Aktieåterköpen har haft en stor utveckling globalt sett den senaste tiden och sedan det blev rättsligt tillåtet i Sverige år 2000 använder allt fler företag aktieåterköp som metod för att distribuera pengar till sina aktieägare. Tidigare forskning visar att företagsledningar innehar en stor handlingsfrihet när det gäller publicering av nyheter och de kan till stor del styra hur företagets interna nyhetsflöde utges till marknaden. Tidigare studier åskådliggör att företagsledningar utnyttjar denna handlingsfrihet och strategiskt publicerar information för att gynna sig själva. Manipulation av nyhetsflödet vid aktieåterköp är dock ett mycket outforskat område där de få studier som förekommer har genomförts i USA. Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att undersöka och klargöra om och i vilken omfattning svenska företagsledningar manipulerar nyhetsflödet vid aktieåterköp med avsikten att gynna sig själva. Studien ska förklara om svenska företagsledningar medvetet ändrar innehållet och tidpunkten för deras nyheter i samband med aktieåterköp.  Tidigare amerikansk forskning påvisar att företagsledningar publicerar fler negativa nyheter innan ett aktieåterköp med intentionen att få en nedåtdrivande aktiekurs där aktierna återköps till ett lägre pris. Efter aktieåterköpet publiceras fler positiva nyheter för att driva upp aktiekursen igen. Uppsatsens studie visade att svenska företagsledningar publicerade fler negativa nyheter innan ett aktieåterköp och till viss del fler positiva nyheter efter ett aktieåterköp. Resultatet i uppsatsen innehöll en för hög signifikansnivå och därför var inte resultatet tillräckligt tillförlitligt för att vara statistiskt signifikant. Resultatet tolkas som att svenska företagsledningar inte manipulerar nyhetsflödet i samband med aktieåterköp i lika stor omfattning relativt företagsledningar i USA. Anledningarna till det är främst på grund av de påtagliga skillnaderna i ägarstruktur mellan Sverige och USA. Avslutningsvis diskuteras förslag till framtida forskning där det vetenskapliga arbetet om ämnesområdet skulle kunna utvecklas genom att utöka undersökningen till fler delar av Europa. På så sätt skapas en bredare bild över hur vanligt förekommande manipulation i samband med aktieåterköp är i olika delar av världen. / Share repurchases has increased a lot globally recently and since it was legally permitted in Sweden 2000, more companies use share repurchases as a method of distributing cash to their shareholders. Previous research implicates that corporate managers have a lot of control when it comes to publishing news and they can largely control the company's internal newsfeed that is published to the market. Previous studies illustrate that corporate managers trade on this control and strategic publishes information to benefit themselves. Manipulation of news feed when it comes to share repurchases is a largely unexplored area. The few studies that exist have been conducted in the United States. The purpose of this paper is to investigate and clarify if and to what extent Swedish corporate managers manipulate the news feed related to share repurchases with the intent to benefit themselves. The study will explain how the Swedish corporate managers consciously change the content and timing of their news related to share repurchases. Previous American research shows that corporate managers publish more negative news before a share repurchase with the intention of repurchase shares at a lower price. Following the share repurchase corporate managers published more positive news to push up the stock price again. This paper showed that Swedish company managers published more negative news before a share repurchase and some more positive news after a share repurchase. The result in this paper was not within the significance level and therefore was not the result reliable enough to be statistically significant. The result is interpreted as the Swedish corporate managers do not manipulate their newsfeed related to share repurchase as much as corporate managers in the United States. The reason for this is mainly due to the considerable differences in ownership structure between Sweden and the United States. Finally, we discuss suggestions for research in the future where the scientific work in the subject could be developed by extending the survey region to more parts of Europe. This would create a broader picture of how common manipulation related to share repurchase is in different parts of the world.

