For the 2018 fall quarter through December 3rd, members of README will be posted up in IS 121 on Mondays from 5-6pm for README Lab Hours.
Each week, a few days before the lab hour, we will circulate a topic and relevant short news article to our listserv, IS-NET, and this page to better frame our conversation. If you have a topic or article suggestion, send it to uclareadme@riseup.net or @ us on Twitter at @uclareadme.
README Lab Hours
Mondays, 5–6pm
During Fall 2018 quarter
UCLA GSEIS Building
IS 121
Topics
October 29: Free Week!
This week, we’ll ease into our lab hours with an unstructured check-in. We can talk about recent privacy-related news, brainstorm possible speakers for future Lab Hours, or walk each other through setting up a VPN.
November 5: Home Surveillance and Domestic Abuse
This week we will be discussing the link between smart devices, surveillance and domestic abuse. We will be looking at a recent article from the New York Times: Thermostats, Locks and Lights: Digital Tools of Domestic Abuse and some suggested solutions from Wirecutter: How to Keep Your Smart-Home Technology Secure from Domestic Abusers.
November 12: Holiday! No Lab Hour.
November 19: Pen-Testing with special guest Mike Monsivais!
This week we will be hosting a video-chat with special guest Mike Monsivais, a security expert and digital privacy rights advocate based in Orem, Utah. Drawing from his background as a pen-tester, Mike will discuss various tools and strategies for analyzing your own system and communications for susceptibility to attack and eavesdropping.
To help prep for the discussion, check out this refresher on what’s happening behind-the-scenes when you type a URL into the browser and press enter.
November 26: Copyright Update! This week we will be discussing recent developments in US Copyright law. After a brief discussion of the new Music Modernization Act, we will discuss recent updates to the DMCA including new section 1201 exemptions directly relevant to libraries, archives and museums. Finally, we will look at a recent district court ruling in Oracle v. Google, and discuss the possible repercussions and challenges of this case.
To help prep for the discussion, check out the following links: Music Modernization Act, DMCA Section 1201 Exemptions, and Oracle v. Google.
December 3: Mask-making, Facial Recognition, and Processing Community Day! This week we will be hosting a workshop and conversation about our upcoming participation in Processing Community Day. To prepare for our session, members will design and craft masks intended to challenge facial recognition software. If time permits, we will also talk about and troubleshoot possible software to use at PCD.
To prep for our conversation, take a look at the Processing Community Day website and schedule. Look for our session, My Face is My Own!: Helping Kids Beat Facial Recognition Software.
All are welcome to drop in and chat with us! This includes IS faculty, staff, and students as well as allies from around the UCLA campus and its libraries.