Digital platforms are increasingly disrupting established status quos in traditionally stable markets. This study focuses on the launch and use of a digital service platform in the construction industry in  Finland. The study encompasses a practical, action research case study of the platform itself and the context in which it exists. In order to clearly describe observed phenomena from the case, we utilise well-established concepts both from the field of economics and information systems to utilise a relevant vocabulary for describing the findings. The purpose is to answer our research question: what are the perceived market frictions for Small and Medium-sized Entreprises within the construction industry affecting networking and contracting? Also, in what ways can digital platforms mitigate these frictions? The study identifies several underlying frictions in the industry relating to network saturation, disintermediation, transaction costs and relate these to the functionality of the platform attempting to alleviate these frictions.

The multi-agent systems (MAS) has proven their suitability for implementation of complex software systems. In this work, we have analyzed and designed the data mining MAS by means of role-based organizational model. The organiza- tional model and the model of data mining methods have been formalized in the description logic. By matchmaking which is the main subject of our research, we understand the recommendation of computational agents, i.e. agents encap- sulating some computational method, according their capabilities and previous performances. The matchmaking thus consist of two parts: querying the ontol- ogy model and the meta-learning. Three meta-learning scenarios were tested: optimization in the parameter space, multi-objective optimization of data min- ing processes and method recommendation. A set of experiments in these areas have been performed. 1

While existing grid environments cater to specific needs of a particular user community, we need to go beyond them and consider general-purpose large-scale distributed systems consisting of large collections of heterogeneous computers and communication systems shared by a large user population with very diverse requirements. Coordination, matchmaking, and resource allocation are among the essential functions of large-scale distributed systems. Although deterministic approaches for coordination, matchmaking, and resource allocation have been well studied, they are not suitable for large-scale distributed systems due to the large-scale, the autonomy, and the dynamics of the systems. We have to seek for nondeterministic solutions for large-scale distributed systems. In this dissertation we describe our work on a coordination service, a matchmaking service, and a macro-economic resource allocation model for large-scale distributed systems. The coordination service coordinates the execution of complex tasks in a dynamic environment, the matchmaking service supports finding the appropriate resources for users, and the macro-economic resource allocation model allows a broker to mediate resource providers who want to maximize their revenues and resource consumers who want to get the best resources at the lowest possible price, with some global objectives, e.g., to maximize the resource utilization of the system.

The aim of this study is to investigate if the concept of digital matchmaking between tenants on the office market enables flexibility in the real estate industry, if the concept generates environmental and financial gain, lower vacancy rate and how real estate owners approach the concept of this innovation and flexible contracts based on the current situation on the commercial real estate market.  The method of the study consists of two parts where the first part includes a survey and the second part a semi-structured interview. Through the semi-structured interviews and a survey the study answers how tenants' needs have changed, how property owners and tenants view flexible contracts and whether it can generate a financial and environmental gain, and how a digital matching service could potentially affect their business model. The result of the study shows that the tenants' needs have changed significantly in recent years, mainly due to the pandemic, and that tenants are currently searching for more flexible contracts. The study also implies that digital services are becoming more needed in order to support tenants in the process of changing premises or use of space as they lack knowledge regarding rental agreements. This has led to many companies being stuck in long lease contracts that causes financial struggles. From the property owners' perspective there is also a positive outlook on a digital matching service to enable an environmental and financial gain, but there are some uncertainties regarding if it is profitable or not as the concept is new and there are few example cases. Furthermore, it is clear that a digital matching service could be a great help mainly in larger cities and not only in the CBD but also in nearby cities / Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka om konceptet av en digital matchmaking tjänst mellan hyresgäster på kontorsmarknaden möjliggör flexibilitet i fastighetsbranschen, om det genererar miljömässiga och ekonomiska vinster, lägre vakansgrad och hur fastighetsägare ställer sig till innovationen och flexibla kontrakt baserat på den rådande situationen på den kommersiella fastighetsmarknaden. Studiens metod består av två delar där den första delen omfattar en enkät och den andra delen av studien består av semistrukturerade intervjuer. Genom de semistrukturerade intervjuerna och enkätundersökningen svarar studien på hur hyresgästernas behov har förändrats, hur fastighetsägare och hyresgäster ser på flexibla avtal och huruvida det kan generera en ekonomisk och miljömässig vinst samt hur en digital matchningstjänst potentiellt kan påverka deras affärsmodell. Resultatet av studien visar att hyresgästernas behov har förändrats markant de senaste åren, och att hyresgästerna söker efter mer flexibla kontrakt. Det visar även indikationer på att digitala tjänster på kontorshyresmarknaden blir alltmer nödvändiga för att stödja hyresgäster i processen att byta lokal eller ändra lokalanvändningen då det i många fall råder bristande kunskap vad gäller tecknande av hyresavtal. Ur fastighetsägarnas perspektiv finns en positiv syn på en digital matchningstjänst för att möjliggöra en miljömässig och ekonomisk vinst, men det finns en del osäkerheter kring om det är lönsamt eller inte då konceptet är nytt och det finns få exempelfall. Slutligen visar resultatet av studien att en digital matchningstjänst kan vara till stor hjälp främst i större städer och inte bara i CBD utan även i kranskommunet.

