The current research explores how luxury brand mentions impacts consumer culture. Specifically, the social, cultural, and economic implications of such mentions when integrated in reality television is investigated. Exploring this phenomenon is important as consumers are afforded several options to skip or avoid advertising when viewing television. Hence, consumers are now exposed to brand mentions that are integrated in media by advertisers who aim to combat the advertising avoidance. Generally, brand mentions are depicted in media as inexpensive, convenient products, such as household goods or food products. But with the emergence and popularity of reality television, consumers are now exposed to those brands, in addition to luxury brands. This is true as brand mentions financially support production costs for many reality television programs and also serve as aspirational props. Luxury brand mentions are worthy of study as they exude exclusivity and status and are traditionally targeted to a niche, elite market. As luxury brands are integrated in reality television, a broader, more diverse consumer audience is exposed to such mentions. This research is one of the first to specifically explore how luxury brand mentions appear in reality television. Using the consumer culture theory framework, two studies were conducted to understand the nuanced meanings of such mentions among consumers. Study One explored the integration of luxury brand mentions using a content assessment. Study Two used depth interviews to gauge consumer response to such mentions. Study One results indicate luxury brand mentions are highly prominent in affluent-lifestyle reality television shows. Five of the most frequently mentioned luxury brands represent the automobile, entertainment/technology, and hospitality product categories. Overall, the promotion of materialism, aspiration, and elitism were messages consumers were exposed to. Study One results were supported by findings in Study Two which revealed informants’ race, class, and gender as strong influencers of their interpretations of luxury brand mentions. / text

Fake news has great potential to cause damage to brand reputations and finances. Given the technical challenges of detecting fake news in time, it is inevitable that social media platforms will end up hosting fake news. The competition for attention and advertising revenue is intense. Many consumers read only the headlines. Fake news stories that mention brands in headlines can help news publishers garner social media engagement but can also hurt brands, raising concerns about brand protection. In this research, I focus on the first two stages of the information processing model – attending to information and encoding information (Berk 2018; Miller 1988).In Chapter 2, I investigate whether mentions of human and product brands are associated with news consumption and news retransmission (how brand mentions attract attention; the first stage of information processing). Using data from a news platform that generated both traditional and satirical (fake) news stories, I quantify the effects of brand mentions on social media engagement for both traditional and fake news. The analysis encompasses mentions of popular product brands, such as Apple, and mentions of human brands, such as famous politicians and actors. A framework based on uses and gratifications theory (UGT) aids in variable selection and the interpretation of results. My results imply that human brand mentions generally have a positive effect on news consumption and retransmission for both news formats, and product brand mentions affect engagement of satirical news via an interaction with news categories. Results provide further insights on the roles of sentiment, narrative style, and writing quality of news stories. The high potential of human and product brands in the headlines, especially human brands in satirical news, may be indicative of their potential to be misused by unscrupulous news media publishers. This reminds social media platforms of their responsibility to protect brands and consumers from fake news. Next, in Chapter 3, I examine the effectiveness of before-warnings (BWs) and after-warnings (AWs) in alerting consumers and reducing the persuasive influence of fake news on brand attitudes (how warning timing affects encoding; the second stage of information processing). Results reveal that for both negative and positive fake news, BWs are sometimes no more effective than no-warnings. Although BWs do encourage more critical processing of misinformation, this can distract consumers from the warning message. More importantly, Chapter 3 demonstrates a robust after-warning effect (AWE). Warning consumers after they have read fake news with AWs consistently leads to a higher reduction of persuasive influence (negative or positive) than BWs. AWs are more salient and arouse greater reactance to the false information than BWs. The resulting loss in control over how the news influenced attitudes and increased anger lead to the observed after-warning effect. News valence also matters since positive news is perceived to be more credible and processed less critically than negative news. AWs relative to BWs thus arouse feelings of being tricked when fake news is positive but not when it is negative, also leading to the after-warning effect. The findings have several theoretical and managerial implications. / Business Administration/Marketing

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

En matière de formation des contrats, le consentement de la partie qui s’oblige est soumis au principe de liberté des formes. Par exception, la volonté doit adopter une certaine forme contractuelle pour s’extérioriser. Face à l’évolution du droit des contrats et à la nécessité de combattre les déséquilibres contractuels propres aux rapports contractuels actuels, le formalisme expérimente un processus de revitalisation et de renaissance en droit contemporain dont la finalité principale consiste à protéger le consentement contractuel des parties au contrat. Cela rend indispensable l’analyse des fondements du formalisme et de son rôle dans la protection du consentement contractuel en droit contemporain, à travers la révision transversale de ses nouvelles manifestations, principalement en matière du droit de la consommation et du commerce électronique ; pour constater finalement ses véritables effets et conséquences en matière du droit des contrats. / In contract law, the agreement of the parties is ruled by the freedom of choice of forms of contract. In this way, contracts are signed by the mere consent of the parties, and there is a freedom regarding the ways for its externalization. Despite this, the evolution of contract law and the need to combat specific contractual imbalances of contractual relationships, formalism is experiencing a revitalization process and a rebirth in contemporary law, with the main purpose to protect the contractual consent. For these reasons it is necessary to analyze the role of formalism in the protection of contractual consent, reviewing its new manifestations, mainly in the field of consumer and commercial law ; finally finding its true effects and consequences in contract contemporary law.

The diploma thesis deals with the assessment of the effectiveness of on-line communication with the application for DOX Centre for Contemporary Art in Prague. It focuses on clarifying the theoretical framework of principles of social networks, mapping new trends and approaches in on-line communication and marketing. Part of the work is given to the identification of the percentage of the visitors of DOX who only search for information about exhibitions and other related program via the Internet. The emphasis is on research of the share of real customer of DOX to fan base on the Facebook social network. To make on-line communication more effective the priorities are set for various on-line channels with the tool for monitoring of mentions on the internet related to DOX. According to the fact that Facebook is an important interactive channel for DOX, there is created detailed analysis of the publications of contributions and the resulting recommendations for implementation. In conclusion, DOX expresses the contribution of the diploma thesis.

L’objet de cette thèse de doctorat est l’étude systématique des mentions, des appellations et des titres des femmes de la dynastie Julio-Claudienne, dans les sources littéraires et épigraphiques. L’étude des appellations des femmes impériales durant la première époque du Principat s’insère dans l’axe de la recherche contemporaine qui vise à définir les espaces et les modalités d’action des femmes pendant l’antiquité classique, et en particulier pendant la phase délicate de transition entre la République romaine et le Principat. En effet, le passage entre la République et la nouvelle forme de gouvernement a également marqué un changement important dans la situation des femmes, car les modalités d’action des femmes, jusqu’alors confinées dans une sphère domestique et privée, évoluèrent. Cette thèse est organisée en deux parties : une première partie dédiée à l’étude et à l’analyse des appellations des femmes impériales et une deuxième partie, intitulée annexe, qui recueille et organise systématiquement tous les témoignages littéraires et épigraphiques pour chaque femme de la famille Julio-Claudienne. Notre but a été, par notre recherche doctorale sur les appellations des femmes de la dynastie Julio-Claudienne, d’avancer dans la définition des espaces d’action de ces femmes au début de l’Empire ainsi que dans la connaissance du rôle des femmes au sein de la cour impériale ; cette étude permet d’analyser en détail les rapports de parenté complexes qui lient les figures féminines concernées aux personnages masculins de la domus impériale ou à des figures qui s’y rapportent / The aim of this thesis is to investigate the appellations, names and titles of the women of Julio-Claudian family in literary and epigraphic sources. The analysis and study of the appellations of these imperial women during the first period of the Roman Empire, is part of the contemporary research that seeks to define the spaces and action modalities of women during the time of classical antiquity and in particular, the period of transition from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire. In fact, the passage of the Roman Republic to a new form of government marked a significant change in the situation of women, especially for the women of the imperial domus. Women, who until then were normally confined to a domestic and private sphere, acquired and exercised new action modalities within new spheres of action. This thesis is organized in two sections: the first part of the study analyses the names, appellations and titles of imperial women and the second part collates and organizes all the literary and epigraphic evidences of each woman of the Julio-Claudian family. The purpose of this research on the appellations and names of the women of Julio-Claudian dynasty has been to advance the study of feminine spaces at the beginning of the Roman Empire and to illuminate of the new actions modalities for the imperial women during this period. Furthermore, this doctoral research contributes to deepening our understanding of the changes of the role and status of imperial women and the complex relative relationships of these women to the men of imperial family, such as the emperors and other male figures in Julio-Claudian dynasty, or to eminent personages in the Roman imperial society