Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:26:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Fabiana Vieira da Costa.pdf: 1490415 bytes, checksum: 1d5d8c0f16fa83e287f1d87b51826d86 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-08-30 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / Through the analysis of securities brokers in the highly turbulent Brazilian Market, the dissertation aimed to identify and analyze dynamic capability elements and evidences in processes and routines of innovation. The literature on dynamic capabilities is still inconclusive and controversial, especially with regard to the understanding of how companies develop this kind of capability. In this sense this work is a contribution to the discussion of the processes involved in the development of dynamic capability. The method used in the research has a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive approach, which involved the use of a semi-structured questionnaire. There were nine interviews with executives from firms with diversified ages: some founded in the 1930s, others in the 1960s, another group from 1990s, along with some that have less than 5 years in the market. On top of those interviews, additional documents have complemented the data set. The technique used for data analysis was content analysis, according to interpretative analysis of Gil Flores (1994). Three meta-categories were analyzed: environment dynamics, dynamic capability evidence, and processes and routines of innovation. The former category is related to research s first specific aim, which was the identification of the environment dynamics and the factors that explain this dynamism, such as technological and other relevant resources, threats and opportunities, adaptation to environmental changes. The meta-category that follows is related to research s second specific aim, which was the analysis of dynamic capability evidences in accordance with technological resources used, new business segments, innovation practice, and opportunities for innovation. The latter meta-category is related to research s third specific objective, which was to identify and analyze the elements of processes and routines that search for innovation. For this aim, six categories were identified: frequency of new processes, organization s memory, operating routine changes, implementation of innovation, organizational structure and innovation, and motivation for innovation. The research has found that the development of dynamic capabilities in securities brokerage depends on how they respond to environmental changes, how they make investments in technology, and also which routines are implemented for innovation and implementation of their products and services. Despite acting in the same market, differences in the business management were identified among them, so it was possible divide the brokers into three distinct groups: i) brokers who present the development of dynamic capability, have well-defined strategies, are pro-active, and continuously invest in technology and innovation of products and services, ii) firms in which managers are already reflecting on their actions and strategies in order to develop dynamic capability that can cope with changes in the environment; and iii) firms that are lagging behind, a bit far in dynamic capability development. / Esta dissertação visou, através da análise das corretoras de valores mobiliários no mercado brasileiro, inseridas em um ambiente altamente turbulento, identificar e analisar os indícios e os elementos de capacidade dinâmica por meio de processos e rotinas de busca e inovação. A literatura acerca de capacidade dinâmica ainda é inconclusiva e controversa, principalmente no que se refere à compreensão de como as empresas desenvolvem essa capacidade. Nesse sentido, este trabalho é uma contribuição à discussão a respeito dos processos envolvidos no desenvolvimento da capacidade dinâmica. O método empregado na pesquisa seguiu uma abordagem qualitativa, exploratória e descritiva, o que envolveu a preparação de roteiro semiestruturado. Foram realizadas nove entrevistas com executivos de corretoras fundadas em diferentes épocas, algumas na década de 1930, 1960, 1990 e outras com menos de 5 anos de mercado. Além das entrevistas, foram utilizados registros documentais. A técnica adotada para análise dos dados foi a análise de conteúdo, segundo análise interpretativa de Gil Flores (1994). Foram analisadas as seguintes metacategorias: dinamismo do ambiente, indícios de capacidade dinâmica e processos e rotinas de busca e inovação. A primeira metacategoria está relacionada ao primeiro objetivo específico, que consistiu em identificar o dinamismo do ambiente e os fatores que explicam esse dinamismo, como recursos tecnológicos, relevância de outros recursos, ameaças e oportunidades, e adequação às mudanças no ambiente. A segunda metacategoria está relacionada ao segundo objetivo específico, que consistiu em analisar os indícios de capacidade dinâmica de acordo com os seguintes aspectos: recursos tecnológicos utilizados, busca de novos segmentos de atuação, prática de inovar e oportunidades de inovação. A terceira e última metacategoria está relacionada ao terceiro objetivo específico, que consistiu em identificar e analisar os elementos de processos e rotinas de busca e inovação. Nesse objetivo, as categorias identificadas foram: frequência de novos processos, memória da organização, mudanças nas rotinas operacionais, implementação da inovação, estrutura organizacional e inovação e motivação da inovação. Os resultados encontrados sinalizam que o desenvolvimento da capacidade dinâmica