I dag kan man konstatera att mobiltelefonen är en given ägodel för nästa alla människor. I denna studie har vi undersökt hur mobiltelefonen har blivit en del av det sociala spelet och förväntningarna på att alltid vara tillgänglig. Detta har vi undersökt med hjälp av en kvantitativ enkätundersökning, genom teoretiska underlag såsom uses and gratifications-modellen och symbolisk interaktion. Det var 70 personer som deltog i undersökningen och resultatet visar att majoriteten av respondenterna anser att det är viktigt att vara tillgänglig via mobiltelefonen så att andra individer har möjlighet att nå dem. Resultatet i studien visar även ett tydligt mönster på hur det finns en förväntan på att andra människor ska vara tillgänglig via mobiltelefonen om man själv är det. All den tid och tillgänglighet som förväntas av varandra via mobiltelefonen, skapar också oro när en vän eller familjemedlem inte är tillgänglig när hen förväntas vara det. Slutsatsen vi har kommit fram till för studien är att majoriteten tycker att den största fördelen med att vara tillgänglig är för att man alltid är nåbar för andra om det skulle hända något. Men samtidigt känner man en stress över att alltid vara nåbar och hur det försvårar avkoppling när mobiltelefonen alltid finns intill en.

Background: Throughout recent years, the amounts of competitions on Instagram have increased and is now a popular marketing tool for companies to use. The strong competition in digital marketing has led to the need for brands to effectively utilize this marketing strategy. However, what motivates users to participate is a subject that lacks previous research. Hence, the question of what motivates the users to participate remains. Purpose: The purpose of this study is, therefore, to explore the motivational factors for women in the ages between 16-25, which leads to participation in contests on Instagram. Further, this research additionally aims to proceed with the knowledge of UGC and partly investigate how companies can use the appeared motivational factors when designing and formulating contests.  Method: For this qualitative study, 15 interviews were conducted, using a phenomenological interview approach.  Conclusion: The main conclusion from the analysis was that several motivational factors were discovered that had not earlier been presented in previous research, the most significant one being the social aspects. Furthermore, the size of the prize and the non-motivational factors proved to be of importance for the users. Secondly, factors relating to entertainment, aesthetics and the desire to win were proved to be of high importance as well. Lastly, several managerial applications have also been discovered that could help businesses when forming contests on Instagram.

We are currently in the middle of the digital marketing era where technological developments have made it possible for customers and businesses to communicate around the clock. Social media is a tool that makes it possible for companies and brands to create and maintain relationships. To understand social media usage and the motivations behind it, Uses & Gratifications theory is commonly used. Motivations are important when exploring consumer behaviour and understanding the customer journey. A customer journey can be explained as the different touch-points a customer has with a firm during a purchase cycle. Marketing on social media often has different objectives where purchase intention is one important, since it indicates the real value of advertising on social media. Earlier research has not combined these three concepts: motivations to social media usage, the customer journey and purchase intention and this gap got us interested in examining the relationships between these. To do this we developed two research questions: RQ1: Do motivations to use social media affect stages in the customer journey?  RQ2: Do the different stages of the customer journey affect purchase intention?  The purpose of this study is to investigate motivations that lead to social media usage and if these affect the stages in the customer journey, and further how the customer journey affects purchase intention. We also wanted to investigate if usage of social media has changed during the Covid-19 pandemic. To answer our research questions and fulfill the purpose of this study, we conducted a quantitative research targeting students in Sweden.  Based on existing literature regarding social media, motivations, Uses & Gratification theory, the customer journey, customer decision process and purchase intention we created a theoretical framework and a conceptual model whose aim was to explain relationships between motivations to use social media, the stages of the customer journey and purchase intention. We also developed 12 hypotheses that we tested and included in the model. We collected data by using an online questionnaire and then analysed it and ran tests in SPSS. Our results showed that 4 out of 12 hypotheses could be supported: There is a positive relationship between cognitive motivation and the pre-purchase stage of the customer journey; There is a positive relationship between cognitive motivation and the purchase stage of the customer journey; There is a positive relationship between hedonic motivation and the pre-purchase stage and lastly; There is a positive relationship between the pre-purchase stage and purchase intention. The conclusion is that changes in purchase intention mostly rely on the impact of the pre-purchase stage. The pre-purchase stage is in turn affected by cognitive and hedonic motivations to use social media.

Following the development of Asian American representation in the United States media in the 21st century, this thesis aims to explore the alternative narratives provided by the AsianBossGirl podcast which started in 2017 to fill the gap in the mainstream media. Intersectional framework has been operationalized to conduct an in-depth reading of their narratives, and complemented by the theory of uses and gratification to investigate the impacts that they have on their audiences. The results demonstrate that their narratives of Asian American experience deviate from both cultural and stereotypical traditions. They contest the norms through relatable, subversive and authentic content that resonate with their listeners. However, through the intersectional lens, this thesis is able to identify the danger of neglecting multidimensionality in the Asian American communities which encompass a diverse history of immigration in the United States.

