This research investigates the position of creativity within graphic design education in general, and within the Omani educational context specifically. It situates itself among three realms: education, design, and creativity, investigating the relationships, effectiveness, and interrogations among these three topics. Creativity is defined within this research and in relation to graphic design education as problem solving , which is explained also as a cultural activity, or a cultural production. Graphic designers can involve themselves effectively in solving communication, social, and cultural problems that are classified as wicked problems , which usually require creative solutions. It is argued that Omani graphic designers should be creative problem solvers and able to find effective solutions for these problems. Yet this is not the case in Oman, at least from an educational point of view. The research problem is that the Omani design education system lacks a framework that recognises creativity as an important concept in education. Such a lack creates a twofold problem: 1) underestimating the importance of creativity in Omani design education; and 2) a shortage of pedagogical structured programmes that can enhance students creativity. It is argued that this problem is a result of the neglected situation of creativity in Arabic traditional education in general. Traditional education usually does not support creative thinking in design students, which consequently minimises their roles in social and cultural change. Based on the above, this research aims to develop a pedagogical model that can enhance and promote creative potential within Omani graphic design students. This aim can be achieved through re-establishing the position of creativity within Omani design education and valuing creativity as integrated part of graphic design. It proposes that the pedagogical model can offer a systematic approach for lecturers, to guide them into the best practice to enhance the creative potential of their students. Therefore, this research, and the proposed model, is the first step towards improving the position of creativity in Omani design educational systems in general. The model would propose to help Omani graphic design students to develop their creative problem solving abilities, which can allow them to effectively find solutions for several social and cultural wicked problems faced in Oman, such as the increased rate of car accidents nationally). The model will contain some creative-thinking techniques, and some pedagogical strategies that are already used internationally in education to improve creativity. The relevant literature has been reviewed to study the techniques and strategies used internationally to improve the creative potential of graphic design students. A qualitative interpretative methodology was used to answer the research questions and fulfil the aims. A survey approach was used for this research, implementing two methods: questionnaires and interviews. The online questionnaire was conducted with 33 international participants. It investigated how creativity is defined within graphic design contexts; whether creativity can be taught or enhanced; if yes, How, and by which techniques and strategies? Which curriculum contents are most suitable and effective? And how to assess creativity within graphic design education?. The same set of questions was asked in face-to-face interviews conducted with 39 design lecturers. The participants in these interviews were local lecturers who teach graphic design courses at six Omani institutions. All of the collected data were analysed by a thematic analysis method, by coding and categorising them according to different themes that had been extracted earlier from the literature. The contribution of this research is in defining the concept of creativity through scientific research; more specifically by practical research conducting an international survey and local interviews. Through this approach, this research has collected ideas, insights and trends about creativity in graphic design and how it can be developed. Also, this research has advanced knowledge of the relationships among graphic design, creativity, and education, specifically in the Arabic region. It is an attempt to emphasise this new field. Moreover, this research has given a snapshot of differing views regarding creativity in design education as perceived by international lecturers versus Omani lecturers, through conducting a cross-cultural study by asking these two groups the same questions, which was an interesting comparison. Finally, the collected data were utilised to develop the proposed pedagogical model designed for graphic design lecturers who teach design courses within Omani design education. The pedagogical model is the main contribution of this research. It would be suggested to the Omani Ministry of Higher Education that the model should be part of the Omani undergraduate graphic design curriculum.

