This thesis examines the online fan community of the HBO series The Last of Us on the social media platform Reddit. Within this study, the fans’ communication practices on the subreddit r/ThelastofusHBOseries are researched and analyzed from a community-building perspective. The subreddit was observed employing a netnographic approach. The observed communicational behavior was divided into categories. The patterns arising from this process were analyzed using discourse analysis and a theoretical framework rooted in fandom, knowledge communities, and uses and gratifications theory.  The research’s results show that the community on r/ThelastofusHBOseries provides a space for fans to connect, share their passion, and engage in meaningful discussions about the show. It embodies convergence culture, the value of mutual knowledge, and participatory practices. The use of insider language, adherence to spoiler etiquette, and organization of regular events further contribute to community building. The subreddit is a valuable platform for fans to exchange interpretations, enrich their reception experience, and foster community belonging. While extensive research has explored fan communities, there is a lack of studies on their online community-building practices. Notably, the subreddit r/ThelastofusHBOseries remains unexplored due to its novelty, alluding to the study’s relevance. Despite the limitations concerning its time frame, missing complementary methods like interviews, and possible sampling bias, the research is still a valuable snapshot, providing significant insights and findings. Future research could thus observe the community’s development over time to examine evolving communication and community building, paying a particular focus to regular events or insider language. Future research would also benefit from complementary methods.

This netnography depicts the notions of India’s subaltern voices entering the public via social media. The study puts an emphasis on feminists and caste critics, divided into two case studies. The study witnessed dynamics of Twitter use between sociality and activism as well as the notions of performance and identity of these two intersecting, yet polarised groups.Privilege remains a governing factor, which regulates access, accessibility and the use of the subaltern sphere and makes it exclusive for a privileged group of the subaltern. The main benefits of Twitter in the subaltern sphere, as the study suggests, is the factor of sociality and networking around causes, which leads to peer dialogue in the public sphere and increases visibility. This eventually leads to more attention for certain causes in the public discourse and to the countering of mainstream media narratives, for example in the case study of the Dalit Lives Matter Movement and its ad hoc fame, which evolved after the suicide of the Dalit PhD scholar Rohith Vemula.Further, while online activism is present, its impact remains hard to measure. The main benefits of the space are the plurality of voices that inhabit it. Also, the unleashing of the counter­narratives towards the mainstream media that are even more controlled by the state than the new media landscape, is an important benefit.

[pt] A presente tese analisa, em uma perspectiva de múltiplos ciberespaços, performances identitárias de Vitória e Glória, mulheres em tratamento de câncer de mama que, através de suas interações online, constroem-se como vítimas ao descobrirem a doença e passam a agir como protagonistas em redes sociais, na luta contra o câncer. Sendo assim, os objetivos deste estudo são: (i) analisar as performances identitárias de duas mulheres com câncer de mama em diferentes sites; e (ii) compreender de que forma as participantes se constroem como protagonistas em redes sociais ao longo do tratamento da doença. A perspectiva teórica da pesquisa situa-se em estudos sobre as performances identitárias na narrativa e no discurso multimodal, no protagonismo discursivo e social e na teoria do posicionamento. A metodologia da pesquisa é qualitativa e interpretativa de cunho netnográfico. Os dados consistem de vídeos, entrevistas e narrativas das participantes que estão registradas em páginas públicas do Facebook, do YouTube, de três sites institucionais e de um blog. As análises indicam que: (i) há mudanças de performances identitárias e de posicionamento das participantes nas redes sociais, sinalizando transformação das trajetórias de vida ao longo de seus tratamentos – do ser comum ao protagonismo; (ii) as participantes ressignificam suas experiências de dor e lamentação, em uma perspectiva de discurso como ação social via discursos de emoção, esperança, triunfo e engajamento político; (iii) o agenciamento é direcionado aos interlocutores nas redes sociais, enquanto posicionamento político e identitário de enfrentamento do câncer. Nesse sentido, como contribuição social, esta tese sinaliza que, na sociedade contemporânea, as redes sociais se tornam espaços férteis de resistência e de empoderamento pessoal e de outros usuários, e espaços de metamorfose de lagarta a borboleta em relação ao câncer. / [en] The present thesis analyzes, from a multi-sited perspective, the identity performances of Vitória and Glória, women in treatment of breast cancer who, through their online interactions, construct themselves as victims when they discover the disease and begin to act as protagonists in social networks in the fight against cancer. Thus, the objectives of this study are: (i) to analyze the identity performances of two women with breast cancer in different websites; and (ii) to understand how the participants construct themselves as protagonists in social networks throughout the treatment of the disease. The theoretical perspective of the research is located in studies on the identity performances in narrative and multimodal discourse, in the discursive and social protagonism and in the theory of the positioning. The methodology of the research is qualitative and interpretative of a netnographic nature. The data consist of videos, interviews and narratives of the participants that are registered in public pages of Facebook, YouTube, three institutional websites and one blog. The analysis indicate that: (i) there are changes in identity performances and in the positioning of participants in social networks, signaling the transformation of life trajectories throughout their treatments - from being ordinary to protagonism; (ii) participants reassign their experiences of pain and lamentation, from a discourse perspective as social action through discourses of emotion, hope, triumph and political engagement; (iii) agency is directed to interlocutors in social networks, as a political and identity positioning for coping with cancer. In this sense, as a social contribution, this thesis indicates that, in contemporary society, social networks become fertile spaces of resistance and personal/users empowerment, and spaces of metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly in relation to cancer.

