Thesis (DTech (Information Technology))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2011. / This thesis is based on an analysis of the position of mobile learning within learning and instructional design theories in Higher Education. It seeks to understand the concept of mobile education or mobile learning, the technology of mobile learning and its interactions with other media of learning. It also aims to unlock the relationship between the learning theory and mobile learning as well as the position of mobile learning, handheld and wireless technologies at universities. The research design, approach, methodology and methods of this study were framed around the qualitative grounded theory. This approach guided the process of collecting and analysing data as well as the discussion of key findings. The data was gleaned from personal interviews and analysis of literature. The analysis of the data focused on the social, economic, ideological and technological dynamics and the way they have shaped the complex landscape of mobile learning in higher institutions of learning. It also concentrated on the recurrent paradigm shifts and changes and their implications for teaching and learning in higher institutions. The analysis of data uncovered several issues that are pertinent to our understanding of mobile learning. For example, it revealed that mobile learning is not about the mobile technology but rather about the learner and the learning experience, with the media playing the role of an instrument for mobilising learning and instruction. It also led us to the conception that mobile learning has the potential to promote outdoor learning. This is because this type of technology provides learners with information that they need about their learning context. Finally it was evident from data that learning was moving away from process to an institutional social phenomenon. It has acquired asocial institutional meaning in conceptions such as the learning society and organisation as well as lifelong and ubiquitous learning. In this light, this study concludes that integrating classroom-based learning with informal mobile learning can add value to formal classroom-based learning and it can also enhance learners' overall learning experience. Moreover, although the concept of learning space is not restricted to online learning, it is likely to create new learning spaces. The project also concludes that mobile learning resonates with the learning and instructional design theories such as the associative, constructive and situated learning theory.

Orientador: Heloisa Vieira da Rocha / Dissertação (mestrado profissional) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Computação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-06T23:50:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Nemer_AmarilisCanhada_M.pdf: 3000977 bytes, checksum: 07495bf3e42cd276238a03af7c80c133 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Resumo: Está havendo uma rápida convergência de tecnologias no que diz respeito ao telefone móvel. A primeira geração de dispositivos móveis foi desenvolvida para satisfazer a mesma necessidade do usuário das linhas telefones fixos: fazer e receber chamadas. Um aumento do número das funções tem ocorrido, tais como mensagem texto/voz/multimídia, conexão Internet, tocador de música, filmadora, câmera, agenda, Bluetooth; se estendendo a uma infinidade de funcionalidades nunca antes imaginadas a esses pequenos dispositivos que estão evoluindo na direção dos telefones inteligentes. Este estudo objetiva analisar a usabilidade tomando como ponto de partida convergência de tecnologias, a multiplicidade de aplicações existentes para telefones celulares e a abrangência em termos de usuários. Buscamos obter respostas sobre alguns problemas que estão se impondo ao usuário a partir dessa convergência, como a complexidade dos dispositivos; a atual dificuldade das funcionalidades existentes e novas em relação à usabilidade / Abstract: lt is happening a fast convergence of technologies regarding mobile phones. The first mobile phone generation was developed to satisfy the users to make and receive calls similarly to fixed phones. However, new functionalities such as messaging, multimedia, internet connection, sound player, video, camera, Bluetooth are being added into these devices, which are becoming smart phones. This study aims to contribute to analysis of the mobile phones usability, considering the convergence of technologies, the variety of functionalities into mobile phones and the vast number of different users. lt aims to reach answers regarding complexity, difficulties in handling existing and new functionalities of the mobile phones / Mestrado / Engenharia de Computação / Mestre em Ciência da Computação

Deaf people in South Africa are no longer a minority group and their needs regarding communication and interaction must therefore be taken into consideration. This demographic does not communicate and interact in the same way as hearing people, which means that any existing usability or accessibility guidelines do not apply. As a result, Deaf people do not have access to information in the same way that a hearing person does. Providing proper access to Information and Communications Technology services, which meet their particular needs, will help the hearing impaired to better integrate into society. The importance of demolishing the communication barrier between the hearing and the hearing impaired is very important. Many people assume that sign language is somehow based on oral language. However, this is not the case. Sign languages are natural visual-spatial languages, and form a contrast with spoken languages which are auditory-vocal based. Acknowledging this fact in 2008, the South African Sign Language Policy Implementation Conference together with several governmental bodies suggested that South African Sign Language should become recognized as the 12th official language of South Africa. Due to the fact that cell phone technology continues to evolve, it will remain a tool of communication upon which Deaf people heavily rely on. The cell phone fulfils a basic need for everyone, but especially for the Deaf demographic as they rely on the short message system to communicate. Deaf people are currently faced with a lack of appropriate mobile phone applications, which would allow them to communicate with hearing as well as deaf people. The primary objective of this research was therefore to make mobile technology equally accessible meaning usable to members of the Deaf demographic. The focus of the research was to investigate the communication barrier and a range of variables that can influence the deaf user’s experience. Topics such as user interface design, usability and interaction were investigated. The outcome of this research was to propose a set of guidelines that, when applied to the design of a website or to phone application accessibility, would ensure communication and interaction from a deaf user. The proposed set of guidelines was then applied to the design of the high fidelity prototype of a mobile phone application. The specific application is a messaging phone application that allows deaf users to communicate with other deaf and hearing users via short message system. A mobile phone application that allows Deaf people to send and receive messages based on the sign language alphabet. The application was named Signchat. Purpose of this was to visibly display how the guidelines were implemented in Signchat. While Signchat’s main purpose is to accommodate the needs of Deaf people, it is also a learning tool and an application that bridges the gap by allowing deaf and hearing users to communicate.

A new economic order has developed that is referred to as the New Economy and has brought about a shift in focus from manufactured goods and services to an economy that places emphasis on knowledge and the application thereof within a specific context (Leung, 2002). Furthermore, this economy places emphasis on the saliency of information and how it can be used as a competitive and commercial tool. The New Economy is characterised by a unique consumer that functions within it called the New Consumer and this individual functions as a ubiquitous entity that is always on as this individual uses mobile devices that enables them to conduct business and communicate anywhere and at any time. The New Consumer is characterised by being individualistic, involved, independent and informed but also suffers from scarcities such as time, attention and trust. In view hereof, value has become a pivotal matter that all organisations should place emphasis on when delivering products and services to this consumer. Furthermore, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has brought about a technological revolution in the New Economy and has changed the way in which the consumer works and conducts business. Mobile devices form an important component of the New Economy as it also offers organisations the opportunity to adopt new business models, using wireless technology, that enable mobile business (m-business) solutions. M-business refers to the purchasing of information, goods and services via a mobile device (Anon., 2000c) and organisations offering m-business in the New Economy are enabled to offer the advantages such as delivering just the right information, to just the right people at just the right time which means that convenient and personalised location-based information can be delivered to the individual. One industry that has adopted the m-business solution, as a value-added service, is the banking industry and various banks are offering the mobile financial solution to consumers meaning that they can access their accounts, pay their bills and make transfers using a mobile device. As many banks have adopted m-banking, as a value-added m-business offering, a credible source that elaborates on the implementation of m-banking and the industry requirements pertaining to the implementation process is Mobey Forum who has published the Mobey Forum White Paper (Anon., 2004p) that explains the implementation requirements of mobile financial services such as customer proposition, business priorities, technical issues and implementation issues. This study focuses on the industry requirements of m-banking, as set out by the Mobey Forum White Paper (Anon., 2004p). Absa, a South African bank, has been utilised as a one-shot case study todetermine how the industry requirements of mobile banking, as a value-added m-business offering, is implemented by the bank. / Ms. Andrea Crystal,

M.Tech. / Mobile handheld devices are moving from being peripheral devices and are now fulfilling functionality provided by laptops and desktops. The capability and functionality of handheld devices have improved. This makes the devices more prominent within public and private environments, allowing information to be processed inside and outside of the organisation’s network. Of all mobile handheld devices, the personal digital assistant (PDA) is seen to be more robust and powerful, increasing its use and popularity among users. PDAs offer wireless connectivity like Bluetooth and operate with multiple operating systems, also allowing them to be considered as a private or organisational enterprise tool. Bluetooth connectivity allows workers to access information anywhere, including both personal and corporate information. Software and applications have been specifically developed for handheld devices such as PDAs, giving users a high level of usability and functionality. The purpose of this dissertation is to present an information security evaluation of a Bluetooth-enabled handheld device, such as a PDA. The use of Bluetooth wireless technology and functionality provides added benefits, but also brings new information security threats to an organisation’s information assets. The research attempts to understand the implications of using a Bluetooth-enabled handheld device in both public and private environments. Five high-level layers are defined for this discussion. Information security risks are evaluated based on current research into vulnerabilities, attacks and tools that exist to compromise a Bluetooth-enabled handheld device. A Bluetooth penetration testing methodology is suggested for the identified vulnerabilities, attacks and tools, where a practical assessment is performed for a critical analysis of the information security mechanisms implemented by the Bluetooth-enabled handheld device (PDA). Possible recommendations to mitigate identified information security risks are also made. This study motivates the necessity of understanding the risks presented by a mobile workforce using Bluetooth connectivity in mobile handheld devices which can be used in both private and public environments.

