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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Intersex people'
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Henningham, Mandy Marie. "Born This Way: The Healthcare, Sexuality, and Social Experiences of People with Intersex Variations." Thesis, The University of Sydney, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/20322.
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Surgical intervention on infants with intersex variations is done largely for social reasons to create a ‘typical’ boy or girl at an age where the individual cannot express their consent. The literature review identified that individuals who had non-consensual surgical intervention as infants were more likely to experience mental distress, trauma, and poor sexual satisfaction and experiences in adulthood. Sex assignments may create social issues subjecting them to potential discrimination; creating difficulties accessing some health services, discrimination at school, from peers, or within their families. This thesis reports on a study via a critical lens used to challenge the essentialist paradigm used by health professionals and institutions that operate under the two-sex binary. The aim of this study was to explore the long-term psychosocial repercussions of interventions on intersex infants and other lived experiences from adult, retrospective voices; reflecting on experiences in healthcare, in school, on forming friendships, family relationships, reflecting on their reared gender experience, navigating dating and intimacy, and sexual satisfaction, experiences, and desires. This study obtained data via an online survey (n=86) and included those who did and did not experience interventions on an international scale. The dataset was investigated via a qualitative process using a modified ground theory approach, in addition to a quantitative approach via SPSS. Almost all participants found surgical intervention to be inappropriate. The appropriateness of their reared gender was another strong predictor of negative life experiences. Participants reported a greater need for education for healthcare providers, including better transitions from adolescent to adult care. Some participants often preferred to be alone or have few close friends at school, and some harboured negative feelings towards their parents regarding their interventions or imposed genders in childhood. Results showed that the imposition of sex and gender, and unwanted interventions had negative impacts on intersex people. By gaining a greater understanding of these impacts, health professionals, schools and families may be able to improve their practices, policies and attitudes to become more supportive of bodily diversity.
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Kennedy, Kirsty. "Investigation of potential mediating factors and presence of psychological distress in people with intersex conditions." Thesis, University of Leeds, 2003. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.275538.
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Bell, Rebecca L. "Attitudes of expectant parents toward the medical treatment of intersexuals." Virtual Press, 2007. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1371195.
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The purpose of this study was to gain information about expectant parents' attitudes and beliefs about issues dealing with infants born with ambiguous genitalia, a condition known as intersex. A sample of 118 expectant parents (30 males, 88 females) completed a questionnaire that included the Sex-Role Stereotyping Scale and Sexual Conservatism Scale (Burt, 1980), and assessed perceptions of the effects that an intersex condition and surgical treatment would have on a child's life, attitudes toward the medical and social issues of raising an intersexed child, and the likelihood to agree to surgical treatment under various circumstances. Gender of participant, reportedly knowing the sex of expected baby, gender-role beliefs, attitudes toward sexuality, prior knowledge of the term "hermaphrodite," and importance of sexual functioning were related to measures on attitudes toward intersex issues.Department of Psychological Science
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Rossouw, Ricardo. "Exploring the mental health care challenges of older transgender people in the Cape Metropole: A participatory photo voice research project." University of the Western Cape, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/7566.
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Magister Artium (Social Work) - MA(SW)This project was born after the researcher, a practicing social worker at a psychiatric facility, observed the presence of high rates of anxiety and depressive disorders among transgender patients. These patients were often also abandoned by their family or primary caregivers. This research was part of a larger National Research Foundation (NRF) project in the Western Cape and Gauteng, which explored LGBT older persons’ care needs. It differed from the main project in that it focused on the mental health care challenges experienced by older transgender people. The project was funded by the NRF and the researcher was allocated funding from that project to explore LGBT aging and care in the marginalised areas. LGBT discrimination has been indicated as a key factor in the onset of mental health issues later in adulthood. Older adults are generally at a higher risk of developing mental disorders. The older transgender community with mental health care needs thus often suffers multiple forms of oppression within a heteronormative society. The aim of the research was to determine the mental health care challenges experienced by older transgender people in the Cape Metropole, Western Cape. Objectives to reach this aim included exploring and describing the unique challenges faced by older transgender people, their experiences when accessing mental health care, and describing strategies of addressing their mental health care needs. The research methodology entailed a qualitative approach. Snowball sampling was applied for selecting five older transgender participants and five key informants. Photo voice, a Participatory Action Research (PAR) design, was used. Data collection consisted of in-depth interviewing, focus groups, and photo journaling. Themes were developed from the data utilising Thematic Analysis, aided by Atlas.ti software. Ethics and trustworthiness were certified through guidance by the research supervisor. This research was classified as high risk, since it involved marginalised individuals from the aged LGBT community. Anxiety in the group was anticipated and dealt with by providing further counselling where needed. The findings indicate that older transgender people experience minority stress across all racial and age cohorts. They suffer heightened anxiety when accessing healthcare services, as they anticipate transphobia and oppression. In addition, the intersectional socio-economic status of age and gender identity seems to contribute to building resilience within the participants. Lastly, substance use and social and professional support were identified as coping strategies in the face of on-going discrimination.
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Curtin, Amanda. "Ellipsis: a novel and exegesis." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2006. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/337.
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This thesis comprises a novel entitled 'Ellipsis' and an exegesis entitled 'Ellipsis: Ambiguous genre, ambiguous gender'. The novel blends archival records and fiction into two woven narratives, one contemporary, one historical. In the contemporary narrative, set in 2004-2005, Willa Samson, flayed by guilt and grieving the loss of her daughter, is a hermit, unable to work, communicating with the world mainly through the Internet. But her desire to research a fragment of local history that has haunted her for years gently forces her back into the world. Willa is convinced that in the story of a nineteenth-century murder she can see an unlikely parallel with her daughter: that, like Imogen, the victim was intersexed. The historical narrative is a speculative telling of the life of the murder victim, known as Little Jock.
Imogen's story, which unfolds through Willa's memories, dramatises the devastating though well-intentioned protocol established by twentieth-century medicine for dealing with intersex births: 'normalising' surgery to fashion the newborn into the sex deemed to be appropriate, followed by hormone treatment, rigid social conditioning and an aura of secrecy to silence any confusion or hint of difference. Imogen grows up suspecting that she is different, but no one will tell her the truth.
Little Jock must also keep bodily truth hidden, for in the nineteenth century intersexuals-then termed 'hermaphrodites'-were often exploited as freaks. After leaving Northern Ireland during the Potato Famine, the child who becomes Little Jock finds, in the tenement slums of Glasgow, a place to disappear. A series of petty crimes results in his transportation to Western Australia-one of the nearly ten thousand convicts plucked from English prisons and sent to the Swan River Colony. The authorities believed all of them were male.
Willa's research leads her to Scotland and Northern Ireland, and finally to Western Australia's South West, helped along the way by genealogists-people who cherish the bonds of family and history. And in the search for Little Jock, she draws closer to understanding what has happened to Imogen.
The exegesis, after outlining the provenance of the novel's research, is structured as two essays linked by the themes of ambiguity and classification. The first, on ambiguous genre, sets out to investigate the framing (that is, in the form of an explanatory note) of hybrid sub genres of fiction, novels that draw directly or indirectly on people, events and issues that are part of the historical record. In considering what authors should say about 'what is real and what is not,' the essay canvasses ethics and reader expectations, the right to speak and the freedom to create, and the ways books are marketed, classified and read. The second essay, on ambiguous gender, draws on historical aspects of the classification of intersexed people, along with gender theory, to consider 'Ellipsis' in terms of the social forces acting on the ambiguous bodies of Little Jock in the nineteenth century and Imogen in the twentieth century, and how these characters survive in bodies that pose a challenge to deeply held cultural norms.
