Università della Svizzera italiana

Analyzing cultural localization in online tourism promotion

Mele, Emanuele ; Cantoni, Lorenzo (Dir.) ; Kerkhof, Peter (Codir.)

Thèse de doctorat : Università della Svizzera italiana, 2020 ; 2020COM006.

Tourism and culture are strongly intertwined. People can experience culture before, during and after their journey, both in the offline and in the online world. Arguably, the internet is among the main sources of inspiration and information retrieval for tourists, who navigate social media and websites to know more about the destination, its products and services. Following the developments in...

Università della Svizzera italiana

The digital birth of an African city : the case of Douala

Pucciarelli, Marta ; Cantoni, Lorenzo (Dir.)

Thèse de doctorat : Università della Svizzera italiana, 2019 ; 2019COM003.

This dissertation focuses on the online communication and representation of a digital city in Africa: Douala, the largest city of the Republic of Cameroon. In particular, it explores the evolution of the web-based reproduction (Couclelis, 2004) of Douala, the largest city of the Republic of Cameroon, from a chronological, spatial and representational perspective, with the purpose of...

Università della Svizzera italiana

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

Picco-Schwendener, Anna ; Cantoni, Lorenzo (Dir.)

Thèse de doctorat : Università della Svizzera italiana, 2018 ; 2018COM011.

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...

Università della Svizzera italiana

Exploring the experiences of instructors teaching massive open online courses in tourism and hospitality : a mixed methods approach

Lin, Jingjing ; Cantoni, Lorenzo (Dir.)

Thèse de doctorat : Università della Svizzera italiana, 2018 ; 2018COM001.

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have existed as a disruptive educational phenomenon for nine years. Grounded in the roots of distance education, open education, Open Educational Resources, and OpenCourseWare, MOOCs have now survived various critics and have continued growing globally. Reports about MOOCs in both the press and scholarly publications began to grow significantly in 2013...

Università della Svizzera italiana

Community multimedia centers in Mozambique : exploring and experimenting co-design

Cumbula, Salomão David ; Cantoni, Lorenzo (Dir.)

Thèse de doctorat : Università della Svizzera italiana, 2017 ; 2017COM002.

The overall aim of this doctoral thesis was to elucidate the premises and conditions in which a co-design approach can be used with rural communities in Mozambique and the usage of Information and communication technologies for development as a tool for supporting rural communities on daily activities. The doctoral thesis includes five papers, a systematic literature review, and four case...

Università della Svizzera italiana

ICT and gamified learning in tourism education : a case of South African secondary schools

Adukaite, Asta ; Cantoni, Lorenzo (Dir.)

Thèse de doctorat : Università della Svizzera italiana, 2016 ; 2016COM012.

Tourism is often introduced as a subject in formal education curricula because of the increasing and significant economic contribution of the tourism industry to the private and public sector. This is especially the case in emerging economies in Asia and Africa (Hsu, 2015; Mayaka Cuffy et al., 2012). Tourism in South Africa – which is the geographical setting of this research...

Università della Svizzera italiana

Confidence in technology use : the development and validation of a technological, pedagogical, and content self-efficacy scale for teachers

Fanni, Francesca ; Cantoni, Lorenzo (Dir.)

Thèse de doctorat : Università della Svizzera italiana, 2014 ; 2014COM007.

This thesis is positioned at the intersection of education, technology, and motivation research fields, specifically in the context of K-12 teaching. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between teachers’ self- efficacy and their technology use, and design and validate a self-efficacy measure to assess teachers’ beliefs about technology use in their profession. This...

Università della Svizzera italiana

Social representations of community multimedia centres in Mozambique

Vannini, Sara ; Cantoni, Lorenzo (Dir.)

Thèse de doctorat : Università della Svizzera italiana, 2014 ; 2014COM005.

UNESCO Community Multimedia Centres are a specific model of public access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). These venues are conceived to address the information needs of underserved and marginalised communities in emerging and developing countries. They are composed of a community radio station, which broadcasts in local languages and is managed by local people, along with...

Università della Svizzera italiana

Technology encounters and the symbolic narrative : Localising the ‘technology for development’ experience in South African education settings

Van Zyl, Izak ; Cantoni, Lorenzo (Dir.)

Thèse de doctorat : Università della Svizzera italiana, 2013 ; 2013COM011.

The under-resourced primary school community in the Western Cape of South Africa has become entangled in national discourses that endorse technology-supported teaching and learning. In this context, school administrators, principals, teachers, and learners alike are encouraged to use and adopt information and communication technology (ICT) for education. These directives are embedded in the...

Università della Svizzera italiana

eLearning courses about national tourism destinations : destination management organizations’ offers and travel agents’ perceptions and motivations

Kalbaska, Nadzeya ; Cantoni, Lorenzo (Dir.)

Thèse de doctorat : Università della Svizzera italiana, 2013 ; COM2013010.

A broad number of studies have been undertaken so far both by the academic research and by industry communities on the use of the internet for educational purposes. However, very limited research has been done previously on the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) as educational and training modes within the hospitality and tourism field. Travel agent training,...