<p>The last few years a lot of media air time has been devoted to training, sports, health and weightloss on a more personal level then before. The new media arena is beeing used at its´ maximumto broadcast wievs on how we should eat, look, exercise and live. This thesis is trying to makebetter understanding on what people in general think is important when it comes to physicaltraining and motivation with the aid of digital media and IT systems. The thesis describes aworkshop that was conducted within the frames of Participatory Design and the outcome of thatworkshop. The workshop was conducted with a group of lead users (in this case instructors at avery large fitness center in Umeå, Sweden) and the main question was ”How can IT be used toachive a positive effect on physical exercise if motivation is the focus?”. Data was collectedduring both a future workshop and an analysis of a digital media production prototype, andcould be seen as two qualitative studies. The outcome of these studies shows three interestingareas where motivation aided by IT is importat. Primarily it is through the experience of theclass. Through flow and mindfulness. Secondarily motivation can be aided by IT in the field ofresult analysis. As a final arena motivation could also be aided by IT through informationsharing between the finess center and the class participants.</p>

This study explored the nature of Future Session workshops in current Japan by identifying the motivations, conducting analysis from the point of view a deliberative democracy, and examining the potentials for developing future visions of society. Four workshops were targeted that dealt with a wide range of societal problems and commonly challenged existing societal structures. The study found that the workshops were motivated by the doubt over the current direction of the society, a demand for a crosscutting cooperation between different fields, and a need to foster proactive actors through participatory workshop processes. Accordingly, it is argued that “deliberative democracy of workshops” based on dialogue and collaboration rather than confrontational communication and competition constitutes a Japanese deliberative democracy. The study also shows that the created projects and processes of deliberation contained many critical perspectives towards the dominant societal structure and norms. Finally, it is concluded that the process of actualizing the projects should be reflected carefully and the potential of these methods depends on the overreaching objective of its use.

Följande studie behandlar delaktighet för brukarrepresentanter från olika sociala företag. Det övergripande syftet med studien är att undersöka hur delaktighet kan påverkas genom social interaktion mellan blivande socionomer och representanter från sociala företag. En kvalitativ studie har genomförts genom en deltagande observation under två dagar i en framtidsverkstad mellan socionomstudenter, lärare och brukarrepresentanter. Empirin har analyserats med hjälp av symbolisk interaktionism och Goffmans dramaturgiska teaterscen. Åldersspannet på deltagarna i studien ligger på 22 - 70 år, och det var en övervägande kvinnlig deltagarskara. Studiens resultat visar att delaktighet med ett reellt inflytande är något som eftersträvas både från politiskt håll bl.a. av socialstyrelsens riktlinjer och från samhällsmedborgarna, i den här studien i form av studenter och brukarrepresentanter. Detta är dock inget som visar sig i praktiken utan det handlar snarare om en pseudodelaktighet, som innefattar "mycket snack och lite verkstad", där delaktigheten inte leder till något reellt inflytande. Det krävs en jämn maktfördelning mellan olika grupprepresentanter för att ge rätt förutsättningar i skapandet av delaktighet på lika villkor. Tidsbrist är en förhindrande faktor. Det visas att en framgångsfaktor för delaktighet är att vi delar samma verklighetsförståelse och eftersträvar en maktutjämning för bekämpning av stigmatisering. För detta krävs gemensamma mötesplatser. Studien visar att det krävs en långsiktighet för en lyckad implementering i alla led från utbildning till arbetsplats till medborgare. Det är en lång kedja där mycket kan gå fel på vägen. Detta kan förklara den tröghet som påvisas i denna studie. / The following study deals with the participation of user-representatives from various social enterprises. The overall aim of the study is to examine how participation can be influenced by social interactions between future social workers and user-representatives from social enterprises. A qualified study has been carried out through a participant observation for two days in a future-workshop between social work students, teachers and user-representatives. Empirical data has been analyzed by means of symbolic interactionsm and Goffman's dramaturgical theater analysis. The age range of study participants is at 22-70 years and it was predominately female group of participants. The study-results show that the inclusion of real influence is something pursued both from the policies of the National board and from community citizens, in this study in terms of students and user representatives. However, this is nothing that shows in practice, it is rather a pseudoparticipation which includes a lot of talk and little action, where participation does not lead to any real influence. It requires an even division of power between different group representatives to provide the right conditions in the making of participation on equal terms. Lack of time is a preventing factor. It appears that the success of participation is that we share the same understanding of reality and pursue a power leveling to fight stigmatization. This requires common meeting places. The study shows that a long term approach for a successful implementation at all stages from education to the workplace to the citizen is required. There is at long chain where much can go wrong along the way. This may explain the inertia detected in this study.

The last few years a lot of media air time has been devoted to training, sports, health and weightloss on a more personal level then before. The new media arena is beeing used at its´ maximumto broadcast wievs on how we should eat, look, exercise and live. This thesis is trying to makebetter understanding on what people in general think is important when it comes to physicaltraining and motivation with the aid of digital media and IT systems. The thesis describes aworkshop that was conducted within the frames of Participatory Design and the outcome of thatworkshop. The workshop was conducted with a group of lead users (in this case instructors at avery large fitness center in Umeå, Sweden) and the main question was ”How can IT be used toachive a positive effect on physical exercise if motivation is the focus?”. Data was collectedduring both a future workshop and an analysis of a digital media production prototype, andcould be seen as two qualitative studies. The outcome of these studies shows three interestingareas where motivation aided by IT is importat. Primarily it is through the experience of theclass. Through flow and mindfulness. Secondarily motivation can be aided by IT in the field ofresult analysis. As a final arena motivation could also be aided by IT through informationsharing between the finess center and the class participants.

Folkhälsa berör många samhällsområden och därför är det av vikt att människor i olika yrkeskategorier är medvetna och väl insatta i sin arbetssituation och dess inverkan på hälsan. Jordbruksyrket är rankat som ett av de tre farligaste yrkena och därför beslutade regeringen att ett projekt vid namn Säkert Bondförnuft skulle startas. Projektet koncentrerades till att få lantbruksföretag att vidta åtgärder som leder till förbättrad säkerhet i företaget. På Lantbrukarnas riksförbund, LRF arbetar handledare som informerar lantbrukare om de arbetsmiljöproblem som finns genom utbildningen Säkert Bondförnuft. Syftet med studien är att studera LRF:s handledares uppfattningar av lantbrukares riskmedvetenhet i deras arbetsmiljö. Därutöver studeras hur handledarna upplever lantbrukarnas mottaglighet av information gällande säkerhet i arbetsmiljön som tillämpats på kurstillfällena inom projektet Säkert Bondförnuft. Då intresset låg i att ta reda på handledares uppfattningar valdes kvalitativ ansats med intervjuer av fem handledare som insamlingsmetod. Vid intervjuerna användes en semikonstruerad intervjumanual. Intervjuerna analyserades med kvalitativ, induktiv innehållsanalys. I resultatet från studien anser handledarna att de lantbrukare som deltar i utbildningen är mer benägna att upptäcka de risker som kan finnas på arbetsplatsen och anses vara mer mottagliga för information. Studien har betydelse för framtidens aktiva människor inom jordbrukssektorn. Genom denna studie har tankar och åsikter från handledare i LRF:s regi belysts när de genom projektet Säkert Bondförnuft utbildat personer i lantbruksföretag att vidta möjliga åtgärder som leder till en förbättrad säkerhet i företaget. Med hänsyn till de resultat som framgått i studien kan den i framtiden hjälpa till att utveckla kursverksamhet för lantbrukare. Förhoppningen är att materialet från studien kan användas i dessa sammanhang. / Public health concerns many areas of society and therefore it is important that people of different professions are aware and familiar with their work situation and its impact on health. The profession of agriculture is ranked as one of the three most dangerous occupations, and therefore the government has decided that a project called Farmers Safe Common Sense should start. The project concentrates on how to get farming businesses to take actions which would lead to improved security in their enterprises. Through Farmers Safe Common Sense, the supervisors at the Farmers' Association, LRF, inform farmers about problems that may exist with work environment. The purpose of the study is to study how the supervisors of LRF perceive the farmers' risk awareness in their working environment. In addition, studies on how supervisors perceive farmers' receptivity of information regarding safety in the work environment, as applied to lectures in the project Farmers safe Common sense, was made. As the interest was in finding out how the supervisor's perceptions were, interviews with a qualitative approach were chosen as a collection method. A semi-constructed interview guide was used at the interviews consisting of five supervisor´s. The interviews were analyzed by a qualitative inductive content analysis. The results of the study showed that the supervisors consider the farmers who participated in the program to be more likely to discover the risks that may exist in the workplace, and are also considered to be more receptive to the information. The study has significance for the future of the people who are active in agriculture. Through this study, the thoughts and opinions of the supervisors of LRF have been highlighted when the project Farmers Safe Common sense educated people from farming businesses, so that they can take feasible steps that lead to improved safety in the company. Given the results shown in this study it can help developing training courses for farmers in the future and it is also hoped that the material from the study can be used in these contexts.

