Syftet med denna uppsats är att åskådliggöra hur Alternativ för Sverige (AfS) och Sverigedemokraterna (SD) kommunicerar i sociala medier och att bidra med kunskap kring hur respektive parti positionerar sig i relation till högerpopulistiska aktörer och ”alt-right” i de digitala politiska landskap som växt fram under de senaste åren. I uppsatsen undersöks detta genom en innehållsanalys av partiernas kommunikation på Facebook, samt genom en undersökning av vilka relationer AfS och SD har till andra aktörer i sociala medier med hjälp av en social nätverksanalys. Genom att analysera explicit innehåll på Facebooksidan (Facebook-inlägg) och mer implicita relationer till andra personer och/eller organisationer, åsyftar studien att granska partiernas kommunikativa innehåll och kontextuella politiska positionering. Dels utifrån ett nationellt perspektiv, samt utifrån ett internationellt perspektiv avseende ”alt-right- rörelsens” beteende och positionering online de senaste åren. De frågeställningar som följer genom studien är: • Hur skiljer sig AfS och SD:s kommunikation på Facebook åt inför riksdagsvalet 2018, samt vilka likheter har de?  • Hur ser AfS nätverk ut i jämförelse med SD:s? Vilka aktörer har de kopplingar till och avspeglar sig deras sociala nätverk i partiernas kommunikation på Facebook?  • Vilket kommunikativt fokus använder AfS respektive SD i Facebook-inläggen? Vilka nyhetsteman, källhänvisning, format och känslor är återkommande, samt i vilken grad svartmålar partierna politiska motståndare?   • Vilken grad av engagemang generar olika fokus på partiernas Facebook-sidor? Uppsatsens teoretiska ramverk utgår från tidigare forskning som kan sammanfattas utifrån två övergripande teman. Det första temat är forskning kring ”alt-right” och den anti-etablissemangsrörelse som denna har utmynnat i under de senaste åren i det digitala landskapet. Det andra temat är högerpopulism online – i vilken kontext finner vi högerpopulism och hur manifesteras den online? Dessa teman överlappar varandra på så sätt att den högerpopulism som manifesteras online ofta sker genom aktörer som kategoriseras som ”alt-right”, samt att ”alt-right” och högerpopulistiska aktörer i hög grad diskuterar samma politiska områden, inte minst migration och kritik gentemot etablerade politiker och massmedia.    I uppsatsen har en komparativ innehållsanalys kompletterats med en social nätverksanalys. I den komparativa innehållsanalysen har kommunikativt innehåll i Facebook-inlägg jämförts mellan AfS och SD:s Facebook-sidor. Samtliga Facebook-inlägg som partiernas officiella Facebook-sidor publicerat veckan inför riksdagsvalet 2018 har kodats genom variabler med koppling till studiens frågeställningar. I den sociala nätverksanalysen har partiernas och partiledarnas officiella Facebook-sidor analyserats. Det har också genomförts en social nätverksanalys baserat på omnämnanden av AfS Twitter-konto på Twitter. Resultaten visar att AfS hänvisar till och använder sig av alternativmedier i hög grad och av etablerade medier i låg grad, samtidigt som förhållandet är det motsatta hos SD. Båda partierna har dock kopplingar till 2  alternativmedier i deras sociala nätverk. I AfS sociala nätverk ingår många aktörer utanför partiet, ofta sådana med koppling till ”alt-right” i andra länder, medan SD:s nätverk endast består av aktörer som representerar partiet. Partiledarna Gustav Kasselstrand (AfS) och Jimmie Åkesson (SD) är centrala i partiernas sociala nätverk. I AfS sociala nätverk har Kasselstrand i högre grad kopplingar till personer (till exempel andra personer inom ledningen i AfS) medan Åkesson i SD:s sociala nätverk har kopplingar till enheter och funktioner inom partiet.  Migration som nyhetsämne på Facebook är överrepresenterat hos både AfS och SD, särskilt för AfS. Både AfS och SD använder sig mer av negativa känslor än positiva känslor och svartmålar politiska motståndare i hög grad i sina Facebook-inlägg. Sådana Facebook-inlägg genererar också i genomsnitt en högre grad av engagemang än andra inlägg. AfS använder sig av Facebook-inlägg som innehåller mobilisering i högre grad än SD. / The purpose of this study is to understand how Alternative for Sweden (AfS) and the Swedish Democrats (SD) communicate in social media. The study can contribute with knowledge about how these parties can be seen in relation to right-wing populist actors and "alt-right" in the digital political landscapes that have emerged in recent years. This is done through a content analysis of the parties' communication on Facebook, and by examining the connections and relationships AfS and SD have with other actors in social media through a social network analysis. By analyzing explicit content on the Facebook page (Facebook posts) and implicit relationships with other people and / or organizations, the study aims to examine the parties' communicative content and contextual political positioning. Partly from a national perspective, as well as from an international perspective regarding the "alt-right movement" behavior and positioning online in recent years. The questions that follow through the study are: • How do AfS and SD's communication on Facebook differ for the parliamentary elections 2018, and what similarities do they have? • What does the AfS network look like compared to SD's? Which actors do they have connections to and does the social networks reflect in the parties' communication on Facebook? • What communicative focus does AfS and SD use in Facebook posts? What news themes, source reference, format and emotions are recurring, and to what extent do the parties focus on political opponents?  • What level of engagement gives different focus on the parties' Facebook pages? The thesis's theoretical framework is based on previous research, which can be summarized based on two general themes. The first theme is research on "Alt-right" and the anti-establishment movement that this has spawned in recent years in the digital landscape. The second theme is right-wing populism online - in what context do we find right-wing populism and how is it manifested online? These themes overlap in such a way that the right-wing populism manifested online often has actors categorized as "alt-right," and they largely discuss the same policy areas, not least migration and criticism of established politicians and the media. In the study, a comparative content analysis has been supplemented with a social network analysis. In the comparative content analysis, communicative content in Facebook posts has been compared between AfS and SD's Facebook pages. All Facebook posts that the parties' official Facebook pages published the week before the election have been coded by variables linked to the study's issues. In the social network analysis, the parties 'and party leaders' official Facebook pages have been analyzed. A social network analysis has also been conducted based on mentions of the AfS Twitter account on Twitter. The results show that AfS refers to and uses alternative media to a large extent and of established media to a low degree, while the relationship is the opposite of SD. However, both parties have links to alternative media in their social networks. AfS social networks have connections to many actors outside the party, often those with connections to "alt-right" in other countries, while SD's network consists only of actors 4  representing the party. Party leaders Gustav Kasselstrand (AfS) and Jimmie Åkesson (SD) are central to the parties' social networks. In AfS social networks, Kasselstrand has more connections to people (for example other people in the management of AfS) while Åkesson in SD's social network has connections to units and functions within the party.  Migration as a news topic on Facebook is over-represented by both AfS and SD, especially for AfS. Both AfS and SD use more negative emotions than positive emotions and discredit political opponents to a great extent in their Facebook posts. Such Facebook posts also generate, on average, a higher level of engagement than other posts. AfS uses Facebook posts that contain mobilization to a greater extent than SD.

