This thesis aims to understand digital mourning practices on Italian Facebookpublic pages dedicated to bereavement, by studying how the users interact with eachother and the platform.Italian funerary rites are richly engraved in the culture, however, mourningpractices have been increasingly changing, especially in the last decade. Facebook andother Social Networking Sites play a major role in this transformation. In this thesisFacebook is considered as thanatechnology, a term introduced by Carla Sofka in SocialSupport “Internetworks,” Caskets for Sale, and More: Thanatology and the InformationSuperhighway to describe an interdisciplinary perspective of technologies used to getinformation and aid about topics related to death and bereavement (1997 p: 554). The literature review in this research shows that technology and death can be studiedthrough different lenses and with multidisciplinary approaches. Overall, the literaturereview here presented highlights some gaps: the lack of cultural specificity of thestudies and the scarce attention paid to digital communities created by users. Theseelements represent the basis of the thesis.In order to understand how mourning practices are conducted on digitalbereavement public pages the research draws theoretical notions mainly from MediaExistentialism which explains the use of these media as tools to explore life in relationto traumas, loss, grief and death (Lagerkvist, 2016, pp: 96-110). Furthermore,Continuing Bonds Theory (Field et al, 2006, p: 297) and Uses and Gratifications Theory(Katz et al, 1973, pp: 509-521) are used in order to enrich the theoretical landscape bytrying to understand the mechanisms of the behaviours observed.This thesis employs a methodology heavily based on netnography, laterexpanded by including visual analysis, supported by Roland Barthes’ semiotic theory (1964, pp:152-163). The results reveal how Italian Facebook public pages dedicated tobereavement can be understood as lifeline for those who are mourning a loss. Thefindings not only highlight the relationship between the theories mentioned before, butthey also show tight connection between the digital medium and how the mourner usesit: in order to keep a bond with the deceased the griever utilizes the SNS and adapts tothe logics of the medium. In this regard, the research also shows that the meaning oftraditional funerary symbols is sometimes kept intact in digital environments: they areindicators of certain beliefs, such as the idea that the dead reside within the technology, in a sort of heaven. This last aspect can be a starting point for further research in orderto gain better understanding of how digital mourning practices can impact local funerarytraditions: in particular how new and old forms of grieving are negotiated by themourners. Moreover, the increasingly growing body of research in death studies andcommunication suggests an interest in these practices.

Titre de l'écran-titre (visionné le 26 janvier 2024) / Les communautés religieuses féminines (CRF), qui ont contribué à bâtir le Québec, sont aujourd'hui en voie de disparition. Elles laissent derrière elles de riches fonds d'archives qui témoignent d'un large pan de l'histoire québécoise. Bien qu'il soit important sur le plan de la mémoire collective, ce patrimoine archivistique religieux (PAR) souffre d'un manque de ressources financières et humaines pour assurer sa préservation et sa pérennité. Pour combler ces lacunes, des études (Bureau et al, 2018 ; BAnQ, 2021) préconisent l'intégration de diverses disciplines et perspectives dans sa mise en valeur. En tant que designers graphiques, nous nous sommes intéressés aux imprimés éphémères que contiennent les fonds d'archives des CRF en explorant comment ces documents, qui allient souvent texte et images dans le but de communiquer à de larges publics, peuvent servir de base à la reconstitution d'une histoire inédite et captivante. Se faisant, nous espérions mettre en évidence la pertinence du rôle du designer graphique dans cet écosystème de mise en valeur et, par le fait même, contribuer à une compréhension plus complète et nuancée du PAR. En prenant le cas des Petites Franciscaines de Marie (PFM) de Baie-Saint-Paul, nous avons d'abord inventorié les imprimés éphémères des collections et du fonds d'archives de la