From before enclosure, platforms have defined use and purpose within the physical and social world. The demarcation of space through levelling, texture and surface acting together to both enable and restrict use, platforms would later give their name to the socio political construct of the platform as ideological stage. Pier Vittorio Aureli and Martino Tattara write on this at length in the text Platforms: Architecture and the Use of the Ground, where they discuss the relationship between the physical and the public or social aspect of the platform, recognising its ability to both give voice and take it away, and the role they play in creating social asymmetry. The first part of this diploma explores, through novel methods of engagement, this social aspect of public space. By embracing distance and dialogue, it uses correspondence to investigate the physical and social structures that come together to delineate and define the hazy idea of what constitutes public space. This diploma chooses to pose these questions through the lens of cooking and the shared practices that accompany it, manifesting itself in the second part as a meanwhile use of a disused public building that celebrates local food culture, alongside a speculative proposal for an unprogrammed urban terrain that plays on the notion of platforming.
What if such platforms could provide a canvas for a more spontaneous, democratic public life, one where use, access and public rights are less regulated and defined?

Despite the number of studies demonstrating the opportunities for the broad implication of virtual reality (VR) across numerous industry domains, including media, this technology has not yet made history, to a large extent, because of the bottlenecks that prevent it from becoming mainstream. A number of media houses, video production companies, and even VR equipment developers such as The New York Times, Disney, or Oculus invested into the creation of the VR video platforms and apps with 360-degree films and VR movies. However, their acceptance by a general public has been slower than many have anticipated. This paper explores the ecosystem of platforms serving VR video and identifies the factors influencing their development and adoption based on the insights from the previous research on the technology acceptance models (TAMs) of virtual reality and interviews with ten VR professionals: developers, content providers, and representatives of VR video platforms. This qualitative study reveals that VR hardware design and performance (degrees of freedom, rendered video quality, immobility, interaction with VR content, cybersickness), the price of VR headsets (which are monofunctional devices), limited socialization features in virtual environment, the lack of appealing VR content and issues with its production are some of the main components that hinder the interest towards virtual reality and VR video platforms by a large audience. These determinants, subsequently, may influence the VR users’ perceived enjoyment, usefulness and ease of use, essential for the emerging technologies diffusion. The paper presents the discussion on the bottlenecks and potential growth points that may become the drivers for the further development of platforms offering VR video and their adoption by the wider public. / Trots ett stort antal studier som visar upp möjligheterna för bred implikation av virtual reality (VR) över flertalet branschdomäner, inklusive media, har denna teknik ännu inte fått ett brett genomslag, i stor utsträckning, på grund av flaskhalsar som hindrar den från att bli "mainstream". Ett antal mediehus, videoproduktionsföretag och till och med utvecklare av VR-utrustning (som The New York Times, Disney samt Oculus) investerade i skapandet av VR-videoplattformar och appar med 360-graders filmer och VR-filmer. Allmänhetens acceptans har gått långsammare än många har förväntat sig. Denna uppsats utforskar ekosystemet för plattformar som leverar VR-video och identifierar de faktorer som påverkar deras utveckling och antagande baserat på insikter från tidigare forskning om teknikacceptationsmodeller (TAM) för virtual reality och intervjuer med tio VR-proffs: utvecklare, innehållsleverantörer, och representanter för VR-videoplattformar. Denna kvalitativa studie avslöjar att VR-hårdvarudesign och prestanda (frihetsgrader, renderad videokvalitet, rörlighet, interaktion med VR-innehåll, "cybersickness"), priset på VR-headset (som monofunktionella enheter), begränsade socialiseringsfunktioner i virtuell miljö, bristen av tilltalande VR-innehåll och problem med dess produktion är några av de viktigaste komponenterna som hindrar intresset för virtual reality och VR-videoplattformar att nå en stor publik. Dessa avgörande faktorer kan därefter påverka VR-användarnas upplevda njutning, användbarhet och användarvänlighet, vilket är väsentligt för spridningen av ny teknik. Uppsatsen presenterar diskussionen om flaskhalsar och potentiella tillväxtpunkter som kan bli drivkrafter för vidareutveckling av plattformar som erbjuder VR-video och deras antagande av en bredare allmänhet.

Previous research has studied game achievement with focus on their forming elements, the taxonomic method based on design perspective, studying the relationship between their completion rate with factors including their name and average play time. This research focuses on creating a new taxonomic method on game achievements based on how they get triggered and using it to study the relationship between their completion rate and other factors with the help of data analysis. The result shows that game achievements reflect good intra-group consistency and inter-group differences after classification. And the analysis on their completion rate reveals that game achievement completion rates are correlated with game companies, platforms, their triggers, and player preferences.

