| 1. |
- Windlin, Charles
(författare)
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Shape and Being Shaped : Sketching with Haptics in Soma Design
- 2023
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Sketching is an integral part of the design process, and it often occurs in the early ideation phase where the focus is on expressing ideas, thoughts, and emotions, allowing them to take shape and making it possible to share them with others to propel the design process forwards. In principle, sketching is a process of externalising thoughts into visualisations, and it influences the creator and collaborators by enabling them to realise and reflect on the possibility and viability of their ideas and develop them further by adding to or subtracting from the sketches. This process of creation and reflection cannot be achieved by merely imagining ideas in the abstract, especially when working in teams.In interaction design, sketching is an essential activity. It is (often) done on paper, pro- viding a way to externalise interaction ideas. Sketching in interaction design is usually followed by methods that have a similar goal but are done differently, and an example of that is concept formation or prototyping. In this regard, prototyping is a commitment to shift early, sketched ideas into concrete, refined, and specific artefacts attainable for testing and presentation. Prototypes are, in that sense, more ‘closed’ and harder to change and are thereby less evocative and inspirational than a sketch.This thesis focuses on soma design, a process that aims to incorporate our whole living bodies into the design process. Soma design applications often engage with technology on or around the entire body, but the processes can be used for a diverse set of design challenges and interaction modalities. Common to soma design processes is how sketching is done with and through the body, integrating, acknowledging, and encouraging a first-person, subjective design stance. When digital technology enters a soma design pro- cess, the fluency of sketching slows down as every nuance of the technology, its aesthetic potential, and its affordances need to be repeatedly felt and shaped, engaging all senses. However, there is a gap in the methods and tools necessary to make digital technology fit for the sensuous, explorative, felt work done in soma design processes. This becomes particularly problematic as digital technology, social practices, and somatic change are seen as entangled in soma design and should thus be explored together.Through a constructive design research (CDR) process, I have explored how haptic materials can be introduced in the sketching phase of a soma design process. In this regard, I created a toolkit named the Soma Bits. The Soma Bits are simple one-bit haptic actuators that enable heat, vibration, or shape-change onto the body through simple interactions. They can be combined and connected to sensors through an MIDI interface. The Soma Bits toolkit allows designers to craft haptic sketches.The Soma Bits toolkit (in different incarnations) was developed and used in a range of soma design processes. By analysing the process of using the Soma Bits repeatedly with other groups of designers, I uncovered a key property of sketching that I frame as malleable permanence. A sketch, be it on paper or in haptic materials, needs to be expressed where others can see or touch it, creating a shared understanding of the design idea— that is, it needs to have some permanence. At the same time, changing it and, and adding or detracting elements from it should be easy, thus making it malleable. For haptic ma- terials, malleable permanence supports a mindset I frame as feeling-shaping-feeling. This mindset resonates with the aims of soma design to engage with “the lived, sentient, bodily subjectivity.” Ultimately, the Soma Bits toolkit allows for this malleable permanence, adding a designerly, crafting, creative stance to soma design and thus making the haptics materials sketchable
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| 2. |
- Koller, Marius
(författare)
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Orchestrating Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy
- 2022
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Systems for Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) are shaping the future of therapy of anxiety disorders, especially at a time when we are seeing an increase in virtual meetings in almost every context in life. Exposure therapy is an established therapy method in the treatment of anxiety disorders. In the context of exposure therapy, a rich set of tools are available for helping therapists conduct therapy tailored to a patient’s needs. Typically, the therapist guides the patient through a feared experience in a real context and/or with an object.In-virtuo exposure has several benefits compared to in-vivo exposures, for example, the possibility of controlling the stimuli and context of the exposure. To be able to conduct in-virtuo exposure, therapists need effective, versatile, and usable VRET systems.My research aims to investigate the use of virtual reality in exposure therapy in order to explore, identify and propose how the design of VRET systems can be improved to better support in-virtuo exposure therapy in therapeutic practice outside of research. Many VRET systems are designed and built explicitly for research settings and purposes. Therefore, the systems do not fulfill needs for real therapeutic practice where most patients are being treated.Four strands of research emerged in this thesis work. First, the understanding of the full therapy process beyond the exposure sessions, where VRET systems have the potential to be used beyond exposures. Second, I see therapists playing a critical role during the therapy process, which should be reflected in the design. Third, emerging from the central role of therapists, I studied VRET systems that empower therapists to prepare and orchestrate exposure sessions. Fourth, I examined the role of designers and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) in creating these systems, which I see as important and underrepresented. Unlike other research, my work is mainly therapist-oriented with emphasis on the potential needs in therapeutic practice, which led to conclusions regarding further possible applications and implications for the design of VRET systems. By investigating different aspects of exposure therapy, my work has resulted in a new view on VRET systems.
