Video games have suffered a negative reputation regarding their influence on children and adolescents, in comparison to its “well-behaved” counterpart, books. Nevertheless, the world of video games is much more diverse than imaginable – from fantasy to reality – and it is possible that different types of video games have different effects on human cognition and behavior. To fill a gap in research, fantasy and non-fantasy genres were the focal point of the correlational study. In this study, we analyze how video game playing habits, video game genre preference, book reading habits and book reading preferences are correlated with creative thinking. Construal level theory explains the importance of psychological distances in enhancing creativity. Fantasy and fiction content, as well as role play, are theorized to be part of creativity due to generation of distance and abstract thinking. Creativity was measured by insight problems and a categorization task. Abstract thinking was also measured by the Behavioral Identification Form. The questionnaire was given out to 154 students during lunch hours at a university in Sweden, throughout the period of March 2019. The results indicated that preference in a genre, whether gaming or literature, did not indicate significant differences in creative thinking. However, the consumption and habit of playing role-play games showed a significant correlation to creativity in comparison to its “rival” – action games. Results showed the same effects for fiction literature versus non-fiction. Theoretical and practical implications for organizations and the workplace are discussed, as well as limitations of the study.

Technology in the workplace has helped increase the rate of production and speed at which business occur. As these technologies advance, humans are becoming more efficient and more productive than ever before. The impact of technology on work, has consistently changed the way human across every industry do their jobs. In fact, the latest advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to further influence a greater shift in the way human accomplish job tasks. Because artificial intelligence is a technology based on augmenting human, we can use this advantage to further complement human intelligence. Making human more creative and smarter than they have ever been. To achieve this, we need to understand how AI’s capabilities can complement human’s competences. In a workplace context, we need to understand how AI can facilitate the support of different type of tasks. Hence, the purpose of this explorative study is to understand AI’s influence on people’s skills and on workflows. This is done by mapping AI capabilities around human competences to help individuals up- skill and to support organizations in planning effective workflows enabled by AI to achieve better performance. The insights for this qualitative study is gathered by developing an AI use- case with industrial partners, while carefully observing the influence AI poses on human skills and organization processes. Beyond the traditional technology optimizations that earlier helped human with speed and accuracy, the findings from this thesis show that AI could empower human through skills such as creativity, problem solving, and analysis. As a consequence, such advancement impacts the demand of human competences needed to thrive in AI enabled workplaces. The long-term impact of adapting AI to support in workplace tasks, shows a trend in moving toward more intellectually demanding tasks. While workflows will need to facilitate collaboration between cross-disciplinary teams and support high involvement.

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka och jämföra en kvinnodominerad och en mansdominerad organisations explicita attityder gentemot mångfald på arbetsplatsen. Till studien användes Workplace Diversity Survey för att mäta enskilda personers attityder, deras resultat sammanställdes till ett gemensamt medelvärde och utgjorde organisationens attityd gentemot mångfald. Datan samlades in genom att skicka ut enkäten via e-mail och ge ut den i samband med en workshop. Resultatet analyserades i SPSS med ett Mann Whitney U test för att se om det fanns en signifikant skillnad. Resultatet visade inte på någon signifikant skillnad mellan organisationerna. Diskussionen fokuserade på faktorer som kan ha inverkat på resultatet samt potentiella problem med mätverktyget och studien. / This study aimed to investigate and compare two organisations explicit attitudes towards diversity in the workplace, one female dominated and one male dominated. Workplace Diversity Survey was used to measure the attitude of individuals in a sample. The assembled results represented each organisation`s attitude towards diversity. The data was collected by administering the survey via e-mail and handing them out at a workshop. The result was analyzed in SPSS with an Mann Whitney U test to see if there were a significant difference. The findings indicated that there were no significant difference between these organisations attitudes. Potential factors that may have influenced the result is brought up in the discussion, as well as problems with the study and the instrument that were used.

