Chapter 1:
Sudhir seemed to be pretty desperate or naive to enter the building. He endangered himself and the only reason he is here today is because of luck.
Chapter 2:
As it turns out, JT is a fairly smart individual. The reason he chose this lifestyle was because how he never was rewarded or paid despite the effort he put into his work.
Chapter 3:
This chapter showed an interested side of Sudhir. Sudhir witnessed someone get beat up but didn't step in to stop them. Even though he was to be protected and left unharmed, he still didn't stop the beating. This could be because he felt he deserved it instead of being scared of a retaliation.
Chapter 4:
JT challenges Sudhir to be the gang leader for a day to give Sudhir a more first person experience into the life of a gang leader. One of Sudhirs first challenges is to settle a dispute between 2 people over money.
Chapter 5:
Sudhir gets closer to Ms. Bailey in order to study her more. She is another important person who plays an important role. She is president of the Robert Taylor buildings.
Chapter 6:
At this point a lot of people are mad at Sudhir. Some find that he inadvertently has lowered the pay of some of the workers. A lot of women also believe that he is sleeping with their daughters during the womens writing workshop.
Chapter 7:
A drive by from a rival gang ends up shooting 2 people. Sudhir realizes a lot of Police Officers are crooked and are in the drug trade. The Officers start to pressure Sudhir and give him a hard time since they believe he's an informant. Sudhir gets to attend a large meeting with the Black Kings thanks to JT.
Chapter 8:
JT gets a large promotion which will put him near the top of the gang ladder. Many people are panicking due to the scheduled demolition on the housing projects, even if they are planned to happen in a couple years. Many people will be forced to move and have nowhere to go.
Book:
All in all, the book was great. This book gives me better insight into gang life. I grew up in an entirely different setting and never had a good idea of how gang life functioned.
It is interesting to see how much the gang helped out the community. They provided a lot to the community. Another thing interesting about the gang was how structured it was. The gang was systematic. I always pictured gangs being run by maybe 1 or 2 guys and only about money. This gang seemed to worry more about land or location.
I'm amazed at how often he and the gang interacted with the law enforcement. It makes me curious if the police know only a little of the gangs activities or if they are busy with other duties. Maybe they do know but do not care.
I'm interested to see how other gangs are structured and the differences in gangs based upon location and racial backgrounds.
I'm glad Sudhir has made it out alive from his entire study. I wonder how Sudhir managed his schoolwork and met with the gang. I have trouble just going to work and school, so to see someone being able to go to school and to be part of gang is impressive. I believe Sudhir has done enough to make a valuable contribution in the world of ehnographies.
One concern with the book I have though is that it is hard to tell if everything written in the book was true. Some of the events seem a little unbelievable, especially some of his actions and reactions. Sudhir might have been raised in a different life, but he seemed way too naive in certain situations Makes me wonder if he wrote his thoughts like he did in the book just to sell his book. Regardless, it's a good book and gives good insight into the gang life.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Ethnography Ideas
College Station Running Group: This would by far by my first choice as to which ethnography I would like to study. I love to run but have not been in a running group before. I believe the people will be kind and friendly.
Amish Community: I don't know if an Amish or Amish-like community lives nearby but this would be another interesting choice. Given the fact that everyone in our class is somehow connected with technology and used to technology, it would be interesting to study a group of people who choose not to use technology.
Weightlifting Group: This group would be another interesting choice to study. I'm not much of a weight-lifter so finding and studying a group that devotes their time to lifting weights could be an interesting experience.
Paintball Group: This one would be fun. I love to play paintball and have gone to only one of the paintball group's meeting before. I know almost nothing about them. Their lifestyle must be unique and will probably provide for an interesting group to study.
Tae Kwon Do: Tae Kwon Do was something that I did and enjoy when I was a lot younger. Unfortunately since we moved, we had to leave behind our Tae Kwon Do instructor and facility. It would be interesting to see how as adults people behave in a Tae Kwon Do group. Do they do it for exercise? For competition? For self-defense? Maybe there's some other ulterior motive for taking Tae Kwon Do.
Amish Community: I don't know if an Amish or Amish-like community lives nearby but this would be another interesting choice. Given the fact that everyone in our class is somehow connected with technology and used to technology, it would be interesting to study a group of people who choose not to use technology.
