Title The media image of homelessness in Gothenburg’s daily press Author Ingrid Karlsson Semester Spring 2010 Tutor Monika Djerf-Pierre Number of pages 73 (14 appendix) Aim The aim is to study the media image of homelessness in Gothenburg’s daily press. Method Qualitative and quantitative method. Material Six interviews with people working for the municipal social administration, three interviews with people working at nongovernmental organizations that work with homeless people, and three interviews with journalists that cover the homelessness issue. 267 articles from the daily press; Göteborgs-Posten and GT. Main result The media image of homelessness is characterized by articles that contain a political discussion. The newspapers tend to attribute causal and treatment responsibility to the society. The study reveals however some deficiencies concerning how to explain the causes of homelessness and also the way of describing the homeless individuals. The journalists take in consideration the problems concerning ethics and the use of sources, and are aware that homelessness is a more interesting topic when something has happened. The organization representatives accept the journalistic assignment but think that the coverage could highlight more concrete descriptions of their work.

This is a master study that are achieved by a quantitative content analysis of two Swedish newspapers, Aftonbladet (tabloid), Jönköping-Posten (broadsheet). In order to examine how or if the editorial content is influenced by tabloidization tendencies over time. (from 1950 to 1990). After researching former studies on the subject, this master’s study uses tabloid theory that included Range, Form and Style, a concept from the authors Shelly McLachlan and Peter Golding. The conclusion of the master’s study are that tabloidization tendencies exist and expand in the editorial content of the two newspapers between 1950 and 1990, before the major industry crisis occurred which forced several newspapers to change formats from broadsheet to tabloid. The study shows that the tabloid tendencies are higher in Aftonbladet (tabloid) then Jönköpings-Posten (broadsheet). However over time you can see how the tabloid tendencies spread in both of the newspapers.

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ABSTRACT Titel: #FromSicknessToFitness – En studie i unga svenska kvinnors kamp för en sundare livsstil med Instagram som plattform Författare: Jolanda Toivola Kurs: Examensarbete i medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap (30 hp) Institutionen för journalistik, medier och kommunikation Göteborgs universitet Kurskod: MK2502 Termin: Vårtermin 2015 Handledare: Malin Sveningsson Antal ord: 35 372 ord, exklusive titelblad, abstract, executive summary, innehållsförteckning, referenser, appendix och bilagor. 40 499 totalt. Antal sidor: 98 sidor, exklusive referenser, appendix och bilagor. 108 sidor i sin helhet. Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka om och hur Instagram används som verktyg i arbetet att skapa en sundare livsstil. Detta avser specifikt unga svenska kvinnor i åldrarna 18-25 år som haft eller har en ätstörning av något slag. Metod: En kombination av kvantitativ innehållsanalys och intervjuer. Material: 322 Instagram-inlägg publicerade under hashtaggen #FromSicknessToFitness i mars 2015 och 3 intervjuer med unga kvinnor som nyttjat hashtaggen ifråga. Huvudresultat: Denna studie visar att unga svenska kvinnor, som haft eller har en ätstörning, idag nyttjar Instagram i sitt arbete att bekämpa sin ätstörning. Det primära verktyget och dess mest uppskattade egenskap utgör potentialen att här hitta andra som befinner sig i samma sits och delar ens erfarenheter, att knyta vänskaper och även, om en så önskar, ta dessa vänskaper utanför Instagrams virtuella ramar. Det är ett stöd som är unikt med avseende på att personerna som samlas under en hashtag som #FromSicknessToFitness alla har något gemensamt: ätstörningen. Dock identifierar denna studie även Instagram som ett i allra högsta grad tveeggat verktyg, vilket kräver en medvetenhet och en aktiv selektiv exponering för att nyttja Instagram i ett konstruktivt syfte och undgå de potentiella kontraproduktiva effekter som plattformen också kan ha. Studien är en av de första i sitt slag i att visa hur virtuella stödgrupper idag hittat sin väg till Instagram. Keywords: sociala medier, unga kvinnor, hälsohets, ätstörningar, fitness, selektiv exponering, kroppsideal, identitet, gemenskap, Instagram, stödgrupper EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This master’s thesis combines three current issues: the health trend sweeping over the Western world, Instagram and eating disorders. More exactly, the aim of this study is to examine whether, and if so, how Swedish young women at the age of 18 to 25 years, who have or have had an eating disorder, use Instagram as a platform in their strive for a healthier lifestyle – a life without the eating disorder. The research questions I pose in this study and aim to answer are the following: RQ 1: Which type of material is published under the hashtag FromSicknessToFitness? RQ 2: Can Instagram be used as a tool in the work to combat an eating disorder, and if so, how? RQ 3: How do young women experience the platform’s potential to create communities with others who share their experiences? As Instagram is a relatively new platform within the world of social media, no previous research has been done on this topic in particular. Hence I start with placing this phenomenon in a context: firstly the relationship between body, identity and society is explored, followed by a review of the dominant body ideals we have witnessed since the 1950s and thus placing the ideal body of a woman in 2015 on a historical axis. Moreover I look at the research on online support groups and how these have been discussed within academia – specifically regarding support groups with eating disorders in focus – and relating this to the platform at hand: Instagram. The background chapter is then concluded by a general overview of Instagram as a new social media platform, including Richard M. Perloff’s “Distinctive Attributes of Social Media”. The theoretical framework utilised in this study consists of two different strands: selective exposure and social constructivism. The idea here is to partly use a theory relating to Instagram as media platform and how these young women work with material that is being published on Instagram.The second theory in its turn focuses on the other vital aspect in this thesis: women and the relationship to their bodies. Drawing upon the work of Liz Frost and her socialist feminism perspective, I argue that, what Frost describes as the capitalist manufacture of bodily discontent, can also be seen in the material analysed on #FromSicknessToFitness. More importantly certain kinds of products that are very visible within this group of people I claim have become their badges of affiliation; signalling belonging to this group and being a part of the girls’ identity construction. In order to answer my research questions I used a combination of methods consisting of both quantitative content analysis and interviews. The common denominator for these different methodological approaches was the hashtag #FromSicknessToFitness. Using a coding scheme by Leah Boepple and Joel Kevin Thompson, including variables such as self-pictures, exercise images and food content, 322 Instagram posts published between the 22. -29 of march 2015 were coded in order to get a general overview of the material published under this hashtag and hence have the answer to RQ 1; the type of material published under the hashtag. The results showed that food content was predominant in its frequency (accounting for nearly 60% of the material). This led to a further development of the coding scheme presented by Boepple and Thompson in order to get a closer look at what exactly these food pictures contained. As I studied the material closer I realised that the revolutionary and intriguing part was not the explicit material found in the pictures, but rather the interaction that was taking place on Instagram in the form of comments to the published photos. This became the greatest insight and was further explored during the interviews. In other words, what constitutes the strength of Instagram – its principal virtue and its most valuable feature as a tool in combating eating disorders, is according to my informants its social potential, its properties as a social platform. To find like-minded people and to support each other on this journey, to make friends and even in some cases take these relationships into real life – this is the most appreciated and constructive part of Instagram. Using active selective exposure these girls surround themselves with strengthening material with the ambition to spread positive energy themselves and reach out to others who find themselves in the same situation and show that life is so much more than the illness they all have in common. At the same time my informants did acknowledge the dangers of Instagram and how it can be described as a double-edged tool. Firstly, it can have a counterproductive effect in its focus on the visual, showing beautiful bodies and illustrating extremely healthy lifestyles – images which can trigger a behaviour that goes beyond a healthy lifestyle and moving on to orthorexia or other eating disorders. Moreover the advantage of Instagram as a platform for interaction can without doubt be used to instigate a behaviour similar to that known from proana-websites and communities. However, my informants were not involved in this kind of activities, instead quite on the contrary: they were extremely keen to spread a positive invigorating energy and publish constructive posts. This study is the first one looking into how support groups today have found their way to Instagram, connecting people beyond geographical boundaries, similar to the earlier trends consisting of online support groups and blogs. This is the online platform of 2015. Hence I call for more attention given to these communities and Instagram – both with regard to its potential and dangers.

