| 1. |
- Andersson, Mikael, et al.
(author)
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Work integrated learning boosts students' experience of readiness for working life
- 2020
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In: INTED2020 Proceedings. - Valencia : IATED. - 9788409179398 ; , s. 4101-4105
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Self-efficacy and Self-esteem of readiness are important factors for students to succeed in an internship. These factors affect how an individual handles new situations and possible threats. By testing their theoretical knowledge in a practical context, the internship can have a positive effect on the student's experience of being successful in working life.Work integrated learning is one approach that may support students progression towards increased readiness for working life. What characterizes work readiness and how can it be achieved?The study was conducted at the bachelor's degree programs ‘Digital Media’ and ‘3D-animation and visualisation’, at University West in Sweden. During the fifth semester students have the opportunity to carry out internships in a workplace. These internships are conducted as a course at the university which also gives higher education credits. The time spent on the course is split between the workplace (80%) and the university (20%). Every fortnight the students meet with faculty staff at a seminar to discuss a given topic. The purpose of the course is to give the student the opportunity to integrate theory from the university studies with practical experience in a workplace.The students spend the majority of the time in the workplace however every second week they meet in a seminar on campus, in which they discuss their experiences in the workplace. As a preparation for the seminar, the students are given different thematic questions to reflect on. Based on all students answers, in the seminar the students reflect on similarities and differences in each others’ texts. Additionally, a supplementary summarizing question is given to the students during the seminar.Prior to the start of the course, the students make their own estimation of how ready they feel they are for working life on a scale from 1-10. After the course, the estimation is revised along the same scale. In addition to this estimation, conversations are conducted between the students, regarding readiness for working life.The study is a mixed methods approach and consists of three sets of data: five group interviews á three hours with 7-15 participants in seminars, two online surveys and 50 written reports from all together 15 students.In the paper we report on how students gradually increase their feeling of being more sure of what type of work tasks they prefer to do in the future, which skills they already have or need to develop further, and what type of workplace they want to work at related to for instance: level of creative freedom, level of collegiality, type of governance etc. These insights, we argue, are vital characteristics of students’ experience of ‘readiness for working life’. We discuss how these characteristics are important aspects of self efficacy and how they are related to the design of the course and ultimately a work integrated learning approach to teaching and learning within higher education.
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| 2. |
- Asatiani, Aleksandre, 1987, et al.
(author)
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Information systems for sustainable remote workplaces
- 2023
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In: Journal of strategic information systems. - 0963-8687 .- 1873-1198. ; 32:3
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This review discusses the challenges associated with the sustainability of remote workplaces, which have become more prevalent due to the growing trend of work digitalization and the pandemic-induced push to remote work. These challenges are highlighted in literature across various disciplines, including information systems, but these discourses have remained isolated from each other. In this review, we consolidated and synthesized research on remote work from the perspective of individual workers by reviewing 187 articles published between 1999 and 2020 in recognized academic journals from fields including information systems, organizational studies, economics, human resources, sociology, and psychology. We identified five key themes that concern opportunities and challenges to sustainable remote workplaces: (1) key characteristics, (2) work-life boundaries; (3) health and well-being; (4) social interaction, and (5) leadership. Building on our findings we created a framework that recognizes two interrelated categories of factors influencing remote workplace sustainability – rigid base characteristics and contextual remote workplace variables – that together shape the trajectory of remote workplace sustainability in the long term. The framework also identifies the potential role of information systems in modulating the impact of the base characteristics to build continuities that encourage more sustainable remote workplaces. The paper concludes by offering a research agenda for information systems for sustainable remote workplaces based on the three IS theoretical frames: inclusion, dignity, and boundary objects.
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| 3. |
- Bernhard, Iréne, 1953-, et al.
(author)
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Degree of Digitalization and Citizen Satisfaction : A Study of the Role of Local e-Government in Sweden
- 2018
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In: Electronic Journal of e-Government. - : Academic Conferences and Publishing International Limited. - 1479-439X. ; 16, s. 59-71
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim was to investigate whether there is a relationship between degree of e-government in Swedish municipalities and perceived satisfaction among citizens generally. This is a large-scale quantitative study based on validand reliable Swedish national surveys. Based on these surveys, a new comprehensive index for measuring "degree of digitalization" was constructed. Citizen satisfaction was measured using established indices covering three dimensions:satisfaction with living in the municipality, satisfaction with performance of government activities (delivered services), and satisfaction with transparency and influence. The results show that there is a relationship between the degree of digitalization in a municipality and the perceived satisfaction among its citizens. The degree of digitalization is related to all three dimensions of citizen satisfaction. Additionally, this study indicates that the strength of this relationship is in parity with or even stronger than the relationship between citizen satisfaction and other crucial factors such as educational level and median income
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| 4. |
- Bernhardsson, Lennarth, 1954-, et al.
(author)
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Flipped And Open Seminars As A Method For Work Integrated Learning
- 2019
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In: INTED2019 Proceedings. - Valencia : The International Academy of Technology, Education and Development. - 9788409086191 ; , s. 4458-4466
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Since 2002 University West, Sweden has had a mission from the Swedish government to develop methods for work integrated learning (WIL). WIL is thus a “trademark” of the university and the university is continuously developing teaching models to enhance a synergy between theory and practice with the goal to improve education and students’ lifelong learning. A challenge in such work is a decreasing engagement among students to participate in seminars at campus, especially during periods of internship. In the study underlying this paper we therefore explore a new teaching and learning method that aims to stimulate students to come to campus and to discuss their experiences with peer students and teachers during their internship.The internship and the seminars are organized as a ‘WIL course’ in the fifth semester of the candidate program ‘Digital Media’. As part of the course the students spend four days a week in a workplace where they contribute substantially to the work at the workplace. One day a week they spend at campus to reflect, write and discuss topics related to the work and organization at the workplace e.g. organizational culture, how a work day is organized, how design work is organized, and how the workplace treats its customers. The students and teachers meet once every second week for a seminar where they discuss the above-mentioned themes. The reflections made at the seminars and the conversations are important for the learning goals at the course. However, the teachers experience a moderate interest from the students’ side to participate and the students tend to be ill prepared.To increase the value and learning for the students, a new approach for better structure and engagement has been introduced, where students in beforehand writtenly reflect on questions about their workplace in relation to the theme of the week. They write in open and shared documents so that all students before the seminare can take part of each others reflections and as such come to the seminar with a wider perspective on the particular theme. The seminar is then held at the campus where the themes are discussed and workplaces compared with help of a shared matrix where the students can place their workplace regarding level of structure, formality, creativity etc . As such the seminar has a ‘flipped’ character and the ICT tools for learning used are open and editable over time for all participants.The empirical material is based on 24 hours participant observations, 10 students’ written reflections and the course curricula. The findings show that the flipped and open approach to the seminars has made the students more engaged in reflections about their workplace, not only during the seminar at campus but also during their work at the workplace. The shared document stimulates reflections of differences between workplaces that has not been so clear before, and the matrix has helped the students to take the reflections to a higher level by reflecting over organizational culture and workplace conditions. By comparing each other’s experiences from a spectrum of different aspects/themes they get a more nuanced picture of the skills and competences needed in the workplace, and they get more strengthened in their professional role. The recurrent discussions over time during the course therefore contribute to make the students more experienced than they would had been by only having got the experience from their own workplace.
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| 5. |
- Bernhardsson, Lennarth, 1954-, et al.
(author)
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Work Integrated Learning and Work Integrated Education : A Study On Learning Processes and Learning Methods for Working Life
- 2020
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In: INTED2020 Proceedings. - : IATED. - 9788409179398 ; , s. 4106-4112
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- It is a common view in higher education to make clear distinction between theory, what you learn in school, and practice, what you learn in the workplace. Work integrated learning (WIL) is an approach in higher education that problematizes this distinction and that supports the understanding of an integrated view of theory and practice. In this paper we report from a study in which we investigate how students become increasingly ready for working life during a course. We explore “the process of learning to be ready for working life”, that we herein call ‘Work Integrated Learning’ (WIL) and we explain how WIL can be supported by ‘the methods used to enhance readiness for working life’, which we refer to as Work Integrated Education (WIE). The first aim of this study is to better understand how students develop readiness for working life. A second aim is to shed light on the distinction between WIL and WIE in order to understand how different types of knowledge sources for students can support the feeling of being ready for working life.The study is conducted at the bachelor’s degree programs ‘Digital Media’ and ‘3D-animation and visualisation’, at University West, Sweden. During the fifth semester, students have the opportunity to carry out internships in a workplace. The internship is conducted as a course at the university that gives higher education credits. The time spent on the course is split between the workplace (80%) and the university (20%). Every second week the students write down reflections on a given topic related to experiences in the workplace. Topics can be for instance custom relations, professional roles and ethics. The reflection texts are shared openly on the learning management platform so that all students can read each other’s reflections. Thereafter the group meet with faculty teachers in a seminar to discuss each other’s reflections. In the end of the seminar the teachers present a matrix including dimensions related to the topic discussed and the students are given the task to place the organisation they are practicing at in the matrix. The purpose of the shared reflection texts, discussions and work with the matrix is to give the students the opportunity to compare each other’s working experiences and to shed light on aspects of the experience that can help them to feel prepared for working life.The study is a mixed methods approach and consists of three sets of data: group interviews, online surveys and students' written reports. The research questions we seek answers to are:- How do the work of writing and discussing experiences from the workplace contribute to students’ personal understanding of what kind of workplace they search for in work life?- To what extent can both academic theoretical goals and students practical goals be combined during Internship?Preliminary results show that the student learn something on top of the course curricula. In the seminars discussing and reflecting upon each others experiences from different workplaces, they start to construct a vision for a future workplace of their own. A set of preferences on company size, the way the creative process is conducted, values, type of clients and other factors that define the company where student make internship.
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| 6. |
- Gellerstedt, Martin, 1966-, et al.
(author)
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Do Municipal Facebook Performance and Citizen Satisfaction go Hand in Hand?
- 2020
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In: Electronic Journal of e-Government. - : Academic Conferences and Publishing International Limited. - 1479-439X. ; 18:2, s. 30-42
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper examines the relation between municipalities' social media performance and citizen satisfaction withthe municipality. An observational study was conducted, based on four different Swedish national public data sources. Thestudy shows that municipalities' Facebook performance is correlated to citizens' satisfaction with living in the municipalityand with satisfaction with municipal service provision. There was however no significant relationship between Facebookperformance and satisfaction with transparency and influence from a citizen perspective. In conclusion, one importantimplication of the study is that citizen perception regarding whether a municipality is a good place to live in or not is related to the use of social media for promoting the municipality. Furthermore, a relation between satisfaction and citizenperception of government service performance implies that social media could be valuable for interaction and co-creation.Finally, an implication is that usage of social media and the potential relationship to trust, influence and transparency mustbe further elaborated and studied. Overall, our recommendation is that municipalities and their citizens may benefit fromwell thought-out strategies of how to use social media for marketing, interaction and co-creating.
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| 7. |
- Hattinger, Monika, 1969-, et al.
