Daily Archives: July 5, 2021

Apple Memojis

A year ago this month,Intel engineer and Linux kernel maintainer Dan Williams proposed to introduce inclusive terminology in the kernel's official coding-style document. The proposal called for substituting common technical phrases deemed offensive and racist, most notably master/slave and whitelist/blacklist. The first to sign off on Williams' proposal were Chris Mason and Greg Kroah-Hartman. Other maintainers approved the proposal too, but the changes were not endorsed without an animated debate. The dissenters primarily argued that the change was trivial and substituting "master/slave" in a line of code would do nothing to offset the legacy of slavery.Android, GitHub and Splunk all supported the change in the description of a relationship between concepts from "master" to "main" and "slave" to "secondary." Apple followed suit by stating that replacements were going to be introducedacross internal codebases, public APIs, and open-source projects, such as WebKit and Swift and that developers were encouraged to embrace the new terminology such asprimary/secondary,primary/replica,main/secondary, orhost/client. Instead of "blacklist/whitelist to describe what is allowed and disallowed, allow-list/deny-list were introduced. The changes were all encouraged at a code and documentation level.

While the impetus for the change a year ago can be found in the moment of reckoning the country was going through after the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter Movement, the need for a more inclusive terminology has been felt for a very long time. Changing some of these words in coding and documentation is not that different from asking for the removal of a Confederate statue. Terms like "master/slave" are pretty apparent in the damage they create in normalizing slavery. Other terms like "blacklist" and "whitelist" might seem less loaded at face value but they perpetuate the idea that "white" is good and "black" is bad. The continued use of these terms feeds ourconscious and unconscious biases.

And, of course, bias is not limited to race.

Using inclusive language means avoiding expressions and terms that could be considered sexist, racist, exclusive, or biased in any way against certain groups of people. Race and gender are usually top of mind when considering diversity and inclusion, but many other aspects should be considered. Language must evolve over the years so as not to exclude people. It is also important to underline that the goal is not just to avoid hurtful or offensive language. It is really about making everyone feel welcome, from a developer reading a manual to a kid playing a game to a business person signing up for a new email service.

At the recent Worldwide Developer Conference, Apple pushed beyond inclusive language and published a detailed guide for developers to design inclusive applications. In the guide, Apple states: "designing an inclusive app is an iterative process that takes time to get right. Throughout the process, be prepared to examine your assumptions about how other people think and feel and be open to evolving knowledge and understanding."Interestingly, the points Apple encourages developers to consider are no different from what we all should consider in life in our attempts to create a more inclusive society.On language specifically, Apple highlights the importance of tone, not just words. Tone can, in fact,send messages the developer might not have intended.

Apple argues that each person has a unique perspective, but that perspective is built on the intersectionality of human characteristics and experiences that relate toage, gender and gender identity, race and ethnicity, sexuality, physical attributes, cognitive attributes, permanent, temporary, and situational disabilities, language and culture, religion, education, political or philosophical opinions and social and economic context.

When addressing gender, developers should consider both language references and designs. Using gender-neutral pronouns makes the writing remain inclusive.Using an avatar or emoji that cannot be traced back to a specific gender or, even better, providing the tools for the user to design their avatar or emoji might go a long way to make everybody feel welcome. This is even more important when creating characters within the app.A fitness app, for instance, should feature exercise moves demonstrated by people with different racial backgrounds, body types, ages, and physical capabilities.Apps, like books, should be mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors, to quote the esteemed children's literature educatorDr. Bishop. They should have characters we can recognize ourselves and others in.

Avoiding stereotypes and generalizations will also drive a more inclusive app.From family units to attending college or owning a car, some implications are being made that rely on someone's idea of what is a commonplace experience. Focusing on a hobby, a friend, or a personal quality avoids depending on culture, economic or capability factor.

Accessibility features are very important to Apple. It is no surprise there is extensive guidance on the topic encouraging developers to do two things: first, avoid assuming that a disability might prevent someone from wanting to use their app. Second, consider that all users might face a temporary disability such as low vision due to an eye infection. When it comes to writing about people with disabilities, the focus should be on the people, not the disability.

Words always matter, but especially those used in books, in education material, in anything that shapes the thinking of young minds and is designed to be used by many people. My teenage child notices every time a game lacks People of Color or even worse when the only roles they have is that of the "villain." They see when the binary world we still live in is forced into their fantasy world by how clothes, colors and roles within a game are thought out.

I am sure some will label these latest efforts by Apple and others as political correctness, or "woke culture," missing the point that thinking about the words you use, the characters you have in your games or the roles and personas you use in designing your services should make you think and check your privilege so that empathy is where your work starts. Being inclusive is also not just about doing the right thing; it is about making smart business decisions. The more inclusive you are, the broader you make your addressable market.

Disclosure:The Heart of Tech is a research and consultancy firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this column. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this column.

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The Importance Of Inclusive Language And Design In Tech - Forbes

British-born white influencer Oli London has doubled down on their assertion that they're "transracial," after declaring they now identify as Korean.

Londonwho identifies as non-binaryhas faced backlash on social media over the past several days, after saying on YouTube that they had "transitioned" races and cultures after surgery to resemble their K-Pop idol, Jimin of BTS.

And in a video uploaded to Twitter on Monday, London showed off their surgically-enhanced "Korean eyes" while speaking more about their identity.

"Now finally, I feel Korean," said London. "I identify with the Korean community. Maybe they will accept me more now because I have the look. Maybe people will think I'm actually Korean, which would make me really happy. They can see how much I love their culture because this is the extreme length I've gone to, because I love Korea so much.

"I just want to make Jimin proud as well, because Jimin is my ultimate idol. I want him to be proud, I'm sure he'll be proud that I look exactly like him now. I have his eyes. I finally have Jimin's Korean eyes and they're so, so beautiful... So I'm so, so happy with my new look. I can't wait to see the final results when my swelling goes down."

Amid growing criticism in the hours that followed, London tweeted: "TRANSRACIAL is a thing! I invented it! If you can be transgender you can be TRANSRACIAL. Live your life to the fullest, be who you want to be and spread love."

London also declared a "war on the woke" as they called on help from Fox News personalities Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson, writing: "Help me speak out against the injustice I am facing, the racism & transphobia from the WOKE MOB."

Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro was one of a number of prominent social media voices to throw support behind London, tweeting on Monday that "only bigots disagree" with their assertion that being transsexual "is the same as being TRANSRACIAL because you are born in the wrong body."

Commenting on London's version of the South Korean flag, which they edited to include the Pride rainbow flag, Shapiro wrote: "Live your truth, Oli."

"Thank you so much for the support Ben! Glad to have you call out the hypocrisy of the WOKE with me," said London, prompting Shapiro to write: "This bigotry during Pride Month of all times is a disturbing reminder of just what Trans Koreans face."

"Well said ," wrote London in response to Shapiro's statement. "The hypocrisy of the WOKE is out of control!"

"Trans Koreans are Koreans," added Shapiro as he commented on a video in which London revealed their new identity to their followers.

While a number of Twitter users debated whether his comments were somewhat tongue-in-cheek, Shapiro was one of a number of conservative commentators who waded into the conversation on Monday.

Actor Laurence Fox, who unsuccessfully stood for mayor of London earlier this year in a bid to "fight against extreme political correctness," wrote to London in Korean: "Live your best life."

British YouTuber Paul Joseph Watson tweeted: "The backlash against Oli London is ignorant and bigoted. If biological men can identify as women, why can't Oli identify as Korean? Trans-racial must be added to the LGBT flag immediately. It's time to #StopTransRacialHate."

U.K.-based rapper Nzube Udezue said: "Can somebody who accepts that this individual is 'non-binary' please explain to me why that makes sense to you and is acceptable, but it is NOT OK for this person to be Korean?"

In a video posted to YouTube over the weekend, London said: "I am gonna come out today and say that I've been transitioning. I've been very unhappy with who I am deep down for the last eight years and I've had, like, 18 plastic surgeries now...