Title: The democratic ideals among the Palestinian journalists Number of pages: 72+4 (appendix) Author: Mats Tiborn Tutor: Jenny Wiik Course: Master essay, Media and Communication Period: Spring 2011 University: Dept. of Journalism, Media and Communication, University of Gothenburg Purpose/ Aim: This essay studies the democracy-supportive journalistic ideals among the Palestinian journalists and compare them with earlier studies on journalistic ideals. The essay also studies what shapes these ideals and what holds them back in the journalist’s work. Material/ Method: The essay is based upon semi-structured deep-interviews with twelve Palestinian journalists that work for different kinds of media, with different background and in different ages. The interviews are based on theories about journalistic ideals and the relationship between democracy and journalism. Main results: The journalists have great knowledge about the democratic functions within journalism. They are driven by idealism and they work for change in the society. The Palestinian cause weighs the most when the ideal of objectivity is put to the test. A well spread self-censorship is inhibiting the democracy-supportive journalistic ideals from fully work. Though the journalists show an impressive strength to keep up the work in a very dangerous situation.

Title: Communicating in unfamiliar territories – A qualitative study of developing a sustainable online communication strategy for UD Trucks in Asia Author: Andreas Rosén 840301-5558 Semester: Spring 2011 Tutor: Annika Bergström Number of pages: 77 (six appendixes) Purpose: The purpose of this study is to create a sustainable online communication strategy Methodology: The methodology used in this thesis is qualitative and quantitative. Key words: Integrated market communication (IMC), B2B communication in Asia, social network sites (SNS) Key findings: In this thesis I have presented a suggestion how a Japanese truck brand should work online. My research indicates that there are some areas that need more attention than others. One of my key findings indicates that UD Trucks has working accordingly to a crisis communication theory from 1963. In order to change this I have suggested numerous steps that I believe are necessary to take and as a result, integrated market communication (IMC), should be utilized and acknowledged for all online marketing activities.

This thesis examines the articulation of marketized philanthropy within the discourse of nonprofit fundraising. The objective is to find out how fundraising works as a discursive practice – how is the world constructed, who and whom are participants in this world, and why should the presumed donor get involved? It does so from a critical approach, connecting the business of fundraising to theories of subpolitics, individualization, consumer power, and the argument that market logics serves a depoliticizing function within this context. The research is done by analyzing the fundraising communication of six major nonprofit organizations in Sweden, working both with national as well as international efforts, through their respective official website. This is done through a discourse analytic approach, initially concentrating on the texts of the websites as communicative events and analyzing them from a predestined set of analytical questions. The analysis is then developed further, on the level of the order of discourse, in four separate but intertwining themes derived from the initial result. The research shows that market logics and language is prominent in the organizational communication, both as discourse of efficiency and individual responsibility, as well as as technique for fundraising. Fundraising efforts and messages are mainly configured around international aid and recipients, as opposed to the national social services that some of the organizations provide. In this context, lack of resources is defined as the root of the problem, but this lack is often referred to in a circle-reasoning fashion where one lack is both the cause and the result of another. The act of giving, or donating, is predominantly constructed as a form of transaction, where the donor buys a commodified version of the idea or efforts of the organization. In this way, the donation becomes a form of political consumerism that situates the donor in a role as a consumer rather than citizen. Freedom of choice and simplicity are traits that are highlighted and promoted in this context. The thesis argues that this development, even though it entails positive re-thinking about agency and power of ‘those in need’, contains problematic aspects when it comes to the way political power relations are constructed. Where individualization serves as a detaching force between participants, and political participation is constructed in such a way that it takes the form of shopping for change, it is hard to find room for perspectives and voices that question the structural problems of capitalist society.

