Contemporary theories of learning suggest that successful learners are active in the learning process and that they tend to use a number of metacognitive processes to monitor learning and remembering. Drawing on the theoretical framework of Nelson and Narens (1992), the current study examined the effect of certain variables on metamemory processes and on students' ability to recall and recognise learned material. The present study explored the effect of four independent variables on five dependent variables. The independent variables were: 1. degree of learning (responses given until 2 or 8 times correct), 2. judgment of learning (JOL) timing (given immediately after learning session or 24 hours later), 3. retention interval between study and test (2 or 6 weeks), and 4. type of material studied (sentences, in or out of context). The dependent variables were: 1. judgement of learning (JOL), 2. confidence rating, 3. feeling of knowing (FOK), 4. recall, and 5. recognition.. As ancillary analyses, the study explored, firstly, whether gender differences had an effect on meta-level and object-level memory, and secondly, whether students who recalled more also made more accurate metamemory judgements. The effects of the independent variables on recall and recognition were consistent with those found by previous studies. The most interesting new finding of the present study was that students who made JOLs after twenty four hours were more likely to take into account the effect of the interval between learning and testing. Students who made immediate JOLs did not allow for the effect of the time interval on retention. A further new finding was that gender appeared to have had an influence on JOLs. The findings about the effects of timing of JOLs and of gender effects on JOL have implications for metacognitive theory and will stimulate further research. The practical significance of this research, particularly the implications for study skills training for all students, was that educators cannot presume that students will correctly predict what they will recall after six weeks if they make that judgement immediately after learning has occurred. Therefore, the effects of the passage of time on memory, and the efficacy of delaying judgments, should be made explicit. The finding that the manipulation of JOL timing has a significant effect on the accuracy of judgements has implications in the wider area of educational policymaking and for the current debate on competencies and quality assurance. Learning cannot be considered a simple process and when a large component of learning is selfdirected, as it is in tertiary institutions and increasingly in schools, many variables are operating.

Background: To be better able to meet the new competition, companies are seeking new competitive advantages, wich is forcing them to review and, in time, change both working methods and corporate structures. This has led to an increased interest in the development of strategies within the field of Knowledge Management. Objective: The objective of this thesis is to improve understanding of how learning in a company occurs over internal boundaries and to investigate whether individuals need to be motivated in this regard. We also aim to give recommendations as to how this can be developed. Furthermore, we will work out a model that explains the learning process. Definitions: Our study is based solely on the divisions at the marketing department of the company investigated. We have not included external parties, nor the aspect of Knowledge Management that focuses on IT. Method and results: This study has been carried out with the help of interviews and surveys. The thesis has resulted in a model that illustrates how learning in an organisation occurs over internal boundaries. Since individuals are driven to share their knowledge to varying degrees and for different reasons, we believe that companies ought to model their systems in such a way that motivates and rewards knowledge sharing. Knowledge can then be spread through different working methods, such as projects, meetings, cross-functional working pairs, and mentorship.

This thesis presents a study on how fourth graders can learn and use metaphor to create meaningful and expressive artworks. It is intended to investigate how students can understand the idea of metaphor and how they can use it to illustrate their own thoughts and ideas within their artworks. Jean Piaget believes much abstract thinking does not occur until the Formal Operations Stage of eleven to thirteen years of age. This study sought to question the ideas of Piaget by introducing the abstract thought of metaphor to fourth graders who are at the approximate age of nine. It set out to demonstrate that students may understand the idea of metaphor while applying it to create meaningful artworks that demonstrate their own opinions, thoughts and beliefs. Concepts about metaphor were introduced to the students through a number of interactive lessons to develop their ability to implement metaphor into their own artworks. This unit taught students how to interpret metaphor and apply the use of metaphor to their own artworks.

