This thesis focuses on the role of nonhumans in the process of value production on social media platforms. In particular, we investigate the relation between algorithm based sorting mechanisms and human work, here exemplified by the role of a hashtag in social media users’ production of identity. Previous research has shown that social media users produce identity by organising web material into coherent narratives. As suggested by Marxist media scholars (Fuchs, 2014; Bolin, 2011), such organising of material can be perceived as a value generating work process. However, little research has explored how hashtags, and other digital nonhuman actors, are involved in this process. The ambition of this study is therefore to enable a closer understanding of hastags’ relation to value producing organisational work. To do this we have selected a specific case to analyse; the hashtag rockasockorna – a Swedish version of the American hashtag rockthesocks. Our empirical material consists of a quantitative data set, collected with aid of a statistical analysis software (hashtracking.com), as well as two qualitative ethnographic case studies on the two statistically most influential users. To analyse the material we use a methodological approach based on Bruno Latour’s (2005) Actor Network Theory. Primarily, the approach is inspired by Latour’s concept of the circulating reference (1999), meaning that relations described in the qualitative material are gradually reduced into a generalised model. The model suggests that the hashtag takes a position of what we refer to as a “quasi consumer”, an imitator of human organisational work. In the paper’s final section the results are brought into dialogue with contemporary Marxist value theory. We argue that existing literature tends to neglect the aspect of nonhumans as consumers, and thus further research should investigate the implications of nonhuman consumption.

Past research repeatedly suggests consumer’s defensive response to persuasive attempts is a key challenge for advertisers. Given the explosive growth of social media, this study aims to understand if consumer response to ads placed in a social network site could be influenced by ad location and the path through which the ad is delivered. Findings from an experiment suggest that consumers’ attention to ads in SNSs is remarkably low. Furthermore, the interaction between ad location and the path significantly influences consumers’ attitudes toward the ad, attitudes toward the brand, and purchase intention. Specifically, it appears that an ad placed inside users’ timeline and sent through via known others, the indirect path, yielded favorable consumer response. On the other hand, consumers responded more favorably to an ad sent by the advertiser, the direct path, than that sent by known others if the ad is placed outside users’ timeline. Implications and suggestions for future research are provided. / text

Tin(II) sulfide (SnS) is an earth-abundant, inexpensive, and non-toxic absorber material for thin film solar cells. SnS films are deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) through the reaction of a tin precursor, bis(N,N'-diisopropylacetamidinato)tin(II), and hydrogen sulfide. The SnS films demonstrate excellent surface morphology, crystal structure, phase purity, stoichiometry, elemental purity, and optical and electrical properties. / Engineering and Applied Sciences

As highly important personal and social approach, the choice of professional studies and policy is essential at the age of teens or in the early youth. In the same breath, it is the most relevant question among the students with special needs (SNS) as they are in need of help to key their intentions and desires to their possibilities according to their knowledge, skills and state of health, as well as to embrace the right occupation. This work is focused on ventilation of students’ familiarization with the professions, vocational training and development of their purposeful motivation in choosing the occupation. The basis of purposeful development into career education is general education, vocational training, practical work, as well as analysis of its results in the context of impersonal self-evaluation. The objective of the research is to investigate the purposeful career education of students with special needs. The goals of the research: 1. To analyses scientific pedagogical and psychological literature on investigative matter. 2. To ascertain how pre-career education and training of students with special needs is implement at comprehensive school. 3. To investigate the professional choice of students with special needs. 4. To work up a purposeful career model of students with special needs. 5. To give recommendations for the purposeful career training of students with special needs. Qualitative type of research – (the survey of experts, interview). Fifteen assistant... [to full text]

