ICS 131: Social Analysis of Computerization

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ICS 131 Social Analysis of Computerization

• Lecture 5
• Social Aspects of
• Technical Issues II

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Announcements

• First set of short assignments ready for pickup.

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Feedback on first set of short assignments

• On the whole, good.
• Summaries - not just rephrasing of
  abstract/conclusion.
• Also, make sure to tie second paragraph back to
  the reading.
• Technical points - please staple the papers, have
  the summaries in the correct order, spell check
  first, include student ID.

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Comments

• If students agree/disagree with the author, they
  should be specific on the idea/issue being
  contended, and also explain why they
  agree/disagree, rather than just stating it in
  general.
• If students make a claim, they should try to
  explain/justify their claim, rather than just
  stating it.
• Ferris - Lots of people referred to the author as
  "he" when a quick Google search would have turned
  up the opposite.
• In a few cases, either the Simon or Slashdot
  (more often) summary was missing entirely.
• Insulting the author's intelligence is rarely
  part of a good critique.
• Reaction paragraphs should respond to the
  substance of the topic, rather than the writing
  style.

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General Questions?

• Also, specific questions can be asked in the
  discussion section.

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A Note on Subjectivity

• The topics of this course are very subjective.
• Each of you will have your own opinion.
• The goal is to have a well considered opinion,
  and be able to argue for (or against) that (and
  other) opinions.

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Long Paper Assignment

• The first longer paper for ICS 131 will give you
  the opportunity to analyze the social aspects of
  a recent technical innovation. Please pick a
  technology that has been popularized within the
  last ten years, briefly describe the technology,
  and analyze the goals, assumptions, stakeholders
  and impacts of the technology. The paper should
  be approximately 1500-2000 words in length. Using
  the UCI Library and its online resources, you
  should find at least three papers, articles or
  other sources that relate to the topic and cite
  them in the body of your paper using the ACM
  style. At least one of these sources should not
  be an online source, but rather one that you
  found in the library itself. You are encouraged
  also to reference any readings that have been
  assigned for this course that are appropriate to
  the topic you choose however, there must be at
  least three references that are not part of the
  course readings. The paper should use standard
  formatting Times style font size 12 or
  Arial/Tahoma style font size 10, 8.5x11 in.
  paper, 1 margins.

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Long Paper Assignment

• A draft of the paper is due in class on Thursday,
  April 27. This draft should be the full
  1500-2000 words in length, and should cover all
  of the above issues. This draft will be commented
  on and returned to you at least a week before the
  final paper is due. This draft will count for
  30 of the overall grade for the paper.
• The final paper is due in class on Thursday, May
  11. The final version should reflect any changes
  suggested in the comments made on the draft.

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Follow-up from last week

• Canada (2001 Census Information)
• Source http//www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/P
  roducts/Analytic/ companion/rel/contents.cfm
• - Total Population 30,007,094
• - African 2.2
• - Latino/Hispanic .7
• US (Source US Census 2000)
• - Total Population 281,421,906
• - African 12.3
• - Latino/Hispanic 12.5
• 11.3 African American
• 11.4 Latino/Hispanic

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Follow-up from last week

• Among the 1999 recipients of computer science
  bachelor degrees from Ph.D. granting institutions
  in US Canada, only 4 were African-American and
  4 Latino/a. Such low numbers are found
  elsewhere, as African-American and Latino/a
  students together make up less than 7 of the
  high school advanced placement computer science
  test-takers nationwide. In 1999, only 7
  California African-American female high school
  students took the AP CS exams (out of a total of
  455 female test takers), 24 African-American
  males (out of 2501 males), 21 Mexican-American
  females and 52 Mexican-American males.Source
  http//www.tcla.gseis.ucla.edu/divide/politics/mar
  golis.html

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Today

• Software usage
• Networking

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Today

• Software usage
• Networking

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Key Ideas

• Many factors affect how people adopt and use
  software packages beyond the functionality of the
  software itself.
• Understanding these additional factors can help
  you make software that works well and is used by
  a lot of people.

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How today is different from the lecture on code
(last week)

• The code lecture was primarily about how/why
  people write code.
• This lecture is primarily about how/why people
  use code.

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Trying something vs. adoption

• Factors that influence how someone first
  undertakes a certain behavioral pattern (such as
  software use) do not correlate fully with factors
  that determine whether or not that behavioral
  pattern becomes habitual.

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Structure

• Topic
• What it means
• Good part
• Bad part
• (Note Ill just be giving examples. You should
  be able to think of many more for each topic.)

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Factors that Affect Whether People Try a Software
Package

• Advertising
• Word of Mouth
• Bundling
• Expected Functionality
• Social Implications
• Access

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Advertising

• Learning about it from TV/Radio/Product
  Placement/magazines/etc.
• Good part - expose willing purchasers to content
  that will make their lives easier/better.
• Bad part - paid for by companies who are legally
  obligated to increase shareholder value, rather
  than to make purchasers lives easier/better.

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Word of Mouth

• Learning about something from friends, family,
  etc.
• Good part - trusted source, first-hand experience
• Bad part - Limited scope, since people only share
  what they already know with people they already
  know. (Works fairly well coupled with peoples
  exploration of software functionality.)

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Bundling

• Comes pre-installed on a computer.
• Comes with another software package that the
  person actively acquires.
• Good part - Exposes people to software for which
  they may have a use, or that integrates well with
  other packages.
• Bad part - Increases cost/size of software
  package you actually need. Distraction.

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Expected Functionality

• Derived from advertising, word of mouth,
  packaging.
• Good part - helps people use things the right way
• Bad part - Largely limited by what people already
  know or can learn in 30 seconds or less.

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Social Implications

• Will this make me cool/efficient/effective?
• Will it allow me to integrate with other people
  like me?
• Good part - allows people to reflect their
  personality in their software choice
• Bad part - may not correlate with greatest
  functionality (This is the way weve always done
  it around here!)

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Access

• Is it in the right language? Is it made for the
  correct platform/OS? Can I afford it? Do I have
  the necessary capabilities (net, etc.)? Is it
  available for purchase near me? Can I try a demo?
  Does it integrate with my lifestyle?
• Good part - Makes coding easier/cheaper when it
  doesnt have to be universally accessible.
• Bad part - Makes fewer (and less diverse) people
  able to use it.

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Adoption

• Many of the same factors apply again here, but
  also
• Usability
• Functionality
• Unexpected Benefits

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Usability

• Can I get things done in an efficient and
  enjoyable manner?
• Design - Herbert Simon - producing preferred
  situations (is it better than the old way?)

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Functionality

• Is the real functionality as good as (or better
  than) the expected functionality?

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Unexpected Benefits

• E.g., Roomba as cleaning partner

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Startup Cost of a New Technology

• Both a barrier to adoption and a cause of
  irrational persistence.

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Combining software packages

• Source of originality/complexity
• Suites - made to work together

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Today

• Software usage
• Networking

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Today

• Software usage
• Networking

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Key Idea

• Computing underwent a significant social shift as
  computers moved from being primarily
  self-contained to primarily networked.

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Before the 1990s

• Computing
• Business
• Academics
• Games
• Hobbies

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After the 1990s

• Communicating
• Email
• WWW
• Networked games
• (as well as computing)

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Ease of Information Exchange

• Benefits?

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Ease of Information Exchange

• Drawbacks?

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Increased Complexity

• Benefits?

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Increased Complexity

• Drawbacks?

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Information Overload

• The rise of search technologies
• Yahoo
• Google
• Previous search technologies
• Social Networks
• Librarians
• Card catalogs
• Others?

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Communication

• One to one - conversation
• One to several - storytelling
• One to many - broadcasting
• Many to many - WWW

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Practice Quiz

• (Not a real one just a warm-up for today.)
• Snowy Tree Crickets are surprisingly bad at
  synchronizing with each other. True or False?
• Raise your hand if you think you know the answer.

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Practice Quiz 2

• List three metaphors that are commonly used
  regarding computer systems.
• Raise your hand if you think you know the answer.

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Topic for Discussion

• Pick a software package of your choice.
• Question
• Aside from functionality, what factors of that
  software influence its distribution and adoption?
  
• Discuss with neighbors - 5 minutes.

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Todays guest speakers are...

• 
  come on down front!

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Thursdays class

• Ethics and Reliability
• Readings
• Baase, Ch. 10
• Dill et al.