O objetivo deste estudo é investigar como graduandos de um curso de Letras/Espanhol representam o uso das Tecnologias da Informação e Comunicação (TIC) no processo de ensino-aprendizagem do idioma e avaliar, em que medida, essas representações se transformaram ao longo da experiência de uso de um Ambiente Virtual de Aprendizagem (AVA), criado na plataforma Moodle. Fundamentam teoricamente este estudo: a) uma visão do papel das representações sociais nas práticas dos indivíduos, com base nas contribuições de Jodelet (2001) e Moscovici (2003), e dos teóricos do Núcleo Central: Flament (1994), Moliner (1994; 2001), Abric (1993; 1994a; 1994b) e Sá (2015); b) a compreensão do potencial de mediação das TIC para a formação inicial de professores de línguas, cuja base são autores como, Coll (2010), Rojo (2013), Castells (2013; 2015), Horn, Staker, Christensen (2015), Valente (2015), Bautista, Borges e Forés (2016), entre outros c) e a perspectiva de Dewey (1979) sobre os critérios necessários para fazer de uma experiencia pura e simples, uma experiência educativa. Os dados foram coletados ao longo do segundo semestre de 2015, quando a disciplina Língua Espanhola foi ministrada, no curso de Letras de uma universidade pública do estado de São Paulo. Participaram do estudo oito alunos dessa disciplina. A pesquisa, de cunho etnográfico, seguiu a abordagem qualitativa-interpretativista. Os dados analisados correspondem ao discurso dos participantes que responderam aos dois questionários aplicados, no início e no fim do curso, e também na análise de um fórum de discussão específico, no qual se propôs aos discentes uma reflexão sobre o futuro da Educação mediada por tecnologias. A interpretação dos dados revelou a possível centralidade de Representações Relativizantes, cuja consequência aparente foi o discreto engajamento nas atividades propostas na sala de aula virtual. Além disso, observou-se que os estudantes vivenciaram uma experiência que pode ser considerada do tipo educativa, apesar de os critérios para tal terem sido satisfeitos apenas parcialmente, devido às escassas interações. Esses resultados parecem apontar para a necessidade de se desenvolverem mais experiências de uso das TIC ao longo da formação inicial, para uma incorporação natural delas às práticas de ensino dos futuros docentes. / The purpose of this study is to investigate how Spanish Language undergraduate students represent the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the teaching-learning process of the language and to assess to what the extent these social representations change throughout the experience of using a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), created on the Moodle platform. This study is grounded on: a) a view of the role of social representations in the practice of individuals, based on the contributions of Jodelet (2001), Moscovici (2003), and Central Core theorists: Flament (1994), Moliner (1994;2001), Abric (1993; 1994a; 1994b) and Sá (2015); b) the comprehension of how important the ICT could be for the initial formation of language teachers, based on studies developed by Coll (2010), Rojo (2013), Castells (2013; 2015), Horn, Staker, Christensen (2015), Valente (2015), Bautista, Borges and Forés (2016), among others; c) and Dewey\'s (1979) perspective about the criteria an experience must fulfill to be considered educational. Data were collected throughout the second semester of 2015, in the classes of Spanish II, a course that is part of the Spanish Language Teaching Program at a public university in São Paulo. Eight students participated in the study. This ethnographic research followed the qualitative interpretative approach. The data analyzed here are part of the discourse of the participants who answered two questionnaires applied at the beginning and at the end of the course. The analysis also considered the participation of the students in a specific discussion forum, in which they reflected about the future of education mediated by technologies. The analysis of the data revealed the potential centrality of Relativizing Representations, which noticeable consequence was a discreet engagement of the students in the activities proposed in the virtual classroom. In addition, the results show that the students have gone through an educational experience, although the criteria for this conclusion have not been entirely fulfilled, due to the scarce VLE interactions. These results seem to point out the need of spreading more ICT experiences throughout the initial formation of teachers so that they can incorporate these technologies into their future practices.

La RSE est un concept protéiforme qui se développe dans toutes les régions du monde. Depuis ses origines éthiques américaines, ce concept a évolué pour embrasser d’autres acceptions économiques, managériales et politiques. Il s’est complexifié en prenant des formes diverses de diffusion selon la géographie, constituant ainsi un vaste domaine de la recherche. De façon synthétique deux approches s’y opposent : une tendance à l’universalisation du concept, et une autre tendance portée vers la contextualisation. Si l’approche, en Amérique, est qualifiée d’explicite et d’utilitariste fondée sur des déterminants éthiques et philanthropiques, en Europe elle est plutôt implicite, coordonnée et fondée sur des caractéristiques institutionnelles et organisationnelles. Au niveau des pays en développement, les modalités de diffusion de la RSE se distinguent selon les contextes et les environnements locaux. Au Maroc, cet état de fait a été expliqué dans la littérature par différents déterminants tels que la culture et les valeurs locales, y compris religieuses, la nature des dynamiques institutionnelles et leur maturité ainsi que les rapports entre les parties prenantes, les représentations du développment durable et l’organisation dans l’entreprise. C’est dans ce cadre que nous proposons d’approfondir la recherche sur la diffusion de la RSE chez AXA Maroc, une filiale de la multinationale AXA dans un cadre théorique constructiviste en mobilisant des approches communicationnelles et organisationnelles. Notre travail a constitué, dans le contexte marocain, à une approche pratique et nous avons développé un modele fondé sur les composantes de la RSE, des TIC et du Management Interculturel pour palier les barrières managériales basées sur les différences culturelles. / CSR is a protean concept that is growing in all parts of the world. Since its American ethical origins, this concept has evolved to embrace other economic, managerial and political aspects. Geographically, it has become more complex by taking various forms of distribution, hence, forming a vast field of research. In general, two approaches contradict it : one tends to universalize the concept, and the other tends towards contextualization. If the approach in America is described as being explicit and utilitarian based on ethical and philanthropic determinants, in Europe it is rather implicit, coordinated and based on institutional and organizational characteristics. In terms of developing countries, the modalities of distribution of CSR differ depending on the Contexts and the local environment. This was explained in literature in Morocco, by various determinants such as culture and local values, including religious ones, nature of institutional dynamics and their maturity as well as the relations between the stakeholders, the representations of sustainable development and the organization in the company. It is within this framework that we propose further research on the distribution of CSR at AXA Morocco, a subsidiary of AXA multinational in a constructivist theoretical framework by mobilizing communication and organizational approaches. Our work has formed a practical approach in Moroccan context and we have developed a model based on the components of CSR, ICT and Intercultural Management to overcome the managerial barriers based on cultural differences.

This is a project exploring a possible future of embedded mobile augmented reality services in people's daily routine. The project was conduct- ed at Umeå Institute of Design as a MFA Thesis in Interaction Design. The constant development of technologies along- side with society’s increased usage of the mobile phone makes this medium more and more inter- esting amongst all age groups. The existing solu- tions focus on ways of communicating through short time interactions as well as on gameplays with a focus on storytelling. So far, these existing solutions are rarely implementing a service aspect for people's daily routine. The mobile augmented reality technology has the power to serve a variety of purposes, which are for now, not discovered. This lack of exploration creates challenges for the market and the user which leads to discourage in that medium. To understand the needs of the people and the language of the technology, I immersed myself into the augmentation of realities and conducted a thorough research with conversations with the target group and experts in the field, opportunity evaluations, and concepts testing. The insights gathered during the research brought the conclu- sion that the medium has the power to transfer knowledge by having the user experiencing rath- er than observing. This increases the chances of understanding and participating with information. This is why the project’s goal is to form a mobile AR service example, where the user feels motivat- ed to engage with their surroundings in their daily routine. The final outcome of the project consists of a plat- form which allows the user to explore the history of their current location. The platform is clustered in two areas. On the one hand a content library gathers information about explored locations. This information is displayed through a list and detail view of written information as well as through an immersive gallery. This gives the user the oppor- tunity to easily explore and share their discoveries with their communities. On the other hand an interactive map as well as a lens filter enables the user during their exploration to discover the infor- mation. Based on a data preview visualisation the user is able to create their own contextual digital gallery. This experience motivates the user to easily start discovering their location as well as building up routines based on that kind of interaction. This new service showcases possibilities to design for mobile AR as well as strengthen the relation be- tween the users and their environment.

Depuis plus d'une vingtaine d'années, la qualité de l'éducation au Vietnam est souvent remise en cause et le système éducatif fait l'objet de plusieurs débats et initiatives de rénovation, sans pour autant atteindre les résultats attendus. Innover par le numérique et intégration internationale figurent parmi les priorités fixées dans la politique nationale, notamment au niveau d’enseignement supérieur. Beaucoup de programmes d’enseignement supérieur au Vietnam ont été évalués par l'ASEAN University Network (AUN). Parmi de nombreux critères de cette démarche d'évaluation, 15 sous-critères concernent de près ou de loin l'usage des TIC dans les formations. L’analyse des résultats de quatre programmes vietnamiens évalués en 2009 et 2011 montre qu'il existe une différence dans la perception réelle des sous-critères liés aux TIC entre les parties prenantes internes et les évaluateurs externes de ces programmes. À partir de ce constat, nous élaborons un instrument de mesure susceptible de permettre à tous les acteurs internes et externes d’un programme de formation d’identifier ce qui contribue à la satisfaction des étudiants vis-à-vis de l’usage des TIC dans les cours dispensés. Différents modèles existants (TAM, CEQ, SCEQ, eLEQ) ont été intégrés et adaptés dans le contexte de l’évaluation des programmes par l’AUN. Des enquêtes ont été menées auprès de plusieurs centaines d’étudiants de cinq programmes évalués en 2009, 2011 et 2014. Les résultats permettent de confirmer la validité et l’ajustement du modèle que nous proposons. / Since more than twenty years, the educational quality has been subject to lots of public debates in Vietnam. Several renovation solutions was adopted without achieving the expected results. As the country has strongly integrated the international market, ICT-based innovation and international quality assessment become first priorities fixed in the national educational policies. A lot of training programmes have been assessed by the ASEAN University Network (AUN). Among the criteria used in this quality-assurance assessment, encompassing 15 sub-criteria that relate more or less to the use of the ICT in the educational activities. We analyzed the results of four Vietnamese programmes assessed in 2009 and 2011 and founded that there is a significant difference of the perception about the ICT use quality between the internal stakeholders and the external assessors in these programmes. From this revelation, we aim to elaborate a measurement instrument which may help all of the programme’s internal or external stakeholders to identify the factors contributing to the students’ satisfaction about the ICT use in their degree courses. Some existing models such as TAM, CEQ, SCEQ, eLEQ were integrated in the context of AUN-QA assessment at the programme level. The survey was conducted at five Vietnamese programmes assessed in 2009, 2011 and 2014, with 453 full responses. The data analysis confirms the validity of our proposed measurement model.

The general problem addressed in this study was Arab League nations' over-reliance on fossil fuels as a gross domestic product (GDP) growth driver. Arab League nations that depend primarily on fossil fuel production lack alternative resources for growth in times of fossil fuel usage or price decline. Overdependence on fossil fuels has led to minimal development in other economic sectors, primarily in skilled domestic labor, and to a high dependency on foreign skilled labor for skilled domestic jobs. The purpose of this study was to examine to what extent information communication technology (ICT) management can be a viable GDP growth contributor in Arab League nations. The main theoretical foundations consisted of diffusion of innovation theory, rate of adoption theory, and the innovation-decision process. The focus of research questions was on how ICT management and fossil fuel production affect the GDP growth rate of Arab League nations. A cross-sectional design was used. Archival secondary data from unesco.org and data.worldbank.org for the 22 countries that comprise the Arab League nations were analyzed. Results of a Pearson's product-moment correlation analysis indicated that there is a significant relationship between real GDP and ICT management growth rates in Arab League nations. Based on study findings, it was recommended that both oil- and non-oil-producing governments within the Arab League give more attention to the implementation of ICT management policies. The study contributes to positive social change by providing Arab League governments and stakeholders with a comparative assessment of alternative GDP revenue drivers and potential areas to invest capital to increase skilled domestic labor and maximize human resource capital.

Parce qu’ils font l’objet d’une utilisation intensive ces dernières années et que leur adoption suit une courbe similaire à celle du taux de pénétration du smartphone, les services de géolocalisation se sont rapidement et solidement ancrés dans le quotidien des individus hyperconnectés. Nous nous interrogeons dans cette recherche doctorale sur les nouvelles expériences au monde qui découlent de l’usage de ces dispositifs à travers une enquête qualitative menée auprès de 62 individus. Nos premiers résultats mettent en évidence que ces services, au même titre que d’autres technologies de l’information et de la communication, contribuent grandement à un réinvestissement des espaces et des lieux, à une relativisation des distances kilométriques et à de nouveaux rapports au temps marqués par une accélération continue et une recherche de l’immédiateté. Mais, les applications géolocalisées se voulant aujourd’hui de plus en plus socialisantes, nous avons également relevé et analysé de nouvelles stratégies de regroupement, d’évitement, de surveillance voire de contrôle entre des individus. Cela amène parfois à de nouveaux rapports de forces entre un géolocalisant et un géolocalisé, intimement liés aux problématiques de la visibilité, de la visualité et de l’anonymat dans un espace urbain hybridé où le partage de la position géographique est devenu quasiment permanent. / Because of their increasing and intensive use over the last few years, roughly similar to the smartphone penetration rate, Location-Based Services (LBS) have quickly and strongly become rooted in the everyday’s life of the hyperconnected user. We are questionning ourselves in this PhD research on the new experiences to the world brought by the use of such devices throughout a qualitative survey conducted among 62 LBS users. Our first results highlight that those LBS, like some other information and communication technologies, largely contribute in the reinvestment of space and places, while they are creating a relativization of metric distance over the temporal one and new ways to experience time defined by a continuous acceleration and a search for immediacy. But, as LBS are becoming more and more socializing, we also noticed and analyzed new grouping and dodging strategies, as well as new ways to watch over and possibly control people. This sometimes leads to new balances of power between the one who is tracking and the one who is being tracked, deeply linked to discussions over visibility, visuality and anonymity in a hybrid urban space where the share of location has become almost continuous.

Nous allons délimiter et analyser la problématique liée à l’utilisation et l’appropriation de Technologies de la Communication et de l’Information (TIC’s) en contexte éducatif, en particulier dans les pays en voie de développement, où des difficultés d’orientation du développement social surgissent à partir de leur usage, parce qu’elles aboutissent à des formules déterministes qui renforcent l’orientation linéaire de la relation technologie-développement.Dans ce sens, les institutions responsables de la prise de décisions politiques qui exigent la mise en place de mécanismes de planification gouvernementale (priorisation de la dépense publique) et d’investissement, conçoivent des programmes d’informatisation des écoles basées sur cette conception linéaire, caractérisée par un sens palliatif et d’assistance, qui finissent par générer des relations de paternalisme et de dépendance.Dans ce contexte, le projet de recherche prétend élaborer une proposition d’analyse sociotechnique des technologies aussi bien théorique que méthodologique pour faire face au problème de la relation technologie-éducation à travers l’analyse du cas colombien du programme Computadores para Educar (CPE).La présente recherche doctorale propose comme objectif principal d’étudier les relations entre les acteurs impliqués dans les processus d’insertion des ordinateurs dans les écoles publiques, en prenant comme base d’analyse le programme d’État CPE. Nous nous demandons alors, quelles sont ces nouvelles relations entre les utilisations des technologies et le rôle des enseignants et des élèves dans cette nouvelle école dans laquelle le rôle des technologies paraît si essentiel et important, mais dont les résultats de l’inclusion des technologies en processus pédagogiques paraissent peu significatifs.La question centrale de notre recherche serait la suivante: Quelles relations se sont nouées, et de quelle manière, entre les acteurs concernés par le processus d’introduction des ordinateurs au sein des écoles ayant reçu les ordinateurs fournis par le programme CPE, en Colombie, au cours de la période 2004-2008 ? / The main objective of this thesis is the delimitation and analysis of use and appropriation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT’s) in educational contexts especially in developing countries where exists problematic orientations about social development policy based in the use of these technologies. These problematic approach arise because there is a tendency to apply deterministic formulas that reinforce the linear relationship between development and technology.In this sense, the institutions responsible for policy decisions that require the establishment of mechanisms for government planning (prioritization of public expenditure) and investment, designs schools computerization programs based on this linear approach, characterized by a palliative direction and assistance, which eventually generate relationships of paternalism and dependency.In this context the research claims to develop a sociotechnical analysis proposal for technologies, both theoretical and methodological, to face the problem of the relationship between technology-education through the analysis of the case of the Colombian program Computadores para Educar (CPE).The present doctoral research suggests as a main objective, the study of the relationship between the actors involved into the processes of inclusion of computers in the public schools, by taking as basis of the analysis the state program CPE in Colombia. The principal interest of these research is to identify the new relationships between the uses of the technologies and the role of the teachers and the students in this new school in which the role of the technologies seems so essential and important, but whose results of the inclusion of the ICT’s into educational processes seem to be little significant.The central question of our search would be the following one: Which and how the relationships between the actors concerned by the process of introduction of computers within schools having received computers supplied by the program CPE in Colombia were stablished, during the period 2004-2008?

The purpose of this interview study was to describe and explain perceptions, beliefs, and practices about technology among four teachers at a Jamaican infant school, by answering: What are teachers' perceptions and beliefs about the role of technology in young children's learning? What are the practices regarding technology among Jamaican infant school teachers? I used criterion sampling to identify participants for my inquiry. For data collection, I used semi-structured interviews, teachers' lesson plans, and my reflective journal. I applied a socio-cultural approach (Rogoff, 1990) for the data analysis to make sense of the teachers' perceptions and articulated practices. The findings indicated the teachers' appropriation of technology for knowledge building. The teachers also perceived technology as a tool of instruction to replace charts for curriculum content. The teachers believed technology augment children's readiness skills for first grade. The teachers' envisioned affordances of technology indicated their articulated practices for children's appropriation of technology. The findings also indicated the actual and envisioned barriers that challenged teachers' facilitation of the child as agent with technology in the Jamaican early childhood classroom. The findings indicate the importance of understanding the cultural context of teachers' practices with technology and provide implications for technological innovations in Jamaican classrooms. Information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) is a cultural activity to be explored with teachers, students, and their social partners in institutions of practice.