No description available.

Driver distraction remains a matter of concern throughout the world as the number of car accidents caused by distracted driving is still unacceptably high. Industry and academia are working intensively to design new techniques that will address all types of driver distraction including visual, manual, auditory and cognitive distraction. This research focuses on an existing technology, namely in-car communication systems (ICCS). ICCS allow drivers to interact with their mobile phones without touching or looking at them. Previous research suggests that ICCS have reduced visual and manual distraction. Two problems were identified in this research: existing ICCS are still expensive and only available in limited models of car. As a result of that, only a small number of drivers can obtain a car equipped with an ICCS, especially in developing countries. The second problem is that existing ICCS are not aware of the driving context, which plays a role in distracting drivers. This research project was based on the following thesis statement: A mobile, context-aware model can be designed to reduce driver distraction caused by the use of ICCS. A mobile ICCS is portable and can be used in any car, addressing the first problem. Context-awareness will be used to detect possible situations that contribute to distracting drivers and the interaction with the mobile ICCS will be adapted so as to avert calls and text messages. This will address the second problem. As the driving context is dynamic, drivers may have to deal with critical safety-related tasks while they are using an existing ICCS. The following steps were taken in order to validate the thesis statement. An investigation was conducted into the causes and consequences of driver distraction. A review of literature was conducted on context-aware techniques that could potentially be used. The design of a model was proposed, called the Multimodal Interface for Mobile Info-communication with Context (MIMIC) and a preliminary usability evaluation was conducted in order to assess the feasibility of a speech-based, mobile ICCS. Despite some problems with the speech recognition, the results were satisfying and showed that the proposed model for mobile ICCS was feasible. Experiments were conducted in order to collect data to perform supervised learning to determine the driving context. The aim was to select the most effective machine learning techniques to determine the driving context. Decision tree and instance-based algorithms were found to be the best performing algorithms. Variables such as speed, acceleration and linear acceleration were found to be the most important variables according to an analysis of the decision tree. The initial MIMIC model was updated to include several adaptation effects and the resulting model was implemented as a prototype mobile application, called MIMIC-Prototype.

Systems of writing have existed for thousands of years. The history of civilisation and the history of writing are so intertwined that it is hard to separate the one from the other. These systems of writing, however, are not static. They change. One of the latest developments in systems of writing is short electronic messages such as seen on Twitter and in MXit. One novel application which uses these short electronic messages is the Dr Math® project. Dr Math is a mobile online tutoring system where pupils can use MXit on their cell phones and receive help with their mathematics homework from volunteer tutors around the world. These conversations between pupils and tutors are held in MXit lingo or MXit language – this cryptic, abbreviated system 0f ryting w1ch l0ks lyk dis. Project μ (pronounced mu and indicating MXit Understander) investigated how topics could be determined in MXit lingo and Project μ's research outputs spot mathematics topics in conversations between Dr Math tutors and pupils. Once the topics are determined, supporting documentation can be presented to the tutors to assist them in helping pupils with their mathematics homework. Project μ made the following contributions to new knowledge: a statistical and linguistic analysis of MXit lingo provides letter frequencies, word frequencies, message length statistics as well as linguistic bases for new spelling conventions seen in MXit based conversations; a post-stemmer for use with MXit lingo removes suffixes from the ends of words taking into account MXit spelling conventions allowing words such as equashun and equation to be reduced to the same root stem; a list of over ten thousand stop words for MXit lingo appropriate for the domain of mathematics; a misspelling corrector for MXit lingo which corrects words such as acount and equates it to account; and a model for spotting mathematical topics in MXit lingo. The model was instantiated and integrated into the Dr Math tutoring platform. Empirical evidence as to the effectiveness of the μ Topic Spotter and the other contributions is also presented. The empirical evidence includes specific statistical tests with MXit lingo, specific tests of the misspelling corrector, stemmer, and feedback mechanism, and an extensive exercise of content analysis with respect to mathematics topics.

