Traditionally, innovation processes have often focused on creatively solving problems with the help of new technology or business models. However, when describing products in terms of function or visual appearance, the reflection on a less visible dimension, the product meaning, is left out. The perspective of meaning is an alternative path to innovation that pays attention to the reason for using a product, its “why” rather than its “how”. Nevertheless, within the field of innovation management, research on meaning is still in its infancy and lacks well developed frameworks. The objective of this study is to increase the understanding of the dimension of meaning within the innovation processes in companies and - in particular - the practices that support such a process, looking particularly at nine cases where managers sought to develop directions of new product meaning - spanning businesses within manufacturing, consumer goods and fashion. The study shows that companies used practices often opposite to what is described in innovation literature. Rather than taking out and leaving their opinions behind to reach a “beginner's mind”, the managers showed a silent evolving of interest and a conscious exposing of their own personal beliefs. They moved beyond standard procedures of information sharing to a practice of a multifaceted criticizing. Rather than outsourcing the product solutions, a practice of embodying the proposed product meaning was observed. In-depth studies showed that when the participants do not expose their thoughts with conviction, the process of searching to innovate product meaning seems to struggle. The act of exposing does not happen in a moment but when individuals open up and let old interpretations fade away, leaving room for new perspectives. Moreover, these studies showed that external sources, so called interpreters, fuel discussions on product meaning by leveraging a critical ability that includes practices described as asking, giving, daring and playing. The study contributes with an increased understanding of the meaning dimension within innovation management by leveraging theories of hermeneutics, design and leadership. It shows that this type of innovation process is relevant but differs from processes of creatively solving problems. Rather than being driven to find solutions, a meaning perspective includes a process of striving towards new potential product meaning. / Innovationsprocesser handlar ofta om kreativ problemlösning. En ny produkt beskrivs ofta genom användandet av ny teknik eller en ny affärsmodell. Men med fokus på det visuella såsom utseende och funktion utelämnas en parameter - nämligen den som rör produktens mening. Meningspespektivet utgör ett alternativ för innovation. Det lyfter frågor kring anledningen till att använda en produkt med fokus på ”varför” vi ska använda den snarare är ”hur”. Inom innovationsområdet befinner sig forskningen kring mening i ett tidigt skede utan väl utvecklade ramverk. Målet med denna studie är att öka förståelsen för ett meningsperspektiv inom företags innovations processer - speciellt de tillämpningar, eller praxis som stödjer denna process. Studien har haft en retrospektiv och tolkande ansats i kombination med ett aktivt deltagande perspektiv. Nio fall inom tillverkande industri, konsumentvaror och mode har studerats med fokus på ledare som sökt finna en ny riktning för sin produkt genom att tillämpa ett meningsperspektiv. Studien visar att företagens tillvägagångssätt ofta stod i motsats till de som finns beskriva i befintlig litteratur inom innovationsområdet. Istället för att dela sina åsikter med varandra och sedan lägga dem åt sidan för att tillämpa ett ”nybörjar-sinne” så visade ledarna ett stilla intresse som utvecklades över tid. De blottlade medvetet sina egna personliga övertygelser och gick längre än att endast dela information i projekten. Istället utvecklade de ett mångfacetterat och kritiskt synsätt. Till skillnad mot ett användande av ”outsourcing”, att leja produkt lösningar på extern part, observerades en typ av förkroppsligande, eller införlivande, av den nya föreslagna meningen av en produkt. Mer djupgående studier visade att när deltagarna inte delar sina åsikter med genuint engagemang så vacklar en innovationsprocess inriktad på att finna ny mening för en produkt. Tillämpandet av detta blottläggande sker inte direkt utan när individer öppnar upp och låter gamla tolkningar blekna till förmån för nya perspektiv. Vidare, att externa källor, så kallade ”tolkare”, gynnar diskussioner kring en produkts mening genom en kritisk förmåga bestående av fyra delmoment kallade fråga, ge, våga och leka. Studien bidrar med en ökad förståelse för meningsperspektivet inom innovationsområdet genom att hämta teorier från fälten hermeneutik, design och ledarskap. Den visar att den här typen av innovationsprocess är relevant men att den skiljer sig från processer som fokuserar på kreativ problemlösning. Istället för att drivas att finna lösningar innebär detta meningsperspektiv att sträva framåt mot en produkts nya potentiella mening.

This doctoral thesis analyses the concept of risk and how it functions as an organizing principle of discourse, paying close attention to actual linguistic practice.           Article 1 analyses the concepts of risk, safety and security and their relations based on corpus data (the Corpus of Contemporary American English). Lexical, grammatical and semantic contexts of the nouns risk, safety and security, and the adjectives risky, safe and secure are analysed and compared. Similarities and differences are observed, suggesting partial synonymy between safety (safe) and security (secure) and semantic opposition to risk (risky). The findings both support and contrast theoretical assumptions about these concepts in the literature.           Article 2 analyses the concepts of risk and danger and their relation based on corpus data (in this case the British National Corpus). Frame semantics is used to explore the assumptions of the sociologist Niklas Luhmann (and others) that the risk concept presupposes decision-making, while the concept of danger does not. Findings partly support and partly contradict this assumption.           Article 3 analyses how newspapers represent risk and causality. Two theories are used: media framing and the philosopher John Mackie’s account of causality. A central finding of the study is that risks are “framed” with respect to causality in several ways (e.g. one and the same type of risk can be presented as resulting from various causes). Furthermore, newspaper reporting on risk and causality vary in complexity. In some articles, risks are presented without causal explanations, while in other articles, risks are presented as results from complex causal conditions. Considering newspaper reporting on an aggregated overall level, complex schemas of causal explanations emerge.           Article 4 analyses how phenomena referred to by the term nano (e.g. nanotechnology, nanoparticles and nanorobots) are represented as risks in Swedish newspaper reporting. Theoretically, the relational theory of risk and frame semantics are used. Five main groups of nano-risks are identified based on the risk object of the article: (I) nanotechnology; (II) nanotechnology and its artefacts (e.g. nanoparticles and nanomaterials); (III) nanoparticles, without referring to nanotechnology; (IV) non-nanotechnological nanoparticles (e.g. arising from traffic); and (V) nanotechnology and nanorobots. Various patterns are explored within each group, concerning, for example, what is considered to be at stake in relation to these risk objects, and under what conditions. It is concluded that Swedish patterns of newspaper reporting on nano-risks follow international trends, influenced by scientific assessment, as well as science fiction.           Article 5 analyses the construction and negotiation of risk in the Swedish controversy over the use of antibacterial silver in health care and consumer products (e.g. sports clothes and equipment). The controversy involves several actors: print and television news media, Government and parliament, governmental agencies, municipalities, non-government organisations, and companies. In the controversy, antibacterial silver is claimed to be a risk object that negatively affects health, the environment, and sewage treatment industry (objects at risk). In contrast, such claims are denied. Antibacterial silver is even associated with the benefit of mitigating risk objects (e.g. bacteria and micro-organisms) that threaten health and the environment (objects at risk). In other words, both sides of the controversy invoke health and the environment as objects at risk. Three strategies organising risk communication are identified: (i) representation of silver as a risk to health and the environment; (ii) denial of such representations; and (iii) benefit association, where silver is construed to mitigate risks to health and the environment. / Avhandlingen analyserar begreppet risk och hur detta begrepp strukturerar diskurs. Ett centralt intresse för analysen är faktisk språkanvändning.           I den första artikeln analyseras de engelska begreppen risk, safety and security och deras relation. Analysen bygger på korpusdata (the Corpus of Contemporary American English). Lexikala och grammatiska kontexter för substantiven risk, safety och security och adjektiven risky, safe och secure analyseras och jämförs. Både likheter och skillnader identifieras vilka i stort bekräftar att safety (safe) och security (secure) är synonymer och i sin tur motsatser (antonymer) till risk (risky). Studien stödjer flera tidigare antaganden om dessa begrepp inom forskningslitteraturen, men motsäger andra.           I den andra artikeln analyseras de engelska begreppen risk och danger och deras relation baserat på korpusdata (the British National Corpus). Ramsemantik (eng. frame semantics) används för att undersöka antagandet att begreppet risk förutsätter beslutsfattande, medan begreppet danger inte gör det. Studien stödjer delvis detta antagande, men visar också på problem med antagandet.           I den tredje artikeln analyseras hur nyhetspress framställer risk och orsak-verkansamband (kausalitet). Två teorier används. För det första används teorin om medias ”inramning” av händelser (eng. media framing). För det andra används filosofiska perspektiv på kausala beskrivningar. En huvudsaklig slutsats är att risker framställs på många olika sätt med avseende på kausalitet. Exempelvis kan en och samma risk framställas som ett resultat av flera olika orsaker. Vidare framställer nyhetspress riskers kausalitet med olika grader av komplexitet. I vissa tidningsartiklar presenteras risker utan några kausala förklaringar. I andra tidningsartiklar presenteras risker som resultat av komplexa orsak-verkansamband. Om man betraktar nyhetsrapporteringen om risker på en övergripande nivå, så framträder en komplex bild av riskers orsakssamband.           I den fjärde artikeln analyseras framställningar av fenomen som benämns med morfemet nano, exempelvis nanoteknologi, nanomaterial och nanorobotar. Frågan som besvaras är på vilket sätt sådana fenomen framställs som risker i svensk nyhetspress. Teoretiskt utgår studien från den relationella teorin om risk och ramsemantik. Baserat på vilka fenomen som framställs som riskobjekt (eller hot) i tidningsartiklar, identifieras fem grupper av nanorisker: (I) nanoteknologi, (II) nanoteknologi och dess produkter (t.ex. nanopartiklar och nanomaterial), (III) nanopartiklar (utan referens till nanoteknologi), (IV) nanopartiklar som inte är resultat av nanoteknologi (utan istället uppstår t.ex. i trafiken) och (V) nanoteknologi och nanorobotar. För varje grupp undersöks vidare mönster i framställningen av dessa risker, exempelvis, vad som beskrivs som hotat av dessa riskobjekt och under vilka förutsättningar. Studiens empiriska observationer stödjer tidigare forskning om hur nanorisker rapporteras i nyhetspress internationalt. Rapporteringen av nanorisker är influerad av vetenskapliga riskbedömningar, men också av science fiction.           I den femte artikeln analyseras en kontrovers kring användningen av antibakteriellt silver inom sjukvården och i konsumentartiklar som exempelvis träningskläder och sportutrustning. Fokus för artikeln är hur risker uppfattas i den svenska debatten som inbegriper nyhetsmedia (press och TV), regering och riksdag, myndigheter, kommuner, intresseorganisationer och företag. Vissa aktörer menar att silver är ett riskobjekt som påverkar olika värden på ett negativt sätt, till exempel, folkhälsan, miljön, och avloppsreningsindustrin. Andra aktörer förnekar dessa påståenden. De menar till och med att silver har fördelar som att motverka risker som hotar folkhälsan och miljön. Med andra ord åberopar båda sidorna av kontroversen hälsa och miljö som värden viktiga att skydda. Slutligen identifieras tre strategier för riskkommunikation som tillämpas i kontroversen: (i) framställningen av silver som en miljö- och hälsorisk, (ii) förnekande av dessa påståenden, och (iii) nyttoassociationer där silver framställs som något som motverkar miljö- och hälsorisker. / <p>QC 20160127</p>

This case study explores the collaborative conversation between curators and educators in the Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas at Austin, and how these conversations affect didactic texts in the museum galleries. By situating the Blanton Museum in a larger historical framework, the focus of this study maps out the historical perspectives informing the museum during a pivotal integration of collecting areas, including Latin American and American modern and contemporary collections, and explores how the Blanton Museum attempted to facilitate learning and meaning-making for the visitor through didactic wall texts. / text

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Šiame moksliniame darbe analizuojamos įkalintų asmenų vilties ir gyvenimo prasmės patirtys atradus Dievą. Darbu siekta atskleisti egzistencialistinės paradigmos taikymo galimybes socialiniame darbe su nuteistaisiais, atskirai aptariant Vilties ir Logoterapijos teorijų raišką; atskleisti atsivertimo ir tikėjimo prasmę laisvės atėmimo vietose esantiems asmenims bei parodyti tikėjimo į Dievą atradimo sąsajas su nuteistųjų vilties ir gyvenimo prasmės patirtimis; apibūdinti krikščioniškąjį Alfa kursą, kaip tikėjimu į Dievą grįstą socialinio darbo su įkalintais asmenimis modelį, ugdantį nuteistųjų motyvaciją reintegruotis į visuomenę, atskleidžiant nuteistųjų tarpusavio pasidalijimo asmenine gyvenimo ir tikėjimo patirtimi grupėje reikšmę vilties ir gyvenimo prasmės atradimui; atskleisti pažinties su kitų žmonių sėkmės istorijomis ir jų asmeninio tikėjimo bei gyvenimo liudijimo reikšmę įkalintų asmenų vilties ir gyvenimo prasmės patirčiai ir jų motyvacijai reintegruotis į visuomenę. Tyrimo objektas – įkalintų asmenų vilties ir gyvenimo prasmės patirtys atradus Dievą. Tyrimo tikslas – atskleisti ir interpretuoti įkalintų asmenų vilties ir gyvenimo prasmės patirtis atradus Dievą. Darbe atliktas kokybinis tyrimas. Tyrimo duomenys rinkti taikant iš dalies struktūruotojo grupinės diskusijos interviu metodą, duomenys analizuoti naudojant interpretuojamąją fenomenologiją. Tyrimo dalyviai atrinkti taikant kriterinę atranką. Tyrime dalyvavo 7 įkalinti asmenys, atitinkantys šiuos kriterijus... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / In this scientific research paper there is the analysis of imprisoned people‘s experiences of hope and the meaning of life after the discovery of God. The objective of my paper is to reveal the application opportunities of existentialist paradigm in social work with the imprisoned; in addition to discussing the expression of the Theories of Hope and Logotherapy. Moreover, I aim to reveal the significance of conversion and faith to people who are in prison as well as to show the relations of discovered faith in God with imprisoned people‘s experiences of hope and the meaning of life. I also try to define the Alpha course as the model of social work with the imprisoned based on faith in God, which generates prisoners‘ motivation of reintegration into society by revealing the importance of sharing one‘s personal experience of life and faith in the group for the sake of the discovery of hope and the sense of life. Furthermore, I aim to reveal the significance of learning about other people‘s success stories and their witnesses about their personal faith and life for imprisoned people‘s experiences of hope and the meaning of life and their motivation for reintegration into society. The research object is imprisoned people‘s experiences of hope and the meaning of life after the discovery of God. The research aim is to reveal and interpret experiences of hope and the meaning of life after the discovery of God. The qualitative research has been done in the paper. The research data... [to full text]

Bakrunn: det å få en cancerdiagnose er en kraftig konfrontasjon med tilværelsens grunnvilkår. En slik grenseopplevelse kan utløse enten oppgivelse, fornektelse eller en refleksjonsprosess som ofte vil ha spørsmålet om meningen med livet som omdreiningspunkt. Det har generelt vært satt lite fokus på den eksistensielle dimensjon som inngår i det å bli konfrontert med en potensielt livstruende sykdom. Meningsdannelse er et viktig element av både coping og generell livskvalitet. Hensikt: Å undersøke hvordan mennesker skaper mening når de blir konfrontert med en alvorlig sykdom som cancer. Ønsket var å foreta en litteraturoversikt for bedre å kunne forstå de faktorer som bidrar til, og inngår i meningsdannelse. Metode: Det ble foretatt en litteraturstudie, med referanse til systematiske oversikter. Ni artikler ble inkludert etter ekstensivt søk og predefinerte kvalitetsvurderingskriterier. Deretter ble det foretatt en innholdsanalyse, og temaene som fremkom ble syntetisert etter prinsipper for meta etnografi. Resultat: en søken etter mening vokste spontant frem som følge av å bli konfrontert med cancer og en mulig prematur død. Temaene i meningsdannelse dreier seg om engasjement i viktige relasjoner, oppdagelsen av egen indre styrke, engasjement i et åndelig innhold, intensivering av livsglede og optimering av tidsutnyttelse. Konklusjon: Meningsdannelse fremstår som en betydelig orientering og ressurs i bestrebelsene på å cope med en kritisk hendelse og situasjon. For deltakerne i studiene var konfrontasjonen med egen dødelighet et insitament til å bli mer bevisst om de verdifulle aspekt av livet, og ansporet til reevaluering av verdier og en søken etter mening. / Background: To obtain a diagnosis of cancer represents a powerful confrontation with the core of existence. A borderline experience such as this may result in giving up, denial or a process of reflection that often will circle around questions about the meaning of life. Generally, there has been little focus on the existential dimension that is part of being confronted with a potentially lethal illness. Meaningfulness is an important element of both coping and general quality of life. Aim: To investigate and explore how people manage to create meaningfulness when they are confronted with a serious illness like cancer. This study intends to review the literature, to highlight and reach an understanding of the factors that contributes to, and is part of the creation of meaningfulness. Method: A literature review was undertaken, with reference to systematic reviews. After an extensive search and predefined criteria for assessing quality, nine articles were included. A content analysis was undertaken, and the themes that emerged during this process was then synthesised following the principles of meta-ethnography. Result: A search for meaning grew spontaneously as a consequence of being confronted with cancer and possible premature death. Meaningfulness included themes such as an engagement in important relations, discovery of inner strength, engagement in spiritual contents, intensified joy of everyday life and optimised use of time. Conclusion: the creation of meaning stands out as a prominent orientation and resource in the efforts of coping with a critical situation. For the interviewees, the confrontation with their own mortality acted as an inspiration to become more aware of the valuable aspects of life, and led to a re-evaluation of values and a search for meaning. / <p>ISBN 91-7997-134-2</p>

Nursing as a profession presents an interesting context for studying meaning of work, as it centres on the care of patients; the motivation behind choosing such a profession. Furthermore, taking into consideration the current economic situation and the shortage of nurses in the country, it is important to investigate the kind of impact that the meaning they receive from their work may have on their commitment to the hospital and their level of engagement in their work. What nurses do and how well they do it relates directly to the quality of care the patient receives. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between meaning of work, organisational commitment and work engagement among nurses of various hospitals in the Vaal Triangle. Also investigated were biographical factors such as gender, race, age, citizenship, qualification, years of service, job level and employment status. A survey design was used on a sample of nurses (N = 199) in hospitals. A biographical questionnaire, the Organisational Commitment Questionnaire, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and Work-Life Questionnaire were administered. The statistical analyses were carried out by means of SPSS (2009). Factor analyses were conducted to determine construct validity and Cronbach’s alphas and inter-item correlation coefficients assessed the internal consistency of the instruments. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranging from 0,94 to 0,62 were obtained for the above-mentioned questionnaires. Results showed that the majority of nurses viewed their work as either a job or a calling. More African nurses viewed their work as a calling than did any other race group. Younger workers, specifically those with a Grade 12 qualification, viewed their work as a career, while the more experienced nurses and those on management level viewed their work as either a career or a calling. Furthermore, nurses viewing their work as a calling are more committed to the organisation and more engaged in their work, whereas nurses viewing their work as a job are less committed and engaged. Lastly, a positive relationship exists between organisational commitment and work engagement. Therefore, the more strongly nurses view their work as a calling, the more committed they will be to the hospital and the more engaged they will be in their work. Based on the above findings, recommendations were made for the hospitals and future research. / MCom, Industrial Psychology, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2011

Šiuolaikiniame pasaulyje bei mene akcentuojamas kokybiškas rezultatas, gaunamas per trumpą laiko tarpą. Audimas rankomis (pvz., rankinėmis staklėmis, ant vertikalaus rėmo) – imlus laikui procesas, vis labiau tolstantis nuo kasdienės šiuolaikinių tekstilės menininkų praktikos. Nors tekstas yra populiari meno forma, austą tekstą galima sutikti retai. Šis meninis tyrimas analizuoja audimo ir teksto sinkretiškumą. Bandoma atsakyti į klausimus: kokias reikšmes šioje sąjungoje galima įžvelgti, kokia prasmė jai gali būti suteikiama. Austas tekstas, kaip tyrimo objektas, virto pagalba kalbėti apie tekstilės menininko tapatybę šiuolaikiniame mene. Tekstilės autorius, pasirenkantis kurti darbą audimo pagalba, atsiduria tradicijos ir šiuolaikines aplinkos sankirtoje. Tyrimo šaltiniais tapo interviu su austo teksto kūrėjais Lietuvoje, o taip pat literatūra, meno publicistika, straipsniai periodiniuose leidiniuose, kiti duomenys, leidžiantys įžvelgti naujų austo teksto reikšmių. Tyrimo tikslas buvo atskleisti bei surinkti galimas reikšmes, žyminčias ryšį tarp audimo ir teksto. Visos tyrimo metu surinktos reikšmės: priešprieša; laikas, laikinumas, ilgaamžiškumas; pabėgimas, atsiribojimas, išsigelbėjimas, sustojimas; meditacija, įsijautimas; istorija, tradicija; lyta; patvarumas, tvirtumas, tikrumas; komunikacija, intymumas, priminimas; sakralumas, religija; politika, ekonomika; kančia, sunkumas, sudėtingumas, sunkus darbas, meistrystė; tapatybė; prabanga. Visas šias reikšmes galima taikyti... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Contemporary world and art emphasise a high-quality result produced within a short period of time. Manual weaving (e.g. by handloom machine or on a vertical loom) is a time-consuming process which is broadly becoming an obsolete practice amongst contemporary textile artists. Although text is a popular form of art, woven text is very rare. This study intends to analyse the syncretic association between weaving and text. The following questions are raised: what are the meanings of this association and what purpose can be derived from it. Woven text, as the study object, has become an assisting instrument in the discussion of a textile artist in contemporary art. A textile artist, who decides to create art by means of weaving, finds himself standing at the crossroads of tradition and contemporary environment. The following study sources were used: interviews with Lithuanian woven text creators, as well as literature, art journalism, articles in periodic publications, and other data which allow finding new meanings of woven text. The objective of the study is to assemble the possible meanings which define the relationship between weaving and text. Meanings found in the study were the following: opposition; time, transience, longevity; escape, isolation, salvation, halt; meditation, empathy; history, tradition; tactility/touch; durability, strength, genuineness; communication, intimacy, reminiscence; sacredness, religion; politics, economics; suffering, complexity, hard work... [to full text]

The landscape of cancer care is evolving and as a result nursing care continues to develop and respond to the changing needs of oncology patients and their families. There is a paucity of qualitative research examining the experience of being an oncology nurse on an inpatient unit. Therefore, a qualitative study using an interpretive phenomenological approach has been undertaken to discover the lived experience of being an oncology nurse. In-depth tape recorded interviews has been conducted with six oncology nurses who worked on two adult inpatient oncology units. Van Manen’s (1990) interpretive phenomenological approach has been used to analyze the data by subjecting the transcripts to an analysis both line by line and as a whole. The overarching theme of the interviews is: Investing to Make a Difference. The themes that reflect this overarching theme are: Caring for the Whole Person, Being an Advocate, Walking a Fine Line, and Feeling Like You are Part of Something Good. Oncology nurses provide care for their patients through a holistic lens that further enhances how they come to know their patients. Over time, relationships with patients and families develop and these nurses share that balancing the emotional aspects of their work is key in being able to continue to invest in their work and in these relationships. Their investment is further evident as oncology nurses continuously update their knowledge, for example, of treatment regimes, medication protocols, and as they champion their patients wishes and needs. As nurses develop their own identities as oncology nurses, they in turn enhance the team with their emerging skill and knowledge. These research findings serve to acknowledge the meaning of oncology nurses’ work and inform the profession’s understanding of what it means to be an oncology nurse.

The main objective of the research described in this thesis was to investigate and understand the origins of culturally-determined usability problems in the context of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) to develop a method for treating this issue, when designing systems intended to be shared by culturally-heterogeneous user groups, such as Computer Supported Co-operative Work (CSCW) systems and the Internet. The resulting approach supports HCI designers by providing an alternative to internationalisation and localisation guidelines, which are inappropriate for tackling culturally-determined usability problems in the context of shared-systems. The research also sought to apply and test the developed approach in order to assess its efficacy and to modify or improve it accordingly.