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The ICT Poverty Trap: How Technology Disparities Exacerbate the Spread of Disease and Division in Jamaica

 Aleem Mahabir, Romario Anderson  November 11, 2020

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, social life has gone digital in new ways. People the world over are being urged to work remotely from home. Virtual get-togethers have replaced in-person gatherings as global mental health takes a tailspin. All the while, governments are being forced to switch to online platforms to deliver its services, such as welfare and various social programs. Perhaps more than at any time in human history, the ability to effectively participate economically, socially and even politically hinges on being able to harness Information Communication Technology (ICT) and its offerings. (read more...)

The Work it Takes to Stop Working: Productivity in Labs and Sugarcane

 Katie Ulrich  November 9, 2020

In spring of 2020, thousands of scientific labs across several continents shut down. What was deemed “non-essential” research was ramped down and/or paused in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus, and in some cases direct resources to Covid-19 research instead. Speaking with scientist friends and interlocutors in both Brazil, where I was carrying out research, and the US, where I’m from and have worked in labs myself, there was much discussion about what work to do in the meantime to continue progressing theses, dissertations, and research projects—in other words, to maintain productivity. On Twitter, numerous threads under the hashtag #phdlife offered advice and encouragement to “scientists without a lab,” as one graphic put it: (read more...)

A Technology of Empowerment and Governance: The IUD/IUS and Sexual Health Care in Toronto, Canada

 Allison Odger  November 5, 2020

The intrauterine device (IUD) and the intrauterine system (IUS) have a long and complicated history. The IUD is a contraceptive device inserted into the uterus, which serves as a physical barrier to prevent sperm from fertilizing the egg. Its earliest form can be linked to the work of Ernst Gräfenberg, who in 1929 created the ring IUD (Thiery 1997). Over the course of several decades, the IUD was constructed and re-constructed in terms of the materials used, its physical shape, and its promotion to women. Through the development process, some devices, such as the Dalkon Shield, caused irreparable damage. In 1969, the first copper IUD was created by Jaime Zipper and Howard J. Tatum, which took the now easily recognizable T-shape form. While the copper IUD was considered successful in terms of its ability to prevent pregnancy, women commonly had it removed due to increased bleeding during menstruation. Subsequently, the intrauterine system (IUS) was created, first by Antonio Scommegna in the 1960s using progesterone and later by Tapani Luukkainen in 1976 using levonorgestrel; this shift increased its effectiveness from a duration of one year to five years. After over a decade of testing, the Mirena IUS was released in Finland – it would not be approved for sale in the United States until 2001. (read more...)

“Doing Being a Latina,” or Performing Identities Through a Computer Voice

 Sasha Kurlenkova  November 2, 2020

This is a comment on Meryl Alper’s book “Giving Voice” which explores the topic of enacting an identity (e.g. a Latina girl) through a speech synthesizer or pre-recorded utterances of one’s “voice donor.” The ability to communicate is often taken-for-granted and imperceptible, despite being vital to everyday life. It defines our social performances as family members, professionals, and neighbors. Moreover, institutions as well as identities need to be “talked into being” (Heritage and Clayman, 2010). Although in many mundane situations we get by with meaningful bodily gestures (Goodwin, 1986) such as nodding, shaking the head, waving, and pointing, other interactions require us to use complex language processing skills and muscular control over the vocal organs and hands. (read more...)

Call for Applications: Platypus Editor

 Angela VandenBroek  October 28, 2020

Platypus, the official blog of (CASTAC) the Committee for the Anthropology of Science, Technology, and Computing, is seeking a new Editor. This is a two-year position, beginning in January 2023 and ending in December 2024, though the successful candidate is expected to participate in the transition and in hiring new staff during November and December. This and all CASTAC positions are unpaid. Originally launched in 2012, Platypus promotes dialogue on theories, tools, and social interactions that explore questions at the intersection of anthropology and science and technology studies, broadly understood. Current blog content draws from the fields of technology studies, medical anthropology, digital/media studies, environmental anthropology, applied anthropology, and disability studies, among many related themes. Platypus’s readership grows and diversifies each year as we have systematically cultivated multimedia and multimodal content, multilingual content, and a diverse group of Contributing Editors and guest authors. As a result of these efforts, our (read more...)

Elements of disability inclusion in Soviet disability pedagogy

 Svetlana Borodina  October 26, 2020

For someone interested in the genealogy of disability inclusion in Russia, Soviet disability pedagogy, known at the time under the name of defektologia, may seem to be a somewhat unexpected place to turn to. On the one hand, the Soviet system of korrektsionnoye education for children with disabilities embodied isolationism and paternalism, the features which characterized Soviet disability governance more broadly (Shek 2005): schools for students with disabilities were built at a significant distance from the heart of urban life; they functioned predominantly as boarding schools, de facto exerting control over children’s mobility and public appearance; they often had little contact or interaction with mainstream schools and communities. On the other hand, Soviet disability pedagogy also produced moments when disability exclusion, otherwise naturalized across various domains of life, had been problematized and questioned. To them, I turn in this post. (read more...)

Conectividad en tiempos de pandemia

 Roberto J. González  October 21, 2020

This content is also available in English.

Hoy en día, muchas personas están reevaluando lo que significa estar conectado. En los Estados Unidos, típicamente pensamos en la conectividad en términos tecnológicos—por ejemplo, servicio de banda ancha inalámbrica o acceso móvil 5G. La idea de conexión frecuentamente evoca imágenes de la industria “Big Tech” y de Silicon Valley, donde vivo y trabajo. Esto es especialmente comprensible en tiempos de cuarentena, distanciamiento social, escolarización virtual y trabajo desde casa. Pero la pandemia también ha provocado reflexiónes sobre la importancia de las conexiones humanas, ya que de repente nos encontramos separados de nuestros seres queridos—o encerrados en casa con ellos, día tras día. (read more...)

Connectedness in a Time of Pandemic

 Roberto J. González  October 21, 2020

Este contenido también está disponible en español.

Right now, many of us are reevaluating what it means to be connected. In the United States, we often think of connectivity as having wireless broadband service, or 5G mobile access. Our minds might conjure up images of Big Tech and Silicon Valley, where I teach. That’s especially understandable in a time of quarantines, social distancing, virtual schooling, and working from home. But the coronavirus pandemic has also prompted reflection on the salience of humanconnections, as we find ourselves suddenly separated from those we love—or else cooped up at home with them, day in and day out. (read more...)