Trots en ökad efterfrågan i samhället på insatser för att stötta nyanlända i språkutveckling, och därmed även att ta sig in på arbetsmarknaden, finns i Sverige begränsad forskning kring handledning av nyanlända inom industrisektorn. Syftet med denna studie är att bringa kunskap i förutsättningar för arbetsplatslärande hos nyanlända inom industrisektorn, med fokus på språkinlärning. Detta görs genom att undersöka följande frågeställningar; Hur föreskrivs yrkesintroduktion gå till? Hur förhåller sig handledare till processer för nyanländas språkinlärning? Hur förhåller sig handledare till processer för inkludering av nyanlända? Vilka förutsättningar ger yrkesintroduktioner för nyanländas arbetsplatslärande inom företagen?Metoderna för att undersöka fenomenet är dels kvalitativa intervjuer av sex handledare för nyanlända på yrkesintroduktioner på tre olika företag inom industrisektorn, samt en text- och dokumentanalys av fyra stöddokument som har tagits fram av Delegationen för arbetsplatslärande vid yrkesintroduktionsanställningar (YA-delegationen) kring handledning av nyanlända.   Genom ett teoretiskt ramverk baserat på Etienne Wengers teori om gränsland och mäklarskap inom ”Communities of Practices” (2000) tolkas resultaten från undersökningarna. Några av de slutsatser som dras är att handledarna på företagen främst arbetar med praktisk upplärning av arbetsuppgifter och språkinlärning som fokuserar på inlärning av enskilda yrkesbegrepp. Djupare diskussioner kring normer och värderingar samt ”mjuka värden” hindras på grund av bristande språkkunskaper hos de nyanlända. Bristande kunskap i hur gemensamma aktiviteter för kunskapsutbyten kan ske utmärker även handledarskapet, och förslag på sådana aktiviteter saknas även i stöddokumenten. En sista slutsats är att om varken staten eller företagen själva kan stötta handledare i hur olika människors kunskaper kan tas tillvara på och hur mångfald ska utnyttjas så blir språket inom industrier inte bara en säkerhetsfråga, utan en samhällsfråga. / Despite an increased demand in society for effortsto support newly arrived immigrants in language development, and getting a way in to the labor market, there is a limited research in Sweden on mentorship of immigrants in the industrial sector. The aim of this study is to bring knowledge into the prerequisites for workplace learning among immigrants in the industrial sector, with a focus on language learning. This is done by examining the following questions;How are professional introductions precribed to be implemented? How do supervisors relate to processes for language learning of the immigrants? How do supervisors relate to processes for inclusion of immigrants? What are the prerequisites for professional introductions for immigrant´s workplace learning within the companies?The methods for examining this phenomenon are partly qualitative interviews of six mentors of immigrants at professional introductions at three different companies in the industrial sector, as well as a document analysis on four steering documents that have been provided by the YA-delegation.   The results of the study are interpreted through a theoretical framework based on Etienne Wenger's (2000) theory of boarders and broakers within the theory of ”Communities of Practice”. Some of the conclusions that are drawn are that the mentors at the companies mostly work with practical training of tasks, and language learning that focuses on separate technical terms. Deeper discussions on norms and values​ ​​are hindered by the lack of broader language skills of the immigrants. Lack of knowledge in how joint activities for knowledge sharing can be taken place characterizes the mentorships, and this aspect is also lacking in the state’s governance documents. One final conclusion is that if neither the state nor the companies themselves can support mentors in how different people's knowledge can be utilized and how diversity should be utilized, the language within industries will not only be a security issue, but a social issue.

A digital twin is an enabling technology that facilitates monitoring, understanding, and providing continuous feedback to improve quality of life and well-being. Thus, a digital twin can consider a solution to enhance one's mood to improve the quality of life and emotional well-being. However, there remains a long road ahead until we reach digital twin systems that are capable of empowering development and the deployment of digital twins. This is because there are so many elements and components that can guide the design of a digital twin. This thesis provides a general discussion for the central element of an emotional digital twin, including emotion detection, emotional biofeedback, and emotion-aware recommender systems. In the first part of this thesis, we propose and study the emotion detection models and algorithms. For emotions, which are known to be highly user dependent, improvements to the emotion learning algorithm can significantly boost its predictive power. We aimed to improve the accuracy of the classifier using peripheral physiological signals. Here, we present a hybrid sensor fusion approach based on a stacking model that allows for data from multiple sensors and emotion models to be jointly embedded within a user-independent model. In the second part of this thesis, we propose a real-time mobile biofeedback system that uses wearable sensors to depict five basic emotions and provides the user with emotional feedback. These systems apply the concept of Live Biofeedback through the introduction of an emotion-aware digital twin. An essential element in these systems guides users through an emotion-regulation routine. The proposed systems are aimed at increasing self-awareness by using visual feedback and provide insight into the future design of digital twins. We focus on workplace environments, and the recommendations are based on human emotions and the regulation of emotion in the construct of emotional intelligence. The objective is to suggest coping techniques to a user during an emotional, stressful episode based on her or his preferences, history of what worked well and appropriateness for the context. The developed solution has been studied based on usability studies and extensively compared to related works. The obtained results show the potentials use as an emotional digital twin. In turn, the proposed solution has been providing significant insights that will guide future developments of digital twins using several scenarios and settings.

Psykosociala arbetsmiljöer innefattar hur individer upplever psykiska och sociala miljöer inom arbetsplatser, vilket benämns som individers upplevda tillfredställelse eller kvalitet i arbetet. Studiesyftet var att erhålla kunskap om hur psykosociala arbetsmiljöer uppfattas påverka psykisk hälsa hos medarbetare. Åtta individer intervjuades, fyra kvinnor och fyra män med varierande yrken. En tematisk innehållsanalys användes där meningskoncentrering och tematisering utformades. Medarbetarna uppfattade sig påverkas av psykosociala arbetsmiljöer beroende hur arbetsförhållanden yttrades. Psykosociala arbetsmiljöer kan leda till stress, ångest, depressioner, arbetsskador, sjukskrivningar och förtidspension. Fem återkommande teman relaterade till medarbetares psykiska hälsa inom psykosociala arbetsmiljöer identifierades: ledarskap, utvecklingsmöjlighet, påverkningsmöjlighet, god kommunikation och teamwork. Den psykosociala arbetsmiljön blir bättre och gynnar medarbetares psykiska hälsa med närvaro av faktorerna. Deltagarna upplevdes ha psykisk hälsa samt tillfredställelse under arbetspassen av varierande anledningar som, trivsel med arbetsuppgifter, bra relation mellan ledning och kollegor samt bra arbetsförhållanden. Studieändamålet anses viktigt då individer är aktiva i arbeten i hela världen

As the world continues to diversify and we begin to move towards a majority-minority America, it becomes ever critical for organizations to utilize diversity training effectively to create a more equitable work environment. This is especially true when considering the growth of Latino immigrants in the work force and how majority group members may view this as a threat to their group dominance, resulting in experiences of discrimination and prejudice towards minorities. However, research regarding the best methods to utilize to reduce prejudice against specific targeted groups has been inconclusive, and little work has been done to investigate personality characteristics as potential boundary conditions of diversity training effectiveness. Thus, the goal of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of two diversity training methods, perspective taking and imagined contact, specifically for trainees low in Openness to Experience who may be especially resistant to training. To test this over two time points (two weeks apart), we recruited White participants ( N= 471) via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, highlighted the demographic changes occurring in the modern workforce, randomly assigned them to either the perspective taking, imagined contact, or control condition, and then measured their Openness to Experience, intergroup anxiety, prejudiced attitudes and behavioral intentions towards Latino immigrants. Results revealed no significant interactions with Openness to Experience, thus resulting in its omission from the final model. Results also did not provide evidence for the training methods having a significant direct effect on the reduction of prejudice and the increase in behavioral intentions towards Latino immigrants. However, there was support found for intergroup anxiety such that it mediated the relationship between the diversity training methods and prejudiced attitudes and behavioral intentions. Exploratory analyses also revealed imagined contact to be more effective at reducing prejudice and increasing positive behavioral intentions via a reduction in intergroup anxiety compared to the perspective taking condition. Implications, future research, and limitations are discussed.

This dissertation examines how different United States Department of the Interior (USDOI) employees’ perceive fairness and support for diversity. The USDOI is an agency with numerous STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) employees who have the opportunity to influence future generations through their STEM internship. Specifically, this dissertation examines the relationship between: (1) the perceived fairness of performance appraisals and the empowerment index, demographic characteristics, satisfaction, accountability and recognition; and (2) the perceived support (or lack thereof) of departmental programs and supervisors to foster diversity in the workforce and the empowerment index and demographic characteristics. This dissertation accomplishes several things. First, it provides a review of literature relating to gender diversity. Second, it provides a brief history of organizations that were created and acts/executive orders that were passed in order to support women in their fight against gender discrimination. Fourth, it provides a review of the USDOI’s recruitment, promotion, and employment policies. Finally, it presents an analysis of how USDOI employees’ perceptions of diversity differ by gender. This inquiry utilizes a theoretical framework based on Thomas and Ely’s (1996) and Selden and Selden’s (2001) four diversity paradigms; “discrimination and fairness,” “access and legitimacy,” “learning and effectiveness,” and “valuing and integrating.” These paradigms suggest that the true benefits of diversity can only be realized in the valuing and integrating paradigm where employees’ individual differences are used for the betterment of the organization. It is found that women tend not to perceive that their organization supports diversity. It is also found that the empowerment index, federal tenure, pay category, satisfaction, accountability and recognition are important in explaining employees’ perceptions of fairness and that the empowerment index, federal tenure, supervisory status, gender, and minority status are important in explaining employees’ perceptions of support for diversity. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-27T14:21:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DANIELA TAVARES FERREIRA DE ASSIS.pdf: 622680 bytes, checksum: afd67a2c62fe99c00e14a33d506da900 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-04-04 / This present paper presents data of research that studied the experiences of a blues band, famous in the recording market in the mid-west of Brazil. The psychodynamic approach to the work in a blues band was the theme of the present to research. This study aimed to investigate the organization and working conditions, the experiences of pleasure and suffering, the strategies of confrontation, the professional identity and the significance of the work. It is a case study of descriptive and exploratory character, whose research instruments were the semi-structured interviews and observation of rehearsals and shows. The data collected were analyzed by means of the graphic analysis of the discourse of Lane (1995). This analyses of the data indicate the precarious working conditions to wich the musicians are submitted. Categories related to their perceptions of the conditions, work relations and work organization, experiences of pleasure and suffering in work and the strategies of confrontation, emerged as results. The meaning of the work of creation linked to art and the work as a constructor of identity were approached as indicators of pleasure and suffering. In relation to organization and working conditions, it was observed that the division and performance of tasks are carried out informally and in conditions that affect musicians health. Concerning the work relations of the band the data shows the interaction among them seems to be harmonious. Among the factors that create experiences of pleasure, personal development and better financial returns stand out. Those that create experiences of suffering are the social prejudice that they face because they are performers and work at night, the double shift and the fact of living in Goiás, a region with a musical preference predominately country for the majority of the population. The participants said that they use strategies of confrontation with aggressive attitudes, such as the practice of reading. With respect to professional identity, they attribute to creative freedom the meaning of the work. The results obtained this investigation suggest that the working conditions of the musicans are precarious and informal and the double shift of work exposes the worker to several types of health risks: moreover, they are victims of prejudice, humiliation, negative stigmas and excluded from some soceial circles. In contrast to theses characteristics of pleasure and suffering, the work of the band takes shape as a possibility for a search for identity, autonomy, recognition and additional income, become mere survival. / O presente trabalho apresenta dados de uma pesquisa que abordou as vivências de prazer e de sofrimento de cinco componentes de uma banda de blues com renome no mercado fonográfico da região Centro-Oeste do Brasil. A abordagem psicodinâmica do trabalho em uma banda de blues foi o tema da presente pesquisa, o qual objetivou investigar a organização e condições de trabalho, as vivências de prazer e sofrimento, as estratégias de enfrentamento, a identidade profissional e os sentidos do trabalho. Trata-se de um estudo de caso de caráter descritivo e exploratório, cujos instrumentos de pesquisa foram entrevistas semi-estruturadas e observação de ensaios e shows da banda. O delineamento deste estudo privilegiou os preceitos dejourianos como perspectiva da psicodinâmica do trabalho. Os dados coletados foram analisados por meio da análise gráfica do discurso de Lane (1985). As análises dos dados indicam condições precárias de trabalho às quais os músicos estão submetidos. Como resultados, emergiram categorias relacionadas à sua percepção relativas às condições, relações de trabalho e organização do trabalho, vivências de prazer e sofrimento no trabalho e as estratégias de enfrentamento. Como indicadores de prazer e sofrimento, foram abordados o sentido do trabalho de criação vinculado à arte e o trabalho como construtor de identidade. Em relação à organização e às condições de trabalho, observa-se que a divisão e execução de tarefas são realizadas informalmente e em condições que afetam a saúde dos músicos. No que se refere às relações de trabalho na banda, os dados indicam que a convivência entre eles parece ser harmoniosa. Dentre os fatores que geram vivências de prazer, destaca-se o desenvolvimento pessoal e melhor retorno financeiro; e dos que geram vivências de sofrimento, o preconceito social que enfrentam por serem artistas e trabalharem à noite, além a dupla jornada de trabalho e o fato de morar em Goiás, região com preferência musical predominantemente sertaneja para a maioria da população. Os participantes relataram que utilizam estratégias de enfrentamento como atitudes agressivas, gritos, e outras, como a prática da leitura. No tocante à identidade profissional, como criação, eles atribuem a liberdade criativa como sentido do trabalho. Os resultados obtidos nesta investigação sugerem que as condições de trabalho dos músicos são precárias e informais, e a dupla jornada de trabalho expõe o trabalhador a vários tipos de risco à saúde. São ainda vítimas de preconceitos, humilhação, estigmas negativos e excluídos de alguns ambientes sociais. Contrapondo-se a essas características de prazer e de sofrimento, o trabalho a banda pode-se configurar em uma possibilidade para a busca de identidade, autonomia, reconhecimento e de renda financeira adicional, além da mera sobrevivência.

