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- Bennerstedt, Ulrika, 1979
(författare)
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Knowledge at play. Studies of games as members’ matters : Kunskap genom spelande. Studier av digitala spel och spelande som kunskapsdomän
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- On a general level, this thesis seeks some answers to the broad question of what one can learn from digital games. With an analytical approach informed by ethnomethodology, the main thrust of the work is an exploration of members’ matters in the area of games and gaming. In response to prevailing discussions about how, where and what gamers learn, the aim is to examine emerging forms of knowledge embedded in practices in and around digital games. The first part of the thesis addresses three themes: the question of whether leisure gaming could be understood to have transfer effects; how games are positioned in a state of restlessness and multistableness; and how the domain encompassing gaming and game development is advancing in terms of professionalization and institutionalization. The second part is comprised of three empirical studies based on two sets of video recordings: collaborative gaming in The Lord of the Rings Online, and assessment practices in game development education. The studies begin to unravel the elusive phenomena of gaming by making some gameplay practices and conventions visible. For instance, the findings suggest that there are specialized coordination practices, developed through long-term engagement with the online game. Furthermore, from the perspective of the institutional framing, it is argued that understandings from other media are not applicable in a straightforward manner, but must be carefully calibrated to matters such as game genre conventions and control over gameplay conduct. By describing the reasoning and knowledge displayed by gamers and game developers, the thesis contributes to interrelated discussions about knowledge development, currently carried out in educational science, interaction studies and game studies. In conclusion, it is suggested that digital games are establishing autonomy from other forms of entertainment media and software industries as a result of the ways games and gaming as multistable objects of knowledge have become deeply embedded in society.
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| 2. |
- Malm, Tobias, 1980-
(författare)
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Konsten att hålla ihop : Om lärande och organisering i rockband
- 2020
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Rock bands are foundational for modern day music life. These small groups provide well-being and self-fulfillment to its members, as well as fuel for the cultural life and the increasingly highlighted creative industries. Rock bands, however, are particularly difficult to organize. Bands face a range of challenges in keeping together and developing as a group.The aim of this doctoral thesis is to develop knowledge on rock band formation and development over time. Based in the discipline of education, the thesis mainly contributes to the fields of organization studies, social theories of learning, and music and cultural life research.The thesis uses the theory of situated learning to explore rock band formation and development. The methodology is qualitative and ethnographic, and the research design builds on three studies: an interview study with three rock bands and two case studies. All five bands are Swedish and have found different degrees of success and popularity.The thesis investigates band activities and courses of events, band members’ identities, and challenges faced. The findings indicate that a rock band’s activities shift between a production mode – i.e. highly productive times associated with public performances, record releases and marketing, and behind the scenes processes of creating, recording and planning – and a contrasting less active hibernation mode without bigger public projects or goals. The amount of time spent in production mode depends on the band’s degree of “membership” in the music industry. Moreover, a band member forms and actualizes identities of colleague, creator, entrepreneur, friend, hobbyist and professional, in differing combinations, situations and modes. Furthermore, the members’ most significant challenges relate to identity dilemmas.Based on these findings, the thesis formulates a model for a rock band’s learning trajectory and argues that a band may develop as it approaches, or becomes a more central member in, the music industry. This development demands increased public success and organizational ability: the band members’ ability to form business-oriented practices, to participate uniformly in an overarching community of practice, and to be flexible as they must identify with, and ascribe meaning to, a variety of activities in different and sometimes contradictory ways.The thesis concludes that the challenges of persistence as a rock band or similar group relates chiefly to group member difficulties in identifying with different activities and situations that are necessary to sustain and develop as a collective. Eventually, individual members tend to handle the experience of uncertainty and ambivalence by holding on to one singular identity, which may prevent group development, foster intra- and interpersonal tensions, and ultimately can lead to significant conflicts and/or a band’s breakup.
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| 3. |
- Raptopoulou, Anthemis, 1991-
(författare)
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Politics of Contemporary Education Policy : The case of programming in the Swedish curriculum
- 2021
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In recent years, computer programming has been introduced into school curricula in several national education systems across the world making it a key issue on the education policy agenda. In March 2017, the Swedish Government announced their decision to introduce programming as a mandatory teaching element as of the first grade of primary school. This doctoral thesis investigates the processes behind this recent change in the Swedish curriculum and aims to clarify the addition of programming in schools. The research is focused on the actors and actions that brought about this change and on how the addition of programming was argued for in policy texts, nationally and internationally.The methods employed in this thesis are those of network ethnography and critical discourse analysis. Network ethnography enables a mapping of relationships between the actors involved, while critical discourse analysis can provide further insights on discourse, social context, and the underlying power-relations. The empirical material is comprised of online links and texts regarding and by the actors involved in the policy agenda on programming, interviews with key policy actors, as well as national and international policy texts on the introduction of programming in schools.According to the findings, the processes resulting in the introduction of programming in the Swedish schools have been both complex and dynamic engaging a wide range of actors including governmental and inter-governmental agencies, national and multinational companies, for- and non-for-profit organizations and educational institutions. One of the findings is that external actors both influenced and participated in these policy-making processes. The policy agenda on programming was shared in mixed policy arenas extending beyond national and institutional spaces and towards international and private ones. The analysis of the policy texts indicates that the teaching of programming in schools was promoted as the answer to a number of economic and societal needs, while the public discourse was dominated by economic motives and ideologies.In this thesis, the addition of programming in schools is perceived as an example of contemporary education policy- making. The findings demonstrate that the development of contemporary education policy no longer is confined within national borders, but takes place across borders and sectors involving a variety of actors. Emphasis is placed on the influence of external interests on education policy. In addition, this thesis highlights the importance of out-of-the-parliament processes both locally and internationally, and their capacity to influence policy-making. This study underscores the increasing complexity which characterizes education policy in a globalized context, especially in the area of education technology.
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