Culture & GamingWeek 5

Lecture 9

The image was posted on Twitter by Jimmy Fallon's house band drummer Questlove along with the comment, "Hmm, HR?"

A person posting as an NBC publicist replied, "The sign in the NBCU cafeteria has been removed. We apologize for anyone who was offended by it.”

The AA chef’s response: "I don't understand at all. It's not trying to offend anybody and it's not trying to suggest that that's all that African-Americans eat. It's just a good meal," she said, adding, "I thought it would go over well."

Agenda

12:30-12:32 Announcements12:32-12:45 Last two group presentations

Tobacco Usage & Physical Activity12:45-1:15 Antonio’s Presentation1:15-1:45 Legos

Announcements

Last 2 Group Presentations

Antonio’s Presentation

Legos

Diversity& Privilege

A world viewSlides and Activity from Bev Louie

(BOLD Center)

Class Format

• Today we’ll be working in groups of 5-6• Get into an arrangement where you all can

discuss, hear and be heard• Open your minds

Your Multicultural Self

• All of us bring diverse talents, thoughts and backgrounds to the College of Engineering and Applied Science. What an enriching experience it would be to learn about each other’s backgrounds.

• Take a few minutes to think about your multicultural self, and write down several items that most folks would not know about you.

• Think about your upbringing, travels, jobs, avocations, partnerships, education, style – and a multitude of other experiences that make up the person you are.

• Now take a few minutes to share a tidbit about yourself with your team members

What diversity is NOT

• Quotas

• Affirmative

• Legislated

• Numbers

• Groups

• Age

• Classifications

• Special action

• Remedial

• Disadvantaged

• Class

Diversity = Inclusion

• Committed• Scholars• Smart• Talented• Culturally aware• Involved• Social conscience• Self-aware• Service to community, country• Global outlook

DESIGN: Marcus, A (1993) Human communication issues in advanced UIs. Communications of the ACM, 101-109. USER STUDY: Teasley, B., Leventhal, L., Blumenthal, B., Instone, K., and Stone, D. 1994) Cultural diversity in user interface design. SIGCHI Bulletin, 26(1), 36-40.

Is Diversity in Computing a Moral Matter? In Inroads, by Deborah G. Johnson & Keith W. Miller

Which “Font Selection Interface” do you prefer?

• Program design is improved when designers better understand users.

• Having designers from a variety of gender and ethnic backgrounds will improve designs.    

Diversity in Computing

• Between 2000 and 2005, the fatal unintentional drowning rate for African Americans across all ages was 1.3 times that of whites. For American Indians and Alaskan Natives, this rate was 1.8 times that of whites.1

• Rates of fatal drowning are notably higher among these populations in certain age groups. The fatal drowning rate of African American children ages 5 to 14 is 3.2 times that of white children in the same age range. For American Indian and Alaskan Native children, the fatal drowning rate is 2.4 times higher than for white children.1

• Factors such as the physical environment (e.g., access to swimming pools) and a combination of social and cultural issues (e.g., valuing swimming skills and choosing recreational water-related activities) may contribute to the racial differences in drowning rates. If minorities participate less in water-related activities than whites, their drowning rates (per exposure) may be higher than currently reported.

Text from: http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/Water-Safety/waterinjuries-factsheet.htmCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [online]. (2008) [cited 2008 March 23]. Available from: URL: www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars.

Diversity

• Between 2000 and 2005, the fatal unintentional drowning rate for African Americans across all ages was 1.3 times that of whites. For American Indians and Alaskan Natives, this rate was 1.8 times that of whites.1

• Rates of fatal drowning are notably higher among these populations in certain age groups. The fatal drowning rate of African American children ages 5 to 14 is 3.2 times that of white children in the same age range. For American Indian and Alaskan Native children, the fatal drowning rate is 2.4 times higher than for white children.1

• Factors such as the physical environment (e.g., access to swimming pools) and a combination of social and cultural issues (e.g., valuing swimming skills and choosing recreational water-related activities) may contribute to the racial differences in drowning rates. If minorities participate less in water-related activities than whites, their drowning rates (per exposure) may be higher than currently reported.