Marketing is on the path of evolving to a Service-Dominant (S-D) Logic perspective. S-D Logic researchers have acknowledged that customers do not only receive value, they contribute to create value and subjectively assess it in use - a notion that challenge the logic of traditional marketing. In interaction, suppliers have the opportunity to reveal processes of customer value creation, and accordingly, align these with its own internal processes. From this perspective, the supplier is turned into a co-creator of value. This study investigates the potentials of value co-creation, through interaction, within the context of card game encounters, an activity originally developed for traditional marketing purposes. Atlas Copco Rock Drills AB has implemented the method of the card game, and is now in search for academic support to identify the actual potentials of interaction within these encounters. By drawing on a literature review compromising (1) a conceptual model presenting the functions of direct interaction as a merging of processes (Grönroos & Voima 2013), and (2) a processed-based framework for co-creation of value (Payne et al. 2008), a qualitative study was conducted to investigate Atlas Copco employees’ perception of how supplier representatives and customers engage in learning process by co-creating value. The study provides guidance of how the supplier, through direct interaction, engages in the learning process through keeping a customer-oriented dialogue. Supplier representatives’ product-specific knowledge is operative to the comprehension of customer processes. It is also decisive for the organizational learning outcome from card game encounters. Statistical customer research with all due respect, however, interaction is the key to forming value propositions supporting real value creation. The study suggest an identification of mechanism supporting supplier and customer learning processes and show how supplier actions may influence the levels of customer learning within the context of discrete interactions. It suggests that customers’ (1) cognitive ability are to be supported in information search, (2) emotions are to be supported by recognition and appreciation and (3) behavioral elements of value creation are to be supported through the sharing of knowledge and skills.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att ta reda på hur ledare på en bank upplever att de kan lära och utvecklas som ledare. Detta genom feedback, medarbetare, omvärlden och om­organisationen. Studien är av kvalitativt slag och har ett fenomenologiskt perspektiv. Data­insamlingen gjordes genom sju semistrukturerade intervjuer. Resultatet i relation med tidigare forskning och teorier visar på att när reflektion görs så sker lärande och utveckling. Dock så har det visat sig att reflektionstid upplevs vara en bristvara, vilket kan resultera i att lärandet och utvecklingen inte blir lika utbredd som det hade kunnat bli. Något som framkommit är att mentorskap skulle kunna främja lärandet och utvecklingen. Även feedback kan utgöra en grund för ledaren att skapa sig lärande och utveckling. Då det ger en möjlighet för ledaren att rannsaka sig själv och se sig genom andras ögon. En annan aspekt som framkom i studien var att ledarna utövar ett transformativt ledarskap där de involverar sina medarbetare i stor ut­sträckning. / The purpose of this paper is to find out how leaders, at a bank, feel that they can start a learning and development process. This driven by feedback, co-workers, the surrounding environment and reorganization. This paper is of a qualitative nature and has a phenomenological perspective. The data was collected through seven semi-structured interviews. The result in relation to previous research and theories suggest that when reflection is done so is learning and development. It has been proven that time for reflection is something that´s perceived to be in short supply, which can result in that learning and development will not be as widespread as it could have been. Something that has emerged is that mentoring could promote learning and development. Feedback can provide a basis for the leader to create learning- and development processes, since this is an opportunity for leaders to search themselves and see themselves through others’ eyes. Another aspect that emerged in this paper was that leaders engaged in a transformative leadership where they include their co-workers to a large extent.

Studien går igenom ett flertal olika aspekter av studieteknik med utgångspunkt från en tänkt digital lärandeprocess. Dessutom diskuteras pedagogiskt mål och pedagogiska metoder relaterat till digitala plattformar. / The study discusses a plurality of different aspects of study approaches from the perspective an imaginary digital learning process. It discusses teaching goals and practices related to digital platforms.

Den här uppsatsen handlar om hur ett teknikkonsultföretag, där majoriteten av tjänsterna sker i form av projekt, kan utnyttja kunskapsöverföring för att skapa konkurrenskraft. Här studeras hur kunskapsöverföring, genom att ta hänsyn till tre olika lärprocesser, kan bidra till ekonomisk fördel för företaget. Efter identifiering av vilka verktyg/aktiviteter som används för kunskapsöverföring på fallföretaget analyserades vilka lärprocesser som är möjliga med respektive verktyg/aktivitet enligt dagens teori och medarbetares upplevelser. Empirisk data samlades in från olika delar av organisationen i form av intervjuer och enkätundersökning. Utifrån analysen sammanfattades vilka lärprocesser som utnyttjas och med vilka verktyg/aktiviteter samt vilka som kan utnyttjas bättre för att skapa ekonomiska fördelar för företaget, och därmed också konkurrenskraft. Skillnader i vilka kunskaper medarbetare med mycket lång arbetsliverfarenhet upplever att de lär sig med verktygen/aktiviteterna jämfört med medarbetare med kortare arbetslivserfarenhet har observerats, vilket skapar nya frågor för framtida forskning. Det ges också förslag på vidare forskning om hur hänsyn till lärprocesser vid strategi för kunskapsöverföring skulle kunna generera konkurrenskraft i form av hur förbättringar uppfattas av kunderna. / This master’s thesis is about how a technology consulting firm, where the majority of services is executed as projects, can use knowledge transfer to create competitive advantage. By taking into account three different learning processes this degree project focus on how the transfer of knowledge can contribute to economic benefits to the company. Identification of tools and activities used for knowledge transfer in this specific case company supported the analysis of what learning processes those are possible for each tool/activity with respect to today’s research and employees experiences. Empirical data were collected from different parts of the organization through interviews and questionnaire survey. Based on the analysis a conclusion of what learning processes are mainly used and with what tools and activities. The conclusion also define the economic benefits that could be gained by the company and hence create competitive advantage. Differences in type of knowledge learned by the employees carrying a long work experience compared to employees with shorter work experience has been observed, which creates new questions for further research. This degree project also provides suggestions for further research on how, with respect to learning processes, the strategy of knowledge transfer would generate competitiveness through quality improvements perceived by customers.