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| 3. |
- Kremel, Anna
(författare)
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Heterogeneity in the level and handling of the Liability of Newness : Female and immigrant entrepreneurs’ need for and use of business advisory service
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In the start-up entrepreneurs face the Liability of Newness when problems and challenges often threaten business survival. Business advisory service, provided by public and private supplier contacts, can offer important knowledge and information, accompanied by various forms of assistance, and thereby decrease the entrepreneurs’ risk of failure and reduce their Liability of Newness. However, it is difficult to match the entrepreneurs’ need for such advice with the available advice. The support must meet the need. Most nations in the European Union have programs and projects that provide such support for entrepreneurs and SMEs. Special programs often support female entrepreneurs and/or immigrant entrepreneurs.This thesis examines the level and handling of the Liability of Newness with special focus on female entrepreneurs and immigrant entrepreneurs in Sweden. The four papers of this thesis take the perspective of these entrepreneurs. The research is based on a sample of 2 832 entrepreneurs who were interviewed (in a telephone survey) on their impressions and recollections on their need for and use of business advisory service in the start-up processes of their companies. Fulfilment of need is achieved when the need for business advisory service is matched with the right use of business advisory service.Heterogeneities as far as the level and handling of the Liability of Newness exist related to female entrepreneurs (vs. male entrepreneurs) and immigrant entrepreneurs (vs. non-immigrant entrepreneurs). Female entrepreneurs have a higher need for business advisory service than male entrepreneurs and also use more business advisory service than male entrepreneurs. As a result, female entrepreneurs can decrease the hazard rate for their companies and also reduce the Liability of Newness as their companies move toward the standard risk in their industry. Immigrant entrepreneurs also have a higher need for business advisory service than non-immigrant entrepreneurs. However, because immigrant entrepreneurs use business advisory service to the same extent that non-immigrant entrepreneurs do, immigrant entrepreneurs are unable to decrease the hazard rate for their companies or to reduce the Liability of Newness.The thesis makes both theoretical, methodological and practical contributions.The thesis may be of interest to government policy makers with its attention to the need and use of business advisory service by female entrepreneurs and immigrant entrepreneurs.
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| 4. |
- Lundström, Anders, 1981-
(författare)
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Designing Energy-Sensitive Interactions : Conceptualising Energy from the Perspective of Electric Cars
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- As technology is increasingly used in mobile settings, energy and battery management is becoming a part of everyday life. Many have experienced how quickly a battery can be depleted in a smartphone, laptop or electric cars, sometimes causing much distress. An important question is how we can understand and work with energy as a factor in interaction design to enable better experiences for end-users.Through design-oriented research, I have worked with the specific case of electric cars, which is currently a domain where people struggle in terms of energy management. The main issue in this use case is that current driving range estimates cause distrust and anxiety among drivers. Through sketches, prototypes and studies, I investigated causes as well as possible remedies to this situation. My conclusion is that instead of providing black-boxed predictions, in-car interfaces should expose the logics of estimates so that drivers know how their own actions in e.g. driving style, climate control, and other equipment, affects energy use. Revealing such energy mechanisms will not only empower the driver, it will also acknowledge the impact of variables that cannot be predicted automatically.In this work, understanding the dynamic aspects of energy has emerged as central to interaction with systems. This points to a need to design energy sensitive interactions - focusing on supporting users to find the right balance between energy use and the experiential values sought for. To ease design of energy sensitive interactions, energy use is divided into three different categories with accompanying ideals. These are exergy (always needed to achieve the required interaction), intergy (controllable and changing over time and use, needs to be addressed in design), and anergy (always waste that needs to be reduced). This articulation highlights aspects of energy that are specific to interaction design, and possible aspects to expose to allow more energy-efficient interactions in use.