Weightlifting Group: This group would be another interesting choice to study. I'm not much of a weight-lifter so finding and studying a group that devotes their time to lifting weights could be an interesting experience.
Paintball Group: This one would be fun. I love to play paintball and have gone to only one of the paintball group's meeting before. I know almost nothing about them. Their lifestyle must be unique and will probably provide for an interesting group to study.
Tae Kwon Do: Tae Kwon Do was something that I did and enjoy when I was a lot younger. Unfortunately since we moved, we had to leave behind our Tae Kwon Do instructor and facility. It would be interesting to see how as adults people behave in a Tae Kwon Do group. Do they do it for exercise? For competition? For self-defense? Maybe there's some other ulterior motive for taking Tae Kwon Do.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Article Reading + Book Reading: #1
I found the article to be extremely difficult to read. It was long, boring, and failed to peak any interest in me.
The book on the other hand was a better read. The book was way easier to read than the article. The book also had a very interesting subject.
In the book the fact that writing and speeches can give insight into a person. This insight is invaluable to psychologists. One of the interesting things was the use of their LIWC program. The program analyzed text and would total the number of times a word was used within a given category. This could be used to see the distribution and breakdown of someone's speech, book, or article.
Something that I wondered about though was how to improve on the LIWC program by allowing it to interpret and understand sarcasm. The program would have to use context clues in order to gain a better understanding of a words meaning. I often wonder how a program can go about doing this.
The book seems to be an interesting subject while the article was dry and boring. Hopefully, Gang Leader for a Day will be a lot better.
The book on the other hand was a better read. The book was way easier to read than the article. The book also had a very interesting subject.
In the book the fact that writing and speeches can give insight into a person. This insight is invaluable to psychologists. One of the interesting things was the use of their LIWC program. The program analyzed text and would total the number of times a word was used within a given category. This could be used to see the distribution and breakdown of someone's speech, book, or article.
Something that I wondered about though was how to improve on the LIWC program by allowing it to interpret and understand sarcasm. The program would have to use context clues in order to gain a better understanding of a words meaning. I often wonder how a program can go about doing this.
The book seems to be an interesting subject while the article was dry and boring. Hopefully, Gang Leader for a Day will be a lot better.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Article Reading #2: Coming Age of Samoa
Ethnography to me seem to be about learning about a society through a long study that usually involves participation in the group. Typically they person recording the data needs to live among the others as if they belong to the society.
This seems to be a difficult task to accomplish. The person has to do what they can to learn as much about the society as possible while living with them. This can often lead to biased data. Whether biased for the society or against it.
I found these articles to be interesting. The way that Margaret Mead recorded her ethnographic data is neat. Ethnographers have to practically live with the community that they are studying. This Can take time and be a difficult transition for people to switch from one lifestyle to another. The fact that she was able to is a cool accomplishment in the field of ethnography.
The debacle with Freeman seems to be a pointless one to me. Derek Freeman challenged many of Mead's finding. He just so happen to wait several years later before actually going to the Samoa tribe. So much has changed. Most of the Samoans converted to Christianity. The women that Mead interviewed were old and changed a lot as well. With Freeman being an older man, it also probably made some of the Samoan women uncomfortable sharing secrets and tribal practices with him.
Whatever gave Freeman the confidence that he can properly challenge Mead's finding I will probably never know. The amount of time to me is what lead to Freeman's demise in his challenging of Mead's findings. The Samoan tribe has changed too much for him to gather data on the Samoan tribe and compare that data with Mead's findings. To me, it seems obvious that Freeman has no ground in refuting Mead's findings.
This seems to be a difficult task to accomplish. The person has to do what they can to learn as much about the society as possible while living with them. This can often lead to biased data. Whether biased for the society or against it.
I found these articles to be interesting. The way that Margaret Mead recorded her ethnographic data is neat. Ethnographers have to practically live with the community that they are studying. This Can take time and be a difficult transition for people to switch from one lifestyle to another. The fact that she was able to is a cool accomplishment in the field of ethnography.