Title You play, we’ll watch – a study about e-sport consumption and community Author Simon Karlsson Semester Spring 2012 Tutor Malin Sveningsson Number of pages 67 (1 appendix) Aim The study aims to explore the motivations and needs behind e-sport consumption and the possible identity construction it entails. Method Qualitative methods: interviews and participant observations. Material Ten interviews with individuals from the barcraft community in Gothenburg, Sweden. Ethnography studies from four locations in total for the e-sport tournament GBG E-sport Open: three from qualifiers and one from the finals. Main results E-sport consumption proved to fill a variety of needs. Affective: To be entertained and experience emotional satisfaction. Social integrative: to connect with friends and other viewers. This proved also to enhance the affective need. Cognitive: better understanding of the game, which then later can be used while playing to enhance ones rank within the ladder. Tension release: to relax from a stressful day. E-sport consumption is preferably done with friends. This consumption with others also leads to a sense of belonging and identity. Outsiders might have a negative opinion about e-sports which also binds the consumers closer together and forms a subculture.

Title (swedish): Läsarkommentarer: Tillgänglighet och nyttjande i lokal dagspress på nätet Title (english): User comments: Availability and Utilization in Online News Affiliated with Local Daily Press Author: Susanne Almgren Supervisor: Mats Ekström Constituent: Dagspresskollegiet (Annika Bergström/Ingela Wadbring) Course: Term Paper in Media and Communication Studies Term: Spring Term 2012 Pages/word count: 91 pages / 38 334 words Objective: To examine the users availability to the user comment feature and how the users utilizes the user comment feature in the context of an online news site affiliated with local daily press. Method: Mixed methods approach, content analysis and discourse analysis Main result: In this context, three out of four news stories (76.5 percent) has been allocated with the user comments feature. The highest availability to the user comment feature was found in news themes covering sports and entertainment, followed by financial news. News stories lacking the user comment feature were mainly found in news themes concerning crimes and accidents. The user comment frequencies are not normally distributed along news stories. On the contrary, 62 percent of the news stories did not get any user comments at all. The other news stories received user comments varying between one and 135. The user comments were highly oriented towards news stories covering the close proximity physical space, both its ordinary changing processes and issues of insecurity. Another news theme that received a high degree of user comments was connected to news stories covering politics in general. After that, the most commented news themes covered issues of health care and education. The news stories selected for the discourse analysis were chosen out of the most commented news stories. They shared the following characteristics: the voices heard in the news stories represented organizational or institutional voices, for example politicians, national union representatives, regional sport association spokesmen and the police. The users added an array of new discourses not represented by the news, by expanding the meaning of the news events in several ways.

Title: Non-conscious Attitudes – a study of young people’s attitudes towards product placement Author: Sissel Hedqvist Course: Term Paper in Media- and Communications Studies Term: Spring Term 2012 Supervisor: Marie Grusell Word count: 23 334 Objective: to find out young people in Sweden’s attitudes towards product placement in film and television series Method: Qualitative in-depth interviews Main result: The research shows that product placement is not a subject that is in the forefront of the respondents’ mind. They are aware of its existence but do not give it much thought, nor is it a subject that they discuss at length with anybody. However, they do see product placement as a necessary tool for the promotion of brands and products. They believe that it is a preferable method compared to traditional advertising, in particular television advertising in some instances. This is mainly the case for products or brands that the respondents have a personal relationship with. The brands that they have a relationship with are also the ones that are most frequently noticed by the respondents. Having said that, the product placement needs to be well integrated into the storyline in order for it to be seen as a positive way of promotion. It will have the opposite effect if the product placement is too noticeable.