the scenery of the actual technological environment based on the digital media, the potencials of the so called information and communications technology in the cultural heritage preservation and in the contemporary collective memory developing, and also contributes to a theoretical referencing construction about the theme. First heritage, memory and media is contextualized, establishing relations between them. In a second moment, a discussion about translation forms of cultural goods to virtual environments is realized, establishing possible criterias for approaching projects of this nature that will be applied, at the end of this dissertation, in the analysis of one of these experiences.

The South African public service, like many organisation, is embracing information and communication technology (ICTs) and the main aim is to improve and better their services. Frenzel (1999:18) indicates that this is because ICT has the potential to reduce costs, improve internal efficiency, capture economies of scale and bring organisations even closer to their customers and suppliers. Significant initiatives have been taken in the last couple of years. These include the need to address the coordination of ICT initiatives in the public service, through the establishment of the Office of the Government Chief Information Officers (OGCIO) within the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA). The South African public service also established State Information Technology Agency (SITA) responsible for the provision of information technology, system and related services. However, although ICT has the potential to infuse every area of the public service and improve service delivery, ICT is a management task that should be addressed in the overall context of an organisation and its environment. It is therefore in the best interest of this study to investigate the role of ICT in the South African public service. A number of aspects of ICT were investigated, including the challenges facing government in the implementation of ICT, critical success factors of ICT and the role of ICT in the public service. Among the challenges indentified include leadership instability, lack of common shared vision and strategy, lack of skills, training and development and poor communication and decision making processes are significant organizational factors constraining the successful implementation of ICT in government. Lack of ICT infrastructure, integration and interoperability issues are cited as technical challenges to successful implementation. Key findings from the study were that ICTs should integrate service delivery across government. It should also facilitate business efficiency and effectiveness and contribute towards socio-economic development. It is therefore necessary that ICT must be driven by government‘s developmental agenda, rather than technology. It is recommended that this could be achieved through a sustained shared, common vision across government, adequate resources and strategic partnerships with the business community. / Master of Public Administration, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

The South African public service, like many organisation, is embracing information and communication technology (ICTs) and the main aim is to improve and better their services. Frenzel (1999:18) indicates that this is because ICT has the potential to reduce costs, improve internal efficiency, capture economies of scale and bring organisations even closer to their customers and suppliers. Significant initiatives have been taken in the last couple of years. These include the need to address the coordination of ICT initiatives in the public service, through the establishment of the Office of the Government Chief Information Officers (OGCIO) within the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA). The South African public service also established State Information Technology Agency (SITA) responsible for the provision of information technology, system and related services. However, although ICT has the potential to infuse every area of the public service and improve service delivery, ICT is a management task that should be addressed in the overall context of an organisation and its environment. It is therefore in the best interest of this study to investigate the role of ICT in the South African public service. A number of aspects of ICT were investigated, including the challenges facing government in the implementation of ICT, critical success factors of ICT and the role of ICT in the public service. Among the challenges indentified include leadership instability, lack of common shared vision and strategy, lack of skills, training and development and poor communication and decision making processes are significant organizational factors constraining the successful implementation of ICT in government. Lack of ICT infrastructure, integration and interoperability issues are cited as technical challenges to successful implementation. Key findings from the study were that ICTs should integrate service delivery across government. It should also facilitate business efficiency and effectiveness and contribute towards socio-economic development. It is therefore necessary that ICT must be driven by government‘s developmental agenda, rather than technology. It is recommended that this could be achieved through a sustained shared, common vision across government, adequate resources and strategic partnerships with the business community. / Master of Public Administration, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

In the current literature on productivity and economic growth, many studies have explored the relationship between information and communications technology (ICT) and growth. In these studies, ICT capital stock is treated as an individual input in the production process that contributes to output growth. In fact, ICT is found to be a key driver of productivity growth in the developed economies. However, few empirical studies deal with China which has in recent years become one of the world's largest ICT markets and production centres. The lack of empirical work in this field contrasts sharply with the wealth of literature which presents background and descriptive studies of China's high technology sectors that include the telecommunications, the computer and the Internet sectors. This dissertation attempts to fill the void in the literature by examining the role of ICT in China's economy over the past two decades. It aims to develop a framework which emphasizes ICT as a production factor and apply it to interpret China's economic growth. The dissertation contributes to the empirical literature by focusing on the following core aspects underlying the linkage between ICT and economic growth. First, it attempts to estimate the size of China's ICT capital stock using the perpetual inventory method. Second, based on such estimates, the dissertation measures the contribution of ICT to China's economic growth by means of a production function model that segregates ICT from all other forms of capital. Third, the dissertation examines the impact of ICT on technical efficiency in China's regions by applying a stochastic frontier model. Lastly, the dissertation looks at the demand aspect of the ICT industry by estimating and projecting demand for ICT services, namely, the telecommunications and computer markets in China. According to this study, ICT capital is found to be a positive driver for the Chinese economy, and is responsible for about 25% of the country's economic growth, although the percentage varies at different periods. ICT capital is also found to have a positive and significant impact on technical efficiency in the Chinese regions. However, the disparity between the coastal and inland regions in terms of technical efficiency scores is found to be very wide, due to the bulk of ICT investment going into the municipal cities and coastal provinces. It is also found that China may be facing the beginning of a period of strong productivity growth driven by increased investment in ICT, especially innovative investment. Furthermore, projections of demand show that the majority of Chinese citizens will have access to a fixed-line telephone or the mobile phone in five years from now, while about half of the Chinese population is expected to use the computer by 2010.

