Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Comparative Media Studies, 2014. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 229-248). / In this work, I've documented the origins, growth and structure of the Peruvian video game industry. Because of its underground origins, the Peruvian game industry provides an alternative, more organic gateway to developing technology industries than forms of the "technological sublime" that have been recurrent over Peruvian technological history. Driven by creative rather than commercial objectives, people interested in game development figure out ways to get around gaps in existing training options to acquire the interdisciplinary skills they need to create games - setting up alternative infrastructures to connect to each other, share information, and set up collaborations. Peruvian developers are also experimenting with ways to gain access to global networks and markets, which affects their design decisions and how they present themselves to peers and customers around the world. Games designed to present local cultural elements for international audiences - which I've called "borderland games" - have become sites where tension around self-presentation gets played out. Game studios are experimenting with various configurations of business practices, figuring out empirically what arrangements put them on the better path to engage international partners and secure creative and financial sustainability. Studios are collaborating with each other to address structural barriers affecting the industry as a whole, which is putting them in a stronger position to engage government agencies and gain support to address structural issues. This relatively unknown industry has been able to introduce complex skills and work around structural gaps and obstacles to create the foundations for a potentially viable technology and creative industry. How, exactly, the industry will develop remains to be seen, but its evolution can provide interesting lessons for the emergence of digital creative industries in developing economies. / by Eduardo Marisca Alvarez. / S.M.

Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Comparative Media Studies, 2015. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 177-183). / In recent years, a significant amount of resources and attention has been directed at increasing the diversity of the hi-tech workforce in the United States. Generally speaking, the underrepresentation of minorities and women in tech has been understood as an "educational pipeline problem," - for a variety of reasons, these groups lack the social supports and resources needed to develop marketable technical literacies. In this thesis I complicate the educational pipeline narrative by taking a close look at the perspectives and practices of three different groups. First, I explore widespread assumptions and recruitment practices found in the tech industry, based on interviews I conducted with over a dozen leaders and founders of tech companies. I found that widespread notions of what merit looks like (in terms of prior work experience and educational pedigree) have given rise to insular hiring practices in tech. Second, I offer an in-depth examination of the risks and opportunities related to an emerging set of practices termed "algorithmic recruitment," which combines machine learning with big data sets in order to evaluate technical talent. Finally, I analyze the strategies adopted by a non-profit called CODE2040 in order to facilitate structural changes in how tech recruits talent to include a more diverse set of qualified applicants. I conclude by offering a more robust conceptualization of diversity and its value in the tech sector, as well as some specific ways to increase tech's diversity in the future. / by Chelsea Barabas. / S.M.

Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Comparative Media Studies, 2015. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 97-101). / Interactive data narrative, or the crafting of interactive online stories based upon new or existing data, has grown dramatically over the last several years. Data is increasingly available through such mechanisms as embedded sensor networks, remote sensing, and mobile data collection platforms. The affordances of mobile computing and increasing internet access enable widespread-and often citizen-powered-data collection initiatives. This proliferation of data raises the challenge of translating data into compelling and actionable stories. New data collection and online storytelling strategies foster a mode of communication that can reveal complexities, time-based shifts, and arcane patterns with regard to newly available geolocated data. This thesis investigates interactive storytelling as a mode of communicating data and analyzes trends and opportunities for future innovation. Surveying the field and analyzing specific projects lays the foundation for a design intervention for adding a narrative layer to geolocated, citizen-collected data. / by Heather Craig. / S.M.

Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Comparative Media Studies, 2015. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 127-133). / In recent years open data initiatives, which make government data publicly available in a machine-readable format for reuse and redistribution, have proliferated, driven by the launch of open-data government initiatives such as data.gov and data.gov.uk. Research on open data has focused on its potential for governance, its implications on transparency, accountability, and service delivery, and its limitations and barriers of use. However, less attention has been focused on the practices of data intermediaries-an emerging configuration of actors that plays an essential role in facilitating the use and reuse of data by aggregating open government data and enhancing it through a range of data practices. This thesis will assess the data practices of open government data intermediaries from three perspectives. First, it will trace the development of open government data initiatives to contend that at a moment when open data policy is seeing global diffusion with the potential of increasing social, political, and economic impact, there is a crucial need to assess the practices of intermediaries to understand how open government data is put to use. Second, it will develop a framework to analyze the role of open government data intermediaries by proposing a definition for "the data intermediary function" constituted by a range of technical, civic, representational, and critical data practices. Third, it will assess the data practices of two open government data intermediaries, 596 Acres and Transparent Chennai, who as urban actors facilitate the conversion of open government data into actionable information for communities to effect changes in the built environment. In describing and assessing the tools, practices, and methods developed by open data intermediaries this thesis will explore the potential and limitations of data intermediaries, and offer recommendations that might inform future open government data initiatives that seek to mediate open government data to facilitate changes in the built environment. / by Suruchi Dumpawar. / S.M.

Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Comparative Media Studies, 2015. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 94-100). / In this work, I situate e-sports broadcasting within the larger sports media industrial complex, discuss e-sportscasters, and investigate the economics behind the growing e-sports industry. E-sports, often referred to as competitive or professional gaming, stands as a prime example of the merger of work and play. A growing body of literature has started focusing on this pastime turned profession. As more professionals enter the scene and audiences continue to grow, e-sports broadcasters look towards older models of broadcasting to inform their own style. This reapplication of former conventions stands in contrast to the trends in the larger sports media trajectory. E-sports broadcasting is largely informed by traditional sports broadcasting, yet remains unable to fully capture the success of the global sports industry. On-air talent, once informed solely by traditional sportscasters are now looking to their fellow e-sportscasters to create something new. Revenue streams which form the foundation of the sports industry are making their way into e-sports but not in the way that one might expect. Through a variety of qualitative methods, including historical analysis, interviews, and fieldwork, I have investigated e-sports broadcasting to better evaluate the role traditional sports broadcasting has played in shaping the e-sports industry. This work looks not only to what e-sports broadcasters have borrowed from prior sports media, but also where they have innovated. / by Jesse Sell. / S.M.

Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Comparative Media Studies, 2015. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 102-107). / This thesis proposes staged empathy as a new analytical framework to examine how virtual reality work provokes empathic feeling. Virtual reality has seen renewed interest in recent years, and has been hailed by journalists and practitioners as an "empathy machine'. This characterization is informal and assumes that feelings of presence and a first-person perspective alone will drive empathic feeling. A critical method for analyzing how virtual reality work engages with the concept of empathy (specifically defined as "inner imitation for the purpose of gaining knowledge of another") does not exist. This thesis reviews the intellectual history of empathy (prior to the diversification of the term in social psychology to refer to a host of social behaviors) to derive a theoretical foundation to staged empathy A staged empathy framework foregrounds process and reflexivity, innate aspects of empathizing, and introduces an externalized and performed model for empathizing that is facilitated by virtual reality. To construct this framework, a variety of contemporary virtual reality works are studied which suggest the emergence of specific techniques that are referred to in this thesis as "intentional looking" and "direct address". Applying theories of affordances and revealed phantasms from environmental philosophy and cultural computing to these techniques, staged empathy provides a framework for the analysis of virtual reality work that is sensitive to the new potentials of the medium as well as the limitations of empathy. / by Elisabeth Ainsley Sutherland. / S.M.

Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Comparative Media Studies, 2015. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 161-168). / Public interest media organizations are increasingly interested in experimenting with interactive and participatory approaches to documentary storytelling enabled by digital technologies. However, due to the experimental nature of these interactive documentaries, it is not yet clear whether the more active user engagements they require translate into outcomes like sustained attention, greater narrative comprehension, enhanced learning, empathy or civic engagement - never mind larger societal impacts like improved public discourse, behavior change or policy change. The shifting definitions and measures of complex, multi-dimensional concepts like "engagement" and "impact" is a challenge for public interest media organizations migrating to digital platforms - particularly at a time when audience activities have become far more transparent and funders place greater emphasis on "data-driven" impact measurement. This thesis explores the "theories of change" that inform institutional investments in documentary and examines how three public interest media organizations - the National Film Board of Canada, POV and the New York Times - are approaching interactive documentary production, attempting to define what constitutes success or impact - and how to measure it. I argue that we need new theories of change and evaluation frameworks that expand definitions of "impact" and "engagement," balancing public service mission with the strategic goals of audience development and the circuitous processes of artistic and technological innovation. This means looking beyond quantitative mass media era metrics, which fail to account for important qualitative dimensions of the user experience. I propose a new set of qualitative and quantitative measures that might better reflect the social and artistic aspirations of the interactive documentary, test assumptions in ways that can inform project design, and embrace the potentials of technology to transform the methods, ethics and process of documentary storytelling in the digital age. / by Sean Peter Flynn. / S.M.

