From cultural intermediaries to social media influencers: algorithms and taste in social media platforms

Social media and digital environments have shaped the consumer consumption habits and the world of marketing for good. This literature review studies how has the phenomena of social media influencers emerged from the origins of cultural intermediaries in the context of fashion. We aim to understand how are these two phenomenon connected and what are the major similarities and differences between the two based on the current academic literature. Additionally, we aim to form an understanding how do the social media influencers relate to algorithms and what new understanding can we gain by studying this type of relationship in terms of taste exercising activities. The review is carried out concentrating on peer-reviewed academic articles that focus on cultural intermediaries in the context of fashion, social media influencers in the context of fashion and their relationship with algorithms. As social media is evolving rapidly, the review will concentrate on as recent academic articles as possible. The findings of this literature review showed that even though the gap between cultural intermediaries and social media influencers in the field of fashion is narrowing, there are still some distinguishing differences between the two. Being considered a cultural intermediary requires certain level of cultural capital to be able to act as taste attributor in the field and mediating events such as fashion shows. Social media influencers have the opportunity, created by the online environment and social media platforms, to act as taste leaders if they manage to gain large audiences and be perceived as having good taste by them even without any prior cultural capital. The review also showed that the algorithms do have an affect on the behavior of social media influencers. To be able to gain the desired level of visibility for their content, the social media influencers need to understand and obey the algorithmic rules of the social media platforms. Algorithms can be seen as gatekeepers of the taste making activities as they filter what content reaches the consumers on social media platforms

Cash Distribution to Shareholders by Dividends and Share Repurchases – Determining factors in decision-making and valuation effects

Cash distribution is an important part of delivering value to shareholders, and dividend pay-ments and share repurchases are common methods of cash distribution. This thesis will provide insights into payout policy decision-making, focusing on dividends and share repurchases. Objective of this thesis is to find out the determining factors of decision-making process and the valuation effects of these cash distribution methods, in order to help companies make optimal decisions. Methodology of this thesis is a literature review. Reviewed literature consists of peer reviewed research articles from the fields of accounting and finance. From the large mass of sources, this thesis attempts to find and critically evaluate the most relevant and accurate information regarding dividends and share repurchases, in order to provide an insightful overview of research findings. Based on the literature reviewed in this thesis, dividend payments and share repurchases serve slightly different purposes in companies’ payout policies. Therefore, determining factors in decision-making also differ. Dividend payments represent long-term payout policy, so long-term cash flows need to be considered in decision-making. Attracting institutional investors has also been considered to be a significant factor in dividend decisions. Share repurchases are considered to be a short-term payout method and can be used to distribute temporary cash flows to shareholders. Share repurchases offer more flexibility and taxation advantages compared to dividends. The differences between dividends and share repurchases allow them to also be used simultaneously, if needed. To find out the valuation effects of dividends and share repurchases, this thesis reviews studies about market reactions to changes in dividends and initiations of share repurchase programs. Market tends to react positively to share repurchases, which has been explained by indirect information about undervaluation of shares that share repurchases signal to the market. Dividend raises/initiations are followed by positive reactions by the market as well but usually the reaction is weaker. Dividend cuts/omissions, on the other hand, are followed by significant negative reactions by the market. Reactions to dividend changes are explained by the stickiness of dividends. Dividend changes usually confirm long-term changes in companies’ operating performance and therefore causes adjustments in expectations

Palvelutalon ilmanvaihdon mallintaminen

Työn aiheena on palvelutalon ilmanvaihdon mallintaminen MagiCAD-suunnitteluohjelmalla. Tavoitteena on selvittää ohjelmiston avulla, miksi kohteena olevassa palvelutalossa ei saada ilmanvaihdon päätelaitteista säädettyä suunnitelmien mukaisia ilmavirtoja. Toisena tavoitteena on etsiä ratkaisuja korjata ilmanvaihto asianmukaiseksi. Työn pääasiallisena menetelmänä on mallintaa aiemmin suunniteltu ilmanvaihto ohjelmistolla ja tarkastella ilmanvaihtojärjestelmää ohjelmiston työkaluja hyväksi käyttäen. Kanavistot mallinnetaan mahdollisimman tarkasti paperisten suunnitelmien mukaisesti. Mallinnuksen jälkeen ohjelmalla lasketaan kanaviston aiheuttamat painehäviöt, virtausnopeudet ja äänitasot. Työn tuloksista voidaan päätellä, että kanavisto on suunniteltu asianmukaisesti mutta kohteen IV-koneet ovat alimitoitetut. Mallinnuksen perusteella voidaan kuitenkin todeta, että olemassa olevassa kanavistossa on ongelmia, joita pitäisi tutkia tarkemmin. Kanavistojen painehäviö on todellisuudessa reilusti suurempi kuin pitäisi, mistä voidaan päätellä että kanavistossa on vuotoja, epäpuhtauksia tai suunnitelmista poikkeavia asennuksia, jotka aiheuttavat suunniteltua suurempia painehäviöitä. Näin ollen kanavistoasennukset on syytä tarkastaa kunnolla. Kohteeseen kannattaa myös vaihtaa nykyistä tehokkaammat IV-koneet, joilla voidaan saavuttaa suunnitelmien mukaiset ilmavirrat

