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- Ylva Hård af Segerstad
Ylva Hård af Segerstad
Professor
Department of Applied IT, div CLICAbout Ylva Hård af Segerstad
I am Professor of Communication at the University of Gothenburg. I earned my PhD in general linguistics from the University of Gothenburg (2002). With a background research interest largely focusing on aspects of text-based interaction in digital communication technologies, my current research concerns qualitative inquiry of information and communication technologies in social contexts. I am especially interested in examining the role and use of mobile communication technologies and social media in our increasingly digitalized society.
This work is relevant for understanding how digital technologies intervene in and transform important aspects of every-day life, such as communicative patterns and relationships. Knowledge is renewed and changed and experiences are developed and negotiated in our technology-intensive society. These are issues that are just as important for schools and education, for business and the public sector as it is for the individual. A perspective in which technology issues are based on research in humanities and social sciences is necessary for our understanding of digitally mediated communication and the use of digital tools for private and professional activities.
Throughout my career, I have actively contributed to the international research community with my keen interest in developing methods and ethical issues related to responsible research conduct - which is particularly necessary for research involving networked media and the use of digital social data.
I first joined the Department of Applied Information Technology as Head of division for the division of Learning, Communication and IT in 2011. I received my docenture (habilitation, Associate Professor) from the IT Faculty at the University of Gothenburg in 2013. I currently lead two research projects, supervise three doctoral students (Anita Grigic Magnusson, Leona Johansson Bunting, and Christina Löfving) and teach at the International master's program in information technology and learning (ITLGU).
I am affiliated with The Center for Person Centered Care at the University of Gothenburg (GPCC) and my research has been conducted in connection with two of the priority research areas at the University of Gothenburg: The Learning and Media Technology Studio (LETStudio), the Center for Language Technology (CLT), as well as The Linnaeus Centre for Research on Learning, Interaction and Mediated Communication in Contemporary Society (LinCS). I am a long-time member the international Association of Internet Researchers and member of the association’s ethics committee.
My research has attracted the attention of both scholarly and public interest. I have frequently been invited to talk about my research in professional and popular venues, as well as in various media.
Current research projects
myCode – Cancer care on young people’s terms (2020-2022)
I am principal investigator for the GPCC work package of the Vinnova Challenge-Driven Innovation Project Step 2 myCode – Cancer care on young people’s terms (minKod -Cancervård på ungas villkor).
Together with young adult cancer survivors, the research team at Center for Person Centered Care at the University of Gothenburg (GPCC), including myself, Associate professor Stefan Nilsson (Institute of Health and Care Sciences, University of Gothenburg) and PhD Maria Olsson (Institute of Clinical Sciences, University of Gothenburg and Oncology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital) works closely with the support organization Ung Cancer (Young Cancer) and CareChain to develop digital tools for emotional support for young adult cancer survivors.
The project is a collaborative effort involving Innovationsplatsen, Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset, Center for Person Centered Care at the University of Gothenburg (GPCC), Ung Cancer, Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset, CareChain AB, KPMG AB, Regionalt cancercentrum Väst (Västra Götalands läns landsting) and Regionalt cancercentrum Stockholm-Gotland (Stockholmsläns landsting Hälso- och sjukvårdsförvaltningen). The goal of the project is to take a holistic approach to young cancer patients’s needs, by increasing opportunities for social support and well-being, decreasing isolation in order to achieve a higher quality of life for young adult cancer survivors.
For this project, we have also been awarded funding from the Vinnova funded program Verification for Utilization (VFT) funding, from the Grants andInnovation Office (FIK) at the University of Gothenburg.
Read more about the project here.
Infrastructure and integrated tools for personalized learning of reading skill — iRead (2017-2020)
I am Principal investigator for the UGOT work package of the EU H2020 project Infrastructure and integrated tools for personalized learning of reading skill — iRead. iRead is a 4-year project that aims to develop personalized learning technologies to support reading skills. This software combines a diverse set of personalized learning applications and teaching tools for formative assessment. In the project we focus on primary school children across Europe, learning to read and learning English as a foreign language including children with dyslexia who are at risk of exclusion from their education. The project comprises 15 partners from across industry and education in 8 European countries. Our work is organized into three strands: innovation, design and evaluation, with different expected outcomes and stakeholders.
Read more about the project here.
Learning to Cope with the Death of a Child: Grieving Through Social Media (2013- )
I am Principal investigator for the small-scale project Learning to Cope with the Death of a Child: Grieving Through Social Media (Att lära sig leva med förlusten av ett barn: sorgearbete genom sociala medier). The project has received university internal funding on a number of occasions, and is still ongoing.
In this project, I have conducted studies since 2013 of how social media and peer support are used as vital resources in the process of learning to cope with grief and loss of a child. The studies have been conducted primarily in collaboration with Professor Dick Kasperowski (Department of Philosophy, Linguistics and Theory of Science at the University of Gothenburg) and in association with the grief support organization Vi som förlorat barn.
Online grief support communities on social media offer means for bereaved parents to continue bonds with their deceased children and may act as vital resources for coping with grief in ways that has not been available previously. As such, they propose new and important, but still under-researched, contexts for the formation of normative practices where trajectories of bereavement can be studied in detail. These potentials have hitherto not been recognized enough for its possibilities to influence health care, societal understandings and attitudes towards the loss of a child.
Read more about the project here.
Previous research projects
The DNA of Mobile Communication (2013-2015)
Together with professor Alexandra Weilenmann, I was awarded funding from the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet) for the research project The DNA of Mobile Communication (Den mobila kommunikationens DNA) . The project was conducted in close co-operation with the priority research area Center for Language Technology (CLT). The aim of the project was two-fold: 1) to analyze the DNA of mobile communication, i.e. the interlinking of spoken and written communication, and 2) to develop a platform for studying mobile communication, including techniques for data collection and a corpus to be used in further research.
Analyzing the DNA of mobile communication means to study the whole chain of naturally occurring spoken and text-based mobile communication in context by analyzing the sequences of interaction and its components. Mainly for technical reasons, previous studies of mobile communication lack analysis of this complexity. Focus has been on one-sided communication and on either voice or text data. However, calls and texts cannot be regarded as isolated incidents but as parts of a continuous communication process. Empirical data was generated by using software specifically developed for the project, which allowed us to audio-record both sides of voice calls, logging of text messages, and meta-data, followed by interviews with research participants.
Read more about the project here.
Learning to Write in the Information Society (2003-2007)
Together with Professor Robin Cooper and Associate Professor Sylvana Sofkova Hashemi, I was awarded funding from the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet) for the research project Learning to Write in the Information Society (Att lära sig skriva i IT-samhället) .
In the project, we studied written language by school children at intermediate and senior levels (aged 10 to 15) in different writing settings and the effects of the use of computers and other channels of communication. We collected both texts written in school (for example free narratives and reports) and texts written during leisure time (for example SMS and web diaries) and studied the whole writing process by observations in the classroom. We also interviewed all students about their writing habits and experiences of writing in school and during their leisure time.
Adaptation of Swedish Written Language to On-Line Communication (1998-2002)
During my PhD education, I was awarded awarded funding from HSFR (Swedish Council for Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences) for the research project Adaptation of Swedish Written Language to On-Line Communication (Anpassningen av svenskans skriftspråk till on-line kommunikation). My Phd thesis was based on the studies I conducted within the project.
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From Archives to Emotions: XR and Art for Exploring Death and Grief in Cultural Heritage
Institutions
Gabriella Di Feola, Ylva Hård af Segerstad
International Conference Death, Dying and Disposal (DDD17). 27-30 August 2025, Utrecht, Netherlands - 2025 -
Drawing Bridges”: Sketching Out Ways to Extend Digital Death Methodologies in Human-Computer Interaction and Computer
Science
Denise Lengyel, Gabriella Di Feola, Ylva Hård af Segerstad
International Conference Death, Dying and Disposal (DDD17). 27-30 August 2025, Utrecht, Netherlands. - 2025 -
Grief Squatting and Wreaking Havok in a Digital Safe-Haven for Bereaved
Parents
Ylva Hård af Segerstad
International Conference Death, Dying and Disposal (DDD17). 27-30 August 2025, Utrecht, Netherlands. - 2025 -
Understanding the needs for support and coping strategies in grief following the loss of a significant other: insights from a cross-sectional survey in
Sweden
Inger Benkel, Johanna Skoglund, Daniel Enstedt, Ylva Hård af Segerstad, Joakim Öhlén, Stina Nyblom
Palliative Care and Social Practice - 2024 -
AoIR Ethics: Ethics & Literacies for AI Usage in the Research
Process
Zimmer Michael, Ylva Hård af Segerstad, Kelly Quinn, Heidi A, McKee
Association of Internet Researchers Conference, 30 October - 2 November 2024 • Sheffield, UK - 2024 -
AoIR Ethics 2: Where Do We Go From
Here?
Zimmer Michael, Ylva Hård af Segerstad, Kelly Quinn, Heidi A. McKee
Association of Internet Researchers Conference, 30 October - 2 November 2024 • Sheffield, UK - 2024 -
Towards a Nuanced Understanding of Grief in Contemporary
Sweden
Ylva Hård af Segerstad, Daniel Enstedt, Inger Benkel, Stina Nyblom, Johanna Skoglund, Joakim Öhlén
Global Conference on Person-Centred Care. Knowledge(s) and Innovations for Health in Changing Societies. 13-16 May 2024, Gothenburg, Sweden - 2024 -
Patient-Centered Co-Creation: Exploring Methods and Experiences in Research and Innovation for Young Adult Cancer
Care
Ylva Hård af Segerstad, Siri Kautsky, Maria Olsson, Stefan Nilsson
Global Conference on Person-Centred Care. Knowledge(s) and Innovations for Health in Changing Societies. 13-16 May 2024, Gothenburg, Sweden - 2024 -
Co-creation of a digital platform for peer support between adolescent and young adult cancer
patients
Maria Olsson, Ylva Hård af Segerstad, Stefan Nilsson
The Société Internationale d’Oncologie Pédiatrique/International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP) 2023. Ottawa, Canada. 11-14 October 2023 - 2023 -
On grief in contemporary
Sweden
Johanna Skoglund, Inger Benkel, Daniel Enstedt, Stina Nyblom, Ylva Hård af Segerstad, Joakim Öhlén
The 16th International Conference of Death, Dying and Disposal (DDD16): Learning from Suffering and Dying. New Languages from Sciences to the Humanities. 7-9 September 2023. Padua, Italy. - 2023 -
AoIR Ethics 2: Platform & Pragmatic
Challenges
Michael Zimmer, Ylva Hård af Segerstad, Erin McInerney, Nidhi Nellore, Anja Bechmann, Lynge Møller, Jessica Walter
The 24th Annual Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers, Philadelphia, PA, USA. 18-21 Oct 2023 - 2023 -
AoIR Ethics 1: Emergent
Challenges
Michael Zimmer, Ylva Hård af Segerstad, David Myles, Martin Blais, Sarah Ann Gilbert, Kate Miltner, Tim Highfield, Huichuan Xi
The 24th Annual Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers, Philadelphia, PA, USA. 18-21 Oct 2023 - 2023 -
Expressions of Grief and Needs for Support in Contemporary
Sweden
Johanna Skoglund, Inger Benkel, Daniel Enstedt, Stina Nyblom, Ylva Hård af Segerstad, Joakim Öhlén
The 18th World Congress of the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC). Rotterdam, the Netherlands. June 15-17, 2023. - 2023 -
“It is doing the dishes, watching Netflix, reading a book - grief is all things reimagined”. Weaving death and grief into the fabric of life on the Red Hand
Files
Ylva Hård af Segerstad
The 16th International Conference of Death, Dying and Disposal (DDD16): Learning from Suffering and Dying. New Languages from Sciences to the Humanities. 7-9 September 2023. Padua, Italy - 2023 -
Sorgens uttryck i
Sverige
Johanna Skoglund, Inger Benkel, Daniel Enstedt, Stina Nyblom, Ylva Hård af Segerstad, Joakim Öhlén
Den 8:e nationella konferensen i palliativ vård. Framtidens palliativa vård. 2-4 October 2023. Malmö, Sweden - 2023 -
Sharing Vulnerability: Intimate Conversations on Love and Loss on The Red Hand
Files
Ylva Hård af Segerstad, Dorthe Christensen Refslund
Death Online Research Symposium (DORS#6), Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK. May 31st – June 2nd 2023 - 2023 -
Complexities of Managing a Mobile Phone Ban in the Digitalized Schools’
Classroom
Anita Grigic Magusson, Torbjörn Ott, Ylva Hård af Segerstad, Sylvana Sofkova Hashemi
Computers in the Schools - 2023 -
Visualizing the Invisible-The Needs and Wishes of Childhood Cancer Survivors for Digitally Mediated Emotional Peer
Support.
Stefan Nilsson, Ylva Hård af Segerstad, Maria Olsson
Current oncology - 2022 -
Future Ethics: Reflecting on AoIR Ethics Guidelines 3.0 and Considering the Next Big
Challenges
Michael Zimmer, Ylva Hård af Segerstad, Annette Markham, Heidi McKee, Corinne Cath-Speth
The 23rd Annual Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers. Dublin, Ireland. 2-5 November 2022 - 2022 -
A Sort of Permanence: Digital Remains and Posthuman Encounters with
Death
Ylva Hård af Segerstad, Jo Bell, Daphna Yeshua-Katz
Conjunctions Transdisciplinary Journal of Cultural Participation - 2022 -
Navigating the ethical grey zone - improvising best practice when routines and protocol for management of research data are
missing
Ylva Hård af Segerstad, Stefan Nilsson, Maria Olsson
AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2021 - 2021 -
Worrying About Death: An Initial Analysis of Young Adult Cancer Patients'
Needs.
Stefan Nilsson, Ylva Hård af Segerstad, Maria Olsson
Journal of adolescent and young adult oncology - 2021 -
The Effects of Multiple-Exposure Textual Enhancement on Child L2 Learners' Development in Derivational Morphology: A Multi-Site
Study
A. Revesz, Leona Bunting, A. Florea, R. Gilabert, Ylva Hård af Segerstad, I. P. Mihu, C. Parry, L. Benton, A. Vasalou
Tesol Quarterly - 2021 -
AoIR Ethics: Practices and
Roadmaps
Michael Zimmer, Ylva Hård af Segerstad
AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2021 - 2021 -
Two different methodologies for implementing an adaptive learning game - experiences from the
field
Anita Grigic Magusson, Leona Bunting, Ylva Hård af Segerstad
14th annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation (ICERI) - 2021 -
Needs and wishes for online peer support for AYAs during and after cancer
treatment
Maria Olsson, Siri Kautsky, Isak Eliasson, Stefan Nilsson, Ylva Hård af Segerstad
The 4th Global Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Congress - 2021 -
Visualize the invisible – Needs and wishes for emotional support in survivors of childhood
cancer
Stefan Nilsson, Ylva Hård af Segerstad, Maria Olsson
The Société Internationale d’Oncologie Pédiatrique/International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP). Virtual congress 2021. - 2021 -
A Posthumanist Approach to Continuing Bonds: On the Ephemerality and Obsolescence of Digital
Remains
Ylva Hård af Segerstad, Jo Bell, Daphna Yeshua-Katz
5th International Symposium of the Death Online Research Network (#DORS5) - 2021 -
Swedish teachers' expectations and appropriation of digital personalised learning technologies in the English
classroom
Leona Bunting, Anita Grigic Magusson, Ylva Hård af Segerstad
EUROCALL2021 - 2021 -
AoIR Ethics: Platform
Challenges
Michael Zimmer, Ylva Hård af Segerstad
AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2021 - 2021 -
USING PERSONALISED LEARNING APPLICATIONS IN THE ENGLISH CLASSROOM: TEACHERS’
EXPERIENCES
Leona Johansson Bunting, Anita Grigic Magusson, Ylva Hård af Segerstad
EDULEARN21 Proceedings - 2021 -
Swedish teachers’ views on the use of personalised learning technologies for teaching children reading in the English
classroom
Leona Bunting, Ylva Hård af Segerstad, Wolmet Barendregt
International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction - 2021 -
Designed to die: on the ephemerality and obsolescence of digital
remains
Ylva Hård af Segerstad, Jo Bell, Daphna Yeshua-Katz
The 21th Annual Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers. Virtual Event: AoIR - 2020 -
Catch 22: The Paradox of Social Media Affordances and Stigmatized Online Support
Groups
Daphna Yeshua-Katz, Ylva Hård af Segerstad
Social Media + Society - 2020 -
On the Complexities of Studying Sensitive Communities as a
Researcher-Participant
Ylva Hård af Segerstad
AoIR 2020: The 21th Annual Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers. Virtual Event: AoIR - 2020 -
THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL RESEARCH ETHICS: THREE
CASES
Charles Ess, aline shakti franzke, Tabea Bork-Hüffer, Niklas Gudowsky-Blatakes, Ylva Hård af Segerstad, Katja Kaufmann, Martin Rutzinger, Marjo Rauhala, Bastiaan Vanacker
AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2020 - 2020 -
Taboo or not taboo: (in)visibilities of death, dying and
bereavement
Ylva Hård af Segerstad, Jo Bell, Korina Giaxoglou, Stacey Pitsillides, Daphna Yeshua-Katz, Kathleen Cumiskey, Larissa Hjorth
AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2020 - 2020 -
The effects of textual enhancement on development in L2 derivational morphology: A multi-site longitudinal
study
Andrea Revesz, Mina Vasalou, Adrian Florea, Roger Gilabert, Leona Bunting, Ylva Hård af Segerstad, Ioan P Mihu, Cliff Parry, Laura Benton
2020 conference of the American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL) - 2020 -
On the complexities of studying sensitive communities as a
researcher-participant
Ylva Hård af Segerstad
CHI workshop on Sensitive Research, Practice and Design in HCI. 5 May 2019, Glasgow, Scotland, UK - 2019 -
Case Sensitive: Studying Vulnerable Individuals and Closed Communities Online in The Post-Api
Age
Ylva Hård af Segerstad
1st AoIR Flashpoint symposium, 24 July 2019, Urbino, Italy - 2019 -
Locked out: the paradox of social media affordances and stigmatized online support
groups
Daphna Yeshua-Katz, Ylva Hård af Segerstad
1st AoIR Flashpoint symposium, 24 July 2019, Urbino, Italy - 2019 -
Locked out of online social support: Boundary work in stigmatized
communities
Daphna Yeshua-Katz, Ylva Hård af Segerstad
The 69th Annual International Communication Association Conference - 2019 -
Everything old is new again: The ethics of digital inquiry and its
design
Charles Ess, Ylva Hård af Segerstad
Designs for Experimentation and Inquiry. Approaching Learning and Knowing in Digital Transformation. Åsa Mäkitalo, Todd E. Nicewonger, Mark Elam (red.) - 2019 -
"It must not disturb, it’s as simple as that": Students’ voices on mobile phones in the infrastructure for learning in Swedish upper secondary
school
Torbjörn Ott, Anita Grigic Magusson, Alexandra Weilenmann, Ylva Hård af Segerstad
Education and Information Technologies - 2018 -
’The Listening Eyes’ - The Role of Moderators in Keeping Digital Safe-Havens
Safe
Ylva Hård af Segerstad
AoIR 2018: The 19th Annual Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers. Montréal, Canada, October 10-13, 2018 - 2018 -
Where Does Ethical Responsibility End? On Researcher Obligations After a Project Has
Ended
Ylva Hård af Segerstad
The 19th Annual Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers. Montréal, Canada, October 10-13, 2018. - 2018 -
’High Quality Emergency Response, That’s What It Is’. Mobile Phones and Social Media as Tools for Coping with
Trauma
Ylva Hård af Segerstad
68th Annual ICA conference, “Voices”. Prague, Czech Republic, 24-28 May 2018 - 2018 -
Digital safe-havens: Boundary work in stigmatized communities
online
Ylva Hård af Segerstad, Daphna Yeshua-Katz
7th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Lugano, Switzerland, 31 October - 3 November 2018 - 2018 -
Addressing the elephant in the room: Social media and the needs of adolescents and young adults with cancer to talk about
death
Ylva Hård af Segerstad, Stefan Nilsson, Peter Sand
The Fourth International Death Online Research Symposium, 15-17 August, 2018, Hull University, Hull, UK. - 2018 -
Bereaved parents’ online grief communities: de-tabooing practices or
grief-ghettos?
Dorthe Refslund Christensen, Ylva Hård af Segerstad, Dick Kasperowski, Kjetil Sandvik
Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media - 2017
More publications
We have limited the number of publications on this page. Visit GUP (The Publication Database for Gothenburg University) to find more publications.