Daisy Cassidy, DTC 206

For our second digital reflection, I decided to incorporate Never Alone, anonymity, and data without context as my three core concepts. I felt like the concepts we were able to choose from this time around were a little more difficult, simply because they were either too different or too similar, at least for me. This brought me to look at some of our topics in a bit of a different light in order to tie them in. I specifically included a different approach to the idea of anonymity than the one we had gone over in class.  Never Alone : The entire purpose behind the creation of this game was to teach people about the Iñupiat culture, and maintain the culture in a modern way. As I designed this piece I decided to put a lot of my focus on maintaining the integrity of the game's design as possible. I pulled a png directly from the game for the girl and her fox, focusing my efforts on creating a loyal setting for the adventurers. Throughout the game, there is a dark border around...

Part 1: This game opens with calming music and a clear story. As each level is passed, new educational content is unlocked which explains the game and the Iñupiat cultural ties. These educational videos (referred to as Cultural Insights in-game) are under two minutes in length, which fits the pacing of the gameplay itself. This makes for a smooth transition between learning and playing, keeping the audience involved. As the game progresses, the story continually grows and moves forward as the player does. This stylistic choice is directly tied to the Iñupiat style of storytelling, and conveys the importance placed on these stories. Part 2: Before I even began playing this game I explored the menu a bit, and was thrilled to discover how many languages this game is available in! Another section of the menu led me to content that appears to unlock as you progress through the story. This content consisted of multiple educational videos detailing the way the importance of the Iñupiat...

Progressive Updates: 8.25/10 *My scoring was based off of the information I was able to find between 2009 and 2016.* 6.5/10 Character Design: -Many of the animal/abstract designs are clearly male champions, a continuous pattern through 2016. -Over time, the ratio of  Euro-White to other more diverse options became more balanced (ratio counts included abstract and covered champions as ‘diverse’ options). -The final Female to Male ratio as of 2016 was 33/58, meaning there were nearly twice as many male champions available as female champions. 2009-10: Vast majority white Completely faceless (male only) Female champions have similarly gentle features A few vibrant/primary skin colors Euro-White/Spectrum Ratio (skin tone): 13/13 Male/Female Ratio: 9/17 Total: 26 Champions Introduced* *2 (2009), 24 (2010) 2011: Animal champions introduced (all but one are male) First Disabled (Blind) Champion Slight variations of skin tone introduced Fir...

Part 1: This article opens by shedding light on the pressure that government departments have undergone to use social media as a form of surveillance. With this new ability to screen people's online activity has come many positive preventative actions, which have quite literally saved lives. The downside to this social surveillance is rooted in the way this research is conducted. This process threatens Fourth Amendment rights, which protect against unreasonable search and seizure by the government. Social media has been manually filtered for a long time, leaving the door open to biased searches. These searches are only now starting to be automated. Because the online space is so new, there is a significant learning curve in order to understand the nuances of the medium. Part 2: Online culture operates differently than that of the physical world. Social media lists our connections solely as 'friends' while in reality there are many levels and types of relationships between...

Part 1: This article opens by painting the image of the general bias involved in bank loaning before the introduction of FICO scores. Once FICO scores were introduced, many people who could never borrow before were suddenly able to take part in this process. Predigest ideologies no longer stood in the way of financing. However, this concept has been taken and warped into e-scores which are compiled from information such as search history and location, assigning values to different demographics. These e-scores determine what ads different groups of people see, bringing back the inherent difference in opportunity that FICO had brought us out of. According to the article, the effort to protect the privacy of individuals' FICO scores has driven class, race, and gender boundaries deeper than ever. Part 2: I've had many conversations about credit scores with my previous partner. He and his family are Puerto Rican, and while I prioritize raising my credit score quite a bit, he didn...

Part 1: This article opens with a description of the shooting of Michael Brown, and the social reaction it inspired. Within a month #ferguson had been shared over 8 million times on Twitter alone. After this, the reading starts to delve into what kind of social research can be done on a topic such as this through the platform of Twitter. While social media is a great way to spread information, it comes with inherent bias, that only builds as it is shared person to person. As the article explained, many related posts were shared without #ferguson. Ignoring those would mean ignoring another very real piece of the Ferguson puzzle. Continuing on, the article discusses the risks of hashtag activism. The benefits of awareness, and the downfall of swift replacement movements pushing one another aside. The article closes out by recognizing that the internet alone is not enough of a reliable platform to understand every angle of these social movements. Part 2: The complications involved in ...

Part 1: This article opens by questioning a tool/tech based approach to accessibility. Many schools are striving towards a more universal learning experience, though the only issue is centering in on what that experience looks and feels like. While there might seem to be an easy solution to accessibility for one specific disability or another, many of these needs contradict one another or students don't fall into one specific category. There are programs in place that help universities recognize where their programs or course layouts aren't user friendly, these programs have helped improve the potential student's overall experience, if only a little bit at a time. Unfortunately, there are many complex things that a program simply cannot recognize to flag for revision. As time passes, a fear of litigation fades from the forefront of why these campuses are adjusting. The motivation seems to be shifting to catering to the students as more opportunities and clear paths become a...

Part 1: There is a silent population of skimmers keeping our social media PG. These 'skimmers' spend their days clearing out porn and graphic content, so the internet is more friendly for users of all ages. It is estimated that well over 100,000 people moderate in this way, doubling google's employees. These moderators are paid terribly, and sign non-disclosure agreements in order to maintain the illusion of godly algorithms and coding carrying the platform. The mental toll on many of these moderators meant leaving before even having their position for a year. While many of these employees have counseling provided for them, it simply doesn't undo the damage already done. Part 2: How am I supposed to respond to this article? Even with the in-class warning, I was unprepared for the content of this article. Knowing the fragility of my own mental health without seeing things like that every day, I can only imagine the horrible effects that has on those who's job it is...

Part 1: In nearly her opening statement Malkia Cyril shared a few statistics, sharing that Black and Latino communities are more likely to use mobile devices, and younger black people use social media at a higher rate than anyone else. Cyril goes on to explain that so many technological advances have been made by people of color, yet the credit is rarely given. Diversity deserts have been spotted throughout history, and the digital realm is no exception. Cyril described a conference she attended years prior, asking where the women bloggers were. Thanks to awareness and active engagement, there are many women with live blogs to be found across the web. The idea of waiting for the media to tell the right story is disavowed in the reading, as there is a strong platform available for all of us to tell our stories. This means that recognition of this lack of representation is only step one. Step two is making sure others hear you, and you connect with people in your communities who also hav...

Part 1: This week's reading opened by describing an initiative in Peru to incorporate connectivity into zones of rural production. Bringing IP claims into these areas were seen as a way to bring people together, but have actually had the exact opposite effect. This new development has created ripples of distrust through these communities, turning artisans against one another. The governmental drive for this project went beyond helping these communities. Much of the hope behind developing an IP system was as a way for Peru to find and maintain footing in a developing world economy. Many other countries have been doing the exact same. Claiming an IP means giving it a definition, and the article showed how thin and fragile that definition can be. Instead of this 'genuine' art that was originally granted protections, now the artists have become laborers, all trained exactly the same way to ensure they remain within their copyrights. Part 2: I think that placing a protection o...

For our first reflection, I was able to focus in on the topics I wanted to use fairly quickly. I chose to incorporate the myth of digital universalism, digital colonialism, digital social activism, and the geopolitics of the physical internet into my design. These topics fit seamlessly together as we went over them in class, and they certainly seemed to be the obvious choice for this project. I feel as though the lines of these individual subjects blur into one another, which does make separating them for the written portion of this assignment considerably more difficult than combining them for the visual portion.   The myth of digital universalism:   Digital universalism is the idea that everyone on earth needs access to the same digital products in the same way. This line of thinking ignores the needs of individual communities and cultures, leading directly into the concept of digital colonialism. Digital colonialism: Oftentimes when wealthy people in west...

1. This article details the plight of Manchester, a small costal town that has been home to the Manchester (or Point Arena) Cable Station since 1956. This station is actually a submarine-cable landing site, which connects Japan and the US. While this site provides valuable connectivity for us as a nation, the residents of that small town cannot say the same. Over half of this county’s population doesn’t have reasonable access to the internet. AT&T controls this connection, and determined that giving back to this small community did not concern them as a business and would be a poor investment. In 2014 AT&T agreed to provide connectivity to the school district, but only provided the minimum requirements to adhere to the agreement. These abuses of power have left the community in limbo for so long that smaller ISPs (Internet Service Providers) have stepped in to help connect this community. The most prominent of these groups is called Further Reach. This provider has access to a...

Area 1: This article's main focus was on net neutrality, and conflicts that have emerged with the  internet's  growth. Bridy explained that many activists had expressed concern about access to the internet being controlled by commercial interests. These concerns were widespread, and lead to the establishment of net neutrality in 2015.  The article explains how network services operate, and the differences between common and edge data which lead into a more in depth analysis of the risks that accompany a lack of net neutrality. Bridy warned that smaller budding industries would be blocked out by these larger companies controlling the edge data.  The article also went into the (mostly negative) effects of social media. Brindy focused on the dangerous and toxic aspects of the internet. These downfalls extend beyond other users and into data collection and abuse, and what that means for what we get to see/access online. Area 2: I disagree with Bindy's thoughts con...

Critical thinking response to excerpts from "Metaphors We Live By" by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson. Area 1 - *Identifies and summarizes the problem/question at issue (and/or the source's position).* This reading explained the parallels between different thoughts/actions that are generally found in our subconscious. These parallels, or metaphors, help us to process and understand situations quickly and efficiently in fast-paced situations. Just the same as in a sports coach might use a metaphor to more quickly relay an idea, using metaphors are explained to be used to encourage fast paced learning within ourselves in many situations. This concept pushes past the barrier of language. This reading explained that our reactions are the same for in certain situations that may otherwise be unrelated, reaching into all aspects of our lives. Area 2 - *Identifies and presents the student's own hypothesis, perspective, and position as it is important to the analy...

My name is Daisy Cassidy and I'm a DTC major. I'm into rock climbing, hiking and gaming with friends from across the country (that may be exactly what I'm doing now). So long as everything works out, I'll be graduating in two semesters. I'm sure all of you can relate to how excited I am about that. I'm currently looking for an internship to wrap up my degree requirements, and have applied to a few local places. I'm waiting to hear back from them with my fingers crossed! My goal is to eventually work in the design department of a larger marketing company.  In working toward my goal, I've gotten to make and remake my portfolio a few times. At first it was a bit annoying, but I learned to enjoy the process of honing my image. Every time I do a new project I'm super excited to add it to my samples. I'm looking forward to hearing everyone's feedback in class, this course has tons of potential to be thoroughly engaging for all of us!