Context: A common way to represent product lines is with variability modeling. Yet, there are different ways to extract and organize relevant characteristics of variability. Comprehensibility of these models and the ease of creating models are important for the efficiency of any variability management approach. Objective: The goal of this paper is to investigate the comprehensibility of two common styles to organize variability into models - hierarchical and constrained - where the dependencies between choices are specified either through the hierarchy of the model or as cross-cutting constraints, respectively. Method: We conducted a controlled experiment with a sample of 90 participants who were students with prior training in modeling. Each participant was provided with two variability models specified in Common Variability Language (CVL) and was asked to answer questions requiring interpretation of provided models. The models included 9 to 20 nodes and 8 to 19 edges and used the main variability elements. After answering the questions, the participants were asked to create a model based on a textual description. Results: The results indicate that the hierarchical modeling style was easier to comprehend from a subjective point of view, but there was also a significant interaction effect with the degree of dependency in the models, that influenced objective comprehension. With respect to model creation, we found that the use of a constrained modeling style resulted in higher correctness of variability models. Conclusions: Prior exposure to modeling style and the degree of dependency among elements in the model determine what modeling style a participant chose when creating the model from natural language descriptions. Participants tended to choose a hierarchical style for modeling situations with high dependency and a constrained style for situations with low dependency. Furthermore, the degree of dependency also influences the comprehension of the variability model.

Skolverkets statistik visar att matematik är det kärnämne där svenska elever presterar lägst. Denna studie undersöker om intensivundervisning av fem elever i matematiksvårigheter i årskurs 7 kan stärka deras känsla av sammanhang (KASAM) inom matematiken enligt Antonovskys teori. Enligt Antonovsky skapas KASAM om begreppen begriplighet, hanterbarhet och meningsfullhet uppfylls. Begriplighet innebär att elevens kunskaper inom ämnet är höga, hanterbarhet betyder att elevens tilltro till sina förmågor är höga och meningsfullhet innebär att eleven ser nyttan med matematiken. Intensivundervisningen bedrevs under sex veckor med tre halvtimmeslektioner per vecka och eleverna deltog i par. Inför intensivundervisningen undersöktes elevernas kunskapsnivåer och uppfattningar om matematikämnet genom en kartläggning baserad på Magnes diagnoser och en intervju, dessa följdes upp efter insatsen med en ny diagnos och intervju. De inledande och avslutande resultaten jämfördes och analyserades utifrån begriplighet, vilket syntes i resultaten på kartläggningen och diagnosen, hanterbarhet och meningsfullhet som analyserades utifrån elevernas svar på intervjuerna. Genom den nya lärmiljön, den konstanta kommunikationen med positiv feedback och det praktiska material som med fördel används stärks två av begreppen inom KASAM tydligt. Detta visade studiens resultat vad gäller hanterbarhet och meningsfullhet som förbättrades för samtliga elever, den data som samlades in gällande begriplighet blev för svårtolkat för att ge ett tydligt resultat. En längre insats förespråkas då det hade gett en större möjlighet för eleverna att befästa kunskaperna och det framförallt gällande elever med stora kunskapsluckor. / According to the Swedish National Agency for Education’s statistics, mathematics is the core subject in which the Swedish students perform the lowest. This study examines if interventions in mathematics can help five students in year seven, which experience mathematic difficulties, feel a sense of coherence (SOC) within the subject as per Antonovsky’s theory. According to Antonovsky SOC is created if the concepts of comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness are fulfilled. Comprehensibility means that the student’s knowledge of the subject is good, if the manageability is high the student is confident in their abilities, and meaningful means that the student sees the benefit of mathematics. The intervention was conducted over six weeks, with three half-hour long lessons per week where the students participated in pairs. Prior to the intervention the students’ levels of knowledge and their perception of mathematics were examined through a survey based on Magne’s diagnosis and an interview, after the intervention they were followed up with a new diagnosis and interview. The initial and the final results were compared and analysed based on comprehensibility, which was shown in the result of the survey and the diagnosis, manageability and meaningfulness, which were analysed based on the interviews. With the help of the new learning environment, the continuous communication with positive feedback and the concrete material, which is beneficial to the teaching, two of the concepts of SOC are clearly strengthened. The result of the study shows this when it comes to manageability and meaningfulness for all the participating students, the data collected concerning the concept of comprehensibility was too difficult to interpret to give a distinct result. A lengthier effort is advocated to give the students a better opportunity to consolidate the new knowledge, this in particularly when it comes to students with large gaps in knowledge.

