This diploma thesis, The phenomenon of digital labor and its diverse practice in use of blogs in the Czech Republic, aims to bring the current definition of the concept of digital labor and its applicability into the Czech blogosphere. The theoretical part of this work focuses on the demarcation, definition of, and perception of the concept of digital labor, and the blogosphere, which is mainly based on theoretical concepts of Christian Fuchs, Sebastian Sevignani, Ursula Huws, Trebor Scholz, that proceeded the political economic theory of Karl Marx. The analytical part of the thesis presents the environment of the Czech blogosphere, which is based on the interpretation of the data of quantitative research conducted in the Czech Republic as part of a wider project IPREX BLOGBAROMETERM in 2014 and 2015 and secondly on qualitative research, which aims to answer the research question, if Czech bloggers perceive their creative activity as work and leisure activities, or merge their very different activities in one. Keywords Digital labor, digital work, blog, blogosphere, playbour, prosumption, Fuchs

I en era där digital transformation snabbt omformar industrier är det avgörande att förstå hur chefer navigerar i en digital arbetsmiljö. Denna studie undersöker hur chefer i stora banker som Nordea, Handelsbanken och Sparbanken anpassar sig till den digitala arbetsplatsen och dess möjligheter och utmaningar. I denna studie beskrivs digitala verktyg, särskilt Teams, förbättra samarbete, produktivitet och effektivitet i en digital arbetsmiljö, medan utmaningar som att upprätthålla personliga relationer ökar. För att framgångsrikt navigera i den digitala transformationen krävs att både chefer och medarbetare är medvetna om utmaningarna och lär sig nödvändiga kompetenser för att effektivt arbetsleda i den digitala arbetsmiljön. Nyckelstrategier och kompetenser som framhålls för effektivt digitalt ledarskap inkluderar att skapa en digital kultur, kommunikationsfärdigheter, digital intelligens och digitala kompetenser. Genom att förstå och lyfta fram individuella perspektiv och erfarenheter ger denna studie en nyanserad förståelse av både möjligheterna och utmaningarna med digital transformation, vilket säkerställer att chefer och organisationer kan utnyttja fördelarna med denna nya digitala era. Titel: Att leda i en digital värld: En kvalitativ studie om användning av digitala verktyg och dess betydelse för chefer i finansbranschen.  Ämne: Kandidatuppsats i Företagsekonomi med inriktning Ledarskap, 15 hp.  Syfte: Studiens syfte är att beskriva och förstå hur chefer inom finansbranschen hanterar en digital arbetsmiljö genom användningen av digitala verktyg. Metod: Denna uppsats har utförts med en abduktiv ansats och en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi har använts i form av semistrukturerade intervjuer.  Resultat/slutsats: Resultaten visar att chefer inom finansbranschen, särskilt banksektorn, effektivt använder digitala verktyg för att öka effektiviteten och bygga samt bevara relationerna i denna digitala era. Den digitala transformationen medför dock sina egna utmaningar, såsom att upprätthålla personliga relationer och skapa en balans mellan digitala och fysiska interaktioner. Att hantera dessa utmaningar är avgörande för att skapa en enad och produktiv arbetsmiljö. Bidrag: Denna studie bidrar till förståelsen av digitalt ledarskap inom finansbranschen, särskilt banksektorn, genom att identifiera nyckelkompetenser som chefer kan använda för att hantera de olika utmaningarna i en digital miljö och utnyttja de digitala verktygen till deras fördel.  Nyckelord: Digitala verktyg, chefer, digital arbetsledning, digital arbetsmiljö, digital transformation, finanssektorn. / In an era where digital transformation is rapidly reshaping industries, it is crucial to understand how managers navigate through a digital work environment. This study examines how managers at major banks such as Nordea, Handelsbanken, and Sparbanken adapt to the digital workplace and its opportunities and challenges. Key findings reveal that digital tools, especially Teams, enhance collaboration, productivity and efficiency in a digital work environment but challenges such as maintaining personal relationships grows. Successful digital transformation requires that both managers and employees are aware of the challenges and learn essential skills to navigate the digital work environment. Key strategies and competencies highlighted for effective digital leadership include building a digital culture, communication skills, digital intelligence and digital competencies. By showcasing individual perspectives and experiences, this study offers a nuanced understanding of both the opportunities and challenges of digital transformation, ensuring that managers and organizations can utilize the benefits of this new digital era. Title: Leading in a Digital World: A qualitative study on the use of digital tools and their significance for managers in the financial industry. Subject: Bachelor’s thesis in Business Administration with a specialization in Leadership, 15 credits. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe and understand how managers within the finance industry manage a digital work environment through the use of digital tools. Method: This thesis has been conducted using an abductive approach, employing a qualitative research strategy in the form of semi-structured interviews. Result/conclusion: The findings reveal that managers within the financial industry, particularly, the banking sector, are effectively using digital tools to enhance efficiency and build and maintain relationships in this digital era. However, the digital transformation also brings its own different challenges, such as maintaining personal connections and achieving a balance between digital and face-to-face interactions. Addressing these challenges is crucial for creating a unified and productive work environment.  Contributions: This study contributes to the understanding of digital leadership in the financial sector, particularly, the banking sector by identifying key competencies that managers can use to manage the different challenges in a digital work environment and utilize digital tools to their advantage. Keywords: Digital tools, managers, digital work management, digital work environment, digital transformation, financial sector.

Étude de la notion documentaire et artistique dans l’oeuvre des Becher. Évolution de leurs élèves, Thomas Ruff, Andreas Gursky, Thomas Struth, Candida Höfer vers une photographie picturale et abstraite. Influence de la peinture, liée à l’enseignement de Gerhard Richter. La photo comme source d’information pour créer des images picturales chez Ruff et Richter. Utilisation du travail numérique pour s’orienter vers desimages picturales et abstraites chez Ruff et Gursky. Dimension sociologique du rapport photographie/peinture dans l’oeuvre de Thomas Struth, travail sur notre façon d’être dans le monde. Entre documentation et abstraction également, le travail de Candida Höfer sur l’espace vital, sur la structure de l’objet, évolution vers le détail, l’abstraction. Abstraction, experimentation, tendance de l’archive, axes essentiels en photographie / Study of documentary and artistic notion in the work of the Becher. Evolution of of their students, Thomas Ruff, Andreas Gursky, Thomas Strth, Candida Höfer towards a picturial and abstract photography. Pictorial influence, linked with Gerhard Richter’s teaching. Photography as source of information to create pictorial pictures by Ruff and Richter. Use of digital work by Ruff and Gursky to go towards picturealand abstract pictures. Sociological aspect in the link photography/painting in Struth’s work, on our way to exist in the world. Between documentation and abstraction too, the photographic work of Candida Höfer on vital space. Evolution on the structure of the object, on the detail, towards abstraction. Abstraction, experimentation, archival tendance, essential directions in photography

The purpose of this thesis is to explore how managers' practices are transforming in the digital era. This is done by looking at how digitalization is changing managerial practices as experienced by managers. The data was collected by conducting five semi-structured online interviews and three structured email interviews with managers working at Ericsson's headquarter office in Stockholm. The collected data were analyzed using a thematic analysis approach which resulted in five themes: work and communication in the digital environment, training and learning, information and data, other effects of digitalization, and additional findings. This study concludes that notable changes in managerial practices can be observed in all four categories of practices: task-oriented, relations-oriented, change-oriented, and external practices. This shows that digitalization is a process that transforms managerial practices and it does it both by aiding managers in their tasks and by making some tasks more difficult. Thus, managers need to be more aware and able to adapt to these changes that digitalization brings to their practices.

The outbreak of the Covid-19 virus has greatly impacted all of Sweden. This has led to Schools closing and multiple organisations restructuring to offer their employees the ability to work from home. In this study we examine how the middle managements leadership at Social Services have been affected by the virus and the change from a predominantly analogue workplace, to an increasingly digital workplace. There is many organisations that has been affected by covid-19, but the Social Services is a clear example of a organisation that has faced many challenges.To define the research area, focus has been placed on how middle management within the Social Services have handled the readjustment, how the middle management finds the change has affected their leadership and the impact on social interactions within the group. Middle management constitutes an interesting position to study since middle management is located between higher management and collaborators. Previous research shows that virtual teams, groups working via web-based platforms, have a harder time connecting, which has increased the use of digital tools can lead to technostress. Using the qualitative research method, six interviews were conducted. From the data, it can be concluded that there has been a change in the middle management leadership when it comes to how they plan the incoming work tasks. The results also show that social interaction has changed, with the increased usage of digital work tools, highlighting a different type of interaction. In addition, it was found that more interpersonal type of meetings and lunch breaks with colleagues have stopped. / Utbrottet av viruset covid-19 kom att ställa om det svenska samhället på flera plan. Skolor stängde och ett flertal organisationer ställde om sin verksamhet för att kunna erbjuda sina anställda att arbeta hemifrån. I den här studien undersöks hur mellanchefer på socialtjänsten anser att deras ledarskap påverkats av viruset covid-19 och hur den digitala omställningen påverkat sociala interaktioner. Det finns flera organisationer som har påverkats av covid-19 och som har fått ställa om men socialtjänsten är ett tydligt exempel på en organisation som har många utmaningar. För att avgränsa forskningsområdet är forskningen inriktad på hur mellanchefer inom socialtjänsten hanterat omställningen och hur mellancheferna anser att omställningen påverkat deras ledarskap och gruppens sociala interaktioner. Mellanchefer utgör en intressant position att studera då mellancheferna befinner sig mellan ledningen och sina medarbetare. Tidigare forskning visar att virtuella team, arbetsgrupper som arbetar via webbaserade plattformar, har svårare att knyta samman och att ökat arbete via digitala arbetsverktyg kan leda till ökad stress för de anställda. Med kvalitativ metod genomförde vi sex intervjuer och utifrån våra insamlade data dras slutsatsen att det skett en förändring i mellanchefernas ledarskap gällande hur de bland annat planerar och fördelar arbetet. Resultatet visar även att den sociala interaktionen förändrats och att de digitala arbetsredskapen möjliggjort en annan typ av interaktion men att mer personliga möten fallit bort.

