Skip to main content

Glossary

Published onFeb 27, 2020
Glossary

This glossary includes acronyms, as well as short descriptions of some of the key terms used throughout the book. Key term definitions are mostly based on those provided by the Transformative Media Organizing Project at transformativemedia.cc/research.

18F. A federal office tasked with supporting other government agencies to build and improve tech products and services.

+KAOS. A collectively authored history of the Italian radical tech collectives Autistici/Inventati.

#MeToo. Social movement started by Tarana Burke in 2006 using the then-popular social media website Myspace to bring visibility to the ongoing sexual assault and harassment experienced by Black women. In 2017, actress Alyssa Milano adopted the hashtag #MeToo to challenge the sexual violence and harassment experienced by women and femmes in Hollywood. Initially Milano was credited with starting #MeToo, despite Burke’s decade-long use of #MeToo. However, Milano and the Time’s Up movement credited Burke and the work done by other Black and brown women activists and organizers to draw visibility to the most marginalized women and femmes around the world who experience gender and sexual violence. See Time’s Up, #TIMESUP.

#MoreThanCode. A participatory action research project about the field of technology for social justice. Explore the #MoreThanCode report at https://morethancode.cc.

#TIMESUP. The hashtag for the Time’s Up campaign that emerged from the #MeToo movement. The campaign officially launched on January 1, 2018. See Time’s Up.

A/B testing. Randomized experiments to compare and test the performance of two different variants, often used in web design.

A/I. Autistici/Inventati. Italian hacker activist collectives, authors of the book +Kaos.

ACLU. American Civil Liberties Union.

ACT UP!. AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power.

ADA. Americans with Disabilities Act.

AI. Artificial Intelligence.

AIDS. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

AJN. American Journal of Nursing.

AMC. Allied Media Conference.

AMP. Allied Media Projects.

AORTA. A worker-owned cooperative devoted to strengthening movements for social justice and a solidarity economy. Explore http://aorta.coop.

API. Application programming interface.

ARRA. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, more commonly known as the Obama Stimulus Bill.

B/I/PoC. Black/Indigenous/people of color.

BBS. Bulletin board system.

BTOP. Broadband Technology Opportunity Program.

C-Innova. Centros de Innovacion Comunitaria, or community innovation centers in English.

CBOs. Community-based organizations.

CCTV. Cambridge Community Television. CCTV is the new name for the organization formerly known as NeighborMedia. See NeighborMedia.

CERO. Cooperative Energy, Recycling, and Organics, a cooperatively owned commercial composting company based in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Explore http://www.cero.coop.

CIL. Civic Innovation Lab.

Cis. Short for cisgender. See Cisgender.

Cisgender. Nontransgender. Someone whose gender identity is consistent with the sex they were assigned at birth. For example, a person who is assigned male at birth, is seen by others as male, and whose gender identity is male is a cisgender male (cis male). Also shortened to cis, as in cis man, cis woman.

CL/VU. City Life/Vida Urbana. A Boston-area housing rights organization and anchor member of the national Right to the City alliance.

Co-op. Co-operative.

CRMs. Constituent relationship management systems.

CS. Computer science.

CUTgroup. Chicago User Testing group.

DARPA. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

DC. District of Colombia.

DCTP. Detroit Community Technology Project.

DDJC. Detroit Digital Justice Coalition.

DHS. Department of Homeland Security.

Disabled people. While some prefer to use the “people-first” term “People with Disabilities” (often abbreviated PwD), I use “Disabled people,” or “identity-first” language throughout this book. While both terms emerged from disability advocacy, some feel that the former implies the individual/medical model of disability, while the latter is tied more closely to disability justice conceptions of the social production of disability. For a brilliant recent work on disability justice see Piepzna-Samarasinha 2018.

DiscoTechs. Discovering Technology events, originally created by the Detroit Digital Justice Coalition.

DIT. Do-it-together.

DIY. Do-it-yourself.

DMV. Department of Motor Vehicles.

DREAM. Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act.

DS4SI. Design Studio for Social Intervention.

EBIT. Earnings before Interest and Taxes.

ENIAC. Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer. According to computerhistory.org, in 1942 physicist John Mauchly proposed the need for an “all-electronic calculating machine.” For two years, between 1943 and 1945, the US Army invested resources, time, and personnel to develop this vision, leading to the creation of ENIAC, “the first large-scale computer to run at electronic speed without being slowed down by any mechanical parts.”

F/LOSS. Free/libre and open-source software.

Fablab. Fabrication laboratory.

FAT*. Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency. A conference about bias in machine learning, natural language processing, AI, and other computing processes.

