Cross-Fertilization of Indigenous Media and New Media for Development Journalism in Africa: Consequences and Challenges for Nigeria

This work cross examined the chance, consequences and challenges of crossfertilizing indigenous media with new media for the purpose of practicing development journalism in Africa with reference to the Nigeria society. The call to cross-fertilize indigenous media and new media has been on the front burner since 1980’s even though the why, who to do the mixture, how, when and for what purpose has not been emphasized. Thus, this, paper which theoretical construct is anchored on the agenda-setting, development media and technological determinism theories, scrutinized the nature and significance of indigenous media and new media and established that the development journalist is responsible for the mix in Africa through the practice of development journalism. Since no nation can develop using only technologies developed by other countries, the mix becomes a good option. The author encapsulate this in a proposed model which capture the entire essence of crossfertilization of indigenous media and new media for the practice of development journalism in Africa and urged all those concerned to use the model as a guide to overcome any challenges and possible consequences that may arise as a result of theblend once the government and other stakeholders provide the enabling environment and infrastructur.Keywords: Africa, Cross-fertilization, Development Journalism, Indigenous media, Media integration, New Media, Nigeri

The political economy of Africa's cyberspace : understanding how South Africa's government policies on digital technologies are appropriated and influence development at grassroots level in Maputaland, KwaZulu-Natal.

Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.Abstract not available

Mobile Location Based Services for Mountaineering

Smart phones are widely accepted and popular with navigation and route guidance functionality becoming a standard feature. Locations based services, henceforth referred to as LBS in this document, are used in various contexts and are becoming more accessible with the wide adoption of mobile smart phones. Industry experts expect that Location based services to be a major success and will account for large market share and profits in mobile services. Service providers in this area are coming up with innovative services trying to grab a share in this potential area. On the other hand, there is also some pessimism on the pace at which LBS taking-off in practice due to various reasons. For any service or business to be successful it should create value to the end-users. There are many key players involved to make LBS realizable and providing value, which include technology providers, service providers, telecom companies, regulation and standardization bodies and end-users. This thesis is a literature review of LBS and its general applications in real world with emphasis on its use in mountaineering. Scope of this literature review is to study the components of LBS, its architecture, positioning techniques, general application area, established standards and potential business model. While emphasizing LBS use in mountaineering, a concluded LBS demo project for mountaineering, sponsored by Eu-ropean Commission, called PARAMOUNT (Public Safety & Commercial Info-Mobility Applications & Services in the Mountains) is taken as reference. From business pers-pective, a conceptual business model called STOF (Service, Technology, Organization and Finance) model is used to analyze PARAMOUNT. /Kir1

Field Measurements in Determining Incumbent Spectrum Utilization and Protection Criteria in Wireless Co-existence Studies

Studies of spectrum sharing and co-existence between different wireless communication systems are important, as the current aim is to optimize their spectrum utilization and shift from static exclusive spectrum allocation to more dynamic co-existence of different systems within same frequency bands. The main goal of this thesis is to provide measurement methodologies for obtaining realistic results in modeling incumbent spectrum utilization and in determining incumbent protection criteria. The following research questions are considered in this thesis: Q1) How should field measurements be conducted and used to model incumbent spectrum utilization? Q2) How should field measurements be conducted and used to determine protection criteria for incumbents in a co-existence scenario with mobile broadband? and Q3) Which licensing methods and technological solutions are feasible to enable spectrum sharing in frequency bands with incumbents? To answer to Q1, this thesis describes the development of a spectrum observatory network concept created through international collaboration and presents measurement methodologies, which allow to obtain realistic spectrum occupancy data over geographical areas using interference map concept. A cautious approach should be taken in making strong conclusions from previous single fixed location spectrum occupancy studies, and measurements covering larger geographical areas might be needed if the measurement results are to be used in making spectrum management decisions. The field interference measurements considered in Q2 are not covered well in the current research literature. The measurements are expensive to conduct as they require substantial human resources, test network infrastructure, professional level measurement devices and radio licenses. However, field measurements are needed to study and verify hypotheses from computer simulations or theoretical analyses in realistic operating conditions, as field measurement conditions can not or are not practical to be adequately modeled in simulations. This thesis proposes measurement methodologies to obtain realistic results from field interference measurements, taking into account the propagation environments and external sources of interference. Less expensive simulations and laboratory measurements should be used both to aid in the planning of field measurements and to complement the results obtained from field measurements. Q3 is investigated through several field interference measurement campaigns to determine incumbent protection criteria and by analyzing the spectrum observatory data to determine the occupancy and trends in incumbent spectrum utilization. The field interference measurement campaigns have been conducted in real TV White Space, LTE Supplemental Downlink and Licensed Shared Access test network environments, and the obtained measurement results have been contributed to the development of the European spectrum regulation. In addition, field measurements have been conducted to contribute to the development and technical validation of the spectrum sharing frameworks. This thesis also presents an overview of the current status and possible directions in spectrum sharing. In conclusion, no single spectrum sharing method can provide universally optimal efficiency in spectrum utilization. Thus, an appropriate spectrum sharing framework should be chosen taking into account both the spectrum utilization of the current incumbents and the future needs in wireless communications.Siirretty Doriast