congrégation. À la lumière de cet inventaire, nous avons sélectionné une série de cinq calendriers qui ont servi de propagande aux PFM durant la période 1959-1963. Inspirés par l'approche narrative, nous avons ensuite mené une série d'activités de collecte de données - analyse d'artéfact et de contenu, recherche documentaire, entretiens auprès de 11 religieuses - de manière à récolter plusieurs petits récits qui, organisés chronologiquement et par thème, constituent un récit final. Ce récit a finalement orienté la conception d'un document qui devait servir de restitution aux parties prenantes impliquées dans la gestion du patrimoine des PFM. Cette étude souligne la pertinence d'intégrer des designers graphiques dans toute équipe mise sur pied dans le but de mettre en valeur le PAR. En effet, elle met en lumière leur approche du projet basée notamment sur des qualités telles que l'empathie envers les sujets humains, la collaboration avec les parties prenantes, la sensibilité culturelle et la créativité, ainsi que sur la création d'artéfacts graphiques qui sont à la fois éducatifs, inspirants et engageants pour les différents publics. De cette manière, la mise en valeur, la préservation et la pérennité du PAR ne peuvent qu'être avantagées. Plus spécifiquement, ce projet de mise en valeur a permis de transcender la simple valeur d'information des calendriers de propagande et de révéler des aspects longtemps oubliés de la congrégation. Le document de restitution représente, quant à lui, un artéfact important pour le transfert des connaissances et permet aux parties prenantes de mieux comprendre et d'apprécier leurs propres calendriers. / The female religious communities (FRC) that contributed to building Quebec are currently facing extinction. They leave behind rich archival collections that bear witness to a significant part of Quebec's history. Despite its importance in terms of collective memory, this religious archival heritage (RAH) suffers from a lack of financial and human resources to ensure its preservation and continuity. To address these gaps, studies (Bureau et al, 2018 ; BAnQ, 2021) recommend the integration of various disciplines and perspectives in its valorization. As graphic designers, we became interested in the ephemera contained in the archival collections of FRCs, exploring how these documents, which often combine text and images to communicate with broad audiences, can serve as the basis for reconstructing an unprecedented and captivating history. In doing so, we hoped to highlight the relevance of the role of graphic designers in this ecosystem of valorization and, in turn, contribute to a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of RAH. Taking the case of the Little Franciscans of Mary (LFM) of Baie-Saint-Paul, we first inventoried the ephemera from the congregation's collections and archives. In light of this inventory, we selected a series of five calendars that served as propaganda for the LFM during the period 1959-1963. Inspired by a narrative approach, we then conducted a series of data collection activities - artifact and content analysis, documentary research, interviews with 11 nuns - in order to gather several small narratives that, organized chronologically and thematically, constitute a final narrative. This narrative ultimately guided the design of a document that was intended to serve as a restitution to stakeholders involved in the management of the LFM heritage. This study underscores the relevance of integrating graphic designers into any team established to valorize RAH. Indeed, it highlights their project approach based on qualities such as empathy towards human subjects, collaboration with stakeholders, cultural sensitivity, and creativity. Additionally, it emphasizes the creation of graphic artifacts that are both educational, inspiring, and engaging for different audiences. In this way, the valorization, preservation, and continuity of RAH can only be advantaged. More specifically, this valorization project has transcended the mere informational value of propaganda calendars, revealing long-forgotten aspects of the congregation. The restitution document, in turn, serves as a crucial artifact for knowledge transfer, enabling stakeholders to better understand and appreciate their own calendars.

