Newcomb 2023: Tech Initiatives Zine

Newcomb Institute's Technology and Digital Humanities Lab

Issue 6 | 2022-2023

The views and opinions contained herein by the various authors do not necessarily reflect the official views, opinions, or policy of Tulane University/Newcomb Institute administrators, staff, or faculty. All material contained herein are the views and opinions of the authors themselves.

THRIVING WITH TECH

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CONTRIBUTORS EDITOR Jacquelyne Thoni Howard, Ph.D. Administrative Assistant Professor of Technology and Women’s History

GRADUATE ASSISTANT Rachel Tabor M.S. Candidate in Biomedical Engineering

DIGITAL RESEARCH INTERNS Marisa Long & Wendy Yang (Product Developers) Izzy Blair Winna Xia Zoe Oboler Tess Kleanthous Catherine Hu

Aaliyah Randall

Claire Ramsay

Meghan Nagia

Rhea Majumdar

Ifeoma Osakwe

Ananya Anand

Evan Hendrickson

Sam DeMarinis

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INTERNS Naomi Stoner & Madeline Nellis (Product Developers) Kailen Mitchell Olivia Riess Izzy Blair Jingzhi Yang

GRACE HOPPER CELEBRATION ATTENDEES Marisa Long

Olivia Riess

Madeline Nellis

Rhea Mujumdar

Ananya Anand

Laya Kumar

Wendy Yang

Tess Kleanthous

Naomi Stoner

Alyssa Bockman

Kailen Mitchell Evan Hendrickson

ZINE LAYOUT & DESIGN Tess Kleanthous

Rhea Majumdar

Catherine Hu

Zoe Oboler

Ifeoma Osakwe

ZINE COVER Zoe Oboler

Rhea Majumdar

Ananya Anand

(front cover)

(front cover)

(page dividers)

PROJECTS & PARTNERS Project Name

Project Partner

Maternal and Child Health Coalition Website Administration and Interactive Map

Clare Daniel Ph.D., Maeve Wallace Ph.D. & Danielle Houston

Beautiful Sisterhood of Books

Kate Adams Ph.D., Jacquelyne Howard Ph.D. & Susan Tucker Ph.D.

Feminist Pedagogy for Teaching Online

Clare Daniel Ph.D. & Jacquelyne Howard Ph.D.

Frances Gaudet Legacy Project

Nell Bolton & Rosanne Adderley Ph.D.

Newcomb Magazine

Becky Gipson & Lauren Gaines

Deconstructing Rape Podcast

Sally Kenney Ph.D.

Transformative Preservation

Laura Blokker & Andrew Liles

Crime Survivors NOLA

Julie Ford & Rose Preston

Congo Sqaure Legacy Project

Freddi Evans

Scholars Lunch and Learns

Aidan Smith Ph.D.

The 50th Anniversary of 1975

Allison Truitt Ph.D.

Mellon Graduate Group

Ryan McBride & Lucas Diaz

Nutrient Pollution

Isabel Englehart

African Letters

Liz McMahon Ph.D.

Give Light

Steph Smith

CONTACT US Newcomb Institute of Technology, Tulane University The Commons, Suite 301 Website: https://newcomb.tulane.edu/technology-and-digital-humanities-lab/

Message from the Editors April 2023

In the Technology and Digital Humanities Lab at Newcomb Institute, we are committed to promoting gender equity across technology fields and industries that are often dominated by patriarchal standards of representation, labor hierarchies, and design. As technology applications are integrated into the workplace and across society, entrenched inequities such as discrimination around race, class, gender, and sexual orientation pervade these digital spaces. In response to these growing inequities, the Lab equips undergraduate interns with the digital tools and essential skills to expand their technology portfolio in a low-stress caring environment that promotes learning, while also learning how technology can alter power structures in our society. We promote the philosophy that “everyone is a technologist,” which is shown by our diverse intern class of nineteen interns from fifteen different majors. We value our interdisciplinary lab community, as each brings valuable insight and skills that they can share with other interns.

This year, between our two internship programs, our interns surpassed past years in the breadth of our work portfolio. The growing Information Technology (IT) team completed 661 technology help tickets while supporting faculty, staff, students, and visitors using technology in the event spaces at the Commons. Our Digital Research (DRI) team worked on fifteen technological projects in partnership with faculty, staff, and community members. We also funded twelve of our students to attend the national Grace Hopper Convention (GHC) where many found impressive jobs, internships, and networking opportunities in the technology field. In addition to project work, we also focused on helping our interns feel confident to apply feminist practices in their future careers through curriculum and discussion. We integrated the reading and discussion of feminist scholarship into our meetings as part of our internship work. Interns completed training

on feminist technologies, feminist customer service, accessibility in the digital space, and more! We are proud that these feminist technologists took up the challenge to build their portfolio and also to engage in this holistic training!

In addition to the increased breadth of projects and service that the interns accomplished for external partners, we also introduced some new lab-grown initiatives this year. In March, we distributed our first edition of The Lab’s Newsletter. With the Newsletter, we aim to improve overall public engagement with the lab by sharing announcements, highlighting our interns and project partners, and sharing technology tips with our community. We have also been busy planning the return of our Feminist Technology Showcase as an in-person event in May 2023. The Tech Showcase provides an interactive opportunity for Lab interns to interact with the Tulane community interested in learning about The Lab and explore the projects that we have worked on with partners. We also started our first lab-grown digital project: Steminisms! Steminisms is a crowd-sourced digital humanities project that explores the intersections between gender equity and STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math). This site will provide resources for scholars and general audiences to learn about these intersections. Interns have explored avenues for effectively communicating the resources as a database and have begun uploading content that will continue for years to come.

This zine serves as a portfolio of work for the interns, grantees, and affiliated student groups within the Lab. We hope this zine provides you with insight into our lab’s work and the personalities of our interns! The intern’s special interest articles illustrate the issues that matter to intersectional technologists. In addition to showcasing amazing digital research projects, the project posters demonstrate the range of technical skills that this lab is cultivating. As we work towards our goals, our lab continues to promote communities of care and feminist self-care values that students can use in our spaces and beyond. We hope you enjoy learning more about The Lab!

Sincerely, Jacquelyne Thoni Howard, Administrative Assistant Professor of Technology and Women’s History Rachel Tabor, Lab Manager and Graduate Assistant

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Content

Page

2022–2023 Lab Interns

8

Meet the Lab

15

Digital Research Internship Program Articles

20

Digital Research Internship Program Posters

49

Information Technology Internship Program Articles

64

Information Technology Internship Program Posters

77

Grants

85

Student Groups

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Wendy Yang is a junior majoring in Cell & Molecular Biology and Computer Science. She is an international student from China and has been in the lab for two years. In addition to working as a Product Developer in the DRI team, Wendy is involved with Tulane International Society (TIS), Tulane Chinese Students and Scholars Association (TCSSA), and Tulane Equity in Tech (EIT). She also serves as a Global Ambassador, a TU Pal mentor, and a Newcomb Big. Her favorite part of the DRI program is working with the interdisciplinary and collaborative team. Outside of school, she loves camping, cooking, and playing board games!

Madeline Nellis is a senior majoring in Computer Science and Music with a minor in Music, Science, & Technology. She is from Long Island, New York. In addition to being a Product Developer for the IT team she is also the president of the Equity In Tech club.

For her senior capstone, Madeline is exploring technical solutions to provide students on Tulane's campus with Emergency contraceptives while protecting the privacy of both recipients and volunteers. Post graduation Madeline is pursuing a career in Data Analytics and visualizations and outside of school Madeline enjoys running, yoga, reading and playing the piano.

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Marisa Long (she/her) is a fourth year studying Linguistics and Computer Science. She is originally from Columbus, Ohio and has been a part of the DRI team for three semesters, holding roles as a developer, team lead, and product developer. Participating in these different roles has allowed Marisa to deepen her understanding of feminism in a technology workplace and to contribute to growth in the digital humanities. Outside of DRI, Marisa is a TA for an introductory computer science course and is a member of the running club. In her free time, Marisa love to run, hike, read, and spend time with friends outdoors.

Naomi Stoner is a Senior majoring in IT Cybersecurity and Theatre Performance with a minor in Russian. She is from Cincinnati, Ohio.

In addition to being a Product Developer, Naomi has been a student worker for the School of Professional Development’s IT Department. Naomi is also active in the New Orleans and Atlanta theatre and film communities, and is happy to have worked on several student and independent films this past year. Outside of school, Naomi enjoys singing, altering clothing, and painting. Naomi hopes to pursue a career as both a cybersecurity analyst and actor post-graduation.

Ananya is an Undergraduate Sophomore majoring in Economics and Computer Science with a minor in SLAM. She grew up in Bangalore, India. She had the pleasure of joining the Digital Research Internship and finding a community of like-minded students. Ananya also works as a Research Aide in the Economic Department at Tulane. Additionally, Ananya is involved with Tulane’s Bollywood Dance Team as the Manager and is part of the E-Board of the Cookies and Code Club. Outside of school and work, Ananya loves cooking, reading, and trying out different cuisines.

Sam DeMarinis is a sophomore majoring in Mathematics and Computer Science with minors in Psychology and Italian. He is from Morris Plains, New Jersey. In addition to being a Digital Research Intern, he is on the executive board for Tulane’s computer science club, Cookies & Code.

He is also a member of the professional engineering fraternity, Theta Tau, where he is the chair of the General Majors Committee. Sam is interested in pursuing a career in data science and machine learning engineering. Outside of school, he enjoys playing music, learning Italian, and cooking.

Zoe Oboler is a second-year student majoring in Computer Science and Design. Zoe uses She/Her pronouns and was born and raised in Washington D.C. In addition to being a digital research intern, Zoe is a member of Theta Tau, where she is the chair of the website committee. She enjoys finding ways to explore her interests in both the arts and sciences, and often works in the intersection between computer science and graphic design. Out of School she enjoys travel, embroidery, oil painting, and baking.

Ifeoma Osakwe is a sophomore majoring in Cell and Molecular Biology on the Pre-Med track. She is an international student from Nigeria. As well as a Digital Research Intern, she is a Newcomb Scholar, a First Year Experience Peer Mentor, and Global and Green Wave Ambassador thefinding Office of Undergraduate Admission. She for enjoys unexpected links between her academic interests, internships, and campus involvements and loves her positions in the Newcomb Institute because they allow her to explore such interdisciplinary curiosities.

Outside of school and work, she likes to play board games, travel, and cook breakfast foods.

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Tess Kleanthous is a senior at Tulane pursuing a B.S.E in Engineering Physics with a Certificate in Computational Engineering and a minor in French. Tess is originally from Westford, MA, but is excited to be moving to Littleton, CO at the end of the year. This year, Tess has had the privilege of joining the Digital Research Team as a Development Intern. Due to the fact that Tess has a background in both the arts and the sciences, she loves exploring the digital humanities or any subject that falls into that intersection. Outside of school and work, Tess’ primary hobbies include painting, reading, and paying for overpriced coffee simply for the aesthetic.

Meghan Nagia is a freshman from Atlanta, Georgia.

She is majoring in Exercise Science with a minor in Strategy, Leadership, and Analytics (SLAM) on the Pre-Med Track. In addition to being a Digital Research Intern, she is a member of Phi Mu, the Current RLC, and the Tulane Orchestra. Meghan is also the secretary of the Indian Association at Tulane (IATU), vice president of the Kinesiology Club, and getting involved in other organizations. Outside of school, Meghan enjoys playing violin, working out, volunteering, drinking lots of coffee, and exploring New Orleans with her friends.

Catherine Hu is a junior majoring in Psychology and Design at Tulane University. Catherine is originally from Memphis, Tennessee. In addition to working as a Digital Research Intern, she is a Graphic Design Intern for the Newcomb-Tulane College’s Office of Undergraduate Enrichment. She also serves on the executive boards for a number of clubs, including the Asian American Student Union (AASU), Tulane University Ladies’ A Cappella (TULA), The Research Ambassadors, and Psi Chi. Outside of school, Catherine enjoys playing volleyball with her friends (unprofessionally) and painting with acrylics.

Aaliyah Randall is a Senior majoring in Neuroscience with a minor in Gender and Sexuality Studies. Aaliyah was born and raised in Lafayette, Louisiana. Along with the privilege of serving as a Digital Research Intern, she is an Ambassador of the Office of Gender and Sexual Diversity, a second-year Resident Advisor, former Vice President and member of the Tulane Women's Rugby team and a RoboRecovery Intern, where she teaches robotics to young students in New Orleans.

Outside of academics, Aaliyah enjoys listening to and playing music, crafting original ceramic creations, exploring and photographing the wonders and foods of the world, and cooking for loved ones.

Rhea Majumdar is a fourth-year undergraduate student pursuing a double major in Psychology and Design with a minor in Studio Art. She hails from Long Island, New York and re-joined the DRI team at Newcomb Institute this spring semester!

On campus, she works as a library research aide, assistant editor for the Crescent Magazine's NOLA 360 section, and teaching assistant for a design studio. In her free time, she makes an excessive amount of Spotify playlists, dabbles in the kitchen, and gets lost while exploring New Orleans. She hopes to mesh her interests post-grad by entering the design industry, honing in on product design.

Winna Xia is a third-year student majoring in Neuroscience and History. Winna uses she, her, hers pronouns, and is originally from Lexington, MA. In addition to being a Digital Research Intern, she is also a Newcomb Scholar, TUPHE, service-learning assistant, and peer mentor. Winna is also involved with Tulane's Premedical Society and Walk n’ Talk NOLA. Outside of school, she likes to cook and do embroidery.

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Evan Hendrickson is a fourth-year student from Mount Vernon, KY majoring in Public Health and Computer Science. Working as a Development Intern has allowed Evan to put the skills he learned during his four years at Tulane to use and learn about digital humanities and feminist pedagogy.

In addition to working as a DRI Intern, Evan is the Outreach Chair for the Tulane Equity in Technology and a Tulane University Peer Health Educator. Evan plans on pursuing a career as a health/medical data scientist. In his free time, Evan enjoys spending time in Audubon Park, watching reality TV, listening to podcasts, and reading.

Claire Ramsay is a Junior at Tulane University pursuing a BA in Economics with minors in Strategy, Leadership, and Analytics (SLAM) and Spanish. She is a member of the Newcomb Scholars Program, an interdisciplinary leadership development program focused on gender equity. In addition to working with the tech Lab, Claire works at Tulane’s Reily Recreation Center and handles Alumni Relations for Tulane DSP. She is excited to join the Digital Research Team and improve her technical and digital skills to help create projects that align with the project partners’ visions.

Izzy Blair is a sophomore double majoring in Computer Science and Piano Performance. She is also minoring in Music, Science, and Technology.

She is from Stuttgart, Arkansas. She is both a Digital Research and Information Technology Intern at the Newcomb Institute. She is both a classically trained pianist and composer. As a part of the WTUL radio station at Tulane, she is a DJ and hosts weekly radio shows. In her free time, she enjoys reading and rereading Jane Austen novels, learning new instruments, practicing yoga, and baking a ridiculous amount of cookies.

Jingzhi Yang is a senior majoring in chemical engineering, computer science, math, chemistry, econ and minoring in Information Technology. He is from Shanghai, China. In addition to being an IT intern at Newcomb Institute, he also works as an intern at Tulane IT cybersecurity. He holds multiple Comptia IT certifications and he is a certified ethical hacker. Outside of school, he enjoys cooking and running. He is also interested in credit card rewards program and he is currently holding ten credit cards to maxize the rewards. He will pursue Ph.D in chemical engineering at Georgia Tech starting 2023.

Olivia Riess is a senior majoring in Engineering Physics with a certificate in Mechanical Engineering, and minoring in Mathematics. She is from Wallingford, Pennsylvania. Outside of being an Information Technology Intern, Olivia is the president of Tulane’s Society of Women Engineers and is a tour guide for the university.

She's so excited to be a part of the Newcomb team learning and applying feminist pedagogy in the Lab. In her spare time, you can find Olivia watching old horror movies, listening to the You're Wrong About podcast, or exploring New Orleans!

Kailen Mitchell is a Sophomore studying Mathematics and Computer Science with a minor in English. She is from San Francisco, California.

Outside of the IT program, Kailen is part of the Women's Ultimate Frisbee team as well as the Equestrian Club. She has always been an avid problem solver and loves the opportunity to strengthen this skill through IT. She is extremely passionate about gender equity and is so grateful for the opportunity to be part of a feminist community while exploring her interests in technology. In her free time she enjoys reading fiction, creative writing, and hiking.

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Fall: Winna Xia, Ananya Anand, Izzy Blair, Evan Hendrickson, Ifeoma Osakwe, Marisa Long

Fall: Rachel Tabor, Zoe Oboler, Claire Ramsey, Meghan Nagia, Tess Kleanthous, Catherine Hu, Wendy Yang

Fall: Zoe Oboler, Marisa Long, Winna Xia, Tess Kleanthous, Izzy Blair. Claire Ramsey, Evan Hendrickson

Fall: Madeline Nellis, Kailen Mitchell, Naomi Stoner, Olivia Riess, Izzy Blair

Spring: Evan Hendrickson, Meghan Nagia, Winna Xia, Sam DeMarinis, Tess Kleanthous, Wendy Yang

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Q&A

with The Lab's Product Developers

Product Developers are former Devs and are chosen from the cohorts of the Information Technology and the Digital Research Internship teams. These interns have strong organizational, project management, communication, and leadership skills and have shown a strong commitment to the lab’s feminist ethos. DRI product developers serve as project managers on the research project of partners/clients (faculty and community members). IT product developers serve as assistant floor managers, handling and intervening in IT inquiries in the event spaces, assisting the GAs and AAPs with special projects, and managing student workflows and projects for the IT team.

Naomi

What’s your favorite part of being on the DRI/ITI team?

Naomi: "My favorite part of being on the ITI team is getting to work

Wendy

on both outside projects and on-site technical issues. I enjoy maintaining community partners’ websites because it allows me to engage with the community in a meaningful way while honing my software troubleshooting skills. On the other hand, troubleshooting on-site technical issues allows me to practice my customer service skills while learning about common hardware and system issues. In a nutshell, I enjoy working on both software and hardware issues while helping people both at Tulane and in the larger New Orleans community."

Madeline

What’s your favorite project you have worked on?

Wendy: "My favorite project this year is the Nutrient Pollution project. Nutrient Pollution is the project I worked on last year as a DRI. It was great to finally meet the project partner Isabel in person and hear about her vision for the project. Nutrient pollution is such an important topic in environmental science and we always overlook it. While I worked as a PD, Nutrient Pollution was also the first

Marisa

project that we wrapped up, and it’s great to hear that the website is still sustainable since we handed the website back to the project partner." www.konectmag.com

What’s your biggest lesson learned this year?

Madeline: "The biggest lesson I learned this year was confidence. This was my first year on the IT team and there was a big learning curve that came along with that. In the fall I was really nervous when asked to enter a classroom to try to troubleshoot and issue. Now I can walk into classrooms with confidence; I know that I can figure out the issue, and if not I know how to escalate problems as well as explain issues to the professor. This growth stemmed from experience but also the great community the lab facilitates; I know there are so many people who can help if I need assistance."

What skill did you improve the most working as a PD? Marisa: "Working as a PD this year taught me a lot about professional communication. This was my first time working directly with our project partners, which was both inspiring and eyeopening. I learned to communicate efficiently inside and outside meetings to make sure that we kept projects on task and moving forward. I also got to practice communicating both the bigpicture idea and the broken-down steps of a project to the interns on my team."

What’s the best part of working as a PD? Marisa: "My favorite part of working as a PD is getting to work with such amazing people. I have a lot more one-on-one or small group meetings as a PD, so I feel as if I have gotten to know the people on my team and the other PDs better than I have been able to before having this role.

Everyone has such unique and creative perspectives, which keeps our work fun and interesting."

Naomi: "My favorite part of working as a PD is getting to work with like-minded individuals with a strong sense of community. It is nice to be able to collaborate with other students and talk about daily life at work. It is likewise refreshing to have a tech space that is committed to intersectionality and inclusivity."

Madeline: "My favorite part of working as a PD is getting to see the lab’s disciplinary values physically displayed in deliverables. Interns in our lab come from all different backgrounds and areas of study. When assigning tasks, Naomi and I, try to keep everyone’s strengths in mind. I love seeing what our team produces especially when the deliverables are a different but better version of what I was expecting!"

Wendy: "My favorite part of working as a PD is meeting with project partners and seeing the bigger picture of each project. It is a pleasure to meet with project partners and hear about their passions, ideas, and goals for their projects. Looking back at what we have done as a team, it gives me a sense of achievement seeing how we started from scratch and ended up having a sophisticated deliverable!"

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20

CAN TECHNOLOGY HELP PRESERVE INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES?

WRITTEN BY MARISA LONG

Today, there are over 7,000 languages spoken worldwide, yet more than 50 percent of people speak the top 43 of these languages. Since the majority of the world speaks relatively few languages, there is pressure on indigenous communities to raise their children to speak the official language, as they hope this will provide them with economical, social, and professional advantages in the future. In many cases, there is also pressure from governing bodies for language conformity through education and legislature. As a result, the number of people speaking minority and indigenous languages are ever dwindling, and with it, precious specific knowledge that has been encased in these languages. When looking at linguistic diversity on the Internet, minority languages are marginalized even further. According to estimates from W3Techs, English alone accounts for over 50 percent of the content. Even the fifth most well-represented language on the internet, Japanese, provides approximately 3.4 percent of the content. The lack of linguistic diversity on the Internet points to yet another instance of linguistic and cultural erasure.

Despite technological barriers and rapidly dwindling numbers of speakers, many individuals are still fighting to preserve both indigenous languages and cultures. As language technologies have become more prevalent and available, some linguists are hopeful that these tools will be able to slow the current rate of language loss. One of the primary ways that technology may aid language preservation is by increasing the rate and ease of data collection. Historically, a major challenge in preventing language death is

"The vast array of knowledge and culture captured

by Indigenous languages would be lost if we fail to recognize that language is more than a succession of letters and sounds."

-Bushra Ebadi

creating a corpus(a collection of texts) through transcription to capture indigenous language and knowledge while there are still living speakers.

Computer scientists and linguists have begun working together to begin to automate the transcription and translation from language sample audio files. This saves linguists performing fieldwork the time and energy that normally would be spent carefully listening and re-listening to translate, which is a slow process known as the “transcription bottleneck.” However, this solution is still a work in progress and can only be used in cases where there already exists enough linguistic data to train the ML models. This means that in cases of extremely endangered languages where there are only a handful of speakers left, it is nearly impossible to build such a model since each individual’s linguistic variation makes it difficult to standardize a form of the language. Additionally, taking a language that originally was rooted in oral tradition and placing it into written form risks losing cultural aspects associated with storytelling that are encoded in both sound and movement.

However, there is hope on the horizon due to a push to include indigenous leaders and communities in the process of developing further linguistic technologies. One example in progress is the Seneca Project, where linguists, computer scientists, and several Seneca leaders are working together to develop deep learning speech recognition on resourceconstrained indigenous languages. For this project, an interdisciplinary team is leveraging their familiarity with the Seneca language to train the neural network using individual phonemes, and so far, their efforts have proven successful.

Another example of inclusive language technology is Woolaroo, which is an image-based language application created by Google. The idea behind the app is to place languagelearning tools directly in the hands of indigenous people through an open-source collection of language word definitions and audio recordings. Each entry is associated with a photo in an attempt to include more visual cultural knowledge in the language documentation. So far, there are only 10 global languages that are included on Woolaroo, and adding more languages may remain a challenge due to limited access to technology globally. However, the idea provides an innovative way for communities to take charge of the way their languages are being saved, documented, and taught.

Currently, the technologies being used for language revitalization are not transcribing language at the same rate that language is being lost. Without urgent action, the digital space will continue to exaggerate the gaps seen in our world. By prioritizing and funding projects that allow for increased language documentation and decreased barriers towards indigenous involvement in language revitalization, we can change the trajectory and use technology as a tool to fight for indigenous inclusion.

References Anand, P., Chung, S., & Wagers, M. (n.d.). Widening the Net: Challenges for Gathering Linguistic Data in the Digital Age. ms, University of Santa Cruz. Retrieved from https://people.ucsc.edu/~schung/anandchungwagers.pdf.

Anastasopoulos, A., Cox, C., Cruz, H., & Neubig, G. (n.d.). Endangered Languages meet Modern NLP. aclanthology.org. Retrieved from https://aclanthology.org/2020.coling-tutorials.7.pdf Ebadi, B. (2018, June 30). Technology alone can't preserve endangered languages. Centre for International Governance Innovation. Retrieved March 8, 2023, from https://www.cigionline.org/articles/technology-alone-cant-preserve-endangered-languages/ How many languages are there in the world? | Ethnologue. (n.d.). Retrieved March 6, 2023, from https://www.ethnologue.com/guides/how-many-languages Lin, E. (2021, September 8). The role of technology in preserving linguistic diversity. Columbia Undergraduate Science Journal. Retrieved March 8, 2023, from https://journals.library.columbia.edu/index.php/cusj/blog/view/378 Researchers use AI to preserve Seneca language. RIT. (n.d.). Retrieved March 6, 2023, from https://www.rit.edu/news/researchers-use-ai-preserve-seneca-language Toppan Digital Language. (2019, August 15). The challenge of Disproportionate Language Representation Online. Toppan Digital Language. Retrieved March 8, 2023, from https://toppandigital.com/us/blog-us/the-challenge-of-disproportionate-language-representation-online/ UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture Launches Indigenous Strategy. Inside UNSW. (n.d.). Retrieved March 8, 2023, from https://www.inside.unsw.edu.au/campus-life/unsw-arts-designarchitecture-launches-indigenous-strategy

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TECHNOLOGY'S AFTERTHOUGHT: PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

By Aaliyah Randall Technology is without a doubt an ever-changing and constantly growing field that greatly influences our experience on this earth. Because of technology, humans have been able to accomplish the unimaginable. We are able to instantly communicate with others who are thousands of miles away, we have created life-saving treatments for many health concerns, and we’ve even been able to put a man on the moon. Technology’s impact seems so endless and indisputable. However, technology doesn’t just make things easier for humans, it can actually create barriers for certain groups of people. More specifically, the people who create and develop technology invent barriers by not keeping in mind the needs of minority groups such as people with disabilities.

As technology has progressed throughout the years, we’ve been able to use its capabilities to improve the livelihoods of many people with disabilities in special ways. Devices such as prosthetics, hearing aids, scooters, braille keyboards, screen readers, etc. have proven to be very helpful to people with disabilities who are trying to navigate an ableist world. These technologies can make things such as the internet, the outdoors, and entertainment more accessible for the disabled community. Nevertheless, we must ask the question of why some of these technologies must exist and how compatible our world applications are to the necessary accommodative technologies used by people with disabilities.

Since the signing of The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, people have had to think more intentionally about the treatment of the disabled community. The ADA prohibits “discrimination against people with disabilities in everyday activities” (Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990). Further, it “guarantees that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else to enjoy employment opportunities, purchase goods and services, and participate in state and local government programs” (Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990). The ADA legislation requires that employers, state and local governments, businesses that are open to the public, commercial facilities, transportation providers, and telecommunication companies comply with the standards set by the ADA to ensure accessibility.

With the passing of the ADA, many corporations set out to achieve the bare minimum in terms of accessibility by doing just enough to be ADA compliant. This can be very problematic as there is a lack of care for the true needs and experiences people with disabilities possess when interacting with certain products and programs. Because people with disabilities are not considered at the design level of products, barriers are created that make deceptively accessible products and applications difficult to use for people with disabilities. Some examples of these technological barriers include: website functions that only work with clicking a mouse, inaccurate closed captioning, self-service kiosks without accessibility features, and touchscreens without screen reader software or tactile keyboards (Kovac, 2019). Additionally, there are other factors that contribute to these accessibility barriers, for example, lack of access to assistive computer hardware and software such as key guards, trackballs, large monitors, head-pointing systems, screen readers, screen magnification, or speech recognition programs (Kovac, 2019).

By centering the needs of those most marginalized at the first step of design, we can remove barriers before they are even created and make products that are more usable by not only people with disabilities, but those without disabilities as well. Tools such as speech recognition are useful for people with mobility issues and those who are effective multi-taskers. Websites that are designed to use keyboard commands also become easier for search engines to find and makes these websites more likely to be browsed.

Companies like Microsoft are making strides in the right direction by including eye tracking features in their software and creating tools like Immersive Reader that reads out text, breaks words into syllables, and increases spacing between lines and letters (Daniel, 2019).

A Hungarian company SignAll has developed the first automated sign language translator which translates sign language into text through the use of AI, allowing communication between deaf and hearing people with great potential (Daniel, 2019).

Going the extra mile and keeping people with disabilities as the priority user at the design level, we are able to create technology that is more usable for all. People with disabilities should not be a second-thought for designers, but the most valuable user to learn from.

Ensuring accessibility needs to be prioritized because it makes a huge difference in the way many people experience life. The standards of accessibility should not stop at being ADA compliant. The standard should be above and beyond the stars, just like the man on the moon because it is the human thing to do.

References: Kovac, L. (2019, November 22). Disability and Technology Barriers. Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). https://aoda.ca/disability-andtechnologybarriers/#:~:text=For%20instance%2C%20some%20technology%20barriers,magnification%2C%20or%20speech%20recognition%20programs Daniel, E. (2019, June 25). How accessible technology is overcoming barriers in the workplace. Verdict. https://www.verdict.co.uk/accessible-technologymicrosoft/ Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. (1990).

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Chat GPT has been the latest AI to make a splash online. With the ability to write essays, code, cover letters, or even song lyrics and poetry it is an incredibly powerful tool that is already changing people's daily workflow. Even before this easily accessible Ai a number of companies have used AI for hiring, credit card applications, among other uses.

However, despite its amazing ability Ai has shown significant bias , often mirroring our own biases as well as the internet's rhetoric.

A recent Bloomberg article listed a number of racist and sexist comments made by chat gpt. This is not the first time something like this has taken place. The apple credit card used a complex AI system to approve and deny members as well as set their credit limits. Users noticed that women were continually given lower limits than their male counterparts.

Amazon recently had to stop using its ai recruiting tool when it began prioritizing men.

So why are these AI’s so biased? In the end it comes down to the way Ai functions. Ai looks to find patterns in data, so for instance Amazon’s recruiting Ai was set to find patterns in resumes over the last 10 years.

Because the majority of those applications had been male, the Ai then believed that being male was part of the hiring criteria. In Apple's case they defended themselves by saying that gender is not even a criteria in their applications in order to refute claims of bias. A recent Wired article titled The Apple Card Didn’t See Gender and That's the Problems refutes Apple's claims explaining “, it is entirely possible for algorithms to discriminate on gender, even when they are programmed to be “blind” to that variable. For another, imposing willful blindness to something as critical as gender only makes it harder for a company to detect, prevent, and reverse bias on exactly that variable.” The author goes on to explain that other data can be used as a proxy, for instance in past algorithms there has been evidence of home addresses being used as a proxy for race. In this way not allowing input of information is not eliminating the bias, just making it harder to detect.

So why is Chat Gpt, what is in many ways a glorified search engine, spitting out racist and sexist information? It all comes back to looking for patterns in data. Tay microsoft’s twitter bot became incredibly racist and sexist less than a day after launching. James Vinent in an article for the Guardian notes “But while it seems that some of the bad stuff Tay is being told is sinking in, it's not like the bot has a coherent ideology.” The crucial piece here is that although tay can repeat information, the bot has no real understanding of what it means. Therefore her racism and sexism is simply a product of her input. Chat GPT was simply mirroring the information it found online, much of which was biased.

What is the solution? The first may just be for us, as humans, to be better. These AIs are simply reflecting back to us amalgamations of data we enter into them. Without a prior gender bias in hiring Amazon’s Ai would never have discriminated against women. Without the hordes of twitter spamming Tay she wouldn’t have found her extreme views. But this also brings us to one of the limits of AI. Ai is not innovating, rather it is repackaging and recycling what it already knows. Because of this Ai in its purest form will uphold the status quo. Ask chat gpt to write a poem, and it will not elevate the field of poetry, instead it will just create a piece of work that is the same as what we already have. Using AI isn’t necessarily bad, but using it without understanding its limitations is incredibly dangerous. Ai may be the pinnacle of technological progress but at the same time it may be stunting social progress. As Ai becomes more prevalent we must make sure we continue moving forwards.

Computer Says No

26

Devil's in the Detail: Design in Technology

by Rhea Majumdar At the core of every great business, product and software is great design; it is the building block, the blueprint, the master plan.

Design is that of empathetic utility -- it makes technology more human.

It is a broad discipline and spans across fields -fashion, technology, architecture, and so on.

Within just technology, there are roles that have more prevalence now more than ever; they existed within broader roles for

quite some time, but demanded their own specialization. Some include, but are not limited to: web designers, visual designers, UI designers, UX designers, augmented reality designers, game designers, animators, interaction designers, product/packaging designers, etc.

Designers within technology are tasked with understanding business etiquette and common practices and use that knowledge to strategize to create user-centric

designs. Don Norman’s 'The Design of Everyday Things' summarizes the evolution of design’s role within technology well -- as he puts it, “The same technology that simplifies life by providing more functions in each device also complicates life by making the device harder to learn, harder to use. This is the paradox of technology… and the challenge for the designer” (Norman, 2021, p.

34). It is definitely paradoxical, but designers all work under the same principle -- despite the digital age accounting for drastic changes in how we

operate, “people are the same, and so design principles are the same” (Norman, 2021, p. 239).

Though often overlooked or thought of as an afterthought, successful development of anything is dependent on and begins with strong design culture -the devil is in the detail.

Carroll, J. M. (n.d.). Human computer interaction - brief intro. The Interaction Design Foundation. https://www.interactiondesign.org/literature/book/the-encyclopedia-of-human-computerinteraction-2nd-ed/human-computer-interaction-brief-intro Hasan, M. S., & Yu, H. (2016, December 29). Innovative developments in HCI and future trends. Machine Intelligence Research. https://www.miresearch.net/en/article/doi/10.1007/s1163301610396#:~:text=It%20is%20now%20possible%20to,reality%2C%20wear able%20technology%2C%20etc.

Mohan, M. (2020, May 29). Council post: The growing importance of design in the tech world. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2020/05/29/t he-growing-importance-of-design-in-the-tech-world/? sh=63d8f34f4bfc Norman, D. A. (2021). The design of everyday things. Basic Books.

28

by Claire Ramsay

HOW THE METAVERSE CAN ADD VALUE TO ESG PROJECTS: Waste Management and Employee Safety While some see the term “metaverse” as a buzzword or fad, it is a technological platform that most firms are discussing or embracing.

In a survey of 1,000 U.S. business executives, 66% reported that their companies are actively involved in the metaverse (PwC 2022). Many definitions of the metaverse exist, with various firms and individuals contributing to this evolving definition. William Burns III, who is listed in Forbes as an early contributor to the metaverse, defined it as “a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical reality and physically persistent virtual space, including the sum of all virtual worlds, augmented reality, and the Internet” (Hackl 2021).

While virtual reality headsets and life-like gamified environments are commonly associated with the term metaverse, it can be broadly thought of as a future, more immersive iteration of the internet. However, for simplicity in this article, the metaverse will be thought of as an individual’s immersive visual experience in a digitally developed world, using virtual reality technology. In thinking about the metaverse, many questions persist, including: Will the metaverse be longlasting? Do consumers demand metaverse experiences? Can the metaverse transcend the gaming industry to drive value for environmental, social, or governance-related issues?

ESG Issues

ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance. These terms are grouped together because they are all considerations that consumers and investors value that are not strictly profit-related. Duke Law Magazine summarizes: “ESG encompasses a broad range of concerns about the power of corporations, including their environmental impact, stance on social issues, employment practices, treatment of suppliers, diversity in governance, and ethics and transparency of operational practices” (Naujek 2021). ESG considerations emphasize maximizing shareholder value while simultaneously aligning with the firm’s values. With the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s release of the Climate Related Disclosure Proposal in March 2021, many firms seem to be focused on the environmental (E) aspect of ESG, while Social (S) advances are also increasingly prioritized.

Waste Management The metaverse’s virtual reality experiences can be implemented by companies to decrease waste and collect more accurate data while lessening their ecological footprints. The metaverse and virtual reality technologies could be used to predict the success or adoption of some items, buildings, apparel, or public projects and advise against the creation of others. For example, Have you ever heard a family member say: “I would go to that grocery store, but the layout is so hard to navigate”?

What if targeted consumers’ preferences on grocery-store layouts could be considered prior to the construction and design of the store? When you walk into a sale section of a clothing store, how many of the items are the same color or style, meaning they were not popular enough to sell? Additionally, a city planner or official might say, ‘We should build a public park to increase the health and safety of our children, but where is the best location to put it? What are the best types of equipment to place in the park?’

When businesses or governments fail to utilize data to create accurate predictions, products and resources are wasted. The grocery store might close 30

or see lower customer retention, which could lead to food waste. In retail, the nonsold items are often thrown away, piling up in the landfill. A poorly placed park with unsafe or ‘boring’ equipment may be unattended, leading to wasted equipment, land, and potentially, crime. To lessen the quantity of waste in society, virtual reality software, including metaverse platforms, can be used to create randomized controlled experiments on a larger and more immersive scale, resulting in better data-driven or data-informed decisions, satisfied consumers, and less waste.

Industry Example How often have you gone to the sale section in a store, and the remaining items have undesirable colors or styles in large quantities? The retail industry can use virtual reality software to better forecast trends, therefore, reducing waste. In 2017, the fashion industry was responsible for 85% of all textiles in landfills, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (Devaney 2017). Retailers have the option to donate unsold clothes, sell them to discount stores, or shred and deposit them in landfills. However, most brands prefer to throw away unsold clothing rather than sell it for a discounted price: “The primary concern is the impact on the brand. We’ve spent all this time and money creating this image that we’re an upscale retailer, and now suddenly you can buy our products for 20 percent of the price” (Barrat 2014). As a solution, fashion retailers could introduce a metaverse platform to research which styles their consumers demand. For example, a sports apparel company deciding on which six colors to produce for their new line of leggings could randomly select a large group of previous customers to participate in a study with the goal of aligning the color choices with consumers’ preferences.

Each storefront would ask participants to put on virtual reality headsets that immerse the consumers in a ‘metaverse showroom’ that displays six different types of people wearing 12 different color leggings, and then ask consumers to rank the colors. Furthermore, the metaverse platform could include an exercise class, virtually testing the garments. On larger scales, similar randomized controlled trials could be used to determine the design and location of a shopping mall, hotel chain, or line of resorts.

Safety Advances Through Metaverse Simulations On a personal level, the first time I benefitted from a metaverse platform was in my college Genetics Lab during the COVID-19 pandemic. The virtual lab platform showed a digitally developed version of myself, moving around the lab, and completing various tasks. One day, I added an incorrect chemical to a solution, resulting in a virtual ‘explosion.’ My computer screen went fuzzy, mimicking blurred vision. The screen read, “press keys 1 and 2 ’to 'run' to the eyewash station”. Due to the virtual setting, I learned a lesson without potentially harming my vision. Many biology, chemistry, or pre-medical students must complete in-person labs, but, as an Economics major, I was glad to learn from this mistake without requiring medical attention or taking up space in a hospital needed by someone else.

Metaverse platforms can prevent dangerous situations and allow individuals to practice preliminary skills without physical consequences. On a graver note, school systems and teachers could benefit from metaverse active shooter drills, allowing teachers and administrators to be better prepared without their students’ presence and potential psychological harm. Metaverse simulations could help pilots practice landing planes in difficult areas or prepare for emergencies.

Additionally, metaverse platforms could help in talent acquisition for any career.

With the pilot example, a candidate considering enrolling in flight school could use virtual reality technology to test-fly a plane and decide if aviation is a career of interest. Prospective university students whose families cannot afford to travel and tour universities in-person could experience college tours in the metaverse, with the colleges and university recruiters lending virtual reality headsets to high schools. In politics or business, individuals preparing to give a speech or presentation to a large audience could practice in the metaverse with a crowd in front of them, improving their presentation quality and lessening their nerves.

Limitations and Remaining Questions The main questions remaining are: Is the marginal benefit from implementing metaverse randomized trials and safety measures greater than the marginal cost of adding these initiatives? Which demographics are most likely to adopt or embrace these initiatives? Is virtual reality technology accessible in quantity and price to allow the implementation of these initiatives on a large scale? In my opinion, the main limitation of metaverse platforms is the shortage of metaverse software developers and engineers paired with researchers to create scenarios that are realistic, life-like, and safe. Additionally, metaverse training must be combined with nontechnologically immersive scenarios. Consumers would likely not trust a pilot who has only flown planes in the metaverse. However, it could be an introduction.

Additionally, the metaverse creates safety concerns such as an increased sedentary lifestyle, potentially discriminatory depiction of individuals, and developer bias.

Technology is only helpful when it is additive to society, and not negatively manipulated. Any technological advance will come with advantages and disadvantages, especially in the early stages. If metaverse technologies are used to successfully improve ESG considerations, especially waste management, this controversial virtual platform would drive positive change for many members of society.

References

Ben-Achour, S. (2014, March 10). What do stores do with unsold merchandise? Marketplace. Retrieved March 2, 2023, from https://www.marketplace.org/2014/03/10/what-do-stores-do-unsold-merchandise/ Dalton, M. (2020, August 17). What happens to all of the unsold clothes? The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 2, 2023, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/fashions-big-question-what-to-do-with-all-those-unsold-clothes-11597328695 Devaney, S. (2017, May 3). Here's why 235 million items of clothing will end up in landfill sites in the UK this year. HuffPost UK. Retrieved March 2, 2023, from https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/235-million-items-of-clothing-landfill-sites-in-the-uk-this-year_uk_58e62581e4b0917d34776259 ESG - Feature Story Fall 2021. Duke Law Magazine. (2022, March 1). Retrieved March 2, 2023, from https://magazine.law.duke.edu/esg-feature-story-fall2021/ Hackl, C. (2022, November 9). Defining the metaverse Today. Forbes. Retrieved March 2, 2023, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/cathyhackl/2021/05/02/defining-the-metaverse-today/ PricewaterhouseCoopers. (n.d.). 2022 US metaverse survey. PwC. Retrieved March 2, 2023, from https://www.pwc.com/us/en/tech-effect/emergingtech/metaverse-survey.html

32

DOES IT REALLY HELP US STAY FIT?

By Ifeoma Osakwe My relationship with my Apple Watch is borderline worrisome. Once, with barely five minutes to make the tenminute walk to my cycling group exercise class, I walked the whole way back to my dorm just because I forgot to wear the watch. In today’s technology-saturated world, however, I can take comfort in knowing that other gym-goers share this reliance on wearable fitness technology. After all, as clinical research specialist Brittney McCrary asserted, “Apple Watch or it doesn’t count” (Brown). Such perceptions of exercise arise from the growing prevalence of wearable fitness and healthcare devices and raise concern about how beneficial these devices truly are.

[Render of Apple Watch Health Electrocardiogram]. (n.d.). https://www.apple.com/apple-watch-series-8/

These devices primarily quantify exercise and health, providing values for heart rate, calories burned and sleep quality, among several other fitness indicators. Often, people working toward their fitness goals base health decisions on the numbers these screens display each day. For example, a dedicated calorie counter might calculate that their dinner must not exceed 150 calories because their Apple Watch reports that they failed to ‘max their rings’ by reaching their daily 650 calorie goal. The issue with this lifestyle is recent research suggests that, despite their reliability and validity in controlled environments, such as rest, wearable activity trackers are undependable in more variable circumstances, such as high-intensity training (Shei 1983). So, the daily calorie report could be an over- or under-estimation of the calorie counter’s physical activity and cannot give an accurate prescription for caloric intake to achieve their fitness goals. Technological advancements in the wearable fitness industry will address this inaccuracy concern but for now, meticulously tracking fitness indicators with these devices offers no direct benefit.

