This thesis explored MySpace and Facebook, two popular social networking sites (SNS), from the perspectives of the uses and gratification model and impression management theory. As a qualitative exploratory study, this thesis had three objectives. First, it investigated why young people use SNS. Second, it sought to discover how members use SNS for self-presentation. Finally, it aimed to contribute to the current body of literature and serve as a basis for future qualitative and quantitative studies on SNS. The focus groups that were conducted for this thesis elicited ten themes that provided insights on the motivations and behaviors of individuals who use SNS for needs fulfillment and impression management. These themes included: 1) efficient communication, 2) convenient communication, 3) curiosity of others, 4) popularity, 5) relationship formation and reinforcement, 6) self-enhancement, 7) otherenhancement, 8) self-disclosure, 9) conformity and 1 0) identity-management. Based on the first five themes, the study suggested that an emerging theory of instant gratification is being developed. The theory helps researchers explain why young people use SNS and predict what factors motivate young people to get ,_ involved heavily in SNS. Based on the second five themes, this study confirmed the relevance of Goffi:nan's theories of the presentation of the self in explaining how young people manage their impressions through SNS. As a powerful socialization agent, SNS provide new opportunities and diverse ways of presenting one's self online. Though there are some evident differences between online and face-to-face social interaction, it is clear that Goffman's theories will continue to help researchers explain self-presentation within the context of SNS.

This study investigates the similarities and differences that exist between different types of teaching material for spelling in grades 1–3, in book form and digital form. The study focuses on how the teaching material designs tasks and how it corresponds to theories of spelling. The method is comparative analysis of the four analysed teaching aids. In performing this comparison the study proceeds from a theory of the mental lexicon and theories of writing development. The result shows that when the pupils work in both forms of teaching material they get practice in their phonological, semantic, syntactic and orthographical awareness. The analysis reveals a difference between the design of tasks in the book Stava 3 and the digital application Qnoddarnas värld. Through the app and the book the pupils can practise their phonological awareness in different ways. The app speaks the sounds and the words, whereas in the book the pupils themselves make the sounds. The book contains text and pictures, while the app has voices that speak and things that move. In the book there are more difficult tasks in the chapter, in Qnoddarnas värld one is automatically taken to the next level, and in the Stavningslek app the pupil can practise at the same level without being taken further. The study can make teachers aware of what the teaching materials offer, what the pupil is able to practise, and teachers can thus choose the right material for each pupil.

This paper is a literature review exploring previous research on digital learning at school and the competence required both of teachers and pupils. Furthermore, it aims to point out advantages and disadvantages of digital tools in teaching at school by focusing on foreign language teaching. Previous studies indicate that using digital tools in school help to individualize teaching in order to consider the pupils’ individual needs in learning. Recent studies document as well that the teachers’ well-conceived teaching designs are important for target-aimed learning success. According to referred literature should teaching with help of media not replace the teacher in class but rather accompany it. There is however not much research related to digital multimedia schoolbooks which aim to cover all content in a subject. This paper presents two digital schoolbooks for German at Swedish schools in reference to underlying didactic parameters and in comparison, to digital tools. The paper refers both German and Swedish perspectives on digital learning. Finally, the paper deals with the question how far school providers are prepared to implement digital learning at school in order to fulfil their own ambitions.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how children's librarians at public librarieswork to promote reading towards children between the ages of 8-12 and to see if theirreading promotion only consists of printed fiction. The research questions for the thesisare the following: • How do the children's librarian conduct their reading promotion work? • How do children's librarians use different kinds of media in the readingpromotion work? • Which methods do children's librarians use in the reading promotion work? The purpose has been achieved and the research questions has been answered throughresearch interviews with children's librarians who work at public libraries. To analyzethe responses from the interviews, we have used a theory about different approachestowards reading and Jofrid Karner Smidt's theory of the librarian as a mediator ofliterature. The conclusions of the thesis are that there are great similarities in how thechildren’s librarians we have interviewed work with reading promotion and what kindof reading-promoting methods they use.

