Minecraft has proven to be a valuable tool in the field of virtual heritage (Edwards et al., 2021; Langis-Barsetti, 2021; Politopoulos et al., 2019). This thesis explores potential collaboration...Show moreMinecraft has proven to be a valuable tool in the field of virtual heritage (Edwards et al., 2021; Langis-Barsetti, 2021; Politopoulos et al., 2019). This thesis explores potential collaboration efforts between academia and the modding community by first attempting to understand the perspectives of Minecraft mod developers. This study is guided by the research question: in what ways can the Minecraft modding community and heritage professionals influence each other? Four willing developers of historical and cultural Minecraft mods provided their perspective via questionnaire. Their responses are analysed with guidance from the established qualitative analysis methods: thematic analysis and narrative analysis (Bryman, 2012). Potential collaboration is then theorised based on the intentions, disciplinary bounds, and openness of both mod developers and heritage professionals. It is found that Minecraft mod developers and heritage professionals share many similar traits. Analysis of the developer perspectives also helped to reveal multiple ways in which collaboration efforts would be mutually beneficial. These findings are important, as this knowledge not only helps to introduce academia to the developer’s side of the Minecraft modding community, but can also be used by academics and mod developers to bring about future collaboration efforts that enhance both the modding community and the virtual heritage field.Show less
Master thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (MSc)
open access
Thousands of migrants and asylum-seekers are entering the Netherlands in various (legal) ways and are stuck in a waiting time in different aspects of their procedures of acquiring residency. This...Show moreThousands of migrants and asylum-seekers are entering the Netherlands in various (legal) ways and are stuck in a waiting time in different aspects of their procedures of acquiring residency. This research project explores realms of migrating to the Netherlands by focussing on the perception of temporalities, documentation and communication with Dutch authorities like the IND (Immigration and Naturalization Service). Diving into the theoretical concepts of power-chronography, delaying, waiting and errance, I explore how appointments with the IND, being transferred, and having no legal residence documents and other (bureaucratic) challenges are experiences in the lived experiences of my collaborators. All four collaborators present in this thesis, as well in the audiovisual output in the form of a zine, have their own ambitions and coping strategies with caring for their time while being in documentation and bureaucratic challenges, such as waiting for the second interview with the IND. Embedded within the framework of visual ethnography, this thesis attempts to dive into methodological reflections of zine-making as process and as audio-visual product in a multimodal way (including film and soundscapes accessible via QR codes). Together with the four young male collaborators from Kenya, Guinea, Yemen and Afghanistan, we aim to show parts of the asylum procedure in an artistic manner and critically question the current Dutch migration system and distribute the zines to engage with the research in line with the zine history of anti-institutionalism and activism. This research contributes to critically unpacking what the intersections of power, documentation and temporalities mean for the four collaborators in their lived experiences, shedding light on in which forms they find agency and control while currently being in the residency acquiring in the Netherlands. Thereby this research project in form of the written thesis and the accompanying zine contribute to the discourse of temporalities and migration.Show less
The lack of adoption and use of the e-CODEX (e-Justice Communication via Online Data Exchange) system in the European justice domain mirrors the complexity of realising interoperability in Europe....Show moreThe lack of adoption and use of the e-CODEX (e-Justice Communication via Online Data Exchange) system in the European justice domain mirrors the complexity of realising interoperability in Europe. Connecting the information systems of autonomous organisations with the means of technological innovation for improved efficiency can be a difficult task, and requires cooperation between all parties involved. But what drives or holds back organisations to adopt such technological innovations? While much research has been conducted on the adoption of (technological) innovations in the public and private sector, theoretical and empirical research on innovation adoption in a cross-border and judicial context is still lacking. This qualitative explanatory study used a combination of Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory and Technology-Organisation-Environment (TOE) framework as foundation to examine the relationship between fourteen factors (relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, observability, top management support, slack resources, costs, championship, facilitative leadership, disposition to and readiness for collaboration, trust, external pressure of social networks and network externalities, and legislation and policy) and the adoption of interoperable electronic information sharing by judicial organisations. By using e-CODEX as a case study, this thesis contributes to the literature on IT adoption by adding the cross-border, European, and judicial contexts. E-CODEX (e-Justice Communication via Online Data Exchange) is an example of a voluntary initiative that was developed with European Union (EU) financial support by a number of Member States in 2010. It is a tool based on the principle of interoperability that enables judicial authorities to exchange information and documents in a secure way. It is interoperable because it establishes a decentralised communication network between national IT systems in cross-border civil and criminal procedures. Data was gathered from interviews with members of the e-CODEX project consortium, judicial organisations (previously) participating in e-CODEX pilots, and one organisation that is currently planning to adopt e-CODEX. The findings indicate that all proposed factors in this study seem to be relevant to at least some extent for the adoption of IEIS. However, the findings also show that some factors have greater relevance than others.Show less
In this thesis, I have analysed the encoding of cultural attitudes in the translation of post-war retrospective fiction, as displayed in the speech and thought presentation of the characters in...Show moreIn this thesis, I have analysed the encoding of cultural attitudes in the translation of post-war retrospective fiction, as displayed in the speech and thought presentation of the characters in Erwin Mortier’s 1999 Flemish novel, Marcel. The novel contains a fascinating insight into the cultural attitudes of everyday Belgian citizens who collaborated with the Nazis during World War II. For the purposes of my research, I have used Antoine Berman’s 1985 model of translation tendencies in order to identify and subsequently analyse the effect of the process of translation on the representation of the cultural attitudes of the Belgian collaborators as displayed the English translation of the novel when juxtaposed with the original Flemish version of the novel. In my final analysis, I have both justified the importance of the source text over the translation in its irreplaceability with regard to the conveyance of cultural attitude. In addition to this, I have drawn fresh conclusions about the role and function of the translations of culturally-bound source texts. More specifically, I have highlighted the status of culturally-bound works of post-war fiction as foreign texts in their own right. In doing so, I have argued that these texts serve to make more explicit the cultural attitudes displayed in original works of post-war fiction.Show less
Master thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (MSc)
open access
Within the field of critical museology, western museums are considered to be the social institutions which demonstrate the politics of domination, especially through presenting non-western cultures...Show moreWithin the field of critical museology, western museums are considered to be the social institutions which demonstrate the politics of domination, especially through presenting non-western cultures, and they also generate social inclusion, exclusion and different identifications based on the concept of race or class (Bulter 2000, Fujitani 1997, Sachedina 2011 and Strong 1997). This research on the special exhibition: Longing for Mecca: The pilgrim’s journey will focus on how social inclusion of Islamic communities in Dutch society is made by the exhibition in Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde. The concept of social inclusion implies at least three things in the case: displaying the underrepresented (Dutch Muslim communities) in the national system of representation (Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde), collaborating with local communities, and being more accessible for those communities. This research is based on the three implications of social inclusion of Longing for Mecca exhibition to demonstrate how social inclusion has been imagined and generated by museum staff, and to point out advantages and conflicts that the implications contain. Furthermore, I will also explain how these implications intertwine with visitor experiences that broaden the meaning of visiting Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde.Show less
