Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2025-05-08"
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- Code-Dependency : Tiktok's AI & suggested content feed. Users circumstances to go outside of their filter bubblesPublication . Tiraborelli, Alice; Tavares, Patrícia Isabel Ramos Pego NunesThis dissertation's main objective is to understand users' perceived usage of TikTok's algorithm, particularly focusing on their reasons for exploring content beyond the platform's suggested feed. This exploratory study aims to look into user search behavior concerning algorithmic recommendations. To gain a comprehensive understanding, the theoretical framework addresses three key areas: the concept of "Platform Society," the role of artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithms in social media, and the phenomenon of "Algorithmic Sovereignty." With this theoretical approach, this research addresses user interactions on TikTok by examining how users navigate and engage with the platform's algorithmically curated content, versus actively searching for content independently. Through a detailed examination of TikTok's algorithm, user behavior, and engagement strategies, the study provides insights into the interplay between user agency and algorithmic control. Findings indicate that TikTok's algorithm significantly influences user behavior by personalizing content feeds based on user interactions, preferences, and engagement patterns. The study reveals that while many users rely heavily on algorithmically suggested content, some actively seek diverse content, demonstrating varying degrees of algorithmic awareness. The algorithm's influence is most evident in shaping user engagement and interaction patterns, guiding content discovery, and reinforcing specific content preferences. Moreover, the study identifies a complex relationship between user agency and algorithmic influence, highlighting the need for greater transparency and user awareness in navigating algorithmically mediated environments. The implications of these findings extend to understanding digital behavior on social media platforms, emphasizing the importance of balancing algorithmic personalization with user autonomy. Ultimately, this dissertation contributes to the broader discourse on the societal impact of AI and algorithms, advocating for strategies that enhance user empowerment in the digital age.
- Examining factors influencing sales of dedicated car mats using car population and machine learning modelsPublication . Frontczak, Cyprian Miroslaw; Bertani, NicolòThe goal of this thesis is to examine the relationship between designated car mats sales and car features as primary product. It is based on data from Polish car mat manufacturer with leading position in European market. Their process of selecting future car models for production of new car mats lacks data-driven insight to which this article hopes to lay foundation. Various regression and ensemble models were applied. Results indicate the car population and feature popularity the most influential factors in dedicated car mats sales with premium car mat brand being less favoured. The best model achieved an R2 of 0.596, suggesting that further data expansion and advanced techniques are needed for more accurate predictions. Insights from this study can guide strategic product development and marketing decisions for car mat manufacturers. Future research should incorporate broader datasets and additional variables to capture more comprehensive trends.
- The task of an archaeo-genealogy of theological knowledge: between self-referentiality and public theologyPublication . Boas, Alex Villas; Candiotto, CésarThis article addresses the epistemic and political problem of self-referentiality in theology within the context of post-secular societies, as a demand for public relevance of faculties of theology within the 21st-century university. It focuses on the epistemological emergence of public theology as a distinct knowledge such as human rights, and ecological thinking, contributing to the public mission of knowledge production and interdisciplinary engagement. The study applies Michel Foucault’s archaeological and genealogical methods in dialogue with Michel de Certeau’s insights into the archaeology of religious practices through a multi-layered analytical approach including archaeology of knowledge, dispositifs of power, pastoral government, and spirituality as a genealogy of ethics. As a result of the analysis, it examines the historical conditions of possibility for the emergence of a public theology, and how it needs to be thought synchronously with other formations of knowledge, allowing theology to move beyond its self-referential model of approaching dogma and the social practices derived from it. The article concludes programmatically that the development of public theology requires an epistemological reconfiguration to displace its self-referentiality through critical engagement with a public rationality framework, as an essential task for the public relevance and contribution of theology within contemporary universities and plural societies.
- How spirituality appears in migrant parents’ discourses regarding their experiences with accessing pediatric healthcare?Publication . Romeiro, Joana; Caldeira, Sílvia
- Synthetic data, real impact : a framework for augmenting tabular datasets with synthetic data in machine learningPublication . Bitzer, Jann Noah; Fernandes, Pedro AfonsoAccess to high-quality data is an ever-occurring challenge in machine learning due to scarcity, cost, privacy constraints, and biases. While synthetic data has gained traction in large-scale AI applications to overcome these challenges, its practical implementation for small to mid-size businesses remains underexplored. This study bridges this gap by developing a structured and universal framework to integrate synthetic data augmentation into various machine learning processes. The approach systematically assesses augmentation ratios, selective filtering strategies, and their impact on predictive performance. This research provides a scalable and actionable framework for businesses to use synthetic data, offering practical guidance on augmentation strategies and performance evaluation. By addressing technical and ethical considerations, this study advances the adoption of synthetic data as a transformative tool for data-driven decision-making in business environments.
