This thesis revolves around social dance movements in the form of raving and clubbing in Berlin, and how this performative scene is affected by social distancing measures due to the current situation of Covid-19. As an important moment in history, online body performances and virtual spaces aim to complement and substitute social experiences in physical environments. The field of study relating digital technology to club cultures is timely, as virtual raving is changing social bodies’ interactions. Life has gone online for the sake of upholding socialization, as people find themselves in isolation – in a hybrid experience of the digital and material. To assess these changes in social life, this thesis uses an auto ethnographical case study on virtual raving and interviews with rave participants, and deploys Affordance Theory. The affordances accounted for are those of ‘settings’, ‘socialization’, ‘entertainment’, and ‘mobility’. The analysis demonstrates the possibilities and problems of transferring the meditative and social bodily experiences associated with raving, to virtual environments. The resulting discussion addresses issues of global accessibility, virtual raves, and what these mean for a techno raving sub culture, and the people who participate in it.

Esta investigación tiene como objeto de estudio central las estrategias de información de la denominada generación centennial en la ciudad de Lima. Esta generación es caracterizada por tener un mayor vínculo con la tecnología a comparación de las anteriores. Este factor influye en sus formas de comunicarse y de obtener información, pues se desarrolla en un entorno periodístico e informativo distinto: el digital. El periodismo digital destaca por estar en constante cambio, está relacionado con el alto flujo de información y también cambia paradigmas que se tenía con el periodismo tradicional, pues las noticias se construyen progresivamente y llegan a su audiencia con mayor inmediatez. Esta investigación inició con la definición de los conceptos clave y la delimitación temporal de los centennials. En el segundo capítulo se ilustra el entorno en el que esta generación se desarrolló. Finalmente, a través de la herramienta de la entrevista, se procedió a analizar a profundidad los hábitos de los centennials para informarse sobre hechos políticos. / This investigation has as the main purpouse studying the information strategies of denominated centennial generation in Lima. This generation is caracterized for having a stronger link with technology, compared to the previous ones. This factor influences their way of communication and the way of how they get information, since this is developed in a journalistic and informative different environment: the digital. Digital Journalism stands out for being in constant change, is related with the high flow of information and also changes paradigms of traditional journalism, since news are constructed progressively and reach its audience faster. This investigation started with the definition of key concepts and temporary delimitation of centennials. In the second chapter the environment of development of this generation is illustrated. Finally, through interviews, it was proceed to analyze deeply centennials habits to get information about political facts. / Trabajo de investigación

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This ethno a h explores the mean in s of personhood and agency in Maneberg a township located on the Cape Flats, in Cape Town South Africa. The township was a site of relocation for people who were classified coloured during the apartheid era and who were forcibly removed from newly declared white areas in the city in the 1960s I argue that despite the old apartheid state's attempts to reify the meaning of colouredness through racial legislation,\the residents of Manenberg created their own meanings of personhood, agency and community within the bureaucratic, social and economic interstices of the apartheid systems Yet at the same time they also reinstated the very structural processes at the heart of their racial and gendered subjugation. I indicate how the cohesiveness of the Rio Street community in Manenberg, the survival of its residents and their validation as respectable mothers, tough men and good daughters hinged on and effloresced from a moral economy that articulated with the structural location of coloured women in the apartheid economy and racial bureaucracy. I draw upon the writings of Fortes (1969), Giddens (1984) and Karp (1995) to elaborate upon the concept personhood in Manenberg. I show how the local understandings of personhood provide residents with agency, whilst connecting the latter to township history and apartheid social structure, thereby illustrating its limits. The concept personhood captures the duality of existence of Manenberg residents and maps out their negotiation and contestation about personhood and agency. I use Hobart (1990) and Kratz (2000) to indicate that lagency in Manenberg is complex and is situationally determined~Finally I utilise the theoretical insights of Donham (1999) to indicate that Manenberg's social, economic and historical location in the South African context allows for several notions of personhood to prevail in the township. These notions are grounded in the multiple, interconnected, hierarchically ordered, competing cultural and economic systems of production at the local, national and global levels. This complex location of Manenberg residents generates multiple constructs of inequality, power and agency that impinge upon each other and that are reflected in the contestations about personhood in diverse township spaces.