During the year of 2020 the Covid-19 pandemic entailed restrictions that affected Sweden and the world in general. At the request of the Swedish Public Health Agency, Swedish universities were asked to conduct digital distance education. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the attitude to the change from traditional education to distance education among full-time students at Örebro University, can be understood in relation to factors linked to learning. The study also intends to examine whether and how the students experience that their social interaction and sense of coherence has been affected as a result of the change. The results of this qualitative study are based on qualitative interviews with full-time students at Örebro University, who have been involved in the change from traditional education to distance education. Previous research in these subject areas highlight, among other things, the prerequisites for successful distance education, as well as factors that have been found to have an impact on students’ experience of social interaction and sense of coherence. In addition to previous research, the study’s theoretical framework is based on Erving Goffman’s (2014 [1974]) dramaturgical perspective on social interaction and Aaron Antonovsky’s (2005) theory of sense of coherence.The result indicates that the students were predominantly negative about the change, mainly due to the lack of social interaction. The study also shows that the students experienced difficulties within the social interaction during distance education, in terms of impression management, maintenance of traditional norms and the separation between study time and free time. In conclusion, the study shows that the students’ sense of coherence has been affected in various degrees, depending on how they perceive that their sense of comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness is met in distance education. / Under år 2020 medförde Covid-19-pandemin restriktioner som påverkade Sverige och världen i stort. På begäran av Folkhälsomyndigheten uppmanades svenska universitet att bedriva digital distansundervisning. Syftet med detta självständiga arbete är att undersöka hur inställningen till förändringen från traditionell undervisning till distansundervisning hos heltidsstudenter vid Örebro Universitet, kan förstås i relation till faktorer kopplat till lärande. Fokus ligger därtill på om och i sådana fall hur studenterna upplever att deras sociala interaktion och känsla av sammanhang har påverkats till följd av förändringen. Denna kvalitativa studie baserar sitt resultat på kvalitativa intervjuer med heltidsstudenter vid Örebro Universitet, som varit med om förändringen från traditionell undervisning till distansundervisning. Tidigare forskning inom dessa ämnesområden belyser bland annat förutsättningar för en lyckad distansundervisning, samt faktorer som har visat sig ha en inverkan på studenters upplevelse av social interaktion och känsla av sammanhang. Utöver tidigare forskning grundas studiens teoretiska ramverk i Erving Goffmans (2014 [1974]) dramaturgiska perspektiv gällande social interaktion samt Aaron Antonovskys (2005) teori om känsla av sammanhang.Resultatet från studien tyder på att studenterna var övervägande negativt inställda till förändringen, främst på grund av avsaknaden av socialt umgänge. Studien visar även att studenterna upplevde svårigheter i den sociala interaktionen vid distansundervisning vad gäller intrycksstyrning, upprätthållning av traditionella normer samt avgränsningen mellan studietid och fritid. Avslutningsvis visar studien att studenternas känsla av sammanhang påverkats i varierande grad, beroende på hur de uppfattar att deras känsla av begriplighet, hanterbarhet samt meningsfullhet tillgodoses vid distansundervisningen.

Detta är ett examensarbete inom informationsdesign med inriktning textdesign. Syftet med detta arbete är att granska två utvalda delar ur ett utbildningsmaterial för folkrace och se om det finns några svårigheter med termer och multimodalitet i informationen hos användargruppen. Användargruppen för arbetet är personer som vill börja köra motorsporten folkrace. Teorier som behandlats är multimodalitet, begriplighet och läsbarhet. Metoderna som använts är läsbarhetsanalys, enkät och intervjuer. Utifrån resultatet från metoderna har en prototyp av en app tagits fram och testats på en utvald person från användargruppen. Utprovningen genomfördes med hjälp av en observation när testpersonen använde prototypen och strukturerade frågor efter observationens slut. Slutsatser som dragits från studien är att användargruppen inte upplever några svårigheter med termer, men att det saknas användning av multimodalitet i utbildningsmaterialet för att informationen ska bli tydligare. / This study is a bachelor thesis in the field of Information design with focus on text design. The purpose with this study is to investigate two selected parts from an educational material for the Swedish motorsport called folk race and see if there are any difficulties with terms and multimodality in the information for the target group. The target group are people that want to start competing in folk race. Theories that have been used for this study are multimodality, comprehensibility and readability. Methods used in this study are a survey, interviews and a readability analysis. From the result I got from the methods, a prototype for an app was drafted and tested on a selected person from the target group. The test was carried out through an observation of the person testing the prototype and structured questions after the observation. The conclusion of this study is that the target group did not find the terms difficult, but multimodality is missing in the education material to make information clearer.

Pausing is a natural part of human speech. Pausing is used to segment speech, negotiate meaning, and allow for breathing. In oral speech, pausing, along with other suprasegmental features, plays a critical role in creating meaning as comprehensible speech is seen as a goal for language learners around the world. In order to be comprehensible, language learners need to learn to pause correctly in their speaking. Though this notion is widely accepted by applied linguists and many language teachers, the effect of pausing on intelligibility of spontaneous oral discourse has not been established by empirical data. This study isolates pause duration in spontaneous oral discourse in order to establish its connection to the intelligibility of non-native speech. In this study, North American undergraduate students' reactions to non-native pause duration in spontaneous oral discourse were examined. The task involved measuring the NESs' processing, comprehension, and evaluation of three different versions of an international teaching assistant's presentation: One with unmodified pause duration, one with pause duration shortened by 50%, and a third passage with pause duration lengthened by 50%. Results showed a positive correlation between pause duration and number of listeners able to identify main ideas. Finally, listener reaction was measurably more positive to the unmodified passage than to the passages with lengthened or shortened pauses.

The aim of this thesis is to see if there are differences in how managers and other staff looks at goals for short-term accommodation. The results show that there is a difference in views on the goals. This is manifested, among other things, in the form of managers have their focus concentrated on the financial framework for the business. Other staff have their focus directed at targets that are more about the work of the resident. The theory that the survey is based on is The sense of coherence and its three pillars: comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness.

Sociocultural identity is defined for this study as the element of identity affixed to a social or cultural group. Previous research on sociocultural identity has recognized the need for further study of its effect on second language performance, particularly pronunciation. Previous studies have found contradictory results when studying the relationships between sociocultural identity and various measures of second language pronunciation. This thesis takes a quantitative correlational approach to the study of sociocultural identification with the United States and English pronunciation comprehensibility and accent in a group of 68 international students learning English in the United States. Participants completed a survey indicating the strength of their identification with the United States, after which a group of three native speaking raters rated speech samples from the participants for both comprehensibility and accent. Scores from the identity survey were compared with those on the comprehensibility and accent ratings through a FACET analysis. Results showed no correlation between sociocultural identification with the United States and ESL pronunciation in either comprehensibility or accent. These results add further complexity to existent scholarship on identity and pronunciation and lead to a discussion of implications for future study.

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of form-focused instruction (FFI) on prosody with or without self-assessment on the prosodic and global aspects of L2 speech by Japanese EFL learners using a pre-post design. In addition, native English speaking (NS) and non-native English speaking (NNS) raters with high levels of English proficiency were compared to examine the influence of raters’ L1 backgrounds on their comprehensibility ratings. Sixty-one Japanese university students from four intact English presentation classes participated in the study. The comparison group (n = 16) practiced making one-minute speeches in class (45 minutes x 8 times) without explicit instruction on prosody, while the two experimental groups (n = 17 for the FFI-only group; n = 28 for the FFI + SA group) received FFI on word stress, rhythm, and intonation, practiced the target prosodic features in communicative contexts, and received metalinguistic feedback from the instructor. In total, the experimental groups received six-hours of instruction in class, which was comparable to the comparison group. Additionally, the experimental groups completed homework three times; only the FFI + SA group recorded their reading performance and self-assessed it in terms of word stress, rhythm, and intonation. Three oral tasks were employed to elicit the participants’ speech before and after the treatment: reading aloud, one-minute speech, and picture description. The speech samples were rated for comprehensibility by NS and NNS raters and were also analyzed with four prosodic measurements: word stress, rhythm, pitch contour, and pitch range. Instructional effects on prosody were observed clearly. The FFI-only group improved their controlled production of rhythm and pitch contour, while the FFI + SA group significantly improved all of the prosodic features except pitch range. Moreover, the instructional gains for the FFI + SA group were not limited to the controlled task but transferred to the less-controlled tasks. The results showed differential instructional effects on the four prosodic aspects. The FFI in this study did not help the participants widen their pitch range. The FFI on prosody, which was focused on the cross-linguistic differences between Japanese and English, tended to be more effective in terms of improving rhythm and pitch contour, which were categorized as rule-based, than an item-based feature, word stress. The study offered mixed results regarding instructional effects on comprehensibility. The FFI-only group did not significantly improve comprehensibility despite their significant prosodic improvements on the reading aloud task. Their significant comprehensibility growth on the picture description task was not because of the development of prosody, but of other linguistic variables that influence comprehensibility such as speech rate. The FFI + SA group made significant gains for comprehensibility on the three tasks, but the effect sizes were small. This finding indicated that the effects of FFI with self-assessment on comprehensibility were limited due to the multi-faceted nature of comprehensibility. The data elicited from the post-activity questionnaires and students’ interviews revealed that not all the participants in the FFI + SA group reacted positively to the self-assessment practice. Individual differences such as previous learning experience and self-efficacy appeared to influence the learners’ perceptions of the self-assessment practice and possibly their instructional gains. The two groups of raters, L1 English raters (n = 6) and L2 English raters with advanced or native-like English proficiency (n = 6) did not differ in terms of consistency and severity. These findings indicated that NNS raters with high English proficiency could function as reliably as NS raters; however, the qualitative data revealed that the NS raters tended to be more sensitive to pronunciation, especially at the segmental level, across the three tasks compared to the NNS raters. This study provides evidence that FFI, especially when it is reinforced by self-assessment, has pedagogical value; it can improve learners’ production of English prosody in controlled and less-controlled speech, and these gains can in turn contribute to enhanced L2 comprehensibility. / Teaching & Learning

Studiens syfte var att undersöka vilka erfarenheter kuratorer inom somatisk hälso- och sjukvård har av sympatistress samt undersöka hur kuratorerna upplever arbetssituationen utifrån KASAM. Syftet var också att förstå kuratorernas erfarenheter av sympatistress i relation till kuratorernas arbetssituation utifrån KASAM. Metoden som använts i studien var en kvalitativ intervju där sex kuratorer inom somatisk hälso- och sjukvård har intervjuats enskilt. Studien visade att kuratorerna har erfarenheter av sympatistress. Studien visade också flera indikationer på att det fanns arbetssituationer där kuratorerna hade vissa svårigheter att känna hanterbarhet, begriplighet och meningsfullhet. Det framkom även flera indikationer på att det fanns arbetssituationer där kuratorerna kände hanterbarhet, begriplighet och meningsfullhet. Studiens slutsats var att kuratorerna är utsatta för situationer i arbetet som kan leda till att de utvecklar symptom för sympatistress. / The purpose of this study was to investigate hospital social workers experiences of compassion fatigue as well as examine how they feel and think about their work situation based on KASAM. The purpose was also to understand the hospital social workers experiences of compassion fatigue in relation to the hospital social workers feelings and thoughts about their work situation based on KASAM. The method that was used is a qualitative interview in which six hospital social workers were separately interviewed. The study showed that several hospital social workers have experiences of compassion fatigue. The study also showed several indications that there were work situations where hospital social workers had some difficulties in feeling manageability, comprehensibility and meaningfulness. It also showed several indications that there were work situations where hospital social workers felt manageability, comprehensibility and meaningfulness. The study concluded that the hospital social workers are exposed to situations in their work that can lead to the development of symptoms for compassion fatigue.

To grasp what learning, teaching and knowing health might be in relation to a physical activity, the study explores what ninth grade students find difficult, and what they need to discern in teaching to experience the knowing of participation and evaluation of street dance classes through the concepts comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness. These concepts are brought from Aron Antonovsky perspective of salutogenic health by Sense of Coherence (SOC). However I do not claim to embrace the complete SOC since it relates to life as a whole (Antonovsky, 1991; 2005). The aim of the study is to investigate how to deal with the content of teaching making the students develop the ability to participate and evaluate physical activity in relation to the concepts mentioned. Furthermore by using the onset of phenomenography and theory of variation the study explores ways for teachers and students to discern critical features of the content of teaching. The study design used is Learning study. It is a cyclic, pedagogical design aiming for making it possible for teachers to scientifically explore the quality of their own teaching in relation to a specific content being taught. In a Learning study teachers are collaborating with content of teaching, trying to discern critical features of the content to make these aspects come clear for the students in renewed teaching. A phenomenographic perspective is used to discern how the students’ experiences of the teaching content vary. The theory of variation is used for planning and carrying out lessons and evaluating them in order to make the critical aspects discernable for the students. Three lessons within one Learning study cycle were staged. They were videotaped and field notes were taken. The sample consisted of three groups of ninth grade students, 15 to 16 years of age (n=52) and three teachers. Three critical aspects according to the object of learning were discerned in the study: Experiences of comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness within the context of street dance. Experiences of different forms of comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness within different situations of the context of street dance. Within the context of street dance experience how the actions and experiences of comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness by oneself simultane-ously relates to actions and experiences of comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness of others. The study shows how young students’ ability to carry through and evaluate street dance with point of departure in the meaning of comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness may be improved when the students are offered a variation in the critical features of the subject content. / <p>Baksidestext:</p><p>Denna licentiatuppsats handlar om åk 9-elevers erfaranden av lärandeobjektet <em>genomföra och värdera street dance utifrån begriplighet, hanterbarhet och meningsfullhet.</em></p><p>Vad eleverna erfor av lärandeobjektet kartlades före undervisning och preliminära <em>kritiska aspekter</em> identifierades. Kritiska aspekter är aspekter av lärandeobjektet som eleverna inte har urskilt. I efterföljande undervisning erbjöds eleverna <em>variation</em> i de kritiska aspekterna. Därefter analyserades vad eleverna erfarit av lärandeobjektet samt vilken variation i de kritiska aspekterna som erbjudits eleverna.</p><p>Studien är genomförd enligt principen för den didaktiska modellen <em>Learning study. </em>De metodologiska utgångspunkterna är fenomenografi och variationsteori.</p><p>Studiens resultat visar att de elever som erfor variation i relationen mellan begreppen och street dance och dessutom samtidigt kunde urskilja sina egna och kamraters handlingar i sammanhanget utifrån begriplighet, hanterbarhet och meningsfullhet erfor lärandeobjektet mer differentierat. Resultatet visar också att olika elevgruppers erfaranden av lärandeobjektet sammanföll med hur de kritiska aspekterna hade behandlats i undervisningen.</p><p>Eleverna problematiserade i studien möjligheter och villkor för begriplighet, hanterbarhet och meningsfullhet vid genomförandet av rörelse i street dance i ett gemensamt upplevt sammanhang.<strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Författarpresentation</strong></p><p>Sabina Vesterlund arbetar som lärare i idrott och hälsa på en f-9-skola i Värmdö kommun. Hon tog sin idrottslärarexamen vid Gymnastik – och idrottshögskolan (GIH) i Stockholm 1996. Sabina har sedan dess arbetat med utbildning i idrott och hälsa i grundskolans alla årskurser samt på lärarutbildningar vid Stockholms universitet och GIH.</p><p>2014 antogs hon till Forskarskolan i idrott och hälsas didaktik vid GIH. Denna licentiatuppsats är hennes examensarbete inom forskarskolan. Handledare har varit Jane Meckbach och Bengt Larsson.</p><p>För att beställa tryckt exemplar av licentiatuppsatsen kontakta författaren: sabina.vesterlund@gmail.com </p> / Forskningslinjen Utbildning