Este estudo tem como propósito pesquisar como as produtoras de animação publicitária em São Paulo absorveram gradativamente a tecnologia digital a partir de meados dos anos 1980 até os anos 1990, observando seu funcionamento antes, durante e após a implementação mais efetiva dos novos recursos, identificando os fatos e dados que apontam para o impacto no processo criativo em todas as suas etapas. A partir de uma revisão bibliográfica, apresenta-se o modelo de produção analógico em animação, permitindo-se conjecturar a respeito do ambiente sócio-cultural que propiciou o surgimento dos estúdios de animação que imprimiram sua marca na história da publicidade brasileira. Dentro de uma perspectiva de pesquisa qualitativa fundamentada na história oral, procura-se, por meio de entrevistas com os produtores, compreender o trajeto da realização de um filme de animação, tanto da era analógica como da era digital. Buscou-se, com a coleta de depoimentos, criar evidências para a pesquisa, esperando contribuir assim para o resgate histórico de um momento muito fértil em nossa animação, e de um segmento audiovisual tradicionalmente pouco contemplado nas discussões acadêmicas. Como resultado, obteve-se uma reflexão sobre a evolução do processo criativo, que se mostrou dar-se não apenas em função da tecnologia, mas também em função de um conjunto de elementos sócio-econômico-culturais que influenciam na fruição através dos tempos e determinam diretrizes de produtividade para o audiovisual / This study aims to research how animation advertising companies have gradually absorbed digital technology in São Paulo from the mid-1980s until the 1990s. By observing their functioning before, during and after the effective implementation of new resources, and, by this investigative approach, the study identifies the facts and data which point toward the impact on the creative process at all its stages. In the review of literature, the analog production model of animation is presented, which allows for conjecturing as to what socialcultural environment has enabled the emergence of animation studios which have left their mark in the history of Brazilian advertising. From a qualitative research perspective grounded on Oral History, it used interviews with producers, to document and gain a clearer understanding of the making of an animation film, in both in the analog as well as in the digital era. By the collecting accounts, research evidence hopes to contribute to a historical review of a particularly fertile moment in the history of Brazilian animation. As well this study documents an audiovisual segment that traditionally is not addressed in academic discussions. As a result, a reflection of the development of the creative process was obtained, not only because of technology used but also by virtue of a set of social-economic-cultural elements which have influenced the fruition throughout times and determined productivity guidelines for the audiovisual.

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences. / Centre for Macau Studies

H.264/AVC encoder complexity is mainly due to variable size in Intra and Inter frames. This makes H.264/AVC very difficult to implement, especially for real time applications and mobile devices. The current technological challenge is to conserve the compression capacity and quality that H.264 offers but reduce the encoding time and, therefore, the processing complexity. This thesis applies machine learning technique for video encoding mode decisions and investigates ways to improve the process of generating more general low complexity H.264/AVC video encoders. The proposed H.264 encoding method decreases the complexity in the mode decision inside the Inter frames. Results show, at least, a 150% average reduction of complexity and, at most, 0.6 average increases in PSNR for different kinds of videos and formats. / by Paula Carrillo. / Thesis (M.S.C.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2008. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2008. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

O ensino de projeto arquitetônico é, via de regra, o tronco da estrutura curricular dos cursos de Arquitetura no Brasil. Não obstante, com o passar do tempo, o ensino de projeto se mostra à prova de definições estáticas a respeito de metodologias de ensino para sua prática e aprendizado. São inúmeras as metodologias propostas e em desenvolvimento para o ensino de projeto, pois a elaboração de um projeto envolve a inter-relação entre diversas categorias de conhecimentos e habilidades, que interagem de modo não-linear entre si. Com a revolução digital do exercício profissional de arquitetura, um novo paradigma se apresenta como um particular desafio para as universidades brasileiras: introduzir no currículo do curso metodologias de ensino de projeto arquitetônico estruturadas, de modo articulado com meios e plataformas digitais que exploram as ferramentas computacionais para além do limiar da simples representação gráfica. Analisando o panorama geral, é possível notar que esta prática ainda está em estágio inicial no País (ROMCY, 2017). Segundo Orciuoli, (2009) a arquitetura digital ainda é vista com certa resistência pelas próprias faculdades de arquitetura. Neste sentido, esta dissertação se propõe a pesquisar a implantação de estratégias para o desenvolvimento de projeto utilizando o ambiente digital algorítmico e paramétrico em uma disciplina de projeto arquitetônico, assim como a instrumentalização necessária para a utilização destas ferramentas computacionais Foi desenvolvida uma pesquisa-ação em disciplinas do 4ª semestre da faculdade de arquitetura onde se propuseram exercícios relacionando conteúdos instrumentais às disciplinas de projeto para conectar o conhecimento computacional às estratégias projetuais. Na sequência, foi realizada uma análise sobre a integração entre softwares de desenho em plataforma BIM (Building Information Modelling) e softwares de modelagem algorítmica/paramétrica. Com isso, pretendeu-se fornecer subsídios instrumentais para que os alunos possam explorar estratégias projetuais digitais que utilizassem formas complexas, diminuindo assim os percalços habituais relativos à falta de destreza técnica na ferramenta digital tanto para o raciocínio projetual quanto para a posterior representação gráfica de suas propostas. Ademais foram analisados comparativamente os dados fornecidos pelos alunos antes e depois da implementação da abordagem de projeto digital, a fim de detectar problemas, potencialidades e efetividade da estratégia de ensino proposta. / The teaching of architectural design is commonly the main curricula structure in architectural graduation in Brazil. Even though, over time, project teaching has been difficult to define by static methodologies to teach its practice and learning. In fact, there are lots of methodologies proposed and in development to teach the activity of design. That´s because the design activity involves inter relationships between several knowledge domains and skills that´s interact in a nonlinear way. With the digital revolution of architectural practice, a new paradigm reveals itself as a particular challenge to Brazilians architecture schools: how to introduce, in the course curricula, structured methodologies to architectural design teaching in an articulated manner with digital media that explores computational tools beyond graphic representations boundary. Analyzing the general panorama, it is possible to note that this practice is still in its initial stages in Brazil (ROMCY, 2017). According to Orciuoli, (2009) digital architecture is still seen with some resistance by the architecture faculties themselves. In this sense, this work proposes to study strategies to develop projects using digital algorithmic and parametric media in a discipline of architectural design as well as the knowledge necessary to carry on these computational tools An action research was developed in disciplines of the 4th semester of the architecture faculty where they were proposed exercises relating instrumental disciplines with design disciplines to connect computational knowledge to design strategies. Next was analyzed the integration between a BIM software with a algorithmic/parametric modeling software. To this end, instrumental grants were able to assist people in the development of digital capacities, using the complex forms reducing in this way the usual gaps related to a lack of technical skills on reasoning or drawing with digital tool. Data developed by the students before and after the implementation of the digital design approach was analyzed comparatively in order to detect problems, potentialities and effectiveness of the proposed teaching strategy.

