This master’s thesis project undertook investigation of whether the extant Damerau- Levenshtein edit distance measurement between two strings could be made more useful for detecting and adjusting misspellings in a search query. The idea was to use the knowledge that many users type their queries using the QWERTY keyboard layout, and weighting the edit distance in a manner that makes it cheaper to correct misspellings caused by confusion of nearer keys. Two different weighting approaches were tested, one with a linear spread from 2/9 to 2 depending on the keyboard distance, and the other had neighbors preferred over non-neighbors (either with half the cost or no cost at all). They were tested against an unweighted baseline as well as inverted versions of themselves (nearer keys more expensive to replace) against a dataset of 1,162,145 searches. No significant improvement in the retrieval of search results were observed when compared to the baseline. However, each of the weightings performed better than its corresponding inversion on a p < 0.05 significance level. This means that while the weighted edit distance did not outperform the baseline, the data still clearly points toward a correlation between the physical position of keys on the keyboard, and what spelling mistakes are made. / Detta examensarbete åtog sig att undersöka om det etablerade Damerau-Levenshtein-avståndet som mäter avståndet kan anpassas för att bättre hitta och korrigera stavningsfel i sökfrågor. Tanken var att använda det faktum att många användare skriver sina sökfrågor på ett tangentbord med QWERTY-layout, och att vikta ändrings- avståndet så att det blir billigare att korrigera stavfel orsakade av hopblandning av två knappar som är närmare varandra. Två olika viktningar testades, en hade vikterna utspridda linjärt mellan 2/9 och 2, och den andra föredrog grannar över icke-grannar (antingen halva kostnaden eller ingen alls). De testades mot ett oviktat referensavstånd samt inversen av sig själva (så att närmare knappar blev dyrare att byta ut) mot ett dataset bestående av 1 162 145 sökningar. Ingen signifikant förbättring uppmättes gentemot referensen. Däremot presterade var och en av viktningarna bättre än sin inverterade motpart på konfidensnivå p < 0,05. Det innebär att trots att de viktade distansavstånden inte presterade bättre än referensen så pekar datan tydligt mot en korrelation mellan den fysiska positioneringen av knapparna på tangentbordet och vilka stavningsmisstag som begås.

Detta examensarbete har till syfte att undersöka ungdomars identitetsskapande genom musik, hur de förhåller och använder sig av musik. Jag undersöker även musikens funktion som gruppmarkör och klädstilens roll i ungdomars liv. Genom sex kvalitativa intervjuer med elever i årskurs nio, samt en intervju med Behrang Miri (musikpedagog), analyserar jag musikens betydelse för identitetsskapande. Jag har valt att fördjupa mig i ungdomars identitetsskapande för att utöka min förståelse för mina blivande elever. Min huvudfråga är; Skapar ungdomar identitet genom olika musikgenrer? Jag undersöker även hur musik och klädstil hör ihop. I resultatdelen presenterar jag det som kommit att bli tydligt genom intervjuerna; ungdomars musikidentitet. Därefter följer analys och teoretisk tolkning där jag väver samman resultatet från intervjuerna med den teoretiska bakgrunden. Jag avslutar sedan mitt examensarbete med diskussion och slutsats, i vilken jag presenterar att ungdomar inte tycks skapa sin identitet genom musikgenrer – på många sätt genom musik och klädstil, men inte specifikt genrer. Musik verkar vara något högst personligt medan kläder är ett yttre verktyg för att visa andra hur man är som person.

