The constitution of the Republic of South Africa has mandated government to keep in touch with the citizens, by regularly updating them on the services available for the improvement of their lives, and further to constantly report back on progress made in implementing government policies. In recent years, the country has been experiencing sporadic service delivery protests especially at the local sphere of government (municipal level). The aim of the study was therefore to examine the success of the communication and information system of the South African government in disseminating information to citizens. The area of the study was the Province of Mpumalanga which is one (1) of the nine (9) provinces constituting the Republic of South Africa. For the study, quantitative research method in the form of a survey was adopted, the hypothesis tested and the findings generalised. In creating a sample frame for the study, both probability and non-probability sampling techniques were adopted. The type of data collection instrument adopted was a structured questionnaire. Single-stage cluster sampling was adopted for heads of government communication whereas judgemental or purposive sampling technique was adopted for citizens. Data was analysed utilising data tabulation, descriptives, and data disaggregation quantitative data analysis procedures. The key findings of the study, amongst others, are: (a) That the current communication and information system being utilised by the South African government has an impact (it has improved communication with citizens); (b) That the citizens prefer government to communicate with them in their own indigenous languages (communicating in all eleven (11) official languages); (c) That the citizens prefer face-to-face communication; (d) That citizens would like to receive government messages via social media (given its immediacy and interactivity); and (e) That the low status of the communication function at the local government level denies communicators access to information to be communicated. Amongst others, the study recommends that (1) communication should be recognised as a strategic management function in all spheres of government; (2) the use of radio as the primary channel of information should be strengthened; (3) face-to-face communication with citizens should be strengthened; (4) information dissemination should be done in all eleven (11) official languages, including in Braille and sign-language; (5) social media and SMS notification should be included in the government communication policy as one of its official information dissemination channels. / Communication Science / M.A. (Communication)

The constitution of the Republic of South Africa has mandated government to keep in touch with the citizens, by regularly updating them on the services available for the improvement of their lives, and further to constantly report back on progress made in implementing government policies. In recent years, the country has been experiencing sporadic service delivery protests especially at the local sphere of government (municipal level). The aim of the study was therefore to examine the success of the communication and information system of the South African government in disseminating information to citizens. The area of the study was the Province of Mpumalanga which is one (1) of the nine (9) provinces constituting the Republic of South Africa. For the study, quantitative research method in the form of a survey was adopted, the hypothesis tested and the findings generalised. In creating a sample frame for the study, both probability and non-probability sampling techniques were adopted. The type of data collection instrument adopted was a structured questionnaire. Single-stage cluster sampling was adopted for heads of government communication whereas judgemental or purposive sampling technique was adopted for citizens. Data was analysed utilising data tabulation, descriptives, and data disaggregation quantitative data analysis procedures. The key findings of the study, amongst others, are: (a) That the current communication and information system being utilised by the South African government has an impact (it has improved communication with citizens); (b) That the citizens prefer government to communicate with them in their own indigenous languages (communicating in all eleven (11) official languages); (c) That the citizens prefer face-to-face communication; (d) That citizens would like to receive government messages via social media (given its immediacy and interactivity); and (e) That the low status of the communication function at the local government level denies communicators access to information to be communicated. Amongst others, the study recommends that (1) communication should be recognised as a strategic management function in all spheres of government; (2) the use of radio as the primary channel of information should be strengthened; (3) face-to-face communication with citizens should be strengthened; (4) information dissemination should be done in all eleven (11) official languages, including in Braille and sign-language; (5) social media and SMS notification should be included in the government communication policy as one of its official information dissemination channels. / Communication Science / M. A. (Communication)

This thesis is a contribution to design-led research and addresses a readership in the fields of architecture as well as in media and communications. In juxtaposing the tools of the designer (e.g. drafting, prototyping, visual/textual/spatial forms of montage) with those of architectural theory, this thesis seeks to extend the disciplinary boundaries of architecture by observing its assimilation of other media practices. Its primary contribution is to architectural design and theory, and its aims are twofold: Firstly, this thesis applies the concepts of virtual and mediated space to architecture, proposing an extended architectural practice that assimilates the concept of remote presence. Through realized design examples as well as through the history and theory of related concepts, the thesis explores what designing mediated spaces and designing for presence entails for the practicing architect. As a fusion of architecture and media technology, video-mediated spaces facilitate collaborative practices across spatial extensions while simultaneously fostering novel and environmentally sustainable modes of communication. The impact of presence design on workplace design is examined. As an extended practice also calls for an extended discourse, a preliminary conceptual toolbox is proposed. Concepts are adapted from related visual practices and tested on design prototypes, which arise from the author’s extensive experience in designing work and learning spaces. Secondly, this thesis outlines presence design as a transdisciplinary aesthetic practice and discusses the potential contribution of architects to a currently heterogeneous research field, which spans media space research, cognitive science, (tele)presence research, interaction design, ubiquitous computing, second-order cybernetics, and computer-supported collaborative work. In spite of such diversity, design and artistic practices are insufficiently represented in the field. This thesis argues that presence research and its discourse is characterised by sharp disciplinary boundaries and thereby identifies a conceptual gap: presence research typically fails to integrate aesthetic concepts that can be drawn from architecture and related visual practices. It is an important purpose of this thesis to synthesize such concepts into a coherent discourse. Finally, the thesis argues that remote presence through the proposed synthesis of architectural and technical design creates a significantly expanded potential for knowledge sharing across time and space, with potential to expand the practice and theory of architecture itself. The author’s design-led research shows that mediated spaces can provide sufficient audiovisual information about the remote space(s) and other person(s), allowing the subtleties of nonverbal communication to inform the interaction. Further, in designing for presence, certain spatial features have an effect on the user’s ability to experience a mediated spatial extension, which in turn, facilitates mediated presence. These spatial features play an important role in the process through which trust is negotiated, and hence has an impact on knowledge sharing. Mediated presence cannot be ensured by design, but by acknowledging the role of spatial design in mediated spaces, the presence designer can monitor and, in effect, seek to reduce the ‘friction’ that otherwise may inhibit the experience of mediated presence. The notion of ‘friction’ is borrowed from a context of knowledge sharing in collaborative work practices. My expanded use of the term ‘design friction’ is used to identify spatial design features which, unaddressed, may be said to impose friction and thus inhibit and impact negatively on the experience of presence. A conceptual tool-box for presence design is proposed, consisting of the following design concepts: mediated gaze, spatial montage, active spectatorship, mutual gaze, shared mediated space, offscreen space, lateral and peripheral awareness, framing and transparency. With their origins in related visual practices these emerge from the evolution of the concept of presence across a range of visual cultures, illuminating the centrality of presence design in design practice, be it in the construction of virtual pictorial space in Renaissance art or the generative design experiments of prototypical presence designers, such as Cedric Price, Gordon Pask and numerous researchers at MIT Media Lab, Stanford Institute and Xerox PARC. / QC 20100909

Entre 1960 i 1978 Manuel Vázquez Montalbán assoleix una primera identitat professional a la premsa. Estudia Periodisme i treballa a dues publicacions del 'Movimiento', però una estada a la presó per un delicte polític l'obliga a començar de nou el 1965. A continuació s'acosta a l'anàlisi de la informació Internacional (Siglo20, Tele/eXpres) i evoluciona, segons ho permet l'incert ambient polític, cap a la columna (Triunfo, Arreu, Mundo Diario), l'espai periodístic on s'instal.larà a la transició (La Calle, El Periódico). L'eina fonamental d'aquest trànsit professional és l'humor (Hogares Modernos, Triunfo, Por Favor, Interviú), el reportatge d'ordre sociològic (Triunfo) i el domini de la ficció, els recursos amb què Vázquez Montalbán treballa durant els primers anys 70, quan opina en boca de personatges i signaturas inventades, fins que finalment pot fer-ho sense embuts, un cop derogada la llei de Premsa de 1966. Passa el dia a les redaccions, participa dels problemes i les tensions de la professió i fins i tot dirigeix algunes revistes. A partir de 1979, en guanyar el premi Planeta, redueix la dedicació al periodisme per deixar espai a la narrativa de ficció. / Between 1960 and 1978 Manuel Vázquez Montalbán starts to make a professional name for himself in the press. He studies journalism and works in two publications of the Movement', but a stay in prison for a political crime forces him to start over again in 1965. On leaving prison he chooses to analyse international information (Siglo20, Tele/eXpres) and in the uncertain political environment of late francoism moves towards working as a political columnist (Triunfo, Arreu, Mundo Diario) and those newspaper that established themselves during the transition period (La Calle, El Periódico). Humour is the common denominator during this phase (Hogares Modernos, Triunfo, Por Favor, Interviú), sociological stories (Triunfo) and the prevalence of fiction, the resources with which Vázquez Montalbán works during the early 70s, when he speaks through invented characters and false signatures until he could eventually do so with no holds barred once the 1966 Press Law is repealed. He lives journalism to the full spending all day in newsrooms and being fully involved in all the problems and stresses of the profession and even edits some magazines. After 1979, after winning the Planeta Prize he reduces his commitment to journalism to make space for narrative fiction.