"I've just had a facelift, a brow lift, a temple lift, an eye surgerya canthoplastyand my teeth done as well. These are just part of my transition. I'm feeling really goodfor the first time in my life I feel beautiful. I'm looking in the mirror and I love the way I look and feel happy, and I hope people can respect my decision.

"It's a very tough decision to come out this way, but I am coming out as non-binary," YouTuber and Instagram star London continued. "I don't feel I identify as male or female. I just feel like I'm just in the middle and my pronouns are they/them, Korean/Jimin...

"I know a lot of people don't understand me, but I do identify as Korean, and I do look Korean now. I do feel Korean. I don't identify as British, so please don't... refer to me as British, because I identify as Korean.

"That's just my culture, that's my home country. That's exactly how I look now, and I also identify as Jiminthat's my Korean name... I know it's a little bit confusing for some people. Nobody's ever come out as Jimin or Korean, but this is something that you guys know if you've followed my journey for the last eight years.

"I've really struggled with identity issues, with who I am... It's a very tough one, So I've finally had the courage. I've undergone my racialI can't think of the wordtransitional surgery. I've transitioned to a non-binary personthey/them, Korean/Jimin and I finally have the Korean look, so I'm actually really happy."

London first hit headlines in 2018, after revealing they had spent more than $100,000 on cosmetic surgery to resemble musician Jimin. That amount is now estimated to have exceeded $200,000 in the years since.

Social media star London, who has been undergoing cosmetic procedures to alter their looks since 2013, spoke with the Daily Mail this month about the backlash.

They said: "It is sad during Pride Month, a month that celebrates diversity, equality and love that WOKE people would use my coming out and sharing my non-binary Korean identitysomething that took me many years to understand and accept and took me enormous courage to share with the worldand use it as a platform to bully, degrade and dehumanise me and the LGBT community."

They continued: "While I recognise that a lot of people don't understand how I identify, and may find it unusualbeing Korean and feeling Korean is part of who I am and how I feel. And I will never allow a single woke person, bully or troll to take that away from me.

"I have gone through extreme lifestyle changes to become who I am today and have lived in Korea, I eat Korean food everyday, use Korean skincare, have plastic surgery to look Korean and I speak the Korean languageall of this shapes me as a person and my identify as a non-binary Korean person."

Newsweek has contacted representatives for Oli London and Jimin for comment.

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Oli London Insists They're 'Transracial' After Surgery to Get 'Korean Eyes' - Newsweek

For a community less prone to political correctness, identity politics and other inner-city woke indulgences, the best place for the ABC to locate would be the new Bradfield city near the second airport site.

Mr Latham said he hoped the ABCs move to western Sydney would be associated with employing more people who lived beyond a 10 kilometre radius of Ultimo.

ABC chairwoman Ita Buttrose said relocating staff from Ultimo to Parramatta by 2024 would make ABC coverage more relevant.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

In June ABC chairwoman Ita Buttrose said relocating 300 staff from Ultimo to Parramatta by 2024 would improve diversity in the ABCs newsrooms and make its coverage more relevant. She also said perceptions the public broadcaster was too inner-city focused were fair.

Pointing to Western Sydney Airport and a rapidly growing CBD, Cr Hagarty said there was no more relevant place in Sydney at the moment than Liverpool.

An ABC spokesman said the ABC was open to exploring with other councils how the broadcaster could expand its coverage in their regions.

We know that the people of Liverpool are keen to see more ABC coverage of Sydneys south-west region, and our pop-up newsroom in Liverpool recently proved how successful we can be at achieving that goal, he said.

Liverpool in south-west Sydney.Credit:Wolter Peeters

Federal communications minister Paul Fletcher said decisions on property were matters for the ABC board and management: I have consistently advocated for our national broadcasters to examine relocating their facilities to western Sydney.

More diversity of people will mean more diversity of opinion amongst ABC staff and journalists, and any objective observer would agree that can only be a good thing, he said.

Christopher Brown, chairman of the Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue, said the ABC should consider other areas, besides Parramatta, to improve its engagement with western Sydney.

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However, the real prize is for Liverpool and Bankstown to join with the Dialogue to ensure that the SBS head office, newsrooms and studios are shifted from monocultural Artarmon on the north shore to a new multicultural location in south-west Sydney, he said.

