April 24th, 2010 §
View a quick comparison on Sustainable Minds by clicking the image below
Re-visioning the Product Service System
- Greatest Environmental Leverage for Change: Utilize recyclable materials for packaging. “According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), an estimated 10.4 billion male condoms were used worldwide in 2005.” (Source: Avert) According to one study, developing nations alone will need 18.6 billion condoms in 2015. That adds up to millions of pounds of non-recyclable discarded plastic.
- Greatest Social Leverage for Change:
- Follow the UK company, French Letter, ethical condom model by using only fair trade latex rubber to help ensure that rubber tappers receive fair wages and work under fair working conditions
- Build in a social change incentive such as Sir Richards where for each condom purchased, a condom is donated to the developing world
- Using condoms helps prevent unwanted pregnancy and would aid in slowing population growth thus reducing carbon emissions
- Using condoms helps prevent STIs which can require costly treatment such as ARV (antiretrovirals) drugs for HIV/AIDS.
April 7th, 2010 §
Abstract
PROS Network Services Finder is a mobile website / Android application that provides a listing of harm reduction services for sex workers in New York City based on GPS location information. The current services listings are organized under the following categories: harm reduction and syringe exchanges, shelters, legal services, youth services, advocacy and support services. In the next version, the application will include a two-way “bad date list” feature as well as the ability to report instances of violence with a focus on combating police violence.
Problem Statement
Sex workers face a number of barriers when accessing services such as mental health care, social services, STI and HIV screenings. The barriers to access of services are exacerbated by pervasive cultural stigma, legal obstacles, poverty, education, and other factors. In Recent years, mobile technology adoption rates have soared in much of the global south. Unfortunately, HIV/AIDS prevalence is highest in these countries. As such, it seems quite a natural progression for those combating the stigma and the virus (through prevention and care) to utilize mobile technology to increase information access and education.
The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief has created an extremely difficult climate for NGOs and NPOs who work with sex worker populations to maintain adequate access to funding in their programs due to the require of the Anti-Prostitution Pledge, essentially silencing them by putting restraints on organizations by requiring them to sign an anti-prostitution pledge regardless of whether prostitution is legal, decriminalized, or illegal by their own local laws. These grassroots agencies and organizations are most equipped to identify victims of trafficking as well as to penetrate this difficult to reach population and provide services. PEPFAR’s policy further discriminates against sex workers. For example, Andrew Hunter of the Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers noted that doctors are not allowed to answer questions regarding what sex health concerns are medically valid around MSM (men having sex with men) sex work. Denial of services and education are not effective HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment policy, plain and simple.
Project Statement
I intend to continue learning about efforts to use SMS and mobile technology as a means for disseminating information around HIV/AIDS in the global south. I will continue to look at existing programs and policies that are working to make change, it seems, outside of PEPFAR funding. I would like to continue this work, examing what has been effective and through my research and prototyping, make recommendations and continue developing technology on this subject to increase HIV/AIDS prevention and services access to marginalized populations, including by not limited to sex workers, primarily in the global south. I would like to test a pilot program in New York City in conjunction with the Bureau of AIDS and the PROS Network (a coalition of service providers and others providing harm reduction services here in New York City.)
Project Scope
Phase One – Midterm
- Utilize SMS to digitize a bad date list with (password protected) access
Phase Two – Final Project
- Use geo-tagging and GPS to find the closest health services available to sex workers including reproductive health, STI screening, HIV services, and harm reduction services including safer sex supplies and injection supplies.
Phase Three
- Create a tool for organizing for court support, events, and actions– both immediate events and longer term planning
- Create native app for Android and iPhone
Related Projects
- Text to Change: Text to Change (TTC), a non-profit organization in Africa, has been using mobile technology for health education since 2008. TTC has been running a fun, innovative and practical HIV/AIDS education program in three countries — Uganda, Kenya and Namibia. This program not only educates participants about AIDS but also encourages infected patients to seek medical help and adhere to medication.
