This thesis is an investigation into the university-level teaching of Buddhism in New Zealand, which has developed as part of the international spread of education about Buddhism for both Buddhists and non-Buddhists. The study was based on Interpretivism and accordingly sought to understand and interpret university teachers’ perceptions and experiences about their teaching of Buddhism; as they engage with the students' learning in this field. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were employed as the primary research method. All seven university teachers who teach Buddhism in New Zealand were invited to be the participants. Six university teachers participated in this research-study. Five of them were academic teachers, respectively teaching at Religious Studies of Massey, Victoria and Otago. Another one was a New Zealand-born Zen teacher who had been teaching a Zen meditation workshop at Auckland University of Technology for several years, and taught two Buddhism-related courses at the University of Auckland. These participants were chosen according to the information provided on official websites of New Zealand universities. The findings from the study showed that the university-level teaching of Buddhism in New Zealand, though growing, had been limited by the number of teachers and students. As fewer students were primarily interested in Buddhism, outward funding support appeared to be a very important factor for its future development. In terms of teachers’ role, objective-outsider remained the main position for scholars and scholar-practitioners in teaching Buddhism in university classroom. In addition to the pursuit of knowledge, there were also alternative educational opportunities, such as Zen workshop, for university staffs and students to learn Buddhism, outside university classroom. This thesis is significant in that it provided a bibliography and a set of data for the university-level teaching of Buddhism in the West, particularly New Zealand It established a space for future educational research into for the university-level teaching of Buddhism in the West, as part of the field of’ Buddhism and Education.’ In future studies, the limited approaches to teaching Buddhism in universities could be investigated on the basis of the literatures and findings of this study.

This thesis is an investigation into the university-level teaching of Buddhism in New Zealand, which has developed as part of the international spread of education about Buddhism for both Buddhists and non-Buddhists. The study was based on Interpretivism and accordingly sought to understand and interpret university teachers’ perceptions and experiences about their teaching of Buddhism; as they engage with the students' learning in this field. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were employed as the primary research method. All seven university teachers who teach Buddhism in New Zealand were invited to be the participants. Six university teachers participated in this research-study. Five of them were academic teachers, respectively teaching at Religious Studies of Massey, Victoria and Otago. Another one was a New Zealand-born Zen teacher who had been teaching a Zen meditation workshop at Auckland University of Technology for several years, and taught two Buddhism-related courses at the University of Auckland. These participants were chosen according to the information provided on official websites of New Zealand universities. The findings from the study showed that the university-level teaching of Buddhism in New Zealand, though growing, had been limited by the number of teachers and students. As fewer students were primarily interested in Buddhism, outward funding support appeared to be a very important factor for its future development. In terms of teachers’ role, objective-outsider remained the main position for scholars and scholar-practitioners in teaching Buddhism in university classroom. In addition to the pursuit of knowledge, there were also alternative educational opportunities, such as Zen workshop, for university staffs and students to learn Buddhism, outside university classroom. This thesis is significant in that it provided a bibliography and a set of data for the university-level teaching of Buddhism in the West, particularly New Zealand It established a space for future educational research into for the university-level teaching of Buddhism in the West, as part of the field of’ Buddhism and Education.’ In future studies, the limited approaches to teaching Buddhism in universities could be investigated on the basis of the literatures and findings of this study.

Magister Artium - MA (Psychology) / Honours students in Psychology typically form larger cohorts with numbers ranging from 20 to 40 students in comparison to other disciplines that have fewer than 10 students in a cohort. The National Qualifications Framework (NQF) requires Honours students to complete a thesis that is equivalent to 300 notional hours or 30 credits. The learning outcome is that students conduct low level research that prepares them for conceptualizing, executing and writing up a research project. The thesis requirement should also prepare them for future studies. The larger cohorts and revised NQF thesis requirement places increased pressure on the staff compliment of Psychology departments. Some of the ways in which departments have attempted to cope with this increased demand include conducting group-based research projects, and secondary research projects. One of the concerns raised is whether these particular types of methodology prepared students adequately for reactive research in further studies. This study aimed to explore students' subjective perceptions about the extent to which group-based systematic review methodology in the Honours year adequately prepared students for conducting research during their masters-level studies. An explorative study was conducted to explore the experiences of purposively selected recent graduates from two identified Honours programmes that have progressed to Masters level studies. Participants were invited on the basis of being graduates or alumni rather than their registration status as Masters students at particular universities.

Technological advancements and digital tools have radically changed the professional profile of public librarians and yet little has been researched about the practical influence these changes have had on the digital competences that the professionals need in their daily work. The goal of the present paper is to examine which digital competences are required of the modern public librarian. A mixed-method research approach was adopted, based on content analysis of job advertisements retrieved from a Swedish context and semi-structured interviews with five currently employed librarians. A conceptual model was developed to allow a triangulation of results based on such different datasets. Results showed that the concept of digital competences is still defined in diffuse terms, often subjective to individual interpretations and strongly affected by the library’s size and user population. In spite of this, the professionals working in the public library sector clearly demand a minimum standard of digital skills and knowledge in all digital competences to be established. Such standard is needed both to perform daily responsibilities linked to the professional role of the public librarian and to the vital task of catering to the users’ needs.

Bakgrund: Kronisk hosta är ett vanligt medicinskt tillstånd och definieras som hosta som varar mer än åtta veckor och är behandlingsresistent (refraktär) trots noggranna utredningar eller medicinska behandlingar. Det drabbar cirka 10% av den vuxna befolkningen och har en betydande negativ inverkan på livskvalitet. Det finns hittills inga studier som beskriver hur hostan påverkar individernas vardag och möjlighet att genomföra fysisk aktivitet. Syfte: Att undersöka hur individer som har diagnostiserats med kronisk refraktär hosta upplever att hostan påverkar vardagen och hens förmåga att vara fysisk aktiv.  Metod: Kvalitativ metod med semistrukturerade intervjuer tillämpades. Intervjuerna (n=10) transkriberades och tolkades med tematisk analys med induktiv ansats.  Resultat: Analysen resulterade i tre huvudteman 1) Betydande inverkan på vardagen, 2) Kampen om kontrollen och 3) Hostan under fysisk aktivitet. Dessa tre teman och deras åtta underteman belyser komplexiteten och omfattningen av hur hostan påverkar individernas liv. Slutsats: Kronisk hosta har avsevärd påverkan på vardagen och har negativa effekter på individens psykosociala tillstånd. Studien belyser dock att fysisk aktivitet är genomförbart för individer med kronisk hosta men att anpassningar kan behövas avseende intensitet eller typ av aktivitet. En bättre förståelse för innebörden och konsekvenserna av att leva med kronisk hosta kan vara ett bidrag till att ytterligare utveckla framgångsrika behandlingsmetoder. / Background: Chronic cough is a common medical condition and is defined as cough that lasts more than eight weeks and is treatment-resistant (refractory) despite careful investigations or medical treatments. It affects about 10% of the adult population and has a significant negative impact on quality of life. So far, there are no studies describing how the cough affects individuals' everyday lives and ability to carry out physical activity. Aim: To investigate how individuals who have been diagnosed with chronic refractory cough experience that the cough affects everyday life and his/her ability to be physically active. Method: Qualitative method with semi-structured interviews was applied. The interviews (n=10) were transcribed and interpreted with thematic analysis with an inductive approach. Results: The analysis resulted in three main themes: 1) Significant impact on everyday life, 2) The struggle for control and 3) The cough during physical activity. These three themes and their eight subthemes highlight the complexity and scope of how the cough affects the lives of individuals. Conclusion: Chronic cough has a significant impact on everyday life and has negative effects on the individual's psychosocial state. However, the study highlights that physical activity is feasible for individuals with chronic cough but that adaptations may be needed regarding intensity or type of activity. A better understanding of the meaning and consequences of living with chronic cough can be a contribution to further developing successful treatment methods.

Scrum är ett arbetssätt som implementeras för att främja kommunikation och produktivitet för företaget. I många fall används Scrum inte korrekt hos dataspelsföretag och dessa företag väljer medvetet eller omedvetet att inte implementera några av de viktiga delarna. Scrum tappar då effektivitet och kan i värsta fall bli ett negativt påverkande verktyg. Denna studie menar att undersöka och kartlägga hur Scrum används i spelutvecklingen i Skövde och har därmed behandlat frågeställningen “Vilka är de framträdande utvecklingsriktningarna i användandet av Scrum inom Spelutveckling?”Scrumpraxis kartlades hos de intervjuade företagen. Resultatet för studien är att scrum inte används korrekt i spelindustrin i Skövde och att många av de viktiga delarna förkastas eller görs mer sällan än vad de borde. Ett exempel på detta är sprintåterblick och sprintgranskning som används av väldigt få företag och är en väsentlig del av Scrum. Studien har även identifierat en generell avsaknad av en scrummaster bland de intervjuade företagen.

In today's fast-paced technological landscape, artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized the digital marketing domain. And marketing communicators have to constantly adapt to new technology and media. Although AI has grown a lot in recent years, its origins go back to the 1950s. This study aims to provide more insights into marketing communicators workflows and how they use AI in their role.  This research seeks to see how swedish marketing communicators in different organizations use AI and their attitude towards it. Additionally, the researchers adopt a holistic perspective by examining the organizational structure within each company, to identify factors that facilitate or hinder the adoption of AI. This means that the focus is not only on individual attitudes but also on broader organizational and cultural aspects that influence the acceptance and usage of AI. The methodology employed in this study, a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews with six participants, allows for a deep and nuanced understanding of participants experiences and perspectives. By using a qualitative approach with a selection of participants with substantial experience in the marketing industry, a multifaceted and representative insight into the subject matter is ensured.  The results of the interviews demonstrate an interesting variation in how participants perceive and utilize AI tools. At the same time, it also highlights the uncertainties regarding the use of this technology, especially concerning the reliability and origin of the information generated by AI systems. An important observation is how the use of AI has transformed participants professional roles. The demands for delivering high-quality results have increased, subsequently driving the pace within the marketing industry. The implementation of AI is seen as a way to meet these heightened demands and remain competitive in the market. Overall, the study provides a profound insight into the complex relationship between marketers and AI technology, as well as its impact on the dynamics and development of the industry.

Insourcing, outsourcing and co-sourcing are three approaches to procuring an information system. This research contributes to the body of knowledge on insourcing an information system; exploring and discussing the enabling and inhibiting factors of the insourcing of an information system in selected government agencies in Malaysia. This study was undertaken in response to a paucity of similar projects and a limited literature focused on developing countries. It considers the post outsourcing context following the decision to insource a major Malaysian Government Information System in 2011. A qualitative research method was used to obtain empirical evidence from selected government agencies through 69 semi-structured interviews in two data collection periods: 2013-2014 and 2015. Interviews were conducted with civil servants at all levels, from senior management to clerical staff, including users of the government information system. By using coding principles from grounded theory to analyse the data, seven exciters and six inhibitors of insourcing a government information system were identified and mapped in the analytical framework. Further, this is the first research to use an enhanced model, devised by combining the OPTIMISM model and two distinct theoretical traditions: institutional theory and the capability approach; in order to analyse the insourcing of government information system adoption. The enhanced model was created by mapping the OPTIMISM model (that has a set of dimensions) to an analytical framework comprising the capability approach, institutional theory and technology (ICTs). The main research contribution of this thesis is in the area of capacity building of the internal development team. The increased budget for training, the selection of appropriate training providers and knowledge sharing among experienced and novice developers all contribute to building capacity in the internal development team; and consequently help to improve the quality of the system which will improve service delivery to the general public. The approach and findings of this study contribute to the body of knowledge and understanding of the subject in government information system development and implementation, and can also be applied to improving the quality of service delivery. While this study has focused on government information systems, the wider area of eGovernment, and applications serving the needs of the general public, is equally important, and therefore the researcher suggests that insourcing eGovernment applications would also assist in the capacity building of internal IT staff.

Syftet med undersökningen är att synliggöra förskollärares attityder till matematik och hur attityderna påverkar barns matematiska lärande i förskolan. Detta undersöks genom ett sociokulturellt perspektiv och med fokus på de teoretiska begreppen kultur, mediering, språk, den proximala utvecklingszonen, matematik enligt Bishops modell, attityd och matematisk subjektivitet. Studien följer en kvalitativ ansats och empirin har samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. Resultaten visar att förskollärarna har positiva attityder till matematik och att de är medvetna om att deras attityder till matematik påverkar barns lärande och prestationer i matematik. Vidare visar resultaten att förskollärarna betonar miljön som viktig för barns lärande där de själva och konkret material ingår i miljön.

Unemployment rate is all time low in Europe and this results in shortage of skilled workers. At same time technology changes are on their boom which puts new requirements of skills including diversifying competencies. The companies like consultancy faces issues to find right people with right skills and at right time. This unavailability of resources impacts the strategic goal of company. Smaller companies need to compete with mid-size and large companies over the same skilled workforce. Due to the lack of branding and company recognition, this can cripple the companies to grow and gather a completive advantage. Previous work has failed to address this issue, especially related to the smaller IT consultancies which is the fastest growing segment. The 99% of all business in Europe represents by small or medium size companies. IT consultancy companies represented the most growing and major contributor in value creation in information and communication sector in Europe. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to answer in what way the low unemployment rate affects the strategical process and execution for small IT consultancy companies. Furthermore, this study looked into the role of recruitment process to attract and retain skilled employees. A qualitative approach combined with semi-structured interviews was used as the main methodology to gather empirical data and answer the key problems of this study. The semi-structured interviews were chosen due to the possibility to give the interviewers a freedom to speak and explain moderately, especially strategy processes, which are different from one company to other ones. This study found that small IT consultancy companies had little or no formal structure in the strategical processes in relation to the literature available in the topic, but still highlighted and expressed that strategy is important for the companies. Although if small IT companies want to grow, they must rethink the organizational structure. All studied companies are providing high salaries, freedom of work, technology learning, and job satisfaction as a key tool to attract talent. All companies in general asked the most critical questions on how to grow their business with the basis of their own limitations. Unfortunately, none of the companies reviewed and monitored their objectives on frequent and regular basis.  This study found that the low unemployment rate plays a critical role which can increase the profit margin, but cannot increase the number of employees and potentially minimize the importance of the strategical process. The study also found that low unemployment rate creates a healthy competitive environment where all large and small consultancy companies enables each other to grow instead of competing.