This thesis is an analysis of the representations of Deaf identity in a major English Canadian newspaper, the Toronto Star. A qualitative case-based discourse analysis was used to examine a documented interaction between the Toronto Star and eleven Deaf community leaders and allies. This research found that the most frequent use of ‘deaf’ is metaphorical and of the non-metaphorical uses, ‘Deaf’ identity is predominantly constructed from a pathological paradigm. The findings of this research provide a valuable perspective from a non-dominate cultural group, the Canadian Deaf community, on the representation of Deaf identity in mainstream print news media. It also makes linkages between the representations of Deaf identity and the experiences of these representations by Deaf people, and links the perspectives of this cultural group to the broader body of research related to minority identity negotiation in mainstream media.

The Adventures ofMetaMan: The Superhero as a Representation ofModem Western Masculinity (1940-2010) is a practice-based research project. The aim of this research project is to develop interactive works of art that interrogate superhero narratives and representations of male identity, with the potential to relate to the experiences of relevant users in educational environments. At the current stage of the project, young men aged 11-14 in the English school system are a possible target audience. The work of art takes the form of interactive software written in Adobe Flash, with additional visuals created by myself in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe lllustrator and through traditional pen-and-ink drawings. The conceptualisation, development and execution of both software and content took place over a three-year period. While numerous literary and artistic references were employed in order to actualise this work, the software's visuals and words were entirely self-created. The work's original contribution to knowledge is found in the project's form. In combining the platform of digital media with the artistic styles and narrative themes of the superhero genre of comic books, the project explores the subjects of heroes and masculinity and has the potential to help its target audience to understand that the definition of masculinity is always in a state of flux. As evidenced by the historical texts, studies of visual culture, gender, and media representations of heroes and men that were referenced to develop the software, different types of men, ranging from the civil rights activist of the 1960s to the macho action movie star of the 1990s and significant representations of masculinity between these decades have been regarded as hero figures at different points in time. The conc~pt of masculinity is fluid and reliant upon a variety of factors such as current events, cultural trends, politics, economics and popular culture and this is reflected in the evolution of the superhero in Western mass media. The MetaMan project showcases the impact that heroes and role models have and the way that art can echo culture and society. It can provide a fully interactive experience that places modern masculinity into the context of the user's life and circumstances, adapting to each user. The software is accompanied by a written component detailing the reasons for its form and potential audience, the artistic process necessary to create it, an account of a pilot scheme conducted with 120 male students aged 11-14 in the English school system and the further applications and plans for the future stages of the MetaMan project.

This thesis takes a new approach to Domenico Tiepolo’s (1727-1804), Divertimento Per li Regazzi (c.1795-1804), it is arguably the artists most enigmatic graphic work, which features the commedia dell’arte character Pulcinella. The drawings have hitherto been subject to rigorous connoisseurial analysis. Indeed, in his introduction to ten of the drawings in a catalogue of Italian Eighteenth-Century Drawings in The Robert Lehman Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, James Byam Shaw states that this particular series of drawings has now become so famous ‘that it is hardly necessary to add to the literature of the series.’1 In my opinion it would be a great pity if future generations of scholars were discouraged by this remark, for I believe the drawings still have much to ‘tell’ the contemporary art historian and would further benefit from increasingly interpretative readings. Previously, scholars have regarded Domenico Tiepolo as an imitator of his father, Giambattista Tiepolo (1696-1770), and interpreted the re-appropriation of motifs in the Divertimento as signs of old age and fatigue. I suggest, on the contrary, that in this series of drawings in particular, Domenico was an innovator. This project carves out new territories within the study of the series in that it focuses on the playful nature of the drawings, and how the suite can be understood in relation to contemporary theory concerning games and play, and ludic musical/improvisatory forms. Additionally, the drawings are discussed as a case history in a now popular emerging dialectic on the late works of aged artists: here I consider how these drawings, often funny, poignant, sensitive and delicate reveal how the elderly painter reconciles himself not only to the passing of his own life and the extinction of his family line but to an entire political, cultural and visual tradition.

The aim of the research is to examine the multiple spatial frameworks and materially manifested forms of memory by applying current memory studies theory to four areas of memorial experience: personal memory, civic memory, tourism and film. The thesis looks at memory practices based in the North East, particularly those that take place in Newcastle upon Tyne, and explores how the city is remembered in specific memory practices and institutions. Combining work in memory studies and cultural geography, the thesis highlights how memory is spatialized and is particularly concerned with the city that shapes, and is shaped by, memory and memory practices. Changes have taken place in the relationship between space, place and temporality that have affected memory and practices of memorialization. At first glance, the technologies we use and the spaces we inhabit can be interpreted as leading to a pervasive amnesia. The thesis challenges this assumption. It proposes that the concept of heterotopia provides a critical mode of reading memory spaces offering a more positive account of the way memory is currently being experienced. The thesis looks at how memory is realized in the fabric of the city and how the historical city itself is represented through the discursive practices of memorial public art, the museum and the cinema, creating a collective cultural memory. The particular contribution that this thesis makes is that it tests the explanatory power of the concept of heterotopia in relation to memorial sites and it applies memory studies to the city of Newcastle in a time of transition and renewal.

Narratives about the discovery of one’s favourite artist are popular discussion topics among adult pop music fans, as are narratives of rediscovery later in life, suggesting that memory and nostalgia are powerful forces that can repeatedly draw fans back to that affective moment when they first discovered, and perhaps rediscovered, their idols. The impact of cultural influences like pop music during the formative period of adolescence cannot be underestimated. Such early identifications with pop music icons enable some adolescents to then carry those attachments with them their entire lives, forming lifelong fandoms. Through an ethnographic investigation into one such fan community, adult female fans of ’80s heart throbs Duran Duran, this research focuses on ‘mature’ pop fans in an effort to explore an enduring and lifelong fandom that is deeply communal, entrenched in a worldwide network of other fans. Of particular interest is the way in which fans connect via a hybrid of online and offline interactions, as well as how the resulting interaction mix generates complex dynamics and hierarchies. While this research focuses on Duran fan culture, fans of other teen idols were surveyed for comparative purposes, in particular bands that also experienced a resurgence of success after announcing a ‘reunion’, including Take That and the Backstreet Boys. Parallels are also drawn to the lifelong loyalty expressed by fandoms of other artists who were not teen-pop pinups, such as David Bowie (Stevenson 2009) and R.E.M. (Bennett 2010), whose now ‘post-popular’ music (Hills 2010) has seen continued popularity among cult audiences for almost four decades.

Commentators at the time made great reference to the effect of the 1984/5 Miners' Strike upon those living in the mining communities, especially the women. As Goodman stated, "Arthur Scargill's claim that the strike 'politicized' people as had no previous postwar industrial event, was certainly correct.". In terms of the impact of the strike upon public opinion and electoral behaviour it is true that mining constituencies nationally did experience a significant surge in turn-out at the 1987 general election. To what extent was this symptomatic of the politicising effects of the 'Great Miners' Strike'? This thesis examines the extent to which the inhabitants of one mining community, Hemsworth in West Yorkshire, were or were not politicised as a direct result of the 1984/5 Miners' Strike. The research is based upon 60 indepth interviews, undertaken between 1989 and 1994, with a cross-section of the community. Whilst interest in the politicising effects has tailed off since the end of the strike the subject area remains important both because of the continued political importance of the future of the coalfields, as demonstrated following the October 1992 pit closure announcement, and for what it can tell us about how and why some people become politicised. This thesis analyses the extent to which politicisation and changes in public opinion took place in Hemsworth and the extent to which these can be iv attributed to the 1984/5 Strike. A tripartite definition of politicisation is employed: political awareness, political participation and behavioural changes. The roles played by the police and the media are stressed, as is the impact upon the women. The research suggests that the Strike was a significant politicising event, especially upon certain sectors of the community such as the women and those who participated in activities such as picketing. It had a profound effect upon both attitudes and behaviour. It also motivated people who claimed never to have had any interest in politics. To quote one commentator on the Miners' Strike, they were "Never the same again".

In contemporary society, advanced forms of technology and new media artworks are becoming more prevalent in the public realm each year. Nevertheless, many Canadians do not have access to the resources that enable them to critically analyze and interact with new forms of technology and new media artwork. This practicum intends to address this by creating a unique environment known as The Travelling New Media Centre. The design concept consists of exhibition and education spaces that address topics related to technology and new media in contemporary culture. The Travelling New Media Centre takes place in VIA Rail baggage cars with modified interior architecture that consists of interactive exhibitions using a contemporary and historical perspective. Site selection is based on communities that have minimal access to technology and little exposure to contemporary new media works. The train travels to the following northern Manitoba communities: Thicket Portage, Pikwitonei, and Ilford. / February 2017