- How SMS Could Save Your Life (Wired Magazine): GUGULETHU, South Africa — How do you make the expertise of two doctors and two nurses spread far and wide enough to take care of more than 500 HIV/AIDS patients? In this gritty township, the answer is text messaging.
- Tactical Technology Collective (TTC) – I put out a call for information to harm reduction and sex worker contacts. I received a report back from the Open Society Institute’s Sexual Health and Rights Project (SHARP) which was commissioned in preparation for a 2007 meeting of sex worker activists. It was written by Melissa Gira and Tactical Technology Collective (TTC) and looks at how sex workers groups are using technology in their work.
Synopsis: I intend to study how SMS and mobile technology is working in the field of HIV prevention in sex worker populations.
- The Aphrodite Project – Sexy GPS Shoes – a project that involved ITP students a few years ago.
- Successful Launch TTC/AIC HIV SMS Quiz Program In Mbarara, Uganda -
- UGANDA: Using mobile phones to fight HIV -
Text to Change (TTC) , an NGO that uses a bulk short message service (SMS) platform for HIV/AIDS education, recently partnered with the AIDS Information Centre in Uganda (AIC) and Celtel, a local mobile phone network, to pilot a project in western Uganda aimed at communicating knowledge about the disease and encouraging subscribers to volunteer for HIV testing.
- WHO’s HIV/AIDS sex work toolkit -
In many parts of the world, sex workers have been among the groups most vulnerable to and most affected by HIV since the beginning of the AIDS pandemic.
- Sex Workers and HIV Prevention – Prevention campaigns aimed at sex workers not only reduce the number of HIV infections that result from paid sex; they can also play a vital role in restricting the overall spread of HIV in a country. Proof of this can be seen in countries such as Bangladesh, Benin, Cambodia, the Dominican Republic and Thailand, where general reductions in the national HIV prevalence have been largely attributed to HIV prevention initiatives aimed at sex workers and their clients.
- Ecuador Sex Workers Target HIV-AIDS Prevention – Sex workers in Ecuador are building a national labor network and trying to curb HIV-AIDS, while dealing with the growing presence of minors and undocumented workers in brothels. The first of six stories on Ecuador’s sex industry.
March 22nd, 2010 §
Submerged (working title) will be an experimental video about memory and the body.
This piece is informed by my grandmother’s progression into late stages of Alzheimer’s and subsequent loss of cognizance, mobility, and memory. I hope to relate my experience on the same drugs that attempt to salvage her mind. I was inadvertently given Alzheimer’s medication in 2006 which resulted in a slew of strange psychological effects ranging from confusion to distress to what I describe as psychological bloat. I want to connect, recollect and capture the sensations and texture of our experiences with mind/body disconnection.
I am interested in the different ways we broach the mind, body, and flesh dis/connections. I am also interested in the various ways we attempt to bridge these connections such as the Snoezelen, or controlled multisensory stimulation chamber. I think of this piece I hope to work on as similar to the Snoezelen in terms of fostering solace but taking on a very different form.
The piece would have an organic, visceral feel and would eventually function as part of a larger installation manifesting as an immersive, dreamlike space with the video component shifting from vivid nostalgic imagery to abstractions of form that pulsate, undulate and inundate.
Max/MSP would be utilized to change the speed and shape of the video elements as well as to incorporate sound. I am still sussing out how I think the Max/MSP elements would manifest.
March 21st, 2010 §
The NYC Condom program was launched February 14, 2007. The program distributes more than 3 million condoms each month throughout the five boroughs to various locations free of charge.
Condoms are a barrier used primarily during sexual intercourse to prevent unwanted pregnancy and STI transmission. Condoms have been manufactured out of a variety of materials for centuries, however rubber condoms were first used in 1855 and the modern latex condoms were were first used 1920. Due to latex sensitivities and the less effective nature of sheepskin, alternatives to latex were later developed. Polyutherane condoms were created in 1994 and Polyisoprene in 2008. When used correctly, condoms are approximately 95% – 98% effective in preventing STI transmission and pregnant. Currently there are approximately 60 condom companies worldwide producing 8 to 12 billion condoms each year.
Until the height of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, condom production was not carefully regulated. While earlier regulation existed in some capacity, it was not strictly enforced. Early rubber condoms were created by dipping glass molds into raw rubber and required adding gasoline or benzene to liquify the rubber. Latex condoms were easier to product and could be formed using water to suspend the rubber instead of toxic gasoline and benzene which were noted as fire hazards in condom factories. Additional benefits to latex condoms were their durability and increased strength as well as thinner material which is believed to increase sensitivity for the users. They also last significantly longer—5 years compared to the three months shelf life of earlier rubber condoms. Other health concerns include the use of a carcinogenic talc on the condom.
Today’s latex condoms, such as NYC Condom brand condoms, are biodegradable. However, polyurethane condoms are not biodegradable. Condoms are most frequently sealed in a foil or plastic packaging. It is unclear to me whether these materials can be recycled or if they are biodegradable. Companies such as Yulex are experimenting with alternative sources such as allergen free rubber. According to my conversation with the company, it will take several years for the product to come to come to market. The U.S. brand, Sir Richard, will bring a new product to market by creating an ethical brand around the donation of one condom per condom purchased to be donated to the developing world.
The major US condom brands are manufactured both in the US and abroad. NYC Condoms, the focus of this study, are manufactured by LifeStyle which produce their products in India and Thailand. Other manufacturing locations include:
• Trojan: U.S.A.
• NaturaLamb: U.S.A.
• Durex: Spain, U.K., India, and Thailand
• Kimono: Japan
• Beyond Seven and Crown: Japan
I’ve yet to decipher how NYC Condoms makes money as they are distributed for free. NYC Condoms are a project of the NY State Department of Health. As for the larger condom / safer sex / barrier industry, these products are produced far less expensively outside of the US (at 2 cents a piece compared to 5 cents a piece in the US). Trojan-ENZ Lubricated Premium Latex Condoms (12-pack) cost 63 cents a piece which is 12 times the manufacturing cost. Trojan Ultra Thin Lubricated Premium Latex Condoms (12-pack) cost $1.09 a piece, 21 times the manufacturing cost. So the potential for a high profit margin appears rather significant.
In the US, condoms are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration to ensure their safety and effectiveness. European condoms that have undergone quality and safety testing are marked by the letters CD. In the UK, Kitemark appears on approved condoms. Other countries have their own testing, regulation, and marking system. The WHO (World Health Organization) has established an international standard which involves checking for holes, bursting volume and pressure, as well as other visible defects.
There are an immense number of advocates promoting condom usage throughout the world as it is one of the most effective measures in preventing STI transmission, HIV infection, and unplanned pregnancies when used correctly. The list is so large and diffuse, I will refrain from listing it here but doctors, harm reductionists, social works, NGOs focused on HIV/AIDS, sex work, MSM, reproductive heath and wellbeing, etc. are all significant advocates for condoms. The only organizations and individuals I was able to find who oppose condoms do so for religious reasons without footing in science or health research. In Muslim regions of Kenya, condoms are highly stigmatized because they are believed to be needed only by prostitutes or those having affairs and engaging in such activity is against g-d. Similarly, the pope believes that abstinence is preferred. While it is true abstinence, when practiced perfectly, is the most effective way to prevent HIV/AIDS, STIs, and unplanned pregnancy, abstinence only education has proven to be a tremendous failure worldwide.
Research into the impact of condom production and manufacturing on workers’ health has been difficult to come by. However, I would be in full support of a model where workers are collectized, unionized, and/or the business was a worker-owned cooperative. Clearly their is an opportunity to fill this information gap so that the research to be made public and transparent around the working conditions and impacts on worker health.
