Purpose: The relationship between context and e-governance has been gaining a significant momentum in academic circles due its social and technical complexities. There are many challenges posed by the disparity between the context and the system when it comes to e-governance in developing countries. This research aims to reveal more successful adoption of e-governance initiatives and exposes factors that hinder its implementation. We develop a conceptual framework showing the reciprocity between the context and the system or what is termed “Context-System Gap”. Therefore, this research will study the appropriateness of the context and its influence on the system and the influence of the system on the context. The purpose of this research is to explore the factors that enable successful e-government adoption in Lebanon, where e-governance is still at its initial stage. Most empirical research and theories on the implementation of e-governance in developing countries remain at the macro-level and miss out on the complexities of the context of deployment and the role of the gap between the citizens and the government. The purpose of this thesis is to provide an empirical model differentiating between the electronic context and the electronic system and shed a light over a new gap, government-citizen gap, in the adoption of e-government. Design/methodology/approach: Following previous research on e-government services adoption, this study uses several technology use and acceptance models and literature to examine the elements behind the adoption and use of e-government services in Lebanon from citizen and government perspectives. The research strategy is a quantitative method approach employing questionnaire. Quantitative data will be collected from e-government users (citizens) and statistical tests will be conducted in order to examine the relation between variables. Practical implications: The findings are useful for policy-makers and decision-makers to develop a better understanding of citizens' needs. The proposed model can be used as a guideline for the implementation of e-government services in developing countries. Originality/value: This study is the only one to examine the dimensions influencing citizens’ adoption of e-government technologies in developing countries using a unified model merging context and system elements.

In this thesis, I am dealing with an design and implementation of finite deterministic automaton. Its role is to process the ConTeXt input file and make a decision about its typography correctness. In next step, it will offer the recommendation how to correct the mistake and will be able to make simple automatic correction. Thesis is also including the comparision with existing programs and the tests on real documents. Thesis is also including theoretical subscription of formal languages and finite automaton.

Adaptação e sensibilidade ao contexto andam juntos em diferentes tipos de aplicações. A sensibilidade ao contexto não necessariamente implica em adaptação, mas para que um sistema sensível ao contexto possa guiar uma adaptação efetiva, precisa acompanhar a ocorrência de determinados eventos no sistema e reagir de forma adequada a estes eventos. Este caráter adaptativo tem sido buscado em sistemas Web, de forma a se comportarem de maneira personalizada em atendimento às necessidades particulares do usuário. Dentre uma diversidade de sistemas Web que se propõem a apresentar como diferencial caráter sensível ao contexto do usuário, este trabalho estuda um domínio de aplicação específico: os sistemas de educação adaptativos baseados na Web. Este domínio se mostra crítico, pois necessita ser personalizado tendo em vista um usuário não comum e com uma série de particularidades que devem ser levadas em conta: o aluno. O objetivo principal deste trabalho é apresentar uma solução para o problema da adaptação de ações sensíveis às situações vivenciadas por alunos em um sistema de educação adaptativo baseado na Web. Este problema engloba diversas questões que são atualmente foco de pesquisa em áreas relacionadas à sensibilidade ao contexto, entre elas: (i) as formas de obtenção dos dados relativos ao contexto do aluno; (ii) a análise dos diferentes grupos e modelos de contexto que descrevem a situação em si, vivenciada pelo aluno no momento atual; (iii) as formas de avaliação e relacionamento dos dados de contexto do aluno, de forma a permitir inferência de sua situação atual. Para este fim, foi desenvolvida uma solução capaz de auxiliar o funcionamento de sistemas de educação adaptativos, de forma a apresentarem caráter reativo à situação vivenciada pelo aluno. A solução desenvolvida consiste de um módulo de sensibilidade à situação, construído com o objetivo de analisar as diversas particularidades existentes no cotidiano atual do aluno, se mantendo útil a ele independentemente do seu local atual, do dispositivo computacional utilizado e da tarefa em curso, respeitando as características individuais do aluno. De acordo com a situação detectada, ações de adaptação são fornecidas à mídia adaptativa, com intuito de prover uma experiência educacional voltada às necessidades reais do aluno. Ao final, o funcionamento da solução proposta foi simulado em conjunto a um ambiente de ensino real, de forma a verificar sua aplicabilidade prática. / Adaptation and context awareness walk together in different kinds of applications. Context awareness doesn’t imply necessarily in adaptation, but an adaptive system in order to guide an effective adaptation need to be aware about the occurrence of specific events and properly react to them. This adaptive character has been looked in web systems, in order to behave in a personalized way in attending the particular needs of the user. Among a variety of web systems that propose to present a context aware character, this work presents a case study in a specific application domain: web-based adaptive educational systems. This area is critical because the system needs to be customized in order to attend a not common user, with a variety of particularities that should be taken into account: the student. The main objective of this work is to present a solution to the problem of adaptation of situation-aware actions lived by students in a web-based adaptive educational system. This problem involves several issues that are currently focus of research in areas related with context-awareness, like: (i) the ways of obtaining student’s context data, which often lead to uncertain and ambiguous analysis (ii) the analysis of different groups and context models that describe the situation itself, experienced by the student at the present time, (iii) the ways of evaluating and correlating student’s context data, to allow the inference of their current situation. To this end, we developed a solution capable to assist the functioning of adaptive educational systems; in order to present a reactive character to the situations lived by the student. The solution consists on situation-aware module which aiming at evaluating the several particularities of the student’s actual routine to remain useful to him, regardless of his current location, the computing device used, day of week and the ongoing task, respecting the individual characteristics of the student. According to the detected situation, adaptive actions are presented to the adaptive hypermedia, aiming at providing a better educational experience to the student. At the end of this work, the solution developed is tested with a real e-learning environment to verify its practical appliance.

