Today’s converging entertainment industry creates ‘transmedial’ brand worlds in which consumers are expected to become immersed. Integrated marketing campaigns connected to these worlds encourage various kinds of consumer productivity and invite consumers to partake in brand-building processes. Consumers, thus, are increasingly counted on to act as co-producers of contemporary entertainment. While such an altered consumer identity has been taken as evidence of enhanced consumer agency, it has also been recognized as a source of consumer exploitation.  This thesis aims to further our understanding of the increasingly ambivalent power-relationship that exists between agents in the entertainment industry and their most dedicated customers – the fans. The study employs a multiperspectival theoretical framework, in that cultural studies theory is enriched with perspectives from political economy. This integrated approach to the object of study yields a better understanding of the values of consumer activity, and fan productivity in particular, to industry and consumers respectively. The study applies existing theory on transmedial textuality, branding, and fandom to one particular franchise, Hasbro’s Transformers. This brand world, home of both industrial and fan-based creativity, is studied through analyses of official and unofficial contents, and through interviews with professionals and fans. The focus is on the brand environment established around the first live action film ever made within the franchise. Special attention is given to the all-encompassing film marketing campaign that contributed to forming this environment and to fan productivity taking place in relation to it.  The case study shows that companies and fans contribute to the building and promotion of the Transformers brand world – in collaboration and in conflict. While fan productivity occasionally takes place without direct encouragement from the companies involved, it is also largely anticipated and desired by marketing campaigns. The findings suggest that consumer enjoyment potentially translates into industrial benefits, including free brand promotion. Ultimately, the thesis acknowledges transmedial worlds of entertainment as concurrent sites of pleasure, resistance, and exploitation.

Globally, human populations are increasing and coastal ecosystems are becoming increasingly impacted by anthropogenic stressors. As eutrophication and exploitation of coastal resources increases, primary producer response to these drivers becomes a key indicator of ecosystem stability. Despite the importance of monitoring primary producers such as seagrasses and macroalgae, detailed studies on the response of these benthic habitat components to drivers remain relatively sparse. Utilizing a multi-faceted examination of turtle-seagrass and sea urchin-macroalgae consumer and nutrient dynamics, I elucidate the impact of these drivers in Akumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico. In Yal Ku Lagoon, macroalgae bioindicators signified high nutrient availability, which is important for further studies, but did not consistently follow published trends reflecting decreased δ15N content with distance from suspected source. In Akumal Bay, eutrophication and grazing by turtles and fishes combine to structure patches within the seagrass beds. Grazed seagrass patches had higher structural complexity and productivity than patches continually grazed by turtles and fishes. Results from this study indicate that patch abandonment may follow giving-up density theory, the first to be recorded in the marine environment. As Diadema antillarum populations recover after their massive mortality thirty years ago, the role these echinoids will have in reducing macroalgae cover and altering ecosystem state remains to be clear. Although Diadema antillarum densities within the coral reef ecosystem were comparable to other regions within the Caribbean, the echinoid population in Akumal Bay was an insufficient driver to prevent dominance of a turf-algal-sediment (TAS) state. After a four year study, declining coral cover coupled with increased algal cover suggests that the TAS-dominated state is likely to persist over time despite echinoid recovery. Studies on macroalgal diversity and nutrients within this same region of echinoids indicated diversity and nutrient content of macroalgae increased, which may further increase the persistence of the algal-dominated state. This study provides valuable insight into the variable effects of herbivores and nutrients on primary producers within a tropical coastal ecosystem. Results from this work challenge many of the currently accepted theories on primary producer response to nutrients and herbivory while providing a framework for further studies into these dynamics.

Distributed ledger technology (DLT) stands to benefit industries such as financial services with transparency and censorship resistance. DLT systems need to be scalable to handle mass user adoption. Mass user adoption is required to demonstrate the true value of DLT. This dissertation first analyses scalability in ethereum and EOS. Currently, ethereum 1.0 uses proof of work (PoW) and handles only 14 transactions per second (tps) compared to Visa's peak 47 000 tps. Ethereum 2.0, known as Serenity, introduces sharding, proof of stake (Casper), plasma and state channels in and effort to scale the system. EOS uses a delegated proof of stake (DPoS) protocol, where 21 super-nodes, termed ‘block producers' (BPs), facilitate consensus, bringing about significant scalability improvements (4000 tps). The trade-off is decentralisation. EOS is not sufficiently decentralised because the BPs yield significant power, but are not diverse. This dissertation conducts an empirical analysis using unsupervised machine learning to show that there is a high probability collusion is occurring between certain BPs. It then suggests possible protocol alterations such as inverse vote weighting that could curb adverse voting behaviour in DPoS. It further analyses whether universities are suitable BP's before mapping out required steps for universities to become block producers (leading to improved decentralisation in EOS)

The first part of this masters thesis deals with research of modulat type hydraulics power units from other significant world producers. Design part of thesis contains complete design of three product ranges of hydraulics power units. It also includes simulation by FEM method. Last part descibe safety of machine and brief economic evaluation of product.