In the west, stigma around sex outside of marriage continue to decrease and barriers to purchasing effective contraception such as decreasing cost and stigma are helping make access to condoms ever easier. Due to the prevalence of HIV/AIDS worldwide, condoms have become an important part of fighting the epidemic and are an important resource for both individual and public health.
References
http://delicious.com/sarjen/condoms
http://delicious.com/sarjen/nyccondoms
March 10th, 2010 §
Mobile Media Midterm Synopsis
For the midterm project, Matt Swenson and Sarah Jenny created an SMS-based resource for those in the sex trade (including those who engage in sex work by choice or circumstance as well as those who are in the sex trade under coercive circumstances such as trafficking). Users the phrase “nyhelp” and their New York City zipcode to 41411 and receive the contact information for the closest social service provider. (Example: 41411 nyhelp 10003) The resource list was carefully crafted after consulting the PROS Network, a coalition of social service providers offering services to sex workers and other marginalized populations from a harm reduction and human rights perspective.
Matt and Sarah researched existing mobile services for sex workers, including the SOROS Foundation’s Open Society Institute collaboration with Tactical Technology Collective. This research informed their work in terms of functionality, usability and the content provided.
March 1st, 2010 §
This is the very last Pantyho’s ever! After 4 years of a spectacular all gender queer dance performance/music/dance party, Sarah Jenny and Krystal interview and record some of the event’s final moments in this commemorative vlog.
Beware as neither one of us are video editors. We hope to obtain further Final Cut skills to eventually go back and clean up this piece substantially.
Without further ado….the video.
February 28th, 2010 §
Update: I will be focus on a Leg Avenue brand of hosiery.
I decided to focus on the clothing/textiles/garment industry as the research subject for the rest of the semester. It holds a certain power for me as my maternal lineage consists of tailors, seamstresses, and shoemakers. A common history for Ashkenazim who fled Eastern Europe, my great grandparents settled in the Lower East Side where my great grandmother was a garment industry worker at the notorious Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. As someone who rarely buys “new” clothing (my wardrobe has changed fairly in the past decade with the exception of my penchant for vintage dresses which are now about 50-60 year old garments), I am fascinating about the life cycle of various textiles throughout the world being manufactured at different periods of time.
The textile industry has been wrought with problems at every stage of the life cycle from the poor treatment of workers and working conditions (sweatshops, et. al.) to formaldehyde treated fabric to large companies such as H&M being publicly shamed (and rightfully so) for shredding unsold garments instead of donating them to those in need. I am interested in learning about every stage of the life cycle of this material and product.
Start doing deep dive research into your chosen product to review, focused on product origin, and share your findings on your blog. Where is this product made? What were you not able to discover?
Textiles are made from both organic (as in naturally occuring or plant based materials) and inorganic (as in synthetic) materials. Fibers that make up textiles come from materials more explicitly such as plants (hemp, cotton, linen, bamboo), animal (wool, alpaca, insects (silk), and crude oil(!). Synethic materials are made of all sorts of confusing things.
Textiles used for clothing are frequently made in Bangladesh, China, India and Sri Lanka as wages are significantly lower than for workers in the global north. Not surprisingly, globalization is the most contributing factor to the poor working conditions of garment workers.
From Wikipedia:
“Used, unwearable clothing was once used for quilts, rag, rugs, bandages, and many other household uses. It could also be recycled into paper. Now it is usually thrown away. Used but still wearable clothing can be sold at consignment shops, dress agencies, flea markets, online auction, or donated to charity.
There are many concerns about the life cycle of synthetics which come primarily from petrochemicals. Unlike natural fibers, their source is not renewable (in less than millions of years) and they are not biodegradable.”
However, specific brands work towards running sustainable and ethical business practices ranging from vertical integration to worker owned-cooperative to organic fibers and materials used in their products. Well known American Apparel is one of them (despite the highly sexualized nature of their advertisements…) and assorted manufacturers such as Justice Clothing and No Sweat Apparel.
