The motivation of this work is to understand E-shape analysis and how it can be applied to various classification tasks. It has a powerful feature to not only look at what information is contained, but rather how that information looks. This new technique gives E-shape analysis the ability to be language independent and to some extent size independent. In this thesis, I present a new mechanism to characterize an email without using content or context called E-shape analysis for email. I explore the applications of the email shape by carrying out a case study; botnet detection and two possible applications: spam filtering and social-context based finger printing. The second part of this thesis takes what I apply E-shape analysis to activity recognition of humans. Using the Android platform and a T-Mobile G1 phone I collect data from the triaxial accelerometer and use it to classify the motion behavior of a subject.

This study investigates what roles the Chinese state-owned media play in the Covid-19 outbreak in terms of what kind of messages they delivered on Weibo and the quality of the messages. It also explores how the public is engaged with these messages on Weibo. Both the messages and the engagement are examined by mix-method content analysis.   The exploration of the Weibo messages relies on the Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) framework. The CERC framework combines various existing theories and compiles them into a communication guideline for a health crisis. This study examines the messages by focusing on sensemaking and self-efficacy. Sensemaking is informing the public of the nature of the crisis; self-efficacy reflects people’s confidence in the capacity to change behaviours and deal with the problems. It was found that Weibo provides a platform for delivering sensemaking messages and self-efficacy messages in the coronavirus outbreak. However, considering the accuracy, relevance and intelligibility of strategic health communication, the quality of the messages is debatable in some cases.   The exploration of social media engagement relies on Liu, Lu and Wang’s virality theory on social media which discusses four aspects of engagement: authority, privacy, evidence and incentive appeal. This study shows how each of these aspects influences how people engage with messages on Weibo: the effect of different authorities on the message engagement; the usage of one-to-one communication and one-to-many communication in the engagement; and the engagement in positive appeals and negative appeals.

Mina meddelanden (English: My Messages) is a secure electronic mail service provided by seven Swedish public authorities, which may be used by the Swedish population to electronically receive mail from the public sector. The IT infrastructure of this mail service is primarily developed and maintained by the Swedish Tax Agency. It is built on Web Services and the principles of Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA). This allows external stakeholders to connect to the system as subsystems: Senders, Postal Services or Mailbox Operators, each designed to either send, mediate or receive mail using Web Services. Used in this way, Web Services allow for a loosely coupled system, however, system upgrades must be deployed in an orderly fashion so as to prevent breakdowns. The main research areas of this literature review, conducted with an iterative search process, include versioning of Web Services, SOA strategies, design patterns and frameworks. Based on the findings of this research, two theoretical approaches are suggested for Mina meddelanden: (i) a gradual change between two strictly controlled versions with a unified repository to store relevant Web service artifacts and documentations, and (ii) more generally to implement an integration platform that includes a service bus to mediate messages to the most suitable version. Mina meddelanden is a government project, and there are strict IT regulations and directives that must be followed. Therefore, the first approach is the most suitable at the time of writing, since there is already a working version of the system that follows these rules. Future implementation of an integration platform requires further study to ensure legal requirements are met. / Mina meddelanden är en säker digital posttjänst som tillhandahålls av sju svenska myndigheter och kan användas av den svenska befolkningen för att ta emot post elektroniskt från den offentliga sektorn. IT-infrastrukturen av denna posttjänst utvecklas och underhålls främst av Skatteverket. Den är byggd på webbtjänster och principerna av en tjänsteorienterad arkitektur (SOA). Detta gör det möjligt för externa aktörer att ansluta till systemet som delsystemen: Avsändare, Förmedlare eller Brevlådeoperatörer som är utformade för att antingen skicka, förmedla eller ta emot e-post med hjälp av webbtjänster. Webbtjänster gör det möjligt för delsystemen att samarbeta med varandra, men uppdateringar utav ett sådant system måste ske på ett metodiskt sätt för att förhindra haverier. Det huvudsakliga undersökningsområdet av denna litteraturstudie, genomfördes med en iterativ sökprocess, omfattas av versionshantering av webbtjänster, SOA strategier, designmallar och ramverk. Baserat på litteraturstudien förslås två teoretiska tillvägagångssätt för Mina meddelanden: (i) en succesiv förändring mellan två strikta och kontrollerade versioner med ett enat förvar för att lagra relevanta webbtjänster artefakter och dokumentationer och (ii) en mer generell lösning att implementera en integrationsplattform som inkluderar en tjänstebuss för att förmedla meddelanden till den mest passande versionen. Mina meddelanden är ett statligt projekt och måste därför följa strikta IT direktiv och riktlinjer, så det första tillvägagångssättet är den bäst kvalificerad i skrivande stund på grund av att det redan finns en fungerande version av systemet som följer dessa regler. Framtida implementationer av en integrationsplattform kräver ytterligare studier för att säkerställa att juridiska krav är uppnådda.

Consumers and the society as a whole are increasingly demanding companies to take their social responsibility and work actively for gender equality. Companies have therefore begun to use feminist messages in their advertising, also known as femvertising. Femvertising canbe described as advertising that strives to challenge norms about gender roles and body ideals, as well as empower women to achieve gender equality. If companies are not perceivedas genuine in their femvertising and use feminist messages to increase their sales, this can be classified as femwashing. The aim of this study is to examine young adults’ attitude towards femvertising and femwashing. Thus, young adults’ general attitude, the correlation between attitude towards femvertising and femwashing, and also which factors that can affect young adults’ attitude are investigated. Based on previous research, seven hypotheses were formulated. The data collection method for this study was a quantitative digital survey. There sult shows that young adults generally have a positive attitude towards femvertising and a negative attitude towards femwashing. The correlation between attitude towards femvertising and femwashing can be considered as strong. Gender, political opinion and identification as a feminist or not are factors that can influence young adults’ attitude towards femvertising and femwashing. Specifically, women, left-wing sympathizers and feminists tend to be more positive towards femvertising and more negative towards femwashing, compared to men, right-wing sympathizers and non-feminists. The result also shows that women are more positive to femvertising and more negative to femwashing because they tend to be both feminists and left-wing sympathizers to a greater extent than men. Based on theory about gender in the media, postfeminism and advertising, the result is analyzed and discussed. / Konsumenter och samhället i stort ställer allt högre krav på att företag ska ta sitt sociala ansvar och aktivt arbeta för jämställdhet. Företag har därmed börjat använda feministiska budskap i sin marknadsföring, även känt som femvertising. Femvertising är marknadsföring som strävar efter att utmana normer kring könsroller och kroppsideal samt stärka kvinnor för att uppnå jämställdhet. Om företag inte upplevs genuina i sin femvertising och istället utnyttjar feministiska budskap för att öka sin försäljning, kan detta klassas som femwashing. Syftet med denna studie är att kartlägga unga vuxnas attityd till femvertising och femwashing. Därmed undersöks unga vuxnas generella attityd, sambandet mellan attityd till femvertising och femwashing samt vilka faktorer som kan påverka unga vuxnas attityd. Baserat på tidigare forskning utformades sju hypoteser. Datainsamlingsmetoden för studien var en kvantitativ digital enkät. Resultatet visar att unga vuxna generellt har en positiv attityd till femvertising och en negativ attityd till femwashing. Sambandet mellan attityd till femvertising och femwashing kan konstateras vara starkt. Kön, politisk åskådning och identifiering som feminist eller ej är faktorer som kan påverka unga vuxnas attityd till femvertising och femwashing. Specifikt tenderar kvinnor, vänstersympatisörer och feministeratt vara mer positiva till femvertising samt mer negativa till femwashing, i jämförelse med män, högersympatisörer och icke-feminister. Resultatet visar även att kvinnor är mer positivatill femvertising och mer negativa till femwashing på grund av att de tenderar att vara både feminister och vänstersympatisörer i större utsträckning än män. Utifrån teori om kön i media, postfeminism samt marknadsföring analyseras och diskuteras resultatet.

<p>Behavior change is not a product of knowledge alone but by the other constructs within the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). This includes attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. In order to ensure positive change in food safety behavior, researchers should explore the current situation before providing the necessary resources for consumers. This can be done through consumer needs assessments which explore practices, perceptions, demographics, and more. Along with that, major health events like the COVID-19 pandemic can increase risk perceptions of consumers which may lead them to follow safe (washing hands with soap and water) and unsafe food handling behaviors (washing fruits and vegetables with soap). Information spreads quicker during this digital age and this can cause consumers to follow certain behaviors. To assess information being spread, chapter 2 includes a study assessing COVID-19-related food safety information on YouTube early on in the pandemic. Chapter 3 and 4 contain longitudinal studies that used surveys and focus groups to assess consumer food handling practices and risk perceptions throughout the pandemic. Another factor is the type of food being handled. Consumers are not aware that certain foods like pet food (Ch. 5) and raw wheat flour (Ch. 6) can cause foodborne illness. Thus, they may not be handling these types of products as carefully. It is important to communicate that these foods can also cause foodborne illness. In the case of raw wheat flour, while commercial brands provide food safety messages on the packaging, consumers have a hard time finding and understanding the messages. All the studies within this dissertation explored multiple elements that can fall under the different constructs of the TPB in the context of the different factors that affect food safety behaviors. For example, previous studies have found that risk perception may fall under the construct of attitude because human perceptions can influence how a person feels about the situation. The objective of this dissertation is to explore different consumer food safety needs and explore how the elements within the needs assessments feeds into the TPB. With this information, researchers can advance the use of the TPB and researchers and food safety educators can ensure positive behavior change through the TPB.</p>

