<p>This licentiate’s thesis is concerned with how genetics is depicted and used in fictional stories. From a perspective that combines science and technology studies with cultural studies, it analyses narratives that deal with, or contain images of, genetics and gene technology. The empirical material consists of four narratives, two movies and two novels: Andrew Niccol’s film Gattaca (1997), Ang Lee’s film Hulk (2003), Margaret Atwood’s novel Oryx and Crake (2003), and P.C. Jersild’s Swedish novel Geniernas återkomst ("Return of the Geniuses", 1987). The thesis has two main parts, where the first part introduces theories and perspectives on biology and narrative, whereas the second part presents the four analyses of fictional narratives.</p><p>The first part is divided into two sections. Section one is concerned with biology (primarily molecular biology), ideals of objectivity, and the relation¬ship between science and technology. I argue for a perspective where science and technology are intimately interwoven, especially in the case of the “new biology”. This section defines the concepts of genetics and gene technology, a definition that relies more on how the concept of gene is used in the analysed narratives than the scientific discipline of genetics. Then follows in the second section a discussion of narration and fiction, two cen¬tral concepts in this thesis. With the aid of structuralist literary studies, the process of narrative production and meaning making is described, and an argument is made for viewing fiction as a quality of narratives rather than a genre of its own.</p><p>Part two is also made up of two main sections. In the first of these, the four narratives are analysed separately. The narratives are viewed as examples of different perspectives on fictitious genetics: Gattaca is analysed as an exam¬ple of a genetically governed society, Hulk as a genetically manipulated individual, Oryx and Crake exemplifies the genetic apocalypse, and Genier¬nas återkomst depicts a future society where genetics has been out¬dated, banned and expelled. The second part analyses genetics and gene technology as narrative devices. Here, the four narratives are no longer separated. In¬stead, they are compared and used to exemplify a number of sometimes contradictory narrative uses of genetics and gene technology. The narratives make use of both public understandings of science and technology and the complexity of modern biology and biotechnology to balance credibility and the fantastic. Six main functions of genetics are identified in the narratives, some of wich are functions of negotiation – like the negotiations between the credible and the incredible, between threat and opportunity, between control and the loss of control, between micro and macro, and between nature and technology. Other functions are based upon genetics and gene technology being described – and understood – as both new and having potentially pro¬found consequences for society and human¬kind. In the end, genetics in fic¬tion turns out to have very little to do with genetics and gene technology as scientific discourses. Instead these sciences seem to be used because of their complexity and aura of both “cutting-edge” sciences and “code of life”, in order to negotiate a number of narrative problems and oppositions.</p>

<p>Continuous improvement (CI) is a well-known approach within total quality management. Based on it, Continuous Improvement Behavior Model (CIBM) is a model that put behavioral patterns in work practice in focus, and is associated with learning process and routines across the whole organization. The purposes of this thesis are twofold: firstly, to analyse the differences in CI behavior between firms in Sweden and Hong Kong (HK); secondly, to analyse the reasons for these differences by using Hofstede’s culture theory. This study was based on data from the 2nd international CINet survey and IBM questionnaire survey, limited to the culture in Hong Kong (HK) and Sweden. The finding of this comparative study showed that there are significant differences in CI behavior in the following aspects:</p><p> The view in HK is that the interest of the group should prevail over the individual’s, because there has a proverb”unity is power” in Chinese culture. Firms in Sweden are more concerned with the interests of individual’s.</p><p> Employees in Hong Kong would like to use organizational formal tools and techniques to deal with a problem, although it is a society characterized by weak uncertainly avoidance. But firms in Swedish believe that problems can be solved without formal rules.</p><p> Employees in HK emphasizes cooperation and relationship in the process of working, while it is influenced by the culture of”guanxi” and collectivism. In comparison, Swedish employees care less about relationship.</p><p> People in HK pay much attention to the personal development, due to a competitive environment and a long-term orientated culture manifested as:”it is never too old to learn”. Swedes, however, want to study when it is necessary.</p><p> Managers in HK are willing to support CI activities by provide sufficient resources and self-discipline influenced by the Chinese culture of ”set an example”. Correspondingly, Swedish firms don't have the regulation about what manager necessary should do.</p><p>This is the first study that tries to explain the difference on CI behavior by using Hofstede’s culture theory in HK and Sweden, using a statistical method to test 34 behaviors in CI Behavior Model. It has to mention that there have 17 behaviors in the total behaviors which have been proved to be different, and 11 of these behaviors can be explained by Hofstede’s model in this thesis. There are also some other factors that can explain the differences in CI behaviors.</p><p>In this thesis, it is shown that size of company matters. Possible explanations provided by other cultural theories are also presented.</p>

