MIDTERM REVISION
Halenur and I’s midterm was revised to fulfill the required word count. Technology: Smartphones (software/operating system/apps) Salient Identity: Age Brandon Diaz & Halenur Komsul Moore’s Law died in 2011 when a study from Science Magazine revealed that the peak rate of change in the world’s capacity to compute was in 1998. However, that doesn’t mean…
Phase 2, Blog Post #13: As a Minority in Tech…
If you’re about to graduate and/or if you’re applying for jobs: what are some of the issues you’re encountering in your job search process? Are you encountering or thinking about any particular job issues as a minority in technology? The biggest issue I’ve encountered in my job search process is the reduced number of companies…
Phase 2, Blog Post #12: Story Making Workshop
Remedie made it out of the city on foot. It’s dark and she’s disoriented in the woods off the highway. The sirens don’t seem as close as they did yesterday. In fact, she can actually hear her own stomach over them. She tries to feel for a tree or something solid in front of her…
Phase 2, Blog Post #11: Tech and The Development of Cities
Please discuss today’s presentation from Michael Higgins, “When Tech Took A Bite Off Our Cities.” How has technology been a positive and negative force in the recent development of the cities Mike discussed? Technology has been a positive force in the recent development of cities through the use of Google Maps being used to “get…
Phase 2, Blog Post #10: LGBTQ+ Workshop
Please discuss today’s Intro to LGBTQ+ workshop with Chris Woods. Please discuss any new terms, strategies, concepts, or resources that you learned about. Discuss the Breakout Room prompt: How can technology support LGBTQ+ communities in the time of COVID? How can different kinds of living situations be supported? We discussed a bit about heterosexism (believing that…
Phase 2, Blog Post #9: Computer Science and The Incarcerated
Please discuss today’s discussion from Raechel Bosch and Jerry Leverette from the NYU Prison Eduation Program. How do you think technology is used for positive and negative ends within the prison system? Allowing incarcerated persons to learn computer science is an incredible way to ensure rehabilitation and increase the amount of doors open for them…
Phase 2, Blog Post #8: The Wellbeing of Children, Mothers, and the Incarcerated
Please discuss the work of today’s guest lecturers. Where do you think their work overlaps? Right off the bat, what makes Michael’s work distinctively different from Uzoma’s is that it is more of face-to-face social work and group work as opposed to Uzoma’s work, which is more digital by design and by the nature of…
Overlooked and Underestimated: The Obesogenic Environment
Brandon Diaz | Diversity and Technology | Final Paper On the topic of childhood obesity, it may be found that many people point their fingers solely at a child’s diet, personal physical activity level, and foodscape to blame. Whether it be that the child may live in a low-income neighborhood (where fast food is more…
Phase 2, Blog Post #7: Child Wellbeing & Mapping Slums
Lander Bosch: How do different environmental factors affect child wellbeing? What are some of the factors and metrics that are used to measure child wellbeing in the built environment? What kinds of technologies does Lander use to research this issue? Different environmental factors affecting a child’s wellbeing:- Active travel to school leads to less childhood…
Phase 2, Blog Post #6: Dark Patterns and Ceding Authority to Algorithms
Reflect on the experiences and insights shared by Chancey Fleet and Max Evans in their talks. What does Chancey mean by “dark patterns in accessibility?” Chancey describes the term “dark patterns” as “[something that] is designed to exclude you. It keeps you from collaborating; it slows you down. It’s demoralizing. Sometimes it means that you…
Phase 2, Blog Post #5: Futureworks Makerspace
At 15000 square feet, Futureworks Makerspace unique is the largest makerspace in New York, but it’s also a community-based makerspace. How is unusual or unique? (Some additional research may be required to get some context.) Being community-based as a makerspace is unique and very important, especially in the city. Despite how many people inhabit the…
Phase 2, Blog Post #4: Multi-Sensory Technology
What surprising multi-sensory technologies came up in today’s discussion? Some examples:- Boston Linetype vs. Braille in the debate over Universal Design. (Touch this Page exhibit)- BARD app BARD really caught my attention. Being able to experience books, magazines, websites, and music scores as audio is one thing; but being able to experience these as braille,…
Phase 2, Blog Post #3: Toisha Tucker; Baum & Doogan on Sex Work During the Public Health Crisis
In Toisha Tucker’s presentation, they discuss a shift in their work “towards exploring our empathetic and anthropomorphic relationship with technologies in our homes and as a whole. Coronavirus had been an interesting source of threads for that.” Chose and discuss a work(s) from their presentation that reflect this shift. Speak Out About Coronavirus (Them.Us), SWOP Brooklyn,…
Phase 2, Blog Post #2: Dr. Chodosh and the Aging Incubator
Dr. Chodosh presented many aspects of the NYU Aging Incubator today (see the slideshow here), including some of the points below. Did any particular points stand out to you? Are there are any particular points on which you’re interested to contribute, particularly as a Tandon STEM student? NYU Family Support Program – Buddy Program (NYSDOH) The…
Phase 2, Blog Post #1: Influencing Each Other’s Projects
Choose at least one other midterm project from this class (not your own) and discuss: If both/all of your projects were to be created in real life, how might they influence each other? Henry Cowherd’s project: “Implementation of a standardized social-media and tech focused education system specifically specifically for users by the tech companies themselves. One…
MIDTERM REPORT
Technology: Smartphones (software/operating system/apps) Salient Identity: Age Brandon Diaz & Halenur Komsul Moore’s Law died in 2011 when a study from Science Magazine revealed that the peak rate of change in the world’s capacity to compute was in 1998. However, that doesn’t mean that the technological changes we see everyday aren’t significant. Somehow, the changes…
Blog Post #10 (going back to Blog Post #3): Grappling With Technology
Every day I grapple with my phone, or, better said, because of it. I grapple over notifications, social media, to-do lists, music, emails, photos, etc. I grapple and the data proves that I can spend nearly half of my conscious day grappling because of it. I’m grappling with attention span and anxiety. I’m compromising physical…
Blog Post #9: Google & Oppression
Umoja Safiya enlightens us on the content that is provided by Google’s algorithms when users search things like “black women” or other women of color (Asian, Latina). We may be surprised to find so many of these girls in these images to be “pornified”. She expresses that there should be a concern when comparing these…
Blog Post #7: Affirmative Action
If Harvard is saying that there is no formula being used in their admission process, it may be very hard to find cold hard facts that this is surely a ploy by these institutions to prioritize some students over others. Michael Wang had a large number of students supporting his case in claiming that he…
Blog Post #6: Group or Solo?
I will be woking on the midterm paper with Halenur Komsul who has agreed to write on the technology of smartphone software / operating systems and how they psychology affect different age groups. The salient social identity we are focusing on is “age”. We will be interviewing people in different age groups who use this…
Blog Post #8: Email to Ethan Regarding Interviews
Email below to Ethan:
Blog Post #5: “Tech You’re Grappling With” (cont.)
Technology: SmartphoneKeywords: Unconscious bias, Anxiety, Depression What came up when googling “smartphone anxiety”: “Smartphone Addiction”: https://www.helpguide.org/articles/addictions/smartphone-addiction.htm “Warning: Reading this on a smartphone may cause anxiety, researchers say”: https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-smartphones-causing-student-anxiety-20190607-story.html “Survey: Heavy Smartphone Use Tied to Anxiety, Loneliness, Depression”: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6449671/ What are makers of this technology (e.g. companies, organizations) doing to address the issue/keywords searched? One of…
Blog Post #4: Grappling With Tech (cont.) and Ed Tech
“The Tech You’re Grappling With” (cont.), group work: Henry, Hofai, and I talked about out technologies and how we / everyday people may grapple with them. Our group theme was “everyday hardware” where Henry chose chargers, Hofai chose laptops/personal computers, and I chose my smartphone (iPhone). It was interesting to hear what both guys had…
Blog Post #3: Taking Care of Brooklyn
Medical or research biases implied: Slide 2: “Men are doctors, women are nurses” bias Slide 5: Calling those who carry Tuberculosis “Consumptives”, since “Consumption” was the euphemism for Tuberculosis in this district Slide 6: Pink color? Medium frozen vanilla coffee? Bias towards women? Slide 2 states: “Generations of nurses cared for Brooklynites across this diverse…
Blog Post #2: Pop Culture and Historical Medical Discrimination
Stranger Things: Eleven The CIA is conducting experiments as part of Project MKUltra, a CIA Mind Control Program (started in 1953) Eleven is the daughter of Terry Ives, a participant in these experiments, and is born telekinetic Eleven was taken from her mother at birth, against anyone’s will, and was raised in the National Laboratory…
Blog Post #1: “Introduce Yourself”
My name is Brandon Diaz and I’m a senior at Tandon pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Management. I’m interested in D&T for a number of reasons. For starters, I’ve always been interested in learning the perspective(s) of other people in many different situations. Whether it be in the industry,…
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