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Hunter, Audrey. "Intelligent Support with Internet Browsing for Older People." Thesis, University of Ulster, 2010. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.525139.
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Kiss, Vincent. "Facilitating access for older adults in residential care to computers and the internet." Australasian Digital Theses Program, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/39614.
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Thesis (PhD) - Swinburne University of Technology, 2008.Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Swinburne University of Technology - 2008. Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (p. 194-228).
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Hill, Rebecca. "Internet adoption among older people : a birth cohort study." Thesis, Swansea University, 2008. https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa42989.
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The aim of this research is to investigate the process of Internet adoption among a cohort of older people who reached their formative years historically prior to the public emergence of the Internet, and who have gained no previous exposure to the Internet in their educational and working lives. This research is based on an ethnographic research study of a number of participants who attended one-off, introductory Internet workshops. It is situated within an interpretive paradigm. The research involved a follow-up of research participants approximately six months after their workshop attendance. This research employs Everett Rogers' (2003) theory of the Diffusion of Innovations, and draws on diverse literatures from Information Systems, Sociology, Gerontology and Gerontechnology. It investigates why the aforementioned cohort of older people may be adopting (or rejecting) the Internet; how they are adopting; and how this process can occur over time. It also proposes a potential means for accelerating Internet adoption among older people. The results of this research reveal that the process of Internet adoption characterising this specific cohort can be long and complex, and can be shaped by social network ties. The influence of strong ties was most evident, but weak ties were also important. The influence of both strong and weak ties is emphasised in the proposal of community networks and of intra- and intergenerational partnerships, which are recommended as community-based, 'home-from-home' environments in which older people (and other social groups) can 'trial' the Internet and observe it in use by others.
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Bachert, Sara-Lois. "Points of Interest: Essays on People, Places and Perceptions." TopSCHOLAR®, 1989. http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1873.
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I wrote my first story in third grade. “Francine and the Head-Chopper Man” borrowed its plot from “Beauty and the Beast,” but my teacher didn’t seem to mind. In fact, she arranged for me to read the story to the fifth-grade class down the hall. After that first public reading, I was hooked. I knew at age seven I was going to be a writer.
When I discovered journalism in the ninth grade, I knew just what type of writing I was going to do. In junior high and high school, I was editor of the newspapers, and in college I worked on the newspaper and was editor of the yearbook. After graduation I was a reporter, copy editor and features editor at two daily newspapers in Kentucky.
I began teaching journalism part-time at Western Kentucky University in 1983, and two years later, when I heard about the English department’s new writing concentration, I decided to study for my master’s. In Frank Steele’s Advanced Writing Workshop, I was confronted by a question I hadn’t asked in years: What did I want to write?
Having written newspaper articles for years, I wanted to try something different – the essay, based on fact and usually written in the first person, although not necessarily. I believe this type of writing is valuable because it records and attempts to understand events, people and perceptions.
As the number of essays grew, I began to realize a potential problem: If the subjects are dissimilar, any collection of essays runs the risk of seeming disorganized. If the subjects are similar, it runs the risk of sounding the same from essay to essay.
I hope this collection of essays avoids both faults. The subjects are dissimilar – ranging from family to education – but revolve around the common themes of relationships and time. Each essay examines relationships between parents and children, sisters and brothers, friends, teachers and students, or others. In addition, they all deal with time, either chronicling the passage of time or preserving the moment.
Most of the essays are written in the first person, and many deal with family issues. Those two details may sound as if the collection is germane to only one person, the writer. But it is not. Most readers will recognize themselves or people they know in the characters, and many will recall a way of life, an attitude, or a conversation they thought they had forgotten. Even those who don’t recognize or remember the characters may find the essays valuable if they learn a little about ordinary people and ordinary problems.
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BOTLER, Léo Happ. "An IOT architecture for counting people." Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, 2017. https://repositorio.ufpe.br/handle/123456789/25234.
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CNPq
Knowing whether a room is occupied or not is crucial for improving electrical energy efficiency. For instance, if a given room is empty there is usually no need for the lights to be turned on. Usually in small spaces such as elevator halls, a Passive Infrared (PIR) sensor is used together with the lighting, but as it lacks accuracy, people often are left in the dark after a few minutes. Another factor that deteriorates energy efficiency is that these sensors are seldom connected to a network, limiting the application scenarios to simple tasks, such as controlling lamps. The same data could be used to improve other services such as adjusting the temperature of an air conditioner, which usually has a high impact on energy costs in countries with warm weather. In the present dissertation a wireless device capable of counting people in a room is implemented using Infrared (IR) Light Emitting Diode (LED)s. The implemented device is analyzed regarding energy consumption, cost, error count and installation time. It is also compared to other existing solutions. An architecture for interfacing this device with the Internet of Things (IoT) is provided as well as some of its applications in real scenarios. The results show that the architecture provided as well as the device implemented are useful in the presented scenarios, presenting a distance range of up to 30cm, a false negatives percentual error around 4% and an energy consumption of 1.519W.
Saber se um cômodo está ocupado ou não é crucial para melhorar a eficiência de energia elétrica. Por exemplo, se um quarto está desocupado, geralmente, não há necessidade de as lâmpadas estarem ligadas. Geralmente, em ambientes pequenos como em halls de elevador, um sensor Infravermelho Passivo (PIR) é usado em conjunto com as lâmpadas, mas como estes sensores não são precisos, as pessoas são frequentemente deixadas no escuro após alguns minutos. Outro fator que prejudica a eficiência energética é que raramente estes sensores estão conectados a uma rede, limitando os cenários de aplicação a tarefas simples, como controlar lâmpadas, enquanto os dados do sensor poderiam ser utilizados para melhorar outros serviços, como ajustar a temperatura de um aparelho de ar condicionado, que geralmente tem um alto impacto nas contas de energia, em países quentes. Nesta dissertação, um dispositivo sem fio capaz de contar pessoas em um quarto é implementado utilizando Diodos Emissores de Luz (LED)s Infravermelhos (IR). O dispositivo implementado é analisado nos seguintes aspectos: consumo de energia, custo, contagem de erros e tempo de instalação. Este também é comparado a outras soluções existentes. Uma arquitetura para fazer a interface entre este dispositivo e a Internet das Coisas (IoT) é fornecida, assim como alguns cenários em que esta pode ser aplicada. Os resultados mostram que a arquitetura, assim como o dispositivo implementado são úteis nos cenários apresentados, apresentando um alcance de 30cm, um percentual de erros do tipo falso negativo da ordem de 4% e um consumo de energia de 1.519W.
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Lövheim, Mia. "Intersecting identities : young people, religion, and interaction on the Internet /." Uppsala, Univ, 2004. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-4023.
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Benford, Penny. "The use of Internet-based communication by people with autism." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2008. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/10661/.