An SBS spokeswoman expressed scepticism about moving its headquarters from Artarmon on Sydneys north shore.

We are yet to see any proposal for moving our premises that would be cost-effective, practical, or yield more value for the Australian public, a spokeswoman said.

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Parramatta is not western Sydney: ABC in talks to move staff to Liverpool - Sydney Morning Herald

Japan is the land of mascots, manga and illustrations, so much so that they are used everywhere for every conceivable purpose to promote trade fairs, sporting events, small and large tourist destinations and, of course, the Olympics.

Hello Kitty stickers carry warning signs stating Protect fingers, keep away from doors! on commuter train doors. Even the Self-Defense Force and police headquarters have their own mascots. We can come across campaigns that use characters against drug abuse and organized crime.

But illustrations also have a crime deterrent objective, like the kabuki eye stickers attached to the sides of buses and house gates to warn off possible attackers or robbers (We are watching you!).

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Then just a week ago an illustration in Mie prefecture appeared. It depicts three foreigners who either have no residency status or are falsely pretending to have a "cook" or "study abroad" visa status while working as construction workers or hostesses. Those who live in Japan know that this is common practice. There are agencies in those countries working at this very moment to make sure that a Filipino club hostess or a Vietnamese oyster picker can enter the country legally for a few months to a year and then literally disappear to go work on the black market.

Not only that. As of June 2019, more than 367,000 laborers were in Japan as part of the state-sponsored Technical Intern Training Program. They were employed in a variety of industries including construction, manufacturing and food production.

Every one of them arrived in the country legally. This policy was introduced in 1993 and its intent was to bring in labor from developing countries, teach them a technical skill and then send them home after three years. We could assume, of course, that they were well equipped with the most valuable technical skills.

For the trainees, this is a chance to not only earn several times more money than they could back home. It also offers, on paper, the hope for a potential better future thanks to the proficiency in the skill so attained.

According to the Immigration Services Agency, 9,052 foreign trainees went missing in 2018, nearly double the figure from 2014. Thats the size of a medium Japanese village.

Everybody would agree that there is a problem to solve here. Where do all these people end up? What if they get injured? How can they survive in a country like Japan with such a high cost of health care without insurance?

According to the prefectural police of Mie who came up with the idea of that illustration, it was used for public relations purposes. Meaning expanding awareness of a problem that is foremost harmful to those very same foreigners represented in the illustration.

But when the knowledge of this initiative hit social media, angry posts critical of the design spread like fire with comments such as "It's based on a discriminatory mindset against foreigners" and "I feel there is a malicious intent."

Even though the prefectural police justified themselves saying they used an easy-to-understand illustration to convey a simple message, in the end they removed it because if even one person feels uncomfortable, it means it was not appropriate."

Mie prefecture capitulated because someone felt the illustration was discriminating against foreigners, making all foreigners look like criminals.

In truth, in giving up so quickly to critics,Mie prefecture has gone counter to the initial intent of the campaign. And that is, don't discriminate against the foreigners but raise awareness of a problem so that more foreigners could not be exploited.

This is a fact and everyone knows it. A year ago NHK was able to track down and talk to a few of these escaped workers. Three young men from a Southeast Asian country were sent to a farm in Nagano in 2018 as part of the national program.

They told Japans national broadcaster they were forced to work from 2am to 5pm and their overtime pay was well below what they had been told. After six months of these conditions, the three decided to run away. Despite barely speaking Japanese, they relied on a network of foreign friends and traveled to Kyoto where they found work.

But things only got worse. Hired by a small construction company, they were forced to work from 6pm until 11am the next day. They say they received almost no payment for their labor.

This is another milestone in the history of political correctness in this country. An initiative with just intent and a real concrete objective was torn apart by people sitting comfortably in their homes while distractedly reading headlines and suddenly feeling a burst of radical revolt in the defense of someone whose real situation and struggles they literally cannot fathom.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of UCA News.

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Japan's campaign to help exploited foreigners backfires - Union of Catholic Asian News