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| 5. |
- Grinbergs, Johan, 1972-
(författare)
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Pratnerskap - Ett sätt att organisera regional tillväxt : Perspektiv på regional utveckling som fenomen och en analys av ett tillväxtprogram
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- During the first decade of the 21st century, there has been a shift in the view of what role regions should play in the creation of growth. From being governed from a national level more and more of the responsibility of creating growth is being transferred to a regional level. One example of this development has been the Regional Growth Program (RGP), which were implemented in all regions in Sweden during the period 2004 to 2007. This dissertation studies the RGP in the county of Västmanland, where a number of actors within the program have been interviewed as well as meetings within the program have been monitored. The interviews have been analyzed through a phenomenological oriented method which has resulted in six empirical themes. They consist of the following themes: region, growth, entrepreneurship, cooperation and competition, results, and talk and action. The last theme which concerns talk and action is being examined more thoroughly through the observations of meetings in the RGP and interviews with central actors. This theme is viewed as the most central and essential theme of the study. The dominating view of the central actors is that there is “too much talk and too little action” in the RGP In the latter part of the dissertation the theme of talk and action is examined further using a organizational perspective. The RGP is organized in so called “partnerships”, where the differences become very clear when compared to organization in a more traditional form. In traditional organizations, output can be observed as manufactured units or the value created in services performed. From such a perspective, consensus, efficiency and action – becomes the rational to strive for to maximize the effectiveness. Such a traditional view of organization is less useful for RGP – but is still in use since they are the dominant perspectives on how we value “good” organizing. In the case of the RGP the partnership have being assigned to cooperate and find new, better ways to stimulate the regional growth. The success of the partnership is still measured by quantitative indicators, which is not very logical since it is almost impossible to see if the partnership has had anything to do with affecting these indicators. With the support of theories from Brunsson (2006) I therefore propose the “talk organization” as an alternative to the “action organization” – and also see the potential of redefining the partnership as a form of such a talk organization. The advantages of such an approach could be to view the talking as an important prerequisite to potential action, and furthermore we can revalue the importance of creating talk opportunities to occur in such partnerships. This creates a view full of conflicts in relating to the traditional view of organization that advocates consensus and order – but in the supposedly creative talking partnerships the issue may be to uphold conflict, and a wide range of different views to be able to create something new. The dissertation has a theoretical focus that highlights the connection, but also contradictions, between the structural and symbolic in organizing and also how it may affect the potential for development and change.
