The purpose of this study was to understand online users’ behavior, preferences and perceptions in a museum’s online environment in order to design systems that support users' needs. The setting of my study was the New York Museum of Modern Art's online learning program. The study participants were undergraduate and graduate art education students enrolled in a large university in the Southeast. Several issues concerning web design emerged from the study, including the following categories: the navigational structure, content design, search engines, and the museum’s educational mission. This study used a case study methodology, which allowed me to gain direct access to participants’ behavior, preferences, and perceptions as they navigated through the museum online website.

Les systèmes de recommandation jouent un rôle important dans l'orientation des choix des utilisateurs. La recommandation se fait généralement par une optimisation d'une mesure de précision de l'adéquation entre un utilisateur et un produit. Cependant, plusieurs travaux de recherche ont montré que l’optimisation de la précision ne produisait pas les recommandations les plus utiles pour les utilisateurs. Un système trop précis peut contribuer à confiner les utilisateurs dans leur propre bulle de choix. Ceci peut aussi produire un effet de foule qui va concentrer les usages autour de quelques articles populaires. Par conséquent, il y a un manque de diversité et de nouveauté dans les recommandations et une couverture limitée du catalogue. Par ailleurs, l’utilisateur peut ressentir de la frustration envers ces recommandations monotones et arrêter de se fier au système. Ce type de recommandation va à l’antithèse de l’esprit humain qui peut être friand de nouveauté et de diversité. Même si la routine peut être sécurisante, l’être humain aime sortir des sentiers battus pour, par exemple, découvrir de nouveaux produits, tenter de nouvelles expériences. Cette absence de découverte est préjudiciable pour une plateforme numérique, surtout si cette dernière veut être équitable dans ses recommandations envers tous les producteurs de contenu (par exemple, les artistes, les écrivains, les développeurs de jeux vidéos, les vidéastes). Dans cette thèse, nous présentons deux familles de modèles qui cherchent à produire des résultats qui vont au-delà des aspects de précision pour des systèmes de recommandation pour des produits culturels basés sur le contenu. Les deux modèles que nous présentons reposent sur l’étude du profil de l’utilisateur avant de lui proposer des listes de recommandations contenant des articles nouveaux et divers. Ces approches captent la diversité qu’il y a dans le profil de l’utilisateur et répondent à cette diversité en cherchant à créer une liste diversifiée de recommandations sans trop pénaliser la précision. Le premier modèle repose principalement sur une approche de clustering. Dans ce modèle, nous proposons de la diversité à l’utilisateur tout en restant dans le périmètre de ses goûts. Le second modèle est basé sur une fonction issue de la loi normale. Nous faisons l’hypothèse de l’existence d’une zone intermédiaire définie entre des éléments considérés comme trop similaires et d’autres considérés comme trop différents. Cette zone intermédiaire est une zone propice à la découverte et à l’exploration de genres et d’expériences nouveaux. Nos propositions sont testées sur des jeux de données standards et comparées à des algorithmes de l’état de l’art. Les résultats de nos expériences montrent que nos approches apportent de la diversité et de la nouveauté et sont compétitives par rapport aux méthodes de l’état de l’art. Nous proposons également une expérience utilisateur pour valider notre modèle basé sur la fonction issue de la loi normale. Les résultats des expériences centrées sur l’utilisateur montrent que ce modèle correspond au comportement cognitif de l’être humain ainsi qu’à sa perception de la diversité. / Recommender systems play a leading role in user’s choice guidance. The search of accuracy in such systems is generally done through an optimization of a function between the items and the users. It has been proved that maximizing only the accuracy does not produce the most useful recommendation for the users. This can confine individuals inside the bubble of their own choices. Additionally, it tends to emphasize the agglomaration of the users’ behavior on few popular items. Thus, it produces a lack of diversity and novelty in recommendations and a limited coverage of the platform catalog. This can lead to an absence of discovery. Monotony and frustration are also induced for the users. This non-discovery is even more crucial if the platform wants to be fair in its recommendations with all contents’ producers (e.g, music artists, writers, video game developers or videographers). The non diversity, and novelty problem is more important for the users because it has been shown that human mind appreciates when moved outside of its comfort zone. For example, the discovery of new artists, the discovery of music genres for which he is not accustomed. In this thesis we present two families of model that aim to go beyond accuracy in content based recommender system scenario. Our two models are based on a user profile understanding prior to bring diversification. They capture the diversity in the user profile and respond to thisdiversity by looking to create a diverse list of recommendation without loosing to much accuracy. The first model is mainly built upon a clustering approach, while the second model is based on an wavelet function. This wavelet function in our model helps us delimit an area where the user will find item slightly different from what he liked in the past. This model is based on the assumption of the existence of a defined intermediate area between similar and different items. This area is also suitable for discovery. Our proposals are tested on a common experimental design that consider well-known datasets and state-of-the-art algorithm. The results of our experiments show that our approaches indeed bring diversity and novelty and are also competitive against state-of-the-art method. We also propose a user-experiment to validate our model based on the wavelet. The results of user centered experiments conclude that this model corresponds with human cognitive and perceptual behavior.

There are large groundplane variations for the folder-type mobile phone in the talk and idle conditions, which makes its embedded antennas not easy to maintain good radiation characteristics in the two states. The radiation efficiencies in the idle condition are often less than 15%. To solve this problem, two novel antennas for the folder-type mobile phone are proposed. The first antenna is the coplanar coupled-fed planar inverted-F antenna. The antenna can cover GSM850/900/DCS/PCS operation in the talk condition, and the radiation efficiencies over the desired operating bands in the idle condition is larger than 32%, which is acceptable for practical applications for the folder-type mobile phone. The second antenna is the ultra-wideband coupled-fed loop antenna. The antenna can cover GSM850/900/DCS/PCS/UMTS penta-band operation in the talk condition. In the idle condition, good performances over the five operating bands can still be obtained, and the radiation efficiencies are better than 53%. The effects of the housing and the user's hand and head on the antenna are also studied. From the obtained results, it is seen that the effects of the housing on the radiation efficiencies are small. However, since the user's hand and head are high-loss materials, large decrease in the radiation efficiencies is usually observed.

Nesta dissertação foi desenvolvida uma análise contrastiva entre manuais de usuários de eletrodomésticos em inglês estadunidense e suas traduções para o português brasileiro. O principal objetivo desta análise foi identificar como as condicionantes culturais se expressam nas orientações de segurança de cada um dos textos analisados, baseando-se na ideia disseminada por Azenha Jr. (1996) de que textos especializados não são áridos nem sem criatividade. Para isso, partimos de uma análise funcionalista, baseada em Reiss e Vermeer (1984), e das análises de Moreira (2014) e Snell-Hornby (2006), para destacar o conceito de texto como expressão cultural, adequada a uma determinada função. De maneira geral, os resultados da análise indicaram que as orientações de segurança manifestam a cultura do país ao qual pertencem e evidenciam como o perigo é visto nos Estados Unidos e no Brasil. Observou-se também que os manuais traduzidos em português verbalizam o óbvio mais do que os manuais em inglês; além de serem mais enfáticos, evidenciam a preocupação com a segurança elétrica do consumidor, levam em consideração hábitos do povo brasileiro e mencionam, com frequência, a figura das crianças e de pessoas com deficiência. / In this dissertation, we conducted a contrastive analysis between domestic appliances user\'s guide in American English and their translations in Brazilian Portuguese. The main objective of this study was to identify the cultural practices expressed in the security guidelines of each one of the texts, based on the idea brought by Azenha Junior (1996) which specialized texts are not arid and that they do not lack creativity. Our starting point was a functionalist analysis, based on Reiss and Vermeer (1984), and the analyzes made by Moreira (2014) and Snell-Hornby (2006), in order to highlight the concept of texts being a cultural expression that have a certain function. In general, the results of the analysis indicated that the security guidelines manifested the culture of the country they were from, while showing how danger is seen in the United States and in Brazil. It was also observed that the user\'s guide translated into Portuguese verbalized the obvious more than the user\'s guide in English; they also highlighted the concern about safety against electric shock, besides being more emphatic, taking into account the habits of Brazilian people and mentioning children and people with disabilities a number of times.

The evolution of mobile-phone technologies such as Smartphones Applications and Services enabled the emergence of digital and smart economies, governments and nations. Many developed and developing countries, like Oman, have considerably invested in the area of Smart Technologies, and initiated countless number of projects such as Smart Governments, also known as Mobile or M-Government, to provide timely, secure, satisfactory and high quality of services for the citizens, businesses and other governmental agencies. Although many scholars have investigated this area of interest with huge amount of efforts, the adoption and actual use of M-Government applications and services, remain problematic and face many challenges. In this area of interest, two major themes of research were reported in the literature: User-centred (i.e., Human-Computer Interaction perspective) and System-centred (i.e., Software Engineering perspective). The first theme remains a hot area of interest mainly due to the importance of the role of end-users in the adoption and success of the new technologies like M-Government. Therefore, this study attempted to develop and empirically validate a novel Mobile Government Adoption Model (titled: MGAM) within the culture of Oman. The MGAM model integrates a well-known theory in this domain, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), with other theories including Psychometric Paradigm Theory (PPT), Customer Culture Theory (CCT) and Personality Trait Theory (PTT) to identify key factors related to the end-users or citizens; those included their Perception of Risk, Culture and Personality Trait. The study adopted quantitative research with Survey method as a research strategy for data collection and quantitative methodology for data analysis. A new data collection instrument was developed for the purpose of this study and distributed through online facilities to collect data about the variables of the MGAM Model from Users in Oman using the M-Government applications and services. Around 450 samples (302 males and 148 females) were collected and considered for the purpose of data analysis in this study. Several statistical tools and means have been used to analyse the data and valuate the MGAM model including Descriptive and Inferential Statistic, Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), Comparative Fit Index Analysis, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) with Statistical Software Applications, SPSS and AMOS Applications. The study revealed that most of the users in Oman using M-Government applications and services were very positive about the Perceived Ease of Use and the Perceived Usefulness of the technology with very positive Attitude and Behavioural Intention towards this technology. The findings also showed that the research participants have a slightly negative Perception of Risk when using the M-Government applications and services in Oman, and positive perception of Culture in this domain. With reference to the MGAM Model, the model was tested and validated, and the findings indicated that the Personality Trait moderator can strengthen the link between Behavioural Intention and Actual Use of the technology. Based on the findings, the study provided key recommendations for the governmental personnel dealing with the development of M-Government applications and services in Oman, and for public users in Oman. Among those, the study recommends for considering this initiative in Oman as a real and strategic shift in public administration, and to make easy, flexible and dynamic M-Government applications and services through taking into account cultural issues and user-related preferences. The study also recommended offering more than a service in one visit by the users, providing information prior to services and training governmental employees on this technology. The main contribution of this work is the development and validation of a new adoption model in the area of M-Government, the MGAM model. Theoretically, the MGAM Model extends the TAM Model through the integration process with with other theories including PPT, CCT and PTT to identify new key factors with impact on the adoption of M-Government infrastructure. This work also makes a novel contribution in terms of research methodology by developing and applying a new data collection tool, i.e., Mobile Government Adoption Questionnaire. This tool can be used by other researchers to collect data on the same research problem from contexts similar to the Omani one. Practically, this work attempted to identify the key prerequisites for the adoption and actual use of technology in the area of public services administration, and then making contribution towards the success of M-Government initiatives. The use of different tests and methods to statistically understand how the Omani end-users make decisions on the use of M-Government is also a novel practical contribution of this work.

Ces deux dernières décennies les systèmes P2P de partage de fichiers sont devenus très populaires grâce aux accès à des ressources diverses, distribuées sur Internet. Parallèlement à l'évolution de cette catégorie de systèmes, les dispositifs mobiles (téléphones cellulaires, PDA et autres appareils portatifs) ont eu un grand succès sur le marché. Équipés d'une technologie de communication sans fil (Bluetooth, et Wifi), ils peuvent communiquer sans nécessiter une infrastructure particulière en utilisant un réseau mobile adhoc (Mobile Adhoc NETwork -MANET). De la même manière, les systèmes P2P peuvent être aussi déployés sur ce type de réseau et deviennent des systèmes P2P mobiles (Mobile 2P systems). Dans le cadre de cette thèse, nous nous intéressons essentiellement à la recherche d'information dans les systèmes P2P et plus précisément au problème de routage de requêtes. La première partie de la thèse, s'est focalisée sur le routage de requêtes dans les systèmes P2P sur Internet. Nous avons proposé (i) un modèle de routage sémantique basé sur l'historique des requêtes. Ce modèle est ensuite instancié pour définir une nouvelle méthode de routage par apprentissage. Pour pallier le problème de démarrage à froid, (ii) nous avons proposé une méthode prédictive de l'intention de l'utilisateur qui construit une base de connaissances à priori pour chaque pair. Enfin, (iii) nous avons proposé une méthode de routage hybride pour traiter le problème d'échec de sélection. Cette méthode est basée sur l'historique des requêtes et le regroupement de pairs dans des groupes sémantiques. La deuxième partie de la thèse, s'est focalisée sur le routage de requêtes dans les systèmes P2P mobiles. L'apparition des MANETs, a soulevé de nouveaux challenges de routage. Ces réseaux souffrent de plusieurs contraintes liées aux supports de transmission ou bien aux dispositifs mobiles. Dans ce cadre, nous avons proposé une méthode de routage pour les systèmes P2P non structurés mobiles basée sur le contexte de l'utilisateur. D'un point de vue technique, toutes ces propositions ont été développées, validées et évaluées grâce aux simulateurs PeerSim et NS2 / Peer-to-peer systems have emerged as platforms for users to search and share information over the Internet. In fact, thanks to these systems, user can share various resources, send queries to search and locate resources shared by other users. Nowadays, mobile and wireless technology has achieved great progress. These devices are also equipped with low radio range technology, like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, etc. By means of the low radio range technology, they can communicate with each other without using communication infrastructure (e.g. Internet network) and form a mobile ad hoc network (MANET). Hence, P2P file sharing systems can be also deployed over MANET. A challenging problem in unstructured P2P systems is query routing. Researches' efficiency and effectiveness can be improved by making smart decisions for query routing. Our contributions, in this thesis, focus on two complementary axes. Firstly, our research work focalized on P2P systems over Internet. We introduced a novel semantic model for query routing based on past queries, thereafter we instantiated this model to define our specific routing method. In addition, we addressed two difficult challenging problems: (i) the bootstraping (ii) the unsuccessful relevant peers search. Secondly, we are focalized on P2P systems over MANET. Due the nature of MANET, mobile P2P systems suffer from several constraints of wireless medium and energy-limited. Indeed, query routing methods proposed for P2P system over Internet cannot be applied. In this context, we proposed a context-aware integrated routing method for P2P file sharing systems over MANET. The different contributions are developed, validated and evaluated with the network simulators PeerSim and NS2

