Gaming experience refers to the players’ overall experience when playing agame. Both game and controller have an impact on it. This project exploreshow different element arrangements on a controller can affect the players’gaming experience. Four lo-fi prototypes were constructed and used to bothtest the reaction of players, but also to educate them into the possibleelements included in controllers. Participants were then invited to designtheir own controller while reflecting about aspects like embodiment,immersion, or latency. Throughout the whole process participants reportedabout their previous experiences with controllers through an interview. Theresearch showed that the elemental arrangements did in fact affect theplayers’ gaming experience but also that there is a cultural understanding ofgames and controllers that constrains the possibility of new designs. Theproject also explored the limitations of conducting research on distance, andreflects about how remote design can be conducted.

With the rapidly increasing pace of developments in the IT industry there is now rising pressure on companies to maintain a high standard of competency in their workforce. As a result, a lot of research has been put into how best to assist in this competence development as well as how ICT technologies can play a part in this endeavour. One platform that is widely used as a communication tool within organizations is Microsoft Teams, with over 270 million users. However, there is little research looking into how Microsoft Teams is used and how this usage supports knowledge sharing within organizations. This case study aimed to fill this gap by providing insight into how Microsoft Teams impacts information availability and knowledge sharing within an IT-consulting firm. Furthermore, the purpose was to look how workers inside the organization experience the integration and use of Teams and its positive and negative aspects. Seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with employees within the organization with varying tenures. The results show an overall positive inclination among the employees toward the use of Microsoft Teams, with it improving information availability and arenas for communication. However, the results also indicate that the use of Microsoft Teams causes an overload in information and communication which under certain circumstances can become a distraction. The study contributes insights into the causes of these positive and negatives effects and provides a discussion whether Teams should be considered an Enterprise Social Media Platform in the context of the chosen

In conjunction with the rise of populism all over the globe, social media has been acknowledged as an important arena for populist actors to disseminate their political ideas. This thesis aims to examine the relationship between social media and right-wing populism by exploring how an online platform mediates right-wing populist discourses. In contrast to the existing literature on this relationship, the social media platform TikTok is studied in this thesis. This study examines how online activists that are campaigning for the Sweden Democrats utilize the possibilities provided by TikTok’s material functions in relation to the social context in which they are used. Participant observation was conducted to study these dynamics, understood as platform affordances. The results show that the activists disseminate right-wing populist ideas on TikTok by utilizing functions for self-publication (of video). In terms of the proliferation of these videos, populist communication styles appear to be favored on this platform. A mapping of the social composition and available resources of these activists shows that their usage of the platform to conduct activism is affected by these factors, demonstrating different pathways to becoming an influential activist on TikTok.

Den här studien undersöker vilka affordanser sociala medie plattformarna X, Instagram och Rumble förser och hur affordanserna används av tre olika antifeministiska kreatörer. Vi använde oss av Treem och Leonardis teori om affordanser, där observationsschemat delades in i synlighet, varaktighet, redigerbarhet och anknytning. Resultatet i studien visar att användarna interagerar över flera plattformar och ofta använder länkar för att koppla samman sina konton. Detta ger dem möjlighet att sprida och förstärka antifeministiska perspektiv över olika kanaler. Affordanser används både av användarna och publiken för att uttrycka hat mot kvinnor i exempelvis livechatten i livestreams eller inlägg på X. Detta kan skapa en "vi" mot "dem" mentalitet vilket utnyttjas av antifeminister för att locka publik. Designen i sociala medier plattformarna främjar inte heller kritiskt tänkande bland publiken vilket underlättar för antifeminister att skapa och upprätthålla en lojal publik som inte får möjligheten att ifrågasätta de budskap som antifeministerna förmedlar. / This study examines the affordances provided by the social media platforms X, Instagram, and Rumble and how these affordances are utilized by three different anti-feminist creators. We applied Treem and Leonardi's theory of affordances, where an observation chart was divided into visibility, persistence, editability, and association. The results of the study indicate that users interact across multiple platforms and often use links to connect their accounts. This allows them to disseminate and reinforce anti-feminist perspectives across different channels. Affordances are utilized both by users and the audience to express misogyny, for example, in a live chat during livestreams or posts on X. This can create an 'us' versus 'them' mentality, which is exploited by anti-feminists to attract an audience. The design of social media platforms also does not promote critical thinking among the audience, facilitating anti-feminists in creating and maintaining a loyal audience that is not given the opportunity to question the messages conveyed by the anti-feminists.

Den fysiska miljön har betydelse för barns meningsskapande, och en plats där meningsskapande sker i förskolan är skogen. Intresset för att bedriva förskoleverksamhet i skogen har ökat de senaste decennierna. Musik har länge haft en central plats i förskolans verksamhet, men forskning om musik i förskolan fokuserar ofta på inomhusmiljön. Forskning visar dock att det finns fördelar med att genomföra musikaliska aktiviteter utomhus. Kontexten har betydelse för musikaliskt meningsskapande, och syftet med denna studie är därför att undersöka hur skogen används som plats för ljud- och musikupplevelser för och av förskolebarn, och vilka meningserbjudanden som möjliggörs genom dessa upplevelser. Gibsons teori om meningserbjudanden används i kombination med teorier om musicking och musikaliska meningserbjudanden för att belysa barns möjliga meningsskapande i skärningspunkten mellan skog som plats och ljud- och musikupplevelser. Barns ljud- och musikupplevelser i skogen hos tre förskolegrupper har genom etnografiinspirerad metod observerats. Etiska riktlinjer har följts i enlighet med Vetenskapsrådet. Resultatet visar en skillnad i hur pedagoger och barn använder skogen som plats för ljud- och musikaktiviteter där pedagogernas musikaliska meningserbjudanden främst består av ett kulturarv av traditionella sånger som överförs till barnen. Genom dessa upplevelser möjliggörs framför allt meningsskapande genom musik där andra ämnen än musik hamnar i fokus. Musikaktiviteterna av barn kännetecknas både av ett reproducerande av tidigare inlärda sånger, men även nyskapande av musik, där sociala processer av musicking leder till meningsskapande. Meningsskapande sker genom både receptiva och produktiva musikaliska meningserbjudanden där producenterna består av människor, djur och skog. Interaktion i ljud- och musikupplevelserna leder till att en ömsesidighet skapas mellan skogen och barnen, där också pedagogerna, tidsutrymmet och barns tidigare erfarenheter har visat sig spela en betydelsefull roll. Resultatet visade även att meningsskapande oftare blev synligt då det fanns en koppling mellan musikens innehåll och skogen. Detta leder till slutsatsen att platsen har betydelse för barns musikaliska meningsskapande. Denna studie lyfter fram skogen som en värdefull plats för barns meningsskapande genom ljud- och musikupplevelser där musicking, förundran och kreativitet frodas. Kunskap om barns meningsskapande genom ljud- och musikupplevelser i skogen kan ur ett didaktiskt perspektiv ha betydelse för personal i förskolan, men även för lärosäten som utbildar förskollärare. / The physical environment affects children´s meaning making, and one place where meaning making occurs in preschool is the forest. The interest for preschool education in the forest has increased during the last decades. Music has since a long time had a central place in preschool education, but research about music in preschool often focus on the indoor environment. However, research shows that there are benefits from conducting musical activities outdoors. The context has impact on musical meaning making, and the aim of this study is therefore to examine how the forest is used as a place for sound and music experiences for and by preschool children, and what affordances that is made possible through these experiences. Gibson´s theory of affordance is used in combination with theories of musicking and musical affordances to shed light om children´s possible meaning making in the intersection between forest as a place and sound and music experiences. Children´s sound and music experiences in the forest at three preschool groups has through ethnographic inspired method been observed. Ethical guidelines have been followed accordning to Vetenskapsrådet. The result shows a difference in how pedagogues and children use the forest as a place for sound and music activities where the pedagogues’ musical affordances mainly consist of a cultural heritage of traditional songs that is passed on to the children. Through these experiences is especially meaning making through music made possible, where other subjects than music is focused. Music activities by children is characterized by both reproduction of previous learned songs, but also an innovative music making where social processes of musicking leads to meaning making. The meaning making occurs both through receptive and productive musical affordances where the producers consist of humans, animals, and forest. Interaction in sound and music experiences lead to the creation of a reciprocity between the forest and the children, where also the pedagogues, time space and children´s previous experiences have been shown to play a significant role. The result also showed that meaning making often became visible when there was a connection between the content of the music and the place. This leads to the conclusion that the place is significant for children´s musical meaning making. This study highlights the forest as a valuable place for children´s meaning making through sound and music experiences where musicking, awe and creativity flourishes. Knowledge about children´s meaning making through sound and music experiences in the forest can through a didactical perspective be of importance for preschool staff, but also for preschool educators.

No description available.

No description available.

Following a series of terrorist attacks, online communities for men built around misogyny and resistance to feminist values – commonly known as the manosphere – have recently become subject of scholarly attention. In research, the manosphere is usually explored as a phenomenon in the Western world, often described as a backlash movement in countries where gender equality is most progressive. This thesis seeks to widen the geographical borders of manosphere research by exploring discursive articulations of tropes related to the international manosphere on an open-access Bulgarian online Q&A platform. By choosing this platform as a case study, this project aims to fill a knowledge gap by exploring whether discourses fundamental to international, largely English-language communities of the manosphere are found relevant on a mainstream online space in an Eastern European, Balkan country like Bulgaria, and what (if any) additional locally specific tropes emerge in this context. Drawing on a discourse-historical approach to critical discourse analysis informed by social identity theory, the study seeks to unpack how these tropes serve the practice of online social identity construction, with a focus on whether the social identities that emerge could be classified as potentially extremist. The research problem is approached both by analyzing discursive elements in a purposeful sample of user comments, and by keeping a focus on the affordances of the online platform as a space where these discourses are co-produced and disseminated.

The licentiate thesis examines what spending time in a forest garden can offer children when this environment is used for teaching aimed at sustainability. What do the children remember from their visits to the forest garden? What do they find special or memorable? What can the children learn there? To answer such questions, walk-and-talk conversations were conducted with children who for a three-year period had regularly visited a forest garden during school hours. The overall purpose of the licentiate thesis is to deepen knowledge about what spending time in a forest garden in a school context can offer children, reflected from the children's perspectives. Furthermore, the thesis aims to deepen knowledge about walk-and-talk conversations as a data collection method when children are respondents. This leads to the research questions: 1. In what ways can walk-and-talk conversations as a data collection method reflect children's perspectives in an environment and in relation to places? What are the possibilities and limitations of the method? 2. What significance do forest garden visits in a pedagogical context aimed at learning for sustainability have from the children's perspective? The theoretical starting points of the licentiate thesis draw on social studies of childhood, ecological literacy and affordances. Another concept that emerged in the analysis process was plant blindness. Data consisted of audio-recorded walk-and-talk conversations, children's photographs and recorded informal, supplementary interviews. A total of 28 children (11 boys and 17 girls) participated in sub-studies II and III. The children were aged 7-9 years, but most were 9 years old. The licentiate thesis consists of three sub-studies: Sub-study I is a literature review that focuses on opportunities, limitations, and challenges in using walk-and-talk conversations as a data collection method with children and young people. Walk-and-talk conversations can increase opportunities to capture children's perspectives and help to reduce power imbalances between children and researchers. However, analysing data from child-led walks and conversations can be challenging, while awareness of the researcher's own position and assumptions becomes particularly important. Sub-study II deals with the forest garden from children’s perspective. The first category, ‘to appreciate the place the forest garden’, contained the following themes: physical work, relationships with animals and plants, aesthetic and edible aspects and food, and friends. Most of the children enjoyed staying in the forest garden with its natural features. They valued the care of living organisms and felt that spending time in the forest garden was fun and exciting. In the second category, ‘aspects of learning in the forest garden’, the following themes emerged; practical skills, coexistence and caring, and biological knowledge and ecological understanding. Sub-study III deals with the four most photographed phenomena in the forest garden. The first were the plants, including trees and shrubs, which provided sensual, aesthetic and emotional affordances. The second was the pond, which provided physical affordances and wishes, while the third, the barbecue area, provided social affordances. Finally, the tipi provided affordances for privacy and imagination. To conclude: children's forest garden visits, with learning and nature encounters, can contribute to sustainable development. The investigated forest garden was an outdoor environment designed for children with natural features and with a focus on organic farming, where the forest garden educators helped to create a framework for both learning and relational opportunities. Developing ecological literacy in the new generation is a crucial concern, and the results of the licentiate thesis suggest that establishing educational outdoor environments where children receive parts of their education can contribute to the development of such literacy. The creation of outdoor environments for children is thus an important sustainability issue. / Licentiatuppsatsen undersöker vad skogträdgårdsvistelser kan erbjuda barn när en sådan miljö används för undervisning riktad mot hållbarhet. Det övergripande syfte är att fördjupa kunskap om vad skogsträdgårdsvistelser i en skolkontext kan tillföra barn, speglat utifrån barnens perspektiv. Vidare syftar uppsatsen till att fördjupa kunskaper om samtalspromenader som datainsamlingsmetod när barn är respondenter. Licentiatuppsatsens teoretiska utgångspunkter tar avstamp i barndomssociologi (Social Studies of Childhood), ekologisk litteracitet och affordances. Ett annat begrepp som framkom efter analysprocessen var växtblindhet. Den undersökta skogsträdgården, var en natur- och utomhusmiljö med inriktning mot ekologisk odling designad för barn, där skogsträdgårdspedagogernas pedagogiska inramning bidrog till att skapa både pedagogiska och relationella möjligheter. Metodvalet har varit ljudupptagna samtalspromenader, barns fotografier samt inspelade informella, kompletterande intervjuer. Sammanfattningsvis visar resultaten att barns skogsträdgårdsvistelser, lärande och naturmöten bidra till hållbar utveckling. Utvecklandet av ekologisk litteracitet hos den uppväxande generationen måste betraktas som central, och licentiatuppsatsens resultat pekar mot att anläggandet av pedagogiska utomhusmiljöer där barn får delar av sin undervisning kan bidra till utvecklandet av sådan litteracitet. Tillskapandet av utomhusmiljöer för barn är därför en viktig hållbarhetsfråga.

Modern autonomous systems should be able to interact with their surroundings in a flexible yet safe manner. To guarantee this behavior, such systems must learn how to approach unseen entities in their environment through the inference of relationships between actions and objects, called affordances. This research project introduces a neuro-symbolic AI system capable of inferring affordances using attribute detection and knowledge representation as its core principles. The attribute detection module employs a visuo-lingual image captioning model to extract the key object attributes of a scene, while the cognitive knowledge module infers the affordances of those attributes using conditional probability. The practical capabilities of the neuro-symbolic AI system are assessed by implementing a simulated robot system that interacts within the problem space of jars and bottles. The neuro-symbolic AI system is evaluated through its caption-inferring capabilities using image captioning and machine translation metrics. The scores registered in the evaluation show a successful attribute captioning rate of more than 71%. The robot simulation is evaluated within a Unity virtual environment by interacting with 50 jars and bottles, equally divided between lifting and twisting affordances. The robot system successfully interacts with all the objects in the scene due to the robustness of the architecture but fails in the inference process 24 out of the 50 iterations. Contrary to previous works approaching the problem as a classification task, this study shows that affordance inference can be successfully implemented using a cognitive visuo-lingual method. The study’s results justify further study into the use of neuro-symbolic AI approaches to affordance inference.