Facebook kan ses som ett exempel på den nya webb som följt de riktlinjer som sammanställdes i Web 2.0. I riktlinjerna lades tonvikt på sociala medier och en interaktiv webb, centrerad kring användaren och användarskapat innehåll. Sedan starten har Facebook News Feed implementerat en algoritmisk kuratering (eng. algorithmic curation ) för att ge användaren vad han eller hon söker baserat på tidigare interaktion. Studier har gjorts för att analysera hur användarna upplever den underliggande algoritmen. Dessa har visat att människor ofta utvecklar egna teorier om hur algoritmen fungerar och att detta påverkar hur en användare interagerar med nyhetsflödet. Det sätt algoritmisk kuratering används idag i applikationer är främst genom att tillämpa en sömlös designfilosofi. Detta görs för att förenkla användarupplevelsen genom att lägga en “svart låda” över de underliggande processerna. I vår studie intervjuade vi tio studenter om sina tankar om nyhetsflödet och hur mycket kontroll de har att anpassa flödet efter personliga preferenser. Vi ämnar även bidra till diskussionen gällande fördelar och nackdelar med en så kallad seamful design kontra en seamless design och hur användaren upplever resultatet av ett flöde som har implementerat en algoritmisk kuratering. Resultatet visar att vi kan se samband mellan bristande tillit till systemets anpassningsverktyg och låg transparens. Våra användare uttryckte att de kunde förstå varför de får de resultat de får, men vi fann även att den stora delen av innehållet var irrelevant för deras intressen och personliga preferenser. Våra resultat visar ett behov av att fortsätta forskningen på olika plattformar för att se om en något ökad insyn kommer att bidra till att lita på frågor och underlätta manuell anpassning av system för högre relevans. / Facebook can be seen as an example of the new web emerging with the rise of Web 2.0. The guidelines of this new web put emphasis on social media and an interactive web, heavily centered around the user and user created content. Since the start the Facebook News Feed has implemented an algorithmic curation to give the user what he or she wants based on prior interaction. Studies have been made analyzing how users experience the underlying algorithm. They have shown that people often are developing their own theories on how the algorithm work and that this also affect the way a user interacts with the feed. The way algorithmic curation is used today in applications is mainly by embracing a seamless design philosophy. This is done to simplify the user experience by putting a “black box” over the underlying processes. In our study we interviewed ten students on their thoughts about the News Feed and the amount of control they have to adapt the feed according to personal preferences. We aim to contribute to the discussion on the benefits and downsides with a so called seamful design in contrast to a seamless design and how users experience the results of a feed that has implemented an algorithmic curation. Our results show connections between a lack of trust in the systems tools to customize the feed and low transparency. Our users expressed that they could understand as to why they got the results that they get, but we found that the vast majority of content was irrelevant to their interests and personal preferences. Our results indicate that there is a need to continue the research on different platforms to see if a somewhat heightened transparency will help with trust issues and ease manual adaptation of systems for higher relevancy.

Esta tese acompanha a construção do Feed de Notícias do Facebook ao longo dos seus primeiros 10 anos (2006-2016) com o objetivo de descrever as formas como o mecanismo e a noção de algoritmo são definidos ao longo do período estudado. São analisados os conteúdos digitais, chamados de dispositivos textuais, que compõem publicamente o que o Feed de Notícias é e faz, descrevendo os atores implicados na composição dessa narrativa, mapeando seus objetivos e seus efeitos. A amostra analisada toma como ponto de partida os dispositivos textuais alocados em dois espaços digitais institucionais do Facebook: Facebook Blog e Facebook Newsroom. A partir da leitura de mais de mil publicações digitais do Facebook e de outros agentes (usuários, produtores de conteúdo, imprensa, ativistas etc.), foram selecionadas as publicações mais relevantes ao estudo, escolhidas com ênfase em eventos e circunstâncias de negociação ou mudança. A abordagem aqui construída representa uma composição de perspectivas dos estudos de ciência e tecnologia (STS) e da Teoria Ator-Rede (TAR). Trata-se do conjunto de procedimentos utilizados na descrição do caráter performativo dos textos. Na análise realizada na tese, são identificados três momentos distintos da construção da noção de algoritmo ao longo da trajetória do Feed de Notícias, chamados de Algoritmo Edgerank, Algoritmo Certo e Algoritmo Centrado no Usuário. Ao mesmo tempo, é apresentada a formulação do Feed de Notícias como um fluxo constante. É argumentado que as transformações no mecanismo são orientadas para gerar engajamento e manter usuários conectados ao Facebook. Engajamento é, na racionalidade emergente da construção do Feed de Notícias, uma mercadoria resultante de sua ação. Outra noção relevante decorrente da análise é a ideia de norma algorítmica como lógica normativa de visibilidade que busca regular o relacionamento entre produtores de conteúdo e o mecanismo, punindo os que não seguem as chamadas boas práticas. / This study follows the Facebook News Feed construction throughout its first ten years (2006– 2016). The objective of this research is to describe the way this mechanism and the notion of algorithm were compounded, enacted and transformed during that