This study examines the complex relationship between gender, virtual reality (VR), and social interaction within the context of full-body tracking (FBT) technology in social VR platforms. As VR technology advances and becomes increasingly integrated into users’ lives, understanding the implications of gender expression and perception in these immersive environments is crucial. Utilizing unobtrusive observations and interviews within the VRChat platform, this research explores avatar choices, interactions, and FBT technology utilization as they relate to users’ expressions and perceptions of gender. The findings reveal that cultural background plays a significant role in shaping users’ gender expressions and perceptions in social VR. The study also demonstrates the fluidity of gender expression in virtual environments, highlighting how users can challenge and subvert traditional gender norms, and the potential of virtual reality as a tool for experiential learning, fostering cross-cultural understanding, and promoting inclusive and diverse gender expressions. This study contributes to the emerging body of literature on virtual reality and gender, providing insights that can inform future research and technology development in the field.

Social media platforms (SMP) are a continually growing field with several implications for the social structures of society. SMPs are web-based platforms on which users connect with other individuals and organizations which enables social connections and social bonding. SMPs and other social networking sites can have both positive and negative effects on individuals' lives. On the one hand, social media micro-interactions such as liking and interacting with other individuals’ content are crucial in interpersonal communication. On the other hand, research shows micro-interactions eg. like-buttons, notifications, and stories, have a negative impact on task performance, affect individuals' views of their own self-worth, and cause undesirable behavior such as procrastination. Procrastination of tasks has negative implications for our society and is often caused by social media’s tendencies to trigger psychological factors such as fear of missing out or a desire for instant rewards. Using a design-oriented approach, this research investigates how micro-interactions can be designed with the help of mindful design to counteract procrastination among young adults in the context of SMPs. The results show that designing micro-interactions in a way that detaches,guides, and empowers users align with mindful design core goals, which helps counteract procrastination among young adults on SMPs.

Background: In recent years, the amount of textile waste increased rapidly due to the fast-fashion phenomena with an increasing clothing production and a declining customer usage. Not only that one truck of clothing getting landfilled or burned every second, but also the textile production impacts the environment due to the vast amount of water, material, chemical, and energy usage. This so-called linear “take-make-waste” approach contributes significantly to the current climate crisis. One possible solution represents the circular economy to encounter the linear approach by providing concepts for recovering materials. However, to our state of knowledge, the implementation of such Circular Economy (CE) approaches is far away from their urgent necessity. Literature papers from the last years conclude with a collaboration call between all industry actors for enhancing the waste recovery stream (WRS). Since digital platforms tackled the collaboration challenge of Circular Economy in other industries, we contemplated it as an adequate digital technology tool for overcoming Textile, Apparel and Clothing (TAC) industry collaboration challenge to further strengthening the WRS. Purpose: The study aims to investigate if and how digital platforms strengthen the TAC industry's WRS. For this purpose, we shed light on different challenges within the industry-wide network, analyzed current platform functionalities, and matched challenges and functionalities to answer the research question.  Method: The study adopts an inductive qualitative approach to explore the phenomenon of digital platforms and their potential as an enabler for the textile WRS. Thereby, we took a relativism view regarding our ontological position and followed a social constructionist's epistemology. For the data collection, we used semi-structured interviews and identified potential participants with criterion and snowball sampling. In total, we conducted 14-semistructured interviews with industry actors, platform providers, and experts. For our data analysis, we oriented ourselves on the Gioia Method, an articulated grounded theory approach. Conclusion: Resulting from our findings, we identified (1) four major challenge groups that go beyond the collaboration challenge and encompass the challenge of lack of knowledge, organization of WRS, and value chain structure. Further, we outlined (2) five platform functionalities, i.e., connecting, informing, visualizing, monitoring, and consulting. By matching challenges and functionalities, we analyzed (3) the extent to which DP can strengthen WR. We concluded that many industry challenges are tackled or partly tackled by the DP functionalities. However, within some of the sub-challenges as well as the overall challenge of the value chain structure, DPs reach their limitation in strengthening the WRS. In addition, we offer (4) an overall framework of DP for the WR stream, summarized how the DP tackles the industry-wide challenges by displaying the functionalities and associated value drivers. Lastly, we provide (5) the baseline for future platform functionalities by outlining actors’ expectations and platform providers’ planned functionalities arisen by our finding.

This study examines what role, impact and relationship social media platforms have on second and third generation Chilean diaspora that are living in Sweden when traveling back to Chile. The study uses thematic analysis and 25 qualitative semi-structured interviews with second and third generation Chilean diaspora members, whose age is between 25 and 50 and who has traveled to Chile or are planning to travel there. Through the 25 interviews and the thematic analysis, three themes were identified which were push and pull factors, feelings when traveling back, and travel influenced by social media.  The findings from the study, showed that both second and third generation Chilean diaspora have been motivated by and through social media platforms to visit Chile. It has been found that the priorities of second- and third- generation Chilean diaspora while traveling back to the homeland are different. As social media allows individuals to stay in touch with relatives and friends, it can affect their decision to travel to Chile again. By watching their relatives via video calls, their willingness to go to the country can be greater, which means that the term Visiting friends and relatives (VFR) has a strong connection with diaspora tourism, and this has had a huge impact on the second-generation diaspora. For the third-generation diaspora, their priority to travel to Chile has been a mix of both VFR and exploring the country more. The findings from the study even indicate that UGCs (User Generated Contents) such as pictures or videos that are shared on Instagram, Facebook or YouTube introduces new destinations in Chile, which persuaded both generations of the Chilean diaspora to visit Chile. But this will persuade most of those third-generation participants that have for example did not visit their homeland but want to do it to get more knowledge about their roots, or those who always traveled to the same city but want to explore more.

