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On the edge : bank customers' upcoming resistance to the full-adoption of digital payment methods
No full textPurposeBased on the dialogue, access, risk and transparency (DART) model and bank customers' experiences of financial service failure, this study aims to propose a research model as part of a conceptual framework. The framework includes a barrier, co-destruction and resistance, and the study identifies the attributes mediating barriers and resistance to full-adoption of digital payment methods (DPMs).Design/methodology/approachThis study applied a traditional netnographic approach by collecting and analysing approximately 1,000 comments about service failure on the social media posts of a major Swedish and a major German retail bank. The data were parallel coded, manually and by ChatGPT (versions 3.5 and 4o mini), in an attempt to validate the findings.FindingsBased on the DART model, the four linked attributes (i.e. monologue, uncertainty, restriction and ambiguity) created the MURA model as part of the barrier, co-destruction and resistance framework. The MURA model may mediate the access barrier and resistance to the potential full adoption of DPMs. Despite different digital payment contexts, both the Swedish and German bank customers have experienced all four attributes related to value co-destruction, indicating their temporary vulnerability.Originality/valueThis study breaks new ground regarding applied method and theory, being among the few using a traditional netnographic approach in the digital banking context. It also identifies new attributes, develops a reversed DART model and proposes a conceptual framework of value co-destruction related to DPM full-adoption
Digital banking in crisis times : evidence from Swedish banks during the COVID-19 pandemic
No full textPurpose This study examines the impact of digital banking adoption and the COVID-19 crisis on the profitability of Swedish banks, testing whether digital banking mitigated the pandemic’s adverse effects. Design/methodology/approach Using a panel dataset of Swedish banks, the study employs ordinary least squares, fixed effects (FE) and feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) models to analyze the effects of digital banking and the COVID-19 crisis on banks’ profitability. It further evaluates digital banking’s moderating role during the COVID-19 crisis. Findings Digital banking exhibits a modest positive association with profitability, though its economic magnitude is marginal. The COVID-19 crisis has had no significant direct impact, and digital banking does not mitigate pandemic-related profitability shocks. Moreover, past profitability and capital adequacy emerge as robust predictors of profitability. Practical implications These insights inform strategies for balancing technological innovation with financial stability in turbulent economies. Banks operating in advanced digital economies, like Sweden, may prioritize factors such as capital adequacy and persistent profitability during crisis times, while digitalization should be treated as part of a broader strategy rather than a single profit generator. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by examining the interplay between digital banking and the COVID-19 crisis in the unique context of Sweden, offering new insights into the role of digitalization in crisis resilience and challenging prior findings on the protective effect of digital banking during economic downturns. By triangulating results across multiple estimators, the study advances methodological rigor in profitability studies, highlighting the resilience of traditional bank fundamentals over digitalization during systemic shocks
Systematic Literature Review – Variation in Quality Management
No full textThis paper aims to present a systematic literature review within the field of quality management (QM), focusing specifically on the concept of variation. Variation is a foundational topic in QM, initially defined by Walter Shewhart and later expanded upon by leaders such as W. Edwards Deming. This concept, closely associated with statistical process control (SPC), emerged in the first half of the 20th century and has remained central to quality improvement efforts. This review is intended to explore the latest research on variation and SPC, identify prevailing trends, and highlight gaps in the current body of knowledge. This study's methodology employs a systematic literature review to explore the concept of variation and SPC within the field of QM. The Scopus and Web of Science databases were selected as primary sources. A structured search was conducted using the following keywords and logic combinations: (variation OR "Statistical process control") NEAR/1 (interpret* OR understand* OR knowledge) AND ("Quality Management"). One hundred and ten articles were identified. Nonrelevant articles were excluded, and the remaining 20 were read completely and analysed. Findings: Research on understanding variation is gaining momentum in health care and medicine, particularly in the context of applying SPC in quality improvement initiatives. The primary emphasis is on analysing continuous data through run and control charts, highlighting the methodological importance of avoiding comparisons between two datasets. Interestingly, despite its foundational roots in engineering and production, current research in these fields appears to be comparatively limited. One significant gap identified in the reviewed literature is the lack of analysis concerning data normality, application, and interpretation of the bell curve. Many of the studies reviewed rely on limited sample sizes, which calls into question the robustness of their statistical foundations
Desenvolvimento de um jogo educativo divertido sobre programação fundamental de programacao : Projeto para inclusao e-learning analytics
No full textUm dos desafios mais discutidosatualmente é como atrair novos públicos para aprogramação de computadores e, em especial,como engajar meninas e mulheres nessecampo. Paralelamente, estudos apontam quecrianças dedicam uma parte significativade seu tempo a diferentes tipos de jogos,sendo que os jogos educativos já ocupam umespaço importante no aprendizado formal,informal e não formal. Apesar disso, muitosdesses jogos ainda apresentam um designque desperta maior interesse nos meninosdo que nas meninas. Outro ponto central,abordado neste artigo, diz respeito a comoavaliar os resultados de aprendizagem obtidospor meio de um jogo educativo. Desenvolverum jogo envolvente e prazeroso já representaum desafio considerável; contudo, mensurara aprendizagem é essencial para que o jogoseja aceito por professores e efetivamenteincorporado às práticas pedagógicas. Oobjetivo deste estudo foi descrever e discutir oprocesso de concepção e desenvolvimento deum jogo educativo pensado para que meninastivessem interesse em jogar em conjunto e, aomesmo tempo, pudessem aprender conceitosfundamentais de programação. A questão depesquisa que norteou o estudo foi: “Como umjogo educativo motivador e inclusivo sobreEducação no Século XXI: Perspectivas Contemporâneas sobreEnsino-Aprendizagem III Capítulo 14 182fundamentos de programação poderia ser projetado e desenvolvido, com pré-requisitosmínimos para alunos e professores? A metodologia adotada foi a Design Science Research(DSR), uma abordagem de pesquisa em ciência do design. O trabalho seguiu o processo daDSR, estruturado em cinco fases: 1) Explicitação do problema, 2) Definição dos requisitos,3) Concepção e desenvolvimento do artefato, 4) Demonstração do artefato, e 5) Avaliaçãodo artefato. A primeira fase apoiou-se em uma revisão exploratória da literatura; segunda,em um estudo bibliográfico mais amplo e sistemático, aliado a testes de jogos. Na terceirafase, realizaram-se sessões de brainstorming para o design, seguidas da implementaçãono ambiente de desenvolvimento Unity. Por fim, o jogo foi demonstrado e testado por umgrupo de desenvolvedores acadêmicos de jogos. Os resultados da avaliação formativamostraram-se promissores; contudo, o próximo passo essencial do projeto é realizar umaavaliação mais formal, utilizando learning analytics baseadas em jogos e envolvendo umpúblico de teste maior e mais diversificado.A well-discussed problem is how to attract a new public to computer programming, and especially how to reach girls and women. At the same time research reports on that children spend considerable amounts of time playing different types of games, where educational games today are part of mainstream learning. However, many educational games still have a design that appeals more to boys than to girls. Another problem addressed in this paper is how to measure the learning outcomes of an education game. The aim of this study was to describe and discuss the design and development of an educational game where girls would like to play together and at the same time learn fundamental programming. The research question that guided this study was: “How could a motivating and inclusive educational game on fundamental programming be designed and developed, with minimal prerequisites for students and teachers?”. The overall strategy for the design and development of the was the Design Science Research approach. This work was carried out according to the recognised DSR process with the five phases of: 1) Explicating the problem, 2) Defining the requirements, 3) Designing and developing the artefact, 4) Demonstrating the artefact, and 5) Evaluating the artefact. Phase one was based on a minor literature study, while Phase 2 was a combination of a larger and more systematic literature study combined with game testing. Phase 3 was conducted with brain storming sessions for design followed by implementation in the Unity game development tool. Finally, the game has been demonstrated for, and tested by, a group of academic game developers. Results from the formative evaluation look promising, but the important next step in this project is a more formal evaluation using game-based learning analytics with a larger and more diverse test audience.Gaming4Codin
Innovativt sätt att hantera avfall ombord Air Seychelles A320.
No full textProjektet handlar om design av framtidens avfallsvagn ombord påflygplan framtagen i samarbete med flygbolaget Air Seychelles och derasA320. Flygbolag möter dagligen utmaningar att effektivt hantera detavfall som uppstår under längre flygturer. Med ett spekulativt perspektivpå framtidens flygresor byggt på dagens lösningar, presenteras dennakoncept på en digital och motordriven vagn med inbyggd komprimatoroch endast två separata behållare. Vagnen minimerar avfallsmängdenoch förbättrar arbetsmiljön för kabinpersonalen genom ergonominskalösningar såsom motoriserad körning, färre lyft och smart tömning.Genom innovativa funktioner och användarvänlig design bidrar vagnen till enförbättrad arbetsplats för personalen samt ett mer effektiv serviceflöde ombord
Övergången till K3: Påverkan på några centrala nyckeltal i den svenska fastighetsbranschen
No full textBehind-the-scenes of the parliament : Influencer genres and political authenticity on Swedish politicians’ YouTube channels
No full textAffordances and aesthetics of digital media platforms have given politicians new ways to connect with potential voters and actively manage their own self-image. Digital political communication is also often influenced by current trends in PR or commercial marketing; for example, the tools and tactics of social media influencers. Based on qualitative case studies of YouTube channels belonging to two Swedish party leaders, this article examines the adaptation of influencer practices in the politicians’ online presence, and what impact it has on the presentation of themselves and their politics. It analyses how different genres of beauty and lifestyle influencers are embraced and adapted to a political context, as well as the ways in which specific audio-visual elements are used to construct the mediated performance of political authenticity, giving viewers ‘behind-the-scenes’ access to the politicians’ personal as well as professional life. The analysis shows how the adaption of videos in confessional genres such as story time, Q&A, and vlog, which feature personal expressions of emotions and experiences, is illustrative of an increased personalisation of political communication, where the dimension if intimacy is emphasised.
The potential effects of deepfakes on news media and entertainment
No full textDeepfakes are synthetic media, such as pictures, music and videos, created with generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools, a technique that builds upon machine learning and multi-layered neural networks trained on large datasets. Today, anyone can create deepfakes online, without any knowledge about the underpinning technology. This fact opens up creative opportunities at the same time as it creates individual and societal challenges. Some identified challenges are fake news, bullying, defamation, media manipulation and democracy damage. The aim of this study was to analyse and discuss how deepfakes could affect entertainment, education and digital news media in positive and negative ways. The chosen research strategy was a qualitative cross-sectional study to create a snapshot of current attitudes in blogs, online discussion fora and from a selected expert panel. Firstly, blogs and internet discussion fora on deepfakes and AI were analysed inductively. Secondly, results from the previous step were used to create a question scheme for semi-structured interviews with some selected experts that have relevant knowledge in the field of AI and deepfakes. Finally, interviews answered were analysed thematically using the Technology Affordances and Constraints Theory as an analytical lens. Findings show that deepfakes at the same time have a wide variety of affordances, but also some critical constraints to consider. In the affordance part, there are the potential use of deepfakes for speculative and provoking concepts, not only as entertainment, but also to illustrate educational scenarios that are hard or impossible to capture in traditional videos, images or sound recordings. Furthermore, there are many affordances for entertainment and the creation of environments where realism is not an important condition. Some examples are video game graphics, animated film background music in games and music videos. However, the conclusion is that the findings comprise more of constraints than of affordances, where the serious negative aspect of deepfakes can lead to psychological, financial and social harm. Many images and videos in news media have already been manipulated during the last decades, but deepfakes can take this to a new and more problematic level where the overall trust might disappear. The author’s recommendation is to further increase the focus on source criticism and that discussions on which sources to trust should be an early introduced part of educational programmes
A novel metaheuristic population algorithm for optimising the connection weights of neural networks
No full textThe efficacy of feed-forward multi-layer neural networks relies heavily on their training procedure, where identifying appropriate weights and biases plays a pivotal role. Nonetheless, conventional training algorithms such as backpropagation encounter limitations, including getting trapped in sub-optimal solutions. To rectify these inadequacies, metaheuristic population algorithms are advocated as a dependable alternative. In this paper, we introduce a novel training methodology termed, DDE-OP, which leverages the principles of differential evolution enriched with a division-based scheme and an opposite-direction strategy. Our approach integrates two effective concepts with differential evolution. Initially, the proposed algorithm identifies partitions within the search space through a clustering algorithm and designates the obtained cluster centres to serve as representatives. Subsequently, an updating scheme incorporates these clusters into the current population. Lastly, a quasi-opposite-direction strategy is used to augment search space exploration. Extensive evaluation on diverse classification and approximation tasks demonstrate that DDE-OP surpasses conventional and population-based methodologies
Influence of menstrual- and hormonal contraceptive cycle on self-reported symptom severity and recovery measures across an annual season in female endurance athletes : The FENDURA project
No full textThis longitudinal study investigated 1) differences in self-reported cycle-related symptom severity and recovery measures (sleep quality, readiness to train, resting heart rate) between pre-bleeding, bleeding, and non-bleeding days in athletes using/not using hormonal contraception (HC); 2) associations between symptom severity and recovery measures. Fifty-eight female endurance athletes recorded recovery measures, perceived symptom severity, and menstruation/withdrawal (bleeding) days for one year. Athletes were grouped as: intrauterine system (IUS)-, implant-, progestin-only oral contraceptive (POC)-, combined oral contraceptive (COC)- and non-HC users. All groups reported higher symptom severity during bleeding compared to pre-bleeding and non-bleeding days (both p <.001), while implant users reported less severe symptoms than IUS (p <.001) and non-HC users (p =.008). Perceived sleep quality was lower during pre-bleeding compared to bleeding days (p <.001) for all groups. However, IUS users reported higher sleep quality (p =.039) and physical readiness-to-train (p =.010) than non-HC users. Symptom severity was negatively associated with sleep quality and physical readiness-to-train (both p <.050). Pre-bleeding days and cycle-related symptom severity were found to negatively influence self-reported recovery measures in both HC- and non-HC users. Therefore, athletes and their support staff are advised to prioritize symptom management and the adjustment of recovery strategies on an individual basis throughout the athletes’ cycles.