Grid computing provides the necessary infrastructure to pool together diverse and distributed resources interconnected by networks to provide a unified virtual computing resource view to the user. One of the important responsibilities of the grid software is resource management and techniques to allow the user to make optimal use of the resources for executing applications. In addition to the goals of minimizing job completion time and achieving good throughput there are other minimum requirements such as minimum memory and cpu requirements, choice of operating system, fine grained file access permissions etc. Currently such requirements are being fulfilled by resource brokers, which act as mediating agents between users and resource owners. In this thesis we approach the resource brokering architectural issue in a different manner. Instead of a monolithic broker, which performs all the superscheduling functions we propose a Modular Framework based Architecture for Task Initiation and Scheduling (MFATIC) based on the three main stages in the superscheduling process. There are three major goals of this research. The first aim is to develop a decoupled architectural model that not only provides a clear distinction in the responsibilities of each of the components but also provides the user the flexibility to replace one component with another functionally equivalent component. Secondly each of these components should be configurable and extensible to be able to accommodate user requirements. Finally, the design should enable the user to plug in modules within components of different deployments of the resource broker and thus promoting software reuse. / Master of Science

This dissertation presents three essays that focus on various aspects pertaining to the management of online platforms, defined as "digital services that facilitate interactions between two or more distinct, but interdependent sets of users (whether firms or individuals) who interact through the service via the Internet" (OECD, 2019). The interactions benefit both the users and the platform. Managing online platforms involves developing strategies for one or more of three value adding functions: (a) lowering search costs for the parties connecting through the platform, (b) providing a technology infrastructure that facilitates transactions at scale by sharing both demand and supply side costs; and (c) locating other audiences or consumers for the output that results from the transaction. The platform manager must manage these value adding functions. Thus, one important management task is to recognize potential asymmetries in the economic and/or psychological motivations of the transacting parties connected through the platform. In this dissertation, I empirically examine these issues in greater detail. The first essay, "Incentivizing User-Generated Content—A Double-Edged Sword: Evidence from Field Data and a Controlled Experiment," addresses the conundrum faced by online platform managers interested in crowdsourcing user-generated content (UGC) in prosocial contexts. The dilemma stems from the fact that offering monetary incentives to stimulate UGC contributions also has a damping effect on peer approval, which is an important source of non-monetary recognition valued by UGC contributors in prosocial contexts. The second essay, "Matching and Making in Matchmaking Platforms: A Structural Analysis," examines matchmaking platforms, focusing specifically on the problem of misaligned incentives between the platform and the agents. Based on data from the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on fighter characteristics, and pay-per-view revenues associated with specific bouts, we identify the potential for conflicts of interest and examine strategies that may be used to mitigate such problems. The third essay, "Matching and Making in Matching Markets: A Managerial Decision Calculus," extends the empirical model and analytical work to a class of commonly encountered one-sided matching market problems. It provides the conceptual outline of a decision calculus that allows managers to explore the revenue and profitability implications of adaptive changes to the tier structures and matching algorithms. / Doctor of Philosophy / The 21st century has witnessed the rise of the platform economy. Consumers routinely interact with online platforms ways in their day to day activities. For instance, they interact with platforms such as Quora, StackOverflow, Uber, and Airbnb to name only a few. Such platforms address a variety of needs starting from providing users with answers to a variety of questions to matching them with a range of service providers (e.g., for travel and dining needs). However, the rapid growth of the platform economy has created a knowledge gap for both consumers and platforms. The three essays in this dissertation attempt to contribute to the literature in this area. The first essay, "Incentivizing User-Generated Content—A Double-Edged Sword: Evidence from Field Data and a Controlled Experiment," examines how crowdsourcing contests influence the quantity and quality of user-generated content (UGC). Analyzing data from the popular question and answer website Quora, we find that offering monetary incentives to stimulate UGC contributions increases contributions but also has a simultaneous damping effect on peer endorsement, which is an important source of non-monetary recognition for UGC contributors in prosocial contexts. The second essay, "Matching and Making in Matchmaking Platforms: A Structural Analysis," examines matchmaking platforms, focusing on the problem of misaligned incentives between the platform and the agents. Based on data from the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on fighter characteristics, and pay-per-view revenues associated with specific bouts, we identify the potential for conflicts of interest and examine strategies that may be used to mitigate such problems. The third essay, "Matching and Making in Matching Markets: A Managerial Decision Calculus," extends the empirical model and analytical work to a class of commonly encountered one-sided matching market problems. It provides the conceptual outline of a decision calculus that allows managers to explore the revenue and profitability implications of adaptive changes to the tier structures and matching algorithms.

Since 1999 Colombia has experienced dramatic increases in emigration, particularly the emigration of women towards the U.S. as fiancées of U.S. citizens or residents. Parallel to this trend is the increased number of websites facilitating these Colombian-American matches. This dissertation investigates the agency of Colombian women and American men who pursue romantic courtship through the services of International Marriage Brokers (IMBs) from the “Gendered Geographies of Power” (GGP) framework of analysis. It examines how both groups’ social locations, their positioning in multiple axes of differentiation including gender, nationality and social class, affects how and why they exert their agency across and within different geographic scales. Most importantly, it investigates the role the imagination plays (imagination work) in both men and women’s agency, an aspect of the GGP framework that has been under-researched and theorized to date. The research also finds that this imagination work is promoted and cultivated in deeply gendered ways by IMBs seeking to profit off this transnational courtship. Employing data collected via interviews and content analysis of IMBs’ websites, the dissertation analyzes comparatively the expectations each group (women, men and IMBs) bring to their imagination work and experiences of the courtship marketplace. A central question posed and answered in the dissertation is “What do women and men courting each other in cyberspace seek and do they find it?” The dissertation finds that the men seek “traditional” women and the women seek “liberated” less “macho” men. Ironically, the men find Colombian women who are among the most “liberated” women in their homeland but who downplay this aspect of themselves in order to strategically find a more modern man and migrate abroad where they expect to find greater personal and professional opportunities.

The purpose of this study has been to examine the construction of identities that are taking place when Swedish children and teenagers are, according to their local social services, in need of a family home. We have collected and analyzed data in the form of advertisement that is publicly available from the Swedish website Familjehemsbanken.se. It is a kind of marketplace that specializes as a go-between for the local social services in different Swedish municipalities and the presumptive local family homes. The descriptions of the children were looked at through a social constructionism lens where we identified patterns and different themes to which we assigned our own meanings or interpretations, based on the analyzed data and previous research and theories. What we found were broadly categorized into three themes; descriptions that were aiming to sell the kids to prospective buyers (family homes), descriptions that highlighted certain issues or problems that the child needed support with or descriptions that we considered neutral or ambivalent. As we conclude in the study, the descriptions in the last category could also be interpreted as either good or bad, depending on the reader and their own values and life experience. Our results show that even though child auctions (in essence: a form of economic slavery) were abolished in Sweden in 1918, today’s Swedish society are still dealing with socially vulnerable children as they – in practice – are still commodities on a marketplace. The methods and language may have changed, but the end result is still strikingly similar to what happened over a hundred years ago. One of the biggest challenges the authors faced was that it doesn’t exist any previous Swedish research on the subject at hand. We would argue, however, that the marketization of socially vulnerable children is an important issue that should be more deeply and thoroughly researched by further studies on the subject.

