In today's society we spend more time on social media than ever before. 61% of all Sweden's internet users are active on Instagram, this makes the social media platform the second most used application after Facebook.   The aim of this study was to explore how active users on Instagram, so-called prosumers, experience their own use and self-presentation on Instagram. We chose to conduct ten qualitative semi-structured interviews. We sought to create an understanding of how prosumers use the application and whether there are any usage standards that are important in how they want to present themselves to other users.    The collective term “usage standards” has been created to illustrate the relationship between how prosumers are expected to act and behave towards each other on the platform, and how they subsequently use Instagram. The purpose of this study has been investigated by the use of three research questions: How do prosumers describe their own activity on Instagram? How do prosumers’ usage standards affect other users on Instagram? What is the prosumers’ understanding of the way they present themselves on Instagram?   We have used a number of theoretical frameworks to investigate the study’s purpose. All theories deal with different areas such as use of social media, self-presentation and comparison. The used theories are Goffman’s work on social norms and self-presentation, social comparison theory, social cognitive theory and uses and gratification. To develop a deeper understanding of the study and the subject, it was most appropriate to use a qualitative interview method. Even before the interviews were conducted, four main themes were identified - use, self-presentation, social adaptation and comparison, which are all part of the concept of usage standards. The interviews were conducted in the form of individual interviews and were based on semi-structured questions. This means that the interview contained open questions that allowed respondents to describe their thoughts and experiences.    The four main themes discussed above were used to report and analyze the results. It was discovered that prosumers are mainly influenced by their social environment, which leads them to being inspired by other users as well as copying content. Prosumers also admit that it is important to showcase a “real” image of themselves on the platform, while at the same time insisting that they care about adjusting and customizing their images to make it look aesthetically pleasing. The results show that prosumers compare themselves to other users, consciously and subconsciously, in order to determine how to present themselves.   In the discussion and conclusion, it is found that the social environment influences prosumers in all their activity on Instagram. Prosumers also create usage standards by comparing and adapting their behavior to other users’ content on the platform. / Idag spenderar vi mer tid i sociala medier än vi någonsin gjort tidigare. 61% av alla internetanvändare i Sverige är idag aktiva på Instagram vilket gör applikationen till den sociala medieplattformen med flest aktiva användare efter Facebook.    För att få reda på hur aktiva användare, så kallade prosumers, upplever sin egen användning och självpresentation på Instagram valde vi att genomföra tio stycken kvalitativa samtalsintervjuer. Vi strävade efter att skapa en förståelse för hur prosumers använder applikationen och om det fanns några användningsnormer som hade betydelse för hur de ville framställa sig själva för andra användare.    Samlingsbegreppet användningsnormer skapades för att illustrera förhållandet mellan hur prosumers förväntades agera och bete sig gentemot varandra på plattformen, och som sedan leder till hur prosumers i praktiken använder Instagram. Syftet med denna studie har undersökts med hjälp av tre forskningsfrågor: Hur beskriver prosumers sin egen aktivitet på Instagram? Vad har prosumers användningsnormer för betydelse gentemot andra användare på Instagram? Vilken förståelse har prosumers för hur de väljer att framställa sig själva på Instagram?    Vi har använt ett antal teoretiska ramverk för att undersöka studiens syfte. Samtliga behandlar olika områden som är: användning, social självpresentation och jämförelse. Teorierna vi har använt oss av är Goffmans teorier om sociala normer och självpresentation, social jämförelseteori, social kognitiv teori och användarforskningen. För att skapa en djupare förståelse för studien och ämnet var det mest lämpat att använda en kvalitativ intervjumetod. Redan innan intervjuerna utfördes identifierades fyra huvudteman - användning, framställning, social anpassning och jämförelse som samtliga är en del av begreppet användningsnormer. Intervjuerna utfördes i form av enskilda samtalsintervjuer och utgick ifrån semistrukturerade frågor.   De fyra huvudteman som benämns ovan användes för att redovisa och analysera resultatet. Det framkom att prosumers i stor mån blir påverkade av den sociala omgivningen vilket leder till att de inspireras av andra användare samt kopierar deras innehåll. De medgav även att det är viktigt att visa upp en “äkta” bild av sig själva på plattformen, samtidigt påtalade de att de bryr sig om att justera och anpassa sina bilder för att det ska bra ut för andra Instagram-användare. Resultatet visar att prosumers jämför sig med andra användare, medvetet och omedvetet för att själva komma fram till hur de ska framställa sig.    I diskussionen och slutsatsen, visade det sig att den sociala omgivningen påverkar prosumers i alla beslut de tar om Instagram. Prosumers skapar även användningsnormer genom att jämföra och anpassa sig till andra användare på plattformen.