Achieving product and process quality are among the central themes of software engineering, and quality is an important factor in the marketplace. Usability and user experience (UX) are two important aspects of quality, particularly for interactive products. To achieve usability means producing products that let users do things in a satisfactory, efficient and effective way. To develop products with good UX, means going beyond usability, in ways that are still not clear to us. Achieving good usability and UX is hard. This thesis is concerned with organizations which work towards these goals. This research is concerned with understanding and improving the processes by which technology is designed and developed, and understanding the demands and expectations users have. It is about how companies can and actually develop products with good usability and UX, and what stops them from working towards this as efficiently as they could. We have viewed the usability and UX challenge from the viewpoints of Quality, Organizations, and Institutions, with a focus on participatory design, user-centred design and wicked problems. The research can be characterised as empirical research performed over a period of seven years, in close cooperation with industrial partners. The research was performed using multiple data collection methods to create constructs and shape theory. The field methods have ranged from being a participant observer, to performing interviews and holding workshops with members of the participating organisations. A case study approach was initially used, but focus soon moved from case study methodology to a closer focus on grounded theory, and finally the focus shifted to constructivist grounded theory. The thesis contributes to the field of software engineering in several ways. Usability has a long history within software engineering, human computer interaction, and design science, but the different discourses within the fields have meant that communication between the fields was problematic. The research in this thesis has moved between the different fields, contributing to bridging the gap between the areas. It gives an illustration of how usability work actually takes place in different types of companies, from a developer of operating systems for smartphones, to a global engineering company, which knows that it must find ways of working with, and measuring, usability and user experience. It gives concrete knowledge about the way in which companies can work with usability testing, and how they can provide information to satisfy the information needs of different stakeholders. It provides a discussion of the state of UX today, taking up the problems that stop industry making use of the definitions and theories of UX that exist. Thus, it gives an illustration of the different factors in product design, development and sales, from dealing with organizational factors to satisfying user needs, that all make usability work such a rocky road to navigate.

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The definition of the traditional paragraph has remained unchanged for generations of readers. Yet today the predominant form of the paragraph on the Web is so new that it can only be called the new paragraph. So the question is which is the more readable of the two paragraph formats? More specifically, how can the new paragraph be defined and how can its readability be measured against the traditional paragraph? A literature review reveals that no attempt has ever been made to define the new paragraph. A novel approach is taken: collect the headline stories from the top 43 English language online daily newspapers and use them to define the new paragraph. They exclusively use the new paragraph format and 1200 stories were collected from them over a period of four months. The results indicate a drastic difference between the old and new paragraph with the new paragraph being on average less than half the size of the old paragraph. White space between paragraphs occupies almost exactly half a given story. Words of less than two syllables are the norm in a new paragraph. To determine the readability of the new paragraph, a test of readability was performed using human subjects. A passage of text was selected and formatted according to the rules for the traditional paragraph and according to the metrics of the new paragraph. The cloze procedure is then used to decide readability. The reading test‟s data is analyzed and the results and future directions of the study are discussed in the conclusion. / Software Engineering and Intelligent Systems

Environ 15 % des terres émergées mondiales sont protégées d’une manière ou d’une autre. Conflits homme/faune, prédation du bétail, pertes agricoles, braconnages divers, la liste des tensions entre aires protégées Africaines et leurs périphéries est longue. Ceux-ci peuvent être vus comme des « problèmes pernicieux », caractérisés par la présence simultanée de valeurs culturelles divergentes et de nombreuses incertitudes sociales ou scientifiques. L’approche constructiviste des sciences « post normales », aborde la réalité comme le résultats d’une construction sociale, et reconnait donc l’existence d’une pluralité de réalités. La participation d’acteurs locaux dans nos démarches scientifiques permet de prendre en compte ces réalités. Cette thèse est focalisée sur les interactions entre la Foret de Sikumi (FS), une aire protégée Zimbabwéenne, et les communautés rurales vivant à sa périphérie. Nous nous sommes intéressés aux tensions liées aux pratiques de conduite du bétail. Nous retrouvons là les caractéristiques des problèmes pernicieux : difficulté à identifier le problème de manière définitive ; incertitudes scientifiques et sociales ; valeurs culturelles conflictuelles et liens avec d’autres problèmes. Pour comprendre et modéliser les interactions entre acteurs à travers la conduite du bétail, nous avons co-construit un outil de recherche participatif sous la forme d’un Jeu de Rôle (JdR) nous permettant d’étudier les stratégies locales de conduite du bétail. Nos travaux montrent comment l’utilisation d’environnements virtuels permettent aux chercheurs de s’extraire du paradoxe majeur des problèmes pernicieux : toute action modifie le système et donc le problème, sans jamais le régler. La participation d’acteurs locaux nous a permis de redessiner une vision commune des incertitudes sociales et scientifiques au travers de processus de négociation. Nous montrons comment le résultat de notre effort collectif dépasse les ambitions premières et la manière dont le chercheur doit nécessairement perdre en partie le contrôle de l’objet construit au profit des partenaires locaux. Finalement, nous exprimons notre conviction que des approches comme la nôtre sont pertinentes pour la gestion des aires protégées, particulièrement avec l’émergence des parcs transfrontaliers en Afrique australe. / About 15 % of the world’s terrestrial area has some kind of protected status. Human-wildlife conflicts, crops raiding, livestock predation, poaching, illegal natural resources harvesting, the list of issues taking place at the edge of African protected areas is long. These issues are wicked problems, characterized by scientific uncertainties and involve conflictive cultural values and interconnections with other problems. The constructivist approach of post-normal sciences (PNS) assumes that reality is socially constructed. Studying and addressing wicked problems therefore requires insights on local stakeholders’ perspectives. In this PhD we focused on interactions between the Sikumi Forest (SF), a Zimbabwean protected area, and the rural communities living at its periphery. More particularly, we focused on the tensions related to cattle herding practices. The situation shows characteristic of wicked problems: the difficulty to frame a precise problem; high uncertainties about the studied SES; incomplete scientific knowledge; competing cultural values; and the interconnection to other problems. In order to understand cattle-related interactions between rural communities and the protected area, we co-designed a participatory research tool taking the form of a role-playing game (RPG) enabling us to elicit cattle herding strategies. The RPG was used with naïve villagers (villagers who were note involved in the co-design). This PhD thesis shows how the use of virtual worlds allows researchers to cope with the catch-22 of wicked problems, that is that any action transforms the problem and brings us “back to the beginning”. The co-design of the research tool allows to deal with one of the major characteristics of wicked problems: uncertainties. In the participatory design of the RGP, these were collectively reframed through negotiation. Participation led to the appropriation of the co-designed object by local actors, as a result our project went beyond the initial ambitions and produced a multi-dimensional tool of which we necessarily lose control. In a wider perspective, we believe that with the emergence of Transfrontier conservation in Africa, participatory approaches like ours can provide alternative ways to study and manage coexistence between protected areas and their peripheries.

