Master of Arts / Department of Communication Studies / Soo-Hye Han / Advancements in technology, particularly the introduction of online social networking sites, have expanded the modes available when handling the death of a loved one. This study examines how individuals use the Facebook profile pages of deceased persons to cope with loss and maintain relationships with them. An extensive content analysis of Facebook profiles of ten deceased individuals was conducted to investigate what the living discuss in their messages to the deceased in the semi-public setting of a Facebook profile page and if this content changes over the course of time. This analysis revealed that messages to the deceased reflect three themes: 1) processing the death, 2) remembering the deceased, and 3) maintaining the relationship. In addition to these dominant themes, the data also indicated that the content of messages shifted over time. Messages that contained the processing of death remained consistent over time, while posts that reflected remembrance of the deceased decreased, and messages that demonstrated relationship maintenance increased with time. This study utilizes the theoretical frameworks of continuing bonds and social information processing to draw implications of these findings. By examining the content written and how messages change over time, this study provides insight into how people cope with loss and maintain relationships with their deceased loved ones in the digital age.

The Organizational Information Processing Theory (OIPT) was used as a tool to analyze the collected data. It was found that, when Information Processing Requirements (IPR) outweigh Information Processing Capacities (IPC), information overload can be the result. Organizational structure should be chosen to enable successful task execution, if that is the case information overload is unlikely to occur. Structural elements that were found to especially increase IPC and therefore reduce the likelihood of information overload are: clarity, transparency and adherence to definitions of job responsibilities or roles.

By the catholicity of Internet and the advances of information technology, more and more people use the e-Learning to do the teaching and learning activities. However, whether using the abundant multimedia learning content can really achieve better learning performance? This study tries to use the information processing theory to discuss the impact of fitness bwteeen learner¡¦s different information processing abilities and content¡¦s medium types on cognitive load and learning performance. That is if learner¡¦s information processing abilities can fit with content medium types would result better learning performance. We found that firstly, the diversity of learners¡¦ individual information processing abilities has no impact to the cognitive load. Secondly, the different content medium types with the same quantity of media content also have no impact to the cognitive load. Lastly, the wordy ability learners with wordy content medium type or the phonic ability learners with audio content medium type can lower learner¡¦s cognitive load. It is suggested that educators can apply the results for the adaptive learning. By using information processing ability analysis system to classify learners into wordy ability and phonic ability learners and then give them adaptive content materials according to their own information processing abilities.

Information technology (IT) professionals are continually placed in diverse employment arrangements as organizations continually look for ways to cut costs, enhance performance and maximize organizational goals. Organizations are using strategies beyond hiring permanent employees to achieve objectives in alternative sourcing. Even though the cost differential is positive when employing non-permanent individuals instead of permanent employees, little is known about the effects on the IT professional.This field study was designed to test the effects of employment arrangements on the IT professional's psychological contract and the effects of the level of fulfillment of their psychological contract on their organizational citizenship and innovative work behaviors using psychological contracts and social information processing theories. IT professionals were sampled from four different employment arrangements.The empirical findings show that there are differences in the IT pro proessional's psychological contract as explained by their employment arrangement, as well as by their perceptions of the characteristics of their particular employment arrangement. Permanent full-time IT professionals consistently had higher perceptions of their employer's obligations to them, than did IT professionals from the other employment arrangement categories. The level of fulfillment of the IT professional's psychological contract explained differences in their organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) as a collective, with significant differences in the advocacy participation and obedience citizenship behaviors. This study also found significant relationships with the level of fulfillment of the IT professional's psychological contract and their innovative work behavior, as well as their organizational citizenship behaviors individually, specifically loyalty, advocacy participation, obedience, and functional participation. The primary predictors of the dimensions of OCB were the levels of fulfillment of the psychological contract as it relates to the scope, focus, and tangibility dimensions.The exploratory analysis into the characteristics of the employment arrangement provides a clearer understanding as to what encompasses the actual employment arrangement for IT professionals of differing categories. Independent contractors indicated significantly more job control than permanent full-time and contract company workers. Permanent full-time and permanent part-time have greater job stability than do independent contractors and contract company workers. Permanent full-time have greater benefits provided than the other three categories of IT professionals.