nas corretoras de valores mobiliários depende da maneira como elas respondem às mudanças do ambiente, dos investimentos em tecnologia e, ainda, das rotinas implementadas para a inovação e implementação de seus produtos e serviços. Apesar de atuarem no mesmo mercado, foram identificadas diferenças na gestão do negócio, de modo que foi possível agrupar as corretoras em três distintos grupos: i) grupo das corretoras que apresentam o desenvolvimento de capacidade dinâmica, possuem estratégias bem definidas, são corretoras proativas e realizam quase que continuamente investimentos em tecnologia e inovação de produtos e serviços; ii) este grupo vem fazendo um esforço em apresentar características evidenciadas de capacidade dinâmica, em alguns momentos percebem-se as transformações realizadas por essas corretoras, nota-se que os gestores já estão refletindo sobre suas ações e suas estratégias, e que as mudanças no ambiente já estão sendo readequadas no dia a dia de suas rotinas; iii) o terceiro grupo está um pouco distante em realçar características de capacidade dinâmica.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:26:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ronaldo dos Santos Sachetto.pdf: 3151790 bytes, checksum: 4a7455cdbd1c1b8a270a798f4bd19a8a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-07-24 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / Contract strategic alliances are established between partner companies, aiming to obtain complimentary resources and capabilities. Managing this relationship capability with partners has been the focus of study of many researchers, because to align the proposed goals among partners is one of the challenges to have success in alliances, and many fail in this management process. In this way, the aim of this research was to determine the role of artifacts in the coordination of strategic alliances, enhancing the knowledge about how artifacts present in routines and processes can help to develop the capacity of alliances coordination. The methodology involved multiple case studies in four pharmaceutical companies, because there are many contract strategic alliances in this area as well as Brazilian government incentives. The data about alliances were collected through interviews with managers responsible for their areas in their companies, hierarchy levels 2 or 3. The data were analyzed by beans of category thematic analysis, through cross checking predefined categories. The main categories and the cases were cross checked, resulting in non-defined propositions. It could be concluded that the artifacts contribute in many ways with coordination activities, allowing to organize and synthetize part of the activities present in the processes and routines of coordination, acting as a guide for the execution of the activities. The theoretical contribution of this work is in the way artifacts help in the relationship between the mechanisms, people, processes and structures, helping in the relationship among these three mechanisms, to understand how routines cope with artifacts, and how the predefined actions should be planned, organized, made and controlled. In other words, how they can me managed by managers. The executive point of view is that managers should seek for the most adequate artifacts for developing and controlling the alliances, analyzing the processes and routines for a better understanding of which artifacts could be used. / As alianças estratégicas contratuais são estabelecidas entre empresas parceiras, com o objetivo de obter recursos e capacidades complementares. Gerenciar essa capacidade de relacionamento com parceiros tem sido objeto de estudo de diversos pesquisadores, pois alinhar os objetivos propostos entre os parceiros é um dos desafios para se obter sucesso nas alianças e muitas delas falham neste processo de gerenciamento. Desse modo, neste estudo, objetivou-se a determinar o papel dos artefatos na coordenação das alianças estratégicas, aumentando o entendimento sobre como os artefatos presentes nas rotinas e processos, podem auxiliar no aprimoramento da capacidade de coordenação das alianças. A metodologia envolveu estudos de casos múltiplos em quatro empresas do setor farmacêutico, pois, nesse setor, há grande presença de alianças estratégicas contratuais e incentivo do governo brasileiro para expansão deste setor. Os dados sobre as alianças foram coletados via entrevistas com gestores responsáveis por sua gestão em suas organizações, de níveis hierárquicos 2 ou 3. Os dados foram analisados via análise temática categorial a partir do cruzamento de categorias definidas a priori. As principais categorias e os casos foram cruzados gerando proposições não definitivas. Conclui-se que os artefatos contribuem de diversas formas com as atividades de coordenação, permitindo organizar e sintetizar parte das atividades presentes nos processos e rotinas de coordenação, atuando como um direcionador para a execução das atividades. A contribuição teórica do trabalho está no detalhamento de como os artefatos auxiliam na relação entre os mecanismos, pessoas, processos e estruturas, auxiliando na interelação entre estes três mecanismos, no entendimento de como as rotinas operam com os artefatos, e como as ações que devem ocorrer são planejadas, organizadas, realizadas e controladas, ou seja, administradas pelos gestores. A implicação do ponto de vista da prática executiva é que os gestores devem buscar a disponibilização dos artefatos mais adequados para o desenvolvimento e controle das alianças, analisando os processos e rotinas atuais para um melhor entendimento de quais artefatos poderiam ser utilizados.

Syfte: Syftet var att undersöka vilken kännedom och hantering av rutiner samt vilket preventivt arbete som legitimerad vårdpersonal i ledarställning inom primärvård har om missbruk och beroende hos anställd legitimerad vårdpersonal. Metod: Studien har genomförts som en deskriptiv enkätstudie. En kvantitativ metod valdes för att få nå en större population under en kort tidsperiod. Resultat: I studien framkom att majoriteten av de tillfrågade respondenterna i ledarställning hade ledarskapsutbildning och det ingick för de flesta om missbruk och beroende. Studien visar att de arbetar mer eller mindre preventivt med missbruk och beroendefrågor hos sin personal. Det framkommer att legitimerad vårdpersonal i ledarställning anser sig ha tillräcklig kännedom om missbruk och beroende. De belyser vikten av vidareutbildning inom området samt att de behövs diskuteras mer på arbetsplatsträffar om missbruk och beroende. Slutsats: I studien framkommer att de arbetar preventivt genom att använda den lokala rutin som finns rörande alkohol och missbruk. De lokala rutinerna hos landstinget och kommunerna skiljer sig åt då landstinget har en gemensam rutin för hela Dalarna, medan kommunerna har egna rutiner. Vidare framkommer att legitimerad vårdpersonal i ledarställning har kunskap om missbruk och beroende. / Aim : The purpose was to investigate what awareness and management of routines as well as the preventive work that registered healthcare personnel in leadership position in primary care have regarding abuse and addiction to employee- registered healthcare personnel. Method: The study has been conducted as a descriptive survey. A quantitative method was chosen to reach a larger population for a short period of time. Result: The study found that the majority of respondents in leadership positions had leadership training and most of them had education about addiction and abuse. The study shows that they work more or less preventively with addiction and abuse to their staff. It appears that legitimate healthcare personnel in management positions consider themselves sufficiently knowledgeable about addiction and abuse. They highlight the importance of further training in the field and that they are needed to discuss more at workplace meetings about addiction and abuse. Conclusion: The study shows that they work preventively by using the local policy regarding alcohol and addiction. The local routines are different between council and the communities and differences are that the council has a common policy for the whole of Dalarna, while the communities have their own policies. Furthermore, it appears that registered healthcare personnel in management positions have knowledge of addiction and abuse.

<p>The present thesis explores the potential role and implications of technology in elderly care from the users’ perspective. This exploration is undertaken in terms of five empirical studies of a telehealth project and a meta-analysis of their contributions. An important insight emerging from this work is the need to rethink the human subject as a body, rather than as a mere mind using technology. The thesis draws on phenomenology to reconceptualize the user of technology, and on this basis, to theorize about the potential role and implications of technology in care. It concludes that, in combination with humans that integrate technology with their other sensory and emotional capacities, technology can produce affect. The findings indicate that technology can contribute to senior citizens feeling safe, cared for and thereby less isolated. The findings further demonstrate that, because of the perceptual capacity gained from technology, the care workers become aware of new health problems that urgently call for their sensory and emotional responsiveness.</p><p>On this ground, the thesis challenges the determinist view that technology threatens the essentially ‘human’ aspect; rather, it concludes that feeling and other bodily resources are fundamental in the use of technology. Indeed, technology activates such ‘human’ capabilities.</p><p>Hence, technology plays a role as a complement for rather than as a replacement of care workers. It increases their work burden by informing them about new needs. This may improve care quality but at an increased cost, which is relevant from a practical perspective. At a more general level, the thesis challenges the dualist legacies in mainstream management research that have sought to divorce mind form body, nature from culture and reason from emotion. It can therefore contribute to broader theoretical developments and fuel existing debates beyond the care setting.</p>

<p>Småföretag har inte samma finansiella och personella resurser som stora företag och kan få svårt att genomföra önskade IT-relaterade förändringar. De företag som väljer att satsa för att uppnå sina visioner måste många gånger hitta andra lösningar för att nå framgång. Avhandlingen bygger på en åtta månader lång fallstudie i ett småföretag och identifierar kompensationer som ett sätt att lösa problemet.</p><p><em>En kompensation </em>är en ersättning för en förändring i ett informationssystem. Ett exempel på kompensation är att göra dubbelarbete istället för att integrera två informationssystem. Andra exempel är att införa regler för hur informationen skall användas och tolkas istället för att sätta restriktioner i informationssystemet, eller att ta fram en rapport ad hoc med en rapportgenerator istället för att låta externa experter utveckla rapporten direkt i verksamhetssystemet.</p><p>Småföretagens korta planeringshorisont med intuitiva och erfarenhetsbaserade beslutsprocesser bildar <em>en gynnsam miljö </em>för att arbeta med kompensationer - det går snabbt att samla hela personalen och säga: ”nu gör vi så här istället”. Men, kompensationen kan också visa sig vara ett tveeggat svärd. I fallstudien visar sig kompensationerna många gånger bidra till <em>negativa bieffekter </em>när de väl används. Exempel på negativa bieffekter är merarbete, stress, ökad osäkerhet och tekniska problem.</p><p>Fyra risker med att arbeta med kompensationer har identifierats. <em>Resursberoendet</em>: om kompensationen leder till att arbetsbördan ökar, är risken stor att personerna får mindre tid att delta i förändringsarbetet <em>Illusionen</em>: om kompensationen ger sken av att lösningen fungerar i praktiken, är risken stor att ledningens fokus flyttas till andra mer akuta projekt trots att viktiga problem kvarstår. <em>Den tekniska skulden</em>: när tekniska problem inte åtgärdas ordentligt, utan hanteras med kompensationer, ackumuleras problemen till en ”teknisk skuld”. Skulden växer i takt med att nya förändringar genomförs och den tekniska infrastrukturen blir mer och mer komplex. På sikt blir det både svårt och dyrbart att åtgärda problemen. <em>Legitimeringen</em>: om arbetet med kompensationer anses ”fungera i praktiken” kan det bli legitimt att inte lösa problem ordentligt. Det bidrar till att företaget inte utvecklar viktiga kompetenser som till exempel användning av formella metoder, beställarkompetens och förmågan att samarbeta med externa experter.</p><p>Kompensationer är en viktig del i småföretagets arbete med IT-relaterade förändringar och kan inte undvikas. Tidigare forskning har dock inte tagit hänsyn till hur kompensationer påverkar förändringsarbetets framgång. Dessa studier har identifierat <em>framgångsfaktorer </em>som användarinvolvering, VD:s stöd, samarbetet med externa experter och användningen av formella metoder. Den här studien visar på att <em>kompensationerna kan påverka framgångsfaktorerna negativt </em>via de fyra riskerna, exempelvis genom att tiden för användarinvolvering minskar, VD:s fokus förskjuts samt att relationerna med externa experter aldrig utvecklas.</p><p>Implikationen är att <em>kompensationerna måste hanteras medvetet </em>därför att de får konsekvenser som kan vara svåra att förutse intuitivt. Dessa konsekvenser kan bidra till att förutsättningarna för framtida förändringar försämras. Det är därför viktigt att överväga vad som lönar sig mest för att uppnå en varaktig framgång: att <em>tillsätta resurser </em>för att göra de nödvändiga förändringarna i informationssystemen, att sänka <em>ambitionsnivån </em>eller att hitta <em>smarta kompensationer</em>. För småföretag som vill förbättra sättet att bedriva förändringsarbete blir konsekvensen att det inte räcker att ta hänsyn till traditionella framgångsfaktorer. De småföretag som verkligen vill få bättre effekter måste också <em>ifrågasätta hur det egna, invanda sättet att arbeta med IT-relaterad förändring påverkar möjligheterna att genomföra både aktuella och framtida förändringarna.</em></p> / Lic.-avh. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2006

<p>The present thesis examines the possible reasons social workers have for entering and eventually graduating from the Social Work Department in Iraklio, Greece. It is a three-phase study, consisting of three distinct but related research parts; each research part is built upon knowledge, issues and questions derived from the preceding part.</p><p>My background in sociology influenced the choice of theoretical perspectives; I was not interested in investigating students’ choice from a psychologically-based perspective. Bourdieu (e.g. 1977; 1987) and the work of others who have drawn on and developed his work (e.g. Hodkinson & Sparkes, 1997; Reay, 1998a) constituted a theoretical framework. In addition, theoretical perspectives which recognise the interplay between individual and structural factors (e.g. Kasimati, 1991) also proved useful. In this work both quantitative and qualitative approaches (grounded theory, narrative analysis) were employed.</p><p>The findings contradict views that stress the degree of free choice people have about work; it is clear that external structural factors limit or contribute to the shaping of this choice. This is not to say, however, that the findings stress the determining influence of solely external factors on students’ choice. Students in this thesis describe actively making decisions; they are players in the field of education. They enter the field with unequal amounts of capital (economic, cultural); thus, although in theory everyone is free to play, not everyone is equal. To the extent that they have different social backgrounds (gender, class), their classed-and-gendered habitus differs as well. In the process of students’ educational choice, their habitus along with the particular educational system (with all its opportunities and restrictions) influence students’ horizons for action, their perceptions of what is available and appropriate for them. The high value placed on higher education (educational fetishism) is another factor influencing students’ horizons for action. In the context of their horizons for action, students employ a variety of strategies in order to enter higher education (e.g. the way they prepare for the exams, their ranking of Schools in preference order etc). The outcome of these strategies is their admission to the Social Work Department, which may have been intended or unintended. After having entered Social Work, additional factors influence students’ educational choice; experiences within the School (e.g. practice tutorials) contribute to their attitude towards social work and their studies, thus to their decision to graduate from the Social Work Department. Students’ decision-making process is made up of patterns of routine experience interspersed with turning points.</p>

Småföretag har inte samma finansiella och personella resurser som stora företag och kan få svårt att genomföra önskade IT-relaterade förändringar. De företag som väljer att satsa för att uppnå sina visioner måste många gånger hitta andra lösningar för att nå framgång. Avhandlingen bygger på en åtta månader lång fallstudie i ett småföretag och identifierar kompensationer som ett sätt att lösa problemet. En kompensation är en ersättning för en förändring i ett informationssystem. Ett exempel på kompensation är att göra dubbelarbete istället för att integrera två informationssystem. Andra exempel är att införa regler för hur informationen skall användas och tolkas istället för att sätta restriktioner i informationssystemet, eller att ta fram en rapport ad hoc med en rapportgenerator istället för att låta externa experter utveckla rapporten direkt i verksamhetssystemet. Småföretagens korta planeringshorisont med intuitiva och erfarenhetsbaserade beslutsprocesser bildar en gynnsam miljö för att arbeta med kompensationer - det går snabbt att samla hela personalen och säga: ”nu gör vi så här istället”. Men, kompensationen kan också visa sig vara ett tveeggat svärd. I fallstudien visar sig kompensationerna många gånger bidra till negativa bieffekter när de väl används. Exempel på negativa bieffekter är merarbete, stress, ökad osäkerhet och tekniska problem. Fyra risker med att arbeta med kompensationer har identifierats. Resursberoendet: om kompensationen leder till att arbetsbördan ökar, är risken stor att personerna får mindre tid att delta i förändringsarbetet Illusionen: om kompensationen ger sken av att lösningen fungerar i praktiken, är risken stor att ledningens fokus flyttas till andra mer akuta projekt trots att viktiga problem kvarstår. Den tekniska skulden: när tekniska problem inte åtgärdas ordentligt, utan hanteras med kompensationer, ackumuleras problemen till en ”teknisk skuld”. Skulden växer i takt med att nya förändringar genomförs och den tekniska infrastrukturen blir mer och mer komplex. På sikt blir det både svårt och dyrbart att åtgärda problemen. Legitimeringen: om arbetet med kompensationer anses ”fungera i praktiken” kan det bli legitimt att inte lösa problem ordentligt. Det bidrar till att företaget inte utvecklar viktiga kompetenser som till exempel användning av formella metoder, beställarkompetens och förmågan att samarbeta med externa experter. Kompensationer är en viktig del i småföretagets arbete med IT-relaterade förändringar och kan inte undvikas. Tidigare forskning har dock inte tagit hänsyn till hur kompensationer påverkar förändringsarbetets framgång. Dessa studier har identifierat framgångsfaktorer som användarinvolvering, VD:s stöd, samarbetet med externa experter och användningen av formella metoder. Den här studien visar på att kompensationerna kan påverka framgångsfaktorerna negativt via de fyra riskerna, exempelvis genom att tiden för användarinvolvering minskar, VD:s fokus förskjuts samt att relationerna med externa experter aldrig utvecklas. Implikationen är att kompensationerna måste hanteras medvetet därför att de får konsekvenser som kan vara svåra att förutse intuitivt. Dessa konsekvenser kan bidra till att förutsättningarna för framtida förändringar försämras. Det är därför viktigt att överväga vad som lönar sig mest för att uppnå en varaktig framgång: att tillsätta resurser för att göra de nödvändiga förändringarna i informationssystemen, att sänka ambitionsnivån eller att hitta smarta kompensationer. För småföretag som vill förbättra sättet att bedriva förändringsarbete blir konsekvensen att det inte räcker att ta hänsyn till traditionella framgångsfaktorer. De småföretag som verkligen vill få bättre effekter måste också ifrågasätta hur det egna, invanda sättet att arbeta med IT-relaterad förändring påverkar möjligheterna att genomföra både aktuella och framtida förändringarna. / Lic.-avh. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2006

The present thesis examines the possible reasons social workers have for entering and eventually graduating from the Social Work Department in Iraklio, Greece. It is a three-phase study, consisting of three distinct but related research parts; each research part is built upon knowledge, issues and questions derived from the preceding part. My background in sociology influenced the choice of theoretical perspectives; I was not interested in investigating students’ choice from a psychologically-based perspective. Bourdieu (e.g. 1977; 1987) and the work of others who have drawn on and developed his work (e.g. Hodkinson &amp; Sparkes, 1997; Reay, 1998a) constituted a theoretical framework. In addition, theoretical perspectives which recognise the interplay between individual and structural factors (e.g. Kasimati, 1991) also proved useful. In this work both quantitative and qualitative approaches (grounded theory, narrative analysis) were employed. The findings contradict views that stress the degree of free choice people have about work; it is clear that external structural factors limit or contribute to the shaping of this choice. This is not to say, however, that the findings stress the determining influence of solely external factors on students’ choice. Students in this thesis describe actively making decisions; they are players in the field of education. They enter the field with unequal amounts of capital (economic, cultural); thus, although in theory everyone is free to play, not everyone is equal. To the extent that they have different social backgrounds (gender, class), their classed-and-gendered habitus differs as well. In the process of students’ educational choice, their habitus along with the particular educational system (with all its opportunities and restrictions) influence students’ horizons for action, their perceptions of what is available and appropriate for them. The high value placed on higher education (educational fetishism) is another factor influencing students’ horizons for action. In the context of their horizons for action, students employ a variety of strategies in order to enter higher education (e.g. the way they prepare for the exams, their ranking of Schools in preference order etc). The outcome of these strategies is their admission to the Social Work Department, which may have been intended or unintended. After having entered Social Work, additional factors influence students’ educational choice; experiences within the School (e.g. practice tutorials) contribute to their attitude towards social work and their studies, thus to their decision to graduate from the Social Work Department. Students’ decision-making process is made up of patterns of routine experience interspersed with turning points.

The present thesis explores the potential role and implications of technology in elderly care from the users’ perspective. This exploration is undertaken in terms of five empirical studies of a telehealth project and a meta-analysis of their contributions. An important insight emerging from this work is the need to rethink the human subject as a body, rather than as a mere mind using technology. The thesis draws on phenomenology to reconceptualize the user of technology, and on this basis, to theorize about the potential role and implications of technology in care. It concludes that, in combination with humans that integrate technology with their other sensory and emotional capacities, technology can produce affect. The findings indicate that technology can contribute to senior citizens feeling safe, cared for and thereby less isolated. The findings further demonstrate that, because of the perceptual capacity gained from technology, the care workers become aware of new health problems that urgently call for their sensory and emotional responsiveness. On this ground, the thesis challenges the determinist view that technology threatens the essentially ‘human’ aspect; rather, it concludes that feeling and other bodily resources are fundamental in the use of technology. Indeed, technology activates such ‘human’ capabilities. Hence, technology plays a role as a complement for rather than as a replacement of care workers. It increases their work burden by informing them about new needs. This may improve care quality but at an increased cost, which is relevant from a practical perspective. At a more general level, the thesis challenges the dualist legacies in mainstream management research that have sought to divorce mind form body, nature from culture and reason from emotion. It can therefore contribute to broader theoretical developments and fuel existing debates beyond the care setting.

Bakgrund: En vårdrelaterad infektion (VRI) är en av de vanligaste komplikationer som drabbar patienter som vårdas på sjukhus eller andra vårdinrättningar; uppskattningsvis drabbas cirka 10 % av patienterna. Basala hygienrutiner är en effektiv metod för att förhindra kontaktsmitta och därmed minska spridningen av VRI. Enligt Socialstyrelsens föreskrifter om basala hygienrutiner inom hälso- och sjukvården ska vårdpersonalen för att begränsa VRI iaktta dessa åtgärder vid all undersökning, behandling eller annan direktkontakt med patienten. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att kartlägga vårdpersonalens kunskaper om basala hygienrutiner och om det finns faktorer som påverkar följsamheten till de basala hygienrutinerna. Metod: Studien hade en kvantitativ ansats med icke experimentell design, där personalens kunskaper om basala hygienrutiner beskrevs och mättes. Hypoteser utformades och testades. Deskriptiv- och sambandsanalys genomfördes på resultatet. Resultat: Kunskapsnivån hos personalen är relativt hög men förbättringspotential finns. Det finns en tendens till högre följsamhet när kunskapsnivån ökar. Till viss del påverkar olika faktorer följsamheten till hygienrutinerna, bland annat tillgång till desinfektionsmedel och tvättställ samt akuta situationer. Slutsats: Författarna till föreliggande studie anser att utbildning bör ingå som ett obligatoriskt moment vid anställning vid Skaraborgs Sjukhus, samt att det bör finnas en plan för uppdatering av vårdpersonalens kunskaper om basala hygienrutiner. / Background: A hospital-aquired infection is one of the most common complications suffered by patients treated in a hospital or other health care facilities; about 10 % of the patients get a hospital-aquired infection. Routines for basic hygiene is an effective method for preventing contact transmission, and thereby reduce the spread of VRI. According to the regulations for basic hygiene from the National Board of Health and Welfare, the staff is obligated to comply with these measures at any examination, treatment or other direct contact with the patient, to limit the spread of VRI. Aim: The purpose of the study was to chart the nursing staff’s knowledge of the routines for basic hygiene and whether there are factors that affect the adherence to these routines. Method: The study had a quantitative approach with non-experimental design, where the staff's knowledge of the routines for basic hygiene were described and measured. Hypotheses were designed and tested. Descriptive and correlation analyses were performed on the result. Result: The level of knowledge in the staff is relatively high, but there is room for improvement. There is a tendency of higher adherence when the level of knowledge arises. To some extent certain factors affect the adherence to the hygiene routines, for example access of disinfectants and sinks, and acute situations. Conclusion: Extent of knowledge about the subject affects adherence to the routines for basic hygiene, and because of that the authors of this study consider that education should be included as a mandatory element for employment at Skaraborg Hospital, and that there should be a plan for refreshing the nursing staff’s knowledge of routines for basic hygiene.