Currently, the world as we know it is undergoing many different transformations towards a more sustainable future, one of which is the energy transition. The energy transition is a wicked problem that requires transformative and creative thinking to be solved. One way to foster an innovative environment in organizations is by having a diverse workforce with different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. However, the energy sector, which has a major responsibility in the transition, is currently gender-segregated. Thus, not taking advantage of diverse capabilities. This thesis studies the energy-gender nexus within a Swedish context and explores what implications a male-dominated energy sector could entail for the energy transition. This is done through a qualitative research design using two methods, (1) a document review to analyze how important actors in the Swedish energy transition currently address gender equality, (2) expert interviews to further explore these findings. The results showed that the energy-gender nexus is a complex paradigm and that opportunities and challenges to integrate more diversity often are interconnected. The main challenges were showed to be connected to presumptions of generalized gender norms, the sectorial image, and the need for structural change. Opportunities were connected to affirmative action and advocacy from initiatives or role models, and benefits from specific measurable targets. It was also concluded that more perspectives and a diversified energy sector could potentially benefit the energy transition through acceleration.

I designed an explanatory sequential mixed-method study to explore the relationship between leadership practices, collective teacher efficacy (CTE), and educational outcomes of low SES students in an open school system. Four data sources were analyzed: K-5 student Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) results of 1,170 students, Collective Teacher Belief Scale (CTBS) survey to measure CTE perceptions of 48 teachers, focus group interviews composed of a stratified sample of 11 K-5 teachers, and two one-on-one principal interviews. The study took place in two elementary schools in north Texas during the 2020-2021 school year. A Spearman's rank-order correlation analysis indicated that the relationship between CTBS scores and student reading scores was mixed. While one school showed a positive association between CTE and the reading data of low SES students, the other school showed a weak correlation between the variables. The quantitative data indicated that CTBS scores did not independently explain reading achievements at both campuses. The data also showed that while teachers had a large effect size on the reading performance of low SES students, as measured through a Cohen's d for paired sample t-test, achievement gaps continued to widen. Two themes emerged through a grounded theory approach when principals described their sensemaking and framing process: many variables and teamwork. In a complex open system, school principals must consider the many needs of teachers and students before enacting reform efforts. To achieve ambitious goals, school principals promote teamwork and help develop supportive structures to assist teachers and students. Furthermore, the theme of support emerged when teachers described their CTE perceptions concerning their principal's leadership actions. The overall data suggest that leadership practices directly impact CTE levels and indirectly impact student performance. When teachers felt supported, CTE levels increased, but when teachers felt overwhelmed or failed to see how school and district mandates support teaching and learning efforts, CTE levels dropped.

