• If and how are Instagram's top male makeup influencers shifting the b...
  Jalba, Rima  : Malmö universitet/Kultur och samhälle (2018)	Master thesis (one year)

  

  

  English abstract:

  The aim of this research is to explore if and how men performing makeup can shift the beauty norms and beauty representations for women. The shift is studied in the context of Instagram- a photo and video sharing social media platform, where individuals with large followings are called influencers, whereas their presence is qualified as influence. The study looks into how the influence of two of the top male makeup influencers is measured and manifested, and if and how their influence can generate a shift for female beauty norms. To understand if and how a shift can be produced, I focused on analyzing the metrics, the posted content and the interactions and opinions of the followers. This tri-dimensional approach focuses on the elements a shift around Instagram’s male makeup artists involves: influence, which in the context of Instagram is measurable (metrics); the representations the shared content embodies (i.e. images and text), and the feedback given by the followers on their interaction with the accounts. Understanding and studying how these merge together helps getting a sense of what impact the male makeup influencers are potentially having on female beauty norms through Instagram. The key findings uncovered that the two male influencers are a source of inspiration for women, whilst also teaching them how to perform makeup in terms of techniques, products and tools. The influencer- follower relationship is strong enough to make women follow their advice and even proceed to buying products suggested by the male makeup artists. More so, women no longer find it unusual for men to perform makeup, and see makeup related content suitable for both men and women. These findings highlight the role men play in changing beauty norms for women on social media while they perform female assigned beauty practices.

  Thesis- Rima Jalba (Passed).pdf   (1.623Mb)

• Debatt om brist på representa0on på Oscarsgalan 2016
  Israel, Wasaja; Wehelie, Mohamed  : Malmö universitet/Kultur och samhälle (2018)	Bachelor thesis

  

  

  English abstract:	The intention of this study is to find a way of understanding the discussion, that occured in conjunction with lack of diversity representation in the 88th Academy Awards nominations. With help of a dialogue text analysis, research overview and theories, we chose and analysed 19 Hollywood celebrities and well-known people´s opinions about the nominations. These opinions are considered as a dialogue/debate in this study. The results show that there is a dissatisfaction with the establishment and the Hollywood decision makers who hire people in their network, creating homogenization and similar stories and stories. The result shows the whole debate permeates a struggle for hegemonic structure because there is resistance to changing existing power structures.
  Swedish abstract:	Avsikten med denna studie är att hitta ett sätt att förstå diskussionen, som inträffade i samband med bristen på representation bland nomineringarna i den 88:e upplagan av Oscarsgalans. Med hjälp av en dialogisk textanalys, forskningsöversikt och teorier valde vi att analysera 19 Hollywoodkändisar och välkända personers åsikter om nomineringarna. Dessa åsikter anses vara en dialog / debatt i denna studie. Resultaten visar att det finns ett missnöje mot etablissemanget och mot beslutsfattarna inom Hollywood som anställer personer i sitt nätverk, vilket skapar en homogenisering och liknande historier och berättelser. Resultatet visar att hela debatten genomsyras av en kamp om hegemonisk struktur på grund av det finns ett motstånd mot att förändra de existerande maktstrukturerna.

  Examensarbete Israel Wasaja & Mohamed Wehelie.pdf   (585.0Kb)

• Memory struggles in Chile 45 years after the coup. A Critical Discour...
  Ávila Dosal, Raquel  : Malmö universitet/Kultur och samhälle (2019)	Master thesis (one year)

  

  

  English abstract:

  This Degree Project (DP) deals with the discourses about collective memory in Chile 45 years after a coup d’état that gave way to a dictatorship that lasted for 17 years, during which serious human rights violations were committed. How different actors relate to this traumatic period shows how this is a field of struggle in contemporary Chile. Collective memory has become a key theoretical concept for describing how social groups make sense of their common past. It is deeply entrenched with notions of identity, agency and change. Whereas collective memory is an abstract notion, it has to be somehow concretized in order to allow individuals to activate their own memories, opinions and reactions. Thus, media play a fundamental role in the construction of collective memory. Drawing on a constructivist approach, media are not fixed containers of memories but they actually work on how people perceive their past in relation to the present and the future. This (DP) focuses on the following questions: How do media contribute to the construction of the collective memory around the coup d’état and the military dictatorship in Chile? What are the discourses they diffuse and to what end? Which are the other counter-hegemonic discourses available in the Chilean society? In order to answer these questions, this DP uses a Critical Discourse Analysis of of the two main Chilean newspapers (La Tercera and El Mercurio) complemented with interviews to memory agents. The conclusions point out that these newspapers have a role in diffusing as well as constructing hegemonic discourses around this period of the Chilean history. They do so, mainly by silencing the voices of the civil society making their goals of social change difficult to achieve.

  Avila-R-DP18.pdf   (704.8Kb)

• Dealing with radicalization: A comparative study of the current initi...
  Tzouvara, Maria  : Malmö universitet/Kultur och samhälle (2019)	Master thesis (one year)

  

  

  English abstract:

  Radicalization, especially when it leads to extremism and political violence, has been on the rise in recent years on global scale and policy makers have tried to tackle the phenomenon, which poses a great risk to our societies. Especially young people, who are among the most vulnerable parts of society, are prone to radical beliefs that might come from the use of social media and/or by their exposure to socio-economic inequalities or religious fundamentalism. In order to tackle the phenomenon, one needs to first try and understand its nature and academics, social workers, educators and policymakers alike need to join forces in order to take effective preventive measures against radicalization. This master thesis tries to investigate the nature of the preventive measures taken by Sweden and Germany, two European countries having recently received most immigrants escaping war zones and hit by radicalization, in order to find their similarities/differences and strong points/deficiencies and see if they point to a viable way of addressing radicalization in modern societies, and if improvements need to be made in this direction. Through qualitative content analysis of communication/textual data about radicalization, its root causes and especially the counter radicalization initiatives taken by the two given countries, this study explores the efficiency of these interventions and tries to find the reasons behind the persistence of radicalization and also how the preventive strategies are understood and communicated by the two countries, through the perspective of Media for Development. This study finds that the evaluation of the efficiency of the use of media, that is to say information dissemination and pedagogy, in addressing radicalization and achieving social cohesion in Germany and Sweden is very difficult if possible. The biggest challenges that both Germany and Sweden are faced by are the Islamist extremism and propaganda, the right- and left-wing extremism, the growing polarization and the increasing Islamophobia in the society and the measures taken so far by both countries are based on the same views on the problem at hand. It also shows that there is no ‘best practice which fits all’ when it comes to radicalization and violent extremism, as well as that the policy approaches need to place special focus on citizenship education for all young people in order to achieve social inclusion and cohesion.

  Tzouvara-M-DP18.pdf   (566.4Kb)

• Light It Up - Designproces af en spisebordslampe
  Stigborg, Christina  : Malmö universitet/Kultur och samhälle (2018)	Bachelor thesis

  

  

  English abstract:

  This thesis studies how to design a light to a target group based on different theories and methods. The aim has been to investigate what factors are needed to design a good lamp based on theories developed by Poul Henningsen. The problem definition for this study is as follows: How can you use the ACD methods and design process to design a dining table lamp based on Poul Henningsen's theories about light? In order to answer the problem definition, a choice was made to work with the theoretical field of User Centered Design. The study is based on empirical evidence of light and methods that will investigate and analyze the specific needs of a target group in regard to a dining table lamp. Using a design process consisting of idea generation, conceptualizing and prototyping, a lamp that meets both the needs of the target group and the requirements of Poul Henningsen has been designed. The result of this was the development of a dining table lamp that has several different adjustment options physically and technically and casts theoretically correct shadows. This study shows how little empiric evidence that currently exist about light and its use. Therefore, there is ample opportunity to do more research on this topic. Additionally, this task opens up the possibility of designing new lamps based on clarified guidelines.

  VT17_ChristinaStigborgLightItUp_Godkendt.pdf   (34.37Mb)

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