This licentiate’s thesis is concerned with how genetics is depicted and used in fictional stories. From a perspective that combines science and technology studies with cultural studies, it analyses narratives that deal with, or contain images of, genetics and gene technology. The empirical material consists of four narratives, two movies and two novels: Andrew Niccol’s film Gattaca (1997), Ang Lee’s film Hulk (2003), Margaret Atwood’s novel Oryx and Crake (2003), and P.C. Jersild’s Swedish novel Geniernas återkomst ("Return of the Geniuses", 1987). The thesis has two main parts, where the first part introduces theories and perspectives on biology and narrative, whereas the second part presents the four analyses of fictional narratives. The first part is divided into two sections. Section one is concerned with biology (primarily molecular biology), ideals of objectivity, and the relation¬ship between science and technology. I argue for a perspective where science and technology are intimately interwoven, especially in the case of the “new biology”. This section defines the concepts of genetics and gene technology, a definition that relies more on how the concept of gene is used in the analysed narratives than the scientific discipline of genetics. Then follows in the second section a discussion of narration and fiction, two cen¬tral concepts in this thesis. With the aid of structuralist literary studies, the process of narrative production and meaning making is described, and an argument is made for viewing fiction as a quality of narratives rather than a genre of its own. Part two is also made up of two main sections. In the first of these, the four narratives are analysed separately. The narratives are viewed as examples of different perspectives on fictitious genetics: Gattaca is analysed as an exam¬ple of a genetically governed society, Hulk as a genetically manipulated individual, Oryx and Crake exemplifies the genetic apocalypse, and Genier¬nas återkomst depicts a future society where genetics has been out¬dated, banned and expelled. The second part analyses genetics and gene technology as narrative devices. Here, the four narratives are no longer separated. In¬stead, they are compared and used to exemplify a number of sometimes contradictory narrative uses of genetics and gene technology. The narratives make use of both public understandings of science and technology and the complexity of modern biology and biotechnology to balance credibility and the fantastic. Six main functions of genetics are identified in the narratives, some of wich are functions of negotiation – like the negotiations between the credible and the incredible, between threat and opportunity, between control and the loss of control, between micro and macro, and between nature and technology. Other functions are based upon genetics and gene technology being described – and understood – as both new and having potentially pro¬found consequences for society and human¬kind. In the end, genetics in fic¬tion turns out to have very little to do with genetics and gene technology as scientific discourses. Instead these sciences seem to be used because of their complexity and aura of both “cutting-edge” sciences and “code of life”, in order to negotiate a number of narrative problems and oppositions.

A continuing debate within Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research is how to elucidate, improve, and optimize the relationship between social context and technology use. Social context is conventionally understood as immediate use context while an understanding informed by social science suggests a wider scope, involving actors and structures. The focus of this thesis is the use of a communication environment using audio and video, established to span and connect three geographically distant call-centre workplaces in the Stockholm archipelago, Sweden. The research was carried out as intermittent fieldwork, spanning unevenly over a period of three years. The fieldwork was carried out at two sites: the premises of the Swedish Police Contact Centre in the archipelago and within the research project Community at a Distance. Methods included participant observation, interviews, and the analysis of documents, everyday talk, and images. This thesis offers a broad analysis of the socio-cultural context of technology use investigating the question how a sense of togetherness is promoted and negotiated at the Swedish Police Contact Centre and around and across the communication environment. The technology served as a means of overcoming the distance between the sites and making everyday encounters between the dispersed staff members possible. The sense of togetherness—fellowship and belonging, caring for each other, fostering a sense of solidarity, and achieving consensus in everyday practices—had an impact on the uses (and non-uses) of the technology. The use of the communication environment reflects the values and arrangements of the workplace and reproduces its conventions. The discussion is explorative, outlining an analytical approach to the socio-cultural context of technology use informed by interpretive social science, and provides a partial analysis of the organizational culture of the Contact Centre and its technology use. The argument is that analysis should aim at exploring the relationship between individual actors and social structures. Rewriting context allows us to understand the socio-cultural embeddedness of technology. While the analytic framework is not comprehensive for the purpose of detailed design implications in HCI research, it does provide a reconsidered terminology that links individual practices to socio-cultural context. / QC 20100629

