Research conducted during the 1990s revealed that video games increasingly represent the medium through which children are first exposed to technology, that early gaming can enhance future technological literacy, and that girls tend to play video games less frequently than boys. These findings preceded efforts by feminist entrepreneurs, followed by established video game producers, to develop ‘girl games.’ Such ‘girl-centred,’ ‘girl-friendly,’ and girl-targeted video games now represent a lucrative branch of the contemporary video game industry. In this project, I utilized a multi-method approach to explore how ‘the ideal teen girl’ is re/constructed in three tween-airned ‘girl games.’ My discourse analysis of the ‘dominant’ messages in the games includes an examination of various available feminine subject positions, and how ‘race,’ class, and (hetero)sexuality are implicated in these positions. My analysis of semi-structured interviews that I conducted with eight tween girls provides insight into their everyday readings of the ‘girl games.’ Unlike earlier research that framed girls as passive recipients of ‘damaging’ messages included in gendered texts, my findings suggest that the girls in my study engaged in active and diverse readings of the interactive texts. The multiple ways in which the girls recognized, identified with, resisted, and/or reworked elements of the feminine subject positions demonstrated their management of such contradictory images of ideal girlhood. According to my analysis, while several girls engaged in sceptical readings, none of the girls ultimately rejected the video game messages, or linked them to the wider social order in which they are produced, and which they work to re/produce. My research also revealed that the girls’ identification of and with the subject positions was shaped and augmented by knowledge they had gained from previous exposure to associated transmediated representations (television, movies, music, and fashion products). My research suggests that while ‘the ideal teen girl’ re/constructed for tween garners reflects contemporary notions of girlhood, as she is active and capable, she reaffirms Western standards of hegemonic femininity. The rules of play, beauty ideals, behaviours, and priorities of consumption included in the games work to re/construct White, middle class, heterogendered ‘teen femininity’ as normal and ideal.

Research conducted during the 1990s revealed that video games increasingly represent the medium through which children are first exposed to technology, that early gaming can enhance future technological literacy, and that girls tend to play video games less frequently than boys. These findings preceded efforts by feminist entrepreneurs, followed by established video game producers, to develop ‘girl games.’ Such ‘girl-centred,’ ‘girl-friendly,’ and girl-targeted video games now represent a lucrative branch of the contemporary video game industry. In this project, I utilized a multi-method approach to explore how ‘the ideal teen girl’ is re/constructed in three tween-airned ‘girl games.’ My discourse analysis of the ‘dominant’ messages in the games includes an examination of various available feminine subject positions, and how ‘race,’ class, and (hetero)sexuality are implicated in these positions. My analysis of semi-structured interviews that I conducted with eight tween girls provides insight into their everyday readings of the ‘girl games.’ Unlike earlier research that framed girls as passive recipients of ‘damaging’ messages included in gendered texts, my findings suggest that the girls in my study engaged in active and diverse readings of the interactive texts. The multiple ways in which the girls recognized, identified with, resisted, and/or reworked elements of the feminine subject positions demonstrated their management of such contradictory images of ideal girlhood. According to my analysis, while several girls engaged in sceptical readings, none of the girls ultimately rejected the video game messages, or linked them to the wider social order in which they are produced, and which they work to re/produce. My research also revealed that the girls’ identification of and with the subject positions was shaped and augmented by knowledge they had gained from previous exposure to associated transmediated representations (television, movies, music, and fashion products). My research suggests that while ‘the ideal teen girl’ re/constructed for tween garners reflects contemporary notions of girlhood, as she is active and capable, she reaffirms Western standards of hegemonic femininity. The rules of play, beauty ideals, behaviours, and priorities of consumption included in the games work to re/construct White, middle class, heterogendered ‘teen femininity’ as normal and ideal.

