EAGER: Broadening Participation in Computing through Transforming Media and Technologies

这个项目调查的是计算项目，参与项目的成员通过创作新的创造性作品来改变媒体，这些作品从另一个来源汲取材料和灵感--通常是为了批评和纠正将某些类型的人物或叙事排除在基础媒体之外，并放大被低估的声音。计算项目将这一做法扩展到技术转型，从而为扩大对计算的参与提供了一条途径，因为这些社区有很大比例的参与来自传统上在计算中代表性不足的群体，如妇女和残疾人。扩大参与对于确保在创造新技术的过程中涉及到不同的视角至关重要，尽管旨在将更多不同的群体带入计算机科学的举措，但某些群体在教育项目和更广泛的技术行业等正式计算领域的参与仍然不足。与试图将代表性不足的群体带入这些正式空间的工作不同，这项研究将审查在经历边缘化的社区中已经发生的计算工作，在这些社区中，可能是传统计算文化的局外人正在参与计算，以增强自己的社区的能力。通过研究这项工作，这项研究可以更好地理解如何克服边缘化和代表性不足的群体在进入正式计算空间时面临的系统性障碍。这项研究将在计算项目的多个案例研究中进行，以探索它们如何创新和改造技术，重点是它们参与由边缘化社区开展的项目和为其服务的项目。这些案例研究将涉及采访、参与者观察和围绕正在进行的新内容和平台创建的民族志，包括那些解决隐私、安全、可访问性和其他被其他平台忽视的边缘群体特有问题的问题。这项工作将提供有关扩大计算参与的障碍以及计算如何增强边缘化社区能力的观点。其结果将是更好地理解那些传统上被排除在计算之外的人是如何被激励参与计算项目的--以及我们如何鼓励和支持他们。这项研究不仅将深入了解由代表不足的群体驱动的计算项目是如何运作的，以及它们对边缘化社区的好处是什么，而且还将提供在扩大计算参与的努力经常不足的情况下，是什么激励因素使这类工作成为可能。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project investigates computational projects where participating members transform media by producing new creative works that draw material and inspiration from another source - often in order to critique and correct the exclusion of certain types of characters or narratives from the underlying media and to amplify underrepresented voices. Computational projects expand this practice into the transformation of technologies, which subsequently provides a path for broadening participation in computing, since these communities have a large percentage of participation from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in computing, such as women and people with disabilities. Broadening participation is essential for ensuring that a diversity of perspectives are involved in creating new technologies, and despite initiatives aimed at bringing more diverse groups into computer science, certain groups are still under-involved in formal computing spaces such as education programs and the broader technology industry. In contrast to work that seeks to bring underrepresented groups into these formal spaces, this research will examine computational work already happening within communities that both experience marginalization and where participants who may be outsiders to traditional computing culture are engaging with computation in order to empower their own communities. By studying this work, this research can lead to a better understanding of how to overcome systemic barriers that marginalized and underrepresented groups face when entering formal computing spaces. The research will take place across multiple case studies of computational projects, in order to explore how they innovate and transform technologies, with an emphasis on their involvement in projects by and for marginalized communities. These case studies will involve interviews, participant observation, and ethnography around the ongoing creation of new content and platforms, including those that address privacy, safety, accessibility, and other concerns specific to marginalized groups that are overlooked on other platforms. This work stands to inform perspectives on barriers to broadening participation in computing and how computing can empower marginalized communities. The result will be a better understanding of how those who are traditionally crowded out of computing are motivated to get involved in computational projects - and how we might encourage and support them. This research will provide insight into not only how computational projects driven by underrepresented groups function and what their benefits are to marginalized communities, but also what motivating factors make this kind of work possible when efforts to broaden participation in computing often fall short.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.