Learning engagement is essential for fruitful and meaningful learning outcomes. Although many researchers have collectively claimed that social networking technologies in the Web2.0 era possess great potential to foster learning engagement, the existing literature demonstrates the pedagogical significance of more empirical and systematical inquiries into their applications for effective teaching and learning in various educational contexts. A social networking environment (SNE) is an online environment established with these technologies in which various tools, people and resources are dynamically connected. This study aimed to investigate the roles of such an environment in supporting learning engagement in higher education, and to identify factors that affected how students engaged in learning activities in the SNE. Informed by the literature on knowledge construction, collaborative learning and intrinsic motivation, learning engagement was conceptualized as a multidimensional construct that incorporated cognitive, social and emotional components of the learning process. This study was a single case study. It spanned a period of six months with a class of 55 undergraduate students enrolling in an elective university course in mainland China. A SNE, which integrated blogs, wikis, social bookmarks and tagging, file repositories, group spaces, and social networking facilities, was implemented to support designed learning activities that emphasized reflections and social interactions for achieving course objectives. Data collection and analysis combined qualitative and quantitative methods. Multiple-source data was obtained from interviews, observation, questionnaires and student learning artifacts, and was analyzed through content analysis, social network analysis and descriptive statistical analysis. The analysis revealed a number of roles that the SNE could play in supporting learning engagement. In terms of social engagement, it could serve as a social medium for (a) facilitating self-presentation and self-expression, (b) supporting articulation and development of personal social networks, (c) encouraging various levels of participation in social interactions, and (d) enabling personalized feedback. In terms of cognitive engagement, it could afford a hybrid of individual and social learning by (a) supporting development of personal learning portfolios, (b) facilitating peer and teacher feedback, and (c) creating the transparency in a distributed learning environment which enabled students to access multiple perspectives, learn by observation, and utilize metacognitive skills for self-regulated learning. In terms of emotional engagement, it could be used as a vehicle for developing a socio-affective structure of the learning community by (a) inducing expression of emotions and feelings, (b) fostering socio-emotional interactions, and (c) contributing a sense of being connected to others. Factors in cultural, socio-contextual, technical, and individual dimensions were identified that affected learning engagement in the SNE and needed to be addressed in pedagogical interventions. This study has both theoretical and practical implications. By proposing a construct incorporating cognitive, social and emotional elements of engaged learning, it deepens our understanding of the relationship between learning engagement and educational use of social networking technologies in higher education. For practicing teachers, a set of pedagogical principles is suggested based on the findings of the study for facilitating learning engagement in the SNE. Implications for software designers and educational administrators are also discussed. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Hong Kong is renowned for its name of shopping paradise in the past several decades. It not only has the attractive street markets, but also has the different styles, themes and levels of shopping malls. Indeed, the retail industry of Hong Kong serves both visitors and Hong Kong local people as well. From the figures of Hong Kong Retail Management Association, it recorded HK$494,456 million dollars overall retail sale in 2013 and 267,703 person were employed as the workforce under retail as at December 2013. In the past two decades, many large, trendy and featured shopping malls were built, and they were mostly developed and owned by the major developers as a long term investment for rental return. However, as Hong Kong is just a small city, thus this leads to keener competitions between the shopping malls in order to attract shoppers to increase the turnover of the shop tenants inside, thus the rental receivables to the developers in turn. In order to attract more shoppers, other than the asset enhancements, improvements and renovation projects carried out by the shopping malls within a short period of time to have a fresh feeling to the shoppers and improve the deficiencies of the malls, many new and innovative marketing activities were carried out by them as well, such as placing 100 number of full height Doraemom mascots (a famous Japanese cartoon character) outside the shopping mall, arranging a 20 meter height inflatable Holland designer rubber duck to be display on the sea outside the shopping mall, organizing overnight cheering up activities for the student at the eve of the announcement of public exam, providing overnight live broadcasting of World Cup, etc. Besides the above, many information technologies were incorporation in the shopping malls nowadays so as to provide a convenience, better feelings and involvement to the shoppers. Other than retail, telecommunications in Hong Kong is also the leading edge in the world. The mobile penetration rate is 238.6 percent by February 2014, that means every Hong Kong people has over two mobile phones; in which, around 72% is using 3G/4G, it means around two-third of mobile subscribers are using smartphones. For the marketing of the shopping malls, they also provide many information technology applications in order to attract the shoppers. For example, sophisticated webpage design, mobile apps, Facebook, Weibo, Twitter, Instagram, were made for their shopping mall. In this paper, we will evaluate of using such information technology applications in the retail marketing under the context of shopping malls in Hong Kong. / published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

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This study investigates how knowledge is created in a small business organization. Knowledge creation refers to organizational learning which results in innovation. The research design was a qualitative, single site case study of three firms in the point of sale industry. Data collection took place during a six month field study and employed multiple methods including participant observations, interviews, document reviews, and field journal entries. The study was informed by a conceptual framework which focused on the importance of both tacit and explicit knowledge forms, multiple modes of knowledge conversion (socialization, externalization, combination, internalization), and a knowledge spiraling process. Six themes emerged from the data. The first theme, "the people are the business" indicated that individuals become a knowledge creating structure that transcends office boundaries. A second theme, "we just spend tons of time talking", emphasized the importance of dialogue and informal communication structures to the sharing of tacit knowledge. A third theme, "there hasn't been a new idea in a million years", illustrated the predominance of incremental rather than radical innovation, the strategy of mimicking concept successes, and the importance of learning with other organizations through strategic alliances. A fourth theme, "you learn from your mistakes", represented the experiential nature of learning within the firm. A fifth theme, "it's one of those crystal ball kind of things" depicted the intuitive nature of personal knowledge and its limitations. Finally, the sixth theme, "a day late and a dollar short" explored how time and money pressures both enhance and hinder knowledge creation within a small business context. By comparing the themes to the conceptual framework the study concluded that small business organizations create knowledge in accordance with the nature of interpersonal interactions as they occur in context. The theoretical knowledge spiral was reconceptualized as a web structure in order to accommodate more diversity of approaches to knowledge creation and the complex nature of innovations.

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The author calls into question the primacy of the optimism/pessimism split within modern discourses on technology and suggests rather that the dominant thematic division in these discourses is that between mastery over and enslavement to technology. Each of these is criticized with respect to the faulty conception of control it implies. The author concludes with a view of technology as a social practice in order to move beyond mastery or enslavement.

Despite the predominantly negative perception that resistance adversely affects a change process, understanding it may be used to successfully implement many changes in organisations. This qualitative study identified inhibitors and enhancers, as perceived by employees with respect to the proposed implementation of a Human Resource Information System technology, at the adaptive and high-adaptive change levels. This issue was examined in the context of large-scale manufacturing company Hulett Aluminium. Based on a review of change theory, innovation diffusion and technology adoption models variables known to relate to technology change were identified and used to formulate a research framework. A quantitative computer attitude survey was initially used to identify a more representative sample frame, after which semi-structured interview techniques were utilised to collect data from eleven general employees and seven Human Resource employees. Qualitative data was analysed using content analysis, domain analysis and the constant comparative concept taken from grounded theory. The findings of this study identified clear communication and employee participation as crucial factors in implementing change at any level. The technology characteristics relative advantage, compatibility and complexity were prominent between both samples. Relative advantage was found to mediate time availability and social influence. Respondents believed trialability allowed them to become familiar with the technology. The support factor training was also dominant and found to mediate respondents' anxiety and uncertainty. The theme that computer experience mitigates anxiety was also evident. Owing to experience of poor technical support, respondents' cited it as an important variable in resistance to technology, which is evident of how experience influences perspective. This study allows researchers and change agents to understand the role individual, technological, propagation and external factors have in employees' perceived resistance to adoption of the proposed technology. By accurately gauging resistance in advance, change agents can anticipate the likely response of the organisation and thus implement appropriate strategies. The research also adds to the expanding base of research investigating resistance to technology adoption in general. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.

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