IoT industry is growing at a rapid pace since everyone wants to connect everything to internet in order to use various services and applications using shared data. Openness is observed as an emerging trend in IoT industry. Security & privacy of the data are very important aspects in the design and deployment of the connected devices or Internet of Things. Fast growth in number of connected devices, heterogeneity, constrained resources, privacy, software upgrades and operational environment create important security related challenges in this domain. It is difficult to address challenges even with the considerable amount of existing work that has been done for decades in the area of security & privacy. In this research, a semi-systematic literature survey of the state of the art is conducted related to security & privacy aspects within the IoT area. The results were validated by conducting qualitative survey with IoT practitioners. The efforts have resulted towards identifying several security trends & challenges and security design aspects that can be considered by IoT practitioners in order to design an open and secure IoT system.It can be concluded from the study that security is not only needed but is a mandatory characteristic for IoT. However, there are no general guidelines that can be proposed to address security issues since security is not only a technical problem but is more of an awareness, mindset, people and process issue. In this thesis, a novel model is proposed with openness and security characteristics. This model is grounded based on the theoretical findings and empirical data obtained from IoT practitioners. Each of the characteristics has its own design aspects that needs to be considered by IoT practitioners to design a more secure IoT system.

Ett allt mer kontrollerat arbetsliv innebär sämre förhållanden för arbetande individer. Detta skapar ett behov om att undersöka nya styrsätt vilka istället bör fokusera på tillit. Studiens syfte är att undersöka vad en tillitsbaserad styrning och ledning har inneburit för medarbetare i deras arbetssituation. Kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer utfördes med 10 respondenter. De intervjuades i cirka 30 minuter var. Studiens analys utfördes genom tematisering vilket resulterade i fyra huvudteman vilka är: Förändrad styrning och ledning, kvalitet framför kvantitet, samverkan mellan professioner samt arbetsvillkor och motivation. Studiens resultat visar att en styrning och ledning baserad på tillit har förändrat både kulturen och arbetsvillkoren på arbetsplatsen. Några huvudsakliga förändringar innebär för respondenterna goda resurser, mindre arbetsgrupper med delade professioner, ökat handlingsutrymme, delaktighet, öppenhet och kontinuitet i arbetet. Studiens resultat kan användas i framtida forskning för att visa hur en tillitsbaserad styrning och ledning kan bidra till en förbättrad arbetsmiljö och ökad motivation hos medarbetare.

abstract: Individuals in a romantic relationship may avoid discussing certain topics with their partner, often to avoid relational and emotional risk. This strategy is known as topic avoidance and may be an important factor for individuals in turbulent romantic relationship to consider due to the importance of communicating with a partner. The associations between characteristics such as openness, relationship satisfaction, and perceived partner unresponsiveness, and topic avoidance have not been directly studied within dogmatism literature. However, dogmatism, defined as a person’s relative openness (or closedness) to new information, may be an important construct associated with topic avoidance that strengthens the associations between perceived partner unresponsiveness, and topic avoidance, and weakens the association between openness, relationship satisfaction, and topic avoidance. Using data from 334 individuals in romantic relationships, results revealed that perceived partner unresponsiveness was positively associated with State of the Relationship, relationship satisfaction was positively associated with Conflict-Inducing and Negative Life Experiences, such that as scores on relationship satisfaction and perceived partner unresponsiveness increased, topic avoidance scores also increased. Openness was not associated with Topic Avoidance. Additionally, as predicted, dogmatism moderated the association between relationship satisfaction and State of the Relationship Topic Avoidance, the associations between perceived partner unresponsiveness and State of the Relationship Topic Avoidance and Negative Life Experiences Topic Avoidance. This research has important implications for clinicians working with individuals who present with relational concerns and exhibit dogmatic behavior. Limitations and future directions are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Counseling 2019

Kids are spontaneous and creative. They are imaginative and honest. They are playful. Kids can be assigned many positive traits, and in many ways they are exemplary as they engage in the world without prejudice or a particular goal in mind, allowing for that unique openness and present-oriented approach to life that characterizes most children. Fortunately, a lot of these traits follow us into adulthood and help shape how we experience life. But when an adult is being playful, that person has the playfulness of a child, or similarly, when adults are being referred to as carefree it’s often suggestive of immaturity or a childlike behavior rather than an association with light-hearted playfulness. When and why did this attitude become exclusively reserved for children, especially seeing as the benefits of playfulness are arguably just as significant, or even greater, for adults.  This project is an exploration of how design can help adults rediscover and rekindle this fundamental and universally applicable attitude. Derived from extensive user involvement the result is three experiments that each manifests key aspects of adult playfulness, to help facilitate individual exploration and reflection of playfulness in adulthood.

