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Many organizations form a visual language to brand and gain a competitive advantage in a competitive marketplace. The institutions of higher education are no exception. However, the conditions and context of branding in higher education are complex. The aim of this study is to explore how higher education uses the characteristics of their photographic language to brand and differentiate from other higher education institutions. The findings of this study rely on interviews with Communication Officers of four different Swedish universities. The analysis of the interviews suggests that there are distinct characteristics of the photographic language that the universities use for differentiation. The Communication Officers also argue that authenticity and inclusion are important aspects of their communication, pointing to the conclusion that all universities adapt to these as similar characteristics. The interviews also indicate that higher education want to differentiate from the visual language of global image banks and that they are all hesitant to mention competition within their context. To develop theories and models for visual branding within the context of higher education is a suggestion for future research, that might come to benefit many university representatives.

In recent years the arts institutions’ role in society have changed. With increased demands on attracting greater number of visitors they use concepts from corporate marketing to communicate with greater success. Theories from museum studies show that the importance of rendering authenticity now has become the new imperative in order to retain the status of a reputable institution. This thesis aims to discuss the development of a new visual identity for the public and non-profit institution Malmö konsthall. Through a collaborative working process, the project’s practice part resulted in a visual identity designed to reflect authenticity. The conclusion indicates that it is difficult without extensive studies of the produced design to find out if authenticity is really something that can be rendered intentionally.

With social movements like Black Lives matter, #MeToo and Fridays For Future on the rise consumers expect companies to take a stand on these socio-political topics. A new marketing strategy, called brand activism is used to communicate brands values and actions. This paper will conduct a case study of the company Oatly which has been standing out for its daring marketing strategies and analyze their visual communication by using the methods of visual analysis, semiotics and critical discourse analysis. The main research question is how Oalty uses its visual communication to convey brand activism. By analyzing one oat drink packaging, an ad campaign and an Instagram post the findings of this paper conclude that Oatly has several ways of communicating brand activism. These include the use of value based communication, referencing historical activism movements and the sociopolitical theme of promoting a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. The question arises about the authenticity of their opinions and the motives behind their brand activism. So whilst it's clear that companies like Oatly can convey the message of brand activism, this new marketing strategy needs further guidelines and methods of verification to ensure the use of authentic brand activism.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the musical and inner human processes that emerged in the lived experience of solo and joint free improvisation from the viewpoint of the improviser, also exploring how those processes related to the improviser’s world. The study included eight adult participants, musicians and non-musicians (amateurs), who varied in their improvisational experience as well as in age, personal and professional background. Each participant was engaged in one solo and one joint improvisation (with the researcher) on their chosen musical instruments. Improvisations were followed by an in-depth semi-structured interviews involving immediate impressions of the experience as a whole, followed by listening to the recorded improvisations where participants identified significant musical moments The synthesis of verbal and musical data revealed five interconnected, non-linear phases of the improvisers’ movement toward the attainment of creative freedom. Those were: Acceptance and Trust (letting go of expectations and judgment), Adaptation (moving through uncertainty with self and with another), Emergence (taking individual and social risks toward discovery), Transcendence (experiencing flow and moments of sync) and Expansion (experiencing the joy of individual and mutual creation). These emerged phases portrayed various musical and extra musical dimensions of the improvisers’ way of thinking, searching, acting, being and feeling in and through sound making- from the very beginning to the ending phases of their solo and joint experiences.   Reflecting humanistic-existential thinking and other relevant literature, the findings of the study showed a direct link between individuals’ involvement in improvisation and the development of courage, intentionality, adaptability, vulnerability, and empathy within meaningful musical engagement as essential qualities toward authentic growth. Participants’ musical experiences also showed a link between improvisation and life meaning. They specifically discussed issues of letting go of judgment, developing flexibility, taking personal and interpersonal risks and practicing mindful ways of listening to self and others. Applications of improvisation were discussed in the context of psychotherapy, suggesting a protocol on the conditions, practices and emerging meanings within clinical improvisation work. / Music Therapy / Accompanied by one compressed .rar file.

Tucson, Arizona is a site of a lively Polish-American community. Initially associated with a political organization ("Solidarity Tucson"), which actively supported the Solidarity Movement throughout the 1980s, the Polish diaspora has gradually transformed into an ethnic community very much focused on maintaining its distinctive heritage. Recent formation of the Polish folkloric dance group Lajkonik was directly stimulated by the local multicultural establishment, which promotes ethnic diversity in the Old Pueblo. Having become an integral part of the Southwestern society, Lajkonik has developed a collection of identity practices, which despite diverse influences continues to reproduce Polish cultural traits. In my ethnographic account, I examine ways, by which members of the Lajkonik group construct their diasporic identities. First, I focus on the core activities of the group, which include the practice of Polish traditions, learning folk dances and songs in a wide cultural context, and negotiating the speaking of Polish. Additional analyses, based on video recordings, of Polish classes and dance rehearsals, which show the actual mechanics of the production processes, as well as the narratives of the teacher and parent of performers, further support the account of the ethnographer. Secondly, I look into the development of Polishness for public consumption, which involves negotiation of multiple images in accordance with specific cultural events, creation of engaging stage programs, and presenting the essence of Polishness to festival audiences in Tucson. Regardless of the particular purpose of identities' productions, either for integrating community or public display, these processes simultaneously involve the quest for authenticity, building ethnic pride, and negotiations of diverse traditions. / Anthropology

This thesis explores the narratives of individuals in southern Ontario who have adopted the practice of Reiki. Focusing on the narratives of Reiki Masters and practitioners, this thesis examines the relationships between illness, healing, and authenticity within the larger framework of energy work. The overarching goal of this thesis is to demonstrate the way in which Reiki Masters and practitioners draw on their experiences of Reiki to create meaning. As practitioners’ narratives reflect, illness is understood as multivalent in nature, and thereby may be physical, emotional and/or psychological, and spiritual. As these narratives show, illness becomes a framework through which individuals can interpret their experience. Often described as a conduit for the universal energy, the Reiki practitioner and his or her role are central to understanding the relationship between Reiki and healing. I propose that Reiki can be interpreted as a form of religious healing. Following Csordas’ (1983, 2002) “rhetoric of transformation,” I propose that Reiki provides a means through which practitioners become able to re-order experience. Like illness, Reiki Masters and practitioners also understand healing in multiple ways, including physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual. Finally, I explore the increased interest in Reiki in the West and the importance to practitioners of the relationship between Reiki and Japanese culture. Through an analysis of Reiki practitioners’ narratives, I will demonstrate that the nature of their experience and their interpretations of that experience influences their notions of what constitutes “authentic” or “real” Reiki. Ultimately, it is a fluid and flexible construction of the “authentic” which allows practitioners the space in which to interpret for themselves their own experiences with Reiki. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

This thesis aims to investigate how Swedish Companies can appropriate products that have strong cultural connections towards other nations or cultures and reintroduce them onto an international market in an authentic way, with emphasis on their Swedish locality. To do this, the study used the booming market of Swedish Craft Gin Distilleries. With a multimodal approach and a comparative analysis of five different Swedish Craft Gin Producers and their international websites, the study explored how authenticity and locality are discursively constructed in the branding and promotion of Swedish Craft Gin Brand published in English for an international audience and market. Additionally, the multimodal analysis was complemented with an analysis of the intentions behind semantic choices and strategies in the marking, based on interview material from the Swedish podcast Gin Podden (The Gin Podcast). The study found that all of the five target distilleries use common themes and values to accommodate meaning, such as the handcrafted and the small scale, Swedish quality, technology and sustainability. Furthermore, the study found that locality is the key feature within construction of authenticity on the market, and that this is constructed and strengthened multimodally through written and visual elements.

This dissertation investigates how the process, politics, and impacts of culturally-framed redevelopment balance growth and equity within inner-city neighborhoods experiencing change. Redevelopment programs that draw upon existing arts and cultural assets have been supported and identified by planners as a strategy of local economic development. However, critiques of cultural preservation as a form of economic development argue that the norms and goals of such planning efforts and their impact on existing residents require further evaluation. For example, planning scholars find that cultural preservation may reinforce both existing spatial divides and forms of social exclusion. At the same time, the recognition of ethnic and minority heritage by non-local forces has been identified by some scholars as an opportunity to further the multicultural transformation of public history as well as locally sustainable community development that benefits the neighborhood's original inhabitants. I employ an extended case study research design and ethnographic methods to analyze how the process of producing authenticity contributes or impinges on development and market potential as well as social preservation efforts in a historic African American neighborhood, U Street/Shaw, within Washington, DC. An analysis of the implementation of the guiding vision for the neighborhood's cultural redevelopment, The DUKE Plan, occurs on three scales: neighborhood, anchor institutions, and individual (residents and visitors). Pro-growth strategies that bolstered the marketable "Black Broadway" place brand were supported at each scale rather than opportunities to preserve the neighborhood's identity through the retention of long-term residents and interpretation of the breadth of the community's identity. As a result of culturally-framed redevelopment, the U Street/Shaw neighborhood continues to gentrify causing a loss of belonging and ownership of cultural heritage among long-term residents. Solutions to ensuring that social equity provisions are delivered in culturally-framed redevelopment requires the adoption of accountability measures defined by existing residents during the planning process that commercial and government stakeholders must continually adhere to throughout and after implementation. / Ph. D.

Yes / In recent years, lifestyle products have emerged to help improve people’s physical and mental performance. The Internet plays a major role in the spread of these products. However, the literature has reported issues regarding the authenticity of medicines purchased from the Internet and the impact of counterfeit medicines on public health. Little or no data are available on the authenticity of lifestyle products and actual toxicity associated with their use and misuse. Our aim was to investigate consumer and patient attitudes toward the purchase of lifestyle products from the Internet, their knowledge of product authenticity and toxicity, and their experiences with counterfeit lifestyle products. A Web-based study was performed between May 2014 and May 2015. Uniform collection of data was performed through an anonymous online questionnaire. Participants were invited worldwide via email, social media, or personal communication to complete the online questionnaire. A total of 320 participants completed the questionnaire. The results of the questionnaire showed that 208 (65.0%) participants purchased lifestyle products from the Internet mainly due to convenience and reduced cost. More than half (55.6%, 178/320) of participants purchased cosmetic products, whereas only a minority purchased medicinal products. Yet, 62.8% (201/320) of participants were aware of the presence of counterfeit lifestyle products from the Internet, and 11.9% (38/320) experienced counterfeit products. In only 0.9% (3/320) of those cases were counterfeit lifestyle products reported to authorities. Moreover, 7.2% (23/320) of the participants experienced adverse effects due to counterfeit lifestyle products. In summary, patients experienced counterfeit lifestyle products that resulted in adverse effects on their health. Although certain adverse effects were reported in this study, counterfeit products were underreported to authorities. Further public awareness campaigns and patient education are needed.