Manufacturing systems are complex entities comprised of people, processes, products, information systems and data, material processing, handling, and storage systems. Because of this complexity, systems must be modeled using a variety of views and modeling formalisms. In order to design and analyze manufacturing systems, the multiple views and models often need to be considered simultaneously. However, no single tool or computing environment currently exists that allows this to be done in an efficient and intelligible manner. New tools such as HTML and VRML present a promising approach for tackling these problems. They make possible environments where the different models can coexist and where mapping/linking between the models can be achieved. This research is concerned with developing a hybrid HTML/VRML environment for manufacturing systems modeling and analysis. Experiment was performed to compare this hybrid-modeling HTML/VRML environment to the traditional database environment in order to answer typical design/analysis questions associated with manufacturing systems, and to establish the potential advantages of this approach. Analyzing results obtained from the experiment indicated that the HTML/VRML approach might result in better understanding of a manufacturing system than the traditional database approach. / Master of Science

Websites are shifting from static model to dynamic model, in order to deliver their users with dynamic, interactive, and personalized experiences. However, dynamic content generation comes at a cost – each request requires computation as well as communication across multiple components within the website and across the Internet. In fact, dynamic pages are constructed on the fly, on demand. Due to their construction overheads and non-cacheability, dynamic pages result in substantially increased user response times, server load and increased bandwidth consumption, as compared to static pages. With the exponential growth of Internet traffic and with websites becoming increasingly complex, performance and scalability have become major bottlenecks for dynamic websites. A variety of strategies have been proposed to address these issues. Many of these solutions perform well in their individual contexts, but have not been analyzed in an integrated fashion. In our work, we have carried out a study of combining a carefully chosen set of these approaches and analyzed their behavior. Specifically, we consider solutions based on the recently-proposed fragment caching technique, since it ensures both correctness and freshness of page contents. We have developed mechanisms for reducing bandwidth consumption and dynamic page construction overheads by integrating fragment caching with various techniques such as proxy-based caching of dynamic contents, pre-generating pages, and caching program code. We start with presenting a dynamic proxy caching technique that combines the benefits of both proxy-based and server-side caching approaches, without suffering from their individual limitations. This technique concentrates on reducing the bandwidth consumption due to dynamic web pages. Then, we move on to presenting mechanisms for reducing dynamic page construction times -- during normal loading, this is done through a hybrid technique of fragment caching and page pre-generation, utilizing the excess capacity with which web servers are typically provisioned to handle peak loads. During peak loading, this is achieved by integrating fragment-caching and code-caching, optionally augmented with page pre-generation. In summary, we present a variety of methods for integrating existing solutions for serving dynamic web pages with the goal of achieving reduced bandwidth consumption from the web infrastructure perspective, and reduced page construction times from user perspective.

This dissertation thesis is focused at opportunities in real estate industry in connection with using internet based portal for real estate agencies. The thesis is based on Čestmír Kadlec's dissertation thesis which presents a methodology for creating real estate agencies portal. The main aim of this paper is to specify a concept of real estate agencies portal web pages according to methodology developed by Kadlec and evaluate required investment into development and operation the real estate agencies internet based portal. Firstly, theoretical part deals with information society, real estate market in the Czech Republic and how the evolution of information society influenced Czech real estate market in the past. Also the thesis contains description of real estate agency portals in the Czech Republic, their typology and a selection of a web portal for further analysis. The analysis of Sreality.cz contains a description of key processes and also description and fees of provided services. Practical part is focused at specification of real estate agencies web portal according to Kadlec's methodology which can be found in his dissertation thesis. Firstly, there is a description of real estate agencies portal as a system. Then there is an assessment how the proposed solutions meets the criteria specified by Kadlec, which the "ideal" web portal must have. In conclusion, the business case was prepared to Compaq the costs of development and operation of the portal and potential revenues according to competition market analysis. The outcome of the whole thesis is a recommendation whether the investment in the portal makes business sense.