La collaboration entre organisations est l’un des principaux enjeux de l’écosystème industriel actuel. L’établissement d’une telle collaboration doit être réactive, afin de saisir les différentes opportunités, et flexibles, pour pouvoir s’adapter aux changements dans la collaboration. Pour cela, ces collaborations doivent être supportées par un système d’information (SI) dédié, en charge de fournir l’interopérabilité entre les différents SI des partenaires et capable de gérer les spécificités de la collaboration. Le projet MISE (Mediation Information System Engineering) propose une approche dirigée par les modèles permettant à l’utilisateur de concevoir un Système d’Information de Médiation (SIM) adapté au support de cette collaboration. Deux étapes sont au coeur de la conception de ce SIM : la génération du processus métier collaboratif depuis une description de la situation (niveau abstrait) et sa transformation en un système exécutable (niveau concret). Ce manuscrit s’intéresse à cette seconde phase et tente, à l’aide de technologies basées sur la connaissance, de réconcilier ces modèles métiers avec les services techniques disponibles. Après une étude du besoin et des méthodes existantes d’apport sémantique pour les différents niveaux d’abstraction, nous faisons le choix de nous intéresser aux standards SAWSDL et WSMO-Lite au niveau des services et nous proposons un nouveau mécanisme d’annotation sémantique au niveau des processus métier (appelé SABPMN), faute de standard reconnu. Les informations sémantiques ajoutées aux modèles sont ensuite exploitées lors de la transformation des processus métier en workflows exécutables proposée ici. Cette transformation se déroule alors en trois phases : (i) on recherche pour les différentes activités métier du processus le ou les service(s) qui répond(ent) au besoin métier exprimé à l’aide de mécanismes de sélection et de composition de services ; (ii) on génère pour chaque service à invoquer la transformation de données nécessaire pour garantir une bonne communication avec les autres composants ; (iii) une fois ces informations validées par l’utilisateur, on génère les fichiers nécessaires à l’exécution de ce processus sur la plateforme collaborative. Les résultats de cette thèse s’inscrivent aussi au sein du projet FUI ISTA3 (Interopérabilité de 3ème génération pour les Sous-Traitants de l’Aéronautique) qui se propose d’améliorer l’interopérabilité de la chaine logistique des sous-traitants aéronautiques de l’Aerospace Valley afin de faciliter la co-conception. Une implémentation des différents mécanismes proposés a été réalisée et est disponible sous la forme d’un prototype fonctionnel open-source. / Collaboration bewteen organisations is one of nowadays main stakes in industrial ecosystem. Establishment of such collaboration must be reactive, in order to take avantage of opportunities, and flexible, in order to adapt collaboration to context changes. In this view, such collaboration must be supported by a dedicated Information System (IS), responsible for ensuring interoperability between partner’s IS and able to manage collaboration specificities. MISE project (Mediation Information System Engineering) provides a model-driven engineering approach dedicated to design a Mediation Information System (MIS) which supports this collaboration. Two steps are involved in the MIS design : generation of business processes from the description of the collaborative situation (abstract level) and transformation of these process models into an executable system (concrete level). This PhD thesis takes interest in the second level trying to match those business models with available technical services, thanks to knowledge based technologies. First, we studied our semantic needs and existing methods of semantic annotation for models from both business and technical levels. We chose SAWSDL and WSMOLite standards for service annotations whereas we provided a new semantic annotation mechanism for business processes (called SABPMN), in the absence of existing standard. Added semantic information is then used during the business processes to executable workflows transformation. This transformation is performed in three steps : (i) for each activity involved in business processes we search for technical services which fit our business needs thanks to our service selection and composition mechanisms ; (ii) we generate for each selected service the required data transformation to ensure correct communication with other components ; (iii) once this information validated by user, we generate technical files expected by the collaborative platform to execute those processes. Those results are in line with the FUI ISTA3 project (3rd generation of Interoperability for Aeronautics Sub-contracTors) which focuses on improving supply chain interoperability for aeronautics sub-contractors of Aerospace Valley in order to facilitate co-design. All proposed transformation and matchmaking mecanisms are implemented as open-source functional prototypes.

Plato’s Socrates is famous for claiming that “I know one thing: That I know nothing” (see e.g. Ap. 21d and Meno 81d). There is one subject that Socrates repeatedly claims to have expertise in, however: ta erôtika (see e.g. Symp. 198d1). Socrates also refers to this expertise as his erôtikê technê (Phdr. 257a7–8), which may be translated as “erotic expertise”. In this dissertation, I investigate Socrates’ erotic expertise: what kind of expertise is it, what is it constituted by, where is it put into practice, and how is it practiced? I argue that the purposes this expertise serve are, to a significant extent, educational in nature. After first having clarified the dissertation’s topic and aim, as well as my methodological approach, I present an initial account of erôs and Socrates’ erotic expertise. While discussing what constitutes Socrates’ erotic expertise, I account for two erotic educational methods: midwifery and matchmaking. I further argue that these methods tend to be accompanied by two psychological techniques, namely charming and shaming. I argue that these methods and techniques are systematically applied by Socrates when he puts his erotic expertise into practice. In the dissertation, three dialogues where Socrates practices his erotic expertise are scrutinized: Lysis, Charmides, and Alcibiades I. I focus on Socrates’ encounters with the eponymous youths of the dialogues, and each dialogue is devoted a chapter of its own. I show how these dialogues are erotically charged, and also how Socrates in these dialogues demonstrates his erotic expertise. I argue that Socrates’ expertise on erôs plays an essential role in his attempts to engage the three youths in the processes of self-cultivation, learning, and the very practice of philosophy. In the final chapter of the dissertation I turn to some questions that arise in light of my readings, and summarize the results of my investigation.