This research paper uses an auto-ethnographic approach to highlight experiences of women of color who are international in U.S. engineering workforce and classrooms. Three preliminary themes are highlighted in this paper. The first is the theme related to the notion of Excellence, and how the definitions of success for immigrating or international engineers may be tied to maintaining visa status. The second theme centers around the lack of Sense of Belonging expressed by participant-authors. The final theme was around Chasing the American Dream and the resultant sacrifices. We hope this paper not only provides an overview of some of the unique challenges faced by international women of color, but also drives more interest in better understanding this oft-overlooked group in engineering.
Category: Hard Questions: Inclusion
Hard Questions: Inclusion
-
Health chatbots in Africa: scoping review
Background
This scoping review explores and summarizes the existing literature on the use of chatbots to support and promote health in Africa.Objective
The primary aim was to learn where, and under what circumstances, chatbots have been used effectively for health in Africa; how chatbots have been developed to the best effect; and how they have been evaluated by looking at literature published between 2017 and 2022. A secondary aim was to identify potential lessons and best practices for others chatbots. The review also aimed to highlight directions for future research on the use of chatbots for health in Africa.Methods
Using the 2005 Arksey and O’Malley framework, we used a Boolean search to broadly search literature published between January 2017 and July 2022. Literature between June 2021 and July 2022 was identified using Google Scholar, EBSCO information services—which includes the African HealthLine, PubMed, MEDLINE, PsycInfo, Cochrane, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science databases—and other internet sources (including gray literature). The inclusion criteria were literature about health chatbots in Africa published in journals, conference papers, opinion, or white papers.Results
In all, 212 records were screened, and 12 articles met the inclusion criteria. Results were analyzed according to the themes they covered. The themes identified included the purpose of the chatbot as either providing an educational or information-sharing service or providing a counselling service. Accessibility as a result of either technical restrictions or language … -
Artificial intelligence, law, and vulnerabilities
Social vulnerability is a measurement of the ability of communities to adequately respond to external stresses (Blaikie et al., 1994), such as the ongoing “SARS-CoV-2” – Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (Bankoff & Hilhorst, 2004). During these periods of upheaval, people with disabilities, racial, ethnic, and religious minorities, children from low-income families, the elderly, migrants and refugees, the immunocompromised and those with chronic health conditions, and the homeless among others are considered to be at greater risk from the adverse effects, and potential losses incurred by these external stressors. They are also the slowest to recover from such emergencies. For example, recent data from the COVID-19 pandemic shows that vulnerable populations were much more likely to contract the virus, were less likely to receive the vaccine because of hesitancy and distrust of “Big Pharma”, yet they were more in need of social assistance compared to other segments of society (Cheong et al., 2021; Kazemi et al., 2022; St‐Denis, 2020). Classified as “socially vulnerable” by the United Nations (n.d.), these populations are almost always economically marginalized, politically under-represented, and socially underserved. (Un)surprisingly, they are predominantly racialized (Black and other people of color), and have a long history of enduring violations of their civil rights and freedoms, even during disaster response and recovery efforts. The factors and/or characteristics that determine the social vulnerability of a group differ from country to country, however, there are some universal similarities. Risk factors that contribute to the vulnerability of these groups include poverty, unemployment, and lack of access to resources (e.g., adequate healthcare, education, housing, safe drinking water, transportation, and other social services) (Cutter et al., 2003). Socially vulnerable populations are also stigmatized and discriminated against by the wider society, and even criminalized in law, policy, and practice. Forced to live in environments of severe inequality, they are unable to thrive, feel safe, and actively participate in all aspects of society (UNDP, n.d.). When compared to the general population, the capacity of socially vulnerable groups to cope with, respond to, and recover from the adverse impacts of crises is hindered by the inordinate obstacles they encounter in their daily lives (Wisner et al., 2004). These obstacles are indicators of structural inequities and barriers that hamper fair and equitable access (for all) to the resources needed to satisfy one’s basic needs. Social vulnerability is then a combination of the risk factors and socio-cultural markers listed above, which hinder full participation in economic, social, political, and cultural life (UN DESA, 2016). The amplification of existing inequities during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic has re-ignited discussions about global inequities and the challenges they present to socially vulnerable populations.
-
Hate speech and polarization in participatory society, 67-82
Since the advent of Twitter in 2006, South Africa has witnessed a spectacular explosion of racist discourse on social media platforms. According to the South Africa Human Rights Commission (SAHRC, 2016), the centres of explosive racist discourses are Twitter and Facebook. SAHRC (2016) further notes that recent racist outbursts on Twitter and Facebook threaten the creation of a non-racial society and general social cohesion in South Africa. The surge of racist rants in South Africa reflects a society that is increasingly becoming racially polarised (South African Institute of Race Relations, 2018). The SAHRC trend analysis report (2016) reveals that discrimination on the grounds of race remains the highest of equality complaints, with an annual increase in high-profile derogatory incidences frequently aimed at black Africans. Similarly, Daniels (2009), Rauch and Schantz (2013) and Shepherd et al.(2015) note that social media have become a major conveyer of hate crimes against racial minorities and a major reason for the failure of multiculturalism as an institutional practice at a global level. Social media discussions on the subject of race in South Africa have served to highlight how racism remains pervasive and toxic (SAHRC, 2016). Some studies, such as those by Mafoko (2017) and Stephens (2018), have argued that the ‘rainbow nation’that the first democratically elected president of the country, Nelson Mandela, envisaged is now history–not a lived reality.
-
In the Dead End: The Decline of the Indigenous Language Press in Post-colonial Zimbabwe
The Zimbabwe Media commission (ZMC), the statutory body that regulates the press in Zimbabwe, has on several occasions urged media proprietors to prioritise newspapers, or even magazines, in Zimbabwe’s varied indigenous languages. At independence in 1980, the government of Zimbabwe, through its newly created media entity, New Ziana, made strenuous efforts to promote the indigenous language press. Yet, only a handful of these newspapers remain. The few that do are tottering under severe challenges, and they do not show signs of sustainability going forward. Though the government claimed it would intervene to serve the indigenous language press, they have not helped save them. The continued decline of the press – as evidenced by closures, downsizing, staff turnover and many other symptoms – is testimony to the fact that these efforts have been hugely unsuccessful.
-
The impact of India-UK co-production agreement: A systematic review of transmedia storytelling and business models in films
The concept of transmedia storytelling is unique in the sense that it entails telling different portions of a story on separate media platforms. Furthermore, it varies from other forms of cross-platform distribution. The adaption of transmedia storytelling perspectives and business models in creative co-production ventures is an evolving phenomenon, which presents scarce evidence in extant studies. In the light of the recent India-UK co-production treaty, this paper is aimed at offering a thematic analysis of evidence concerning the transmedia storytelling and business models in films and co-production ventures. The paper reviews existing studies and published work over the past fifty years to suggest a thematic map of research for future research ventures in this fairly under-researched area. Along with several crucial findings, the study confirms that more focused studies in the area will help to form clear assertions about the cultural, artistic, and economical possibilities of the film co-production agreement between the Republic of India and the United Kingdom and bilateral impacts of the same in creative agendas. The study offers crucial practical and theoretical implications for future analysis of the creative progression of co-production elements, which will also map the developmental graph of transmedia evolution, and also the variables involved in the exchange of practice facilities and infrastructure between the two countries.