Gateway

The gateway went pretty badly as the tutors were concerned that my project is suddenly going in a different direction to the way it was going before.

Gateway presentation link: http://www.box.net/shared/jjizfu9xvl

The key now is to understand the insights gained from the experiments I've done and either:

a) Justify my project direction more strongly and continue on this route.

b) Re-evaluate my position and find a direction more fitting with my initial one.

The important thing is that I figure it out soon and stick to it in order to maximise the time I have available to me and get some good work out of it.

Mystery box mark II (or 4)

This was my second attempt at the Mystery Box experiment. I used 4 boxes this time and filled the bowls with jelly, which was not only pretty, but also very slimy.

I managed to coax a few people to do the experiment and it was helpful in some respects, but it actually gave me all the information it was going to give me after only a few tries. It was flawed as everyone who I asked to do the experiment knows me and so there was never really any great risk to them and they knew it. However, with Sam, knowing that it was my experiment actually made him see the risks as higher and he outright refused to put his hand into any of the boxes.

Santi - seemed pretty comfortable just going for it

Sam (pictured left) - refused to put his hand in the boxes

Marjan - she eventually talked herself into going for it

Overall I learned what I needed to know fairly quickly, and the experiment acted as an interesting talking point about why people do some things and not others, and the relationships that boost and weaken their resolves.

More experiments done today...

Places that people felt afraid

I asked people to tell me about places where they had experienced anxiety, uneasiness or fear. Below are a selection of some of the places that were brought up.

Some of the pictures show areas where violent crimes were committed, some where robberies occurred and others show where a person or people simply felt uncomfortable.

Can you guess which was which?

Which do you find most intimidating? What I find interesting is that even though they are mainly photographed in the day, some of them still feel oppressive.

Experiments done today...

Homeward Bound A

Participants were asked to draw their route to their fictional home from a fictional bus stop. No information was provided other than the time and the map shown below.

The idea was to see whether people would take the shortest route, or whether they would take any other factors into consideration, such as the number of street crossings, etc.

Homeward Bound A

Homeward Bound B

Like HB-A, except that in this scenario the participants are provided with much more information as to what's going on around them in the mapped area.

This experiment hoped to show how people's attitudes changed to an area when they knew what else inhabited it with them.

Given the new information, many of the responses changed, and the most obvious change was seen when the time was changed from 8pm to 2am.

Homeward Bound B

Homeward Bound C

This experiment presented participants with a choice of shortcuts to their fictional home in a housing estate. The shortcut went through a forested area, but directly linked the local tube stations to the house. This scenario allowed exploration into how far out of their way people were prepared to go in the search for safety, and provided fertile topics for further conversation on the subject.

Homeward Bound C

Mystery Box Dare

The mystery box awaits you!

This experiment focused on finding out whether people learn from their mistakes, and just how trusting they are willing to be. I asked people to put their hand into a nondescript box and tell me what was inside. Some people refused, and some people were happy to do it right away. Others took a bit of persuasion and in the end their curiosity tended to get the better of them.

When they put their hand into the box it was submerged in a bowl of water. This didn't get the reaction I was looking for, but I carried on with the experiment anyway. The next step was to get people to put their hand in the next box, despite the first one having been a trick one.

When I repeat this experiment tomorrow I'm going to use 4 boxes, and put some horrible (but harmless) objects in the first box...

Quick survey on perceived Risk

Hey everyone. It'd be great if you could have a quick go at this questionnaire for me...

Updated Risk project mapping

Ethos Presentation

The ethos brief was set by my tutor, Dale Russel, and challenged us to create an abstract object that depicted (without words) the idea behind our solo project.

I decided to create an object that reacted in a totally unexpected way when it was interacted with, and chose to make an exploding loaf of bread. I hollowed out a (stale - as little food waste here as possible) loaf that I found and put a bottle filled with bicarb of soda, vinegar, detergent and food colouring inside of it.

