The Question

How do we balance the interests and privacy of victims of gendered online harassment with transparency regarding online content removal requests?

Our Solution(s)

Attendees first received an in-depth explanation of Gendered Online Harassment delivered by Crystal Nwaneri of the Women’s Law Association, covering specifically the Gamergate incident of 2014. Following some discussion, the Lumen Database was introduced as a way of streamlining takedown requests and other cyber legal matters.

We discussed how Lumen can aid many of the problems of Gendered Online Harassment, as well as inform the public about the frequency of these requests. Additional questions to consider are how public should requests be and how to handle copyright takedown requests in a more automated manner without losing fairness or accuracy.

What’s Up Next

Attendees became more familiar with both Lumen as a tool and as a database, and will incorporate it into future endeavors and discussions regarding cyber law.

The Question
How do we balance the interests and privacy of victims of gendered online harassment with transparency regarding online content removal requests.

The Plan

• Food and mingling
• Introduction to the Lumen Database
• Overview of Gendered Online Harassment
• Presentation of the Question
• Co-Design Policies and Solutions
• Present Possible Solutions

The Co-Sponsors
Harvard Women’s Law Association & Lumen – Berkman Center for Internet & Society

The Time & Place
April 13, 2016
5:00 – 7:00 pm
Berkman Center for Internet & Society, conference room (23 Everett Street)

RSVP here

The Question

How can data visualization answer questions about our world? What are interesting policy questions where data visualization could be easier?

Our Solution(s)

Rebekah Heacock of the Internet Monitor Project led the workshop. She first explained the concept of Internet Monitor, as well as its real-life applications and uses. Rebekah asked students to think about Internet public policy and where Internet Monitor could possibly be useful in making policy decisions. We created a huge brainstorming wall, grouping together similar concepts.

Then, students broke down into groups to tackle each policy-related topic, including Privacy, Access, and the Right to be Forgotten. They made quick sketches of possible visualizations and data plots that could help answer key questions in those topics.

What’s Up Next

Students can now use Internet Monitor as resource of data visualization for their projects and assignments, and Internet Monitor will use the ideas generated by the workshop to direct their next areas of research.

Workshop Announcement – Policy in Pixels: Understanding the World through Data

The Question

How can data visualization answer questions about our world? What are interesting policy questions where data visualization could be easier?  

The Plan

Food and mingling
Explanation by Rebekah Jones of the Internet Monitor Project
Presentation of the Question
Brainstorming in Groups
Present Possible Solutions

The Co-Sponsors

Researchers: Rebekah Jones
Undergrads: Developers for Development (D4D), International Relations Council (IRC)

The Time & Place

April 6, 2016
5:00 – 7:00 pm – Geological Museum 102

RSVP here!

Cindy and I have been working on actionable solutions for Food for Free. We created some mockups for a tablet app, and are excited to show the proposed design to their team for feedback in the coming weeks. We have some ideas for what it could look like, and are eager to user test with the drivers. We have also been coordinating talks with local partner organizations that Food for Free works with to get a better sense of Food for Free’s existing digital initiatives. More to come soon!

This week we have only a short update, as it has been a busy time for courses. Cindy and I began planning based on Joel’s suggestions for actionable areas to help Food for Free. In the meantime, we are examining existing technology solutions for tablet and phone APIs that allow SMS notifications to an organization (in the vein of Uber’s texts when your driver has arrived or is on their way). We are also hoping to coordinate a trip to highly-effective packing grocer, and planning another meeting with the operations manager to discuss our ideas.

Hi all!

A few ridealongs later, Soraya and I finally felt ready to start drafting possible solutions that we could work towards in the remaining semester.

These are the opportunities we’ve observed at Food for Free:
1. More brand associations
2. Greater involvement from the donor agencies
3. Advanced communications between drivers and food recipients
4. Getting drivers’ buy-in to change
5. Technological solutions that alleviate workload (as opposed to adding)
6. More strategic with donor partnerships

Of the above, we decided we could tackle opportunities #1, #2, and #3.

Opportunity #1 or increasing branding should be relatively low effort, so we are not too concerned over that.

Opportunity #2 or raising donor involvement, however, may be more difficult, given donors are decentralized with their own processes. We are going to study the operational process of the best donor, a Trader Joe’s in Cambridge. From there, we will put together best practices and process flows that can be shared with other donors. Additional aspects to this would be assigning a point-person for accountability at each donor site and to more strongly communicate end-user impact to these donors.

Lastly, we foresee moderate level of effort with Opportunity #3 or adding advanced communications with partners. We will be looking into texting solutions so drivers can easily notify recipients prior to arrival. We would like to include drivers at every stage of the design so maximize buy-in of the new technology.

More to come next week on our progress!

Cindy and Soraya