Brett Stalbaumstalbaum@ucsd.edufacebook.com/stalbaum

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Electronic Disturbance TheaterFloodnet (1998-2001)

Ricardo Dominguez

Carmin Karasic

Brett Stalbaum

Stefan Wray

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Transborder Project Researchers● Ricardo Dominguez, PI, B.A.N.G. Lab, UCSD (B.A.N.G Lab is

the recent home of the Electronic Disturbance Theater.)

● Amy Sara Carroll, Professor, University of Michigan

● Brett Stalbaum, walkingtools.net project at UCSD with Cicero Silva (software developers for the Transborder Immigrant Tool Project, serving bang lab.)

● Micha Cardenas, UCSD MFA 2009

● Elle Mehrmand, UCSD MFA 2012

● And a number of undergraduate researchers and other volunteers, many sponsored through the CALIT2 summer internship program

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Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986

● Among other provisions related to employment law:

● Made it illegal to "knowingly" hire undocumented workers

● Required employers to check documents

● Provided for amnesty for both certain agricultural workers as well as undocumented workers in the country continuously since 1982.

● Was compromise legislation supported by both major political parties signed into law by President Ronald Reagan

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The law was not truly about immigration control

● By design, the law did little to slow illegal crossings into the US by undocumented workers. That would have contradicted the real purposes of the law:

– Republicans: a cheap labor source with which to carry out their war on organized labor and and livable wages

– Republicans: respond to nativist, racist and xenophobic support among their political base

– Democrats – hoped to further develop an already growing Hispanic political base

● Both parties saw some success from a political perspective, and both should be held responsible.

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Actual effect of the law● The employment verification provisions were intentionally

weak and did little to slow undocumented immigration

– Illegal to "knowingly" hire undocumented immigrants, which led to widespread subcontracting (plausible deniability for employers...)

– Employers were left largely unhindered in hiring easily exploitable immigrant labor

● Extremists in the Republican Base were somewhat quelled by anti-immigrant "optics" of immigrant deaths during more dangerous crossings

● Many undocumented immigrants were granted residency and citizenship, and the children of the undocumented by birthright

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Propositon 187 (California, 1994)● Established a California operated citizenship screening

system (immigration is normally a federal responsibility)

● Prohibited undocumented workers from accessing health care

● Prohibited undocumented children from public education

● Required police state procedures where teachers and public servants are required to report anyone they suspected of "illegal" status to state and federal authorities

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Effects● Proposition 187 - political base maintenance, allowed Governor

Pete Wilson to win in 1994. Later however, the law proved to be a disaster for Republicans, the party who heavily supported the law.

● The "border fence" – portions in urbanized areas of the U.S./Mexico border – were expanded into rural and wilderness areas (war on drugs, war on terror, nativist political base maintenance...)

● In the southwest, the effect was to push illegal border crossings by undocumented (yet invited, tolerated and even encouraged) workers further east and west

● With deadly consequences

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Pro-immigration policy that asks for a few human sacrifices

● In order to let millions enter, we asked the price of thousands of painful migrant deaths per year to satisfy the emotional needs of a far right, nativist political constituency while self identified left/liberals stood by and watched.

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A political fence

● U.S. Mexico Border: 1951 miles (3141 Kilometers)

● Miles of border fence complete: 580 in 2009

● Continental Coast Line (not including Alaska, Hawaii...) 4132 miles. Sea wall next?

● About 40% of undocumented workers in the U.S. arrive by air and overstay their visas

● Human trafficking happens at all ports of entry, land, sea, air.

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Weather in the Region:Ranging from 40-50 degrees Celsius in the summer.Dry – very little natural water is to be found in the landscape.Dangerous conditions for travel by foot, confusing terrain andmany other dangers.This image was taken near Ocotillo, California, near the border.

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Much of the landscape is sparsely populated. This is my community, Shelter Valley.The next nearest small town is 20 Kilometers away.The US Mexico Border is 70 Kilometers South from here.

Nevertheless, the Border Patrol is active here because sometimes immigrants doSometimes come this way.

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Activist Responses● Border Angels (founded by

Enrique Morenes)

● Water Station Inc (founded by many including Dr. JohnHunter.)

● Humane Borders (Arizona)

● And others

A Water Station Inc safety site

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Objective of the Transborder Project

● The goal of the project is to help reduce the number of deaths along the border by developing a common cell phone device into a navigation tool that will help migrants locate life saving resources in the desert such as water caches and even the border patrol.

● Solve the "Last Mile" problem

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Research Goals

● Leverage super cheap GPS enabled phones

● Develop a technological solution in consultation with users

● Support that technological solution through cooperation with activist groups, churches, governmental and non-governmental organizations

● Align the cognitive assumptions of the Mobile User Interface with 1) the cognitive environment, 2) user familiarity with mobile technology, 3) and the task at hand. (Finding safety in desert border regions...)

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Super Cheap GPS enabled phones

● ~ $25US in used condition

● Lacks a User interface to the GPS features that are ideally suited to the environment, users, and task at hand.

● Motorola i455

● GPS Enabled

● Inexpensive ($25)

● Supports J2ME Applications

● Easy to deploy (PC, USB cable...)

● No service required forGPS functionality

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Design Assumptions● Technological solutions are insufficient if:

– Users are not involved in the design process

– If a social infrastructure does not exist to support the use of the technological solution

● It is easy to write software for a mobile phone

● It is hard to make mobile phone software that is useful without working with the communities that might use them

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Complete/In progress

1. Develop a beta application based on a preliminary analysis of the environment, users, and task.

2. Acquire a map of “safety sites” (Activist maintained Water Caches and other safe sites) – The map.

3. Testing of application in field

4. Testing of application with users/Reworking the application as necessary (ongoing)

5. Working with interest groups to facilitate deployment

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Understanding the context of usage

● In order to save lives, the tool must prove operable in hands of users who are inexperienced with mobile devices, in the context of extreme weather conditions and a tense social environment. Significant time was spent researching the context of usage to help guide the design for a cell phone software application.

● Design assumptions:

– The literacy rate among migrant population is low.

– Not all speak Spanish - not all immigrants are of Hispanic origin

– Device most likely to be used at night.

– Humanitarian groups want to keep their water stations protected.

– Cognitive effects of dehydration and fatigue

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Data Security

● Because humanitarian groups don't want to disclose the locations of the water caches they maintain (to prevent vandalism by xenophobic and racist groups) this application will not be distributed online.

● Instead, we will support community maintainance of the software and data, and provide support

● Instead of the Internet we will use a “Sneaker net”

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Can only be successful if there is an ecology of users

● NGO Institutions that support migrants– Need technical documentation

– Need training support (educational materials)

– Need Money for phones, PCs, cables

● Migrants– Need to be taught how to use the safety device

before they embark

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● When first started, the GPS system needs to find navigation satellites...

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● When first started, the GPS system needs to find navigation satellites...

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● When moving, the user is presented with the compass interface

● A direction of travel arrow representing forward movement aligns with a compass rose to indicate direction and distance.

● North is specially marked with a hatch

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Video of usage scenario

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● Design Inspiration● Dowsing, or water witching,

refers to practices which some people claim enables them to detect hidden water, metals, or other objects, usually obstructed by land. The movement or vibrations of the apparatus, such as a Yshaped twig, are used in the practice.

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● Dowsing Interface

● Invention of an undergrad researcher, Jason Narrajo

● If the user's present trajectory is in the general direction of a nearby safety site, the user is alerted and the distance to the site is calculated

● User can ignore, or set this as a navigation target

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Also a poetic intervention● Amy Sara Carroll● Song of Cells is part of an early test set of

"conceptual poems" during development of the tool. It is used in white cube versions of the project but not on the field phones. Link

● Sample of the Desert Survival Poetry Link

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Time line of events● This was an ongoing project among many● In late 2009, it became a media firestorm● Glenn Beck Show, September 1st 2010 Link● Throughout 2010 there were police

investigations and attempts by UCSD and UCOP to fire Ricardo

● Timeline● http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvaImotXTpk

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Conclusion● UCSD investigations ended with a settlement

between Dominguez and University wherein the University acknowledges that his work is legitimate research that UC had already promoted and rewarded him for. Dominguez agrees to communicate with UC about EDT related actions.

● FBI investigation was ended on November 4th 2011

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Some heroes...● UC and international communities came forward with a lot of

financial support the Dominguez legal action fund, such as the UCSD Anti-Racist Coalition and Faculty Coalition

● Art students at UCSD were active supporters and protesters

● CALIT2, Larry Smarr and Ramesh Rao

● VIS ARTS chair Grant Kester and too many of our visarts peers to mention...

● Spencer Law Firm- Mika Spencer and Arthur H. Skola

● Lisa Cartwright, Professor of Communications at UCSD donated all of her speaking fees!