This thesis proposes a new and alternative conception of Presentism by arguing that time itself does not exist, leaving only the purely spatial dimension which is characterized by its 'ever...Show moreThis thesis proposes a new and alternative conception of Presentism by arguing that time itself does not exist, leaving only the purely spatial dimension which is characterized by its 'ever presence'. By first conceptualizing the 'ordinary' view of time in terms of Immanuel Kant's Transcendental philosophy, I will subsequently argue through the work of Henri Bergson that all temporal thought is reducible to spatial concepts and that Kant's category of time is a superfluous elaboration of the category of space. Primarily, Bergson showed that time as an accumulative extension known as duration, is in fact misapplied spatial arithmetic. Moments are evanescent and do therefor not allow for addition, which makes the measurement of time a purely abstract affair that employs the geometry that only exists in space. As a consequence, our cosmology must do away with time as an ontological category. This 'timeless world' will then be conceptualized after which its (meta)physical implications will be investigated.Show less
Executive master thesis | International Relations and Diplomacy (MSc)
open access
Consensus is an increasingly selected decision-making procedure in negotiations and institutions. As a more informal mode of negotiating and decision-making without voting, We propose a method of...Show moreConsensus is an increasingly selected decision-making procedure in negotiations and institutions. As a more informal mode of negotiating and decision-making without voting, We propose a method of coding and tracking consensus in The Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), the foremost global organisation tasked with managing and improving states relations in space, by using its annual reports. By building a dataset of all COPUOS reports from 1990 to 2022, we model the presence and extent of consensus over time in against other quantitative data coded within the reports. We find an increasing number of views expressed over time, with the attainment of consensus mostly attributable to the substantive topic discussed. We also notice that factors related to less frequent attainment of consensus are often also associated with a higher strength of consensus. Non-state actors and developing countries are in some cases associated with increased attainment and strength of consensus.Show less
There is a demand for high bandwidth down links from space to earth. A cubesat in a GEO could function as a relatively cheap access point to a high bandwidth communication channel with earth. This...Show moreThere is a demand for high bandwidth down links from space to earth. A cubesat in a GEO could function as a relatively cheap access point to a high bandwidth communication channel with earth. This thesis explores new ways to increase the bandwidth by identifying bottlenecks in the GEO- Earth communication channel and how to circumvent them. The diffrac- tion limit causes large beam spreading at GEO distance, holding back ad- vanced modulation techniques due to the inability to capture the whole wave front. In this case, a modulation scheme using only a few bits should be chosen, allowing to modulate as fast as possible. The low signal inten- sity can be detected with more sensitivity by making use of a quantum enhanced receiver. From GEO to Earth, data rates around 50 Gbps are possible. Additionally, the atmosphere introduces spatial incoherence. To mitigate the effects of the atmosphere, a modulation scheme should be chosen that exploits modulation vectors which are orthogonal to the spa- tial dimension, such as polarization or wavelength. This gives a modula- tion scheme with many degrees of freedom. To deal with the complexity, a variational auto-encoder deep neural network is used to act as the modu- lator and demodulator. The variational distribution is chosen to match the noise introduced by an atmospheric channel. Using this scheme, we were able to find encodings that increase the density of symbols in phase space relative to the noise. This approach is especially promising in a bandwidth limited channel.Show less
The interwar period saw the rise of the European metropolis as 'hubs' of transnational anti-colonialism. This thesis focuses on the city of Amsterdam as one of these hubs and adds a spatial...Show moreThe interwar period saw the rise of the European metropolis as 'hubs' of transnational anti-colonialism. This thesis focuses on the city of Amsterdam as one of these hubs and adds a spatial approach to the historiography of the European anti-colonial 'hub'. Researching anti-colonial internationalism from a spatial perspective gives new insights into the interconnectedness of internationalism and specific sites. Transnational organizations and actors who formulated and propagated ideas on anti-colonialism were always grounded in spatial contexts. The approach to space and spatiality in this thesis is inspired by the research project ‘Conferencing the International: A Cultural and Historical Geography of the Origins of Internationalism, 1919-39’, which ran between 2015-2020 and was funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). This project approached internationalism from a geographical perspective, studying how divergent forms of internationalisms manifested themselves in international conferences in the interwar period. Informed by both the research project, the book Placing Internationalism, and the project’s virtual exhibition, this thesis examines the relationship between transnational anti-colonialism and the spaces of anti-colonial activity in Amsterdam.Show less
This research paper analyses Katja Kwastek’s aesthetic theory that can be used to analyse interactive, digital artworks within both the physical and digital space. The theory is built on four...Show moreThis research paper analyses Katja Kwastek’s aesthetic theory that can be used to analyse interactive, digital artworks within both the physical and digital space. The theory is built on four actors: the artist, the assistant, the recipient and the technical system, as well as spatial and temporal parameters. The actors and parameters together form a set of tools that can be used to study interaction in digital art. This research paper will expand this theory, as display does not play a determining role within the theory. The expanded theory will be applied to two case-studies: the Companion (EXPANDED) (2020) and Companion (EXPANDED) (2022) that were included in the KAWS: New Fiction exhibitions. One of these exhibitions took place in the physical Serpentine North Gallery, London, the other is still accessible in videogame Fortnite. The application of the theory will provide insight on the role display plays within the analysis of interactive art within the physical and digital space.Show less
In this thesis I have investigated the use of the Chinese space programme in public diplomacy strategies. There is a gap between the image the Chinese government tries to project and China's...Show moreIn this thesis I have investigated the use of the Chinese space programme in public diplomacy strategies. There is a gap between the image the Chinese government tries to project and China's behaviour on the world stage. While the intended image is that of a peace-loving nation that uses its space programme for scientific purposes that will benefit mankind, on a security level China uses its space programme for military applications and power projection. I have investigated this divergence and speculated on the future space power dynamics.Show less
This thesis analyses the role of measurement in in surveillance. Aiming to answer the question of Which is the role of measurement in surveillance photography? First considering how measurement has...Show moreThis thesis analyses the role of measurement in in surveillance. Aiming to answer the question of Which is the role of measurement in surveillance photography? First considering how measurement has been instrumentalised to control the population by establishing standard dimensions, that serve to categorise and to catalogue individuals, and formulating the categories of deviant and normal. In the first chapter, I draw from John Tagg's analysis of documentary photography, who defends that evidence photography is necessarily attached to a power discourse. I defend that the specificities of photography as a static media do not only allow for the measurement of individuals and spaces but, photography has historically played an important role in creating these distinctions. In the second chapter, it takes into account the role of measurement in space, more specifically regards to the notion of ´Visual Nominalism´ coined by media theorist, Lev Manovich, who elaborates on how technologies of linear perspective, such as photography, have allowed placing an individual in an exact point in space. Parallel to this, in the light of these theories , I analyse how contemporary photographers, on the subject of surveillance, adopt the visual language of measurement in photography to deal with notions of control in contemporary society, exposing, this time, in a visual way, how the language of dominance is far from inherent but has been carefully constructed. Both in relation to space and to individuals the specific qualities of photography allow for control through measurement.Show less
Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
open access
The conceptual link between space and time is accounted for by two different theories: Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT, Lakoff and Johnson 1980) and A Theory of Magnitude (ATOM, Walsh 2003). Within...Show moreThe conceptual link between space and time is accounted for by two different theories: Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT, Lakoff and Johnson 1980) and A Theory of Magnitude (ATOM, Walsh 2003). Within a linguistic framework, CMT provides evidence for an asymmetric conceptual link between space and time, opposed to the symmetric link predicted by ATOM. Casasanto and Boroditsky (2008) and Casasanto (2010) presented evidence in favour of CMT from non-linguistic psychophysical tasks. Longer lines appeared to positively affect participants’ estimation of duration, analogous to metaphors for duration using spatial words such as long and short, but duration did not influence the perception of space (Casasanto and Boroditsky 2008). A subsequent study revealed language specific differences in effects of different stimulus types, parallel to the typical duration metaphors found in these languages (Casasanto 2010). The present investigation of Dutch shows that the relation between duration metaphors and the perception of space and duration is less straightforward than what might be expected on the basis of the accounts of Casasanto and Boroditsky (2008) and Casasanto (2010). The results of an experiment with speakers of Dutch reveal a symmetric link between space and duration in the case of space presented in the form of one-dimensional length, but an asymmetric link is reported in case of more-dimensional size. Overall, this provides evidence for ATOM rather than CMT.Show less
