Erasmus University Thesis Repository
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Beyond the Crime: True Crime Podcasts as Spaces for Community-Building among Young Italian Women
No full textOver the past decade, true crime podcasts have emerged as a globally popular audio genre, blending entertainment with intimate and emotionally charged storytelling. In Italy, this genre has recently gained substantial traction, yet scholarly attention remains limited, particularly with regard to gendered listening practices. While research in Anglo-American contexts has examined women's emotional engagement with true crime media, little is known about how these dynamics play out among Italian audiences. This thesis addresses this gap by investigating how young Italian women engage with true crime podcasts, and how such engagement fosters community, emotional empowerment, and civic reflection in a context marked by high rates of femicide and institutional distrust.
The central research question guiding this study is: "How do Italian true crime podcasts foster a sense of community and belonging among young women?". In order to answer this question, the thesis employs a qualitative, multi-method approach that combines eight in-depth semi-structured interviews with a qualitative content analysis of approximately 300 user-generated YouTube comments from the popular podcast Elisa True Crime (De Marco, 2020-). Drawing on feminist media studies, affect theory, and theories of digital participation, the study explores how podcast listening becomes a socially and emotionally meaningful practice that goes beyond entertainment to support preparedness, critical engagement, and ethical solidarity.
The findings reveal that podcast listeners experience a heightened sense of vulnerability that paradoxically leads to empowerment. Through emotionally resonant narratives, listeners rehearse risk scenarios, develop strategies for interpreting danger, and reflect on systemic injustices. The study demonstrates that podcast-based parasocial interaction plays a significant role in fostering a sense of community and promoting social change.
In conclusion, this thesis argues that true crime podcasts function not only as sources of emotional coping and knowledge-building, but as informal sites of ethical education, community formation, and civic participation. By amplifying women's voices and mapping the interpretive labour they perform, the study highlights the potential of podcasting to generate quiet yet persistent forms of social critique and feminist belonging in the Italian context
C' Sim' Angóre (We're Still Here)
No full textThis thesis explores the complex challenges and emergent grassroots responses in Taranto, Italy. Taranto is presented as a post-industrial city profoundly marked by the environmental and social costs imposed by the ILVA steel plant, often described as a sacrifice zone. Despite pervasive urban decline, devastating environmental damage from toxic alloys, and a negative narrative linked to industrial monoculture and political failures, residents are actively engaged in acts of resistance and reimagination.
The central question guiding this study is: To what extent do practices of bottom-up regenerative placemaking in Taranto foster residents' resilience? Resilience is framed not merely as survival or passive adaptation, but as an active process of surviving, adapting, and resisting the structural harm inflicted by extractive urbanism. Drawing on a theoretical framework that combines regenerative placemaking, affective atmospheres, and resilience as transformation, the thesis posits that urban regeneration is not simply a physical process but is deeply emotionally embedded and collectively navigated.
Employing a multi-modal qualitative methodology, including semi-structured interviews, one focus group, and two participant observations with diverse residents - activists, artists, students, and workers - the research gives voice to how regeneration is lived and imagined amidst the city's rusted ground.
Findings, conceptualised through the metaphors of Steel, Fire, and Water, reveal how the legacy of ILVA has created a forged dependence and landscapes of grief, yet also ignites acts of collective 'fire' through cultural initiatives and flows into the 'water' of sowing common futures. These grassroots cultural and civic initiatives - such as the Comitato Cittadini e Lavoratori Liberi e Pensanti (CCLLP), CREST, Post Disaster Rooftops (PDR), Taranto Futura, Mercato Nuovo, and Casa Viola - function as quiet insurgencies and critical cultural infrastructures of resistance. They actively challenge dominant narratives, foster profound affective belonging, and empower residents to imagine and work towards alternative post-ILVA futures. This bottom-up agency generates a sense of affective ownership, enabling residents to reclaim their right to the city, health, and unpoisoned ground through collective acts of care and repair that defy institutional distrust.
The thesis contributes to broader debates on post-industrial urbanism by highlighting the potential of grassroots agency in fostering emotional, political, and ecological resilience in cities scarred by structural harm. It emphasises that regeneration involves dwelling with brokenness, reclaiming wounded spaces, and weaving new relational fabrics, rooted in local lifeworlds and continuous engagement
Beyond the Age Filter: How Employer Branding on LinkedIn Represents Young, Mid-Career, and Experienced Professionals
No full textGiven demographic changes and aging employees, age-inclusive employer branding is
therefore relevant for organizations aiming to attract diverse talent. Although diversity and
inclusion have been an important corporate communications topic, relatively little has been
said about age. This thesis examines how various age categories; young professionals (18-
34), mid-career professionals (35-54), and experienced professionals (55+), are presented in
employer branding campaigns on LinkedIn. Although the platform offers the opportunity for
inclusive storytelling, little research has been conducted analyzing age representation.
The central research question guiding this study is: How do employers represent
different age groups in employer branding campaigns on social media? To answer this
question, a qualitative content analysis was performed of 150 employer branding posts on
LinkedIn from ten well-known companies in five different sectors: Communication
Technology, Industry & Engineering, Financial Services, Transport & Infrastructure, and
Fashion & Luxury. Using a coding framework based on the Stereotype Content Model
(SCM), Dual-Process Model of Diversity Management (DPM), and Career Stages Theory, the
posts were examined for visual and textual indicators of warmth, competence, and inclusivity.
Findings show that mid-career professionals dominate employer branding posts and
that they are portrayed as competent and reliable. Young professionals also have a strong
presence, especially in Communication Technology and Fashion & Luxury. Young
professionals are frequently framed as emotionally warm and dynamic rather than
professionally competent. Experienced professionals are mostly absent across all sectors and
where they did appear they are depicted as mentors or support roles. This resembles the SCM
stereotype of "high warmth, low competence". These portrayals suggest that organizations
may unintentionally perpetuate age-based biases, even while claiming to support inclusion.
While some companies, like Google, Stedin, Schiphol, and Rabobank, showed signs of
structural inclusivity (e.g., mentorship programs, inclusive HR policies) most companies
relied on symbolic representation. These companies showed diverse imagery but without
tangible evidence of inclusion. Humor, which could serve as a bridge across generations, was
notably absent in all analyzed content. Visual and tonal strategies varied by sector, but a
consistent pattern of marginalizing older professionals and idealizing youthful energy
emerged.
This study contributes to the existing theory by applying stereotype and generational
frameworks to the visual and discursive realm of employer branding. It highlights a
disconnect between corporate diversity rhetoric and the reality of representation when it
comes to age, thereby making a case for organizations to engage in more structurally inclusive
and age-diverse practices in branding. Practically, the results offer applicable advice for
communications professionals that want to target to multigenerational audiences in an
authentic manner
Negotiating the Tensions of the Participatory Turn
No full textThe present thesis contributes to the growing discourse of participatory practices within museum studies by providing the practical and experienced-based perspective of museum professionals. Through eight semi-structured interviews with staff from four different urban museums in the Netherlands, it offers a nuanced and context-specific understanding of these practices' implementation, ultimately seeking to shed light on their complex and often challenging navigation. Informed by a broad body of scholarship, ranging from studies that highlight the potential of participatory practices to democratise museums to critical perspectives that question the institution's ability to truly become inclusive, this research arrived at several key findings. Firstly, the thematic analysis of the interviews revealed that participatory practices are understood and enacted in diverse ways within museums, often shaped by individual ethics and professional roles, suggesting that participation is not a fixed concept, but a fluid and negotiated process. In addition, three institutional shifts were brought to light, each signaling a participatory turn: museums reaching out to communities rather than waiting to be reached; professionals adopting a more listening-oriented approach towards participants/partners; and the emergence of new roles and responsibilities specifically designed to support museum's evolving social function and engagement with local communities. At the same time, the study showed that the implementation of these practices is significantly hindered by institutional challenges, including internal struggles, difficulties building lasting community partnerships and the subtle persistence of museum-centric mindsets. Lastly, a key insight that emerged was the need for a peer network among practitioners engaged in this institutional transformation, which could function as a supportive space for fostering mutual learning and sharing experiences
Digital Fashion - A Qualitative Assessment of the Digital Fashion Innovation System and its relation to Sustainability
No full textThe fashion practice is currently undergoing a 4th industrial revolution. Fashion 4.0 "operates in cyber-physical space and develops toward smart products, production and networks, automation, optimization, flexibility, as well as sustainability-oriented, datafied and customer driven processes" (Särmäkari, 2023, p. 88). This revolution came to public attention after the Dutch fashion startup The Fabricant auctioned a digital-only dress for $9500 (Renwick, 2019). Emerging technologies such as AI, blockchain, NFTs (non- fungible tokens), as well as virtual and augmented reality, is expected to bring drastic change to the fashion industry (Joy et al., 2022). These innovations are not infrequently associated with a sustainable transformation of the fashion industry. In a world characterized by overconsumption, virtual clothing supposedly offers a solution; consumption without real consequences? A literature review on digital fashion shows that while innovation and innovative technologies are mentioned in the literature, a systematic analysis of the innovation processes behind digital fashion is still under researched. Within the theoretical framework, systematic approaches to research innovation systems are presented and discussed. In addition, concepts of sustainability are proposed to contextualize digital innovation within the fashion industry in the ongoing sustainability movement. Using a qualitative research approach, interviews were conducted with the digital fashion community within Europe about their understanding of innovation, digital fashion, and sustainability. Results from the interviews were analyzed based on existing concepts and theories to enable a mapping of digital fashion as an innovation system. In addition, the results are embedded in the context of sustainability efforts. The findings suggest that digital fashion may be understood as an umbrella term that lacks a "one-fits- all" definition across differing perspectives. While the innovation system seems to have dispersed over the past years, its divers actors and institutions provide a foundation for radical and incremental innovation. Digital fashion's relation to sustainability, however, is characterized by numerous tensions resulting in a susceptibility to greenwashing
Governance Under Pressure: A Comparative Content Analysis of Museum Governance in Politically Polarized Contexts, Hungary and the Netherlands
No full textThis thesis explores how political polarization affects the museums governance and cultural engagement. By comparing two European countries with contrasting political climates, such as Hungary and the Netherlands, this research investigates how national museums interpet political shifts, governance models, and the ideological use of cultural institutions.
Thus, using a comparative content analysis,the study gathers information from different political and cultural official reports. Informing the study with only official observations. The results underscore that political interfernce not only influence how museums operate but also impact access to culture, museums programming, as well as the general well-being of society.
The study shows the significance of aligning cultural policy with societal needs and shows the role of public in shaping sustainable, inclusive cultural institutions in an increasingly polarized Europe
Can AI Transform Music Production? - Intervention Analysis for Short Time Series on the Global Supply of Music Recordings.
No full textThe introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) technology to the public has sparked a widespread debate regarding its implications for economy and society, including the cultural and creative industries, within which music. While the debate often focuses on AI's potential to automate certain parts of creative labour or the potential of AI to become a creator itself, empirical evidence about the real-world impact in the music industry remains scarce.
This thesis addresses a critical gap in the literature by analysing how the advent of generative AI tools has affected the global supply of music recordings.
?The study applies an intervention analysis framework, similar to methodological approach by Handke (2012) for digital copying, conceptualising it as a natural experiment. Using global release data from the MusicBrainz database, the thesis covers the years from 2000 to 2024 and tests whether the supply of new music underwent a significant structural change after 2016, which is a period identified as the first year in which music AI production programs were introduced, the beginning of a widespread AI adoption in music creation.
?To assess the effect of AI on the global supply of music recordings, the analysis applies the C statistic, first developed by Young (1941) and applied by Tryon (1982). Linear regression and first differencing are used to remove any deterministic patterns from the ore-AI period (2000-2015) in order to correctly assess the C statistic. The Z statistic derived from the C statistic and applied to the full time series (2000-2024) reveal statistically significant structural change for the period after introduction of AI, which indicates that AI introduction coincides with a disruption in supply dynamics.
?Further analysis at the genre level is conducted between technology-dependent genres (pop, dance, techno) and traditionally acoustic genres (jazz, classical). The results of the genre-specific analysis show that all genres experienced statistically significant change, the effect was most pronounced in pop and jazz genres, rejecting the alternative hypothesis that AI integration impacts pop, dance and techno genres more than jazz and classical. Overall, the findings suggest that the introduction of AI into music production has not only sustained the existing growth trends but altered the underlying structure of supply of music recordings. The results contribute to the field of cultural economics by providing empirical evidence of how digital technologies might possibly have a significant impact on the supply of music recordings and a music sector overall. Researchers are invited to expand this work by exploring the potential for the transformative ways that AI may bring to the cultural and creative sectors in Europe and globally
Conceptualizing Justice
No full textWhat justice is, and how we can achieve it, is a persistent academic question. Today, it seems that justice is even more contested by the appearance of all different kinds of justice: transitional justice, climate justice, criminal justice, future justice, etcetera.
The thesis, aims to uncover the processes of constructing notions of justice within the biggest international court of the world, the International Court of Justice (ICJ or Court), asking the following question: How were concepts of justice contested and deployed in key ICJ cases, and how did these contestations reflect and shape broader political transformations across different historical moments? Applying a conceptual history to the materials produced by the Court, particularly majority judgments and individual opinions, the thesis analyzes two specific cases: the Corfu Channel case (1949) and the Continued Presence of South Africa in Namibia (South West Africa) case (1971).
Within the first case, the concept of justice illuminates competing conceptions of international justice, shaped by individual understandings of history, perceived authority, and Cold War dynamics. International justice is particularly contested across the bench with regard to the Court's use of indirect evidence to accuse Albania. The concept implies the idea of pursuing equality among states. Advocated by Judge Alvarez, the idea of social justice also appears, having a broader scope and implications for international arbitration. In this case, the existence of two different law-making attitudes is argued: present-oriented and future-oriented. In the former perspective, international law should continually adapt to the present; for instance, given the acknowledgment of interdependence among states by Judge Alvarez, international law should entail duties towards the community of states itself. In the latter attitude, the future is embedded and taken into account in legal reasoning. In the majority judgment as well as in Judge Krylov's opinion, the law is thought to avoid an event from happening in the future.
In the Continued Presence of South Africa in Namibia (South West Africa) case, time plays the most prominent role in shaping the idea of justice. The majority of the Bench supports a progressive conception of justice, which argues that law should adapt to the present by rejecting discriminatory policies and supporting self-determination and decolonization. Another example of a present-oriented way of reasoning. Aligned with this idea, the position of Judge Padilla Nervo advocates social justice, which is associated with the principles of freedom, equality, and independence. On the other side, this progressive idea of justice is contested by a more static one, where a strict separation between law and politics is argued, and justice is not affected by the passing of time. In this case, the negotiation of justice reflects broader shifts within the Court itself, as its composition and authority evolved in response to global political change
"It's a Freak!": The Construction of the Monstrous-Feminine in contemporary feminist horror cinema
No full textThis thesis explores the construction of the monstrous feminine in contemporary feminist
horror cinema through a visual critical discourse analysis (VCDA) of Jennifer's Body (2009),
The Love Witch (2016), and The Substance (2024). By analyzing how visual elements like
costume, color, lighting, mise-en-scène, reveal discourses of gender, identity, and monstrosity,
the study examines how these films subvert horror tropes and dominant representations of
femininity. Drawing on feminist film theory, fourth-wave feminist discourse, and theories of
abjection, posthumanism, and camp, the analysis is structured around four discoursive sites:
(1) the monstrous body and abjection, (2) archetypes of the monstrous feminine, (3)
performativity, and (4) feminist revolt. The findings suggest that these films reimagine
monstrosity not as a threat to be vanquished, but as a feminist and queer mode of resistance
which weaponizes grotesque bodies, exaggerated femininity, and violent rupture to expose and
challenge patriarchal norms. By centering female authorship, visual excess, and affective
intensity, this thesis contributes to ongoing debates in horror scholarship and confirms the
genre's radical potential to critique and reconfigure societal structures
Civic surveillance mediation
No full textEnvironmental NGOs using satellite imagery and remotely sensed data for environmental monitoring and enforcement must negotiate their role within a broader Earth Observation (EO) ecosystem. When harnessing EO technologies for environmental good, these NGOs neither fully resist nor wholly reproduce traditional surveillance logics. Instead, they act as civic surveillance mediators: intermediaries that shape the direction and ethical use of monitoring technologies in pursuit of civic- and justice-oriented goals. Their use of EO data cannot be categorised as either fully counter-balancing or entirely disciplinary. Rather, they are actively mediating the civic potential of surveillance technologies. However, as EO tools continue to evolve and surveillance becomes increasingly automated, NGOs may face pressure to clarify their ethical commitments and formalise their protocols. The model of civic surveillance mediation helps to name and situate this role, highlighting the need for intentional EO research design, participatory engagement and ethical consideration in shaping future surveillance practices for environmental justice