The overload of content in digital services demands a way to filter the content for each individual user. The solution to this problem has come to be recommendation systems, which creates recommendations after the behavior patterns and preferences of each user. Previous research of recommendation systems tends to focus on the technical sides of the algorithms, and the user's perspective often gets forgotten. Although there's no direct connection between the preciseness of the algorithms and the users experience, instead subjective factors play an important role. This study wants to create a deeper understanding of the user experience of recommendation system in order to help digital services improve their use of these systems and hence their user experience. This study specifically examines how Spotify users experiences the services use of recommendation systems. Spotify is a music streaming service which uses recommendation systems in various functions. A qualitative study has been conducted through surveys, observations and interviews with a targeted audience. While analyzing the collected data recurrent themes were sorted under five categories. Based on recurrent themes we were able to state several conclusions. Problems in the interface design had an impact on the users experience of the functions based on recommendation systems, making interface an important aspect of the user experience of recommendation system. The purpose of using recommendation systems was described as to explore new music, although this purpose is generally not fulfilled. Although users found the recommendations relevant their core purpose was not fulfilled, this shows how significant research of the user perspective is. Lastly practical improvement suggestions are discussed, such as social interactions between users, a higher implementation of collaborative filtering and changes in the interface.

Simply by reading data and statistics of the charting positions of popular songs on global and national music charts, it is hard to understand how the popularity of songs, albums, or artists within pop music truly behave over time. However, analyzing the data using visualizations as means of communication might provide us with new points of view and new insights into how the popularity of contemporary popular music behaves over a longer period. This is the hypothesis that we intend to investigate in this thesis. An interactive visualization application (presented as a website) has been developed based on data from “Daily Top 200” lists provided by Spotify. A survey was then used to evaluate the application, with the results suggesting that new and interesting insights into the trends in the popularity of music can be gained from the proposed prototype.

Via fyra fokusgruppsdiskussioner bestående av individer i varierande åldrar syftar den här kvalitativt präglade studien att nå ökad förståelse kring vad en digital distribution och konsumtion av musik har för inverkan på upplevelsen av musik, samt vilka betydelser och funktioner som musikkonsumtion fyller i vardagen. Studiens teoretiska ramar utgår från kulturstudietraditionen och politiskt-ekonomiskt teori, för att på så vis ta avstamp i individernas upplevelser och erfarenheter och se hur det står i relation till hur musiken distribueras på digitala plattformar samt teknologin som används för konsumtionen. Mer specifikt uppnås detta genom att applicera identitet och konnektivitet som teoretiska begrepp. Studien visar på att 1) konsumtionen av musik är mer en konsekvens av kontexten som individen befinner sig i för stunden, snarare än attributen för kanalen som konsumtionen sker via, 2) som en konsekvens av hur musiken distribueras på digitala plattformar ses musikkonsumtion övervägande som en individuell handling, vilket förändrar musikens relation till sociala aktiviteter och identitet, och 3) digitala plattformars multifunktionalitet och tillgången till ett brett utbud resulterar i att den vardagliga situationen och sinnesstämning har erövrat genrens syfte att kategorisera och söka sig till musik. / By conducting a total of four focus group discussions, consisting of individuals of mixed age, this qualitative study aims to understand how a digital distribution and consumption of music has influenced how music is experienced, and furthermore if the purposes and functions that it fulfills in everyday life have been altered. In order to establish a connection between the participants’ experience and how it relates to the ways in which content are being distributed by digital services and technological means, the study is located within a theoretical framework of cultural studies and political economy. The theoretical concepts of connectivity and identity are being applied in the analysis of our material to achieve the above. The study shows that 1) the incitements for the consumption of music is more a result of the context than the attributes of the medium or service of choice, 2) as a consequence of how the music is being distributed on digital platforms, music is predominantly seen as an individualistic action, which alters the music’s place in social relations and construction of identity, and 3) the multifunctional character of digital platforms with the possibility to access an unprecedented amount of content has resulted in that state of mind and context has replaced the function of genres in the categorization and search for music.

