The #demx research project of the November 9, 2011 national test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) uses Twitter to investigate whether emergency warnings reach the Deaf community in a timely and understandable manner.
Read MoreOccupying the Crisis of Whiteness
by Steph • November 1st, 2011
The distinctions between being a white American and the institutional structures of whiteness are important. First, the structures of whiteness are ‘in’ Americans of all ethnicities to some degree, even if only by necessity in order to survive (let alone do well) in today’s hyperdrive commercial/consumer-based society. Second: to understand the difference between the genetic-social fact of being white and the institutional structures of whiteness is to realize that the issues raised by the Occupy Wall Street movement are not about white Americans trying to get over or above anybody else. Instead, this could be the historical moment when middle-class white Americans begin to demonstrate a widespread cultural awareness that whiteness – both the personal sense of superiority, and as institutionalized in ‘the rules’ – is not fair to anyone.
Read MoreTornadoes and the Deaf Community in Western Massachusetts
by Steph • October 13th, 2011
This survey generated some interesting data which might be useful in generating hypotheses for future testing and eventually guiding design for better warning systems, improved emergency preparation, and the smooth integration of emergency response service delivery to people with so-called “functional needs” or otherwise requiring “additional assistance” – particularly the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing.
Read MoreComing Out Easy
by Steph • October 11th, 2011
We were talking about gender, and the difference in friendship rules for boys and girls. One of the girls asked if anyone else had the experience of their parents allowing their sons to invite female friends home with no questions asked, but if she wanted to have a male friend visit she’d be asked if […]
Read MoreWeather and Uncertainty: Warn or Wait?
by Steph • September 5th, 2011
One of the striking things that I learned about Americans when I began doctoral studies in the field of Communication is that there is a positive identity function to talking about the weather. If you’ve got to interact with a stranger one thing we all experience is the weather. Rather than being superficial, talking […]
Read MoreRudolph Steiner on Loyalty
by Steph • September 3rd, 2011
“Gain for yourself a new, strong-willed attitude towards loyalty;
what people ordinarily call loyalty evaporates so quickly.
Make this your loyalty:
You will experience in another person moments,
rapidly passing away,
in which he [ or she ] will appear to you filled,
aglow with the ageless image of his [ her ] spirit.
Then, to be sure, there can […]
the secret WAS*IS*WILLBE handshake
by Steph • August 12th, 2011
WAS*IS is not only about the weather: its revolutionary model is an exemplar for harnessing collective intelligence in the face of our generation’s severe and complicated societal-level challenges.
Read MorePassion brought us here
by Steph • August 10th, 2011
Weather and the challenges of forecasting are perfect metaphors for the development of the WAS*IS movement, especially if you take into account all of its participants and nested timescales.
Read MoreStormchasing (Hanging with Kindred Spirits)
by Steph • August 7th, 2011
How is the public to be engaged in the co-communicative process of understanding the significance of weather measurements? Comprehension is mutually created – whether this is between individuals, among people with different demographic characteristics, or within hierarchical structures of policy construction, implementation, and enforcement.
Read MoreDeveloping Leaders: Dynamics and Dilemmas
by Steph • August 6th, 2011
A Taste of College:
Youth Leadership Development Retreat
Amherst MA
Whenever I work in teams, I always mention the significance of following. It is rare, however, to be able to carry that conversation forward. I hope this time is different. Following is something all good leaders do: they understand when to follow someone else’s idea […]
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