BIG DATA

COM 327February 7 2013

1. Quiz2. Group Presentation3. History of Research Ethics4. Group work: Can we do anything? Should we? Do we want to?

1. The article by Chee, Taylor and de Castell explores questions of privacy and research ethics regarding which type of document?

a)Passportb)Fake Driver’s Licensec)EULAd)US Constitution

2. In the questionnaire distributed by Chee, Taylor & de Castell, the majority of study participants answered “______” to the question, “How much of a EULA do you read?”

a)Trueb)Falsec)All of itd)None of it

3. “______________________” is the process by which a researcher explains a study to a potential subject, so that the subject can knowingly agree (or not) to participate.

a)Informed Consentb)Discoursec)EULAd)Standardized testing

4. In the MediaShift article, Stearns looks to the historical example of “Big _______”’s funding of the “truth campaign” as one way that digital literacy activists can raise awareness of Big Data.

a)Tobaccob)Birdc)Eastd)Bang Theory

5. Bonus! Reviewing research proposals to ensure that researchers treat their subjects fairly and humanely is the job of:

a)Research subjectsb)Institutional Review Boardsc)Biebertron 5000d)Parents

What is “Big Data”?

Bronislaw Malinowski in his tent

What does this image communicate?

Men’s public restrooms, electric shocks and online media… What is the connection?

World of Warcraft Laud Humphreys’ Tearoom Trade

Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1932-1971)

• Study examined the effects of UNTREATED syphilis over a period of time

• Researchers told 600 Black sharecroppers they were going to get free medical insurance

• Cure for syphilis discovered in 1947 but subjects were left untreated

E = Experimenter / authority figureT = Subject giving (fake) shocksL = Person receiving (fake) shocks

Milgram Experiment (1960’s)

Tearoom Trade (1970): a study of homosexual encounters in public places

• Posed as look out for men engaging in consensual sex in public washrooms• Recorded their license plate number as they drove away Interviewed them at

their houses under false pretenses• Found that most participants were not ‘out’ & were in fact (socially

conservative) men with wives & families

Tearoom Trade: Implications

• Showed how a scandalous practice was actually victimless – and that homosexual activity is not confined to people who are openly queer

• Studied people without their knowledge and consent

The report mandates that:• participants must always be made aware when, and how, they are being observed;• participants must be able to freely give consent to enlist in research, and can withdraw

at any time, without penalty;• researchers are required to maximize the benefits to participants, and minimize the risk,

associated with participation in the study;• any study involving human participants needs to be approved by an Institutional

Review Board (IRB)

Belmont Report (1979)http://ohsr.od.nih.gov/guidelines/belmont.html#gob

Outlines procedures for the ethical treatment of human subjects – in the wake of scandals that arose from studies where people were either not informed they were participating in a study and/or did not have the power to opt out.

• Tuskegee Syphilis Study• Tearoom Trade• Milgram Experiment

Present day:

“Changes in technology are developing faster than social and cultural norms can adapt. ” (Stearns, 2012)

There is once again a LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY between researcher and ‘subject’

“Dedicated role players were more lonely, less happy, more likely to be disabled, and more likely to have been diagnosed with depression, substance addictions, behavioral addictions, attention-deficit disorder, and learning disabilities”

Williams, D., Kennedy, T., and Moore, R. (2011). Behind the Avatar: The Patterns, Practices, and Functions of Role Playing in MMOs. Games and Culture 6(2), pp. 171-200.

GROUP WORK

The MediaShift article emphasizes the need for “digital literacy”.

In groups of 4, address the following questions:

• What is “digital literacy?”

• What does the author hope “digital literacy” might accomplish?

• What do you think are the limitations & issues with this approach? Aka, what else is needed to address the issue that companies & govts have access to our data, and they can (and are) using it against us?