FTAA. Free Trade Area of the Americas.

FTAA IMC. FTAA Independent Media Center.

GIFs. Graphics Interchange Format.

GNC. Gender non-conforming. Can be taken to include identities that are genderqueer, gender variant, gender fluid, or third gender, as well as those that are bigendered, multigendered, nonbinary, nongendered, androgynous, masculine-of-center, feminine-of-center, and gender-questioning, among other gender identities.

GSA. General Services Administration.

HCD. Human-centered design.

HCI. Human-computer interaction.

IBM. International Business Machines Corporation.

ICE. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

ICTs. Information and communication technologies.

IDDS. International Development Design Summits, or Cumbres Internacionales de Diseño para el Desarollo.

IDEO. A global design and consulting firm founded in 1991.

IDEPSCA. Institute of Popular Education of Southern California.

IDRC. Inclusive Design Research Centre.

IMC. Independent Media Center. Also called Indymedia.

Indymedia. Alternative name for Independent Media Center. See IMC.

Intersectionality. Intersectionality (following feminist legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw) refers to the ways that structural oppression is not based only on race or gender identity, but on the intersection of race, gender identity, sexual orientation, class, immigration status, disability, age, and other axes of identity.

Intersex. Intersex individuals are persons who, at birth, cannot be classified according to the medical norms of male and female bodies with regard to their chromosomal, gonadal, and/or anatomical sex. The term inter* has also been used as an umbrella term that denotes the diversity of intersex realities and bodies.

IPVtech. Intimate partner violence and technology.

IRC. Internet Relay Chat.

Jot@. The non-gender-specific form of the Spanish language term Joto or Jota, a once-derogatory Mexican slang term that has been reappropriated as a term of community pride, similar to the word Queer.

K–12. Kindergarten through twelfth-grade education.

LA. Los Angeles.

LAPD. Los Angeles Police Department.

Latinx. Gender-neutral term for people who identify as being Latin American or having ancestral and/or family roots from Latin America.

LGBTQ. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, queer.

LGBTQI. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, queer, intersex.

LGBTQIATS. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, queer, intersex, asexual, two-spirit.

LLK. Lifelong Kindergarten. LLK is a research group in the MIT Media Lab.

Loconomics. A freelance jobs platform that is like a cooperatively owned version of TaskRabbit. See https://www.loconomics.coop.

LOL. Liberating Ourselves Locally. See LOLspace.

LOLspace. A queer and trans* people of color–centered, social justice–focused makerspace in East Oakland. Launched in 2011, merged with Peacock Rebellion in 2017, and led by a crew of hackers, healers, artists, and activists who are queer and trans* people of color. See LOL.

M-Pesa. Mobile money transfer service launched by Vodaphone in 2007.

Matrix of domination. Black feminist sociologist Patricia Hill Collins developed this term to refer to the linked systems of white supremacy, patriarchy, capitalism, and settler colonialism.

Media justice. Media justice is “a long-term vision to democratize the economy, government, and society through policies and practices that ensure: democratic media ownership, fundamental communication rights, universal media and technology access, and meaningful, accurate representation within news and popular culture for everyone.” Explore MediaJustice.org.

MIT. Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

MOOCs. Massive open online courses.

MOU. Memorandum of understanding.

NASA. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

NCWIT. National Center for Women and Information Technology.

NDLON. National Day Labor Organizing Network.

NDWA. National Domestic Workers Alliance.

NeighborMedia. Former name for CCTV. See CCTV.

NGO. Nongovernmental organization.

NIDP. Norwegian Industrial Democracy Project.

NPR. National Public Radio.

NuVu. “NuVu is a full-time innovation school for middle and high school students in Cambridge, MA. NuVu’s pedagogy is based on the architectural Studio model and geared around multi-disciplinary, collaborative projects. We teach students how to navigate the messiness of the creative process, from inception to completion by prototyping and testing.” Explore https://cambridge.nuvustudio.com/pages/what-is-nuvu.

NYC. New York City.

NYPD. New York Police Department.

OCAD. OCAD Toronto is the present name for the former Ontario College of Art and Design.

Odeo. Podcasting company where Twitter was born. See also TXTMob.

OLPC. One Laptop per Child.

Online organizing. Online organizing is often used to describe internet- and mobile-phone-focused approaches to political and social movement campaigns. For example, a typical job description for an online organizer looks for someone who will write and implement email blasts, run SMS/text-messaging campaigns, manage social media accounts, and so on.

OTI. Open Technology Institute.

PAD. Participatory action design.

PAR. Participatory action research.

PARTI. Participatory Artistic Traveling Installation. PARTI raises public awareness about Urbano and engages diverse communities in imagining their emancipated City of Boston. See https://codesign.mit.edu/2013/12/urbano-parti/.

Participatory media. Forms of media that are designed to allow, invite, and encourage many people to take part in the process of media production—in other words, to make their own media or tell their own stories. Participatory media are not always online and can include cultural forms such as art-making, music, and dance, among others.

PD. Participatory design.

PoC. People of color.

Pop ed. Popular education.

PwD. People with disabilities.

QT. Queer, trans*.

QTI/GNC. Queer, trans*, intersex, and/or gender-non-conforming.

QTPOC. Queer, trans*, people of color.

Queer. Queer is used as a broad umbrella term by a wide range of people who identify as outside of normative and/or binary constructions of gender, gender identity, sex, and/or sexual orientation. The term is fluid rather than fixed (it doesn’t mean just one thing).

R&D. Research and development.

RAD. Research Action Design, a worker-owned collective that “uses community-led research, collaborative design of technology and media, and secure digital strategies to build the power of grassroots social movements.” Explore http://rad.cat.

RTC. Radical tech collectives.

RNC. Republican National Committee.

School push-out. Discriminatory disciplinary practices, among other factors, produce elementary, junior high, and high school noncompletion rates that are much higher among youth of color than among white youth, among LGBTQ youth than among straight youth, and highest among LGBTQ youth of color. Push-out rather than drop-out emphasizes the structural, systemic, and institutional forces beyond young people’s control that contribute greatly to school noncompletion.

SIGCSE. Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education.

SMS. Short message service.

SOGI. Sexual orientation and/or gender identity.

SoMove. The Social Movements Oral History Tour.

SpideyApp. An Android-based Stingray detector.

Stanford d.school. Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University.

STEM. Science, technology, engineering, mathematics.

STS. Science and technology studies.

T4SJ. Tech for Social Justice Project, a participatory action research project that produced the #MoreThanCode report. Explore https://morethancode.cc.

TecnoX. A growing network of open hardware hackers from across Latin America who are engaged in conversations about how to connect open hardware hacking to social movements. Explore tecnox.org.

Time’s Up movement. A movement founded by women and femmes in Hollywood against sexual harassment. Since its launch on January 1, 2018, the movement has raised over $22 million for its legal defense fund. See #MeToo and #TIMESUP.

Trans*. This book uses trans* to broadly include people whose gender identity differs from the gender they were assigned at birth. Trans* may include (among other identities and communities) transgender, transfeminine, transmasculine, MTF (male-to-female), FTM (female-to-male), genderqueer, gender-non-conforming, gender-variant and third gender/sex, transsexual, two-spirit, and transvestite/cross-dresser.

Trans*H4CK. A trans* hackathon, speaker series, and code school. Explore transhack.org.

Transformative media organizing. “Transformative media organizing is a liberatory approach to integrating media, communications, and cultural work into movement building. It lies at the place where media justice and transformative organizing overlap. Transformative media organizers begin with an intersectional analysis of linked systems of race, class, gender, sexuality, ability, and other axes of identity. We seek to do media work that develops the critical consciousness and leadership of those who take part in the media-making process, create media in ways that are deeply accountable to the movement base, invite our communities to participate in media production, create media strategically across platforms, and root our work in community action.” For more information, explore http://transformativemedia.cc.

TSA. Transportation Security Administration.

Two-Spirit. Among some Indigenous North American cultures, Two-Spirit refers to individuals whose spirits are a blending of male and female. Two-Spirit is essentially an umbrella term for third genders recognized in many Indigenous cultures. For more information, explore the Northeast Two-Spirit Society.

TWTTR. The original project code name for what is now known as Twitter.

TXTMob. An experimental group SMS application that was developed by Tad Hirsch, who at the time was a graduate student at the MIT Media Lab. Inspired TWTTR.

UCD. User-centered design.

UCIC. Upham’s Corner Input Collector. An interactive public planning installation by DS4SI and students from the MIT Codesign Studio.

UCLA. University of California, Los Angeles.

UD. Universal design.

UI. User interface.

UK. United Kingdom.

USA. United States of America.

USB. Universal Serial Bus.

USC. University of Southern California.

Userforge. Allows rapid random generation of user personas. Explore Userforge.com.

USSR. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

UTOPIA project. The canonical first successful instance of participatory design (see PD). UTOPIA was a collaboration among the Nordic Graphic Workers Union, researchers, and technologists, who worked with newspaper typographers to develop a new layout application.

UX. User experience.

UYC. Urban Youth Collaborative, a New York City–based youth organizing group.

UYC SMS Survey Initiative. An SMS survey system to gather data about students and their experiences of surveillance and police abuse inside New York City high schools, in collaboration with UYC. See UYC.

VC. Venture capital.

VCs. Venture capitalists.

VSD. Value-sensitive design.

WTO. World Trade Organization.

ZUMIX. A youth music and media organization in East Boston. Explore https://www.zumix.org/about/history.

Comments
32
will james:

Investing in BestWallet.com’s top wallets early childhood education is not just an investment in the individual child but a strategic approach to fostering a healthier, more prosperous, and equitable society.

Aanya Patel:

Our Escorts Service Chandni Chowk are meticulously trained, ensuring a seamless and enjoyable experience. You can trust us to deliver an unforgettable experience.

Sneha Oberoi:

Get a great enthusiastic and helpful Call Girl in Gurgaon as we are reachable in all the important areas of Gurgaon. We are never too far away from you. Basically, you can go to an escort service near me or a caller close to me or a caller close to me in case you don't want to walk by or you are looking for a caller close to you. Just Contact our Gurgaon Escort girl to fulfill your deep wishes.

Saumya Giri:

Our girls are perfect in every situation. Once you have taken service from our Escorts Near Hotel Andaz Aerocity staff, you will always remember our girls and would like to take service from them even further.

will james:

Some advanced platforms may have Top no KYC casinos automated systems that streamline the refund process. These systems can automatically handle refund requests and process transactions, reducing the need for manual intervention.

Kaabir Singh:

If anyone says they never stress upon anything, know that they are lying. For relaxation and pleasure, there is always some kind of recreational activity and entertainment required. And nothing can beat the enjoyment that Escorts Service In The Grand Vasant Kunj Delhi have to offer.

Sneha Oberoi:

This is why they can always meet their customers in an extremely satisfactory way. If someone is tired from working all day and wants to experience some sort of rest and enjoyment, they can opt to take advantage of the extremely sexy services provided by The Rohini Call Girl. They provide amazing body massages with a hint of sexual excitement.

?
Jennifer J Gaines:

When I used https://roofingcontractorscheyenne.com/roofing-repairs/ roof repair I saw a lot of ideas that can provide us the best solutions. You are good to provide us the ideas that are bringing the right solutions to us.

Vikram Singh:

Vasant Kunj Escorts to see the grin of joy and fulfilment. We are serving our debatable Escort In Vasant Kunj offices at all modest costs thus that every one of you is ready to utilize our offices.

Sapna Rajput:

If you are wondering whether it would be safe to book Lajpat Nagare escort call girls or not, then you can book our Lajpat Nagar Call Girls without any worries about your physical needs. And can soothe your sexuality

Sapna Rajput:

Huge numbers of our stunning Independent South Delhi Escort are accessible for private parties for your eyes as it were.

?
princexx narulaxx:

We have a long list of girls to make you feel happy and satisfied with their looks and beauty. If you are looking for a perfect night partner and want to spend a never-ending spot of love on your life then you must choose the girls of Ashram Escorts Service. They will make your night so blissful and pleasurable that you will not be able to forget ever in your life. They will suck out all your frustration and boredom with their erotic and joyous love making sense.

?
prince narulax:

VIP Punjabi Bagh Call Girls are trustworthy in regards to any security issue and have their own space. They call the customer in their home because they recognise how terrible their situation is. These are autonomous Escorts in Punjabi Bagh that are available both on-call and off-call. They live in a stunning apartment with all the amenities of a five-star hotel. You don't have to take any chances to arrive in comfort.

?
shanaya11 [email protected]:

We are renowned for our understanding Call Girl in Laxmi Nagar, and we are always here to make your time unforgettable. Furthermore, our women are the ideal solution for your needs due to their attraction, beauty, and seduction.

?
manisha pandeyy:

Hot Escort in Kalyanpuri can offer services tailored to her clients' need in addition to regular offerings. Clients can talk through their alternatives Escorts in Kalyanpuri and reserve a package deal for their meeting while keeping their needs and wants in mind.

?
will james:

A glossary serves as a valuable reference tool, providing definitions and explanations of specialized terms or jargon used within a particular field or subject area. It enhances understanding by clarifying unfamiliar terminology and promoting consistency in communication. Whether in academic papers, technical documents, or specialized publications, a well-curated glossary can improve comprehension and facilitate knowledge sharing among readers. this contact form

?
prince narulax:

Sex is the need and demand of the body and it should be provided. These cheap escorts of Delhi are very social and familiar in nature.

Call Girl in Delhi Delhi Escort Escort in Delhi Delhi Escort Service Delhi Call Girl Delhi Escorts Escorts in Delhi Delhi Escorts Service Delhi Call Girls Call Girls in Delhi

Sapna [email protected]:

These charming Call Girls in Lodhi Road are highly professional in Lodhi Road and well trained. They will spice up your life with naughty techniques they know. They will love you to the extreme. The lacking sexy desires in your regular sex life will be fulfilled with our sexy escorts.

?
manisha pandey:

At our Escorts Service in Greater Kailash, we are very proud to offer excellent services from our beautiful and talented Escorts. Think of yourself as being around the most stunning women who can go from being party girls to supermodels and everything in between and more.

?
zoya Khan:

Our sexy models are just a call or click away. Laxmi Nagar Escorts Upon booking an appointment with our Laxmi Nagar call girls, they will arrive at your hotel room or apartment within minutes.

?
manisha pandey:

A Shalimar Bagh Escort will make the night or day special. From beautiful, sultry air hostesses to sultry models, they will make the evening an unforgettable one. From the hottest sex spots to the best restaurants and bars, a housewife escorts in Shalimar Bagh will ensure your night is as exciting as you are.

?
ayesha khan:

People keep coming Escort near Eros Hotel New Delhi from every corner who need a luxurious to attend a business meeting or after traveling. They can choose any but you do not know that if you take a room at Eros then you will also get a chance to do as much mischief as you want with the escort girls. During this, you will be able to overcome various types of fatigue. Thousands of people come to VIP Escorts in Eros Hotel every day for hot escort girls.

?
Joahn Ali:

At https://www.storeboard.com/mandmdeliveryservicesllc Your furniture is in good hands with our experienced team. From loading to unloading, we handle each piece with care and precision, ensuring it arrives at its destination in pristine condition.

Manisha Rani:

Looking for an Escort Service In Andheri who is both reliable and fun? Look no further than.Our female companions are carefully selected to meet our high standards of reliability and outgoing personality.We believe that dating should be enjoyable for both parties involved, and our dating companions reflect that belief. So, whether you're looking for a date for a night out on the town or someone to spend a leisurely afternoon with, you can be confident that our dating service will match you with the perfect companion.

?
priyanka sharma:

Well, we can do everything for our clients that other escorts agencies can’t. Here at our Goa Call Girls, we provide real satisfaction to fulfill your sexual needs and desires.

?
Sneha Patel:

At this point, plan your mind boggling week's end entrance with call young women organization Escorts in Goa. It is defended to communicate that you are coordinating seven days' end trip? It is defended to communicate that you are needing to go as a business pilgrim or might you at some point say you are a free explorer around here? If yes is the reaction to any of the above requests, by then you should have to meet someone ultimately of time.

soniya singhania:

We wish to give you an experience that never goes out of your mind for a single second. A Call Girl In Goa gesture that will stay with you forever. A night that will bring about a huge difference in your life as soon as you walk out that door the next morning.

soniya singhania:

Are you looking for gorgeous as well as sensational Daman Escorts tonight? If of course, our Daman escorts are always all set to be with you in your house/ hotel for an outstanding experience. The crackling hot Escorts in Daman are outstanding at various occasions and celebrations. They can be your girlfriend as well as performer to bring excitement to the session.

john babu:

Feel confident that you will obtain 100% satisfaction in every experience. That is just how our beautiful Chanakyapuri Call Girls are obtaining even more appeal in the home entertainment sector. The lovely Call Girls in Chanakyapuri are here to supply superb memories of your stay in the funding city. Do not miss this possibility of spending quality time with our young as well as mature companions in Chanakyapuri.

?
will james:

VMAXTANKS is a renowned name when it comes to AGM batteries, and the VMAXSLR125 is no exception. Boasting a robust construction, this battery is designed for heavy-duty usage, making it perfect for powering appliances, electronics, and lighting in an RV brightown ice maker

?
Joahn Ali:

prolonging the life of your tires is critical for your safety and the longevity of your vehicle. By avoiding sudden stops and starts, overloading your vehicle, practicing proper tire maintenance, choosing the right tires, and driving with care, you can keep your tires in optimal condition for longer periods. Remember, every small effort counts towards a better and safer driving experience. browse this site

?
Hanry Ravanha:

Attractive information. You have given me a lot of beneficial acknowledgments. However, there are a lot of unique terms. I do not know them.

monkey mart