I denna studie undersöks hur svenska högstadieelever förhåller sig till censur på internet med utgångspunkt från YouTube, världens näst största hemsida. Svenskar som är mellan 12-15 år är de som mest frekvent besöker YouTube och därför har elever i årskurs nio valts ut som respondenter. Studien har en kvalitativ ansats med öppna diskussioner i fokusgrupper. Det som diskuteras är olika typer av känsligt innehåll och huruvida de borde censureras. De teoretiska ramverk som omger studien och ligger till underlag för analysen är Endocing/Decoding modellen av Stuart Hall och den pålitliga kommunikationsprocessen av Ulf Petäjä. Resultatet visade att respondenterna anser att de borde ha samma rätt att uttrycka sig fritt på internet som de har i samhället. De anser att åldersrestriktioner för samhällets yngsta medborgare och system som låter användare rapportera känsligt innehåll är att föredra mot förhandscensur. Respondenterna resonerade att gränsen för vad som får uttryckas fritt på internet går vid lagbrott eller när känsligt innehåll riktas mot särskilda individer eller grupper i avsikt att kränka. / This study examines how of swedish junior high school students relate to internet censorship, using YouTube, the world’s second biggest website, as a starting point. Swedish citizens between the ages of 12-15 years have the largest presence on YouTube and therefore we have chosen to have ninth graders as our respondents. The method of this study is a qualitative approach with open discussions in focus groups. The topics of discussion are different kinds of sensitive content and whether they should be censored. The theoretical frameworks that surround this study and act as the basis for the analysis are the Encoding/Decoding model by Stuart Hall and the Trustworthy communication process by Ulf Petäjä. The results showed that the respondents believed that they should have the same right to express themselves freely on the internet as they have in society. They believe that age restrictions for the youngest citizens in society and systems that allow user to report sensitive content is preferable to premature censorship. The respondents reasoned that the limit of what can be expressed freely can be drawn at lawbreaking or when sensitive content is aimed towards specific individuals or groups with the intention of offending.

Denna undersökning har gjorts för att ta reda på vikten i att äga ett dyrt högtalarsystem när man lyssnar på strömmad musik samt hur påverkad man blir av vetskapen om priset hos vederbörande högtalare. Tre olika högtalare i tre olika prisklasser har testats. 22 personer deltog och fick lyssna på valfri låt igenom strömmningstjänsten Spotify. Lyssnarna fick först ranka högtalarna efter uppskattad generell ljudkvalité utan att se vilka högtalare de lyssnade på, sedan fick de göra om samma test fast med möjlighet att se högtalarna och vetskapen om hur mycket de kostade. Det visade sig att vetskapen om pris eller utseende inte hade någon påverkan på lyssnaren. Inte heller källan som musiken spelades upp ifrån, Spotify eller CD visade sig ha någon betydelse. Det har också visat sig ligga ganska lite koppling mellan pris och kvalité då den billigaste högtalaren rankades bland de bästa i detta test. Detta har lett till en diskussion om betydelsen av högtalarnas karaktär. Den karaktär som i sig kan ge lyssnaren en bra eller dålig upplevelse i den uppfattade ljudkvalitén beroende på lyssnarens egna preferenser. Frekvenskaraktären kan dominera över högtalarens många andra egenskaper. En billigare högtalare kan alltså föredras över en dyrare om frekvenskaraktären för den mindre påkostade högtalaren överensstämmer med åhörarens tycke och smak. / This study has been done to find out the importance of owning an expensive speaker system when listening to streamed music, and how influenced we are by knowing the price of the represented speaker. Three different speakers in three different price ranges have been tested. 22 people attended and had the opportunity to listen to any song through the streaming service Spotify. Listeners were first asked to estimate the overall sound quality of the speakers without being able to see them. The following test was equally executed but with the opportunity to see the loudspeakers and information on the retail price. It turned out that knowing the price or appearance had no impact on the listener. Neither the source of the music that was played, Spotify or CD turned out to be relevant. It has also shown that there was a poor connection between price and quality since the cheapest speaker was ranked among the best in this test. This has led to a discussion of the importance of the loudspeaker’s character. The character which could give the listener a good or bad experience of the perceived sound quality depending on the listeners own preferences. The frequency character can dominate the speakers many other qualities. A less expensive speaker can be preferred over a more expensive if the frequency characteristics of the more expensive speaker matches the listeners opinion.

This essay is about the term filter bubbles and in what way two of the largest Swedish newspapers write about the subject. The purpose of the essay is to study the discourses related to filter bubbles and to examine how journalists write about their significance in the portrayal of the filter bubble in the media. The essay also strives to highlight how the filter bubble discourse has changed over time. The research consists of a briefer quantitative content analysis followed by a more extensive qualitative discourse analysis of 83 selected articles from the Swedish newspapers Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Dagbladet between the years 2011-2017. The conclusion of the essay is that the medial discourses about the filter bubble are mainly negative with an alarming characteristic. The term filter bubble is also related to fake news in the media and has a widely spread political connotation. The concept of the filter bubble spread from an unknown subject in 2011 to a well-known term in 2017. In summary, there is no nuanced representation of the term filter bubbles found in the medial portrayal.