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Social arbetsmiljö vid arbete hemifrån : En kvalitativ studie om upplevelser av den sociala arbetsmiljön vid arbete hemifrån under Covid-19 pandeminWallin, Hanna January 2021 (has links)
I och med rådande covid-19 pandemi har flera restriktioner införts som bland annat social distansering och att arbeta hemifrån om möjlighet finns, som en följd av pandemin och dess restriktioner har våra sociala kontakter minskat både på arbetet och privat. Det har tidigare rapporterats om både för-och nackdelar med att arbeta hemifrån och effekten på den arbetsrelaterade hälsan skiljer sig i tidigare forskning. Många tidigare studier som berör covid-19 och arbetshälsa är utförda i andra länder med hårdare restriktioner och andra förutsättningar, det finns därför en kunskapslucka och det upplevs också finnas behov av mer forskning kring hur förutsättningar i vår arbetsmiljö har förändrats i och med covid-19 pandemin. Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur medarbetare upplever sin sociala arbetsmiljö vid arbete hemifrån under covid-19 pandemin. Denna studie är en kvalitativ studie med semistrukturerade intervjuer som metod och intervjuerna utfördes genom digitala kommunikationsverktyg. Studien innefattar 10 informanter som arbetar inom en kommunal sektor som i och med pandemin arbetar hemifrån. Resultatet visade att de upplevde sin sociala arbetsmiljö som väldigt annorlunda med endast digital kontakt med kollegor och chef. Upplevelser av den sociala arbetsmiljön innefattade färre sociala och spontana kontakter, dock försökte informanterna att prata kontinuerligt med sina kollegor och det upplevdes viktigt att stötta varandra. De upplevde också fördelar och nackdelar med att kommunicera via digitala verktyg men upplevelsen var att samarbetet med kollegor fungerade bra även om det fanns vissa svårigheter. Informanterna hade olika upplevelser av kontakten med chef och möjligheterna till att få stöd. / With the current COVID-19 pandemic, several restrictions have been introduced, including social distancing and working from home if possible, as a result of the pandemic and its restrictions, our social contacts have decreased both at work and in private life. There have been previous reports of both the pros and cons of working from home and the effect on work-related health differs in previous research. Many previous studies concerning COVID-19 and occupational health have been carried out in other countries with tighter restrictions and other conditions, there is therefore a knowledge gap and there is also a need for more research into how conditions in our work environment have changed with the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of the study is to investigate how employees experience their social work environment when working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study is a qualitative study with semi-structured interviews as a method and the interviews take place through digital communication tools. The study includes 10 informants who are working from home during the pandemic. The results showed both that the informants perceived their social work environment as very different with only digital contact with colleagues and managers. Experiences of the social work environment included fewer social and spontaneous contacts, however, the informants tried to talk continuously with their colleagues and it felt important to support each other. They also experienced the advantages and disadvantages of communicating through digital tools, but the experience was that the collaboration with colleagues worked well even though there were some difficulties. The informants had different experiences of contact with the manager and the possibilities for receiving support.