period. This is achieved through an analysis of the digital content (referred to here as ‘textual devices’) that publicly constructs what the News Feed is and how it functions. This analysis describes the actors involved within this narrative, mapping their objectives and effects. The sample is constructed beginning with the textual devices published on Facebook’s institutional websites: Facebook Blog and Facebook Newsroom. Following the reading of more than 1,000 texts of Facebook and other agents (users, content producers, media, activists, etc.), the most relevant publications were selected, emphasizing situations of change, conflict and controversy. The research approach, which was based on science and technology studies (STS) and actornetwork theory (ANT), involved constructing a body of procedures used to describe the performative character of texts. The current study found that during the development of the News Feed, Facebook’s notion of algorithm has gone through three different phases, referred to here respectively as the Edgerank Algorithm, Right Algorithm and User-centered Algorithm. One of the most interesting findings was that the changes in the News Feed are primarily oriented towards the objective of creating engagement by keeping users connected to Facebook. Engagement is an important commodity within the rationality that emerged from this scenario. It is argued that the News Feed development may be seen as a continuous flow. Another important finding was the notion called algorithmic norm, as a normative logic of visibility that rules the relationship between content producers and the News Feed. The algorithmic norm tends to enact specific judgements and to punish content producers who do not follow what Facebook calls good practices.

Esta tese acompanha a construção do Feed de Notícias do Facebook ao longo dos seus primeiros 10 anos (2006-2016) com o objetivo de descrever as formas como o mecanismo e a noção de algoritmo são definidos ao longo do período estudado. São analisados os conteúdos digitais, chamados de dispositivos textuais, que compõem publicamente o que o Feed de Notícias é e faz, descrevendo os atores implicados na composição dessa narrativa, mapeando seus objetivos e seus efeitos. A amostra analisada toma como ponto de partida os dispositivos textuais alocados em dois espaços digitais institucionais do Facebook: Facebook Blog e Facebook Newsroom. A partir da leitura de mais de mil publicações digitais do Facebook e de outros agentes (usuários, produtores de conteúdo, imprensa, ativistas etc.), foram selecionadas as publicações mais relevantes ao estudo, escolhidas com ênfase em eventos e circunstâncias de negociação ou mudança. A abordagem aqui construída representa uma composição de perspectivas dos estudos de ciência e tecnologia (STS) e da Teoria Ator-Rede (TAR). Trata-se do conjunto de procedimentos utilizados na descrição do caráter performativo dos textos. Na análise realizada na tese, são identificados três momentos distintos da construção da noção de algoritmo ao longo da trajetória do Feed de Notícias, chamados de Algoritmo Edgerank, Algoritmo Certo e Algoritmo Centrado no Usuário. Ao mesmo tempo, é apresentada a formulação do Feed de Notícias como um fluxo constante. É argumentado que as transformações no mecanismo são orientadas para gerar engajamento e manter usuários conectados ao Facebook. Engajamento é, na racionalidade emergente da construção do Feed de Notícias, uma mercadoria resultante de sua ação. Outra noção relevante decorrente da análise é a ideia de norma algorítmica como lógica normativa de visibilidade que busca regular o relacionamento entre produtores de conteúdo e o mecanismo, punindo os que não seguem as chamadas boas práticas. / This study follows the Facebook News Feed construction throughout its first ten years (2006– 2016). The objective of this research is to describe the way this mechanism and the notion of algorithm were compounded, enacted and transformed during that period. This is achieved through an analysis of the digital content (referred to here as ‘textual devices’) that publicly constructs what the News Feed is and how it functions. This analysis describes the actors involved within this narrative, mapping their objectives and effects. The sample is constructed beginning with the textual devices published on Facebook’s institutional websites: Facebook Blog and Facebook Newsroom. Following the reading of more than 1,000 texts of Facebook and other agents (users, content producers, media, activists, etc.), the most relevant publications were selected, emphasizing situations of change, conflict and controversy. The research approach, which was based on science and technology studies (STS) and actornetwork theory (ANT), involved constructing a body of procedures used to describe the performative character of texts. The current study found that during the development of the News Feed, Facebook’s notion of algorithm has gone through three different phases, referred to here respectively as the Edgerank Algorithm, Right Algorithm and User-centered Algorithm. One of the most interesting findings was that the changes in the News Feed are primarily oriented towards the objective of creating engagement by keeping users connected to Facebook. Engagement is an important commodity within the rationality that emerged from this scenario. It is argued that the News Feed development may be seen as a continuous flow. Another important finding was the notion called algorithmic norm, as a normative logic of visibility that rules the relationship between content producers and the News Feed. The algorithmic norm tends to enact specific judgements and to punish content producers who do not follow what Facebook calls good practices.

