Browsing by Subject "frame analysis"
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(2018)The pressure toward companies to tackle the challenges of our societies has grown higher. Consumers are expecting companies not only to consider their impact on the society in form of corporate social responsibility (CSR), but to explicitly express their stances on socio-political issues. Also, while the concept of CSR is currently being reshaped, the ways in which CSR is communicated are changing. Thus, the purpose of this thesis is to deepen the understanding of how CSR is communicated in the context of social media from the perspective of new CSR. The theoretical framework of this thesis builds on literature about CSR, social movements, and CSR communication on social media. The literature review constructs a framework of new CSR, which in this study means extended responsibilities that derive from the concepts of political CSR, corporate advocacy and activism. Some of the main source materials are provided by Aronczyk (2013), Baur and Wettstein (2016), London (2010) and Schrerer and Palazzo (2011). The study approach is qualitative, and the data consists of the Finnish textile company Finlayson’s Facebook posts from 2016 to 2017. The analysis is data-driven but guided by the theoretical framework. The analysis methods used are qualitative theme analysis and frame analysis. The findings of this study indicate that Finlayson’s CSR communication is a hybrid mix of traditional and new CSR. The study finds that the main CSR-related themes Finlayson communicates are environmental protection and political grievances. The first is an indication of a traditional CSR theme, and the study implies that these kinds of traditional CSR topics have now found their way into new platforms such as social media. However, political grievances imply an orientation toward newer CSR. The company addresses controversial socio-political issues and takes stances, for instance, on LGBT rights, racism and equal pay. When it comes to the ways in which Finlayson communicates CSR, this study identifies three responsibility communication frames: the credibility frame, the captaincy frame, and the cooperation frame. The credibility frame emphasizes past CSR initiatives and communication is informative and one-way by nature. The captaincy frame emphasizes the company’s future aspirations, and responsibility is personified to the CEO of the company, thus indicating forms of CEO activism. The cooperation frame emphasizes collaboration and establishing a mutual understanding between the company and its stakeholders. Furthermore, the cooperation frame mobilizes the company’s stakeholders to take action. Thus, the results imply that new CSR should be understood as an integral part of CSR studies and that the relationship between activism and CSR has become increasingly fluid.
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(2018)The aim of this research is to identify and compare how Posti (as the employer of an ethnically diverse workforce) and PAU (as the labour union representing a constantly diversifying field) construct new postal workforce diversities. The once respected and fairly well paid civil service offices of postal officers have turned into low-paid, low-skilled, often part-time work, which is failing to attract ethnic-Finn employees. As a result, migrant workers have infiltrated postal warehouse work, daytime mail delivery and especially early morning delivery. The rapid entrance of non-ethnic Finns into the field has forced Posti and PAU to consider, how they wish to approach the growing diversity of their workforce. This research examines these approaches. Articles from Posti’s personnel magazine and PAU’s membership magazine form the empirical basis for this research. Altogether 24 articles, 12 from each magazine, were chosen based on their relevance to the topic of ethnic diversity and migrant workforce. The material was collected from publications that were released between January 2014 and August 2017. Acker’s (2006) theoretical framework of “inequality regimes” in organizations serves as the core theory as well as the methodological tool for this research. The theoretical and methodological concept of frame analysis is also used to further help understand, how Posti and PAU are able to explain and justify existing inequalities in the data. A critical discourse analytical approach is present throughout the research, from the initial reading and coding of the material to the presentation of the results. The critical analysis of the selected material suggests that Posti and PAU approach the growing diversity of postal workforce in very different ways. Posti presents the diversification of the workforce as a necessary and positive change, which will help the company expand the personnel’s skillset and even increase its financial results. Ethnic diversity and increased migrant workforce is discussed in a thoroughly positive light in the personnel magazine of Posti. Migrant workers’ lack of Finnish language skills is the only negativity of the ethnically diverse workforce of Posti, which is brought up in the material. The poor Finnish skills of migrant workers are also stressed in the membership magazine of the union, but the union is also concerned with Posti’s unfair treatment of the migrant workforce. On one hand, PAU stresses the necessity to include migrant workers into the Finnish working life and on the other hand, PAU stresses the possible culture clashes this might generate. The core finding of this research is that the way diversity is approached is closely related to the objectives and aims of the organization in question. Posti very purposefully aims to construct a new cohesive workforce diversity, which focuses on the possibilities of diversity and actively aims to hide existing inequalities. Posti still relies heavily on manual labour to carry out its core services, and therefore, it is in its interest to portray diversity in a positive light. The approach that PAU takes towards diversity in its membership magazine, is far less coherent and purposeful than that of Posti. It shows concern for the potential mistreatment of Posti’s migrant workers but fails to take a stand on the position of migrant workers within the field. This research concludes that PAU is still unsure of its approach towards the new diversities of postal work. On one hand, its mission has always been to protect the terms and conditions of the employees, to which the entrance of migrant workers into the field poses a threat, but on the other hand, one of the key values of the labour movement has always been solidarity. So far, PAU is still trying to fulfil both objectives, which results in inconsistent and limited views of what the diversification of the workforce means for postal work.
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(2022)To mitigate the economic and social damages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Council agreed to adopt a recovery plan in July 2020. Before the recovery plan could be implemented, every member state had to ratify the European Council’s decision. However, when the recovery plan was associated with the deeply politicized issue of European integration, this ratification procedure threatened to become difficult. This thesis investigates a decisive plenary debate of the Parliament of Finland, which preceded the ratification of the European Council’s decision in May 2021. The thesis studies how European integration became a topic of discussion in this particular plenary debate. More specifically, the thesis aims to answer how and by which political parties the recovery plan was framed as an integration-related issue. Theoretically, the thesis places itself on the field of political communication. The theoretical framework of the thesis is based on Robert M. Entman’s definition of framing, which also guides the method of the thesis, namely qualitative frame analysis. Framing affects how most people perceive political issues, i.e. political parties use it as a political tool to promote particular interpretations of matters. The research material consists of 52 legislative speeches by Finnish representatives held in the plenary debate. The analysis found one dominant frame and five sub-frames that establish a link between the recovery plan and European integration. The frames present the recovery plan as an integration-related issue by highlighting Eurosceptic, economic, and constitutional perspectives. In the plenary debate, the frames were mostly employed by the Finns Party, which is known for its anti-integration stance. In addition, the Centre Party and the National Coalition Party used some of the frames. Based on the analysis, it is concluded that these three parties introduced the topic of European integration into the debate. The findings indicate that the issue of European integration is politicized also in Finnish politics. They accord with earlier evidence that the established parties seem to avoid debates on European integration, whereas the Finns Party takes advantage of the politicization of the integration process. By framing the recovery plan as an integration-related matter, the Finns Party was able to own the issue and promote its political agenda. If the established parties remain silent on integration-related matters, debates on European integration threaten to become one-sided. This is problematic both from the perspective of voters and the established parties whose silence may be detrimental to their political success.
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(2021)This thesis examines the Europeanisation of public spheres. According to the deliberative democratic theory, political decisions need to be based on public consideration. Similarly to the decision-making processes in the nation states, in order for democracy to function also in the European Union, there is a need for a joint European public sphere where the peoples of Europe can discuss common issues of relevance and thereby contribute to the EU decision-making. Research conducted on the gradual Europeanisation of public spheres examines how politicisation of EU issues on the national levels contributes to cross-border communication, creation of joint communities of communication and a strengthening of collective European identity. Drawing on previous research in this field, this study highlights communication flows and discursive frames in the selected national media outlets and examines to what extent these discussions point to the emergence of a collective European identity strong enough to sustain mutualisation of debt and fiscal transfers, justifying ”solidarity among strangers” within the community. Through analysis of media coverage on the EU Recovery Fund – the political and politicised face of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic response on the EU level – this thesis examines to what extent the public spheres in Germany, France and Finland are Europeanised in these debates and whether it is possible to identify a joint community of communication pointing to a collective European identity. The theoretical framework of this study draws largely on Jürgen Habermas’s public sphere theory and its later developments (and criticisms) as well as on the growing body of literature on the gradual Europeanisation of national public spheres in the EU Member States. Contrary to the early studies on the European public sphere, later research points towards increasing politicisation of EU affairs in the national public spheres and the related strengthening of Europeanisation. No consensus, however, exists yet among researchers on whether these developments will lead to enhanced European identity and further integration or renationalisation and further rise of Euroscepticism. This thesis contributes to that discussion through a case study on the Europeanisation of national public spheres in relation to the discussion on the EU Recovery Fund in 2020.
