This diploma thesis is concerned with the problematic of the links between self-presentation on social networks (SNS) and female beauty ideal. The thesis defines the beauty ideal as social construct, because every culture has its own beauty ideal and every period held its own standards on what is considered as beutiful. The thesis is also based on assumption that definitions of beauty are multidimensional and is focused on several beauty ideals. The aim of the thesis is to evaluate ways of self-presentation of women on social networks in the context of ideal of beauty. The research is based on the analysis of profile pictures on social networks and is also based on qualitative method of grounded theory. The final results show that the dominant way of visual self-presentation is represented by selfies. But the research has also shown that in each group there is a minority group of women who present themselves in accordance with the chosen ideal of beauty. Differences are described at the end of the thesis.

[pt] Este trabalho introduz o termo de Beauty Technology como um campo emergente na computação vestível. A Computação Vestível tem mudado a maneira de como as pessoas interagem com computadores, entrelaçando dispositivos computacionais com as capacidades naturais do corpo humano. A Beauty Technology transforma o corpo numa plataforma de interação, escondendo a tecnologia em produtos de beleza para a criação de interfaces baseadas em movimentos musculares sem dar ao usuário um visual de ciborgue. Para mostrar a viabilidade desta tecnologia, várias aplicações de Beauty Technology foram desenvolvidas em produtos de uso diário e mostradas em exposições. Conductive Makeup, Beauty Tech Nails, FX e-makeup e Hairware exemplificam os protótipos de Beauty Technology. / [en] This work introduces the term Beauty Technology as an emergent field in Wearable Computing. Wearable Computing had changed the way individuals interact with computers, intertwining natural capabilities of the human body with processing apparatus. Beauty Technology transforms our body in an interactive platform by hiding technology into beauty products for creating muscle based interfaces that don t give the wearer a cyborg look. Several applications of beauty technologies used in everyday products and shown in exhibitions expose the feasibility of this technology. Conductive Makeup, Beauty Tech Nails, FX e-makeup and Hairware exemplify Beauty Technology prototypes.

6 Abstract The presented thesis deals with the portrayal of female beauty or rather of how it was seen and what was believed to be the essence of it in the time of the first republic. The basic presumption I work with is that the ideal of beauty is culturally, socially and historically conditioned as well as is its appraisal. A goal of this paper is to analyze and to compare images of beauty described in woman magazines of the Czech production which were published during 20s and 30s of last century, a period in which the media already have been contributing to the creation and reproduction of normative femininity, stereotypes and standards of physical appearance significantly. Now the development of mass communication technology could lead to the spread of the ideal image of female beauty among the public and so in this way patterns of femininity became the part of everyday life in society. Key words: ideal of female beauty, body, beauty myth, gender, gender stereotypes, media

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The Korean Wave has taken the world by storm and Korean beauty (K-beauty) has in extension to this become a global phenomena. K-beauty has reached this popularity with the help of authentic and natural ingredients and a combination between tradition and modernity creating a competitive advantage on the market. Despite this popularity a lack of research has been identified on how the “​Made in Korea”​ label affects consumer’s perception of Korean products and in specific K-beauty products. The current study addressed this opportunity in examining how consumers perceive K-beauty products in addition to country-of-origin affects their purchase intention. To examine this a qualitative approach was taken consisting of 11 email interviews with millennial women residing in Sweden. The empirical data derived from the interviews was divided into four themes (1) Made in Korea, (2) Image, (3) Quality and (4) Effect. The findings were then analyzed in regards to the country-of-origin effect (COE) and previous research on the topic. The results identify two main attributes as driving factors in consumer perception of K-beauty products on the Swedish market. These two attributes are image and quality. Korea was in this study found to carry a strong cognitive country image (CCI) and is as a result perceived to be on the forefront of the beauty industry creating an attraction towards Korean products. Although K-beauty is found to be driven by the CCI a connection to the Korean Wave and an affective country image (ACI) is found creating a separation in the country image. This was further found to suggest that the Korean Wave facilitates the spread of Korean culture through all Korean products. Future research directions are additionally discussed.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Master’s Degree in Technology: Somatology, Durban University of Technology, 2014 / The beginning of the 20th century presented the Somatology profession with unprecedented challenges of acquiring a scientific base and achieving professionalisation. It is in this milieu that a few research studies were previously undertaken with regard to Somatology education however, none particularly focused in relation to areas that are preparing graduates for industry. The current study was a national study that explored the existing National Diploma offering through the lens of students, educators and members of the Durban University of Technology’s Advisory Board. In particular, it focused on developing broad guidelines to guide academics on what further content was required to be integrated into the current Somatology education. A triangulated approach using both quantitative and qualitative methods was used to guide the operationalisation of the research process. Five Universities of Technology participated in the study, viz. Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Central University of Technology, Durban University of Technology, Tshwane University of Technology and the University of Johannesburg. Third year and B.Tech students were surveyed with regard to the current Somatology Programme and what further aspects needed to be integrated into it to better prepare graduates for industry. In addition, in-depth interviews were also held with ten academics, two from each University of Technology, to examine what they thought needed to be included in education to strengthen the current programme. The same was done through a focus group discussion with members of the Durban University of Technology Advisory Board. A programme analysis of current content being taught at the five Universities was also undertaken. The results reflected that although most of the samples were satisfied with the current educational programme, they still believed that gaps existed and that graduates were still not adequately prepared for industry. It was found that both students and educators saw the need for more therapies to be included in the training. Both educators and the Advisory Board sample also saw the need for a stronger emphasis to be placed on practical skill development. The Advisory Board sample also strongly articulated for training to occur in an industry context as opposed to the University based experiential setting. Using data from these multiple samples, a set of guidelines was developed and presented. These guidelines were based on what further therapies needed to be integrated into education. The Duke Integrative Medicines Wheel of Health was adopted as the theoretical framework of the study. It was also utilised to identify specific areas that needed to be interwoven into education to further strengthen graduates’ preparedness for industry.

In recent years, old-hand development scholars, in the category of Dan Brockington, have expressed their concern over academia’s neglect of the significance of celebrities in the field. As has been the case of an outturn hereof, namely beauty pageants. In the last six decades, Venezuela has positioned itself not only as one of the world's largest exporters of oil but also as one of the leading engenderers of titleholders in international pageantry. The latter, which has resulted in Venezuelans regarding the pageant as a fundamental cultural undercurrent in their collective identity, seems to be a ceaseless manifestation in spite of the country’s worrisome current socio-economic status. Rather than adopting a condescending paradigm towards the Miss Venezuela pageant, it is precisely this vertex of ambiguity that opens the avenue for an interesting development question. After all, if celebrity beauty queens from Venezuela are deemed as part of the nation’s identity, could the pageant, in the same breath, be deemed as a contributor to communication for development? While espousing historical context as an analysing method and in pursuit of David Hulme’s Celebrity-Development nexus and Elizabeth McCall’s four strands of communication for development, this paper presents a qualitative study in which hands-on experts are given a platform. The findings show the evolution of a beauty pageant from a, nearly, nationalist device into a system that is grounded in the Millennium Development Goals and that aims to forge socially responsible beauty representatives that are competent enough to herald purposeful messages.

In today's society a beauty ideal exists in America, which attempts to define female beauty as fitting into a certain mold. Certain characteristics have been deemed the most attractive when it comes to female physical attractiveness, and an ideal image of beauty has been presented by the media. This research focuses on whether or not everyone buys into that beauty ideal, and examines the impact that a person's sex and race has on the physical characteristics which that individual defines as the most appealing. Surveys were administered to 300 UCF students age 18-35. Participants were asked about ten different physical characteristics relating to women, and were asked to choose the characteristic among each group that they found the most physically attractive or beautiful. The study showed that both sex and racial differences do exist, and that there are variations in what different people consider beautiful. Not everyone has the same opinion on what is attractive in regards to the physical appearance of women.

The purpose of this thesis is to re-assert beauty as a fundamental and essential value within contemporary Christendom as it exists within a postmodern culture. Once a strong and meaningful concept within Christian belief, beauty has been lost over the passage of two millennia. This thesis examines the loss of beauty as a meaningful concept in western Christian belief, and offers a re-evaluation of the concept particularly within the postmodern world. Drawing together the fundamental concerns of postmodern society and the contribution that beauty is able to make from within the Christian context, this thesis demonstrates that "beauty" speaks to contemporary concerns and meets its deepest needs. Here, beauty, understood as the relational aspect of forms conceived by God, and offered to humanity as gift, is shown to overcome the affective sterility that has overtaken western society as an effect of enlightenment thought. An examination of the concept of beauty, particularly in the works of Thomas Aquinas, Jonathan Edwards and Gerard Manley Hopkins serves as a basis to posit a definition of beauty that is consistent with Christian beliefs without violating its unique content. Tracing the loss of beauty in western Christian thought and in western culture at large, and recognising the absence of a similar phenomenon within the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, suggests that the genius of these eastern traditions is their refusal to minimise the notion of "mystery" that stands at the heart of Christian revelation. The western Church then, is called to refocus on the centrality of the "mystery" inherent in her life. To this end, contemplation is proposed as the avenue wherein the believer experiences an intimate and transforming encounter with the Triune God which leads to the fruition of unique personhood that increasingly takes form as the "beauty of holiness." / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D. Th. (Christian Spirituality)

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree Master of Technology: Graphic Design, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2014. / The aim of this study was to investigate how images of women in the media that espouse women’s empowerment can indeed have the opposite effect and may even contribute to lowered self-esteem in women. To this end, this project is intended to explore issues such as body image and image manufacture in order to find a possible answer to the question of what is ‘real beauty’ in the South African context. A semiotic approach seeking to review the ways in which women are seen through visual communicative images was undertaken. This visual research revealed the importance of the ‘gendered gaze’ at the centre of issues that relate to self-esteem. An in-depth analysis of the literature, pertaining to self-esteem, interrogated the works of Naomi Wolf, John Berger and Susie Orbach, amongst others. This was carried out in order to understand more about how the dictates of consumerism pervade the work of the style industries. These sectors are well supported by the diet, food and cosmetic surgery industries who tend to effectively increase and add to a sense of body related insecurities. In addition, content analysis of selected South African editions of Cosmopolitan magazine was conducted. The images described represents a significant development period in the emergence of certain beauty ideals in South Africa. The British Unilever marketing campaign, The Dove Campaign For Real Beauty, was used as a base model for the applied design component of this study. In addition an action research approach was employed through a series of interviews and questionnaires directed at mostly female participants in South Africa. This method revealed that self-esteem issues have far reaching implications, affecting women of all ages. As a response to the perceived need for a South African based campaign, this research project informed the development of The Sisterhood Self-Esteem Crusade. In contrast to The Dove Campaign For Real Beauty which was created to promote increased sales of beauty products, The Sisterhood Self-Esteem Crusade’s focus is to interrogate and raise awareness of self-esteem. Underpinning this was an attempt to build confidence, cascade new ways of understanding and to propagate sense making, informed through action research, amongst South African women.