Vilka möjligheter finns för unga elever i skolår 2 och 3 att utveckla ett critical literacy-perspektiv utifrån den undervisning de deltar i och de texter de möter? Texter är inte bara skriven text utan text kan vara en bild, en film, ett inlägg på Instagram eller ett musikstycke som ska tolkas. Förståelsen av begreppet läskunnighet behöver därför vidgas eftersom eleven, förutom att läsa och skriva skriven text, också måste kunna tolka, reflektera över, kritiskt granska och skapa mening ur olika typer av källor. En sådan undervisning bidrar också till elevers utveckling till demokratiska medborgare, vilket också är ett övergripande mål i skolans styrdokument. I föreliggande licentiatuppsats undersöks möjligheterna för unga elever i skolår 2 och 3 att utveckla ett critical literacy-perspektiv utifrån den undervisning de deltar i. Syftet är att belysa om och i så fall hur undervisning i årskurs 2 och 3 skapar förutsättningar för elever att utveckla critical literacy. De kunskaperna behövs även för att kunna agera aktivt som samhällsmedborgare. Att kunna läsa och förstå texter ur olika perspektiv, att förstå att texter kan utesluta eller skapa fördelar för olika individer och att texter positionerar läsaren är en del av vad critical literacy handlar om. En teoretisk utgångspunkt för denna studie är därmed att elever, genom att läsa och arbeta med texter ur ett critical literacy-perspektiv, ges verktyg att bearbeta och tolka olika texter och skapa en förståelse för hur olika texter påverkar människor. Studien fokuserar på elevers respons i undervisning och datamaterial har samlats in i en klass med 20 elever under deras tid i klass 2 och 3 och består av klassrumsobservationer och intervjuer. Vid analys av materialet har  Janks (2010) fyra begrepp, domination, access, diversity och design, använts för att analysera elevernas respons relaterat till olika textaktiviteter. Resultatet visar att elever, utan någon speciell undervisning om critical literacy, i sina diskussioner, framför allt i samhälls- och naturvetenskapliga ämnen, uppmärksammar vilka som dominerar i texter och varför vissa människor framstår som viktigare än andra.  En slutsats är att unga elever både kan och vill diskutera svåra frågor om förutsättningar ges. När undervisningen har ett critical literacyperspektiv ges eleverna möjlighet att upptäcka och möjligen också bättre förstå sin omvärld. Genom sina egna erfarenheter kan eleverna inte bara visa medvetenhet om människor olika villkor utan också bidra med alternativ till förändring. / What opportunities are there for young students in school years 2 and 3 to develop a critical literacy perspective based on the teaching they participate in and the many text variants they meet in school? Since texts are not simply written words, but also pictures, film, Instagram posts or music, the concept of literacy needs to be  similarly extended.  In other words, to be considered  critically literate, students must also be able to interpret, reflect on, critically review, and create meaning from multiple types of sources. Teaching focusing on developing students’ critical literacy clearly contributes to fostering democratic citizens, which is also an overarching goal in the school curriculum. The purpose of the study is to shed light on whether and if so how teaching in grades 2 and 3 creates conditions for students to develop critical literacy and as a result be able to act actively as informed citizens. Being able to read and understand texts from different perspectives, and to understand that a text situates the reader and thus excludes or create advantages, is part of what critical literacy is about.The study material has been collected in a class of 20 students and consists of recordings and field notes from classroom observations and interviews. The data were analyzed using Jank’s (2010) four concepts, dominance, access, diversity, and design and the students' response in the teaching is analyzed in relation to various text activities. The results show, in social science and natural science texts, that students, even without any special teaching about critical literacy, pay attention to who dominates and how some people appear more important than others.  A conclusion is that young students are both able and willing to discuss difficult questions if conditions are given. When the teaching has a critical literacy perspective, students are given opportunity to discover and possibly also better understand the world around them. Based on their own experiences, the students can also not only show awareness about people’s different conditions but come up with alternatives to change.

A preliminary technical framing of climate change in the evidence of citizens' climate assemblies (CCAs) might lead to closing down policy options and ignoring other sides of climate change, such as questions of power. A limited range of frames can negatively impact epistemic conditions for deliberation and lead to decreased engagement by participants who do not share the values proposed by the dominant frames. As climate change framing can affect the policy recommendations participants produce, a dominating technical framing may reinforce narrow and incomplete views on climate change and reduce novel and potentially transformative policy ideas. I developed a framework to study climate change framing in CCAs and used it on general climate change and topic-specific (energy) information provided to UK, German and Global CCA participants. Although the three CCAs differed in many aspects, no major differences in the framing of climate change stood out. More differences in framing arose between different speaker types and between the written material of the Global assembly and speaker presentations across assemblies. Also, the framing within the topic group energy was more technical than in the general climate change information. In total, frames regarding human safety, governance issues, fairness between people and countries and technology and energy were used most in the general climate change information. There was little mention of the role of science, communication, economy, personal agency or human-nature relationship. Literature suggests that a technocratic view on climate change dominates the evidence of CCAs. However, my findings do not fully confirm that. Nevertheless, there remained room for improvement in applying a more diverse set of frames and including alternative and potentially transformative views in the three case studies. Future research can use my framework to systematically assess the framing of climate change in the evidence of CCAs.

Senior citizens are among the most vulnerable groups of cyber victimization in today’s contexts. Ensuring online security for the elderly has become extremely critical as the global elderly population is on the rise and the incident of cyber victimization is rapidly growing causing financial and societal problems for them. This study is conducted to identify the challenges faced in ensuring online security to senior citizens and to propose remedies to these identified challenges. A systematic literature review was performed on Google Scholar, IEEEXplore, Pubmed, ScienceDirect and Proquest databases to identify the challenges using appropriate keywords and screening criteria. 29 Review articles (n=29) were found relevant for the challenges of online security for senior citizens and broadly categorized into physical and psychological factors, technological factors, and awareness factors. 14 review articles (n=14) were found to be relevant as remedial measures on IEEEXplore database. Challenges found for physical and psychological factors were health problems such as mobility decline which led to higher use of online services (higher visibility), issues in recalling memory which leads to inability to recall information regarding crime and non-reporting of crime, and cognitive impairment where they are unable to assess the potential choices. Remedial measures which can be applied for these issues include home monitoring systems using beacon technology, path tracking fall detection systems, use of apps like senior book, use of elder friendly web forms. Seniors were also found to be in social isolation where they are exposed to unfamiliar online activities due to the death of the capable partner, less able to seek advice due to lack of network and the possibility of building relationships with strangers allows the fraudsters to target the elders easily. Further, the relative wealth of seniors is high, and they are less likely to check their balances, making them vulnerable. Smart home systems, apps such as SAFER were found to be possible remedial measures for these situations. Also, elders are reluctant to report victimization due to fear of victim blaming and fear of loss of independence which results in repeated victimization. Challenges identified for awareness factors include less awareness of content of scam, trusting communications which are legitimate authorities and limited awareness on cyber security. Information Security Awareness Programs, online courses on security awareness can be used as a remedial measure to enhance the awareness of cyber security among elders. Technological challenges identified include lack of cyber security skills where they do not have the motivation to seek cyber security related information, unable to understand the jargon used and use of unsecured networks and easily imitable passwords. The remedies found were biometrics instead of passwords, participatory approach for the design and development of programs and use of elder friendly internet browsers. This study contributes to the cyber security of senior citizens by understanding the challenges and suggesting remedies for the challenges identified.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between media use and body image in senior citizens. This study specifically targeted older people who participate in regular physical activity. Seniors participating in the 2006 Huntsman World Senior Games in St. George, Utah were surveyed concerning current body image and total media use. The sample included 691 participants. Lower body image scores were recorded among seniors who watched greater amounts of television. Magazine readership and body image displayed no relationship among men or women. Total media use did not influence body image scores among seniors. Male participants exhibited a stronger relationship than female participants between television use and low body image scores. Results indicated that males were vulnerable to messages targeting body image in a similar way to that of females. The findings of this study suggest that individuals may still be influenced by ultra thin images prevalent in media well into their older years.

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This thesis is a critical ethnographic exploration of Philadelphia graffiti as radical citizens’ media, and how the graffiti community is impacted by digital new media in regard to identity, social connection, and commodification. Previous research explores the traditions and practices that are specific to the Philadelphia graffiti community and how the medium affords transformative agency to practitioners, but existing research does not sufficiently explore how this subculture has been impacted by digitality and social media. Through both interviews with Philadelphia based graffiti writers and a critical virtual ethnography of local graffiti archives on Instagram, I explore the following research questions: How may graffiti be used as a form of transgressive, radical citizens’ media to challenge hegemony and elicit alternative imaginaries of resistance? How has the local Philadelphia graffiti scene integrated Instagram to their graffiti practices and community? I argue that graffiti contributes to both the urban physical landscape, but also the digital mediascape, specifically on the social media platform Instagram and as a medium has unique affordances that empower writers for social change. Further, I also argue that social media has influenced how graffiti is practiced, documented, and culturally received while also expanding opportunities for social change and community building. / Media Studies & Production

With recent and contentious Supreme Court cases dealing with corporate constitutional rights, such as Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010), as well as with the appointment of a new justice, the time is particularly ripe for evaluations of the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence in this area, including predictions about the future of this line of cases. The purpose of this thesis is to establish a better understanding of the historical jurisprudential approach utilized by the Supreme Court to decide corporate constitutional rights by establishing the well-known doctrine of selective incorporation as an appropriate analogy. No other works attempt to frame the case history of corporate constitutional rights within a consistent doctrine, yet many works seek to evaluate and predict Court decisions in this area. This work will therefore create a new frame of reference for corporate constitutional rights, providing a new basis for interpretation and predictions. This thesis begins by conducting a thorough overview of both lines of cases, focusing on the establishment of each doctrine over time as well as the reasoning behind the Court’s use of this particular approach. Once a clear picture of both approaches has been ascertained, this thesis moves on to an overall comparison and evaluation of both approaches. In finding the process, intent, and overall effect of both jurisprudential approaches to be the same, the use of selective incorporation as an analogy for the Supreme Court’s approach to corporate constitutional rights gives way to predictions about the future of corporate constitutional rights. Considering the relevant views expressed by the new justice, Neil Gorsuch, and the previous decisions of the Roberts Court, this analogy provides solid evidence for predicting continued expansion of corporate constitutional rights, including such areas as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and perhaps even rights of the accused. The comparative approach used in this thesis, as well as the analogy it establishes, can also be revisited as new Court decisions are made and as the makeup of the Court changes overtime.

Oman has adopted e-government services, but according to the United Nations E-Government Development Index classification, such services are not fully utilised. E-government classification of Oman shows a lack that motivated this research. The aim is to provide a framework that can help the Omani government to better implement e-government services. As a result, Oman classification is expected to be improved. Such framework may also help similar developing countries in implementing their e-government services. This work aimed to address both; government and citizens prospective, also aiming to help conducting a sold research a good implementable framework. Therefore, an interview with 21 government participations from different institutions was conducted followed by citizens that attracted 400 qualified responses. The research process has led to the suggestion of using another approach of e-government services, the unified e-services portals. The outcomes of this research show; both government and citizens are in favour of using unified definitions in portals. In addition, a proposed framework is presented based on supported findings that is believed to better utilising e government services hence leading to improve ranking. It is also believed that the UN assessing committees would benefit from the unified approach. Simply, it unifies the definition of each service based on the published academic definitions and work. The evaluation of the proposed framework is outside this research and can be addressed by a further research as recommended. Implementing the unified approach portals is another front that attracts implementation and evaluation.

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