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Stagnation Impacts on Building Drinking Water Safety: The Pandemic and MicroplasticsKyungyeon Ra (13164972) 28 July 2022 (has links)
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<p>The pandemic prompted buildings globally to transition to low or no occupancy as social distancing to reduce the spread of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). This consequence prompted concerns about the chemical and microbiological safety of building drinking water due to stagnation. At the same time, microplastic (MP) pollution received increasing global attention due to their presence in the environment and recent discoveries within water distribution systems and at building faucets. MP sources have primarily been targeted as originating within the drinking water sources, but plastic plumbing components are less discussed and known to deteriorate into fragments and smaller pieces that reach faucets. Literature at the time of this work as sparse on stagnation impacts to drinking water quality and the fate of MPs in plumbing. In particular, health officials and building owners issued and received many differed guidance documents telling building owners do different things and no standard guideline was available to reduce the health risks caused by stagnant building drinking water. This dissertation examined three different types of buildings during closed to low water use conditions and conducted bench-scale testing to explore the phenomena observed in the field. Chapter 1 describes water quality impacts during a 7 year old ‘green’ middle school as it transitioned from Summer (low water use) to Fall (normal use). Field experiments revealed that more than half of first draw water samples exceeded the copper (acute) health-based action limit during low water use. Copper concentration within the school increased as distance from building entry point increased. Chapter 2 and 3 describe report on chemical and microbiological water quality in buildings at a university buildings (Chapter 2), and elementary school (Chapter 3). Chapters 2 and 3 revealed that stagnation negatively impacted chemical and microbiological building water quality (cold and hot) but flushing was effective at remediating high concentration of heavy metals and <em>Legionella pneumophila</em> at most locations. But in large buildings, where building plumbing system was more complicated, flushing did not always result in improved water quality. Also discovered was that water quality again deteriorated even after whole building water system was flushed. It is important to understand own building systems to maintain water quality as each building complexity requires specific knowledge and solutions. Chapter 4 describes current knowledge associated with MPs in drinking water and results of bench scale experiments on MP fate and transport in building plumbing. This work identified that while MPs have been reported at building faucets, sampling details lacking from available studies often resulted in study results not being comparable across others. Based on the review of the issue, it was found that MPs have likely reached building faucets for decades but have received no characterization until recently. Bench-scale testing using two MPs, of different density, in copper and crosslinked polyethylene (PEX) pipes revealed size influenced the amount of MPs retained in a pipe. Research needs were identified to determine the fundamental factors that control MP fate in plumbing and their presence at building faucets. </p>
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Adapting to the new remote work era : Improving social well-being among IT remote workers through scheduled digital social interactions / Anpassningar för den digitala arbetsplatsen : Förbättringar av det sociala välmåendet hos distansarbete inom IT med hjälp av planerade, digitala och sociala interaktionerRosquist, Oscar January 2021 (has links)
In 2020, the world was struck by the Covid-19 pandemic. Recommendations to limit physically meeting with others caused somewhat of a paradigm shift in how office workers perform their work. A massive shift to remote work occurred and exposed the workforce to the remote work’s shortcomings and problems. Based on a literature study, remote workers were found to lack social interactions that happen automatically in an office. Therefore, a proposed solution of scheduling regular, social, and informal interaction sessions was tested in an experiment using Microsoft Teams with full-time, remote IT workers. To facilitate informal social interactions during these experiment sessions, the participants were allowed to play a few different games, participate in social activities or not participate at all. Analysis of the results from the experiment showed a slight improvement in the measured factors over the course of the experiment. However, only a decrease in emotional exhaustion was found to be statistically significant. Therefore, the results are insufficient to argue for or against the implementation of regular informal social interactions with a goal of improving employees’ remote working environment. The experiment had several areas which could be improved, particularly the scale and availability of the experiment. Future research should take into account the suggested areas of improvement for the experiment, specifically scaling up a similar experiment in order to support or refute the implementation of regular social interactions as part of a remote working environment. The increase in remote work is believed to persist in the future. Therefore, the drawbacks of remote work merit additional research to uncover techniques to mitigate them. Moreover, due to the nature of their work, IT workers have ample opportunities to work remotely. A suitable environment in which to work remotely can help them benefit from remote work while experiencing less of its negative effects. / Under början av året 2020 drabbades världen av Covid-19 pandemin. Rekommendationer att minimera fysisk kontakt med andra människor förändrade kontorsarbetares arbetsmiljö drastiskt. En omfattande förflytterlse av arbete till distansarbete skedde och syngligjorde dess nackdelar. Denna ökning av distansarbete förväntas fortsätta i framtiden. Nackdelarna hos distansarbete meriterar ytterliggare undersökningar kring tillvägagångsätt för att reducera dem. En av de vanligaste rapporterade nackdelarna är den socialt isolerande effekten. Detta examensarbete kommer fokusera på att undersöka hur man kan reducera den socialt isolerande effekten av distansarbete på heltid hos IT-arbetare. IT-arbetares arbetssätt har stora möjligheter för distansarbete. Därför skulle en bra miljö för distansarbete gynna IT-arbetare och göra det möjligt för fler individer att ta del av fördelarna från distansarbete. Innan pandemin var distansarbetare selektivt utvalda utefter deras personliga möjligheter att lyckas. Under pandemin så har även de individer som passar mindre bra för distansarbete även behövt jobba på distans. Detta gör det möjligt att undersöka möljliga förbättringsätt för fler typer av individer. Baserat på en literaturstudie så har det tydligjorts att distansarbetare saknar den sociala interaktion som sker automatistk i en kontorsmiljö. På grund av detta så föreslogs och testades en möjlig lösning av planerade, regelbundna, sociala och informella tillfällen över Microsoft Teams som ett experiment. För att främja informella och sociala interaktioner under experimenttillfällena så fick deltagarna spela ett par olika spel eller utföra aktiviteter med varandra. Resultaten pekar mot en liten förbättring från experimentet men endast en minsking av känslomässig utmattning var statistiskt significant. Det fanns flera förbättringsområden för experimentet. Sammanfatningsvis var storleken av experimentet och tiden för det, de stora förbättringsområdena. Resultaten är inte starka nog för att kunna tala för eller emot implementerandet av regelbundna, informella, sociala interaktioner med ändamålet att förbättra miljön för distanarbete. Framtida forskning bör ta hänsyn till förbättringsområdena och undersöka en upskalad variant av ett liknande experiment.