Gottsunda is facing a big change, where a whole new district will arise. This will contribute to a whole lot of new citizens, and more pressure on the infrastructure where a new train will pass that connects the new district and makes it more attractive. Gottsunda City Hall is located parallel with the new square, which makes it a junction for the area. The City Hall has a big focus on the public world, which makes its focus to be as open and available for the citizens and visitors. The main focus inside the building is sport activities and cultural activities, which is a big part in the lives of the citizens in Gottsunda. Expect sport activities and cultural approaches, a big sports field is located beside the City Hall. The sports field is open to everyone, and is allowed for everyone to use. The building has a very characteristic façade that shows how open and welcoming the building is. The heart and the main room in the City Hall is the big open, diagonal atrium that goes through the whole building. Along this diagonal atrium is the façade all in glass, to make it more open and contribute to have a view from inside out, and from outside in. This to make a strong bond between the building and the crowded square. / Gottsunda står inför en stor förändring, där en helt ny stadsdel kommer att skapas. Detta kommer bidra till en mängd nya bostäder, en mängd nya invånare, och en ny tvärbana som kommer gå genom stadsdelen. Gottsunda stadsdelscenter står i relation parallellt med det nytänkta torget, och nya Gottsunda allé, där tvärbanan kommer att gå. Stadsdelscentret står som en knytpunkt för hela den nya stadsdelen. Byggnaden har ett stort fokus på allmänheten, att vara öppet och tillgängligt för Gottsundaborna, och kunna ge dom en plats att vistas på och bruka. Det stora fokuset ligger på sport och aktivitet, vilket är en stor del av det dagliga livet i Gottsunda. Förutom att byggnaden invändigt erbjuder flera kulturella aktiviteter, kreativa och mer fysiska sportaktiviteter, så är en stor sportplan belägen på baksidan. Denna stora sportplan är en förlängning av torget, och är öppet och välkomnande för alla. Hit är alla välkomna, att ta en springrunda eller spela fotboll. Byggnaden har en mycket karaktäristisk fasad, som speglar hur öppen och allmän byggnaden är.Byggnadens hjärta är ett öppet diagonalt atrium, som bidrar till att alla plan ser upp och ned på varandra. Kopplingen mellan torget, sportfältet och byggnaden är också mycket stor då detta öppna atrium är helt inglasat, vilket ger en total insikt in i byggnaden, likaväl som utvändig sikt. Byggnaden ska stå som ett landmärke för Gottsunda, en plats man kan komma för att spendera sin fritid, eller bara ta del av information.

Purpose: The college environment is documented as a universally stressful period where students face many challenges (Baysden, 2002; Pandit, 2003). In addition to these potential stressors, international students face other unique challenges such as loss of support network, feelings of isolation, economic hardship, coping with oftentimes competing cultures, and anxiety which emanates from unfamiliarity (Kim & Omizo, 2003; Rounds & Kline, 2005). Unsuccessful resolution of these challenges can negatively impact the acculturation process, their mental health, and their academic programs (Roysircar, 2002). Despite these many challenges, research consistently shows that international students are less likely than their US counterparts to seek professional counseling (Bayer, 2002). Further, those who do seek counseling services are also more likely to terminate services prematurely (Anderson & Myer, 1985). Although there is an abundance of research on the attitudes towards seeking professional counseling of Asian and other international student populations (Kim & Omizo, 2003; Lau & Takeuchi, 2001; Leong & Lau, 2001; Liao, Rounds & Kline, 2005; Pandit, 2003), there is a dearth of knowledge on Caribbean college students. This dissertation sought to determine which factors influence the attitudes towards seeking professional counseling of English-speaking Caribbean college students in the U.S., as well as those attending colleges in the Caribbean. Method: Two research questions and five null hypotheses were used to examine what influences the attitudes towards seeking professional counseling of 500 Caribbean college students. The variables of interest were stigma tolerance, level of social support, level of acculturation, outcome expectations and level of emotional openness. Stigma Tolerance was measured using the Stigma Scale for Receiving Psychological Help (SSRPH), Outcome Expectations were measured using the Disclosure Expectations Scale, Emotional Openness was measured using the Distress Disclosure Index and Social Support using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Attitudes towards seeking professional counseling were measured using the Attitudes towards seeking Psychological Help instrument by Fischer and Turner (1970) and acculturation was measured using responses from the demographic questionnaire. Several analyses were conducted including a stepwise regression analysis, multiple regression analysis, a MANOVA, ANOVA and a linear regression analysis. Major Findings: The results of this study indicated that stigma tolerance and anticipated risks of seeking counseling both have a significant inverse relationship with the attitudes towards seeking professional counseling of English-speaking Caribbean college students. Results also indicated that anticipated utility of seeking professional counseling has a significant relationship with the attitudes towards seeking professional counseling. The level of emotional openness as well as the level of social support also have a direct relationship with the attitudes towards seeking professional counseling of English-speaking Caribbean college students. Students who reside and attend college in the Caribbean reported higher mean scores for anticipated risk, anticipated utility and attitudes towards seeking professional counseling than their counterparts who reside and attend college in the U.S. Results also indicated that length of stay in the U.S. was not a statistically significant predictor of one's attitudes towards seeking professional counseling.

Capoeira is an African diasporic art form that developed in Brazil during the transatlantic slave trade. This research explores the history of Capoeira and its contemporary engagement through an autoethnographic method. It follows the first-hand experience of being a black female researcher and a Capoeirista both in Europe and Brazil. The purpose of engaging with this particular perspective was to recentre the ways in which we view Capoeira and its history, understanding that it has many embodiments of resistance that also include Black women. Embodiments here are framed as the embedded identities and corporeality affected by culture and society over several generations. Through this process, we open our awareness of further embodiments of the individual, together with that of the practice. Inspired by bell hooks' essay ‘Choosing the Margin as a Space of Radical Openness’, this thesis is a conversation between the past, the present and the future, it interrogates the popular structures in Capoeira that have been upheld or embodied and as a result has separated us from ancestral knowledge and knowledge of self. The ritual of Capoeira is mirrored throughout this thesis in order to engage with the intrinsic values of the practice and bring about transformative ways of seeing and moving in the world around us.

In a workplace, fostering a culture of transparency, openness, and conflict resolution can create an environment where employees feel comfortable expressing criticism. The purpose of this study is to investigate how employees at a governmental organization perceive the space to voice criticism internally within the workplace. For example, previous research shows that depending on the nature of the criticism employees will consider the pros and cons before presenting it. Previous research also shows that when employees perceive that their voice is limited, they may respond by remaining silent despite management asking for open discussions. To answer the purpose of this study, a qualitative interview study has been carried out consisting of interviews with six state-employed individuals at a Swedish authority. The interviews have been recorded, transcribed and the generated data has been the basis for a thematic analysis. The empirical work has been analyzed based on Habermas theory of communicative action. The study's results show, among other things, that employees who perceive that the manager listens actively, and prioritizes what the employee wants to express, experience a positive space for criticism. Furthermore, the study shows that employees are less inclined to express criticism again if the manager has diminished previously expressed criticism, and that this nurtures the perception of a limited space for criticism. Additionally, the findings show employees perceive they can influence the reception of their criticism by considering how it is expressed. Employees seem to feel that it is more important for them to be listened to, than that the expressed criticism leads to an actual change. / Att ha högt i tak på en arbetsplats kan exempelvis innebära en transparens, en öppenhet, en strävan efter konfliktlösning samt att önskemål och missförstånd kan diskuteras. Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur anställda på en statlig organisation upplever utrymmet att framföra kritik internt på arbetsplatsen. Tidigare forskning visar exempelvis att beroende på vad kritiken handlar om överväger anställda för och nackdelar med att framföra den, samt att när anställda uppfattar att deras röst är begränsad kan de svara genom att vara tysta trots att ledningen efterfrågar öppna diskussioner. För att besvara syftet har en kvalitativ intervjustudie genomförts bestående av sex statligt anställda individer på en svensk myndighet. Intervjuerna har spelats in, transkriberats och det genererade datamaterialet har legat till grund för en tematisk analys. Empirin har analyserats utifrån Habermas teori om kommunikativt handlande. Studiens resultat visar bland annat att anställda som uppfattar att chefen lyssnar aktivt, samt prioriterar vad den anställde vill framföra, upplever ett positivt kritikutrymme. Vidare visar studien att anställda är mindre benägna att framföra kritik igen om chefen har förminskat tidigare framförd kritik, samt att detta bidrar till en upplevelse av ett begränsat kritikutrymme. I studien belyses även att anställda uppfattar att de kan påverka mottagandet av kritiken genom att överväga hur den uttrycks. Anställda tycks känna att det är viktigare för dem att bli lyssnade på, än att den framförda kritiken leder till en faktisk förändring.

This mixed-methods study investigates factors influencing refugee treatment across countries, focusing on the impact of language barriers on attitudes toward refugees. The research employs qualitative and quantitative approaches to examine the relationship between Advanced Host Country Language Proficiency (expressed as a percentage) and openness to refugees. Additionally, it considers the influence of country wealth, measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as a control variable. The findings reveal no significant direct correlation between language proficiency and openness to refugees. However, a positive relationship emerges between economic development and refugee acceptance when controlling GDP. This indicates that, while language proficiency alone does not dictate openness, economic strength significantly contributes to fostering supportive attitudes towards refugees. The study underscores the importance of a multifaceted strategy integrating cultural diversity, social integration policies, and public awareness efforts to enhance societal inclusivity and support for refugees. These insights offer valuable guidance for policymakers and stakeholders in addressing the current humanitarian crisis and facilitating the integration of refugees globally. As this research develops, specific propositions will be examined to address the existing humanitarian crisis regarding refugees seeking entry across nations.

Promoting sustainable behavior or environmentally responsible behavior poses challenges because there is no overarching solution for behavior changes. Both surveys and interventions are context specific, meaning behaviors do not necessarily influence other behaviors and the same values, norms, and beliefs do not necessarily translate to the same level of sustainable behavior. Because there are regional differences in ideologies in the United States, a country level approach to encourage sustainable behavior would not be as effective as having interventions that directly correlate with the motivations that encourage environmentally responsible behavior. A survey will be conducted with University of Central Florida undergraduate students. The results of the survey will be analyzed through structural equation modelling and compared to previous studies to examine the regional differences among college students. The results of this study will assist new intervention programs to be personalized to the target group’s motivating factors and more effectively change behavior through improving self-efficacy for sustainable behaviors.