Social dimensions of public large-scale wi-fi networks: the cases of a municipal and a community wireless network

Wireless networks play an increasingly important role in today’s mobile and interconnected society. People use mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets or portable game consoles on a regular basis to interact, retrieve and share information, and to orient and entertain themselves. However, in order to be fully performant these devices need to be connected to the Internet. Thanks to very good broadband penetration in Switzerland, this is not so much an issue in private homes and offices where local Wi-Fi networks allow mobile devices to connect to the Internet. Nonetheless, in public spaces, good working wireless networks, even though increasing, are still not very frequent and generally cover only limited areas. Alternative, provider- centered mobile data (3G/4G/LTE) is still expensive especially for visitors because of high roaming rates but also for Swiss people, whose majority still did not have unlimited data contracts in 2016. Public large-scale wireless networks can thus play an important role in providing Internet connectivity to people on the go. This dissertation studies two different approaches to the provision of Wi-Fi broadband connectivity in public spaces: on the one hand, municipalities providing Wi-Fi access in some areas of the city through so-called Municipal Wireless Networks (MWN), and on the other hand, communities with members sharing part of their home broadband connection with other community members, building so-called Community Wireless Networks (CWN). Wireless communities can either be purely self-organized (pure wireless communities) or have a for-profit company managing the community (hybrid communities). While existing studies have analyzed business and ownership models, technical solutions and policy implications of public wireless networks, this research is interested in their social dimensions, focusing on the role of individuals using and contributing to these networks. To do so, two main research goals are addressed: 1) understanding what motivates people to join and actively participate in a hybrid CWN and what hinders them from doing so, and 2) understanding who the users of a MWN are and how they use the network in order to identify various user types and usage practices, which will in turn help municipalities design networks that address the needs of various users. In order to study users’ motivations and concerns for joining and actively participating in a hybrid wireless community, the Fon community (Fon, 2018b) has been analyzed, which at the time of this study was the largest worldwide hybrid CWN. A mixed research approach has been applied. First, an existing model on motivations in pure communities (Bina & Giaglis, 2006a) has been adapted with the help of semi-structured exploratory interviews of 40 Swiss Fon members and then refined through a quantitative online survey addressed to Swiss and foreign Fon members. The resulting model shows which motivations attract members to the community, and which concerns have a dissuasive function. In a second step, 268 valid survey answers have been used for structural equation modeling (SEM) in order to assess which motivations actually result in a higher level of active participation. In order to analyze usage and users of a MWN, the “WiFi Lugano” MWN of the city of Lugano has been chosen. Lugano is located in the Italian-speaking southern part of Switzerland, is a popular tourist destination and the region’s economic capital. In collaboration with the electricity company in charge of implementing the Wi-Fi network (Aziende Industriali Luganesi – AIL), technical network data (log-data) and user-provided information – users were asked to fill-in a short survey after they logged-in to the network – have been collected and analyzed in combination (the two data sets have been merged). In a first step, usage profiles of leisure tourists, business travelers and residents have been created and described applying descriptive statistics to data of three summer months (June – August 2013). In a second step, cluster analysis has been applied to one-year data (June 2013 – May 2014), in order to identify relevant groups of users. Outcomes suggest that in a hybrid CWN, members are motivated to join the community mainly by a mix of utilitarian (e.g. getting free Internet access) and idealistic motivations (reciprocity and altruism), while intrinsic and social motivations are less important. This confirms that motivations are similar to those in pure CWNs but have different weights. In fact, in pure CWNs, intrinsic and social motivations seem to be stronger while in hybrid CWNs, utilitarian motivations prevail. Two types of active participation have been identified in the Fon community, each one driven by a different mix of motivations: “participation by sharing” – putting effort into actively sharing one’s own Internet connectivity – is mainly driven by idealistic motivations related to community values and reciprocity, while “social participation” – being socially involved in the community by interacting with and helping other community members – is driven by social (communicating, learning from each other) and technical reasons (experimenting with technologies). Surprisingly, utilitarian motivations do not have a significant effect on either of the two participation types, even though they are the most relevant ones in attracting new members. With regard to the MWN “WiFi Lugano”, five different usage practices have been identified: two business-oriented ones (“E-mailer” and “Mobile-worker”), two tourism-oriented ones (“Tourism information seeker” and “Always-on traveler”), and one corresponding to the practices of locals (“Local social networker”), each one having different characteristics. The “WiFi Lugano” network thus acts as a business, tourism, and social inclusion enabler, actively favoring various eGovernment relationships: government to business (G2B), government to visitors (G2V), and government to citizens (G2C). Based on these outcomes it has been possible to define a series of suggestions to help cities take advantage of their MWNs and improving them accordingly. Cities could for example provide different landing pages to different publics in order to promote the city in a targeted way, ensure a high quality service of their MWNs, use the Wi-Fi networks to promote tourist attractions and vice-versa (e.g. mark Wi-Fi areas on city maps, build Wi-Fi areas near to tourist attractions, and provide a description of the attraction on the Wi-Fi network’s landing page), share the network with small businesses in the area and extend the reach of the network to relevant areas

Library buildings around the world

"Library Buildings around the World" is a survey based on researches of several years. The objective was to gather library buildings on an international level starting with 1990

ICT-Systeme zur Verbesserung der Gesundheitsversorgung in den Gesundheitssystemen der afrikanischen Entwicklungsländer. : Fallstudien: Benin

Vergleicht man, die verschiedenen afrikanischen Gesundheitssysteme mit- und untereinander mit Hilfe der Case Study Forschungsmethodologie, so ergibt sich eine große Ähnlichkeit in vielen Bereichen, wie z. B. Alltagsprobleme, Struktur und Organisation des Sektors, etc. (Kapitel 3). Dieser Teil der vorliegenden Arbeit fokussiert auf die Struktur, die Organisation und die Alltagsprobleme im Gesundheitssystem in Benin (Kapitel 2). Insbesondere wurde die Gesundheitspolitik, deren Gesetze und Verordnungen, und die Finanzierung des Gesundheitssystems sowie der aktuelle Stand der Technik und der technischen Infrastruktur des Landes untersucht. Ferner ist der Nutzungsgrad von ICT-Systemen (engl. Information and Communication Technologies) ermittelt worden. Die Untersuchungsergebnisse werden ausführlich besprochen und analysiert, und es wird ein Fazit gezogen. Bei den Untersuchungen und der Analyse der verschiedenen Ergebnisse sind alle Akteure des Gesundheitssystems in Benin berücksichtigt worden. Die Alltagsprobleme sind je nach Akteur im System unterschiedlich, und sind deshalb unter verschiedenen Aspekten untersucht und analysiert worden

Resilienz durch Organisationsentwicklung

Dieses Open-Access-Fachbuch beleuchtet empirische und theoretische Aspekte einer Organisationsentwicklung, die auf Resilienz als strategischem Leitprinzip abhebt. Vor dem Hintergrund der gegenwärtigen weltweiten Coronakrise ist besonders deutlich geworden, wie wichtig zukunftsfähige und krisenresistente Strukturen und Prozesse für erfolgreiche Organisationen und Unternehmen sind. Resilienz als Fähigkeit zu kontinuierlichem Wandel spielt dabei neben Beständigkeit, dynamischem Wachstum und Innovation eine wichtige Rolle. Vor diesem Hintergrund beschäftigen sich die Beiträge dieses Herausgeberbandes u.a. mit den Möglichkeiten und Grenzen des Einsatzes agiler Methoden in Unternehmen, den Konsequenzen agiler Strukturen für das HRM von Unternehmen sowie den zukünftig benötigten Skills von Mitarbeitenden, um digitale Transformationsprozesse erfolgreich mitgestalten zu können. Alle Beiträge basieren auf empirischen Analysen und wurden durch bewährte Autorenteams aus Lehrenden und Forschenden sowie Unternehmenspraktikern mit akademischem Background erarbeitet

Збірник тез доповідей учасників XXIIІ Міжнародної студентської науково-практичної конференції іноземними мовами, присвяченої 30-річчю кафедри іноземних мов

Інноваційні технології на службі правопорядку (зарубіжний досвід) : зб. тез доп. учасників ХХIІІ Міжнар. студент. наук.-практ. конф. інозем. мовами, присвяч. 30-річчю каф. інозем. мов (м. Харків, Україна, 12 квіт. 2021 р.) / МВС України, Харків. нац. ун-т внут. справ, Каф. інозем. мов ф-ту № 4, Наук. парк «Наука та безпека». – Харків : ХНУВС, 2022. – 248 с.Збірник містить аналітичний огляд та узагальнення зарубіжного досвіду використання інноваційних технологій правоохоронними органами. Інформаційною основою проведених досліджень є автентичні джерела англійською, німецькою та французською мовами. Матеріали конференції сприятимуть удосконаленню та підвищенню ефективності діяльності вітчизняних працівників поліції.A selection of analytical reviews of the foreign information about the development of innovative technologies by law enforcement agencies. The informational basis for conducting research is authentic English, German and French languages. The materials of the conference will be accepted to improve and improve the efficiency of the work of the clergy in the police.Сборник содержит аналитический обзор и обобщение зарубежного опыта использования инновационных технологий правоохранительными органами. Информационной основой проведенных исследований являются аутентичные источники на английском, немецком и французском языках. Материалы конференции будут способствовать усовершенствованию и повышению эффективности деятельности отечественных работников полиции

Wohlbefinden und Gesundheit im Jugendalter

Dieser Open-Access-Band bietet eine Übersicht disziplinärer Zugänge und aktueller empirischer Befunde zum Wohlbefinden und gesundheitsrelevanten Verhalten von Jugendlichen und jungen Erwachsenen. Internationale Perspektiven renommierter Experten sowie Beiträge von Akteuren aus verschiedenen Praxisfeldern in Luxemburg ergänzen die Sammlung. Sie machen diesen Band zu einem unverzichtbaren Werk nicht nur für Wissenschaftler, sondern auch für Fachpersonen aus der Praxis mit einem Interesse am Thema Wohlbefinden und Gesundheit junger Menschen

Mastery of Hanyu Pinyin of Non-native Speakers

Proficiency in third language is a much-needed added value present day. Third language learning has been highlighted in the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013 - 2025. One of the skills that needs to be mastered by students is communication in social situations using Malay, English and an additional language. There is an increase of trend in primary and tertiary educational institutions in Malaysia offering foreign language courses. Mandarin has become one of the most popular elective course options among students due to the factor of better career opportunities in the future. Hence, the purpose of this study is to examine the non-native speakers’ mastery in Hanyu Pinyin at the early stage. This study uses a survey to answer the main research questions. With the aim of achieving the research main goal, a survey will be conducted accordingly. Questionnaire instruments will be given to the students taking Mandarin language subjects at a public university. The findings of this study are expected to elevate the university, especially the for the academicians to produce high quality graduates with the ability to speak a third language fluently. On top of that, it will also enhance the university's reputation with outstanding student achievement, thus benefiting national development especially in international relations

Food safety behaviour of household food preparers in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Food borne illnesses still remain a public health challenge in developing countries. This study examines the Food safety behaviour, here conceptualised simply as a wholistic measure of food safety knowledge and practices, of household food preparers in AkwaIbom State, Nigeria. Cross-sectional data was collected, using a structured questionnaire, based on a multistage sampling procedure resulting in a total of 457 respondents. Specifically, the study estimated the prevalence, margin and intensity of food safety behaviour of household food preparers. As a precursor to measuring prevalence, margin and intensity, twenty nine (29) food safety knowledge items and twenty two (22) food safety practices, a total of 41 items were used as the basis for obtaining a food safety behaviour index, fsbi. This food safety behaviour index is, summarily, a measure of a household food preparers’ food safety knowledge and practices expressed as a proportion of all the food safety knowledge and practice items. The mean fsbi, 0.64, was used to dichotomize household food preparers into well behaved and poorly behaved. The margin and intensity measures are based on the proportion of the household food preparers that are poorly behaved. Additionally, a fractional probitregression was estimated to determine the factors affecting the food safety behaviour of household food preparers in the study area. The results, of the percentage prevalence, show that, given the mean fsbi as critical index, 52% of household food preparers are poorly behaved. A disaggregated mean, another measure of prevalence, reveals that the mean fsbifor poorly behaved and well behaved household food preparers is 0.32 and 0.65 respectively. The mean margins, 0.07 and 0.04, are the figures by which the fsbi of household food preparers that are poorly behaved and all households respectively could be increased to ensure household food preparers are all well behaved. The intensity values, 0.02 and 0.01 indicate that the gap between the poorly behaved and well behaved is wider when the mean proportionate margin is expressed as a function of the total number of households that poorly behaved than the total number of households. Output from the fractional regression reveal that a household food preparer who is educated and confident in safety labels is 0.8% and 6% times more likely to be well behaved than one who is not. It can be concluded based on results that even though the margin between well behaved and poorly behaved is not so intense, much is still left to be desired as regards the overall prevalence of food safety knowledge and practices of households in the study. Keywords: Food Safety, Prevalence, Margin, Intensity, Fractional Probit Regression