Esta tese acompanha a construção do Feed de Notícias do Facebook ao longo dos seus primeiros 10 anos (2006-2016) com o objetivo de descrever as formas como o mecanismo e a noção de algoritmo são definidos ao longo do período estudado. São analisados os conteúdos digitais, chamados de dispositivos textuais, que compõem publicamente o que o Feed de Notícias é e faz, descrevendo os atores implicados na composição dessa narrativa, mapeando seus objetivos e seus efeitos. A amostra analisada toma como ponto de partida os dispositivos textuais alocados em dois espaços digitais institucionais do Facebook: Facebook Blog e Facebook Newsroom. A partir da leitura de mais de mil publicações digitais do Facebook e de outros agentes (usuários, produtores de conteúdo, imprensa, ativistas etc.), foram selecionadas as publicações mais relevantes ao estudo, escolhidas com ênfase em eventos e circunstâncias de negociação ou mudança. A abordagem aqui construída representa uma composição de perspectivas dos estudos de ciência e tecnologia (STS) e da Teoria Ator-Rede (TAR). Trata-se do conjunto de procedimentos utilizados na descrição do caráter performativo dos textos. Na análise realizada na tese, são identificados três momentos distintos da construção da noção de algoritmo ao longo da trajetória do Feed de Notícias, chamados de Algoritmo Edgerank, Algoritmo Certo e Algoritmo Centrado no Usuário. Ao mesmo tempo, é apresentada a formulação do Feed de Notícias como um fluxo constante. É argumentado que as transformações no mecanismo são orientadas para gerar engajamento e manter usuários conectados ao Facebook. Engajamento é, na racionalidade emergente da construção do Feed de Notícias, uma mercadoria resultante de sua ação. Outra noção relevante decorrente da análise é a ideia de norma algorítmica como lógica normativa de visibilidade que busca regular o relacionamento entre produtores de conteúdo e o mecanismo, punindo os que não seguem as chamadas boas práticas. / This study follows the Facebook News Feed construction throughout its first ten years (2006– 2016). The objective of this research is to describe the way this mechanism and the notion of algorithm were compounded, enacted and transformed during that period. This is achieved through an analysis of the digital content (referred to here as ‘textual devices’) that publicly constructs what the News Feed is and how it functions. This analysis describes the actors involved within this narrative, mapping their objectives and effects. The sample is constructed beginning with the textual devices published on Facebook’s institutional websites: Facebook Blog and Facebook Newsroom. Following the reading of more than 1,000 texts of Facebook and other agents (users, content producers, media, activists, etc.), the most relevant publications were selected, emphasizing situations of change, conflict and controversy. The research approach, which was based on science and technology studies (STS) and actornetwork theory (ANT), involved constructing a body of procedures used to describe the performative character of texts. The current study found that during the development of the News Feed, Facebook’s notion of algorithm has gone through three different phases, referred to here respectively as the Edgerank Algorithm, Right Algorithm and User-centered Algorithm. One of the most interesting findings was that the changes in the News Feed are primarily oriented towards the objective of creating engagement by keeping users connected to Facebook. Engagement is an important commodity within the rationality that emerged from this scenario. It is argued that the News Feed development may be seen as a continuous flow. Another important finding was the notion called algorithmic norm, as a normative logic of visibility that rules the relationship between content producers and the News Feed. The algorithmic norm tends to enact specific judgements and to punish content producers who do not follow what Facebook calls good practices.