Netflix is currently the world's largest subscription-based streaming platform, with 221.8 million subscribers worldwide (Maglio, 2022). Part of Netflix's enormous global appeal is its Netflix Original brand of films and TV shows - content it produces specifically for broadcast on its streaming platform. To make its content accessible to deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences, Netflix subcontracts the creation of closed captioning to vendors, instructing them to follow the Timed Text Style Guide (TTSG), which it makes freely available online. My study examines how closed captions for Netflix Original content endeavour to make audiovisual content accessible to deaf audiences, and I demonstrate how the platonic ideal of "equal access" is out of reach due to the limitations of timed text. The objective of my study is to highlight and critique the transformations of meaning that occur when captions translate sound and spoken dialogue into timed text. Drawing on D'Acci's circuit model of media studies (2004) my thesis links the sociohistorical conditions from which captioning techniques and technologies were developed, the conditions of caption production, and the way in which the needs of deaf audiences are articulated in the TTSG. I explore how these three forces affect the content of closed captions. To this end, I engage in a close reading of the TTSG and a selection of closed captions for Netflix Original series and films, borrowing from Berman's (2000) theories regarding the deforming tendencies of translation to describe the changes that result from the intralingual and intersemiotic translation involved in captioning (Jakobson, 2004). My study is informed and inspired by my personal experience as a professional captioner.

Renting, as one of the most common and long-existed collaborative consumption methods, recently gained attention in the fashion industry as a perfect candidate to minimize overconsumption in the fashion industry. However, the business perspective of clothing rental gained less focus in academic literature. This research aims to present, analyze and discuss the key components of clothing rental business models and the influence of digital platforms on clothing rental to gain a deeper understanding of the rental business in fashion. Qualitative research was conducted based on the case studies of five clothing rental companies. The analysis of the collected data was based on the 360° business model framework and the literature. The study results showed the key components of fashion rental business models in value creation, value proposition, value delivery, value capture, value communication, and the influence of digital platforms on the rental business. Findings show the potential to extend towards a mainstream mode of consumption that provides entrepreneurial initiative.

The Sharing Economy is an innovative social, economic and technological paradigm which is shaping worldwide production and consumption patterns of many industries. Its strength relies on factors of competitiveness such as the use of idle capacity, temporary access to resources without transfer of ownership, the flexibility and adaptability of its models, and the participation of a growing number of players allowed by peer-to-peer digital platforms. From the management perspective, the conditions for lasting competitiveness lies on sustainability, the paradigm integrating the supply, demand, and technological dimensions in a holistic, or ecosystem, perspective. Tourism is among the industries making extensive use of sharing digital platforms and experiencing changes that foster the sustainability debate. The PhD Thesis aims to investigate the relationships between competitiveness and sustainability in the tourism and hospitality accommodation industry in the Sharing Economy Era. Its investigation is multifaced and is addressed through three studies adopting a post-modernist perspective that builds on qualitative approaches and strategies for data collection and analysis. The Part I of the Thesis explores the Sharing Economy concept’s evolution and the sustainability issues through an in-depth review of the literature. Results reveal the leading economic-technological evolution of the paradigm over the social one, and its dual links with sustainability in relation to the extensive use of peer-to-peer digital platforms. Therefore, the evolution of the Sharing Economy activities have shown that today competitiveness is built on the interactions of an ever-increasing number of actors and factors, both off-line and on-line, within a complex ecosystem for the creation of – shared – value. The tourism industry strongly challenges this relationship between extended competition and sustainability. The Part II evaluates the competitiveness model and its evolution during the Sharing eTourism Era in the tourism and hospitality accommodation sector introducing an ecosystem perspective for the creation and distribution of shared value. Specifically, it investigates how the non-traditional and informal tourist services have affected the structure of the industry and have altered the competition among the actors, through semi-structured in-depth interviews. Results show that competitiveness is given by the balance among the complex interactions of internal and external ecosystem’s actors and factors. On a micro level this imply that businesses must adopts an ecosystem vision compensating for negative externalities which translate into the adoption of Business Models promoting sustainability for the creation of sustainable shared value. Therefore, the Part III investigates through the use of an illustrative case study how peer-to-peer digital platforms in the tourist accommodation service can boost profitability while strengthening economic, social and environmental sustainability by applying the innovative Business Model for Sustainability. The research sheds light on the complex Sharing Economy literature and lays the theoretical foundations for the implementation of managerial strategies aimed at promoting extended sustainable competition-cooperation.