Gamification as a means for employee motivation, personal engagement and behavioral outcomes: a gamification system developers’ perspective

A major challenge faced by companies today is the engagement gap at the workplace and how to motivate employees to engage in less intrinsically motivating work activities that are valuable for the organization. The objective of this study is to investigate gamification as a means for employee motivation and personal engagement that result in behavioral outcomes from the gamification developers’ perspective. Theories of work motivation and engagement are viewed in relation to gamification. The empirical part conducts a qualitative multiple-case study. The data is analyzed with the CAQDAS NVivo. The empirical findings suggest that gamification can enhance employee motivation, but careful consideration of extrinsic motivators is necessary to avoid their detrimental effect on intrinsic motivation. Employee self-determination is built through internalization of gamified system’s goals reaching autonomous motivation to engage in the target behavior. Employee engagement is built by fulfilling the psychological conditions of meaningfulness, safety and availability. The results suggest that gamification can build employee motivation and engagement leading to behavior change if designed with the business objectives in mind. Moreover, the gamified system needs to be renewed to address the changes in the business environment and reflect them in the employee behavior.

Connections that work – Linked Open Data demystified

Esitys Kirjastoverkkopäivillä 22.10.2014 Helsingissä – Presentation of Jakob Voß at the Library Network Days, October 22, 2014 in Helsinki.

The multicultural moment : the history of the idea and politics of multiculturalism in Sweden in comparative, transnational and biographical context, 1964–1975

The emergence of the idea of multiculturalism in Swedish public discourse and social science in the latter half of the 1960s and introduction of official multiculturalism in 1975 constituted a major intellectual and political shift in the post-war history of Sweden. The ambition of the 1975 immigrant and minority policy to enable the preservation of ethno-cultural minorities and to create a positive attitude towards the new multicultural society among the majority population was also incorporated into Swedish cultural, educational and media policies. The rejection of assimilationism and the new commitment to ethno-cultural diversity, the multicultural moment, has earned Sweden a place on the list of the early adopters of official multiculturalism, together with Canada and Australia. This compilation thesis examines the origins and early post-war history of the idea of multiculturalism as well as the interplay between idea and politics in the shift from a public ideal of homogeneity to an ideal of multiculturalism in Sweden. It does so from a range of conceptual, comparative, transnational, and biographical perspectives. The thesis consists of an introduction (Part I) and four previously published studies (Part II). The primary research result of the thesis concerns the agency involved in the break-through and formal establishment of the idea of multiculturalism in Sweden. Actors such as ethnic activists, experts and officials were instrumental in the introduction and establishment of multiculturalism in Sweden, as they also had been in Canada and in Australia. These actors have, however, not previously been recognized and analysed as significant idea-makers and political agents in the case of Sweden. The intertwined connections between activists, social scientists, linguists, and officials facilitated the transfer of the idea of multiculturalism from a publically contested idea to public policy via the way of The Swedish Trade Union Confederation, academia and the Royal Commission of Immigration. The thesis furthermore shows that the political success of the idea of multiculturalism, such as it was within the limits of the universalist social democratic welfare state, was dependent on whom the claims-makers were, the status and positions they held, and the way the idea of multiculturalism was conceptualised and used. It was also dependent on the migratory context of labour immigration in the 1960s and 1970s and on whose behalf the advocates of multiculturalism made their claims. The majority of the labour immigrants were Finnish citizens from the former eastern half of the kingdom of Sweden who were net contributors to the Swedish welfare state. This facilitated the recognition of their ethno-cultural difference, and, following the logic of universalism, the ethno-cultural difference of other minority groups in Sweden. The historical significance of the multicultural moment is still evident in the contemporary immigration and integration policies of Sweden. The affirmation of diversity continues to set Sweden apart from the rest of Europe, now more so than in the 1970s, even though the migratory context has changed radically in the last 40 years.

Cleavages in contemporary Finland : a study on party-voter ties

Cleavages have been central in understanding the relationship between political parties and voters but the credibility of cleavage approach has been increasingly debated. This is because of decreasing party loyalty, fewer ideological differences between the parties and general social structural change amongst other factors. By definition, cleavages arise when social structural groups recognize their clashing interests, which are reflected in common values and attitudes, and vote for parties that are dedicated to defend the interests of the groups concerned. This study assesses relevance of cleavage approach in the Finnish context. The research problem in this study is “what kind of a cleavage structure exists in Finland at the beginning of the 21st century? Finland represents a case that has traditionally been characterized by a strong and diverse cleavage structure, notable ideological fragmentation in the electorate and an ideologically diverse party system. Nevertheless, the picture of the party-voter ties in Finland still remains incomplete with regard to a thorough analysis of cleavages. In addition, despite the vast amount of literature on cleavages in political science, studies that thoroughly analyze national cleavage structures by assessing the relationship between social structural position, values and attitudes and party choice have been rare. The research questions are approached by deploying statistical analyses, and using Finnish National Election Studies from 2003, 2007 and 2011as data. In this study, seven different social structural cleavage bases are analyzed: native language, type of residential area, occupational class, education, denomination, gender and age cohorts. Four different value/attitudinal dimensions were identified in this study: economic right and authority, regional and socioeconomic equality, sociocultural and European Union dimensions. This study shows that despite the weak overall effect of social structural positions on values and attitudes, a few rather strong connections between them were identified. The overall impact of social structural position and values and attitudes on party choice varies significantly between parties. Cleavages still exist in Finland and the cleavage structure partly reflects the old basis in the Finnish party system. The cleavage that is based on the type of residential area and reflected in regional and socioeconomic equality dimensions concerns primarily the voters of the Centre Party and the Coalition Party. The linguistic cleavage concerns mostly the voters of the Swedish People’s Party. The classic class cleavage reflected in the regional and socioeconomic equality dimension concerns in turn first and foremost the blue-collar voters of the Left Alliance and the Social Democratic Party, the agricultural entrepreneur voters of the Centre Party and higher professional and manager voters of the Coalition Party. The conflict with the most potential as a cleavage is the one based on social status (occupational class and education) and it is reflected in sociocultural and EU dimensions. It sets the voters of the True Finns against the voters of the Green League and the Coalition Party. The study underlines the challenges the old parties have met after the volatile election in 2011, which shook the cleavage structure. It also describes the complexity involved in the Finnish conflict structure and the multidimensionality in the electoral competition between the parties.

Folklore of connections, folklore of conflicts

The 5th International Conference of Young Folklorists 7-9.10.2015, Viljandi, Estland.

Personal branding on social media - The characteristics of strong personal brands in Finland

The purpose of the study is to define the characteristics of strong personal brands on social media in Finland. Personal branding as a phenomenon is no longer limited to celebrities and political leaders. The digital revolution and the change in online behavior have created the need for a deeper investigation of the characteristics of strong personal brands on social media. The work of different academics on personal branding are examined to gain a comprehensive understanding on this research topic that has gone through a revolution during the last decade. Early impression management theory is refined to include elements from more modern literature related to personal branding, brand identity management and social media to create a theoretical framework that simplifies the process of personal brand building on social media. The framework consisting of three phases clarifies the process of modern personal branding. The results of the study are presented in line with three research themes derived from the theoretical framework: the background of the brand, the brand identity management and the social media behavior and activities. Mixed methods are used in the research as means to broaden perception on the subject. The quantitative part of the study defines general characteristics concerning the most follower personal brands in Finland in three social media channels – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. The other part of the research was conducted by single case study including two Finnish personal brands cases to provide a deeper understanding of personal branding practices of strong social media personal brands. The results of the study show that the most used social media channels differ in terms of the personal brand characteristics and personal branding activities. Due to the characteristics of the channels also the post activities of the personal brands differ quite significantly. It can be also inferred that there is a difference between brands with an existing offline awareness and the brands with no awareness before joining the social media. In order to reduce the gap between the ideal brand image and the current image, the brand should have a clear vision as well as a good understanding of the target group and the value it creates for its target audience. The brand identity needs to be managed by communicating with the target audience authentically in the right channels, with relevant content. The dedication, the target group’s behavior and the ability to create valuable and relevant content determines the right tactics for social media personal branding.