Mobile technologies are the latest technologies in the realm of communication media. They have the potential to flatten the world by making it a place where gender, age, class, race and nationality can no longer hold us back from being heard and being informed. We have learned that these technologies can help to liberate and empower us, and they can lead to a collective cognition as much as they can distract us from what we need to know about the world we live in. In Greece thousands of years ago, a selected number of Greeks had a public space called the Agora to discuss the issues that concerned the public, meaning each and every citizen. They were the first to be able to create the space and place were the word “democracy” could be brought into language; the very word that was used to start a new war in the era of a communication revolution in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. There are still issues that concern the public today such as wars, global warming, homelessness or human rights which are all matters of our collective cognition. However, today in an age of information revolution the public life of people and their collective cognition is being exercised mostly in the virtual spaces of the Internet. Simultaneously, some physical spaces are being abandoned by people. This thesis investigates the possibility of having physical public spaces that are enriched with communication media and not weakened by it. If architects rethink their designs based on a new understanding of the networked society it might be possible to turn this “networked individualism” into a networked collectivism. However, most designed public spaces fail to offer new possibilities that can transform space for the new generation of users. Here, the aim is to understand a new generation of users. Who have they become as a result of new communication media? And how can architects design in a way that responds to this new subject in architecture? / Applied Science, Faculty of / Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of / Graduate

This mixed-methods single case study explored how outcome-based instructional design can be used to incorporate social software into an existing e-learning course. Pre-service teachers enrolled in a teacher education program at a Canadian university volunteered to participate in a study where social software was incorporated into a foundations course to facilitate digital literacy development, social objects production, and reflection on how these experiences connect to future teaching practice. The instructional design process was guided by a conceptual framework and informed by W(e)Learn, a well-tested e-learning design and evaluation framework. The quantitative and qualitative data were collected from the instructional designer’s journal, participant surveys, course records and interviews. Findings provided a comprehensive view of the effectiveness of outcome-based instructional design. In general, participants achieved the expected learning outcomes for this study. There were also unexpected outcomes. For example, some learners created a virtual community of practice. Some learners had an influence on their in-service teacher’s use of social software in teaching and learning. The findings supported the literature that states an outcome-based instructional design approach can facilitate learning. The findings also revealed why participants used social software in their teaching (e.g. awareness, usefulness, and school environment). In addition, these findings can inform school board policy with regard to supporting the use of social software in teaching and learning. The integration of qualitative and quantitative findings revealed convergence and divergence between the two types of data. In addition the findings informed directions for further research, including the relationship between learners’ satisfaction and learning experiences as well as the achievement of learning outcomes. The corroboration of data also identified specific effective and iii imperfect areas of the instructional design strategies, which, in turn, informed the revision of the conceptual framework for outcome-based instructional design. This study found W(e)learn to be effective in guiding outcome-based instructional design and analyzing the achievement of expected learning outcomes. The study also contributes to theory by recommending the inclusion of two new elements into W(e)learn. Painstakingly recording the instructional design process in a journal resulted in documented practical information and lessons learned that may guide and benefit instructional designers and educators who want to incorporate software into their learning activities.

Enterprise Social Software (ESS) hat sich hat sich in den letzten Jahren von zunächst eher experimentell angelegten Implementierungen hin zu einer in vielen Organisationsbereichen etablierten Technologie gewandelt. Daraus ergeben sich für Unternehmen Herausforderungen, die sich unter anderem auf die erfolgreiche Nutzung von ESS beziehen. Ziel der vorliegenden Dissertation ist es daher, das Konstrukt des ESS Erfolgs umfassend zu analysieren, um darauf aufbauend Determinanten zu identifizieren, die einerseits den Erfolg beeinflussen (Erfolgsfaktoren) sowie andererseits die Auswirkungen des ESS Einsatzes auf eine Analyseeinheit (Erfolgsindikatoren) beschreiben. Um dieses noch relativ junge Forschungsfeld zu explorieren und somit einen Erkenntnisbeitrag liefern zu können, wird die Datenbasis dieser Arbeit mithilfe qualitativer Forschungsmethoden erhoben und ausgewertet. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass ein Fokus auf technologische Aspekte bei der Betrachtung des ESS Erfolgs zu eng gefasst ist. Stattdessen erhalten soziale Determinanten wie die Unternehmenskultur, die sich aus der Art und Weise der Kommunikation und Zusammenarbeit innerhalb von Organisationsstrukturen ergibt, eine entscheidende Rolle und beeinflussen dadurch den Erfolg einer ESS.

Enterprise Social Software (ESS) hat in den letzten Jahren den Einzug in die Unternehmen gefunden und gehört zunehmend zum Portfolio von Informationssystemen. Mit dem Aufkommen von ESS entstehen neue Möglichkeiten und Herausforderungen für die interne Unternehmenskollaboration und damit auch für die Evaluation dieser Software-Art. Dabei beeinflussen die besonderen Eigenschaften von ESS ihre Evaluation und erfordern daher ein tieferes Verständnis sowie neue Theorien der Evaluationsgestaltung. Die vorliegende Dissertation analysiert die Aspekte der Gestaltung und Anwendung der ESS-Evaluation und trägt diesbezüglich zur Erkenntnis- sowie Theoriebildung in dem noch jungen Forschungsbereich bei. Hierbei kommen in sieben Einzelbeiträgen sowohl verhaltenswissenschaftliche also auch gestaltungsorientierte Forschungsansätze zum Einsatz. Genauer werden die Dimensionen und Ausprägungen im Rahmen einer Gestaltungstheorie herausgearbeitet und Prinzipien der Evaluationsgestaltung definiert. Des Weiteren werden unter anderem Methoden und Metriken sowie Barrieren untersucht. Es zeigt sich, dass die ESS-Evaluation kein temporärer Vorgang ist, sondern sich deren Zielsetzung je nach Perspektive und Phase im Systemlebenszyklus verändert. Die Indikatoren für den erfolgreichen ESS-Einsatz sowie die Evaluationsbarrieren unterscheiden sich folglich in den verschiedenen Phasen sowie im Unternehmenskontext. Die Ergebnisse geben sowohl Praktikern als auch Forschern einen Entscheidungsspielraum hinsichtlich ihrer individuellen Evaluationsgestaltung und -anwendung.

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Genom fallet QlikTech ger denna uppsats en aktuell inblick i hur kunskapshantering kan hanteras i en kunskapsintensiv kontext. Medarbetare har i dag möjligheter att samarbeta inom olika interaktiva digitala miljöer för att hitta och dela med sig av kunskap och erfarenheter. Denna uppsats fokuserar på att undersöka hur digitala Communitys uppkommer, växer fram och integreras för att uppnå global kunskapsdelning inom organisationer. Detta ses som en framgångsfaktor för att ta vara på kunskapsintensiva utvecklingsföretags kretivitet och innovationskraft.Genom ett tolkande tillvägagångssätt, analyseras åtta semistrukturerade kvalitativa intervjuer med medarbetare på QlikTech för att undersöka hur olika informationssystem används för att stödja olika kunskaps- och kollaborationsprocesser. Intervjuerna kompletteras med observationer and dokumentanalyser för att nå djupare insikter.Resultaten tyder på att användare använder system med fördefinierade strukturer för att dokumentera officiell kunskap, och system med framväxande strukturer för informell dialog och samarbete. Olika system kompletterar varandra, då kunskap förs över mellan system. Gräsrotsinitierande informationssystem kompenserar för glappet mellan officiella IT-implementationer och sociala kommunikationsbehov.Teknologi och praktik utvecklas hand-i-hand. Då diskussioner, idéer, perspektiv och kontext kan upprätthålls i emergent social software platforms, t.ex. Salesforce.com, kan komplext problemlösande underlättas i datorstött samarbete. Dessa plattformar minimerar glappet mellan den formella och sociala kommunikationen inom communities of practice, vilket ger förutsättningar för organisatorisk lärande.På QlikTech växer digitala communitys fram organiskt över tid. Organisationer använder data- och text mining och relaterade teknologier för att brygga fragmenterade communitys för att uppnå kapacitet att nå isolerade kunskapskällor genom sökning. Organisationer kan lägga till sociala lager över dessa fragmenterade back-end-system, designade för att bilda övergripande gränssnitt mot användare som underlättar samarbete och driver på innovation inom arbetsplatsen. / This thesis provides contemporary insights how knowledge management can be approached by a knowledge-intensive organisation. Knowledge workers today have unprecedented means to collaborate in different spaces of knowledge sharing. By analysing the case of QlikTech, results indicate that knowledge management is an integral part of knowledge-intensive organisations.By adapting an interpretive approach, eight semi-structured qualitative interviews with employees at QlikTech are analysed to find out how different information systems support different knowledge and collaboration processes. The interviews are complemented by on-the-job observations and analysis of documents to reach deeper understanding.Results indicate that users use systems with predefined structures to document official knowledge, and systems with emergent structures for informal dialogue and collaboration. Different systems complement each other, as knowledge is transferred between systems. Grass root initiated information systems compensate for the gap between official technology implementations and the social communication needs.Technology and practice co-evolve. As discussions, ideas, perspectives and context can be sustained in emergent social software platforms, such as Salesforce.com, complex problem-solving can be enabled in computer-supported cooperative work. These platforms minimise the gap between the formal and social communication within communities of practice, which facilitates organisational learning.At QlikTech, digital communities emerge organically over time. Organisations can use data and text mining, natural language processing and information extraction technologies to bridge fragmented communities to gain the capabilities to access dispersed knowledge sources through search. Organisations can add a social layer of these fragmented back-end systems, designed for building cross-functional employee-facing communities that drive collaboration and accelerate innovation in the workplace.

Der Beitrag untersucht Besonderheiten der Nutzung von Weblogs in unterschiedlichen Anwendungszusammenhängen. Nach einer theoretischen Einführung in den Bereich des informellen Lernens und der technischen Unterstützung mit Hilfe von Social Software werden in drei Fallstudien die Implikationen, Potenziale, aber auch Probleme der Verwendung von Weblogs in Arbeits- und Lehrzusammenhängen sowie zu privaten Zwecken aufgezeigt.

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<p>For the past recent years mobile developers and content providers have been aware of consumers’ engagement in online social networking. New opportunities are presented when using a mobile device as a medium for social interaction, also referred to as mobile social software. An ever growing effort aimed at various mobile design processes and applications have taken place. To achieve a widespread adoption of mobile social software amongst the main stream mobile consumer, several problem areas have to be taken into consideration, such as the technological possibilities and limitations of mobile phones, security issues regarding user privacy and the different aspects of consumers appeal for social media. This research looks into the overall situation of the current field of research and focuses on the interests in mobile social software amongst users. The study was geographically limited to Malmö, Sweden and focused on a population at the ages of 13-18.</p>

For the past recent years mobile developers and content providers have been aware of consumers’ engagement in online social networking. New opportunities are presented when using a mobile device as a medium for social interaction, also referred to as mobile social software. An ever growing effort aimed at various mobile design processes and applications have taken place. To achieve a widespread adoption of mobile social software amongst the main stream mobile consumer, several problem areas have to be taken into consideration, such as the technological possibilities and limitations of mobile phones, security issues regarding user privacy and the different aspects of consumers appeal for social media. This research looks into the overall situation of the current field of research and focuses on the interests in mobile social software amongst users. The study was geographically limited to Malmö, Sweden and focused on a population at the ages of 13-18.