Thesis: S.M. in Comparative Media Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Humanities, 2016. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 83-85). / As everyday musical experiences move further into software platforms, an interest among musicians in taking fuller advantage of computational media produces a strand of interactive, software-based musical works I call open mediational music. This phenomenon stands apart from other types of creative work centered on music and interaction by valorizing the listener's responsibility for instantiating musical works. It also advances an agenda of openness with respect to interactivity as a principle of new media. I center four case studies on a set of interactive musical works that exemplify this phenomenon: Reflective by Reiko Yamada, Thicket by Morgan Packard and Joshue Ott, Jazz. Computer by Yotam Mann and Sarah Rothberg, and Baggage Allowance by Pamela Z. Each of these works takes shape out of unique motivations and in different forms and settings. Collectively, they advance a notion of platforms as objects of critical awareness and propose listening as a model for mindful participation in algorithmic environments. Illuminating the distinct claims that sound and software hold on one another as creative domains, open mediational music invites listeners to rehearse a conscientious engagement with the sites and conditions of computationally mediated cultural encounter. / by Andy Kelleher Stuhl. / S.M. in Comparative Media Studies

Thesis: S.M. in Comparative Media Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Humanities, 2016. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 210-224). / This thesis will explore whether live streaming video from public events, which I call civic livestreams, can be more engaging and informative if relevant contextual information is added to the viewing experience. I focus on the continuing emergence of livestreams as a source of news and information, and address questions about the nature of the medium, and the social norms that guide its production and consumption. I address the fundamental question of whether engagement with livestreams can be increased through the opinionated design and deployment of a new online platform, DeepStream.tv, which can be used to curate livestreams by adding contextual information to them. I present ethnographic design research into livestreaming production and consumption, detail the design process, and analyze results of usage of this platform as a way to test several hypotheses about viewer behavior to try to determine whether engagement was increased. I conclude that while there is some evidence for increased engagement, watching a civic livestream may be a cinematic experience, with viewers being less inclined toward interactive or analytical activities, which would disrupt the immersive experience. As part of a critical making process, I also explore three concepts that influenced the design of DeepStream.tv. First, I explore the democratization of live broadcast video by tracing historical changes in infrastructure that have altered the ability to broadcast from one based on scarce resources and high costs, to one based on abundant resources and low costs. Second, I consider historical examples of adding context to video as a way to establish norms of practice that are relevant to using the DeepStream.tv platform. I link these to a larger theoretical question about the epistemology of livestreaming as a way to reconsider the tradeoff between speed of information and depth of information. Third, I analyze curation as an activity performed by people in the specific roles of journalist, fan, and activist. Through these situated activities, I examine potential reasons for, and ethical challenges with, curating livestreams. / by William Gordon Mangum. / S.M. in Comparative Media Studies

Thesis: S.M. in Comparative Media Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Humanities, 2016. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 131-134). / Over the past several years, traditional - or legacy - news organizations have faced enormous challenges as a result of financial pressures and the advent of the participatory internet. This paper traces the znew journalistic contenders, new audience behaviors, and new business models that are emerging in participatory news spaces. This thesis situates the most visible form of online news participation - the comments section - within a broader and evolving debate over how news organizations create relationships with audiences. It draws upon existing literature and history as well as interviews with members of audience engagement and community management teams at news organizations, online comment communities, and comment-based startups. The first chapter of this thesis outlines "The Spectrum of Comments", a visual and text-based explanation of four key dimensions along which comments are organized in different online spaces ranging from social media to the New York Times. This section explores how news organizations balance the competing desire for audience participation with an impulse towards maintaining editorial control. The second chapter deals with the rise of "engagement," as both a commercial discourse and a new way to envision audience relationships. It begins by tracing the history of journalistic relationships to audiences, offering a taxonomy for these relationships based on mono logical and dialogical modes of conversation, as well as ritual and transmission views of communication. I introduce the term "multi-logical" to capture the asynchronous and multi-voiced communication that occurs in participatory online spaces. Through this theoretical framework, I then examine a few examples of how news organizations operationalize the nebulous term "engagement." The third chapter focuses on how audience engagement teams encounter and cope with abuse -- particularly bigotry and harassment - online, and compares moderation work to Hochschild's emotional labor. I find that abuse affects workers across the journalistic enterprise, and that one of the key focus areas for news organizations as they move forward with engagement should be to develop policies and internal guidelines for how to handle some of the risks of engagement. / by Anika Gupta. / S.M. in Comparative Media Studies