NYU D&T 2020 #9: SSI Interview Planning

Announcements

  • Follow up on last Thursday’s group exercise: please add your SSI Statistic to this spreadsheet.
  • NBWC poll results: 20+ respondents, >=70% interest to attend
  • Please answer today’s poll: Plutopia Talk next Tuesday?
  • Dibner “Touch This Page” Opening (see flyer at the bottom of this page)
  • External Announcements: Events / Opportunities
  • Thanks for keeping up with your blog posts.

Agenda

  • Keywordsย Scribe, Marker Person
  • Medical Bias Media
  • SSI Stats for Background Research
  • Affirmative Action (follow up on blog assignment from Session 8)
  • Some Home Tech
  • Human-Centered Resource, aka “Interview” Planning.
    Please refer to theย (Abridged) Field Guide: Planning Inspiration Exercisesย for this process.
    • Brainstorm: Who specifically will you interview?
      • Specific People in target audience
      • Experts (especially at NYU)
      • Local Organizations (especially at NYU). See theย Class Resources Pageย for suggestions.
      • Other people associated with your direct audience
    • Get into your midterm or SSI groups. Choose roles:
      • Document Writers
      • Photographers
      • Sticky Note Wranglers
    • Go to this directory. Copy the document named [COPY THIS]. Then rename your copy with your name(s), and follow the directions in the document.

Assignments

  • REQUIRED Blog post, due Thursday 2/27: Based on todayโ€™s planning session: 
    • Make and document initial contact (e.g. via email) with an organization and/or individual who has the salient social identity (SSI) of your target audience. You might want to contact a few people (users, experts, etc.) to ensure that you receive at least one response ASAP. If you plan to work with other students for your interview, donโ€™t forget to CC them.
    • Be sure to consider cultural sensitivities in the way that you name the Salient Social Identity. (E.g. vision-impaired vs. blind, working-class vs. poor, differently-abled vs. disabled.) If possible, se the terminology that your target interviewee uses. 
    • Schedule a time to interview them. 
    • When you get in touch, ask an ice-breaker question to the org and/or individual. The ice-breaker question should help you start learning about their pain points, experience of bias, and other specifics that can inform your project.
    • Feel free to use the sample letter below. You are welcome to CC me on the letters as supporting documentation for your blog.

Sample Letter: 

Dear  [Insert Name Here]

I am a student in the โ€œDiversity and Technologyโ€ class (http://senseandscale.com > Diversity) at the NYU School of Engineering. I am working on a project to serve the needs of [insert Salient Social Identity here], and I found your name in the process of researching people who might help my team to understand these needs. Would you be open to a short interview before March 7? 

If you have any questions about the course, feel free to contact my professor, Arlene Ducao (arlduc @ nyu.edu).

Thank you very much for your time, 
[Your Name]

External Announcements: Events

External Announcements: Opportunities