O exame de resultados de pesquisas anteriores realizadas pelo Nomads.usp - Núcleo de Estudos de Habitares Interativos - em que foram utilizados vários instrumentos metodológicos clássicos de pesquisa qualitativa a fim de entender contextos urbano e social, revelou limites desses instrumentos quando se desejava abarcar nuances referentes a modos de vida, visões de mundo e pontos de vistas de indivíduos pesquisados. O objetivo dessa pesquisa é a verificação dos limites e potencialidades do emprego de três atividades, concebidas para uso em eventos culturais com presença de público - Rádio de Rua, Graffiti Digital e Projeção de Comentários -, no sentido de utilizá-las também como procedimentos de obtenção de informação sobre seus públicos, estimulando processos comunicacionais e interlocuções com auxílio de meios digitais. Essas três atividades foram definidas em conjunto com os interesses do Projeto de Políticas Públicas \"Territórios Híbridos: meios digitais, comunidades e ações culturais\", o qual, por outro lado, tornou possível a realização dos experimentos aqui estudados. / The evaluation of previous research carried out by Nomads.usp - Center of Interactive Living Studies - which used several classical methodological instruments of qualitative research in order to understand urban and social contexts, found limits of these tools when they were employed to encompass nuances related to ways of life, worldviews and viewpoints of surveyed individuals. The aim of this reseach is to verify the limits and the possibilities of using three activities conceived for usage in cultural events with audience\'s presence - Street Radio, Digital Graffiti and Comment\'s Projection -, in a matter of utilising it as well as procedures for gathering informations about its audiences by proposing communication processes and dialogs, with the aid of digital media. These three activities were established according to the interests of the Public Policy Project \"Hybrid Territories: digital media, communities and cultural activities\", which, on the other hand, made possible the accomplishment of these studied experiments.

Esse trabalho visa entender o processo de design a partir da complexidade e estabelecer princípios claros para o processo específico que utiliza de procedimentos advindos do design paramétrico e da fabricação digital para o desenvolvimento de objetos arquitetônicos que possuem superfícies complexas. Entendemos que o pensamento complexo, que considera a rede em contraponto a lógica linear, integra, aproxima e possibilita entender o uno composto por múltiplos e a leitura do processo de design a partir da lente da complexidade é um caminho para seu entendimento. / This work aim to understand the design process from the complexity and establish clear principles for the design process that uses procedures arising from parametric design and digital fabrication for the development of architectural objects that have complex surfaces. We understand that complex thinking, which considers the network as opposed to linear logic, integrates approaches and enables understand one composed of multiple and the reading of the design process as from the complexity is a way for your understanding.