Design thinking as an enabler of innovation: Exploring the concept and its relation to building innovation capabilities

This thesis deals with the concept of Design thinking (DT) and the building of innovation capabilities. DT has emerged as a management concept promising innovation inspired by design. However, the concept is poorly conceptualized and scarcely investigated in organizational settings, especially in relation to its potential role as an enabler of innovation. Building on empirical studies of companies claiming to use DT, the thesis aims at providing a better understanding of the concept, how it is used in innovation work, and its role in building innovation capabilities in large firms. The studies show large variety in the understanding and use of the concept, and its integration in and adaptation to existing practices. The concept of DT seem to be somewhat stuck in between the fields of innovation and design. On the one hand the concept can be seen as (over)simplifying the complexity of design practice; on the other hand, the results of this thesis show that use of DT is aligned with several practices highlighted by innovation scholars. The thesis makes two main theoretical contributions. First it argues for a performative perspective on DT that does not focus on what DT is or what value it has, but rather what it becomes and what it can do in various settings; thus putting focus on context. A conceptual model for how to understand DT as a boundary object is proposed, consisting of five core principles associated with a set of principles, practices, and techniques. It takes account of the fact that DT takes different shapes in different contexts, and accommodates to a variety of ways of applying and using DT. Second it argues that DT can play a role in building innovation capability in large firms. The studies show how a range of perceived values and effects of using DT are connected to elements presented in innovation capability theory; resources, processes, mindset and a strategic intent to innovate. It is argued also that the current status of the innovation capability of a firm can hinder or enable use of DT and the competences built, thereby influencing potential value resulting from its use. There are few previous examples in the literature of how innovation capabilities are built, and this thesis adds a new approach; building innovation capability through the long-term use of DT, and in interplay with the current capability of the organization. The thesis shows that the perceived effects of using DT go beyond practical innovation work, and argues that when managers consider using DT, it is critical to not consider the concept in isolation, or demand results too fast, but rather to take a systemic perspective, considering all aspects of resources, process and mindset. The thesis also paves the way for more research, both on the use of DT and on how innovation capability can be built

”Nefertiti skriker i Berlin” Bodil Malmstens poesi – motiv och motivation

Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka motivet rädsla i Bodil Malmstens diktsamling Nefertiti i Berlin, samt att i didaktiskt syfte redogöra för hur elevers intresse för boken kan väckas. Frågorna jag ställer inför arbetet är: Vilka farhågor kan urskiljas i dikterna och hur formuleras dessa? Hur kan gymnasieelever motiveras att läsa dikterna i svenskämnets litteraturundervisning

Irony Comprehension In Children With ASD: Does Conventionality Make a Difference?

Debra BurnettIrony, a non-literal language convention in which the meaning of the statement and what is said are contradictory, is employed and practiced in the English language regularly. To interpret an ironic statement accurately, an individual must be able to infer the speaker’s meaning, attitude and intent. This type of interpretation is potentially one of the most difficult tasks to develop for children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), as a core deficit of individuals with ASD is perspective taking skills as well as deficits in pragmatic communication. The current study explored the acquisition of irony for children ages eight to eleven years with ASD in comparison to their typically developing same-aged peers, and their peers with language impairments. It will also examine how the conventionality of the ironic statement influences the child’s comprehension skills. The study presented 22 short vignettes to participants via auditory or written modalities. These vignettes contained remarks that were either ironic or literal in nature, and utilized both conventional and situation-specific remarks. Following presentation of the vignette, participants were asked a series of questions to assess their comprehension of speaker meaning, attitude, and intent. Results from the sample of 5 participants indicated that there were no significant differences between the two types of remarks. Implications for those findings are discussed

Challenging the 'New Professionalism': from managerialism to pedagogy?

In recent years there have been changes made to the conceptualisation of continuing professional development for teachers in both the Scottish and English systems of education. These changes have been instigated by successive UK governments (and more recently, by the Scottish Executive), together with the General teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) and the General Teaching Council for England (GTCE). This paper argues that these changes have not provided a clear rationale for CPD, but instead have introduced tensions between the concept of teacher education and that of training. The need for a less confused understanding of CPD and its purposes is underlined, as is the need for school based approaches to continuing teacher education. Arguably, teacher education must move from technicist emphases to a model which integrates the social processes of change within society and schools with the individual development and empowerment of teachers

Diversity of Zoanthids (Anthozoa: Hexacorallia) on Hawaiian Seamounts: Description of the Hawaiian Gold Coral and Additional Zoanthids

The Hawaiian gold coral has a history of exploitation from the deep slopes and seamounts of the Hawaiian Islands as one of the precious corals commercialised in the jewellery industry. Due to its peculiar characteristic of building a scleroproteic skeleton, this zoanthid has been referred as Gerardia sp. (a junior synonym of Savalia Nardo, 1844) but never formally described or examined by taxonomists despite its commercial interest. While collection of Hawaiian gold coral is now regulated, globally seamounts habitats are increasingly threatened by a variety of anthropogenic impacts. However, impact assessment studies and conservation measures cannot be taken without consistent knowledge of the biodiversity of such environments. Recently, multiple samples of octocoral-associated zoanthids were collected from the deep slopes of the islands and seamounts of the Hawaiian Archipelago. The molecular and morphological examination of these zoanthids revealed the presence of at least five different species including the gold coral. Among these only the gold coral appeared to create its own skeleton, two other species are simply using the octocoral as substrate, and the situation is not clear for the final two species. Phylogenetically, all these species appear related to zoanthids of the genus Savalia as well as to the octocoral-associated zoanthid Corallizoanthus tsukaharai, suggesting a common ancestor to all octocoral-associated zoanthids. The diversity of zoanthids described or observed during this study is comparable to levels of diversity found in shallow water tropical coral reefs. Such unexpected species diversity is symptomatic of the lack of biological exploration and taxonomic studies of the diversity of seamount hexacorals

Vad kan den som kan? – (ämnes)kunnande som centralt forskningsobjekt i ämnesdidaktisk forskning

I artikeln argumenteras för att kunskaper om kunnanden är en viktig aspekt av lärares professionella kunskapsbas och att utvecklingen av sådana kunskaper är en viktig uppgift för den ämnesdidaktiska forskningen. Att förmedla kunskaper handlar om mycket mer än att överföra den kodifierade och formulerade kunskapen. Kunskaper om vad som kännetecknar kunnanden inom olika ämnesområden skulle ge lärare möjligheter att bättre förstå elevernas svårigheter i lärandet och bidra till en mer systematisk undervisningsutveckling. Kunnande beskrivs som kunskapens ”underförstådda baksida”, och det som binder ihop kunskaper med individen och det sammanhang där kunskapen fyller en funktion. För att utveckla ett ämneskunnande måste, utöver fakta och begrepp, också de sätt att erfara och förhålla sig till världen som utvecklats inom ämnestraditionen erövras. I artikeln ges exempel på hur kunnande, som oftast inte kan observeras direkt, kan studeras och beskrivas. ENGLISH: What does the knower know? (Disciplinary) knowing as a central research object in subject didactic research The article argues that knowledge concerning subject specific knowings is a central aspect of teachers’ professional knowledge and that generating such knowledge is an important task for subject didactic research. The teaching of subjects includes more than what is explicitly codified and formulated. Knowledge of what characterizes knowings within different subject areas is important for teachers’ understanding of student learning difficulties and will contribute to a systematic development of teaching these subject areas. Knowing is described as the tacit aspects of knowledge and that which connects ”the known” with the individual knower as well as the context where this known is functional and used. It is not enough to learn facts and concepts in order to develop subject specific knowings but also acquire specific ways of experiencing and relating to the specific subject area. The article also gives examples of research concerning subject specific knowings

Effects of policy instruments on the vehicle gas market : a case study of Sweden and Finland

One third of Sweden’s greenhouse gas emissions originates from the transport sector, nearly exclusively from domestic road transport. To reach the goal of net zero emissions by 2045, biofuels are needed to complement the electrification of the vehicle fleet. For biogas to be competitive compared to its fossil alternatives, policy instruments are required. There are many instruments like these in place in Sweden, but to ensure that resources are spent effectively, continuous evaluations of the different policy instruments are needed. This case study compares the combination of different policy instruments between Sweden and a comparable country in relation to their respective development of the vehicle gas market. To identify the country that is suitable for the comparison, calculations of Mahalanobis distance were performed. Then, the differences in development of the two vehicle gas markets were established through a hypothesis testing and lastly an analysis of the different policy instrument mixtures were conducted. The results show that Finland is the most suitable country for the comparison, based on several variables related to the biomass potential and the propensity for introducing climate policy instruments. The Finnish biogas market is less developed than the Swedish one, mainly due to a drive for nuclear power and other biofuels. An increase in the percentage change of refueling stations as well as the number of gas vehicles can be seen in Finland between 2016 and 2017. This can be a consequence of the state-owned Gasum investing in refueling infrastructure. Furthermore, Sweden have been directing policy instruments toward increased usage of biogas in the transport sector for a long time and thereby allowing faith in a stable market such that market actors dare to invest in biogas production and upgrading facilities.En tredjedel av Sveriges växthusgasutsläpp kommer från transportsektorn, framför allt från inhemsk vägtransport. För att nå målet om netto-noll utsläpp till 2045 ses biobränslen som ett nödvändigt komplement till elektrifieringen av fordonsflottan. Biogas är en blandning av främst metan och koldioxid som produceras genom rötning av olika typer av organiskt material. Den blandning av biogas och naturgas som används som fordonsbränsle kallas just fordonsgas. För att göra fordonsgas konkurrenskraftigt gentemot fossila alternativ behövs styrmedel. Olika typer av styrmedel påverkar olika delar av kedjan, det finns bland annat stöd som stöttar produktionen och andra som stöttar vid investeringar när det exempelvis ska byggas olika typer av anläggningar. Det finns redan idag många styrmedel på plats i Sverige, men för att se till att resurserna spenderas effektivt måste effekten av dessa utvärderas med jämna mellanrum. I denna fallstudie jämförs kombinationen av styrmedel mellan Sverige och ett annat land, vilket sedan relateras till respektive utveckling av fordonsgas-marknaden. Studien består av tre delar som alla besvarar var sin frågeställning. Statistiska metoder har valts för att kvantifiera skillnaderna i marknadsutveckling och för att ta hänsyn till ett flertal variabler för att hitta det land som liknar Sverige mest. Först identifieras det bästa landet för jämförelsen genom att matchas med Sverige baserat på valda variabler som beskriver förutsättningarna för att utveckla en biogasmarknad. Sedan fastställs skillnaderna i utvecklingen av fordonsgas-marknaden genom att jämföra utvecklingen av antalet uppgraderingsanläggningar, fordonsgastankstationer och biogasfordon. Slutligen förs en diskussion om vilka effekter införandet av de olika styrmedlen har haft på marknadsutvecklingen och länderna jämförs i sin helhet. Resultaten visar att Finland är det mest lämpliga landet för jämförelsen. Det är ett väntat resultat då Finland och Sverige har liknande geografi och kultur. Studien visar att den finska biogasmarknaden är mindre utvecklad än den svenska, främst på grund av en satsning på andra bränslen i transportsektorn och andra ändamål för användningen biomassa. Dessutom har Sverige satsat på en ökad användning av biogas i transportsektorn under lång tid vilket har gjort att det idag finns ett stort antal biogaslastbilar på vägarna. Den ökade användningen av biogasfordon har genererat en efterfrågan på tankstationer. Utvecklingen av båda dessa delar har skapat en tilltro till en stabil marknad vilket gör att aktörer vågar investera i produktionsanläggningar. Det går att se en stor procentuell ökning i antal biogaslastbilar och tankstationer i Finland mellan 2016 och 2017 vilket kan förklaras av att det statligt ägda Gasum började investerade i tankinfrastruktur för fordonsgas 2016, vilket sedan dess kan ha haft en inverkan på utvecklingen av antalet gasfordon. Att utvärdera effekterna av styrmedel kan vara invecklat i och med att det finns andra aspekter som påverkar marknadsutvecklingen i länderna, utöver just styrmedlen. Därför kan det vara svårt att hitta exakta samband, och i den här studien förs i stället en diskussion om införandet av de olika styrmedlen kopplat till hur marknaden utvecklats i samband med detta. För att styrka slutsatserna skulle vidare studier kunna inkludera jämförelser med andra länder som har liknande typer av styrmedel. Slutsatserna om att marknadsutvecklingen faktiskt går att koppla till införandet av stöden skulle kunna styrkas genom att studera marknadsutvecklingen runt tidpunkten för införandet av dessa stöd även i andra länder

Plasma phosphorylated tau181 and neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease

We examined if plasma phosphorylated tau is associated with neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease. We investigated 372 cognitively unimpaired participants, 554 mild cognitive impairment patients, and 141 Alzheimer’s disease dementia patients. Tau phosphorylated at threonine 181, regional cortical thickness (using magnetic resonance imaging) and hypometabolism (using fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography) were measured longitudinally. High plasma tau was associated with hypometabolism and cortical atrophy at baseline and over time, and longitudinally increased tau was associated with accelerated atrophy, but these associations were only observed in Aβ‐positive participants. Plasma phosphorylated tau may identify and track processes linked to neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease