Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'KMT Communications'

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Kentucky, 2007.
Title from document title page (viewed on August 6, 2007). Document formatted into pages; contains: vi, 96 p. : ill. Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 76-93).

This dissertation encourages adoption of a message-oriented receiver perspective when developing new instructional communication theories and proposes a causal-process model derived from Knowledge Acquisition Theory to demonstrate how this perspective can be used to predict student cognitive learning outcomes. Three hypotheses are generated to test the propositions of the derived model. The first hypothesis seeks to determine which dimensions of instructional message clarity and course content relevance best predict student interactions with instructional content. The second hypothesis predicts that student self-reported knowledge gains are a function of student interactions with content. The third hypothesis predicts that a significant proportion of the variance in knowledge gains can be explained by the combination of message characteristics with student content interactions both in and outside the classroom. A cross-sectional survey research design was used to collect responses from undergraduate students at a large southern public research university (n=333). The hypotheses were tested using linear and hierarchical regression and results demonstrated statistical support for all three hypotheses. The first hypothesis revealed the dimensions of instructional message clarity and course content relevance that significantly predicted student interactions with content inside and outside of class. Support for the second hypothesis illustrated that both in class and out of class content interactions significantly predicted student self-reports of knowledge gains. Finally, hypothesis 3 tested the comprehensive causalprocess model derived from Knowledge Acquisition Theory. The derived model received strong support and ultimately accounted for 65% of the variance in student perceptions of knowledge gains. Student perceptions of knowledge gains increased when students perceived textbook messages as clear, course goals and expectations as clear, content as relevant to their own lives, and when students enacted knowledge acquisition behaviors outside of class. Surprisingly, in class content interaction, presentation clarity, and procedural clarity dropped out of the model. Implications and limitations of the present study are discussed, directions for future research are suggested, and a persuasive argument is presented for why instructional communication researchers should continue to develop a message effects research agenda supporting the development of strong instructional communication theories that produce practical results to inform educational practices.

Online-Kommunikation ist ein allgegenwärtiges Phänomen unseres digitalen Zeitalters. Soziale Netzwerke, Messenger-Programme und ähnliche Dienstleistungen begleiten uns alle im Alltag und werden von jungen Generationen als selbstverständlich hin- und in Anspruch genommen. Der Einzug der Moderne in kommunikative Abläufe sollte auch vor inner- und außerbetrieblichen Abläufen in Unternehmen nicht haltmachen. 2006 entwickelte McAfee sein Konzept ‚Enterprise 2.0‘. Darin beschreibt er den Einsatz von Web 2.0-Technologien in Betrieben. Seitdem versuchen Firmen sich diesem Idealbild anzunähern. Zur menschlichen Kommunikation gesellt sich zwischenzeitlich, neben Mensch-Maschine-Kommunikation, auch der intermaschinelle Informationsaustausch. ‚Internet der Dinge‘ und ‚Industrie 4.0‘ dominieren in Deutschland den Sprachgebrauch, wenn es um wirtschaftliche Belange geht. Besonders die produzierende deutsche Unternehmenslandschaft setzt große Hoffnung in den Einsatz und die Integration modernster Web-Technologien in ihre Logistik- und Produktionsprozesse. Das um den Menschen zentrierte Konzept von ‚Enterprise 2.0‘ scheint in den Hintergrund zu treten. Etwa Mitte 2014 tauchte ein neuer Begriff in den Suchmaschinenanfragen im Internet auf: ‚Digitale Transformation‘. Er scheint als Klammer zwischen allen oder zumindest vielen Konzepten rund um Web 2.0-Technologien und Sozialen Medien und deren Einsatz im Wirtschaftsleben zu fungieren. Darin eingebunden ist neben der technologischen, auch die kulturelle Komponente, die mit dem Einsatz solcher Werkzeuge einhergeht: Generationenwandel, Führungskonzepte, Technologien, Geschäftsmodellveränderungen. Diese als ‚disruptive Veränderungen‘ wahrgenommenen Ereignisse scheinen in nicht unerheblichem Maße unsere Diskussionen, privat und beruflich, stark zu beeinflussen. Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit den Fragestellungen wie sich die Kommunikation und das Informationsmanagement in Unternehmen verändert sowie mit den digitalen Kenntnissen von Mitarbeitern im Umgang mit Online-Medien. Erst in den letzten beiden Jahren (2015 und 2016) werden vermehrt Studien und Veröffentlichungen publiziert, die sich mit diesen Themen beschäftigen. Wenn man einen genaueren Blick darauf wirft, dann muss aber festgestellt werden, dass es sich oftmals um Großunternehmen und Konzerne handelt, die als Beispiele genannt werden, z. B. Robert Bosch GmbH, Siemens AG, Axel Springer SE, Continental AG. Der für Deutschland wichtige Unter- und Mittelbau aus kleinen und mittelständischen (KMU) sowie Familienunternehmen scheint zu fehlen. Das ist der Grund, weshalb der Fokus dieser Dissertation auf der Beschäftigung mit den vorgenannten Veränderungen in Unternehmen aus diesen Bereichen liegt. Um ein schärferes Bild der Veränderungen hinsichtlich Kommunikation und Informationsmanagement in Unternehmen zu bekommen, wurde das Thema vom Autor mit einer explorativen Herangehensweise bearbeitet. Er führte eine quantitative Studie mit Auszubildenden und Studenten der Duale Hochschule (n = 438) durch, um deren Kommunikationsverhalten sowohl im privaten als auch im beruflichen Umfeld zu ermitteln. In einem zweiten Forschungsschritt fand eine ethnographische Feldbeobachtung in einem Familienunternehmen statt. Diese wurde mittels des Mixed-Methods-Ansatzes durchgeführt. Neben der Beobachtung erfolgte hier ebenfalls eine quantitative Studie mittels Fragebogenerhebung (n = 189). Die Dissertation liefert als Ergebnis einen Einblick in die ‚digitale Reife‘ von Unternehmen, die weder in ihrer Struktur, noch der Größe oder der Kapitalausstattung an oben genannte, medienpräsente Unternehmen heranreichen, aber zu denen gehören, die über 99 % der Unternehmen stellen und 60 % der Menschen in Deutschland beschäftigen
Online communication is a ubiquitous phenomenon of our digital age. Often used by young generations as a matter of course, Social Networks, Messenger Programs and similar services accompany us all in everyday life. The advent of modernity in communicative processes should also not preclude the internal and external procedures in companies. In 2006, McAfee developed his concept ‘Enterprise 2.0’. He describes the use of Web 2.0 technologies within companies. Since then, many of them have been trying to approach this ideal. In addition to human communication, we see humanmachine communication and intermachine information exchange. When it comes to economic concerns, 'Internet of Things' and 'Industry 4.0’ dominate the language usage in Germany. The German business landscape in particular places great hopes on the usage and integration of state-of-the-art web technologies in their logistics and production processes. The concept of 'Enterprise 2.0', which is centered on the human being, seems to be set into the background. Around mid-2014, a new term emerged in the web search engines: 'digital transformation'. It seems to be a link between all or at least many concepts about Web 2.0 technologies and social media and their use in business life. In addition to the technological and cultural component involved in the use of such tools, this includes change of generations, management concepts, technologies, business model changes. These events, perceived as 'disruptive changes', seem to have a considerable influence on our discussions, both private and professional. This thesis deals with the questions on how communication and information management in companies are changing as well as with the digital knowledge of employees working with online media. It is only in the last two years (2015 and 2016) that more and more studies and publications regarding these topics have been published. If you take a closer look, these are often done with and about large companies and corporations, e.g. Robert Bosch GmbH, Siemens AG, Axel Springer SE, Continental AG. The smaller and midsized companies, the so-called ‘German Mittelstand’, which are important for Germany, seems to be missing. Because of this, the focus of this dissertation is on the abovementioned changes in companies out of this spectrum. In order to get a clearer picture of the changes in communication and information management in enterprises, the author has dealt with an exploratory approach. He conducted a quantitative study with trainees and dual university students (n = 438) to determine their communication behavior both in their private and their professional environment. In a second research step, an ethnographic field observation took place in a family enterprise. He has done this using the mixed-method approach. In addition to the observation, a quantitative study was carried out using a questionnaire survey (n = 189). The result of the dissertation provides an insight into the 'digital maturity' of companies that do not reach the above-mentioned companies represented in the media, neither in their structure nor their size or capital but which belong to more than 99 % of all the German companies that employ approximately 60 % of all working people

The thesis aims to develop a prototype for a Smart Case for Remote Radio Kits at the department of Demo & Event at Ericsson in Kista.The smart case consists of a mechanical structure (the case itself with ) and an electronic system that includes a temperature sensor, a LCD display showing the temperature, a GPS (global positioning system) module for positioning the case, a GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) module and a microcontroller Arduino UNO. The Case is modelled in 3D with the help of CAD software and then printed with a 3D printer. A down-scaled prototype is built with the help of the 3D printer and the 2D drawing will be used when the full scaled model is produced. The Arduino UNO handles temperature sensor and GPS measurements, LCD display, and the transmission of measurement data using GSM module via text message (SMS) to a cell phone or to a server over the Internet. The projected ended up with all the drawings and models finished for the Case as well as the implementation of down-scaled prototypes. The electrical system was tested and finished individually. But the complete system cannot be assembled inside the Case due to the time limitation. This means that the project can be further extended, where a full scale model can be developed and the electrical control system can be assembled together and mounted inside the Case.