This diploma work examines a product from the field of print media - front pages of magazine Reflex. Method of mythological analysis is used, which has been in qualitative research of media content applied for half of a century and is considered to be one of the traditional methods used by media studies. Unlike other dissertations in this thematic area this work does not only analyze visual or lexical contents of cover pages, but also focuses on participation of those contents in the development of myth. The work begins with introduction of key theoretical background and resulting terms used in following analyzes describing effects of myths in individual covers. Then the summary brings the interpretation and explanation of described phenomena. The work focuses to decipher myths contained in the first message which the Reflex magazine week after week addresses to his readers -the title page of individual issues. It analyses how the magazine constructs a system of myths, by which ideology can impact on its readers. Aim of this dissertation is not only to describe the process by which the myths capture a variety of signs and fill them with their own meanings, but also a dialectical relationship between myths and stereotypes or ideologies which stand in their background.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T19:30:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Paulo Sergio Silva.pdf: 28488868 bytes, checksum: 5859757341e505af8f3c543d8a0f425c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-10-17 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / 60+4. Other years of the same crisis. History, Images and other dialogues, this research interweaves history toa socio-political-cultural analysis of the civilian-military pre-coup in the sixties, retrieves and presents old and new characters, producers of multiple evidences entangled to that plot. The production of dialogues, which coexist and interpenetrating the international context of those years, pointed to the clash of political culture, manager of ceaseless quest for hegemony that characterized the period of bi-polarization between capitalist and communist. The reading of headlines and images that composed some of the front pages / covers of the newspapers Folha de S. Paulo and the Ultima Hora, between the years of 1960 and 1964; as well as consistent literature visitation about the subject, became exciting paths for socializing with partisan disputes; characters from politics and military scene; exciting cultural production, foreign interference, among others, reverberating as sounding that social place. The civic-military coup of 1964 composes memories from that and this lived present / 60 + 4. Outros anos da mesma crise. Histórias, imagens e outros diálogos, esta investigação entrelaça a História a uma análise político-social-cultural do pré-golpe cívico-militar dos anos sessenta, recupera e apresenta antigos e novos sujeitos produtores dos múltiplos indícios enredados àquela trama. A produção de diálogos, que coexistiam e se interpenetravam ao contexto internacional daqueles anos, apontava para o embate de cultura política gestor da incessante busca por hegemonia que caracterizava o período de bipolarização entre capitalistas e comunistas. A releitura de manchetes e imagens que compuseram algumas das primeiras páginas/capas dos diários Folha de S. Paulo e Ultima Hora, pertencentes ao recorte 1960 à 1964, bem como a visitação à consistente bibliografia sobre o tema transformaram-se em estimulantes veredas para o convívio com as disputas partidárias, com sujeitos do cenário político e militar, com a instigante produção cultural, com a ingerência estrangeira, entre outras, reverberando como caixa de ressonância daquele lugar social. O golpe cívico-militar de 1964 compõe memórias daquele e deste presente vivido

This research tests the value of push and pull communication on Facebook in the first effort to test the validity of the Pub Principle and Social Intrusion Theory. This theory explains how audiences engage in a tug-of-war with commercial forces during mass communication and that commercial messaging is ultimately dependent upon the acceptance or rejection of its intended audience. The pub principle explains that social media is unlike traditional mass media and that the rules commercial forces must play by are different than for other mass media. Using a mixed-method approach, this research confirms the validity of this principle and theory. It finds that Facebook users spend significantly less time looking at push content like paid advertisements than at pull content like fan pages. This research also shows that audiences prefer dealing with pull content over push content on Facebook. The Pub Principle and Social Intrusion Theory are therefore supported by this research.