The thesis focuses on the analysis of representations of Russia in relation to the Nation Branding theory of Simon Anholt (Anholt, 2007, 2010). The empirical study examines the representation of the country in the output of Russian English-speaking media and transnational media. The aim of the research is to compare them in the end. The bidding process for the right to host World Football Cup 2018 is chosen as a case study.Previous research has shown that during similar events in other countries, even when there were attempts to manage the branding process and change the image of the country, transnational media have usually a critical approach to the coverage, while domestic outlets are more loyal and create more positive image to their country of origin. (Barr, 2011; Berger, 2010; Ding, 2011; Han, 2011; Latham, 2009; Manzenreiter, 2010; Hoppe, 2011)The theoretical framework of the study is based on the representation theory and the construction of meaning in media texts. The theoretical part uses works by Fairclough (1995), van Dijk (1991) and Hall (1997). It talks about the most important notions of the theory, discusses the ways meaning is constructed in articles and outlines linguistic and narrative tools that are the most important for the empirical study. Among them are metaphors, hyperboles, topics, actors and the usage of sources.The research has a mixed-methods approach and combines content-analysis and discourse analysis.The findings demonstrate that there is indeed a difference in the coverage by Russian English-speaking media and transnational media. They have different approaches to the tone and angle of the articles, as well as the representation of sources. Moreover, it is confirmed that transnational media have critical approaches to portraying Russia. They discuss problems of Russia in relation to hosting Football Championship and sometimes there are more negative propositions in global media’s texts. At the same time Russian media seem to be biased and willing to present Russia in a more optimistic way. They focus more on positive developments that Russian is going to go through and present it as a country that is ready for change.

