The current case study served to investigate roles, uses, attitudes, and future implications of a collaborative artificial intelligence system [CAIS] at a user experience and service design firm. Due to the shortage in the body of literature for human machine co-creative collaboration, this study obliged in expanding on it from a qualitative and conceptual level. Findings from a thematic analysis on design practitioners, indicated three main themes: Attitudes, Attributes, and Awareness. Main findings indicate that negative attitudes affect how much autonomy is ascribed to CAIS; There is a lack of actuating design with this type of technology, partly due to lack of knowledge but also a central authority in the community; CAIS is perceived to foster creativity, but not truly collaboratively; Finally, ethical considerations towards designing with such intelligent systems are discussed both regarding the designer and the design process, but also towards the end-user.

Dagens omvärldsförhållanden ger oss nya förutsättningar till kontinuerligt förändringsarbete. Nyckeln till ett lyckat förändringsarbete är att anpassa verksamheten efter de nya förutsättningarna där förändringar ses som möjligheter istället för risker. En kontinuerlig strävan efter förbättring i kombination med vilja kan skapa ytterligare tillfällen för kvalitetsutveckling. Anticimex är ett internationellt serviceföretag som arbetar med skadedjurskontroll, fuktkontroll, matsäkerhet, brandskydd och husbesiktningar. Kundtjänstavdelningen på kontoret i Sollentuna lyfter att företaget idag lider av en internt bristande kommunikation. Syftet med examensarbetet är att fokusera på grundorsaker till den bristande kommunikationen samt hur berörda moment kan effektiviseras. Utifrån ett kvalitetsmässigt perspektiv kommer studien att redogöra förbättrings-och implementeringsförslag rörande det bristande problemområdet. Utförd fallstudie har genomförts tillsammans med samtliga medarbetare inom kundtjänstavdelningen som respondenter. Utefter respondenternas utsagor har teori som berör offensiv kvalitetsutveckling, kommunikation, förändringsarbete samt motivation redogjorts för att utveckla analysens innebörd. Resultatet visar på att det överväldigande informationsflödet beror på lednings sätt att förmedla ut informationvia intranätet som även är kopplat till forum och mail. Intranätets överväldigande informationsflöde i samband med en otydlig struktur bidrar även till att information går miste där väsentliga förändringar kan påverka medarbetarnas arbetsuppgifter samt kundernas upplevelse. Fallstudiens slutsats är att Anticimex är i behov av en förändring rörande intranätets utformande. Att avgränsa informationsutskick till enbart de parter som berörs kan skapa en större tydlighet för medarbetarna på kontoret. En bra igångsättande tackling på problemet kan även vara att införa avdelningsmöten på lokalnivå. Anställda inom kundtjänstavdelningen kan då gemensamt diskutera frågor rörande otydligheter eller förändringar där informationsflödet blir tydligare. För en helhetslösning krävs åtgärder på ledningsnivå rörande intranätets utformande med ett mer avgränsat utskick. / Today’s market condition gives us new opportunities for continuous change. The key to successful change is to adapt the business to the new conditions, where change is seen as opportunities instead of risks. A continuous pursuit of improvement in combination with will can create additional facilities regarding quality development. Anticimex is an international service company that handles pest controls, food safety, fire protection, house inspections etc. The customer service department in Sollentuna, north of Stockholm, emphasizes that the company today suffer from an internal communication failure. The purpose of the thesis of this work is to focus on root causes of the communication failure and how relevant elements can be streamlined. Based on a quality perspective, the case study will describe improvement and implementation proposals regarding the described problem area. Performed case study has been carried out together with all the employees at the customer service department as respondents. Follow the respondents’ statements, theory related to offensive quality management, communication, improvement work and motivation have been reported to develop the meaning of the thesis analysis. The results show that the overwhelming flow of information depends management’s way of communicating information mainly through the intranet which is connected to internal forums and mail. The intrinsic structure of the intranet also contributes to the loss of important information, where significant changes can affect employees’ duties and the overall customer satisfaction. The case study concludes that Anticimex is in need of change regarding the overwhelming information flow in connection with the intranet’s design. To delimit the information sent to only the parties concerned can create greater perspicuity for employees in the customer service department in Sollentuna. A good start to the problem may also be to introduce departmental meetings at local level. Employees in the customer service section can then jointly discuss issues related to ambiguities or change in which information becomes clearer. For a complete solution, it is suggested to introduce a change on management-level where the information is delimited or the intranet is restructured.

Trafikverket har ansvar över den långsiktiga infrastrukturplaneringen samt drift av Sveriges vägar. En viktig faktor för säkerheten på våra vägar är vädret. Genom att kunna förutspå temperaturer och nederbörd längs vägar går det att minska risker i trafiken. Det finns mätstationer som mäter vägväder längs de vägar där det är störst risk för halka och snödrev. En mjukvara används för övervakning av väderstationerna och kvalitetskontroll av avvikelser i vägväderdatat. Trafikverket vill byta ut befintligt system för kvalitetskontroll mot ett mer användarvänligt system. I detta examensarbete skapades en prototyp till ett nytt användargränssnitt för kvalitetskontroll. Gränssnittet utvecklades i enlighet med aspekter för användbar webbdesign samt kriterier som togs fram i förstudien vid utvärdering av den befintliga kvalitetskontrollen. Det nya användargränssnittet visar avvikelser som geovisualiseringar och det utvecklades med mjukvarorna PostgreSQL, PostGIS, Geoserver, OpenLayers samt GeoExt. Användargränssnittets användbarhet utvärderades med en heuristisk utvärdering av målgruppen som det är designat för. Utvärderingen bestod av användartest samt frågeformulär. Resultatet från utvärderingen visade att deltagarnas nöjdhet med gränssnittets design varierade. Slutsatsen var att användargränssnittets användbarhet är godtagbar men att gränssnittet har förbättringspotential. / The Swedish Transport Administration is accountable for the long-term planning and management of the Swedish road infrastructure. An important factor for the safety on our roads is the weather. By predicting the weather it is possible to reduce the risk for accidents. There are stations that measure weather conditions along the roads with the greatest risk of slipperiness and snow drift. Monitoring of these weather station is executed with a  software for quality control of data deviations. The Swedish Transport Administration wants to replace the present interface for quality control with a more user-friendly system. In this thesis, a prototype for a new interface for quality control was created. The interface was developed in accordance with aspects for useful web design and criterias produced in the preliminary study which evaluated the present interface. The new interface displays data deviations as geovisualizations. The interface was developed by using the PostgreSQL, PostGIS, Geoserver, OpenLayers and GeoExt softwares. The usability of the interface was evaluated by the target audience it is designed for. The evaluation consisted of a heuristic evaluation with user tests and questionnaires. The outcome revealed that participants' satisfaction varied. The conclusion was that the usability of the interface is acceptable but that it has potential for improvement.

Digital fabrication technologies such as 3D printing is predicted to have a significant impact on our future society. However, the complexity of current 3D modelling softwares  risk deterring novices from engaging with the technology. In this thesis, a series of workshops were conducted to explore the implications for novices to create models out of tangible materials such as clay, paper and LEGO, that were then scanned and printed with a 3D printer. The results show that while the tangible materials create engaging opportunities for novices to engage with digital fabrication technologies such as 3D printing, the materials also provide limitations and constraints depending on their physical properties.

This research paper investigates the language that is used by upper secondary students both in gaming and in school related situations. The overarching aim is to compare the language that students in upper secondary school use during online gaming and in classroom situations and how one influences the other and what attitudes students have regarding spoken English during online gaming and in the classroom. A questionnaire was used to gather information about the students’ gamer habits and how they perceive the connection between online games and second language learning. The results provided by the questionnaire showed that there is a positive attitude among the students regarding how online games can provide opportunities for expansion of a second language vocabulary. Many of the students felt that the online sphere provided a more secure and more accessible setting for learning than what their school could give them. It also showed that second language learning through online gaming is possible, but at the same that the language provided through online games has limited use in for example a school environment. Words and phrases that the students have picked up from online gaming are in many cases not useful outside of the speech community of gamers. Therefore, the conclusion that was made was that online gaming is a large part of many students’ second language learning and that many students feel that is a more accessible way to learn a second language. Therefore, a didactic implication is that it is important that teachers start to include online gaming language in their education.

Humans were made to move. Many hours in front of a screen leads to stiff bodies and a diminished bodily awareness. The aim of this project was to explore how technology can serve to increase our body awareness and adapt to our physical conditions in everyday life with focus on office spaces. The study is explorative with a user-centered approach and a focus on embodied prototyping, where the user is a subject of design. Data was collected with recordings, interviews, and workshops. Reflexion-on-action, prototyping and iterations lead to the final outcome. The final concept is a wearable that encourage people to move and stretch out more often and spontaneously throughout the day. It does so by vibration patterns along your spine and shoulders. The idea of this concepts is to make people move often and regularly during the day; to react spontaneously to a reminder from the body, mediated by the vibrations. The system is thought to be self-awarding; if it feels good to stretch out, to extend the arms, to move – then you will want to do it again.

The purpose of this study is twofold; to apply a human security perspective on our understanding of the individual’s role in crisis management policies and to explore how the issue of the individual’s role is represented in policies from the Swedish Contingencies Agency (MSB). Carol Bacchi’s post-structural policy analysis method “What’s the problem represented to be” (WPR) is used to problematize and understand these representations. The method enabled the author to shed light on how the issue is constructed and represented in policy. Interviews with MSB personnel and other professionals served as a valuable complement to get an inside perspective. This study concludes that the role of the individual is represented in terms of economic efficiency, where the individual is viewed as a resource and not an actor. Furthermore, efforts to include and inform the individual is limited to a representation of survival, not empowerment. This has implications for the policies effects and the realization of political goals for a resilient society. This study also concludes that a crisis management structure based on a human security perspective will be more capable of including the individual. Without a human security perspective, the individual will be caught between policy and reality, and the policies intended to include the individual will not produce the desired outcome.

Remotely-controlled technologies are no longer limited to military applications, such as unmanned military airborne weapons or explosive diffuser robots. Nowadays we can see more and more of remotely controlled devices used as medical equipment, toys, and so forth. One of the most recent areas of interest is robotic telepresence, also known as Mobile Robot Presence (MRP), which provides the ability to interact socially and professionally with other people and even objects in remote locations. One of the known issues with using remotely-controlled devices is the cognitive overload which their operators (pilots) experience and MRP pilots are no exception. However, despite vast research on different ways to address this in military or medical scenarios, little has been done regarding MRPs. This thesis study aims to make a contribution in closing that gap by suggesting a method, developing a prototype implementing it; then conducting an empirical assessment of the method and the prototype as a part of a broader study on MRP, supported by Swedish Research Council. I have suggested a method comprised of a Secondary-task (ST) method and Subjective Rating Scales (SRS), in which the latter act as an evaluation method for the former. Both of them were used in an overarching study in search for the best control device amongst four chosen devices. I collected and analyzed secondary task performance data (e.g. response time, error rates), subjective user ratings, explicit rankings, and observations recordings. My analysis of the collected data shows that using a monitoring and response face recognition secondary task is a plausible method for the assessment of MRP pilot’s cognitive load.

