The aim of this study was to observe how, and if, the concept of Media and Information Literacy (Medie-och informationskunnighet in Swedish) was used in the extended school environment. In Swedish primary schools, 21stcentury skills, such as critical thinking, are beginning to be implemented, butis that also the case with the fritidshem? In this study, I have used fiveobservations to examine the situation at a specific school that has a vision ofsustainability and focus of extensively working with information andcommunication technologies. Would this school break down the boundaries, andstatus divide, that often exist between school and fritidshem? / Måletmed den här studien var att observera hur, och om, medie- ochinformationskunnighet användes i fritidshemmet. I den svenska grundskolanbörjar 2000-talets förmågor, som kritiskt tänkande, att sätta sig, men gällerdet även fritidshemmet? I denna studie har jag använt fem observationer för attundersöka hur det ser ut i en skola som har en vision om hållbarhet och fokuspå informations- och kommunikationsteknologi. Kunde denna skola brytabarriärerna och statusskillnaderna, som ofta finns mellan skola ochfritidshemmet?

Abstract Title: Media and Information Literacy (MIL) in kindergarten: A phenomenological study of preschool teachers' perceptions, competencies and preconditions for the introduction of media information literacy (MIL) in preschool. Author: Paramaporn Erdtman Instructor: Janne Kontio Autumn Term 2016 Various studies have shown that there has been a great increase in the use of digital media for children of all ages, especially children of preschool age. A need for skills and knowledge in how we as educators should be able to help children manage digital media and information has become essential. In 2011, UNESCO presented the concept of media information literacy or MIL, which is a collective concept of media literacy and information literacy in a network society. According to state media council, MIL is a tool to enhance understanding and critical abilities and to manage the problems that will arise in everyday media. Such skills are essential in order for children to be able to exercise both their rights and their responsibilities in a democratic society. The purpose of this study is to examine the different conditions that exist amongst pre-school teachers which will help in introducing media - information literacy in the preschool context. The study is based on a quantitative method, i.e. survey and qualitative interviews. The study is aimed toward preschool teachers who have worked with digital tools in preschool. The result shows that there are positive opportunities for working with MIL in preschool. Preschool teachers have some understanding of the concepts of media and information literacy are about. Preschool teachers consider themselves to have the most of the important skills in order to bring MIL into the preschool. The result also indicates that children need more opportunities to create and communicate in intercultural dialogues and critical discussions with the help of digital media. Early childhood educators approach to children's use of digital media and information is a prerequisite to MIL's implementation in preschool. Early childhood educators are in favor of working with MIL's main points which they have already implemented in the preschool.

Social media continue to expand in society, both globally as well as locally, while affecting adolescents’ mental health, news consumption and academic performances. This development leaves comprehensive challenges in the classroom. The curricula of the social science subjects in Sweden advocate critical thinking skills and the understanding of digitalization for contemporary society. The aim of this study is therefore to investigate how teachers in social studies perceive social media in their profession, with the intentions of gaining insight into how teachers cope with its impact on the classroom. This study is conducted through a qualitative method based on interviews with three different teachers in social studies, spread across both Swedish high school and Swedish upper secondary school level. The symbolic interactionism and MIK (Media and Information Literacy) are integral theories in facilitating the study’s analytical dimensions. The findings indicate that social media cultivate identities, social acknowledgement and further causes stress among adolescents. Socially constructed norms and expectations on social media dominate students’ ways of living. Despite prevailing phone bans during class hours, social media still influence the classroom climate and conflicts between students, making it difficult for teachers to manage. Additionally, the need for imparting source evaluation is vital since fake news spreads rapidly across the different social platforms.

Today’s complex and rapidly developed media landscape has brought a greater need for Media and Information Literacy. In order to live and express one’s opinion in a democratic society, it is considered a requisite to possess the skills that Media and Information literacy carries. This requisite mostly concerns the younger generation, since they are the ones growing up in today's media landscape.   Many studies have shown that Media and Information Literacy is connected to civic engagement in various ways. Yet we have not encountered studies with Media and Information Literacy in correlation to civic engagement for a social issue. Therefore, the study will initially describe the main terminology and abilities concerning Media and Information literacy, this through a model formed by Renee Hobbs. Thereafter, the study presents how the abilities of what the model implicates execute in a civic engagement concerning a social issue.   The study is conducted on eight adolescents in 9th grade at a school in Småland, using a qualitative method with semi-structured interviews. The result showed us that the abilities presented in the model, were practiced on a daily basis in the adolescent’s life in different ways. Further, it showed that the abilities played a significant role in order exert civic engagement. Interestingly it showed us that the social context was a remarkable reason for the adolescents to engage together.

Die Sächsische Landesbibliothek – Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Dresden (SLUB) hat neben ihren zahlreichen Schwerpunkten und Funktionen auch die Aufgabe der Schulung von Informations- und Medienkompetenz. Ihre zahlenmäßig größte Benutzergruppe bilden die 20 bis 29 Jahre jungen Studierenden der Technischen Universität Dresden, die 2008 ca. 35.000 Menschen mit einem gültigen SLUB-Ausweis ausmachten.

Bakgrund: Desinformation kring vaccination kan leda till ökad misstro mot hälsomyndigheter och undergräva folkhälsoresponsen. Vaccintveksamhet bland medicinsk personal är särskilt problematiskt då de ofta ses av allmänheten som medicinskt sakkunniga, och deras inställning till vaccinet kan avsevärt bidra till allmänhetens vaccinationsvilja. Att undersöka vaccinationsviljan och dess faktorer är relevant för att kunna hitta strategier för att främja vaccinationstäckningen. Syfte: Att beskriva vaccinationsvilja hos olika professioner inom vården samt vilka faktorer som påverkat den individuella vaccinationsviljan. Metod: Semistrukturerade intervjuer gjordes utifrån ett snöbollsurval. Sammanfattningsvis deltog totalt 5 sjuksköterskor, 2 undersköterskor och 2 medicinska sekreterare i studien, samtliga verksamma på sjukhus. Som metod för analys av det insamlade materialet valdes kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: Vaccinationsvilja är beroende av faktorer som etnicitet, yrkesroll, politisk tillhörighet, kunskapsnivå om svårighetsgraden av Covid-19 och vaccinets effektivitet. Vaccinationsbeslut förknippas med etisk stress och en känsla av tvång och otrygghet. Myndigheterna anses inte vara transparanta i sin kommunikation och det finns en stor oro i att delar av viktig information utelämnas. De som vaccinerat sig gjorde det av solidaritet, för att bidra till pandemins slut och för att de ville skydda sina patienter, sin familj och sina vänner. Bruket av sociala medier har ökat under pandemin, för att hålla kontakt med vänner och familj, men även för att hitta hälsoinformation. Slutsats: Kunskap kring vaccin och hur de fungerar är inte en självklar del av utbildningen bland de professioner som deltog i studien. Vårdpersonal måste ges kunskaper för att tryggt och faktabaserat kunna diskutera denna viktiga fråga med patienter då rekommendationer kring vaccin måste tydliggöras. Eftersom informationen ska tas emot av människor med stora variationer i ålder, utbildning och förkunskaper kan det vara lämpligt att skala ner den biomedicinska utbildningsstrategin och istället rikta in hälsokommunikationen på en kulturell och politisk bakgrund för att diskutera hälsofrämjande åtgärder som vaccination. / Background: Misinformation about vaccination can lead to increased mistrust of health authorities and undermine the public health response. Vaccinehesitancy among medical staff is particularly problematic as they are often seen by the public as medical experts, and their attitude to the vaccine can significantly contribute to the public's willingness to get vaccinated. Examining the willingness to get vaccinated and its factors is relevant in order to be able to find strategies to promote vaccination coverage. Aim: To describe the willingness to get vaccinated against Covid-19 among different professions in healthcare and what factors have influenced their determination to get vaccinated. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted based on a snowball selection. In summary, a total of 5 nurses, 2 assistant nurses and 2 medical secretaries participated in the study, all active in hospitals. Qualitative content analysis was chosen as the method for analysis of the collected material. Results: Acceptance of vaccines depends on factors such as ethnicity, professional role, political affiliation, level of knowledge about the severity of Covid-19 and the vaccine's effectiveness. Vaccination decisions are associated with ethical stress, coercion and insecurity. The authorities are not considered to be transparent in their communication and there is great concern that parts of important information are omitted. Those who accepted the vaccine did so out of solidarity, to help end the pandemic and to protect their patients, family and friends. The use of social media has increased during the pandemic, to keep in touch with friends and family, but also to find health information. Conclusion: Knowledge about vaccines and how they work is not an obvious part of the education among the professions that participated in the study. Nursing staff must be given knowledge to be able to safely and fact-based discuss this important issue with patients as recommendations regarding vaccines must be clarified. As the information is to be received by people with large variations in age, education and prior knowledge, it may be appropriate to scale down the biomedical education strategy and instead focus health communication on a cultural and political background to discuss health promotion measures such as vaccination.

In today’s increasingly digital society, the rampant creation and spread of misinformation and disinformation poses a critical problem in our lives. As a society, we are suffering heightened panic facing Information Disorder (ID). This is especially true in the context of Indonesia, a highly Internet-penetrated country with low levels of literacy. A prominent solution to the problem at hand is to develop Media and Information Literacy skills (MIL). To gain in-depth understanding of the context and phenomenon at hand, three things need to be explored; conceptions of the problem, conceptions of the solution, and conceptions of possible issues with the solution. This study aims to explore conceptions and experiences of ID, MIL and discussions of possible issues with advancing MIL skills in Indonesia across a variety of stakeholders. This extensive insight will give an opportunity to reflect upon current efforts and help design sustainable and adept solutions. In order to undertake the aim of collecting and analyzing conceptions and experiences of a variety of stakeholders, a theoretical approach of phenomenography is taken using semi-structured qualitative interviews as a method of empirical data collection.  The varied conceptions and experiences of stakeholders paints a picture of how Indonesian society conceives ID, MIL skills and possible issues with the solution. A solution broadly encouraged by stakeholders is for all stakeholders to work together to create comprehensive, context-relevant, and sustainable solutions.

The aim of the study is to investigate how media and information literacy (MIL) among young women affect their views on beauty-related advertisements and posts on Instagram, in accordance with infrastructure knowledge, mental health and purchase behavior. This is conducted through semi-structured interviews with 6 young Swedish women in the age range of 20-25 years old, through which an analysis of the retrieved answers is made. The analysis of the empirical materials takes a stamp in the theories of uses and gratifications theory and cultivation theory in relation to MIL in order to further prove the arguments and conclusions being made. The importance of MIL in this context needs to be highlighted in order to make young women more aware of the ways in which the media takes advantage of them and tries to manipulate them into a spiral of beauty standards and advertisements, making them the targets for further consumption. Considering that the digitalization is moving at a rapid speed, the possibilities for economic growth are doing the same thing. This means that beauty companies, just like any other corporation with a motive of profit, will continue to evolve their marketing strategies in accordance with female consumers' interest and needs.  The collected empirical data of this study shows that the interviewees have at least some basic knowledge of Instagram’s technical infrastructure in the meanings of algorithms and cookies, and therefore understand the basics of how their actions construct their Instagram feeds. The study also shows that the interviewees have a generally negative image of the beauty industry on Instagram; they like the possibilities of using Instagram as a source of inspiration and entertainment, but heavily dislike and disagree with the beauty standards being portrayed. They have all in some shape or form been affected negatively by beauty related content on Instagram - however, it shows that the ones with supposedly higher MIL and knowledge about algorithms more easily could identify the sources of negativity and steer away from it, showing the benefits of MIL in this context. The study also concludes that the interviewees generally are highly skeptical of advertisements and sponsorships on Instagram and therefore rarely purchase anything because of said platform. However, they have a higher tendency to do so if the product being advertised is endorsed by a, according to them, highly trusted influencer or if a discount code is being provided.  It is of importance to continue studies within this area in order to make deeper analysis of potential consequences of the beauty industry and standards on Instagram, so that more women can be taught and informed about how they can protect themselves from negative influences.

The following essay has the purpose of giving an account of how the increasing digitalization, medialization and flow of information has affected social science as a subject, and how this has changed the expectations put on students and teachers. Furthermore, the way teachers’ TPACK knowledge and web literacy skills affect their teaching is also examined. Lastly, students’ level of understanding for the term media and information literacy is further investigated.  This is being done with the help of the following three question formulations: 1. What further demands does the increasing digitalization, medialization and flow of information pose for students and teachers, and how does it connect to social science as a subject? 2. How do teachers' knowledge of TPACK and web literacy affect their teaching? 3. What level of understanding do students have for the term media and information literacy?  The essay is based upon 15 peer-reviewed scientific articles, which have been chosen to represent the field of knowledge and answer the three question formulations. The interconnection between media and information literacy and democracy makes the subject increasingly important in today’s society with threats like propaganda, misinformation, and anti-democratic rhetoric. One conclusion made is how important it is for the students’ learning outcomes that the teacher is well-informed and has the necessary knowledge to help and support the students in their learning. It is also important to consider that the way students define media and information literacy may differ from teachers’ understanding, and that can lead to students’ knowledge being interpreted as higher than it is in reality.

Introduction: The increasing digitalization of society means that digital competence has acquired a key role for today’s citizens and for their participation in social life and democracy. Public libraries are considered as an important institution that can give access to this competence as well as help citizens improve their media and information literacy, since one of the libraries’ tasks is to promote and protect democracy and access to information. To do this, librarians must possess fundamental digital skills and knowledges. In Sweden a national project called Digitalt först med användaren i fokus was launched between 2018 and 2020 and it gave birth, among other things, to a digital learning platform for public librarians called Digiteket. This online resource offers both scientific arti-cles and courses aimed at improving the librarians’ digital competence. With our thesis we want to try and expand the still underdeveloped research around this pedagogical resource. By focusing on a selection of courses, we aim to achieve a better understanding of how their learning process is designed and what type of learning is made possible. At the same time, we want to analyse how the authors chose to organize the course texts, address the target group and make meaning through the texts. Method: Our approach has been to develop a series of questions linked to seven fundamental concepts than belong to two theoretical frameworks focused on learning and communication: didactical design theory and multimodal social semiotics. Three courses from Digiteket were chosen and treated as a didactic and communicative resource constructed as a semi-formal learning design sequence. The courses’ didactic design and metafunctions have been analysed with the help of the questions mentioned above. The instructions contained in Digiteket’s course guide and a short email-interview made with one of the authors responsible for Digiteket’s content helped us add nuance to the analysis. Analysis and results: The didactical design analysis revealed that the courses have a very clear and defined structure with explicit goals and expectations. However, the participants’ possibilities regarding the production of ma-terial as a part of learning is almost non-existent as is also the possibility to discuss one’s learning process. Interaction with the didactic tool and communication between course participants, along with reflection on the learnt subjects and references to further readings are present to a certain extent although mainly situated outside the learning platform. The semiotic analysis of the course texts has shown a pattern in how the course subjects and their relevant aspects are presented, where the subjects are initially seen as influential in the reader’s life. The roles then get inverted, and the reader is shown how to take control of the subject. The texts use several strategies where language and text disposition are involved, and it positions the readers either centrally or as a part of a bigger context of individuals (society as a whole or public librarians). These and other strategies, like the at times playful language, coherence between different courses and internal logical cohesion in each course manage to construct solid pedagogical texts connected to the target group in a varying extent.Conclusions: Digiteket shows a consistent application of fixed pedagogical principles developed with the target group (public librarians) in mind, even if there seems to be room for the integration of more social activities and of different types of didactic tools and media. The platform is in a developing phase and has the potential to become a national hub for boosting librarians’ digital competence and subsequently enable them to transmit knowledges to the public, in accordance with libraries’ societal task. This is a two-year master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.