Distansarbete är ett arbetssätt som har blivit ett vanligare inslag i arbetslivet för många arbetstagare. Det skapar en ny arbetsmiljö där två tidigare skilda miljöer ska samverka och interagera med varandra. Detta ställer krav på arbetstagare att de ska prestera och leverera efter arbetsgivarens mål och krav trots att arbetet utförs på distans. Coronapandemin har inneburit en annorlunda vardag för arbetstagare i både arbetslivet och privatlivet och de arbetstagare som har möjlighet ska utföra sitt arbete hemifrån. Den här studien syftar därför till att undersöka hur distansarbete upplevs påverka balansen mellan privatliv och arbetsliv samt hur det upplevs påverka gruppdynamiken i en arbetsgrupp som normalt sett arbetar i en kontorsmiljö. Genom tio kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med medarbetare som har arbetat hemifrån sedan mars 2020 har data samlats in. Resultatet visar att distansarbete som arbetssätt har många fördelar genom minskad stress i vardagen beroende på minskade transporttider och ökad flexibilitet i arbetet. Distansarbete skapar däremot utmaningar i kommunikationen med kollegor genom minskade informella och spontana samtal. Distansarbete kan därför sägas underlätta både privatlivet och arbetslivet för de arbetstagare som genom tydliga gränser och rutiner lyckas särskilja de två miljöerna och ha en god struktur i kommunikationen med sina kollegor. / Working remotely has become a more common feature in today’s work life for many employees. It creates a new work environment where employees work life interacts with daily life in a different way. Working remotely requires that employees deliver and produce at the same level as they did when they were working in an office environment. The corona pandemic has caused a different everyday life of many employees around the world. Employees who can, should work from home. This study aims to detect how working remotely is perceived to affect the work – life balance and how it is perceived to affect the group dynamics in a working group who normally is working in an office environment. Data was collected through ten qualitative semi structured interviews with employees who have been working from home since March 2020. The result shows that working remotely causes less perceived stress in both work life and private life compared to working in an office environment. It demands, however, that the employees have a structured way of working and the communication with colleagues will suffer from the missing spontaneous and informal conversations. However, working remotely can simplify work and private life for employees who can successfully separate between the two environments by having good structure and seamless communication with their colleagues.

<p>  </p> <p>LGBTQIA+ young adults face systemic and interpersonal marginalization and minoritization. These experiences occur not only in offline spaces but also in online contexts. However, online contexts also allow for LGBTQIA+ individuals to access social support that extends and bolsters the support they may receive offline. Previous studies tend to examine the relation between stress and support for LGBTQIA+ individuals using cross-sectional methods, despite the emphasis of previous theories such as minority stress theory on the occurrence of stressors on a daily, cumulative basis. The current study investigated how daily online marginalization stress experiences related to online experiences of social support for LGBTQIA+ young adults. Participants included 177 young adults, ages 18-29 and who identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community. </p> <p><br></p> <p>Participants completed baseline measures of demographics, lifetime experiences of marginalization stress, social media use and attitudes, perception of online social support, self-esteem, and mental health symptoms. Next, participants were prompted twice daily for 21 days to complete a survey about online marginalization stress experiences, general and LGBTQIA+-specific online social support experiences, and positive and negative affect. Finally, participants completed a follow-up survey measuring internalized stigma, community connectedness, self-esteem, and mental health symptoms. </p> <p><br></p> <p>Results suggested that online marginalization stress was related to daily affect but not to follow-up well-being outcomes. Online marginalization stress was also related to online general social support, but not LGBTQIA+-specific online support. General social support online was related to higher positive affect and lower negative affect, and LGBTQIA+-specific online support was related to higher positive affect, but both types of online social support were generally unrelated to follow-up outcomes. Low marginalization stress and low general social support together were associated with higher internalized stigma and lower self-esteem at follow-up. Differences in these effects generally emerged for individuals with marginalized sexual orientations and less so for individuals with marginalized gender identities. The results of the study suggest that daily online marginalization stress experiences are likely related to online social support, and that online social support is beneficial for daily affect. However, online social support may not be particularly beneficial for ameliorating the effects of online marginalization stress on affect or well-being. </p>

Background: Professional services firms (PSFs) face unique challenges when internationalisingdue to their intangible services and the need to adapt to local markets. Digital technologies havemade internationalisation more efficient since firms utilise digital communication tools (DCTs).However, PSFs still struggle to internationalise due to the need to establish a local presence tocreate competitive advantages where language plays an important role integrated fully into thetargeted countries. Problem: The internationalisation of PSFs is a complex process that involves interrelated researchstreams, such as the utility of digitised tools and the importance of language strategy. However,the research is fragmented and lacks a multidimensional discipline that incorporates all factorsapplied when PSFs internationalise. Therefore, there is a need for more efforts to broaden theconceptualisation of the PSF internationalisation process. Purpose: Provide a multidimensional perspective on the practical and theoretical knowledge PSFsrequire when expanding internationally. The aim is to explore the phenomenon’s complexity tointernationalise as PSFs and the interrelationships with factors such as DCTs and language. Method: The research is a qualitative multiple-case study using semi-structured interviews toretrieve primary data. Triangulation is applied to guarantee an in-depth inquiry, combining primarydata and secondary data consisting of scanning social media platforms of the case companies andnon-responsive textual data in the form of company reports, websites, etc. The data was analysedusing thematic and cross-cage analysis. Conclusion: The results show the importance of relationships when PSFs internationalise and aneed to adapt locally. PSFs perceive the utility of DCTs as an enabler of internationalisation butdiscovered a limitation of DCTs where the importance of relationships and physical meetingscreate a gap when establishing relationships. In addition, language is strategically selected to meetthe market’s needs and increase local adaptiveness by using the local language. We can furtherconclude that the “fluffier stuff decides the game” when PSFs internationalise due to underlyingfactors such as language, cultural context and relationships, guiding how PSFs expand into foreignmarkets.

The social work profession, which traditionally relied on face-to-face interactions with clients, has been increasingly using digital communication. Though research has directed its attention to this phenomenon in a post Covid-19 era, very little data is available from professionals’ perspectives, particularly those working with children and families. Thus, this study aimed to explore how social workers from the Swedish Child Welfare Services have adapted to the new era of digital communication with children and youth placed in out-of-home care. We interviewed four social workers working in three different municipalities. A thematic analysis was used to interpret the results through the lens of Goffman’s interaction order theory. The findings show that digital communication has become part of the social workers’ daily routine. However, its application has both opportunities and challenges, and the participants’ responses indicate that a hybrid and reflective practice tailored to the children’s individual needs would be beneficial.

Elders usually experience high levels of loneliness in the society as they have retired from work and less of a center within the family. There are many interaction design work that target elder’s loneliness and aim to solve the problem by connecting elders with other people through distance. Digitalization’s connectedness is a helpful factor that can combat elder’s communication issues. At the same time, there are many already existing digital services that embed communication functions such as email, texting, and video call. Still, elders find themselves have difficulties using existing technology. The thesis focuses on why current digital technologies cannot help elders connect and communicate efficiently and how to re-design to help elders feel their willingness to communicate by current technologies. Empirical research in the thesis project has shown that elders lack trust towards digital systems due to lack of transparency and findings of specialized contexts. The project is in two parts: qualitative research and prototyping. Through qualitative research, the thesis shows that there is a lack of transparency and control from digital applications that elders experience. Prototyping outcomes suggests enabling personalization within digital services for elders by implementing slow user interactions and simple graphic elements.

