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Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Ad blockers and the social contract

Mark Scott notes that use of ad blocking software is on the rise world-wide.  The software attempts to prevent advertising on a web site from loading and displaying on a viewer's computer. 

Recent research suggests that 11% of Internet users globally employ one kind of this software or another.  That represents a 30% increase over its prevalence from a year ago.

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Should people be made to do without their smartphones sometimes?

An interesting article by Alice Hopton on CBC news discusses when people might be required to do without their smartphones.

The article describes Yondr, a small pouch in which smartphones may be locked during concerts, classes, and other social gatherings.  Yondr's inventor, Graham Dugoni, argues that some people's habit of recording concerts, rather than just experiencing them unfiltered, undermines the point of such events, which is:

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Drone manners

There have been many reports of drones being shot at by people who believe they are being spied on.  An article in Slate by Faine Greenwood explains why shooting at drones is both misguided and dangerous.

The first reason is that shooting at drones endangers everyone in the vicinity.  There is a chance that the drone, if damaged, may collide with someone on the ground.  There is also a chance that stray or falling ammunition may hit somebody.

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

The crosswalk revisited

In STV 202: Design and Society, I often use the design of the typical crosswalk as an example of how designs embody social contracts.  

A crosswalk is a place where two parties, drivers and pedestrians, share a resource that both want to use, namely, a certain stretch of roadway.  In order to do so for the benefit of each, and reducing the danger to pedestrians, there is often a signal system that manages the right of way.  Only the party with the right of way, as indicated by the signals, is permitted to use the contested area of street.