Inspired by my personal interest in the topic of dramaturgy, coupled with the continuous change programmes that Shell Oman Marketing Company (SOMC) adopts in many areas, this research attempts to explore the role of dramaturgy (Goffman 1956) in change management in SOMC. The primary question that this thesis addresses is: What is the role, impact and potential of dramaturgy in change management in SOMC? The objective is to examine the ability of dramaturgy to offer an effective method for managing change, and one that will eventually be used as an integral part of effective change management programmes in SOMC. The research consists of a case study of installing Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) system cameras in the offices of SOMC. The research was a qualitative study, conducting 22 semi-structured interviews along with unstructured observations of meetings and engagements. The research concludes that front stage performances and backstage performances are witnessed extensively in SOMC, and concludes that the boundary between front and backstage is blurred, that stories, metaphors and body language play an important role in performances, and that the audience perception of the authenticity, sincerity and genuineness of the performers is a key factor in their acceptance of the message. This research identifies a number of themes that can be added to the existing literature. The study highlighted the importance of ‘Alignment’ as a way of explaining the work that goes on in backstage and front stage performances, much part of living organisations. The term found extensively in organisational life at SOMC and many other organisations. Backstage meeting often has the goal of aligning participants to the message that has to be conveyed – the coordinated front stage performance. Therefore, alignment is a key element of the rehearsals and practices for the frontstage performances, and in bringing together the supporting team and loyalists. Another contribution of this research that is not available in other studies is that the importance of context and culture. That although metaphors and storytelling are used in many organisations across the world, they resonate particularly with Omanis because they are part of their history and culture. Hence using storytelling and metaphors in performances in SOMC can have a huge help connecting the audience with the performance.

Sociala nätverkssidor är för människor idag en del av vardagen då vi skapar nya umgängen, bekantskaper, vänskaper och fiender. Vi träffar framtida arbetsgivare och finner i visa fall kärleken med hjälp av detta nu vardagliga verktyg. Eftersom vi gör allt detta är uppbyggnaden och utvecklingen av användarens profil ett viktigt hjälpmedel för att lyckas presentera sig själv på ett positivt sätt. Målet med denna uppsats är att undersöka hur svenska kvinnor framställer sig själva inför andra användare och vad de delar med sig av sin identitet på det sociala nätverket Twitter. Vi utgår från tre frågeställningar: • • • På vilka sätt framställer sig svenska kvinnor på Twitter? Vilka skillnader finns mellan användare beroende på antal följare? Vilken gräns sätter kvinnor för vad de delar med sig till sin publik på Twitter? De teoretiska utgångspunkterna för denna studie är i Erving Goffmans teorier om ”front stage”, ”back stage” och ”impression management” och nyare forskning gjord av bland andra danah boyd samt begreppet representation. Vi har använt oss av kvantitativ innehållsanalys och kvalitativa intervjuer för att få svar på våra frågeställningar. Resultatet visar att användarna är medvetna om hur de framställer sig och är försiktiga med vad de delar med sig av på Twitter. Användandarna på Twitter i denna undersökning anser att det är jobbigt att deras uppdateringar är sökbara på Google och genom detta finns det en viss censur hos användarna. Det är inte bara Twitters öppenhet gentemot sökmotorn Google som gör att användarna själva censurerar sig utan detta kan även påverkas av arbetsgivare och läsare som är inom samma bransch. Det är viktigt för användarna att de ger en korrekt framställning av sig själva för att inte kränka någon eller få negativa följder i till exempel arbetslivet. Genom undersökningen har vi sett att användarna är medvetna om sin framställning och agerar på Twitter på olika sätt för att lära sig hur just de vill framställa sig själva. Det tar lång tid för användarna att lära sig hur de ska hantera och framställa sig på Twitter.

Grove and Fisk ¡]1983¡^ had used the noun and idea of drama performance in the theater to compare the offering of service, such attendants as known as performer, customers as known as audience, and separate the front and back stage of service encounter clearly. At the same time, they offer the structure to easily understand the process of the wholly service contact and to help estimate the influence of each important link of service contact. So, this research focused on ¡§perceived value¡¨ of customer experiences through which, the ¡§visualized service backstage¡¨ in the service contact promotes the interaction of consumers and suppliers. Moreover, this study used the involvement of the back stage information and attention of attendants¡¦ appearance to moderate consumer experiences. The results showed that ¡§visualized service backstage¡¨ has positive influence on ¡§perceived value¡¨ with different levels, and customers have more consciousness on ¡§experience value¡¨. Actually the service with ¡§visualized service backstage¡¨ can really improve customers¡¦ perceived value. It not only can strengthen consumers¡¦ experience value, but also promote other different values of consumers. In fact, if service providers can use this advantage to create more perfect service performance by which the front stage and the back stage fully support. And it could bring to people more different service value than others. In addition, through the analysis of this study and real practices, it can help the service providers understand which value is the key factor to be attention for offering visualized service backstage.

Sjukhuskuratorer har samtal med patienter som lider till exempel av depression, ångest eller andra besvär orsakade av psykosociala faktorer så som stress, livskriser eller alkohol. I denna studie ställdes frågan vilka effekter det patientnära arbetet kan ha för sjukhuskuratorn. Syftet var att utifrån ett emotionsteoretiskt perspektiv undersöka hur sjukhuskuratorer upplever att de påverkas av det patientnära arbetet. I studien ställdes frågan vad sjukhuskuratorer upplever att det patientnära arbetet har för effekter för dem själva och hur sjukhuskuratorer hanterar det som uppkommer i det patientnära arbetet. Tidigare forskning har visat att andra yrkesgrupper på området, exempelvis sjuksköterskor och terapeuter i allmänhet, påverkas av att använda ett härbärgerande förhållningsätt. I denna studie intervjuades fyra sjukhuskuratorer om deras tankar och känslor kring arbetets effekter. Resultatet analyserades med hjälp av Hochschilds begrepp emotionellt lönearbete och Goffmans begrepp om främre och bakre region. Resultatet visar att det patientnära arbetet hade effekter. Sjukhuskuratorerna tog med sig tankar och känslor från det patientnära arbetet i den främre till den bakre regionen. Sjukhuskuratorerna hanterade det som uppkommit i det patientnära arbetet vid samtal med kollegor och handledning och när de fick stunder för sig själva. Samtliga sjukhuskuratorer ansåg att det patientnära arbetet har gjort dem mindre sociala, samt att det skapat ett behov av ensamhet och självreflektion. / Hospital social workers have patients suffering from a range of symptoms, amongst these are depression, distress or other disorders caused by psychosocial factors, such as stress, a life crisis or alcohol. In this study the question was asked what effects the patient-care can have for the hospital social worker. The purpose of this research study was to examine from the perspective of emotion theory, how hospital social workers felt they were affected by the patient-care. Our research questions were what effects the hospital social workers see that the patient-care have for themselves, and how the hospital social workers deal with what emerges from the patient-care. Earlier research has shown that other occupational groups, such as nurses and therapists in general, are affected by harbouring what arises in the patient-care. Four interviews with hospital social workers conducted about their thoughts and feelings on the effects of the job. The result has been analyzed with Hochschild’s notion of emotional labour and Goffman’s concepts front stage and back stage. The results show that the job does affect the worker. The hospital workers harbour thoughts and feelings that emerge in the patient-care on the front stage, until they are able to deal with it in different regions on the back stage through colleges, guidance and by themselves. All of our interviewed hospital social workers deemed that they had become less social due to the nature of the patient care. In addition they also thought that it had created a need of seclusion and self-reflection.

Erving Goffman is an important sociologist whose dramaturgical perspective on social interaction and presentation of the self is a classic within sociology. However, social interaction and presentations of the self occurs increasingly more online. Goffman’s perspective is, unfortunately, limited to face-to-face interaction. The aim of this study is to discuss how far Goffman’s dramaturgical perspective can take us in a discussion on the private and the public in online presentations of the self in Facebook and personal blogs. The aim is specified with the following research questions: What are the possible constrains and possibilities? What happens to the central concepts in the model? How can the model be critically developed to online presentations of the self? The discussion connects to the distinction between the private and the public, as it implicitly is presented in Goffman’s model. The discussion draws on empirical material consisting of reflections of ten individuals on their social practices on Facebook and personal blogs. As all respondents use both applications, it opens up for a comparison between how they present themselves in each forum. All respondents presented themselves differently on Facebook compared to their personal blogs. Goffman’s model works better on self-presentations on Facebook than on personal blogs, which are contradictive to the model. Facebook is about staging a successful character. Conversely, the idea with the personal blog was to stage the front stage as a backstage. Performances on the personal blog constitute an inverted model where the intimate is sublimated and ritualized. Additionally, impression management follows an altered logic of selective opening of the backstage. However, the performances are just as, if not even more, theatrical and dramaturgical as performances in Goffman’s model. Moreover, social situations on Facebook and personal blogs are dissimilar to face-to-face situations. Both settings can be seen as an abstract sociability rather than a concrete sociability. There is no immediate co-presence between the interactants which has the consequence of creating an uncertainty of in front of whom the performance actually is held, which in addition makes the social situation diffuse, scattered and harder to define.

This thesis focuses specifically on yoga clothing to explore the wardrobes of individuals who practice yoga within Northern Europe. This study explores yoga as an embodied practice connected to dress, uncovering the relationship between clothing and the body based on online ethnographic research. Wardrobe studies were carried out remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic producing a new approach to the field through remote wardrobe studies. The theoretical perspective of Erving Goffman analyses the participants and their wardrobes through the lens of dramaturgy. This perspective allows for the investigation into the behaviour of individuals practising online and in- person yoga classes compared to yoga at home. Viewing social life as a theatre performance to explore individual’s wardrobes and yoga clothing is a vital component of the study. The research demonstrates how individuals in a society constantly perform and how a wardrobe is an object that also performs. The findings suggest that yoga clothing, the body, and the wardrobe are intrinsically connected, providing rich information contributing to fashion studies.

Title: #InstaRealEstateAgent - A qualitative study of real estate agents' use of Instagram Authors: Marcus Holm and Tilda Hygstedt Aim: The purpose of this study is to examine how and why real estate agents' use the social media platform Instagram as a work tool. Furthermore, the study also intends to investigate how they create credibility and present themselves by using Instagram and what the pros and cons are when mixing private and work-related content.  Method/Material: The main method used in this study is qualitative interviews with five real estate agents from different agencies in Stockholm. The interviews have been complemented with content analysis of image and text of four Instagram posts from each real estate agent. Main results: The main results from this study show that the real estate agents who participated use Instagram to show who they are, maintain contact with existing clients but also as a type of portfolio. They want to appear open, positive and hard-working and therefore combine content from both private and working life. In this way, customers and others can get a clear picture of who they are and what they like. However, they believe that one must be careful when sharing events from private life. Too much and the wrong kind of things can damage one's reputation and credibility. Number of pages: 63 Course: Media and Communication studies C University: Uppsala University, Sweden Department: Informatics and Media Period: Autumn semester 2021 Tutor: Göran Svensson

Framväxten av sociala mediers etablering i samhället har bidragit till att individers dagliga användning har ökat. Det har resulterat i att användarbeteenden har förändrats och att sociala medieplattformar numera kan användas för att främja karriären. En plattform som används för att framställa en professionell identitet inför andra är den sociala nätverksplattformen LinkedIn. Dock har det framkommit att det är svårare för universitetsstudenter att framställa en professionell identitet på plattformen, vilket påverkar möjligheten att bli upptäckt av rekryterare. Studien har därför ämnat att undersöka och skildra mötet i förstadiet av en rekryteringsprocess mellan universitetsstudenter och rekryterare på LinkedIn. Syftet har varit att rama in det förväntade rollagerandet på plattformen och besvara frågeställningen: “Vilka faktorer ligger till grund för universitetsstudenters professionella identitetsskapande i mötet med rekryterare på LinkedIn?”. Studien har av den anledningen tillämpat en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi och utfört sju semistrukturerade intervjuer, varav fyra med universitetsstudenter samt tre med rekryterare. Dessutom har ett teoretiskt ramverk för identitetsskapande tillämpats med syftet att undersöka de faktorer som ligger till grund för universitetsstudenternas professionella identitetsskapande i mötet med rekryterare på LinkedIn. I studiens resultat kunde fyra faktorer identifieras och skildras. Faktorerna är: konstruktion av framställning på front-stage, osäkerhet i framställningen, den idealiserade framställningen samt den sociala normen. Det råder olika uppfattningar mellan rekryterare och universitetsstudenters gällande den professionella framställningen som förväntas av universitetsstudenter och som berör ideal, sociala normer, stigman och okända observatörer på LinkedIn. / The emergence and establishment of social media in society have increased individuals' daily use. As a result, user behaviors have changed, and social media platforms allow individuals to advance their careers. One platform used to present a professional identity is the social networking platform LinkedIn. However, it has appeared to be more difficult for university students to present a professional identity on the platform, which affects the possibility of being discovered by recruiters. Therefore, the study aims to investigate and describe the meeting between university students and recruiters on LinkedIn in the pre-stage of a recruitment process. The purpose has been to frame the expected role-playing on the platform and answer the question: "What factors underlie university students' professional identity creation in the meeting with recruiters on LinkedIn?". For this reason, the study has applied a qualitative research strategy and conducted seven semi-structured interviews, four with university students and three with recruiters. In addition, the study applied a theoretical framework for identity creation. The purpose was to examine the factors that form the foundation of university students' professional identity creation in the meeting with recruiters on LinkedIn. The study identified and described four factors. The factors are the creation of front-stage presentation, uncertainty in the presentation, the idealized presentation, and the social norm. In addition, there are various perceptions between university students and recruiters of the professional presentation expected of university students, which affects the ideals, social norms, stigma, and the unknown audience on LinkedIn.

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Social media effects may affect self-perception and the way media users live their offline lives. The purpose of this essay was to examine the phenomenon of social media saturation in order to understand the possible risks to the development of human identity during the adolescent period. Hence, these risks may be generated by being exposed to social comparison, cyberbullying, self-validation, and self-perception in a sensitive age when self-image is still fragile and being formed. The purpose of this essay is to examine the psychological tendencies of human beings while interacting with their peers on social media platforms. Hence, this will give us a clearer view of what would be achieved by conducting interviews. Moreover, a selection of theories will be applied to those interviews in order to associate those theories with what has been said by respondents. Hence, Meyrowitz’s theory will be used in relation to  understanding the identity adaptation to online connection and linked to Goffman’s discussions of “onstage” and “backstage” (Meyrowitz, 1985: 5). After this, the essay will investigate how users’ self-perception and social comparison are enacted while socializing on social media platforms. Furthermore, this essay sheds the light on how identity is constructed online in the sense of belonging to a community on a social media platform as well as of gratification coming from peer validation in a virtual community. To be able to explain this, the “Social Identity Theory” will, therefore, be discussed (Teo, Matti, et al, 2017: 23). This will be discussed by mentioning theories like “Mediatization” (Couldry & Hepp, 2013). And lastly, the sociological concept of Habitus, minted by Pierre Bourdieu will demonstrate the process of adaptation towards unspoken social codes existing in virtual communities (Markham, 2017: 55).  As found in the four qualitative semi-structured interviews with social media users, respondents are surrounding themselves with like-minded social groups which provide them with confidence about their own system of beliefs. Nevertheless, their perspectives are often marked by notable social pessimism and a lack of incentive to engage in conflictual interactions with others on social media. The results pointed out the perception among the interviewees that the impact of social media on identity formation is largely confined to adolescent users. Many users self-report significant daily screen time and are aware of the risks of social bubbles. Most of the respondents denied being subjected to cyberbullying, while they were surfing on social media, so the respondents’ physical lives were not affected by cyberbullying even for those who mentioned their exposure to cyberbullying. All the respondents expressed a sense of jealousy to some extent, even though some of them showed awareness of the thought that people post their lives from a perfect angle while hiding the flaws and not showing the imperfections of their lives on social media. Lastly, social comparison was an incentive feeling affected most of the respondents, and in their own experience, social media affected their character development and self-perception since they were exposed to social media at an adolescent age.