Research conducted during the 1990s revealed that video games increasingly represent the medium through which children are first exposed to technology, that early gaming can enhance future technological literacy, and that girls tend to play video games less frequently than boys. These findings preceded efforts by feminist entrepreneurs, followed by established video game producers, to develop ‘girl games.’ Such ‘girl-centred,’ ‘girl-friendly,’ and girl-targeted video games now represent a lucrative branch of the contemporary video game industry. In this project, I utilized a multi-method approach to explore how ‘the ideal teen girl’ is re/constructed in three tween-airned ‘girl games.’ My discourse analysis of the ‘dominant’ messages in the games includes an examination of various available feminine subject positions, and how ‘race,’ class, and (hetero)sexuality are implicated in these positions. My analysis of semi-structured interviews that I conducted with eight tween girls provides insight into their everyday readings of the ‘girl games.’ Unlike earlier research that framed girls as passive recipients of ‘damaging’ messages included in gendered texts, my findings suggest that the girls in my study engaged in active and diverse readings of the interactive texts. The multiple ways in which the girls recognized, identified with, resisted, and/or reworked elements of the feminine subject positions demonstrated their management of such contradictory images of ideal girlhood. According to my analysis, while several girls engaged in sceptical readings, none of the girls ultimately rejected the video game messages, or linked them to the wider social order in which they are produced, and which they work to re/produce. My research also revealed that the girls’ identification of and with the subject positions was shaped and augmented by knowledge they had gained from previous exposure to associated transmediated representations (television, movies, music, and fashion products). My research suggests that while ‘the ideal teen girl’ re/constructed for tween garners reflects contemporary notions of girlhood, as she is active and capable, she reaffirms Western standards of hegemonic femininity. The rules of play, beauty ideals, behaviours, and priorities of consumption included in the games work to re/construct White, middle class, heterogendered ‘teen femininity’ as normal and ideal. / Arts, Faculty of / Sociology, Department of / Graduate

Background: The value a consumer connect with a certain brand and its design differ from person to person. This value ought to be investigated. Why does people buy expensive things when there are cheaper alternatives? Is it brand equity and/or the perception of a brand’s value that make a difference? People strive to show themselves and to perform through products, which makes it interesting to see to the perceived value of design. Tweens is a group of consumers that are easily influenced to consume products by their surrounding. To choose clothes, shoes and other products after what your surrounding’s demand, is a way of adapting yourself to society. It is a part of being accepted, something that is important for a tween. The brands that are being purchased depend on the surroundings, marketing and their own perception. Tweens are today more aware of brands and more sensitive towards brands. They identify themselves with brands, something that affect them in their daily lives. The brand itself can also affect their relationship to a certain product and with that the design. Purpose: Our purpose of our research is to investigate how tweens, consumers aged 10-14 years old, relate themselves to brands. To meet the purpose, we will analyse theoretical references and secondary collected data with conducted interviews. The interviews will be made from three perspectives: focus groups with tweens, interviews with experts and interviews with people having daily contact with tweens. Conclusion: In conclusion we have in our bachelor thesis discovered that Swedish tweens relate themselves to brands through their perceived value. In this value, three major value aspects can be found: popularity, image and design. This shows how tweens perceive the value of a brand. Factors that influence how tweens relate themselves to brands are: popularity, image and design. Through our results we have also come up with the conclusion that tweens are being influenced by mainly three factors: friends, media and parents. These aforementioned factors are giving tweens a perspective through which they filtrate their thoughts and perceive the value in brands.

<p>Background:</p><p>The value a consumer connect with a certain brand and its design differ from person to person. This value ought to be investigated. Why does people buy expensive things when there are cheaper alternatives? Is it brand equity and/or the perception of a brand’s value that make a difference? People strive to show themselves and to perform through products, which makes it interesting to see to the perceived value of design.</p><p>Tweens is a group of consumers that are easily influenced to consume products by their surrounding. To choose clothes, shoes and other products after what your surrounding’s demand, is a way of adapting yourself to society. It is a part of being accepted, something that is important for a tween. The brands that are being purchased depend on the surroundings, marketing and their own perception. Tweens are today more aware of brands and more sensitive towards brands. They identify themselves with brands, something that affect them in their daily lives. The brand itself can also affect their relationship to a certain product and with that the design.</p><p>Purpose:</p><p>Our purpose of our research is to investigate how tweens, consumers aged 10-14 years old, relate themselves to brands. To meet the purpose, we will analyse theoretical references and secondary collected data with conducted interviews. The interviews will be made from three perspectives: focus groups with tweens, interviews with experts and interviews with people having daily contact with tweens.</p><p>Conclusion:</p><p>In conclusion we have in our bachelor thesis discovered that Swedish tweens relate themselves to brands through their perceived value. In this value, three major value aspects can be found: popularity, image and design. This shows how tweens perceive the value of a brand. Factors that influence how tweens relate themselves to brands are: popularity, image and design. Through our results we have also come up with the conclusion that tweens are being influenced by mainly three factors: friends, media and parents. These aforementioned factors are giving tweens a perspective through which they filtrate their thoughts and perceive the value in brands.</p>

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-12T15:08:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 arquivo9606_1.pdf: 2141437 bytes, checksum: 1cacf89b204b9dd14c522e5e6fa97b89 (MD5) license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / A compreensão do processo pelo qual os pré-adolescentes (tweens) aprendem sobre marcas de vestuário atribuindo-lhes significado, incorporando-as ao seu estilo de vida pode oferecer subsídio aos profissionais de marketing e à sociedade civil para compreender o efeito das atividades de marketing no comportamento do consumidor infantil. As características e necessidades da criança, fatores que afetam o consumo, o processo de socialização e aprendizagem em comportamento de consumo, se abordam nesta dissertação. Este estudo qualitativo visou assim, à compreensão do processo de aprendizagem sobre marcas, identificando os agentes do processo de aprendizagem, as principais fontes de informação utilizadas por eles e a atribuição de significado às marcas. No presente trabalho, os 24 sujeitos de estudo selecionados foram pré-adolescentes de gênero masculino e feminino com idades entre 8 e 12 anos, pertencentes a famílias do tipo nuclear, suas mães e professores residentes na cidade de Recife, Estado de Pernambuco. Os dados foram obtidos por meio de entrevistas semi-estruturadas, gravadas e transcritas para responder como os pré-adolescentes aprendem sobre marcas de vestuário. Com o uso da análise de conteúdo encontrou-se que a aprendizagem de marcas de vestuário na faixa etária proposta, pode-se centrar nas experiências pessoais ou fatores cognitivos, que relacionam-se com a idade, que permitem às crianças receber influências do ambiente provindas dos agentes de socialização e fontes de informação e influência como família, pares e professores (aprendizagem cognitiva). E também em comportamentos observáveis derivados de conexões entre estímulos e respostas propostos pelas marcas, com o propósito de que as crianças façam a ligação com necessidades subjacentes, que na fase tween são principalmente de aceitação, diversão, poder, autonomia e exibição (aprendizagem comportamental)

The ethnographic study utilized the research techniques of observations, content analysis, and semi-structured interviews with tween participants (i.e., 9 through 13 year-old youth) during an 8-week literary blog project. Twenty-six participants created individual blog pages within a member-only classroom blog site that allowed for online communication between members. the blog project incorporated social networking applications with which youth frequently engage. the research questions ensured data regarding what facets participants found appealing and motivating during the project was collected. the questions allowed for determining if participants utilized peer blogs for reading material selection or repurposed the blogs to discuss other topics. Components of self-determination theory and engagement theory underlay the project design and aided in identifying motivational aspects of the data. Frequency tables outlined the identified patterns and structures of participants’ online activity. Participants found the ability to change the colors of their blog backgrounds and to design their individual blogs and the giving and receiving of feedback to be the two most appealing features of the project. Participants chose books from peer suggestions in the online world but also selected materials from recommendations they received in face-to-face interactions with their peers, their teacher, and the school librarian. Little evidence of repurposing the blog for social topics was observed. Participants engaged in discussions predominantly based around the books they were currently reading or had read. Implications for incorporating social networking applications within the classroom environment are discussed.

Submitted by Adriana Schneider Dallolio (adriana_schneider@yahoo.com) on 2017-12-12T16:21:41Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_AdrianaSchneiderDallolio_12122017_Publicação.pdf: 1419246 bytes, checksum: 146569ac138f3717d8dc27a80002d53e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Pamela Beltran Tonsa (pamela.tonsa@fgv.br) on 2017-12-12T16:23:43Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_AdrianaSchneiderDallolio_12122017_Publicação.pdf: 1419246 bytes, checksum: 146569ac138f3717d8dc27a80002d53e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-12-13T11:43:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_AdrianaSchneiderDallolio_12122017_Publicação.pdf: 1419246 bytes, checksum: 146569ac138f3717d8dc27a80002d53e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-11-22 / A prática institucionalizada dos ritos de passagem, os quais historicamente apoiavam os indivíduos nos diversos períodos de transição da vida, parece ter se esvaziado nas sociedades contemporâneas. Alguns estudiosos, inclusive, destacam a lacuna dos ritos de iniciação, que marcavam a transição da infância para a adolescência; provocando, assim, um hiato identitário, as categorias antes claramente delimitadas tornam-se interpostas e as crianças perdem um importante mecanismo para lidar com a mudança. No entanto, considerando-se que o consumo viabiliza o autoconhecimento e a comunicação da identidade, o mercado assume um papel institucional cultural central, ao redor do qual essas crianças constroem suas identidades; principalmente no período mais crítico da transição, o da liminaridade. Caracterizada como um período de extrema ambiguidade do self e invisibilidade social, a fase liminar dos ritos de passagem é um tema sub-pesquisado e uma lente teórica fértil para se analisar o papel do consumo nesse período de transição entre dois espaços socioculturais concretos e reconhecidos, o da infância e o da adolescência. Portanto, este estudo realizou uma imersão no universo das meninas com idades entre oito e doze anos, pertencentes a esse grupo liminar denominado de tweens, contribuindo, assim, com uma perspectiva multifacetada do consumo e construção de identidade dessas meninas. Como em um trabalho artesanal de patchwork, o resultado final apresenta uma perspectiva única, porém formada pela reunião das diferentes concepções dos agentes envolvidos: - as mães, as meninas e a própria pesquisadora. Ao longo de dois anos, foram coletados dados através de diferentes técnicas, como entrevistas em profundidade com mães, no Brasil e EUA, observação participativa e diário introspectivo da pesquisadora, mãe de uma tween, e entrevistas filmadas por uma menina tween com suas próprias amigas; propiciando uma oportunidade única de retratar o universo das meninas por elas mesmas, com o mínimo possível de interferência da pesquisadora. Os resultados contribuem com estudos anteriores, ampliando a compreensão do comportamento das meninas e suas práticas de consumo e socialização, durante a transição. Ressaltando, inclusive, a influência do bullying nessas práticas. Além de destacar que a liminaridade pode ser vivenciada não só pelo indivíduo que passa pela transição, mas também por aqueles envolvidos emocionalmente nesse processo, no caso as mães. / The institutionalized practice of rites of passage, which historically supported individuals in the various periods of life transition, seems to have disappeared in contemporary societies. Some authors even highlight the gap in initiation rites that marked the transition from childhood to adolescence; thus, provoking an identity gap, previously clearly delimited categories become blurred and children lose an important mechanism to deal with change. However, considering that consumption enables the self-knowledge and the communication of one´s identity, the market assumes a central cultural institutional role, around which these children construct their identities; especially in the most critical period of transition, that of liminality. Characterized as a period of extreme self-ambiguity and social invisibility, the liminal phase of rites of passage is an under-researched topic and a fertile theoretical lens to analyze the role of consumption, in this period of transition between two concrete and recognized sociocultural spaces, childhood and adolescence. Therefore, this study carried out an immersion in the universe of girls between the ages of eight and twelve years old, who belong to this liminal group called tweens; and so, contributing with a multifaceted perspective of the consumption and identity construction of these girls. As in a hand-crafted patchwork, the final result presents a unique perspective, but formed by the assembling of different conceptions of the agents involved: - mothers, girls and the researcher herself. Over two years, data were collected through different techniques, such as in-depth interviews with mothers in Brazil and the USA, participant observation and introspective diary of the researcher, mother of a tween, and interviews filmed by a tween girl with her own friends; which provided a unique opportunity to portray the universe of the girls by themselves, with the least possible interference of the researcher. The results contribute to previous studies, increasing the understanding of the girls' behavior and their consumption and socialization practices during the transition. Also, they highlight the influence of bullying on these practices. Besides emphasizing that liminality can be experienced not only by the individual who goes through the transition, but also by those emotionally involved in this process, in this case, the mothers.

The aim of this study is to investigate the needs and wishes of 10-13- year old children, so called tweens, when it comes to their local library. What kind of library do the children want? How does the mission and different functions for the children&apos;s library of today correspond to the needs of the children? Children of this certain age have been interviewed in focus groups where they have had freedom to “create” their own library and discuss what they consider important in a library. Skot- Hansen, Rasmussen &amp; Jochumsen&apos;s model (2011) with four important spaces for a library - performative space, learning space, inspiration space and meeting space has been part of analyzing the result. These four different areas for the library have been divided into threefunctions: a place for being, a place for learning and a place for creating.The result of the thesis shows, among others, that even though many of the aims of the libraries and the results of research correspond to the ideas and needs of the children, one of the most important functions for the children is the library as a place to relax, a quiet room, where they can dive into their books and other media, which has not been discussed in the research I have taken part of. Furthermore, there are good examples around the world of libraries where the children have been the creators and I think that most of the ideas the children come up with are possible to realize. / Program: Bibliotekarie

The purpose of this research was to determine if there is a model of ideal femininity communicated through advertising in girls’ and women’s magazines. To assess the representations of women in magazine advertisements, a content analysis of advertisements appearing in three top-selling, demographically-defined women’s magazines (Girls’ Life, Seventeen, and Cosmopolitan) was conducted. Using feminist theory and hegemony theory as critical lenses, advertisements were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Each advertisement was assessed using five criteria: physical characteristics, social context, personality and attitude, and subtext. Using this data to establish the dominant representations of women, it was determined that there is a model of ideal femininity which is developed through establishing common ideals shared by all three magazines and by gradually introducing new ideals which correspond to shifts in real-world interests and experiences of women. It was concluded that a model of ideal femininity is developed through advertising in girls’ and women’s magazines, this model is used as a guide to direct girls and women towards specific ideal preferences, attitudes and behaviours, and this model continues to emphasise traditional cultural values and gender ideals which are not necessarily reflective of the range of roles women assume in today’s society.