Through the centuries, institutions of higher education, and the people who labor in those institutions, have helped countless millions to learn--to stretch their boundaries, to think creatively, to find joy in discovery, and to create new knowledge that benefits the world in a myriad of ways. Yet while the knowledge produced through our educational process has transformed the world, the process of teaching and learning within these institutions has remained largely unexplored and unchanged over the centuries (Bass, 2009; Duderstadt, Atkins, & Van Houweling, 2002; Woolsey, 2008). In recent years, the advent and rapid development of information technology has provided us with a previously unimaginable opportunity to rethink how teaching and learning take place in higher education. In order to make the most of potential gains in teaching and learning, academic technology initiatives require both technological and pedagogical expertise. However, while the need for effective collaborations between the groups responsible for these two areas, the Offices of Academic Computing and Centers for Teaching at institutions of higher education has been articulated (Albright & Nworie, 2008; Allison & DeBlois, 2008; Woolsey, 2008), the mechanisms for developing and maintaining such collaborations are not clearly understood (Albright & Nworie, 2008; Ives & Steinbrenner, 2005). In an effort to fill this gap in knowledge, this study focuses on generating a portrait of successful collaborative efforts between academic technology professionals and pedagogical specialists. Using multiple case studies as a methodological approach, this study examines the characteristics of collaboration at three universities, including their history; factors that lead to the successful establishment of collaborations; challenges and barriers and how these are approached; and whether there is evidence that collaborations result in better outcomes in the implementation of academic technology. The study is particularly timely given that information technology is playing an increasingly central role in every aspect of higher education. A better understanding of the characteristics of inter-group collaborations around academic technology, including the barriers to creating effective collaborative relationships, will help institutions respond to the challenge of harnessing technology's potential to positively transform the process of teaching and learning in contemporary higher education.

The rise of email newsletters as a popular means of engaging audiences has transformed the landscape of journalism and news dissemination. Marketers and news organisations alike have recognised the potential of newsletters as an effective way to reach and engage with their audiences. This thesis aims to contribute to the understanding of this growing phenomenon by exploring the motivations behind news consumers accessing news via newsletters and then identifying patterns of user behaviour.   Legacy media outlets, such as The New York Times and Axios, have also adopted newsletters to enhance audience engagement and generate revenues. Email newsletters, unlike traditional newspapers, often focus on specific topics or niches, demanding regular, high-quality content for success. Despite the significant growth of newsletter journalism, academic research on the phenomenon and users' behaviour remains limited. The study seeks to address this gap by applying the uses and gratification theory, which suggests that people consume media for various purposes, including entertainment, education, and information. By conducting a survey and interviews among European newsletter readers, the research aims to begin to understand the motivations driving news consumers to subscribe to newsletters and identify typical consumption patterns. The exploratory study found that personal and cognitive needs play significant roles in motivating newsletter readers, while social and affective needs may have less influence.   In conclusion, this thesis contributes to the understanding of changes in online news consumption by shedding light on the motivations behind news consumers' preference for newsletters and their behaviour in this evolving digital landscape. Understanding users' needs and expectations is essential for journalists and news organisations to adapt and thrive in today’s dynamic media environment.

In our digital society, media platforms have become an essential tool for refugees as they flee their home and arrive in new countries. The ongoing war in Ukraine has forced millions of civilians to seek protection and to negotiate and rebuild their lives in unfamiliar cities. Uppsala, Sweden, has received approximately 1500 Ukrainian refugees since the beginning of the war. It is crucial to understand their communication pathways and the ways in which they utilize  media platforms, as this understanding can aid in supporting their integration process.  The purpose of this study is to enhance comprehension of how female Ukrainian refugees in Uppsala utilize media platforms, and to investigate how social media can be used as an asset in the integration processes. To address the research questions, a total of 5 Ukrainian women residing in Uppsala were interviewed, and a netnography was conducted. The collected data was analyzed using a thematic analysis, supported by the theoretical framework of Uses and Gratification and the model of Refugee Integration through Social Media.  The findings indicate that various media platforms are utilized by Ukrainian women for social, informational, cultural and entertainment-related purposes. Some of the most prominent social media platforms that emerged in the findings were Telegram, Facebook, Viber and Instagram. Other, traditional media, such as TV and radio, was also employed for obtaining information and learning the Swedish language. The results further demonstrate that social media can be an asset for integration within the dimensions of fostering social connections, exploring employment opportunities and supporting language learning. These were all identified themes in the Facebook group that was used for the netnographic investigation.

A growing percentage of this content consists of reaction videos, a new type of user- generated content that has been on the rise within this social media platform, in which individuals record themselves reacting to any sort of content. This paper aims to explore the dynamics involved in this type of content, not only from the perspective of the creator but also from the angle of the viewer, to try and understand what leads to the popularity of these videos. The current thesis aims not only to dissect the topic but also to present the field of Media and Communication studies with relevant and unprecedented insight into the motivations that lead viewers to engage with this kind of content and contribute to debunk this contemporary audience phenomenon. To do so, a case study was conducted on a YouTube channel named ‘REACT’. The study utilised Uses and Gratifications Theory as well as the concept of mediated voyeurism to help contextualise the reaction genre. Using content analysis, 4 of their videos were analysed qualitatively. Plus, a focus group was conducted in order to not only understand the overall sentiment towards the reaction video genre, but also identify the possible reasons for it to be a global success. Results show that reaction videos can be characterised as dynamic, highly engaging and extremely relatable videos. Furthermore, they can be of amateur nature – unscripted, spontaneous and organic, or more professionalised – scripted and edited. Additionally, while most of the needs these videos fulfil can be categorised as diversion needs, the remaining ones can be perceived as both personal identity and surveillance needs. The current research can be seen as a useful tool for society to interpret relevant patterns of content creation and consumption within the current digital age.

In today's media landscape, the consumer has a wide variety of choices. One salient genre that has grown in popularity over the past decade is true crime. A genre that previous research has shown is popular with the female audiences. As the media can play a very important role in women's lives, both consciously and subconsciously, this is a phenomenon worth investigating. By analyzing the primary audience and trying to understand how they themselves perceive, use and discuss true crime, we can create a clearer picture of how true crime meets different kinds of needs of the female individual. As true crime is a genre that depicts real crimes and in many cases serious crimes committed against women, it is an interesting element in a mediatized world where new research is flourishing to create an understanding of how both common and unusual phenomena are constantly appearing on streaming services, social media, in podcast formats and other media-based forums. Using a qualitative methodological approach, we conducted a user study based on the empirical findings of six in-depth interviews with women who themselves have a keen interest in true crime. The analysis is also based on a deep dive into previous research on the phenomenon of women's interest in true crime, morbid curiosity and a theoretical framework consisting mainly of uses and gratification but also underpinned by morbid curiosity. For the analysis, a thematic analysis scheme was used in order to explore whether there are more factors that create the interest of the female true crime audience than what has been shown in previous research. The participating female true crime users described how they use true crime as a mental preparation and survival strategy. It also became clear how these women use true crime as a form of therapy to process their own experiences they either had to go through themselves or things that have happened around them. What also became clear was the complexity regarding the morbid curiosity and fascination for the perpetrator and the crime was paralleled by a reverence and compassion for the victim while they identified with the story on different levels. This user study aims to provide a broader understanding of true crime audiences as a phenomenon in the media world, partly to understand the purpose of users, but also to be able to reflect these factors in order to raise awareness among media producers of various kinds in order to meet the needs of the market.

The focus of this thesis is on how elderly people make use of digital screens. The study studies how these elderly individuals view their screen time and it highlights how they have adapted to an ever-changing media landscape. The empirical material has been collected through four qualitative interviews where all of the interviewed were 80 years old or older at the time of the interview. Two females and two males were part of the study. The empiricism has been coded, themed and analyzed using the qualitative method of thematic analysis. The analysis is supported by the theoretical framework where uses and gratification theory, affordances and constraints theory and the theory of adoption categories has been applied to the empirical material. The theoretical framework has contributed to understanding why people use different types of media, which affordances and constraints that people see in technologies and what types of adoption categories there are and what that means for the individual. The analysis of the empirical data finds that these older individuals utilize digital screens for various reasons, where the most prominent finds were for relaxation, cognitive fulfillment and to the gratification of affective needs. Smartphones and computers are employed for safety, social interaction and communication while television is used as a tool for escaping daily life and monitoring the world. The study identifies a widespread theme indicating a noticeable enhancement in their everyday life making various tasks easier thanks to digital screens. A social factor becomes evident where the interviewees use digital screens as a utility for keeping contact with friends and family, but also through a reoccurring theme implying that older individuals need a social network that can assist them with unfamiliar technologies that they can not manage themselves.

The aim of the present study was to explore the ways adolescent females, age 14 through 17, utilized social networking websites such as MySpace and Facebook for communication, self-presentation and identity development purposes. Uses and gratifications theory served as a framework for identifying the participants' motivations for heavily using these websites, which allow users to post pictures, interests and updates for their friends to view and interact with online. Using a qualitative method, one preliminary focus group and ten in-depth interviews were conducted, totaling fifteen female participants between the ages of 14 and 17. Interview questions covered topics such as peer interactions through social networking sites, posting personal content to their profile pages, self-presentations through pictures and text, creating and maintaining friendships through these sites, and negative and positive feedback received through comments. Results indicated that the participants frequently used social networking websites for five main gratifications: Information Sharing, Convenient Communication, Self-Expression, Friendship Formation and Social Support.

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