Studien utgick från vårdnadshavares konstruktioner av digital teknik och digital teknik­användning. Syftet med studien var att synliggöra hur vårdnadshavare konstruerar den digitala tekniken som omger dem och deras barn i vardagen samtidigt som de själva konstrueras av samhället. Syftet var även att diskutera dessa konstruktioner i relation till förskolans uppdrag. Genom att ett social­-konstruktionistiskt perspektiv antogs var det vårdnadshavarnas tal som analyserades i studien. För att synliggöra detta användes en kvalitativ semistrukturerad intervju där sex vårdnadshavare deltog. Resultatet visade att det finns många olika konstruktioner bland deltagarna. Övervägande del av vårdnadshavarna var positiva till digital teknik och digital teknikanvändning. I resultatet framgick dock att det bland annat fanns en gemensam oro bland informanterna över att barnen kan stöta på olämpligt innehåll genom digital teknik.   En av de slutsatser som kunde dras var att vårdnadshavarnas konstruktion av digital teknik på-verkar barnens erfarenheter om, och tillgänglighet till den. Som förskollärare är det en viktig aspekt att vara medveten om. Förskolans uppgift blir således att komplettera hemmet för att ge alla barn en likvärdig ram för utveckling och lärande.

This thesis is about two different theoretical interpretations of objects and object-orientation in design of health care information systems – the interpretations of Activity Theory/Developmental Work Research and Computer Science respectively. One motive to my interest in objects of work and software, is to better understand the problems and possibilities in an inter¬dis¬ciplinary research project. With an origin in 2001, a Wound Care Project began as a joint R & D endeavour with the initial idea of utili¬zing digital photos. Soon, an information system (“Hedvig”) was developed for the purpose of managing digital photos and related treatment records on wounds. Later, this work expanded in creation of a distributed information system (“Helar”), a digital prototype for support of wound care treatment. Eventually, the thesis is summing up reflections related to the object concepts. AT/DWR has its strength in analysis and design of required change in a work practice but is still weak in method and techniques for support of making specific computa¬tional systems. In a way this shortcoming is thought of to be balanced by the technological CS discipline of which one of its main forces is to develop theory and practice for construction of computational information systems. This thesis suggest, in the inter¬dis¬ciplinary field of Health Care Information Systems Design, a further developed object con¬cept, and related scenarios and use cases, as a way of taking advantage of a combination of those two different strengths. / Avhandlingen handlar om två olika teoretiska tolkningar av objekt och objektorientering i design av informationssystem för hälso- och omvårdnadsarbete - tolkningar utifrån verksamhetsteori/utvecklande arbetsforskning (activity theory/developmental work research: AT/DWR) å ena sidan och datavetenskap (computer science: CS) å den andra. Ett motiv för mitt intresse för objekt i arbete och i programvara, är att bättre förstå problem och möjligheter i ett tvärvetenskapligt forskningsprojekt. Med en början i 2001, startade ett sårvårdsprojekt som ett forsknings- och utvecklingsarbete med den initiala idén att nyttja digitala foton, och snart utvecklades ett informationssystem ("Hedvig") för syftet att hantera digitala foton och annan relaterad behandlingsdokumentation för sårvård. Senare expanderade detta arbetet i skapandet av ett distribuerat informationssystem ("Helar"), en digital prototyp för stöd av sårbehandlingsarbete. Denna avhandling summerar reflektioner relaterade till objektbegreppen. AT/DWR har sin styrka i analys och design av efterfrågad förändring av en arbetspraktik, men är fortfarande svag i metod och tekniker för att stödja skapandet av specifika datorsystem. På ett sätt är det här tillkortakommandet tänkt att balanseras av den teknologiskt datavetenskapliga disciplinen, där en av dess främsta drivkrafter är att utveckla teori och praktik för konstruktion av datoriserade informationssystem. I det tvärvetenskapliga fältet av design av informationssystem för hälso- och omvårdnadsarbete, föreslår denna avhandling fortsatt utveckling av objektkoncepten, och utveckling av de relaterade "scenarios" och "use cases", som ett sätt att dra fördel av en kombination av dessa två olika förtjänster, som de olika disciplinerna står för. objekt, objektorientering, sårvård, digitala foton, verksamhetsteori, datavetenskap, informationssystem