Instant Messaging (IM) is becoming increasingly popular in social as well as workplace environments. In fact, many employees use the same IM client to communicate with both colleagues and social contacts. Thus, there are valid concerns about the impact of IM on employee productivity. One of the major advantages of IM over other workplace communication tools such as e-mail and the telephone is the implementation of presence information. In particular, presence awareness is used to determine the avail- ability and willingness of a contact to engage in communication. A current problem with IM is the one-for-all approach to presence: all contacts receive the same set of presence information. However, presence is rooted in social psychology where it is known that the awareness of another person changes the behavior of oneself. Therefore the identity of a contact affects the availability and willingness directed towards that contact. In order for presence information to be provided to contacts, it must be represented in some type of data format. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has done much work in standardizing IM and presence systems. In particular their data format for presence describes a rich set of presence information including, but not limited to, location, activity, awareness, and mood information. Such information may be sensitive and access to it needs to be controlled to ensure privacy. As with access control policies, managing the information as the number of contacts increases becomes cumbersome and complex. This dissertation draws on the theoretical foundations of presence, current standards in the domain of IM, and lessons from access control to present an enhanced presence handling model for IM. The model is developed in stages, with each stage providing a specific improvement. The first stage of the model is grounded on the current work of the IETF. As such it distributes presence on a per-watcher basis. In the second stage of the model watchers fulfill a specific role and based on this role they receive only the entrusted presence information. In practice, it implies that a "friend" may get more (or less) information than a "colleague". The third stage of the model introduces the concept of availability profiles by drawing on social awareness principles. Availability profiles add the ability to transform presence and change the presentity's behavior to incoming messages according to the provided presence information. Finally the dissertation reports on the development of the RoBIM (Role- Based Instant Messenger) prototype. RoBIM is a standards-based IM system that conforms to the IETF SIMPLE protocol and provides various standard IM features. Here, RoBIM serves as a proof-of-concept for the proposed model. This study contributed to the domain of IM and presence by addressing some of the current presence handling issues. Most importantly, the proposed model takes into account the interpersonal effects of individualizing presence information for different contacts. Thus, the model challenges conventional thought and implementation of presence in IM.

M.Ing. (Electrical And Electronic Engineering) / Patient safety in healthcare is sometimes compromised due to medical and clerical errors. These errors can increase the operational cost of healthcare if not identified and rectified speedily. They can also result in misdiagnosis, wrong treatment options being provided to patients and in the worst case may result in fatalities. Healthcare errors in medication documentation, administration, and prescription can cause incorrect medicine administration and dosage instructions for patients. Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest percentage (adults is 59% and youth is 70%) of literacy compared to other regions of the world sitting at (adults is 84% and youth is 89%). The challenge facing illiterate patients is that they can easily make the same mistakes and may not take their medication correctly. The application of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology in healthcare has demonstrated some advantages of security, accuracy and effectiveness over other technologies. The availability of NFC in some smartphones has also encouraged the development of more applications. The main objective of this thesis is to present a solution using an Android based NFC application that enables a NFC enabled smartphone to read NFC tags placed on medication containers and be able to play the audio instructions to illiterate patients. Based on a comprehensive review of the literature on NFC applications in healthcare, this solution is the first of its kind. A set of experiments were done in an effort to understand the operation of NFC phones under different environments. The proposed application reads the NFC tag placed on the medicine container. The data read from the NFC tag is used to identify the audio file corresponding to the particular patient’s medicine instructions. If the audio instructions are not available, on the phone, it is fetched from a remote server database using an Internet connection. The application automatically plays the audio file to the patient. Three research hypotheses were tested and it was confirmed that (H1), modified NFC antenna can reduce the level of induced power in it; (H2), the NFC technology is faster and more accurate in reading tag code that Barcode technology reading the barcode; (H3), the NFC reading process of NFC tag code is not negatively affected by the amount of light in the environment it is operated in. The Barcode reading accuracy was 10% errors when operating in the environment with light brightness of 128000 lumens. When the light brightness was reduced to 8900 lumens, the Barcode accuracy errors increased to 45%.