隨著網際網路的盛行，網路不但改變一般人的資訊收集方式、訊息閱讀方式、交友方式、娛樂方式，也影響企業研究顧客需要、銷售商品、打造品牌、服務客戶的方式。過去依靠讀者閱讀所帶來的發行收入，及廣告收入所創造營收的報紙、雜誌平面媒體，現在卻因為發行收入的減少，及廣告收入的滑落，而面臨了有史以來最嚴峻的挑戰。如果平面媒體因應大勢所趨轉型為數位媒體，應該採取哪種轉型策略模式？ 本研究採文獻分析、觀察研究、專家深度訪談，及個案分析法，針對目前平面媒體轉型為數位媒體的策略模式，及美國Advertising Age與 AD WEEK這兩本行銷傳播專業雜誌，轉型為數位媒體的策略模式研究結論如下： 一、平面媒體轉型為數位媒體的三種轉型策略模式中，目前運用「產品延伸變革型」的最多，運用「市場開發變革型」、「多角整合變革型」的較少。 二、把原先平面的內容，移到數位媒體上的「產品延伸變革型」，是種比較安全，也很容易在激烈媒體競爭中，被各式各樣對手所取代的模式。 三、「市場開發變革型」是以網路閱讀者為主要對象，完全以網路為工具提供的服務，所開發出的模式。這種模式除了服務原有的顧客，也可能創造原來不是顧客的顧客而開創新市場。這種轉型模式雖有風險，美國幾家服務青少年的雜誌媒體經營者在衡量得失後，仍大膽採行這種模式。 四、在數位媒體上整合各種服務，提供讀者一指搞定所有需求的「多角整合變革型」模式，除了提供資訊服務，也整合目標對象的其他需求，一次完整提供。換句話說，過去平面媒體是把資訊印在紙上傳送給讀者，未來應該是透過更有效率、又互動的媒體工具，把讀者所需的各種服務傳送到讀者眼前，幫助讀者在工作上、生活上更成功。這種模式大部分是先建構一個平台，並結合同業、異業夥伴，甚至讓過去只是被動接收訊息的讀者，現在也参與一起創造內容。這種轉型模式由於收入多元化，成功機率也較高。 五、許多平面媒體在面對網路時代的衝擊，在轉型過程中，大多會先採取安全保險的做法，運用「產品延伸變革」轉型策略模式。也有的在觀察一段時間後，慢慢摸索朝「市場開發變革」模式、「多角整合變革」模式發展。但是現階段已有越來越多的平面媒體，在轉型初期就立即採取市場開發變革模式、多角整合變革模式，搶佔市場先機。而許多平面媒體與數位媒體的關係，一開始是平面為主附加數位媒體，接著是虛實共生，部分媒體是從平面換手由數位媒體接續經營。 關鍵字：平面媒體、數位媒體、轉型策略模式 / As use of the Internet has become more popular, it has not only changed the way people gather information, read messages, meet new friends and entertain each other; it has also changed the way companies carry out market researches on their customers, sell products, create brands and service their clients. In the past, newspaper and other print media have relied heavily on the revenues generated by publishing and advertising -. Revenues have now dropped dramatically, and the print media are facing their biggest challenge yet. Therefore the question has become obvious; if the print media are to keep up with the trends to evolve to digital, what strategic solution should they adapt? In finding a solution to this problem, this study uses the technique of case-study analysis of two American marketing and advertising magazines (Advertising Age and AD WEEK) to understand the strategies involved in their decision-making to evolve into the digital media. The findings are listed below: 1.Of the three ways of evolving into a digital medium, the product-extension transformation strategy model is the most commonly used, while market exploration and the diversified-integration transformation strategy models are less commonly used. 2. Shifting content into digital media from print. This product-extension transformation strategy model is a safer way, yet it cannot breach boundaries and can be easily wiped out from the market by a wide variety of competitors. (In the Internet age there are no differences between print and digital media.) 3. Market exploration focuses on Internet readers as their target group. This is purely a solution based on providing services using the Internet as a tool. In this way, besides providing services to customers, it is possible to create a new market for those who are not existing customers. Although risks are involved in this solution, some companies in the US that target teen-agers have gone this way after evaluating their situation. In combining all kinds of services, and offering to help their readers to solve all their need with the click of a mouse, the diversified-integration transformation strategy model not only offers information but also loops in target audiences' other needs, to provide a one-stop-shopping solution. For most of the companies that operate under this concept, they have created a platform and work together with other companies and even their readers could create contents. As their services are charged through different channels, this has a higher rate of success. Faced with the impact of ‘Internet Age’, many print media are taking the safest way to evolve into the digital media and choosing the product-extension transformation strategy model. While some others have decided to gradually ease their way toward a market development-transformation strategy model or a diversified-integration transformation strategy model. But more and more print media have decided to put their efforts into the market-development transformation strategy model and the diversified-integration transformation strategy model in the process of evolving into digital media. This puts them in the right spot in the market and protects them from the fate of elimination. The connections between many print media and digital media have changed from focusing on the print sector accompanied by digital means to both equally important. For some media, they have converted completely to the digital media. Key words: printed media, digital media, transforms strategy model