- The representation of homosexual cowboys in hollywood westerns, 1946-1972Publication . Ni, Bing; Burnay, Catarina do Amaral Dias Duff; Baptista, Tiago Ribeiro RamosThe presence of homosexual cowboy is inextricably linked to the narrative of the American West set on the frontier. This connection has been consistently corroborated: in historical accounts, frequent and abundant homosexual male behavior, relationships, and even family patterns became an integral part of the Western movement; in literature, homosexual stories and complexes with cowboys as protagonists exist either as main narratives or as hidden plots; in life, a large number of homosexual cowboys have dominated the once heterosexual male-dominated rodeo scene. However, in the world of Westerns, homosexual men and cowboys seem to be forced to exist in the zone between the closet and the world. "Brokeback Mountain" (2005), "The Power of the Dog" (2021), and even Pedro Almodóvar's short film "Strange Way of Life" (2023) all present the theme of homosexual cowboys on the big screen through different genres. Most of these films have been met with great controversy. The controversy, destined to become a topic, centered on whether homosexual cowboys were allowed to exist in the frontier narrative. Therefore, we need to ask: What if homosexual cowboys in Western films were not "invented" in the 21st century? What if they were hidden in the closet of film due to censorship and other factors? This study will focus on the depiction of homosexual content in Westerns from the 1950s to the 1970s and argue that homosexual cowboys exist in these movies and their portrayal is not merely a two-dimensional reference but a fully developed representation. This study will use quantitative methods to conduct a content analysis of selected films. It aims to explore the representation of the homosexual cowboy figure in both traditional Westerns and post-Westerns by examining recurring themes such as masculinity, violence, eroticism, and intimacy across different time periods, thereby establishing the significance of their presence in Western films.
- A dialogue on shock and culture: the queer case of BeirutPublication . Khairallah, Jad; Barba, Maria Luísa Homem Leal de Faria GeraldesThe aim of this dissertation is to locate the concept of shock within a political economy formation that responds to the queer situation of the city of Beirut. Moving away from shock as trauma, I redefine the notion as an investigative tool and lens, transcending a reactionary feeling. Shock, in this context, is understood as a phenomenological and embodied experience that is temporal, affective and relational, one that communicates within a triangulation of triggers, players and culture. Instead of pursuing reasons and causes, the thesis explores shock operations, focusing on how it exists, it maneuvers, and is applied. The dialogue between shock and culture establishes a methodological foundation within Lebanon, specifically emphasizing queerness in Beirut. In a setting where regional disconnects, colonial histories and pseudo religious socio-political powers intersect normativity with continuous instabilities, the research investigates the shock’s affective valence and queer future within its cityscape. I contextualize shock by means of analytical engagements that are informed by culture studies as an essential component for understanding the site and development of a culture that assimilates with shock as it moves along through societies, community dynamics and power structures. I underscore queer theoretical approaches that hone in on the relational figure of ‘the shocking other,’ to reveal the intricate negotiation of implied normativity, difference, and otherness within broader social, economic and political systems. I explore the shock’s navigation in both the digital and material landscapes of Beirut by means of LGBT subjectivities. Through field visits to the city, auto-ethnography, and an analysis of the October 17th protest ground in 2019, I account for embodied shock experiences that document shock traces. Additionally, I integrate conceptual, practical, and lived applications that encourage a reflexive approach, especially when recalling the August 4th Beirut port explosion in 2020. By dwelling on the shock’s destructive path, both literally and metaphorically, the thesis identifies shock as a political tool, particularly advantageous for the queer body. It highlights the economy of shock within discussions of temporalities, emphasizing affective exchanges with established cultural concepts. Furthermore, it serves as a hopeful opening carrying potentiality in its aftermath. This dynamic interplay between shock and culture offers a fresh investigative lens into the evolving human outlook amid unexpected escalations and an abundance of shocks from within the contemporary experience.