As the number of autonomous decision-making entities in the electricity grid increases, it is necessary to develop (1) new decision-making capabilities embedded within the grid's control and management, and (2) new grid architecture models ensuring that both individual and system objectives are met. This work develops (1) new decision-making mechanisms enabling residential energy users and electricity providers to interact through the use of dynamic price signals, and (2) policy recommendations to facilitate the emergence of shared architecture models describing the future state of the electricity grid. In the first part, two optimization models that capture the emerging flexible consumption, storage, and generation capabilities of residential end-users are formulated. An economic dispatch model that explicitly accounts for end-users' internal dynamics is proposed. A non-iterative pricing algorithm using convex and inverse linear programming is developed to induce autonomous residential end-users to behave cooperatively and minimize the provider's generation costs. In the second part, several factors that make the development of grid architecture models necessary from a public policy standpoint are identified and discussed. The grid architecture problem is rigorously framed as both a market failure legitimizing government intervention, and a meta-problem requiring the development of non-conventional methods of solution. A policy approach drawing on the theoretical concepts of broker, boundary object and boundary organization is proposed.

Since YouTube was founded in 2005, prosumers have been uploading karaoke-style “lyric videos” of their favourite songs in order to creatively and visually accompany the song, while making it available online to other listeners. In the last few years, more and more artists have adopted this trend and are releasing official lyric videos that follow and expand on this tradition, thus commanding immediate visual attention to new singles. Additionally, these videos control the images and sounds associated with the song and artist, while profiting from advertising revenue tied to online video content. Though scholarship on music video is increasing, there is no evidence of scholarly research on lyric videos. Seemingly simple, these videos create meanings that impact artistic personae, song and album reception, and genre identity formation. They are not merely promotional devices, or placeholders for “official” music videos. Grounding my analysis in genre theory (Frow 2015, Brackett 2015 & 2016, Fabbri, 1982, Holt, 2007), I claim that lyric videos comprise a new visual genre of music video, following their own parameters, connections, and histories, while simultaneously participating in the ideologies and tropes of their musical genre. In order to illustrate the framework, I offer a history of the genre by focusing my analysis on the lyric videos released by Katy Perry over the course of seven years, from 2010 to 2017, from the promotion for four of her most recent albums. By offering a historical analysis, I show how the lyric video has emerged, evolved and become established as a distinct visual genre. I include brief interludes in my analysis to highlight other important moments in the development of the genre, and to discuss how the lyrics, sound, and images are diversely represented in lyric videos depending upon musical genre. Drawing from feminist theory (Gledhill 2000), as well as persona theory (Auslander 2004, Moore 2005), I conclude that lyric videos offer unique possibilities for artists to amplify the meaning of their song and the spectator’s understanding of the lyrics, while portraying information about the artist’s subjectivities, and as such, deserves more scholarly attention as a distinct visual genre.

Yes / Recently, significant advances in renewable energy generation have made it possible to consider consumers as prosumers. However, with increase in embedded generation, storage of electrical energy in batteries, flywheels and supercapacitors has become important so as to better utilize the existing grid by helping smooth the peaks and troughs of renewable electricity generation, and also of demand. This has led to the possibility of controlling the times when stored energy from these storage units is fed back to the grid. In this paper we look at how energy resource sharing is achieved if these storage units are part of a virtual power plant. In a virtual power plant, these storage units become energy resources that need to be optimally scheduled over time so as to benefit both prosumer and the grid supplier. In this paper, a smart energy resources allocation algorithm is presented for a virtual power plants using genetic algorithms. It is also proposed that the cause of battery depreciation be accounted for in the allocation of discharge rates. The algorithm was tested under various pricing scenarios, depreciation cost, as well as constraint. The results are presented and discussed. Conclusions were drawn, and suggestion for further work was made. / Mr. Oghenovo Okpako is grateful for the support of the Niger Delta Development Commission of Nigeria for supporting the work. The work has been also supported by the British Council and the UK Department of Business innovations and Skills under the GII funding of the SITARA project.