Este estudo transversal teve o objetivo de investigar o conhecimento de adolescentes de diferentes contextos sobre os seus próprios direitos. Participaram do estudo 101 adolescentes, com idades entre 12 e 17 anos (M=14,18; SD=1,09), sendo 68,3% do sexo feminino e 31,7% do sexo masculino. Os adolescentes foram agrupados por contextos: o G1 composto por aqueles que residem com suas famílias e freqüentam escolas públicas (45,5%), o G2, por jovens que vivem com suas famílias e estudam em escolas particulares (32,7%) e o G3 de adolescentes que moram em abrigos (21,8%). Foram aplicados um questionário para levantamento de dados biosociodemográficos, um sobre o conhecimento em direitos e um inventário de auto-relato sobre a situação de direitos. Houve diferença entre os contextos em relação a alguns dos direitos investigados. Os participantes que relataram perceber mais direitos não respeitados foram os não-brancos e cujos pais apresentavam escolaridade mais baixa, resultado que ressalta o legado de exclusão étnico-racial presente no país. Foi encontrada diferença significativa em relação à presença/ausência de conhecimento dos direitos, por sexo, idade, nível socioeconômico, grupo e vínculo com a família. Os direitos mais conhecidos foram: inclusão, participação, expressão, educação, lazer e proteção contra a violência e o trabalho. Já os direitos menos conhecidos foram: respeito, tratamento diferenciado do adulto quando em conflito com a lei, proteção contra o trabalho doméstico, liberdade de reunião e associação e de buscar orientação. Os resultados indicam que o macrossistema e o microssistema estão relacionados à visão dos adolescentes sobre seus direitos. Apontam, ainda, à necessidade de intervenções, enfatizando valores, os direitos menos reconhecidos e deveres da população infanto-juvenil. / This crossectional study aimed to investigate adolescents' knowledge, of different contexts, on their own rights. 101 adolescents, aged from 12 to 17 years old (M=14,18; SD=1,09), 68,3% female and 31,7% male were grouped by context: G1 - adolescents who live with their families and attend public schools (45,5%), G2 - those who live with their families and attende private school (32,7%) and G3 - those who live in shelters (21,8%). A biosociodemographic and knowledge of rights questionnaires and to a self report on adolescents' rights were administered. There was difference among the contexts regarding certain rights investigated. More not respected rights were found among no-white participants and those whose parents presented lower education level, result that emphasizes the historical legacy of present ethnic-racial exclusion in Brazil. The results revealed statistically significant sex, age, socioeconomic status, group and family links differences what refers to the knowledge of rights. The knownest rights were: inclusion, participation, expression, education, leisure and protection against the violence and the work. The less known rights were: respect, adult's differentiated treatment when in conflict with the law, the protection against the domestic work, the freedom of reunion/association and concerning searching for orientation. Results indicate that the macrossistem and the microssistem are associated with the adolescents' perception of their own rights. The results highlight the need for interventions, emphasizing values, recognition of rights and duties of the child-juvenile population.

Esta dissertação busca o entendimento sobre o papel que o Ensino de Design possui no Brasil, frente à nova abordagem do mercado de bens de consumo, onde a inspiração da origem criativa se tornou mais importante que o local da manufatura. A importância que o simbólico um produto traz em si, de ligar ou estabelecer um status de origem. É neste cenário que se buscará, na origem e na evolução do Ensino do Design no Brasil, evidenciar uma atividade profissional que evoluiu junto com a atividade industrial. Traça-se um paralelo evolutivo com o uso e com os ensinamentos de métodos clássicos e de outras áreas técnicas, diante da necessidade de começar a se formar o contexto brasileiro como um fator criativo no desenvolvimento de Projetos de Produto, a partir da visão acadêmica, propondo um método que tenha em sua estrutura de desenvolvimento a utilização da contextualização da linguagem brasileira como inspiração criativa em projetos de produtos de design. / In search of understanding the role that design education in Brazil represents, towards to the new approach in the market of consumption goods, where the source of creative inspiration has became more important than the place of manufacture. The importance of what symbolic a product can represent in itself can connect or establish the source's status. It is in this scenario where will be the lookout in the origin and growth of the design education in Brazil, presenting a professional activity which had grown next to the industry and evolves along with the use of foreign methods and other technical areas, facing the need to form a Brazilian context as a creative factor for the development of projects of the product from the academic perspective, proposing a method based on structure development using the context of the Brazilian language and creative inspiration in projects designed products.

Individuals' feelings, beliefs and attitudes toward people with disabilities have an influence on their willingness to engage in the social relationship with people with disabilities such as forming friendship at the workplace or romantic relationship with people with disabilities. This study explored the attitudes of students toward people with disabilities and their attitudes in the social context of dating, marriage, and work. The study is a cross-sectional survey design. The sample in this study was drawn using convenient sampling. The survey was administered to 575 undergraduate and graduate students at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC). The researcher examined the influence of students' gender, their previous contact with people with disabilities, cultural factor, and disability status on the general attitudes and students' attitudes toward people with disabilities in various social contexts. The study also assessed the relationship between students' attitudes toward people with disabilities and attitudes toward people with disabilities in various social contexts. Two scales were used to assess students' attitudes in this study which include the Scale of Attitudes toward Disabled Persons (SADP-R) and Disability Social Relations Generalized Disability Scale (DSRGDS). The first instrument measured students' general disability attitude and the second instrument measured students' attitude in the social domain of dating, marriage, and work. In terms of general disability attitude, female students expressed more positive attitudes than male students. International students were found to have more positive attitudes than American students. Students who had previous contact with people with disabilities and students who indicated having a disability had more favorable attitudes toward people with disabilities in general. Based on the multiple regression analysis results, gender, cultural factor (citizenship), disability status, and prior contact (intensity of the relationship) were found to be significant predictors of students' general attitudes toward persons with disability at SIUC. Results of the study provided information about the attitudes of students in various social contexts. Female students had more favorable attitudes toward people with disabilities than male students in the context of dating, marriage, and work. Results showed international students had more favorable attitudes in various social contexts than American students. Those who have indicated having previous contact with people with disabilities and having a disability were likely to have more positive attitudes in the social context than those with no prior contact and without a disability. Hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to determine predictors that significantly affect the attitudes of SIUC students in various social contexts. The results revealed that gender, citizenship, disability status, prior contact with people with disabilities (intensity of the relationship with people with disabilities), and their self-reported general disability attitudes (the SADP-R scores) were predictors that significantly improved the ability to predict the DSRGDS scores. Correlation analyses result indicated a significant relationship between SIUC students' attitudes toward people with disabilities in general and attitudes in various social contexts. Understanding the relative importance of disability attitude in various social contexts will add to the existing body of research and literature specific to disability attitude in rehabilitation counseling and may assist in the development of appropriate training to improve disability awareness and education.

