I believe that the concept of the absurd, as described in philosophy and reflected in works of drama and literature, provides an unusual and helpful perspective from which to view the emerging field of digital media. In my opinion, absurd principles can help us understand the mixed feelings we may have when engaging with digital media: joy and frustration, play and despair, significance and nonsense. I intend to explore the concept of the absurd through a handful of authors and works, including the philosophy of Camus and the literature and drama of Pinter, Beckett, Roussel, and the Oulipo. I will use these works to analyze characteristics of absurdist works and then extend this analysis to characteristics and theory of digital media. I believe an absurdist analysis may bring a new vantage point to the study of digital media, from which we can see not only the advantages and liberation it offers but also the ever-present threat of nonsense it entails.

This thesis focuses on the contextualization of my artistic practice, which explores digital glitch as a disruptive force and an aesthetic treatment in the contemporary technological world. While the body of work draws on the methodology of glitch art, this paper attempts to relate the idea of glitch to a wider range of philosophical and artistic frameworks stemming from Lettrism, Situationist International, Punk, and Nihilism. The aim of this investigation of a digital disturbance through its categorization into natural, stimulated and assimilated glitch, is to facilitate an understanding of the glitch event as both something threatening and attractive, while it transitions from a spontaneous to a controlled process in a photoreal image. The passing of the destructive glitch from life to art is placed against the backdrop of the apocalypse, which one may imagine as a literal and metaphorical disaster in the physical world and value systems of western society. / vii, 113 leaves ; col. ill. ; 29 cm

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1998. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [244]-265).

Digital technology has now become pervasive at most publications in South Africa and in America. Pictures are routinely digitised by publications for ease of handling in the layout process, and this makes it relatively easy to alter or manipulate the pictures using computer software programmes. This thesis attempts to gauge the views of South African photojournalists about the digital manipulation of news photographs, and compare these to the views of American photojournalists. It is based on the hypothesis that South African and American photojournalists have different views of what is acceptable manipulation of news photographs, and that their reasons for this will also be different. This thesis also suggests that the manipulation of news photographs is ethically problematic and can damage the credibility of both the photojournalist and the publication in which the photographs appear. The study involves a comparison of the results from a questionnaire given to South African photojournalists and a similar questionnaire given to American photojournalists. The questionnaires were then supplemented by interviews with six South African photojournalists. The thesis then draws conclusions from the responses to the questionnaires and interviews. These conclusions partially support the initial hypothesis, in that there are some differences between the views of South African and American photojournalists, but, on the whole, these are remarkably similar. Photojournalists do seem to find the manipulation of news photographs to be ethically problematic, but they may find the manipulation of other kinds of images (eg fashion or soft news) to be acceptable. South African photographers also find the manipulation of images by other means (eg different lenses or darkroom techniques) to be more acceptable than Americans do. Although the underlying reasons for these views may differ, maintaining the credibility of the photographer and the publication does seem to be the major issue for avoiding digital manipulation. South African photographers seemed to think that if the photographer had done his or her job well, there would be no need for manipulation, and both groups (but especially the Americans) felt that manipulation could often be equated to lying to the reader, and that this might damage their reputation, and that of their publications.

Marketing towards children has long been a controversial subject and with the arrival of digital media, the opportunities for companies has grown greater. This has, according to many, led to an escalation of the amount of marketing that reaches children and led to increasing concern from guardians over their well-being. This study applies a qualitative approach and aims to understand the attitudes of Swedish guardians and their views on what measures companies that seek to act more responsibly can undertake. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and the data was transcribed, coded, and sorted into a framework. The results show that guardians experience a loss of control over the marketing- communication that reaches their children. They display negative perceptions of companies that market towards children and call on higher governmental control. However, they express a willingness to cooperate with companies that apply a responsible approach through objectivity, transparency and restraint from aggression. / Marknadsföring mot barn har länge varit ett kontroversiellt ämne och med framväxten av digitala medier har möjligheterna för företag blivit allt större. Detta har, enligt somliga, lett till en eskalering av mängden marknadsföring som når barn och till ökad oro bland vårdnadshavare över deras barns välbefinnande. Denna studie tillämpar en kvalitativ forskningsansats och syftar till att förstå svenska vårdnadshavares attityder och deras åsikter om vilka tillvägagångssätt företag som söker agera ansvarsfullt kan applicera. Semi-strukturerade intervjuer genomfördes och datan transkriberades, kodades och sorterades in i ett framework. Resultaten visar att vårdnadshavare upplever en förlorad kontroll över den marknadskommunikation som når deras barn. De uppvisar negativa perceptioner av företag som marknadsför sig mot barn och efterfrågar högre kontroll från myndigheter. De uttrycker dock en samarbetsvilja med företag som agerar ansvarsfullt genom objektivitet, transparens och utan aggressivitet.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the formation of identity through dress in virtual environments, and to establish connections between identity, fashion, and virtual reality by means of language and semiology. The notion of identity through fashion in virtual environments is examined, with fashion as a factor in identity formation through dress as analysed in structuralist terms. The virtual aspect is used both as a literal field, i.e. the medium of video games and social networks that involve virtual avatars, and as theoretical testing ground from which to derive new results on the nature of dress and many of the aspects of clothing and fashion. The practical outcome of this research, a video game based on dress and narrative, serves as an applied experiment of the three main themes in this thesis and the relations and interactions between them, as well as a testing tool with which to challenge in a practical way the theories and speculations formed in the thesis. My methodology is based on structuralism and post-structuralism in the fields of linguistics, psychology and anthropology, with particular application to the visual media and virtual reality. I am using a post-structuralist approach as it has been the most dominant discourse of replacing economic and social (power) relations with codes and the interplay between signifiers and signifieds. This, I find, is the most appropriate method for analysing both virtual systems and fashion, because, on an atomic level, they both depend on variables such as words and numbers. The code is therefore the common denominator of both disciplines. Furthermore, both disciplines use narrative for their proper function, video games for their back story and motivation of the player, and fashion for its advertising and promotion, as well as through archetypes and symbols. Fashion in this context works as a catalytic agent between post-structuralist codes in modern media as texts, and video games.