Introdução: As taxas de sobrepeso e obesidade vêem aumentando nos últimos anos e esta tendência se reflete também nos trabalhadores. O ambiente de trabalho é um local estratégico para ações de incentivo a adoção de estilos de vida saudáveis, através da alimentação, atividade física e controle de peso. Objetivo: Avaliar o impacto de uma intervenção nutricional no local de trabalho sobre a qualidade da dieta de trabalhadores adultos no município de São Paulo. Métodos: Trata-se de um ensaio comunitário controlado que teve duração de 6 meses, envolvendo 279 trabalhadores de 4 empresas da cidade de São Paulo. A intervenção foi baseada no automonitoramento de peso com apoio de um programa de computador denominado Programa Peso Saudável, em que o trabalhador enviava seu peso, via e-mail, e recebia um gráfico de acompanhamento com mensagens de estímulos a comportamentos saudáveis de alimentação e atividade física. A dieta foi avaliada por meio de recordatório alimentar de 24h e a Qualidade Global da Dieta foi avaliada pelo Índice de Qualidade da Dieta (IQDa) adaptado para ajuste energético. Este índice é composto por 10 componentes (1-Cereais e tubérculos; 2- Verduras e legumes; 3- Frutas; 4- Leite e produtos lácteos; 5- Carnes e ovos e 6- Leguminosas; 7- Gordura total; 8- Gordura saturada; 9- Sódio e 10- Variedade), itens que receberam pontuação de 0 (consumo inadequado) a 10 (consumo dentro do recomendado). Para avaliar o impacto da intervenção foi utilizada a média do consumo energético, o IQDa total e seus componentes antes e após intervenção e o delta da variação entre os grupos para avaliar o efeito bruto do impacto da intervenção. O impacto foi ajustado pelas variáveis sexo, estado civil, escolaridade e idade. Resultados: A intervenção resultou em melhora no impacto bruto do componente cereais e tubérculos. Em relação ao IQDa observou-se piora no grupo controle, enquanto que o grupo intervenção não sofreu diferença significativa. Observou-se efeito positivo da intervenção entre os participantes que apresentaram pior qualidade da dieta no início do estudo (+6,38 pontos no IQDa). Conclusão: A intervenção apesar de não ter sido efetiva na promoção da melhora da qualidade global da dieta, resultou em melhora do componente cereais, raízes e tubérculos do IQDa, com incremento de 0,73 ponto após a intervenção. O efeito mais expressivo da intervenção foi observado entre os trabalhadores que tinham, inicialmente, a pior qualidade da dieta, com um impacto superior a 6 pontos no IQDa / Introduction: The rates of overweight and obesity have increased in recent years and this trend also reflect in the workers. The workplace is a strategic point for actions to encourage the adoption of healthy lifestyles through nutrition, physical activity and weight control. Objective: To evaluate the impact of a nutritional intervention at the workplace on the quality of adult workers diet. Methods: This is a randomized community trial and it ran for 6 months, involving 279 employees of four companies in the city of São Paulo. Intervention was based on self-monitoring of weight with the help of software Healthy Weight Program, where a worker sent the weight, by email, and received an accompanying graph with messages of encourage to healthy behaviors of diet and physical activity. Diet was assessed by 24h dietary recall and overall diet quality was assessed by the Diet Quality Index (DQIa) adapted to energy requirements. This index is composed of 10 components (1-Cereals and tubers; 2- Vegetables and legumes, 3- Fruit 4- Milk and dairy products; 5- Meat and eggs 6- Beans; 7- Total Fat: 8- Saturated Fat , 9- Sodium and 10- Variety), items that received scores of 0 (inadequate intake) to 10 (recommended intake). To evaluate the impact of the intervention was used a mean of energy consumption, the DQIa total and its components before and after intervention and the difference between groups to determine the effect of raw impact of the intervention. The impact was adjusted for sex, marital status, education and age. Results: The intervention resulted in improvement in the raw impact of the component grains and tubers. After the intervention there was a decrease in the DQIa in the control group, while the intervention group had no significant difference. Observed positive effect of intervention among participants who had a poorer quality of diet at baseline (+6.38 points in DQIa). Conclusion: The intervention was not effective in promoting the improvement of overall diet quality, resulted in improved component cereals and tubers of DQIa, an increase of 0,73 point after the intervention. The expressive effect of the intervention was observed among workers who were initially the worst quality of the diet, with an impact of more than 6 points in DQIa