A software application called Public News Network (PNN) is created in this thesis, which functions to produce an aesthetic experience in the viewer. The application engenders this experience by presenting a three-dimensional virtual world that the viewer can navigate using the computer mouse and keyboard. As the viewer navigates the environment she sees irregularly shaped objects resting on an infinite ground plane, and hears an ethereal wind. As the viewer nears the objects, the sound transforms into the sound of television static and text is displayed which identifies this object as representative of an episode of the evening news. The viewer "touches" the episode and a "disembodied" transcript of the broadcast begins to scroll across the screen. With further interaction, video of the broadcast streams across the surfaces of the environment, distorted by the shapes upon which it flows. The viewer can further manipulate and repurpose the broadcast by searching for words contained within the transcript. The results of this search are reassembled into a new, re-contextualized display of video containing the search terms stripped from their original, pre-packaged context. It is this willful manipulation that completes the opportunity for true meaning to appear.

This thesis describes the evaluation of several computer supported martial arts learning environments. These learning environments were designed, developed and implemented for practitioners of Rough and Tumble (RAT), a South African martial art, originally as a result of an increasing number of RAT practitioners relocating to other countries and yet wishing to continue their learning and practise of RAT. This project revolves mainly around the effectiveness evaluation of whether RAT martial arts knowledge, skills and attitudes can be learned in computer supported learning environments. The research is situated within design research and has pragmatic goals to provide a computer supported learning environment for the learning of RAT. Furthermore the design research was conducted to derive design principles for future design and development efforts. A brief account of the literature is provided, covering three main learning paradigms, with a focus on behaviourism and constructivism, followed by a description of issues in the computer supported learning field, an explanation of various definitions of martial arts and how the term is delimited in this study, and an overview of various evaluation paradigms. This account revealed inadequacies of the theories and terminology described pertaining to this study, resulting in the combined use of various underlying theoretical approaches to guide this research. These approaches include the eclectic-mixed methods-pragmatic paradigm as the overarching framework, a social constructivist learning approach, cognitive flexibility theory, Bloom’s Taxonomy, the RAT approach to martial arts learning and teaching, and a mixed methods research design. Two main components were developed as solutions, which included the development of a computer martial arts resource, the RAT CD-ROM, and four online courses, the RAT Online courses. Data were collected using a number of research instruments, such as questionnaires, interviews, observations, records, expert reviews and learner artefacts in an attempt to understand the data from multiple viewpoints and develop a more reliable depiction of evaluation events. The data were analysed using mainly qualitative coding in software, expert rating diagrams, basic frequency statistics, and martial arts assessments of physical performances. These analyses revealed that although there is significant work involved in mixed methods research and there are issues such as participants not meeting task deadlines, technology failures, software usability issues, and small participant numbers, the research approach has contributed to the pragmatic goal of providing computer supported learning environments to RAT practitioners, who otherwise would not have been able to participate in RAT. In addition a number of design principles for the creation of RAT computer supported learning environments were derived from this research, including the use of social constructivism, cognitive flexibility theory, Bloom’s Taxonomy, multiple contextual training, and using computers as learning and knowledge construction tools. These underlying theoretical principles translate to more practical procedural principles, such as amongst others, to design computer supported learning environments incorporating tools to enable knowledge construction and collaboration, provide learning designs that are complex and authentic, encourage multiple representations of learner knowledge, take on a mentor role as online course facilitator, and to build problem solving activities into the learning design. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

This study investigates the use of a Web Based Learning environment to support a newly introduced Problem Based Learning curriculum at the Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine. Questionnaires, observations and interviews form the basis of this qualitative study amongst first and second year students. Attempts are made to interrogate the way in which staff members use the system to support a constructivist learning environment. In addition similar prior research at this institution is taken into account and reported in the literature review. While not disputing the findings of earlier research the qualitative methodology used here shows some discrepancies with previous research. In particular, although learners are able to, and do, make use of the system it is predominantly used for the dissemination and retrieval of information. The basic premises of construction of knowledge are not facilitated by the Medical School's use of the Web Based Learning environment and of great concern was the small number of staff members who saw it as an integral part of the new curriculum and learning process. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

This video ethnographies study examines the everyday interaction of two groups of children (aged between 10 and 13) as they use digital media in their spare time. One group of boys has been studied in their recreation centre and one group of girls has been studied at home and at the stable. The participants have different social and cultural affiliations. The purpose of the study is to examine how the children in the different groups organize their peer cultures as they participate with other children in different kinds of digital literacy events. Furthermore, the study aims at examining what kind of competencies the children display when they participate in these digital literacy events. Theoretically, and in the analysis of the material, the study is based on New literacy studies, in which literacy is approached as a social, cultural and situated practice. The empirical material consists of ethnographical fieldwork combined with video recordings of everyday digital literacy events of the children, as well as informal conversations and screen-shots of the online interaction of the children. The children’s participation in digital literacy events are analysed with a CA-inspired interaction analysis. The analysis focus on how the children organise their participation in the midst of face-to-face interaction and how they use writing, symbol and image based communication on the internet. In the analysis the children’s use of non-verbal resources and the body have also been taken into consideration. The study shows that the children in the two groups develop different forms of technical and social literacy competencies that draws on their experiences, hobbies and participation in local practices. Through their participation the children strengthen relationships and organize their peer cultures. Their digital literacy events also involve navigating on the internet, communication with friends via internet as well as critically evaluating information on the internet in interaction with their peers.

The aim of the study was to examine both 1) how aware teachers in a specific area are about ICT tools in teaching ; and 2) how likely teachers are to use ICT tools to reverse the trend of unmotivated students and low achievement scores . I will look for answers through the following questions: How extensive is the knowledge of the teachers on digital and social media in education? How have teachers in the past year used various social media in their teaching? In what grade does ICT-supported teaching lead to higher motivation, participation and achievement? Is there a difference between the sexes, different stages (1-3, 4-6, 7-9) and number of years in the profession in knowledge of and openness to the use of ICT in education? The method used is a questionnaire in which a number of respondents have answered a number of questions about ICT tools in teaching. Validity of the study can be said to be high when the survey has measured what it intended to measure, however, I need to be careful in draw full account of the result as the response rate is low with only 39%. In summary, the results show that there is low awareness among respondents about the methods and the digital and social tools I lift in the survey. Mainly the respondents use some of the methods and the digital and social tools in preparation for the lesson. There is significant difference between the grades and the perception of the method as well as digital and social media's importance to student motivation, participation and achievment. It is in grade 1-3 that there are essentially knowledge , propensity to use and as in fact using digital and social tools most The conclusion is that there will be no successful venture in schools if there is a loss of an overall perspective of the venture from the school itself, central schoolmanagement and the political level, and it is important that there will be an investment in equipment, infrastructure and last but not least skills to use ICT in teaching . These conclusions are supported by the research findings. Keywords: One-to- one , ICT, ICT, digital media, social media , motivation , 1-1 / Syftet med studien var att undersöka dels 1) hur pass medvetna lärare i ett specifikt område är om IKT-verktyg i undervisningen; samt 2) hur benägna lärare är att använda IKT-verktyg för att vända trenden med omotiverade elever och låg måluppfyllelse. Detta ska jag söka svar på genom följande frågeställningar: Hur stor är kunskapen hos lärarna om digitala och sociala medier i undervisningen? Hur har lärarna under det senaste året använt sig av olika sociala medier i sin undervisning? I vilken grad anser lärarna att digitala och sociala medier har betydelse för elevens motivation, delaktighet och måluppfyllelse? Är det skillnad mellan könen, olika stadier (1-3, 4-6, 7-9) samt antal år i yrket i kunskap om och öppenhet inför att använda IKT i undervisningen? Metoden som har använts är ett frågeformulär där ett antal respondenter har fått svara på ett antal frågor ang IKT-verktyg i undervsinignen. Undersökningens validitet kan sägas vara hög då enkäten har mätt det den har avsett att mäta, däremot behöver jag vara aktsam i att dra för stora växlar på resultatet då svarsfrekvensen är låg med enbart 39 %. Sammanfattningsvis visar resultatet att det finns låg kunskap hos respondenterna om metoderna samt de digitala och sociala verktygen som lyfts i undersökningen. Huvudsakligen använder respondenterna en del av metoderna samt de digitala och sociala verktygen i förberedelser inför lektion samt i lektionen som stöd för undervisningen samt för anpassningar av undervisningen. Det är signifikant skillnad mellan årskurserna och uppfattning om metodernas samt digitala och sociala mediers betydelse för elevens motivation, delaktighet och måluppfyllelse. Det är i åk 1-3 som det i huvudsak finns kunskap om, benägenhet att använda och som använder digitala och sociala verktygen mest. Slutsatsen är att det blir ingen lyckad satsning i skolan om det inte finns ett helhetsperspektiv på satsningen från den enskilda skolan, förvaltning och politik, på utrustning, infrastruktur och sist men inte minst kompetensutveckling. Där får slutsatserna från undersökningen stöd av forskningsgenomgången i ganska hög grad. Nyckelord: En-till-en, IKT, ICT, digitala medier, sociala medier, motivation, 1-1

Multidimensional aesthetics in photomedia practice shift the emphasis away from the culturally dominating singularity of the camera's eye-piece towards a supple interplay of semi-transparent image planes and shifting positions. Using various image-capture devices that can produce digital, film, still or moving pictures, I create bodies of work that invite the viewer to see many perspectives simultaneously. The challenge is to implement the effectiveness of the technologies and simultaneously dislodge those principles and values fundamental to their imperialist cultural backgrounds. My practice investigates a diplomatic negotiability of aesthetic language to accommodate conceptual and cultural difference/s. Located on the print surface or in animated sequences are symbolic representations that disclose histories, cultures, times and places in subtle and ambiguous ways. The interplay of allure and resistance, repetition and change, are strategies that reveal the delicate and paradoxical nature of the multidimensional psyche.

This thesis examines the new theatrical form of cyberformance (live performance by remote players using internet technologies) and contextualises it within the broader fields of networked performance, digital performance and theatre. Poststructuralist theories that contest the binary distinction between reality and representation provide the analytical foundation for the thesis. A critical reflexive methodological approach is undertaken in order to highlight three themes. First, the essential qualities and criteria of cyberformance are identified, and illustrated with examples from the early 1990s to the present day. Second, two cyberformance groups – the Plaintext Players and Avatar Body Collision – and UpStage, a purpose-built application for cyberformance, are examined in more detailed case studies. Third, the specifics of the cyberformance audience are explored and commonalities are identified between theatre and online culture. In conclusion, this thesis suggests that theatre and the internet have much to offer each other in this current global state of transition, and that cyberformance offers one means by which to facilitate the incorporation of new technologies into our lives.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Full text release at OhioLINK's ETD Center delayed at author's request

Bibliography / Thesis (MPhil (Journalism))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010.