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| 6. |
- Selegård, Peter, 1972-
(författare)
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Tillväxtbilder, regionala intentioner samt entreprenörers orsaksförklaringar av tillväxt : en penroseisk syn på regional tillväxt
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Regional utveckling har fått större betydelse de senaste årtiondena. En mer liberal frihandelsstruktur antas ha bidragit till en ökad globalisering, vilket lett fram till en ökad konkurrensutsatthet. Nationers begränsade förmåga att snabbt fatta beslut har lett fram till att regionerna har fått ökat ansvar avseende sin egen utveckling och tillväxt. I Sverige visades sig ansvaret genom att regionförbund började bildas där ansvaret för regionala näringslivsfrågor hamnade. Under 2003 ombads Sveriges regioner att utveckla regionala tillväxtprogram (RTP) där man inom regionen skulle komma överens om vilka åtgärder och områden som var viktigast för att nå tillväxt i länet. I Södermanlands län ansvarade Länsstyrelsen för att utarbeta ett RTP i ett brett partnerskap med olika aktörer från akademi, politik samt näringsliv. Regionförbundet Sörmland, vilka bildades 2004, blev samordningsanvariga för genomförandet av programmet mellan åren 2004 tom 2007. Hösten 2004 inleddes ett forskningsprojekt vars syfte var att erhålla lärdomar om det regionala tillväxtprogrammet. Interaktiv kunskapsutveckling inom ramen för det regionala tillväxtprogrammen var ett projekt där både Södermanland samt Västmanlands län har varit delaktiga tillsammans med Mälardalens högskola. Två doktorander anställdes vilka skulle följa ett regionalt tillväxtprogram utifrån geografisk utgångspunkt. Föreliggande studie har haft Södermanlands läns RTP i fokus. Avhandlingens syfte erhölls efter intervjuer med tolv praktiker berörda av RTP i sitt eget arbete (här regionala samordningsansvariga, offentliga samt privata regionala näringslivsorganisationer, kommunalråd, kommunala näringslivstjänstemän). Samtidigt närvarade författaren på ett otal möten årligen vilka var knutna till RTP:s genomförandeprocess. I intervjumaterialet söktes kärnkategorier, vilka indikerade uppkomsten av liknande svarsbilder. Ett svar som bidrog till studiens intresse var svaret om hur olika aktörer såg på näringslivsmedverkan inom ramen för RTP:s genomförandeprocess. Generellt svarade de regionala offentliga näringslivsorganisationerna att det inte var självklart med en näringslivsmedverkan inom ramen för det partnerskap som skulle arbeta med regional tillväxt, medan kommunalråd samt kommunala näringslivtjänstemän tenderade att svara att det var en svaghet att inte låta näringslivet vara mer involverat i RTP. Svaren bidrog till att det fanns ett intresse att undersöka vilken typ av näringslivsmedverkan som fanns inom ramen för RTP. En genomgång av olika arenor med anknytning till RTP studerades och resultatet indikerade att det saknades praktiska näringslivkopplingar i RTP:s genomförandeprocess, i vart fall på partnerskapsnivå. Ett antagande växte sig starkare om det var möjligt att en inkongruens mellan ett regionalt tillväxtprograms innehåll samt ett lokalt näringslivs (entreprenörer från en solo-, mikro- samt småföretagskontext i Södermanlands län) upplevda tillväxtbilder samt orsaksförklaringar av tillväxt uppstått till följd av bristen av näringslivsmedverkan. En frågeställning formulerades. Hur en regional offentlig bild av tillväxt via ett RTP skiljer sig mot den bild av tillväxt som förmedlas av entreprenörer från en solo-, mikro- samt småföretagarkontext? Tillväxtbilder undersöktes, men även regionala intentioner ställt i relation till entreprenörernas orsaksförklaringar. Processen som följde efter frågeställningens tillkomst var intervjuer med elva entreprenörer från en solo-, mikro samt småföretagarkontext. Intervjuerna transkriberades och bearbetades ner till berättelser där kategorisering av nyckelmeningar ringades in. Tillväxt definierades huvudsakligen som ökning av omsättning samt vinst även fast inslag av företagets interna process även gick att åskådliggöra (t.ex. utvecklande arbetsuppgifter). Entreprenörers tillväxtdefinition kan betecknas vara situationsberoende där typ av verksamhet och situation kan förklara begreppet tillväxt. Resultatet av entreprenörernas orsaksförklaringar till sin historiska tillväxt indikerade interna (företagsförmåga eller personrelaterade förklaringar) samt externa (nätverk (stödjande omgivning) eller konjunktur) orsaksförklaringar. De interna orsaksförklaringarna tenderade dock att vara i majoritet. Edith Penrose (1959) teori om företagstillväxt (The Theory of the Growth of the Firm) med fokus på företags interna tillväxtprocess förenades med det induktivt framväxta resultatet från intervjuerna med entreprenörerna. I studien växte en teoretisk analysmodell fram (penroseisk analysmodell) vilken lyfte fram entreprenörskaps- samt managementförmågors betydelse för möjligheten att nå intern företagstillväxt. Den regionala bilden av tillväxt och intentioner utgick främst från RTP:s utkast och handlingsprogram (2003) samt revideringarna under programperioden (2004-2007). Textanalys av materialet resulterade i att tillväxt som begrepp inte entydigt definierades. Definition av regional tillväxt blev funnen i RTP:s målsättningar. Regionala intentioner för att nå regional tillväxt kan kategoriseras i dels interna regionala strategier (insatser riktade inåt regionen) dels i externa regionala strategier (insatser riktade från regionen). Huvuddelen av strategierna ansågs ha ett internt perspektiv med fokus på att utnyttja och utveckla regionens inneboende resurser. Teorier, vilka riktade sin uppmärksamhet mot regional utveckling samt tillväxt växte fram och skapade en regional analysmodell, vilken innehöll dels olika ekonomiska skolbildningar, dels skilda teorier om samverkan. Resultat En jämförelse mellan tillväxtbilder indikerar både likheter och skillnader. Ideologiskt finns en skiljelinje som delvis står i direkt kontrast till varandra. Exempel på detta är tillväxt via ökad arbetskraft i ett regionalt perspektiv, medan arbetskraftsökningar inte alltid ses som en del av det regionala näringslivets tillväxtdefinition. Likheter finns där RTP diskuterar förädlingsvärdet som ett mått på tillväxt och där näringlivet diskuterar vinst. Ett heterogent näringsliv indikerar även andra värden än ekonomiska och framställer personligt utvecklande samt kreativa uppdrag som tillväxt, bilder av tillväxt vilka saknas i RTP. Resultatet av entreprenörers orsaksförklaring av tillväxt och RTP:s intentioner indikerar likheter i synen på att nätverk och relationer, företagsförmåga samt konjunkturläget är av betydelse för tillväxten. En skillnad är att tillväxten orsakas eller hämmas av interna orsaksförklaringar och speciellt personrelaterade faktorer enligt entreprenörer. En annan skillnad är att regionala intentioner framhärdar att fler individer i arbete leder till regional tillväxt, vilket inte självklart orsakar tillväxt i en företagskontext. I relation till en penroseisk analysmodell har entreprenörerna brister i framförallt managementförmåga. Entreprenörskapsförmåga verkar lättare att uppnå för intervjuade entreprenörer. Den penroseiska analysmodellen indikerar att det är komplicerat att utläsa om regionala intentioner utifrån RTP kan svara mot en företagsteoretiskt tillväxt. En hög abstraktionsgrad i RTP bidrar till att RTP delvis kan ses som en resurs i jämförelse med en företagskontext utifrån penroseisk analys. Den finns ett behov av att beskriva intentionerna i ett RTP tydligare för att klargöra effekterna och innebörden för entreprenören av en intention. Ett resultat är också att intentioner, vilka RTP lyfter fram, vänder sig bort ifrån företagskontexten och riktar sig inåt dvs. mot de regionala näringslivsaktörerna. Däremot finns regionala intentioner vilka är relativt tydliga och med fokus på näringslivet, men som ur ett penroseiskt perspektiv mer fokuserar på resultatet av en tillväxtprocess snarare än på själva tillväxtprocessen inom ett företag. Den regionala analysmodellen indikerar överlappningar mellan olika ekonomiska teoribildningar (neoklassisk, neoösterrikisk, keyniansk) inom RTP. Det pekar på en region med mer pragmatisk inställning till ekonomisk teoribildning. Enligt Helliwell och Putnam (1995) kännetecknas en positiv regional utveckling av just en mer pragmatisk inställning av regionala beslutsfattare. Andra resultat från studien, vilka fokuserar på ökad näringslivsmedverkan i regionala tillväxtprocesser, indikerar att samverkan i partnerskap kan underlättas i lokala [kommunala] partnerskap. En diskussion fokuserar på att regionala näringslivsaktörer bör ha tillgång till entreprenörers berättelser för att ha möjlighet att göra gemensamma tolkningar och därmed undvika näringslivsorganisationers särintressen. Studien introducerar low-bottom-up-begreppet som ett tydligare tänk om ett målgruppsanpassat partnerskap, men också som ett tänk att närma sig entreprenörer via dess berättelser. Ett low-bottom-up-perspektiv kan se olika ut beroende på om partnerskapet söker radikala eller inkrementella lösningar.