This thesis provides an historical review of the role and function of the philanthropic foundation as an institution of American society, stressing in particular the foundation response to social change. The period of emphasis is World War II to the present, although earlier history is also covered in some detail.

Cysteamine (CA), which is an aminothiol drug medically known as Cystagon® was studied in this thesis. Cysteamine was reacted with a binary toxin called peroxynitrite (PN) which is assembled spontaneously whenever nitric oxide and superoxide are produced together and the decomposition of peroxyinitrite was monitored. PN was able to nitrosate CA in highly acidic medium and excess CA to form S-nitrosocysteamine (CANO) in a 1:1 with the formation of one mole of CANO from one mole of ONOOH. In excess oxidant (PN) the following 1:2 stoichiometric ratio was obtained; ONOO- + 2CA → CA-CA + NO2- + H2O . In alkali medium the oxidation of CA went through a series of stages from sulfenic acid, sulfinic acid and then sulfonic acid which was followed by the cleavage of the C-S bond to form a reducing sulfur leaving group, which is easily oxidized to sulfate. The nitrosation reaction was first order in peroxynitrite, thus implicating it as a nitrosating agent in highly acidic pH conditions. Acid catalyzes nitrosation reaction, whitst nitrate catalyzed and increased the amount of CANO product, This means that the nitrosonium cation, NO+ which is produced from the protonation of nitrous acid(in situ) as also contributing to the nitrosation of CA species in highly acidic environments. The acid catalysis at constant peroxynitrite concentrations suggests that the protonated peroxynitrous acid nitrosates at a much higher rate than the peroxynitrite and peroxynitrous acid. Bimolecular rate constants for the nitrosation of CA, was deduced to be 10.23 M-1 s-1. A linear correlation was obtained between the initial rate constants and the pH. The oxidation of CA was modeled by a simple reaction scheme containing 12 reactions.

Online fandom communities exist as a hub of subcultural construction for people across the globe. For queer people, fandom represents a space to safely converge over mutual interests. Previous research has focused on queer fans and popular music fans independently, often taking a pathological approach. This study qualitatively examines queer participants in the Katy Perry fandom through surveys and one-on-one interviews. The theoretical backbone of the study is built around uses and gratifications theory, seeking to understand motivations for fandom participation. The concepts of the heteronormative matrix and queer resistance are additionally incorporated to analyze how LGBTQ+ fans combat societal norms. This research found seven motivations for queer fans to participate in online fandom, providing insight into an understudied community.

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Today, social media is used not only for communication and entertainment, but also as one of the most important platforms for receiving news. A lot of young adults take part in news through social media and in many cases social media is the only source for socially important information. The new role as a news provider, which social media has adopted, is examined from an audience perspective with a focus on habits and opinions. This study examined the digital news habits of Generation Z. The study is based on two research questions: one about how Generation Z take part in news via social media and one about how they are critical of the source. The study had a quantitative approach with additional qualitative elements and implemented a web survey as a method. The web survey combined open questions, multiple-choice questions and one-answer questions, the combination gave us both a broad overview with numbers to measure, but also qualitative and deeper answers that the respondent themself had formulated. There were three theories applied to the study, the theories are electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM), Uses and Gratification theory and Social Network theory. These theories provided the basis for the design of the web survey and were implemented in the analysis and discussion of the study result.  The result of the study showed that all respondents receive news via social media daily, but that receiving news is usually not an active choice. News finds the audience without them looking for it, this is mostly due to algorithms and social networks. A lot of the respondents answered that they do not trust news that are published on social media, nevertheless they continue to take part in news via social media. The result also showed that the respondents believe that a lack of source criticism is one of the biggest disadvantages of news on social media.

Målet med denna studie är att genomföra kvalitativa intervjuer med svenska 60-talister och undersöka hur och varför de använder Facebook, med särskilt fokus på deras användning utifrån ett Uses and gratifications-perspektiv och ett generationsteoretiskt perspektiv. Syftet med studien är att bidra med fördjupad kunskap om 60-talisters tankar och upplevelser kring Facebook, deras vardagliga Facebookanvändning, samt om varför de använder applikationen utifrån ett Uses and gratifications-perspektiv och ett generationsteoretiskt perspektiv. Genom kvalitativa intervjuer med åtta svenska 60-talister undersöker denna studie tre forskningsfrågor där det empiriska materialet analyserats utifrån en tematisk analysstrategi. Det teoretiska ramverket för denna studie består av Uses and gratifications och generationsteori. Resultatet visar att 60-talisterna är aktiva Facebookanvändare vilka använder flera olika funktioner på plattformen för att kommunicera samt ta del av och interagera med olika typer av innehåll. Slutsatsen dras att deras starka anpassningsförmåga gentemot Facebook bidragit till att de aktivt använder plattformen i sin vardag. Genom denna användning tillfredsställs flertalet olika behov och samtliga sökta gratifikationer erhålls, vilka är betydelsefulla för att de ska använda Facebook. Därutöver konstaterar studien att 60-talisternas användning av Facebook skapat två nya behov vilka kan tänkas grunda sig i deras generationstillhörighet som svenska 60-talister.