The dangers of period-tracking apps with Dr. Maggie Delano

February 5, 2020 — Leave a comment
“The important thing for designing inclusively is thinking ahead of time and . . . making sure that you have many options. Because no matter how great you intend to design something, it won’t necessarily work for everyone, but by having more options you increase the inclusivity for everybody.” -Maggie Delano, Swarthmore Assistant Professor

Overview:

In the season finale of Innovation for All, Maggie Delano, Assistant Professor of Engineering at Swarthmore College, breaks down how period-tracking apps exclude people who are not straight, cis-gendered women without medical conditions. She explains how user design could be more inclusive and introduces us to the benefits of Quantified Self.

In this episode, you will learn:

  • The issues surrounding period-tracking apps
  • What the Quantified Self community consists of
  • How period-tracking apps can be more inclusive of people with medical conditions
  • How user research can think about cases that fall outside of the set target audience
  • Ways to increase inclusivity in the on-boarding process of app design
  • Concerns of data privacy in period-tracking apps
  • How self-tracking can be beneficial
  • Ways that self-tracking is happening organically
  • Ideas on tracking “subjective” experiences such as emotion and mood
  • How to leverage user research to avoid stereotypes and generalizations
  • Examples of queer-inclusive business ideas

Links and mentions:

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How to battle racism with Janet Stovall

January 22, 2020 — Leave a comment
“It is not about individual bigotry. It’s about systemic racism. Racism is not just bigotry, and it’s not just prejudice. It’s prejudice plus power, so we must disrupt the power structures. It’s not the individual . . . it’s the institutions that our country was built on that.” – Janet Stovall

Overview:

In this episode of Innovation for All, Janet Stovall tells us about her history fighting for inclusion since she was a student at Davidson College through present day, where she is the current speech writer for the CEO of UPS. She discusses the complexities of being a woman of color in the workforce and how to address institutionalized racism.

In this episode you will learn:

  • The history of Project 87 at Davidson College
  • How measurable, quantifiable movements are successful
  • What it’s like to be a “stand-in director of diversity”
  • Experiences of being an Executive Speech Writer for UPS’s CEO
  • How Janet left corporate America to start her own business
  • The business case for diversity
  • Challenges of corporate America
  • Pros and cons of being self employed
  • Overcoming discrimination against women of color in the workforce
  • How not all forms of diversity are equal

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What should change in 2020? My favorite guests return.

January 8, 2020 — Leave a comment

In this special episode, our favorite experts on AI, product designers and more return to the podcast to answer two key questions: What’s the biggest news in your field in 2019, since we recorded the podcast? What’s something that’s been missing from the conversation that you’d like to see gain more interest in 2020?

You don’t want to miss this one. You’ll hear from:

  • Reena Jana (@rjmac), Google’s Head of Product and Business Inclusion. Hear more in her full episode:
  • Josh Lovejoy (@jdlovejoy), Principal design manager, ethics and society at Microsoft. Hear more in his full episode: What does human-centered AI even mean?
  • Sherry Hamby, Director of the Life Paths Research Center (LPRC). Hear more in her full episode: Stereotyping Appalachia: What Tech Gets Wrong
  • Wendy De La Rosa (@wdlrosa), co-founder of Common Cents Lab. Hear more in her full episode: Why FinTech is failing the poor?

Teenage Sexting Behaviors with Jeff Temple

December 11, 2019 — Leave a comment

“Claiming that teenagers who engaging in sexting are risky kids is just not accurate. Kids who sext cut across all cross sections–ethnic, socioeconomic, gender, and risk status.” – Dr. Jeff Temple, Psychologist and Professor, University of Texas Medical Branch

Overview:

In this episode of Innovation for All, Jeff Temple, professor and licensed psychologist at the University of Texas Medical Branch will discuss his research that studies teenage sexting behaviors. Jeff explains the gender breakdown of teenage sexting, the factors that may lead to psychological consequences, and how it may be a safe way for LGBTQ youth to explore sexuality.

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In this episode you will learn:

  • How psychologists define what sexting is
  • What sexting looks like in adults
  • How sexting should be looked at in the context of universal prevention programs rather than as a bad behavior
  • What Jeff’s longitudinal studies of teenage sexting involve
  • The challenges of studying sexting in teenagers
  • The breakdown of sexting in girls compared to boys
  • What factors related to sexting could lead to psychological health consequences
  • Why consensual sexting does not lead to psychological health issues
  • How media headlines misrepresent today’s teenagers as “sex-crazed”
  • If sexting can be used as a safe way explore sexuality
  • If there are legal risks in having nude photos on your phone
  • What makes people want to sext
  • How sexuality plays into the research of teenage sexting
  • Opportunity to talk to your teenager in an ongoing conversation
  • How in the future psychology may be integrated into primary care
  • Why college athletes should be paid

Links and mentions:

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Open access for academic research with Erica Stone

November 27, 2019 — Leave a comment
“The sooner academics start to advocate for themselves, the sooner we can cut out these for-profit publishers.” – Erica Stone

Erica Stone works at the intersection of writing, teaching, and community organizing. Through collaborative projects, she creates opportunities for scholars, students, and community members to engage in conversations and civic problem-solving with the hope of building a more equitable and participatory democracy. As a researcher, Erica is passionate about making academic scholarship free and accessible. In her 2016 TED talk, she critiques the academic publishing industry, urging academics to engage with popular media and include communities in their research. Erica is a doctoral candidate in the Technical Communication and Rhetoric program at Texas Tech University. Her research centers on public engagement in composition classrooms and academics’ role in their surrounding communities.

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In this episode you will learn:

  • The reality of who has access to academic research
  • Erica’s experience during her TEDx audition process
  • What engaging in academia means beyond teaching
  • What the publication process looks like from start to finish for academic research
  • The cost of academic subscriptions
  • The concerns Erica has about popular culture publications translating academic research
  • How different TED chapters and franchises operate
  • How academics are trained to make things complicated and how that impacts public understanding
  • The historical reasoning for tenure and complications of tenure today
  • How to include open access publications to count toward tenure
  • Resources for democratizing and translating research
  • How for-profit companies are hopping on the idea of open access research

Links and mentions:

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