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Yes / Natural disasters are often unpredictable and therefore there is a need for quick and effective response to save lives and infrastructure. Hence, this study is aimed at achieving timely, anticipated and effective response throughout the cycle of a disaster, extreme weather and emergency operations management with the help of advanced technologies. This study proposes a novel, evidence-based framework (4-AIDE) that highlights the role of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud-based collaborative platforms in disaster, extreme weather and emergency situations. A qualitative approach underpinned by organizational information processing theory (OIPT) is employed to design, develop and conduct semi-structured interviews with 33 respondents having experience in AI and cloud computing industries during emergency and extreme weather situations. For analysing the collected data, axial, open and selective coding is used that further develop themes, propositions and an evidence-based framework. The study findings indicate that AI and cloud-based collaborative platforms offer a structured and logical approach to enable two-way, algorithm-based communication to collect, analyse and design effective management strategies for disaster and extreme weather situations. Managers of public systems or businesses can collect and analyse data to predict possible outcomes and take necessary actions in an extreme weather situation. Communities and societies can be more resilient by transmitting and receiving data to AI and cloud-based collaborative platforms. These actions can also help policymakers identify critical pockets and guide administration for their necessary preparation for unexpected, extreme weather, and emergency events. / This study has been supported by the Area of Excellence AI, Data Science & Business at NEOMA Business School, France under the fund number 416005.

The aim of this study was to examine guidance counselors' experience of the transition to digital guidance counseling during the covid-19 pandemic. The guidance counselors attitude towards change, as well as contributing challenges are studied. Through semi-structured interviews and a thematic analysis the limitations and opportunities that the change entailed, are studied both on the basis of the guidance counselors' own perception, as well as the impact they feel it had on the students. The results were analyzed by using Cognitive information processing theory (CIP) and Pierre Bourdieu Theory of capital. The study shows that certain groups of students have been negatively affected by the change, and that body language and facial expressions are often lost during digital guidance counseling. The attitude has been important for the perceived challenges, and views on opportunities and limitations. The study shows that flexibility has been important during the transition to the use of ICT in guidance counseling. Guidance counselors have been forced to learn new digital tools during the pandemic and they can see the future benefits of using them. A combination of traditional and digital guidance counseling, so-called hybrid- guidance, is highlighted as a future way of working.

<p><strong>Purpose/Aim:</strong> To create a communication strategy for PADI Nordic with the intention of getting Swedish divers, who have been certified abroad, to Swedish dive centers.</p><p><strong>Material/Method: </strong>The study is based on a number of personal interviews conducted with a) divers who are active in Sweden, b) divers who are not active in Sweden and c) representatives from PADI and PADI affiliated dive centers.</p><p><strong>Main results: </strong>The main reason that people who have been certified abroad do not dive in Sweden is that they regard it as being too complicated, too cold, too expensive and with nothing interesting to see. These might partly be misconceptions that can be corrected through a communication strategic effort. The best way to change this perception is by two different forms of communication. One will go from PADI Nordic straight to the divers through an email. This will have the purpose of getting their attention, making diving sound interesting and raise their awareness in preparation for the other part of the process. The other part is communication from PADI affiliated dive centres directed towards the divers. This will be in the form of more traditional marketing, and will have the purpose of making diving in Sweden sound easy, uncomplicated and price worthy. Hopefully this will bring people in to the dive centres, and in the ideal case they will in time also bring their friends along – by becoming the first link in a two step flow of communication.</p><p> </p>

Purpose/Aim: To create a communication strategy for PADI Nordic with the intention of getting Swedish divers, who have been certified abroad, to Swedish dive centers. Material/Method: The study is based on a number of personal interviews conducted with a) divers who are active in Sweden, b) divers who are not active in Sweden and c) representatives from PADI and PADI affiliated dive centers. Main results: The main reason that people who have been certified abroad do not dive in Sweden is that they regard it as being too complicated, too cold, too expensive and with nothing interesting to see. These might partly be misconceptions that can be corrected through a communication strategic effort. The best way to change this perception is by two different forms of communication. One will go from PADI Nordic straight to the divers through an email. This will have the purpose of getting their attention, making diving sound interesting and raise their awareness in preparation for the other part of the process. The other part is communication from PADI affiliated dive centres directed towards the divers. This will be in the form of more traditional marketing, and will have the purpose of making diving in Sweden sound easy, uncomplicated and price worthy. Hopefully this will bring people in to the dive centres, and in the ideal case they will in time also bring their friends along – by becoming the first link in a two step flow of communication.