Below are some of the studies I’ve found:
February 27th, 2010 §
Midpoint assignment: Present your idea(s) for a final project in 5 minutes. You should have a draft problem statement, goal statement and should describe the type of project you want to pursue. As your problem statement should be a social or political problem, you will take this issue on as your case study for the rest of the semester, tracking developments, news and related projects. You will hereafter be required to update the class twice before the end of the semester on your issue and your project.
Problem Statement Sex workers face a number of barriers when accessing services such as mental health care, social services, STI and HIV screenings. The barriers to access of services are exacerbated by pervasive cultural stigma, legal obstacles, poverty, education, and other factors. In Recent years, mobile technology adoption rates have soared in much of the global south. Unfortunately, HIV/AIDS prevalence is highest in these countries. As such, it seems quite a natural progression for those combating the stigma and the virus (through prevention and care) to utilize mobile technology to increase information access and education.
The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief has created an extremely difficult climate for NGOs and NPOs who work with sex worker populations to maintain adequate access to funding in their programs due to the require of the Anti-Prostitution Pledge, essentially silencing them by putting restraints on organizations by requiring them to sign an anti-prostitution pledge regardless of whether prostitution is legal, decriminalized, or illegal by their own local laws. These grassroots agencies and organizations are most equipped to identify victims of trafficking as well as to penetrate this difficult to reach population and provide services. PEPFAR’s policy further discriminates against sex workers. For example, Andrew Hunter of the Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers noted that doctors are not allowed to answer questions regarding what sex health concerns are medically valid around MSM (men having sex with men) sex work. Denial of services and education are not effective HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment policy, plain and simple.
Goal Statement
I intend to continue learning about efforts to use SMS and mobile technology as a means for disseminating information around HIV/AIDS in the global south. I will continue to look at existing programs and policies that are working to make change, it seems, outside of PEPFAR funding. I would like to continue this work, examing what has been effective and through my research and prototyping, make recommendations and continue developing technology on this subject to increase HIV/AIDS prevention and services access to marginalized populations, including by not limited to sex workers, primarily in the global south. I would like to test a pilot program in New York City in conjunction with the Bureau of AIDS and the PROS Network (a coalition of service providers and others providing harm reduction services here in New York City.)
Related Projects
- Text to Change: Text to Change (TTC), a non-profit organization in Africa, has been using mobile technology for health education since 2008. TTC has been running a fun, innovative and practical HIV/AIDS education program in three countries — Uganda, Kenya and Namibia. This program not only educates participants about AIDS but also encourages infected patients to seek medical help and adhere to medication.
- How SMS Could Save Your Life (Wired Magazine): GUGULETHU, South Africa — How do you make the expertise of two doctors and two nurses spread far and wide enough to take care of more than 500 HIV/AIDS patients? In this gritty township, the answer is text messaging.
- Tactical Technology Collective (TTC) – I put out a call for information to harm reduction and sex worker contacts. I received a report back from the Open Society Institute’s Sexual Health and Rights Project (SHARP) which was commissioned in preparation for a 2007 meeting of sex worker activists. It was written by Melissa Gira and Tactical Technology Collective (TTC) and looks at how sex workers groups are using technology in their work.
Synopsis: I intend to study how SMS and mobile technology is working in the field of HIV prevention in sex worker populations.
- The Aphrodite Project – Sexy GPS Shoes – a project that involved ITP students a few years ago.
- Successful Launch TTC/AIC HIV SMS Quiz Program In Mbarara, Uganda –
- UGANDA: Using mobile phones to fight HIV –
Text to Change (TTC) , an NGO that uses a bulk short message service (SMS) platform for HIV/AIDS education, recently partnered with the AIDS Information Centre in Uganda (AIC) and Celtel, a local mobile phone network, to pilot a project in western Uganda aimed at communicating knowledge about the disease and encouraging subscribers to volunteer for HIV testing.
- WHO’s HIV/AIDS sex work toolkit –
In many parts of the world, sex workers have been among the groups most vulnerable to and most affected by HIV since the beginning of the AIDS pandemic.
- Sex Workers and HIV Prevention – Prevention campaigns aimed at sex workers not only reduce the number of HIV infections that result from paid sex; they can also play a vital role in restricting the overall spread of HIV in a country. Proof of this can be seen in countries such as Bangladesh, Benin, Cambodia, the Dominican Republic and Thailand, where general reductions in the national HIV prevalence have been largely attributed to HIV prevention initiatives aimed at sex workers and their clients.
Ecuador Sex Workers Target HIV-AIDS Prevention – Sex workers in Ecuador are building a national labor network and trying to curb HIV-AIDS, while dealing with the growing presence of minors and undocumented workers in brothels. The first of six stories on Ecuador’s sex industry.
February 15th, 2010 §
I have been thinking about my midterm project for Mobile Media and have
- Continue working on the Bad Date List project. Incorporate GPS capabilities so users can text in to find resources such as health and social services, and harm reduction facilities for condoms and needle exchange. Collaborate with Matt Swenson to centralize resources for victims of labor trafficking based on geo-location.
- Develop a tool for real time citizen journalism and propose a collaboration with NYC IndyMedia. News would be sent in via mobile devices and could include audio, video, or photos. The data would be displayed in short form feed, similar to Twitter. Users would peer moderate the content by voting it up or down. The feed would be visible on a website.
- Develop an event reminder tool where you can sign up for a reminder text and/or RSVP.
- Develop a “live photo stream” for events where attendees can upload photos from the events in real time to be displayed in microblog/photoblog format.
The last idea I planned out a bit and you can view below. Click the image to enlarge.
February 7th, 2010 §
For this assignment, I interviewed my friend Carmichael who is a 4th street co-op member & has sold local food. She works at Angelica’s Kitchen, a vegan restaurant that buys local food whenever possible. She would not use the word locavore to describe herself even though this is the term used in our assignment. Carmichael noted that it is nearly, if not simply, impossible to be a “locavore” in New York City. One would only be able to eat locally while food is available in the region. My interview is below:
Q.) Why would you choose to eat local?
- Food tastes better & is fresher.
- it didn’t travel as far, has lower carbon footprint.
- clearer sense of where it comes from as she talks to farms and those in food production
- local food in nyc = smaller scale farms
- organic or done with consideration of the land unlike large scale farms
Q.) When did you first develop consciousness around local food?
- wanted to be a vegan cook as she was a vegan and went to the natural gourmet culinary school in nyc
- she learned about where to get whole foods, not packaged foods and then to co-ops and farmers markets
- when she started working at angelica’s, they got great produce
Q.) Tell me something something you’ve noticed about local foods?
- If you buy local beans, they cook way faster because they haven’t been sitting in a warehouse for a year
- local food tastes better. so many more local options available – local popcorn, grains, and flour. Wildhide Farm at union square and 4th street co-op.
Q.) What foods can you get locally here?
- winter: apples, root veggies, artichokes, turnips, potatoes, grains
- spring: nettles (spinach-like), fiddle-head ferns, baby greens, ramps, garlic scapes,
- summer: tomatoes, summer squash, leafy greens (broccoli, etc.)
- fall: squashes with thicker skins ex. pumpkins and butternut squash, root veggies, onions and garlic.
Q.) Can you tell me about your garden?
- moved to neighborhood to have garden
- put tons of work into a pile of trash yard into a garden. but there was no sunlight.
- also had to deal with aphids. in larva stage, they can already become pregnant. reproduce very fast and then eat the plants. very difficult to get rid of. they also got fungus on pumpkins and then cucumbers and killed them.
- kale, garlic, tomatoes, and herbs were very successful.
Q.) Is eating local affordable?
- yes when it is season.
- co-ops are good because you can get 20% off.
- CSAs are cheaper.
- winter CSAs also exist with potatoes, spelt, and eggs.