La presente investigación tiene como objetivo principal analizar la percepción de los mensajes publicitarios que difundió la marca Gloria durante el manejo de crisis para renovar la confianza en mujeres de 36 a 56 años en Lima Metropolitana. Este estudio es relevante porque, aunque la crisis haya sucedido en el 2017, los mensajes publicitarios de Gloria con el fin de restaurar la confianza se han continuado emitiendo hasta la actualidad. Además, no existen investigaciones previas que aborden la crisis mencionada, analizando las categorías de mensajes publicitarios, gestión de crisis y renovación de confianza. La metodología utiliza un enfoque cualitativo. Se empleó como estudio de caso la crisis de Pura vida, marca del grupo Gloria, y se realizaron tres focus groups. La presente investigación concluye que los mensajes publicitarios del tipo producto emitidos por Gloria en la fase inicial de la crisis fueron percibidos negativamente por las participantes, afectando así la confianza de las consumidoras. Posteriormente, los mensajes de la etapa de postcrisis de tipo testimonial e institucional fueron percibidos positivamente por las participantes, contribuyendo a reconstruir la confianza. Sobre la gestión de crisis de la marca Gloria, se concluye que al principio fue percibida como improvisada; sin embargo, en la fase de postcrisis se realizaron acciones que fueron percibidas como más cercanas, siendo la etapa más recordada por las consumidoras. Finalmente, tras un trabajo a largo plazo, según las consumidoras, se ha logrado reconstruir la confianza en la marca y el consumo de sus productos lácteos se ha retomado. / The main objective of this research is to analyze the perception of the advertising messages that the Gloria brand issued during crisis management to renew confidence in women between 36 and 56 years from Metropolitan Lima. This study is relevant because, although the crisis occurred in 2017, Gloria's advertising messages in order to restore trust have continued to be issued up to the present time. Also, there is no previous research that addresses the aforementioned crisis, analyzing the advertising messages, crisis management and confidence renewal categories. The methodology uses a qualitative approach. The crisis of Pura vida, a Gloria's group brand, was used as a case study, and three focus groups were carried out. This research concludes that the product-type advertising messages issued by the Gloria brand in the initial phase of the crisis were negatively perceived by the participants, thus affecting the consumers' confidence. Subsequently, the testimonial and institutional messages of the post-crisis stage were positively perceived by the participants, helping to rebuild trust. Regarding the crisis management of the Gloria brand, it is concluded that at the beginning it was perceived as improvised; however, in the post-crisis phase, actions were carried out that were perceived as closer, being the stage most remembered by consumers. Finally, after long-term work, according to consumers, the trust in the brand has been rebuilt and consumption of its dairy products has resumed. / Tesis

Includes bibliographical references (p. 51-57). / Exclusive breastfeeding (mother's milk only, with the exclusion of all other food or drink) reduces breast milk transmission of HIV compared with mixed feeding. This study was part of formative work for a community-based un-blinded randomised controlled trial (RCT) in an urban township with high antenatal HIV prevalence in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa. The RCT sought to determine whether an integrated package of home-based care delivered by community health workers (CHWs) increases uptake of prevention of mother-to-child-transmission (PMTCT) interventions and improves neonatal outcomes. One example of where counselling is used is in Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) approaches. A counselling booklet, used by CHWs during home visits, was part of the integrated package. The primary objective of this study was to document the socio-cultural context in which infant feeding and caring decisions were made. The secondary objective was to field test the draft counselling booklet for the RCT. Methods This qualitative study used focus groups (n=8 groups) and individual interviews (n=6). All participants, of unknown HIV status, were purposively sampled from the study site. The focus group participants included, in separate groups, eight MRC researchers; 14 pregnant women (two separate groups of seven each); six non-pregnant women; eight older women; five men and 15 CHWs (separated into two groups). Results Data showed that socio-cultural factors, like the lack of social support systems; uncertainty regarding the role of men in infant feeding and caring issues; local beliefs and practices that encouraged risky infant caring practices; the lack of supply of formula and CHWs' lack of breastfeeding knowledge and experience; and HIV-related stigma may directly or indirectly, drive mothers to practice non-exclusive infant feeding. BCC principles acknowledge that people are affected greatly by social pressures exerted not only by their peers, but also by their larger communities (Bentley et al., 1999). For vi example, with regard to the support systems, both pregnant as well as younger women felt that feeding and caring decisions regarding their infants were mostly made by older women ' their husbands were seldom involved in such decisions. In relation to HIV-related stigma, many pregnant women felt that some clinics were not very supportive regarding HIV disclosure. In terms of health system factors, CHWs said that they were sometimes ill-equipped to deal with issues of disclosure due to a lack of training and confusion around the key feeding and caring messages. With regard to infant caring practices, the data revealed risky practices (using soap enemas and inappropriate hand washing practices), even amongst CHWs. Participants said they would share the booklet with others in the community as it taught them important lessons regarding infant feeding and caring practices. For some, the pictures in the booklet enhanced their understanding of 'old' messages. Participants identified several weaknesses in the booklet and suggested that it be less repetitive; that voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) be given priority in earlier rather than later visits; that unfamiliar terms is explained; more pictures included; and the general tone of messages improved. Literacy rates were low among older women and some men in the study. Conclusion and Recommendations Socio-cultural factors drive mothers to practice non-exclusive feeding and care for their infants in ways that may unwittingly increase the risk of HIV transmission. There is a need for CHWs to include family members in discussions about feeding so that they can change their thinking around infant-feeding and caring issues. The data suggests that VCT is not given priority in the counselling booklet and support is lacking in some clinics, therefore policy makers should ensure that support for VCT becomes a priority in the future. Furthermore, some CHWs were confused about the messages they are disseminating, therefore, the training that facility managers give to CHWs should be adapted to suit socio-cultural contexts so that CHWs are better equipped to communicate messages pertaining to infant feeding and caring appropriately to mothers. With the data revealing general acceptability of risky infant caring practices, even amongst CHWs, the vii health system needs to look at how it will effectively change health-related practices among health professionals. With literacy rates being low among older women and some men in the study, it was therefore recommended that gaining skills in materials design and improving CHWs' understanding of the BCC process, booklets such as this one needs to be designed together with the primary user in mind.

The purpose of the study was to contribute knowledge on how a teacher's instruction, supported by group discussions, can be planned, implemented, and evaluated to develop pupils' ability to identify messages in narrative texts. To fulfill the purpose of the study, the following research questions were answered: What are the critical aspects when educating a selected group of pupils to develop their ability to identify messages in narrative texts? What knowledge of identifying messages in narrative texts do the pupils demonstrate before and after the instruction? How can group discussions be used in instruction to develop pupils' ability to identify messages in narrative texts? The theoretical framework of the study was variation theory, and the method used was an intervention study inspired by a Learning study. A Learning study consists of cycles of implementation where instruction is planned, implemented, and evaluated. The development of instruction is analyzed with the support of pre-tests and post-tests to determine the knowledge that pupils demonstrate before and after the instruction. The critical aspects that emerged for the specific group of pupils were: The pupil should discern that the text is related to the individual. The pupil should identify the essential parts of a narrative text. The pupil should understand the concept of a message. The pupil should discern the difference between what is stated on the in the text and what is implied between the lines. The pupils showed improved results on the post-test compared to the pre-test. The use of group discussions was shown to be more beneficial for both the pupils and the teacher when there was a clear structure in the discussions.

This study compared the narratives presented by government officials’ to the people in Sweden and Australia regarding the Covid-19 Pandemic. Government officials form the first line of communication and set the scene for further communication, contributing to peoples understanding of reality. This study investigated the first layer of communication to the nation in a global crisis. Comparing and contrasting cross cultural narratives that addressed the same global phenomenon yielded new knowledge about how narratives are told and can set the foundation for further communication and meaning making in the public.This study investigated communication to the nation to discover if the narrative differ or share commonalities between Australia and Sweden -two countries with significantly different strategies to handling the Covid-19 outbreak to the purpose of gaining deeper knowledge of how narration from national leaders is shaped and inform public meaning making.Method: Narrative Content Analysis (Content analysis, Narrative Analysis, Grounded Theory)Theory: Narrative Theory

Adolescents and teens are surrounded by a myriad of influences that affect how they see and present themselves. Contemporary communication for these young people frequently happens in an online forum through digital social media. The primary purpose of this master's thesis is to examine the affect of digital social media on adolescent and teen identity construction and perception of self and other. Further research was performed to identify how that identity can be expressed through theatrical performance. The first chapter is a review of current literature, theory and practice of those within the educational paradigm who are trying to incorporate media literacy skills into contemporary pedagogy. An action research project was formulated to create lesson plans that aid students in engaging critically with digital social media and then empowering them with the skills to access, analyze, evaluate and create that media. Students then use their findings in the creation of a devised theatre piece. Chapter Two discusses the methodology involved with the gathering of the data and the process of analysis using open coding. Chapter Three presents the findings and exhibits student work and Chapter Four analyzes the findings and presents a course for future study, research and use of the findings in the contemporary drama classroom.