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This thesis explores the practice of “youtubing Sápmi”, which entails Sámi decolonial mobilization, multisemiotic and multilingual language use on YouTube. The aim is to understand how YouTube videos can function as a tool for discursive mobilization and as a complement or alternative to linguistic and cultural revitalization. In recent years, more interest has been directed towards Sámi music and media. While such research has explored acts of resistance, anti-colonial counter-narratives and negotiations of identity in Sámi music and media, few studies have investigated the discursive strategies used in Sámi performance in the Swedish context. In addressing this research gap, drawing from sociolinguistic research on interdiscursivity, indexicality and sociolinguistic scales, this thesis analyses how multisemiotic resources are used in discursive strategies of Sámi decolonial mobilization on YouTube. The analysis reveals that a variety of multisemiotic resources and discourses are used to construe type and token interdiscursivity that establish connectivity across time, space and scales that connect local issues to the national and the global. Furthermore, the deployment of different language repertoires – North Sámi, Swedish and English – point to the multi-scalar aspects of Sámi decolonial mobilization. These results indicate that the practice of youtubing Sápmi is a powerful tool for raising awareness, challenging coloniality and creating space for Sámi linguistic and cultural practices. In sum, the thesis provides insights into the potentials for agentive and creative use of interdiscursivity, as well as the affordances for creative multisemiotic language use on YouTube.

Over the past decade, there has been a considerable rise in popularity of family vlog channels on YouTube. However, these videos have been receiving growing criticism for hosting the children as the main ‘stars’. With YouTube being the main source of income for some of these family units, concerns rise regarding the possibility of family vlogging accommodating a new type of child labour. For this reason, it is crucial to understand how the children’s rights might be threatened. At the same time, research within this field is still limited as family vlogging concerns a fairly recent phenomenon. Accordingly, the current thesis aims to fill these research gaps by contextualizing the practices of family vlogging through a rights-based approach. To do so, a case study was conducted on a YouTube account named ‘The Bucket List Family’. Using content analysis, 5 of their videos were analysed qualitatively and 100 of their video titles were analysed quantitatively. Findings confirm that the children played a central role in contributing to the popularity of the videos. Moreover, the children’s images were consistently and successfully used to further capitalize the family’s brand. Therefore, one can conclude that these children are being exposed to digital child labour, which can mean a possible breach of their rights. The considerable exposure of the children in the videos not only robs them from their privacy, but it also does so without their explicit consent, leaving them extremely vulnerable. As such, the conclusions of this thesis implicate that more research in this field is needed, so that future policymaking can be guided towards a better protection of the children. Additionally, by exposing the digital child labour practices behind family vlogging, this study hopes to bring more societal awareness to the topic.

En la cultura occidental, los niños son considerados personas inmaduras, inexpertas y pasivas en el proceso de socialización. Estas imágenes se subvierten en el actual contexto tecnológico, donde los niños son percibidos por los adultos como expertos, por sus conocimientos y habilidades técnicas, campo en el cual, la balanza de poder parece invertirse. En este contexto, desde el enfoque de los estudios de infancia y la teoría de la reproducción interpretativa de Corsaro (2018), la presente investigación busca comprender la producción de cultura infantil en y desde el entorno digital para poner de manifiesto la agencia infantil y las limitaciones de las estructuras sociales y tecnológicas en su accionar. Buscamos responder a las siguientes preguntas de investigación: (i) ¿cómo se da la producción cultural por los niños creadores de contenido en interacción con los medios digitales?; y (ii) ¿qué restricciones de la estructura social encuentran a la creación de cultura? Metodológicamente, abordamos la investigación desde la etnografía digital, buscando escuchar y mostrar la voz de los participantes, Chiara, Mateo, Sebastián, Camila y Luciana, cuatro niños de entre 7 y 11 años y una adolescente, creadores de contenido digital. Los resultados dan cuenta de la producción de cultura infantil, y de la agencia desplegada en este proceso, creando contenidos, comunidades, roles y significados, aprendiendo autónomamente y contribuyendo a la cultura digital, como manifestaciones de las formas en las que los niños YouTubers actúan en el mundo y lo transforman. A su vez, dicha agencia se encuentra constreñida por las estructuras sociales, como la desigualdad étnica y de género y la acción inadvertida de actores económicos y tecnológicos como las plataformas digitales, afectando su acción social.

Dinolandia (2020) ha sido pensado como una propuesta de un capítulo piloto de serie web para niños(as) de entre los 4 y 6 años de edad, aquellos que se encuentran en una etapa pre-escolar y escolar. La temática elegida para el proyecto está basada en reforzar el valor de la amistad y tiene como personajes principales a tres niños dinosaurios. Esto con la finalidad de desarrollar las capacidades y habilidades cognitivas del infante, ya que existen diversos estudios psicológicos que explican que los dinosaurios son un factor beneficioso para el desarrollo cognitivo infantil. A parte de ello, la pasión por la animación y nuestra añoranza de haber visto dibujos animados en el cine y la televisión cuando éramos unos niños(as), ha sido otra motivación importante para este proyecto. Así, Dinolandia tiene como objetivo transmitir la importancia del compañerismo y la amistad, es decir, empezar a pensar en el prójimo y no solo en uno(a) mismo(a). Para ello, se busca contar la historia con una propuesta atractiva sonora y visual, tanto en el diseño de sus personajes y fondos, con la finalidad de atraer y captar la atención del infante. El proyecto piloto está pensado principalmente para ser emitido mediante la plataforma de YouTube Kids. A la vez, puede ser promovido en festivales, ser exhibido en instituciones educativas respetando los protocolos sanitarios y/o en mesas de conversación online con el equipo realizador. Si bien, se contó con un equipo de seis integrantes, la presente investigación solo será abordada desde la perspectiva de las áreas de Dirección y Dirección de Arte. Como producto audiovisual final se obtuvo un capítulo con una duración de ocho minutos aproximadamente, en el cual, a modo de conclusión, se busca reforzar la práctica e importancia del compañerismo con la finalidad de fomentar la educación de valores en nuestro público objetivo mediante un formato animado que es divertido, entretenido y educativo. / Dinolandia (2020) has been designed as a proposal for a pilot chapter of a Web Series for children between 4 and 6 years of age, who are in a pre-school and school stage. The theme chosen for the project is based on reinforcing the value of friendship and its main characters are three dinosaur children. This in order to develop the cognitive abilities and skills of the infant, since there are various psychological studies that explain that dinosaurs are a beneficial factor for children's cognitive development. Apart from this, the passion for animation and our longing for having seen cartoons on film and television when we were children has been another important motivation for this project. Thus, Dinolandia aims to convey the importance of companionship and friendship, in other words, to begin to think about others and not only about oneself. For this, it seeks to tell the story with an attractive sound and visual proposal, both in the design of its characters and backgrounds, in order to attract and capture the attention of the infant. The pilot project is primarily intended to be broadcast through the YouTube Kids platform. At the same time, it can be promoted at festivals, exhibited in educational institutions respecting health protocols and/or in online conversations with the filmmaking team. Although there was a team of six members, this research will only be approached from the perspective of the Direction and Art Direction areas. As a final audiovisual product, a chapter with a duration of approximately eight minutes was obtained, in which, as a conclusion, it seeks to reinforce the practice and importance of companionship in order to promote the education of values in our target audience through an animated format which is fun, entertaining and educational.

In 2050, global estimates indicate that 139 million people will have dementia. Responsible for 60% to 80% of dementia cases, Alzheimer’s disease is the fifth leading cause of death in American adults aged 65 plus and one of the top ten leading causes of death in the United States (U.S.) overall. The clinical manifestations of Alzheimer’s disease expand the nature of the problem from the individual to caregivers. More than 11 million people living in the U.S. provide informal, unpaid care for a loved one with dementia. In recent years, this care equated to an average of nearly 17 billion hours of work. Research shows increased levels of stress, depression, other urgent health issues, and ultimately death, in Alzheimer’s/dementia caregivers compared to non-carers, especially in women. As such, caregivers inadvertently become “invisible second patients,” often neglecting their own health, while focusing on the needs of the care recipient. Enhancing the quality of life and protecting the health and well-being of caregivers is not only essential for their own livelihood, but that of the person living with the condition, as well as communities, healthcare systems and societies, globally. YouTube is a ubiquitous and powerful communications vehicle that is well-positioned to help achieve this goal. With billions of video views occurring daily across 100 plus countries and 92% of viewers asserting that they access information and gain knowledge through the social media platform, it is clear that YouTube appeals to viewers of all backgrounds and literacy levels. There is a substantial amount of research characterizing the content of YouTube videos related to various health topics and caregiving with respect to conditions other than Alzheimer’s; however, studies describing YouTube videos about Alzheimer’s and related care provision are rare. This study intends to fill critical lacunae in the scientific literature by examining the sources, speakers, formats, length and content of the most widely viewed YouTube videos surrounding Alzheimer’s/dementia caregivers through a cross-sectional, descriptive analysis. On October 9, 2022, a clean web browser and YouTube search history were used to locate and select the videos for the study by way of the search term, “alzheimer,” where the YouTube filter was set to sort by view count. After exclusions, a sample of N= 100 of the most highly viewed videos, collectively viewed N= 146,950,160 times, was identified for coding. The results indicated that the average video duration was 11.68 (SD = 16.54) minutes (range = 0.13–87.45 minutes). Most videos (n= 47) were one to four plus minutes in length. More than half (n= 54) of the videos examined originated in the U.S. Videos with Multiple (combination of) Sources comprised the source type found in highest frequency (n= 52) and corresponding cumulative views (>68%), whereas only n= 1 video was posted by a Government Source, securing a mere 0.47% of the views. Compared to other formats, videos with Multiple Formats were found in greatest frequency (n= 85) and number of views (~93%). Videos where the primary speaker was a Layperson (n= 51) garnered the most views (~77%) versus other speaker types. The results also revealed content most and least likely to be covered and viewed. The highest coverage and views for topics related to Alzheimer’s dementia outweighed those of caregiving as follows: Alzheimer's Awareness (n= 99 videos), 99.89% of cumulative views; overall Assessment, detection, diagnosis and/or screening (n= 93), ~97% of views; Warning signs (n= 86), ~94% of views; Symptoms (n= 87), 94% of views; versus Alzheimer’s dementia family/informal caregivers (n= 45), ~34 % of views and caregiver involvement (n= 42), ~32% of views. In addition, overall attention to caregiver burden and maintenance of caregiver health and well-being was weak and that of advocacy efforts (plans, policies, legislation, proceedings, etc.) for the health, well-being and quality of life of carers and people living with Alzheimer’s was essentially non-existent. Contact information (n= 97) was regularly provided to potentially aid in viewer mobilization (~80% views); however, it was rarely connected to entities providing caregiver-specific supports and assistance. Three quarters of the videos (83% of the views) did not have citations. Questionable information was found in approximately one quarter of the videos (with >20% of cumulative views). Examples of questionable information included unproven available treatments such as intermittent fasting, diet modification and supplements, herbs and coconut oil to potentially halt or reverse the deleterious effects of the condition. Strategies and recommendations were presented relevant to a longer-term research agenda; policies and legislation to advance Alzheimer’s/caregiving initiatives; collaborative approaches to care and educational programs; and training for video producers and viewers about respective, optimal dissemination and evaluation of credible and authoritative health information on YouTube. YouTube is a welcome, familiar and accessible communications vehicle that should be leveraged to better understand, advocate for and deliver medically accurate, on-demand critical supports, skill-building and educational programs to carers for people living with Alzheimer’s everywhere, who are overwhelmed, pressed for time and in dire need of assistance. YouTube represents an efficient, cost-effective means through which to improve the health outcomes and quality of life of caregivers, as well as their loved ones with Alzheimer’s.