Detta arbete har gått ut på att spela in, producera och mixa en annan artists kommande singel på distans, till hennes debutalbum. Låten heter Springer Hem I Ösregn. Det utfördes och började med en färdig demo med alla instrument först gjorda i datorn och en slasksång insjungen av skribenten. Demon skickades till en trummis och basist som spelade in på distans. Sångerskan, Moa Silén, tog tåget till Arvika från Stockholm och spelade in all sång under en helg hemma hos mig. Gitarrer spelades in på egen hand i efterhand och låten producerade upp ytligare. Mixandet gjordes av mig och Anton Fagerberg. Mastern står även Anton för. Resultatet blev ett mer nytt och modernt sound än hennes tidigare singel. Vilket målet var redan från början och att kunna blanda akustiska instrument med digitala. Det uppstod problem då mycket gjordes på distans och även i mixnings-processen för att få bas och trummor att samarbeta, men med hjälp av Anton så löste det sig. I framtiden kommer detta projekt ske utan distans och med bättre arbetsförhållanden. Trots den långa resan blev resultatet av låten som förväntat. / This assignment has been about recording, producing and mixing another artist's upcoming single, remotely, for her debut EP. The song is called ”Springer Hem I Ösregn”. It was first created with a demo with all the instruments made in the computer and a demo-vocal sung by myself. The demo was sent to a drummer and bass-player who recorded it remotely. The singer, Moa Silén, took the train to Arvika from Stockholm and recorded all the vocals during a weekend at my place. Guitars were recorded on their own and the song produced more superficially afterwards. The mix was done by myself and Anton Fagerberg. The master was also done by Anton. The result was to get a more new and modern sound than her previous single. Which the goal was right from the start and to be able to mix acoustic instruments with digital instruments. There were problems cause a lot was done remotely and also during the mixing process to get the bass and drums to work together, but with some help from Anton it was solved. In the future, this project will be done without the distance and with better working-conditions. Despite the long journey, the result of the song was as expected.

Les services avancés à la production (APS) dans les domaines de la comptabilité, de la publicité, de la finance, des services juridiques et du conseil en gestion, ainsi que de l'informatique aident leurs clients à développer des stratégies d'accumulation financière et assurent la coordination et la gouvernance des réseaux de production mondiaux. Néanmoins, alors que les réseaux mondiaux ont été richement documentés par la recherche sur les villes mondiales, cette thèse tente de comprendre les processus moins étudiés qui structurent la géographie des APS dans la ville mondiale de Bruxelles. Pour ce faire, je réexamine deux hypothèses qui restent peu étudiées et implicites. D'une part, il est supposé que les firmes APS s'agglomèrent et constituent des réseaux de collaboration de firmes APS au sein des villes, un complexe APS. D'autre part, alors que les réseaux mondiaux de firmes APS ont été minutieusement documentés, le rôle de commandement et de contrôle attribué aux villes mondiales reste souvent supposé découler directement de ces réseaux. Pour explorer ces hypothèses, j'ai développé trois types d'analyses appliqués au cas de Bruxelles, une ville dont l'internationalisation est basée sur sa fonction politique et sa forte insertion dans les réseaux APS :une analyse géographique des processus d’agglomération des APS, une enquête auprès des professionnels APS pour caractériser les interactions au sein et entre les secteurs APS et une étude de cas sur les collaborations concrètes entre les entreprises APS dans le cas de processus de restructurations bancaires. Les résultats conjoints des trois analyses m'amènent à soutenir que la notion de complexe APS doit être nuancée avec l'idée que la finance fonctionne comme l'élément central dans les relations entre les APS avec des secteurs auxiliaires autour de la finance. Comme cette explication n'éclaire pas complètement la notion de contrôle et de commandement de l'économie, je recommande de prendre en compte la recherche constante de la rentabilité qui fait pression sur l'organisation des entreprises. Je plaide donc pour une meilleure articulation entre les réseaux mondiaux des APS et le capitalisme financiarisé. Pour conclure, je montre que Bruxelles occupe une position intermédiaire dans la division internationale du travail et que ce rôle se limite de plus en plus à la seule coordination du marché national. / Option Géographie du Doctorat en Sciences / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

This thesis examines the dependence structures between commodity futures and corresponding commodity producer equity indices in bearish, bullish and normal market conditions. We study commodity futures and producer indices in the energy, precious metals, gold and agriculture commodity markets using daily return data that ranges from 16 December 2005 to 28 June 2019. We employ the cross-quantilogram approach developed by Han et al. (2016) to examine dependence structures in the full quantile range, which represents different market states. Furthermore, we control for different lag structures, uncertainties and time-varying dependence structures. From our results we conclude the following: 1) There are time-varying asymmetric and symmetric dependencies in different commodity markets. There is asymmetric dependence between commodity futures and producer indices in the precious metals, gold and agricultural markets. In the oil market, the relationship is symmetrical. No relationship is found in the natural gas market. 2) Heterogenous dependence structures are identified in the gold, precious metals and agricultural commodity markets. The oil market uncovers homogenous dependence structures. 3) The observed spillover in all markets occur in the very short run, at one day, and dissipates after a week and additionally after a month. Our results provide new information regarding commodity diversification attributes which can be useful to investors. Our results also provide important policy implications: Since volatility spillovers between commodity futures and producer indices may deter investors from including commodities in their portfolios, as they might lose their diversifier qualities, it is important to enforce policies that will prevent the spillovers between the assets. Further, regulations of the commodity futures markets could be an alternative to reduce the spillovers.