In this dissertation, EMC antennas for mobile communication device applications are proposed. This kind of EMC antennas can overcome the problem that happens to the conventional antenna; in practical application, when electronic components are placed very close to the conventional antenna, large degradation of the antenna performance will occur. In the proposed EMC antennas, by adding a vertical antenna ground plane functioning as a shielding metal wall, EM coupling between the EMC antenna and nearby components can be reduced. Thus, it leads to no degradation or only negligible variations of the antenna performance. Also, the concept of EMC antennas can be applied to the monopole antenna. One of the examples suitable for the future thin (< 10 mm) mobile communication device is demonstrated. Further, the user¡¦s hand effects on EMC antenna performance are analyzed. Even when the mobile phone is hand-held at the bottom, large radiation efficiency drops are observed, especially for the GSM band.

E-health is an emerging field in the intersection of information systems, healthcare and business management, referring mainly to healthcare services delivered and enhanced through the use of information and communication technologies (ICT). In a broader sense, the term characterizes not only a technical development, but also a wider way of thinking, an attitude, and a commitment for a network to improve and connect provider, patients and governments. Such a network will be used to educate and inform healthcare professionals, managers and healthcare users; to stimulate innovation in care delivery and health system management; and to improve the healthcare system locally, regionally, and globally. The evaluation of e-health services in both theory and practice has proved to be important and complex. E-health evaluation will help achieve better user services utilization, justify the enormous investments of governments on delivering e-health services, and address the aspects that are hampering healthcare services from embracing the full potential of ICT towards successful e-health initiatives. The complexity of evaluation is mostly due to the challenges faced at the intersection of three areas, each well-known for its complexity; healthcare services, information systems, and evaluation methodologies. However, despite the importance of the evaluation of e-health services, literature shows that e-health evaluation is still in its infancy in terms of development and management. The aim of this research study is to develop, and assess a cross disciplinary evaluation framework for e-health services and to propose evaluation criteria for better user’s utilization and satisfaction of e-health services. The evaluation framework is criteria based, while the criteria are determined by an evaluation matrix of three elements, the evaluation rationales, the evaluation timeframes, and the evaluation stakeholders. The evaluation criteria have to be multi-dimensional as well as grounded in, or derived from, one or more specific perspectives or theories. The framework is designed to deal effectively with the challenges of e-health evaluation and overcome the limitation of existing evaluation frameworks. The cross disciplinary evaluation framework has been examined and validated by adopting an interpretive case study methodology. The chosen case study is NHS direct which is currently one of the largest e-health services in the world. The data collection process has been carried out by using three research methods; archival records, documentation analysis and semi-structured interviews. The use of multiple methods is essential to generate comparable data patterns and structures, and enhance the reliability of conclusions through data triangulation. The contribution of the research study is in bridging the gap between the theory and practice in the evaluation of e-health services by providing an efficient evaluation framework that can be applied to a wide range of e-health application and able to answer real-world concerns. The study also offers three sets of well-argued and balanced hierarchies of evaluation criteria that influence user’s utilization and satisfaction of e-health services. The evaluation criteria can be used to help achieve better user services utilization, to serve as part of e-health evaluation framework, and to address areas that require further attention in the development of future e-health initiatives.