The main purpose of this dissertation is to assess ontological issues of information acquisition, focusing on information overload from an integrative perspective of two theoretical foundations, which links two perspectives of consumer behavior in information acquisition: foraging theory in behavioral ecology and information processing theory in marketing. Applying to the integrative investigation, the current research primarily emphasizes the infusion of ecological rationality (i.e., Darwinian Theory) into normative rationality (i.e., Newtonian Theory), but it is not alternative but complementary to each other. Ecological rationality, which is rooted in Darwinism, emphasizes that human behavior has developed through adaptation and natural selection as the human minds interact with environments. The current study consists of five chapters: the philosophical foundation of the rationalities, exploratory study, proposed hypotheses, empirical tests, and general discussion. A summary of the contents of each chapter is: The first chapter aims to provide an integrative framework of consumer information acquisition in order to explore ontological issues in information overload paradigm, attempting to synthesize different approaches in marketing and behavioral ecology. To explore, the current study emphasizes an integrative perspective between two theories for information acquisition (foraging and information processing), which are based on different philosophical foundations of the rationality (ecological and normative). Along with the process of the information acquisition, this study provides relevant consequences (decision-related responses and decision-related alternatives) after the information acquisition process and influential factors in temporal and psychological dimensions (time and motivation). Then, the conceptual study provides conclusion and the current research scope. The second chapter aims to examine the efficacy of the current study's theoretical integration in the process of consumer information foraging so as to approach an ontological issue in information overload paradigm: more information is better vs. less information is better (i.e., information processing theory and foraging theory under an information overload paradigm). Therefore, this study explores and examines what can be appropriate information structures to describe the ontological issue in the process of consumer information foraging. To formulate the adequate information structure, this study attempts to utilize an integrative perspective between marketing and behavioral ecology. This study examines consumers' online activities sequentially from a broad to detail approach, based on the categories of goods and services. The result, by and large, suggests a necessity of an integrative perspective to view a holistic information structure, including quantity, quality, and environment components. These structural components interactively communicate with minds when shaping the process of the consumer information foraging, which are likely to involve in the degree of information overload. Moreover, results demonstrate rather higher variation of strategic information foraging but emphasize some important communality in the initial stage of information foraging, such as the role of search engine and interpersonal communication. In addition, categories of goods and services affect shaping the pattern of strategic information foraging. Then, the conclusion of the study provides. The third chapter aims to propose a hypothetical model, based on the theoretical backgrounds in Chapter 1 and the findings of the exploratory study in Chapter 2. In addition, the pilot study was conducted to provide a concrete framework of the empirical study by checking the manipulation of holistic information structures. The manipulation of the structures includes the total quantity of information, the quality of information, and environmental information. Those structures measured on several resultant consequences, using the patch concepts (within-patch and between-patch). Controversially, in general, consumers tend to prefer more information rather than less information only when arranged information provides; otherwise, this preference attenuates. This controversial result also has conflicting variations, depending on the types of patches. Overall, the comparison in the within-patch and between-patch through displaying heterogeneous information structures suggests that holistic information structures are a more important factor than the mere quantity or quality of information. The fourth chapter empirically tests the theory-based hypothetical frameworks to assess the ontological issues in information overload paradigm using the integrative perspective of the two information acquisition theories. The findings of the empirical study suggest that the real-world information overload is not simply determined by a single dominant factor (e.g., quantity), but by the interplay of intricately intertwined factors. The factors are the following: information structures (three unarranged and four arranged information structures, including quantity, quality and environment), item categories (durables, nondurables and services), and time constraints (time pressure vs. no time pressure). The interwoven complexity implies that paradigmatic change of perspectives in relation with information overload though integrating two important conceptual factors between domain-specific dependency and universality. Moreover, the information overload begins with the browsing stage of acquiring the necessary information, not with the searching stage, suggesting the view of browsing-searching continuum that underscores the important role of the patch concept. As a whole, the conclusive findings suggest an integrative perspective between Darwinism and Non-Darwinism as a prerequisite of providing a better comprehension of the issues of the information overload paradigm. The fifth chapter is the section of general discussion including major findings, theoretical, methodological and empirical implications, limitations, and conclusive statement. / Business Administration/Marketing