Location-based Marketing: the academic framework

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies.Over the last several years one could observe revolution in location-based technologies and geospatial information. Location awareness of mobile devices resulted in development of Location-Based Services (LBS) that are realization of that revolution in the most personal and contextual way. The ability to reach consumers in the highly targeted manner based on spatio-temporal criteria, attracted marketers from the early beginning of LBS creating field called Location-Based Marketing. Today decreasing prices of smartphones and wireless internet, as well as integration of location-aware mobile solutions and social media is leading to new possibilities and opportunities. The academic and professional interests of the author made him noticed that although the industry has challenged a significant development, there is lack of publications that would put an academic framework on that progress. The research has fulfilled this gap by extensive investigation of the current state of the art of Location-Based Marketing and its foundations - Location Based Services. The dissertation provides academic framework by comprehensive analysis of the Location-Based Marketing from LBS and marketing perspective. Further the thesis is addressing the issue of significant discrepancy between theoretical concepts of measurable Location-Based Social Media data and the actual data than can be legally accessed and used for marketing analysis purposes by investigation a case study of Location-Based Social Network - Foursqaure and Location-Based Analytics platform VenueLabs

Mundos virtuais 3D integrados à experimentação remota: aplicação no ensino de ciências

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Campus Araranguá, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Tecnologias da Informação e Comunicação, Araranguá, 2016.Apesar de se viver em uma sociedade da informação e do conhecimento vem sendo observada uma persistente e crescente falta de interesse dos jovens pelas carreiras científicas e tecnológicas. Frente ao desafio de estimular a inteligência e o interesse dos estudantes, é fundamental que sejam utilizadas metodologias que possibilitem ao aluno aprender a seu próprio ritmo. As atividades práticas são consideradas essenciais para correlacionar o aprendizado teórico com a aplicação prática, e isso pode ser concretizado, entre outras formas, por meio do uso de experimentos e atividades laboratoriais. Estudos demonstram que há inúmeros benefícios no uso de experimentos remotos como ferramenta de ensino e que a contextualização da atividade realizada por meio de mundos virtuais 3D pode potencializar os resultados obtidos. Apesar de tais evidências, não foi encontrado qualquer projeto que verificasse a viabilidade e aceitação dessas tecnologias para o ensino de Ciências na educação fundamental. Este projeto objetiva verificar a aceitação e a viabilidade da utilização de mundos virtuais 3D integrados à experimentação remota como ferramentas para o ensino de Ciências. Para tanto foi desenvolvido um ambiente virtual 3D contextualizado integrado ao Microscópio Remoto, um experimento composto por um microscópio e uma base giratória onde as amostras podem ser alternadas e suas imagens ampliadas e transmitidas online. Foi realizada uma pesquisa qualitativa, sendo adotado o método de pesquisa-ação, com observação sistemática e questionários para a coleta de dados. Os resultados apontaram que o uso dessas tecnologias é viável do ponto de vista tecnológico e que há uma excelente aceitação por parte do professor e alunos, porém as dificuldades relativas à infraestrutura dos laboratórios de informática das escolas podem ser um obstáculo ao uso desses ambientes na rede pública de ensino.Abstract : Despite living in the information and knowledge society, there has been a persistent and growing lack of interest from young people in scientific and technological careers. Considering the challenge of stimulating the intelligence and interest of students, it is essential to use methodologies to enable them to learn at their own pace. Practical activities are essential for linking theory with practice and can be done, among other methods, by using laboratory experiments and activities. Studies show that there are numerous benefits of using remote labs as a teaching tool and that the context of the activity carried out through 3D virtual worlds can enhance the results. However, it was found no project to verify the feasibility and acceptance of these technologies to science education in primary education. In this sense, this project aims to verify the viability and acceptance of using 3D virtual worlds integrated to remote experimentation as tools for science teaching. Therefore, it was developed a virtual 3D environment integrated to a remote microscope, an experiment consisting of a microscope and a swivel base in which samples can be rotated and their enlarged images transmitted online. A qualitative research was conducted, adopting the method of action research with systematic observation and questionnaires to data collection. The results indicate that the use of these technologies is feasible from a technological point of view and that there is a great acceptance by the teachers and students. Nevertheless, difficulties relating to the infrastructure of computer laboratories in schools can be an obstacle to the use of these environments in public schools

Privacy and Geospatial Technologies

This research examines the role of geospatial and ancillary technologies in the erosion of privacy in contemporary society. The development of Remote Sensing, GIS, and GPS technologies are explored as a means of understanding both their current and predicted uses and capabilities. Examination is also made of the legal basis and current status of privacy rights in the United States. Finally, current and predicted uses and capabilities of geospatial and ancillary technologies are critically examined in light of existing privacy protections as a means of determining the ways in which these technologies are impacting privacy currently and what their effects may be in the future