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How is Water Privatisation Justified? Frame Analysis of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs). (2021)The premise of this thesis is that neoclassical economics as a particular theory of justice explains the justification of water privatisation. Hence, the aim of the study is to describe how and why water privatisation is justified by asking three research questions: What problems are distinguished in relation to access to safe drinking water? What privatisation measures are proposed as solutions? How are these water privatisation measures justified? These research questions are contextualised by providing a comprehensive account on the history and present status of water privatisation within the neoliberal project and examining the normative basis of neoclassical economics via the concept of Pareto optimality. This is done by analysing 25 Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) that were published by 25 low-income countries under the guidance of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during 2010-2014. These PRSPs are examined through content analysis and frame analysis in a largely qualitatively manner. In the analysis of PRSPs, the thesis found, first, that although the problems in relation to access to water were highly varied, the uneven and unequal access to water was more prevalent than physical water scarcity issues. Secondly, three strategies of privatisation measures were identified in PRSPs: strategy of privatisation, strategy of commercialisation and strategy of liberalisation of governance. Finally, the study found four principal frames justifying water privatisation in PRSPs. These frames were development frame, economic good frame, anti-government frame and right frame. The results suggest that water privatisation measures increasingly blur the distinction between ‘public’ and ‘private’. This implies that the ‘public’ is largely guided by the market logic, and thus the difference between water privatisation and public sector control is increasingly irrelevant. These privatisation measures are justified by drawing on neoclassical economics as a theory of justice that is based on Pareto optimality. This way, international financial institutions (IFIs) and states can paradoxically allow for privatisation measures in water supply systems since it can ideally create the conditions for perfect competition whereby water resources become allocated in the most efficient, and thus in the most just way.
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(2014)The purpose of this study is to explore how the disputes regarding the project of Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant took place in Turkish mainstream newspapers. The challenges of journalism and media ownership structure in Turkey are discussed as well as the coverage of nuclear energy in newspapers around the world. Based on a set of key events, 4 different periods between 2010 and 2015 are determined for researching 3 of the most read newspapers in Turkey: Hürriyet, Milliyet, and Sabah. The main research question is: How do the Turkish mainstream newspapers represent the support for and the opposition towards Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant?” The accompanying sub-questions are: What are the frames that can be revealed? Which sources are mentioned the most? To what extent the attention is drawn towards regional discontent and legal disputes about the project? The data is collected by using the online platforms of the 3 newspapers by entering the keyword “akkuyu” and selecting the news articles based on the 4 periods. Frame analysis is conducted to answer the questions. As a result, it is found out that the emerging frames are related to the concepts of safety, democracy, legality, economy, practicality, and international relations. The formation of 7 frames is observed: Safety threat, economic threat, abuse of power, incompetent management, all of which are used by the opposition; and international prestige, economic opportunity, and competent management, all of which are used by the support. Hürriyet and Milliyet made both the frames and the sources of opposition more visible compared to the support, and Sabah made the frames and the sources of support overwhelmingly visible compared to the opposition in its overall coverage. The most visible opposition in Hürriyet and Milliyet consists of non-parliamentary groups, and the most visible support in all 3 newspapers consists of ruling party members. The discontent and legal disputes about the project are emphasized in Hürriyet and Milliyet, mainly through quoting the opposition, however, neither of them provided independent investigative reports.
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(2023)Violent radicalization is a process in which proponents of an ideology become convinced that the use of violence is necessary to bring about societal change. In this master's thesis, I examine how the Finnish red's party press contributed to the process of violent radicalization in 1917. The data consists of 1025 articles from the Työmies newspaper throughout the year. I have analyzed the radicalism and persuasion tactics of the articles using a method based on extremist core frames. I have developed the method by combining the diagnostic, prognostic, and motivational core frame model with modern conception on the communication of extremist movements. My analysis confirms that Työmies' writing emphasizing radicalism and societal crisis increased during the year 1917. Työmies' writing evolved into fear-mongering and intensified social division. In the early year Työmies had hopeful perceptions of the future and the perception of the enemy was based on proponents of the tsarist regime. In the later year this shifted into fear-inducing crisis consciousness and contemptuous attitude towards domestic political enemies. My work demonstrates that the method based on the utilization of extremist core frames is well-suited for studying the radicalization of text-based materials.
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(2017)Advance healthcare directives (AD) are written documents in which patients can express their preferences regarding the provision of specific medical treatments, providing future instructions in case they become unable to communicate and make the decisions for themselves. Whereas these documents are praised for promoting patient’s autonomy, recent research has shown that patients often fail to predict what kind of treatment they would like to receive. This leads to an apparent contradiction: on which grounds can patient’s autonomy be regarded as the positive feature of AD if patients themselves are not likely to anticipate future preferences? This thesis draws on different agency theories to further elaborate on this contradiction while exploring taken for granted assumptions about patient’s autonomy. Relying on the premises of symbolic interactionism and social constructionism, it argues that goals are construed during emerging social interactions, subjected thus to constant reevaluation and reinterpretation. Methodologically, I used Goffmanian frame analysis to analyze semi-structured interviews of six Finnish physicians, elaborating on how they frame end-of-life treatment discussions, how they constructed the agency of different actors, how they approach patient’s autonomy, and what are the implications for the use of advance directives. From the data five frames were identified: medical knowledge frame, patient’s autonomy frame, negotiation frame, ethical frame, and legal frame. During the interviews physicians used these frames to discuss and negotiate the nature and meanings of advance directives, as well the agency and interests of different actors involved in end-of-life decision-making. Two meanings of patient’s autonomy have emerged from analysis: as the patients’ souvereign right to express his/her will of end-of-life treatment; and as the patients’ capacity to choose between different treatments . Whereas physicians often praise the first meaning, the second becomes problematic to the extent that patients’ capacity for decision-making can be compromised. Thus, physicians reframe the notion of patient’s autonomy in relational terms constructing themselves as agents for the patients’ interests. In conclusion, I propose that instead of trying to improve advance directives reliability; their situational component should be incorporated into the very principle that establishes their use, accounting for a holistic process in end-of-life care decision-making.
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(2017)This study examines an online counter media publication in Finland. The 800 sample articles were collected during the spring 2016. Articles address social, political and cultural issues on national and international levels. This study examines how the publication aims to construe a sense of reality. The theoretical framework of the study is presented through a variation of global media and communication perspectives such as media life, mediatisation, fragmentation and the public sphere. These theories demonstrate that in a mediated society readers and media consumers face daily challenges in evaluating media content. Constructing factuality and detecting fakeness in the media have become a global talking point in the media, academia and public discussions. Moreover, in fragmented media life consumers are divided into small segments and consumption patterns are based on individual preferences and lifestyles. These aspects may also have further consequences to the ideal of the public sphere. Through the means of quantitative content analysis and qualitative frame analysis this case study reveals that the style of presentation and linguistic framing methods together construct a troubled sense of reality by manifesting on mutual feelings of uncertainty, unfairness and untrustworthiness towards mainstream media and traditional power structures in the Finnish context. The publication employs familiar journalistic conventions in the style of presentation, but distinctive components are absent, such as clear style and valid referencing as well as transparent reporter identities and reporting methods. The large number of published articles per day on one hand may create a sense of continuity, but on the other hand, indicates that planning, production, publishing and broadcasting may be practiced carelessly resulting in errors and repetition. By combining the traditional news-like format with an unconventional style of representing the outlet aims to establish a form of social reality which is driven by all-consuming uncertainty. The findings reveal that the publication does not focus on rationalising or explaining complex problems with exhaustive solutions, but rather circulates speculative frames that potentially aim to reinforce the state of dubiety already exciting in the publication’s readers’ media lives. Finally, the findings underline the importance of open public discussion as well as media literacy and media technology education. This study demonstrates that new media outlets do not necessarily fit in to the traditional theoretical and practical research conventions but instead require hybrid approach and explanations. The study offers a view point to the current media landscape that consists of traditional mainstream media but also of non-professional and semi-professional content producers and providers as well as social media sites and online networks. The study takes part in the ongoing discussion about the state of pseudo professional online publications and argues that the everyday essence of the digital media content impacts how the sense of reality is established. In addition to traditional media producers and political actors, alternative and counter publications, as well as users themselves, take part in the battle to define the social world in the mediated society.
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(2020)Tutkielma käsittelee tekoälyä koskevaa julkista keskustelua Suomessa vuosina 1994-2019. Julkista keskustelua lähestytään tekoälyyn kohdistuvien odotusten kautta. Tutkimus selvittää, millaisia odotuksia tekoälyyn liitetään julkisessa keskustelussa. Teoreettisena viitekehyksenä toimii ensisijaisesti odotusten sosiologia. Odotuksiin liittyvät teoreettisina käsitteinä myös hypesykli ja teknologiamyytit. Lisäksi tarkastellaan tieteisfiktion merkitystä odotusten synnyssä. Teoreettinen tausta käsittelee myös tekoälyn käsitettä ja historiaa, julkisuusteoriaa ja journalismin murrosta. Tutkimuksen aineistona on yhdentoista suomalaisen sanomalehden artikkeleita vuosilta 1994-2019. Aineistoa analysoidaan kahden tutkimusmenetelmän, aihemallinnuksen ja kehysanalyysin avulla. Laskennalliseen yhteiskuntatieteeseen lukeutuva aihemallinnus ja laadulliseen tutkimusperinteeseen kuuluva kehysanalyysi yhdistetään tuoreeksi tutkimusmenetelmäksi nimeltä kehysmallinnus. Alkuperäisaineistosta löytyi 2286 tekoälyä koskevaa artikkelia, joille tehtiin aihemallinnus. Mallinnuksen jälkeen aineistosta poimittiin kolmetoista artikkelia lähilukua varten ja ne analysoitiin kehysanalyysin avulla. Aihemallinnus tuotti aiheita, joista kolmetoista ryhmiteltiin neljään teemaan. Yhteiskunta-teeman aiheet liittyivät talouteen, työhön ja kansainväliseen politiikkaan. Teknologia-teeman aiheet käsittelivät koneoppimista, robotteja, teknologista kehitystä ja sosiaalista mediaa. Kulttuuri-teemaan muodostui yleinen kulttuuria käsittelevä ja erillinen kirjallisuutta käsittelevä aihe. Viihde-teema käsitteli pelejä ja elokuvia. Kehysanalyysin avulla tunnistettiin lähiluetuista artikkeleista yhdeksänkymmentäkuusi odotusta. Kahden analyysimenetelmän avulla tunnistettiin, että suomalaisessa julkisessa keskustelussa on nähtävissä hypesyklin mukainen aktivoituminen vuosina 2014-2019. Lähes kaikki tekoälyä koskeva yhteiskunnallinen keskustelu tarkasteluaikavälillä on käyty samoina vuosina. Ennen 2010-lukua tekoäly on esiintynyt enimmäkseen peliarvosteluiden yhteydessä. Tekoälyyn kohdistuvista odotuksista osa oli ylilyöviä ja tekoälymyyttiä rakentavia. Merkittävämpi havainto oli kuitenkin se, että odotukset kohdistuivat suurelta osin taloudellisen tehokkuuden edistämiseen. Keskustelussa ääneen pääsivät pääasiassa yritysmaailmaa edustavat, korkeassa yhteiskunnallisessa asemassa toimivat miehet, jotka hyötyvät tekoälyn kehityksestä taloudellisesti. Tutkimuksen johtopäätöksenä onkin, että tekoälyä koskevan julkisen keskustelun tulisi olla moniäänisempää. Toimittajien tulisi pyrkiä päästämään ääneen myös niitä, jotka kärsivät tekoälyn mahdollistamasta automatisaatiosta ja suhtautua kriittisemmin kehityksestä hyötyviin.
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