La Memoire Distribuee Partagee a ete concue pour permettre aux utilisateurs d'une machine parallele sans memoire commune de profiter du modele de programmation a donnees partagees. Au plus bas niveau, les mecanismes qui simulent la memoire partagee communiquent par echange de messages. L'utilisateur, en revanche, garde un modele de programmation d'une machine virtuelle a memoire globale accessible directement par tous les processeurs du systeme. Une des approches souvent utilisees pour implanter la Memoire Distribuee Partagee est la memoire virtuelle partagee. En plus d'un espace d'adressage partage, la memoire virtuelle partagee approche offre un mecanisme de gestion de memoire virtuelle a trois niveaux. La memoire virtuelle partagee est une facon transparente et elegante d'implanter la memoire distribuee partagee. Helas, le desir d'offrir une abstraction parfaite d'une memoire unique a conduit a des systemes peu performants. Afin d'approcher des performances acceptables, plusieurs systemes a memoire virtuelle partagee ont relache certaines conditions de coherence de la memoire. Ces modeles offrent la possibilite d'atteindre des performances plus importantes que celles des modeles a coherence forte. Le prix a payer est l'augmentation de la complexite du modele de programmation. Neanmoins, les recherches plus recentes dans le domaine semblent montrer que le choix du modele de coherence de la memoire le plus adapte a une application depend des caracteristiques d'acces aux donnees de l'application. Cette these porte sur la conception d'une machine virtuelle capable d'offrir le support necessaire a la programmation a memoire partagee avec des modeles de coherence multiples. Un module de traitement generique de modeles de coherence et un mecanisme qui permet une interface uniforme de synchronisation ont ete concus dans ce but. La conception de ces mecanismes a ete faite en observant des criteres d'extensibilite de sorte a les adapter aux architectures massivement paralleles. Dans le domaine de la gestion de la memoire virtuelle, nous avons modifie quelques mecanismes classiques, notamment le remplacement et le prechargement des pages, pour les adapter a un environnement multi-modeles. Un prototupe a ete realise pour valider nos mecanismes. L'analyse du comportement d'une meme application dans deux modeles de coherence differents nous a permis de montrer que le choix du modele de coherence a une influence importante sur les performances d'une application.

<p>Syftet med den här studien är att jämföra Aftonbladets och Expressens förstasidor under fyra olika år för att se vilka förändringar som har skett. I kontext till detta har vi även undersökt mediemarknadens utveckling. Åren vi har undersökt är 1977, 1987, 1997 och 2007.</p><p>Undersökningsmaterialet är 182 förstasidor som är väl utspridda under de fyra åren. Vi har använt oss av en syntetisk vecka där man till exempel undersöker måndagen från en vecka, tisdagen veckan därpå osv. Vår främsta utgångspunkt har varit Marina Ghersettis forskning om den alltmer utbredda sensationsjournalistiken samt andra teoretiker som forskar inom samma område.</p><p>Den kvantitativa studien visade att brott förekommer mest som huvudnyhet på förstasidorna samt att det förekommer mer nyheter om kändisar än vad det gjorde för 30 år sedan. Den vanligaste huvudaktören är den ”vanliga människan” och huvudnyhetens ursprung och källa är oftast från Sverige.</p><p>Den kvalitativa analysen pekade ut att det har skett en förändring på tidningarnas förstasidor. Bilderna har blivit mindre i storlek men fler samt att reklam på tidningarna förekommer i allt högre utsträckning nu än för 30 år sedan. Undersökningen visade också att tidningarnas förstasidor liknade varandra mer utseendemässigt för varje år som gick.</p> / <p>The purpose of this study is to compare the front pages of Aftonbladet and Expressen in four different years within a period of 30 years to see what changes have been done. We have also examined the development of the media over time. Our examined years are 1977, 1987, 1997 and 2007.</p><p>The material of examination consists of 182 front pages which are well spread over the four years. We have employed a so called synthetic week, meaning that you examine Monday one week, Tuesday the following week, and so forth. Our main starting point has been the research of Marina Chersetti about the increasingly widespread journalism of sensation, as well as other theorists carrying out research within the same area.</p><p>The quantitative study showed that crimes are the most frequently occurring head news on the front pages and that there are more news about celebrities today than 30 years ago. The most common main figure is the “ordinary individual” and the origin of the head news, as well as the source, is mostly Swedish.</p><p>The qualitative analysis pointed out that the front pages have changed. The pictures have become smaller but more numerous, and compared to 30 years ago, advertising occur to a greater extent today. The study also showed that the front pages became more similar in appearance every year.</p>