Wind power is often presented as a technique for energy production with many environmental benefits, especially since it does not emit any carbon dioxide. Most people are generally positive towards wind power. But when a wind farm is to be implemented on a local level, often resistance occurs. This study investigates how and why local perceptions of a wind farm differ. A qualitative method using interviews was chosen, and the focus has been on an area where a wind farm was planned. The results reveal that advocates have a users’ perspective on nature, while opponents have a conservation perspective. Advocates believe wind power can contribute to a better environment, while opponents believe that preserving natural areas is the best for the environment. Moreover, living in a calm landscape is part of the opponents’ identity, while the identities of the advocates, who often are active farmers, are connected to their ability to live from the land. Thirdly, whether a person recognizes the need for a change towards a renewable energy system or not also matters for the attitude. According to previous research, a person’s relationship to the landscape is of crucial importance for her/his attitude towards wind power implementation, and this is confirmed in the current study. Research also stresses that the visual impact of wind turbines is usually what creates most resistance, but this is not supported. The roles of information and citizen participation, which previous research found significant, are not confirmed as important either: Both were deficient, but this study cannot determine whether a better managed planning process would have made some of the interviewees more positive to it or not. Definitely, the claims from earlier research that Not-In-My-Back-Yard (NIMBY) motives are rarely the reason for resistance are supported.

Orientador: Gimol Benzaquen Perosa / Banca: Vera Lúcia Pamplona Tonete / Banca: Ione Morita / Banca: Maria Aparecida Crepaldi / Banca: Rosana de Fátima Possobon / Resumo: Com a implantação da Estratégia de Saúde da Família em âmbito nacional, várias ações foram propostas oficialmente, visando a promoção e atenção global à saúde da criança. Apesar de resultados ainda controversos, registrou-se um decréscimo no quadro geral da mortalidade infantil e resultados positivos de outros indicadores de saúde: aumento do aleitamento materno exclusivo e da cobertura vacinal, declínio das taxas de desnutrição infantil em menores de 2 anos, além do aumento da cobertura de consultas de pré-natal. Considerando que a organização das ações de saúde também deve contemplar a perspectiva do usuário, o presente trabalho pretendeu apreender as percepções das mães de crianças menores de cinco anos, usuárias de unidades de saúde da família de Botucatu-SP sobre a atenção à saúde infantil, contemplando aspectos organizacionais, profissionais e relacionais. Para tanto, foram selecionadas duas unidades de saúde da família, com diferentes tempos de implantação. Os dados foram coletados a partir de quatro grupos focais, abordando os temas acima referidos. Em cada uma das unidades foram compostos 2 grupos: um com mães de crianças de até 1 ano de idade e o outro por mães de crianças de 1 ano até 5 anos de idade. O tratamento dos dados, de natureza qualitativa, foi feito por meio de Análise de Conteúdo Temático. A partir da análise dos dados obtidos nos quatro grupos focais percebeu-se que o ideário do modelo tradicional, focado no atendimento às queixas dos usuários e em oferta de ações curativas, tendo o médico e suas especialidades como figura central do atendimento, ainda é muito prevalente para as mães. Desta forma, a maioria das demandas como dificuldade de conseguir consultas eventuais, grande espaçamento das consultas de rotina para crianças menores de 1 ano e longo tempo de espera foram relacionadas a ausência de ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Since the Family Health Strategy was implemented nationwide, several actions have been officially proposed in order to promote global healthcare for children. Although results remain surrounded by controversy, a decrease in overall child mortality and positive results regarding other health indicators such as increase in the rates of exclusive breastfeeding and vaccine coverage, decrease in malnutrition among children under two years, and increase in coverage of prenatal care have been reported. Considering that the organization of health actions should also take into account the user's viewpoint, this study aimed at assessing the organizational, professional and relational aspects of child healthcare according to the perceptions of mothers of under-five children attending the family health units located in Botucatu-SP. Thus, two family healthcare units implemented at different times were selected. Study data were collected from four focal groups - two groups from each unit, one consisting of mothers of children at 0-1-years, and the other including mothers of children aged 1-5 years. Qualitative data were evaluated by theme-based content analysis. Analysis of the data obtained from all four focal groups revealed that the traditional model in which physicians in their specialties play the central role focusing on dealing with patients' complaints and offering curative actions still prevails among the participating mothers. Therefore, most demands, such as difficulty in scheduling appointments, long intervals between routine visits for children under one year, and long waiting time, were related to absence of pediatricians in family health units, revealing poor acceptance of the nursing staff and limited understanding of the role of the health community agent. The referral/counter-referral system and medication supply were negatively rated, whereas the location of the units, ... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre