This evaluation started with preliminary research into the situations and problems in science classrooms and computer laboratories. The preliminary research identified teacher-centred lessons, learner and teacher conceptualisations, large numbers of learners per classroom, assessment, and a lack of interest in biology as some of the major problems in South African classrooms. The current research (because it is continuing) uses two Educational Computer Programmes (ECPs); a Computer-Aided Assessment (CAA) programme which is designed to alleviate problems in assessment, and Zadarh (a constructivist adventure game) designed to solve problems in biology classrooms, to further investigate some of the identified problems and find out the learners' and teachers' views on the utility of these two ECPs. The use of these two ECPs had not previously been investigated appropriately, especially in disadvantaged communities where teachers had little knowledge of the use and of evaluating ECPs. Therefore, a major concern for this study is that previous ECP evaluations excluded teachers and were not comprehensive enough especially for deploying ECPs in disadvantaged communities. A review of the methods that had hitherto been used, indicated that quantitative, mostly, behavioural and cognitive, pre-test post-test methods were prominently used, despite the shift in instructional design to constructional design, which embrace qualitative aspects of learning. Also, instructional design has evolved from behavioural models to include constructivist microworlds, which were unfairly evaluated by excluding qualitative benefits. Thus, this study seeks a more comprehensive evaluation strategy, in which teachers play the role of co-evaluators and which captures the qualitative and quantitative changes that software programs impart upon teachers' classroom practices, with sensitivity to the multiple disciplines in a program, as well as to the value systems of teachers. Comprehensive evaluation processes were facilitated during which 26 teachers in 23 schools in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu Natal and Mpumalanga Provinces embarked upon the evaluation of the two ECPs. Evaluations were based upon a developmental, constructivist and interpretative approaches, by which teachers took ownership of these evaluations. Comprehensive evaluations revealed benefits from CAA and Zadarh, as well as benefits from direct teacher participations in the evaluations. CAA (Question Mark in this case) instantly provided diagnostic data. However, it was evident that the quality of diagnosis and remediation depended upon the quality of the test items, and the learning as well as the teaching strategies. Factors that could militate against the use and full utilisation of CAA in the schools where the study was done included the cost of software for CAA, teachers' capacity to set diagnostic test items particularly in a multiple-choice format, teachers' ability to interpret data produced by CAA, and teachers' skills in remedying their classroom problems as well as learners' problems. This study found that by playing Zadarh learners were able to construct knowledge through discovery and were attracted to the enjoyable aspects of this educational tool. Learners remembered most of those moments in the game during which they were both stuck and trying to solve problems on their way through Zadarh. Therefore, Zadarh can provide useful learning experiences with fun, and can improve motivation towards learning. Debilitating factors against the use of Zadarh and CAA include school curricula, which do not accommodate innovations, inflexible timetables, and classroom approaches that are teacher-centred. It was clear that the success of using computers in education would depend upon the ability of teachers to evaluate the ECPs, and to integrate ECPs into school curricula. drive these interactions played an important role in the successful integration of ECPs into classroom. One way of achieving such success is to include teachers as evaluators and co-designers of ECPs. Evaluations of ECPs therefore should: i) allow the teachers and learners, through social dialog, to identify how software could solve problems; ii) establish the compatibility of the software with the school curriculum; iii) ascertain the capacity of school computers to execute the software; and iv) provide support to the teachers in the use the software. Evaluations should benefit teachers and learners. The study concluded that a post-modern, developmental, and constructivist evaluation process might be one of the ways of enhancing training teachers in the use of the ECPs, in the concepts that the software deal with, and in evaluation. In that way, a socially contracted evaluation is comprehensive and can serve as a change agent through which teachers reflect and act upon improving their classroom practices. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.

This implementation study set out to establish the impact of a constructivist-informed, / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.

No description available.

Thesis (MTech (Tourism and Hospitality Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016. / Electronic commerce, popularly referred to as e-commerce, is the latest catchphrase surrounding the Internet and its many functions. In the past, the Internet was solely used for information seeking, but the 21st century has brought a new global economy to the fore – one that is conducted online. Tourism is seen as a driver of economic growth, contributing both to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of South Africa (SA) and creating jobs in the hospitality sector. E-commerce does not only provide a platform for business to be conducted online but also an opportunity for consumers to interact directly with industry. Many studies have been done previously about the perceived benefits of e-commerce in the retail sector, yet none in Cape Town and at five-star hotels in particular. It is well known that holidaymakers conduct an online search prior to booking accommodation; some of those potential guests in turn choose to finalise their bookings online. The purpose of the study was to investigate the role of e-commerce in five-star hotels in the Cape Town Metropole. The main objective of this study was to define what e-commerce is for five-star hotels in the Cape Town Metropole and determine if the hotels are using e-commerce as a booking method. Online questionnaires were used to gather primary data and a literature review was presented as secondary data. The findings of this study showed that all the hotels surveyed use online bookings and half of the respondents believe Online Travel Agents (OTAs) generate more revenue than traditional methods of room reservation. When asked to rank methods of room’s reservations, there was a slight difference between telephone bookings and e-commerce as number one. This could mean that while electronic methods are popular, they have not completely replaced traditional methods. The researcher recommends that five-star hotel managers train the rooms’ division staff to respond to negative reviews on social media, as this was one of the findings. The hotels should also learn how to effectively use their social media presence to increase room sales.

The purpose of this project was to develop a WebQuesst investigation that would facilitate student Internet usage. A WebQuest investigation is an inquiry-oriented activity in which most or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the Internet.

The purpose of the project was to examine the current situation of B2C e-commerce in Japan, consumers' online purchasing behavior, and attributes affecting online purchases. Since many companies are interested in starting or have started B2C e-commerce businesses, this study would aid companies in developing marketing strategies that would grow their businesses and build loyalty among consumers.

The major socio-economic development challenges facing most African countries include economic diversification, poverty, unemployment, diseases and the unsustainable use of natural resources. The challenge of quality healthcare provisioning is compounded by the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Sub Saharan Africa. However, there is a great potential in using electronic healthcare (e-health) as one of the supportive systems within the healthcare sector to address these pressing challenges facing healthcare systems in developing countries, including solving inequalities in healthcare delivery between rural and urban hospitals/clinics. The purpose of this study was to compile a Provincial E-health Framework (PEHF) based on the feedback from electronic healthcare readiness assessments conducted in selected rural and urban hospitals/clinics in the North West Province in South Africa. The e-healthcare readiness assessment was conducted in the light of effective use of ICT in patient healthcare record system, consultation among healthcare professionals, prescription of medication, referral of patients and training of healthcare professionals in ICT usage. The study was divided into two phases which were phases 1 and 2 and a qualitative design supported by a case study approach was used. Data were collected using different techniques to enhance triangulation of data. The techniques included group interviews, qualitative questionnaires, photographs, document analysis and expert opinions. The outcome of the assessment led to the compilation of the PEHF which was based on Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). SOA was chosen to integrate the hospitals/clinics‟ ICT infrastructure yet allowing each hospital/clinic the autonomy to control its own ICT environment. To assist hospitals/clinics integrate their ICT resources, this research study proposed an Infrastructure Network Architecture which clustered hospitals/clinics to share common ICT infrastructure instead of duplicating these resources. Furthermore, processes of the e-health services (e-patient health IV record system, e-consultation system, e-prescription system, e-referral system and e-training system) were provided to assist in the implementation of the PEHF. Finally, a set of guidelines were provided by the research study to aid the implementation of the PEHF.

This research examined the relationships of cultural orientations to preferences for public relations messages on the Internet websites among college students in South Korea and in the United States.

The present study draws on uses and gratifications and media system dependency perspectives for examining factors related to Internet usage behaviors of international students and their motives to use their home-country Internet resources.

South African home users of the Internet use the Internet to perform various everyday functions. These functions include, but are not limited to, online shopping, online gaming, social networking and online banking. Home users of online banking face multiple threats, such as phishing and social engineering. These threats come from hackers attempting to obtain confidential information, such as online banking authentication credentials, from home users. It is, thus, essential that home users of online banking be made aware of these threats, how to identify them and what countermeasures to implement to protect themselves from hackers. In this respect, information security awareness (ISA) programmes are an effective way of making the home users of online banking aware of both the threats they face and the countermeasures available to protect themselves from these threats. There are certain legal requirements with which South African banks have to comply when implementing ISA initiatives. Non-compliance or failure to demonstrate due care and due diligence should a security incident occur will result in financial penalties for the bank as well as possible brand damage and loss of customers. Banks implement international best practice recommendations in an effort to comply with legislation. These include recommendations for information security awareness. This research investigated both information security best practice recommendations and information security legal requirements for information security awareness. A selected list of information security best practices was investigated for best practice recommendations while a selected list of information security legislation was investigated for legal requirements imposed on South African banks. A gap analysis was performed on both these recommendations and requirements to determine whether the implementation of best practice recommendations resulted in compliance with legal requirements. The gap analysis found that the implementation of best practice recommendations does not result in compliance with legal requirements. Accordingly, the outcome of this research highlighted the importance of understanding the legal requirements and ensuring that adequate controls are in place with which to achieve compliance. / Business Information systems / Msc. (Information systems)