<p>Problem</p><p>Funktioner i tunga fordon går allt mer från att vara mekaniska till att styras med hjälp av elektroniska signaler. För att förstå hur komponenter och system fungerar och ska repareras har mekanikerna Verkstadshandboken till sin hjälp. Från tryckt media har Verkstadshandboken övergått till digital publicering i visningsprodukten Scania Multi.</p><p> </p><p>Scania Multi var inledningsvis ett program för reservdelsinformation och har en navigeringsstruktur som är anpassad efter komponenternas placering på fordonet. Det är inte logiskt att hitta information om hur system och komponenter fungerar och ska lagas när man följer en navigeringsstruktur som från början är avsedd för reservdelar, det märks. Mekanikerna som använder Verkstadshandboken i Scania Multi har klagat över att information för reparationer och funktionsbeskrivningar inte finns. Ofta visar det sig att informationen faktiskt finns där men har varit svår att hitta.</p><p>Metod</p><p>Vilka risker och hinder finns det som påverkar om man vill eller orkar ta del av information? Olika signaler från vår omgivning påverkar våra val och beteenden och avgör om ett budskap når fram eller inte. Signalerna inverkar alltså på de val vi gör när vi ställs inför en ny situation.</p><p> </p><p>För att budskapet ska nå ända fram måste signalen vara rätt, ren och stark. Inom området informationsarkitektur pratar man om hur olika sorters design påverkar våra val och handlingar när vi ska interagera med ett digitalt informationsmaterial. Här pratar man om grafisk, informations- och interaktionsdesign. Jag har kopplat de olika typerna av design med de tre olika signalerna.</p><p> </p><p>Utifrån resonemanget om att rätt, ren och stark signal kan jämställas med informationsarkitekturens olika sorters design, gjorde jag en prototyp. Prototypens informationsdesign bygger på att jag har använt och strukturerat informationen med hjälp av den del i ISO standarden STEP som kallas Product Life Cycle Support. När jag sorterade informationen inom de olika avdelningarna använde jag mig av Information Mapping metoden.</p><p> </p><p>Prototypen har en fysisk och en funktionell vy som ska stödja mekanikernas behov när de använder Verkstadshandboken. För att ta reda på hur signalerna i prototypen fungerade testade jag den på sju yrkesverksamma mekaniker. Användningstestet byggde på två scenarion med tillhörande uppgifter där syftet var att få återkoppling på prototypens design och hitta förbättringspunkter.</p><p>Slutsats</p><p>Användningstesterna fokuserade framförallt på prototypens informationsdesign men berörde även prototypens grafiska design och gav vägledning om interaktionsdesignen var på rätt väg. Med hjälp av användningstesterna kunde jag analysera resultatet för att se vad som borde förbättras.</p><p> </p><p>Eftersom mekaniker inte har fått vara med och kravställa designen fick de interagera med en produkt som inte var optimal för deras behov. Mekanikerna är vana vid strukturen i nuvarande Verkstadshandboken i Scania Multi. Den nya strukturen tar hänsyn till fordonets funktionalitet på ett sätt som inte presenteras i dagens system.</p><p> </p><p>Det var fyra avsnitt där mekanikernas återkoppling på prototypens design var extra tydlig:</p><p>-       Det var svårt att se knappar och klickbara länkar.</p><p>-       Designen uppfattades som rörig.</p><p>-       När man väl hade förstått informationsdesignen var det lätt att se att den skulle kunna vara till stor hjälp vid exempelvis felsökning.</p><p>-       Uppdelningen av informationen upplevdes positivt när man hade vant sig vid de olika vyerna.</p>

Haiti is a unique environment, not just as a third world nation but also in culture and heritage. Economic and political instability has left this country without some of the basic needs and opportunities that we in the western world take for granted. Solutions to Haiti’s problems will only be realized through the understanding of Haiti’s problems. My research’s first goal was to understand the problem of education in Haiti, and then attempt to understand how media and technology can play a role in reform. This study uses qualitative methods to examine a two fold thesis; 1. The cultural differences of Haiti is a context that needs understanding, and 2. How can media and technology benefit the education and cultural society of Haiti? Through my research I seek to demonstrate alternate methods of education through media technologies. Education is an answer to the Haitian people’s problem, it is not, however, a solution for the county’s problems. These two contrasting theories are what I will examine and explore. This study will examine the impact of media on the society and culture of Haiti. Through qualitative research methods used while conducting field research in Haiti, I will address a series of research questions pertaining to the potential effectiveness of media technology education techniques. Using qualitative methods, open-ended questions and participant observation I was able to gather important insights and data on these topics in Haiti with Haitians. While there are many proposed solutions to Haiti’s problems I would rather present an option to better the situation for a small population of Haitian youth. Give a child food and water for life and they will eventually die. Give a child education and that child has the potential to better their economical situation and rise out of poverty. / Department of Telecommunications

As new media become more ubiquitous, our emotional experiences in digital space are increasing exponentially as well. While there is much talk of “affective” computing and “affective” new media art, a disconnect exists between networked emotions and the popular media that they inhabit. This research presents a theoretical framework for assessing “digital emotions”—a term that describes the feedback process between digital technologies and the body with respect to short, networked inscriptions of emotion and the (re)experience of those inscriptions within the body and through digital space. Digital emotions display five basic characteristics that can be applied to a variety of media environments: (1) They describe a process of feedback that link short, emotive inscriptions in digital environments to users and their (re)experiences of those inscriptions; (2) This feedback process includes, but is not limited to, the inscriber, the medium, and the receiver and the emotive experience fuels the initial connectivity and any further connectivity; (3) The emotional value varies depending on the media, the community of users, and the aesthetic experience of the digital emotion; (4) Digital emotions influence our emotional repertoire by normalizing our paradigm scenarios; and (5) They are highly malleable based on changes in technologies and their ability to both expand and contract emotional experiences in real time. The core characteristics of digital emotions are applied to three broad and overlapping categories: technology, community, and aesthetic experience. Each of these aspects of digital emotions work together, yet they exist along the massive spectrum of our online, emotional experiences—from our casual click of the “like” button to digital community artworks. Applied to digital spaces along this spectrum, digital emotions illuminate the feedback process that occurs between the media, the network, and the environment. The framework ultimately suggests that the process of digital emotions explicates emotions experiences that could only occur in digital space and are therefore unique to digital culture.

Orientador: João Pedro Albino / Banca: Maria Cristina Gobbi / Banca: Gustavo Kimura Montanha / Resumo: Esta pesquisa teve o propósito de desenvolver uma plataforma informatizada que visa facilitar a interação das ações entre docente, discente e unidade de ensino. Para o desenvolvimento deste projeto foi importante identificar possíveis ações entre docente, discente e unidade de ensino que podem se tornar virtuais; estudar e avaliar plataformas já existentes desenvolvidas para o meio educacional; desenvolver o protótipo de uma plataforma informatizada para facilitar a interação entre docentes, discentes e unidade de ensino; além de realizar a prova de conceito do protótipo desenvolvido. Através do desenvolvimento de uma plataforma informatizada foi possível facilitar o processo de interação entre os alunos da chamada geração Z e os professores denominados imigrantes digitais. O trabalho foi realizado por meio de pesquisa bibliográfica para construção do referencial teórico e análise das ferramentas tecnológicas e educacionais já existentes. Com base nessa análise foi possível aprofundar os conhecimentos das plataformas educacionais utilizadas e desenvolver diagramas utilizando UML, modelagem das telas, codificação do ambiente utilizando linguagem de programação PHP e banco de dados MySQL e a realização da prova de conceito. Com as etapas do projeto que já foram realizadas foi possível identificar conceitos e diferenciar e-learning e m-learning; analisar os principais ambientes virtuais de aprendizagem; e os principais conceitos envolvidos na utilização de dispositivos móveis co... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: This research had the purpose of developing a computerized platform that aims to facilitate the interaction of actions between teacher, student and teaching unit. For the development of this project it was important to identify possible actions between teacher, student and teaching unit that can become virtual; study and evaluate existing platforms developed for the educational environment; develop the prototype of a computerized platform to facilitate interaction between teachers, students and the teaching unit; in addition to carrying out the proof of concept of the developed prototype. Through the development of a computerized platform it was possible to facilitate the process of interaction between the so-called generation Z students and the so-called digital immigrant teachers. The work was carried out through bibliographical research to construct the theoretical reference and analysis of existing technological and educational tools. Based on this analysis it was possible to deepen the knowledge of the educational platforms used and to develop diagrams using UML, modeling of the screens, coding of the environment using PHP programming language and MySQL database and the proof of concept. With the project steps that have already been accomplished it was possible to identify concepts and differentiate between e-learning and m-learning; analyze the main virtual learning environments; and the main concepts involved in the use of mobile devices as support in the educational e... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre