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Ubiquitous access to the Internet and supporting technologies gave birth to online labor markets (Malone and Laubacher 1998). Online labor markets enable employers (employers) to contract with professionals (service providers) from anywhere in the world. Firms now are able to greatly expand their workforce and bring a large arsenal of labor to bear on IT jobs, such as software or web development using Internet-enabled procurement platforms such as Freelancer. These markets serve as intermediaries for IT services (outsourcers post Call for Bids (CFBs) for services and providers offer bids for IT services) that help match employers with service providers across the globe. In my dissertation, I try to comprehensively study this Internet-enabled phenomenon from the perspectives of these three entities on global online markets with three separate yet related essays. The first essay focuses on the "global" nature of the market, and assess the effect of global frictions and global labor arbitrage on both provider bidding and employer selection. The second essay focuses on the effect of auction mechanism - sealed versus open bid auction - on providers' bidding dynamics, and the market performance. The third essay focuses on estimating true consumer (employer) surplus of online labor markets with a quality-adjusted measure. I also test its robustness by comparing its effects on consumers' subsequent transactions. I also find that market immaturity, consumers' lack of experience in the market, and consumers' lack of familiarity with IT service providers lead to the difference between the traditional measure and the quality-adjusted consumer surplus. / Business Administration/Management Information Systems

[pt] A pesquisa teve como objetivo geral compreender a experiência e a interatividade em objetos digitais ilustrados, que misturam animação, quadrinhos e videogame. A construção destes objetos digitais, para visualização em sites (homepages) ou aplicativos (apps) para smartphone, é baseada no desenho de ilustração, sendo este um tipo de trabalho no qual a narrativa se desenvolve por meio de imagens desenhadas junto ao texto (falado ou escrito), codificado em produtos para circulação cotidiana. No estudo, foram consideradas questões elaboradas a partir de observações realizadas no campo, tais como: Existe uma designação emergente para objetos que misturam animação, quadrinhos e videogame? Existe um produto codificado, com uma audiência e repositórios específicos? Quais são as dificuldades ou facilidades para o desenvolvimento desse tipo de trabalho, tanto no contexto global quanto no brasileiro? Que qualidades a ilustração pode trazer para o design em mídias digitais, considerando a diversidade estilística que inclui desenho feito à mão e digital? A pesquisa documental catalogou 118 objetos entre março de 2021 e fevereiro de 2024. Foram realizadas 30 entrevistas com 17 realizadores brasileiros e 13 estrangeiros, nativos de Alemanha, Austrália, Colômbia, Estados Unidos, Espanha, Holanda, Índia, Japão, México, Taiwan e Uganda, entre animadores, quadrinistas, designers e game artists, gerando dados qualitativos discutidos na tese. A pesquisa desenvolveu modelos de análise para compreender a experiência e a interatividade em objetos digitais ilustrados, buscando formas de discuti-los e discerni-los sem categorizá-los, a priori, como animação, quadrinhos ou videogame. Autores das três grandes áreas abordadas, como Marina Estela Graça (2006), animação; Thierry Groensteen (2015), quadrinhos; e Jesper Juul (2005), videogame, embasaram a discussão teórica. Os resultados indicam a inexistência de terminologia consolidada para designar essas obras que utilizam misturas, bem como a existência de obstáculos na produção e circulação dos objetos. No entanto, os achados sugerem que há um uso significativo da mistura de formatos e da interatividade em obras interativas ilustradas, contribuindo para a construção de sentido junto aos textos e ilustrações, estratégias que podem ser compreendidas e replicadas no ensino e na prática do design em mídias digitais. / [en] The research aimed to understand the experience and interactivity in illustrated digital objects, which mix animation, comics and video games. The construction of these digital objects, experienced on websites (homepages) or applications (apps) for smartphones, is based on illustration, a type of work that develops narratives through images drawn alongside text (spoken or written), encoded in products for everyday circulation. Research questions were formulated considering observations carried out in the field, such as: Is there an emerging designation for objects that mix animation, comics and video games? Is there a codified product, with a specific audience and repositories? What are the challenges or advantages in developing this type of work, both on a global scale and within the Brazilian context? What qualities can illustration bring to design in digital media, considering the stylistic diversity that includes hand-drawn alongside digital drawing? The research cataloged 118 objects between March 2021 and February 2024. 30 interviews were carried out with 17 Brazilian creators and 13 foreigners, natives of Germany, Australia, Colombia, the United States, Spain, the Netherlands, India, Japan, Mexico, Taiwan and Uganda, among animators, comic artists, designers and game artists, generating qualitative data discussed in the thesis. The research developed frameworks to understand the experience and interactivity in illustrated digital objects, seeking ways to discuss and discern them without categorizing them, a priori, as animation, comics or video games. Authors from the three main areas covered supported the theoretical discussion, such as Marina Estela Graça (2006), animation; Thierry Groensteen (2015), comics; and Jesper Juul (2005), video game. The results indicate the lack of consolidated terminology to designate these works that use mixtures, as well as the existence of obstacles in the production and circulation of objects. However, the findings suggest that there is significant use of the mixture of formats and interactivity in illustrated interactive works, in ways that contribute to making meaning alongside texts and illustrations, strategies that can be understood and replicated in the teaching and practice of design in digital media.

This paper describes the format of monitoring data files that are collected for external measuring sites and at laboratory experiments at the Institute for Building Climatology (IBK). The Monitoring Data Files are containers for storing time series or event driven data collected as input for transient heat and moisture transport simulations. Further applications are the documentation of real world behaviour, laboratory experiments or the collection of validation data sets for simulation results ( whole building / energy consumption / HAM ). The article also discusses the application interface towards measurement data verification tools as well as data storage solutions that can be used to archive measurement data files conveniently and efficiently.

The White Paper on National Transport Policy (SA, 1996:12) identified the fragmentation of functions between different spheres of government as one of the main obstacles besetting the effective development and management of the transport system. It endorsed one of the principles in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Ad 108 of 1996, to devolve functions to the lowest appropriate sphere of government if it could be more effectively handled and if there was capacity to perform the functions. In pursuing the above objective, the purpose of this study was to determine the functionality of the West Rand District Municipality in terms of administrative as well as economic and transport management principles to fulfil the role as a transport authority in terms of the NLTTA for its present area of jurisdiction. The study therefore addressed the legal framework as well as transport and economic indicators defining the functional area of a transport authority. In determining the nature and extent of functions as fulfilled by the respective municipalities, use was made of dichotomous questionnaires. These findings were also supported with technical data based on surveys conducted through the Gauteng Household Travel Survey (2000) and the Operating Licensing Strategy (200212003). To further operationalise the research objectives of this study, and touching on Great Britain's transport experience over the past 75 years, a comparison was made between the present status of Transport Authorities in the United Kingdom, compared to those in South Africa (Gauteng Province). Upon analysing the empirical findings it was evident that the establishment of a Transport Authority for the area of jurisdiction of the West Rand would enable the WRDM to deliver on the following number of fronts: • Coherent Alignment to a Common Vision • Integration of Transport System • Control over Transport Modes • Optimised Utilisation of Funds To create a conducive environment for a West Rand Transport Authority to improve its functionality, it was recommended that serious attention be given to aspects such as funding mechanisms, legality of municipal entities, clarity on the status of transport powers at municipal level of government, assignment of functions and human resource capacity. Upon conclusion it was agreed that the successful implementation of a functional transport authority for the West Rand will be dependant, not only upon technical expertise and management and by resolving the above issues, but also on political support. / Thesis (M. Development and Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

Many would agree that learning occurs when new information is stored in memory. Therefore, most learning efforts typically focus on encoding processes, such as additional study or other forms of repetition. However, as I will outline in this thesis, there are other means by which to improve memory, such as retrieval practice in the form of tests. Testing memory has a reinforcing effect on memory, and it improves retention more than an equal amount of repeated study – referred to as the testing effect – and it has been assumed that retrieval processes drive this effect. Recently, however, this assumption has been called into question because of findings that suggest that articulation, that is, the act of providing an explicit response on a memory test, may play a role in determining the magnitude of the testing effect. Therefore, in three studies, I have examined the effects of retrieval and articulation on later retention, in an attempt to ascertain whether the testing effect is entirely driven by retrieval, or if there are additive effects of articulation. I have also explored possible boundary conditions that may determine when, and if, the effects of retrieval and articulation become selective with respect to memory performance. In all three studies, participants studied paired associates and were tested in a cued recall paradigm after a short (~5 min) and a long (1 week) retention interval, and retrieval was either covert (i.e., responses were retrieved but not articulated) or overt (i.e., responses were retrieved and articulated).  In Study I, I demonstrated that uninstructed covert retrieval practice (by means of delayed judgments of learning) produced a testing effect (i.e., improved memory relative to a study-only condition) similar to that of explicit testing, which supports the idea that the testing effect is mainly the result of retrieval processes. In study II, I compared memory performance for covert and overt testing, and found partial support for a relative efficacy in favor of overt retrieval, compared to covert retrieval, although the effect size was small. In Study III, I further explored the distinction between different response formats (i.e., covert retrieval vs. various forms of overt testing), specifically handwriting and keyboard typing. I also examined the relative efficacy of covert versus overt retrieval as a function of list order (i.e., whether covert and overt retrieval is practiced in blocks or random order) and its manipulation within or between subjects. The results of Study III were inconclusive insofar as a relative efficacy of covert versus overt retrieval, with respect to later retention, could not be demonstrated reliably. The list order manipulations did not appear to affect covert and overt retrieval selectively. More importantly, in cases where a relative efficacy was found, the effect size was again small. Taken together, the three studies that of thesis indicate that the benefit of testing memory appears to be almost entirely the result of retrieval processes, and that articulation alone adds very little – if anything – to the magnitude of the testing effect, at least in cued-recall paradigms. These findings are discussed in terms of their theoretical implications, as well as their importance for the development of optimal teaching and learning practices in educational settings. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Accepted.</p>

Dans ce mémoire, je présenterai les outils que nous avons développés dans le cadre de ma maîtrise. Tout d'abord, je présenterai un outil d'analyse de données génomiques nommé Versatile Aggregrate Profiler (VAP). Ensuite, je présenterai un outil d'identification de profils agrégés similaires nommé vap_sim ainsi que la méthodologie utilisée afin d'obtenir un paramétrage adéquat de l'outil pouvant s'adapter assez facilement aux différents profils agrégés. Au troisième chapitre, je présenterai un outil de validation de formats génomiques nommé Genomic Format Validator (GFV) permettant d'identifier simplement et rapidement les erreurs de structure et de logique dans un fichier de données génomiques. Finalement, au dernier chapitre, je présenterai trois outils complémentaires à VAP.

This study explored how course instructional format (i.e., online, face-to-face, or hybrid) is related to the frequency and duration of out-of-class communication (OCC) between college instructors and students, to student motives for communicating with teachers, and to perceived teacher approachability for conversation outside of class. Though differences in frequency of and student motives for engaging in OCC were not significant, students enrolled in face-to-face courses reported significantly more ongoing/durative OCC with their instructors compared to students enrolled other course types (i.e., online or hybrid). Students in fully online courses reported instructors to seem less receptive to but also less discouraging of OCC than students in face-to-face or hybrid courses. Overall, this study offers a sense of how students who seek informal interaction with instructors beyond the classroom are faring amid the increased reliance on web-based learning environments in higher education.

The purpose of this research was to determine whether changes in the presentation format of items in a computer display could be used to alter the impact of specific cognitive biases, and to add to the knowledge needed to construct theory-based guidelines for output design. The problem motivating this study is twofold. The first part of the problem is the sub-optimal decision making caused by the use of heuristics and their associated cognitive biases. The second part of the problem is the lack of a theoretical basis to guide the design of information presentation formats to counter the effects of such biases. An availability model of the impact of changes in presentation format on biases and heuristics was constructed based on the findings of a literature review. A six-part laboratory experiment was conducted utilizing a sample of 205 student subjects from the college of business. The independent variable was presentation format which was manipulated by altering the visual salience or visual recency of items of information in a visual computer display. The dependent variables included recall, perceived importance, and the subjects' responses to three judgment tasks. The results clearly demonstrate that changes in presentation format can be used to alter the impact of cognitive biases on human decision making. The results also provide support for the availability model, with the exception of the proposed influence of learning style. Learning style was found to have no significant impact on decision making whether alone or in combination with changes in presentation format. The results of this investigation demonstrate that by using our knowledge of cognitive processes (e.g., the visual salience effect, the visual recency effect, and the availability heuristic), presentation formats can be altered in order to moderate the effects of certain biases and heuristics in human decision making. An understanding of these results may be useful in improving DSS design.