This paper presents the tool of estimation in the scrum framework as a potential step to reflect in the team on differences of diversity dimensions. The research is based on constructing grounded theory of Charmaz.
Menstrual apps are digital versions of period calendars that support observation, analysis and interpretation of a variety of physical and mental states as well as behavioral patterns associated with menstrual cycles. The present paper discusses the preliminary results of a qualitative study addressing users' experiences of and responses to gendered design during app-supported menstrual tracking. The study demonstrates that some users are aware of and react to the gendered assumptions built into menstrual apps' graphic designs and technological features. Moreover, I show that users engage in alternative uses of menstrual apps thus broadening the forms of use intended by app designers and developers.
Which aspects need to be implemented in the development of digital learning applications to resolve gender stereotypes? The results of an interdisciplinary project at a university of applied sciences provide initial answers to this question. The focus is on the development of an e-learning application on "gender-sensitive teaching" for the user target groups "lecturers at universities". Some results of gender-reflected designs of the interactive learning sequences are shown in this article.
This paper presents an analytical case study using the "Computational Making" framework to critique three LEGO sets. These sets were marketed towards girls and focus on making. Our contribution is showing computational making can be used to investigate domains outside e-textiles. Further, we show these LEGO sets have the potential to teach computational making skills despite their feminine gender identity construction.
Studies from psychology and linguistics show that gender is perceived stereotypically in oral and textual communication as a fixed connection with distinct meanings. The study wants to find out its materialization on word level in online communication and identify reliable patterns for a keyword-based gender audit.
With Gendering marteloscopes we outline a process of development: We've produced videographic material in marteloscopes, which set in forests trees, tablets, and people in dialogues with each other. The videography and the on-site experiences will be reflected with approaches to Gender in Science and Technology Studies, and combined with digital supported collaborative didactic through interactive documentaries into Open Science Modules.
"Digital Me" is an innovative webpage that we are developing to address young women to interest them for IT-Jobs using a game-based approach. In addition, it will show them an undisguised view on the diversified possibilities of these job opportunities. At the same time we have chosen a completely gender sensitive approach. The target group consists of young women who are between 14 and 17 years old. In the first phase of the project, the young women already evaluated different existing job-webpages. We also requested their ideas, visions, and requirements of an ideal internet platform for IT jobs. Furthermore, we consulted a group of experts in media and IT. The poster presents the results of the survey of the target group and the experts, respectively, as well as the implementation for the webpage. The gender sensitive approaches will be discussed leading to the final modules such as games, interviews and the compilation of information about IT studies and IT jobs.
HCI has witnessed a turn to practice as a major new paradigm within the field. We contribute to this line of research by analyzing social actions in MMORPG raiding groups. Based on a qualitative study of World of Warcraft, we turn to culture-inclusive action theory to understand how culture, game design, norms, skills and motivations come together in the players' (co)actions. Using actions as the central unit of analysis at the intersection of individual and culture, our results show how players appropriate technology to do something they desire while at the same time (re)constructing the culture of the game. We propose that culture-inclusive action theory enables a more nuanced conceptualization of gendered practices like raiding and helps decipher the elements in this sociotechnical context.
Meta/data are not neutral terms and mean various things for different communities and demographics. One such community that lacks much discussion about their ontologies of meta/data are the LGBTQ communities. With current practices of meta/data production, are the opinions of LGBTQ people properly represented? In this paper we position an ongoing project that is trying to understand the opinions of LGBTQ people regarding meta/data. We briefly provide some context to the broader project and also share our study design for the project. From this paper we hope to position how and why this type of work is necessary for LGBTQ people.
Scholars are starting to understand transgender people use social media to create online communities to discuss aspects of their lives. Tumblr, a social media site that allows people to share information often via tags targeted for specific groups (e.g., #ftm, #mtf, or #trans), is a virtual space commonly used by transgender people to seek or share information. We collected interview data on English-speaking transgender people's experiences to understand the connection between Tumblr and transition-related mental health posts. Tumblr was described as a safe space for many transgender people who might lack a physical community of support when dealing with their mental health while transitioning. This paper contributes a description of the ways transgender people use Tumblr to meet their mental health needs. Analyzing transgender Tumblr users' interactions and experiences while transitioning provides an opportunity to understand a population that faces high rates of mental health challenges.
Careers in computing seem to be well placed to allow gender parity. The tools of the trade don't require any of the most common gender stereotypes. And yet, talented, educated women avoid going into the field - why? The preliminary research reported in this paper focuses specifically on computer programming, since coding is an area that has shown a strong statistical bias towards males with up to 92% of programmers being male. This paper aims to uncover and examine any differences in the coding abilities and approach of males and females.
Digitalization causes serious changes in the living and working environment. The processes have different effects on the two genders and are assessed differently in the perception of men and women. However, results of gender-based sciences concerning digitalization are scarce. The following article presents the results of a study about basic attitudes of young professionals regarding the digital transformation from a gender-specific point of view, in order to identify possible differences in the perception between women and men. In addition, conclusions will be drawn on possible women-specific characteristics and competencies concerning the design of the digital transformation.
The project IT&me aims to provide support for female IT experts, by developing a continuously extendable knowledge and networking platform. This is designed to make available relevant learning content on digitalization and IT subjects, taking into account the individual context of each female learner. In this paper, we present the results of a quantitative survey we conducted as a supplement to the participatory design process. It was found that the interviewees were interested in personal development and networking but currently had little experience with e-learning, blended or mobile learning. As far as subject matter is concerned, the interviewees were also very interested in the subject of key competencies alongside information technology, and in depth there are differences here between women and men. Women also find it more important than men to receive a certificate for participation in a vocational training course. As regards the use of online platforms, our results confirm previous research that has shown that women avoid male-oriented culture in this area. This underlines the fact that it makes sense to set up a platform designed for women.
Introducion of technology always creates new meanings. As the feminist scientist Karen Barad puts it, with the scientific and technological intra-actions new material-semiotic boundaries and objects are placed into the world, new entities into cyberspace. Here we focus on vocabulary and speech working in material-semiotic way into, from and through computing and IT. The metaphoric usage of everyday terms serve in order to understand abstract concepts or innovative items, thereby changing their meanings. But also computer terms have migrated into the public sphere with extended meanings, e.g. the term "algorithm". Big Data with its AI methods is a relatively new field of creating meaning through scooping from an infinitely growing sea of utterances. All these three categories can linguistically be summarized as transcriptions. One goal of this text is to hint to the danger to believe in an assumed objectivity of AI- and machine learning systems.
New information technologies offer customers new ways of buying products and services. It is important for companies to understand and predict consumer behavior, yet the findings of biological sex and online channel choices are mixed with contradicting results. Thereby, gender schema theory might explain these gender differences. We used psychological gender-roles to operationalize gender schema theory and we developed two different models to investigate the effect of it on online channel choices. To test these models, we conducted two studies. Results reveal that the biological sex is not effective in explaining channel choices. Instead, we suggest that psychological gender-roles have a direct effect on online channel choices. In addition, psychological gender-roles may also have a moderating effect. Our study contributes to a better understanding of gender-roles in online channel choices.
"Is Virtual Reality sexist?" ran a headline in Fast Company magazine - to which many technophiles retorted that technology was neutral and could not, therefore, be discriminating. But women are confronted with numerous problems when using virtual reality. Gender stereotypes, which play a role in all areas of life, also manifest themselves here. In this paper, we present a study we have planned in which we will explore gender in the context of virtual reality. We describe the setup and content of the study and take a look at follow-on research projects.
In this paper we argue that Makers engage in various degrees of sociotechnical identity formation. We explore the role of gender in maker identity formation and how the masculine characteristics of maker spaces create challenges for feminine identity construction and expression. Our ethnographic study of German computer clubs indicated that children as Makers synthesize gender and technical identities within the context of STEAM skill building activities.
Despite great efforts, women are underrepresented in computer science and other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; disciplines. To understand the root of this we studied 112 high school students (51 female, 61 male) aged between 10 to 13 years. The questionnaire-based survey revealed a significant effect of gender on technical self-efficacy and on interest in computer science. Furthermore, we extracted the students' mental models by letting them draw computer scientists. A rich picture analysis revealed significant effects of gender on the stereotypicality of the images. The gender gap revealed by this multi-method approach influences students' career decisions and yields in declining participation of women in STEM. Consequently, future measures must focus on school students at an earlier age. These should be offering a variety of male and female role models and should strengthen the individual's technical self-efficacy, as it profoundly impacts later career decisions.
This article provides an experience report on an interdisciplinary cooperation between two gender researchers and two automotive engineers at a German technical university. It focuses on the negotiation processes around a joint research proposal, dealing with the question of how to create concepts for a trustworthy human-machine interaction in automated driving systems that satisfy the requirements of different user groups. These systems aim to offer the choice of automobility to groups of users who have so far had rather limited access, or have had reasons to refuse usage. Discussions in the interdisciplinary team are still ongoing. Their substantial shifts and their expected methodological and epistemological effects are analyzed from a feminist science and technology studies (STS) perspective. The general objective of this paper is to provide insights about the contributions and challenges of integrating approaches from gender studies into the field of automotive engineering in order to support interdisciplinary dialogues that foster a socially fair and inclusive digital transformation.
The GenderMag cognitive walkthrough with gendered personas has been developed as an inspection method to improve the usability of software artefacts for diverse user groups. It can be used by design teams to evaluate their software and find usability issues. We studied the effectiveness of this method in 49 sessions with IT professionals and software engineering students. They used the method to find usability issues with a learning management system - some of them working with the persona displaying characteristics that are more commonly found in females ("Sarah"), the others with the persona that had attributes more typical for males ('Tim"). Quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted and showed the effectiveness of the method when using the persona Sarah, with participants finding more usability issues and invoking the persona more often.