Background: Virtual teams are becoming an increasingly prominent organizational unit, mainly as a result of globalization, digitalization, and the Covid-19 pandemic. While enabling operational advantages, virtuality may be adverse for the team members’ motivation as limited physical interaction in virtual teams can cause feelings of loneliness and demotivation. However, the full impact of the limited physical social interaction on member motivation remains unclear.  Purpose: The study’s purpose is to contribute to knowledge development regarding individual motivation in virtual teams, and how it is affected by limited physical social interaction. The study further aims to provide insight into how to manage such teams to strengthen the motivation of the virtual team members and thus improve the overall functioning of the team.  Method: A qualitative research design was utilized for this study. The empirical data was obtained through semi-structured interviews conducted with ten virtual team members operating within the IT industry. Further, an abductive research approach was applied, and the collected data were analyzed using thematic analysis.  Conclusion: Social dimensions are interdependent and affect each other. They also interplay with social identity and the need to belong. Limited social ties and socialization are generally a motivational issue, but the perception and motivational effect varies greatly between individuals as a result of personal factors. However, virtual team members are still generally motivated, mainly as a result of the independence that the virtual setting provides. Motivation can be improved over time as the team members get to know each other better. The manager should also plan physical, or if not feasible, digital social activities focused on bringing value and not awkwardness. Lastly, the manager is advised to promote team empowerment as it fosters prosocial motivation, which is generally preferable in virtual teams.

This study examines employees' perceptions of digital internal communication channels in relation to their effectiveness and usability within a specific organization. By employing a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative data from interviews and quantitative data from surveys, various themes were explored. The study investigates participants' preferences, the primary communication channels utilized, and their perspectives on the effectiveness and usability of these channels. The findings indicate that employees predominantly favor Microsoft Teams and email as their preferred communication channels, citing ease of use, functionality and information sharing as key factors. Recognizing and understanding employees' preferences can enable the organization to identify and optimize effective communication channels for internal processes, fostering an environment that is more efficient and conducive to collaboration.  It is crucial to acknowledge the study's limitations. The findings are context-specific and may not be readily generalizable to other settings. Alternative interpretations of the results are possible, necessitating further research to delve deeper into these aspects. By considering the insights from this study, organizations can make informed decisions to improve and select appropriate digital internal communication channels tailored to their specific requirements.

A well working communication between students and lecturers, both in and outside of class, has shown to be very important for a positive learning experience and an effective learning environment. Students need to have a critical mindset of their own cognitive reasoning and their learning process. With support from the lecturer, this will improve the student’s selfassessment but also their academic journey through their higher education. As students are becoming more native online, it is of utter most importance the online communication works as well as the direct physical communication does. This can be achieved through having a learning management system (LMS) that assists lecturers with handing out information and assists students with an easy way to receive information regarding their educational work. This study aims to examine whether the current LMS systems are sufficient enough. This by gathering data from both students and lecturers at two different universities through a survey and six semi-structured interviews to find out what the current issues are. The gathered data made it possible to determine the specific needs of both students and lecturers for a well-functioning LMS. DeLone and McLean created a system success model (D&amp;M model), aimed to analyse the quality of an information system, which could be applicable to an LMS. The model consists of different variables and their relationship to one another. An adaptation of the D&amp;M model is the Hexagonal E-learning assessment model (HELAM model) that includes similar but adapted variables for the information system. By comparing the results with the variables from these models it was concluded that both universities face similar issues, even though their systems are different. The results also indicated that there are significant variables in the D&amp;Mand HELAM model that relates to how learning management systems are used to its best potential. / Väl fungerande kommunikation mellan studenter och föreläsare, både i och utanför klassrummet, har visat sig vara mycket betydande för en positiv läroupplevelse och effektiv lärmiljö. Studenter behöver ha ett kritiskt tankesätt över deras egen kognitiva tankegång och deras läroprocess. Med stöd från föreläsare kan detta förbättra studenternas självbedömning men även deras akademiska resa genom deras högre utbildning. Eftersom studenter bli mer vana online så är det viktigt att kommunikationen online fungerar lika väl som den direkt fysiska kommunikationen gör. Detta kan uppnås genom att ha en läroplattform (LMS) som kan assistera föreläsare med utdelningen av information men även assistera studenterna att genom ett enkelt sätt ta emot information angående deras studiearbete. Den här studien ämnar undersöka om det nuvarande LMS systemen är tillräckliga. Detta genom att samla data från både studenter och föreläsare på två olika universitet genom en enkät och sex stycken semistrukturerade intervjuer för att ta reda på vad de nuvarande problemen är. Den insamlade datan gjorde det möjligt att avgöra vad de specifika behoven är från studenter och lärare för ett väl fungerande LMS. DeLone och McLean skapade en systemframgångsmodell (D&amp;M-model) ämnad att analysera kvaliteten av ett informationssystem som kan vara applicerbart på en LMS. Modellen består av olika variabler och deras relationer till varandra. En variant av D&amp;M-modellen är “Hexagonal E-learning assessment model” (HELAM-modellen) som inkluderar liknande men anpassade variabler för informationssystemet. Genom att jämföra resultatet med variablerna från dessa modeller drogs slutsatsen att båda universiteten har liknande problem, trots att de inte använder samma system. Resultaten tyder även på att det finns variabler från D&amp;Moch HELAM modellen som har signifikans och relaterar till hur en läroplattform bör användas för sin bästa potential.

