Diversity as a Dependency
Anna Martelli Ravenscroft
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1Friday, June 24, 2011
What do you think of when you hear the word
22Friday, June 24, 2011
What do you think of when you hear the word
2
diversity
2Friday, June 24, 2011
The Usual Framing
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The Usual Framing
• Moral
• Legal
• Political/Social
33Friday, June 24, 2011
• Moral
• Legal
• Political/Social
33Friday, June 24, 2011
The Usual Framing
4
Guilt
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4
Guilt
4Friday, June 24, 2011
5
Guilt
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5
GuiltThe Great Motivator
5Friday, June 24, 2011
• Laying
5
GuiltThe Great Motivator
5Friday, June 24, 2011
• Laying
• Threatening
5
GuiltThe Great Motivator
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• Laying
• Threatening
• Avoiding
5
GuiltThe Great Motivator
5Friday, June 24, 2011
5
Guilt
5Friday, June 24, 2011
6
Guilt
6Friday, June 24, 2011
Guilt• Guilt-Free Zone
66Friday, June 24, 2011
Guilt• Guilt-Free Zone
• Diversity is NOT a club to beat people with
http://images.buycostumes.com/mgen/merchandiser/33936.jpg
66Friday, June 24, 2011
Guilt• Guilt-Free Zone
• Diversity is NOT a club to beat people with
• No “diverser than thou” games
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mendeley/4088774879/
66Friday, June 24, 2011
Guilt• Guilt-Free Zone
• Diversity is NOT a club to beat people with
• No “diverser than thou” games
• No traps
http://www.flickr.com/photos/51999423@N00/372074641
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Why diversity matters
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W I I F M
Why diversity matters
77Friday, June 24, 2011
W I I F
Why diversity matters
77Friday, June 24, 2011
Agenda
• Review some studies
• Diversity model
• Final thoughts
• Q&A
88Friday, June 24, 2011
Small town
• Study of a small town
• magazine/newspaper subscriptions
• who were the most influential in town
www.bernarrmacfadden.com/ newspapers.gif"Patterns of influence: local and cosmopolitan influentials." Pp. 387-420 in Robert K. Merton (ed.), Social Theory and Social Structure, 1957 9
9Friday, June 24, 2011
Big corporation
Structural Holes and Good Ideas, Ronald S. Burt AJS Volume 110 Number 2 (September 2004): 349–99 10
10Friday, June 24, 2011
Big corporation
• network analysis
Structural Holes and Good Ideas, Ronald S. Burt AJS Volume 110 Number 2 (September 2004): 349–99 10
10Friday, June 24, 2011
Big corporation
• network analysis
Structural Holes and Good Ideas, Ronald S. Burt AJS Volume 110 Number 2 (September 2004): 349–99 10
10Friday, June 24, 2011
Who’s most creative?
1111Friday, June 24, 2011
Who’s most creative?
11
James
11Friday, June 24, 2011
Who’s most creative?
11
James
11Friday, June 24, 2011
• in-groups
Who’s most creative?
11
James
11Friday, June 24, 2011
• in-groups
Who’s most creative?
11
James
Robert
11Friday, June 24, 2011
• in-groups
Who’s most creative?
11
James
Robert
11Friday, June 24, 2011
• in-groups
• structural holes
Who’s most creative?
11
James
Robert
11Friday, June 24, 2011
• in-groups
• structural holes
Who’s most creative?
11
James
Robert
11Friday, June 24, 2011
• in-groups
• structural holes
Who’s most creative?
11
James
Robert
11Friday, June 24, 2011
• in-groups
• structural holes
• creativity study
Who’s most creative?
11
James
Robert
11Friday, June 24, 2011
Science Lab
Dunbar, K. (1995). How scientists really reason: Scientific reasoning in real-world laboratories. In R. J. Sternberg &J. E. Davidson (Eds.), The nature of insight (pp. 365-395). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 12
12Friday, June 24, 2011
• Solving difficult problems
Science Lab
Dunbar, K. (1995). How scientists really reason: Scientific reasoning in real-world laboratories. In R. J. Sternberg &J. E. Davidson (Eds.), The nature of insight (pp. 365-395). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 12
12Friday, June 24, 2011
• Solving difficult problems
• Unexpected results
Science Lab
Dunbar, K. (1995). How scientists really reason: Scientific reasoning in real-world laboratories. In R. J. Sternberg &J. E. Davidson (Eds.), The nature of insight (pp. 365-395). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 12
12Friday, June 24, 2011
• Solving difficult problems
• Unexpected results
• Analogies
Science Lab
Dunbar, K. (1995). How scientists really reason: Scientific reasoning in real-world laboratories. In R. J. Sternberg &J. E. Davidson (Eds.), The nature of insight (pp. 365-395). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 12
12Friday, June 24, 2011
• Solving difficult problems
• Unexpected results
• Analogies
• Conceptual Changes
Science Lab
Dunbar, K. (1995). How scientists really reason: Scientific reasoning in real-world laboratories. In R. J. Sternberg &J. E. Davidson (Eds.), The nature of insight (pp. 365-395). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 12
12Friday, June 24, 2011
• Solving difficult problems
• Unexpected results
• Analogies
• Conceptual Changes
Science Lab
Dunbar, K. (1995). How scientists really reason: Scientific reasoning in real-world laboratories. In R. J. Sternberg &J. E. Davidson (Eds.), The nature of insight (pp. 365-395). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 12
12Friday, June 24, 2011
• Solving difficult problems
• Unexpected results
• Analogies
• Conceptual Changes
Science Lab
Dunbar, K. (1995). How scientists really reason: Scientific reasoning in real-world laboratories. In R. J. Sternberg &J. E. Davidson (Eds.), The nature of insight (pp. 365-395). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Friedrich August Kekulé
1212Friday, June 24, 2011
• Solving difficult problems
• Unexpected results
• Analogies
• Conceptual Changes
• Different pools of knowledge
Science Lab
Dunbar, K. (1995). How scientists really reason: Scientific reasoning in real-world laboratories. In R. J. Sternberg &J. E. Davidson (Eds.), The nature of insight (pp. 365-395). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Friedrich August Kekulé
1212Friday, June 24, 2011
Review
13The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools, and Societies ~ Scott E. Page
13Friday, June 24, 2011
Review
Interactions among individuals with different perspectives, skill-sets,
needs and motivations, generates innovation and creativity
13The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools, and Societies ~ Scott E. Page
13Friday, June 24, 2011
Kinds of diversity
• needs/motivations
• skill sets
• perspectives
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Contributing to Python
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Contributing to Python
• patches
• modules
• recipes
• bug reports
• beta testing
• documentation
• sprints
• PEPs
• giving talks
• organizing events
• translation
• internationalization
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Scratching an itch
flickr.com/photos/ rwfreund/73152138/
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Different itches
• Each person has a different itch to scratch - different needs/wants/motivations
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Scratching a niche
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Scratching a niche
• Isn’t focusing on “diversity” just catering to special interest groups?
1818Friday, June 24, 2011
Scratching a niche
• Isn’t focusing on “diversity” just catering to special interest groups?
• WIIFE?
1818Friday, June 24, 2011
Universal Design
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Beast_0096.jpg 1919Friday, June 24, 2011
Universal Design
• curb cuts
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Beast_0096.jpg 1919Friday, June 24, 2011
Universal Design
• curb cuts
• text-to-speech
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Beast_0096.jpg 1919Friday, June 24, 2011
Universal Design
• curb cuts
• text-to-speech
• subtitles/captions
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Beast_0096.jpg 1919Friday, June 24, 2011
Universal Design
• curb cuts
• text-to-speech
• subtitles/captions
• ...
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Beast_0096.jpg 1919Friday, June 24, 2011
Differing skill-sets
2020Friday, June 24, 2011
Differing skill-sets
2020Friday, June 24, 2011
Differing skill-sets
2020Friday, June 24, 2011
Differing skill-sets
2020Friday, June 24, 2011
Different skills
• We all have different skill-sets that we bring to Python
flickr.com/photos/ 87762129@N00/90703029
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Perspectives
• We all come to Python with unique backgrounds and experiences
http://resumbrae.com/ub/dms423_f06/10/2222Friday, June 24, 2011
Perspectives
http://resumbrae.com/ub/dms423_f06/10/2222Friday, June 24, 2011
Problem-solving
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Problem-solving
• We all approach problems in different ways
2323Friday, June 24, 2011
Problem-solving
• We all approach problems in different ways
• and may even see different problems
performance, internationalization, testing, ponies,...
2323Friday, June 24, 2011
Problem-solving
• We all approach problems in different ways
• and may even see different problems
performance, internationalization, testing, ponies,...
• and different solutions
Hadoop, ICU, Selenium, Django, ...
2323Friday, June 24, 2011
Diversity matters
• Not just for the moral or political reasons
• but also for very pragmatic reasons
2424Friday, June 24, 2011
Remember all the different ways people contribute to Python?
2525Friday, June 24, 2011
How does diversity matter?
• different needs/motivations + skill-sets + perspectives...
• generate innovation and creative problem solving,
• which leads to...
2626Friday, June 24, 2011
Better Software
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Better Software
• Python is already the best programming language
2727Friday, June 24, 2011
Better Software
• Python is already the best programming language
2727Friday, June 24, 2011
Better Software
• Python is already the best programming language
• but it isn’t the best language it can be...
2727Friday, June 24, 2011
Better Software
• Python is already the best programming language
• but it isn’t the best language it can be...
yet.
2727Friday, June 24, 2011
For Python to be the best...
• Diversity is necessary
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Necessary
• but not sufficient
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Diversity is hard...
3030Friday, June 24, 2011
Diversity is hard...
• All those differences cause friction
3030Friday, June 24, 2011
Diversity is hard...
• All those differences cause friction
• problems communicating
3030Friday, June 24, 2011
Diversity is hard...
• All those differences cause friction
• problems communicating
• different goals and priorities
3030Friday, June 24, 2011
Diversity is hard...
• All those differences cause friction
• problems communicating
• different goals and priorities
• valuing other perspectives and skill sets
3030Friday, June 24, 2011
Harnessing Diversity
3131Friday, June 24, 2011
Harnessing Diversity
• Education
3131Friday, June 24, 2011
Harnessing Diversity
• Education
• Facilitating communication
3131Friday, June 24, 2011
Harnessing Diversity
• Education
• Facilitating communication
• Clear process and goal-setting
3131Friday, June 24, 2011
Harnessing Diversity
• Education
• Facilitating communication
• Clear process and goal-setting
• Clear decision-making
3131Friday, June 24, 2011
Harnessing Diversity
• Education
• Facilitating communication
• Clear process and goal-setting
• Clear decision-making
3131Friday, June 24, 2011
Harnessing Diversity
• Education
• Facilitating communication
• Clear process and goal-setting
• Clear decision-making
• Willingness to Work
3131Friday, June 24, 2011
Programming is hard
• Thought experiment
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People are harder
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People are harder
• and we don’t come with docs
3333Friday, June 24, 2011
Diversity rocks!
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Diversity rocks!
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You can never go wrong with kittens.--Damian Conway
34Friday, June 24, 2011