The idea was that once this was shaken up I would stab the loaf of bread as if to cut it and it would explode in a shower of pink froth. The night before I had been experimenting in the kitchen and it had worked (went EVERYWHERE) so I had high hopes.

To cut a long story short it pretty much failed miserably, and I ended up having to squeeze the pink foam out of the loaf - although it still actually looked pretty gross and cool at the same time. Below is the aftermath. Considerably less foam covered than I'd hoped...

Bridge Building Experiment

First experiment so far (albeit ridiculously late in the day to get started)!

Bridge building gamble: Using the provided blocks, build a bridge on top of the 2 vertical posts, crossing the infinitely long and deep ravine that separates them. (My time for building the bridge was 37.2 seconds)

Experimental method: I asked each participant to play with the blocks and build a bridge in their own time. Once they had done this I asked them to do it again, but this time in 30 seconds and without dropping any of the blocks. If they managed to do this they would win 1 of a range of 3 (cheap, medium, expensive) prizes, but in order to qualify they had to put down a monetary stake beforehand. Each prize had a minimum bet associated with it (cheap 1p, medium 10p, large 20p) although some people bet much more. Regardless of whether they won or failed each participant was then asked if they wanted to go 'double or nothing', and then asked to perform the task again with further limitations set to account for the amount of practice they'd had through the previous rounds (eg, removal of building blocks or shortening of the allowed time). Some proceeded and some didn't, with varying results.

Fastest time of the day was Hong, with 14.7 seconds.

Paul managed to build a bridge with 7 building blocks left over.

Glad to finally have gotten on with some testing and this was a fun and informative experiment for several reasons:

1) It allowed me to observe people under pressure and see how they make snap decisions. Also, it showed that some people were willing to take their chances in a situation, while others just seemed to give in at the last moment.

2) It allowed me to observe the value judgements that people make with regards to money and objects. By asking people to gamble, rather than simply giving them a prize, it showed what people considered to be an acceptable risk and value for money.

3) I was able to exert an element of control over the outcome of the experiment, based on how much information I gave each participant. It was possible, by counting down the last 5 seconds on the clock during the experiment, to increase the pressure on the participant, making them nervous and more clumsy.

My initial project mapping - "The lobster of Risk"

Today's Experiments

RCA Vigilantes.

Set scenarios and see what 'fake' criminals respond to.

Once burned by an event, will people take the same risk again?

Rob me - Allow people to keep whatever they manage to steal from me.

Bag trap - Invite people to try and steal objects from a bag with a mousetrap inside it.

Visit to Peckham and Camberwell Police Stations

(Who knew that police stations could be shut 5 days a week?)

Today I visited my local police stations to try and interview some of their officers about crime in the area and the tactics that are used to try and prevent/fight it. I had no luck as it turns out you have to arrange these things in advance, which I am now in the process of doing!

I also wrote emails to Prof. Ekblom, Prof. Gamman of the Design Against Crime course at Central St. Martins to try and arrange some meetings with the experts.

Experiment ideas today:

• T-Shirt/Chest-screen broadcasting to my local community what help I need and how I'm feeling. (Can I harvest knowledge and support from the people around me?)
• Can I RFID all of my possessions so that when someone tries to remove them from my person they alert me?
• Can I link my emotional state to a device that alerts local CCTV to watch me when I'm scared, in case something happens?
• Can I produce a SmartWater-like product/liquid/device that leaves an indelible trace on an aggressor/mugger?
• Can I produce an app that sends out a distress signal to loved ones who are nearby?
• Can I produce a device that acts like a distress beacon to passers by (maybe the reverse of the Grinder app?)

Questions from today:

• Why is the most successful borough police force in London only solving 25% of crimes?
• How can technology help us to solve more crimes?
• How can victims aid police in the identification of the people who attacked them?
• How can we make it, 'not worth the risk' for a perpetrator to commit a crime?