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| 7. |
- Berglund, Karin, 1967-
(författare)
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Jakten på Entreprenörer : Om öppningar och låsningar i entreprenörskapsdiskursen
- 2007
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Entrepreneurs are expected to play a crucial role in times of unemployment and economical regression. A “hunt for entrepreneurs” can thus be said to be occurring as they appear to be people who can save nations, societies, and companies in troublesome situations. The project Diversity in Entrepreneurship (DiE) aimed to introduce a broad view of entrepreneurship in a regional context. Three development areas are emphasized that are strategically important to transforming a traditional industrial community into an entrepreneurial region: paying attention to the spirit of enterprise among underrepresented groups; stimulating entrepreneurship among young people; and considering the importance of culture in stimulating a diverse and entrepreneurial society.An equality discourse is introduced through DiE that – emphasising social and mundane occurrences - stands in contrast to the historically rooted enterprise discourse that proffers companies as productive apparatus, where a few competent people – often men – have been, and still are, in charge. In the equality discourse, all people in the region make a difference, not merely a few. The encounter of the two discourses has resulted in confusion, and thus conflicts and collisions; but also in new possibilities.A new perspective of entrepreneurship and regional development is developed where conflicts are put forward as constructive. That the two discourses met on the same regional scene is therefore seen as positive as many people have been made aware of the social, political, and economic contradictions which restrain some groups in society from creating a (working) life. Hence, the contradictions have enabled the inhabitants to see themselves, and others, as entrepreneurs in regional development processes. Openings have thus emerged to view entrepreneurship from a broader perspective that includes people, to create practices through which a more diverse working life is becoming discernible.
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| 8. |
- Skoglund, Wilhelm, 1971-
(författare)
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Lokala samhällsutvecklingsprocesser och entreprenörskap
- 2006
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In many places in Sweden, there is a continuous struggle going on to maintain and create vitality in communities and regions. One of the regions where this struggle is most apparent is in the inland of northern Sweden, where economic survival often is of highest priority. In many locations practical attempts have also been undertaken to implement economic growth by improving the conditions for entrepreneurship. This dissertation deals with an exposed community in such a region, where a community development project has been carried through in order to create an environment characterized by entrepreneurship, the creation of new businesses, and economic growth. The shape and organization of the project is of a new type, making its process and result a relevant contribution to the knowledge regarding regional development in Sweden, both from a practical and theoretical perspective.The purpose with this dissertation is to study and describe the working procedures within this new type of community development project, as well as how these working procedures contributes to the creation of an entrepreneurial environment. Two other communities have also been used as referential points, meaning that the study also contains comparative features.The approach of the entrepreneurial interpretation has partly its point of departure in the classical theories of Schumpeter. Further and more recent references are also used to more explicitly emphasize the creative processes within entrepreneurship, as well as to create a geographically contextual approach of the theoretical field. To enrich the connection between entrepreneurship and the empirical findings the discussion also takes support in the terms system and life world from the perspective of Habermas. The point of using these terms is to enrich the possibilities of understanding the connection between community development and entrepreneurship. The used method of study is ethnographically inspired, but also includes narrative elements.Regarding the results, the empirical studies show that efficient cooperation between companies, authorities in question, and the civic society, are central in the attempts to create entrepreneurial environments. Theoretical reflections around the local working processes in the studied communities, and the forms of cooperating, show that the possibilities for these forms of cooperation to contribute to the creation of entrepreneurial environments would increase with a clearer merging of the meaning of the terms system and life world.
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