The debacle with Freeman seems to be a pointless one to me. Derek Freeman challenged many of Mead's finding. He just so happen to wait several years later before actually going to the Samoa tribe. So much has changed. Most of the Samoans converted to Christianity. The women that Mead interviewed were old and changed a lot as well. With Freeman being an older man, it also probably made some of the Samoan women uncomfortable sharing secrets and tribal practices with him.
Whatever gave Freeman the confidence that he can properly challenge Mead's finding I will probably never know. The amount of time to me is what lead to Freeman's demise in his challenging of Mead's findings. The Samoan tribe has changed too much for him to gather data on the Samoan tribe and compare that data with Mead's findings. To me, it seems obvious that Freeman has no ground in refuting Mead's findings.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Book Reading #2: Emotional Design, Chapter 1
In Emotional Design by Donald Norman beautiful devices often seem to work better than less aesthetically pleasing devices. In some studies it was shown that ATMs with the same functionality but with different user interfaces; one ugly, and one better looking showed that users performed better with the prettier looking ones. This is due to the fact the beautiful interfaces tend to invoke a positive, happy emotion in the user. When users are happy or emotionally pleased they tend to work better and become more creative. The openness to creativity then can lead to unique alternatives in problem solving or using a device for example. This can sort of coincide with what makes good design in Design of Everyday Things.
In Design of Everyday Things, devices tend to be easier to use when their a user can see how some of the parts works. This is quite interesting sense in some cases, seeing how the parts work can create a very unpleasant looking device.
Lets assume a device follows all the good design principles in Design of Everyday Things but is extremely ugly to look at. It can even be the fastest of its kind but due to the emotional response that is caused for humans, it can be considered a poor design and may be difficult to use. Users will not want to use something that is ugly or if they have to, then they will rush it's use, causing errors along the way.
This means that both the principles in Design of Everyday Things and the fact that aesthetically pleasing interfaces and devices have to be taken in to account. Devices should not be designed in the extremes of either one. Instead, there needs to be a balance between the two. The problem is that there is no clear-cut formula for how much time, effort, and money should be spent on the aesthetics, and how much should be spent on the design principles in Design of Everyday Things.
Another issue with this is that not every device is the same and some may perform better or be easier to use if more time, effort, and money are spent the aesthetics or on the design principles.
The design principles in Design of Everyday Things seem to talk more about how to design things to be easy to use. To be logical and clear in understanding and use. In emotional design however, the design principles typically follow how devices can provoke an emotional response that can help the user in using a device.
In Design of Everyday Things, devices tend to be easier to use when their a user can see how some of the parts works. This is quite interesting sense in some cases, seeing how the parts work can create a very unpleasant looking device.
Lets assume a device follows all the good design principles in Design of Everyday Things but is extremely ugly to look at. It can even be the fastest of its kind but due to the emotional response that is caused for humans, it can be considered a poor design and may be difficult to use. Users will not want to use something that is ugly or if they have to, then they will rush it's use, causing errors along the way.
This means that both the principles in Design of Everyday Things and the fact that aesthetically pleasing interfaces and devices have to be taken in to account. Devices should not be designed in the extremes of either one. Instead, there needs to be a balance between the two. The problem is that there is no clear-cut formula for how much time, effort, and money should be spent on the aesthetics, and how much should be spent on the design principles in Design of Everyday Things.
Another issue with this is that not every device is the same and some may perform better or be easier to use if more time, effort, and money are spent the aesthetics or on the design principles.
The design principles in Design of Everyday Things seem to talk more about how to design things to be easy to use. To be logical and clear in understanding and use. In emotional design however, the design principles typically follow how devices can provoke an emotional response that can help the user in using a device.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Book Reading 1: Design of Everyday Things
Book Talk:
I found this book to be interesting. The book go overs the studies of basically good design. Good design is consisted of many defining qualities. Some of the most obvious and apparent qualities are things such as simplicity when it come to design. The book has quite a few stories and examples from around the '80s that while somewhat comical, are very important and convey the main points of good design and point out examples of bad design as well. Many of the devices that were talked about in the book have been severally upgraded or no longer commonly exist. It's interesting to see the struggles and problems in good design in early electronics and devices. I'm curious as to how the book where to turn out if it had been written in modern time. Nowadays, we have LCD screens telling us the state of a device or function. We have smaller electronics that allow more room for controls. The smaller devices still pose a good design problem in figuring out just how small to create a device and if adding another control is worth the cost of size in a device. Some devices today have only a couple controls with far too many functions and actions. In the end, the book has given me a little more insight into good design. With this new-found knowledge, I can create things such as programs and interfaces that will become more user-friendly.