With rapid development of information technologies, especially the Internet technology, people can communicate more flexibly via various media, in which knowledge can be also shared. In gaining knowledge through the Internet, either digital content retrieval or inter-personal interaction, learning activities conducted on the Web are getting popular. This research has two main objectives. One is to develop incentive mechanisms to enhance the quantity and quality of information shared through peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. The other objective is to implement and evaluate the proposed mechanisms for inquiry-based learning on P2P networks. The pricing-like incentive mechanism is embedded on each peer to determine the price to share a document, to issue a question, and respond to a question. Through experiments, this study evaluates the effects on mitigating the free-riding problems and exchanging information through the P2P network. The results show the effectiveness of the incentive mechanisms for inquiry-based learning on P2P networks.

Technology mediated learning (TML) refers to an environment in which the learner interacts with learning materials, peers, and/or instructors that are mediated through advanced information technology (Alavi and Leidner, 2001). Recently, there have been increasing interests in investigating if TML can yield positive learning outcome. In this thesis, an interpretive study of TrainNet, a TML implementation by a well-known multinational corporation, is conducted. The study bases its investigation on the TML framework suggested by Alavi and Leidner (2001). The findings show that different stakeholders of TrainNet hold different views of learning effectiveness. For the manger, learning effectiveness means cost reduction; for the trainer, speedy information dissemination; and for the technicians, the profit, skill and social network. Yet, while TrainNet satisfies both managers and trainers in reducing cost and enhancing speedy information dissemination, it has failed to meet the aspiration of the technicians. These may result from the fact that instructional strategies have been changed from the experiental learning focus to abstract, conceptual learning. The change in turn has the adverse effect of undermining technicians¡¦ motivation to learn. Furthermore, the context governing the strategy of TrainNet adoption plays a key role in this change. A technical/economic perspective of system adoption and an objectivism approach to instructional strategy causes the company to ignore the important learning effectiveness issues that are important to learners. For TML to be effective, business must go beyond the technical and economic focus. The social cultural perspectives must be incorporated into the design of information technology and instructional strategies.

<p>The subject of this licentiate thesis is experience feedback from accidents and incidents. The thesis aims to contribute to an understanding of how the learning processes within organizations, companies and authorities could be improved.</p><p><i>Essay I </i>(written together with Sven Ove Hansson) reports on an evaluation carried out in 2004 by the Swedish Work Environment Authority’s Accident Investigation Board, called HAKO (Haverikommissionen). An important outcome of this evaluation shows that HAKO have not been able to manage the dissemination of their written reports, which is unfortunate, since the reports are thoroughly written.</p><p><i>Essay II</i> (written with Sven Ove Hansson and Carl Rollenhagen) is an overview of the literature on learning from accidents and incidents. The focus in this essay is on literature that evaluates the effectiveness and usefulness of different methods in accident investigations. The conclusions drawn from this literature review are that the dissemination of results and knowledge from accident investigations must be improved, and experience feedback systems should be integrated into overall systems of risk management.</p><p>The starting point for<i> Essay III </i>was an empirical study conducted in 2005/2006. Twenty-eight supervision cases from eleven local Environment and Health Administrations in Sweden were examined. The overall goal of the study was to find out how, and to what extent, experience feedback occurs between different municipal authorities. Two major problems affecting experience feedback have been found; namely, that the inspectors do not have enough guidance on how to interpret the law, and that they would like more information on what happens to legal cases they have reported to public prosecutors and police.</p>