Innovaation leviämisen esteet ja niiden purkaminen:kiinteistön kaksoiskäytön malli ja case Valo Hotel & Work

Tiivistelmä. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena on lisätä ymmärrystä kiinteistön kaksoiskäytön mallista, innovaation leviämisestä ja omaksumisesta sekä siihen liittyvistä esteistä ja mahdollistajista. Tarkoituksena on myös lisätä ymmärrystä innovaation leviämisen esteiden purkamisesta. Kyseessä on tapaustutkimus, joka toteutettiin kvalitatiivisella tutkimuksella. Aineisto kerättiin puolistrukturoidulla teemahaastattelulla tutkimustapauksen organisaation toimihenkilöiltä sekä asiakkailta, ja se analysoitiin teemoittelua hyödyntämällä. Tutkimuksessa saatujen tulosten perusteella innovaation leviämisen esteet jaettiin johtuviksi innovoivasta organisaatiosta ja innovaation omaksujista. Organisaation sisäisistä tekijöistä johtuvien esteiden syiksi nähtiin epäselvästä organisaatiorakenteesta syntyvät haasteet tiedonkulussa ja luottamuksen puute, jotka haittaavat omalta osaltaan innovaation leviämistä. Keinoiksi purkaa estettä nähtiin selkeämmän rakenteen luominen ja sisäisen kommunikaation kehittäminen siten, että johdon visio innovaatiosta jaetaan organisaation jokaisella tasolla. Merkittävimmäksi innovaation omaksujista johtuvaksi leviämisen esteeksi tunnistettiin vakiintuneet käytännöt omaksujalle epävarmuutta aiheuttavana tekijänä. Innovaation omaksuminen vaatii omaksujalta muutosta aiemmin totuttuihin toimintamalleihin, jolloin se aiheuttaa epävarmuutta muun muassa uuteen ympäristöön sopeutumisesta. Ratkaisuksi nähtiin informatiivisen kommunikaatiostrategian luominen, millä tarkoitetaan tapaa, jolla innovaatiosta viestitään sisäisesti ja ulkoisesti. Kommunikaatiostrategian tulisi ulottua jokaiselle tasolle sosiaalisen median läsnäolosta myyntiin. Epäonnistuminen strategian luomisessa tai sen puute voi puolestaan haitata innovaation leviämistä luomalla väärää kuvaa innovaatiosta ja korostamalla omaksujien epävarmuutta innovaatiota kohtaan. Verkostot nähtiin tutkimuksessa merkittävänä innovaation leviämisen mahdollistajana, mikäli sen hyödyntämiseen keskitetään resursseja ja suhtaudutaan systemaattisesti. Tutkimuksen tuloksiin tulee suhtautua kriittisesti ja on varottava tekemästä yleistyksiä muihin tutkimuksiin tai konteksteihin. Tutkimuksen tulokset ja johtopäätökset kohdistuvat yhteen tapaukseen ja sen olosuhteisiin, jolloin ne eivät ole välttämättä osuvia muissa yhteyksissä

Facile Synthesis of Three-Dimensional ZnO Nanostructure: Realization of a Multifunctional Stable Superhydrophobic Surface

