Proceedings ICPW'07: 2nd International Conference on the Pragmatic Web, 22-23 Oct. 2007, Tilburg: NL

Proceedings ICPW'07: 2nd International Conference on the Pragmatic Web, 22-23 Oct. 2007, Tilburg: N

A framework for assistive communications technology in cross-cultural healthcare

Rural and remote Australian Aboriginal communities suffer seriously adverse life expectancy rates, lifestyle disease complications and hospital treatment needs due to type 2 diabetes. In great part this is due to communications barriers arising from the lack of equitable acculturation within patient-practitioner consultations. This research presents a framework foundation for a computerised patient-practitioner lingua franca. Behavioural and design science ontology development delivers an intercultural patient-practitioner type 2 diabetes assistive communications system, known as P-PAC

Socio–Technical Software Engineering: a Quality–Architecture–Process Perspective

This dissertation provides a model, which focuses on Quality, Architecture, and Process aspects, to manage software development lifecycles in a sustainable way. Here, with sustainability is meant a context-aware approach to IT, which considers all relevant socio-technical units of analysis. Both social (e.g., at the level of the stakeholders community, organization, team, individual) and technical (e.g., technological environments coding standards, language) dimensions play a key role to develop IT systems which respond to contingent needs and may implement future requirements in a flexible manner. We used different research methods and analyzed the problem from several perspectives, in a pragmatic way, to deliver useful insights both to the research and practitioners communities. The Software Quality, Architecture, and Process (SQuAP) model, highlights the key critical factors to develop systems in a sustainable ways. The model was firstly induced and then deduced from a longitudinal research of the financial sector. To support the model, SQuAP-ont, an OWL ontology was develop as a managerial and assessment tool. A real-world case study within a mission-critical environment shows how these dimensions are critical for the development of IT applications. Relevant IT managers concerns were also covered with reference to software reuse and contracting problems. Finally, a long-term contribution for the educational community presents actionable teaching styles and models to train future professionals to act in a Cooperative Thinking fashion

Cultural Heritage on line

The 2nd International Conference "Cultural Heritage online – Empowering users: an active role for user communities" was held in Florence on 15-16 December 2009. It was organised by the Fondazione Rinascimento Digitale, the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities and the Library of Congress, through the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program - NDIIP partners. The conference topics were related to digital libraries, digital preservation and the changing paradigms, focussing on user needs and expectations, analysing how to involve users and the cultural heritage community in creating and sharing digital resources. The sessions investigated also new organisational issues and roles, and cultural and economic limits from an international perspective

ECLAP 2012 Conference on Information Technologies for Performing Arts, Media Access and Entertainment

It has been a long history of Information Technology innovations within the Cultural Heritage areas. The Performing arts has also been enforced with a number of new innovations which unveil a range of synergies and possibilities. Most of the technologies and innovations produced for digital libraries, media entertainment and education can be exploited in the field of performing arts, with adaptation and repurposing. Performing arts offer many interesting challenges and opportunities for research and innovations and exploitation of cutting edge research results from interdisciplinary areas. For these reasons, the ECLAP 2012 can be regarded as a continuation of past conferences such as AXMEDIS and WEDELMUSIC (both pressed by IEEE and FUP). ECLAP is an European Commission project to create a social network and media access service for performing arts institutions in Europe, to create the e-library of performing arts, exploiting innovative solutions coming from the ICT

European Curriculum Reflections on Library and Information Science Education

The project behind this book has been carried out with the support of the European Community in the framework of the Socrates programme. The European Curriculum Reflections on Library and Information Science Education project has been inspired by curriculum discussions on the Bologna Declaration that was initiated at a EUCLID conference in Thessaloniki 2002. EUCLID (European Association for Library & Information Education and Research) is an independent European non-governmental and non-profit organisation existing for the purpose of promoting European co-operation within library and information education and research

Critically Evaluating the Role of Intercultural Marketing Communications in Cultivating Relations in the Superdiverse Rainbow Nation

Contemporary societies can be classed as superdiverse. Existing research indicates that superdiversity translates into daily marketplace interactions between numerous cultural value systems. The experience of living within a superdiverse marketplace creates a range of challenges for consumers. Marketers can help shape society by mitigating these intercultural challenges through their marketing communication strategies. Problematically, the impact of superdiversity on marketing communication strategies and practices is understudied. Concurrently, little is known about consumers’ lived experiences of superdiversity. Thus, marketers are finding it increasingly difficult to communicate effectively with superdiverse consumer groups. As a result, a growing disconnect between consumers and marketers exists. Therefore, the research aim of this study was to critically evaluate the ways in which superdiversity impacts on marketing communications strategy development. To gain a holistic understanding, three research objectives were set. The first was to inspect the role of superdiversity ideology in marketing communications strategy evolution. The second was to examine the influence of consumers’ lived experiences of superdiversity on marketing communications strategy development. The third was to assess challenges prohibiting the social impact of marketing communications in superdiverse marketplaces. To improve understanding with novel insights, this project was set in a non-Western research setting - South Africa (SA). Post-apartheid, SA government sought to resolve tensions in a peaceful manner by establishing a Rainbow Nation (RN) ideology. This required widespread marketing communication. Mirroring the lack of knowledge identified above, SA consumers are increasingly discontent. A conceptual model informed the empirical study undertaken. Three theories underpin the conceptual model. They are embedded in an interculturalism approach, allowing for comparative study of marketing (Neo-Institutional theory) and how intercultural interactions and experiences shape meanings of living in superdiversity (Creolisation and Imagined intercultural contact theories). The conceptual model also supported the adoption of a multi-method qualitative research design. A scoping study reviewed SA campaigns using critical visual analysis approach. A case study examined National Heritage Day, including campaign, marketer and consumer data. A multimodal strategy was used for comparative analysis. The findings show the RN concept has lost its impact and relevancy. The marketplace calls for consumer participation and improved understanding of lived experiences to achieve the welfare stage. A more humanistic approach is needed to establish unity in diversity as a marketplace norm. Based on the findings a new diversity-sensitive marketing communications strategy – intercultural marketing - was proposed and developed. Intercultural marketing strategy is defined as a socially responsible approach to marketing communications strategy, concerned with facilitating intercultural interactions and improving societal welfare