The aim of this master's thesis is to present an introduction to semiological analysis of web based material, which is a hypothesis that combines the theoretical framework of classical Saussurean semiology, visual social semiotics as was developed by Günther Kress and Theo van Leeuwen, and Roland Barthes's notion of 'Myths'. Furthermore, a new tool called 'pseudo-signifier', constructed solely for the thesis, is also used in conjunction with the semiological analysis. The hypothesis is tested in a case study involving the web portal of a Swedish commune, Gothenburg (goteborg.se). A complete semiological analysis is performed on the case. The case study revealed numerous findings of interest, among others that images and texts on the web portal were sometimes used in a contradicting manner, and often in a way that symbollically excluded citizens from the portal, a fact which could be uncovered when studying underlying myths that permeated the web portal. The pseudo-signifiers combined with the notion of the Barthean myth proved to be an important tool in order to analyze images and texts on web material, to show how images and texts are to be seen together, not one by one by themselves. An attempt was also made to make the pseudo-signifiers a mean to provide assistance to the creators of the web portal, in order to make the portal more user- and information friendly.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-106313 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Ternström, Philip |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för ABM |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/masterThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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