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Bachelors
Engineering and Computer Science
Electrical Engineering

Communication signals are shaped by the opposing selection pressures imposed by predators and mates. A dynamic signal might serve as an adaptive compromise between an inconspicuous signal that evades predators and an extravagant signal preferred by females. Such a signal has been described in the gymnotiform electric fish, Brachyhypopomus gauderio, which produces a sexually dimorphic electric organ discharge (EOD). The EOD varies on a circadian rhythm and in response to social cues. This signal plasticity is mediated by the slow action of androgens and rapid action of melanocortins. My dissertation research tested the hypotheses that (1) signal plasticity is related to sociality levels in gymnotiform species, and (2) differences in signal plasticity are regulated by differential sensitivity to androgen and melanocortin hormones. To assess the breadth of dynamic signaling within the order Gymnotiformes, I sampled 13 species from the five gymnotiform families. I recorded EODs to observe spontaneous signal oscillations after which I injected melanocortin hormones, saline control, or presented the fish with a conspecific. I showed that through the co-option of the ancient melanocortin pathway, gymnotiforms dynamically regulate EOD amplitude, spectral frequency, both, or neither. To investigate whether observed EOD plasticities are related to species-specific sociality I tested four species; two territorial, highly aggressive species, Gymnotus carapo and Apteronotus leptorhynchus, a highly gregarious species, Eigenmannia cf. virescens, and an intermediate short-lived species with a fluid social system, Brachyhypopomus gauderio. I examined the relationship between the androgens testosterone and 11-ketotestosterone, the melanocortin a-MSH, and their roles in regulating EOD waveform. I implanted all fish with androgen and blank silicone implants, and injected with a-MSH before and at the peak of implant effect. I found that waveforms of the most territorial and aggressive species were insensitive to hormone treatments; maintaining a static, stereotyped signal that preserves encoding of individual identity. Species with a fluid social system were most responsive to hormone treatments, exhibiting signals that reflect immediate condition and reproductive state. In conclusion, variation in gymnotiform signal plasticity is hormonally regulated and seems to reflect species-specific sociality.

Dissertação para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Design de Comunicação, apresentada na Universidade de Lisboa - Faculdade de Arquitetura.
A Perturbação do Espetro do Autismo (PEA) é uma patologia que existe independente da raça, etnia, classe social ou condição cultural. A maioria dos sujeitos com esta patologia apresenta distúrbios na linguagem, comportamentos estereotipados, e inabilidade de interação social. Dentro deste espetro, também existem casos em que as crianças desenvolvem a linguagem. Porém, a simples presença de palavras não garante a qualidade do desenvolvimento da comunicação. Posto isto, mesmo na presença da fala, é preciso caracterizar o desenvolvimento das habilidades sociais, da exploração de objetos e da aptidão para atividades lúdicas. Com base nesta problemática e fazendo recurso a uma metodologia mista, intervencionista e não intervencionista, de base qualitativa, realizou-se uma investigação que incide no desenvolvimento de um projeto assente nas limitações e dificuldades de crianças com a Perturbação do Espectro Autista . Foi realizado um conjunto de objetos, que englobam componentes que pretendem estimular capacidades cognitivas que não se encontram desenvolvidas nestas crianças, adequados à utilização em contexto familiar. Criou-se um produto que promove a interação social entre pais e crianças detentoras de Perturbação do Espetro Autista, reforçando laços emocionais. Paralelamente, este projeto, tem a capacidade de servir como material de apoio a consulta. Como metodologia recorreu-se à recolha de dados, à comparação e cruzamento de informação nas áreas de Design e da Perturbação do Espetro Autista, e à consulta de um grupo de amostra de especialistas que, a partir de questionários e entrevistas, deram um contributo fundamental no desenvolvimento da presente investigação. Após a realização de uma avaliação do produto desenvolvido, com especialistas na área de psicologia, foi concluído que o projeto se revela um contributo para a área de design de comunicação e da PEA. Considera-se ainda, que o kit, pode ser implementado em contexto real demonstrando ser um material de apoio versátil em contexto de consulta.

Comprehensive management in the neonatal nursery involves medical treatment of the infant, as well as developmental care and the provision of guidance, counselling and information to the family who are part of the decision-making process regarding the infant’s care. Neonatal communication intervention is of utmost importance in a country such as South Africa, which has an increased prevalence of infants at risk for disabilities and where the majority of these infants live in poverty. Speech-language therapists fulfil an important role in the neonatal nursery and are an integral part of the team involved with the high risk neonatal population. Local literature showed a dearth of information on the current service delivery and roles of speech-language therapists and audiologists in neonatal nurseries in the South African context. From an asset-based perspective it appears that the South African population receiving services in neonatal nurseries have unique characteristics. This provides speech-language therapists with ample opportunity to intervene, providing that intervention is well-timed in the neonatal nursery context. The country-wide initiative to implement the evidence-based technique of kangaroo mother care indicates that speech-language therapists should recognise its importance and develop communication based materials and tools to complement this successful neonatal intervention. The aim of the research was to establish whether speech-language therapists have needs for assessment and intervention tools/materials in this context. The study furthermore aimed to compile a locally relevant neonatal communication intervention instrument/tool for use by speech-language therapists in the neonatal nurseries of public hospitals in South Africa in order to propose a solution to address the shortage of tools in the public health context. The study entailed descriptive, exploratory research. During Phase 1, a survey was received back from 39 speech-language therapists and two audiologists in six provinces. The data revealed that participants performed different roles in neonatal nurseries, which were determined by the environment, tools, materials and instrumentation available to them. Many participants were inexperienced, but were resourceful in their attempts to develop and adapt tools/materials. Participants expressed a need for culturally appropriate and user-friendly instruments for parent guidance and staff/team training on the topic of developmental care. During Phase 2 a tool for parent guidance titled “Neonatal communication intervention programme for parents” was compiled for use by speech-language therapists and justified by participants’ roles and needs as well as current early communication intervention (ECI) literature. The programme was piloted by three participants. Certain suggestions for enhancements of the programme were made such as providing a glossary of terms, adapting the programme’s language and terminology, and providing more illustrations. The programme complied with the guiding principles for best practice in ECI (ASHA, 2008) and can therefore contribute to neonatal care of high risk infants in South Africa. Speech-language therapists and audiologists must contribute to neonatal care of high risk infants to facilitate optimal health and development and to support their families. AFRIKAANS : Omvattende intervensie in die neonatale sorgeenheid behels mediese behandeling van die neonaat, sowel as ontwikkelingstoepaslike sorg en die verskaffing van leiding, berading en inligting aan die gesin wat deel is van die besluitnemingsproses rakende die baba se sorg. Neonatale kommunikasie intervensie is van uiterste belang in Suid-Afrika aangesien daar ‘n hoër prevalensie van babas is wat ‘n risiko het vir ontwikkelingsafwykings en aangesien die meerderheid van hierdie babas in armoede leef. Spraak-taalterapeute vervul ‘n belangrike rol in die neonatale sorgeenheid en is ‘n integrale deel van die span wat betrokke is by die hoërisiko neonatale populasie. Plaaslike literatuur dui op ‘n tekort aan inligting rakende die huidige dienslewering van die spraak-taalterapeut en oudioloog in neonatale sorgeenhede in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks. Vanuit ‘n bate-benadering kom dit voor of die Suid-Afrikaanse populasie wat dienste in neonatale sorgeenhede ontvang, unieke eienskappe het. Dit bied genoegsame geleenthede aan spraak-taalterapeute om intervensie te verskaf, solank die behandeling betyds in die neonatale sorgeenheid konteks aanvang neem. Daar is ‘n landswye inisiatief om die bewysgerigte tegniek van kangeroe moedersorg toe te pas. Spraak-taalterapeute moet dus die belang daarvan herken en kommunikasie gebasseerde terapiemateriaal ontwikkel om hierdie suksesvolle neonatale intervensie te komplementeer. Die navorsing se doel was om vas te stel hoe wyd spraak-taalterapeute en oudioloe ‘n behoefte aan evaluasie en intervensie instrumente en –materiaal in hierdie konteks het. Die navorsing het verder ten doel gestel om ‘n relevante terapie instrument saam te stel vir spraak-taalterapeute in die neonatale sorgeenhede as ‘n moontlike oplossing vir die tekort aan relevante terapiemateriaal in die plaaslike publieke gesondheidsorgkonteks. Die studie het beskrywende, eksplorerende navorsing behels. Gedurende Fase 1 is ‘n vraelys terug ontvang van 39 spraak-taalterapeute en twee oudioloë in ses provinsies. Die data het aangedui dat deelnemers verskillende rolle in hierdie konteks vervul, wat beïnvloed was deur die omgewing, die instrumentasie en materiaal wat tot hulle beskikking was. Die meerderheid van die deelnemers was onervare, maar was vindingryk in hulle pogings om terapiemateriaal aan te pas en te ontwikkel. Deelnemers het ‘n behoefte vir kultureel toepaslike- en gebruikersvriendelike instrumente en materiaal uitgedruk met die oog op ouerleiding en personeel/span opleiding oor die onderwerp van ontwikkelingstoepaslike sorg. Gedurende Fase 2 is ‘n terapie instrument naamlik “Neonatale kommunikasie intervensie program vir ouers” saamgestel vir die gebruik in die neonatale sorgeenhede deur spraak-taalterapeute. Die samestelling van hierdie program is verantwoord deur die deelnemers se rolbeskrywing en behoeftebepaling van Fase 1, sowel as deur huidige vroeë kommunikasie intervensie (VKI) literatuur. Die program is deur drie deelnemers in ‘n loodsstudie geëvalueer. Voorstelle vir die verbetering van die program is verskaf, naamlik die byvoeging van ‘n terminologielys, aanpassing van die program se taalgebruik en terminologie en verskaffing van meer illustrasies. Die program het ooreengestem met die beginsels vir beste praktyk in VKI (ASHA, 2008) en kan daarom tot neonatale sorg van hoërisikobabas in Suid-Afrika bydra. Spraak-taalterapeute en oudioloë moet bydra tot neonatale sorg van hoërisiko neonate om sodoende optimale gesondheidsorg en ontwikkeling te fasiliteer en gesinne te ondersteun. Copyright
Dissertation (MCommunication Pathology)--University of Pretoria, 2010.
Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology
unrestricted

Vi lever i ett samhälle där individualismen blomstrar samtidigt som ofrivillig ensamhet är ett växande samhällsproblem som kommit att bli en hälsofråga.Genom urbaniseringen bor vi allt tätare, trots detta visar studier att vi känner oss ensammare i storstäder. Forskning visar även att en av de viktigaste källorna till ett långt liv, är social interaktion i vardagen. Något så enkelt som att säga hej till grannen.Det är ju inte så svårt, eller? Socioekologisk stadsutveckling handlar om hur man i stadsplanering kan fläta samman ekologisk och social hållbarhet. Utifrån kontexten “Grannar bosatta i lägenhet i Stockholm”undersöker jag hur jag genom design, kan bidra till detta arbete genom att ta fram ett förslag som kan appliceras på redan existerande boendeformer/miljöer vi ser idag. Grow Social är kombination av en produkt och tjänst med syfte att ”åka runt” och sprida fröer i lägenhetshus för att uppmuntra grannar till att odla lokalt, men framförallt,att få grannars sociala relationer att växa genom att odla och umgås. Genom Grow Social vill jag visa på att utvecklingen till hållbara boenden kan börja i det lilla.Att vi genom något så litet som ett frö, kan gå mot en framtid där social interaktion fyller en naturlig plats vid utformandet av våra boendemiljöer.