A SNS junction made of two superconducting (S) electrodes separated by a normal (N) metal carries a non-dissipative current whose amplitude depends on the phase difference between the superconductors. The equilibrium properties of this system have been recently explored and are now well understood. The dynamics is still an open question: how does the current-phase relation evolves with a high-frequency phase modulation? What are the mechanisms and characteristic times that govern this evolution?To probe the dynamics of Andreev states, we measured the response of a phase($ \varphi $)-biased NS ring. The current response at frequencies $ f $ ranging from 200 MHz up to 14 GHz yields the magnetic susceptibility $ \chi(\varphi,f) $ whose real part $ \chi' $ gives the the non-dissipative response while the imaginary part $ \chi'' $ reveals the dissipation. Susceptibility is accessed by the modification of a superconducting resonator coupled to the NS ring.As expected, $ \chi' $ is simply the phase derivative of the supercurrent at low frequency, thus revealing the current-phase relation. More strikingly, we observed the emergence of two contributions at high-frequency. The first one is related to the relaxation of populations driven out-of-equilibrium by the excitation. It is associated with supercurrent noise. The second one corresponds to induced transitions. According to our analysis of the experiment, its phase dependence is accounting for by taking into account selection rules. It should also allows to perform the minigap spectroscopy. These results show that such finite frequency measurements reveal properties of SNS junctions that can not be accessed by standard transport experiments.

This study examines the relationships between celebrities and their followers through social networking sites (SNS). A total of 239 participants completed the survey through MTurk. The results show that celebrities’ self-disclosure on SNS increases their Parasocial Interaction (PI) with fans. In addition, when a celebrity is perceived as trustworthy, s/he would have a higher PI with fans. Meanwhile, celebrities’ self-disclosure was not associated with trustworthiness. Furthermore, time spent on SNS was also not associated with PI. This study also found that type of celebrity does not determine the degree of influence they have on the followers. People have almost same parasocial interaction with their favorite celebrity whether the celebrity is a singer, athlete, actor, or any other. Additionally, there is no specific social networking site on which people have a stronger PI with celebrities. PI with celebrities on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and the other platforms is almost the same.

Este estudo, oriundo do PPGEDU/UFRGS, na Linha de Pesquisa Arte, Linguagem e Currículo, aborda a pesquisa realizada com professores, de áreas distintas, de duas universidades públicas e duas privadas em cada país – Brasil e Itália – para responderem a uma entrevista semiestruturada, a fim de identificar como os professores de cursos de nível superior consideram o uso pedagógico das mídias sociais na docência. A motivação surgiu a partir de questionamentos como: neste mundo, no qual as mídias sociais fazem parte do cotidiano da grande maioria das pessoas, onde a Educação se insere? Redes sociais e Educação poderão conviver e apoiarem-se mutuamente? As abordagens metodológicas utilizadas foram a qualitativa e a quantitativa, empregando-se a pesquisa do tipo exploratória. Para inferir os dados produzidos, a análise considerou tanto o conteúdo, quanto o enunciado. Para tanto, foram aplicadas a Análise de Enunciado na perspectiva dialógica, utilizando-se uma concepção bakhtiniana e freireana, e a Análise de Conteúdo, que ofereceu elementos para subsidiar a pesquisa quantitativa, instrumentada pelo software NVivo. Com esta pesquisa, propomos uma reflexão sobre as possibilidades de usos dos recursos oferecidos nas mídias sociais, afirmados e explanados pelos próprios professores, seja com aqueles que delas fazem uso, seja com aqueles que não as utilizam em seu cotidiano docente. Mediante perguntas específicas, buscamos conhecer um pouco mais sobre quem é este professor frente às tecnologias questionadas. O percentual médio de professores que faz um uso efetivo das mídias sociais na Educação, nas universidades italianas, foi de 13%. Já na universidade pública brasileira, este percentual sobe para 42%. Os professores entrevistados da universidade privada brasileira não fazem uso das Social Networking Sites (SNS) na docência. Das entrevistas analisadas, 81% dos professores dizem considerar importante o uso das SNS no Ensino/Aprendizagem, e 68% acreditam que seja possível construir comunidades de aprendizagem nos ambientes oferecidos pelas mídias sociais. Assim, as entrevistas mostraram que este é um movimento sem volta e que é estabelecendo relações dialógicas com os estudantes, é se permitindo experimentar, é buscando alternativas diversas, e é da práxis dos professores pesquisados que vem a apropriação das mídias sociais em seu fazer docente. Diante de tudo isso, pode-se concluir que é fundamental que o uso das redes sociais no meio acadêmico seja estimulado pelas universidades, uma vez que seu uso tem contribuído para uma maior qualidade do processo de ensino/aprendizagem; afinal a presença das redes sociais na Educação está incontestável. / This study, derived from PPGEDU/UFRGS, in the search line of Educational Psychology, Educational Systems/Learning and Education in Health, approaches a research conducted with teachers, from different areas, from two public and two private universities in each country – Brazil and Italy – in order to them to answer to a semi structured interview, so that the considerations of Higher Education teachers about the pedagogical use of social media in teaching could be identified. The motivation came from questions like: in this world where social networks are part of the daily lives of most people, where is education included? Can social network and education coexist and support each other? The methodological approaches used were qualitative and quantitative, with a basis in the research of the exploratory type. To infer the produced data, the analysis considered both the content and the statement. Therefore, Statement Analysis in the dialogical perspective, considering Bakhtin and Freire’s conceptions, and Content Analysis, that offered elements to support the quantitative research, instrumented by NVivo software, were applied. With this research, it’s proposed a reflection on the use of possibilities of the resources available in social media, affirmed and explained by teachers themselves, either with those who make use of them or those who do not use them in their teaching routine. After analyzing the data produced It was detected that 81% said they realize the importance of using some social media in their teaching routine. Through specific questions, there is the attempt to know a little more about who is this teacher facing the approached technologies. The average percentage of teachers which effectively use social media in education, in Italian universities, was 13%. In the Brazilian public university, this percentage rises to 42%. The interviewed teachers from the Brazilian Private University do not use Social Networking Site (SNS) in teaching. From the analyzed interviews, we conclude that 81% of teachers say it is important to consider the use of the SNS in Teaching / Learning, and 68% believe it’s possible to build learning communities in the environment offered by social media. So , the interviews shown that this is an impossible to turn back movement, and that it is establishing dialogical relations with students, and allowing yourself to experience, from seeking several alternatives, and from the praxis of the surveyed teachers comes the appropriation of social media in the teaching practice. As a result, we can conclude that it’s fundamental that the use of social networks in the academic environment be stimulated by universities, since its use has contributed to a higher quality of the process of Teaching/Learning; after all the presence of social networks in contemporary education is incontestable.

Este estudo, oriundo do PPGEDU/UFRGS, na Linha de Pesquisa Arte, Linguagem e Currículo, aborda a pesquisa realizada com professores, de áreas distintas, de duas universidades públicas e duas privadas em cada país – Brasil e Itália – para responderem a uma entrevista semiestruturada, a fim de identificar como os professores de cursos de nível superior consideram o uso pedagógico das mídias sociais na docência. A motivação surgiu a partir de questionamentos como: neste mundo, no qual as mídias sociais fazem parte do cotidiano da grande maioria das pessoas, onde a Educação se insere? Redes sociais e Educação poderão conviver e apoiarem-se mutuamente? As abordagens metodológicas utilizadas foram a qualitativa e a quantitativa, empregando-se a pesquisa do tipo exploratória. Para inferir os dados produzidos, a análise considerou tanto o conteúdo, quanto o enunciado. Para tanto, foram aplicadas a Análise de Enunciado na perspectiva dialógica, utilizando-se uma concepção bakhtiniana e freireana, e a Análise de Conteúdo, que ofereceu elementos para subsidiar a pesquisa quantitativa, instrumentada pelo software NVivo. Com esta pesquisa, propomos uma reflexão sobre as possibilidades de usos dos recursos oferecidos nas mídias sociais, afirmados e explanados pelos próprios professores, seja com aqueles que delas fazem uso, seja com aqueles que não as utilizam em seu cotidiano docente. Mediante perguntas específicas, buscamos conhecer um pouco mais sobre quem é este professor frente às tecnologias questionadas. O percentual médio de professores que faz um uso efetivo das mídias sociais na Educação, nas universidades italianas, foi de 13%. Já na universidade pública brasileira, este percentual sobe para 42%. Os professores entrevistados da universidade privada brasileira não fazem uso das Social Networking Sites (SNS) na docência. Das entrevistas analisadas, 81% dos professores dizem considerar importante o uso das SNS no Ensino/Aprendizagem, e 68% acreditam que seja possível construir comunidades de aprendizagem nos ambientes oferecidos pelas mídias sociais. Assim, as entrevistas mostraram que este é um movimento sem volta e que é estabelecendo relações dialógicas com os estudantes, é se permitindo experimentar, é buscando alternativas diversas, e é da práxis dos professores pesquisados que vem a apropriação das mídias sociais em seu fazer docente. Diante de tudo isso, pode-se concluir que é fundamental que o uso das redes sociais no meio acadêmico seja estimulado pelas universidades, uma vez que seu uso tem contribuído para uma maior qualidade do processo de ensino/aprendizagem; afinal a presença das redes sociais na Educação está incontestável. / This study, derived from PPGEDU/UFRGS, in the search line of Educational Psychology, Educational Systems/Learning and Education in Health, approaches a research conducted with teachers, from different areas, from two public and two private universities in each country – Brazil and Italy – in order to them to answer to a semi structured interview, so that the considerations of Higher Education teachers about the pedagogical use of social media in teaching could be identified. The motivation came from questions like: in this world where social networks are part of the daily lives of most people, where is education included? Can social network and education coexist and support each other? The methodological approaches used were qualitative and quantitative, with a basis in the research of the exploratory type. To infer the produced data, the analysis considered both the content and the statement. Therefore, Statement Analysis in the dialogical perspective, considering Bakhtin and Freire’s conceptions, and Content Analysis, that offered elements to support the quantitative research, instrumented by NVivo software, were applied. With this research, it’s proposed a reflection on the use of possibilities of the resources available in social media, affirmed and explained by teachers themselves, either with those who make use of them or those who do not use them in their teaching routine. After analyzing the data produced It was detected that 81% said they realize the importance of using some social media in their teaching routine. Through specific questions, there is the attempt to know a little more about who is this teacher facing the approached technologies. The average percentage of teachers which effectively use social media in education, in Italian universities, was 13%. In the Brazilian public university, this percentage rises to 42%. The interviewed teachers from the Brazilian Private University do not use Social Networking Site (SNS) in teaching. From the analyzed interviews, we conclude that 81% of teachers say it is important to consider the use of the SNS in Teaching / Learning, and 68% believe it’s possible to build learning communities in the environment offered by social media. So , the interviews shown that this is an impossible to turn back movement, and that it is establishing dialogical relations with students, and allowing yourself to experience, from seeking several alternatives, and from the praxis of the surveyed teachers comes the appropriation of social media in the teaching practice. As a result, we can conclude that it’s fundamental that the use of social networks in the academic environment be stimulated by universities, since its use has contributed to a higher quality of the process of Teaching/Learning; after all the presence of social networks in contemporary education is incontestable.

The usage of social media such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook has expanded drastically. Today almost every organization has a Facebook page and a Twitter account that complements their webpage and their physical stores. However, why and how are they using these social medias?  This research focuses on why and how organizations are using Facebook and Twitter in their business strategy. More specifically, what methods and organizational strategies are used. The requirement for our research was that the organization had to had some success on these social medias but due to time and budget limitations, the research is restricted to three local organizations that have a national presence. Conducting primary data with three face-to-face semi-structured interviews and obtaining secondary data such as books, theses and academic journals we had the data to make an analysis about how Facebook and Twitter could make these three organizations gain competitive advantage.  By correctly utilizing the tools that social networking sites (SNS) provide; organizations can make way for a differentiation path that provides competitive advantage, build brand awareness, and provide statistical tools for evaluating customer behavior. One of the benefits of SNS is that they are virtually free to implement, both from a capital and human resource investment point of view. This research shows that organizations utilizing SNS in order to gain competitive advantage need to focus on creating a committed and engaged user base. By keeping in mind the drivers of differentiation: timing, location, linkages and scale, organizations transform their competitive advantage into a sustained competitive advantage.

This thesis deals with the energy policy of the Russian Federation and its role within the Russian foreign policy towards the countries of the former Soviet Union. It focuses in particular on the Russian state gas monopoly Gazprom. The thesis inquires into Gazprom's relation to the Russian foreign policy and examines how and to what extent Russia uses Gazprom as a tool for enforcement of its political interests. It also analyses the implications of the Gazprom's acitivities in the postsoviet countries for the energy security of the European union.