Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2009. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 390-431).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 175-191).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis aims to address several issues emerging in the new digital world. Using Trusted Computing as the paradigmatic example of regulation though code that tries to address the cyber security problem that occurs, where the freedom of the user to reconfigure her machine is restricted in exchange for greater, yet not perfect, security. Trusted Computing is a technology that while it aims to protect the user, and the integrity of her machine and her privacy against third party users, it discloses more of her information to trusted third parties, exposing her to security risks in case of compromising occurring to that third party. It also intends to create a decentralized, bottom up solution to security where security follows along the arcs of an emergent “network of trust”, and if that was viable, to achieve a form of code based regulation. Through the analysis attempted in this thesis, we laid the groundwork for a refined assessment, considering the problems that Trusted Computing Initiative (TCI) faces and that are based in the intentional, systematic but sometimes misunderstood and miscommunicated difference (which as we reveal results directly in certain design choices for TC) between the conception of trust in informatics (“techno-trust”) and the common sociological concept of it. To reap the benefits of TCI and create the dynamic “network of trust”, we need the sociological concept of trust sharing the fundamental characteristics of transitivity and holism which are absent from techno-trust. This gives rise to our next visited problems which are: if TC shifts the power from the customer to the TC provider, who takes on roles previously reserved for the nation state, then how in a democratic state can users trust those that make the rules? The answer lies partly in constitutional and human rights law and we drill into those functions of TC that makes the TCI provider comparable to state-like and ask what minimal legal guarantees need to be in place to accept, trustingly, this shift of power. Secondly, traditional liberal contract law reduces complex social relations to binary exchange relations, which are not transitive and disrupt rather than create networks. Contract law, as we argue, plays a central role for the way in which the TC provider interacts with his customers and this thesis contributes in speculating of a contract law that does not result in atomism, rather “brings in” potentially affected third parties and results in holistic networks. In the same vein, this thesis looks mainly at specific ways in which law can correct or redefine the implicit and democratically not validated shift of power from customer to TC providers while enhancing the social environment and its social trust within which TC must operate.

Submitted by Fabiana Chiericci Lima (fachilima@hotmail.com) on 2018-04-18T02:23:07Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_ versão REPOSITÓRIO.pdf: 5705378 bytes, checksum: c7d55056a7d422eb3569626f90d0b30e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Minervina Teixeira Lopes null (vina_lopes@bauru.unesp.br) on 2018-04-18T14:56:40Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 lima_fc_me_bauru.pdf: 5638301 bytes, checksum: b47feaf9e263d4ef626f01b4ee37d45c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-04-18T14:56:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 lima_fc_me_bauru.pdf: 5638301 bytes, checksum: b47feaf9e263d4ef626f01b4ee37d45c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-02-23 / A presente pesquisa tem como objetivo investigar o desenvolvimento de atitudes positivas e de autoconfiança, em relação à Matemática, em alunos do ensino fundamental I, 4º e 5º anos, por meio do uso de problemas não estruturados. Para solucionar esses problemas, que têm um perfil de enigma, os alunos em questão eram instigados a utilizar seus conhecimentos prévios, formulando questões e construindo a resolução em grupo, como um quebra-cabeça verbal. O fato de não possuir algoritmos prontos e acabados, faz com que esses problemas tragam um novo olhar do aluno para a disciplina de Matemática. E ainda, despertam a autoconfiança e as atitudes positivas por conseguirem solucionar problemas utilizando-se dos conhecimentos prévios adquiridos, ou seja, por encontrarem sentido nos conceitos matemáticos aprendidos. Essa pesquisa é de cunho quali-quantitativo que tem como eixo norteador o levantamento de dados, a compreensão de comportamentos, opiniões e expectativas e a análise da Escala de Atitudes da amostra utilizada. Através desta escala, foi possível considerar as atitudes positivas ou negativas de 16 alunos de uma escola pública estadual de ensino fundamental I da cidade de São Carlos em relação à disciplina. Considerando que o tempo foi breve e que cada indivíduo tem um tempo para ter seu insight, pode-se contemplar um resultado positivo, no qual constatamos um aumento de 31% para 75% dos alunos que passaram a ter atitudes positivas em relação à Matemática. Portanto, consideramos que há a necessidade de despertar no aluno sua autoconfiança e a atitudes positivas, o que pode contribuir para que tenham um melhor desempenho na disciplina. / The present research has as its main goal to assess the development of positive attitudes and self-reliance toward Mathematics, in students from elementary school I, 4th and 5th grades, with the use of non-structured problems. This research has a quali-quantitative status which owns a northern axis facing data collection, comprehension of behavior, opinions, and expectations, and also the Attitudes Range analysis from the sample used. Through the use of this one, it was possible to consider the positive or negative attitudes from 16 students of a public state school, from elementary school I in São Carlos. With the use of non-structured problems - with a puzzle profile - the students were instigated to search in their previous knowledge the solution to the problems that did not have concluded and ready-to-use algorithms. Considering the short time, and the fact that each individual has their own timing for insight, it is possible to reach a positive outcome, in which it was possible to identify a raise from 31% to 75% from students that started having positive attitudes toward Mathematics. In conclusion, we consider that there is a necessity for waking students up for self-reliance and positive attitudes which can bring a better performance at the subject.

Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA(DVS) / Water provision is currently a global issue in the light of current and potential future shortages in both industrialized and developing countries. Presently, water provision is a top agenda item in any national developmental program. The United Nations General Assembly, in December 2003, proclaimed the years 2005 to 2015 as the International Decade for Action ‘Water for Life’. This will also involve the reduction by half, the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water by 2015 whilst stopping unsustainable exploitation of water resources (ZNCU 2008). The ‘Water for Life’ decade is therefore expected to enhance efforts in fulfilling international commitments made on water and water-related issues by 2015. Water and sanitation is a part of goal seven of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and addresses environmental sustainability. Despite the fact that water provision is still a challenge in developing countries especially in the sub-Saharan-African region, ironically, a number of these countries are naturally endowed with vast resources of water. These water sources emanate mainly from lakes, rivers and streams which have not been appropriately exploited.To optimize water provision and water utilization, historically, different developmental approaches have been developed and debated. Amongst these is community participation, which enables people at the grassroots to determine the pace and nature of the development required. The thrust of community participation is that the citizenry should be involved in immediate choices and decisions that affect their lives. This is also the heart of sustainable development. In the context of water provision, community participation would therefore entail the people articulating their water needs and participating in the identification and implementation of water provision interventions. In the case of Chazanga however, community participation is a developmental initiative that is recognized and is expected to be embraced at the different levels of decision making at the grassroots in this particular case referring to water projects.The study through its objectives basically endeavours to: provide a critical review of the theoretical framework of Participatory Approaches for the topic under study; explore the effect or influence of community participation on water provision in peri-urban settlements such as Chazanga; assess the level of community participation in the WSUP water project in Chazanga community and; present the main findings, recommendations and conclusions of the study. In terms of research design, the investigation will use a case study that will be implemented through the qualitative method by collecting data through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and observations.In order to investigate the influence of community participation, the study has on the one hand provided an in-depth analysis of the water condition in the case study area. The findings show that water problems in Chazanga have been a source of concern before WSUP arrived in the settlement. On the other hand, the study provided evidence showing that the government of Zambia recognizes community participation as an important tool to address community problems from the social level. In this regard, the study discovered that there are strong structures of community participation at grassroots within Chazanga that converge frequently to discuss developments. However, there is interestingly a lack of appropriate feedback from the grassroots as community members representing the community on the Water Trust board have not informed government representatives of the development and presence of WSUP. This is as a result of the limited presence of government representatives at the grassroots level as their representation instead remains at higher levels in the community participation decentralized process.Recommendations of the study therefore suggest that the feedback process should be improved upon as well as taken advantage of, in order that government is better informed. This would as a result enhance more initiatives at community level, particularly in water provision. In addition, the study recommends an improvement on not only water supply but on sanitation issues which were discovered to be a critical issue. There is also a need to improve land allocation to make sure that boreholes are not too close to the water points. Other recommendations include the addressing of ethical issues in Chazanga which are a hindrance to community participation, as well as the immediate intervention in the improvement of livelihoods of the locals.

In recent years, the accounting profession has faced increased scrutiny because of scandals involving management fraud (e.g., Enron, WorldCom). In response, Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) #99 has expanded auditors' responsibility for detecting fraud, requiring auditors to gather significantly more information in their assessment of fraud. In addition, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) will focus on fraud detection through their inspections of registered accounting firms. In light of the increased emphasis on auditors' responsibility for detecting fraud, public accounting firms face the challenge of improving their fraud detection process, including their assessment of management fraud risk. Decision aids are one way for auditors to improve their assessment of management fraud risk. In fact, several studies from the decision aid literature suggest that aids are useful tools for a variety of tasks, including fraud risk assessment. At the same time, another stream of the decision aid reliance literature, which looks at people's willingness to rely on decision aids, suggests that individuals tend to be reluctant to accept the output given by an aid. Thus, the primary focus of this paper is on uncovering factors that would encourage one to voluntarily use and rely upon a decision aid. Toward that end, 132 senior-level auditors participated in an experiment that examined how several factors (confidence, perceived usefulness, client size, and conformity pressure) affect decision aid usage and reliance. The results show that perceived usefulness and decision aid reliance are significantly related. Further, the results suggest that perceived usefulness affects reliance more than variables examined in prior studies (e.g., confidence). Finally, the results suggest that decision aid usage mediates the relationship between perceived usefulness and reliance. The results of the current study have important implications for research in both the information systems and decision aid reliance areas. First, the study shows that perceived usefulness, a significant construct from the technology acceptance model (TAM) literature, is also a significant factor in determining decision aid usage and reliance. Second, the study further delineates how certain factors affect decision aid reliance.

No description available.

The purpose of this investigation is to see how economic inequality, stereotypes, and unemployment affect the well-being of people who identify as middle class in central West Virginia. Questions include whether living in a place with high poverty rates, regardless of income, negatively affects a person’s attitude and well-being, and if middle class people are victims of “guilt-by-association” for living in a lower income county. The results of this study may help organizations like the ARC include data on well-being and life satisfaction alongside their economic reports. Moreover, the public may begin to view West Virginia differently, fueling tourism and overall economic growth. Relevant scholarship for this project includes: The Road to Poverty (Billings, Blee), Stigma (Goffman), Glass House (Alexander), Those Who Work, Those Who Don’t (Sherman), Women, Power, and Dissent… (Anglin), Man’s Search for Meaning (Frankl), and The Human Quest for Meaning (Wong). I am conducting phenomenological interviews of twelve people in six distressed counties and also administering the Life Attitudes Scale to determine their level of well-being. I will then use an ethnomethodological approach to analyze the lived experiences of these West Virginians. Specifically, I wish to understand how they confront the forces of Othering and dehumanization imposed on them by both cultural outsiders and regional organizations. In doing so, this study may prove that the social reality and moral framework constructed by the people who live in this area is far closer to the truth than any kind of statistical analysis.

The master´s thesis describes the initial design of communication module for industrial automation purposes which can transmit short status messages via the GSM network informing about the status of the connected device to a predefined telephone number. In the first part, the communication protocols are describe and a market survey is carried out. Then follows the evaluation of the market survey and the justification of construction of the device. The following chapters are devoted to the description of the device being developed, its individual components and program description and testing prototype.