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Roads in You – the Visualization of Research

Roads in You – the Visualization of Research

In “What is Visualization” Lev Manovich discusses the changing role of information visualization (hereby referred to as infovis) as a result of computational advancements. To which he focuses on the practice of ‘direct visualization’ as a more contemporary technique that...
The CoronaCheck app and the datafication of healthcare

The CoronaCheck app and the datafication of healthcare

The covid-19 pandemic introduced a new wave of how we use and perceive Big Data connected to healthcare (Poom et al. 2020). As the number of covid-19 cases are monitored and open to access, we have now reached the...

Apps that fight against sexual violence: empowering the potential victims or reinforcing the rape myth?

This commentary selects the whole type of anti-rape apps as the new media object, utilizing Kitchin’s theories on data and relevant literature on sexual violence prevention apps, to demonstrate these well- intentioned digital devices have instead reinforced the rape...
Mobility for all, data for all?

Mobility for all, data for all?

Dockless bike sharing companies like to brand themselves as providing convenient, accessible and affordable mobility service to the public, but they rarely mention the importance of data collection in their business. In his book The Data Revolution, Kitchin (2014,...
Virtual Reality and the future of Big Data

Virtual Reality and the future of Big Data

Abstract As we sift through endless amounts of big data from social media, a new form of media is creeping up on us: virtual reality (VR). One of the biggest players in the industry is Oculus, who is owned...
Running for Research

Running for Research

Contextualizing Research Based on Strava Metro Data In December 2020, the exercise tracking service Strava released their annual data report, confirming in numbers that the COVID-19 pandemic had changed people’s workout habits.  Forced to spend more time at home,...
Tracking the Stars: Co-star and the Creation of the Digital Celestial

Tracking the Stars: Co-star and the Creation of the Digital Celestial

Ayoub Samadi Introduction A centuries old practice clad in contemporary systems of information processing. For millenia, astrology has been engulfed in the depths of time and rationality and has not only until recently began to regain the reverence it...
Afghanistan: a mine of big data?

Afghanistan: a mine of big data?

Everything seems to be about (big) data these days, and, as much as there are numerous advantages, we must look at it critically, evaluating their menaces. This subject will be approached raising concern on what is happening with the...
“Encrypt your face”: protestors Signal digital data privacy fears with new face-blurring feature

“Encrypt your face”: protestors Signal digital data privacy fears with new face-blurring feature

In the wake of George Floyd’s death, protestors flocked to encrypted messaging application (“app”) Signal to plan events and share content. In response, a new tool was quickly released that allows faces to be blurred in photos. These events...
From Cartography to Digital Mapping: Do you know the truth?

From Cartography to Digital Mapping: Do you know the truth?

An online exhibition called ‘Bending Reality’ reflects on how the history of persuasive cartography is relevant for a contemporary society consumed by an overabundance of visual data that doesn’t always show what it claims to
Tinder vs. Bumble: Can You Afford Falling in Love?

Tinder vs. Bumble: Can You Afford Falling in Love?

From its very beginning, “the Internet has supported social interaction and the search for a soul mate” (Whitty 212). This research explores the dating app phenomenon in-depth, comparing two popular dating apps: Tinder and Bumble. How do Tinder’s affordances...
Search Engine Comparison for Three Controversial People: Greta Thunberg, Donald Trump and Boris Johnson

Search Engine Comparison for Three Controversial People: Greta Thunberg, Donald Trump and Boris Johnson

Alicja Zak, Elise Olthof, Vânia Ferreira and Zdzisław Heydel Introduction This project, for which we have taken the perspective that “raw data is an oxymoron”, conveyed by Lisa Gitelman, examines the different query results between three search engines: Google,...
App Store Killer? The Storm of WeChat Mini Programs Swept Over The Mobile App Ecosystem

App Store Killer? The Storm of WeChat Mini Programs Swept Over The Mobile App Ecosystem

Are you a “app for everything” type of guy? How many apps you have installed on your phone? For me, there are 85! Have you ever imagined accessing to all of these apps just through one single entry point?...
The Illusion of Choice: On the Datafication of User Interactivity in AI Storytelling

The Illusion of Choice: On the Datafication of User Interactivity in AI Storytelling

AI technologies have found their way to yet another field in the media landscape: film & television. While some claim AI technologies are revolutionising storytelling, others are critical of the implications involving user participation and interactivity. “The fascination with...
Genetic Genealogy: Will your DNA have a life of its own?

Genetic Genealogy: Will your DNA have a life of its own?

Genetic Genealogy is a novel method to link DNA from a crime scene to DNA stored on Genealogy websites such as MyHeritage, 23andMe and GEDmatch. It has the potential to solve many cold cases, but on a Web that...
Sherlock Holmes of the Data-Driven world: ‘Big Data Policing’

Sherlock Holmes of the Data-Driven world: ‘Big Data Policing’

The emergence and rise of ‘Data Policing’, all around the world, is noticeable. And it is not a traditional use of technology by police, For instance, surveillance cameras in some public places. Nowadays we are encountering a completely novel...
The MinION DNA-scanner: More DNA, More Data, More Ethical Questions

The MinION DNA-scanner: More DNA, More Data, More Ethical Questions

Early this year British researchers first managed to read a complete DNA profile with a small device, the so-called MinION, which is as large as a USB stick. With this breakthrough and the invention of the device, it is...
Make-Up Metrics: The Downfall of the Beauty Community on Youtube?

Make-Up Metrics: The Downfall of the Beauty Community on Youtube?

Since its inception in 2005, YouTube has been host to an ever-expanding community of people looking to showcase their artistic and creative ideas on the platform. With over a billion hours of videos watched every day and with tools available...
For artists, or for itself? How Spotify’s artist app enhances the platform’s growth

For artists, or for itself? How Spotify’s artist app enhances the platform’s growth

Spotify now gives artists access to information about their listeners. This has been hailed as empowering by artists who use these insights to forge careers in an ever-changing industry. But why would Spotify want to share its data? Spotify...
The Data-Ing Game: The Value Placed On Our Own Data; How Socio-Economics Play A Part And How Our App Will Help Educate Users On The Current Worth Of Data In The Market

The Data-Ing Game: The Value Placed On Our Own Data; How Socio-Economics Play A Part And How Our App Will Help Educate Users On The Current Worth Of Data In The Market

Our project aimed to design an app called ‘The Data-ing Game’ that would educate people on the value of their data. Not many realised the valuable commodity that their own personal data has become*. We aimed to distinguish whether...
Who controls your voice controlled world?

Who controls your voice controlled world?

One of the latest trends in the tech world is the development of the smart digital voice assistant. It was first popularized by iPhone’s Siri, and now companies like Google, Amazon and Microsoft are developing software and hardware technology...
Is Apple our Online-Privacy Vigilante?

Is Apple our Online-Privacy Vigilante?

Abstract: Apple purports that its new Intelligent Tracking Prevention Technology integrated in Safari browser prevents 3rd-party cookies from collecting users’ data, therefore, reducing online ads, and ultimately protecting users’ privacy. This paper challenges this by arguing that ITP’s functionality...
“Clue”: Are period tracking apps reinforcing gender norms?

“Clue”: Are period tracking apps reinforcing gender norms?

About 9 months ago a close friend introduced me to ”Clue”, a mobile application she claimed to have changed her life. It is a menstrual cycle tracking app that allows you to follow your periods, ovulation and other aspects...
Do Not Track: together let’s track Big Brother

Do Not Track: together let’s track Big Brother

After four years of negotiations, an agreement was reached on September the 8th over data protection on the internet between the United States and the European Union. Many privacy violations scandals later (i.e.: Edward Snowden’s revelations on the NSA’s...