The focus of the study is an analysis, to what extend nationalist positionings are used in the online mediation of sports. The empirical study focuses on how nationality is represented and constructed in textual output. In addition, the study compares the findings of a content analysis conducted in Germany and the UK. As critical case the coverage of the 2012 UEFA EURO Championship qualification in 2011 has been selected.Previous research shows that nationalism in mediated sports within the traditional media is represented through various approaches. The usage of national identities and the construction of difference have been observed by researchers, such as Dixon (2000), Bruce (2004), Malcom (2009), Stocker (2009), Chesterton (2011) and others as mechanisms of nationalism. Furthermore, the developments and trends in the genre of sports journalism have been studied by researchers, such as Schlegel (2007) and Schmalenbach (2009), in regards to the journalistic profession, economical interests and tendencies in writing.The most important theory for this research has been the construction of difference in media output as well as how national identities or nationalism is represented in textual output. Most influential for this study are the theories by Stuart Hall (1997) and Teun van Dijk (1991). A definition regarding nationality and nationalism is based on the Danish researcher Jorgensen as presented by Östman (2009).The empirical study collects articles published on the two most visited websites / portals from Germany and the UK. 81 articles have been studied through a quantitative content analysis.From the empirical study it has been concluded that in both countries nationalist positionings are represented through constructions of difference. However, it needs to be noted that journalists in Germany and the UK are using different approaches. In Germany, country names and variations are used to create distance between the home and the other teams. In the UK they are used to strengthen their own national identity. Sources and quotations of the home teams are overrepresented to underline the connection between them and the audience. Pronouns and comparatives / superlatives are used to construct an “us-versus-them” relationship. Pronouns are more important in the UK for this approach, while in Germany it is mostly comparatives / superlatives. The frequencies of the different constructions vary, but all of them are used regularly in online sports reporting and confirm that there are nationalist tendencies in sports journalism.

The objective of this research project is to investigate the beliefs of eight Swedish journalists with reference to the controversial phenomenon of tabloidization and to unravel the impulses and the factors that are leading more and more publications to sensationalize their news content. Since this topic has been touched upon by previous research, the present thesis actions are directed towards a more particular research angle which has the intention to fill a less explored gap of the research area. Accordingly the aim of this thesis is to investigate and explore the very core of any newsroom which is the journalists themselves. This study deeply examines the journalists's opinions and views on the chosen topic.   The skeletal frame of this research is grounded on eight semi-structured face to face interviews with Swedish based journalists working for three different newspapers: Nerikes Allehanda, Aftonbladet and Expressen. The interviews were conducted between 1 ih of February and 6th of March 2012 both in 6rebro and Stockholm in different public locations chosen by the interviewees. The sampling technique chosen for this research study is the snowball sampling method in which every interviewed journalist recommended and helped the researcher to identify the next responded willing to take part in the study until the desired sample size was fulfilled. AH the interviews were recorded using a digital recording device. The gathered data which resulted from the transcription of the interviews was analyzed by using the grounded theory method with both induct.ive and deductive argumentation.  The findings of the study are pointing out the massive commercialization of the media sector anc;l the financial crisis as principal reasons in directing the journalists to present news in a more shocking and graphic manner. The interviewed Swedish journalists perceive tabloidization as a natural phenomenon while they are "u_sing" it as marketing tool in order to sell the newspaper. An interesting and unique finding is the "camouflage technique" used by the Swedish journalists to hide quality reportages and serious news under gossipy topics and hyperbolized headlines. The research concludes that even though Swedish journalists do not regard tabloidization as being a phenomenon characterized by dishonor, the future of the printed media stays into quality journalism and credible newspapers while tabloidization will become more and more a significant part of the online media.

Hållbar kommunikation har blivit ett allt mer vanligt begrepp. Företag tycks dock ha svårt att berätta om sitt hållbarhetsarbete på ett trovärdigt sätt. Alltför många lyfter fram enskilda hållbara handlingar samtidigt som deras övriga arbete lämnar en del att önska. Syftet med detta arbete är därför att undersöka hur företag på ett trovärdigt sätt kan marknadsföra sig som en hållbar aktör och därigenom attrahera kunder med samma syn på hållbarhet. Vidare undersöker vi hur detta kan bidra till att stärka ett företags image. Studien har skett genom framtagning och utvärdering av en releasekampanj där en fiktiv kommunikationsbyrå varit avsändare. En förstudie samt kvalitativ metod har används för att besvara studiens syfte. Det slutgilitga konceptet bygger på en flerstegskampanj som återfinns på såväl fysiska som digitala plattformar vid olika tidpunkter i samband med Earth Overshoot Day. Slutligen ska kampanjen generera besök på den landningssida som återfinns på kommunikationbyråns hemsida. Målet är att mottagaren väljer att kontakta byrån vilket leder till sälj. Studien visar att avsändaren behöver uppfattas som en trovärdig och kompetent aktör men att kampanjen även behöver engagera mottagaren. Genom att berätta om hållbarhet på ett objektivt sätt stärker avsändaren bilden av sig själv som en trovärdig aktör. För att mottagaren verkligen ska engagera sig behöver kampanjen fortfarande väcka känslor samt leda till en tankeställare. Vidare visar även arbetet att gerillamarknadsföring kan vara ett kostnadseffektivt sätt att uppnå detta på.