I denna studie har vi undersökt hur manliga och kvinnliga innehållsproducenter av fyra svenska true crime-podcastprogram har representerat gärningsperson, offer och deras anhöriga. I studien undersöktes också hur producenterna uttryckt personliga åsikter och hur de använt sig av musik. Att kritiskt granska producenterna är relevant eftersom tidigare studier har visat att de har ett stort inflytande på både samhället och sina lyssnare. Genom en semiotisk textanalys studerades innehållet i podcastprogrammen utifrån teorierna kunskapssociologi, genus och representation. Resultatet visar att manliga och kvinnliga innehållsproducenter representerade de involverade i mordfallen på liknande sätt men att det finns skillnader i hur manliga och kvinnliga innehållsproducenter uttryckt personliga åsikter. I de studerade podcastprogrammen har vi också identifierat två underkategorier i true crime-genren, ”pratprogram” och ”dokumentär”. / In this study, we have examined how male and female content producers of four Swedish true crime podcasts have represented perpetrators, victims and their relatives. The study also examined how producers expressed personal opinions and how they used music. A critical review of these producers is relevant because previous studies have shown they have a great influence on both society and their listeners. The content of the podcasts was studied based on the theories of Sociology of Knowledge, Gender and Representation, using a Semiotic Text Analysis. The results show that male and female content producers represented those involved in the true crime cases in similar ways, but that there are differences in how male and female content producers expressed personal opinions. We have also identified two subcategories in the true crime genre, namely "Talk Show" and "Documentary".

Denna studie syftar till att finna orsaker till varför två av Sveriges största podcastar-duo podcastar. För att finna orsaken använder vi oss av fem kategorier som kan vara anledningen, ekonomiska anledningar, kändisskap, att sprida kunskap, utveckling av jobb och karriär eller allmänt intresse för sociala medier. Denna studie är av hög relevans i dagens samhälle där att tala om sin livsstil kan ge alla fördelar för att upprätthålla eller skapa en image på sociala medier. Frågeställningarna kommer att behandlas med hjälp av en kvantitativ innehållsanalys i kombination med en kvalitativ innehållsanalys av två avsnitt från vardera podcast. Resultatet visar på att de mest använda ämnen av de som tidigare definierats var kändisskap och jobb & karriär. Studien är analyserad med relevant forskning inom medie-och kommunikation av till exempel Marshall McLuhan, Jean Baudrillard, Jurgen Habermas och Henry Jenkins. / In this study we will attempt to find the reasons why two of the biggest podcasts in Sweden actually is podcasting. Is it for economic reasons, maintain famous, spread knowledge, for job purpose or their interest in the medium. This is a study that is highly relevant for today's society where just talking about your life gives you all the benefits of maintain an image in the social media world. The question will be answered with the help of a quantitative content analysis combined with a qualitative content analysis of two episodes of each podcast. The results shows that the most used category and subject of the ones that we earlier defined was for the both was fame and job and career. The study is analysed through relative media and communication theories for example thoughts of Marshall McLuhan, Jean Baudrillard, Jürgen Habermas and Henry Jenkins.

The objective of our thesis was to conduct a pilot study to evaluate if an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for textiles in the EU could be a socioeconomically beneficial policy to complement the EU Waste Framework Directive’s amendment of separately collected textiles. The aim was to investigate if the policy could achieve increased circular design of textiles as well as if it could work as a management plan for the increased collection rates. The evaluation was made with a Cost-Benefit Analysis, using the French EPR-system for textiles as a base. It was further complemented with previously conducted research of EPR-systems for other waste streams in the EU, as well as by previously conducted investigations for other national implementations of producer responsibilities for textiles. In additional support, we used data for differences between the member states in the European Union and conducted an expert interview. The EPR was compared to a situation where the municipalities in the member states would instead be responsible for the separate collection of textiles. The result of our investigation illustrates how both alternatives generate a net-loss, the Municipal Responsibility with - €7,611,410,291 and the Extended Producer Responsibility with - €6,012,109,341 during the first year of implementation. The EPR alternative generates a lower net-loss during the first three years of implementation. The producer responsibility is however the less beneficial alternative four years after implementation, since the decreased opportunity cost of labour generated through the hiring of unemployed assumed under the producer responsibility is deducted. The producer responsibility does however generate benefits through clearly defined responsibility of the textiles placed on the European market and gives incentives for increased fibre-to-fibre recycling and for increased durability of textiles. The initiative therefore generates both higher quantifiable-and non-quantifiable, environmental benefits than the alternative. We conclude that an Extended Producer Responsibility should be further examined as a complement to the regulation of separate collection of textiles, to reach an increased circular textile industry.