This graduation paper is based on my interest for wood and its different tonal quality’s. After some time of thinking I decided to write my paper on the tonal difference between two of the most common woods in guitars, East Indian Rosewood and European Maple. I had built two identical guitars before my graduation paper in which the difference was the wood the back and sides were made of. One was being made of East Indian Rosewood and the other being made of European Maple. I chose to speak with a number of people with different angle of approach to the two kinds of wood and its tonal difference and quality’s. I present my point of view to these two woods. I also present the point of view of guitarists and guitar makers. To present picture proof off the tonal difference in the woods I chose to record notes from both of the test guitars that I’ve built and used in my work. The notes were processed by a program that present the ton in a spectrogram in which you can see the difference in the notes between the different guitars/woods. I asked about the difference both tonal and esthetically in the interviews I did of the established guitar makers. Unfortunately I didn’t receive as many answers as I wished for but I felt that it was important to present the ideas about the woods from those guitar makers who answered.

Continuous improvement (CI) is a well-known approach within total quality management. Based on it, Continuous Improvement Behavior Model (CIBM) is a model that put behavioral patterns in work practice in focus, and is associated with learning process and routines across the whole organization. The purposes of this thesis are twofold: firstly, to analyse the differences in CI behavior between firms in Sweden and Hong Kong (HK); secondly, to analyse the reasons for these differences by using Hofstede’s culture theory. This study was based on data from the 2nd international CINet survey and IBM questionnaire survey, limited to the culture in Hong Kong (HK) and Sweden. The finding of this comparative study showed that there are significant differences in CI behavior in the following aspects:  The view in HK is that the interest of the group should prevail over the individual’s, because there has a proverb”unity is power” in Chinese culture. Firms in Sweden are more concerned with the interests of individual’s.  Employees in Hong Kong would like to use organizational formal tools and techniques to deal with a problem, although it is a society characterized by weak uncertainly avoidance. But firms in Swedish believe that problems can be solved without formal rules.  Employees in HK emphasizes cooperation and relationship in the process of working, while it is influenced by the culture of”guanxi” and collectivism. In comparison, Swedish employees care less about relationship.  People in HK pay much attention to the personal development, due to a competitive environment and a long-term orientated culture manifested as:”it is never too old to learn”. Swedes, however, want to study when it is necessary.  Managers in HK are willing to support CI activities by provide sufficient resources and self-discipline influenced by the Chinese culture of ”set an example”. Correspondingly, Swedish firms don't have the regulation about what manager necessary should do. This is the first study that tries to explain the difference on CI behavior by using Hofstede’s culture theory in HK and Sweden, using a statistical method to test 34 behaviors in CI Behavior Model. It has to mention that there have 17 behaviors in the total behaviors which have been proved to be different, and 11 of these behaviors can be explained by Hofstede’s model in this thesis. There are also some other factors that can explain the differences in CI behaviors. In this thesis, it is shown that size of company matters. Possible explanations provided by other cultural theories are also presented.

Det här arbetet handlar till stor del om huruvida teknikundervisningen som genomförs i grundskolans senare del har påverkat flickors val av gymnasieutbildning. De flickor som går på typiska manliga utbildningar har varit utgångspunkt för den här studien. Antalet flickor som söker sig till dessa utbildningar är få, vilket framkommer i statistiken över förstahandsval till gymnasieutbildningarna som presenteras i undersökningen. Dessa elever har genom intervjuer fått möjlighet att berätta om varför de valt att gå de här utbildningarna. Val av gymnasieutbildning kommer i stor utsträckning att påverka dessa elevers framtida yrkesroller. Med detta i åtanke kommer även genusperspektivet i skola och yrkesliv att belysas. Läsaren får också en inblick i hur teknikundervisningen i grundskolan är uppbyggd och hur den genomförs i både teorin och praktiken. Genom att intervjuat 6 kvinnliga elever, som går på typiskt manliga gymnasieutbildningar, visar den här studien att teknikundervisningen i grundskolans senare del inte påverkat dessa elevers val av gymnasieutbildning.