This paper explores value co-creation and value co-destruction with a focus on the social practices embedded in the online brand community “My Starbucks Idea (MSI).” The objectives of the research are accomplished through a detailed explanation of the study’s stages, starting with the Research design/Planning, and followed by the Community Entry (Entrée), Data collection, Limitations, and Ethical implications. Since the study is exploratory in character, the qualitative research strategy was used. As Bryman and Bell (2011) note, qualitative research gives particular attention to words rather than numbers in the gathering and interpretation of data. This study applied a modified ‘netnographic’ approach, a new qualitative method devised specifically to investigate consumer behaviour vis-à-vis cultures and communities present on the Internet (Kozinets 1998). This study identifies three elements of practice: stalking, gossip, and exhibitionism. It also supports the idea stated by Echeverri & Skålén (2011) that there is no positive without a negative in interactive value formation. Although those authors’ work was focused on the provider-customer interface, the idea proves applicable to the online brand community (OBC) used for illustration in this study. The present study also draws attention to a vital characteristic of practice often forgotten: ‘Language’ as an enabler of all other elements (Whittington 2006). The paper contributes to the knowledge in the practice theory domain, and thus consumer culture, especially relating to OBCs. When using OBCs as a marketing tool, considerable ingenuity must be employed by business managers to gain strategic information and feedback from online forum discussions. Such information can help in the company’s strategic decision making. By building relationships and gaining new customers through the process of collaboration, managers can become more like brand storytellers. Also, such communication can be channelled as a means to create greater awareness, both of the brand and the users’ experiences, along with aiding in the development of better services and products to meet customers’ needs. In the current study, consent was an ethical concern that limited the scope and path taken by the paper. The ten-week research period was another limiting factor in properly covering all of the contextualized consumption activities and gaining sufficient experience within the MSI community.

Submitted by Tereza Risi (tereza.risi@icict.fiocruz.br) on 2013-10-11T19:29:13Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Isabel Levy.pdf: 2081227 bytes, checksum: d87790882fbeedaf43096403d4e742be (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-10-11T19:29:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Isabel Levy.pdf: 2081227 bytes, checksum: d87790882fbeedaf43096403d4e742be (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto de Comunicação e Informação Científica e Tecnológica em Saúde. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil / O advento e a popularização das tecnologias da informação e da comunicação ± dentre elas, a internet e as redes sociais on - lin e ± têm modificado profundamente as formas como pessoas e instituições se relacionam. No campo da Comunicação e Saúde, diversas experiências contemporâneas apontam a concorrência entre forças centrípetas e centrífugas no ciberespaço e levantam a questão: o investimento das instituições públicas de saúde em atividades desenvolvidas na internet, por meio das redes sociais on - line, é de fato uma inovação em suas práticas discursivas ou corresponde a uma inovação relativa ao suporte, mas não ao modo de relação com os seus interlocutores? Por meio da abordagem da netnografia, a pesquisa buscou mapear, descrever e analisar práticas de comunicação do Ministério da Saúde no ciberespaço, tendo como objeto específico a Campanha Nacional de Combate à Dengue 2011/2012. O estudo aponta que, a o assumir algumas características que tradicionalmente são observadas na forma como a mídia hegemônica aborda os temas de saúde, os espaços virtuais do Ministério da Saúde constituem - se mais como mídias digitais e menos como redes soc iais on - line. Os resultados nos levam a concluir que, apesar da inovação no uso de suportes digitais e no investimento em recursos criativos como as narrativas transmídia, as práticas de Comunicação e Saúde desenvolvidas pelo Ministério da Saúde no ciberes paço durante a Campanha estudada repetem as dinâmicas que caracterizam o modelo hegemônico de comunicação de natureza transferencista, bipolar, linear unidirecional e centralizado no emissor, e consolidam o discurso campanhista de saúde / The information and communication technologies ± especially the internet and online social networks - have profoundly changed the relationshi p between people and institutions. In the field of Communication and Health, various contemporary experiences indicates the competition between centripetal and centrifugal forces in cyberspace and raise the question about the public institutions investmen t in online activities. Is it is indeed an innovation in their discursive practices or represents an innovation on the devices , but not on the mode of relationship with their interlocutors? Through netnography approach, the research sought to identify, des cribe and analyze communication practices of the Ministry of Health in cyberspace, with the specific object of the National Campaign to Combat Dengue 2011/2012. The study shows that by taking a few features that are traditionally found in how the hegemonic media covers WKH WRSLFV RI KHDOWK 0LQLVWU\ RI +HDOWK¶V YLUWXDO VSDFHV DUH PRUH OLNH GLJLWDO PHGLD DQG less like online social networking. The results lead us to conclude that, despite the innovative use of digital media and creative resources as transmed ia narratives, Communication and Health practices developed by the Ministry of Health in cyberspace during the Campaign repeat the dynamics that characterize the hegemonic model of communication - bipolar, linear and unidirectional, centralized in an emit ter polo - and consolidate the health's prescriptive speech

Les réseaux sociaux numériques professionnels, qualifiés ici d’espaces numériques interstitiels à thématiques professionnelles (EIP) dans cette recherche, suscitent, en raison de leur nature émergente et ambivalente, des interrogations tant sur le plan empirique que sur le plan conceptuel. A partir des observations exploratoires menées avec une démarche inductive et qualitative sur les EIP spécialisés dans la gestion des ressources humaines de la fonction publique territoriale (FPT), cette recherche propose, d’une part, une conceptualisation systémique de l’analyse du fonctionnement des EIP, et, d’autre part, une analyse des fonctionnalités gestionnaires des EIP dans le contexte du développement des nouvelles pratiques RH dans le secteur de la FPT. S’appuyant sur le concept des systèmes autopoïétiques de Niklas Luhmann (1927-1998), cette recherche propose un cadre d’analyse qui considère que les EIP sont des systèmes fonctionnant avec des processus d’auto-maintenance et d’auto-renouvellement, au travers des communications entre les individus qui sont à la fois contributeurs et consommateurs, réunis par des moyens numériques dans des lieux collectifs interstitiels. Un système comme l’EIP peut être analysé selon un cadre composé de trois dimensions qui s’interagissent : dimension structurelle, dimension technologique et dimension vectorielle. Ces observations montrent que, pour les professionnels RH du secteur, l’EIP est avant tout un outil professionnel de complémentarité disposant de différentes fonctionnalités managériales et gestionnaires, que l’on peut illustrer par quatre métaphores du quotidien : le jardin public pour se ressourcer et échanger, la fenêtre pour observer, le miroir pour s’ajuster, et la courroie de transmission pour articuler différemment la GRH et le SI. Ce travail se termine par une mise en réflexion de la potentialité des EIP dans l’évolution de la GRH de la FPT. / Professional digital social networks, defined as interstitial professional digital spaces (IPDS) in this research, arouse, because of their emergent and ambivalent characteristics, empirical and academic questions. From an exploratory study conducted with an inductive and qualitative approach about the IPDS specified in the human resources management of the French public territorial sector, this research suggests, firstly, a systemic conceptualization in analysis of the IPDS’s functionaries, and second, an analysis of its management functionalities in the development of new HRM practices in this sector. Based on the autopoietic system theory of Niklas Luhmann (1928-1998), this research proposes a theoretical framework for analysis whereas the IPDS is a system with self-maintenance and a self-renewal process through communications between individuals who are both contributors and consumers, assembled by digital tools in interstitial spaces. The results stemming from the observation data show that, for HR professionals, IPDS are above all complementary professional tool with different features which can be illustrated as a public garden for broadening the mind, a window for observation, a mirror for self-examination, and a transmission belt for articulating HRM and IS. This work ends with reflection on the IPDS’s potentialities in a development of HR practices in the public territorial sector.