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Despite having difficulties in the areas of social interaction and communication, the introduction of the Internet seems to have encouraged some high-functioning autistic people to communicate with each other via chat rooms and bulletin boards. The Internet can address the social isolation of autism by improving the potential to find others who have similar experiences. Additionally it may be that, for autistic people, the Internet also offers a comfortable space more suited to their communication style, perhaps one in which their interaction seems less odd. If so, there are possible implications for this group of people in terms of education, employment and social inclusion. However there are risks. Autistic people may be particularly vulnerable to individuals misrepresenting themselves or to the possibility of over-reliance on computer-mediated interaction resulting in an exacerbation of obsessive behaviour and withdrawal from face-to-face interaction. An initial survey, to discover the extent of Internet use among people with autism and investigate their motivations for using it, was carried out, obtaining responses from 138 people with high-functioning autism or Asperger syndrome. Results indicated a high level of computer and Internet use amongst respondents and implied that email was a popular means of communication, more so than face-to-face communication even when interacting with friends. This introductory survey raised issues and questions which were explored in more depth with a subset of the respondents who were interviewed by email about their experiences, motivations and perceptions regarding Internet-based communication. In addition to 19 email interviews, data were also collected from 4 non or reluctant users of the Internet who were sent a series of questions by post. A grounded theory analysis of the data revealed a heightened awareness of communication amongst this group of participants, who offered insights into the process of communication in terms of its component parts and how it breaks down for them. Central to the analysis is a theme of the interviewee as observer, feeling detached to some degree from mainstream interaction and like an outsider. From this perspective participants offered their analysis of the complex process of communication, online and offline as they experienced it, highlighting key aspects of the Internet in relation to their own needs, ones which made it a unique form of communication. Their insights into communication are described in four themes: control, clarity, the role of nonverbal communication and the social role of communication. Additionally the interviewees expressed a sense of liberation that could come with online communication for people with Asperger syndrome/high-functioning autism such that they may interact with others on a more equal basis. This could be empowering but with the sense of liberation there was a risk of losing control over one’s interactions. The interviewees’ perceptions of CMC are explored within a uses and gratifications framework which posits that people use particular communication channels to satisfy their individual needs and motives. By using computer-mediated communication some of the social and communication barriers which contribute to the disability of autism may be broken down.
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Aagard, S. D. "Generational characteristics and attitudes toward computer and internet use a survey of older adults in the Rocky Mountain region /." Laramie, Wyo. : [University of Wyoming], 2006. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1225134611&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=18949&RQT=309&VName=PQD.
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Bradley, Stephen Kenneth. "An exploration of discursive constructions of young people who self-injure/suicide : young people's Internet newsgroup accounts and received academic/professional wisdom." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2006. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/20947/.
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This thesis recounts an innovative critical exploration of accounts of child and adolescent mental health (CAMH); sourced from young people's Internet newsgroup contributions and academic/professional publications (both viewed equally as 'data' sources). An original discursive approach, informed by the concerns of 'postmodernism', 'constructionism', 'discourse analysis' and 'narrative inquiry', was developed and employed. Commencing with historical accounts of CAMH, an 'unconventional account' is presented which reads that history in terms of 'marketing'. Considering young people's Internet newsgroup accounts of CAMH as possible 'resistance' to conventional CAMH accounts, investigation into the types of post contributed and the subjects of interest being discussed indicated that self-injury/suicide were of particular interest to young people. Consequently, further in-depth critical investigation of young peoples' accounts of self-injury/suicide followed; comparing their accounts with the received wisdom found in the academic/professional literature. Outcomes indicate that three major themes run through the young people's contributions regarding self-injury/suicide; namely, 'change', 'control' and 'relationship'. Marked agreements between the newsgroup material and the academic/professional literature were established. However, significant differences were also discerned. Young people who selfinjure/ suicide ubiquitously described wishing to 'change' their thoughts/actions; in contradistinction to academic/professional wisdom that questions the genuineness of that desire, viewing such young people as 'difficult clients'. A number of 'questionable arguments' were also highlighted within the existing academic/professional literature. It is proposed that enhanced understanding of CAMEl accounts and their effects challenges the 'individualising' within existing discourses/narratives of young people who selfinjure/ suicide. Implications for enhancing theory/research and care practice are also discussed.
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Diamond, Marie Malissa. "Older adults, the internet, and health-related information a multiple case study /." [Pensacola, Fla.] : University of West Florida, 2007. http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/WFE0000017.
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Powls, Jonathan. "Characteristics and developmental history of people with an interest in sadomasochism." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.434449.
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Ma, Julia Shuhong. "Interest networks : understanding the influence of interesting people in an organization." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/76524.
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Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2012.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 95-100).
This thesis applies network theory to firms, their employees, and various aspects of the employees to understand diversity within an industry at both the firm-level and employee-level. We hypothesize that the interest diversity of a firms' employee can influence that firm's economic performance and growth. Using the LinkedIn API, we are able to collect ~600 employees (past and present) for 43 companies using a keyword search. This data is used to create a visualization of people's interests, an "Interest Space", which is a network graph of how interests are categorized and linked to each other. By analyzing the data from firms associated with the Media Lab, we begin to understand how individual interests affect success among a small network of companies. We research this through case studies of a few companies by analyzing their financial data and interests of their employees.
by Julia Shuhong Ma.
S.M.
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Chan, Wesley (Wesley Tien-Houi) 1978. "Project Voyager : building an Internet presence for people, places, and things." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/86785.
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Luevorasirikul, Kanokrat. "Body image and weight management : young people, internet advertisements and pharmacists." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2007. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/10296/.
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Media promotion of the ideal body as slimness for women and muscularity for men, has led to increasing numbers of both genders reporting dissatisfaction with their bodies and trying to change using weight control products. It has been suggested that pharmacists can play a key role in promoting healthy lifestyles and weight management. The main aim of the research study was to examine the impact of media on body image perception and to investigate the role of pharmacists in weight management. This thesis consists of three studies: an evaluation of weight control websites, a body image survey of young adults and interviews with pharmacists. The results from the evaluation study showed that the quality of most weight loss (64%) and weight gain product advertisements (80%) was generally poor, principally due to the use of misleading claims and a lack of useful information. These data complement the survey that university students reported rarely being influenced by weight control product adverts and hardly considered using these products as a method for changing weight. The survey also showed that most participants of both genders (71%) felt satisfied with their body image. However, the findings in this study indicated that there was a relationship between a high level of body image concern and self-perception of being overweight and the attempt to lose weight. Interviews with pharmacists showed that they were unlikely to be actively involved in reducing obesity problems and promoting healthy lifestyles in the community. Although the prevalence of body dissatisfaction and the use of weight control products among these young adults may not be as high as has been reported elsewhere, healthcare professionals, including pharmacists, need to be aware of this problem when providing advice or consultations for young adults. Healthcare professionals should promote the benefits of healthy lifestyles as well as providing information about potential problems of harmful weight control strategies. The effect of ethnicity and culture on body image concern warrants further. The availability of weight control products and quality of information provided should also be further examined.
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Holmes, Beverley. """Me on-line"": narrative identities of people with arthritis /." Burnaby B.C. : Simon Fraser University, 2005. http://ir.lib.sfu.ca/handle/1892/2099.
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Araújo, Márcia Cristina Alves de. "Online community manager: in touch with people." Master's thesis, Universidade de Aveiro, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10773/8230.
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Mestrado em GestãoIn the last fifteen years, the growth of the global computer network known as the internet has facilitated the rapid emergence of online interactions of dispersed groups of people with shared interests. A new communication approach is required and in this context a new professional comes up: the Online Community Manager. The new mode of communication is not a fad, but it is a sign of a big change. For better understanding the role of the community manager this document aims to show how a community itself is build, what a community is and how can it be managed in virtual world. The scientific method applied to achieve the goal was Participant Observation in which the researcher carried on an internship into an online company for six months and worked as a Community Manager for Brazil and Portugal participating actively inside a real community during this time. A complete Observation was done once the researcher became a member of the group that has been studied. The literature review was based on the central concept of community in the broad sense. Later, it was an effort to understand how the concept is transported to the virtual world and how it fits into the new context. As a result some cases were presented showing how are the real problems faced by the community manager, how they can be solved, and finally some recommendations for a Community Managment policy.
A importante colaboração de diversas personalidades ligadas à área da História da Arquitectura, bem como o levantamento fotográfico realizado contribuem para o conhecimento e valorização de um saber tradicional. Nos últimos quinze anos, o crescimento da rede mundial de computadores conhecida como internet tem facilitado a rápida interação on-line de grupos de pessoas com interesses comuns em vários ambientes. Uma nova abordagem de comunicação é necessária e, neste contexto, um novo profissional surge: o Gestor de Comunidades on-line. O novo modo de comunicação não é um modismo, é sim um sinal de uma grande mudança. Para uma melhor compreensão do papel do Gestor de Comunidades On-line, este documento pretende mostrar como uma comunidade é construida, o que é uma comunidade e como ela pode ser gerenciada em um mundo virtual. O método científico aplicado para alcançar a meta foi a Observação Participante em onde o pesquisador realizou em um estágio em uma empresa on-line por seis meses e trabalhou como gestor da comunidade do Brasil e de Portugal participando ativamente dentro da comunidade real durante este tempo. Assim, a observação pode ser considerada como completa visto que o pesquisador tornou-se membro do grupo que foi estudado. A revisão da literatura foi baseada no conceito central de comunidade no sentido amplo. Posteriormente, foi um esforço para compreender como o conceito é transportado para o mundo virtual e como se encaixa no novo contexto. Como resultado, alguns casos foram apresentados mostrando como são os problemas reais enfrentados pelo Gestor de Comunidades On-line, como eles podem ser resolvidos e, finalmente, algumas recomendações para uma política de comunidades on-line.
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Denvir, C. E. "What is the net worth? : young people, civil justice and the Internet." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2014. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1437397/.
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Over the last decade the Internet has played a growing role in the resolution strategies of many of those who face ‘civil justice problems’. While many who use the Internet do so in order to locate offline sources of advice, as access to traditional forms of legal advice diminishes, the Internet is likely to play an increasingly important role in legal self-help. This thesis explores how and when young people in England and Wales use the Internet to resolve housing and employment law problems, as well as the quality of the main information resources available to them. In exploring this, the study draws on: existing publicly available data from the Civil and Social Justice Survey (CSJS) and Civil and Social Justice Panel Survey (CSJPS); new data obtained from 208 young people aged 15-26 who participated in a novel experiment designed to test how they acquired information from the Internet when faced with a housing/employment law dilemma; and, new data collected from a website review which assessed the overall quality of the main English and Welsh legal information websites. The study finds that while the Internet holds potential as a legal self-help tool, online legal information does not directly equate to improved individual legal capability. The potential the Internet holds, continues to be constrained by the quality of information provided online and the public’s capacity to use it and apply it in a meaningful way. Findings encourage ongoing investment in online resources, but suggest that investment in public legal services must remain diversely distributed across a range of mode-types (online, telephone and face-to-face). Results are contextualised within the history of online legal services, recent policy developments, as well as the existing literature relating to access to justice, human-computer interaction, problem-solving behaviour and adolescent development.
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Easton, Catherine Rachel. "Access to the internet, citizenship and disabled people : A question of Law." Thesis, Manchester Metropolitan University, 2010. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.516268.
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Watson, Mohinder. "Investigating the experiences of people with 'RSI' : an internet based qualitative study." Thesis, Queen Margaret University, 2009. https://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/7411.
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This internet-based qualitative study aimed to explore the subjective experience of having Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) using an ‘insider’s perspective’ (Schneider and Conrad, 1983). A purposive sample of RSI sufferers was recruited from an online support group covering diverse experiences across different age groups, gender, occupations, health care use and both clinically recognised RSI conditions and diffuse nonspecific RSI. Data triangulation involving documentary analysis of 468 archived email postings and 5 asynchronous online focus groups (n=57) was used to illuminate different aspects of RSI sufferers’ experiences. Data from each method was thematically analysed and the findings integrated. Firstly, methodologically the internet medium was found to be a valuable additional tool for accessing illness experiences. Further, the essence of the RSI experience was conceptualised as a major life change and uncertainty affecting people’s employment, social participation and ability to perform routine daily activities such as caring for themselves, family members and the home. Also changed were their identities, financial circumstances and relationships both in and outside of work. RSI was found in the study to bear the hallmarks of a chronic pain condition with attendant implications for management and diagnosis. The significance and meaning of a medical diagnosis was found to extend far beyond establishing ‘what was wrong’; it became a quest for evidence to support the reality of their suffering and a means of defending threats to their integrity and identity. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of current chronic pain management which places less emphasis on finding a diagnosis on the premise that regardless of aetiology, the problems encountered are similar across different chronic pain conditions, and it is more useful to restore functioning and reduce disability. However, this study shows that the significance of a diagnosis should not be under- estimated since for the individual with RSI, it carries multiple meanings and profound consequences for their daily lives.
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Gray, Heather Leona. "Older Adults Engagement Modes using Computer and Internet Technologies." Thesis, Griffith University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10072/366081.
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The 21st century offers technology advancement and engagement with the passive, static information of print and website media as well as interactive social networking media on the Internet. Children born into this era quickly learn the language, join the digital community, and engage with these technologies. However, older adults who were not born into this dynamic technological era grapple with the constant changes that are explained by Moore's law. This has resulted in a digital skills and knowledge divide that sees older adults excluded from full inVol.vement in dynamic communities that included digital engagement. In order to reduce this digital divide, we need first to understand why some older adults engage with computer and internet technologies therefore, this thesis explores the engagement modes of older adults using computer and internet technologies. The research questions of this thesis are ‘Do older adults’ engagement modes influence their perception about computer and internet technology use?’ and ‘Can understanding these engagement modes help address digital divide issues facing older adults?’
A multi-method approach was undertaken as this enabled the researcher to explore the phenomena using both qualitative and quantitative methods providing rigorous and robust results. This was achieved through two studies that were conducted over a period of five years. The first study explored whether there is a difference between older adult and younger adult engagement modes, as well as any relationship between older adults’ perceived usefulness of the technology and their engagement modes. The second study was confirmatory analysis of the results of study one, which incorporated participant observation to test whether the engagement modes were observable and how these observations, could be explained.Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Griffith Business School
Griffith Business School
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Elias, João Edgar Ramos. "What do people do at work when they are not working?" Master's thesis, NSBE - UNL, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10362/9634.
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A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and EconomicsThe objective of this work is to understand what kind of activities people develop at the workplace when they are not working and which are their work-related effects. The study of this subject was conducted through twenty interviews with people from different areas - tourism, banking, consulting, telecommunications, informatics, ambient, pharmaceutical, psychological, financial, and advocacy – that were not occupying leading positions inside their companies. The observed outcomes of these research show that people engage in a lot of different non-work related practices everyday that have diverse causes and consequences in their work life. The results reveal that in most of the cases, interruptions and breaks have a very positive impact on the work process and progress, increasing productivity and efficiency, improving the work rhythm and the most important thing – contributing for the solutions for wok-related problems and issues that cannot be resolved without a pause in the work. This means that the solution for some problems related to working issues, comes from the break that was done, this is, the revenue obtained is higher when there has been a pause than when there was not any interruption, as it is going to be explained further in this work.
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Sun, Li. "THE INVESTIGATION INTO ELDERLY PEOPLE’S INTERNET USAGE." Thesis, KTH, Skolan för informations- och kommunikationsteknik (ICT), 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-90242.
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The Internet has gained increasing popularity in the recent twenty years, and numerous services and products are provided online. However, the inevitable digital divide has differentiated people living in the same society into IT rich and poor. As world population is irreversibly aging, the elderly will be the largest IT inability group because of the digital divide. One information inability is their lack of access and capability to use internet. In China, despite many elderly-aimed ICT projects are carried out, internet prevalence rate among the elderly is lower than in Sweden. Successful online applications or services in western society finally proved total failure in another, which gives the designer and developer a good lesson to learn: to design or provide a kind of application to users across cultures or nations is more than simply interface language translation. Studies on cultural differences provide scholars in ICT field a good reference on how to take cultural issues into product design and applications, to make the applications and services more culture-friendly. Therefore, the research is carried out on elderly internet usage in China in comparison with the situation in Sweden: by comparing the elderly people‟s experiences, perceptions and expectations for the internet in these two countries, differences are analyzed from the perspective of cultural differences and an in-depth analysis of unique problems of Chinese elderly people internet use is given. By comparing China and Sweden, which are defined as countries under absolutely different cultural systems, implications on Chinese elderly people‟s expectations and requirements for internet are proposed.
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Thornton, John Michael 1950. "A Study of the Relationships Among Social Interest, Marital Satisfaction, and Religious Participation." Thesis, University of North Texas, 1997. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc935590/.
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The purpose of this study is to investigate the possible relationship between social interest and marital adjustment in a selected group of married couples. Another variable relating to spiritual well-being and religious participation is also considered. In the studies reviewed, the concept of social interest as proposed by Adler has been supported as a psychological construct. It has generally correlated with characteristics that are viewed as social interest components. By contrast, it has generally related negatively with characteristics that are inconsistent with the concept. Of the investigations conducted, most have focused on the relationship between social interest and some aspect of individual functioning, such as psychological well-being, health, mood states, and locus of control. There has been little investigation between social interest and some aspect of individual functioning, such as psychological well-being, health, mood states and locus of control. There has been little investigation between social interest and marital satisfaction and, additionally, the possible relationship to religious participation. The results of this study support a positive relationship between social interest and marital satisfaction, a positive relationship[ between social interest and religious participation, and a positive relationship between marital satisfaction and religious participation.
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Fernandes, Ferreira Eliane. "Von Pfeil und Bogen zum "Digitalen Bogen" : die Indigenen Brasiliens und das Internet /." Bielefeld : Transcript, 2009. http://d-nb.info/991632540/04.
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Markström, Johannes. "3D Position Estimation of a Person of Interest in Multiple Video Sequences : People Detection." Thesis, Linköpings universitet, Datorseende, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-98140.
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In most cases today when a specific person's whereabouts is monitored through video surveillance it is done manually and his or her location when not seen is based on assumptions on how fast he or she can move. Since humans are good at recognizing people this can be done accurately, given good video data, but the time needed to go through all data is extensive and therefore expensive. Because of the rapid technical development computers are getting cheaper to use and therefore more interesting to use for tedious work. This thesis is a part of a larger project that aims to see to what extent it is possible to estimate a person of interest's time dependent 3D position, when seen in surveillance videos. The surveillance videos are recorded with non overlapping monocular cameras. Furthermore the project aims to see if the person of interest's movement, when position data is unavailable, could be predicted. The outcome of the project is a software capable of following a person of interest's movement with an error estimate visualized as an area indicating where the person of interest might be at a specific time. This thesis main focus is to implement and evaluate a people detector meant to be used in the project, reduce noise in position measurement, predict the position when the person of interest's location is unknown, and to evaluate the complete project. The project combines known methods in computer vision and signal processing and the outcome is a software that can be used on a normal PC running on a Windows operating system. The software implemented in the thesis use a Hough transform based people detector and a Kalman filter for one step ahead prediction. The detector is evaluated with known methods such as Miss-rate vs. False Positives per Window or Image (FPPW and FPPI respectively) and Recall vs. 1-Precision. The results indicate that it is possible to estimate a person of interest's 3D position with single monocular cameras. It is also possible to follow the movement, to some extent, were position data are unavailable. However the software needs more work in order to be robust enough to handle the diversity that may appear in different environments and to handle large scale sensor networks.
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Bannon, Stephanie. "The psychological impact of the internet on young people with additional support needs (ASN)." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/26218.
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Introduction: This thesis investigates the psychological impact of the internet on adolescents with Additional Support Needs (ASN). Benefits and risks related to internet use have been evidenced in the general population. Little research has considered these factors with young people with ASN. Methodology: Due to limited research having been completed with the ASN population with regards to the impact of internet use, a systematic review was conducted considering the long-term psychological impact of cyberbullying on children and adolescents in the mainstream population. In addition, an empirical study was conducted with a total of 36 young people with ASN (aged 13-18) who participated in one of six focus groups. Group discussions were recorded, transcribed and analysed using Framework Analysis. Results: Findings of the systematic review showed that a range of difficulties (including depression, quality of life outcomes, substance use and aggression) were considered to be linked to the experience of cyberbullying in the general child and adolescent population. Although variation between studies existed, the review does show a tentative trend that cyberbullying is linked to long-term negative psychological outcomes. The empirical study using Focus Group data identified two main themes: Identity and Connectedness and Issues relating to Risk. Theme one indicated that young people with ASN were making use of the internet to develop their own identity, competence and sense of social connectedness; suggesting that internet use for this group can have a positive impact on their psychological well- being. Some potential barriers to this were also identified. With regards to the second theme, it was shown that young people with ASN do experience risk on the internet. It was highlighted that young people with ASN are aware of a range of risks online, are able to make use of some risk management strategies to stay safe but also experience particular difficulties which can negatively impact on their ability to protect themselves against potential psychological harm as a result of internet use. Considered together it was therefore found that the internet may provide important opportunities for young people with ASN with the potential of having a positive psychological impact. This must be considered however in the context of risks present to this group when online and their ability to manage these effectively. Discussion: Findings were discussed in relation to the relevant literature considering the specific advantages and risks relating to internet use by children and adolescents with ASN. Clinical implications and areas for future research were highlighted as well as the strengths and limitations of the current study. Conclusion: This thesis demonstrates that young people with ASN are making use of the internet and able to benefit from it in the same way as other children and adolescents. However, this population has also been shown to be at risk online and may be more vulnerable due to their impaired ability in particular areas of functioning, when compared to young people without ASN. Additional research into this area is required to ensure that this group are being adequately supported to remain safe online whilst taking full advantage of what the internet has to offer.
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Choi, Young Soo. "Social policy for users of information technology : young people and internet addiction in Korea." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2005. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/887/.
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The Internet has conferred many benefits, but it also has negative effects including addiction patterns termed “Internet addiction”. Many studies have been inclined to focus on discovering psychological symptoms. However, they have not usually considered young people’s relationships, which can themselves lead to Internet addiction. This study gathers the life experiences of young people with an ‘Internet addiction pattern’ in order to understand better their relationships and circumstances. South Korea was chosen as the main focus of this study. From the Foucauldian perspective, the relationships produce power in new ways, wherever they meet and whenever they talk, with knowledge through their abilities, topics or information. This knowledge may categorise peers according to status and ability to use the Internet. These factors activate a ‘power network’ in ‘their own world’. As a result, Internet addiction situation is interpreted as a loss of balance in using the Internet and the research findings demonstrate how this process is influenced by the development of a set of power relations between young people within ‘their own world’. The recommendations are included, mainly ways to participate in the young people’s concerns and to relate to their lives so as to understand the real situation and reduce the problems.
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Hoy, Kathleen Elaine. "Licensed Professional Counselors’ Attitudes Toward People with Schizophrenia: Predictors of Interest in Providing Interventions." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2012. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc149610/.
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For individuals with schizophrenia and their caregivers, psychosocial interventions have been shown to significantly improve recovery and reduce relapse rates. Although this population is underserved and stigmatized, counselors have been excluded from most research into attitudes toward and interventions for these families. Using a stratified random sample survey design, researchers explored the relationships between participating U.S. Licensed Professional Counselors’ attitudes towards, recovery beliefs regarding, familiarity with, desire for social distance from, and interest in providing services to individuals with schizophrenia and their caregivers. Most of the 111 participants (11.1% response rate) identified themselves as female (83.8%) and Caucasian (86.5%). A few participants described themselves as Hispanic (6.3%) or Black or African-American (5.4%). Respondents ranged in age in years from 20’s to 60’s with the largest group in their 40’s. Descriptive statistics indicated that the majority of LPC participants reported low to moderate stigmatizing attitudes, strong beliefs in recovery, and moderate to high interest in providing interventions for people with schizophrenia and their caregivers. Furthermore, almost half of participating LPCs reported already working with individuals with schizophrenia. Bivariate correlations and hierarchical regressions indicated that high interest in providing interventions for this population was significantly correlated (p < .01) with high frequency of already working with the population (large effect), low desire for social distance (medium effect), high desire to help socially (medium effect), and strong beliefs in recovery (small effect). The results support including LPCs in all areas pertaining to interventions, research, and recovery for people with schizophrenia and their caregivers.
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Kuang, Fuyang. "Elderly and Internet: An Exploratory Research." Thesis, Högskolan i Gävle, Avdelningen för socialt arbete och psykologi, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-17537.
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The purpose of this study was to explore how elderly people in Gävle cope with their life by using of Internet and what are their perceived benefits and barriers of the use of Internet. Qualitative methods were used with face-to-face interviews and email correspondence to gather the data. Six elderly people participated in this study. Coping theory was used to analyse the results. The results were divided into three parts. They were describing the use of Internet, benefits and barriers of using the Internet and reasons behind using the Internet and coping. Benefits include connectedness, gratification, usefulness, and active learning experience. Barriers include limitation, distrust and frustration. This paper used the coping theory to try to describe how these persons adjust the way of thinking and the way of behaving and how they use these strategies to cope with the daily life. It was found that Internet for elderly people is becoming more important nowadays and also it is significant to know how they think about the Internet.
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Chilton, Neil Anthony. "Henry James : the artist and 'other people's interest'." Thesis, University of Bristol, 2007. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.443694.
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Harley, Dave. "Older people’s appropriation of computers and the Internet." Thesis, University of Sussex, 2011. http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/7602/.
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This thesis looks at how older people integrate computers and the Internet into their everyday lives and make these technologies their own as part of their broader experience of ageing. The thesis starts by considering the limits of current ‘deficit-driven' models of accessible design used in relation to older people and highlights a need to develop new approaches which can accommodate the adaptive and ‘positive' capacities that emerge with advanced age. The approach subsequently developed provides a consideration of older people's situated and subjective experiences in relation to computer and Internet engagement as part of their adaptations to ageing. Qualitative and ethnographic data in the form of participant observations, contextual interviews and video-based observations are all used to examine the ways in which older users identify computers and the Internet as relevant and construct meaningful uses for them over time. Four case studies are used to explore the contextual and subjective determinants of these emerging psycho-socio-technical relationships over time and in different contexts. Through grounded analysis patterns are established in the data which outline persistent qualities of these emerging relationships in relation to ageing. A psycho-socio-technical process known as ‘appropriation' is used to frame these adaptive relationships as they develop over time. In contrast to existing models of accessibility this analysis shows computer and Internet appropriation to be driven primarily by positive adaptations to ageing rather than its deficits. Six ‘core themes of relevance' are identified across the studies (social contact; acquiring knowledge; supporting independence; intergenerational connection; reminiscence and life review and creativity) which represent age-relevant motivations that can be used as the basis for accessible designs promoting appropriation. In addition appropriation is outlined as a cumulative developmental process with distinct phases over time. This provides a structure for supporting older people's appropriation of computers and the Internet whilst maintaining an emphasis on well-being. Finally this thesis contributes to understandings of contemporary ageing, offering insights into the potential for computers and the Internet to change the ageing experience in developed societies.
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Parada, Medina Raúl. "RFID based people-object interaction detection." Doctoral thesis, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/381250.
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The Internet of Things (IOT) technologies introduced the “things” entity to interact with computers and people, being a key factor to enhance services in the Smart City context. An example of IoT technology is radio-frequency identification (RFID) which provides identification and communication capabilities to simple objects. Based on the utilization of RFID, our goal is to enable context-aware scenarios providing further information on the people-object interaction in the environment. Our contributions are focused on hardware infrastructure and intelligent systems applied to the IoT. Specifically, we propose the design and implementation of low-cost antennas providing the context-aware hardware infrastructure, and empirical methods to detect people-object interactions for the following applications: user interest, loss prevention system and direction of pass. Finally, we evaluate part of the contributions of this dissertation in real retail environments. We believe this dissertation may contribute towards improving the state-of-the-art in IoT and Smart City technologies.La Internet de les coses (IoT) va introduir l’element “coses” per interactuar amb ordinadors i persones sent un factor clau per millorar serveis en el context de ciutat intel•ligent. Un exemple de tecnologia IoT és la identificació per radiofreqüència (RFID) la qual proporciona propietats d’identificació i comunicació d’objectes simples. Basat en la utilització de RFID, el nostre objectiu és permetre als escenaris sensibles al context de proveir d’informació addicional en la interacció persona-objecte en entorns. Les nostres contribucions estan centrades en la infraestructura de maquinari i sistemes intel•ligents aplicats en la IoT. Específicament, proposem el disseny i implementació d’antenes econòmiques proporcionant la infraestructura de maquinari, i mètodes empírics per detectar les interaccions persona-objecte per les següents aplicacions: interest d’usuaris, sistema en prevenció de pèrdues i direcció de pas. Finalment, avaluem part de les contribucions d’aquesta dissertació en botigues. Creiem que aquesta dissertació pot contribuir a la millora de l’estat de l’art en IoT i tecnologies de ciutat intel•ligent.
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Du, Preez Vikki. "Online service design : a socio-technical perspective to engage an ageing population." Thesis, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11838/2723.
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Thesis (DTech (Design))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018.As online environments become more cost effective, allow for more personalisation and often offer faster solutions, numerous service providers have shifted priority to the development of online user interactions. Many perceive this trend as positive, and welcome services that can be accessed online, anywhere, anytime. However, not all members of society favour the shift to online services, and resistance to technology and online services have been documented among ageing individuals. In order to design user interactions for ageing users more effectively, it is imperative to understand the normative changes that impact ageing users’ interactions with online services. The exploration of user perception and experience links to both physical and emotional involvement - documenting reactions such as frustration, fear, joy and excitement in relation to online services. The study focuses on the exploration of perceived interaction barriers among South African ageing users, as well as those interactions already perceived as appealing, contributing to new theoretical insights and a description of the sociotechnical context investigated in this study. The study is completed using a constructivist grounded theory method, with qualitative methods focused on user participation and co-design. In addition to the emerging substantive theory of Ageing User Decision-Determined Engagement (AUDDE), the study adds value to online service design practice by developing a deeper understanding of user perceptions and experiences, within a socio-technical context. Findings from the participatory research sessions informed a set of practical service design interaction guidelines, which can inform the design of more engaging online services for the ageing community. Methodologically the study explores the grounded theory method, within a design research framework, and establishes it as a suitable methodology to generate theory through design practice
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Colledge, Alexander. "Bridging the generational gap : Designing internet services for technologically-naïve older people using familiar interfaces." Thesis, Umeå universitet, Institutionen för informatik, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-149236.
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Despite advances made in modern electronic devices, their use by older people is significantly lower than for younger people. They experience difficulties using devices due to a combination of physical, cognitive and ‘generational’ differences. Many studies try to adapt devices to make them more usable, but they do not consider how older people feel in terms of attitudes towards technology or their existing habits. Seven participants were interviewed about their current use of technology, as well as their attitudes to modern technology, and a personal inventory was created for each participant. The interviews generated themes relating to how participants feel that technology is not made for them, barriers to their use, and generational differences as well as arguments against modern technology use and perceived negative aspects of technology. Some design considerations were created and illustrated using features from the most commonly used devices that suited the interviewees’ attitudes, behaviours and opinions.
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Correia, Sérgio Barradas. "An examination of internet usage patterns by mature travellers." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008182.
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The tourism industry has been identified as the industry with the most potential to create jobs and contribute largely to economic growth. In order to live up to this potential, tourism businesses need to create tourism products for potential tourists which need to be promoted successfully through a number of mediums. The use of the Internet as a medium for promoting and selling tourism products is increasing, however, in order for tourism businesses to successfully promote the tourism product through the Internet, they have to understand the needs and wants of their current and potential target markets. One segment of the tourism market that has come under increasing attention is the mature traveller market. This market is defined as travellers who are 50 years of age and older. Generally, the mature traveller market is viewed as a small homogenous group of old consumers with little or no spending power. However, evidence suggests that this market is comprised of an increasing number of diverse people, who use the Internet and like to spend on tourism products. Therefore, this research will examine differences between Internet users and Internet non-users in the mature traveller market. Specific attention will be paid to investigate differences in demographic, socioeconomic, Internet use and travel-related characteristics. The identification of these characteristics will enable a profile to be d~veloped for each group, which can be used by tourism businesses to effectively promote tourism products over the Internet to the mature market In order to collect data from potential respondents, a questionnaire which was used in a similar study conducted in the US was used. Data was collected using a convenience sample of Internet users and Internet non-users from the Eastern Cape and Gauteng provinces of South Africa. Cronbach alpha and factor analysis were used to assess the reliability and validity of the research instrument and measurement scales. In order to test whether differences did exist between the two groups the Chi-square and t-test statistics were used. Finally in order to examine which factors where influential in differentiating between Internet users and Internet non-users discriminant analysis was employed. The findings in the present study suggest that there are significant differences in demographics, socioeconomic, Internet use and travel-related characteristics between Internet users and Internet non-users in the mature market. By understanding the differences between Internet users and Internet non-users, tourism businesses can identify marketing strategies that appeal to mature travellers who use the Internet and to those do not, by utilising information gathered from Internet users and Internet non-users demographic, socio-economic and travel-related characteristics.
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Kunzmann, Richard. "The self-concept of spinally-injured people : the role of frequent internet communication within cyber-communities." Pretoria : [s.n.], 2002. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-10132005-122701/.
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Smith, Stuart D. "Out of the church basement and into cyberspace : Internet-based religious education for youth /." Chicago, IL : McCormick Theological Seminary, 2001. http://cafepride.com/archives/thesis.htm.
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Sundewall, Thorén Elisabet. "Internet Interventions for Hearing Loss : Examing rehabilitation, self-report measures and internet use for hearing-aid users." Doctoral thesis, Linköpings universitet, Institutionen för klinisk och experimentell medicin, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-103824.
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In the future, audiological rehabilitation of adults with hearing loss will be more available, personalized and thorough due to the possibilities offered by the internet. By using the internet as a platform it is also possible to perform the process of rehabilitation in a cost-effective way. With tailored online rehabilitation programs containing topics such as communication strategies, hearing tactics and how to handle hearing aids it might be possible to foster behavioral changes that will positively affect hearing aid users. Four studies were carried out in this thesis. The first study investigated internet usage among adults with hearing loss. In the second study the administration format, online vs. paper- and pencil, of four standardized questionnaires was evaluated. Finally two randomized controlled trials were performed evaluating the efficacy of online rehabilitation programs including professional guidance by an audiologist. The programs lasted over five weeks and were designed for experienced adult hearing-aid users. The effects of the online programs were compared with the effects of a control group. It can be concluded that the use of computers and the internet overall is at least at the same level for people with hearing loss as for the general age-matched population in Sweden. Furthermore, for three of the four included questionnaires, the participants’ scores remained the same across formats. It is however recommended that the administration format remain consistent across assessment points. Finally, results from the two concluding intervention studies provide preliminary evidence that the internet can be used to deliver education and rehabilitation to experienced hearing aid users who report residual hearing problems and that their problems are reduced by the intervention; however the content and design of the online rehabilitation program requires further investigation.
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Chiu, Fung, and 趙鋒. "An investigation into the use of the internet for the visually impaired (VI) in Hong Kong." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2004. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B30418288.
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Clark, Ailie. "Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender & questioning young people on the Internet : insights from European focus groups." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/22876.
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Introduction: This thesis investigates the experiences of young people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and who are questioning their sexuality (LGBTQ) on the Internet. Specifically, the project explores how LGBTQ young people use the Internet, how they communicate online, the impact that the Internet has on their life and how they stay safe online. Despite the Internet being an ever-growing aspect of people’s lives and the potential opportunities that it presents for marginalised groups such as LGBTQ young people, there have been a relatively small number of qualitative studies in the area. Methodology: As there has been limited research regarding LGBTQ young people’s use of the Internet, a systematic review of qualitative studies exploring the experiences and views of cyberbullying by children and adolescents in the general population was conducted using Framework Synthesis. Subsequently, an empirical study was completed which involved conducting a secondary analysis, using Framework Analysis methodology, of data collected from focus groups with LGBTQ young people regarding their Internet use. In total, five focus groups were held with forty-one LGBTQ young people recruited across four European countries. Results: A total of eighteen studies were included in the qualitative synthesis exploring children and adolescents’ cyberbullying experiences. Although there was some variation in the quality of the studies, there was clear support for four main themes: Online vs. Traditional Bullying Environment, Risk Factors, Victim’s Experience and Preventative Measures. These themes highlighted both the potential causative factors of cyberbullying as well as how the victim experiences different aspects of the incident such as their initial understanding of the event to the long-term impact of cyberbullying. A number of preventative measures were also suggested, including the need for adults to increase their understanding of technology and cyberbullying in order to enable them to be a viable source of help. Within the empirical study, four main themes emerged from the data: Digital World as Part of Daily Life, In Control of Their Online World, Seeking Connection and Navigating Risk. The latter three main themes also consisted of a number of subthemes. The results indicate that participants have embraced the Internet into their everyday lives and that the LGBTQ population reaps specific benefits as the Internet allows them to overcome or compensate for barriers faced within their offline lives. Participants also reported the need to navigate many risks online, however interestingly they appeared confident in doing so and discussed the variety of ways in which they achieve this. Discussion: The results of the qualitative synthesis provided tentative support for two different theoretical models of cyberbullying, indicating that both an individual process model and an ecological system model are mutually useful ways of understanding this phenomenon. Clinical implications spanned both individual and systemic measures that could be taken to reduce the likelihood of cyberbullying occurring. However, it is also clear that further research, in particular qualitative research, is required to continue to develop our understanding of this topic as a whole. The findings from the empirical project suggest that LGBTQ young people must balance the opportunities provided by the Internet whilst also managing the risks that it poses. The importance of retaining the empowerment for young people on the Internet was clear, especially for young LGBTQ people who may use the Internet as an alternative way of meeting their needs and engaging in developmental tasks such as sexual identity development. However, there is also a need to ensure that these young people are safe online and therefore interventions such as parental education and the development of age appropriate resources are required to promote both empowerment and safety for this population.
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Greene, Debra Foster. "Published in the interest of colored people : the St. Louis Argus newspaper in the twentieth century /." free to MU campus, to others for purchase, 2003. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/mo/fullcit?p3091928.
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Gomez, Corrochano Daniel. "Social Networks and the flow of people : The effects of computer-mediated communication on mobility of young people from a rural area in Spain." Thesis, Karlstads universitet, Avdelningen för medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-13833.
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This research examines how social networking fosters the mobility of young people in a rural Spain. Generally, rural areas have been overlooked in the discourse on Globalization and Network Society, which is the foundation of the concept of “linked city”. Although many scholars have highlighted the direct link between the increase in the modes of communication of people and the increase of any kind of interaction, face-to-face included, it is necessary to stress that most of these studies are conducted in urban context where a certain grade of efficient transport exists. This study provides an approach to the impact of mediated communication on the lives of people in villages. Based on the concept of Digital Natives this study addresses the Social Network use of young people in a determined rural area in Spain and its correlation with the aim of mobility of the respondents. The results bring to light a certain degree of correlation between the increase of interaction via the Internet and the wish of mobility. Besides, this study uncovers a transportation shortage among locations in this rural area that forces young people to reduce the face-to-face interactions around specific nodes (e.g. High School or a near big city). Finally this study stresses the need for improvement of the transportation networks in terms of cost, flexibility, functionality and reach among rural population in order to avoid a cultural, economic and social backwardness in comparison to urban environments.
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Liley, Kate. "RidgiDidge: A Grounded Theory of New Media and Young People." Thesis, Griffith University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10072/365522.
Full textAbstract:
The RidgiDidge Study is a qualitative longitudinal project that uses grounded theory methodology to determine how new media technology figures in the recreational lives of a group of Australian High School students. The participants
completed a 7-day media diary, a questionnaire and participated in an individual semi-structured interview at three research stages over a three term period.
The research objective of the RidgiDidge Study is the generation of a middle range substantive grounded theory that describes how new media technology figures in the lives of Australian High school students. This type of theory applies to, and is drawn from, a clearly delineated research context and goes beyond the simple description of social phenomena to occupy the ground between basic empiricism and grand theory. The emergent theory in the RidgiDidge Study will contribute to a growing body of Australian research that calls for an intergenerational and non-judgemental understanding of young people's media technology consumption. Similarly, given that technical change has the capacity to impact on public conceptions of youth and childhood, a
critical view of research on media technology consumption and young people also suggests the need to develop methodologies that account for the complexity of young people's relationship to new media technology.
The results of the RidgiDidge Study indicate that new media technologies such as the games system, the internet and the mobile phone are catalysts and facilitators of social praxis, highlighting the participants' agency in ways not necessarily predicted by adults or commercially provided culture. This conceptual perspective readily accounts for changes in young people's use of
technology over time. The results also indicate that new media technologies are used by the participants' to make and maintain social connections to friends and family for the purposes of maintaining a positive standard of living where social relationships are privileged over the consumption of technology for its own sake. In this way, young people mobilise agency to positively negotiate the duality of the structures in their lives that simultaneously constrain and enable their new media technology use.
This grounded theory challenges the current negative mythology about young people that portrays them as passive media consumers, apathetic community members, deviant or too dependent on technology and susceptible to a range of social and health problems. At issue with this negative conception of childhood
is that such a description leads to a prescription for what and how youth and childhood should be. The theory generated from the RidgiDidge Study shows that new media technology is a comparatively small, positive and integral part of the social world of the participants. Research of this type has implications for
future research where the recognition of a positive conception of youth and childhood in the face of a rapidly changing technological milieu has the capacity to develop a greater non-judgemental and inter-generational understanding of young people.Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School of Arts, Media and Culture
Arts, Education and Law
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Lim, Megan Su Cheng. "Sex, drugs and young people : novel research and health promotion approaches." Monash University. Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences. Department of Epidemiology & Preventive Medicine, 2008. http://arrow.monash.edu.au/hdl/1959.1/74616.
Full textAbstract:
Young people are at risk of sexually transmitted infections (STI), and engage in sex and drug related risk behaviour. This thesis investigates novel methods to reach youth for research and health promotion. Mobile phone text messages (SMS) are convenient, low cost, fast, and popular among youth. SMS has been utilised in sexual health for clinical management, service delivery and health promotion, but few of these projects have been evaluated. Recognising this lack of research led to the design of a randomised controlled trial investigating the use of SMS and email in sexual health promotion. Recruitment of young people for this trial was piloted at Melbourne’s Big Day Out. 939 young people were recruited in several hours; 30% were classified as being at high risk of STI, and 46% had used illicit drugs in the month prior to the survey. Knowledge of STI was poor. Drug use was associated with both sexual risk behaviour and music preference. The study demonstrated that this festival is a valuable site for sex and drugs research and health promotion. The following year, young people were recruited at the music festival and randomised to an intervention group who received regular sexual health SMS and email, or a control group who received no messages. After 12 months, the intervention group had higher STI knowledge than the control group (OR 2.72, 95%CI 1.68, 4.41) and intervention group females were more likely to have had an STI test (OR 2.51, 95%CI 1.11, 5.69). Respondents’ opinions of the messages were favourable. This simple, low-cost, and novel method was shown to be effective in improving young people’s sexual health. At-risk young people are not well represented in sex and drug behavioural surveillance in Australia. As the pilot study identified that a music festival was a suitable site for sex and drug research, the survey was repeated each year. Between 2005 and 2008, the proportion of young people at risk of STI decreased from 34% to 29%, and recent illicit drug use decreased from 46% to 43%. A limitation of the studies described herein is reliance on self-report, which is subject to recall bias; this can be reduced using diaries to collect behavioural data. Participants completed weekly diaries of sexual behaviour and a retrospective questionnaire. Correlation between the diaries and questionnaire was substantial, adding confidence to the validity of results of other studies in this thesis. Diaries can be collected in different ways; SMS has not previously been used for this purpose. Participants were randomised to complete diaries through SMS, online or paper. Online diaries were superior to SMS in completeness and participant preference, but SMS diaries were more likely to be submitted on time. This thesis has tested several novel options for researching and promoting health to young people. Through music festivals, SMS, and email, young people can be reached through settings and media they are familiar with. Use of these novel methods has increased understanding of risk behaviour among youth and been effective in sexual health promotion.
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Toon, Michelle Anne. "A study of on-line use and perceived effectiveness of compliance-gaining in health-related banner advertisements for senior citizens." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2002. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc5800/.
Full textAbstract:
This research investigated banner ads on the World Wide Web, specifically the types of messages used in those ads and the effectiveness of the ads as seen by their intended audience. The focus was on health-related banner advertisements targeting senior citizens. The study first sought to determine the frequency of appearance of those ads when classified into categories of compliance-gaining tactics provided by research scholars. Second, the study explored the relative perceived effectiveness among those categories. Two graduate students from a Central Texas university sorted text messages into predetermined compliance-gaining categories. Chi square tests looked for significant differences in the frequencies of banner ads in each category. Forty-five senior citizens from the Central Texas area completed surveys regarding the perceived effectiveness of a randomly ordered, randomly selected set of categorized banner ads. A repeated measures test attempted to determine whether some compliance-gaining strategies used in health-related banner ads were perceived as more effective than others. The hypothesis stated that there would be differences in frequencies of compliance-gaining strategies used among the compliance-gaining categories in health-related banner ads for senior citizens. The hypothesis was supported. The research question asked if some categories of compliance-gaining strategies used in health-related banner ads were perceived as more effective than others by senior citizens. There was no evidence that senior citizens perceived any compliance-gaining category as being more effective than any other. However, post hoc analyses revealed trends in the types of compliance-gaining messages senior citizens perceived as more effective. These trends provide a basis for directional predictions in future studies.