Text from: http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/Water-Safety/waterinjuries-factsheet.htmCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [online]. (2008) [cited 2008 March 23]. Available from: URL: www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars.

Diversity

Jane Margolis mapped swimming pools/wading pools with computing programs in Stuck in the Shallow End: Education Race and Computing

Establishing a new paradigm

• Expand your thinking– Global not xenophobic

• Different from just you– More views leads to better engineered solutions

• Step beyond artificial boundaries– Not just about computer science

“The Earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the Earth.”

• Perhaps the most eloquent statement of this view of ownership was given in 1854 by Chief Seattle of the Suquamish tribe at the time the United States Government wanted to purchase “his peoples’ land” in the Washington territory.

• He expressed his views on possession to U.S. President Pierce in a short heartfelt speech (part of which follows):

• “The President in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land. But how can you buy or sell the sky? The land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can we buy them?

• Every part of this earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every meadow, every humming insect. All are holy in the memory and experience of my people.”

Group Task

• Why is it that Chief Seattle is having a difficult time understanding the concept of buying and selling the land?

• If you were given the task of explaining to him the concept of purchasing land, how would you explain it to him?

• Spend a few minutes discussing with your group

these questions.

We are not all the same

• Is your reality the only way to live, eat, create, imagine, do, play, learn, ….?

Traveling

• How many of you have traveled elsewhere?• Did you find that “home” was “different” upon

your return• Did it change from the time that you left?• What happened?

Lego Challenge

• This is a competition. • Each group will be given a LegoTM model to

complete. • You will have a total of 5 minutes to complete

this task. • You must use all the parts provided to construct

your model. • The first group to build their model correctly

wins.

Debriefing the Activity

• How are you feeling after this activity? Why?• Is your reaction appropriate?

Points of Interest

• Systems of privilege and oppression are inherently unfair

• Free to do what they want?– Are non-privileged groups truly free to do what

they want in our society when they are not given all the tools to be successful?

Privilege?

• What does this activity have to do with privilege?

• In what ways is this an accurate or inaccurate representation of the “way the world works?

Parallels to Privilege

“We didn’t know that they didn’t have the instructions…”

• People in privileged groups are usually unaware of the privileged status – they think everyone gets the same things they do.

Parallels to Privilege

“Don’t blame us, we didn’t ask to be treated differently/better…”

• People in privileged group rarely ask for the privilege awarded them.

• They may expect it because they have experienced it for years, but they had no control over what group they belong to – privileged or oppressed.

• Remember, we can be in the middle of the trouble without doing anything wrong or being bad people.

PRIVILEGE defined

• “A right or immunity granted as an advantage or favor to some and not others”(The Merriam Webster Dictionary p.580)

• “Unearned access to resources that enhance one’s

chances of getting what one needs or influencing others in order to lead a safe, productive, fulfilling life” (Pat Griffin, 1997, p.73)

• Privilege is a system of advantages granted on an

individual, institutional, and societal basis through unconscious and conscious attitudes and behaviors. (Hardiman & Jackson, 1997; Wellman 1977; Tatum 1997)

Things to Remember• Privilege is a feature of social systems, not individuals• Having privilege doesn’t necessarily lead to living the “good life”• To be part of the solution, we must realize this is not part of the

past• Think about the trouble as everybody’s problem, but nobody’s

“fault”• We can be “in” the trouble without doing anything wrong or being

bad people• Privilege is created and maintained through social systems that are

dominated by, centered on, and identified with a privileged group. It doesn’t mean we (necessarily) live in a society full of non-target group members who feel animosity and malevolence toward members of the targeted group

• Allan G. Johnson, Privilege, Power, and Difference (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001)

Coming Up…

• Next Week (W6)– Class (2/16) Qualitative Data

• No Summary – Homework Assignment (see Website)– Read Giacomini and Cook 2000 and Ziebland & McPherson 2005– Read Assignment– Plan ahead

– Class (2/18) Kirun’s Presentation• Summary of Kirun’s selected paper• Midterm data check-up