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Using Grounded theory this thesis analyses the forms of support that are present on two online anorexia forums. Data was collected through non-participant observation and online interviews with members of two online anorexia forums, one pro-anorexic in orientation, one pro-recovery. Despite the clear differences that exist between the two communities, continuities are strongly apparent, especially when looking at these forums as support environments. This thesis illustrates that support is conditional, that is takes on a variety of forms in any one environment and highlights the role of offline discourses in shaping online support. It also provides an in-depth comparison of two online anorexia forums.

Recent changes in the media environment have generated serious debates about whether these changes will foster or hamper the proper functioning of democracy. Along this line, the tendency toward audience fragmentation has arisen as one of the main concerns that might undermine a healthy democracy. People are not likely to discuss common social problems and understand each other in fragmented society, much less agree on methods to solve them. This dissertation investigates whether the environmental changes result in the audience fragmentation. This study first clarifies conceptual and operational definition of fragmentation. It is conceptualized as division of the general public into small groups not communicating with each other, and operationalized as existence of a common agenda by means of incidental news exposure facilitated by structural factors of online communication, an exemplar of the new information environment. Data from several different methods are employed to investigate effects of new media on fragmentation: a content analysis, a survey, and a laboratory experiment. The results provide evidence supporting that the public still can share experiences by learning a common agenda from the media on the Internet, the medium considered an icon of the new media environment. Findings of the content analysis found significant positive correlations between news agenda of different media outlets, indicating that there is a common agenda in the media. Environmental factors of the media environment rather than individual differences in political predispositions have strong influence on people’s incidental news exposure, a key route to acquire a common agenda. A series of analyses based on the survey found that overall frequency of Internet use significantly predicted individuals’ reports of incidental news exposure online, whereas there was no significant relationship between political predispositions and incidental exposure. It also appears that certain online activities such as getting entertainment/sports information significantly predicted the incidental news exposure. The incidental news exposure was found to have actual effects on people’s learning of a common agenda and recognition/recall of information carried by stimulus messages in the experiment. The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of communication research and media/democracy. / text

<p>Abstract</p><p>Title: See each other on the Internet or on a café? A survey about social consequences of Internet usage. (Umgås på Internet eller på ett café? – en studie om Internetanvändningens sociala konsekvenser.)</p><p>Number of pages: 34 (including enclosures).</p><p>Author: Carolin Johansson.</p><p>Tutor: Else Nygren.</p><p>Course: Media and Communication Studies C.</p><p>Period: Fall 2007.</p><p>University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala University.</p><p>Purpose/Aim: The purpose is to get increased knowledge about the social consequences that may come up when young people at the age of 16-20 are using the Internet.</p><p>Material/Method: The material consists of a questionnaire that I made with questions about Internet usage that 84 young people from five classes (from three different upper secondary schools) answered.</p><p>Main results: To have access to a computer and Internet and the fact that broadband is more inexpensive now than before leads to an increased usage of the Internet. I found out that chatting, music/movies, searching for information and using the Internet for entertainment is what most of the participants spent the most time on while using the Internet. I also found out that an increased usage of the Internet could lead to decreased time together with friends/family.</p><p>Keywords: Internet usage, social consequences, Instant Messaging, Community, online communication.</p>

Title: Blogs as a new tool of communication and promotion of fashion brands. Research question: How do fashion companies make use of bloggers as a new tool of communication to promote their brands? Purpose: The purpose of this study is to observe and explore how the fashion brands use bloggers and their blogs as a new method to advertise and communicate about them and their products to consumers. The study is conducted from an external point of view. Design/methodology/approach: This study is exploratory and descriptive and uses a qualitative method, with non-randomly method where the sample is composed of six international fashion blogs. To collect data the authors used guideline to conduct the content analysis of these selected blogs. Findings: This study shows that brands use the blogger as human being with the phenomenon of the word-of-mouth and opinion formers/leaders and they also make us of the blog content to incorporate ads to directly communicate to the online communities.

This thesis is focused on charting of marketing activities and strategy of non-profit making organization. The main objective is to analyze the current marketing strategy for House for Children and Adolescence Prague 10 and identification of a draft recommendation. The theoretical part explains main terms such as marketing and its history, non-profit making organization, service adn marketing of services. Addresses in detail the thesis solves planning process and typology of basic marketing strategies and specific strategies for nonprofit sector. In the practical part there is introduce the House for Children and Adolescence Prague 10 and it's activities. With the help of theoretical knowledge is made situation analysis and suggest improvements of current marketing strategy.

This study consists of qualitative interviews with 8 graduate students about the use of synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC), or instant message (IM), programs in their interpersonal relationships. Participants were interviewed twice, once via an instant message program and once in a face-to-face setting. They were asked about their frequency of use, their use of multi-tasking, and the types of conversations they have via IM. Results of the interviews are discussed, with a concentration on the paradoxical nature of IM communication as impersonal, but at the same time, conducive to personal disclosure and intimacy.

This exegesis investigates the use of interactive online media to support the development of communication and problem solving skills amongst learners in a Vocational Education and Training (VET) context. It describes the development of the Maelstrom website as a response to the identified need for a collaborative, interactive online space where learners can explore and experiment within the safe and anonymous environment provided. The user interaction within the Maelstrom and user responses to their experiences are discussed and analysed to not only inform the role of the Maelstrom within the broader context on interactive online communication and collaboration, but also to guide future research.

The emergence of digital capture and editing technologies make providing a more detailed and coherent description of the experiences depicted in photos possible. Through the combination of photos, music and voice, people can compose digital stories of their life experiences. However, communicating an experience using photos to people who do not share the experience, and are not co-located is a difficult endeavor, even with effective digital editing tools. In this dissertation, I studied the online photo communication challenges that have arisen as a result of the transition from film to digital photography. I detail my studies of consumer desires and barriers related to online photo communication. Also, I present the design and user evaluation of the Storytellr system, which addresses those desires and barriers. The Storytellr system integrates storytelling activities with traditional photo activities to reduce the challenges of online photo communication. Through this work I contribute to the understanding of the challenges encountered by consumers who desire to engage in sharing life stories through photos over distance. I also contribute a method - integrating storytelling activities into photo activities - for enabling people to overcome those challenges using a process they find satisfying, and that produces an outcome that satisfies authors and viewers alike.

The main purpose of this study was to examine how social work can be performed online, by a case study of Korrespondensgymnasiet that pursues distance education. The intention was to determine the possibilities and limits with the online communication between the school counsellor and the pupils. The study was based on qualitative semi-structured interviews with one school counsellor and five pupils and document analysis of three descriptions of the school counsellor’s profession. The theory that has been used in this study is the communication theory: Shannon and Weaver’s Model of Communication and non-verbal communication. An essential discovery is that alternative ways to communicate can maintain an option to traditional communication face to face. This is mainly because the pupils find it more important to have the possibility to make contact with the school counsellor, rather than how the communication is being performed. We also discovered that the descriptions of the school counsellor’s profession doesn’t stand in the way of having online communication with the pupils.