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The aim of this study is to compare how transmedia narrative transportation theory (TNT) can be used on social plattform by influencers to how they are doing it. Social platforms are a relatively new phenomenon that is constant evolving both technical and how it´s used by the society. It therefore needs more and deeper research on the subject for increased and broader understanding. Our study investigates solely social platforms where the TNT theory has not previously been implemented.  During the studies we used a netnographic approach to observe two influencers who uses different types of social media platforms to connect with stakeholders in different ways. Our aim of this study is to answer the question “How do influencers use social platforms and can it compare to TNT in their interactions with stakeholders and what value this generate?”.  What our study reveals is that social platforms with their design and several functions creates a space for communication and interaction, which is a basis for influencers to achieve stakeholder engagement and co-creation of meaning. Both influencers who we observed during the study, works with social platforms in a way that can be compared to how TNT is used. Our study also shows that an influencer with a storyworld that share stories with a clearer start, climax and ending, generate more stakeholder engagement.

Bringing together current research strands stemming from the Festinger tradition of failed prophecy, and by observing a recent case of a prophetic group dealing with disconfirming events under a period of 210 days, I theorize on what roles cognitive dissonance, rituals and continuous prophetic adaptation play in the management of prophetic groups’ alternative world views. The traditional conception of dissonance management is reinterpreted as a process of maximizing mental desirability, which is contingent on the level of cognitive dissonance as well as cognitive activity. Through the use of rituals, prophetic groups maintain a certain mental network of categories (world) that invalidates the judgement standards of the mainstream society in favor of the prophet. Finally, prophecy itself is considered to be a device that regulates the collective level of cognitive dissonance and activity in order to maintain an ideal state of collective mental desirability; it is a tool to organize the present, rather than a prediction to be judged based on its accuracy. This sociological study is an assessment of the research on prophecy stemming from Festinger and makes the contribution of synthesizing it under the single logic of world management through the study of an empirical case.

This master thesis explores the dynamics of information flows between the hacktivist group Guacamaya, media outlets and social media users. The study aims to understand the role of various social actors within the digital space such as media outlets, journalists, bots, and trolls, in shaping public opinion and the overall effectiveness of the group's communication activities. A netnographic methodology was employed to observe the journey and transformation of information as it travelled from the hacktivist group to journalists and eventually to social media users. Tweets were obtained purposefully, to build a media ecology with sentiments, topics and where different actors interact with the information and with each other, modifying and reinterpreting the purpose of Guacamaya. The theoretical framework draws on the concepts of technopolitics, hacktivism, information flows, the network society and gatekeeping. My findings show how the Internet is a contested territory where attention and power are disputed. They also provide evidence on the complexity of the communication process in the digital space as all interactions from all actors influence the information flow. The conclusions highlight the new media ecology environment and the multidisciplinary role of actors in the digital realm. Furthermore, they argue that hacktivism as counterpower involves more than technical skills for uncovering hidden information and demanding accountability, but also strategic reappropriation for reducing inequalities and promoting just and inclusive societies. Hopefully, this thesis contributes to understanding the potential of hacktivists groups to drive political and social change through the understanding of a new communication environment.