When motivating lifestyle interventions like increasing daily physical activity or water intake, however, wearables can be useful. In a 2021 study on members of a college community, Browne et al. showed that incorporating personalized feedback and encouragement in wearable fitness trackers caused improvements in participants’ sleep quality and physical activity (12). The same study suggests that when such tailored features are present, wearables help users form persistent healthy habits (11). These findings seem reasonable, as some Apple Watch users—including myself— often eagerly anticipate the digital award and accompanying celebratory message that the device presents when its user achieves a new personal best or completes a fitness goal. In this sense, fitness devices are valuable, especially for people who adopt the technology with the goal of bettering their lifestyles due to health concerns.

[Render of Apple Watch Coaching]. (n.d.). https://www.apple.com/watch/close-your-rings/

Yet, the question remains: are wearable fitness devices beneficial to regular gym-goers or the otherwise active population? Limited as it is, the existing research on this topic is conflicting. One research study on student athletes suggests that forming lasting habits may render wearable fitness trackers unimportant for maintaining health and fitness, thereby replacing them altogether (Bardus 13). In contrast, another study on older adults shows that even after forming good exercise habits, long-term wearable users did not abandon their devices (Kononova 9). Further study is necessary to draw a definite conclusion about the effectiveness of wearables for the active group but we can be certain that the “Apple Watch or it doesn’t count” mentality is flawed. The reality is that challenging oneself to reach fitness goals is fantastic and remains so even when one deserts their wearable device.

As technology penetrates the health and fitness industry, people must responsibly navigate the multitude of healthmarketed devices as they make consumer decisions. Some fully appreciate these devices and refuse to part with them, regardless of scientific findings that they are not as reliable as their manufacturers will admit. Still, with plenty of room to improve at measuring fitness indicators, wearables have some merit as they can help users create and maintain healthy habits through personalized feedback. Scholars must continue to investigate these devices to fully understand their effectiveness, especially since these devices will not leave the fitness industry soon.

[Render of Apple Watch Health Temperature]. (n.d.). https://www.apple.com/apple-watch-series-8/

WORKS CITED Bardus, Marco et al. "Exploring the Use of Mobile and Wearable Technology among University Student Athletes in Lebanon: A Cross-Sectional Study." Sensors, vol. 21, no. 13, 2021, p. 4472, doi:10.3390/s21134472.

Brown, Dalvin. “'Apple Watch or It Doesn't Count': How Tech Addiction Might Be Ruining Your Workout.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 16 May 2019, https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2019/05/15/fitbitsapple-watches-and-smartphones-can-actually-hurt-your-workout/1186522001/.

Browne, Jonathan D. et al. "Lifestyle Modification Using a Wearable Biometric Ring and Guided Feedback Improve Sleep and Exercise Behaviors: A 12-Month Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study." Frontiers in Physiology, vol. 12, 2021, doi:10.3389/fphys.2021.777874.

Kononova, Anastasia et al. "The Use of Wearable Activity Trackers among Older Adults: Focus Group Study of Tracker Perceptions, Motivators, and Barriers in the Maintenance Stage of Behavior Change." JMIR Mhealth Uhealth, vol. 7, no. 4, 2019, p. e9832, doi:10.2196/mhealth.9832.

Shei, Ren-Jay et al. "Wearable Activity Trackers–Advanced Technology or Advanced Marketing?" European Journal of Applied Physiology, vol. 122, no. 9, 2022, pp. 1975-90, doi:10.1007/s00421-022-04951-1.

34

IZZY BLAIR

Inherent Oppression and Bias in the Tiktok Algorithm

With over one billion people using the app every month (a), Tiktok has become one of the world’s most popular social media and video sharing apps. While there are many reasons for the app’s popularity, the most known reason is the app’s astoundingly efficient and controversial algorithm for user video curation. Each user has their own “For You Page”, on which the algorithm chooses videos for you based on your interaction with previous videos.

Each user can also allow their data and activity to be tracked across other apps they use, much like Facebook does. TikTok has its own Community Guidelines and that all user videos must follow, as well as “technology that identifies and flags potential policy violations, such as adult nudity and violent and graphic content” (b) to keep these rules in check. However, with this technology comes a lot of biases that users have noticed.

The phenomenon of the “echo chamber” is one that Tiktok users are familiar with. It describes the concept that the algorithm gives each user a video that perpetuates the type of content the user has already expressed interest in.

If a user repeatedly likes, comments, and/or shares videos about knitting, they will get even more knitting videos on their For You Page. This is why Tiktok is so popular: it rewards higher levels of activity with more content the user will enjoy, thus creating an echo chamber.

While this is great for users who enjoy knitting, there is a dark side to this echo chamber—one that can perpetuate hateful ideas and videos. One would think that the same technology that flags adult nudity and other visual content violations would also be able to flag these hateful ideologies as dangerous, but there is no such proof of any technology. Of course, Tiktok has human reviewers who go through each flag, but there are still many cases of hateful ideologies not being flagged or punished in any way. One user reported that his profile bio was flagged for using the word “black” in any capacity, whether it was “I am a black man” to “Black Lives Matter” (c).

However, the phrases “white supremacy” and “I am a neo-Nazi" did not prompt the same flags for violations. The same algorithm that supposedly brings “new content” into the user’s feed is the same one that narrows down the scope of what a user is actually consuming. In a country as politically, economically, and socially polarized as the United States, the creation of barriers between users with different viewpoints creates tension between a user and anyone who disagrees with them. This brings up an important question: are these biases just simple errors in the algorithm, or was this intentional?

This echo chamber ideology is perpetuated in different algorithms on Tiktok—specifically, the algorithm that suggests new accounts to follow. In a nonformal experiment performed

by Twitter user Marc Faddoul, a new Tiktok account was created for a single purpose: to follow random accounts and see what accounts would pop up on the suggested people bar. Faddoul found that the physical features of the original account that he followed would determine the suggestions for other accounts to follow. If Faddoul followed Person A, who was a white woman with blonde hair, then he would get Person B and Person C, two other white women with blonde hair, recommended for him to follow. This algorithm transcends just race and gender—Faddoul found that hair dye, body type, age, and visible disability of users were also factors. He concluded that this algorithm assumes that if one follows, say, an Asian teen with dyed hair, it is because the user is an Asian teen with dyed hair, and not for their humor, videos, or other aspects of their content. Faddoul remarked that while it is not unusual for social media algorithms to create “bubbles” for things like political opinions, Tiktok seems to be the “first major platform to create such clear physiognomic bubbles”. (d)

These clearly biased algorithms have an even wider range of impact. While they do affect video and profile curation for users, they also affect content creators in perhaps an even more devastating way. When videos and profiles are so easily flagged for content violations and reliant on the “physiognomic bubbles” to gain more followers and a larger audience, creators in minority groups are automatically disadvantaged. Not only are they less likely to gain fame, but they also fall prey to plagiarism and outright robbery of their content. The New York Times wrote an article in 2020 telling the story of the original creator of the popular “Renegade” dance on Tiktok. This creator, Jalaiah Harmon (pictured left), saw her dance being replicated by some of the most popular—and white—creators on Tiktok, as her videos gained no more popularity and she received no credit for her dance. (e)

This story is one that BIPOC creators on Tiktok know well as they continue to experience algorithmic biases in this way. These same algorithms meant to be fair and unbiased have been the cause of the segregation and silencing of BIPOC creators and users on Tiktok. While it would be easy to just blame these problems on “glitches in the code”, it is important to recognize that biased algorithms are created by biased humans. This is why it is important to conduct more formal research on racial biases within the Tiktok algorithm in order to understand why this is happening. Furthermore, Tiktok is a perfect example of why it is important that coding becomes more diverse. A diverse array of people creating the algorithms would lead to less chance of biases like the ones on Tiktok. A more inclusive and safer Internet for everyone – one where diverse perspectives are cherished and users are encouraged to question things and grow - starts with diversity at the software level.

Sources: a. https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/1-billion-people-on-tiktok b. https://www.tiktok.com/community-guidelines?lang=en#38 c. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/tiktok-algorithm-prevents-user-declaring-support-black-lives-matter-n1273413 d. https://twitter.com/MarcFaddoul/status/1232014908536938498? ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.buzzfeednews.com%2Farticle%2Flaurenst rapagiel%2Ftiktok-algorithim-racial-bias e. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/13/style/the-original-renegade.html

36

AI AND THE SUPPLY CHAIN REVOLUTION

By Ananya Anand

Now more than ever, all of us have unlimited choices. We can choose to buy clothes from a company in the UK. A factory can choose to buy its raw materials from China. Countries can import foods and beverages from almost anywhere around the globe. The prevalence of such extensive choices exists as a result of an invisible grid - Artificial Intelligence.

Over the years, ‘Artificial Intelligence’ moved from being jargon in Silicon Valley to everyday vocabulary. But what is Artificial Intelligence?

Commonly known as AI, Artificial Intelligence is the science of building computer programs that understand and build on human intelligence. AI requires a foundation of specialized hardware and software for writing and training algorithms. I like to define AI as a “super brain” that mimics a human brain but with the memory, storage, and speed of a computer.

With the new developments in AI, more companies and corporations are looking to adopt different models of supply chain management.

One such company is Accenture, which prides itself on using the latest technology to efficiently carry out the processes of supply chain management. As Accenture defines it, “Today’s supply chains are more complex than linear models—they’re sophisticated supply networks that are more flexible and efficient. This helps meet customer expectations for a wide selection of customized, sustainable products and fast deliveries that meet individuals’ specific needs.”

Supply chain management can be broken down into five broad processes - logistics, production, procurement, marketing, and sales. The logistical facet of supply chains involves the maintenance of data, serving as the backbone of the entire structure. This constitutes storing a plethora of information ranging from inventory and labor wages to weather conditions and transportation bottlenecks. This information provides the framework to ensure the smooth running of all other parts of the supply chain. Immediate access to data and intelligence allows flexibility within the business and allows the supply chain to adapt easily to varying situations. This makes sure that both the supply and demand side of the enterprise runs coherently.

Next, production and procurement. Any supply chain works on the model of multiple iterative tasks, by automating such tasks, the cost of labor decreases and all the goods are consistent. The intelligence can also be used to identify inefficiency in the process of production, focusing the human workforce toward more complex and strategically important tasks. Data integration with suppliers enables the optimization of procurement of raw materials based on forecasted prices.

Sources Accenture. “What Is Supply Chain Management (SCM)?”

Accenture, Accenture, 30 Mar. 2023, https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/supply-chainoperations/supply-chain-management-operations-index.

Bajwa, Rumzz. “How AI Is Enhancing Supply Chain Performance.” Global Trade Magazine, The Authority For US Companies Doing Business Globally., 29 May 2021, https://www.globaltrademag.com/how-ai-is-enhancingsupply-chain-performance/.

Burns, Ed, et al. “What Is Artificial Intelligence (AI)? - Ai Definition and How It Works.” Enterprise AI, TechTarget, 31 Mar. 2023, https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/definition/ AI-Artificial-Intelligence.

Following production and procurement, the next stage in the supply chain is marketing and sales.

This stage needs data and information that builds on the previous steps of the supply chain. The Deep Neural Network (DNN) is composed of layers of nonlinear transformation node functions, where the output of each layer becomes an input to the next layer in the network. Making the intangible fragments of the supply chain just as well connected as the physical fragments of the supply chain. Predictive data from the different segments of the network can be used to match the market expectations with the production from the supply chain. And thus bring all the processes together to form what we know as Supply Chain Management.

Meltzer, Joshua P. “The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on International Trade.” Brookings, Brookings, 9 Mar. 2022, https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-impact-ofartificial-intelligence-on-international-trade/.

“Succeeding in the AI Supply-Chain Revolution.” McKinsey & Company, McKinsey & Company, 30 Apr. 2021, https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/metals-andmining/our-insights/succeeding-in-the-ai-supply-chainrevolution.

“What Is Artificial Intelligence (AI) ?” IBM, https://www.ibm.com/topics/artificial-intelligence.

38

CLOUD COMPUTING AND CLIMATE CONSCIOUSNESS By: Evan Hendrickson

T

he blueprint for Cloud Computing began in a 1963 project in which researchers hoped to develop a way for multiple people to work simultaneously on the same computer.

This development prompted J.C.R. Licklider, one of the most revered computer scientists of the 1900s, to envision the “Intergalactic Computer Network.” This network would interconnect the entire globe, make information readily accessible, and soon become what we know as the Internet. By the late 1990s, modern Cloud Computing infrastructure came to fruition, and many companies began to see it as a valuable business asset.

Most notably, Salesforce became the global leader in harnessing the cloud for business value by making its software downloadable to clients directly through the Internet. This allowed for the on-demand purchasing of software packages, a much more feasible option for both the vendor and the client. By the early 2000s, Amazon began capitalizing on Cloud Computing infrastructure when it launched its online retail service and Amazon Web Services, and Google launched Google Docs and Spreadsheets, both of which prompted other large corporations to follow. Today, Software-as-a-Service, made popular by Oracle, and application

development tools are the most widely used forms of the cloud and continue to be two of the most rapidly growing applications of this technology. Simply put, Cloud Computing today is the rapid delivery of computing services from a remote server via the Internet.

By storing these in the cloud, database storage/management, computing power, software, analytics, etc., can become more innovative, readily accessible, and larger in scale.

Traditional data centers consume billions of kilowatt-hours of energy and emit millions of tons of carbon annually to run and cool equipment, not to mention the greenhouse gases produced to manufacture and transport these large pieces of hardware. Public pressure to push major corporations towards opting for more sustainable energy sources and ultimately transition their business infrastructure to the cloud is becoming

A high level overview of Cloud Computing Architecture

more intense as the planet’s climate crisis worsens. Amazon, Google, and Microsoft have pledged to deploy more sustainable energy sources and achieve net-zero emissions in the coming years, triggering an industry-wide competition to be the first Big Tech company to achieve a net-zero carbon business infrastructure.

Research has shown that moving toward cloud-based alternatives would drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions: more than one billion metric tons of CO2 emissions could be eliminated over a three-year period, which can be compared to the typical CO2 emissions of “35 commercial airliners, 216,000 passenger vehicles, and 115,000 homes in the United States” over a year. Shared data centers for Cloud Computing also show the ability to run efficiently using renewable energy sources. Most of these centers are powered using geothermal, hydro, solar, or wind power and save enough energy to power the entire city of Los Angeles for one year compared to the non-Cloud Computing alternative.

Furthermore, Cloud Computing would halt the growth of the “ewaste mountain” of obsolete or broken electronic equipment in landfills that piles on 53 million metric tons of waste yearly. Cloud Computing would significantly reduce the need to invest in hardware because Cloud Computing promotes dematerialization: the movement from physical hardware to cloud alternatives. If the environmental benefits are not enticing enough, it is estimated that the largest US companies could save billions of dollars in energy expenditures if they adopted a cloud-based infrastructure.

Although Cloud Computing is a promising step toward corporate carbon neutrality, this shift must occur with haste to avoid catastrophe for traditional and cloud data centers alike. In 2009 in both Turkey and Taiwan, data centers were decimated due to heavy rainfall. In Turkey, this nearly caused a fourth of Ikitelli’s local network to be compromised.

In Taiwan, the flooding deposited

so much sediment into the ocean that underwater landslides broke several communication cables buried two and a half miles below the surface, compromising the Internet and telecommunications of multiple countries in the region. As sea levels continue to rise, undersea fiber optic cables--which handle almost all global communications-are at risk of breaking as the seabed becomes more volatile. All major companies must prioritize the transition to the cloud to avoid this more climate conscious alternative falling victim to climate change’s effects that would render it useless.

Although damage to the environment cannot be reversed, this would be a significant step toward a cleaner, more sustainable industry and earth.

References Bressler, R. D. (2021). The mortality cost of carbon. Nature Communications, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-02124487-w Foster, P. (2011, August 18). Cloud computing – a green opportunity or climate change risk? The Guardian; The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/sustainabl e-business/cloud-computing-climatechange‌ Foote, K. D. (2021, December 17). A Brief History of Cloud Computing DATAVERSITY. DATAVERSITY. https://www.dataversity.net/briefhistory-cloud-computing/

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Francis, T. (2021, September 20). The next big cloud competition is the race to zero emissions. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/ 09/the-next-big-cloud-competition-isthe-race-to-zero-emissions/ Gal, A. (2022, July 25). Council Post: The Power-Computing Weapon That Is Fighting Climate Change. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestech council/2022/07/22/the-powercomputing-weapon-that-is-fightingclimate-change/?sh=353bd8433dc4 Oberhaus, D. (2019, December 10).

Amazon, Google, Microsoft: Here’s Who Has the Greenest Cloud. WIRED; WIRED. https://www.wired.com/story/amazongoogle-microsoft-green-clouds-andhyperscale-data-centers/ Prodec Networks. (2021). 5 ways cloud computing could help save the planet.

Prodec.co.uk. https://www.prodec.co.uk/insights/5ways-cloud-computing-could-helpsave-theplanet/#:~:text=In%20addition%20to%20 directly%20cutting,users%20to%20travel %20as%20much Trueman, C. (2019, August 9). What impact are data centres having on climate change? Computerworld. https://www.computerworld.com/article /3431148/why-data-centres-are-the-newfrontier-in-the-fight-against-climatechange.html

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is defined as a sudden trauma to the brain and is one of the leading causes of death worldwide (Ghajar 2000). At the same time, there continues to be no effective therapies to treat TBIs due to a limited understanding of the pathologies involved.

Not only that, there is an imbalance in TBI research in regard to gender and sex differences. In 1993, the NIH put into law that women must be included in clinical research, but it was not until 2014 that the NIH stated that all funded research must use both male and female cells and test animals in pre-clinical studies (NIH 2022). However, research supported before 2014 can continue to operate studies involving only male pre-clinical studies. This leads to health professionals and scientists making dangerous assumptions about how similar peoples' bodies react to TBIs regardless of gender. Many past studies show that biologically female and male brains are very different from one another in size to the way neurons a i X a n n i are wired (Brizendine 2006;

By W Ingalhalikar 2014).

One of the main reasons women have not been historically included in the research is due to the 'complexity' of the ovarian cycle.

For many scientists, the ovarian cycle is another independent variable that is an annoyance to accommodate, and not a good representation of how the medication affects an individual (Castanon 2022).

RESEARCH ABOUT W O M E N 'S B R A IN S ..

L O A D IN G ..

Yet, even though past years have failed to accommodate this, half of the human population is affected by the ovarian cycle. Even though it is another independent variable, it is not one that can be brushed away.

In recent years, there have been efforts to level this inequity in research. In 2017, there was the “Understanding TBI in Women” workshop co-hosted by NIH, the Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, and the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center in an effort to identify “knowledge gaps, best practices, and target populations relevant to research on sex differences and women with TBI." (Mollayeva and Colantonio 2020) Additionally, there is new ongoing research (Armitage 2022, Valera 2021) focused on bridging these knowledge gaps and finding the why behind the differences between male and female responses to therapeutical treatments in intracranial injuries like TBI. TBI remains a consistent issue that has few therapeutic treatments for both males and females. However, with more equitable research and time, there is a possible therapeutic treatment that will work for everyone on the horizon.

Sources Armitage, Hanae. “Why Women Have a Tougher Time Recovering from Brain Injuries.” Stanford Medicine Magazine, 22 Sept. 2022, https://stanmed.stanford.edu/brain-injury-recovery-more-difficult-womenthan-men/.

Brizendine, Louann. The Female Brain. United States, Morgan Road Books, 2006.

Ingalhalikar, Madhura, et al. “Sex differences in the structural connectome of the human brain.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America vol. 111,2(2014): 823-8. doi:10.1073/pnas.1316909110 Castanon, Laura. “Most Biomedical Research Is Done on Male Animals.

That's a Public Health Problem.” Northeastern Global News, 30 Mar. 2022 Mollayeva, Tatyana, and Colantonio, Angela . “Sex, Gender, and Traumatic Brain Injury: Implications for Better Science and Practice.” Brain Injury Association of America, 7 July 2020, https://www.biausa.org/publicaffairs/media/sex-gender-and-traumatic-brain-injury-implications- forbetter-science-and-practice.

Valera, Eve M et al. “Understanding Traumatic Brain Injury in Females: A State-of-the-Art Summary and Future Directions.” The Journal of head trauma rehabilitation vol. 36,1 (2021):E1-E17. doi:10.1097/HTR.0000000000000652

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hi

A Female Recession In December of 2019, the SARS-CoV-2 virus emerged, launching the world into one of the deadliest pandemics known to date. Covid-19, the disease spread by this virus, is characterized by quite a few symptoms ranging from fever and difficulty breathing all the way to nausea and vomiting. This disease spreads rapidly as droplets from an infected person spread through their breathing, coughing, laughing, etc. In order to prevent infection, a quarantine period along with mask and vaccine mandates were instated by multiple U.S. states, municipalities, and private entities.

Tess Kleanthous

20222023

This pandemic, while devastating in terms of its physical health implications, changed everyday life, even for those who remained uninfected. The quarantine period instated dramatically changed work culture, some businesses even permanently

shifting to the part-time office model after quarantine and mask mandates were lifted. It’s no secret that this shift in the work environment caused a severe disruption in everyday domestic life, but how has this affected women in the workforce as they are forced back into the same home that they were once confined to due to inequality? Now we are here, not because of ostracization from professional life, but because of a need for survival. However, women are not the only ones thrown directly back into domestic life as their children are now also left unattended. The pandemic has seemed to strike a devastating blow to the childcare sector: 4.5 million childcare slots potentially being lost permanently.

With nearly 10 million working mothers in the U.S., we need to think about how this shift into the home can affect women’s work, wages, long-term economic outcomes, as well as what economic and professional recovery may resemble.

Reports are detailing that four times as many women dropped out of the workforce in September 2020 due to inadequate child care caused by the pandemic, the numbers coming out to roughly 865,000 women compared to 216,000 men. This step back from professional life is

showing a potential wage loss amounting to approximately $64.5 billion per year for women across the country. Family caregiving responsibilities have largely fallen on women regardless of the progressions we have made in the gender equality realm: the individual within the more feminine role of the household bearing the responsibility for most if not all of family care. A KFF Women's Health survey conducted in early 2021 has found that one in ten women have reported that they were already taking care of a family member who needed special assistance prior to the pandemic. While this is already significantly higher than the percentage of men caring for a family member with similar issues (14% vs 9% respectively), women’s parental roles in their families lives’ have only continued to grow from there with over one in ten women reporting that they have gained new caregiving responsibilities as a result of the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Knowing this has been the outcome of a global pandemic for women in the workforce, what can we do to counteract that harm that has been done? It’s time to “[Reinvent] the Leadership Journey for Women in Tech.” To do this there are a few things we must take into consideration: the fact that Women of Color do not have the same experience as white women and the fact that senior level women do not have the same experience as midlevel women. According to a BCG survey, 47% of WOC said it was more difficult to communicate with supervisors and mentors as opposed to 35% of white women. In addition to this, both WOC and white women spent the same number of hours on caregiving duties, however 15% of minority respondents reported that they were caring for both children and other relatives as opposed to 8% of white respondents. In terms of how an authoritative role affected women's experience, 33% of women in senior positions pivoted their professional identity during the pandemic whereas women holding mid-level positions were less likely to do so due to a decrease in flexibility.

In order to support all women in tech, regardless of their identity, companies must keep a close eye on their company culture. For starters, providing a variety of pathways to leadership to accommodate those who have not had a traditional journey and identifying what adds value to the manager-employee relationship are great ways that employers can support their employees in these times. Supporting mentorship sponsorship activities in a hybrid environment as well as reassessing what routines align with the new work model have also become increasingly popular. This will look different for different companies, but managers must learn to take into consideration the new work-life balance. This means normalizing things such as temporary leave for both caregivers and non-caregivers and ensuring that any support given to caregivers supporting children extends to those supporting children and other family members accordingly.

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https://www.hopkinsmedicin e.org/health/conditions-anddiseases/coronavirus https://www.americanprogre ss.org/article/covid-19-sentwomens-workforce-progressbackward/ https://www.kff.org/womenshealth-policy/issuebrief/women-work-andfamily-during-covid-19findings-from-the-kffwomens-health-survey/ https://www.bcg.com/publica tions/2022/reinventing-theleadership-journey-forwomen-in-tech

Sources

WOMEN ARE HUNGRY FOR CHANGE

THE GENDER GAP IN FOOD SECURITY BY: MEGHAN NAGIA Food insecurity is real. It is also sexist. Food is a basic human right. However, gender inequality plays a prominent role in pushing more women into hunger than men. The number of women suffering from hunger in any country is directly proportional to the nation’s gender gap. Although hunger has been an ongoing global issue, in 2021, 59% of the 828 million people suffering from hunger were women. Since 2021, 150 million more women are food insecure than men with the gap continuously widening (Gilchrist).

Food insecurity is a social, biological, nutritional, and economic phenomenon. It can be defined as the uncertainty of having or the inability to acquire adequate food intake for all household members (Public Health Nutrition). Women in many parts of the world are less likely to have the same opportunities and resources as men; this inequity is also visible in their lack of access to sufficient and nutritious food to meet their food preferences and dietary needs, required for a healthy lifestyle.

According to the World Food Program (USA), in nearly two thirds of the world’s countries, women are more likely to be hungry than men. Women also suffer the most from malnutrition and macro-/micro-nutrient deficiencies. Myriad factors, as presented below, contribute to this gendered hunger gap:

Sexist norms, beliefs, and traditions In some patriarchal cultures discriminatory social and cultural norms prevail even today. Sadly, some traditional societies treat women to be of an inferior status than men and expect them to sacrifice their food for their families. Women eat last, after the men or children in the household have been fed or they skip meals altogether Lack of economic independence In many parts of the world women are still dependent on their male counterparts for financial needs. They are not encouraged to be in the workforce or seek financial autonomy. Financial inequality is also visible among women working in agricultural farms under strenuous conditions who are not allowed to be landowners or paid the same wages as men. Furthermore, “there are 18 countries (e.g., Iran, Bahrain and Qatar) where husbands can legally prevent their wives from getting a job” (wfpusa). In several countries, females receive less, or no education compared to their male counterparts which decreases their chances to be gainfully employed and impacts their decision-making power. Whether toiling at home or on the farm, being “unpaid or underpaid” is normalized; this increases women’s likelihood of living in poverty more than men despite enduring hard work and physical labor.

Discriminatory laws and unequal rights In many countries, women have fewer rights and power than men. For example, when men own land, women’s access to livestock, agriculture, and water rights decreases, resulting in lower crop yield and income. In several areas, females are subjected to gender-based domestic violence. The UN reports that 7090% of Pakistani women experience some form of physical or psychological abuse from their spouse or intimate partner. Lack of stringent laws or their effective enforcement powers men and boys to perpetuate disrespectful or abusive acts against women including denial of their basic right to a nutritious meal.

Disasters and conflicts Extreme weather conditions, climate change, and man-made conflicts drive economic distress and famine.

Several regions in the world are regularly hit by natural disasters such as droughts while other areas are vulnerable to devastating floods or typhoons. These unexpected catastrophes impair economic conditions and lead to poor water quality and food scarcity. Additionally, in countries ravaged by war, more often women and children are subjected to violence. They are forced to flee and live in overcrowded camps with unsanitary conditions, exposed to malnutrition or diseases such as HIV and AIDS, while having no access to a healthy and wholesome meal. At times they may also face famine which is the most extreme form of food insecurity.

Food insecurity has an adverse impact on the health and wellbeing of women and girls. Malnutrition, obesity, or depression are some of the health consequences suffered by women facing food insecurity. Pregnant women facing food insecurity are at a higher risk of gestational diabetes, iron deficiency, and low birth weight.

The four ‘pillars’ of food and nutrition security are availability, access, utilization, and stability. It is argued that food security for all will be achieved when these pillars are adequately realized. Many in developed nations take access to food for granted, when there are many “food deserts” or repressive regions and communities where women are denied proper nutrition and sufficient food.

With a hyper sense of urgency, the world must unite to eliminate food deserts and push for a shared global vision of gender-just food security where men and women have equal access to healthy and nutritious food. A few immediate interventions that can shrink the inequity in gender-based food insecurity include: Empowering women through equal right to education will enhance their knowledge and decision making power Breaking down antiquated social norms and dismantling unjust laws including women’s land ownership Offering economic independence by creating more jobs for women Closing the gender wage gap to increase affordability of food and other necessities of life.

Food is an essential ingredient for survival. Not knowing where the next meal will come from can be stressful and daunting. Hunger stifles proper functioning of the body. However, many women are enduring this crisis every day. Let us come together to amplify our voices against gender-driven food insecurity and aspire for a zero-hunger world where neither women nor men are starved for food.

Sources Bapolisi, Wyvine Ansima, et al. “Gendered Determinants of Food Insecurity in Ongoing Regional Conflicts, North and South Kivu, the Democratic Republic of Congo - Agriculture & Food Security.” BioMed Central, BioMed Central, 28 Apr. 2021, https://agricultureandfoodsecurity.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40066-021-0028 Botreau, Hélène, and Marc J. Cohen. “Gender Inequality and Food Insecurity: A Dozen Years after the Food Price Crisis, Rural Women Still Bear the Brunt of Poverty and Hunger.”

Advances in Food Security and Sustainability, Elsevier Inc., 2020, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7526640/.5-x.

Food Security and Gender - OECD. https://www.oecd.org/dac/gender-development/46460857.pdf.

“Gender Inequality Causes More Women to Suffer from Hunger & Poverty.” World Food Program USA, 8 Mar. 2022, https://www.wfpusa.org/articles/women-in-crisis-top-wayswomen-are-hungrier/.

Gilchrist, Karen. “Global Food Crisis Sees 150 Million More Women than Men Going Hungry - and 'It's Going to Get Worse'.” CNBC, CNBC, 30 Aug. 2022, https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/30/global-food-crisis-sees-150-million-more-women-than-men-going-hungry.html.

Jung, Natália Miranda, et al. “Gender Differences in the Prevalence of Household Food Insecurity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis: Public Health Nutrition.” Cambridge Core, Cambridge University Press, 10 Nov. 2016, https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrition/article/gender-differences-in-the-prevalence-of-householdfood-insecurity-a-systematic-review-and-metaanalysis/B3B0DE2E04C0413E48267E63B400EC36.

“Women Are Hungrier.” World Food Program USA, https://www.wfpusa.org/women-are-hungrier-infographic/.

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WRITTEN BY SAM DEMARINIS

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE & MACHINE LEARNING: HOW IT WORKS, AND HOW IT FAILS The rise of machine learning and artificial intelligence has led to mind-boggling technological developments that have impacted our lives immensely. From viral videos of Boston Dynamics robots doing backflips to Netflix recommendations on what to watch next, we cannot go a day without AI trying to make our lives easier. But for underrepresented individuals––LGBTQ+, racial minorities, etc.––there is significant harm being done instead. How do these artificial intelligence models work? What are the basic processes happening to make them?

A computer is only as smart as we make it–– how could they be discriminating against these individuals, and is it possible to stop this?

WHAT IS ML? Machine learning (ML), a subgenre of artificial intelligence, is truly a fascinating and innovative technological advancement. The idea behind this process is to, quite literally, teach a machine how to learn so that it can make logical predictions based on data it has already analyzed before. To those unfamiliar with machine learning (and even to those who are), it really does seem like magic. But to understand how and why underrepresented individuals are being harmed by some of these algorithms, it is important to understand how a basic machine learning algorithm works.

Though there are many different algorithms out there, the main process occurring in all of them stems from a common idea: calculating distances between data points. For example, the number of streams of a song would be quantitative data, while the genre that a song fits into would be categorical data. It is important to understand what kind of data we are working with when it comes to implementing ML algorithms because we will need to adjust them accordingly.

KNN ALGORITHM One of the most common algorithms, knearest neighbors (KNN) regression/ classification, generates a predicted value for a particular label based on a set of features. For example, given sufficient data, one could generate a predicted temperature value for a specific day based on factors such as wind, humidity, distance from the ocean, and more.

But how does the algorithm really work?

Let’s continue with our example of predicting temperature. Say that we have a dataset of 730 rows where each row corresponds to a day over the past 2 years. There are several columns to describe these rows, such as the factors described above (wind, humidity, distance from the ocean, and more). Using this preconstructed dataset, we can iterate through each observation (day) in the dataset and generate a predicted temperature value by looking at the k nearest neighbors in the dataset, where the value of k is up to us. We can find the mean of these k neighbors’ temperature values and use that as our prediction. This is a very basic machine learning algorithm, but this idea of extrapolating based on averaged distance or error between points is a common idea that shows up in all machine learning algorithms.

But what if the dataset we used to build this predictive model only contained weather data from, say, Antarctica?

This data would not extrapolate well to a different environment, such as Jamaica in the summertime. Since a model only learns based off the data we supply, it would likely make inaccurate predictions for new, different data.

In order to combat this, we would need to feed the model diverse data that contains many different kinds of weather observations.

results in more recommendations for white people to receive care. This is a major issue because black patients may require care but not receive it due to the model’s biases.

WHAT COULD GO WRONG? Unfortunately, ML will inherently misunderstand and mislabel members of the LGBTQ+ community, racial minorities, and disabled people. Let’s start by examining how the LGBTQ+ community is being hurt. As cited in the article, “Why Artificial Intelligence Is Set Up to Fail LGBTQ People,” anthropologist Mary L. Gray states that LGBTQ+ people are “constantly remaking” their community. For algorithms that are built upon previous observed data, this raises concerns.

Individuals who identify as LGBTQ+ will go through a life-long journey with their identity, and as they evolve and change, algorithms will not be able to keep up. They will continue to calculate data points with the least amount of distance to a new data point to make ‘logical’ predictions. But when data points represent people, with unique and extensive identities, this does not lead to accurate predictions.

Instead, it results in misclassification that can be harmful to an individual’s security in their identity. Take Automatic Gender Recognition, for example, that is built on training data of mostly cisgendered males and females. To classify a new person’s gender, the algorithm compares their physical facial features to those in the training data to make a logical classification.

Many transgender individuals are being harmed by these superficial assumptions.

When it comes to racial minorities, we are seeing significant biases especially in the medical field. Algorithms that predict which patients need care have been unintentionally discriminating against black people. In their study entitled “Dissecting racial bias in an algorithm used to manage the health of populations”, Obermeyer et al. examined a commonly used medical ML algorithm and found that black patients needed to be significantly sicker than white patients to be recommended for the same type of care. The reason that we see such biases in this algorithm is because the model was built on “past data on health care spending, which reflects a history in which Black patients had less to spend on their health care compared to white patients, due to longstanding wealth and income disparities” (Grant). Since the data has been strongly impacted by such racial issues, the model reflects this and

SOLUTIONS The main solution that many people suggest is to build ML models on data that is unbiased.

For the example of racist models in the medical field, this would look like building a model on data that does not strictly contain healthcare spending history for white and black Americans, but rather includes other factors that don’t misrepresent black Americans. The reason is that ML models try to make predictions based on data points that are most like the new, unlabeled data point. If a model is built on data that is not accurate or representative of a population, we see these kinds of problems. For issues involving the labeling of LGBTQ+ individuals, it is likely not enough to build a model on unbiased data.

Groups that are constantly evolving will continue to be hurt by algorithms that are based on previously seen data. While these predictions may be accurate at times, they may not hold up in the future, so it is likely that AI will never be successful in trying to classify LGBTQ+ individuals. Overall, it is difficult to determine the exact solution to the issues raised by ML and AI. While there are countless benefits of these phenomena that we are experiencing in our daily lives, we must be aware of the social issues that come with it, as well as why they are there in the first place.

From there, we can work towards rectifying these problems and preventing them from happening again in the future.

Sources Grant, Crystal. “Algorithms Are Making Decisions About Health Care, Which May Only Worsen Medical Racism.” American Civil Liberties Union, 24 Feb. 2023, www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/algorithms-in-health-care-may-worsen-medicalracism.

Keyes, Os. The Misgendering Machines: Trans/HCI Implications of Automatic Gender Recognition. ironholds.org/resources/papers/agr_paper.pdf.

Obermeyer, Ziad, et al. “Dissecting Racial Bias in an Algorithm Used to Manage the Health of Populations.” Science, 25 Oct. 2019, www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aax2342.

Rangnekar, Priti. “Decoding the ‘Encoding’ of Ableism in Technology and Artificial Intelligence.” Medium, 27 July 2021, medium.com/@scienceconnectorg/decoding-theencoding-of-ableism-in-technology-and-artificial-intelligence-a4f33bcccc85.

Wareham, Jamie. “Why Artificial Intelligence Is Set up to Fail LGBTQ People.” Forbes, 26 Mar. 2021, www.forbes.com/sites/jamiewareham/2021/03/21/why-artificial-intelligencewill-always-fail-lgbtq-people/?sh=3e81a6d2301e.

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This paid internship provides students with tangible experience in technology and feminist leadership while working on the digital scholarship projects of Tulane faculty g sciences, and in the humanities, social sciences. Technical areas include: digital media, digital archiving, web design, database development, coding, design thinking, UX/UI, and audio/visual editing.

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A resource used to document the life of Frances Joseph-Gaudet an American activist, educator, and social worker who focused on causes such as prison reform. The goal of this project is to guide and inspire similar work in the present times.

Project Partners: Nell Bolton and Rosanne Adderley Ph.D.

Required: Website and Digital Archive Software: Omeka Contributions: Build of website infrastructure Website maintenance Digital archiving of resources

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Goals: A website & active social media Software: wordpress, LinkedIn, Twitter, Canva Project: An online collection whose purpose is to maintain the legacy of Congo Square, an area in the southern corner of Armstrong Park where both enslaved and free people of color would gather throughout the 19th century.

Congo Square Interview Views

2 months ago

Partner: Freddi Evans

PROJECT PROMOTION

Join

WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT

Subscribed

SOCIAL MEDIA MAINTENANCE

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GIVE LIGHT PROJECT PARTNER Steph Smith

OUTCOMES We spread awareness about the lives and professions of Indigenous Midwives. In addition, we helped inform student groups and feminist organizations about the film.

DEVELOPMENTS "Give Light: Stories from Indigenous Midwives" is a documentary film highlighting the experiences and perspectives of Indigenous midwives. Throughout the year, we have marketed the film screenings to local and national audiences through the use of social media platforms, Eventbrite, and emails. We also brainstormed educational toolkit examples for viewers and developed an interactive toolkit on SquareSpace.

STORIES FROM INDIGENOUS MIDWIVES

Software: WordPress and ArcGIS Developments: website construction database build and maintenance search engine optimization automation research

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NUTRIENT POLLUTION CASE TRACKER This project aims to help organizations and the general public remain updated on upstream developmental that may affect downstream water quality with an informational tracker of water quality for several states within the Mississpi River Basin Project Partners: Isabel Englehart, Mark Davis, Chris Dalbom

Technology Used: WordPress

So far this project has tracked data from: Iowa Kentucky Louisiana Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Wisconsin

2022 - 2023

Transformative Preservation

PROJECT OWNER: Laura Blokker & Andrew Liles

Purpose This project supports efforts to preserve the legacies of African American educational excellence and community pride through preserving and repurposing mid-century African American school campuses.

Additionally, it is hoped that this website will also serve as a conduit for networking among alumni hoping to preserve their alma maters and supporters of this work in the South.

Our Work

SOFTWARE: -UCRAFT -ARCGIS -VISME

This year our team worked on developing and updating the African American School Building Revival website. In this process, we redesigned the homepage, designed a new logo for the site, created mockup timelines to be implemented in the future, and added more schools to the school page.

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50TH ANNIVERSARY OF 1975 PROJECT OWNER: ALLISON TRUITT PH.D.

PROJECT GOAL: To gain a better understanding and increase the visibility of the presence and contributions of people with Southeast Asian heritage who resettled in the New Orleans area due to the Vietnam War

THE TECHNOLOGY: Scalar Knight Lab

WHAT WE HAVE DONE SO FAR: Set up the Scalar website Integrated Knight Lab timeline into the Scalar website

MELLON GRADUATE COMMUNITY PROGRAM PROJECT OWNERS: TULANE MELLON GRADUATE COMMUNITY-ENGAGED SCHOLARSHIP (CES) PROGRAM Ryan Hugo & Lucas Diaz

Project Goals: The digital exhibition allows for a unique look into 12 student community-engaged scholarship projects

Divi!

Technology Used: WordPress, WordPress plug-ins (i.e WPtouch Mobile Plugin, WP Go Maps, Divi Builder, PDF Embedder) Developments: website design, website management, digital archive creation with pdfs and videos, created tutorials for future website development

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Maternal and Child Health Coalition Project Owner: Dr. Clare Daniel

Project Mission

To improve outcomes, experiences, and access to quality, respectful care during pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period by centering the experiences of Black birthing people and their infants in New Orleans.

What We Achieved Created the abortion access map that will be integrated into the site Performed general website clean up and updating

Our Project Goal To create an abortion access map that compares state abortion access to maternal mortality rates.

Software Used WordPress Tableau SCAN TO VISIT

FEMINISM, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY STUDIES THIS CROWD-SOURCED DIGITAL HUMANITIES PROJECT EXPLORES THE INTERSECTIONS OF GENDER EQUITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE WITH SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY STUDIES USING HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES. IT INTENTIONALLY USES INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY STUDIES, INCLUDING HISTORY, POLITICS, ARTS, CULTURE, PUBLIC HEALTH, SOCIAL SCIENCES, WRITING AND RESEARCH TO MAKE EXPLORING STEM (SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, MATH) TOPICS MORE ACCESSIBLE. THE SITE’S TITLE, “STEMINISMS” REFERS TO DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF FEMINIST THINKING BUT THE SITE FOCUSES ON INTERSECTIONAL PRACTICES. WE HAVE DESIGNED THIS SITE USING FEMINIST TENETS TO SERVE BOTH ACADEMIC AUDIENCES AND ENTHUSIASTS. WE USE A PEER-REVIEWED CROWDSOURCE PROCESS TO GATHER SOURCES THAT ALLOWS ANYONE THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONTRIBUTE AS A RESEARCHER.

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THE TECHNOLOGYTRAFFICKING NEXUS

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO HUMAN TRAFFICKING

By Olivia Riess

CONTEXTUALIZING HUMAN TRAFFICKING Human trafficking is one of the most prominent humanitarian crises that exist today. It is an intersectional issue that is defined in two instances: sex trafficking and forced labor. In addition to race, gender, disability, age, and class, other factors, such as migration status and economic instability, can increase vulnerability to human trafficking. Therefore, ending human trafficking requires addressing the root causes, such as poverty, discrimination, and lack of access to education and opportunities. It also requires a comprehensive approach that involves law enforcement, civil society, governments, and the private sector to prevent trafficking, protect victims, and prosecute perpetrators.

Sex trafficking victims are disproportionately women of color, many under the age of 18.

In Louisiana alone, we can see this as an intersectional issue as “black girls represent 49% of child sex trafficking victims, even though they comprise only 19% of Louisiana’s population of youth.” [1] There is a range of misconceptions surrounding human trafficking that can hinder efforts to address this issue. Common misconceptions may include the notion that human trafficking only happens in developing countries or in certain industries, such as the sex industry, however, human trafficking is a global issue that can occur in any industry, including agriculture, domestic work, and manufacturing and can happen in any country, including developed countries.

COMBATTING HUMAN TRAFFICKING WITH TECHNOLOGY Unfortunately, many advancements in technology have been exploited to aid perpetrators of human trafficking. New tech such as instant and secure communication, remote control of victims using GPS location apps, and the use of cryptocurrency or receiving and moving illegitimate profits through cryptocurrency have all been employed as a tactic to maintain HT operations. However, new technologies also have the potential to play a critical role in the fight against human trafficking by helping to identify and prevent trafficking activity, and by providing support and resources to victims. [2]

REFRAMING THE CONVERSATION While there is much to celebrate regarding these advancements that have allowed for new methods in combat human trafficking, it is important to address the root causes of the issue. The way that the traffickingtechnology connection is often portrayed simplifies the issue into a good vs. evil framework. This narrative focuses on punishing the perpetrators and rescuing the victims, while absolving nation-states and businesses from responsibility for creating the conditions that enable exploitation, and relying solely on technology to address human trafficking risks distracts from the standard operating practices of businesses that may contribute to exploitation. [3] In order to effectively address human trafficking, we must actively and intentionally work to address the underlying problems and hold all stakeholders accountable.

TECH USE & EXAMPLES

1. Social Media can be used to raise awareness about human trafficking and connect victims with resources ex. Polaris and the National Human Trafficking Hotline

2. Data Analysis can be used to identify patterns and trends in human trafficking, helping to better understand and respond

ex. Human Trafficking Hotline

3. Mobile apps have been developed to help people identify and report suspected instances of human trafficking

ex. STOP-IT app

4. Blockchain technology can be used to create secure and transparent systems for tracking supply chains and financial transactions, which can help to prevent human trafficking

ex. World Food Programme has used blockchain technology to track the distribution of aid in refugee camps, help to prevent aid from being diverted to traffickers

5. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been used to identify potential trafficking activity and assist law enforcement in investigations.

ex. Thorn's AI tool 'Safer'

References: [1] Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services, Human Trafficking, Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes and Commercial Sexual Exploitation: Annual Report 6 (2018); C. Puzzanchera, A. Sladky and W. Kang, Easy Access to Juvenile Populations: 1990-2017 (2018), https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezapop/asp/profile_display.asp.

[2] Montasari, R., Jahankhani, H. (2021). The Application of Technology in Combating Human Trafficking. In: Jahankhani, H., Jamal, A., Lawson, S. (eds) Cybersecurity, Privacy and Freedom Protection in the Connected World.

Advanced Sciences and Technologies for Security Applications. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68534-8_10 [3] Milivojevic, S., Moore, H., & Segrave, M. (2020). Freeing the modern slaves, one click at a time: Theorising human trafficking, modern slavery, and technology. Anti-Trafficking Review, 14, 16-32. https://doi.org/10.14197/atr.201220142

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GENDER EQUI TY I N THE HOME: PROOF WE’ VE DONE LI TTLE I N CLOSI NG THE GENDER GAP KAILEN MITCHELL Gender disparities exist all around us, and if you haven’t been living under a rock, you might recognize gender equality efforts as solving the wage gap or encouraging more women to work in STEM fields. In this article I’m going to look past these issues and instead more closely at another type of gender disparity: the one within the home. I’m going to examine the gendering of household labor and why the little progress we’ve made inside the home is proof of a much larger issue: our selective and masculineoriented gender equity strategies. Additionally, I'll cover how this lack of progress is affecting women’s lives negatively, and therefore our world as a whole.

Despite all efforts for gender equality in the modern age, women continue to carry the burden of domestic labor and childcare at disproportionate rates compared to their male partners. In fact, women do more than 75% of the unpaid care work in the world.

Research also finds that despite the fact that women now outnumber men in the paid workforce, they continue to do 60% more household labor as their partners. While the gender pay gap is steadily narrowing, the housework gap stopped narrowing in the 1980s. In terms of men doing their fair share of unpaid labor, we’re still stuck in the 80s.

One reason women may be taking on this work is due to a fear their partners will not perform the work to a sufficient standard, a Guardian article suggests. The article states this means this issue isn’t simple sexism of lazy men, but rather a much more complex issue where internalized sexism reiterates to women that the state of her home is a sign of her worth. Women are told their entire lives that their value rests on their ability to be a “good woman,” meaning she performs all her wifely and motherly duties. A clean, tidy house is a sign of “succeeding” as a woman, and therefore internalized sexism forces women to have high standards. It’s clear we’ve progressed little in terms of closing the gender gap within the home, and when we examine why this is true, it reveals an integral issue with our approach to solving gender inequalities.

The main reason we’re so focused on issues like women entering male dominated workplaces and the pay gap is because these are masculine-centric issues. Instead of focusing on valuing women’s work or even getting men to contribute to women’s work, we as a society are obsessed with getting women to be more like men, and think that once women have become like men our world will have achieved gender equality.

But this is far from the truth. The strategies and areas we have poured efforts into are inherently part of the problem: we continue to be a society that values the masculine.

The very fact that we are not focused on solving this issue proves how little we value this unpaid work women do behind the scenes. This undervaluing is extremely harmful to women’s lives.

Not only are women 53% more stressed than men, but also women consistently exceed the recommended number of hours one should work per week before it’s detrimental to your health. Research shows you shouldn’t be working more than 40 hours a week, but women do work over this amount due to their labor in and outside of the home. This imbalance of labor inside the home is literally killing women. Additionally, men in the United States report having, on average, an extra hour per day of personal leisure time.

That’s an hour women lose to their household burdens that they could be spending on personal activities to improve their mental health. It’s no wonder women are so much more stressed than men, and are twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression.

Extremely poor maternity laws in the United States also mean that women are forced into quitting their jobs or moving into part time work, whereas men do not face the same issue. When we hold women back, we hold back 50% of the labor force and reduce the pool of qualified, intelligent workers. On top of this, the workplace itself is built to not accommodate someone who has childcare responsibilities. Women face a variety of issues that men just don’t have to think about, for example, last minute shift schedules being standard, pregnant women not having proper workplace accommodations, and babysitters not being considered a business expense for women participating in work trips. These examples are just the surface of what women face day-to-day and throughout their careers. The disadvantages that start in the home leave women impaired compared to their male counterparts. If we want women to have equal opportunities within the workplace and in life, we must start by reducing their homely burdens.

The little progress we’ve made inside the home and our focus on the issues outside of it shows that our approach to solving gender inequalities is a male centric one. We are failing women with gender equity in the home, and it’s a dire issue. We must dismantle the values we hold surrounding work inside and outside of the home to either account for women’s burden or care work, or we must create an environment where both men and women contribute equally to household tasks. Finding a solution to this problem not only benefits women, but everyone as women's invisible work is the backbone of our world.

Sources: - https://sociology.iresearchnet.com/sociology-of-family/division-of-household-labor/ - https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2018/feb/17/dirty-secret-why-housework-gender-gap - https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/01/25/for-american-couples-gender-gapsin-sharing-household-responsibilities-persist-amid-pandemic/ - https://hbr.org/2020/05/gender-equity-starts-in-the-home - https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/in-depth/depression/art20047725#:~:text=Women%20are%20nearly%20twice%20as,occur%20with%20normal%20hormonal%20changes.

- Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez

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Computer Science as"Women's Work"

By Izzy Blair

The modern consensus on a “computer scientist” is well known—one imagines a scruffy white man who spends too much time on his computer and not enough being outside or socially active. This sentiment, however, of what a computer scientist looks like has changed a lot since the birth of the profession of computer science. In fact, computer science was considered “women’s work” before anything else, especially so in the mid-twentieth century. The beginnings of computer science as a “pink collar” job can be attributed to many reasons, but the main one was that computer engineering and hardware was considered much more important and difficult than any work related to software or mathematical calculations. Despite these somewhat condescending categorizations of computer science, the field opened many doors for women in science, as there were “so few other opportunities for women, other than teaching” (1).

The most interesting thing about the ways in which women in computer science were perceived and judged is seen in how these same perceptions were mirrored by the perceptions of computers in general. Little was known about the trajectory of computer software and all the varying ways in which it could be used to solve problems. Furthermore, there was a general sense that “the computer itself was doing the work, and building the computer was the really important thing” (2). Because of this perception, the math and calculations that served as the input into these early computers were seen as trivial, easy, and much less important work.

This work was far from easy, however: pages and pages of calculations that had to be flawless went into each problem, and many more hours of work put into these pages. However, after the Pearl Harbor attacks, calculations for flights and other warfare tactics became more pertinent. Male scientists threw the work of calculating onto women even more heavily during this time. This is why early female computer scientists were called “human computers” -- they computed mathematical problems all day, filling up notebook after notebook with their work. Human computers became so important that there were entire departments devoted to them, headed and run by women computer scientists. Some women would even be hired straight out of college as the importance of hiring young, bright minds became a priority (3).

Not only did the emersion of computer science as a “pink collar” field allow women positions in science-related jobs, but it also kickstarted a wave of women’s worker rights being recognized and implemented. For example, when NASA began hiring women straight out of college, they allowed them to have maternity leave with a guaranteed return to their job if they proved valuable to the team.

This also provided a new sort of job security that women in science had never experienced before. Another benefit that arose from this surge in “pink collar” workers was the increase in hiring women of color as human computers. As more and more human computers were needed, NASA and other computer-tech companies began to hire women based on their computational skills and not their skin color (3). So, the same system that was supposed to suppress women in computer science was the same one that allowed more women from diverse backgrounds to thrive and grow the field.

So, if computer science began as a “pink collar” field, how did it become so male-dominated? The answer is simple: as computers began to become more complex, the work of maintaining them came to be considered more complex and important, and therefore “unfit” for women. The field of computer science began to be paid and respected more as it became more male-dominated. Software programming, like computer engineering, formed a more revered reputation and therefore positions were filled with men where before they were filled by women. This isn’t to say that there weren’t women still in these positions—for example, Sue Finley, now 80 years old, is NASA’s longest-serving employee and started working as a human computer in 1958 (3). However, it is clear that gender diversity has become an issue in the field of computer science.

Looking back at the beginnings of the field shows not only the important role women have played in furthering technology science, but also the triviality of imposed gender roles on technological careers.

Sources: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/computerprogramming-used-to-be-womens-work-718061/ b. http://www.history.com/news/coding-used-to-be-a-womansjob-so-it-was-paid-less-and-undervalued c. https://www.history.com/news/human-computers-women-atnasa a.

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Digital Privacy Post-Roe: A How-To Guide By Madeline Nellis In the wake of Roe vs. Wade being overturned, we must make sure our bodily autonomy is protected as much as possible. Digital surveillance, and understanding what is being tracked, is increasingly important as states have banned abortions and pregnant people turn to out-of-state options. The following is a guide to digital privacy post-Roe. Know your tools, and obstacles, and how they work.

Step 1: DON’T use period tracking apps. DO use a calendar to track menstruation.

Menstruation apps store data that a user inputs in order to predict when the user will get their period as well as ovulation dates and to show the user where they are in their cycle. Records of having a period, missing a period, sexual activity, and other things such as mood swings and menstruation symptoms can be tracked within the apps. This can be evidence that can make or break a criminal case.

Data that is streamed through third-party systems can be subjected to warrants if a user is being accused of illegally terminating a pregnancy. The apps themselves can be subjected to data demands if their information is not legally protected. Post Roe is a world with a new legal environment. Data gathered by apps such as smoking and alcohol intake could also find its way into the courtroom depending on how criminality is defined for healthcare providers and patients (Planned Parenthood Federation of America Inc.) We must proceed with the utmost precaution.

Calendar tracking can be a useful tool to predict menstruation, when one is fertile, and when it is safe to have sex. When starting to calendar track you should follow your cycle for at least six cycles by marking the first day of each period on the calendar. The total number of days between marks, from the first day of one period to the first day of the next, is the length of your cycle.

To keep track of your fertile days you first need to detect the shortest cycle you have in your record. Then you subtract 18 from the total number of days in the cycle, count that number from day 1 of your current cycle, and that day is your first fertile day. In order to find your last fertile day, find the longest cycle in your records. Then you subtract 11 from the total number of days in the longest cycle, and count that number from day 1 of your current cycle, marking that as your last fertile day (What’s the calendar method of FAMs?).

(What’s the calendar method of FAMs?)

Of course, calendar tracking is not 100% accurate and you should always use other preventative measures if you are not trying to become pregnant, but it provides the same information an app would supply.

Step 2: Know the weaknesses in your defenses: VPN, encryption, private browser There are a few different measures you can take to browse the web in a saferless trackable way. You must know how to use them and their weaknesses- what is protected and what is not.

VPN stands for virtual private network. They protect browsing information from internet service providers. When using VPNs, your device connects to the VPN servers and internet connection. While they limit service providers from tracking and recording your data, they do not disguise device location from cellular networks.

Encryption scrambles messages when sent so that they are indecipherable when passing through application servers. Messaging apps like apple message and whatsapp use encryption. Although these messages are difficult for law enforcement to decode, they can gain access with a court order through the application.

Private Browsers search the internet in private mode- stopping devices from making records of web searches/visits. Private Browsers do not hide browsing data from internet providers (NYT.) Overall, when searching the internet, a VPN is your best option, as long as you are in a location that does not need to be concealed (Singer).

Step 3: Leave your phone at home.

You cannot escape digital surveillance. Every piece of technology can be a way for law enforcement to gain data. In the event that you need an abortion, and are able to get to a clinic that can perform one, you should leave your phone at home. Keep it turned on so that local cell towers track its location and there is no trace of you leaving your residence.

References Osborne, C. (n.d.). Period tracking apps are no longer safe. delete them. ZDNET. Retrieved February 23, 2023, from https://www.zdnet.com/article/period-tracking-apps-are-no-longer-safe-delete-them/ Planned Parenthood Federation of America Inc. (n.d.). What is the calendar method?: Fertility Calendar Info. Planned Parenthood. Retrieved February 23, 2023, from https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/birth-control/fertility-awareness/whats-calendar-methodfams#:~:text=You%20can%20do%20this%20with,first%20days%20of%20each%20period Singer, N., & Chen, B. X. (2022, July 13). In a post-roe world, the future of Digital Privacy Looks Even Grimmer. The New York Times. Retrieved February 23, 2023, from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/13/technology/personaltech/abortion-privacy-roe-surveillance.html

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Intrusion Detection Overview

By Jingzhi Yang IDS is a type of detection system that plays a key role in protecting cyber security by monitoring the states of software and hardware running in a network. The first intrusion detection system was proposed in 1980. Generally speaking, there are two types of IDS classification methods: the detection-based method and the data source-based method. Detection-based methods are also sub-classified into misuse-based and anomaly-based detection

Misuse-based Detection

The idea behind misuse-based detection method is keeping the known or seen attack behaviors as signatures in a database. These specification-based techniques have been shown to produce a low rate of false alarms but are not as effective as anomaly detection in detecting novel attacks. Researchers realized hackers can easily find their ways to bypass the obstacles. For example, a system might have handcrafted rules such as if login time is in the non-business hours and there are 5 continuous failed attempts then suspend the account for 24 hours.

After some experiments, hackers will get to know this rule and try to log in at a different time or implement a ‘cooling’ time before his next try to bypass the rule.

Rule-based systems can be effective, but they require constant manual updates, and they can be easily defeated by a knowledgeable adversary. It is very time consuming and inaccurate.

Anomaly-based detection

Anomaly detection can be defined as a key element of intrusion detection and other detection systems in which perturbations of normal behavior suggest the presence of intentionally or unintentionally induced attacks, faults, defects, etc. The keyword in this definition is ‘normal behavior’ or as somebody prefers ‘baseline’. The baseline represents how the system normally behaves, and then all network activity is compared to that baseline.

The baseline represents how the system normally behaves, and then all network activity is compared to that baseline. Rather than searching for known IOC (indicator of compromise), anomaly-based IDS simply identifies any out-of-theordinary behavior to trigger alerts.

For example, if a user usually uses MacOS and logs in from New Orleans but all of a sudden he is using a Windows machine to log in from Russia, it is very unlikely that this log in attempt is coming from the user.

Because anomaly-based systems can detect misuse based on network and system behavior, the type of misuse does not need to be previously known.

Machine Learning is an intuitive way to implement anomaly-based detection. The most common supervised algorithms are, Supervised Neural Networks, Support Vector Machines (SVM), k-Nearest Neighbors, Bayesian Networks and Decision Tree. The most common unsupervised algorithms are, K-Means, Self-organizing maps (SOM), C-means, ExpectationMaximization Meta algorithm (EM), Adaptive resonance theory (ART), Unsupervised Niche Clustering (UNC) and One-Class Support Vector Machine.

Anomaly detection and misused based methods have their advantages and disadvantages. Is it possible to devise a system that utilizes both methods to achieve better performance? The answer is yes. Depren proposed a novel Intrusion Detection System (IDS) architecture utilizing both anomaly and misuse detection approaches to find anomaly connections in network traffic (Depren et al., 2005). In his implementation, anomaly and misuse detection are two separate modules that make independent predictions, and then a rule-based decision support system (DSS) will make a final decision. In his implementation decision-making is a straightforward process. The logic of decision-making can be divided into three parts: 1. if the misused approach predicts it is an attack, then the final decision will be an attack regardless of anomaly approach prediction. 2. If the misused approach predicts it is benign, but the anomaly approach predicts it is an attack then the final decision is unclassified. 3. If both the misused and anomaly approach predicts it is benign then the final decision is benign. Using the KDD Cup 99 Data Set which is raw packet network traffic data (e.g 0, TCP, HTTP, SF, 181, 5450, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, normal), Depren achieved a detection rate of 99.90%, a classification rate of 99.84%, and a false positive rate of 1.25%, which overall outperformed both anomaly-based and misused-based detection methods where for anomaly detection, the detection rate is 98.96% and the false positive rate is 1.01%, and for misuse detection, the classification rate is 99.61% and false positive is 0.2% (Depren et al., 2005).

Although there is much literature using raw packet network traffic as a dataset to develop their IDS like Depren’s work, there are very few using user sign-in logs as the dataset. This is because the user sign-in log is sensitive data that is normally only available to each organization’s IT department. However, user authentication is a serious issue right now in the cybersecurity field. Many organizations rely on Microsoft Azure Active Directory to authenticate users to allow them to use resources within the organization such as email services. Unfortunately, Microsoft Azure Active Directory authentication is not as effective as expected. What makes it worse is that since the implementation is a black-box, there is no way for users to improve the detection. Hopefully in the future there is an open-sourced solution that can address the issue.

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The Cyber Gender Gap Naomi

Stoner

Today, women represent about 50% of the world’s workforce, but only about 11% of the cybersecurity workforce (Maryville, 2022). The reasons for this disparity are multifaceted. For example, the narrow societal perception of what “hackers” are may contribute to the lack of women represented in cyber. The most common image popularized by Hollywood and media generally is that of a white young man wearing a hoodie sitting behind a desk cramped with numerous oversized monitors. This common archetype may lead to an assumption that cybersecurity is a gendered job, or something that only men do. These assumptions can lead to hiring bias that compels companies to hire men over women (Townsend, 2022).

Furthermore, women may be discouraged from applying to job ads with gender biased language, and many job ads for cybersecurity positions lack gender neutral language (Kshetri, 2021).

The lack of gender diversity on cybersecurity teams presents several issues. First, diverse teams precipitate more comprehensive security. For example, women generally place more emphasis on internal training as a means to ensure security, whereas men tend to favor technical controls (Kshetri, 2021). Neither user training nor technical controls are sufficient to secure an organization; they must be used in concert with one another.

Therefore, teams with members that emphasize both facets of security will offer better security solutions, meaning gender-diverse teams will offer more comprehensive security overall. More broadly, research has shown that gender diverse cybersecurity teams increase team performance by 12% and company retention by 20% (Barekas, 2021).

What can be done?

There are many avenues that can be taken to improve the representation of women in cybersecurity. Using gender neutral language in job advertisements is one way to increase the amount of women applying to cybersecurity jobs. Specific initiatives designed to promote cybersecurity interest in school-aged girls can also help decrease the gender gap, especially since most women have ruled out cybersecurity as a possible career by age 15. Several of these initiatives already exist and serve to promote the inclusion of women in the cyber workforce. For example, Palo Alto Networks has partnered with the Girl Scouts of America to develop cybersecurity training curricula, and Women in Cybersecurity of Spain has begun offering early-career mentoring programs to women in cyber (Kshetri, 2021).

Overall, increasing the gender diversity in the field of cybersecurity will lead to both improved security outcomes, as well as increased company performance and retention. It is therefore important to support initiatives promoting the inclusion of women in cyber.

References: https://online.maryville.edu/blog/women-in-cyber-security-closing-the-gender-gap/ https://www.cyber-insights.org/gender-gap-in-cybersecurity-is-a-concern/ https://www.uscybersecurity.net/gender-gap-cybersecurity/ https://nordvpn.com/blog/gender-gap-in-cybersecurity/

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This paid internship employs undergraduates to support technical operations within a nonprofit research and education center using feminist technology customer support ethos. g Technical areas include: asset management, IT help desk, web maintenance, project management, classroom/AV support, and instructional technology training.

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Information Technology internship

2022-2023 overview

Our Project Information Technology Interns provide technical support to Newcomb Institute through training staff, responding to help tickets, and servicing any systems. Interns also upkeep technology within the lab and perform website maintenance.

Tech Fixes

Quick stats

Many of the issues we encounter can be categorized as hardware (laptops, microphones, projector), software (glitches, updates), user error, or system (network, conntection). We completed 114 tech fixes this year!

926 tasks completed

326 shift checklists

Software 13.2% User Error 34.2%

64 software updates

Hardware 25.4%

System 27.2%

check out the different tech fixes we did!

400

Our work # of tasks

300

Check out the breakdown of some of the tasks we've completed this year:

200 100 0

La b

M ai nt en an Te C ce la c ss h A W ro eb om dm si Su in te pp M ai or Te nt ac en t hi ng anc e Su pp or t

The IT team has helped maintain 8 different websites including: Congo Square Connection, Nutrient Pollution, Feminist Pedagogy for Teaching Online, & more!

We don't just learn and apply IT practices- we also teach them! The ITI team is responsible for designing the instruction cards on podiums with easily understood operating and troubleshooting procedures, creating tech help flyers for the staff, and developing workshops for undergraduate students. We have also taken on a project as Digital TA where we help a graduate class turn their research into online exhibits as well as teach them about the digital humanities!

Help tickets Email us at ncitech@wave.tulane.edu for tech walk-throughs before your big presentation, troubleshooting advice, and any other questions regarding technology at Newcomb Instititue!

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When in doubt... come find an IT intern in a blue name tag!

Lunch & Learn Microsoft Office Trainings

Project Partner: Dr. Aiden Smith Topics Covered Excel

Transposing data, filters, short cuts, formulas, tables

Word

Researcher mode, outlines, Microsoft editor

Powerpoint

Editing images, speaker coach, saving time

Outlook

Gendered communication, calendar automatic replies, signature

For all: ADA accessibility and best feminist practices

How We Did It Graduate Assistant and Interns led and developed four in-person trainings Students experienced class led tutorials as well as selfguided tutorials to solidify topics Take home worksheets provided for all info covered Our Purpose Help students use these tech tools Help students incorporate the of use ADA accessibility and feminist practices to uphold community Rachel Tabor, Graduate Assistant, values leading the first Lunch & Learn

NEWCOMB MAGAZINE WEBSITE

A website to house information about the Newcomb Institute's Magazine, as well as its temporary and permanent contributors.

What we did: Implemented blog feature, updated archives of past issues, added donation feature, and implemented various new design developments.

REALLYGREATSITE.COM

Project Partners:

Becky Gibson Lauren Gaines

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The Technology and Digital Humanities Lab at Newcomb Institute

FEMINIST PEDAGOGY FOR TEACHING ONLINE Project Partners Clare Daniel and Jacquelyne Thoni Howard

Background A digital guide that provides resources for integrating feminist pedagogy and technology into online, hybrid, and traditional undergraduate courses. This guide is designed to support interdisciplinary topics and fields. It focuses on active learning practices in the social sciences, the liberal arts, and the humanities.

Project Development This website was built on the software WordPress. We upkeep the website and do the overall web maintenance. We also contributed to this project by doing the literature review, posting updates about the site on Social Media, troubleshooting HTML issues, and editing interview videos.

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Grace Hopper Celebration is a conference for technologists who care about equity. Named g Grace Hopper, this after computer scientist conference brings together students, companies, educators, and professionals.

The Gender and Technology grant program offers undergraduates the opportunity to conduct research on topics relating to gender and technology. Students will receive a grant g to produce a digital research project that will be published digitally. Students may receive sponsorship to apply to the national HASTAC Scholar program. Ainsely Anderson was accepted as a HASTAC Scholar in 2022.

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Grace Hopper Celebration

Grace Hopper (GHC) is a career fair and conference to bring women and non-binary technologists together. It's the world's largest gathering for women in computing! From career booths to insiprational speakers to collaborative workshops, GHC has something for everyone.

THIS YEAR'S ATTENDEES Ananya Anand (she/her) Alyssa Bockman (she/her) Evan Hendrickson (he/him) Tess Kleanthous (she/her) Laya Kumar (she/her) Marisa Long (she/her) Kailen Mitchell (she/her) Madeline Nellis (she/her) Naomi Stoner (she/her) Olivia Riess (she/her) Wendy Yang (she/her)

This year, Newcomb Institute sent 11 atendees to GHC! Over the course of the event...

18 Interviews were completed 9 job offers received 15 different companies interviewed our students encounter with at least 11 students had a meaningful one company attendees felt adequately prepared by Newcomb 11 11 attendees felt GHC enhanced their professional skills

Attendees interviewed with companies like United Airlines, Chevron, American Express, Morgan Stanley, Northrop Grumman, Wells Fargo, Genentech, and more!

Grace Hopper Celebration TESTIMONIALS

Reflect on what was the most meaningful experience you got from Grace Hopper.

"Grace Hopper Celebration was an inspiring adventure for me, as I was surrounded by people dedicated to innovation and inclusion in the technology industry. I was able to connect with other undergraduate women from other universities and bond over our shared experiences being a woman in tech. We laughed and we learned from one another, and formed a community where people felt heard." -Olivia "One of the meaningful moments of GHC to me was feeling the support of my fellow lab members outside of the conference hours. I remember the night and morning before three of us had interviews, we spent time together sharing experiences and lifting each other up. I thought that these moments were great representations of how our lab and GHC builds community that extends beyond just creating efficient coworkers. Not only did GHC serve as a professional development experience, but it double as a team building trip." -Marisa

"The most meaningful experience to me during GHC 2022 was being able to speak to women in Software Engineering roles at companies like Google and Adobe. Both of the Senior Software Engineers that I spoke to were able to, not only tell me how they got into their field, but they were able to do so by relating their stories to me and where I am at in my professional journey. I found that this really inspired me and helped steer me in the right direction for my educational and professional future." -Tess "One of the most meaningful takeaways I got from attending GHC was that imposter syndrome truly affects everyone. A talk that I attended discussed overcoming imposter syndrome, and plenty of the people in the room were established in their career. I went into this conference feeling pretty unconfident about my odds of getting job offers that week. Talking to recruiters and observing their reactions gave me a lot more confidence going forward that even if I feel out of place, I deserve to be in the room as much as anybody." -Marisa

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The Lab’s HASTAC Scholar: Ainsley Anderson!

Ainsley Anderson is a sophomore at Tulane University, pursuing a double major in economics and environmental studies. As a member of the Newcomb Scholars feminist research cohort, she is passionate about exploring ways to incorporate feminist perspectives into her work. She is fascinated by the connections between economics, the environment, and social justice, and hopes to use her education to make a positive impact in these areas. When not studying or conducting research, you can find her roaming New Orleans or listening to some live music.

Her dome project is being funded by the HASTAC grant! Read more about the fellowship program here: https://hastac.hcommons.org/about/hastac-scholars/

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Society of Women Engineers is an organization that inspires students to achieve their full potential as engineers. Tulane's chapter focuses on supporting, encouraging, and providing women engineers, and members of the STEM community, with the means to succeed throughout their college career and beyond. g The SWE chapter provides outreach opportunities within the greater New Orleans community. The executive board has bi-weekly meetings where they discuss, plan, and coordinate future general body meetings, study help, professional development, and more.

Equity in Technology acts as a dynamic resource for the campus by providing space for feminist-minded technologists of all majors and interests to connect with an interdisciplinary community of like-minded peers. Students are welcome from all majors and g those with all levels of technology abilities. Within this group, students are encouraged to explore social and cultural issues involving technology and interdisciplinary applications of technology innovation through curriculum and service.

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SOCIETY OF WOMEN ENGINEERS by women. for women.

who we are:

The Society of Women Engineers is a international organization founded on principles of advancing and empowering women in engineering and other STEM fields.

Tulane's collegiate SWE section is a community of undergraduate students united in supporting women in engineering and other STEM disciplines on campus and beyond.

13%

>32%

10%

45.5%

of engineers in the workforce are women

of women leave STEM programs in college

less pay earned by female engineers than male

of engineering degrees at Tulane are awarded to women

what we do: community build a community among undergraduate women in engineering programs

outreach

participate in outreach at Tulane and throughout New Orleans

professional development provide professional development opportunities through SWE's national conference and workshops

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@tulaneswe facebook.com/tulaneswe/ @tulaneswe

TULANE EQUITY IN TECHNOLOGY (Formerly Women in tech)

EQUITY IN TECHNOLOGY ACTS AS DYNAMIC RESOURCE FOR THE CAMPUS BY PROVIDING SPACE FOR FEMINIST-MINDED TECHNOLOGISTS OF ALL MAJORS AND INTERESTS TO CONNECT WITH AN INTERDISCIPLINARY COMMUNITY OF LIKE-MINDED PEERS. STUDENTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO EXPLORE SOCIAL AND CULTURAL ISSUES INVOLVING TECHNOLOGY AND INTERDISCIPLINARY APPLICATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION THROUGH CURRICULUM AND SERVICE. EIT PROVIDES OPEN-ACCESS SKILLS-BUILDING WORKSHOPS, COSPONSORS SPEAKERS, ORGANIZES SCREENINGS AND READING GROUPS, ADVOCATES FOR POLICY CHANGE, AND PROVIDES OUTREACH AND NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES.

OUR E-BOARD THIS YEAR

MADELINE NELLIS '23 PRESIDENT

EVAN HENDRICKSON '23 VICE PRESIDENT

EMILY POWERS '23 TREASURER

WENDY YANG '23 SECRETARY

RHEA MAJUMAR '23 OUTREACH CHAIR

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NEWCOMB INSTITUTE

VOLUME 6 2022-2023