Chapter 1 Talk:
Chapter 1 discussed some of the most common problems with good design. The story of the fellow trapped between a set of doors is interesting. The time spent on aesthetics has caused some people some grief in using such a simple device such as a door. This unfortunately causes quite a lot of embarrassment for the people who fail to interpret the use of the door despite having no clues as to how to open the doors.
Chapter 2 Talk:
The most interesting point made in this chapter for me was the concept of Learned Helplessness. Learned helplessness is where a person feels helpless in performing a task if they are unable to complete it (often times if the user tries multiple times). This has been noticed quite a lot by me. I see professors who fail to understand how to properly use the teaching equipment on an almost regularly basis. Often times they blame themselves and claim they are dumb when it comes to computers. They believe they are technologically challenged. This always made me cringe a little because I never liked it when someone would beat themselves up for not knowing how to use the equipment.
Chapter 3 Talk:
The subsections on memory were an interesting read. I enjoyed learning about the differences in memory and how some people try to recall certain information. The use of notes has been a common choice for me personally.
Chapter 4 Talk:
I enjoyed the example of physical constraints and the Lego motorcycle. I grew up playing with Lego all the time. I never looked at how good of a design the Lego bricks are. I obviously knew that certain bricks can only fit certain ways with other bricks but I never fully appreciated the beauty of the design philosophy that Lego used. People would soon find out that if there were 2 incompatible bricks or a way that was incompatible, it would either be easily noticeable and avoided or people would find out by trying to combine the bricks and noticing an unsecured connection or combination of bricks.
Chapter 5 Talk:
The difference in slips and mistakes is quite an interesting read. Often times I have caught myself performing a step wrong and my peers would make fun of me for it. I would be embarrassed and it would unfortunately stick with me all day. I would vow that I would never make the same "mistake" again. However, as it turns out, slips are most common in a skilled procedure or protocol for a person. The procedure becomes so routine that it becomes an almost subconscious task and if a error is made, it will often go unnoticed. The true definition of a mistake is by having a wrong goal set but performing the steps correctly.
Chapter 6 Talk:
The problem of designers focusing too much on aesthetics is a pretty big deal. Most designers do not get the recognition they deserve simply because something is not pretty enough, despite the functionality it may have. Designers with few visible elements and few "breaks" in the design are typically praised for their work. This causes problems however in use of the device and maintenance. A control may not be noticeable enough and may not be recognized by a large number of users. This can cause frustrations and problems in the device usage.
Chapter 7 Talk:
Ah, designing for users. This was an interesting chapter since it sort of struck a chord with me due to my job. I see a wide array of professors. Some have trouble with the equipment, others don't. It's both fascinating and frustrating to see a professor who has studies years in the field of say Mathematics or Physics and can't figure out how to turn on the projector. Often times there are correlation between what professors teach and how well they know how to use the equipment. Many times they will make recommendations on how the equipment should behave and perform. Unfortunately there are far too many different approaches. We have to standardize across the campus (the best we can) so professors don't have to learn about 20 different systems in order for them to use the equipment.
5 Examples of Good Design:
3. My headset while large is comfortable and allows for the microphone to be on either side without having to remove and re-attach it.
4. My laptops keyboard boasts a numpad with a button that automatically launches the Windows Calculator. This is a very handy feature since I perform simple calculations quite often on my laptop.
5. Again, talking about my laptop (I really do love it) The fan design is good. The laptops fans face the back, not the sides like a lot of other laptops I see. The hot air will push away from the laptop and away from any peripheral devices or body parts. The fans are also easy to get to for cleaning and maintenance.
5 Examples of Bad Design:
1. My truck unlocks the doors as soon as I put it in park. Now this is convent for most situations but the fear of someone trying to hijack or rob me from my truck has caused me to dislike this feature.
I found this book to be interesting. The book go overs the studies of basically good design. Good design is consisted of many defining qualities. Some of the most obvious and apparent qualities are things such as simplicity when it come to design. The book has quite a few stories and examples from around the '80s that while somewhat comical, are very important and convey the main points of good design and point out examples of bad design as well. Many of the devices that were talked about in the book have been severally upgraded or no longer commonly exist. It's interesting to see the struggles and problems in good design in early electronics and devices. I'm curious as to how the book where to turn out if it had been written in modern time. Nowadays, we have LCD screens telling us the state of a device or function. We have smaller electronics that allow more room for controls. The smaller devices still pose a good design problem in figuring out just how small to create a device and if adding another control is worth the cost of size in a device. Some devices today have only a couple controls with far too many functions and actions. In the end, the book has given me a little more insight into good design. With this new-found knowledge, I can create things such as programs and interfaces that will become more user-friendly.
Chapter 1 Talk:
Chapter 1 discussed some of the most common problems with good design. The story of the fellow trapped between a set of doors is interesting. The time spent on aesthetics has caused some people some grief in using such a simple device such as a door. This unfortunately causes quite a lot of embarrassment for the people who fail to interpret the use of the door despite having no clues as to how to open the doors.
Chapter 2 Talk:
The most interesting point made in this chapter for me was the concept of Learned Helplessness. Learned helplessness is where a person feels helpless in performing a task if they are unable to complete it (often times if the user tries multiple times). This has been noticed quite a lot by me. I see professors who fail to understand how to properly use the teaching equipment on an almost regularly basis. Often times they blame themselves and claim they are dumb when it comes to computers. They believe they are technologically challenged. This always made me cringe a little because I never liked it when someone would beat themselves up for not knowing how to use the equipment.
Chapter 3 Talk:
The subsections on memory were an interesting read. I enjoyed learning about the differences in memory and how some people try to recall certain information. The use of notes has been a common choice for me personally.
Chapter 4 Talk:
I enjoyed the example of physical constraints and the Lego motorcycle. I grew up playing with Lego all the time. I never looked at how good of a design the Lego bricks are. I obviously knew that certain bricks can only fit certain ways with other bricks but I never fully appreciated the beauty of the design philosophy that Lego used. People would soon find out that if there were 2 incompatible bricks or a way that was incompatible, it would either be easily noticeable and avoided or people would find out by trying to combine the bricks and noticing an unsecured connection or combination of bricks.
Chapter 5 Talk:
The difference in slips and mistakes is quite an interesting read. Often times I have caught myself performing a step wrong and my peers would make fun of me for it. I would be embarrassed and it would unfortunately stick with me all day. I would vow that I would never make the same "mistake" again. However, as it turns out, slips are most common in a skilled procedure or protocol for a person. The procedure becomes so routine that it becomes an almost subconscious task and if a error is made, it will often go unnoticed. The true definition of a mistake is by having a wrong goal set but performing the steps correctly.
Chapter 6 Talk:
The problem of designers focusing too much on aesthetics is a pretty big deal. Most designers do not get the recognition they deserve simply because something is not pretty enough, despite the functionality it may have. Designers with few visible elements and few "breaks" in the design are typically praised for their work. This causes problems however in use of the device and maintenance. A control may not be noticeable enough and may not be recognized by a large number of users. This can cause frustrations and problems in the device usage.
Chapter 7 Talk:
Ah, designing for users. This was an interesting chapter since it sort of struck a chord with me due to my job. I see a wide array of professors. Some have trouble with the equipment, others don't. It's both fascinating and frustrating to see a professor who has studies years in the field of say Mathematics or Physics and can't figure out how to turn on the projector. Often times there are correlation between what professors teach and how well they know how to use the equipment. Many times they will make recommendations on how the equipment should behave and perform. Unfortunately there are far too many different approaches. We have to standardize across the campus (the best we can) so professors don't have to learn about 20 different systems in order for them to use the equipment.
5 Examples of Good Design:
1. I have always liked the way a USB cable looked and the port as well. There is a noticeable click when plugging in a USB cable to let people know that it is connected. Also, the end of the cable is wide and sturdy, making it difficult to bend the end (unlike my power cable)
2. My trucks lights are set to a very interesting setting. This setting auto-detects the time of day it is and will turn on or off the lights accordingly without having to adjust it. It can also go back to ye-old standard manual switch for the lights
3. My headset while large is comfortable and allows for the microphone to be on either side without having to remove and re-attach it.
4. My laptops keyboard boasts a numpad with a button that automatically launches the Windows Calculator. This is a very handy feature since I perform simple calculations quite often on my laptop.
5. Again, talking about my laptop (I really do love it) The fan design is good. The laptops fans face the back, not the sides like a lot of other laptops I see. The hot air will push away from the laptop and away from any peripheral devices or body parts. The fans are also easy to get to for cleaning and maintenance.
5 Examples of Bad Design:
1. My truck unlocks the doors as soon as I put it in park. Now this is convent for most situations but the fear of someone trying to hijack or rob me from my truck has caused me to dislike this feature.
2. The auto-rotate feature is nice for most situations on my phone, however it's annoying whenever I am lying in bed and the image rotates when I do not want it too. I'm sure there is a setting somewhere to disable it but if there is, they put the option in an obscure menu somewhere because I can't find it.
3. Another problem with my phone is the alarm clock app. Whenever I make a new alarm, it will does not auto delete the alarm, it only "disables" it. This causes massive lists of obscure times for alarms that I must sift through and delete.
4. Skype not actually closing when hitting the X button. This only causes the application to go to the system tray. You have to either Sign-out or Quit the application.
5. I managed to come across an abandoned Ipod Nano. While I'm not much of an Apple product user, I thought, hey a free mp3 player. When I examined it, I was shocked that there was only one port which was obviously used for headphones. I spent the next half-hour trying to figure out on my own how in the world it connected to a computer before looking it up. Turns out there's a way to transfer songs onto the device through the headphone port. Weird.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Article Reading #1: Minds, Brains, and Programs; The Chinese Room
To be blunt, I did not enjoy reading about the article. I had a very difficult time understanding just exactly what the paper is about. Fortunately for me, I had a better time reading the Wikipedia article on the Chinese Room.
I have always wondered if it's possible for man to create a true artificial intelligence. I usually end up with the conclusion that it is not possible. I believed that it is possible to mimic intelligence, but in the end, it is all programmed. I think that machines cannot make a "free choice". Any choices it seem to make would have to be a result of its programming. Is it possible humans or some other intelligent life are programmed? I don't know. When humans make decisions we often have moral values and gut feelings come into the decision making. Intelligence is not just about decision making either though.
Based upon my understanding of the article and the paper, Searle does not believe a true artificial intelligence. Consciousness is a complex phenomena that is impossible to replicate in a machine. In the experiment, the computer can process certain symbols which hold no value or have no meaning. For humans though, there is a strong meaning behind symbols or words.
Artificial intelligence has been an interesting topic for me, but the difficulty in understanding it causes headaches. It's extremely hard for me to wrap my head around the possibility of a true artificial intelligence. However, I don't know what sort of advances will be made in computers in the next 50 or 100 years. About the closest thing to a true artificial intelligence that I can think of is actually some sort of living organism that is augmented into a computer, but this may be considered a cyborg like creation since. How to "hook up" an organism to a computer? Again, I don't know.
I have always wondered if it's possible for man to create a true artificial intelligence. I usually end up with the conclusion that it is not possible. I believed that it is possible to mimic intelligence, but in the end, it is all programmed. I think that machines cannot make a "free choice". Any choices it seem to make would have to be a result of its programming. Is it possible humans or some other intelligent life are programmed? I don't know. When humans make decisions we often have moral values and gut feelings come into the decision making. Intelligence is not just about decision making either though.
Based upon my understanding of the article and the paper, Searle does not believe a true artificial intelligence. Consciousness is a complex phenomena that is impossible to replicate in a machine. In the experiment, the computer can process certain symbols which hold no value or have no meaning. For humans though, there is a strong meaning behind symbols or words.
Artificial intelligence has been an interesting topic for me, but the difficulty in understanding it causes headaches. It's extremely hard for me to wrap my head around the possibility of a true artificial intelligence. However, I don't know what sort of advances will be made in computers in the next 50 or 100 years. About the closest thing to a true artificial intelligence that I can think of is actually some sort of living organism that is augmented into a computer, but this may be considered a cyborg like creation since. How to "hook up" an organism to a computer? Again, I don't know.
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