COMUNICAÇÃO E INOVAÇÃO EM PORTAIS CORPORATIVOS Os casos da Embraer, Natura, Faber-Castell e Rigesa

O trabalho analisa a relação entre Comunicação e Inovação nos Portais Corporativos das empresas Embraer, Natura, Faber-Castell e Rigesa. Ou seja, como essas instituições inovam em suas comunicações no meio on-line e como divulgam o conteúdo sobre Inovação. Estas empresas foram selecionadas como corpus central da pesquisa por estarem entre as mais inovadoras do Brasil, de acordo com a primeira versão do Índice Brasil de Inovação de 2007. A metodologia central para o desenvolvimento do projeto é a de Estudos de Caso Múltiplos, a partir da qual foi feita a comparação da comunicação digital por meio dos portais corporativos. Também são utilizados os recursos da Análise de Conteúdo e da Análise do Discurso. A proposta inclui também o exame da utilização das Tecnologias da Informação e Comunicação para a veiculação de informações institucionais e sobre Inovação por meio das Salas de Imprensa. E ainda, são destacadas as características dos profissionais responsáveis pela gestão dos portais corporativos. Os resultados da pesquisa evidenciam que há uma contradição entre as empresas serem inovadoras em produtos e processos, mas não no planejamento, gestão, arquitetura e divulgação da imagem institucional e de informações sobre inovação por meio dos portais corporativos. Revela ainda um nicho de mercado que precisa de profissionais especializados.(AU)

Munkahelyi tanulást befolyásoló tényezők – humán-számítógép együttműködés vizsgálata (Influencing factors of on-the-job learning – Analysis of human-computer collaboration)

A komplex, dinamikus, tudásalapú társadalomban nemcsak a tanulás formái, hanem a tanulás helyszínei is módosulnak, s a munkahely tanulásban betöltött szerepe felértékelődött. A munkahelyi környezet is számos átalakuláson esett át, az információs és kommunikációs technológiák (IKT) fejlődésével egyidejűleg lehetővé vált többek között a távmunka, jelentősen átformálva a munkavégzés és a munkahelyi interakciók módját. A kutatók arra keresték a választ kutatásukban, hogy a szervezeten belül milyen tényezők támogatják vagy gátolják a munkahelyi tanulást. A kutatás fő üzenete, hogy a tanulás keretrendszere, az egyéni képességek és az észlelt tanulási szituáció együttesen határozza meg a munkahelyi tanulást. A kutatók eredményüket kvalitatív kutatással feltárt három esettanulmányon keresztül ismertetik. ____ In a knowledge-based society not only the forms of learning have been changed but also the places of learning. The role of workplace in the learning process is becoming more important. Meantime, there has been a substantial change in the working conditions as the development in information and communication technologies (ICTs) makes it possible to telecommute transforming remarkably the way of working and the interactions at the workplace. The central question of the research is which intra-organizational factors support or hinder onthe- job learning. The main message of the research is that the learning framework, the individual cognitive competences and the perceived learning situation influence collectively on-the-job learning. Authors present the results of the qualitative research though three case studies.

Digital and Social Inequalities : A Qualitative Assessment of the Impact of the Connecting Equality Program on Argentinean Youth

This paper focuses on the ties between social and digital inequalities among Argentinean youth. It uses a qualitative approach to explore different aspects of the everyday lives of adolescents, such as sociability, leisure time and family use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), in order to assess the impact of the Connecting Equality Program (Programa Conectar Igualdad, PCI) on reducing digital inequalities and fostering social inclusion. What were the existing conditions of access for students and their families when the PCI was first implemented? What influence does the implementation of the PCI have on the individual, family and scholastic appropriation of ICTs? How does the use of computers and the Internet vary among youth? Has this large-scale incorporation of netbooks in schools, and especially homes and free time changed it in any way? Does the appropriation of ICTs through student participation in the PCI contribute to material and symbolic social inclusion? In order to answer these questions, we compare the processes of ICT appropriation among lower and middle class adolescents, focusing on the distinctive uses and meanings assigned to computers and the Internet by boys and girls in their daily lives. For this purpose we analyze data collected through semi-structured interviews in two schools in Greater La Plata, Argentina during 2012. The main findings show that in terms of access, skills and types of use, the implementation of the PCI has had a positive impact among lower class youth, guaranteeing access to their first computers and promoting the sharing of knowledge and digital skills with family members. Moreover, evidence of more diverse and intense use of ICTs among lower class students reveals the development of digital skills related to educational activities. Finally, in terms of sociability, having a personal netbook enables access to information and cultural goods which are very significant in generating ties and strengthening identities and social integration

Digital and Social Inequalities : A Qualitative Assessment of the Impact of the Connecting Equality Program on Argentinean Youth

This paper focuses on the ties between social and digital inequalities among Argentinean youth. It uses a qualitative approach to explore different aspects of the everyday lives of adolescents, such as sociability, leisure time and family use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), in order to assess the impact of the Connecting Equality Program (Programa Conectar Igualdad, PCI) on reducing digital inequalities and fostering social inclusion. What were the existing conditions of access for students and their families when the PCI was first implemented? What influence does the implementation of the PCI have on the individual, family and scholastic appropriation of ICTs? How does the use of computers and the Internet vary among youth? Has this large-scale incorporation of netbooks in schools, and especially homes and free time changed it in any way? Does the appropriation of ICTs through student participation in the PCI contribute to material and symbolic social inclusion? In order to answer these questions, we compare the processes of ICT appropriation among lower and middle class adolescents, focusing on the distinctive uses and meanings assigned to computers and the Internet by boys and girls in their daily lives. For this purpose we analyze data collected through semi-structured interviews in two schools in Greater La Plata, Argentina during 2012. The main findings show that in terms of access, skills and types of use, the implementation of the PCI has had a positive impact among lower class youth, guaranteeing access to their first computers and promoting the sharing of knowledge and digital skills with family members. Moreover, evidence of more diverse and intense use of ICTs among lower class students reveals the development of digital skills related to educational activities. Finally, in terms of sociability, having a personal netbook enables access to information and cultural goods which are very significant in generating ties and strengthening identities and social integration

Digital and Social Inequalities : A Qualitative Assessment of the Impact of the Connecting Equality Program on Argentinean Youth

This paper focuses on the ties between social and digital inequalities among Argentinean youth. It uses a qualitative approach to explore different aspects of the everyday lives of adolescents, such as sociability, leisure time and family use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), in order to assess the impact of the Connecting Equality Program (Programa Conectar Igualdad, PCI) on reducing digital inequalities and fostering social inclusion. What were the existing conditions of access for students and their families when the PCI was first implemented? What influence does the implementation of the PCI have on the individual, family and scholastic appropriation of ICTs? How does the use of computers and the Internet vary among youth? Has this large-scale incorporation of netbooks in schools, and especially homes and free time changed it in any way? Does the appropriation of ICTs through student participation in the PCI contribute to material and symbolic social inclusion? In order to answer these questions, we compare the processes of ICT appropriation among lower and middle class adolescents, focusing on the distinctive uses and meanings assigned to computers and the Internet by boys and girls in their daily lives. For this purpose we analyze data collected through semi-structured interviews in two schools in Greater La Plata, Argentina during 2012. The main findings show that in terms of access, skills and types of use, the implementation of the PCI has had a positive impact among lower class youth, guaranteeing access to their first computers and promoting the sharing of knowledge and digital skills with family members. Moreover, evidence of more diverse and intense use of ICTs among lower class students reveals the development of digital skills related to educational activities. Finally, in terms of sociability, having a personal netbook enables access to information and cultural goods which are very significant in generating ties and strengthening identities and social integration

LA GLOBALIZACIÓN DE LA INFORMACIÓN EN LOS PAÍSES DE LA UNIÓN EUROPEA

Podemos considerar la Globalización como el fenómeno más relevante y definitorio de nuestra sociedad contemporánea. El concepto que desde una perspectiva exclusivamente económica alude a la internacionalización de los mercados, se caracteriza por una serie de factores como la eliminación de fronteras en los ámbitos financieros y comerciales, la libre circulación de capitales, servicios y personas, así como interacción entre países y regiones del mundo a través de las nuevas infraestructuras de comunicación.El proceso de globalización de la sociedad ha precisado de una infraestructura que lo sustentase. La posibilidad de acceder y disponer de la información desde cualquier parte del planeta, así como la facilidad para compartirla y distribuirla no hubiera sido posible sin la creación y desarrollo de las nuevas tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones (TIC), de tal manera que la globalización es un fenómeno totalmente ligado a lo que se ha venido denominando ―Sociedad de laInformación‖.

Multi-agent approach for enhancing security of protection schemes in cyber-physical energy systems

This paper presents a distributed multi-agent scheme to detect and identify cyber threats on the protection systems of power grids. The integration of information and communication technologies (ICTs) into existing power grids builds critical cyberphysical energy systems CPESs) in which digital relays are networked cyber-physical components subject to various cyber threats. Cyber attacks on protection systems may mimic real faults, cause component failure, and disable the communication links. Agents utilize both cyber and physical properties to reinforce the detection technique and further distinguish cyber attacks from physical faults. This paper also introduces the problem of secure communicationprotocols and highlights the comparative studies for enhancing thesecurity of the protection systems. The proposed scheme is validatedusing a benchmark power system under various fault and cyber attack scenarios.

ESL teacher profiles of ICT integration in their classroom practices and assessment activities : a portrait viewed through the lens of some Quebec teachers’ social representations

Abstract : Information and communication technologies (ICTs, henceforth) have become ubiquitous in our society. The plethora of devices competing with the computer, from iPads to the Interactive whiteboard, just to name a few, has provided teachers and students alike with the ability to communicate and access information with unprecedented accessibility and speed. It is only logical that schools reflect these changes given that their purpose is to prepare students for the future. Surprisingly enough, research indicates that ICT integration into teaching activities is still marginal. Many elementary and secondary schoolteachers are not making effective use of ICTs in their teaching activities as well as in their assessment practices. The purpose of the current study is a) to describe Quebec ESL teachers’ profiles of using ICTs in their daily teaching activities; b) to describe teachers’ ICT integration and assessment practices; and c) to describe teachers’ social representations regarding the utility and relevance of ICT use in their daily teaching activities and assessment practices. In order to attain our objectives, we based our theoretical framework, principally, on the social representations (SR, henceforth) theory and we defined most related constructs which were deemed fundamental to the current thesis. We also collected data from 28 ESL elementary and secondary school teachers working in public and private sectors. The interview guide used to that end included a range of items to elicit teachers’ SR in terms of ICT daily use in teaching activities as well as in assessment practices. In addition, we carried out our data analyses from a textual statistics perspective, a particular mode of content analysis, in order to extract the indicators underlying teachers’ representations of the teachers. The findings suggest that although almost all participants use a wide range of ICT tools in their practices, ICT implementation is seemingly not exploited to its fullest potential and, correspondingly, is likely to produce limited effects on students’ learning. Moreover, none of the interviewees claim that they use ICTs in their assessment practices and they still hold to the traditional paper-based assessment (PBA, henceforth) approach of assessing students’ learning. Teachers’ common discourse reveals a gap between the positive standpoint with regards to ICT integration, on the one hand, and the actual uses of instructional technology, on the other. These results are useful for better understanding the way ESL teachers in Quebec currently view their use of ICTs, particularly for evaluation purposes. In fact, they provide a starting place for reconsidering the implementation of ICTs in elementary and secondary schools. They may also be useful to open up avenues for the development of a future research program in this regard.

ICTs and information management (IM) in commercial agriculture: contributions from an evolutionary approach

Includes bibliography

Children and information communication technologies in the media : a study using moral panic theory

This thesis is an investigation of the media's representation of children and ICT. The study draws on moral panic theory and Queensland newspaper media, to identify the impact of newspaper reporting on the public's perceptions of young people and ICT.

Affordances of ICTs: an environmental study of a French language unit offered at university level

This project investigates the integration of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) into educational settings by closely looking at the uptake of the perceived affordances offered by ICTs by students enrolled in a French language course at Queensland University of Technology. This cross-disciplinary research uses the theoretical concepts of: Ecological Psychology (Gibson, 1979; Good, 2007; Reed, 1996); Ecological Linguistics (Greeno, 1994; Leather & van Dam, 2003; van Lier 2000, 2003, 2004a, 2004b); Design (Norman, 1988, 1999); Software Design/ Human-Computer Interaction (Hartson, 2003; McGrenere & Ho, 2000); Learning Design (Conole & Dyke, 2004a, 2004b; Laurillard et al. 2000;); Education (Kirschner, 2002; Salomon, 1993; Wijekumar et al., 2006) and Educational Psychology (Greeno, 1994). In order to investigate this subject, the following research questions, rooted in the theoretical foundations of the thesis, were formulated: (1) What are the learners’ attitudes towards the ICT tools used in the project?; (2) What are the affordances offered by ICTs used in a specific French language course at university level from the perspective of the teacher and from the perspective of language learners?; (3) What affordances offered by ICT tools used by the teacher within the specific teaching and learning environment have been taken up by learners?; and (4) What factors influence the uptake by learners of the affordances created by ICT tools used by the teacher within the specific teaching and learning environment? The teaching phase of this project, conducted between 2006 and 2008, used Action Research procedures (Hopkins, 2002; McNiff & Whitehead, 2002; van Lier 1994) as a research framework. The data were collected using the following combination of qualitative and quantitative methods: (1) questionnaires administered to students (Hopkins, 2002; McNiff & Whitehead, 2002) using Likert-scale questions, open questions, yes/no questions; (2) partnership classroom observations of research participants conducted by Research Participant Advocates (Hopkins, 2002; McNiff & Whitehead, 2002); and (3) a focus group with volunteering students who participated in the unit (semi-structured interview) (Hopkins, 2002; McNiff & Whitehead, 2002). The data analysis confirms the importance of a careful examination of the teaching and learning environment and reveals differences in the ways in which the opportunities for an action offered by the ICTs were perceived by teacher and students, which impacted on the uptake of affordances. The author applied the model of affordance, as described by Good (2007), to explain these differences and to investigate their consequences. In conclusion, the teacher-researcher considers that the discrepancies in perceiving the affordances result from the disparities between the frames of reference and the functional contexts of the teacher-researcher and students. Based on the results of the data analysis, a series of recommendations is formulated supporting calls for careful analysis of frames of reference and the functional contexts of all participants in the learning and teaching process. The author also suggests a modified model of affordance, outlining the important characteristics of its constituents.

U-TRACER® - the use of communication technology in higher education - an information visualization tool for the context of Portuguese public higher education

Information Visualization is gradually emerging to assist the representation and comprehension of large datasets about Higher Education Institutions, making the data more easily understood. The importance of gaining insights and knowledge regarding higher education institutions is little disputed. Within this knowledge, the emerging and urging area in need of a systematic understanding is the use of communication technologies, area that is having a transformative impact on educational practices worldwide. This study focused on the need to visually represent a dataset about how Portuguese Public Higher Education Institutions are using Communication Technologies as a support to teaching and learning processes. Project TRACER identified this need, regarding the Portuguese public higher education context, and carried out a national data collection. This study was developed within project TRACER, and worked with the dataset collected in order to conceptualize an information visualization tool U-TRACER®. The main goals of this study related to: conceptualization of the information visualization tool U-TRACER®, to represent the data collected by project TRACER; understand higher education decision makers perception of usefulness regarding the tool. The goals allowed us to contextualize the phenomenon of information visualization tools regarding higher education data, realizing the existing trends. The research undertaken was of qualitative nature, and followed the method of case study with four moments of data collection.The first moment regarded the conceptualization of the U-TRACER®, with two focus group sessions with Higher Education professionals, with the aim of defining the interaction features the U-TRACER® should offer. The second data collection moment involved the proposal of the graphical displays that would represent the dataset, which reading effectiveness was tested by end-users. The third moment involved the development of a usability test to the UTRACER ® performed by higher education professionals and which resulted in the proposal of improvements to the final prototype of the tool. The fourth moment of data collection involved conducting exploratory, semi-structured interviews, to the institutional decision makers regarding their perceived usefulness of the U-TRACER®. We consider that the results of this study contribute towards two moments of reflection. The challenges of involving end-users in the conceptualization of an information visualization tool; the relevance of effective visual displays for an effective communication of the data and information. The second relates to the reflection about how the higher education decision makers, stakeholders of the U-TRACER® tool, perceive usefulness of the tool, both for communicating their institutions data and for benchmarking exercises, as well as a support for decision processes. Also to reflect on the main concerns about opening up data about higher education institutions in a global market.

Technologies de l'information et de la communication (TIC) et rendement académique en contexte universitaires béninois : cas des apprenants en droit de l'Université d'Abomey-Calavi

La présente recherche vise à mieux comprendre, dans le contexte universitaire béninois, s’il peut exister un lien qualitatif entre TIC et rendement académique afin de pouvoir mettre les TIC à contribution pour améliorer significativement les mauvais résultats des apprenants, notamment au premier cycle universitaire. Cette étude est tout particulièrement importante dans notre contexte où les TIC font de plus en plus leur apparition en pédagogie universitaire et où les étudiants recourent aux TIC dans leur pratique plus que les formateurs dans la leur. Le cadre de référence retenu pour la recherche est structuré autour des concepts de l’apprentissage assisté par les TIC, de motivation en éducation et de rendement académique. Pour atteindre notre objectif de recherche, nous avons opté pour une démarche mixte : quantitative et qualitative. Il s’agit d’une étude descriptive/explicative. Nous avons mené une enquête par questionnaires auprès de 156 étudiants et 15 enseignants et fait des entrevues avec 11 étudiants et 6 enseignants. Les principaux résultats sont présentés sous forme d’articles respectivement en ce qui a trait à l’impact des TIC sur la motivation et la réussite, aux usages des TIC les plus fréquemment rencontrés chez les apprenants, et à la place des TIC dans la pratique pédagogique des enseignants de la faculté de droit de l’Université d’Abomey-Calavi. Plus précisément, il ressort des résultats que la majorité des participants ont une perception en général positive du potentiel motivationnel des TIC pour l’apprentissage. Cependant, sur une cote maximale de 7 (correspond très fortement), la perception des répondants relativement à l’impact positif de l’utilisation des TIC sur le rendement académique tourne autour d’une cote moyenne de 4 (correspond assez). D’où, une perception en général mitigée du lien entre l’apprentissage assisté par les TIC et la réussite. Le croisement des résultats des données quantitatives avec ceux de l’analyse qualitative induit, sur ce point, une perception positive prononcée des rapports entre TIC et rendement. Les résultats montrent également que les usages des TIC les plus fréquents chez ces apprenants sont le courriel (en tête), suivi de la recherche et du traitement de texte, avec une fréquence moyenne d’ « une fois par semaine ». Tous ces constats n’accréditent pas véritablement un usage académique des TIC. Chez les enseignants, les résultats ont montré aussi qu’il n’y a pas encore de réelles applications des TIC en situation d’enseignement : ils font plutôt un usage personnel des TIC et pas encore véritablement pédagogique. La conséquence logique de ces résultats est qu’il n’existe pas encore un lien qualitatif direct entre TIC et rendement académique en contexte universitaire béninois.

The acceptance of nursing information systems: an analysis using UTAUT

Nurses are the largest group of health-care professionals in hospitals providing 24-h care to patients. Hence, nurses are pivotal in coordinating and communicating patient care information in the complex network of health-care professionals, services, and other care processes. Further, surveillance and timely interventions by nurses impact quality of care, reduce errors, and decrease health-care costs. Information communication technologies (ICTs) provide the capabilities to support many aspects of nursing care. However, within the context of acute nursing care, there is a lack of integrated technology solutions to support the complex interactions associated with nursing activities and thereby the delivery of high-quality and safe care. Generally, to date, the literature reports low levels of acceptance of ICT solutions by nurses. To address this, the following discussion serves to examine nurses’ acceptance of an integrated point-of-care solution for acute nursing contexts. The ICT was specifically designed to be sensitive to nurses’ needs with the expectation that this will lead to high levels of user acceptance. An evaluation of the acceptability of the proposed solution is presented using unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). Through the UTAUT lens, initial reactions of the participating nurses were examined. The findings provided us with feedback to redesign the solution to better fit with the dynamics and complexity of nursing care. The study has implications for theory, including using UTAUT in health-care contexts, and for practice, including recommendations for the design and development of ICT solutions suitable for nursing contexts.

Sharing environmental data : the role of an information policy framework and copyright licensing

Advances in information and communication technologies have brought about an information revolution, leading to fundamental changes in the way that information is collected or generated, shared and distributed. The importance of establishing systems in which research findings can be readily made available to and used by other researchers has long been recognized in international scientific collaborations. If the data access principles adopted by international scientific collaborations are to be effectively implemented they must be supported by the national policies and laws in place in the countries in which participating researchers are operating.