Diploma thesis stands on the theory of the modern information society, as is reflected by the modern philosophy. The first part analyzes the theoretical fragmentation of the world, education and technology. Education because of its dependence on different interests (mainly economic), technology for its threat of real destruction of personality but, on the other hand, its necessity for the society and its further development. The thesis looks for a place for technology in modern society and education. KEYWORDS modern society, information society, learning society, education, training, knowledge, world

The theme of this diploma theses is surveillance capitalism. Its aim is to provide comprehensive insight into the key aspects of this phenomenon that has a significant impact on the global economy and society as a whole. The first part of the thesis deals with the topic of information society and its transformational effect on the economical sphere and surveillance system. It reveals some of the key issues following this new state of society and postmodern surveillance practices as well. The second part of the thesis aims to define what is meant by surveillance capitalism, to uncover the principles and the economic imperatives that dominate various stages of the development and finally to outline the threats and ethical problems this new logic of assimilation has brought in.

The presented Master's thesis describes the work of the Tofflers and it is primarily about their view of information and information policy. According to the Tofflers, the human race went through three developmental steps that are characterized by the used resources of production. The first wave (which is how the Tofflers call the steps) was agricultural, the second wave industrial and now the human race is in information wave, where information is the main economic driver. Because of this fact, it is necessary to develop strategies for access to information, information technologies and information channels. Keywords: information policy, information society, the third wave, future shock, influence of ICT

Autour d'une question fondamentale comme celle de la présence, nous mobilisons une littérature interdisciplinaire grâce à laquelle les contributions de l'anthropologie et de la géographie sociale, de la théorie du théâtre et du cinéma, des performance studies, de la psychanalyse et de la sociologie, sont articulées dans la perspective de la phénoménologie et des sciences de l'information et de la communication. Notre façon d'habiter le monde a changé : l'être-en-ligne se révèle alors comme étant la nouvelle condition existentielle. La connexion au réseau, le web, les applications, dans leur ensemble, disposent les choses et les personnes selon des relations opérationnelles de proximité spatio-temporelle. Notre espace est un espace performatif, car il se produit à partir de nos actions, nos postures et nos gestes, gestes photo-graphiques, éminemment réflexifs, qui créent la mise en scène numérique. En allant au-delà du modèle de « l'interface », cette mise en scène est devenue la spatialité de raccordement de tous nos espaces d'action. Nous identifions alors la performativité du direct et de l’enregistrement, la performativité de l’être en train de…, de l’attention présentielle et du « suspens gestuel », la performativité des algorithmes et des notifications, la performativité des emoji et de tout ce qui «fait visage»; et encore, la performativité des questions et des messages automatiques derrière lesquels parfois il y quelqu’un et d’autres fois il n’y a personne (comme lorsqu’on sonne à la porte dans une scène de La cantatrice chauve). A la lumière d'une analyse socio-sémiotique de la gestuelle numérique, des écrans, du graphisme propre aux réseaux sociaux et aux applications de messagerie instantanée tout comme des « protocoles de la vie quotidienne », nous décrivons la présence comme étant toujours l'effet d'une médiation. Cette médiation est, à la fois, disjonction et fiction, car elle se manifeste dans l'écart et dans la différence aussi bien que dans la fiction de l'hypermédiatété. Il y a de la présence, en somme, s'il y a du jeu, au sens spatiale de l'expression « il y a du jeu » mais aussi au sens fictionnel et ludique du jouer à.…. Comme le garçon du café décrit par Sartre, nous jouons, fictionnons et de-fictionnons le réel, en faisant « comme si » était vrai ce qui, par ailleurs, l'est vraiment. / Around the fundamental question of presence, I draw on interdisciplinary literature whose contributions from the fields of anthropology and social geography, theatre and cinema theory, performance studies, psychoanalysis and sociology are articulated from the perspective of phenomenology and information and communication sciences. Our way of inhabiting the world has changed: online-being is the new fundamental existential condition. Our space is a performative space, because it is produced through our actions, our gestures, eminently reflexive photographic gestures, which create our digital mise en scène. This space has become the space which links together all of our active and social spaces. Here, I single out live and recorded performativity, the performativity of do-ing, the performativity of algorithms and of questions, of emojis and of all that which “fait visage”. After a socio-semiotic analysis of digital gestures, screens, the graphics of social networks and presence protocols, I describe presence as always being a mediation effect. This mediation is at once disjunction and fiction, beacause it works as a difference and as the fiction of hypermediality. Presence exists where there is play (jeu) as in the french expression “il y a du jeu”, refering to space, and in its fictional sense of play-acting. As with Sartre's café waiter, we play act in order to create reality and consciousness through fiction.

На сегодняшний день Российская Федерация – это государство, где характерной чертой информатизации общества при создании «информационного общества» является длительность процесса, поскольку реализация распространения IT-технологий замедляется в связи с географическим фактором страны. Масштабы территории на протяжении всего исторического развития России оказывали значительное влияние на прогрессивное развитие общества. Тем не менее, именно информационно-телекоммуникационные технологии способны разрешить проблему «общения» между удалёнными территориями посредством создания интернет-коммуникации, что в перспективе повысит эффективность государственного управления и степень участия граждан в жизни общества и государства. Исходя из этого, непосредственную важность имеют исследования осведомлённости и востребованности интернет-коммуникации с органами исполнительной власти среди населения непосредственно на территории субъектов Российской Федерации, поскольку географический фактор предопределяет уникальность и специфику данных регионов. Именно поэтому при реализации концепции «Информационного общества» в масштабах России важно учитывать специфику каждого субъекта федерации. Данная статья акцентирует внимание на проблематике развития интернет-коммуникации между органами исполнительной власти и населением в Свердловской области и первоначально демонстрирует результаты вторичного анализа статистических данных по количеству обращений населения в профильные министерства области, поданных посредством активной функции на веб-сайтах исполнительных органов «Обращения граждан» и электронной почты, что позволяет определить уровень частотности применения данного вида взаимодействия среди граждан. Особое внимание автор уделяет анализу результатов социологического исследования, в рамках которого применяется метод анкетного опроса населения Свердловской области с использованием квотной выборки в зависимости от пола и возраста респондентов, что позволило комплексно определить степень осведомлённости жителей региона о наличии возможности интернет-коммуникации с органами власти, а также обозначило наличие мотивационной основы и уровень востребованности подобного вида взаимодействия среди жителей определённого субъекта федерации. Исходя из того, что в рамках текущей ситуации при реализации концепции «Информационного общества» в России не представляется возможным обозначить конкретные определённые авторские исследования, демонстрирующие и определяющие вышеобозначенные показатели, в рамках данной статьи производится попытка анализа эффективности взаимодействия между органами исполнительной власти и населением посредством интернет-коммуникации на примере Свердловской области, а также обозначение перспективных рекомендаций с целью повышения результативности двустороннего взаимодействия. / Today, Russia is a state where a characteristic feature of society informatization in creating an «information society» is the length of the process because the implementation of the spread of IT technologies slows down due to the geographical factor of the country. The scale of the territory throughout the entire historical development of Russia had a significant impact on the progressive development of society. Nevertheless, information and telecommunication technologies can solve the problem of communication between remote territories through the creation of Internet communications. In the end this technologies will increase the efficiency of government and the degree of citizen participation in society and the state. On this basis, the immediate importance of research of awareness and demand for Internet communication with the executive authorities among the population directly in regions of Russia, since the geographical factor determines the uniqueness and specificity of these regions. That is why when implementing the concept of the Information Society across Russia it is important to take into account the specifics of each subject of the federation. This article focuses on the development of Internet communication between the executive authorities of a Russian region and the population. It initially demonstrates the results of the secondary analysis of statistical data on the number of hits of the population to the relevant ministries of the region, submitted through the active function on the websites of the executive bodies «Appeals of citizens» and electronic mail. It allows to determine the level of frequency of application of this type of interaction among citizens. The authors pays special attention to analysing the results of the sociological research. The method of questionnaire survey of the region population using quota sampling depending on the gender and age of respondents is used. This method made it possible to comprehensively determine the degree of awareness of the region’s residents about the availability of Internet communication with authorities. In addition, it indicated the presence of a motivational basis and the level of demand for this kind of interaction among the residents of a certain federal subject. This study can be useful to researchers of communication between society and the power of any country because Internet communication is a global trend at all levels of development of modern society.

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The study sought to explore technology challenges faced by some rural women in Intsika-Yethu and Emalahleni local municipalities, under the Chris Hani District Municipality, in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Available literature reveals that some rural women in South Africa and other developing parts of the world face technology challenges. The study is qualitative and focuses on two municipalities. Thirty-two women participated in the study. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and focus group interviews. Data were presented, analysed and discussed according to the themes derived from the sub-research questions. It emerged from the study that while most women in both municipalities were aware of ICT, they are however facing ICT access challenges in most areas of the municipalities. The findings do not depict the South African government national ICT policy goals which realises the importance of technology in the integration of services for the development of rural areas. Designing intervention programs for secondary school girls and some rural women, as well as monitoring and evaluating ICT programs in rural areas are recommended. / Communication Science / MA ( Communication)

CHARLES UNIVERSITY IN PRAGUE Faculty of Law Institute of Copyright, Industrial Property Rights and Competition Law DOCTORAL DISSERTATION The Evolution and the Limits of the Copyright Protection in the Global Information Society ABSTRACT Author: Mgr. Alena Andruško Supervisor: Prof. JUDr. Dr. iur. h. c. Jan Kříž, CSc. Field of Study: Civil Law Theoretical Legal Science Year: 2015 ABSTRACT Copyright law is one of the branches of law that has become, with the development of the Internet, the center of interest for different types of stakeholders in the global information society. With the evolution of "Web 2.0", sometimes called the "Participative Web", represented by user-generated content (UGC), and also with the evolution of peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing and recently cyberlockers, the effectiveness of copyright protection online has become a problem where solutions can be found only with difficulty. Online copyright infringement is a complex phenomenon with a multiplicity of contributing factors. To see and understand these factors one must not only know and understand the territorial and international legal rules governing copyright, but also know and understand the online ecosystem in which copyright infringement takes place, which is impossible without knowing the history, evolution and technical...

This dissertation acknowledges that despite the global initiatives towards an inclusive information society, there are still some disparities in how communities access and use the information and communication technologies (ICTs) that are available. These disparities, or digital divide, have been interpreted and addressed from different interrelated theoretical view points. The provision of ICTs through public access centres has been widely applauded as one of the strategies to enable especially disadvantaged communities to participate in today‟s information led economy. Botswana has adopted the just noted approach. The country has also developed policies and supportive infrastructure to enable especially the rural communities to be part of the global information society. It is however regrettable that access and usage of ICT‟s is still notably low in rural communities. The concern over this worrisome situation motivated this study to explore the factors that enabled or inhibited access and use of ICTs that were available to the Letlhakeng community through public access centres. This descriptive case study was conducted in four sequential stages: designing, conducting the research, data analysis and development of conclusions. The study was characterized by a continued comparative analysis of data which was collected through interviews; observation and review of related documents from the service providers; the users and non users of the services. The Letlhakeng community had access to ICTs through individually owned stand alone centres and from government supported centres. These centres were used by both residents of Letlhakeng and people from nearby villages. The factors that promoted or inhibited access and use of the available ICTs differed within and between these communities. Despite the observed digital divide, the Letlhakeng community used the ICT public centres to access social services. There is a need to develop strategies to increase access to more technologies in the village and to equip the community / Information Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Information Science)

Text in English / In line with the World Summit on the Information Society and with the expectation that this would enable them to advance their development and improve the lives of the population, almost all the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries had developed national information and communications technologies (ICT) policies. The purpose of this doctoral research was to investigate the theoretical underpinning(s) of the national ICT policies of the SADC countries in order to develop a theoretical framework for building an information society for development. The research employed a grounded theory design, utilising the NVivo11 software as a tool to support the analysis of the national ICT policies for the selected 12 of the 15 SADC countries, as well as the interviews of five knowledgeable informants. Content analysis and open-ended interviews were the research methods applied sequentially to develop the Capacitating Theory for Building the Information Society for Development (CaTBIS-4D) for SADC countries, which is the core of the theoretical framework that this thesis proposes. The research found that building an information society continues to remain relevant for SADC countries, and its achievement is dependent on capacitating human, infrastructure and financial factors. Significantly, the research concluded that the perceived failure of the information society project within the SADC countries is due to the arcaneness or obscurity of the recognition that development and the information society mutually reinforce upon each other such that the improvement of one contributes to the advancement in the other. Based on the research findings and conclusions, this research proposes a framework that contends that to build an information society for development, it is necessary/ crucial to capacitate the human, infrastructure and financial factors by focusing on identified economic sectors and social categories within an effective governing and implementation monitoring environment. The research recommends that as the national ICT policies within SADC countries are updated and implemented, the framework proposed in this research be utilised as a basis. Furthermore, the research recommends that the broadest range of local role-players should participate in the information society development project to ensure its endurance and relevance. / Information Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Information Science)