This dissertation examines how women’s food writing, from blogs to cookbooks to novels, demonstrate a desire to articulate themselves as people within communities rather than accept a dehumanized identity as a consumer or set of credit-card numbers. I argue that through an emphasis on connection with one another via a discourse of scratch cooking and locally sourced foods, women are able to push back against the hegemony of corporate food and industrial agriculture. Working from a case study model, each of my chapters examines the distinct ways in which women assert their personhood apart from the homogenizing influences of mainstream food culture. As a means of articulating this woman’s culinary culture, predicated on a foundation of scratch cooking and local ingredients and relationships, I examine the food blog Fed Up With Lunch and the author’s use of an anonymous persona to interrogate the federal school lunch program; feminist vegetarian and vegan cookbooks authored by collectives of women who rely on oppositional identities in order to push back against what they view as hegemony; how diasporic Indian women use scratch cooking as a means of self-expression within the context of migration; and the novel cookbook as an example of injecting a feminist discourse of food into a traditional fictional narrative. Read together, these discrete case studies make an argument for women’s power to effect meaningful change from within the circumscribed space of the kitchen. / text

Parents today can be very stressed at the drop off and pick up of their children, this leads to that they sometimes miss important information that is pinned to the walls for example. Papers has the ability to disappear, a blog collects all in one place. Today, almost everything is digitized. This study has examined what a blog is and how schools and preschools can use it. The blog is used as a communication site for the preschools and school. This exam graduate work is made of three blog analysis, the analysis is made to see if the blogs can help the preschool and school to communicate wiht the parents. The theory I have decided to use in this study is the sociocultural theory. This theory is based on the interaction between society and the induvidual people. Everything that happens aorund us is affecting us. The theory also talks about mediation, mediation is a way to use tools. The tools is used as a way to understand the society or to deciede how to act. Surveys were used to collect the information for my study, the survey was sent to three pedagogues. The pedagogues that I choose is the ones conneted to the blogs I analysed. I used the answers to the surveys for my results. The study had som mixed results, the results of the study was based on the interest from both the parents and the pedagogus. A blog can never be used as the only source too infomration in a school if not both parents and pedagogues is intrested to use it. But a blog can be a very good complememt to only papers.

This bachelor thesis is about the human identity in the postmodern society, and how it changes throughout the paradigm shift we’re going forward into. What kind of impact do the various blogs have on their public concerning the consumption of brands and fashion? And how come various big brands choose to do their product placement on specific blogs? In this thesis I will discuss and compare the changes from how we used to show our status in the society in the past and how we do it today with digital tools.  Why are people so urged to show others in the society who they are, and how come we do it by wearing specific clothes and brands that other tells us to wear in order to have a higher status? These phenomena’s reflects the way we build our identity today. The other aspect of the digitalization I’m discussing in this thesis is the importance of package-design in order to attract costumers to the physical store, and maintain the brand-loyalty during the transition for the stores.

Darbe nagrinėjami Lietuvos žiniasklaidos priemonių ir blogosferos santykiai. Jo objektas - žiniasklaidos priemonių ir žurnalistų tinklaraščiai. Darbo tikslas - atskleisti, kaip, kiek ir kokiems tikslams profesionalūs žurnalistai naudojasi nauja komunikacijos priemone - tinklaraščiu. Darbo pradžioje iškeltos hipotezės, kad Lietuvos žurnalistai tinklaraščius naudoja ne profesinės veiklos tikslams, bet kaip saviraiškos priemonę, o Lietuvos žiniasklaidos priemonių struktūroje esantys tinklaraščiai papildo žiniasklaidos turinį įvairesne informacija. Pirmojoje darbo dalyje atlikta Lietuvos ir užsienio autorių mokslo literatūros analizė, papildomai remtasi publikacijomis žiniasklaidoje, blogosferoje, Lietuvos tinklaraštininkų konferencijos medžiaga. Išanalizavus literatūrą ir šaltinius, nustatyta blogosferos situacija pasaulyje ir Lietuvoje. Antrojoje dalyje pristatoma kokybinio tyrimo – interviu su Lietuvos blogosferos dalyviais – žurnalistais ir tinklaraštininkais – eiga ir rezultatai. Trečiojoje darbo dalyje pateikiamos kokybinio interviu ir turinio analizės, kuriais buvo nagrinėti trijų Lietuvos žiniasklaidos priemonių – interneto portalų VZ.lt, Delfi.lt ir Moteris.lt - struktūroje esantys žurnalistų ir skaitytojų tinklaraščiai, išvados. Iškeltas hipotezes atlikti tyrimai patvirtino visiškai arba iš dalies. Lietuvoje tinklaraščiai nelaikomi tradicinės žiniasklaidos dalimi ar jos alternatyva, tačiau žiniasklaidos turinį veikia. Tinklaraščiuose žurnalistai randa autentiškos... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / In this paper the relationship between the Lithuanian mass media and blogosphere is under the scope. The object of the paper is blogs written by the media at the institutional level and published by journalists independently. The aim of this work is to reveal how, to what extent, and for what purposes professional journalists use the new means of communications, blogs. At the beginning of the work the following hypotheses have been raised: Lithuanian journalists tend to use blogs as a means of self-expression rather than for professional reasons; and that blogs that form part of the structure of Lithuania’s mass media have additional value to the media content by providing more diverse information. The first part of the paper is devoted to the analysis of scientific literature of Lithuanian and foreign authors, as well as of publications published by the media and in the blogosphere and of the material presented at the Lithuanian bloggers conference. After the analysis of the literature and other sources, the situation of the blogosphere in Lithuania and the world in general has been defined. In the second part of the work the course of the qualitative research and its results are introduced. The method chosen to carry out the research is the interview with journalists and bloggers who are the participants of the Lithuanian blogosphere. The third part of the paper is devoted to the presentation of the findings of the content analysis of blogs written by journalists and... [to full text]

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Blogging continues to get attention in the field of communication studies for reasons such as its differences with traditional media and its various effects in societies. The first part of this dissertation provides the reader with a background of the use of the Internet in Zimbabwe highlighting how it has offered individuals a platform to publish their own content, thus increasing the documentation of the 2008 Zimbabwean elections. This research analyses how national identity and the construction thereof emerges from online personal narratives. The research also investigates the discourses shaping the country‘s identities such as humanitarian, anti-Mugabe and democratic discourses that emerge from the blogs and how these blogs communicate events that occurred during the polls. This dissertation is primarily concerned with how citizens have arguably become recognized as sources of information and how Zimbabwe is perceived. Finally, the blogs are critically examined for how they create spaces of resistance. I argue that the blogs challenged and destabilized the older patterns of identity creation within Zimbabwe. Whereas national identity constructions have been largely a result of the majority or ruling class, the production of counter discourses in the blogs suggests that at an individual level, citizens use the Internet as a platform to express their dissent and do not automatically internalize these projected national identities. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

Self-published web diaries called blogs are one manifestation of the Internet’s potential to create new discursive and dialogic spaces for citizens. Blogs are described by their authors and others in the news media (as well as some academic commentators) as a medium that potentially fosters political dialogue in the spirit of Habermas’ conceptual “public sphere.” Blogs also serve as potential competitors to mass media outlets in political debates in two distinct ways: first, by acting as agenda-setters and framers of issues, events and figures and second, by challenging journalistic norms such as the principles of fairness, neutrality and non-partisanship. In spite of these claims, however, very little empirical evidence exists to date on whether political blogs perform the roles of agenda-setters, gatekeepers or framers, or whether they are actually seen as a challenge or potential replacement to mass media outlets by themselves, by journalists or by those who could utilize blogs to transmit messages to the public. This thesis examines these questions as they pertain to Canadian politics, focusing on the interaction between journalists, partisan bloggers and political communications practitioners to assess whether blogs written by explicitly partisan authors actually: 1) create unique discursive spaces for discussion of Canadian political issues, 2) set agendas for political discussion and set issues and 3) serve as an occupational threat/potential replacement to media outlets for disseminating political information. Using surveys and content analysis, this thesis contends that partisan blogs largely mimic political discussion already occurring in media-produced content and are perceived as a potential, though not completely credible, replacement for shaping political agendas and disseminating information.

Bakgrund: Varje år drabbas ungefär 1100 personer i Sverige av en hjärntumör. Symtomen som uppstod innan diagnosbesked upplevdes som mindre allvarliga, men under behandlingen blev symtomen svårare. Hjärntumören påverkade hela patientens livsvärld. Det var sjuksköterskans ansvar att stötta patienten och att hjälpa patienten att uppnå livskvalitet. Hoppet var ett existentiellt grundvillkor som hjälpte människor att skapa mening med livet. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att beskriva kvinnors upplevelser av hur livet förändrades av en hjärntumör. Metod: Studien var en kvalitativ innehållsanalys med induktiv ansats. Materialet var baserat på fem bloggar skrivna på internet. Resultat: Resultatet presenterades i fem teman; En förändrad kropp tvingade livet att ta en paus, Familjen blev viktigare, Sjukvården blev en känsloladdad del av vardagen, Hjärntumören blev en efterhängsen fiende och Existentiella tankar hanterades med olika strategier. Slutsats: Att drabbas av en hjärntumör medförde många förändringar i livet. Livsvärlden förändrades för kvinnorna och innebar inte bara en kamp mot sjukdomen utan även en kamp mot alla känslor. / Background: Every year about 1100 people get diagnosed having with brain tumour.  The symptoms that occurred in the beginning of disease aren’t quite as bad as those occurring later. The brain tumour affect the entire life-world of the patient. It was the nurse’s responsibility to support and improve the life quality of the patient. To help the patient maintain her hope was crucial to create a meaningful life. Aim: The purpose of the study was to describe how women’s everyday life was changed by a brain tumour. Method: The study was a qualitative content analysis with an inductive approach. Data was based on five internet based blogs. Results: The results are presented in five themes; A body in change puts life on hold, The family became even more important, Nursing care was an emotional daily event, The brain tumour appeared as an intrusive enemy and Thoughts about existentialism were dealt with in different ways. Conclusion: To suffer from a brain tumour affected the patients’ lives in many ways. The life-world of the women changed and did not only result in a struggle against the disease, but as well as an emotional one.

This study examined the pattern of online public opinion change in China by investigating the top one hit blog and its following commentaries of every day from July 2009 to March 2012 on a famous Chinese website, and then discussed potential factors that affected the formation of online public opinion. The extent of freedom of online public opinion during this period presented regular fluctuations. Whether criticisms were registered by commentators was influenced by four factors. First and most important, the negative tone of bloggers increased criticism and the positive tone decreased criticism, which shows that the news that flows from the media to the public is amplified and interpreted by influential bloggers according to the two-step flow theory. Second, while national and local events had no effect, international news events decreased criticism because the public strongly supported the Chinese government. This was as important as the first factor. Third, the negative tone of events discussed in blogs increased criticism, which means that the mass media did have some direct influence through negative but not positive events. And fourth, when the government censored blogs and commentaries, the public shied away from criticism because their posts would probably be removed.

När människor drabbas av en traumatisk kris som raserar deras vardag tvingas de till att försöka bygga upp sin tillvaro igen. Vissa gör detta genom att blogga om sina tankar och känslor rörande krisen. Vad kommer det sig att så många väljer att visa upp sitt lidande i ett offentligt forum? Med hjälp av grundad teori undersöker vi de mest centrala aspekterna av och omkring krisbloggande för att skapa en större förståelse för detta nutida fenomen. Genom intervjuer och studier av bloggar framkommer det att personer som bloggar får möjlighet att på egna villkor göra sin röst hörd, sprida sin berättelse och reflektera över sin egen resa. Detta, samt det stöd som de får genom återkoppling från läsarna, gör att de upplever ett ökat välmående. Med hjälp av utvalda delar från Giddens teori om det senmoderna samhället placerar vi fenomenet krisbloggar i en nutida kontext och genom Franks teorier om narrativ förklarar vi hur viktigt det är att få skapa och dela sin berättelse för människor som drabbats av någon form av kris. / When people suffer from a traumatic crisis that destroys their lives, they are forced to try and rebuild their everyday lives again. Some do this by writing blogs about their thoughts and feelings regarding the crisis. Why is it that so many people choose to display their suffering in a public forum? With the help of grounded theory, we investigate the most central aspects of blogging about traumatic crises in order to create a greater understanding of this contemporary phenomenon. Through interviews and the study of blogs, it is revealed that the people behind the blogs are able to make their voices heard on their own terms, to spread their story and to reflect on their own journey. This, alongside the support they recieve through the feedback from their readers, make them experience increased well-being. With the help of selected parts from Giddens' theory on modernity, we place the phenomenon of cirisis blogs in a comtemporary context and through Frank's theories regarding narratives, we explain how important it is to create and share stories for people affected by some form of crisis.