Grönområden i urbana miljöer bidrar med många centrala funktioner vilka är livsviktiga för både djur och människor, exempelvis biologisk mångfald, ekosystemtjänster och positiva hälsoeffekter. Förekomsten av grönområden och dess funktioner hotas däremot av den snabba globala urbaniseringen som ger upphov till förändrad markanvändning. Enligt Göteborgs Stads lokala miljömål ämnar staden att bli ekologiskt hållbar till år 2030 och detta ska uppnås genom en ökad biologisk mångfald och bevarande av grönområden. Göteborg har blivit utnämnd till Sveriges grönaste stad, men samtidigt har grönområdena minskat mellan åren 1986-2019 och fortsätter att minska på grund av exploatering. Syftet med examensarbetet var därmed att öka kunskapen om vad som ger upphov till att det tas beslut som orsakar reducering av urbana grönområden trots uppsatta mål för bevarande av dessa, vilket var ett eftersatt forskningsområde. För att uppnå syftet användes en induktiv kvalitativ metod med semistrukturerade intervjuer. Resultatet analyserades genom miljöpsykologiska, miljöetiska och policyteorier, nämligen värden, goal-framing theory, värdepluralism och lömska problem. Studien kom fram till att Göteborgs stadsplanering innefattade flera lömska problem och värdekonflikter vilka uttrycktes genom målkonflikter, som tillsammans med starka hedonistiska och egoistiska värden samt vinstdrivande mål hade en negativ inverkan på förekomsten av Göteborgs grönområden. / Green spaces in urban areas contribute with many key functions that are vital for both animals and humans, such as biodiversity, ecosystem services and positive health effects. However, the existence of green spaces and their functions are threatened by the rapid global urbanization that is causing land use changes. According to the City of Gothenburg’s local environmental goals, the city aims to become ecologically sustainable by the year of 2030 through increased biodiversity and nature conservation. Gothenburg has been named as Sweden's greenest city, although the green spaces in Gothenburg have decreased between the years 1986–2019 and will continue to decline due to exploitation. The purpose of this bachelor’s thesis was thus to increase knowledge about what stimulates decisions that cause a reduction of green spaces in Gothenburg despite set conservation goals, which was a neglected research area. To achieve the purpose, an inductive qualitative method was used with semi-structured interviews. The results were analyzed through theories of environmental psychology, environmental ethics and policy, namely values, goal-framing theory, value pluralism and wicked problems. The study concluded that Gothenburg's urban planning included several wicked problems and value conflicts that were expressed through goal conflicts, which negatively affected Gothenburg’s green spaces. Furthermore, strong hedonistic and egoistic values as well as gain goals, also had a negative impact on the existence of Gothenburg's green spaces.

Denna studie undersöker en föreslagen pedagogisk metod, interaktionslärande, med fokus på elevens livsvärld genom en undersökt reell situation baserad på erfarenhet, materialitet och ömsesidighet i olika former. Metodiken appliceras och reflekteras kring i en fortsättningskurs i samhällskunskap på ett svenskt gymnasium, bland annat genom en praktiskt genomförd övning med påföljande intervjuer. Studien använder sig dessutom av en teoretisk metodik där aktionsforskning eller aktionslärande appliceras som metod tillsammans med så kallat kommunikativt handlande och förhållande till systemteori och så kallat lömska problem. Studien utvärderas genom reflektion i förhållande till kontexten utifrån samtal med de medverkande, för att sätta studiens pedagogiska metod i relation till en samtida pedagogisk debatt och därigenom förhålla sig till tankar inom denna, och överväganden också för en övergripande samtida pedagogik. / In this thesis an approach to pedagogy is proposed, Interaction Learning, with an ambition to bring a subject matter closer to the pupils’ life world by focusing on individual experience, materiality and mutuality in different forms. It is further examined through a study in an applied context in an advanced Social Science course in an upper secondary Swedish Gymnasium through an exercise followed by interviews. The study itself uses a theoretical framework based on an action research approach, using reflective experience and communicative action as well as Systems theory thinking that draws on theories on what could be approached as Wicked Problems. The applied practice is further evaluated and reflected on to set the methodological thinking in reference to a current and ongoing Pedagogical debate in Sweden. To evaluate the approach’s possible use and to reflect also on pedagogy on a broader scale for a contemporary current society.

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