Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2017. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 64-73). / While biologists routinely record neural activity with multi-electrodes, spike sorting-- the process of attributing spikes to particular neurons-- remains a challenge that typically requires human curation. Due to technical limitations, there have been very few multi-electrode recordings done in concert with techniques such as patch clamp, which report the "ground truth" voltage state of a single neuron in a population. Such recordings would allow for the direct evaluation of spike sorting, which in turn could lead to further development and refinement of spike sorting methods. We developed a technique to establish a whole-cell or cell-attached patch recording in a cortical neuron of an awake or lightly anesthetized head-fixed mouse, with simultaneous extracellular recording of the same neuron and its neighbors with arrays of close-packed, "ultra-dense," electrodes (64-256, 9 x 9[mu]m electrodes spaced 2[mu]m apart on a shank). Our recordings constitute ground truth for spike sorting evaluation, and allow for the direct evaluation and improvement of an algorithm for automatic spike sorting that benefits from high electrode density relative to neuron packing density. Using this technique we show the patch-triggered extracellular waveforms of neurons at a high level of granularity distributed across cortex, and give a glimpse into the spiking activity of the network surrounding a patched neuron in vivo. We explore the dataset generated with this technique and discover a spike-bursting trajectory exhibiting apparent spike-frequency adaptation. This bursting trajectory was readily apparent in deep but not shallow cortical neurons in patch recordings, but was somewhat obscured in extracellular recordings, where spikes from neighboring neurons may overlap in time to contribute "noise." We show how this trajectory can be easily seen in a high-amplitude extracellular recording, and propose how it may be accentuated in lower amplitude recording through the use of blind source separation. / by Brian D. Allen. / Ph. D.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Comparative Media Studies, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 177-181) and index. / Transmedia narratives use a combination of Barthesian hermeneutic codes, negative capability and migratory cues to guide audiences across multiple media platforms. This thesis examines complex narratives from comics, novels, films and video games, but draws upon the transmedia franchises built around Jim Henson's Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal to provide two primary case studies in how these techniques can be deployed with varying results. By paying close attention to staying in canon, building an open world, maintaining a consistent tone across extensions, carefully deciding when to begin building a transmedia franchise, addressing open questions while posing new ones, and looking for ways to help audiences keep track of how each extension relates to each other, transmedia storytellers can weave complex narratives that will prove rewarding to audiences, academics and producers alike. / by Geoffrey A. Long. / S.M.

Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2017. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 235-260). / Current interactive projected augmented reality systems are not designed to support rapid development and deployment of applications beyond the confines of research labs. I developed a series of self-contained interactive projector-sensor systems (collectively LuminAR devices) and a web-based software development framework. The design goal of this research work was to advance the state of the art of projected AR interfaces and to explore how they can manifest in day-to-day objects. This novel, tightly integrated approach allows developers who are not versed in computer graphics, vision algorithms, and augmented reality techniques to implement projected AR applications rapidly. In this work, I review several real-world uses of the system for retail presentation, desktop interaction and collaboration applications, manufacturing, and education. The work is evaluated through extensive use of the hardware and software by developers as well as two user studies that specifically explored applications for manufacturing and education. The evaluation methodology focused both on basic interaction and system usability as well as the implications of using augmented interfaces in the specific application domains of education and manufacturing. I also discuss the results of the first large-scale user studies of projected augmented reality rapid application development. Finally, I provide a set of design principles for projected augmented reality applications, and recommendations concerning how to deploy such applications in the real world. / by Natan Linder. / Ph. D.

Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2017. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 83-85). / Every 98 seconds, a person in the United States is sexually abused. Every 16 hours, a woman in the United States is murdered by her romantic partner or ex-partner. Sexual abuse, assault, and harassment are regarded as some of the most common human rights violations in the world by the United Nations. Our work examines methods to prevent sexual assault, from pre-historic times to latest technologies, to inform contemporary designs. In this thesis, we investigate multiple methods to detect initial signs of assault and develop methods for communication and prevention of assault. We also explore olfactory stimuli as a potential means to prevent sexual assault in real-time. We present three technological interventions which can seamlessly integrate with existing clothing to respond to initial signs of assault like forced disrobing. The proposed solutions aim to combat Child Sexual Abuse (CSA), College Campus assault and abuse of elderly and disabled. The proposed solution operates in two modes, an active mode for instances when the victim is unconscious or cannot fight against the assaulter, for example in case infants, bed-ridden patients, elderly, disabled, intoxicated people and the passive mode where the victim can self-actuate the safety mechanism. Both modes release distress signals to prevent an assault in real-time, also alert the victim's friends and family, and call emergency services for help. Our clothing design is based on input from sexual assault survivors, 338 on-line participants, 67 volunteers and 20 users who helped us understand the real world feasibility of our system. Users evaluated the clothing appeal, functionality, cultural sensitivity and provided feedback on their general sense of security wearing the smart clothing. We demonstrate the practicality of our unobtrusive design with user studies that support our technological development and use of olfactory stimuli by showing the effect of smells on sexual arousal and partner selection. We believe our technosocial approach can help improve user safety and prevent sexual assault. / by Manisha Mohan. / S.M.

Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2016. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (page 56). / There is an increasingly vital awareness that our world is an aggregate of complex systems, emergent behavior, and system dynamics. The perceptual and analytical tools for exploring and studying these systems, however, have generally been relegated to scientists (whether mathematicians, physicists, biologists, economists, or computer scientists). Thus, as more and more people become aware of such systems, most people are still excluded from engaging with complex systems. By inventing a new tool and interface, consisting of playful objects called AutomaTiles, I propose a new approach for fostering a more aware society of systems thinkers. AutomaTiles provide a three-tiered approach to making systems thinking more accessible. Firstly, AutomaTiles are a friendly and approachable set of playful objects; seen simply as toys, they afford the surprising effects of emergent behavior when brought together in aggregate. Secondly, AutomaTiles can be a tool for exploring collective behavior, distributed algorithms, and models of systems (whether forest fires or social phenomena) from a hands-on perspective. Lastly, AutomaTiles are a new kind of platform for games, bringing computational intelligence to table-top games, bringing together the social dynamics of face-to-face interaction with the complexity afforded by conventional video-games. Expanding the work on the future of board games from Playful Systems, we have created a novel digital-physical interface for playing games that allows for modes of gameplay never before possible in a table-top game. This thesis will illustrate the design decisions and affordances of AutomaTiles as a platform for engaging with these three tiers of the exploration and manipulation of complex systems. / by Jonathan Bobrow. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Comparative Media Studies, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 65-68). / This paper addresses the changes in cartography since digitization and widespread popular dissemination. Cybercartography, an emergent system of maps, mapmaking tools, and mapmakers, forces a rethinking of spatial representations. The implicit distinction in digital media enables a new type of map user or neo-geographer that creates layers of expressions based on subjective experience. This paper argues that the neo-geographer signifies a new cartographic behavior that affords a complex subjectivity. This behavior is further exhibited in the practice of navigable maps and virtual globes which lead the way to a paradigmatic change in the way we represent and interact with space. It is divided into three parts: Part I addresses the role of digitization in maps and lays out framework and vocabulary. Part II examines layers of spatial representations in historical context. Part III opens room for future study in the quickly developing inhabitable cartographic spaces of virtual globes and virtual worlds. / by Amanda Finkelberg. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Comparative Media Studies, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references. / This work examines how images of disability are used to frame cultural narratives regarding technology. As advances in biotechnology ensure that more people will be living with technological prosthetics against and beneath their skin, there is an increasing importance in examining how such bodies challenge traditional cultural attitudes regarding identity and non-normative bodies. This work uses a cultural studies approach to explore the intersections between disability and technology. Additionally, memoir is often included to illustrate some of the complexities regarding how experiences with disability and technological prosthetics can influence aspects of identity. Like disability, technology is often framed in gothic terms of lack or excess, and thus a discussion of the "techno-gothic" also features in this work. Furthermore, such a discussion is also relevant to seemingly unrelated modes of characterizing the other, such as the archetype of the cyborg, the queer body, or the formation of non-traditional social groups, even to images of the city as urban ruin. / (cont.) This work demonstrates that, while images of disability rarely inform us about the everyday experience of disability, they can inform us about how technology frames non-normative bodies as either "less than" or "more than" human, and how the tropes and language associated with disability is often used to characterize technology itself. / by Alicia "Kestrell" Verlager. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Comparative Media Studies, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 153-156). Filmography: p. 157. / In addition to being a keyfigure in the history of filmmaking, Orson Welles was an original theatre director and radio performer and producer. The aim of this thesis is to study Welles' achievements and failures in theatre, radio and film, as well as comparing his craft and techniques in each medium during his early career. Welles' adaptations of Shakespeare will provide the guiding thread of this intermedial exploration. Close reading of these texts will show the recurrence of intermediality in Welles' work, namely, the way techniques from one medium feed into the other two. Borrowing conventions and devices that are proper to other media and importing them into a target medium is his basic innovative strategy. This use of intermediality brings about innovative effects that favour agile and gripping storytelling, though it can also hamper the understanding of the piece. / by Clara Fernández-Vara. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Comparative Media Studies, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 68-70). / This thesis is an exploration of the ways in which interactive features in the virtual space can be developed to complement physical museum exhibitions, as well as create opportunities for museums to reach broader audiences. I provide a critical analysis of current online museum exhibition features and how they support museum curatorial missions. As a case study, I describe from the viewpoint of a participant/observer, the design and development of the Web site for the exhibition Pattern Language: Clothing as Communicator at Art Interactive. / by Moneta Kwok-Ching Ho. / S.M.

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