Interactive media technologies like the Internet and video games have opened new avenues of opportunity for many, yet at the same time they represent new challenges and risks, especially for young people. In our study, eleven families were interviewed. Their perceptions, experiences and risk management are described in this paper. The children we interviewed were not high media consumers. The vast majority appeared to have a positive attitude towards the Internet, and had learned to handle common interactive media challenges and risk. Nonetheless some online behaviors which we consider risky were indeed commonly practiced. The most commonly encountered risk experienced by children in our study was exposure to undesirable content. Yet, in a group of eleven children two had been victim of cyberbullying and one had been harassed by some classmate or family member. The most recurrent negative comments parents made about the internet or video games and children were about the danger of being contacted by strangers, as well as the excessive use of the interactive media technologies.

This study explores the relatively new phenomenon of online poker. More specifically, it elaborates on who the online poker player is, why s/he plays online poker, what the fascination of the game is, why s/he continues to play, and what the experience is. The study is delimited to focus on individuals who mainly play Texas hold’em online. The empirical material is based on semi-structured interviews with active online poker players, as well as on secondary data such as articles and literature. Both professional and amateur players are included among the respondents. The material has been coded and qualitatively analyzed. Earlier studies in the same field have also been brought to light and discussed, among which we especially centered on Reith’s theories about gambling and the gambler. Finally, the study concludes that the four factors primarily motivating the online poker player are excitement, money, social interaction, and the aspect of skill.

Submitted by Noeme Timbo (noeme.timbo@metodista.br) on 2016-08-17T17:50:26Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Paula Cabral Gomes.pdf: 1664758 bytes, checksum: b25c94c925b3ac227c32b52a004aadff (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-17T17:50:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Paula Cabral Gomes.pdf: 1664758 bytes, checksum: b25c94c925b3ac227c32b52a004aadff (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-04-08 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Identity, culture and technology are the central themes for this dissertation. When those three elements gather, several opportunities and possibilities are offered to people. The site Omelete, research object of this dissertation, is the result of a project prepared by friends, comics and games fans, that didn’t find enough information about their favorite issues and decided to create a blog to share matters about pop culture and satisfy their curiosities and wills. Nowadays, what was born as a blog is considered the largest online vehicle about pop culture in Brazil. The objective of this dissertation was to verify the characteristics of the object and the context in which it is inserted and which factors put it in its present position. For that, we made a literature review to establish the theoretical basis of the dissertation. Then, we classified the published matters on the site about the Comic-Con International: San Diego during a pre-determined time and analyzed some achieved data. At last, we described the event Comic Con Experience, organized by Omelete and by Chiaroscuro, and ascertained the information we collected from the literature revision to the personal experience in the convention. The society we live in has permitted the appearance, developing and maintenance of a variety of tribes and cultures. It is a society where technology provides tools for people to communicate, share information and interact with internet users with similar interests, such as the consumption of the same cultural products. These actions are responsible for the formation of individual and group identity which they belong to. In a participative form, the groups build knowledge and strengthen the collective intelligence. / Identidade, cultura e tecnologia são os temas centrais desta dissertação. Quando esses três elementos se encontram, diversas oportunidades e possibilidades são oferecidas aos indivíduos. O site Omelete, objeto de pesquisa escolhido, é resultado de um projeto elaborado por amigos, fãs de histórias em quadrinhos e games, que não encontravam informações suficientes sobre seus temas favoritos e decidiram criar um blog para compartilhar conteúdos sobre cultura pop e satisfazer suas curiosidades e vontades. Hoje, o que nasceu como blog é considerado o maior veículo online sobre cultura pop do Brasil. O objetivo da dissertação foi verificar as características do objeto e do contexto em que se encontra e quais fatores o colocaram em sua posição atual. Para isso, primeiro fizemos uma revisão de literatura para estabelecer as bases teóricas da dissertação. Depois, categorizamos o conteúdo publicado no site sobre a Comic-Con International: San Diego durante um período determinado e analisamos os dados obtidos. Por último, descrevemos o evento Comic Con Experience, organizado pelo Omelete e pela Chiaroscuro, e averiguamos as informações colhidas desde a revisão de literatura até a experiência pessoal na convenção. A sociedade na qual vivemos permite o surgimento, o desenvolvimento e a manutenção de tribos e culturas variadas. É uma sociedade em que a tecnologia oferece ferramentas para as pessoas poderem se comunicar, compartilhar informações e interagir com internautas com interesses semelhantes, como o consumo dos mesmos produtos culturais. Essas ações são responsáveis pela formação da identidade dos indivíduos e dos grupos a que pertencem. De forma participativa, os grupos constroem conhecimento e fortalecem a inteligência coletiva.