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- Berg Marklund, Björn, 1988-
(författare)
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Games in Formal Educational Settings : Obstacles for the development and use of learning games
- 2013
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- From the perspective of educators, games are viewed as a medium in which the younger generation both thrive and excel. Students navigate game environments with ease and regularly solve problems, engage in advanced collaborative efforts, and communicate complex concepts and strategies to one another during their private gaming sessions at home. Games invite the player to form an understanding of intricate systems and mechanics based on participation and experimentation rather than mere observation, and on these merits games are often prophesized as a medium that will significantly change the face of education as we know it. However, while teacher interest in using games is increasing, wide-spread and successful examples of games being implemented in formal educational contexts (e.g. schools and university courses) remain rare.This thesis aims to examine why this is the case and identifies some of the more prevalent obstacles educators and developers both face when embarking on learning game projects as users and creators. In order to examine the situation from both of these perspectives, the research takes a mixed-method approach that entails extensive literature studies coupled with several studies with both educators and developers. Interviews were conducted in order to investigate attitudes and experiences, and more direct researcher participation and case studies were used to examine the processes of implementing and developing learning games as they were carried out. The studied cases and literature have revealed obstacles that indicate that “traditional” entertainment game development is incommensurable with learning game development, and that the use of games in formal educational settings introduces heavy demands on the recipient organization’s infrastructure, culture, and working processes.The conclusion of this research is that learning games embody a unique mixture of utility and game experience, and the formal context which they are to be used in significantly influence the process of developing and using them. Learning games can’t be understood if they’re solely seen as a teaching utility or solely as a game experience and to make them viable both educators and developers need to change their internal processes, their own perceptions of games and teaching, as well as the way they collaborate and communicate with each other. There are also several obstacles that are outside individual institutions and developers’ control, for example the practicalities of the economic constraints that both developers and educators work under that put the sustainability of pursuing learning games for formal education as a business into question. However, the continuous incremental improvements on the infrastructure of educational institutions (e.g. availability of technology and teachers’ familiarity with technology) can likely alleviate many of the obstacles currently inhibiting the impact learning games can potentially have in formal education.
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- Kajonius, Petri, 1974-
(författare)
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The Impact of Care Process on Satisfaction with Elderly Care
- 2014
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This licentiate thesis is based on the growing interest in Swedish elderly care. The aim of this thesis is to investigate what generates satisfaction with elderly care among older persons. The dominant ideology in both privately and publically run elderly care is individualized care, also called person-centered care, which holds the older person’s satisfaction as one of the main quality indicators. The proportion of older people is increasing and to maintain high levels of satisfaction with elderly care will require more knowledge. Data from the National Board of Health and Welfare’s (2012) nationwide survey on seniors’ experiences with elderly care was collected. Statistical analyses of this sample formed the basis for the results of the thesis and were reported in two papers. Study I used Donabedian’s (1988) model of quality of care in terms of structure, process, and outcome, and all municipal units in Sweden were included (N = 324). The results showed that structural variables (i.e. budget, staff, and training level) have minimal or no relationships with older persons’ satisfaction with care, while process variables (i.e. experiences of respect, information, and influence) have strong relationships with satisfaction with care. Study II made use of the long-standing person versus situation- model in social psychology, and was analyzed on an individual level (N = 95,000). The results showed that care process factors (i.e. experiences of treatment, safeness, staff- and time-availability) had a stronger relationship, than individual factors (i.e. health, anxiety, and loneliness) with satisfaction with care. The results also showed that older persons with home care generally felt better treated than older persons in nursing homes, but also felt less safe. Mediational analyses, based on this comprehensive elderly data, suggest that the individual aging condition of loneliness can be countered by providing safeness and treatment, resulting in high satisfaction with care. In conclusion, satisfaction with elderly care in Sweden today can largely be explained from a psychological perspective by the older persons’ perception of the care process, not by the amount of structural resources or the conditions of the aging persons. These findings could help facilitate the future quality development in municipalities and care organizations.