Social media continue to expand in society, both globally as well as locally, while affecting adolescents’ mental health, news consumption and academic performances. This development leaves comprehensive challenges in the classroom. The curricula of the social science subjects in Sweden advocate critical thinking skills and the understanding of digitalization for contemporary society. The aim of this study is therefore to investigate how teachers in social studies perceive social media in their profession, with the intentions of gaining insight into how teachers cope with its impact on the classroom. This study is conducted through a qualitative method based on interviews with three different teachers in social studies, spread across both Swedish high school and Swedish upper secondary school level. The symbolic interactionism and MIK (Media and Information Literacy) are integral theories in facilitating the study’s analytical dimensions. The findings indicate that social media cultivate identities, social acknowledgement and further causes stress among adolescents. Socially constructed norms and expectations on social media dominate students’ ways of living. Despite prevailing phone bans during class hours, social media still influence the classroom climate and conflicts between students, making it difficult for teachers to manage. Additionally, the need for imparting source evaluation is vital since fake news spreads rapidly across the different social platforms.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This research has as its ultimate goal the study of sources in converging environment. To do this we chose as empirical research objects, informative stations in Porto Alegre / RS; Bandeirantes AM radios, Gaucha and Guaiba. In order to meet our goals we adopted our methodological strategies, which include the combined use of Newsmaking Theory as a theoretical and methodological approach, a comparative multiple case study, semi-structured interviews with professionals who are daily engaged in the production of news in the stations, and visualizations of productive routines. Our theoretical revisions include sociological paradigms and the construction of news (following a chronological order, a historical-conceptual route), radio and journalistic sources in convergent scenario. With the passing of our theoretical references, data obtained in the field research, we reflect on the information flow, font setting for radio and sources in converging environment indicating interference in information and communication technologies especially in relation to contact facilities between journalists and sources in on-line spaces. From our reflections we propose an updating and adjustment of some categories presented by Pinto (2000), applied to the scenario of convergence in relation to the sources, the dialogues and interference levels according to visibility allowed by digital technologies and platforms. / Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo final o estudo das fontes em ambiente de convergência. Para tanto, escolhemos como objetos de pesquisa empírica emissoras informativas da cidade de Porto Alegre/RS; rádios Bandeirantes AM, Gaúcha e Guaíba. Com o intuito de responder nossos objetivos adotamos nossas estratégias metodológicas, que compreendem o uso combinado da Teoria de Newsmaking como aporte teórico-metodológico, um estudo de caso múltiplo comparativo, entrevistas semiestruturadas com os profissionais que se envolvem diariamente na produção das notícias nas emissoras, além de observações de rotinas produtivas. Nossas revisões teóricas contemplam paradigmas sociológicos e a construção da notícia (que segue uma ordem cronológica, um percurso histórico-conceitual), o rádio e as fontes jornalísticas em cenário convergente. Com o cruzamento de nossos referencias teóricos, dados obtidos na pesquisa de campo, buscamos refletir sobre o fluxo informativo, definição de fonte para o rádio e as fontes em ambiente de convergência indicando interferências das tecnologias de informação e comunicação principalmente em relação às facilidades de contato entre jornalistas e fontes em espaços on-line. A partir de nossas reflexões propomos assim uma atualização e adequação de algumas categorias apresentadas por Pinto (2000), aplicadas ao cenário da convergência em relação às fontes, os diálogos e níveis de interferência segundo a visibilidade permitida pelas tecnologias e plataformas digitais.