To mitigate the technical challenges faced by the next-generation smart power grid, in this thesis, novel frameworks are developed for optimizing energy management and trading between power companies and grid consumers, who own renewable energy generators and storage units. The proposed frameworks explicitly account for the effect on demand-side energy management of various consumer-centric grid factors such as the stochastic renewable energy forecast, as well as the varying future valuation of stored energy. In addition, a novel approach is proposed to enhance the resilience of consumer-centric energy trading scenarios by analyzing how a power company can encourage its consumers to store energy, in order to supply the grid’s critical loads, in case of an emergency. The developed energy management mechanisms advance novel analytical tools from game theory, to capture the coupled actions and objectives of the grid actors and from the framework of prospect theory (PT), to capture the irrational behavior of consumers when faced with decision uncertainties. The studied PT and game-based solutions, obtained through analytical and algorithmic characterization, provide grid designers with key insights on the main drivers of each actor’s energy management decision. The ensuing results primarily characterize the difference in trading decisions between rational and irrational consumers, and its impact on energy management. The outcomes of this thesis will therefore allow power companies to design consumer-centric energy management programs that support the sustainable and resilient development of the smart grid by continuously matching supply and demand, and providing emergency energy reserves for critical infrastructure. / Master of Science

Rapid growth of digitalization has urged Data Centres (DC) to be more energy efficient by recovering waste heat from server racks that would otherwise be wasted. This techno-economic study is focused on upgrading low temperature waste heat from typical Air-Cooled DC for District Heating Network (DHN) market in Stockholm region. The methodology is carried out by four system configurations that are experimented with different historical electricity data, impacts of climate change with simulated weather data, and variations in DHN temperature as the heat supply scenario development. The results show that DC configuration with combination of both free-cooling and waste heat recovery can foster techno-economic benefits by reducing cooling consumption by 55.6%, compared to DC configuration with free-cooling only; and further lowering Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) from 1.95 to 1.52. Lifecycle Operational Expenditure (LCO) has also been used as the economic indicator to represent the maximum initial investment that data centre should accept when deciding to recover the waste heat to the DHN. Moreover, the new technical Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) were introduced to support the decision-making in the supply of recovered waste heat to DHN. The electricity price was further identified to have greater impact than the effect of climate change for the overall techno-economic performance. On one specific hand, heat supply with Price-Limit scenario concluded that 40.18% of available waste heat from DC is not profitable should it be injected to DHN in the case of low electricity price. In the case when the electricity price is high, the amount of waste heat not injected to DHN increases to 58.57%. / <p>The thesis defense presentation was held digitally on Zoom on June 19th 2023 at 09.00 CEST</p>

One feature that is hoped for in the smart grid is the participation of energy prosumers in a power market through demand response program. In this work, we consider a third-party virtual power plant (VPP) that has “real-time” control over a number of prosumers’ storage units within an envisaged free market. Typically, a VPP with domestic energy storage will involve a bidirectional flow of energy, where energy can either flow from the grid to the prosumers’ battery or from the prosumers’ battery to the grid. Such a system requires prices to be set correctly in order to meet the market objectives of all the VPP stakeholders (VPP Aggregator, prosumers, and grid). Previous work has shown how VPPs could operate, and the benefits of using energy storage, coupled with pricing, in terms of reducing energy cost for stakeholders and providing the grid with its required load shape. The published work either assumes prices or costs or then optimises for least cost within the grid parameters i.e. losses, voltage limits, etc. However, the setting of prices in such a way that energy can be traded among VPP stakeholders that satisfies all stakeholders’ objectives has not been fully explored in the literature, particularly with real-time VPP aggregators. In this thesis, we present novel strategies for evaluating and setting the prices of a community VPP with domestic storage based on the bidirectional flow of energy through the VPP aggregator between the grid and the prosumers that mutually meet all VPP stakeholders’ objectives. This showed that depending on pricing and the VPP objectives, demand-side management could be attractive. However, the effect on the grid in terms of the load was not what was desired. A new performance index called the “Cumulative Performance Index” CPI is proposed to measure the VPP’s performance. Using the CPI, it was possible to compare and contrast between the VPP technical performance and its business case for stakeholders. Optimizing with respect to the grid’s requirement for DSM from the VPP, it was possible to achieve a CPI of 100%. This work was implemented using a novel approach on a genetic algorithm platform. / Niger Delta Development Commission of Nigeria

