Title: Constructing identity on Facebook.com ? A qualitative ethnographyNumber of pages: 40 (34)Author: Clara LindholmTutor: Amelie HössjerCourse: Media and communications studies CPeriod: HT (Autumn) 2009University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of InformationScience, Uppsala University.Purpose/Aim: The purpose is to study how the social community Facebook.com canbe used in order to construct identity. The study follows three Facebook users in anobservation where they are able to document their thoughts and reflections in anprivate media diary. This study investigates their use of the medium and focuses onthe functions with which they are able to alter their profiles. The result consists of acombination of these reflections, interviews and a selection of literature relevant tothe subject of new media, the use of social internet communities and social sciencetheories.

Aim. The aim of this study is to analyze the living conditions of physically disabled people from the viewpoint of sexuality issues with regards to personal assistance services, identity and attitudes in society on disability and sexuality. Background. Not much research is done on sexuality issues for physically disabled people. Even though we live in a society where sexuality takes up a lot of space in the media, the culture and is acknowledged to be of great importance for every person?s wellbeing, the sexuality of disabled people is often not recognized and discussed.

The purpose of this study was to examine the process of developing an identity as a skateboarder during adolescence. Our aim was to, from the actors? point of view explore what impact their values, experiences and thoughts have on their identity as individuals as well as a collectivity. We also investigated which symbols that are significant for this group. For this essay a qualitative method was used; we conducted nine individual interviews and one group interview with young skaters from the ages of 15-17.

The European Union is a self proclaimed leader in the field of climate change and has a common target for reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. In spite of this, there are great differences between the member states capacity and dedication to the cause of implementing the Unions climate policy and reduce their emissions. The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to an understanding of how different European states construct their identity in the context of climate change mitigation. By analyzing national documents from three European states and using tools deriving from discourse analysis, I aim to illuminate differences and similarities in their rhetoric. The result is that due to the states relationship to the European Union and the United Nations, there are great similarities in the way they construct mitigation and their identity.

The purpose of this Masters thesis has been to examine the importance of libraries for girls leisure time in secondary school. Focus has been on the use of the library as a leisure activity. Interviews were carried out with six girls of the ages 13 to 16. The conclusion of the study is that the library is of importance for the girls mostly through its books. Reading turned out to be an important leisure activity for the girls and the books provided by the library were of significance for their identity development.

The purpose of this essay is to examine the Swedish governments discourse on integration of immigrants and thereby examine what social reality it constructs. The aim is to examine how integration and immigrants are constructed within the discourse. The method and theory being used in this essay is discourse theory. As a methodological instrument we use the policy on functional impairment as a comparison. The material being analyzed in this essay is political documents on the strategy on integration policy and the strategy on the policy of functional impairment.

Social media on the internet allows both public and private actors to communicate with each other. The aim of this qualitative study is to explore the relationship between the public and the private in social media on the internet, specifically with emphasis on the identities which are shaped in this relationship. The social media explored in this study is the micro blog Twitter. Data was collected from the pages of three public and private actors on Twitter, specifically with concern to their interaction with public and/or private actors. The data was analysed with support in sociological theories on modernity, identity, self-identity, socialisation and Erving Goffman's theories on everyday expression.

Title: Identity management on Facebook: a qualitative study in approaches to personal identity between two different age groups on the most public stage of our time (Identitetshantering på Facebook: En kvalitativ studie om förhållningssättet till den egna identiteten hos två olika åldersgrupper på vår tids mest offentliga scen).Number of pages: 43.Author: Isabelle Kåge.Tutor: Amelie Hössjer.Course: Media and Communication Studies C.Period: Fall Semester 2010.University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala University.Purpose/Aim: To identify differences in attitudes towards and management of personal identity onFacebook within two different age groups.Material/Method: Personal interviews, literature, electronic sources, Internet sources.Main results: Those in the younger age group present themselves differently depending on the person or persons with whom they are communicating. Those in the older age group however, present themselves in a more consequent matter based upon the visibility their actions have to all their friends on Facebook as a whole. The definitions of certain elements on Facebook, such as what constitutes private information or anexcess of photo-tags, differ between the two age groups. Comments and feedback differ in importance and effect between the two age groups. Those in the younger age group are more likely to modify their attitudes towards their identities based upon the functions of Facebook.

It has become increasingly common for cities and municipalities to take greater account of the place marketing, and to see the physical location as a brand. An early step in this process is to make the image measurements of the place, in order to develop better marketing strategies. A method often used in tourism research for this type of measurements is Etchner and Ritchie's theoretical framework. The framework is initially designed to measure visitor's image of a tourist destination.Almost all previous research in this area is based on the visitor's perspective, but Olofsson and Skredsvik have used this framework to measure a location's image among the residents. They feel that the residents of a place can be seen as ambassadors of the place because they know the site well.

The story of the forest - A folded textile wall for flexible rooms in public spacesIn the story of the forest the dragonfly is spinning yarn shiny as the sun. In the story of the forest almost everything can happen and almost everything is also happen there.Inspiration from Lennart HellsingThe goal in this exam work was to create a calm, playful space for children in public spaces. A place where children can hide and relax without being disrupted by the surrounding, a place where their imagination can grow and take place. The goal was also to make a flexible space for public spaces that could be used in different ways. Today many libraries want to be more than a library, they will work as a meeting place and you can find several activities to join in.

The aim of this thesis is to examine the relationship between user education at high schools and the context in which it takes place. In order to accomplish this qualitative interviews have been executed with librarians at five Swedish high schools. The theoretical framework of this thesis is based on the sociocultural perspective and four approaches to user education developed by Olof Sundin. Based on the empirical material six themes have been identified. Each one represents a contextual factor which influences the user education.

AbstractThe aim of this study is to examine how individuals, part of a rural Christian parish,express their religiosity and beliefs in a Swedish context. Furthermore this study seeksto understand these religious expressions through different views on social construction,secularization and the privatization perspective, such as lived religion, in particular. Byusing qualitative interviews with 8 individuals analyzed with the theories mentionedabove my results show that secularization has provided many individuals with aChristian identity, however, not necessarily a Christian faith. Instead several of theparticipants show a self-developed religious expression not automatically connectedwith Christian religious practices. One of the participants has, despite a Christiansocialization, developed a non-religious identity.

The aim of this study was to examine how individuals who have left a criminal lifestyle may experience their present life. A symbolic interaction approach was the theoretical framework for this research. Qualitative interviews were conducted with seven individuals who have stated having had and left a criminal lifestyle. The results showed that how individuals experience their present life is highly dependent on individuals? own view of themselves as well as on how others view them.

Japan is the first industrialized country that is experiencing the threat of a rapidly declining and aging population. This has shifted the focus and the limelight is now on the matter that for a long time has been ignored. That is, the Japanese women?s situation in the society. This thesis seeks to point out the relevance of gender in the construction of leadership in order to get a deeper understanding of the Japanese women?s situation today.

The purpose of this study was to explore experiences of the process of developing a homosexual identity during childhood. We wanted to examine the experiences, feelings and thoughts that young adults, identifying themselves as homosexuals, had growing up in Sweden.For the study a qualitative method was used and nine interviews were made with young adults in the ages of 18 - 30. They answered our questions about their process of developing a homosexual identity, about their friends, family and school and about the society in general. We analysed the material from the interviews using the theory of the coming-out-process as presented by mainly Månsson and Hilte (1990).The main result from the study was that there were some difficulties for our respondents to become aware of their homosexuality and reveal their homosexuality to others. Most of our respondents experienced anxiety and/or fear as they were becoming aware of their sexuality but did become conscious about their homosexuality and accepted it before turning 21 years old.