Text component of a doctoral dissertation, which references the full dissertation content in a multi-media web-based format. It includes a background statement, acknowledgements section, printed navigation guide and site map for the website, and a full list of references.

Technology is changing the structure and dynamics of how humans communicate. Channels of communication are also used for attempts at persuasion, but until now persuasion that (if accepted) would promote the adoption of misinformation could not spread as readily through historical information channels. With the advent of the Internet and World Wide Web this has changed dramatically. In this dissertation it is argued that modern digital communication media such as YouTube, in confluence with what theories of persuasion have to say about how humans deal with persuasion, may create a situation in which misinformation may spread and be accepted on a large scale. The research in this dissertation explores this notion by presenting a group of 120 adolescents who are familiar with the Web with such a misinforming persuasive message. The purpose of which is to determine whether they accept the misinformation presented in the Web-context or are sceptical of it. Different manipulations were done to the persuasive message, known to increase the likelihood of persuasion. The research found that, for this group of participants, no attempt to increase uncritical acceptance of a persuasive message made a statistical difference between different groupings of participants. When intended behaviour was measured in addition to attitude towards the misinformation, participants were even less persuaded. The results are interesting as a starting point for further study, but its generalizability and certain design features must be called into question / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

This thesis investigates the potentially complex power effects generated in Online Social Networking Sites (‘OSNS’), such as YouTube and Facebook, when legal values, such as copyright and personal data, are protected and/or violated. In order to develop this analysis, in Chapter Two, I critically analyse key academic writings on internet regulation and argue that I need to move away from the dominant ‘regulatory’ lens to my Actor-Network Theory-Foucauldian Power Lens (‘ANT-Foucauldian Power Lens’) in order to be able to capture the potentially complex web of power effects generated in YouTube and Facebook when copyright and personal data are protected and/or violated. In Chapter Three, I develop my ANT-Foucauldian Power Lens and explore how key ANT ideas such as translation can be used in conjunction with Foucauldian ideas such as governmentality. I utilise my ANT-Foucauldian Power Lens in Chapters Four to Seven to analyse how YouTube and Facebook are constructed as heterogeneous, contingent and precarious ‘actor-networks’ and I map in detail the complex power effects generated from specific local connections. I argue five key points. Firstly, I suggest that complex, multiple, and contingent power effects are generated when key social, legal, and technological actants are locally, contingently, and precariously ‘fitted together’ in YouTube and Facebook when copyright and personal data are protected and/or violated. Secondly, I argue that ‘materialities’ play key roles in maintaining the power effects generated by specific local connections. Thirdly, I argue that there are close links between power and ‘spatialities’ through my analysis of the Privacy Settings and Tagging in Facebook. Fourthly, I argue that my relational understandings of YouTube and Facebook generate a more comprehensive view of the power effects of specific legal elements such as how specific territorial laws in YouTube gain their authority by virtue of their durable and heterogeneous connections. Finally, I argue that we can extrapolate from my empirical findings to build a small-scale theory about the power effects generated in OSNS when legal values are protected and/or violated. Here I also consider the contributions made by my research to three distinct fields, namely, internet regulation, socio-legal studies, and actor-network theory.

Investigación sobre la Industria Textil Confeccionista de Bebés y Niños en la Argentina y la implicación que puede tener el uso de las redes sociales para la comercialización e internacionalización de las empresas pertenecientes.