Investment in solar power is increasing in Sweden and especially the smaller installation below 20 kW which is typical for villa roofs. Potential prosumer can use a solar map, an interactive online tool, to investigate the solar potential of their roof based on a geographical data. A study analyzing several solar concludes that the results vary greatly depending on the tool and assumptions made by the provider. This thesis aims to determine the most effective online communication techniques for communicating the cost and benefit of solar PV to potential prosumers. The overall aim of effective communication is based on utility, framing, and trust. To achieve the aim semi-structured interviews and a technical verification of a solar map in Karlstad. The website of Karlstads Energi operates by asking theuser to mark their roof area and enter their yearly electricity consumption. The ability to effectively convey information that is useful, attractive, and trustworthy is based on the user. There is not one perfect design that will work for all users as the users have different knowledge and interests going in which varies the utility. The framing that is the most favorable is using the yearly production in kWh described as a financial investment focusing on savings from the system together with environmental aspects. Users base the trust of the results on more than the figures. Previous brand recognition as well as opinions from previous users weigh in when evaluating the results before decision making. / Alternativ titel: Utvärdering av en Solkarta – Hushållsinvesteringar i solceller som prosument  Investering inom Solkraften ökar i Sverige, speciellt mindre installationer under 20 kW vilket är typiskt för villatak. Potentiella prosumenter kan använda en solkarta, ett interaktivt onlineverktyg, för att undersöka solpotentialen på sitt tak baserat på geografisk data. En studie som analyserade flera solkartor drar slutsatsen att resultaten varierar mycket beroende på verktyget och de antaganden som skaparen gjort. Detta examensarbete syftar till att fastställa de mest effektiva onlinekommunikationsteknikerna för att kommunicera kostnaden och nyttan av solenergi till potentiella prosumenter. Där effektiv kommunikation bygger på användbarhet, presentation och tillit. För att uppnå syftet genomförs semistrukturerade intervjuer och en teknisk verifiering av en solkarta i Karlstad. Karlstads Energis solkarta fungerar genom att be användaren att markera sin takyta och ange sin årliga elförbrukning.  Förmågan att effektivt förmedla information som är användbar, attraktiv och pålitlig baseras på användaren. Det finns inte en perfekt design som fungerar för alla användare eftersom användarna har olika kunskaper och intressen vilket påverkar användbarheten. Den presentationen som är mest fördelaktig är att använda årsproduktionen i kWh som beskrivs som en finansiell investering med fokus på besparingar från systemet tillsammans med miljöaspekter. Användare baserar förtroendet för resultaten på mer än siffrorna. Tidigare varumärkeskännedom samt åsikter från tidigare användare väger in när man utvärderar resultaten innan beslut fattas.

Efforts to combat climate change through limiting our greenhouse gas emissions (GHG),is the main driver of the energy transition and entail strategies to decarbonize the energy sector. However, these strategies come with various social and technical challenges whichare important to address, especially regarding emerging consumer participation in the system as producers and consumers i.e., prosumers. The aim of this study is to investigate how smart technical solutions can be better diffused to improve participation of consumers in the energy transition through building knowledge and direct engagement as prosumers. Similarly, this study aims to investigate if there is potential for such smart technical solutions to help improve social acceptance of renewables and smart meter devices which also support “prosumerism”, through exploring Ferroamp, and its unique smart solution modular system as an example in the Swedish context.  This study conducted three qualitative interviews, one with a solar seller who acts as a representative and interacts with a large consumer base as well as 2 customers of the Ferroamp system. These interviews led to conclusions regarding the opportunity of smart solutions to facilitate greater knowledge and participation in the Swedish Energy Transition; however, key challenges regarding technological awareness and economic knowledge of the consumer base remain, which has implications for actors trying to increase smart technology penetration in Sweden. Therefore, this study highlights the importance of increasing consumers’ technological awareness and better communicating economic benefits if we are to increase consumer acceptance, participation, and engagement in the energy transition moving forward.

