Haida Totem Poles: Reflections of a Society

The Haida were a First Nations group located on the Northwest Coast of Canada. They were exceptional wood carvers that produced various types of works, the most monumental of which were their totem poles. This dissertation analyses 26 of these open architectural structures, each of which belonged to one of the following five types: frontal, mortuary, memorial, house post, or corner post. Of the representations found on poles, 28 different figures were identified. However, individual poles were found to contain between one and fourteen different figures with frontal poles generally featuring the most. The predominant figures on the inventoried poles proved to be birds, humans, and bears. An iconographic structure of a tripartite character was detected that reflects the religious ideology of the Haida population with birds being featured at the top of the poles, humans in the middle, and bears at the lowest point. It also suggests the possible transition from a hunter-gatherer economy to a food producing economy.***********************************************************************************Os Haida foram um grupo das Primeiras Nações que habitaram a costa Noroeste do Canadá. Eram excepcionais escultores de madeira, tendo produzido variados tipos de artefactos, dos quais os totem poles eram os mais monumentais. Na presente dissertação são analisadas 26 dessas estruturas arquitectónicas de exterior, sendo que cada uma delas pertenceria a um dos seguintes cinco tipos: frontal, funerário, memorial, travemestra, ou postes de esquina. Das representações encontradas nos postes, foram individualizadas 28 figuras. No entanto, em postes isolados foi possível identificar entre uma e catorze figuras distintas, sendo os postes frontais os que apresentavam, geralmente, o maior número. A análise destes postes permitiu detectar uma estrutura iconográfica tripartida que reflectia a ideologia religiosa das populações Haida, representando-se as aves no topo, os humanos a meio, e os ursos na base dos postes. Por outro lado, foi possível sugerir, para estas populações, a transição de uma economia baseada na caça-recolecção para uma economia de produção alimentar.

The importance of relationship closeness expectations in brand-page communication in social networking sites

While there is extensive research regarding the way users in social networking sites (SNSs) connect and communicate with each other, literature on consumer-brand relationships in SNSs is scarce. This paper hypothesizes and tests the impact of varying the source of communication in Facebook brand pages on key characteristics of brand equity, examining whether this impact is conditioned by relationship closeness expectations. More specifically, two experiments assess how relationship closeness expectations vary according to brand category and brand affiliation and how the use of a spokes-character as the source of communication in brand pages versus communicating institutionally affects consumer’s attitudes towards two real-world brands. To measure these variables, structured questionnaires were conducted with three groups of undergraduate students. The results suggest that the appropriateness of opting for a more “informal” source of communication in brand pages such as a spokes-character varies depending on whether this is in(congruent) with existing relationship closeness expectations. Implications for researchers, brand and social media managers are presented.

Assessing organizations collaboration readiness: a behavioral approach

Dissertation presented at the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the New University of Lisbon to obtain the degree of Doctor in Electrical Engineering, specialty of Robotics and Integrated Manufacturing

The global shopper & brands communication at airports

This project aims to illuminate two perspectives on travel retail. On the one hand, it describes the main character of the shopping scenario at airports, namely the Global Shopper. It covers the entire profile of the referred character, the main nationalities that represent him and the current shopping trends of the passenger. Also estimates of the booming nationalities and the future purchasing trends are accurately presented. On the other hand, the travel retail market is analyzed from the airport brands’ perspective. It is described what is currently done in terms of brands communication in the top ten airports around the world and the expected future market retail trends. To accurately explore the Global Shopper behavior and purchasing preferences, a market research was conducted with a sample of 128 respondents, male and female, from different nationalities, age groups, occupation and education backgrounds. The essay tests hypothesis regarding the relevance of several variables in the purchasing process of the Global Shopper in order to understand the most pleasant way to approach consumers in travel retail. The main variables studied concern the reasons to shop at airports, to whom the passenger shops, the preferred category and brand of purchase, feelings while shopping abroad, impulsive buying behavior, brand loyalty, the use of mobile devices in the shopping process, brands communication at airports, pre-ordering online and the attitude towards self-service stores. Some findings were in accordance with expectations, while others were a surprise and may produce valuable recommendations for future travel retail practices. 4 The main relevant results concern two areas, namely pre-ordering online and self-service stores. Results showed a certain stress about not having enough time to choose between the various offerings in travel retail, as well as difficulty in dealing with crowed stores. However, pre-ordering online was not common, which would be an initiative that could solve the discomfort at airport’s stores. Moreover, self-service would promote efficiency in stores allowing passengers to save time if they already know how to go through the shopping process by themselves. Another possible recommendation concerns differentiating the strategy in travel retail for the two genders. Some differences were found in the categories bought by male and female, as well as to how brands should shape their approach concerning the demands of each gender.