行動時代的到來為社群媒體帶來了發展的春天，原生廣告也隨之應運而生，成為備受社群媒體青睞的新興廣告形式。而在中國市場，WeChat與Weibo這兩大社群媒體自2012年起相繼推出了資訊流廣告服務，並不斷試水新的技術和表現形式。兩者的資訊流廣告在運作機制和表現形式上雖有所雷同，但仍各有特點，其中最主要的差異體現在廣告訊息的按讃者和按讃數量上。 因此，本研究以WeChat和Weibo為研究對象，援引推敲可能性模式理論，希望探究消費者在觀看WeChat和Weibo資訊流廣告時，是否會因為廣告訊息按讚者或按讚數量的不同，在品牌態度和購買意願上產生差異。 本研究採用實驗室實驗法，招募60名國立政治大學非傳播相關科系的大陸籍學生進行實驗。研究結果發現WeChat和Weibo的資訊流廣告訊息接收者在品牌態度和購買意願的形塑歷程上確實存在差異：就WeChat而言，廣告訊息可信度更能正向影響消費者的品牌態度和購買意願；就Weibo而言，感知按讃數量更能正向影響消費者的購買意願，但對品牌態度不構成顯著影響。 / Native advertising has emerged both as an exciting new way for digital marketers to engage with the consumer, and as a new source of advertising revenue for social media. In the China market, news feed ad, a major type of native advertising, has been very popular in WeChat and Weibo since 2012. Visually the native advertisement in these two social media seem pretty similar, but they have enough differences to make them different, particularly in the differences of likers and the number of likes on advertisement. Using the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) adopted by Harkins and Petty, this study focus on WeChat and Weibo and try to clarify the differences of consumer’s information processing, brand attitude and purchase intention between these two social media, which has various social tie strength. Adopting an laboratory experimentation, a total of 60 samples, participated in this study during January, 2017. Finding of this study show the differences of brand attitude and purchase intention towards news feed ad when subjects are exposed to WeChat between Weibo. In WeChat, message credibility indicate more significant influence on the brand attitude and purchase intention towards native advertisement rather than perceived number of likes. Oppositely perceived number of likes positively influence on purchase intention towards native advertisement in Weibo.

In SharePoint 2013, Microsoft added a social networking function in the personal sites (My Site) of a user. In this version, a personal news feed has been added which shows events regarding subjects the user follows, such as document changes, user updates, tagged posts, and site activities. The purpose of the thesis is to investigate whether or not it is possible to extend the news feed function by adding an independent component as part of My Site, to allow users to follow corporate news by choosing their categories of interests. A prototype of the component was implemented and it met most of the objectives stated in the thesis. It is added to the default page of the user’s My Site as a web part and it is able to retrieve and display news that matches the user’s subscription. Although the web part still needs improvements in both functionality and design, it still confirms that it is possible to extend the current My Site news feed with such a component. Since the students working on this thesis had no prior knowledge of SharePoint or .NET development, the project brought new challenges, as the students needed to learn how to work in a SharePoint environment and to learn to use Microsoft Visual Studio for .NET development. / Microsoft har i SharePoint 2013 förbättrat användarnas personliga sidor (My Site) genom att sammankoppla dem i ett socialt nätverk. I förbättringen har ett personligt nyhetsflöde som visar händelser som användaren följer tillagts. Denna rapport avser att undersöka möjligheten att utöka det personliga nyhetsflödet med att lägga till en oberoende komponent i My Site. Komponenten ska tillåta användarna att prenumerera på företagsnyheter genom att välja bland olika nyhetskategorier. En prototyp av komponenten implementerades och resultatet uppfyllde de flesta kraven som ställdes i början av arbetet. Komponenten har lagts till i användarens My Site som en webb del och hämtar automatiskt de senaste företagsnyheterna som matchar användarens prenumeration. Den utvecklade prototypen kan förbättras både i funktion och design, men har uppfyllt behovet för denna rapport som avser att undersöka möjligheten att utöka det personliga nyhetsflödet i My Site med en sådan komponent. Eftersom projektmedlemmarna saknade förkunskaper i SharePoint och .NET utveckling innebar projektet nya utmaningar. Studenterna lärde sig att arbeta i SharePoint miljö samt i Microsoft Visual Studio för .NET utveckling.