Advances in neonatology have led to increased numbers of high-risk neonates surviving and intensified interest in the developmental outcomes of this population. In the South African context prematurity and low birth weight are the most common causes of death in the perinatal period and the same risk factors that contribute to infant mortality also contribute to the surviving infants’ increased risk for developmental delays. As a result of the interacting biological and environmental risk factors of prematurity, low birth weight, poverty and HIV and AIDS in the South African context Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) has been developed as best practice to promote infant survival and to facilitate mother-infant attachment. Mother-infant attachment may lead to synchronous interaction patterns between the mother and infant which forms the basis of early communication development. Early communication intervention (ECI) services are recommended as early as possible as high-risk infants are especially at risk for feeding difficulties and communication developmental delays. It is, however, not clear what the content of an ECI programme should be and how it should be implemented according to the changing communication and feeding developmental needs of the infant while receiving KMC. There appears to be a dearth of research on the earliest stages of communication development in high-risk neonates, which should form the foundation of such a programme. A descriptive survey was conducted to describe the development of 25 high-risk infants and their mothers’ changing needs from admission to discharge from a KMC unit. Each participant and mother dyad was followed up over an average of 11 days of data collection with three to four data collection sessions. Data was collected by means of direct observation during routine care-giving activities. The different developmental subsystems of the participants’ feeding, communication, neuro-behavioural organization and mother-neonate interaction were described. The results demonstrated that subtle, but definite changes could be observed in the participants’ development. Development in all the different areas occurred over time as the participants progressed through the three developmental states of the in-turned state, coming-out state and reciprocity state. As the participants progressed during the 11 days of data collection and were increasingly able to attend to their environment, they also developed the ability to regulate and organize their own behaviour in order to develop more complex communication, feeding and interaction skills with their mothers. The functioning of the participants’ sensory systems developed in a specific order namely tactile, auditory and then visual. Although the participants developed consistently throughout their stay in the KMC unit, mother-neonate interaction never reached optimal levels. The importance of an individualized training programme for each mother is reflected in the finding that the neonate’s developmental level and progress needs to be considered when implementing the ECI programme. The need for speech-language therapy involvement in KMC is emphasized in the light of a shortage of practicing speech-language therapists in South Africa. It is therefore imperative that the prevention of communication delays and feeding difficulties in high-risk neonates as well as parent training assume priority.
Dissertation (MCommunication Pathology)--University of Pretoria, 2008.
Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology
unrestricted

Existing literature indicates that although both academics and practitioners recognize knowledge management (KM) as a source of competitive advantage, users are not always willing to use a knowledge management system (KMS). Because of the social nature of knowledge transfer, a KMS can be considered a socio-technical system. Many explanations have been presented for this failure to utilize the KMS. These explanations include a number of the socio-technical factors relating to people, processes, and technologies. While these factors may have significant explanatory power when examined independently, existing studies have not sufficiently addressed the interactions among all three socio-technical factors or their impacts on KMS usage. The goal of this study was to develop a comprehensive understanding of socio-technical factors that impact KMS usage within decision support systems (DSS). A comprehensive framework was presented that will be helpful in developing and improving KMS initiatives and thus improving KM across the organization. This study identified factors of people (self-efficacy, social ties, and ease of use), processes (leadership, culture/climate, and governance), and technologies (system & information quality, and technology fit) and their influence on KMS system usage. Analysis for this problem required a causal, non-contrived field study employing structural equation modeling. Founded on socio-technical systems theory, nine hypotheses were proposed. Data was collected using a 36 item survey distributed to KMS users from a variety of industries in the United States. Confirmatory factor analysis and an eight-stage structural equation modeling procedure were used to analyze 97 usable responses. The results confirmed that technology-oriented factors predicted knowledge seeking and contributing in DSS. Furthermore, significant positive relationships were confirmed between certain sociotechnical factors including: (1) people and process, (2) people and technology, (3) processes and technology, (4) processes and people, (5) technology and people, and (6) technology and processes. These findings extend the relevance and statistical power of existing studies on KMS usage. This study indicated that the most important concerns for increasing KMS usage were system quality, information quality, and technology fit. Results also confirmed that in the context of this study, people-oriented factors (self-efficacy, social ties, and ease of use/usefulness) and organizational process factors (leadership, organizational culture/climate, and governance) were not critical factors directly responsible for increasing KMS usage. However, the relationships among socio-technical factors all had positive significant relationships. Therefore, investments in people and process-oriented factors will create a more favorable perspective on technology-oriented factors, which in turn can increase KMS usage. On a practical front, this study provided indicators to managers regarding a number of desirable and undesirable conditions that should be taken into consideration when developing or implementing knowledge management initiatives and the systems to support them. This study offered an original contribution to the existing bodies of knowledge on socio-technical factors and KMS usage behavior. The constructs presented in this study highlighted the significance of social and technical relationships in understanding knowledge seeking and contribution in a decision-driven organization.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Library and Information Science at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2015
Knowledge management (KM) is increasingly important for university library management and information services. Libraries have excelled in the management of explicit/tangible/recorded knowledge for many years, however, not as much in the management of tacit/intangible knowledge which is assumed to be more difficult to manage. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) play a crucial role for knowledge management in the academic libraries. Unfortunately, the knowledge of the role of ICT in KM in university libraries is limited generally, and in Nigeria and South Africa in particular. The purpose of the present study was to explore and examine the use of ICTs as tools for the support of KM in selected academic (university) libraries in Nigeria and South Africa. In accomplishing this, eight research objectives that were guided by nine research questions. Finally, three research hypotheses were examined. The research objectives were: establishing how knowledge management is practised by librarians in academic libraries of Nigeria and South Africa; exploring the available ICT facilities, KM tools, and services that can be used for the support of KM in academic libraries in Nigeria and South Africa; determining the extent to which librarians in Nigerian and South African university libraries utilise ICTs to support KM; investigating strategies that would promote the use of ICTs for the support of KM in academic libraries in Nigeria and South Africa; determining and comparing librarians’ knowledge and ICTs skills for the support of KM in academic libraries in Nigeria and South Africa; finding policies that guide the use of ICTs for the support of KM in academic libraries in Nigeria and South Africa; examining the challenges faced in the use of ICTs for the support of KM in academic libraries in Nigeria and South Africa; and recommending a conceptual model of the use of ICTs for the support of KM in academic libraries in Nigeria and South Africa. The study was informed by positivism and the interpretivism research paradigm. The quantitative (survey) and qualitative (interpretive and content analysis) research methods were employed. The population for the study consisted of all professional librarians in the two countries university libraries. The non-probability sampling, grounded on purposive and convenient/accidental sampling techniques, was used to select 171 professional libraries in the six university libraries. The six university libraries in the two countries were University of Ibadan, Federal University of Technology, Delta State University, University of Zululand, University of KwaZulu-Natal and Durban University of Technology). The six university libraries were selected on the basis of first generation universities and university ranking index in Africa, funding and resourcefulness of the institution (University of Ibadan library and University of KwaZulu-Natal library); Technological universities as practically oriented and the availability of facilities (Federal University of Technology library and Durban University of Technology library); as well as rurally based universities, government-owned and growing institutions (Delta State University library and University of Zululand library). The instruments for data collection used were the questionnaire, interview and observation methods. The professional librarians across the sampled university libraries in Nigeria and South Africa were administered 171 copies of structured questionnaires. While six key informants working in the university libraries in the two countries were interviewed. Observation methods were also used to gather information regarding the university libraries environment, physical structure and location, office space (conduciveness), availability and accessibility of computers and other ICT tools, collections (print and electronic resources), shelving space, size and lighting in the office and attitude of staff towards their work while with them. Of the 171 copies of questionnaires administered among the respondents, 132 (77.2%) were returned. The 132 (77.2%) returned consisted of 77 from university libraries in Nigeria, while 55 came from university libraries in South Africa. The 132 copies of returned questionnaire were subjected to statistical analysis of descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings revealed that knowledge management practices (KMPs) involve all library operations, processes and services. There are variations in ICT and KM tools and services among the sampled university libraries as their level of development is not the same. The most available and accessible ICT and KM tools and services vary in terms of jobs undertaken by librarians from one university library to another. Old technologies such as computers, CD-ROMs, scanners, projectors, telephones, printers, and monitors appeared to be the most available and accessible tools across the selected university libraries in the two countries. South African university libraries were better resourced than the Nigerian university libraries in the sample. The availability and accessibility of ICT and KM tools and services appear to be in greater effect, as librarians were able to use them to carry out library operations and other management functions. The university libraries sampled tend to use updated ICTs/KM tools including smart boards, semantic web-tools, information retrieval tools, database management systems, management systems for electronic documents, and management information systems for improved library and information management of the organizations. The use of these tools became necessary as current practices in information services have equally changed. It was established that various strategies have been used to train and foster innovation and growth in the library organizations. These strategies have affected the university libraries organizational culture, work environment, management support systems, librarians’ knowledge, and access to information. In order for librarians to cope with the emerging knowledge and skills levels in information service requirements in university libraries, continuing education and training is necessary. The main challenges that affected the use of ICTs in supporting KM in the sampled university libraries included: inadequate funding; lack of motivation; lack of infrastructure; the loss of LIS practitioners to other professions; language barriers; and the inability to work independently. However, the inadequacy of professional staff was noticed in all cases. It was found that the role(s), for which ICTs play an indispensible tool, in present day library organizations, cannot be overemphasized. ICTs are used to manage knowledge in diverse ways: acquisition, processing, storage, and dissemination of large volumes of information resources, stored in university libraries’ institutional repositories. It can also be used to access and retrieve knowledge from library websites without the need for a physical visitation to the library building. Different strategies have emerged where social networks are used to promote library products and services. Library professionals have equally shifted from being custodians of information and knowledge to facilitators of library resources and services through the attendance of workshops, seminars and conferences. The exposure to workshops, seminars and conferences has enabled librarians to be more knowledgeable and skilled in managing knowledge through the use of ICT tools in the university libraries that were sampled. The study concluded that, knowledge management practices in the academic libraries are diverse, and include the management of both tacit (apprenticeship and mentoring and mentoring of information service providers and training of the library users for effective information access and use, particularly academics who produce new knowledge) and explicit knowledge. ICTs play a major role in the KM activities and processes but re-skilling of both information service providers and the library users is essential at all times in order to counter the rapid changes in information access, service and use of the environment. The challenges that are highlighted in the current study are largely known, however, should be handled boldly and with more immediacy than before. The study recommends the need to create more awareness of KMPs among librarians in academic libraries. The acquisition of new ICTs and KM tools for better access and use of information services should also be intensified. Staff development through formal, informal and continuing education should be supported. The work of university committees that are charged with coordinating, monitoring and evaluating library services should enable the improvement of the library services. The LIS schools have to step up LIS education to meet the current information service requirements in their curriculum. The management body of academic libraries should set up staff member committee to review and evaluate ICT policies on regular basis to meet their demand. Relevant library stakeholders should be involved in KM activities of the library where such bodies do not exist. TAM should be considered for informing ICT access and use for KM in the academic libraries.
Nigerian Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND)

