This study examines engagement regarding casual mobile games. It does so by studying elements of user experience and user interface and how these elements either facilitate or discourage engagement. Self-Determination Theory, flow state and absorption act as the theoretical framework in conjunction with the Game Engagement Questionnaire developed by Brockmyer et al. (2009). The theoretical framework is the base upon which the data collection model was developed as well as how the collected data was analyzed. The results suggest that elements with a negative impact on UI and UX negatively affect player engagement. The data implies that usability, autonomy, skill-level balance are all related to the players ability to enter a flow state, in which the player engagement is high. The results also suggest that fiction is an important factor to the player, as the participants displayed dissatisfaction with the games that contained (to them) unappealing fiction.

Titel: Styrmodeller och motivation - En kvalitativ studie som beskriver hur en kommuns utarbetade styrmodell samspelar med motivationen hos kommunens anställda.  Ämne: Självständigt uppsatsarbete inom företagsekonomi, 30 hp.  Författare: Daniel Johnsson & Jesper Jönsson  Nyckelord: Styrmodell, styrpaket, motivation, kommun, chefskap, självbestämmandeteorin. Inledning: Undersökningar visar att svenska kommuner har haft ett motivationsproblem. Detta är fallet då många kommuner har stött på utmaningar med anställda som säger upp sig och söker sig till nya arbetsplatser. Med detta i beaktning är det viktigt att styrmodellen prioriteras inom kommunen för att utveckla organisationen samtidigt som personalens utveckling, motivation och välmående får stå i fokus.  Forskningsfråga: Hur samspelar styrmodellen inom svenska kommuner med personalens motivation?  Syfte: Då varje kommun behöver hantera olika utmaningar behöver styrmodellen variera mellan kommunerna. För att kunna ge en teoretiskt generaliserad bild kring styrmodellens samspel med motivation hos anställda i Sverige så är det viktigt att förstå hur en kommun fungerar. Därför är syftet med denna studie att beskriva hur styrmodellen inom en specifik kommun i Sverige samspelar med anställdas motivation. Detta görs för att utveckla kunskapen och bidra med nya forskningsinsikter inom ämnet. Därtill är syftet att förklara samspelet och förklara hur olika typer av styrning inom styrmodellen kan ha olika samspel med motivationen.  Teoretisk referensram: Den teoretiska referensramen studerade styrningen som ett gemensamt paket av Malmi och Brown samt självbestämmandeteorin av Ryan och Deci. Referensramen studerade dessa synsätt utifrån olika typer av styrning som kan användas inom en organisation samt inom olika begrepp som anses tillhöra motivation.  Metod: I denna studie användes en abduktiv forskningsansats för att besvara forskningsfrågan. Utöver det användes en kvalitativ metod där vi utförde en fallstudie inom en kommun. Genom semistrukturerade intervjuer samlade vi in studiens empiriska data. Denna data analyserades sedan i form av en kvalitativ innehållsanalys.  Resultat: Det empiriska resultatet hade sin utgångspunkt i ett antal teman som ansågs vara relevanta för att besvara forskningsfrågan. Resultatet presenterade hur studiens respondenter upplevde angiven teori i praktiken, då intervjufrågorna uppkom från den teoretiska referensramen.  Analys: Analysen kombinerade teori och empiriskt resultat för att undersöka samspel begreppen emellan. Detta gjordes genom att ställa tidigare angiven teori och empiriska svar emot varandra. Analysen visade att styrning och motivation samspelar.  Slutsats: Resultatet av denna studie visar att styrningen inom en kommun samspelar med anställdas motivation. Styrning genom planering, cybernetik, kultur och administration samspelar med autonomi, kompetens och tillhörighet. Detta är olika vitala aspekter inom en mer övergripande motivation. Även styrning genom belöning samspelar med motivationen hos anställda, men det samspelar enbart med begreppet kompetens. / Title: Control systems and motivation - A qualitative research study that describes how a municipality and their developed control system interact with the motivation among the municipality employees.  Subject: Master thesis in business economics, 30 hp.   Authors: Daniel Johnsson & Jesper Jönsson  Keywords: Control systems, control systems as a package, motivation, municipality, management, self-determination theory.  Introduction: Research shows that Swedish municipalities have a motivation problem. This is the case since a lot of municipalities have faced challenges with employees who resigns and look for other places to conduct their work. Because of that it is vital that the control system is prioritized to develop the organization at the same time as the employee’s development, motivation, and well-being remains in focus.  Research question: How do the developed control system in Swedish municipalities interact with the motivation among the employees?  Research aim: Since every municipality need to handle different challenges, the control system needs to vary between the municipalities. To be able to present a generalized picture about how the control system interact with employee motivation in Sweden it is essential to understand how one municipality operates. The aim of this thesis is therefore to describe how the developed control system in a specific municipality in Sweden interact with the motivation among the municipality employees. This is done to develop the knowledge and contribute useful insights regarding the subject. In addition, the aim is to explain the interaction and explain how different types of control systems can have different outcomes on the motivation among employees.  Theoretical framework: The theoretical framework has researched control systems as a package by Malmi and Brown as well as the self-determination theory by Ryan and Deci. The framework examines these approaches from different types of control systems that can be used within an organization, as well as different ideas which is considered to belong within motivation.  Method: In this thesis an abductive research approach was used to answer the research question. Beyond that the authors used a qualitative method where a case study was accomplished in a municipality. Through semi-structured interviews we then collected the empirical data for the thesis. This data was later analyzed with a qualitative content analysis.    Result: The empirical result had its starting point in several themes which was considered relevant to the research question. The result presented how the respondents experienced earlier mentioned theory more practically, since the interview questions arose from the theoretical framework.  Analysis: The analysis combined the theoretical framework and the empirical result to see the interplay between the concepts. This was conducted by putting theory and empirical answers against each other. The analysis later showed that control systems and motivation interplays.   Conclusion: The conclusion of this thesis shows that the control system in a municipality interact with the motivation among the employees. Control systems through planning, cybernetic, culture and administration interact with autonomy, competence and relatedness. These are three vital aspects in a larger motivation picture. Even a control system based on rewards interacts with motivation among employees, but only through competence.

The aim of this thesis is to compare the consecutive years of degree of happiness between the Nordic region and Japan. The second aim is to seek for the detrimental factor contributing to happiness before and during the pandemic, based on the measurement by the World Happiness Report. Yearly based datasets of 'life ladder score', 'log GDP per capita', 'social support', 'healthy life expectancy', 'freedom to make life choices', 'generosity', and 'perception of corruption' from 2008 to 2021 were used for the aim and goal. The results of this study showed there were no significant changes in the trend of happiness from 2008 to 2021 between the Nordic region and Japan. Also, there were not any significant differences in terms of subjective well-being before and during the pandemic. Besides, as a result of multiple regression analysis, the study revealed that 'freedom to make life choices' was the detrimental factor that contributed to the subjective well-being before the pandemic. On the other hand, during the pandemic, 'social support' was the detrimental factor between the Nordic region and Japan. This study implied the connectedness between the subjective well-being and self-determination theory in terms of relatedness, and autonomy. For further investigation, it was concluded that creating a more inclusive measurement of happiness which adjusts diverse psychological definitions of happiness, investigating the relationship between the subcategories of population and happiness, and reviewing more comprehensive detrimental factors that explain well-being between the Nordic region and Japan should be needed.

Efter att corona pandemin sveptes över världen ändrade detta det traditionella arbetssättet, människor runtom i världen fick anpassa sina arbetssätt efter pandemin och distansarbete blev standard. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur distansarbete påverkar arbetsmotivationen och dess samband. De aspekter i arbetsmotivationen som har undersökts är autonomi, kompetens och samhörighet och hur de har påverkats av distansarbete och motivationsteorierna som behandlas i undersökningen är Maslows behovsteori och självbestämmandeteorin. Insamling av data har skett med en kvantitativ metod genom en egenutformad enkät. Resultat visar att det inte finns något samband vad gäller distansarbete och arbetsmotivation överlag, men lägger man till variabler som ålder och antal år på arbetsplatsen kan man se svaga samband. Resultatet visar inte heller något signifikant samband mellan autonomi och distansarbete, däremot visar resultatet ett negativt samband mellan distansarbete och aspekterna kompetens och samhörighet. / When the corona pandemic swept across the world, it changed the traditional way of working, people around the world had to adapt their ways of working when the pandemic ended and teleworking became the standard. The purpose of this study is to examine the way teleworking has affected work motivation among employees and its relations. The aspects of work motivation that have been examined in this study are competence, autonomy and relatedness, and how these aspects have been affected by telework and the motivation theories that are going to be discussed in this study are Maslow's Hierarchy of Need and the Self-Determination Theory. Data collection has been done with a quantitative method through a self-designed survey. Results show that there is no relation between telework and work motivation in general. When adding variables such as age and the number of years the employees have been at the current workplace, we would see weak relations. The result also does not show any significant relation between autonomy and telework, however, the result shows a negative connection between telework and the aspects of competence and relatedness.

No description available.

The background for this study is anchored in the growing problem that is pupils’ lack in motivation in physical education, and how it affects the active participation in class. The aim for the survey was to investigate the motivations (Deci & Ryan, 1971) effectiveness in active participation in terms of experienced autonomy, experienced competence and belonging. The questions at issue were as following: How can pupils´ autonomy be described and what correlation can be seen to students’ active participation? How can pupils’ experienced competence be described and what correlation can be seen to students’ active participation? How pupils´ responded to questions related to experienced belonging in physical education and how it correlated to active participation? The study was based on a quantitative method in which a survey targeted to pupils between the ages fifteen to nineteen was sent out. 33 high- and elementary schools were contacted whereas two chose to participate. From these two schools, 71 pupils answered the survey. The results displayed that the student experienced a low autonomy, competence and belonging. The results indicated that there was no correlation between the above three categories and motivation towards active participation. By looking at the report from an objective point of view there is some parts that in revising would get altered. An excerpt of these can be rephrasing of survey question, in relation to some that ended up being systematic defects.

An increasing number of digital educational materials and games are being used today to enhance motivation and engagement in learning activities. However, there is a lack of research on how these digital educational games impact the intrinsic motivation of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a common cognitive disability, affecting approximately 5-7 % of school children. There is a lack of research on this in a Swedish school environment. This study, based on Self-Determination Theory, investigated the perceived impact of digital educational games with gamification elements on the motivation and learning of children with ADHD, specifically evaluating autonomy, competence, and relatedness. The study used a mixed method and began with an online survey among a group of 41 special education teachers. These professionals possess a unique understanding of children with cognitive disabilities, like ADHD, and their specific challenges in the school environment. Additionally, three semi structured interviews with special education teachers were analysed to gain a deeper understanding of the teachers’ perspectives. The conclusions that can be drawn from the two methods carried out are that the research field is highly complex, and moreover, there are both positive and negative aspects of gamification which require consideration when addressing the challenges of children with ADHD. Finally, the study has identified several areas that would be interesting and valuable to further investigate in future work.

This study sought insight into the religious and cultural identity of emerging adults belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints(LDS) and the impact such identity had in relation to volunteering motivation. Participants included 24 emerging adult college students belonging to the Church. Thematic analysis was used to determine influencing factors that led to Church membership and how Church membership shaped self-perception. Participants shared volunteer experiences and motivation to volunteer in relation to Deci and Ryan’s (2000) self-determination theory (SDT) was examined. The motivation of relatedness was identified among 100% of participants as compared to competence (37.5%) and autonomy (16.7%). Findings suggest participants regard being children of God and serving children of God as an important factor of religious identity that influenced volunteer work. This study provides a guiding framework for volunteer organizations and how they can target recruiting efforts toward emerging adult Church members.

La formation des psychothérapeutes peut être très stressante et les apprentis sont particulièrement à risque de développer des symptômes de détresse psychologique, tels que l'anxiété, la dépression et l'épuisement professionnel. Parallèlement, les interventions de pleine conscience ont montré des résultats prometteurs dans la réduction de ces symptômes chez les professionnels de la santé, y compris les psychothérapeutes. Toutefois, les mécanismes par lesquels la pleine conscience réduit la détresse psychologique sont encore incertains. La théorie de l'autodétermination suggère que la pleine conscience permet aux individus d'être plus ouverts et réceptifs aux informations de leurs mondes intérieur et extérieur, ce qui facilite à son tour la satisfaction de leurs besoins psychologiques fondamentaux d'autonomie, de compétence et d’affiliation, considérés comme essentiels au bien-être psychologique. Cependant, à ce jour, les études visant à tester cette théorie ont été réalisées à l’aide de devis transversaux, ne permettant pas de prouver la présence d’une médiation. L’étude présentée dans ce mémoire visait donc à tester la relation entre le trait de pleine conscience, la satisfaction des besoins psychologiques, et la détresse psychologique d’apprentis psychothérapeutes à travers un modèle de médiation à devis longitudinal. Les données ont été recueillies auprès de 27 apprentis psychothérapeutes au début (T1) et au milieu de l'année universitaire (T2). Les résultats suggèrent que la satisfaction des besoins psychologiques médiait partiellement la relation entre le trait de pleine conscience et la détresse psychologique. Les implications théoriques et pratiques de ces résultats sont discutées. / Psychotherapists’ training can be very stressful, and trainees are especially prone to symptoms of psychological distress, such as anxiety, depression, and burnout. Mindfulness interventions have shown promising results in reducing those symptoms among health care professionals, including psychotherapists. However, the mechanisms through which mindfulness reduces psychological distress are still uncertain. Self-determination theory suggests that mindfulness allows individuals to be more open and receptive to information from their inner and outer worlds, which in turn facilitates the satisfaction of their basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, considered essential to psychological well-being. However, to this day, studies investigating this theory were limited to cross-sectional designs. The study presented in this thesis therefore aimed at testing the relationship between mindfulness trait, basic psychological needs satisfaction, and psychological distress among psychotherapist trainees through a longitudinal mediation design. Data was collected among 27 trainees at the beginning and mid-point of the academic year. Results indicated that needs satisfaction partially mediated the relationship between trait mindfulness and psychological distress. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Titel: Motivera i det bästa av två världar Författare: Isabelle Gagner-Geeber och Malin Palm Handledare: Janet Johansson Bakgrund: Hybrida arbetsplatser har omformat företagsvärlden, och beskrivs som framtidens sätt att arbeta på. Då arbetssättet innebär en kombination av arbetsplatser där anställda arbetar både på plats och distans, skapas unika möjligheter och utmaningar för den hybrida arbetsplatsen. Dessa möjligheter och utmaningar kan medföra både positiva och negativa effekter på medarbetares motivation, vilket beskrivs som en central aspekt för ledare att förstå och fokusera på. Ledare har genom sin roll en stor möjlighet att inverka på medarbetares motivation, vilket gör det av intresse att förstå hur ledare arbetar med motivation hos medarbetare i en hybrid arbetsplats. Syfte och forskningsfrågor: Syftet med studien är att skapa en ökad förståelse för hur ledare arbetar med motivation hos sina medarbetare i hybrida arbetsplatser, utifrån ledares perspektiv. Studien ämnar undersöka syftet utifrån tidigare forskning om den hybrida arbetsplatsen, ledares roll i motivation och Självbestämmelseteorin. Forskningsfrågor: • Vilka utmaningar och möjligheter upplever ledare i att upprätthålla god motivation i en hybrid arbetsplats? • Hur arbetar ledare för att försöka hantera, respektive ta vara på dessa utmaningar och möjligheter till att påverka sina medarbetares motivation? Metod: Studien utgörs av en kvalitativ flerfallstudie och tar utgångspunkt i ett fenomenologiskt vetenskapligt förhållningsätt. Studiens empiriska material är insamlat genom sju semistrukturerade intervjuer. I enlighet med studiens syfte utgör den aktuella urvalsramen ledare som arbetar på en hybrid arbetsplats och har medarbetaransvar. Med en iterativ ansats har ökad förståelse för fenomenet gradvist kunnat växa fram genom att röra oss mellan teori och empiri. En tematisk analys har därefter genomförts. Slutsats: Studien visar att den hybrida arbetsplatsen medför både utmaningar och möjligheter i hur motivation kan främjas. Några av de främsta utmaningarna för ledare i att främja motivation beskrivs som att finna balansen mellan behovet av autonomi och kontroll, den minskade sociala interaktionen och svårigheter i att skapa tillit. Den främsta möjligheten som tas upp grundar sig i den ökade flexibiliteten, vilket främjar motivation i flertalet olika aspekter. För att kunna hantera dessa utmaningar och ta vara på möjligheterna, indikerar resultatet på emotionell intelligens, en ökad vikt av att se till individers olika behov samt ökat fokus på relationsbyggande som huvudsakliga framgångsfaktorer för ledare att lyckas. / Title: Motivating in the Best of Both Worlds Authors: Isabelle Gagner-Geeber och Malin Palm Supervisor: Janet Johansson Background: Hybrid workplaces have reshaped the business world and are described as the way of working in the future. As hybrid workplaces involve a combination of on-site and remote work, unique opportunities and challenges arise for the hybrid workplace. These opportunities and challenges follow with both positive and negative effects on employees’ motivation, which is seen as a crucial aspect for leaders to understand and focus on. Leaders have a significant opportunity to influence employees’ motivation through their role, making it a topic of interest to understand how leaders work with motivation in a hybrid workplace. Aim: The purpose of the study is to create an increased understanding of how leaders work with employee motivation in hybrid workplaces, from the leaders' perspective. The study aims to investigate the purpose based on previous research on the hybrid workplace, leaders' role in motivation and Self-determination theory. Research questions: • What challenges and opportunities do leaders experience in maintaining good motivation in a hybrid workplace? • How do leaders work to try to manage or take advantage of these challenges and opportunities to influence their employees' motivation? Methodology: The study consists of a qualitative multiple case study and adopts a phenomenological scientific approach. The empirical data for the study were collected through seven semi-structured interviews. In line with the study's purpose, the selected sample frame comprises leaders working in a hybrid workplace with personnel responsibilities. Employing an iterative approach, a deeper understanding of the phenomenon has gradually emerged by moving between theory and empirical data. A thematic analysis was subsequently conducted. Conclusion: The study shows that the hybrid workplace follows with both challenges and opportunities in motivating employees. Some of the key challenges for leaders in fostering motivation are finding a balance between the need for autonomy and control, dealing with reduced social interaction, and difficulties in building trust. The primary opportunity identified is rooted in increased flexibility, which promotes motivation in various aspects. To address these challenges and take advantage of the opportunities, the findings indicate the importance of emotional intelligence, greater emphasis on addressing individual needs, and increased focus on relationship-building as key success factors for leaders.