Denna studie undersöker hur en app för en befintlig utbildningsplattform skulle kunna utformas. Utbildningsplattformen i fråga är LiUs egna system, Lisam. Lisam används som ett verktyg för såväl studenter som lärare men har utstått kritik för saker som komplicerad navigation, osammanhängande gränssnitt samt svåråtkomlig och dåligt uppmärksammad information. Studien resulterade i en interaktiv prototyp av en Lisam-app. Prototypens användargränssnitt är uppdelat i fyra huvudkategorier: hem, kurser, samarbetsytor och schema. Genom dessa kan användaren läsa universitetsrelaterade nyheter, se viktiga händelser angående sin utbildning, anmäla sig till tentor och seminarier, kommunicera med olika arbetsgrupper, se sitt schema och mycket mer (se bilaga 1. för fullständig prototyp).

last goodnight amidst Superior fog (for sinfonietta and fixed media) explores one recorded sound, analyzed at three increasingly quiet amplitude thresholds. From these analyses, I created three harmonic collections, each comprised of the thirty loudest tones under the chosen amplitude thresholds. Although a re-synthesis of the first collection sounds very similar to the actual acoustic model, the quieter collections point less clearly to an identifiable source. While a computer can show us that these tones exist in the source, what is their role in our perception of the sound? Do they create a background to the loudest tones, adding subtleties that make the sound unique? Or are they beyond our perception, filtered out by our psychological and physiological limitations, and only evident through technological means, like the observation of ultraviolet light? With these questions in mind, I wrote this piece to explore the ambiguous space between these two realities: one close to our perception, and one far from it. We spend much of our lives saying goodbye. Each of these moments is a threshold between two states of being. Through this piece, I seek to place the listener in this point of transition – a situation in which they are perpetually moving on, but in a sense, not moving at all. Uncertain of boundaries, a process may be perceived as unified - as if observing a single moment from many perspectives.

By discussing how New Queer Cinema and queer theory have informed one another, I aim to understand how the gaze operates when a film prioritizes multiple subjectivities of experience. However, I hope to move beyond the tendency in queer theory to essentialize and categorize subjective or “true” experiences as a pretense to challenging dominant representations of identity. Although the politics of representation are crucial to the identification of social ills, I aim to identify the potential to theorize the gaze as an opportunity to locate desire throughout visual texts from various marginalized positions, not limited to sexuality and gender. If the main goal of new queer films is to offer more “authentic” queer realities – or more accurately, to oppose mainstream stereotyping – then these films maintain the existence of a dominant/heterosexual/homophobic discourse, ultimately reaffirming the hetero/homo binary. Additionally, because these films are primarily intended to address political representation in the mainstream, they essentialize identity once again by only portraying certain positive images, what is “authentic” anyway? As a result, they actively exclude other constructions of identity, coding cultural difference as “deviant” because it falls outside of the hetero/homo binary, rendering other sexualities/difference invisible and unable to resist. This preoccupation with recasting the stereotype, by filmmakers and critics alike, often ignores the value of the visual text and remains oblivious to the potential for the gaze to simultaneously elicit multiple and often contradictory forms of desire. Theorizing the gaze as queer means to interrogate the mechanisms of spectatorship, decode cultural difference, destabilize the authority of experience, and most importantly, reimagine the terms of desire.

La Sagrada Familia is a short film that looks at the complex interactions between three women. A grandmother, a mother, and a daughter must spend the night together in the countryside as they prepare for a wedding. Their already strained relationships will be put to the test as painful memories and unresolved grudges arise to haunt them. The story’s title is inspired by the Sacred Family Basilica in Spain. The monument is a beautiful catholic monument that has remained unfinished for hundreds of years much like the neglected relationships of an otherwise loving family.

Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2018 / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 117-129). / We experience the world through our senses. Our consciousness is the culmination of our recalled perceptual associations. Stimulating the senses can yield remarkable biological effects for cognitive recovery; this is the cornerstone of my thesis. Alzheimer's is currently the 6th leading cause of death in the United States and impacts an estimated 50 million worldwide. Therefore, it is vital to develop an effective cure that goes beyond stalling symptoms, to reverse disease progression. My research contribution to the Aging Brain Initiative, reveals the importance of multi-modal gamma stimulation for human-centered applications. This takes form within a novel sensory taxonomy of the effects of gamma entrainment stimuli in humans. Simultaneously, groundbreaking multisensory testing methodologies are outlined to evaluate subtle cognitive changes in human participants. The amalgamation of this research is physically expressed in the design of a multisensory, interactive Gamma Instrument, designed to effect peak levels of gamma entrainment and sensory congruence. This work provides foundational components for future gamma research and broadens our understanding of the role of music in medicine and multisensory cognition. / by Alexandra Rieger. / S.M. / S.M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences