This thesis provides insight to the dynamics that come with the emergence of IoT in the furniture and kitchen manufacturing industry. The study is empirically grounded in an explorative case study that involves interviews with six manufacturing companies in the different industry sectors. The purpose has been to shed light on how incumbent companies adapt and implement IoT and the study highlight product features, aspects and challenges that companies are investigating and dealing with as they set out to work with IoT and connected products. The results indicate that companies are viewing IoT as an enabler that better can respond to customer needs and provide users with new experiences. By implementing the concept of IoT companies are currently evaluating how internal knowledge and skillsets correspond to the new technical requirements that the emerging digital setting outlines and by directing internal research they are learning more about IoT and connected products as they proceed. One current major problem is that there are no open protocols that can connect all products regardless of supplier. Nevertheless, implementation of IoT does not solely involve technical aspects and companies are also faced with the dilemma on how to design and develop corresponding commercial processes. To this point early product implementations have arrived on the consumer markets and the future vision is to achieve full integration that imbeds connectivity and interaction among all products in the home.

It has become more common these days for organizations to give employees the opportunity to work remotely. This trend was accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced many organizations to allow remote work in order to comply with the recommendations set by authorities. Even after everyday life returned to normal, many companies chose to adopt a model that allows employees to work fully or partially away from the office. However, the attitude towards remote work is not entirely positive. It has brought about changes for organizations, especially for their leaders. There has been a debate about which leadership style is the best fit for the remote work model, and this thesis aims to investigate how leaders within the big banks in Sweden have been affected in their perceived ability to motivate employees during remote work. To accomplish this, the authors have applied a qualitative methodology, conducting interviews with two different groups: leaders and employees. The interview results have been analyzed and connected to the theoretical framework derived from research on remote leadership and employee motivation. The results show that an active and motivating leadership style, without being overly monitoring or passive, is preferred in a remote work setting for leaders' ability to motivate their followers in these companies. The thesis also reveals that respondents express a desire for the opportunity for remote work, even though they are somewhat negative towards working remotely.

Bakgrund: I Sverige insjuknar cirka 220–250 personer av Amyotrofisk Lateralskleros (ALS) per år. Sjukdomen innebär att nervceller som styr skelettmusklerna förtvinar och slutligen dör vilket leder till svåra symtom. Idag finns inget botemedel utan insatserna riktas till symtomlindring och livslängden är cirka två till tre år. Sjuksköterskor som vårdar personer med ALS upplevde svårigheter att balansera både den sjukes och anhörigas vilja/upplevelser samtidigt.   Syfte: Att beskriva upplevelser om hur det är att vara anhörig till personer som lever med Amyotrofisk lateralskleros (ALS). Metod: En deskriptiv litteraturstudie bestående av 14 vetenskapliga artiklar med kvalitativ ansats som söktes i databasen Medline via PubMed. Huvudresultat: Känslor som maktlöshet och sorg uppstod hos de anhöriga samt en känsla av att vara fängslad till personen med ALS och hemmet. Anhöriga genomgick en livsomställning och hittade olika hanteringsstrategier för att klara av situationen. Förändrade roller i familjen medförde starkare och svagare familjerelationer samtidigt som kärleken blev mer komplex. Anhöriga fick en negativ bild av vården och lyfte bristen på information, istället verkade stödet från det sociala nätverket vara mer betydelsefullt.  Slutsats: Anhöriga till personer med ALS kände sig maktlösa och sorgsna men dem hittade hanteringsstrategier som underlättade vardagen. Anhöriga sökte stöd inom det sociala nätverket då vården ofta var en besvikelse. Dem lyfte ett behov av bättre informationshantering från vården och önskade att den skulle vara familjecentrerad. Denna litteraturstudie kan komma att bidra till ett ökat perspektiv hos anhöriga, personer med ALS och vården. / Background: 220–250 people get diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) every year in Sweden. The disease entails that the nerve cells controlling skeletal muscles degenerate and die creating severe symptoms. Today, there is no cure, so the resources focus on symptom-management, the average lifespan after diagnosis is two to three years. Nurses caring for people with ALS struggled with balancing the will/experience of the person with ALS and the close relatives concurrently.  Aim: Describe experiences of being a close relative to people living with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Method: Descriptive literature study based on 14 scientific articles with qualitative approach searched on the database Medline via PubMed. Main results: Emotions such as feeling powerless and grief was identified, they felt imprisoned to the person with ALS and their home. Close relatives went through life-changing events and found coping strategies. Changed family roles created stronger and weaker family relationships and love got complex. Close relatives got a negative picture of the health-system and highlighted the lack of information, instead they valued the support from their social networks. Conclusion: Close relatives to people with ALS felt powerless and grief but found coping strategies that eased their situation. Close relatives soughed support within the social network since the health-system disappointed. They highlighted needs for better information management from the health-system and whished for it to be family-focused. This literature study may create wider perspectives among close relatives, people with ALS and the health-system.

As one of the most essential data mining tasks, clustering analysis has been widely discussed and employed since its invention. Czekanowski’s diagram, which has been around for over a century as a visualization tool for exploring cluster distributions, is being improved continually. RMaCzek is a package of R, which is used to implement Czekanowski’s diagram. By using this package, users can plot a symmetric or asymmetric Czekanowski’s diagram. However, the user still has to manually judge the clustering result through the diagram, which will inevitably lead to the deviation of the subjective judgement and increase the user’s workload. In order to keep the advantages of Czekanowski’s diagram and exploit its potential, Czekanowski’s clustering algorithm is proposed in this thesis. A new clustering algorithm based on Czekanowski’s diagram that allows it to label the clustering results directly and mark the findings on the Czekanowski’s diagram. Czekanowski’s clustering supports two clustering methods, namely exact Czekanowski’s clustering and fuzzy Czekanowski’s clustering, so that users can choose different methods according to the characteristics of the analysis object. Besides, this thesis will also cover the upgraded RMaCzek R package’s application method, including how to use it for Czekanowski’s clustering, how to express the clustering outcomes by Czekanowski’s diagram and the improvement of plotting function. On the other hand, the performance of the new clustering algorithm will be evaluated in this thesis by comparing it with the other five commonly used clustering algorithms. Also, through some experiments, we were able to determine the impact of various algorithm parameters on clustering performance.

Exploitation or empowerment? Arguing from the interface of Cultural Studies and Political Science, the following thesis investigates a specific effect of globalisation in India: the impact of Indian women’s employment in multi- and transnational companies (MNCs) on their life, social role and self-perception. On the basis of twelve case studies with MNCs, comprising comprehensive questionnaires and interviews with employees and experts, the study aims to assess possible socio-economic and cultural transformations by examining in detail the women’s work satisfaction, their responses to the influences of a foreign culture, the impact of their employment on their private lives as well as – in reverse – on the corporate culture of the company.

This is the final submission of my Masters Thesis. / OBJECTIVES: Cognitive disordered eating behaviours (body shape concerns) are prevalent among youth with higher unhealthy body mass indexes (BMIs), while physical disordered eating behaviours (unhealthy changes in eating habits) are common mechanisms in determining future BMI. This thesis investigates the associations between these disordered eating behaviours and BMI categories and evaluates potential covariate modification. As a secondary objective, this thesis investigates the association between unhealthy eating patterns and BMI categories. METHODS & DATA ANALYSIS: This study was conducted among Canadian youth aged 12-17 (n=12,350). Body shape concerns were measured as the frequency of having a preoccupied desire to be thin while changing eating habits was measured as the frequency of changing eating habits to manage weight. Unhealthy eating patterns were defined as frequent restaurant eating, energy drink consumption, and skipping breakfast. Categorical BMI classifications consisted of obesity, overweight and normal/underweight. Adjusted multinomial logistic regression models were constructed. Covariates were independently tested for statistical interaction in the primary relationships. Measures of association were reported as adjusted odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: Having a preoccupied desire to be thin was associated with increased odds of being overweight and having obesity. These relationships were modified by sex, physical activity, and sleep. Changing eating habits to manage weight was associated with increased odds of being overweight and having obesity. These relationships were modified by sex. Skipping breakfast increased the odds of being overweight and having obesity, while consuming energy drinks increased the odds of having obesity. CONCLUSION: Over 40% of the sample experienced some frequency of having body shape concerns or changing eating habits to manage weight. These disordered eating behaviours increase the odds of being overweight and having obesity. Continued monitoring through national–level surveys, will be crucial in understanding changes in rates of disordered eating behaviour. / Thesis / Master of Public Health (MPH)

Sammanfattning I dagens sociala klimat är transpersoner brett omtalade inom elitsport. Men hur ser det ut för de transpersoner i vardagslivet som tränar, fast inte tävlar? Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka om transpersoner upplever inkludering i olika träningsverksamheter, samt tränings utrymmen i allmänhet på vardaglig nivå. Genom de teoretiska perspektiven ‘Genus’, samt ‘Hälsa’, har vi studerat tidigare forskning som berör personliga perspektiv från transpersoner gällande området. Med kvantitativ metod i form av enkät, samt totalt 30 transpersoner som respondenter, har vi analyserat deras svar och sett korrelationer i deras upplevelser. I resultaten har vi funnit att omklädningsrum är ett uppenbart återkommande besvär vad gäller transpersoners upplevelse gällande inkludering och trygghet. Dock ser vi även att ett antal av just dessa transpersoner känner av inkludering i sin träningsverksamhet. Utifrån personliga perspektiv mottaget från dessa transpersoner kan vi fastställa att de generellt har goda hälsovanor och goda kunskaper inom träning som ger dem stabila förutsättningar att må bra på eget bevåg, men att det då finns tydliga hinder runt om dom, speciellt för de som upplever att deras träningsverksamheter inte jobbar aktivt för att överkomma dessa hinder. Som slutats är vi överens om att behovet för träningsverksamheter som aktivt jobbar för att inkludera ett mångfald av könsidentifikationer är onekligen stort. Nyckelord: Transperson, Cisperson, Hälsa, Träning, inkludering, omklädningsrum / Abstract In today's social climate, transgender people are widely discussed in elite sports. But what does it look like for the trans people in everyday life who workout, but don't compete? The purpose of this study is to investigate whether transgender people experience inclusion in various training activities, as well as training spaces in general on an everyday level. Through the theoretical perspectives of gender, as well as 'Health', we have studied previous research that concerns personal perspectives from trans people regarding the area. With a quantitative method in the form of a survey, and a total of 30 trans people as respondents, we have analyzed their answers and seen correlations in their experiences. In the results, we have found that changing rooms are an obvious recurring problem in terms of transgender people's experience of inclusion and safety. However, we also see that a number from this group of trans people feel inclusion in their training associations. Based on the personal perspective received from these trans people, we can determine that they generally have good health habits and good knowledge of exercise that gives them sturdy conditions to be well on their own, but that there are clear obstacles around them, especially for those who feel that their exercise activities do not work actively to overcome these obstacles. In conclusion, we agree that the need for training associations that actively work to include a diversity of gender identifications is undeniably large. Keywords: Transperson, Cisperson, Health, Training, inclusion, changing rooms

Background. In real life humans have been proven to be affected in different ways by music. In sports, music can be shown to be useful for better performance. Taking this into thought while playing video games could help players perform better as well as in real life. Objectives. This thesis aims to investigate whether music with varying tempos can influence individuals to take more risks during video game play, with the objective of improving their overall performance. Methods. Methods used were implementation, a game test, and also a questionnaire. The game engine Unity was used to create the game "Tempo Runner" where performance and risk-taking behavior were being tracked. The questionnaire was focused on questions about risk-taking behavior. Results. Even though the results were not pointing to successful research, they did reveal a promising result for improving performance through the use of music in some ways. Taking a closer look at this topic would be beneficial for future research. On the other hand, making people take more risks through music did not show any success at all. Conclusions. Additional research is essential to definitively establish the positive effects of incorporating changing music tempos into games for performance enhancement. A critical aspect of future investigations should involve recruiting a larger and more diverse pool of participants compared to the current study. This study involved a limited sample size of 19 participants. A larger sample, ideally around 100 individuals, would provide a more robust basis for determining the impact of changing music tempos on both performance and risk-taking.

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