Diversity in Computer Science: Design Artefacts for Equity and Inclusion. Pernille Bjørn, Maria Menendez-blanco, valeria borsotti (open access book)
Springer; 1st ed. 2023 edition (October 13, 2022)
This open access book presents and documents the principles, results, and learnings behind the research initiative FemTech.dk, which was established in 2016 at the Department of Computer Science at the University of Copenhagen.
We refer here to equity and gender in computing as a research field – but in reality, this research field is a multiplicity of entangled paths, concepts, and directions that forms important and critical insights about society, gender, politics, and infrastructures which are published in different venues and often have very different sets of criteria, values, and assumptions.
DOREEN: A Game of Provocations Creating New Ambitions for Equity in Computing through Intertextual Design. Jenny-Margrethe Vej, Valeria Borsotti, Valkyrie Savage, Morten Engell-Nørregård, and Pernille BjØRn.
NordiCHI '22: Nordic Human-Computer Interaction Conference. October 2022. Article No.: 86Pages 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1145/3546155.3547289
The DOREEN conversation die, a norm-critical game to reflect on gender inequity in computer science.
DOREEN is a norm-critical story-telling game of provocations. With DOREEN we propose a playful way of exploring how gender roles, assumptions about computing, and social dynamics shape the experience of students.
DOREEN is a game to enjoy while engaging in critical reflection on belonging and well-being within computing. DOREEN is centered around an octahedron die and an adventure sheet inspired by tabletop role-playing gaming, emphasizing story-telling as a strategy for challenging norms and creating alternative narratives. The die design invites the players to reflect on how the probability of encountering limiting narratives and structural barriers can be higher or lower for different social groups.
Make your own DOREEN die with our tutorial here!
Humor and Stereotypes in Computing: An Equity-focused Approach to Institutional Accountability. Valeria borsotti & Pernille bjørn.
Computer Supported Cooperative WorkVolume 31 Issue 4 Dec 2022pp 771–803 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10606-022-09440-9
Link to PDF version.
Toilet at the student cafe (previous decor) for Computer Science, Maths and Physics, University of Copenhagen.
We study humor in a computer science organization to explore and decode how negative stereotypes create unnecessary and avoidable barriers to inclusion and counter efforts to creating a welcoming environment for all. We examine the humor embedded in sociomaterial artefacts, rituals, and traditions, and uncover the stereotyped narratives which are reproduced in formal and informal spaces. We argue that these stereotyped narratives both pose a risk of activating stereotype threat in members of marginalized groups, and of normalizing and reproducing ideas of who belongs in computer science. We situate and discuss the complexity of institutional accountability in the context of a traditionally participatory and collegial model of governance. As a way forward we propose three principles for an equity-focused approach to accountability in computer science organizations: 1) Examine organizational traditions and spaces to critically evaluate challenges for inclusion; 2) Normalize critical reflection in the core practices of the organization; 3) Diversify and improve data collection.
Barriers to Gender Diversity in Software Development Education: Actionable Insights from a Danish Case Study. / Borsotti, Valeria.
2018. Paper presented at ICSE 2018 40th International Conference on Software Engineering, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Winner of Software Engineering Education and Training Paper Award at ICSE 2018.
This paper contributes to the growing literature on the gender gap in computer science education by focusing on an exploratory case study conducted at the IT University of Copenhagen (ITU), Denmark. The specific objective of this study was to draw on existing research in order to empirically investigate the main sociocultural barriers to female participation in the bachelor of Software Development at ITU, and to generate insights that would inform concrete and effective interventions.
Increasing high school girls' exposure to computing activities with e-textiles: challenges and lessons learned. / Borsotti, Valeria.
2017. Paper presented at CHITALY 2017, Cagliari, Italy.
This contribution examines a STEAM pilot workshop organized by the IT University of Copenhagen which targeted high school girls. The workshop aimed to introduce the girls to coding and computing through hands-on e-textiles activities realized with the Protosnap Lilypad Development board. This contribution discusses the advantages and challenges of using e-textiles activities as introduction to coding and computing.
Classroom Habit(us) and Physical Co-presence in a Blended Learning Environment. / Borsotti, Valeria; Møllenbach, Emilie.
In: EAI Endorsed Transactions on Ambient Systems , Vol. 16, No. 9, e3, 23.08.2016.
Ethnography in the Expanded Field (featured contribution)
In this exploratory case study we map the educational practice of teachers and students in a professional master of Interaction Design. Through a grounded analysis of the context we describe and reflect on: 1) the use of digital learning tools in a blended learning environment, 2) co-presence as an educational parameter. We use the concept of habitus (Bourdieu, 1977) to engage with the empirical context, and we adopt the Reggio Emilia perspective of viewing space, both physical and social, as the third teacher (Edwards et al, 1998). This investigation has led to insights into the existing practice of educators and students, as well as the identification of emerging themes for future research.
https://doi.org/10.4108/eai.23-8-2016.151638
A few of my field notes are part of the online exhibit Ethnography in the Expanded Field, a project that collects and archives responses to, and artifacts from, ethnographic practice from a wide range of perspectives. Ethnography in the Expanded Field developed from conversations at the Graduate Institute for Design Ethnography and Social Thought (GIDEST) and is generously supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in conjunction with The School of Design Strategies at Parsons School of Design. http://intheexpandedfield.com/about.html