Seminal papers of Solow (1957) and Swan (1956) stimulated debate among economists on the role of technical change in productivity improvements and for that matter economic growth. The consensus is that technological change accounts for a significant proportion of gross national product (GNP) growth in industrialised economies. In the case of Australia, the aggregate productivity performance was poor in the 1970s and 1980s, but picked up very strongly by the 1990s, and was above the OECD average growth level for the first time in its productivity growth history. However, this high productivity growth rate could not be sustained and Australia started to experience a slowdown in productivity growth since 2000. This study empirically measures the performance of productivity in Australia’s economy for the period 1950-2005, using an econometric approach. Time-series data are used to develop econometric models that capture the dynamic interactions between GDP, fixed capital, labour units, human capital, foreign direct investment (FDI) and information and communication technology (ICT). The Johansen (1988) cointegration techniques are used to establish a long-run steady-state relation between or among economic time series. The econometric analysis pays careful attention to the time-series properties of the data by conducting unit root and conintegration tests for the variables in the system. / This study finds that Australia experienced productivity growth in the 1950s, a slow down in the mid 1960s, a very strong productivity growth in the mid 1990s and another slowdown from 2000 onwards. The study finds evidence that human capital, FDI and ICT are very strong determinants of long-run GDP and productivity growth in Australia. The study finds that the three, four and the five factor models are likely to give better measures of productivity performance in Australia as these models recognise human capital, FDI and ICT and include them as separate factors in the production function, This study finds evidence that the previous studies on the Australia’s productivity puzzle have made a very significant omission by not considering human capital, FDI and ICT as additional exogenous variables and by excluding them from the production function for productivity analysis.

E-learning is a fast growing trend worldwide but it is still not universally accepted and practice does not always reach national government and tertiary institution expectations, especially in Taiwan. While issues around the effective implementation of e-learning to produce high quality education are being raised internationally, very little research has been undertaken in Taiwanese tertiary institutions, particularly for science education. No research was found that addressed the various perspectives of the stakeholders involved in blended courses which had both face-to-face and online learning components. The link between e-learning practice and views of learning had also received little attention. This study investigated how e-learning practice was perceived and experienced at a national research-based university in Taiwan. The main focus was to identify the challenges, benefits and related success factors of e-learning practice as part of blended learning courses from the perspectives of university administrators, support people, instructors and students. An interpretative methodology using questionnaires and interviews was employed to generate data from these participant groups. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. This study provides empirical evidence that e-learning practice is perceived and experienced as a technology-mediated and collaborative practice that is socially and culturally situated. The study supports the view that e-learning practice as a whole is a socio-cultural system, although when looking at instructor and student preferences for instructional design and learning processes there is a fit with both behaviorist and constructivist approaches to teaching and learning. However, instructors and students need to be active and self-managed to find e-learning efficient and effective. Students, instructors, support people and administrators held very similar perceptions of the benefits of and influences on lecturer and student use of e-learning as a component of blended learning. Based on the findings, an explanatory model for the influences on e-learning practice as part of blended learning in a Taiwan university context was developed. E-learning teaching and learning approaches are initiated by and created within a multi-layered context. At the first level, e-learning practice is accomplished via instructor and student engagement in day to day teaching and learning and as an educational reform it cannot separated from the ICT technologies which mediate their interaction. Put another way, because instructor and student participation in e-learning as part of blended learning is voluntary students are included with instructors and the technology in the core enactment zone for practice. At the next level this three-way instructor-student-technology interaction is affected by and nested within the university instructor professional community and student peer community, which in turn is shaped by and nested in university-wide policies and practices. These three levels are nested in and influenced by the national policy context, external professionals, private enterprise and the public at large. The model and associated suggestions presented in this study are expected to assist governments and universities to play a more constructive role in the development and implementation of e-learning education to improve the quality of courses for students and instructors. The hope is that the findings will contribute to enhanced teaching and learning supported by better administrator decision-making regarding institutional policies and practices including investment in learning technologies and support services for e-learning.