This article is about the telework, which is an atypical form of work organization, characterized by the use of the information and communication technologies, and the performing of the activities outside the workplace. This type of work can be used as a tool for the inclusion of people into the labor market and the reconciliation between work and family time. Also, we carry out a review and analysis of the current regulations on the subject in Peru. / El presente artículo trata acerca del teletrabajo, el cual es una forma atípica de la organización del trabajo, caracterizado por el uso de las tecnología de la comunicación e información, y por realizar la prestación laboral fuera del centro de trabajo, cuya implementación pueda ser aprovechada como una herramienta de inclusión laboral y de conciliación de la vida personal y laboral. Asimismo, realizamos un repaso y análisis de la regulación existente sobre el particular en el Perú.

Discute, tendo como cenário o atual ambiente tecnológico baseado na mídia digital, as potencialidades do emprego das chamadas tecnologias de informação e comunicação na preservação do patrimônio cultural e no desenvolvimento da memória coletiva contemporânea, além de contribuir para a construção de um referencial teórico sobre o tema. Inicialmente conceitua patrimônio, memória e mídia, fazendo uma ligação entre eles. Em um segundo momento, aprofunda na discussão sobre modos de tradução de bens culturais para ambientes virtuais, estabelecendo possíveis critérios de abordagens de projetos dessa natureza, que serão aplicados, ao final da dissertação, na análise de uma dessas experiências. / It is discussed, in the scenery of the actual technological environment based on the digital media, the potencials of the so called information and communications technology in the cultural heritage preservation and in the contemporary collective memory developing, and also contributes to a theoretical referencing construction about the theme. First heritage, memory and media is contextualized, establishing relations between them. In a second moment, a discussion about translation forms of cultural goods to virtual environments is realized, establishing possible criterias for approaching projects of this nature that will be applied, at the end of this dissertation, in the analysis of one of these experiences.

M.Ed. / Information and communications technology (ICT) has an impact on every aspect of our lives. Using ICT has required the development of new knowledge and skills, which also has an impact on facilitators and learners who need many new skills to learn, work and adapt to the ever-changing world. Therefore, successful technology integration into teaching and learning requires learners to have access to an appropriate range of tools and the abilities to analyse, synthesise and present information. Hence, technology integration should be an essential part of an organisation’s learning culture. While ICT has been part of education for over 10 years, its use in teaching and learning, both in educational and corporate environments, often perpetuates instructivist models of education, rather than supporting social tool-mediated knowledge construction. The purpose of this research was to gain an understanding of learning technologies as a tool to design, develop and deliver learning interventions within a corporate environment. The study makes use of an acquisition-participation-contribution framework, which is part of cultural historical activity theory, in order to determine how the Training Department at Discovery has designed and delivered learning and to evaluate learner expectations. This case study made use of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. The first phase involved the analysis of the organisation’s documents and reports on the strategies deployed within the company. During this phase, the organisation’s annual report, learning strategies, learning technologies strategy and the annual training report were reviewed and analysed. In the second phase of data collection, questionnaires were conducted on 82 participants, who included learners, facilitators and training managers from all business entities within the company. The first part of the questionnaire asked demographical information and the second part was made up of 27 statements relating to the acquisition, participant and contribution framework. These data were analysed statistically to determine how participants rated the importance of each statement in its current state and how they would like to experience it in the future. The last phase of the data collection involved three focus group sessions. Participants in the focus group sessions were from the head office in Johannesburg and a branch in Cape Town. The questions asked in the focus group sessions were designed with the aim of getting a better understanding of the differences in learning expectations of both the Training Department and learners. These data were analysed deductively against the acquisition, participant and contribution framework. Results from both the qualitative and quantitative investigations found differences in what learners want and what the Training Department actually delivered. The results from the questionnaire and focus groups clearly indicated that learners want to experience learning interventions that are social and collaborative in nature. They want to be able to contribute to the learning process. However, the Training Department designed and delivered learning interventions that focused on the distribution and acquisition of knowledge. These results suggest that in corporate environments, the department responsible for the professional development of employees needs to understand the needs of staff better and that learning is not the consumption of information, but is concerned with knowledge production to support individual and collective transformation.