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The Lived Experience of Nurses in Caring for Patients with COVID-19Barre, Jessica 01 May 2024 (has links) (PDF)
Limited research exists about the experiences of nurses’ caring for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic post hoc. To understand nurses’ realities of caring for patients with COVID-19, I aimed to understand the lived experience of nurses caring for patients with COVID-19 in the United States. A qualitative design with a hermeneutic phenomenological methodology was used. Sixteen participants were recruited via purposive sampling, augmented with snowball sampling. Data were collected through unstructured interviews and were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s Reflexive Thematic Analysis. Nurses’ experiences of caring for patients with COVID-19 in the U.S. were consolidated into four themes: “a living hell”; “rationing patient safety”; “mental aftermath of the war zone”; and “post-pandemic pride”. Nurses provided patient care amidst challenging environments of limited to no resources, with extensive, large-scale critically ill patients, and patient deaths. Due to overwhelming patient care demands, nurses were unable to provide safe patient care to everyone in need, resulting in patient deterioration and death. These experiences caused nurses to endure maladaptive mental effects, such as compassion fatigue and moral suffering, which can threaten the safety of patients. Despite these undesirable results, nurses continued to provide patient care and expressed feelings of pride in the profession of nursing for surviving the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this study demonstrates the persistent impacts on nurses’ abilities to provide safe care after the crisis years. Support for nurses is recommended to preserve patient safety.
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Deep Learning Strategies for Pandemic Preparedness and Post-Infection ManagementLee, Sang Won January 2024 (has links)
The global transmission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has resulted in over 677 million infections and 6.88 million tragic deaths worldwide as of March 10th, 2023. During the pandemic, the ability to effectively combat SARS-CoV-2 had been hindered by the lack of rapid, reliable, and cost-effective testing platforms for readily screening patients, discerning incubation stages, and accounting for variants. The limited knowledge of the viral pathogenesis further hindered rapid diagnosis and long-term clinical management of this complex disease. While effective in the short term, measures such as social distancing and lockdowns have resulted in devastating economic loss, in addition to material and psychological hardships. Therefore, successfully reopening society during a pandemic depends on frequent, reliable testing, which can result in the timely isolation of highly infectious cases before they spread or become contagious. Viral loads, and consequently an individual's infectiousness, change throughout the progression of the illness.
These dynamics necessitate frequent testing to identify when an infected individual can safely interact with non-infected individuals. Thus, scalable, accurate, and rapid serial testing is a cornerstone of an effective pandemic response, a prerequisite for safely reopening society, and invaluable for early containment of epidemics. Given the significant challenges posed by the pandemic, the power of artificial intelligence (AI) can be harnessed to create new diagnostic methods and be used in conjunction with serial tests. With increasing utilization of at-home lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) tests, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have consistently raised concerns about a potential underreporting of actual SARS-CoV-2-positive cases. When AI is paired with serial tests, it could instantly notify, automatically quantify, aid in real-time contact tracing, and assist in isolating infected individuals.