BACKGROUND: After comprehensive study of various superhydrophobic phenomena in nature, it is no longer a puzzle for researchers to realize such fetching surfaces. However, the different types of artificial surfaces may get wetted and lose its water repellence if there exist defects or the liquid is under pressure. With respect to the industry applications, in which the resistance of wetting transition is critical important, new nanostructure satisfied a certain geometric criterion should be designed to hold a stable gas film at the base area to avoid the wet transition. METHODOLOGY: A thermal deposition method was utilized to produce a thin ZnO seeds membrane on the aluminum foil. And then a chemical self-assemble technology was developed in present work to fabricate three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical dune-like ZnO architecture based on the prepared seeds membrane. RESULTS: Hierarchical ZnO with micro scale dune-like structure and core-sharing nanosheets was generated. The characterization results showed that there exist plenty of gaps and interfaces among the micro-dune and nanosheets, and thus the surface area was enlarged by such a unique morphology. Benefited from this unique 3D ZnO hierarchical nanostructure, the obtained surface exhibited stable water repellency after modification with Teflon, and furthermore, based on solid theory analysis, such 3D ZnO nanostructure would exhibit excellent sensing performance

Liquid marble interaction gate for collision-based computing

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd Liquid marbles are microliter droplets of liquid, encapsulated by self-organized hydrophobic particles at the liquid/air interface. They offer an efficient approach for manipulating liquid droplets and compartmentalizing reactions in droplets. Digital fluidic devices employing liquid marbles might benefit from having embedded computing circuits without electronics and moving mechanical parts (apart from the marbles). We present an experimental implementation of a collision gate with liquid marbles. Mechanics of the gate follows principles of Margolus’ soft-sphere collision gate. Boolean values of the inputs are given by the absence (FALSE) or presence (TRUE) of a liquid marble. There are three outputs: two outputs are trajectories of undisturbed marbles (they only report TRUE when just one marble is present at one of the inputs), one output is represented by trajectories of colliding marbles (when two marbles collide they lose their horizontal momentum and fall), this output reports TRUE only when two marbles are present at inputs. Thus the gate implements AND and AND-NOT logical functions. We speculate that by merging trajectories representing AND-NOT output into a single channel one can produce a one-bit half-adder. Potential design of a one-bit full-adder is discussed, and the synthesis of both a pure nickel metal and a hybrid nickel/polymer liquid marble is reported

Mapping outcomes of liquid marble collisions

© 2019 The Royal Society of Chemistry. Liquid marbles (LMs) have many promising roles in the ongoing development of microfluidics, microreactors, bioreactors, and unconventional computing. In many of these applications, the coalescence of two LMs is either required or actively discouraged, therefore it is important to study liquid marble collisions and establish parameters which enable the desired collision outcome. Recent reports on LM coalescence have focused on either two mobile LMs colliding, or an accelerating LM hitting a sessile LM with a backstop. A further possible scenario is the impact of a mobile LM against a non-supported static LM. This paper investigates such a collision, using high-speed videography for single-frame analysis. Multiple collisions were undertaken whilst varying the modified Weber number (We∗) and offset ratios (X∗). Parameter ranges of 1.0 0.25, and We∗ 1.55 resulted in 100% non-coalescence. Additionally, observations of LMs moving above a threshold velocity of 0.6 m s -1 have revealed a new and unusual deformation. Comparisons of the outcome of collisions whilst varying both the LM volume and the powder grain size have also been made, revealing a strong link. The results of this work provide a deeper understanding of LM coalescence, allowing improved control when designing future collision experiments

Health care for irregular migrants: pragmatism across Europe. A qualitative study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Health services in Europe face the challenge of delivering care to a heterogeneous group of irregular migrants (IM). There is little empirical evidence on how health professionals cope with this challenge. This study explores the experiences of health professionals providing care to IM in three types of health care service across 16 European countries.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Semi-structured interviews were conducted with health professionals in 144 primary care services, 48 mental health services, and 48 Accident & Emergency departments (total n = 240). Although legal health care entitlement for IM varies across countries, health professionals reported facing similar issues when caring for IM. These issues include access problems, limited communication, and associated legal complications. Differences in the experiences with IM across the three types of services were also explored. Respondents from Accident & Emergency departments reported less of a difference between the care for IM patients and patients in a regular situation than did respondents from primary care and mental health services. Primary care services and mental health services were more concerned with language barriers than Accident & Emergency departments. Notifying the authorities was an uncommon practice, even in countries where health professionals are required to do this.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The needs of IM patients and the values of the staff appear to be as important as the national legal framework, with staff in different European countries adopting a similar pragmatic approach to delivering health care to IM. While legislation might help to improve health care for IM, more appropriate organisation and local flexibility are equally important, especially for improving access and care pathways.</p