South African Higher Education has gone through various changes and challenges, one of these being the merger process. Various Universities and Technikons were forced to merge in an effort to aid the transformation and restructuring of the Higher Education landscape in the post-apartheid era. From an ICT point of view, the merged Institutions ended up with massive and distributed computing facilities. These facilities must be managed and secured and it can be appreciated that the complexity and magnitude of this task is compounded by the large and varied user population (i.e. students) using the facilities. With the exploding use of mobile consumer devices (such as cell phones, personal digital assistants, MP3 players, portable storage devices such as flash drives, etc), Higher Education Institutions are faced with the even more complex task of managing and securing the computing infrastructure, while large numbers of students can enter computer labs and use these devices at random. In some circles, portable devices are touted to be the next panacea in higher education. This, together with the popularity these devices enjoy under the student body, makes it a fait accompli that mobile consumer devices are “here to stay”. Therefore, banning these devices from campus computer labs, is not viable. Universities have to find ways to address security issues through the implementation of appropriate protective measures. This research focuses on finding a solution to mitigating the risks imposed on Higher Education Institutions in South Africa caused by the use of portable storage devices. The research proposes a framework which serves as an outline for the countermeasures that Universities must implement to mitigate the risks inherent to the use of portable storage devices. The scope of the research is limited to flash drives, smart phones and MP3 players.

The first section of this paper looks specifically at the concept of greenwashing from a theoretical perspective. It aims to establish exactly what greenwashing is, what it involves and how it has been used. The second section incorporates both the first section of this paper, and delves deeper into how greenwashing has been present in social media. The third section of this paper is a case study. This section has been broken down into three categories of industries in consideration of greenwashing practises. The first is ‘The Obvious’ - this looks at the obvious examples of industries that use greenwashing practises. ‘The Overlooked’ looks at the industries which are often disregarded in terms of greenwashing practises. The last is ‘The Unexpected’ which looks into the industries that focus on supporting the environment and would not commonly be associated with any form of greenwashing practises at all. This case study aims to identify how the selected companies chosen for the study have been associated with greenwashing in the past, and how their current social presence may still be contributing to greenwashed advertising. As the concept of greenwashing is based on a theory developed around two decades ago and mostly consisted of very direct claims and statements using traditional advertising mediums such as billboards and magazine adverts, and considering the amount of well-known corporations who were proven guilty of such greenwashing practises, it would be ignorant to consider that such practises have simply subsided and ceased to occur. Corporations are aware of being called-out with negative press, especially with regards to issues such as false environmental practises, therefore as the advertising industry has changed with time, wouldn’t such greenwashing practises have adapted as well? Corporations in the past have learnt that direct greenwash statements have backfired negatively, therefore in collaboration with the use of social media, the prospect of using subtle, or even subconscious greenwash strategies seem to create an issue which requires investigation.

A significant event of the last two decades has been the appearance and subsequent explosive growth of the World Wide Web and related technologies that have had a notable effect on higher education and learning in particular (Crossman, 1997:19; Hall & White, 1997:22; Alessi & Trollip, 2001:5: Oliver 2002). Information and communication technology (ICT) or ‘elearning’ as it is known in some countries, has emerged both locally and worldwide as a prominent phenomenon in education (Oliver & Herrington, 2001) and the ensuing scramble by educators to adopt the new technologies (compare Rogers, 1995) can be seen by looking at the number of courses that have recently evolved under the banner of e-learning, web-based education or online education. The rush to implement ICT is particularly evident in Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s) where technology has come to be seen as a potentially valuable tool for educational reform in higher education (Poole, 1997:2; Surrey & Land, 2000:145; Bates, 2000:7; Rosenberg, 2001:10). Educational reform at Higher Education Institutions worldwide over the past two decades is often ascribed to trends such as increased competition, decreased enrolments, greater numbers of non-traditional students, changing societal expectations and decreased government funding (Simonson & Thompson, 1997:4; Surrey & Land, 2000:145). The dwindling student base and loss of university students to corporate training programmes in South Africa is in line with these trends and is seen as a major area of concern (McKenna, 1999:[online]). The use of ICT in higher education, which is also progressively taking root in emerging nations such as South Africa, adds another perspective to the issue of educational reform (Hilliard & Kemp, 2000:22). Van Buren-Schele and Odendaal (2001:[online]) put the local situation into perspective by affirming that the introduction of ICT at institutions in developing countries like South Africa can be far more challenging than it is for their counterparts in developed countries. Factors that impact on the implementation of ICT normally include financial, logistic, and technological aspects, but in many areas in South Africa, requirements on a basic level such as access to electricity, computers and the Internet place unique demands on some educational institutions. Local institutions are therefore hard-pressed to improve teaching practice in order, firstly, to live up to consumer expectations, then to show continual improvement and innovations in the changing field of education (Cronjé & Murdoch, 2001:online). / Prof. D. van der Westhuizen

Magister Scientiae - MSc / Over the past two decades of HIV research, effective vaccine candidates have been elusive. Traditionally viral research has been characterized by a gene -by-gene approach, but in the light of the availability of complete genome sequences and the tractable size of the HIV genome, a genomic approach may improve insight into the biology and epidemiology of this virus. A genomic approach to finding HIV vaccine candidates can be facilitated by the use of genome sequence visualization. Genome browsers have been used extensively by various groups to shed light on the biology and evolution of several organisms including human, mouse, rat, Drosophila and C.elegans. Application of a genome browser to HIV genomes and related annotations can yield insight into forces that drive evolution, identify highly conserved regions as well as regions that yields a strong immune response in patients, and track mutations that appear over the course of infection. Access to graphical representations of such information is bound to support the search for effective HIV vaccine candidates. This study aimed to answer the question of whether a tool or application exists that can be modified to be used as a platform for development of an HIV visualization application and to assess the viability of such an implementation. Existing applications can only be assessed for their suitability as a basis for development of an HIV genome browser once a well-defined set of assessment criteria has been compiled. / South Africa