ABSTRACT System development has become more and more concentrated on development for the Web and this has resulted in larger target groups. It will most surely continue to be so considering that the Web will be the infrastructure of business and services in the future. A big target group involves that the owner of a system can earn a lot of money from the paying users, but that assumes that the system can meet user needs. If a system on the Web does not satisfy the user?s demands then they will use the competitor?s system instead because it is only a mouse-click away. That is why the business, already during the development process, has to take the role of the users seriously. Even if all users cannot take part in the process at least some users can and it would be a shame not to take advantages of this kind of expert knowledge. This report describes how a system development project can be practised and how a developer can do to satisfy each user?s requirements even though he or she are not specified, and also why a useful system is classified as an investment in the future.

In an accelerating Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) environment, academic libraries’ catalogs have always been part of students’ and faculty members journey of resources discovery. The master thesis intents to focus its interest in Information Systems (IS) ground related to the implementation of a new search engine at the University of Piraeus Library. The Library wants to change the search features of its traditional online services and to implement a new discover tool with Web 2.0 characteristics. The aim of this master thesis is to investigate users’ views and desires interest according to their scholarly needs and expectations about VuFind in order to facilitate the Library to customize the integration. Therefore, critical systems theory will be employed for “therapeutic” reasons to enlighten the Library’s users about their current situation. Qualitative analysis is expected to recognize discrimination against traditional Library’s search engines. Qualitative data of the user impression and reaction when operate with the VuFind interface will lead to recommendations for enhancement and improvements. Findings will assist implementers to modify the discovery layer by meeting users’ needs of the academia community. The research will collect data through qualitative method on how participants operate with the VuFind search engine merging librarians’ professional views and users’ expectations and propositions. Participatory Design (PD) will be built upon Future Workshop method.

Med det här kandidatarbetet vill vi se EdTechs möjligheter att påverka barns sociala förmåga på ett positivt sätt, för att förebygga situationer där mobbning uppstår. Genom Future Workshops och Participatory Design utvecklar vi, tillsammans med elever på en lokal högstadieskola, ett koncept för en applikation med en potential för ökat kamratskap.Vi analyserar elevernas åsikter angående funktioner och visuell design för applikationen samt presenterar en konceptprototyp för ämnesexperter. Deras validering av vår prototyp ses som ett direkt resultat av frågeställningens utgångspunkt, och därav en möjlig lösning av grundproblemet. / With this Bachelor Thesis we consider EdTechs possibilities in influencing children’s social abilities in a positive way, to prevent repetitive bullying behavior. By the methods of Future Workshop and Participatory Design we develop, together with students on a local secondary school, a concept for an application with the potential of increased friendships.We analyze the student’s opinions about functionalities and visual design, and then present a prototype of the concept to experts in the field of Educational Technology. Their validation of our prototype is seen as a direct result of the research question, and a possible solution to the issue at hand.

This report, in which we have put an emphasis on the word communication, is based on a student software development project conducted during spring 2002. We describe how the use of design tools plays a key role in supporting communication in group activities and to what extent communication can be supported and enhanced by tools such as mock-ups and metaphors in a group project. We also describe a design progress from initial sketches to a final mock-up of a GUI for a postcard demo application. / I denna rapport, som baserar sig på ett studentprojekt utfört under våren 2002, har vi fokuserat på ordet kommunikation. Vi beskriver hur användande av designverktyg kan spela en nyckelroll när det gäller att stöda kommunikation i gruppaktiviteter och i vilken utsträckning kommunikation kan stödas och förstärkas av verktyg som mockuper och metaforer. Vi beskriver också en designprogress från initiala skisser till färdig mockup av ett grafiskt användargränssnitt för en demoapplikation av en vykortstjänst.