Moreover, the computer vision-assisted methodology can help objectively diagnose conditions, especially in cases where subjective LFIA tests are employed. Recent advances in the interdisciplinary scientific fields of machine learning and biomedical engineering support a unique opportunity to design AI-based strategies for pandemic preparation and response. Deep learning algorithms are transforming the interpretation and analysis of image data when used in conjunction with biomedical imaging modalities such as MRI, Xray, CT scans, confocal microscopes, etc. These advances have enabled researchers to carry out real-time viral infection diagnostics that were previously thought to be impossible. The objective of this thesis is to use SARS-CoV-2 as a model virus and investigate the potential of applying multi-class instance segmentation deep learning and other machine learning strategies to build pandemic preparedness for rapid, in-depth, and longitudinal diagnostic platforms. This thesis encompasses three research tasks: 1) computer vision-assisted rapid serial testing, 2) infected cell phenotyping, and 3) diagnosing the long-term consequences of infection (i.e., long-term COVID).
The objective of Task 1 is to leverage the power of AI, in conjunction with smartphones, to rapidly and simultaneously diagnose COVID-19 infections for millions of people across the globe. AI not only makes it possible for rapid and simultaneous screenings of millions but can also aid in the identification and contact tracing of individuals who may be carriers of the virus. The technology could be used, for example, in university settings to manage the entry of students into university buildings, ensuring that only students who test negative for the virus are allowed within campus premises, while students who test positive are placed in quarantine until they recover. The technology could also be used in settings where strict adherence to COVID-19 prevention protocols is compromised, for example, in an Emergency Room. This technology could also help with CDC’s concern on growing incidences of underreporting positive COVID-19 cases with growing utilization of at-home LFIA tests.
AI can address issues that arise from relying solely on the visual interpretation of LFIA tests to make accurate diagnoses.
One problem is that LFIA test results may be subjective or ambiguous, especially when the test line of the LFIA displays faint color, indicating a low analyte abundance. Therefore, reaching a decisive conclusion regarding the patient's diagnosis becomes challenging. Additionally, the inclusion of a secondary source for verifying the test results could potentially increase the test's cost, as it may require the purchase of complementary electronic gadgets. To address these issues, our innovation would be accurately calibrated with appropriate sensitivity markers, ensuring increased accuracy of the diagnostic test and rapid acquisition of test results from the simultaneous classification of millions of LFIA tests as either positive or negative. Furthermore, the designed network architecture can be utilized to detect other LFIA-based tests, such as early pregnancy detection, HIV LFIA detection, and LFIA-based detection of other viruses.
Such minute advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence can be leveraged on many different scales and at various levels to revolutionize the health sector. The motivating purpose of Task 2 is to design a highly accurate instance segmentation network architecture not only for the analysis of SARS-CoV-2 infected cells but also one that yields the highest possible segmentation accuracy for all applications in biomedical sciences. For example, the designed network architecture can be utilized to analyze macrophages, stem cells, and other types of cells.
Task 3 focuses on conducting studies that were previously considered computationally impossible. The invention will assist medical researchers and dentists in automatically calculating alveolar crest height (ACH) in teeth using over 500 dental Xrays. This will help determine if patients diagnosed with COVID-19 by a positive PCR test exhibited more alveolar bone loss and had greater bone loss in the two years preceding their COVID-positive test when compared to a control group without a positive COVID-19 test. The contraction of periodontal disease results in higher levels of transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) within the buccal cavity, which is instrumental in enabling the entry of SARS-CoV-2. Gum inflammation, a symptom of periodontal disease, can lead to alterations in the ACH of teeth within the oral mucosa. Through this innovation, we can calculate ACHs of various teeth and, therefore, determine the correlation between ACH and the risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 infection. Without the invention, extensive manpower and time would be required to make such calculations and gather data for further research into the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection, as well as other related biological phenomena within the human body. Furthermore, the novel network framework can be modified and used to calculate dental caries and other periodontal diseases of interest.
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The interface of COVID-19, diabetes, and depressionSteenblock, Charlotte, Schwarz, Peter E. H., Perakakis, Nikolaos, Brajshori, Naime, Beqiri, Petrit, Bornstein, Stefan R. 08 April 2024 (has links)
Comorbid diabetes with depression is a challenging and often under-recognized clinical problem. During the current COVID-19 pandemic, a communicable disease is thriving on the increasing incidences of these non-communicable diseases. These three different health problems are bidirectionally connected forming a vicious cycle. Firstly, depressed individuals show a higher risk of developing diabetes and patients with diabetes have a higher risk of developing symptoms of depression. Secondly, patients with diabetes have a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 as well as of experiencing breakthrough infections. Thirdly, in both patients with type 2 diabetes and in COVID-19 survivors the prevalence of depression seems to be increased. Fourthly, lockdown and quarantine measurements during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in depression. Therefore, it is of importance to increase the awareness of this interface between depression, diabetes and COVID-19. Finally, as symptoms of post-COVID, diabetes and depression may be overlapping, there is a need for educating skilled personnel in the management of these comorbidities.
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Estrategias de reactivación económica empresarial y su impacto financiero ante el COVID-19 de la inmobiliaria Ingeniería Energía y Medio Ambiente SAC de los años 2019 a 2022Vilchez Vargas, Maricielo Lilibeth January 2024 (has links)
La presente investigación se enfocó en el impacto que tuvo el COVID-19 en el sector servicios específicamente en el inmobiliario. Por tanto, se planteó como objetivo general analizar el impacto económico y financiero de las estrategias ante el COVID-19 de la Inmobiliaria Ingenierías Energías y Medio Ambiente SAC años 2019 a 2022. La metodología de estudio empleada fue cuantitativa, de tipo aplicada y nivel descriptivo, a su vez, un diseño experimental de corte de transversal. Así mismo, la población sujeta de estudio es la inmobiliaria teniendo como muestra a la información financiera para la elaboración de indicadores financieros, implementando estrategias para la toma de decisiones. Por ello, se utilizaron instrumentos como la entrevista y el análisis documental. Los resultados evidenciaron la elaboración de un diagnóstico de la situación económica financiera de la Inmobiliaria Ingeniería Energía y Medio Ambiente SAC, con esta información se observó una rentabilidad y liquidez no significativa; además se analizaron las medidas de reactivación económica empresarial aplicadas por la inmobiliaria durante la pandemia las cuales fueron estrategias operativas y de mercado, así pues, se evaluó el efecto por el COVID-19 en los estados financieros de los años 2021 al 2022 un ligero mejoramiento en sus ratios de rentabilidad y liquidez. Por lo tanto, la elaboración de estrategias complementarias nos va permitir enfrentar la situación económica de la Inmobiliaria Ingeniería Energía y Medio Ambiente SAC para el año 2023. / The present investigation focused on the impact that COVID-19 had on the services sector, specifically on real estate. Therefore, it has been proposed as a general objective to analyze the economic and financial impact of the strategies before the Covid-19 of the Inmobiliaria Ingenierías Energías y Medio Ambiente SAC years 2019 to 2022. The study methodology used was quantitative, of an application type and level descriptive, in turn, a cross-sectional experimental design. Likewise, the population subject to study is real estate, having as a sample the financial information for the elaboration of financial indicators, implementing strategies for decision making. For this reason, instruments such as the interview and documentary analysis were used. The results evidenced the elaboration of a diagnosis of the financial economic situation of the Inmobiliaria Ingeniería Energía y Medio Ambiente SAC, with this information a non-significant profitability and liquidity was observed; In addition, the business economic reactivation measures applied by the real estate company during the pandemic were analyzed, which were operational and market strategies, thus, the effect of Covid 19 on the financial statements for the years 2021 to 2022 was evaluated, a slight improvement in their profitability and liquidity ratios. Therefore, the elaboration of complementary strategies will allow us to face the economic situation of the Inmobiliaria Ingeniería Energía y Medio Ambiente SAC for the year 2023.
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En livboj att omfamna när det stormar : En kvalitativ studie av svenska gymnasielärares upplevelse av organisatoriska rutiner under och efter Covid-19 pandeminGustavsson, Julia, Krammer, Camilla January 2024 (has links)
Bakgrund: Organisatoriska rutiner utgör ett fundament för organisationers arbetssätt. För organisationers överlevnad krävs en adekvat anpassningsförmåga när omvärlden förändras, som exempelvis vid en samhällsomvälvande kris. Individer har en avgörande roll i denna omställning. Tidigare forskning redogör för hur individer påverkar organisatoriska rutiner, men det omvända förhållandet lyser med sin frånvaro. Dessutom saknas forskning på hur organisationer återgår till en vardag utan kris och vad som då sker med organisatoriska rutiner. Dessa förhållanden är betydelsefulla att studera, för att utökaorganisationers förståelse för hur de kan bidra med rätt stöd till individer inom organisationer, under och efter en extern kris. Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka organisatoriska rutiners roll för gymnasielärare i svenska gymnasieskolor under och efter en extern kris. Metod: Studien har genomförts med utgångspunkt i en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi baserad på ett konstruktionistiskt perspektiv. Empirin har insamlats med hjälp av nio stycken semistrukturerade intervjuer i en små-N-studie. Intervjupersonerna har valts utifrån ett mål- och kriteriestyrt urval. Dataanalysen har utförts genom tematisk analys. Slutsats: Organisatoriska rutiner spelar en avgörande roll för gymnasielärare i tider av kris. De är en källa till stabilitet internt och möjliggör för organisationsöverskridande samarbete externt. Därutöver utgör organisatoriska rutiner ett verktyg i arbetet att uppnå ett tillfredsställande resultat i tider av kris, samtidigt som de sparar gymnasieläraremerarbete i jämförelse med om de inte existerat. Organisatoriska rutiner spelar även en betydelsefull roll för hur gymnasielärare uppfattar sin yrkesroll, varpå de utgör en drivkraft för fortbildning. Vid återgång till vardag utan kris förblir organisatoriska rutiner intakta, med undantag för justeringar i sekvenser som visat sig fungera bättre i den kontexten. Nyckelord: Organisatoriska rutiner, Kris, Covid-19 pandemin, Gymnasielärare, Svenska gymnasieskolor, Distansundervisning / Background: Organizational routines constitute a foundation for the way organizations operate. The survival of organizations requires adequate adaptability when the world around them changes, as in the case of a societal crisis. Individuals play a crucial role in this transition. Previous research addresses how individuals influence organizational routines, however, the reverse relationship is lacking. Furthermore, there is a gap in research regarding how organizations recover from crisis and what effect this has on organizational routines. Such relationships are important to study, in order to expand organizations' understanding of how they can provide the appropriate support to individuals within organizations, during and after an external crisis. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of organizational routines for upper secondary school teachers in Swedish upper secondary schools during and after an external crisis. Methodology: The study was conducted using a qualitative research strategy based on a constructionist perspective. The empirical data was collected using nine semi-structured interviews in a small-N study. The interviewees were selected on the basis of a purposive and criterion-driven sampling. Data analysis was carried out through thematic analysis. Conclusion: Organizational routines are essential for upper secondary school teachers in times of crisis. They are a source of stability internally and enable cross-organizational cooperation externally. Organizational routines are a tool for achieving satisfactory results in times of crisis, while saving upper secondary school teachers' workload in comparison to not having them. Organizational routines play an important role regarding how uppersecondary school teachers perceive their professional role, thus providing an incentive for further learning. When returning to everyday life without a crisis, organizational routines remain intact, except for adjustments in sequences that function better in the current context. Keywords: Organizational routines, Crisis, Covid-19 pandemic, Upper secondary school teachers, Swedish upper secondary schools, Distance education
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Connectedness : Designing interactive systems that foster togetherness as a form of resilience for people in social distancing during Covid-19 pandemic. Exploring novel user experiences in the intersection between light perception, tangible interactions and social interaction design (SxD).Iezzi, Valeria January 2020 (has links)
This thesis project explores how interactive technologies can facilitate a sense of social connectedness with others whilst remotely located. While studying the way humans use rituals for emotional management, I focused my interest on the act of commensality because it is one of the oldest and most important rituals used to foster togetherness among families and groups of friends. Dining with people who do not belong to the same household is of course hard during a global pandemic, just like many of the other forms of social interactions that were forcibly replaced by the use of technological means such as video-chat apps, instant messaging and perhaps an excessive use of social networking websites. These ways of staying connected, however, lack the subtleties of real physical interaction, which I tried to replicate with my prototype system, which consists of two sets of a lamp and a coaster which enable to communicate through light and tactile cues. The use of such devices creates a new kind of ritual based on the simultaneous use of the devices by two people, thus enabling a new and original form of commensality that happens through a shared synchronized experience.
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Att överleva i av- och ombokningarnas tid : En kvalitativ studie av hur två hotell och två resebyråer anpassat sig till och hanterat effekterna av Covid-19 pandeminHansell, Ebba, Harbi, Wurood January 2020 (has links)
Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att belysa hur den kris som Covid-19 pandemin skapat harpåverkat hotell och resebyråers digitala taktiska respektive planerade strategiska marknadsföring,samt den krishantering som tillämpats av företagen under denna pandemin och de lärdomar dedragit av denna kris.Teori: Den teoretiska referensramen för denna studie innefattar marknadsförings-, krishanteringsoch organisationsteori. Inom marknadsföring har SCRM samt RACE marketing planningframework modellerna tillämpats och inom krishantering har krisprocessen och kriskurvanmodellerna. Vad gäller organisationsteori har fokus varit på organisatoriskt lärande och teoriernasingle-, double- och triple-loop learning samt learning in crisis.Metod: Studien omfattar en kvalitativ undersökning av två hotell och två resebyråer grundad på ensemistrukturerad intervjumetod.Slutsatser: Covid-19 pandemin har tvingat respondenterna att vara flexibla och att göra kortsiktigaanpassningar av sina marknadsföringsmetoder. Den taktiska marknadsföringen har skett genom enökad användning av digitala kanaler som lyhört anpassats till kundernas behov av hälsa ochsäkerhet. Det var ännu för tidigt för att bedöma eventuella förändringar i den strategiskamarknadsföringen men några respondenter förväntade sig ett större fokus på värde begrepp somhälsa och trygghet. Samtliga respondenter har i praktiken ägnat sig åt krishantering och de flestarespondenterna hade någon form av förberedda krisplaner, som dock inte varit anpassade till en såomfattande och djup kris som den förevarande. Samtliga respondenter verkar ha fått en större insikti vikten av att ha en effektiv och tät intern och extern kriskommunikation. Den yttre situationen harskapat ett stort tryck på respondenterna och har givit dem lärdomar som de möjligen inte hade fåttunder normala omständigheter, inklusive att på ett flexibelt och lättrörligt sätt anpassa sig till nyaoch föränderliga situationer. Även om Covid-19 pandemin framkallat mycket stress och ångest såhar den även haft positiva effekter som kan ge upphov till mer varaktiga förändringar. / Purpose: The purpose of this study is to shed some light on how some hotels and travel agenciesin the Swedish tourism and hospitality industry have adapted to and managed the effects of theCovid-19 pandemic, particularly in terms of strategic and tactical digital marketing as well as crisismanagement, and the lessons learned from this crisis.Theory: The theoretical foundations for this paper include digital marketing theories, crisismanagement and organizational theory. In marketing theory, the SCRM and the RACE marketingplanning framework models have been applied and in terms of crisis management, the crisismanagement process as well as the crisis curve models have been applied. In terms oforganizational theory, focus has been on organizational learning and the theories single-, doubleand triple-loop learning as well as learning in crisis.Method: This study is a qualitative study of two hotels and two travel agencies based on semistructured interviews.Conclusions: This study demonstrates that the Covid-19 pandemic has forced the respondents tobe flexible and to make short-term adjustments to their marketing tactics. The tactical marketinghas included an increased use of digital channels and an adaptation of their marketing to theircustomers' needs for health and safety. It was too early to assess any changes in strategicmarketing, but some respondents planned to place a greater focus on value concepts such ashealth and safety. In practice, all respondents were engaged in crisis management and most of therespondents had some form of prepared crisis plans, which, however, were not adapted to such anextensive and protracted crisis as the Covid-19 pandemic. All respondents seemed to have gainedgreater insight into the importance of having effective and frequent internal and external crisiscommunication. The external situation has put a great deal of pressure on the respondents and hasgiven them lessons that they might not have acquired under normal circumstances, including acapacity to adapt flexibly and easily to new and changing situations. Although the Covid-19pandemic has caused a lot of stress and anxiety, it has also had positive effects that could triggerchanges in their longer term strategic marketing.
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