The starting point of this research is the observation that tutors in the Computing Sciences (CS) Department at NMMU require more support than they currently receive in order to be effective. This research project investigated how technology could be used to support tutors during practical sessions. Focus group discussions with tutors in the CS Department revealed that challenges exist which hinder them from effectively assisting students during practical sessions. Through analysis of focus group discussions and literature regarding the use of technology in education, it was determined that a tablet PC could be used to support tutors by providing on-demand access to practical content and answers to frequently asked questions. Existing models using technology in education to support either students or tutors in learning were investigated. A conceptual model using technology to support tutors during practical sessions was designed and proposed based on features of the existing models which were considered relevant to the CS context, and ways in which they could support tutors. Relevant features of the conceptual model include the system, purpose, boundary, key variables and best practices applied to the technological component of the model. During development of the model, these features were considered. In the context of the CS Department, a tablet PC tool was used by tutors as a means to support themselves and assist students during practical sessions. The tool is a component of the model which provides practical information. Each layer of the model’s three layer architecture was tested to ensure that the correct information is provided, on demand, to tutors during practical sessions. Positive results from a field study evaluation revealed that the conceptual model, using a tablet PC tool, could be applied to the CS context with the intention of supporting tutors during practical sessions.

The well-known concept of a Project Manager managing an I.T. project in relative isolation is no longer a viable option for organisations that are running numerous projects simultaneously. Due to the enormous costs and risks involved in many of these projects, there needs to be a means to ensure success. This has led to the establishment of the concept of a Project Management Office (PMO). An autonomous business unit that is responsible for managing all projects within an organisation. The need for a Project Management Office (PMO) to effectively manage multiple projects is becoming more and more accepted worldwide. The benefits of a PMO are well documented, but whether these benefits will apply to organisations within the NMM area needed to be investigated. A detailed analysis of the benefits of Project Management and in particular a PMO, have been investigated by means of a literature study. An investigation into the effectiveness of PMO’s in South Africa in general, was conducted by means of a survey targeted at a group of I.T. Project Managers located in all the major centres. A further survey was conducted among local I.T. managers to determine their current level of success and their expectations for the future. When reviewing the expectations of local I.T. management against the performance of Project Managers that are currently operating within PMOs, it is clear that organisations within the NMM area are in need of PMO’s and would certainly benefit from their establishment.

The Napster case has created a frenzy of controversy and confusion. The Peer to Peer technology developed by Napster creator Shawn Fanning, has forced the courts, the legislature, corporations, and individuals to reconsider the use of the Internet. Peer to peer networks create new challenges for the application of copyright law. However, these challenges are not that different from those which copyright law has evolved to accommodate in the past. Copyright law is intended to balance the interests of the creators and the public to promote the progress of science and useful arts. The premise behind copyright protection is to ensure that people continue creating, and that the public continues to enjoy those creations, through the mechanism of rewarding the creators with a temporary monopoly over their works. This balance of interests is fundamental to the interpretation of copyright law by the United States Congress and the Courts. This thesis focuses on the application and interpretation of copyright law through a case study of the law in the United States, in particular the Napster case. Although it now appears that the Internet can be subject to some form of regulation with the aid of technological innovation to enforce the regulation, the Courts in the Napster case have misinterpreted the previous judicial consideration attributed to copyright law. In essence, the fundamental principle of the balancing of interests has been lost. We are now left with an unequal balance in favor of large media conglomerates. It can be argued that the media conglomerates have used Napster as an example of their power to control the technology of peer to peer networking as a model of distribution. Napster demonstrates that peer to peer is an effective way of sharing information with an extremely large amount of people. This has the music industry scared, resulting in their legal battle to shut down the Napster technology. The claims of copyright misuse raise awareness of the need for regulation and a reassessment of copyright application in a digital age. There is a need for regulation. However, any attempts at further application of law and regulation to the Internet concerning copyright protection should consider the intent of the constitutional founders of the United States -- copyright law is intended to protect the interests of both the artists, and the public. / Law, Peter A. Allard School of / Graduate

Museums and libraries are considered large repositories of human knowledge and human culture. They have similar missions and goals in distributing accumulated knowledge to society. Current digitization projects allow both, museums and libraries to reach a broader audience, share their resources with a variety of users. While studies of information seeking behavior, retrieval systems and metadata in library science have a long history; such research studies in museum environments are at their early experimental stage. There are few studies concerning information seeking behavior and needs of virtual museum visitors, especially with the use of images in the museums' collections available on the Web. The current study identifies preferences of a variety of user groups about the information specifics on current exhibits, museum collections metadata information, and the use of multimedia. The study of information seeking behavior of users groups of museum digital collections or cultural collections allows examination and analysis of users' information needs, and the organization of cultural information, including descriptive metadata and the quantity of information that may be required. In addition, the study delineates information needs that different categories of users may have in common: teachers in high schools, students in colleges and universities, museum professionals, art historians and researchers, and the general public. This research also compares informational and educational needs of real visitors with the needs of virtual visitors. Educational needs of real visitors are based on various studies conducted and summarized by Falk and Dierking (2000), and an evaluation of the art museum websites previously conducted to support the current study.

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