La question que nous nous posons dans cette thèse est dans quelle mesure les TIC peuvent favoriser l'émergence de projets innovants entre acteurs de la recherche publique et de la recherche privée ? Plus spécifiquement, nous reconnaissons dans cette recherche, à l'instar de nombreux auteurs, que c'est moins la dimension technique que les modalités de mise en œuvre de la solution qui importent [Benghozi, 2001]. Dans le cas où les pratiques sont incertaines et complexes parce que mêlant des acteurs différents, une réflexion sur la notion d'usage nous conduira ainsi à mettre en évidence la nécessité d'une co-conception des solutions TIC et à proposer la mise en œuvre de cette démarche à travers une recherche intervention dans le cadre du projet KMP au sein de Telecom Valley. Cette expérimentation nous permettra alors de mettre en exergue le rôle de la construction d'objets frontières dans la co-évolution de la conception et des usages.

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Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
Message Sequence Charts (MSC) é uma linguagem gráfica, usada na academia e na indústria, cujo objetivo é descrever o comportamento de componentes de sistemas e seus ambientes. A sintaxe e a semântica de um diagrama MSC padrão são definidos pelo International Telecommunication Union. A motivação para esse trabalho foi originada a partir de esforços para modelar cenários de aplicações de aparelhos móveis com o objetivo de automatizar a geração de testes, no contexto de uma colaboração entre Centro de Informática da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (CIn- UFPE) e a Motorola, no contexto do projeto Brasil Test Center (BTC). Ao modelar algumas destas aplicações que envolvem múltipla sincronização utilizando como linguagem de modelagem, MSC padrão, constatou-se que os diagramas são de difícil entendimento ou com um comportamento diferente do desejado. É proposta neste trabalho uma extensão de MSC com o objetivo de permitir a descrição de mensagens síncronas, que permitem descrever eventos instantâneos (abstraindo-se a duração do tempo real para que a conexão seja estabelecida) e podendo envolver várias instâncias de MSC. Essa extensão é conservativa, no sentido que o comportamento das construções existentes não é afetado pela mesma; além disso, em um mesmo diagrama é possível conter mensagens síncronas e mensagens assíncronas. Foi desenvolvido um algoritmo de transformação, que a partir de um diagrama escrito na notação MSC estendido, gera um diagrama correspondente na notação de MSC padrão. Este algoritmo tem por objetivo permitir a transitividade entre as notações e demonstrar suas equivalências. Este algoritmo de transformação implementa mensagens síncronas como uma seqüência de mensagens assíncronas seguindo um algoritmo particular de handshake. A segunda contribuição desse trabalho é a definição de uma semântica para a notação padrão e estendida de MSC. Essa definição é dada em termos da álgebra de processos CSP (Communicating Sequential Processes). O formalismo introduzido na notação de Message Sequence Charts com CSP permite mostrar a equivalência entre um diagrama na notação de MSC estendido e seu correspondente descrito em MSC padrão, gerado a partir do algoritmo de transformação. Além disso, modelar MSC como um processo descrito na notação CSP permite uma análise sobre seus diagramas, usando um rico conjunto de leis algébricas de CSP, bem como o uso de ferramentas, como FDR2 e o Probe. Finalmente, para validar a estratégia proposta, desenvolveu-se um exemplo que ilustra a utilização da notação estendida de MSC, notação síncrona; a conversão desta notação para a notação padrão e a equivalência entre o MSC estendido e o padrão. Mostramos, ainda, o uso da ferramenta Power Tool Kit(PTK) para geração de casos de teste a partir de diagramas MSC

This Master’s thesis deals with working on development kit, which is used for RC ship model. The basis are programmable Nucleo STM32 microcontrollers, to which other used modules are connected. The goal is to test each component and create system for navigation of the ship and wireless communication between controller and ship. GPS module and compass are used to navigate and determine the direction of the ship. Controller and ship can communicate through bidirectional wireless modules with antenna. The RC ship model can be switched between manual and autonomous modes. The main result of this thesis is autonomous movement of the ship on to a predetermined GPS coordinates and parallel communication with the user.

Under pandemin COVID-19 har hälsovården tvingats till hastiga anpassningar i form av användning av vård via videolänk för kontinuitet, vilket berör även psykoterapi. Trots omfattande evidens för effektiviteten av terapi via videolänk finns fortfarande myter hos kliniker att den terapeutiska alliansen äventyras i det digitala forumet, vilket kan försvåra implementeringen. Studiens syfte var att utforska psykoterapeuters upplevelser av psykoterapi via videolänk, med särskilt fokus på den terapeutiska alliansen (TA). Genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer undersöktes psykoterapeuters föreställningar, anpassningar samt erfarenheter av denna omställning. Data analyserades utifrån kvalitativ innehållsanalys och resulterade i tre kategorier; Kommunikation, Den bärande relationen samt KBT-interventionerna. Huvudresultatet indikerar att klinikerna har behövt anpassa behandlingen kontextuellt, kommunikativt samt innehållsmässigt för att främja alliansen, och att TA går att utveckla över videolänk. Detta sammanfaller med tidigare internationella studiers resultat.  Utvecklingsområden som framkommit är aspekter självexponering som nytt fenomen och förändringar i maktstrukturen inom terapin. Omställningen har gått över förväntan positivt och delvis förändrat respondenternas inställning till videolänkterapi. Inom begränsningarna för denna studie beskrivs konsekvenserna och framtida forskningsriktningar.
During the pandemic COVID-19 the health care has suddenly been forced to adjust their work and start using video conference to keep the continuity, which also impacts psychotherapy. Despite extensive evidence of the efficiency of video conference psychotherapy there are still myths among clinicians that the therapeutic alliance can be endangered by the digital format, which can complicate the implementations. The aim of this study is to examine the psychotherapists' experiences of psychotherapy via video conference, with particular focus on the therapeutic alliance (TA). Through semi-structured interviews we examined the psychotherapists conceptions, adaptations and the experiences of this readjustment. Data were analyzed based on qualitative content analysis; Communication, The solid relation and the CBT-interventions. The main results indicated that the clinicians needed to adapt the treatment contextually, communicatively and in terms of content to frame TA, and that TA can be developed via video conference. This coincides with previous international research. Areas of development is the new phenomenon self-exposure and transformation/change of equalization of power.  The conversion has positively exceeded the expectations and has partly changed the respondents attitudes to therapy via video conference. Within the limitations of this study, implications and further directions for research are described.

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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
The growing addition of information and communication technologies in history teaching is what triggers the reflections in this essay. Used as a reference of analysis the thirty programs by Series Brasil 500 Anos, which is an audio-visual educational device especially designed to celebrate the nation 500th year widely distributed to public schools as part of the Kits Tecnológicos TV Escola. Organizing the dissertation in two large essays, first, used the Series Brasil 500 Anos to talk about wishes of past that mobilizing the configuration of a memory culture in the contemporaneous world. Posteriorly, understating itself as an audio-visual narrative which show curricular contents with allusions to national history considered worth to be taught and learned, discuss some mechanisms of embedding and disembedding of history teaching and curriculum in the contemporaneousness its. In this epistemological approach, the borders of the historiographical field are overflowed and a dialogue is developed with supposed theoretical- ethodologies originated from the different disciplines. So, as developed some impertinencies about nation education politics and programs with allusions to distribution of information and communication technologies in school quotidian, as suspected of the supposed metaphysic, redeemer and messianic nature of the contemporaneous scholar culture its
O crescente processo de inclusão de tecnologias da informação e comunicação no ensino de História é o que mobiliza as reflexões desta dissertação. Como vetor de análise, utilizo os trinta episódios que compõem a Série Brasil 500 Anos, um artefato educativo audiovisual especialmente produzido para as comemorações do quinto centenário da nação amplamente distribuido para as escolas públicas como parte dos Kits Tecnológicos TV Escola. Estruturando a dissertação em dois grandes ensaios, inicialmente, aproveito-me da Série Brasil 500 Anos para refletir sobre desejos de passado que impelem a configuração de uma cultura de memória no mundo contemporâneo. Posteriormente, entendendo-a como uma narrativa audiovisual que exibe entendimentos curriculares alusivos a histórias nacionais consideradas dignas serem ensinadas e aprendidas, discuto alguns dos mecanismos de desencaixe e reencaixe do ensino de História, assim como de seu currículo, na contemporaneidade. Nesse fazer epistemológico, transbordo as fronteiras do campo historiográfico e dialogo com pressupostos teoricometodológicos advindos de diferentes disciplinas. A partir desses arranjos, construo algumas impertinências sobre políticas e programas nacionais de educação voltados à difusão de tecnologias da informação e comunicação no cotidiano escolar, assim como desconfio de seu suposto caráter metafísico, redentor e messiânico da cultura escolar contemporânea

Magistro darbe analizuojamas informacinių technologijų taikymas Lietuvos logopedų darbe. Apie IKT ir KMP taikymą Lietuvos logopedų darbe nėra daug žinoma, nėra parengta išsamių mokslinių straipsnių ar apžvalgų, kurie nurodytų, kokiomis informacinių technologijų programomis ar priemonėmis naudojamasi logopedų darbe, kokios iš jų vyrauja ir kurios yra efektyviausios dirbant su kalbos, kalbėjimo ir komunikacijos sutrikimų turinčiais asmenimis. Praktinis tyrimo naudingumas – atskleisti informacinių technologijų taikymo realybę logopedų darbe su kalbėjimo ir kalbos sutrikimų turinčiais asmenimis. Palyginti pasiekimus šioje srityje Lietuvoje ir užsienio šalyse. Prieduose pateikiamas internetinių svetainių sąrašas, kur galima rasti logopedinėse pratybose pritaikomų lavinimo užduočių.
Master’s thesis analyzes the informational technologies application in Lithuanian speech and language therapists’ work. The aim of this research - to assess the informational and communication technology (ICTs) and computer-based speech training system (CBST) use at the speech and language therapists work in comprehensive schools who work with persons who have language, speech and communication disorders. The empirical part of the paper deals with the use of ICTs/ CBST at speech and language therapists work, their possibility of usage, the coherence between speech therapists qualification and their age, the usage of the programs for development educable self-dependent tools, speech and language therapists interest in various sources of work-related topics and others. In the questionnaire survey (in electronic form) have participated 258 speech and language therapists who work in comprehensive schools.

The last years, libraries and information centers, as well as other organizations are attempting to survive in a knowledge-driven society. Moreover, they are called upon to redefine their structure and management processes in order to increase their competitive advantage through their learning capability and their knowledge assets. Knowledge has become their core element that contributes to the development and improvement of their services through knowledge management (KM) initiatives, connected with knowledge assets creation, sharing, and exploitation. This study is a qualitative research that has been conducted in NTUA Central Library with main research object the Department of Information and Users’ Services. The study examines the knowledge management (KM) perception in the Department and by extension, the library. It aims to identify the adopted KM practices, investigate the KM process through knowledge creation and sharing, collaboration and communication among employees and external collaborators and finally, to propose new methods and techniques through a KM strategy, for improving the Department and library’s internal operation and services provision. The study’s goal is to present the current situation of one of the biggest Greek academic libraries regarding KM initiatives and to draw attention on the academic libraries’ changing role in the new digital era and the opportunities that KM provides them to participate in the knowledge-based economy and the knowledge-based society. The importance of this study lies on the fact that few researches have been conducted in Greek academic libraries and the results have presented that they demonstrate little attempt to adopt KM practices and rather, to establish a clear KM strategy. In this context, the study is trying to clarify the importance of focusing on people as libraries’ knowledge resource connected with their knowledge and experience, which defined as “intellectual assets” that need to be recorded, classified, updated and definitely shared, in order to become searchable and accessible. It is a case study, conducted through an interpretive approach, following a holistic ethnography tradition. The research methods used for the data collection were the methods of participant observation and semi-structured interviews. The data collected have been analyzed through the six (6) phases of the thematic analysis, while methods data validation have been used to ensure their reliability. In conclusion, the study presents results connected with the Department’s knowledge specification (tacit and explicit), the process of knowledge sharing by mentioning the people involving, the methods and tools. Furthermore, the weaknesses the Department faces are presented regarding employees’ involvement – mostly connected with communication and collaboration – and the systems and resources management. Finally, the anticipated future challenges are presented and analyzed, as defined by the library’s role, the employees’ role and the KM role.

Récemment, avec les progrès technologiques rapides que nous observons dans le domaine des Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication (TIC), de nombreux Systèmes d'Information (SI) sont introduits dans nos vies à la maison ou au travail. Cela entraînera des défis croissants pour les utilisateurs, tels que la nécessité de gérer d'énormes quantités de ressources et la difficulté de collaborer avec les autres. Afin de trouver la bonne information au bon moment pour prendre des décisions éclairées, les utilisateurs doivent rechercher des ressources réparties dans de nombreux SI (courriels, réseaux sociaux, pages wiki, notes électroniques, etc.). Le processus de recherche de ressources dans différents SI est coûteux et prend du temps; il doit donc être optimisé. L'émergence des Écosystèmes Numériques (DE) offre aux utilisateurs le potentiel d'améliorer l'accessibilité et la coordination des différents systèmes.D'autre part comparable à un DE, un système de systèmes d'information (SoIS) est composé de SI intégrés qui sont hétérogènes et fonctionnent indépendamment de manière autonome, mais qui sont mis en réseau pour un objectif commun.L'objectif mentionné précédemment, pourrait être l'organisation et le partage de ressources hétérogènes. Cette thèse se concentre sur le passage des Écosystèmes Numériques à un système de systèmes d'information en tant que solution aux défis émergents auxquels sont confrontés les utilisateurs de différents SI dans un contexte de collaboration. Le SoIS donne l'occasion d'explorer comment la collaboration peut être améliorée grâce à une combinaison de différents SI dans l'environnement numérique des organisations. Dans ce contexte, nous avons défini un modèle sémantique et un modèle architectural de SoIS. Nous avons ensuite développé un prototype, appelé MEMORAeSoIS, basé sur ces modèles comme support de collaboration. Ce prototype peut offrir la possibilité d'indexer, de partager, d'annoter et de recommander des ressources importantes provenant de différents SI
Recently, with the rapid technological advancement that we are witnessing in the domain of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), many Information Systems (ISs) are introduced into our lives either at home or at work. That will cause growing challenges for the users, such as the need for managing huge amounts of resources and the difficulty to collaborate with others. In order to find the right information at the right time to make educated decisions, users have to look for resources distributed in many ISs (emails, social networks, wiki pages, electronic notes etc.). The process of searching for resources in different ISs is costly and time-consuming; therefore it needs to be optimized. The emergence of Digital Ecosystems (DE) presents the users with the potential for improving the accessibility and coordination of different systems. On the other hand, comparable to DE, a System of Information Systems (SoIS) is comprised of integrated ISs which are heterogeneous and independently operable on their own but are networked together for a common goal. The goal, as mentioned before, might be organizing and sharing of heterogeneous resources.This thesis focuses on moving from Digital Ecosystems towards a System of Information Systems as a solution to the emergent challenges facing users of different ISs in a collaboration context. The SoIS gives the opportunity to explore how collaboration can be enhanced through a combination of different ISs in the digital environment of organizations. In this context, we defined a semantic model and an architectural model of SoIS. We then developed a prototype, called MEMORAeSoIS, based on these models as collaboration support. This prototype can provide the ability to index, share, annotate, and recommend important resources coming from different ISs.Recently, with the rapid technological advancement that we are witnessing in the domain of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), many Information Systems (ISs) are introduced into our lives either at home or at work. That will cause growing challenges for the users, such as the need for managing huge amounts of resources and the difficulty to collaborate with others. In order to find the right information at the right time to make educated decisions, users have to look for resources distributed in many ISs (emails, social networks, wiki pages, electronic notes etc.). The process of searching for resources in different ISs is costly and time-consuming; therefore it needs to be optimized. The emergence of Digital Ecosystems (DE) presents the users with the potential for improving the accessibility and coordination of different systems. On the other hand, comparable to DE, a System of Information Systems (SoIS) is comprised of integrated ISs which are heterogeneous and independently operable on their own but are networked together for a common goal. The goal, as mentioned before, might be organizing and sharing of heterogeneous resources.This thesis focuses on moving from Digital Ecosystems towards a System of Information Systems as a solution to the emergent challenges facing users of different ISs in a collaboration context. The SoIS gives the opportunity to explore how collaboration can be enhanced through a combination of different ISs in the digital environment of organizations. In this context, we defined a semantic model and an architectural model of SoIS. We then developed a prototype, called MEMORAeSoIS, based on these models as collaboration support. This prototype can provide the ability to index, share, annotate, and recommend important resources coming from different ISs

碩士
輔仁大學
大眾傳播學研究所
99
In this study, the author use sociological theory approach of radical modernity by Anthony Giddens to discuss the political communication phenomenon of social networking sites as a channel by the KMT and the DPP political parties in Taiwan. Text analysis, a research method, is used to explore the radical modernity characteristics of interactivity texts on the KMT and the DPP’s Facebook and Plurk websites. The study did not investigate the political ideology and effects. By examining the objects’ characteristics of radical modernity the political identity and subjectivism of reflexivity is demonstrated. The results of this study are including of 3 kinds of texts displayed radical modernity characteristics. There are arguments about policies, specific political identity gathered, and quarrelling opinions with each ideologies. These texts show the reflexivity of dialogical democracy of Giddens’s versions, but also appearing the uncertainty about users and sources of information.