Digitalization in work environment has been a trend in recent years and has profound impact on the way people work. We see the application of digital technologies in workplace greatly benefits people’s daily work, but we also notice health problems such as stress and pressure caused by poorly designed software systems. Two methods, to be used in software development, were proposed to improve the user experience of the software systems. The methods, Contextual Persona method and Contextual Think-Aloud method are supposed to extend IT professionals’ understanding of contextual factors when developing software systems. In this paper, we study students’ perception on the usage of the contextual methods through questionnaire-based survey. We identified the positive and negative aspects of using the contextual methods, and suggestions for improvement. Moreover, we conclude that using the contextual methods is helpful to deliver software systems that are well suited in users’ work environment, and therefore provide a better user experience for the users.

Abstract  Background: With the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, working from home has become one of the new implementations within organizations and businesses. The ability to work from home gives individuals the freedom to work from any location they want. Also, the fact that it is financially beneficial for organizations and businesses since they can reduce office expenses. However, working from home brings new challenges that influence the way of working and managing. These challenges can be for example communication breakdown, trust, and lack of collaboration among employees.  Purpose:  The purpose of this research is to investigate and see what changes have been implemented by the management at Husqvarna AB to adapt to this digital transition. Also, see how the employees have been affected by this drastic digital transition. This research findings will contribute to potential improvements when it comes to digital management and organizational structure in a digital environment.  Method: The interpretivism paradigm is applied to this research together with an inductive approach. The research is based on a single case study at Husqvarna AB where primary data was acquired through six in-depth interviews with the semi-structured question approach. The participants we interviewed consisted of two engineers, one certification coordinator and three managers. Furthermore, the thematic analysis approach was applied when analyzing the data in order to draw applicable conclusions.  Results: The empirical findings shows that the main change that have been implemented by the management to adapt to this digital transition is the increase of meetings. Further, the outcome of this has led to some employees being used more inefficiently, the time they spend in these meetings could be spent more efficiently. When it comes to how the employees have been affected by this transition and perform their daily tasks, there is relations towards the self-efficacy theory.

Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht die Bedeutung und Auswirkungen von Plattformarbeit in Westeuropa und Nordamerika. Dafür werden die Zusammenhänge zwischen drei Ebenen untersucht: Erstens die Gestaltung des Arbeitsmodells als Mesoebene, zweitens bestehende Arbeitsmarktentwicklungen und nationale Regulierungskontexte als Makroebene, sowie drittens das Leben und Erleben des Arbeitsmodells von Plattformarbeiter*innen als Mikroebene. Die empirische Untersuchung konzentriert sich auf Crowdwork als ortsunabhängige Form von Plattformarbeit. Zudem wird eine Triangulation von qualitativen und quantitativen Forschungsmethoden sowie eine komparative Perspektive zwischen unterschiedlichen Aufgabenkomplexitäten (Mikro- und Makroaufgaben) und institutionellen Kontexten (Deutschland und USA) genutzt. Die Mehrebenenuntersuchung zeigt, dass Plattformarbeit auf der Mesoebene eine arbeitsorganisatorische Innovation darstellt, die auf der Makro- und Mikroebene an bestehende Entwicklungen anknüpft. Auf der Mesoebene zeigen sich vielfältigere und komplexere Ansätze der Arbeitsorganisation und Arbeitskontrolle als häufig angenommen. Auf der Makroebene knüpft Plattformarbeit an bestehende Prozesse der Auslagerung, Flexibilisierung und Prekarisierung von Arbeit, wobei der nationale Regulierungskontext weiterhin prägend ist. Auf der Mikroebene zeigt sich, dass die Heterogenität der Plattformarbeiter*innen und das hohe Maß an Eigenverantwortung ihre Individualisierung befördert. Die vorliegende Arbeit schlussfolgert, dass eine Plattformisierung der Arbeitswelt keineswegs gegeben ist. Die Bedeutung von Plattformarbeit wird insbesondere darin verortet, dass es die weitere Ausbreitung und Ausdifferenzierung von prekären Erwerbsformen auf der Makroebene und die Individualisierung von prekär Erwerbstätigen auf der Mikroebene befördert. Die vorliegende Arbeit verortet in dieser Vielfalt an Prekarität und Individualisierung der Prekären eine Form von Herrschaft. / This study examines the importance and consequences of platform work in Western Europe and North America. To this end, the connections between three levels are examined: First, the design of the work model as the meso level, second, existing labour market developments and national regulatory contexts as the macro level, and third, the forms of use and perceptions of platform workers as the micro level. The empirical investigation focuses on crowdwork as a location-independent form of platform work. Furthermore, the study uses a triangulation of qualitative and quantitative research methods as well as a comparative perspective between different task complexities (micro and macro tasks) and institutional contexts (Germany and USA). The multi-level investigation shows that platform work represents an innovation at the meso level that reflects and reinforces existing developments at the macro and micro levels. At the meso level, more diverse and complex approaches to work organization and control emerge than is often assumed. At the macro level, platform work reflects and reinforces processes of outsourcing, flexibilization and precarisation of work, though the national regulatory context remains a central factor. At the micro level, the heterogeneity of platform worker and the high degree of personal responsibility promotes their individualization. The study concludes that a platformisation of work is far from certain. The study attributes the importance of platform work to the fact that it promotes the further spread and differentiation of precarious employment at the macro level and the individualization of precarious workers at the micro level. The study identifies this variety of precarity and individualization of the precarious as a form of domination.

The research presented in this thesis is about recordkeeping in the public sector, focusing especially on the relationship between the public administration and its archives, and selected aspects affecting the way this relationship is developing in the digital era. Two research questions are addressed: RQ1: What are ‘archives’ and ‘recordkeeping’ in the digital context and the developing e-government? RQ2: What are the indications of current and future challenges regarding the cooperation between public administration and archives? Six studies resulting in six papers form the basis of the thesis. Each study explores a unique aspect of how current developments, discussions, and decisions affect contemporary understanding and practices regarding archives and recordkeeping. Public records are authoritative information resources, crucial in the everyday lives of citizens. Public recordkeeping develops continuously alongside administrative practices, technological achievements, and political goals. Examples include the development of shared services within the public sector and the involvement of the private sector in public infrastructure projects through outsourcing. These processes are currently affected both by digital technologies, which offer new possibilities to create, use, and preserve records, and by e-government, characterized by the combination of information and communication technologies with organizational change to improve public services and democratic participation. In these processes, existing practices are reviewed and revised, and the concepts of ‘archives’ and ‘recordkeeping’ redefined. The research was pursued using an interpretive approach. The research methods used were concept analysis; discourse analysis; literary warrant analysis; phenomenography; critical theory; and the records continuum model as a theoretical structure. The results shows that common usage of the terms ‘archive’ and ‘recordkeeping’ is fluid and changing, which can make decision-making challenging and affect the relationship between archives and administration. Efforts to develop recordkeeping strategies may be hampered by factors related to the different ways in which the nature and role of archives and recordkeeping are perceived, including differing understandings of related concepts; varying discourses on what an archive (or e-archive) is or should be, and different ways of interpreting legal frameworks and their significance. / <p>Vid tidpunkten för disputationen var följande delarbeten opublicerade: delarbete 6 accepterat.</p><p>At the time of the doctoral defence the following papers were unpublished: paper 6 accepted.</p> / God informationsförvaltning / En effektiv digital informationshantering

Organisations' digitalisation has had positive and negative effects on the work environment. Regardless, the digital work environment can affect employees' digital well-being. By studying how lecturers at Swedish universities feel that their digital well-being is affected by the digital work environment, the universities can proactively work for a good work environment. This quantitative survey studies essential factors for the well-being of lecturers in the digital work environment at Swedish universities. The variation is explained using the Job Demands-Resources model (JD-R) and the Demand-Control-Support model.  The most important factors for digital well-being that have emerged in this study are to have a positive attitude towards digital systems, to have digital competence and to minimize negative impact; this is also confirmed by previous research in other environments.