Seminar Description

  

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Summary

The Digital Innovations Seminar is a Spring 2005 applied social science and media arts seminar surveying the blossoming arena of digital-artifact enabled experimental sociology. We will emphasize both (a) Technology Testbeds – experimenting with research lab prototypes and corporate pre-production products in a sample human organizational population and carefully observing the social consequences, and (b) Sociometrics – using digital artifacts to better observe and measure the complex social reality of interesting human systems.

Technology Testbeds result when multiple labs at MIT & a variety of corporate sponsors showcase their advanced prototypes and pre-production models – at MIT Sloan, MIT-generally, in our surrounding Kendall community, and even at sponsor homesites – while we closely track their social impact, observe real usage patterns over time, and systematically assess future market potential.

Sociometrics are the data & corresponding statistical analysis of social phenomena. Such metrics result from the systematic deployment of – and observation via – minimally intrusive digital artifacts which capture relevant and complex social interaction data over time.

Expected Student Deliverables

The first hour of class will typically be a talk by an invited speaker, with research papers by that speaker provided beforehand. All students are expected to: (a) read papers provided beforehand and to turn in hardcopy comments on the papers before class, (b) participate in the discussion during the second hour of class, (c) participate in three sociometric experiments (analyzing poker, focus groups, and group decision making) outside of normal class time, (d) write a term summary report on the opportunities and problems that you see are facing this new class of socially-aware technology. We hope this class effort will be the basis for future research and/or publications.

When/Where

Fridays 1-3pm, plus workshops as required. Invited speaker typically in Bartos Theater, lower level of E15, followed by discussion in E15-383.

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