Online-Kommunikation ist ein allgegenwärtiges Phänomen unseres digitalen Zeitalters. Soziale Netzwerke, Messenger-Programme und ähnliche Dienstleistungen begleiten uns alle im Alltag und werden von jungen Generationen als selbstverständlich hin- und in Anspruch genommen. Der Einzug der Moderne in kommunikative Abläufe sollte auch vor inner- und außerbetrieblichen Abläufen in Unternehmen nicht haltmachen. 2006 entwickelte McAfee sein Konzept ‚Enterprise 2.0‘. Darin beschreibt er den Einsatz von Web 2.0-Technologien in Betrieben. Seitdem versuchen Firmen sich diesem Idealbild anzunähern. Zur menschlichen Kommunikation gesellt sich zwischenzeitlich, neben Mensch-Maschine-Kommunikation, auch der intermaschinelle Informationsaustausch. ‚Internet der Dinge‘ und ‚Industrie 4.0‘ dominieren in Deutschland den Sprachgebrauch, wenn es um wirtschaftliche Belange geht. Besonders die produzierende deutsche Unternehmenslandschaft setzt große Hoffnung in den Einsatz und die Integration modernster Web-Technologien in ihre Logistik- und Produktionsprozesse. Das um den Menschen zentrierte Konzept von ‚Enterprise 2.0‘ scheint in den Hintergrund zu treten. Etwa Mitte 2014 tauchte ein neuer Begriff in den Suchmaschinenanfragen im Internet auf: ‚Digitale Transformation‘. Er scheint als Klammer zwischen allen oder zumindest vielen Konzepten rund um Web 2.0-Technologien und Sozialen Medien und deren Einsatz im Wirtschaftsleben zu fungieren. Darin eingebunden ist neben der technologischen, auch die kulturelle Komponente, die mit dem Einsatz solcher Werkzeuge einhergeht: Generationenwandel, Führungskonzepte, Technologien, Geschäftsmodellveränderungen. Diese als ‚disruptive Veränderungen‘ wahrgenommenen Ereignisse scheinen in nicht unerheblichem Maße unsere Diskussionen, privat und beruflich, stark zu beeinflussen. Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit den Fragestellungen wie sich die Kommunikation und das Informationsmanagement in Unternehmen verändert sowie mit den digitalen Kenntnissen von Mitarbeitern im Umgang mit Online-Medien. Erst in den letzten beiden Jahren (2015 und 2016) werden vermehrt Studien und Veröffentlichungen publiziert, die sich mit diesen Themen beschäftigen. Wenn man einen genaueren Blick darauf wirft, dann muss aber festgestellt werden, dass es sich oftmals um Großunternehmen und Konzerne handelt, die als Beispiele genannt werden, z. B. Robert Bosch GmbH, Siemens AG, Axel Springer SE, Continental AG. Der für Deutschland wichtige Unter- und Mittelbau aus kleinen und mittelständischen (KMU) sowie Familienunternehmen scheint zu fehlen. Das ist der Grund, weshalb der Fokus dieser Dissertation auf der Beschäftigung mit den vorgenannten Veränderungen in Unternehmen aus diesen Bereichen liegt. Um ein schärferes Bild der Veränderungen hinsichtlich Kommunikation und Informationsmanagement in Unternehmen zu bekommen, wurde das Thema vom Autor mit einer explorativen Herangehensweise bearbeitet. Er führte eine quantitative Studie mit Auszubildenden und Studenten der Duale Hochschule (n = 438) durch, um deren Kommunikationsverhalten sowohl im privaten als auch im beruflichen Umfeld zu ermitteln. In einem zweiten Forschungsschritt fand eine ethnographische Feldbeobachtung in einem Familienunternehmen statt. Diese wurde mittels des Mixed-Methods-Ansatzes durchgeführt. Neben der Beobachtung erfolgte hier ebenfalls eine quantitative Studie mittels Fragebogenerhebung (n = 189). Die Dissertation liefert als Ergebnis einen Einblick in die ‚digitale Reife‘ von Unternehmen, die weder in ihrer Struktur, noch der Größe oder der Kapitalausstattung an oben genannte, medienpräsente Unternehmen heranreichen, aber zu denen gehören, die über 99 % der Unternehmen stellen und 60 % der Menschen in Deutschland beschäftigen.:Inhaltsverzeichnis i Abkürzungsverzeichnis iii Abbildungsverzeichnis v Tabellenverzeichnis viii Anlagenverzeichnis ix 1 Einleitung – Zielsetzung und Aufbau der Arbeit 1 2 Begriffliche Einordnung 8 2.1 Kommunikation im Unternehmenskontext 8 2.1.1 Grundsätzliches zur Unternehmenskommunikation 8 2.1.2 Interne Kommunikation 12 2.1.3 Enterprise 2.0 15 2.1.4 Externe Kommunikation 19 2.1.5 Online-Kommunikation als modernisierendes Element 21 2.2 Informationsmanagement 26 2.3 Unternehmen und ihre Abgrenzung untereinander 28 2.3.1 KMU vs. Großunternehmen 29 2.3.2 Sonderfall ‚Familienunternehmen‘ 31 2.4 Zusammenfassung von Kapitel 2 und Festlegungen 32 3 Web-2.0 Technologien im Unternehmenseinsatz 34 3.1 Technische und soziale Anforderungen an die Organisation 34 3.2 Digitalisierungsstrategien 38 3.2.1 Industrie 4.0 und das Internet der Dinge 38 3.2.2 Digitale Transformation 44 3.3 Zusammenfassung von Kapitel 3 und Festlegungen 46 4 Übernahme und Integration von Technologie und Verhaltensweisen 49 4.1 Organisationsforschung 49 4.1.1 Historische Entwicklung von Organisationstheorien 50 4.1.2 Handlungsfelder in Organisationen 54 4.2 Diffusionstheorie 58 4.3 Reifegradmodelle 63 4.4 Zusammenfassung von Kapitel 4 und Festlegungen 66 5 Forschungsfragen der Dissertation 69 5.1 Forschungsfrage 1 ‚Wandel von Kommunikation und Information‘ 69 5.2 Forschungsfrage 2 ‚Digitale Kenntnisse der Unternehmensmitarbeiter im Einsatz von Online-Medien‘ 71 6 Untersuchungsmethodik der Dissertation 73 6.1 Entwicklung des Forschungsdesigns 73 6.2 Forschungsteil 1: Analyse aktuell eingesetzter Web 2.0-Technologien 75 6.3 Forschungsteil 2: Feldexperiment in einer realen betrieblichen Umgebung 89 6.4 Zusammenfassung von Kapitel 6 und Festlegungen 103 7 Ergebnisdarstellung 107 7.1 Ergebnisse von Forschungsteil 1 109 7.2 Ergebnisse von Forschungsteil 2 136 8 Diskussion der Ergebnisse 175 8.1 Wie verändern sich Kommunikation und Information? 176 8.2 Sind neue Mitarbeiter notwendig, um Online-Medien einsetzen zu können? 187 8.3 Diskussion der Ergebnisse vor dem theoretischen Hintergrund 196 8.4 Potenzielle Fehler- und Optimierungsmöglichkeiten 207 8.5 Zusammenfassung – Forschungsfragen 209 9 Ausblick 212 Literaturverzeichnis 217 Internetverweise 232 Anlageverzeichnis 233
Online communication is a ubiquitous phenomenon of our digital age. Often used by young generations as a matter of course, Social Networks, Messenger Programs and similar services accompany us all in everyday life. The advent of modernity in communicative processes should also not preclude the internal and external procedures in companies. In 2006, McAfee developed his concept ‘Enterprise 2.0’. He describes the use of Web 2.0 technologies within companies. Since then, many of them have been trying to approach this ideal. In addition to human communication, we see humanmachine communication and intermachine information exchange. When it comes to economic concerns, 'Internet of Things' and 'Industry 4.0’ dominate the language usage in Germany. The German business landscape in particular places great hopes on the usage and integration of state-of-the-art web technologies in their logistics and production processes. The concept of 'Enterprise 2.0', which is centered on the human being, seems to be set into the background. Around mid-2014, a new term emerged in the web search engines: 'digital transformation'. It seems to be a link between all or at least many concepts about Web 2.0 technologies and social media and their use in business life. In addition to the technological and cultural component involved in the use of such tools, this includes change of generations, management concepts, technologies, business model changes. These events, perceived as 'disruptive changes', seem to have a considerable influence on our discussions, both private and professional. This thesis deals with the questions on how communication and information management in companies are changing as well as with the digital knowledge of employees working with online media. It is only in the last two years (2015 and 2016) that more and more studies and publications regarding these topics have been published. If you take a closer look, these are often done with and about large companies and corporations, e.g. Robert Bosch GmbH, Siemens AG, Axel Springer SE, Continental AG. The smaller and midsized companies, the so-called ‘German Mittelstand’, which are important for Germany, seems to be missing. Because of this, the focus of this dissertation is on the abovementioned changes in companies out of this spectrum. In order to get a clearer picture of the changes in communication and information management in enterprises, the author has dealt with an exploratory approach. He conducted a quantitative study with trainees and dual university students (n = 438) to determine their communication behavior both in their private and their professional environment. In a second research step, an ethnographic field observation took place in a family enterprise. He has done this using the mixed-method approach. In addition to the observation, a quantitative study was carried out using a questionnaire survey (n = 189). The result of the dissertation provides an insight into the 'digital maturity' of companies that do not reach the above-mentioned companies represented in the media, neither in their structure nor their size or capital but which belong to more than 99 % of all the German companies that employ approximately 60 % of all working people.:Inhaltsverzeichnis i Abkürzungsverzeichnis iii Abbildungsverzeichnis v Tabellenverzeichnis viii Anlagenverzeichnis ix 1 Einleitung – Zielsetzung und Aufbau der Arbeit 1 2 Begriffliche Einordnung 8 2.1 Kommunikation im Unternehmenskontext 8 2.1.1 Grundsätzliches zur Unternehmenskommunikation 8 2.1.2 Interne Kommunikation 12 2.1.3 Enterprise 2.0 15 2.1.4 Externe Kommunikation 19 2.1.5 Online-Kommunikation als modernisierendes Element 21 2.2 Informationsmanagement 26 2.3 Unternehmen und ihre Abgrenzung untereinander 28 2.3.1 KMU vs. Großunternehmen 29 2.3.2 Sonderfall ‚Familienunternehmen‘ 31 2.4 Zusammenfassung von Kapitel 2 und Festlegungen 32 3 Web-2.0 Technologien im Unternehmenseinsatz 34 3.1 Technische und soziale Anforderungen an die Organisation 34 3.2 Digitalisierungsstrategien 38 3.2.1 Industrie 4.0 und das Internet der Dinge 38 3.2.2 Digitale Transformation 44 3.3 Zusammenfassung von Kapitel 3 und Festlegungen 46 4 Übernahme und Integration von Technologie und Verhaltensweisen 49 4.1 Organisationsforschung 49 4.1.1 Historische Entwicklung von Organisationstheorien 50 4.1.2 Handlungsfelder in Organisationen 54 4.2 Diffusionstheorie 58 4.3 Reifegradmodelle 63 4.4 Zusammenfassung von Kapitel 4 und Festlegungen 66 5 Forschungsfragen der Dissertation 69 5.1 Forschungsfrage 1 ‚Wandel von Kommunikation und Information‘ 69 5.2 Forschungsfrage 2 ‚Digitale Kenntnisse der Unternehmensmitarbeiter im Einsatz von Online-Medien‘ 71 6 Untersuchungsmethodik der Dissertation 73 6.1 Entwicklung des Forschungsdesigns 73 6.2 Forschungsteil 1: Analyse aktuell eingesetzter Web 2.0-Technologien 75 6.3 Forschungsteil 2: Feldexperiment in einer realen betrieblichen Umgebung 89 6.4 Zusammenfassung von Kapitel 6 und Festlegungen 103 7 Ergebnisdarstellung 107 7.1 Ergebnisse von Forschungsteil 1 109 7.2 Ergebnisse von Forschungsteil 2 136 8 Diskussion der Ergebnisse 175 8.1 Wie verändern sich Kommunikation und Information? 176 8.2 Sind neue Mitarbeiter notwendig, um Online-Medien einsetzen zu können? 187 8.3 Diskussion der Ergebnisse vor dem theoretischen Hintergrund 196 8.4 Potenzielle Fehler- und Optimierungsmöglichkeiten 207 8.5 Zusammenfassung – Forschungsfragen 209 9 Ausblick 212 Literaturverzeichnis 217 Internetverweise 232 Anlageverzeichnis 233

This dissertation studies several aspects of the interface between information theory and signal processing. Several new and existing results in information theory are researched from the perspective of signal processing. Similarly, some fundamental results in signal processing and statistics are studied from the information theoretic viewpoint. The first part of this dissertation focuses on illustrating the equivalence between Stein's identity and De Bruijn's identity, and providing two extensions of De Bruijn's identity. First, it is shown that Stein's identity is equivalent to De Bruijn's identity in additive noise channels with specific conditions. Second, for arbitrary but fixed input and noise distributions, and an additive noise channel model, the first derivative of the differential entropy is expressed as a function of the posterior mean, and the second derivative of the differential entropy is expressed in terms of a function of Fisher information. Several applications over a number of fields, such as statistical estimation theory, signal processing and information theory, are presented to support the usefulness of the results developed in Section 2. The second part of this dissertation focuses on three contributions. First, a connection between the result, proposed by Stoica and Babu, and the recent information theoretic results, the worst additive noise lemma and the isoperimetric inequality for entropies, is illustrated. Second, information theoretic and estimation theoretic justifications for the fact that the Gaussian assumption leads to the largest Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB) is presented. Third, a slight extension of this result to the more general framework of correlated observations is shown. The third part of this dissertation concentrates on deriving an alternative proof for an extremal entropy inequality (EEI), originally proposed by Liu and Viswanath. Compared with the proofs, presented by Liu and Viswanath, the proposed alternative proof is simpler, more direct, and more information-theoretic. An additional application for the extremal inequality is also provided. Moreover, this section illustrates not only the usefulness of the EEI but also a novel method to approach applications such as the capacity of the vector Gaussian broadcast channel, the lower bound of the achievable rate for distributed source coding with a single quadratic distortion constraint, and the secrecy capacity of the Gaussian wire-tap channel. Finally, a unifying variational and novel approach for proving fundamental information theoretic inequalities is proposed. Fundamental information theory results such as the maximization of differential entropy, minimization of Fisher information (Cramer-Rao inequality), worst additive noise lemma, entropy power inequality (EPI), and EEI are interpreted as functional problems and proved within the framework of calculus of variations. Several extensions and applications of the proposed results are briefly mentioned.

The emergence of Web 2.0 tools has transformed the operation of Knowledge Management (KM) practices in the academic libraries. This study has investigated the application of Web 2.0 tools to enhance KM practices in academic libraries in Tanzania. Eight out of twelve academic libraries located in public universities in Tanzania were purposively selected in this study. The study included two categories of respondents: ordinary library staff and senior library staff (directors, heads of libraries, library managers, and Information and Technology (IT) specialists in the library etc). The findings of the study were determined after applying methodological triangulation within quantitative and qualitative research contexts. This included the use of questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and observations. In the first instance, questionnaires were used to collect data from 278 library staff selected using systematic sampling technique. Interviewing targeted 69 senior library staff was done using purposive sampling technique. In total, 254 (91.4%) ordinary library staff completed the questionnaire; while 57 (82.6%) senior librarians were interviewed. The study findings have indicated the low level of KM application in academic libraries. Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Science (MUHAS) Library showed the strongest application of KM practices, followed by State University of Zanzibar (SUZA) Library. Lack of KM enablers in academic libraries was indicated as one of the significant challenges that hinder the application of KM practices in academic libraries. It was noted that most of the academic libraries visited had websites. On the other hand, the majority of respondents acknowledged that they had personal accounts of the various Web 2.0 tools. The study findings imply that most library staff had some level of experience with a variety of Web 2.0 tools. It was further established that despite the high level of familiarity and use of Web 2.0 tools, respondents were not frequent users of their library websites. The study findings have also indicated a low level of access and use of Web 2.0 tools within academic libraries. Mzumbe University (MU) and SUZA Libraries were the main users of Web 2.0 tools; followed by University of Dar-es-Salaam (UDSM) Library. Knowledge Management System (KMS) Success Model was employed to investigate factors that affect the application of Web 2.0 tools to enhance KM practices. The study findings have demonstrated that the KMS Success Model is suitable for guiding the understanding of the contributing factors with respect to library staff‟s intention to reuse Web 2.0 tools. The study findings supported the KMS Success Model well, whereby seven of the twelve hypothesised relationships were found to be significant. The study recommends that academic libraries in Tanzania should promote and integrate KM practices in their daily operations as well as the use of KM enablers such as; reliable budget, Web 2.0 tools, reliable power supply, internet connectivity availability and adequate ICTs infrastructure.
Information Science
D. Litt. et. Phil. (Information Science)

The Costume Museum of Canada (CMC) is the first of its kind in Canada. It works as a comprehensive repository where Canadian clothing and textile artifacts are collected, preserved, and presented. Traveling exhibits are important to the CMC to present the collection to a wider audience; however, the CMC’s financial limitations restrict how they can support traveling exhibitions. This practicum project addresses the desire of the museum for a facility to stage traveling exhibits by the design of a Traveling Exhibition System (TES) for the CMC. The practicum explores the concepts of cultural communication, narratology and mise-en-scene. It will facilitate Canadian cultural education through the exhibition of CMC’s vast collection of costumes and related accessories in a cost effective and sustainable manner. TES will be an exhibit system that can be set up within existing buildings and spaces. The project offers the possibility for the CMC to generate revenue and to facilitate dissemination of Canadian fashion culture and history regionally and nationally.

This research report captures a detailed exposition of an investigation on Knowledge Management (KM) practices in public and private sector entities in three industries (health, education and business loans) of Limpopo province – a proxy of the rural areas of South Africa. The investigation was necessitated by a need to understand KM in organisational context experiencing constraints in terms of resources that enable KM. It was found through an intensive literature review that there were very few empirical studies on KM practices of organisations operating in the rural areas, particularly in Africa. The theoretical framework of the study emanates from the knowledge-based view which has been popularised by the seminal work of Peter Drucker and Nonaka in the early half of the 90s. The knowledge-based view as presented in chapter 2 recognises the strategic role of knowledge in organisations. Its genesis is traced from the theories of classical scholars such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Various empirical studies of entities which have adopted the knowledge-based view are presented in chapter 2 of this report. The researcher observes from an intensive KM literature study that the average modern organisation could be categorised as knowledge-intensive considering that knowledge workers constitute the majority of its workforce. The definitions of a knowledge-based organisation and knowledge workers are presented in the operational definitions of key concepts. Arising from the identified gaps in KM literature as presented towards the end of chapter 2, this study was conducted as a comparative study between public and private sector entities in three research industries focusing on their extent of ICT application and degree of knowledge-oriented social factors for information and knowledge sharing. The investigation was guided by three research objectives as discussed in chapter 1 of this research report. The main purpose of the study was to answer two fundamental research questions as reflected in chapter 1. In answering the two research questions, the researcher identified four research hypotheses in line with the findings established from KM literature. These hypotheses are discussed in chapter 2 of this report.The underlying hypothesised statement guiding the study was to determine whether there were any significant differences in KM implementation between public and private sector entities in the three research industries in terms of four research constructs. These are: application of ICTs for knowledge and information sharing, degree of achievement of knowledge-based outcomes, tacit knowledge acquisition and the degree of knowledge-oriented social factors. Organisational culture, organisational structures, human resource practices and leadership comprised the social factors tested in the study. The research data were collected through a mixed research design approach combining the advantages of a survey instrument and interviews (this is fully reflected in chapter 3 of this research report). The research results (as presented in chapter 4) pointed to some form of significant differences in KM implementation between public and private sector entities in the education and business loans industry, but there were no significant differences in KM implementation between public and private sector entities in the health industry. Arising from the findings of the study, a model for improved KM implementation is presented in chapter 4 (figure 4.16). It was found during the investigation that all the research entities approached KM implicitly through KM related practices. KM related practices were found to be far more entrenched in the health industry (both public and private sector entities), the private sector entities in the education and business loans industries than was the case with the public sector entities in the education and business loans industries. In the entities where KM related practices were found to be entrenched, there were concerted efforts towards improved organisational processes. The study has managed to unravel the importance of KM related practices in laying the foundation for a formalised KM approach.
Graduate School of Business Leadership
D.B.L.

This dissertation investigated the relationship between knowledge conversion processes using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) in Thai governmental organisations. There are few studies concerned with the development of sharing and the conversion of knowledge, and none of the Thai public sector. Most Thai research studies are concerned with the development of knowledge management practices and how to use created knowledge in organisations. This study used the relationship between technology support and managing the conversion of knowledge to increase knowledge sharing in organisations. It also contributes to knowledge of technology usage and the conversion of existing knowledge process by applying the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to explain uptake and use of this technology. The main benefit of this research is that it is the first study available to the Thai Government on the issue of developing knowledge conversion processes by applying the Technology Acceptance Model. A better knowledge conversion procedure can improve the efficiency of Thai government departments.

Security of communications is a major requirement for Mobile Adhoc NETworks(MANETs) since they use wireless channel for communications which can be easily tapped, and physical capture of MANET nodes is also quite easy. From the point of view of providing security in MANETs, there are basically two types of MANETs, viz., authoritarian MANETs, in which there exist one or more authorities who decide the members of the network, and self-organized MANETs, in which there is no such authority. Ensuring security of communications in the MANETs is a challenging task due to the resource constraints and infrastructure-less nature of these networks, and the limited physical security of MANET nodes. Attacks on security in a MANET can be launched by either the external attackers which are not legitimate members of the MANET or the internal attackers which are compromised members of the MANET and which can hold some valid security credentials or both. Key management and authentication protocols(KM-APs)play an important role in preventing the external attackers in a MANET. However, in order to prevent the internal attackers, an intrusion detection system(IDS) is essential. The routing protocols running in the network layer of a MANET are most vulnerable to the internal attackers, especially to the attackers which launch packet dropping attack during data packet forwarding in the MANET. For an authoritarian MANET, an arbitrated KM-AP protocol is perfectly suitable, where trusts among network members are coordinated by a trusted authority. Moreover, due to the resource constraints of a MANET, symmetric key management protocols are more efficient than the public key management protocols in authoritarian MANETs. The existing arbitrated symmetric key management protocols in MANETs, that do not use any authentication server inside the network are susceptible to identity impersonation attack during shared key establishments. On the other hand, the existing server coordinated arbitrated symmetric key management protocols in MANETs do not differentiate the role of a membership granting server(MGS) from the role of an authentication server, and so both are kept inside the network. However, keeping the MGS outside the network is more secure than keeping it inside the network for a MANET. Also, the use of a single authentication server inside the network cannot ensure robustness against authentication server compromise. In self-organized MANETs, public key management is more preferable over symmetric key management, since the distribution of public keys does not require a pre-established secure channel. The main problem for the existing self-organized public key management protocols in MANETs is associated with the use of large size certificate chains. Besides, the proactive certificate chaining based approaches require each member of a MANET to maintain an updated view of the trust graph of the entire network, which is highly resource consuming. Maintaining a hierarchy of trust relationships among members of a MANET is also problematic for the same reason. Evaluating the strength of different alternative trust chains and restricting the length of a trust chain used for public key verification is also important for enhancing the security of self-organized public key management protocols. The existing network layer IDS protocols in MANETs that try to defend against packet dropping attack use either a reputation based or an incentive based approach. The reputation based approaches are more effective against malicious principals than the incentive based approaches. The major problem associated with the existing reputation based IDS protocols is that they do not consider the protocol soundness issue in their design objectives. Besides, most of the existing protocols incorporate no mechanism to fight against colluding principals. Also, an IDS protocol in MANETs should incorporate some secure and efficient mechanism to authenticate the control packets used by it. In order to mitigate the above mentioned problems in MANETs, we have proposed new models and designed novel security protocols in this thesis that can enhance the security of communications in MANETs at lesser or comparable cost. First, in order to perform security analysis of KM-AP protocols, we have extended the well known strand space verification model to overcome some of its limitations. Second, we have proposed a model for the study of membership of principals in MANETs with a view to utilize the concept for analyzing the applicability and the performance of KM-AP protocols in different types of MANETs. Third and fourth, we have proposed two novel KM-AP protocols, SEAP and CLPKM, applicable in two different types of MANET scenarios. The SEAP protocol is an arbitrated symmetric key management protocol designed to work in an authoritarian MANET, whereas the CLPKM protocol is a self-organized public key management protocol designed for self-organized MANETs. Fifth, we have designed a novel reputation based network layer IDS protocol, named EVAACK protocol, for the detection of packet dropping misbehavior in MANETs. All of the three proposed protocols try to overcome the limitations of the existing approaches in their respective categories. We have provided rigorous mathematical proofs for the security properties of the proposed protocols. Performance of the proposed protocols have been compared with those of the other existing similar approaches using simulations in the QualNet simulator. In addition, we have also implemented the proposed SEAP and CLPKM protocols on a real MANET test bed to test their performances in real environments. The analytical, simulation and experimentation results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed schemes.

Security of communications is a major requirement for Mobile Adhoc NETworks(MANETs) since they use wireless channel for communications which can be easily tapped, and physical capture of MANET nodes is also quite easy. From the point of view of providing security in MANETs, there are basically two types of MANETs, viz., authoritarian MANETs, in which there exist one or more authorities who decide the members of the network, and self-organized MANETs, in which there is no such authority. Ensuring security of communications in the MANETs is a challenging task due to the resource constraints and infrastructure-less nature of these networks, and the limited physical security of MANET nodes. Attacks on security in a MANET can be launched by either the external attackers which are not legitimate members of the MANET or the internal attackers which are compromised members of the MANET and which can hold some valid security credentials or both. Key management and authentication protocols(KM-APs)play an important role in preventing the external attackers in a MANET. However, in order to prevent the internal attackers, an intrusion detection system(IDS) is essential. The routing protocols running in the network layer of a MANET are most vulnerable to the internal attackers, especially to the attackers which launch packet dropping attack during data packet forwarding in the MANET. For an authoritarian MANET, an arbitrated KM-AP protocol is perfectly suitable, where trusts among network members are coordinated by a trusted authority. Moreover, due to the resource constraints of a MANET, symmetric key management protocols are more efficient than the public key management protocols in authoritarian MANETs. The existing arbitrated symmetric key management protocols in MANETs, that do not use any authentication server inside the network are susceptible to identity impersonation attack during shared key establishments. On the other hand, the existing server coordinated arbitrated symmetric key management protocols in MANETs do not differentiate the role of a membership granting server(MGS) from the role of an authentication server, and so both are kept inside the network. However, keeping the MGS outside the network is more secure than keeping it inside the network for a MANET. Also, the use of a single authentication server inside the network cannot ensure robustness against authentication server compromise. In self-organized MANETs, public key management is more preferable over symmetric key management, since the distribution of public keys does not require a pre-established secure channel. The main problem for the existing self-organized public key management protocols in MANETs is associated with the use of large size certificate chains. Besides, the proactive certificate chaining based approaches require each member of a MANET to maintain an updated view of the trust graph of the entire network, which is highly resource consuming. Maintaining a hierarchy of trust relationships among members of a MANET is also problematic for the same reason. Evaluating the strength of different alternative trust chains and restricting the length of a trust chain used for public key verification is also important for enhancing the security of self-organized public key management protocols. The existing network layer IDS protocols in MANETs that try to defend against packet dropping attack use either a reputation based or an incentive based approach. The reputation based approaches are more effective against malicious principals than the incentive based approaches. The major problem associated with the existing reputation based IDS protocols is that they do not consider the protocol soundness issue in their design objectives. Besides, most of the existing protocols incorporate no mechanism to fight against colluding principals. Also, an IDS protocol in MANETs should incorporate some secure and efficient mechanism to authenticate the control packets used by it. In order to mitigate the above mentioned problems in MANETs, we have proposed new models and designed novel security protocols in this thesis that can enhance the security of communications in MANETs at lesser or comparable cost. First, in order to perform security analysis of KM-AP protocols, we have extended the well known strand space verification model to overcome some of its limitations. Second, we have proposed a model for the study of membership of principals in MANETs with a view to utilize the concept for analyzing the applicability and the performance of KM-AP protocols in different types of MANETs. Third and fourth, we have proposed two novel KM-AP protocols, SEAP and CLPKM, applicable in two different types of MANET scenarios. The SEAP protocol is an arbitrated symmetric key management protocol designed to work in an authoritarian MANET, whereas the CLPKM protocol is a self-organized public key management protocol designed for self-organized MANETs. Fifth, we have designed a novel reputation based network layer IDS protocol, named EVAACK protocol, for the detection of packet dropping misbehavior in MANETs. All of the three proposed protocols try to overcome the limitations of the existing approaches in their respective categories. We have provided rigorous mathematical proofs for the security properties of the proposed protocols. Performance of the proposed protocols have been compared with those of the other existing similar approaches using simulations in the QualNet simulator. In addition, we have also implemented the proposed SEAP and CLPKM protocols on a real MANET test bed to test their performances in real environments. The analytical, simulation and experimentation results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed schemes.