Study Journal 5

This module was about social issues in computing, so here goes!

November 5

• Are women in computer science stunted (for lack of a better word) because of culture and upbringing? This was brought up in talking about differences in opportunities for men and women in STEM fields. I think that more girls would be interested in STEM fields if they grew up with the same sort of environment that boys generally grow up in, but I think that could have a lot of unintended consequences. I'm not against having more women in CS in any way, but I do think it's important that men and women keep their differences and I think a lot of those result from culture and upbringing.
• Some of the women in the class mentioned that their CS degree is their backup plan in case things don't go as planned. I didn't realize until now how good a fit a CS degree provides in that scenario. Developers often have freedom and flexibility with hours and working from home, so it's an ideal career for a divorced or widowed mom and a great fallback if a husband loses a job or can't be the breadwinner for some reason or in the case that the wife with a CS degree can provide a better living than her husband.
• I think hiring quotas are ridiculous and I think the fact that they're pretty much necessary is even more ridiculous. Ideally, there would be enough interested and qualified people from different races and genders that we wouldn't have any problems with how much diversity we find in our portion of industry. Obviously that's not the case and sadly, I don't actually know if it's getting that much better. I wonder, how long will it take for our culture to change enough that we get that diversity naturally and without obstacle?

November 10

• How often do companies hire someone for their diversity who isn't as interested or qualified as another, less-diverse candidate? How often does the most qualified person get passed over because we have to force a more ideal ratio for diversity's sake? I hope it's very infrequent.
• President Samuelson mentioned the "Four Way Test"from Rotary International as a good method to judge what we do and say so that we can be in tune with the Spirit to make good decisions in our life's work:
• First, Is it the Truth?
• Second, Is it fair to all concerned?
• Third, Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
• Fourth, Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
• Should we participate in developing content that promotes ideals contrary to the gospel? Developers working on violent video games are an example of this question. I think we would all agree that violent video games don't lend themselves to spiritual experiences. I have to admit that I enjoy playing first-person shooters, so playing them has always been a gray area or a vice for me, but I think it's even more so for the people making those games. If we have concerns about playing them, how much more should we be concerned about making them so that millions of others play them.

November 12 - Guest speaker Cydni Tetro

• Women can't do anything different or be treated different from their male counterparts if any of this is going to change. Cydni explained that by even pausing to think that women should be treated any differently, we're perpetuating the culture differences that make it harder for women to stay in CS. Women have to be able to participate without a second thought of how they should be treated.
• Culture vs. pipeline - The big question in considering why we don't have more women in CS. Are there not enough women making it into the pipeline and expressing interest or is it the prevailing culture deterring them and not enough positive reinforcement of interest in CS?
• "You wouldn't invite a woman golfing if you had to recruit her" - There are considerations in lots of aspects of everyday life that contribute unintentionally to the divide

November 17

• There are lots of risks of social media in business. Social media has proven very effective in promoting business, but it's not without its pitfalls. Just as it can help market the positives, it can, if used incorrectly, do a lot of damage.
• A class poll on the question "Have you been annoyed with someone for spending too much time online/on gadgets?" was almost perfectly evenly split. This astounds me with the prevalence of technology in our culture. Maybe I'm more aware of it than others or maybe they are more patient than I, but I see people every day glued to a phone and not paying attention to anything around them. It may also be that when everyone has their head in the technological sand, nobody cares if others are doing the same.
• Similarly, when asked "Do you spend too much time online/on gadgets?" our class was almost perfectly split again. Again, either lots of people are in denial or they're a lot better than I am. I can hardly believe the latter because I see perfect examples of the opposite every day, so I'm inclined to believe that most of those who answered in the negative simply have a different gauge of what is "too much" than I do. I fully recognize that I spend a lot of time on the computer and I wish I was better at separating myself from it and I think pretty much everyone in my generation needs to do the same.