This dissertation presents methods for modeling and mitigating voltage noise and timing jitter across high-speed chip-to-chip interconnects. Channel equalization and associated tuning schemes have been developed to target the distinct characteristics and signal degradation exhibited in the clock and data signals of multi-Gigabit/second digital communication links. Multiple methods for generating realistically degraded signals for the purpose of simulation are also presented and used to verify the proposed equalization and filtering topologies. Specifically, a new technique for modeling high-speed jittery clocks in the frequency domain is presented and shown to reduce transient simulation time and memory requirements, while simultaneously improving the timing resolution and accuracy of the simulation by minimizing the dependence on the transient simulation time-step. The technique is further developed to provide unprecedented control over the timing characteristics of the generated signals, and is then extended to the generation of random data signals with definable jitter statistics. Through these techniques,realistic clock and data waveforms are constructible, providing for the visualization of the combined effects of voltage and timing degradation, while at the same time tracking the phase relationship between the clock and data signals as they pass across their respective channels and through the receiving circuitry of the communication link. New methods for the automated tuning of second-order continuous-time channel equalizers are proposed based on the simulated or measured single pulse and double pulse responses of the transmission channel. Using only one degree of freedom, the methods target the reduction of inter-symbol interference (ISI) as identified in the single and double pulses. Through tuning either the circuit quality factor (Q), the peaking frequency, or the frequency zero, the methods are shown to adapt to a variety of channel lengths and datarates from the same original equalizer transfer function, implying a good degree of generality, while offering a simple, yet effective, method for ISI reduction. Finally, the design of an active 5 Gigahertz (GHz) bandpass filter, employed for high-speed clock conditioning, is presented and shown to address both random and deterministic components of the clock signal degradation. The bandpass transfer function is achieved through a combination of AC coupling and a resonant LC tank consisting of on-chip interleaved spiral inductors and a tunable capacitor array. Through adjusting the load capacitance in parallel with the inductors, the center frequency of the filter is tunable over a range of nearly 5GHz. The design targets a supply voltage of 1.2 volts and draws approximately 5.7 milliamps of current.

When the covid-19 pandemic started, managers were only able to lead their employees through digital communication. During the subsequent telework a completely new research area, in need of new knowledge, was created. The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of opportunities and challenges of remote leadership, experienced by managers. This at a time of only digital communication with employees, with no physical meetings or interactions. The study will answer the following two issues, “What factors are important for managers to take into account when applying a leadership style to teleworking employees?” and “Which internal communication functions in the organization have worked better or not according to managers, when remotely managing employees?”. This exploratory study has its theoretical starting point in situational theory, as well as in Richmond, McCroskey and Powell’s six functions in organizational communication. Through semi-structured interviews, empirical data has been collected and then analyzed through coding, thematization and summation. The result of this study indicates that future managers, conducting digital leadership, will need to take each employee's needs and personal situation into account. Managers need to adopt a functioning leadership style, while keeping important factors regarding employees in mind. This in order to successfully lead each teleworking employee through digital communication.