ICS 131: Social Analysis of Computerization

Lecture 4:

Social Aspects of

Technical Questions

Part I

Topics

• Code

• Operating Systems

Social Aspects of Technical Questions: Code

• Key Ideas– The processes and products of computer

programming involve many social issues.– These issues influence how the processes

proceed and what products can be made.

Code: Explicit Goals

• Write software that can be used to do something.

• Do so quickly.

• Create tools that can be

employed in an efficient

and usable way.

Code: Potential Implicit Goals

• Maintain job security.

• Keep management in the dark.

• Circumvent the law.

• Demonstrate own prowess.

• (Sometimes these are explicit…)

Code: Assumptions

• Java, for example…– English speaking– Has eyes, hands and fingers– Has access to power, food, etc.– Good at math/science/logic– Computer literate– Not all of these must be true, but most usually

are…

Code: Stakeholders

• Programmers who use the language

• IDE programmers

• Family/Friends

• Clients

• Society

Code: Impacts

• Gender

• Race/Ethnicity

• Age

• Socio-economic status

Code: Impacts

• Gender

• How many males vs. females in this class?

Code: Impacts

• Gender• Last year

– UCI as a whole = 49.7% female– UCI ICS Undergrad: 825 male/117 female =

12.4% female– UCI ICS Grad: 210 male/62 female = 22.8%

female

• Why?

Why Fix It?

• Make current products better by utilizing a diverse perspective on existing problems.

• Conceive of new products that a diverse group of people are interested in.

• Make products that a diverse group of people can use.

Unlocking the Clubhouse

• Jane Margolis & Allan Fisher

• Computer science claimed by men, ceded by women

• Female students more interested in applications, less interested in “geek mythology”

How to Fix It?

• CMU study– the entering enrollment of women in the undergraduate

Computer Science program at Carnegie Mellon has risen from 8% in 1995 to 42% in 2000

• Ada Byron Research Center

• Women in Computer Science

Code: Impacts

• Race/Ethnicity– Among the 1999 recipients of computer science bachelor degrees

from Ph.D. granting institutions in US & Canada, only 4% were African-American and 4% Latino/a. Such low numbers are found elsewhere, as African-American and Latino/a students together make up less than 7% of the high school advanced placement computer science test-takers nationwide. In 1999, only 7 California African-American female high school students took the AP CS exams (out of a total of 455 female test takers), 24 African-American males (out of 2501 males), 21 Mexican-American females and 52 Mexican-American males.

– Source: http://www.tcla.gseis.ucla.edu/divide/politics/margolis.html

Code: Impacts

• Socio-economic status– Need a computer, or access to one.

Code: Impacts

• Age

When did you learn how to code? Why?

• Discuss

My missed opportunities

• Had a Vic 20 when I was 7, but the books had typos…

• Took computer programming in 6th grade, but it didn’t stick…

• Finally learned how to code when I was 24.

Teaching Programming

• Very few books for little kids to learn to code.

Public Understanding of Code

• Lynn Stein says “It is important that the general public understand something about the nature of the computational infrastructure on which they are increasingly dependent.”

• Agree or disagree?

Topic for Discussion

• Consider a programming language that is based on a language other than English (Spanish, Mandarin, American Sign Language, etc.)?

• Questions:– What kinds of programs might it be used to write?– What would the code itself look like?– What would the process of creating it be like?– How would society be different?

Interface Metaphors

Key Ideas

• The metaphor underlying a computational system affects how it will be used.

• A good metaphor can help frame how people approach a system, and inspire developers to produce certain kinds of software packages.

• Metaphors have limited life spans.

A Metaphor

• Examples from poetry/literature– My love is like a red, red rose.

Robert Burns (Listen)– All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players

They have their exits and their entrances;

William Shakespeare (from As you like it 2/7)

What a Metaphor Gives You

• Way of harnessing previous experience to help understand current interaction

• Inspiration for other directions

What things need to be in place for a metaphor to be relevant?

• Previous experience

• New technology, or rethinking of old technology

• Connection between them.

What are the problems with metaphors?

• Inspirational at first, constraining at the end.

• The better they are, the more entrenched they become and the more constraining they are.

A Computer Is Like a Typewriter

• Keyboards

• Text

• Printing

• What other

expectations?

• What problems?

A Computer Is Like a Whole Desktop

• Good for work

• Writing letters/papers

• Some communication channels

• Move things around it

• What other expectations?

• What problems?

Xerox PARC

• Originated the graphical user interface, desktop metaphor in 1970s.

• Alan Kay

A Computer Is Like a Notebook

• Carry it with you

• Put text in it

• Other expectations?

• What problems?

A Computer Is Like a Notepad

• Write on it

• Graffiti

• Other expectations?

• What problems?

Workstation vs. Playstation

Croquet

• What is/are the metaphor(s)?

• What expectations do they build up?

• Problems with

their metaphors?

The Island Metaphor

• Virtual Raft Project

QuickTime™ and aMPEG-4 Video decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Questions?

A Debate• Which makes a better metaphor for computational

systems: “a computer is a social partner” or “a computer is a tool”?

• You may be asked to defend either side.• Be prepared to defend against the other side’s arguments.• When possible, use examples from the reading to support

your arguments.

• Please take 5 minutes to discuss with your neighbors (preferably different neighbors than last Tuesday).

And our lucky contestants are...

…come on down front!

JUNG, SOON CHULKOO, KENNETH SUNANMANDELL, SAMUEL HERSCHELMORIKAWA, CHASE MAKOTOPARSONS, GREGORY NIELARTUNYAN, GRAYRBARZABAL, BYRON DAVIDCHEUNG, ANDREW CHI CHONFULKERSON, JEFFREY JAMESLERNER, PAVEL S.LIN, PHILEMON S.

Tomorrow

• Social Aspects of Technical Questions II

• Readings