It is difficult, if not impossible to find another code-switching condition that allows for the production of "simultaneous" language use in communication like that which is found in bimodal bilingualism. In 2002, Bauer, Hall, and Kruth conducted a study that examined code-switching in a play context for a German/English bilingual child. Emmorey, Borinstein, and Thomson in 2005 investigated bimodal bilingualism in adults. However there has not been a study like these for hearing children using ASL/English who have Deaf parents. By applying Bauer, Hall, and Kruth's study as a template for research into code-switching and adapting some of the processes used by Emmorey, Borinstein, and Thomson to research simultaneous sign and spoken language production, a study of hearing bimodal bilingual children of Deaf parents becomes possible. This study uses qualitative analysis of transcribed digital video recordings of two bimodal bilingual subjects that were coded to examine three language use possibilities in two language contexts. The bimodal subjects are capable of spoken English, manual Sign Language, and simultaneous production of both. The results were applied to answer the following questions: What kinds of play activity are the subjects and their adult interlocutors involved in? How do the subjects use their two languages to constitute their involvement in play? When and why do hearing children of Deaf parents code-switch? And when and why do they perform simultaneous production? The key findings are that bimodal bilingual children are strategic code-switchers/blenders using code selection to best communicate with their interlocutors based on the language environment and to fill lexical gaps or skill level deficiencies between codes.

xv, 134 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Prior research finds that exposure to traumatic stress negatively impacts physical and mental health, and that the social context in which trauma occurs is an important predictor of symptom development. Eight-hundred thirty-three members of an ethnically diverse longitudinal cohort study in Hawaii were surveyed about their personal exposure to several types of traumatic events, socioeconomic resources, mental health symptoms, and health status. Rates of trauma exposure were predicted to vary as a function of type of trauma and participant gender and ethnicity. In addition, access to social resources and the relational context of trauma were predicted to be associated with symptom reports in this ethnically diverse sample of men and women. Results replicated findings that while men and women are exposed to similar rates of trauma overall, women report more exposure to traumas high in betrayal. while men report exposure to more lower-betrayal traumas. Women also reported more mental health symptoms, and traumas higher in betrayal were generally more predictive of symptoms. Ethnic group variation in trauma exposure and physical and mental health symptoms was also present: ethnic groups with lower socioeconomic status generally reported more trauma exposure and symptoms, although in some cases the pattern of results was not straightforward. This study adds new information about the prevalence of traumatic stress and mental health symptoms across ethnic groups in Hawaii, and how these relate to social context. In addition, this study provides preliminary information on the independent contribution of neglect and household dysfunction to the prediction of symptoms. The relevance of these results can be summarized with three main arguments. First, measures of trauma exposure must include events that occur across relational contexts if they are to be gender equitable and most predictive of symptoms. Second, gender and ethnic group differences in symptoms are largely explained by differential trauma exposure and differential access to educational and economic resources. Third, prevention and intervention efforts must address both trauma exposure and social context, as each is implicated in the presentation of symptoms. / Committee in charge: Jennifer Freyd, Chairperson, Psychology; Anne Simons, Member, Psychology; Gerard Saucier, Member, Psychology; Debra Merskin, Outside Member, Journalism and Communication

The importance of the hippocampus in the formation and retrieval of episodic memory has been famously demonstrated in the case of patient H.M. Subsequent studies conducted in animal models have provided considerable insight into the specific functions of the individual components of the hippocampus. In the rodent, the pyramidal neurons of the CA1 and CA3 regions of the hippocampus have typically been associated with the encoding of visuo-spatial cues and their utilization in navigation. These ‘place cells’ fire when the animal is in a specific part of its environment (its place field). However, these cells also encode non-spatial information from other sensory inputs, such as olfaction and audition. This study was conducted to find out how contextual odor cues are represented in the firing of CA1 place cells and whether these cues could drive stable spatial representations. One group of mice was first extensively familiarized to a cylinder containing both visual cues and preserved, self-generated odor cues. Then, after assessing place field stability across a six hour delay, the visual and odor cues were rotated in opposite directions by ninety degrees (counter-rotated). Another group of mice was familiarized only to the visual cues that were subsequently rotated. The next day stability and rotation were re-assessed in a novel cylinder. However, the odor cues of the two groups were switched: the preserved odor cues of the first group were removed, and the odor cues of the second group were now preserved across the three sessions. In a separate experiment, a third group of animals was familiarized only to the odor cues. Firstly, we found that contextual odor cues attenuated rotation with the visual cues, but only following extensive familiarization. Secondly, the removal of familiar odor cues impaired long-term stability of place fields. Third and finally, the self-generated odor cues alone were not sufficient for the generation of stable place fields in a free, open-field exploration paradigm. We therefore conclude that although they are not as dominant as discrete visual cues, highly familiarized odor cues exert a significant effect on the representation of space of the mouse CA1 place cell, illustrating the role of contextually relevant information in navigating an ever-changing world.

Esse estudo teve como objetivo comparar duas formas de manejo de cultivos de banana em relação ao seu potencial de abrigar espécies florestais. Nós assumimos que o registro de espécies florestais utilizando um elemento da matriz mostra que a espécie não evita a matriz totalmente e pode ser capaz de cruzá-la, indicando a importância dessas estruturas para a manutenção de conectividade funcional entre as áreas de hábitat. Foram amostrados 30 cultivos incluindo áreas sob manejo convencional e agroflorestal. Em cada unidade amostral foram realizadas transecções para acessar a proporção de aves florestais, generalistas e de áreas abertas. Variáveis descritoras da estrutura interna e da estrutura da paisagem do entorno dos cultivos foram consideradas para verificar se a avifauna responde à características intrínsecas dos cultivos ou ao contexto de paisagem em que os cultivos estão inseridos. A proporção de espécies florestais foi maior em cultivos agroflorestais (F28;0,001=19,29; p<0,0004), enquanto a proporção de generalistas não apresentou diferença significativa (F28;0,001=0,22; p<0,22) e a de espécies de áreas abertas foi maior em cultivos convencionais (F28;0,001=8,92; p<0,006). Os dois conjuntos de variáveis considerados, isto é, a estrutura interna do cultivo e do entorno deste foram importantes para predizer a proporção de espécies florestais. Embora tenhamos observado o efeito da paisagem na proporção de espécies florestais, salientamos aqui que sistemas convencionais, mesmo em contextos de paisagem similares à sistemas agroflorestais, não apresentaram a mesma proporção de espécies florestais. Esse resultado indica um diferencial de cultivos agroflorestais de banana para a ocorrência de espécies florestais. Em nível de paisagem, a proporção de florestas e consequentemente a diminuição do isolamento entre manchas é o responsável pela presença potencial de espécies em fragmentos. No entanto, em nível de mancha, mesmo esta apresentando um contexto de paisagem favorável para que seja ocupada por espécies de áreas fonte, o mecanismo que influencia a presença das espécies é a elevada estrutura interna dos bananais. / This study aimed to compare two management of banana crops in relation to its potential to host forest bird species. We assume that the record of forest bird species using a matrix element shows that the species does not entirely avoid this area and may be able to cross it, indicating the importance of these structures for the maintenance of functional connectivity between areas of habitat. We sampled 30 areas including crops under conventional and agroforestry management. In each sampling unit we used transects to access the composition and abundance of bird species. Descriptive variables of the internal structure and the structure of the surrounding landscape of crops were considered to determine whether the bird responds to the intrinsic characteristics of the crops or the landscape context in which crops are inserted. The proportion of forest species was higher in agroforestry crops (F28, 0,001 = 19.29, p <0.0004), while the proportion of generalists showed no significant difference (F28, 0,001 = 0.22, p <0.22) and species of open areas was greater in conventional crops (F28, 0,001 = 8.92, p <0.006). The two sets of variables considered, i.e. the internal structure of the crop and of surroundings, were important to predict the proportion of forest birds species. Although we observed the effect of landscape in the proportion of forest species, we note here that conventional systems, even in contexts similar to the landscape agroforestry systems, did not show the same proportion of forest species. This result indicates a upper value of agroforestry crops for the occurrence of forest bird species. At landscape level, the proportion of forests and consequently the lower isolation between patches is responsible for the potential presence of species in fragments. However, at patch level, even it is presenting a landscape context favorable to be occupied by a species of source areas, the mechanism that influences the presence of the species is the high internal structure of the banana plantations.