The traditional electricity market, holding centralized authority over consumers, is no longer adequate seeing a shift towards a more electrified, decentralized, and digitalized society. Increased energy prices, raising concerns about climate change, and tightening governmental regulations have resulted in that an extensive diffusion of renewable energy sources has evolved. This development is expected to change the structure of the sector, despite that an appropriate market design that can deal with these remains to be identified. The purpose of this study was to investigate how a business model of a digital platform, managing energy trading within a local community could be designed. This study contributes to a new dimension of energy transitions within a Multi-Level Perspective by studying a particular field of the transition in terms of flexibility market platforms. The rising need for flexible solutions, making the consumer a prosumer, and enabling shared energy through a digital platform involves uncertainty and challenges, where a suitable business model linking new technology to the emerging market needs to be defined. Despite the novelty of the research field of local energy markets, the aim of investigating business model designs for a local energy market platform has been reached through an exploratory case study and integration of theories from several fields. This study makes an analytical contribution of investigating five pioneering projects, all developing digital platforms enabling integration of flexibility into the electricity market. This further contributes to the design-implementation gap of theories when developing a local energy market, by suggesting the most vital parameters to take into account. Based on the findings, a suggestion on a suitable business model design and a corresponding market design was developed. The main objective of the proposed market design is to serve as a basis to bring forward flexibility available from prosumers and their controllable demand and supply arrangement, including renewable energy technology generation and storage devices. The intention is to maintain a balanced and transparent distribution network at the lowest possible costs, while, at the same time functioning as reserve storage towards the main grid, reducing the risk of capacity shortage. Additional insights were raised that can be helpful in the evaluation of utilizing flexibility energy assets before making grid investments, following the recently presented recommendation of the EU's Clean Energy package. / Den traditionella elmarknaden, karaktäriserad av en centraliserad styrning, är inte längre hållbar då utvecklingen av marknaden går mot ett allt mer elektrifierat, decentraliserat och digitaliserat samhälle. Ökande energipriser, växande oro för klimatfrågor tillsammans med en allt snävare reglering av energimarknaden har resulterat i en omfattande ökning av förnybara energikällor. Denna utveckling förväntas förändra sektorns struktur, där en lämplig marknadsdesign som kan hantera detta återstår att identifiera. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur en affärsmodell för en digital plattform, anpassad för att hantera lokal energidelning, kan utformas. Denna studie bidrar till en ny dimension av energitransformationen från ett multi-nivå-perspektiv genom att studera ett särskilt område av övergången i form av flexibla marknadsplattformar. Det ökande behovet av flexibla lösningar, där konsumenter blir prosumenter och energi delas lokalt via digitala plattform innebär osäkerheter och utmaningar. En lämplig affärsmodell som kan anknyta de nya tekniska lösningarna som krävs till lokala energimarknader bör därav definieras. Trots att forskningsområdet som berör lokala energimarknader kan anses relativt nytt och delvis outforskat, har målet att undersöka affärsmodellkoncept för en lokal energimarknadsplattform uppnåtts genom en fallstudie och iterationer av teorier inom flertalet områden. Denna studie bidrar med en analytisk undersökning av fem innovativa projekt som alla utvecklar digitala plattformar för att möjliggöra integrering av flexibilitet till elmarknaden. Detta bidrar även till det kunskapsgap som har identifierats mellan design och implementering fas vid utvecklandet av lokala energimarknader, genom föreslagna parameter som anses grundläggande och som bör tas hänsyn till. Baserat på resultatet presenterades ett förslag på en lämplig design för affärsmodell samt en tillhörande marknadsdesign. Huvudsyftet med den föreslagna marknadsdesignen är att utgöra en grund för gynnandet av en mer flexibel elektricitet hantering. Detta möjliggörs genom introduktionen av prosumenter till marknaden, där allt mer elektricitet produceras från förnybara källor och där konsumtion samt produktion regleras med hjälp av integrerade lagringsenheter. Målet är att upprätthålla ett balanserat och transparent distributionsnät till lägsta möjliga kostnad, medan marknaden även fungerar som ett reservlager mot kraftnätet, vilket minskar risken för kapacitetsbrist runt om i Sverige. Ytterligare insikter från denna studie påvisar hur de befintliga energitillgångarna kan utnyttjas på ett mer flexibelt och effektivt sätt, vilka stöds av de nyligen presenterade rekommendationerna från EU:s Clean Energy-paket.