L’apparition de la télé-échographie à la fin des années 1990 a largement contribué à l’améliorationdes capacités de prise en charge des patients. Aujourd’hui, le laboratoire PRISME bénéficie d’unsavoir faire reconnu dans la conception de systèmes de télé-échographie robotisée. L’objectif deces travaux de thèse est d’apporter une contribution scientifique et technique au projet ANR-PROSIT,qui vise à la mise en oeuvre d’un robot de télé-échographie innovant. Une étude du geste du praticienen milieu clinique a été menée afin d’en déterminer les caractéristiques cinématiques. Réalisée àl’aide du système de capture de mouvement Vicon Nexus, cette analyse a contribué à l’établissementdes spécifications du futur robot. Sa structure mécanique a fait l’objet d’une attention particulière. Unearchitecture parallèle sphérique a été sélectionnée, étudiée puis optimisée via un algorithmegénétique en fonction des critères d’espace de travail, de dextérité et de compacité. L’architectureainsi obtenue est ensuite analysée sur des aspects de collisions et d’inaccessibilité. Pour le contrôlede ce robot, l’utilisation d’une interface haptique à l’aspect proche d’une sonde d’échographie estproposée. Dotée d’un système de retour d’effort et d’une centrale inertielle fiabilisée par un filtre deKalman adaptatif, cette nouvelle interface a été testée et validée par le système Vicon Nexus. / Since the end of the nineties, the tele-echography has been contributing to improve the taking carecapacities of patients. Today, the PRISME laboratory has a recognized expertise in the design ofrobotic tele-echography systems. The objective of this thesis is to provide scientific and technicalsupport to the ANR-PROSIT project. It aims to design of an innovative tele-echography robot. Anexpert gesture study has been carried out in clinical environment to determine its kinematiccharacteristics. It has been performed using the motion capture system Vicon Nexus and itcontributed to establish the specifications of the future robot. The mechanic structure of this robot hasbeen minutely taken in consideration. The spherical parallel mechanism has been selected, studiedand optimized using a genetic algorithm with respect of criterion such as workspace, dexterity andcompacity. The resulted architecture is then analyzed regarding collisions and inaccessibilityaspects. To control this robot, the use of a haptic device with the same shape of an ultrasound probeis proposed. It provides force feedback and it is instrumented with an inertial measurement unit,processed by an adaptative Kalman filter. This new interface has been tested and validated by ViconNexus system.

A qualitative study of the experiences and observations of 4 art therapists and 2 program directors who facilitated Camp Suzanne, a week-long art-based therapeutic program for incarcerated mothers and their children in a federal prison in California. Research on psychotherapy, art therapy, and family therapy in prison environments, with a focus on parent-child dyads, Attachment Theory, and various techniques for creating sustainable therapy with separated family units, including tele-mental health and evidence-based military protocols, informed the interviews. The research participants were interviewed individually and created art regarding the subjects of Attachment Theory with incarcerated-mother-child dyads and longevity considerations for the program. Emergent themes in the data included the impact of art-making on attachment and a variety of observable attachment styles, as well as obstacles to both attachment and longevity of Camp Suzanne. Some of the obstacles addressed include systemic challenges, continuity of care, location concerns, external support (for facilitators and for incarcerated-mother-child dyads), as well as preparatory support (psychoeducation). Various implications of these obstacles are discussed.