Sur le site de la friche industrielle de l'Escalette dans le parc national des Calanques (Marseille), une réflexion alliant écologie de la restauration et phytoremédiation est menée dans le but d'optimiser les fonctions écosystémiques qui limitent les transferts d'éléments traces métalliques et métalloïdes (ETMM) des sols. Une caractérisation in situ de la composition et la structure des communautés végétales natives et spontanées a été menée sur des sites fortement contaminés, permettant de sélectionner des plantes tolérantes. La réponse de deux espèces pérennes natives à l'hétérogénéité de la contamination des sols en ETMM a été évaluée in situ, notamment via l'analyse des interactions sol-plantes microorganismes de la zone rhizosphérique. Enfin, des essais de restauration écologique des communautés végétales natives, basés sur la capacité de plantes natives tolérantes à stabiliser les ETMM et les dynamiques de résilience des communautés végétales, ont été menés sur une zone fortement contaminée. Les résultats indiquent qu'un siècle de contamination en ETMM a affecté de façon significative les communautés végétales en terme de composition, diversité et structure. Ils mettent en évidence une tolérance des plantes natives impliquant des microorganismes symbiotiques. Les résultats préliminaires des essais de restauration écologique confirment le choix d'espèces natives pour relancer une dynamique de végétation sur sols très contaminés et l’importance de créer des microsites favorables dans des milieux (semi-)arides hétérogènes. Ils apportent une contribution au développement d'écotechnologies pour la restauration des sols contaminés dans un contexte méditerranéen. / On the Escalette brownfield, included in the area of the Calanques National Park (Marseille, southeastern France), a research project combining restoration ecology and phytoremediation is carried out, in order to optimize the ecosystem functions which limit the transfers of metals and metalloids (MM) and to restore the functions of the contaminated soils. We developed an in situ characterization approach of the composition and structure of plant communities that grow on MM contaminated sites. This enabled the selection of native plants, tolerant to high concentrations of MM. In a second step, the response of two native perennial species to surface and depth heterogeneity of MM soil contamination was evaluated in-situ, regarding the soil-plant-microorganism interactions at the rhizosphere level. Finally, ecological restoration trials of native plant communities were carried out in a polluted hotspot, based on the ability of native plants to stabilize MM and the resilience dynamics of plant communities.The results indicated that a century of MM pollution pressure produced a significant correlation with plant community dynamics in terms of composition, diversity and structure. They showed that the tolerance of native plants involves symbiotic microorganism interactions. Preliminary results from ecological restoration trials confirmed the method for native plants species selection to recover a vegetation dynamic on highly polluted soils and the importance of creating favorable microsites in heterogeneous (semi-)arid environments. They contribute to the development of ecotechnologies for the restoration of contaminated soils in a Mediterranean context.

Abstract Title: The old generation and the New World - A qualitative content analysis of media usage of the older generation Keywords:Digital natives, digital immigrants, diffusion of innovation, content analysis This study has its focus on how the older generation looks at today's media society and the use of today's media. Through a method of qualitative content analysis based on questionnaires, the aim is to examine what the older generation thinks about today's media, how they use them, and whether there are differences in groups according to age and previous work. The study selected theories bases on Marc Prenskys idea of ​​digital natives, digital immigrants and Everett M Rogers book on "Diffusion of Innovation". These theories take up the difference on digital natives and digital immigrants and the spread of new technological ideas takes place through communication over different channels in time among causes people in a social system. The result of the study shows that many older people are good at making use of today's media, but also that many may feel alienation of today's media society. Development has proceeded rapidly in recent years and for the older generation it's sometimes hard to keep up. The conclusion of the study is that the older generation may need more help to discover how today's media can facilitate everyday life and enrich it with more communication despite the fact that it takes place through a screen.

In this thesis, news media use and trust among Swedish upper secondary schools students of Generation Z is investigated through focus group interviews with students from two different schools. This study aims to explain how and why Swedish upper secondary school students of Generation Z use and perceive news media, with focus on the relations between news media trust and news media use. To interpret the empirical data, the study uses a theoretical framework consisting of three pillars: an understanding of trust informed by Giddens (1990) definition; the use of public connection (Couldry et al., 2018) to understand the role of news media; a generational understanding based on Prensky’s (2001a; 2001b) concept of Digital Natives, and Bolin’s (2017) media generations. This study suggests that there is a clear discrepancy between the young Swedes news media use, and their trust. They acknowledge the importance of news media in society, and traditional news medias are perceived as trustworthy expert systems, providing of professional, quality journalism. Despite the high levels of trust, traditional news medias are rarely actively used. Instead, students come into contact with most news through social media feeds, on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. They mostly view the content on these platforms as unreliable and untrustworthy, due to the lack of a clear, trustworthy expert presence. Despite distrusting the content on social media, the students continue to use the services as a source of news, in part due to the convenience of use and in part as they believe themselves to well equipped to discern true and fake news through their generations’ intimate knowledge of both the structure of social medias, and strategies for fact checking. This study also argues that the use of distrusted news from social media, may in fact in some cases enable a public connection.

The benefits of study abroad experience in second language acquisition have evolved from unchallenged assumption to the focus of rigorous study in the past several decades. The benefits of out-of-class contact with natives have likewise been questioned. Despite conflicting evidence of its benefit, students frequently cite out-of-class conversations with natives as among the most beneficial aspects of their language acquisition experience. Reviewing the extant literature, this study narrows in on authentic communication-that is, meaningful out-of-class contact with natives, in which students are able to genuinely express themselves and their personality-as a previously unanalyzed element of study abroad research. It is suggested that such conversations contribute to the success of study abroad students, particularly as it is measured by student motivation leading to continued engagement with the language study post-study abroad and cultural understanding. Surveys and essays by 85 students in two separate Arabic study abroad programs to the Middle East were analyzed. The findings bear on the efforts of educators to design and prepare students for successful study abroad programs.

Abstract  Background: E-commerce and omni-channel retailing strategies have emerged with digitalization. Digital channels have affected many parts of the daily life for consumers and as a result the consumer’s decision-making processes have become more complex. Born natives are a generation of consumers that have grown up having access to digital technology and their behaviors form a unique phenomenon as consumers within the omni-channel environment. At the same time, continuous growth in the Swedish furniture industry has allowed for new retailing strategies to emerge. The sample of born natives born during the 1990’s provides a unique insight in how these consumers behave and interact in the Swedish omni-channel furniture retailing environment.  Research question: How does the omni-channel retailing environment affect decision-making Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore how digital native consumers who now comprise a larger consumer segment on the furniture market perceive the omni-channel environment in addition to how the digital omni-channel environment affects their decision- making process when it comes to furniture purchases in terms of perceived risks, purposes, and consumer benefits.  Methodology: This study is of qualitative nature which approaches the research problem and purpose with a relativistic philosophical stance. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to provide relevant data by individual consumers, and which have been analyzed with a hermeneutical approach. An inductive approach was adopted to explore the phenomenon.  Conclusion: Consumers perform multiple different actions and adopt different behaviors when operating in the furniture omni-channel retailing environment. Risk aversion, identity building, entertainment and channel selection are all aspects of furniture shopping that are impacted by digital natives operating in the omni-channel retailing environment.

Being defined as the first Digital Natives, Generation Y is often subjected by expanding practices and amounts of observation and exploitation of their social media profiles by companies because of their behavioral characteristics such as a higher dependence on technology and using social networking sites to create a sense of belonging. This paper aims to investigate whether Generation Y is concerned that their use of social media is being exploited for profit by large companies and if this practice has behavioral effects on Generation Y. As an appropriate methodology to investigate the research questions, this study is based on an online survey as well as personal semi-structured interviews to enquire about the behavior and attitude of members of Generation Y regarding the exploitation of their social media profiles. Due to the research findings, it can be implied that most of Generation Y is concerned that companies exploit their social networking profiles for profit. Thus, the first research question can be affirmed. The second research question about the behavioral effects of RQ1 can also be affirmed but the extend of behavioral effects is depending on the type of user and their attitude towards data protection on social networking sites. Some users seem to accept the risk of data exploitation as the cost of convenience to stay in contact with their friends and to get entertained. Therefore, the more a Millennials is concerned about his or her online data, the more likely the person will actively protect it and vice versa. / Definierade som de första digitala infödingarna, används Generation Y ofta för att utöka praxis, för mängder observationer samt utnyttjande av deras sociala medie profiler av företag på grund av deras beteendemässiga egenskaper, såsom ett högre beroende av teknik och användning av sociala nätverkssajter för att skapa mening och tillhörighet. Det här dokumentet syftar till att undersöka om Generation Y är oroade över att deras användning av sociala medier utnyttjas för vinstdrivande syften av de stora företagens och om denna praxis har beteendeeffekter på Generation Y. Som en lämplig metod för att undersöka forskningsfrågorna är denna studie baserad på en online-undersökning samt personliga halvstrukturerade intervjuer för att fråga om beteende och attityd hos medlemmarna i Generation Y angående utnyttjandet av deras sociala medier. Baserat på forskningsresultaten kan det antas att de flesta inom Generation Y är oroade för att företagen utnyttjar sina sociala nätverksprofiler för vinst. Således kan den första forskningsfrågan bekräftas. Den andra frågan om beteendemässiga effekter av RQ1 kan också bekräftas, men utsträckningen av beteendeeffekter beror på vilken typ av användare och deras inställning till dataskydd på sociala nätverk. Vissa användare verkar acceptera risken för datautnyttjande som en kostnad för bekvämligheten att hålla kontakten med sina vänner samt att bli underhållen. Därför, ju mer en ”Millennial” är oroad över hans eller hennes online data, desto mer sannolikt kommer personen även att skydda den aktivt och vice versa.

The increasingly global environment has spurred the economy in the United States as well as the economies in nearly every other nation. Although the U.S. remains the world leader in the global economy, research shows that the United States is at risk of losing its place as the world leader in science and innovation. Policymakers have recognized the need for research addressing global competitiveness. President Bush signed the America Competes Act, which calls for increased investment in innovation and education to improve U.S. competitiveness and President Barack Obama has named a platform, "Science, Technology and Innovation for a New Generation" which will extend and prioritize the efforts to improve math and science education. K-12 U.S. students are graduating from high school unprepared to pursue degrees in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in college. Without STEM degrees they will be unable to pursue technology jobs after graduation. Statistics show that the U.S. is failing to produce as many graduates in STEM as other countries. In an increasingly global world, without graduates in STEM courses the U.S. is at risk of losing its position as the economic world leader. Government, industry and academia all agree that the U.S. needs to address education on a K-12 level to ensure that U.S. students are equipped with twenty-first century skills to compete in a twenty-first century global economy. Twenty-first century students are different from students of previous generations. Researchers argue that changes in the environment, specifically an increased exposure to technology, have changed the brains of twenty-first century students; twenty-first century students learn differently. However, twenty-first century students are being taught with an instructional curriculum that was designed for a previous generation that did not have the same exposure to technology. This is causing a digital-divide that is hindering the achievement of students. The instructional curriculum needs to be updated to meet the needs of twenty-first century students. This thesis addresses this need from a technical communication perspective by arguing that the instructional design of twenty-first century learning materials should be improved by adhering to guidelines for twenty-first century learning characteristics and twenty-first century technology use. The guidelines support a national goal to improve K-12 achievement in order to increase U.S. STEM graduates and increase the U.S.'s ability to compete in a global economy.