ITeG-Lectures 2019/20

The Research Center for Information System Design (ITeG) at the University of Kassel is organizing a lecture series in the winter semester 2019/2020 in cooperation with the German Informatics Society (GI), which will focus on the dimensions of shaping a digitized society. The different lectures usually start on Wednesdays at 5:00 pm. The venue is the conference room of the ITeG (Room 0420, Pfannkuchstraße 1, 34121 Kassel). Topics and abstracts for the lectures can be found below.

30.10.2019	Prof. Dr. Christine Syrek, Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg „Eigentlich Feierabend: Wie erweiterte Erreichbarkeit auf Erholung, Wohlbefinden und Arbeitsengagement wirken"
	Closing time, actually: How extended accessibility affects recreation, well-being and work engagement. The introduction and spread of digital and mobile information and communication technologies (ICT) is having a formative influence on the world of work. Many workplaces are no longer imaginable without computers/laptops/tablets, Internet access and smartphones. Digital technologies are laying the foundation for the progressive spatial and temporal dissolution of work, significantly changing today's working conditions and influencing not only working time and place, but also the content and organization of work. The extended accessibility of employees can be examined from two directions: As accessibility for work-related matters during leisure time and as accessibility during work for family and leisure-related matters. This presentation will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of work-related accessibility during leisure time, with a particular focus on the role of unfinished tasks, and will present research focusing on the opposite direction - extended availability for family and leisure time concerns during work.
13.11.2019	Dr. Katta Spiel, KU Leuven / Universität Wien "Critical Participatory Design — On Listening and Making Space"
	Particularly in the Scandinavian tradition, Participatory Design has always had a critical component, emancipating stakeholders who are often marginalised and disenfranchised in dominant modes of technological development. My practice, however, centres explicitly on critical engagements. Doing so, I not only draw on Critical Theory to identify marginalised groups in Participatory Design, but I also create objects with them that further develop this theory and reflect on power dynamics in knowledge production within academia. In this talk, I present two case studies exemplifying the foundations of a Critical Participatory Design practice. One shows how autistic children as meaningfully involved as equally contributing designers. The second focuses on neighbourhood maps and demonstrates how, even in more constrained projects, the approach supports researchers to attune themselves to questions of power, ownership and epistemology. In their combination, they illustrate how active listening and a conscious attempt at deliberately making physical and metaphorical spaces.
09.12.2019	Dr. Ulf Buermeyer, Vorsitzender der der Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte e.V. It's the incentives, stupid! „Strategische Verfassungsbeschwerden gegen "Staatstrojaner" — Wie die GFF für rechtliche Anreize zugunsten der IT-Sicherheit kämpft“.
	It's the incentives, stupid! "Strategic constitutional complaints against "state Trojans" - How the German Society for Civil Liberties (GFF) fights for legal incentives in favor of IT security". The level of IT security in Germany leaves much to be desired. This is not least due to the wrong incentives: The legal framework in Germany gives authorities little reason to consistently report security vulnerabilities to manufacturers. At the same time, manufacturers have too few financial incentives to consistently invest in more security. The lecture presents the current incentive systems for manufacturers of information technology and government agencies and shows perspectives on how more IT security could be ensured with the right adjustments. One contribution to this is being made by the German Society for Civil Liberties, which would like to use strategic lawsuits to persuade the federal and state governments to create a legal framework for dealing with security gaps that is oriented toward IT security.
29.01.2020	Prof. Dr. Matthias Hollick, TU Darmstadt „Digitale Städte — Verheißung oder Bedrohung für die Zivilgesellschaft“.
	Digital Cities - Promise or Menace for Civil Society. In 2050, it is estimated that around two-thirds of the world's population will live in cities - up from around 30 percent in 1950 and 50 percent in 2010. Growth in the number and size of cities will be enabled by adaptable and efficient (critical) infrastructures: energy; transportation, traffic and logistics; health; food; water; finance and insurance; government and administration. The ubiquitous use of information and communication technology (ICT) is the key to adaptability and efficiency. At the same time, ICT is increasingly penetrating non-public sectors such as private households, individual transportation and the economy. This results in considerable dependencies on ICT systems, which increase with increasing networking. In such digital cities, the functionality of ICT-supported infrastructures is at risk from natural events, human and technical (ICT) failure, as well as violence and terror. At the same time, users will be subjected to potential permanent surveillance and paternalism, which can be realized in digital cities. In this talk, we consider promises of digital cities and question them. We highlight potential risks that arise for citizens and outline possible solutions.
12.02.2020	Prof. Dr. Steffen Mau, HU Berlin „Das metrische Wir. Über die Quantifizierung des Sozialen.“
	The Metric Us. On the Quantification of the Social. Whether it's education, health, or consumption, data is currently being collected on pretty much every aspect of our lives and behavior. Step by step, a society of stars, scores, likes and lists is emerging which constantly measures and evaluates everything and everyone . This begins with the annual university ranking, extends to the Quantified Self movement of fitness enthusiasts who compare their best times with each other via the Internet, and ends with the evaluation of the efficiency of policies. This talk discusses the techniques and technologies of this sociometry against the backdrop of digitalization and new forms of data extraction. The evaluation systems of quantified society, he argues, do not simply map inequalities in the world, but are ultimately decisive for the distribution of opportunities in life.