Purpose - The purpose of this research is to explore disruptive innovation and to determine whether Christensen’s latest version (2015) of the disruptive innovation theory can explain the success of multisided platforms in the music industry. Thus, we analyze three cases studies based on the theory: Napster, Spotify and Apple Music. At the end, we present our results concerning Christensen’s theory’s capability to explain the recent success stories of digital multisided platforms. Research Question - “Does the theory of disruptive innovation explain the success of Multi-sided Platforms in the music industry?” Methodology - A comparative case study with three levels of success gives us a width that we think is necessary in order to draw conclusions. Spotify is considered to be a global market leader while Apple Music is highly successful and market leader in the US. Napster, however, is not considered successful due to the legal issues it has encountered. Secondary data is used on all cases, and an in-depth literature review of the theory which supports the theoretical framework that we use to compare the cases. Findings - This research explores Christensen’s theory that is widely misinterpreted and misapplied in the recent years. Christensen’s theory is heavily built upon a technology factor that drives disruptive innovation, however, this can not explain for instance Spotify’s success, which is according to the original theory is not disruptive. We argue that business model innovation is the driver of disruption in some cases where technology is merely an enabler for business to reach disruptive effects. We would like to propose a stronger categorization of disruption types, such as “technology driven disruption” or “business model driven disruption” in order to identify disruption with different roots. / Syfte - Syftet med denna forskning är att undersöka disruptiv (omstörtande) innovation och att avgöra om Christensens senaste version (2015) av den disruptiva (omstörtande) innovationsteorin kan förklara framgången med flersidiga plattformar inom musikbranschen. Således analyserar vi tre fallstudier baserade på teorin: Napster, Spotify och Apple Music. I slutet presenterar vi våra resultat avseende Christensens teoris förmåga att förklara de senaste framgångshistorierna för digitala flersidiga plattformar. Forskningsfråga - “Förklarar teorin om disruptiv innovation framgången med flersidiga plattformar i musikbranschen?” Metodik - En jämförande fallstudie med tre nivåer av framgång ger oss den bredd som vi tycker är nödvändig för att dra slutsatser. Spotify anses vara en global marknadsledare och Apple Music är mycket framgångsrikt samt marknadsledande i USA. Napster anses emellertid inte framgångsrikt på grund av de rättsliga problem som uppstått. Sekundär data används i alla exempel, samt en djupgående litteraturöversikt av teorin som stöder den teoretiska ramverk som vi använder för att jämföra fallen. Resultat - Denna undersökning utforskar Christensens teori som är brett misstolkad och felaktig tillämpad under de senaste åren. Christensens teori bygger starkt på en teknikfaktor som driver disruptiv innovation, men detta kan inte förklara exempelvis Spotifys framgång, vilken enligt den ursprungliga teorin inte är disruptiv. Vi argumenterar för att affärsmodellinnovation driver störningar i fall där tekniken bara är en katalysator för att verksamheten når disruptiva effekter. Vi skulle vilja föreslå en starkare kategorisering av disruptionstyper, till exempel “tekniskt driven disruption” eller “affärsmodelldisruption” för att identifiera disruptioner med olika rötter.

Tidigare forskning visar att det finns en koppling mellan musiksmak och social attraktion mellan människor, eftersom delad musiksmak ofta innebär delade personliga värderingar, och delade personliga värderingar kan innebära större chans för social attraktion. Målet med undersökningen har varit att ta reda på om musiksmak har någon korrelation med personliga värderingar, och vilka algoritmer som i så fall skulle kunna användas för att beräkna korrelationen. En modell ställs upp för en teoretisk perfekt matchningsalgoritm mot vilken de undersökta algoritmerna testas och jämförs praktiskt. Studien, som är uppdelad i tre delar, undersöker algoritmerna närmare med hjälp av testdata i formen av datorgenererade värden i den första och andra delen. Den första delen använder data i formen av heltal (antalet förekomster av musikpreferens) och den andra använder data i formen av binära tal (förekomst eller ej av musikpreferens). Den tredje delen använder sig av användardata, från 13 deltagare, från Spotify samt från en enkät om personliga värderingar. Resultaten visar ingen uppenbar korrelation mellan personliga värderingar och musiksmak, vilket troligtvis beror på datamängderna; det kan vara så att det krävs mer detaljerad och strukturerad användardata än den som inhämtats och använts i denna undersökning för att få tydliga resultat. / Earlier research shows that there is a connection between music taste and social attraction between people, because shared music taste usually means shared personal values, and shared personal values could mean greater chance for social attraction. The goal with the project has been to find out if music taste is correlated with personal values, and what algorithms can be used to calculate that correlation. A model is defined for a perfect matching-algorithm against which the studied algorithms are tested and compared practically. The study, which is divided into three parts, investigates the algorithms closer using test data in the form of computer-generated values in the first and second part. The first part uses data in the form of integers (the number of occurences of a music preference) and the second part uses data in the form of binary numbers (occurence or not of a music preference). The third part uses real user data, from 13 participants, from Spotify and from a survey regarding personal values. The results show no apparent correlation between personal values and music taste, the cause of which is most likely the data; it could be that it takes more detailed and structured user data than the one used in this study to get clear results.

The rise of the streaming music services and the decreasing importance of physical distribution is an inevitable change that the industry has been facing, which is resulting from the so-called internet revolution over the past few years. Through years, the music business has already shifted to online platform with the birth of file sharing. Today, a generation who had grown up digital came to age. Members of this generation have different consumption habits than before, and have different motives toward consumption. The consumer behavior of this group was examined at different stages of the digital revolution during last decade. However, although there is a wide number of researches have examined online consumer behavior and the adoption file-sharing technologies, no study investigated the use of streaming music services. Therefore, in order to understand the changing consumption behavior of the net generation music consumers, and to under-stand the use of streaming music services, this study extends the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to account the streaming music services. A questionnaire based empirical study was administrated among the users of Sweden based streaming music service Spotify. Results confirm that there is a significant relationship between users‟ perceived usefulness of service use, and their attitude toward using and their behavioral intention to use. In addition, it is also confirmed by the results that advertisement/charge, flow, and social influence are effective in explaining the motives of users‟, and the use of streaming music services. Furthermore, according to the findings of the study streaming music services have a positive effect on decreasing the music piracy.

AbstractTitle: Swedish social media services (A study about Swedish social media services birth andhow they benefit from the Swedish climate)Number of pages: 38Author: Robin SchwabeggerTutor: Else NygrenCourse: Media and Communication Science CPeriod: Fall 2009University: Division of Informatics and Media, Uppsala University.Purpose/Aim: To see if the Swedish advantage or interest in developing new social mediaservices and networks has anything to do with our society. With society I mean our culture,attitudes and history. Do people, especially young people, have a more positive attitudetowards the Internet and has the fact that we, as a country, were among the first to use theInternet anything to do with it.Material/Method: Data collected from books, newspapers and articles from several sites onthe internet. I’ll use the information I’ve gathered to try to find an answer to my givenproblems for the paper. To mark off my problem and information gathering I’ve decided touse three research questions which my work will circle around.Main Result: You can clearly tell that Sweden has a great climate for social media services tobe created. Sweden, as a country, had access to computers and internet in a very early stageand took great advantage of that. Their culture encourages creativity which is important andpeople in Sweden aren’t afraid to run into problems. Teenagers start uses internet in a veryearly age and they have a higher percent of daily usage then other countries.Keyword: File-sharing, Social media, Sweden, Skype, Spotify, Voddler, The Pirate Bay,Communication, Internet, Culture, Users, Consumers, Developers, Hofstede, Hartley

<p>The rise of the streaming music services and the decreasing importance of physical distribution is an inevitable change that the industry has been facing, which is resulting from the so-called internet revolution over the past few years. Through years, the music business has already shifted to online platform with the birth of file sharing. Today, a generation who had grown up digital came to age. Members of this generation have different consumption habits than before, and have different motives toward consumption.</p><p>The consumer behavior of this group was examined at different stages of the digital revolution during last decade. However, although there is a wide number of researches have examined online consumer behavior and the adoption file-sharing technologies, no study investigated the use of streaming music services. Therefore, in order to understand the changing consumption behavior of the net generation music consumers, and to under-stand the use of streaming music services, this study extends the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to account the streaming music services. A questionnaire based empirical study was administrated among the users of Sweden based streaming music service Spotify. Results confirm that there is a significant relationship between users‟ perceived usefulness of service use, and their attitude toward using and their behavioral intention to use. In addition, it is also confirmed by the results that advertisement/charge, flow, and social influence are effective in explaining the motives of users‟, and the use of streaming music services. Furthermore, according to the findings of the study streaming music services have a positive effect on decreasing the music piracy.</p>