Master thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (MSc)
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This thesis explores the presentation of digital identity within a digital social space through a two-month case study of practices on a platform that has not yet been extensively researched, and...Show moreThis thesis explores the presentation of digital identity within a digital social space through a two-month case study of practices on a platform that has not yet been extensively researched, and furthermore, that has been subject to incredible growth in the past few years, Twitch. By analyzing the way the audience presents itself within the chat, and furthermore, by asking viewers directly about their experience and practices within the chat of several different live streaming channels, this thesis looks at how we can understand the phenomenon of how people present themselves and experience their identity within this setting, by showing how perceptions, strategies, and challenges of viewers influence this process.Show less
This thesis provides a philosophical discussion of the implementation of virtual and augmented reality in the cultural heritage sector. In particular, the paper critically investigates the ways in...Show moreThis thesis provides a philosophical discussion of the implementation of virtual and augmented reality in the cultural heritage sector. In particular, the paper critically investigates the ways in which digital technologies attempt to simulate and approximate materiality.Show less
The main purpose of this thesis is to investigate in how and why encyclopedic projects by archival based photographers, challenge and counter the figure of the digital database. The yearning for...Show moreThe main purpose of this thesis is to investigate in how and why encyclopedic projects by archival based photographers, challenge and counter the figure of the digital database. The yearning for collecting or ‘archive fever’ (as defined by Jacques Derrida) is still found in some contemporary art projects. Consequently, in a world where more and more objects, documents and photographs are stored digitally, the question remains why some photographers resort to the archive as their working method and continue to display their works through analogue techniques such as the book and the installation. In order to understand the working method these artists adopt, this thesis shares them under the position of ‘the-photographer-as-archivist’. This thesis considers two case studies, firstly Parallel Encyclopedia #1 (2007) by Batia Suter (1967) and secondly The Universal Photographer (2018) by Anne Geene (1983) and Arjan de Nooy (1965). Their projects are assessed visually as well as theoretically, using the method of visual research as proposed by Gillian Rose. This method bases itself on the three modalities of technology, composition and social elements that surround visual imagery. The research has shown that both of the explored works, contain anti-database characteristics such as physicality, materiality and narrativity as their most prominent features. This means that in terms of discourse they comment on the structure, active accumulation, the usage and functioning of the digital database.Show less
Cryptocurrencies, although in their infancy, are becoming increasingly important for the global economy. Bitcoin was the first invented cryptocurrency, created by a group or person under the...Show moreCryptocurrencies, although in their infancy, are becoming increasingly important for the global economy. Bitcoin was the first invented cryptocurrency, created by a group or person under the pseudonym of Satoshi Nakamoto in 2007, allowing for the exchange of economic value by use of its verifiable and cryptographically secure blockchain. While many countries still don’t even know how to define cryptocurrencies, China has been regulating them for years. The Chinese tech industry also often exemplifies that it is at the forefront of global blockchain technology development with its numerous fast-growing companies and tokens such as DeepBrain Chain, Ontology Network, NEO, Tron, and QTUM, thus suggesting that the tech must be succeeding in certain areas, perhaps either as a result of government regulation, or in spite of it. This paper has contextualised the state of the Chinese blockchain industry in regards to a new type of blockchain political economy and in terms of the Chinese regulatory climate.Show less
A case study of De Correspondent's move to include a paperback publishing division to their online platform for research journalism. An analysis of the current market situation in publishing in the...Show moreA case study of De Correspondent's move to include a paperback publishing division to their online platform for research journalism. An analysis of the current market situation in publishing in the Netherlands, and what De Correspondent's developments and choices might mean for the future of the book.Show less