4,334 research outputs found

    How social media brand community development impacts consumer engagement and value formation; perspectives from the cosmetics industry

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    Social media and social media brand communities (SMBCs) are powerful tools for long-term consumer-brand relationship building. As a result, SMBCs are becoming significant marketing channels. Despite the wide use and adoption of SMBCs, further research is called for, as both practitioners and academics lack an understanding of the processes taking place within SMBCs. This study aims to contribute to knowledge of: (1) consumer engagement, (2) value formation in SMBCs, and (3) establishing the relationship between consumer engagement and value formation within the SMBC environment. This thesis adopts netnography, a method commonly employed to explore online communities in the social media environment. Three cosmetics brands were selected for this study. The selection was driven by geographical location, posting frequency and user activity. Data were retrospectively collected from Facebook SMBCs between 1st December 2019 and 31st January 2020. The data analysis employed thematic analysis techniques and was further guided by netnographic procedural steps, encompassing 25 distinct data operations. In total, 87 conversation threads were examined, which included 6,401 consumer comments. The findings present a typology of brand posts consisting of five overarching themes: presentation of offerings, belongingness building, engagement building, value-led, and educational. The research also identified a consumer comment typology consisting of four overarching themes brand-centred communication, cognitive-centred communication, conversation-centred communication, and personal experience-centred communication. Additionally, the thesis explores value formation processes within SMBCs, and the value types formed through consumer-to-consumer value formation interaction, brand-to-consumer value formation interaction, consumer-to-brand value formation interaction, as well as individual value formation processes, i.e., customer independent value formation and brand independent value facilitation. Through the findings, thesis broadens knowledge of the implication of SMBC development on consumer engagement. Additionally, this study extends the scope of value formation beyond service marketing, providing valuable insights into how value is created and perceived in the context of SMBCs. This research is also of significance for practice as it offers guidance and insight into how different brand posts can facilitate SMBC development, and, in turn, consumer engagement and value formation. The research provides a link between SMBC development and consumer engagement, highlighting the importance of SMBCs in the successful facilitation of consumer engagement. In particular, it provides evidence that the development of an SMBC has a significant impact on consumer engagement. The typology of brand posts that this study generates highlights the link between the types of posts published by the brand and SMBC development. In addition, the typology of consumer posts also suggests that there is a link between the types of comments published by consumers and the degree of SMBC development. As a result, the findings indicate significant growth in the variety of topics discussed within more developed SMBCs alongside a shift within the topics discussed. The study also investigates value formation within SMBCs, thereby enhancing the understanding of how SMBCs can facilitate value formation. By doing so, this research successfully extends the value formation lens predominantly applied in service marketing. In particular, the findings highlight the role of different actors in enabling the formation of different value types. Furthermore, the research emphasises the value of SMBCs as knowledge repositories as important virtual spaces for both brands and consumers. The findings facilitate understanding of the importance of SMBCs in value formation processes, contributing to advancing knowledge of the role of SMBCs in the development of consumer engagement and value formation. The thesis presents a contextualised conceptual framework of value formation within SMBCs, that captures different interactions taking place in the SMBC environment but also draws attention to the different value types generated through interaction between different actors. Finally, the thesis offers a conceptual framework of SMBCs, consumer engagement and value formation, which captures the correlation between the three researched concepts

    Logical disagreement : an epistemological study

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    While the epistemic signiļ¬cance of disagreement has been a popular topic in epistemology for at least a decade, little attention has been paid to logical disagreement. This monograph is meant as a remedy. The text starts with an extensive literature review of the epistemology of (peer) disagreement and sets the stage for an epistemological study of logical disagreement. The guiding thread for the rest of the work is then three distinct readings of the ambiguous term ā€˜logical disagreementā€™. Chapters 1 and 2 focus on the Ad Hoc Reading according to which logical disagreements occur when two subjects take incompatible doxastic attitudes toward a speciļ¬c proposition in or about logic. Chapter 2 presents a new counterexample to the widely discussed Uniqueness Thesis. Chapters 3 and 4 focus on the Theory Choice Reading of ā€˜logical disagreementā€™. According to this interpretation, logical disagreements occur at the level of entire logical theories rather than individual entailment-claims. Chapter 4 concerns a key question from the philosophy of logic, viz., how we have epistemic justiļ¬cation for claims about logical consequence. In Chapters 5 and 6 we turn to the Akrasia Reading. On this reading, logical disagreements occur when there is a mismatch between the deductive strength of oneā€™s background logic and the logical theory one prefers (oļ¬ƒcially). Chapter 6 introduces logical akrasia by analogy to epistemic akrasia and presents a novel dilemma. Chapter 7 revisits the epistemology of peer disagreement and argues that the epistemic signiļ¬cance of central principles from the literature are at best deļ¬‚ated in the context of logical disagreement. The chapter also develops a simple formal model of deep disagreement in Default Logic, relating this to our general discussion of logical disagreement. The monograph ends in an epilogue with some reļ¬‚ections on the potential epistemic signiļ¬cance of convergence in logical theorizing

    Cultures of Citizenship in the Twenty-First Century: Literary and Cultural Perspectives on a Legal Concept

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    In the early twenty-first century, the concept of citizenship is more contested than ever. As refugees set out to cross the Mediterranean, European nation-states refer to "cultural integrity" and "immigrant inassimilability," revealing citizenship to be much more than a legal concept. The contributors to this volume take an interdisciplinary approach to considering how cultures of citizenship are being envisioned and interrogated in literary and cultural (con)texts. Through this framework, they attend to the tension between the citizen and its spectral others - a tension determined by how a country defines difference at a given moment

    The Politics of History and Memory: Memorials, Memories, and the State-Sponsored History of the Rwandan Genocide (April-June 1994)

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    Memory, whether individual or collective, is a complex and subjective phenomenon that is constantly evolving and being shaped by present-day contexts and those in power. This research paper seeks to explore the construction of the collective memory of Rwanda's history leading up to the genocide as promoted by the Rwandan government in the 21st century. It will argue that the manipulation of history by the Rwandan government serves as a potent tool for legitimizing its political repression and past and ongoing atrocities. Ultimately, this research will contribute to a deeper understanding of the interaction between history and memory in contemporary Rwanda, with the hope of offering remembrance alternatives.No embargoAcademic Major: HistoryAcademic Major: Political Scienc

    La traduzione specializzata allā€™opera per una piccola impresa in espansione: la mia esperienza di internazionalizzazione in cinese di BioreticsĀ© S.r.l.

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    Global markets are currently immersed in two all-encompassing and unstoppable processes: internationalization and globalization. While the former pushes companies to look beyond the borders of their country of origin to forge relationships with foreign trading partners, the latter fosters the standardization in all countries, by reducing spatiotemporal distances and breaking down geographical, political, economic and socio-cultural barriers. In recent decades, another domain has appeared to propel these unifying drives: Artificial Intelligence, together with its high technologies aiming to implement human cognitive abilities in machinery. The ā€œLanguage Toolkit ā€“ Le lingue straniere al servizio dellā€™internazionalizzazione dellā€™impresaā€ project, promoted by the Department of Interpreting and Translation (ForlƬ Campus) in collaboration with the Romagna Chamber of Commerce (ForlƬ-Cesena and Rimini), seeks to help Italian SMEs make their way into the global market. It is precisely within this project that this dissertation has been conceived. Indeed, its purpose is to present the translation and localization project from English into Chinese of a series of texts produced by BioreticsĀ© S.r.l.: an investor deck, the company website and part of the installation and use manual of the AliquisĀ© framework software, its flagship product. This dissertation is structured as follows: Chapter 1 presents the project and the company in detail; Chapter 2 outlines the internationalization and globalization processes and the Artificial Intelligence market both in Italy and in China; Chapter 3 provides the theoretical foundations for every aspect related to Specialized Translation, including website localization; Chapter 4 describes the resources and tools used to perform the translations; Chapter 5 proposes an analysis of the source texts; Chapter 6 is a commentary on translation strategies and choices

    Computer Vision-Based Hand Tracking and 3D Reconstruction as a Human-Computer Input Modality with Clinical Application

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    The recent pandemic has impeded patients with hand injuries from connecting in person with their therapists. To address this challenge and improve hand telerehabilitation, we propose two computer vision-based technologies, photogrammetry and augmented reality as alternative and affordable solutions for visualization and remote monitoring of hand trauma without costly equipment. In this thesis, we extend the application of 3D rendering and virtual reality-based user interface to hand therapy. We compare the performance of four popular photogrammetry software in reconstructing a 3D model of a synthetic human hand from videos captured through a smartphone. The visual quality, reconstruction time and geometric accuracy of output model meshes are compared. Reality Capture produces the best result, with output mesh having the least error of 1mm and a total reconstruction time of 15 minutes. We developed an augmented reality app using MediaPipe algorithms that extract hand key points, finger joint coordinates and angles in real-time from hand images or live stream media. We conducted a study to investigate its input variability and validity as a reliable tool for remote assessment of finger range of motion. The intraclass correlation coefficient between DIGITS and in-person measurement obtained is 0.767- 0.81 for finger extension and 0.958ā€“0.857 for finger flexion. Finally, we develop and surveyed the usability of a mobile application that collects patient data medical history, self-reported pain levels and hand 3D models and transfer them to therapists. These technologies can improve hand telerehabilitation, aid clinicians in monitoring hand conditions remotely and make decisions on appropriate therapy, medication, and hand orthoses
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