@thesis{PB-VRVis-2021-026,
author = {Wieringa, Cyntha},
title = {Can Computers be Non-Binary?},
year = {2021},
type = {Master´s Thesis},
institution = {Uni Wien},
subtitle = {Master's Thesis (Uni Wien)},
url = {https://www.vrvis.at/publications/PB-VRVis-2021-026},
abstract = {Research has shown that incorporating sex and gender analysis into experimental design
improves scientific and technological innovation and increases its social robustness.
Furthermore, because scientific institutions such as funding agencies and the European
Commission are increasingly bringing gender inclusivity to the foreground, the popularity
of engaging in such analysis is additionally on the rise. This master thesis in the field of
Science and Technology Studies aims to uncover through the means of qualitative
interviews if and how the topic of gender plays a role within the four different research
areas of the visual computing company VRVis in Vienna. Utilized for the analysis are
existing methodologies for uncovering potential gender aspects in computer science
research projects. Within the four areas (Visual Analytics, Smart Worlds, Immersive
Analytics, and Complex Systems) the importance of considering gender varies
substantially related to how directly the work in that area affects humans. Furthermore,
compared to the three gender equality dimensions of the Responsible Research and
Innovation (RRI) framework, within the reflections of the VRVis researchers a heavier
focus existed on the first two dimensions, which include stimulating the increase of the
number of women active within computer science research projects, and less on the third
dimension which includes a focus on the effects of sociocultural conceptions of male and
female on the development of technology. Lastly, because VRVis is a research institution
that is often involved in the development of prototypes and is therefore not in a position
to develop all its technology to the fullest, an open but important question exists on when
and by whom gender should be reflected upon in the entire trajectory of the innovation
process.},
}