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- Kazemi, Ali, 1976-
(författare)
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Group Goals and Fairness in Public Good Dilemmas
- 2005
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Social groups implicitly or explicitly strive to achieve various goals that pervade most activities within the group. In social dilemma and game theoretic research, it has been posited that the goal is to achieve the highest possible monetary outcome for the individual or the group. Yet, important group goals may also include future enjoyable social relations, a sense of responsibility, and a concern for others. This thesis argues that research on public good dilemmas need to address the issue of what is a preferred distribution of the public good. This is the focus of the reported research whereas previous research has focused on public good provision. It is assumed that preferences for distributing the public good to group members are related to what goals the group is trying to reach. In Study I allocation preferences in step-level symmetric public good dilemmas were investigated. Experiment 1 revealed that fairness conceptions were related to how participants allocated the public good. Experiment 2 examined the impact of the goals of economic productivity, social concern, and harmony on participants’ allocation preferences. Groups with economic productivity as their goal allocated the resource according to equity, groups with social concern as their goal allocated the resource according to equal treatment, and groups with harmony as their goal allocated the resource according to equal final outcomes. These findings suggest that in a public good dilemma, people apply the allocation principle that serves a particular group goal, independently of their perceptions of fairness. In Study II the prediction was tested that salience of fairness and group goal reduces the influence of self-interest on preferences for allocation principles. In Experiment 1, it was found that perceived fairness of allocation principles increased perceived instrumentality of the principles. Self-interest did however not have any effect. In Experiment 2, economic productivity as the group goal increased allocations according to equity, and the group goal of social concern increased allocations according to equality and equal final outcomes. Self-interest had no effect. Taken together, the results of the empirical studies provide support for that both fairness and group goal influence allocation preferences in public good dilemmas.
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- Lundell, Fredrik
(författare)
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Accounting and Risk : In the eyes of a financially successful entrepreneur
- 2005
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This is a study dedicated to accounting in the context of entrepreneurship. The point of departure is a matter of controversy regarding the risk-taking of entrepreneurs. A risk paradox exists since entrepreneurs are seen as risk-takers although they do not exhibit a higher tendency to take risks than other individuals. The risk perception of entrepreneurs is a common explanation for the existence of the paradox. However, nobody has given a more elaborate and satisfying explanation of how the entrepreneurs perceive risk. As a result the relation between entrepreneurial risk-taking in theory and in practice remains relatively unclear.Information available is said to be a major contributor to shape risk perceptions of individuals. Accounting, which is the most widespread type of information in organizations, is in centre for studying the perception of risk in this study. In addition, the theoretical framework ties the notions of accounting, entrepreneurship and risk more closely together than in previous research.The empirical delineation covers a case study of a financially successful entrepreneur. This entrepreneur seems to have established a business philosophy that involves rules for what he will invest in, how committed he will be in an investment, how investments are financed, who he will cooperate with, how he will make the necessary decisions, when to invest, his role in all this and, interestingly enough, accounting is incorporated in his business philosophy.In short, this study implies that the perspective is crucial to understand the risk-taking of the entrepreneur. The entrepreneur might not at all perceive a high risk in a situation where the literature would suggest the opposite. Further, the case indicates that the entrepreneur uses accounting to perceive risk in managing operations as well as in entrepreneurial processes.
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- Rambusch, Jana
(författare)
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Situated Play
- 2008
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis addresses computer game play activities from the perspective of embodied and situated cognition. From such a perspective, game play can be divided into the physical handling of the game and the players' understanding of it. Game play can also be described in terms of three different levels of situatedness "high-level" situatedness, the contextual "here and now", and "low-level" situatedness. Moreover, theoretical and empirical implications of such a perspective have been explored more in detail in two case studies.
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- Sweidan, Dirar
(författare)
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Data-driven decision support in digital retailing
- 2023
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In the digital era and advent of artificial intelligence, digital retailing has emerged as a notable shift in commerce. It empowers e-tailers with data-driven insights and predictive models to navigate a variety of challenges, driving informed decision-making and strategic formulation. While predictive models are fundamental for making data-driven decisions, this thesis spotlights binary classifiers as a central focus. These classifiers reveal the complexities of two real-world problems, marked by their particular properties. Specifically, binary decisions are made based on predictions, relying solely on predicted class labels is insufficient because of the variations in classification accuracy. Furthermore, prediction outcomes have different costs associated with making different mistakes, which impacts the utility.To confront these challenges, probabilistic predictions, often unexplored or uncalibrated, is a promising alternative to class labels. Therefore, machine learning modelling and calibration techniques are explored, employing benchmark data sets alongside empirical studies grounded in industrial contexts. These studies analyse predictions and their associated probabilities across diverse data segments and settings. The thesis found, as a proof of concept, that specific algorithms inherently possess calibration while others, with calibrated probabilities, demonstrate reliability. In both cases, the thesis concludes that utilising top predictions with the highest probabilities increases the precision level and minimises the false positives. In addition, adopting well-calibrated probabilities is a powerful alternative to mere class labels. Consequently, by transforming probabilities into reliable confidence values through classification with a rejection option, a pathway emerges wherein confident and reliable predictions take centre stage in decision-making. This enables e-tailers to form distinct strategies based on these predictions and optimise their utility.This thesis highlights the value of calibrated models and probabilistic prediction and emphasises their significance in enhancing decision-making. The findings have practical implications for e-tailers leveraging data-driven decision support. Future research should focus on producing an automated system that prioritises high and well-calibrated probability predictions while discarding others and optimising utilities based on the costs and gains associated with the different prediction outcomes to enhance decision support for e-tailers.
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