(author)
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Unpacking Social Media to explore professionals work practice
- 2016
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In: Proceedings of IRIS39, Information Systems Research Seminar in Scandinavia, Ljungskile, August 7-10, 2016. - 9789187531385 ; , s. 1-14
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Organizations are inspired by the massive social media use in the private domain and try to filter interactions and knowledge sharing in socialmedia also for professional purposes. Even if the interest in social media isstrong in the private domain, the use is far less widespread in organizations. The trajectory of traditional information spread through web platforms into use of new and open social media platforms stresses organization's and professionals to enrich user-generated content and take part in and enhance social networking. This study explore how social media is used in organizations and how professionals´ practice is challenged by use of social media of reaching out, sharing knowledge and interaction with target groups. Through illustration of two research cases; municipality-citizens' interactions and university-industry collaborations, three affordances of social media practice are emerging; incentives, perceptions and openness, where social media is constituted as the boundary object
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| 8. |
- Islind, Anna Sigridur, 1985-, et al.
(author)
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From Digital Fight to Digital Pride in Public Sector : Redefining Professionals' Roles and Work in Public Sector
- 2016
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In: SIG USE 2016 16th Annual Research Symposium at ASIST 2016: Information Behavior in Workplaces, October 15, Copenhagen, Denmark..
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- AbstractThe digitalization in the public sector poses challenges for the professionals that have previously not been using digital tools as a part of their everyday practice. Building on three qualitative research projects this study shed light on contradictions and tussles, as well as possibilities related to professionalism in the public sector. The three cases involve different professionals: cancer rehabilitation nurses, municipality communicators, and resident physicians. The paper aims to gain a better understanding of the impact of digitalization efforts on everyday work practices, and the emerging opportunities and challenges of using digital artifacts as a part of professional work. Our findings show how the transition toward digital work practices is pushing the professional boundaries of rooted professionalism in the public sector. The meaning of work and what it means to be a professional profoundly changes. The process of tuning professionalism in the public sector is not straight forward.
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| 9. |
- Islind, A. S., et al.
(author)
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Learning sustainable work through critical design: a case study of a hackathon to prepare the future workforce
- 2020
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In: Journal of Workplace Learning. - : Emerald. - 1366-5626. ; 32:8, s. 641-651
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose This paper aims to explore the future of work by investigating how work can be practiced to meet global sustainability goals. The authors draw from empirical findings from a case of critical design session with university students. The aim of the design session was, on the one hand, to embed sustainability into education and, on the other hand, to prepare students with necessary conceptual tools to be prepared for future work. The research questions explored are: What do students learn through engagement in critical design, and how can that foster sustainable work? Design/methodology/approach The research approach is a case study, drawing on critical design activities with 45 students at a university course. The data consists of students' reflections on their design efforts and one researcher's field notes from the design session. Findings The findings show that the students engaged in critical design learn different aspects of sustainable work: how to be solution oriented, how to use technology to do good in the world and outside-the-box thinking skills. Originality/value The authors contribute extended insight into what it means to work for sustainable development, hence doing sustainable work, and how sustainable work can be conducted in practice. The authors discuss three dimensions of sustainable work that we argue are essential to understand how professionals can work towards increased sustainability. The three dimensions are: participation-based work, practice-based work and context-based work.
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| 10. |
- Islind, Anna Sigridur, et al.
(author)
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Socio-Technical Interplay in a Two-Sided Market : The Case of Learning Platforms
- 2021
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In: Lecture Notes in Information Systems and Organisation. - Cham : Springer. - 2195-4968. - 9783030475383 - 9783030475390 ; 37, s. 33-53
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The rise of the platform era changes the way interactions are structured and enables transactions at a distance. The platform phenomena also enables co-creation of content, shifting the way services are delivered across diverse boundaries. This is especially apparent in workplaces, where the developments change roles, relationships and conditions for teaching and learning, creating the possibility of a two-sided market. From a socio-technical and socio-cultural learning perspective, this study primarily aims for a better understanding of platforms in higher educational settings. Using a learning platform as an illustrative case, we argue for platform context transactions that are not monetary transactions. The main contribution of the paper is to offer a discussion where we problematize the transactional concept in two-sided markets. The findings shed new light on emerging challenges and tensions in the interplay between the constant change of technology and what it means to work in such change. This has implications for both teaching and learning and offers insights that can be valuable for understanding the shift to online learning during the recent pandemic of covid-19.
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