jaztech - Tumblr blog

[jaztech]

Hello there!

I'm Jasmine Jones, faculty coordinator of the new Berea College Makerspace (Pinnacles Studio, Mountaineer Makerspace, BlueCrafts? still working on a name). I specialize in human-centered computing and interaction design, and I like to create educational experiences that allow people to explore computing as a tool to make an impact in the real world.

I enjoy being outdoors when there aren't any bugs, I hate repeating myself except to explain--at length-- why Stargate SG-1 is the best scifi show of the 20th century, and I enjoy collecting musical instruments that I never actually get get around to playing.

You can find out more about my research here, and the makerspace here.

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A simple visualization of who is talking about what. This shows a list of professional organizations for computer scientists that issued statements in response to the Black Lives Matter protests. GREEN means this word was mentioned, and RED means it was not. Interesting to see how many statements mention DIVERSITY rather than RACISM or RACE, which I think shows a particular orientation towards (not) addressing systemic bias in the computing field. I’m looking forward to more contextual analysis in the coming weeks to see if this holds. (based on statements issued as of 6/23/20)

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Comparing ACM’s Statements on Racism

June 4th - ACM Stands with Those who promote inclusivity. 

In the United States, and throughout many regions around the world, current events have brought attention to the urgent need for equality and respect for all individuals. ACM reaffirms its commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion within the global computer science community. As an international organization of nearly 100,000 professionals, ACM respects the essential worth of all people and firmly believes that diversity strengthens the scientific enterprise and society as a whole. ACM’s Code of Professional Ethics embodies these principles, and our Diversity and Inclusion Council works to translate them into effective action. ACM is committed to creating an environment that welcomes new ideas and perspectives, and where hostility or other harmful behaviors are not tolerated. As an organization, we stand with those who promote inclusivity.

This statement is 130 words. Based on its timing and opening reference, it is motivated by protests in the US and globally in response to police brutality and racist enforcement. Yet, the statement emphasizes that ACM is “international” and thus does not name or mention any particular events or issues that motivated this statement beyond an oblique mention to “current events.” It calls for equality, respect, diversity, inclusion-- wonderful buzzwords, but empty without context or reference. It ends by referring back to the protests, but again with vague and non-specific language, as it “stands with” those who promote “inclusivity,” whatever that means in this context.

The revision (below) is astutely presented as a statement from the Diversity and Inclusion Council (so not, actually a re-issue of the prior statement, but more of an expansion). What’s the difference? #SayTheirNames #racism #injustice #BlackLivesMatter Wow. Very specific to the events that motivated it, and the language use to communicate about protesters demands. It articulates support for a particular stance that is (un?)surprisingly contentious. The D&IC doesn’t  “firmly believe,” but is “outraged” by the “plague” of violence against Black people. (another anti-racist reference, the simile of “racism is a pandemic”)  But, they say, no promises. This, after all, is not on behalf of ACM, but the words of the council. As a council, they commit to review policies, and recommend and encourage meaningful actions to those who can actually take steps to address the injustice. The steps on the to-do list are primarily aimed at organizational leadership and look very familiar: a seat at the table, positions of influence, and the money to make it happen. So... the ball is back in ACM’s court. What will happen? What will change?

June 10 (Statement from ACM D&I Council) In the United States, and throughout many regions around the world, current events have brought attention to the urgent need for equality and respect for all individuals. We have witnessed racism and violence against Black people in the United States and in our communities. Most recently, the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd have re-focused attention to the long-standing racism and injustice that plagues the United States and many other nations. In response, there are worldwide demonstrations and protests. ACM members are directly impacted by these events and we, the volunteer leadership of ACM, are outraged by this all-too familiar pattern of enduring injustice. Black Lives Matter.This is a hard problem, and we will continue to make change and actively seek ways to take meaningful action. The Diversity and Inclusion Council’s role is to serve as a convener and focal point for these issues within ACM and to serve as a resource for those seeking to effect positive change; the D&I Council does not set policy. We will continue to listen, to learn, to engage and to explore new ways to actively foster diversity and fight against racism. In the immediate aftermath of these most recent events, we commit to the following actions: Perform a systematic and complete review of ACM policies and practices that can be shared and communicated throughout ACM’s activities and programs to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion. Encourage ACM’s Boards/Councils and Committees to nominate and recruit black and underrepresented members of the community for positions within ACM. Recommend ACM fund travel grants to support conference attendance for students and scholars from Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Serving Institutions. Encourage Special Interest Groups (SIGs) to include sessions and activities at conferences and workshops focused on combating implicit bias and other forms of bias, particularly as applicable to technological development and impacts on creating a more inclusive society. Encourage SIGs to further diversify conference organizing committees, persons serving in conference leadership roles, and those invited to serve as plenary/keynote speakers, and to report on their progress. Recommend expansion of funding for events that focus on amplifying the scholarship of Black and other groups underrepresented in computing and to broaden the participation of aspiring scholars from these communities in computing—undergraduate and graduate students, and junior researchers and faculty.

[jaztech]

Responses from professional societies about protests over police brutality and violence towards Black people. Source: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vUj3BBJ2Xps5OhvRntQrx2zo1lGg12Q5MGt-rVeWTmI/

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Remarks on switching default CHI template from Word to Latex, "Steve Jobs has only been dead for 5 yrs, we haven't to give up on the graphical user interface!"

Sheep Dalton, overheard at CHI2019

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Demo of Emothings (from #iothackday)

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Completed Emothings team project! We made a smart zen garden & lamp pair. The garden senses the weight of rocks stacked and wirelessly sends this data to the lamp, which gets brighter based on more rocks there are

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Getting started with the hackathon! #iothackday

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Learning to calibrate a load cell for weight-based presence detection of objects

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Emothings: A new adventure

I'm embarking on a new project, to build "sympathetic" kinetic sculptures. this is a pair of networked devices, where one is programmed to respond to the interactions a person has with the other.

My scenario is to use these devices to allow a student living away from home to communicate their stressful emotion to their parents/supporters back home, and for emotional supporters to maintain an ambient awareness of how much stress their loved one is feeling.

I will be working on this project over the next few weeks, sketching up a storyboard, ideating object interfaces, figuring out the components, and putting it all together.

[jaztech]

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"A Penny for Your Thoughts" 

A recap movie of the project, and the final reveal!

An interactive wishing well. You activate the well by touching one of the pennies (a proxy for tossing one in), then make a wish! As passerby walk closer to the well, the well plays back a chorus of "wishes from wishers past," creating a chorus of collective hopes and dreams over time.  

- By Jasmine Jones

[jaztech]

(4/19) Homage to Nights' Sleep Lost

is what I call this setup.

 Found some cute metal bowls at the WayOne grocery, score. And then, well opportunity and sleep deprivation struck with the idea of using bottles as stands. Might not be so stable... will have to glue them down maybe. It'll be a long night in the dude... 

The arduino photo on the right is proof everything still worked after I soldered stuff together. Graduated from the breadboard on the first try! 

[jaztech]

saw this cool wishing well that one of the Taubman fellows, Clark Thenhaus had displayed in the gallery space. There were a bunch of these spaceship-looking "non-urban"objects. They also remind me (now you can tell I'm from the country!) of cow udders.

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Thinking through forms to simulate water. I won't have water flowing in the fountain for this demo, although that would be really cool. But I'll have some stylistic fountain plumes. These images demonstrate the kind of aesthetic I was going for, especially the fire-esque plumes. But since it needs to be laser cuttable, mine (at the bottom) is really simple.

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(4/9) Project Journal - capturing audio

How do I get rid of the computer! For my project, I need a microphone and speakers. But how do I make microphones small enough to fit somewhere in a fountain?? I looked up electret microphones, DL1 has some, but apparently these are only good for sound detection not actual audio capture. The sampling rate is not high enough. To take audio input I need an actual audio board to attach to the arduino. *sigh* not enough time for that, plus it doesn't solve my penny problem. I want ppl to talk into the pennies!

another possible audio direction to check out:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Arduino-Audio-Input/ Code To do: link pennysense to microphones Think about bowls & penny holders for the fountain      - something conductive...

[jaztech]

(3/31) Thoughts on provocation

Architects have this word they like to use: "provocation"

As Malcom put it in class, during his response to the critiques (paraphrasing):  The point of architecture is making a proposition - something cultural and cognitively resonant.

I think my resounding concept is shared memory. 

Another introspective design question Malcolm asked: "Am I making something people can live with habitually?"

I think a fountain is something pretty livable. They're historically places of meditation, reflection, relaxation, refreshing, renewal. Water, moving or still, is very emotive for humans. Especially if its clean.