Effects of Culture on Web Design : A Comparative Analysis of Chinese and Western User Interfaces

With over 989 million internet users, the Chinese internet is the world’s largest online community, yet it is quite separate from the Western internet. This study aims to find measurable differences in web design between the Chinese and Western cultural groups by comparing Chinese and British websites. The study is conducted by first reviewing existing literature on the subject, then forming hypotheses based on the findings from the literature. These seven hypotheses are then proven right or wrong by collecting data from 48 websites (24 British and 24 Chinese). The data is then further analysed to form general assumptions on the current state of Chinese and Western web design. The formed hypotheses are related to typography, use of colours, movement, navigation, and length of webpages. Six of the seven hypotheses got confirmation, at least on the websites included in this study. This implies that the same could hold for a larger number of websites from Chinese and Western cultures. Some of these hypotheses could be explained easily with e.g. linguistical reasons, while others were related to deeper cultural differences. The key takeaway is that these differences should be considered in cross cultural design.Kiinassa on yli 989 miljoonaa internetkäyttäjää, mikä on noin viidesosa kaikista maailman internetkäyttäjistä. Kiinalainen internet on kuitenkin hyvin erilainen länsimaiseen vastineeseensa verrattuna. Tämän tutkielman tavoitteena on löytää mitattavia eroja kiinalaisen ja länsimaisen nettisivujen suunnittelun välillä vertaamalla kiinalaisia ja brittiläisiä nettisivuja. Tutkimusta varten käydään läpi olemassa olevaa kirjallisuutta aiheesta. Tämän taustatutkimuksen pohjalta muodostetaan hypoteesit. Nämä seitsemän hypoteesia osoitetaan oikeiksi tai vääriksi keräämällä aineistoa 48 nettisivulta (24 brittiläistä ja 24 kiinalaista). Aineistoa analysoidaan edelleen yleisluontoisten oletusten muodostamiseksi kiinalaisen ja länsimaalaisen nettisivusuunnittelun tämänhetkisestä tilasta. Muodostetut hypoteesit koskevat typografiaa, värien käyttöä, liikettä, navigaatiota sekä sivun pituutta. Kuusi seitsemästä hypoteesista sai vahvistusta tähän tutkimukseen valikoitujen verkkosivujen pohjalta. Tästä on mahdollista vetää johtopäätös, että sama voi päteä myös muillekin verkkosivuille kyseisistä kulttuureista. Joidenkin hypoteesien tausta on helppo selittää esimerkiksi kielellisillä syillä, kun taas jotkin kumpuavat syvemmältä kulttuurista ja sen tavasta nähdä maailma. Tämä tutkimus osoittaa, että nämä todistetut erot tulisi huomioida kulttuurien välisessä suunnittelussa

Redesign of an air quality monitoring website for Chinese users

In this thesis an air quality monitoring website that was made by a Finnish company was redesigned for Chinese users. The website was redesigned based on feedback from user-centered design (UCD) process that was conducted as a part of the thesis. Used UCD methods include, task based user testing, interviews, competitive analysis and paper prototyping The study consisted of 3 UCD rounds and total of 21 participants, 7 Finnish and 14 Chinese. Two of the rounds were conducted in Finland and one in China. The results of this thesis include the redesigned website which was optimized for the Chinese users group. The users of the original website that were part of the study, were pleased with the new design. The thesis proposes guidelines for designing products targeted for Chinese people and guidelines for conducting UCD research in China

Redesign of an air quality monitoring website for Chinese users

In this thesis an air quality monitoring website that was made by a Finnish company was redesigned for Chinese users. The website was redesigned based on feedback from user-centered design (UCD) process that was conducted as a part of the thesis. Used UCD methods include, task based user testing, interviews, competitive analysis and paper prototyping The study consisted of 3 UCD rounds and total of 21 participants, 7 Finnish and 14 Chinese. Two of the rounds were conducted in Finland and one in China. The results of this thesis include the redesigned website which was optimized for the Chinese users group. The users of the original website that were part of the study, were pleased with the new design. The thesis proposes guidelines for designing products targeted for Chinese people and guidelines for conducting UCD research in China

The language-cognition interface in bilinguals: an evaluation of the conceptual transfer hypothesis

Praca podejmuje temat wpływu języka na kategorie konceptualne u osób dwujęzycznych. Poruszana problematyka omawiana jest na podstawie najnowszych teorii pamięci bilingwalnej oraz stworzonej na ich kanwie hipotezy transferu konceptualnego autorstwa Scotta Jarvisa i Anety Pavlenko. Część teoretyczna przedstawia strukturę pamięci bilingwalnej, zwanej również słownikiem wewnętrznym, modele sfery konceptualnej oraz istniejące pomiędzy poziomem językowym i konceptualnym zależności. Te ostatnie rozpatrywane są przez pryzmat teorii względności językowej i jej zmodyfikowanych wersji: teorii „myślenie dla mowy” (ang. Thinking for Speaking) Dana Slobina, jak również hipotezy Christiane von Stutterheim. Ostatnim elementem dyskusji jest prezentacja hipotezy transferu konceptualnego oraz jej ocena pod kątem merytorycznym i empirycznym. Część badawcza przedstawia dwa projekty zrealizowane zgodnie z zaleceniami autorów hipotezy transferu konceptualnego. Projekt 1. dotyczy kategoryzacji semantycznej oraz niewerbalnej. Badane kategorie semantyczne oparte są na eksplikacjach Anny Wierzbickiej i dotyczą relacji międzyludzkich (przyjaciel, friend, kolega itd.). Projekt 2. to analiza ram konceptualizacyjnych pod kątem wydarzeń przedstawiających ruch ukierunkowany oraz konstrukcji narracji w pisemnych relacjach z obejrzanego filmu animowanego. Uzyskane dane w języku polskim i angielskim stanowią podstawę wniosków, które zaprezentowano w ostatnim rozdziale pracy. Badania przeprowadzono w Polsce i krajach anglojęzycznych (w Anglii i Irlandii). W skład badanych populacji weszli monolingwalni Polacy i rodzimi użytkownicy języka angielskiego (ang. native speakers) oraz Polacy posługujący się językiem angielskim w warunkach naturalnych (emigranci) i szkolnych (studenci filologii angielskiej). Każda z grup monolingwalnych uczestniczyła w sesjach badawczych dotyczących odpowiednio języka polskiego i angielskiego. Osoby dwujęzyczne testowane były w obydwu językach. Dane zebrano za pomocą scenariuszy sytuacyjnych, kwestionariuszy, oceny podobieństwa, a także opisu narracyjnego krótkometrażowego filmu animowanego pt. Katedra w reżyserii Tomasza Bagińskiego

Localization in educational mobile games: Multiple case studies of educational mobile games in the emerging market, Vietnam

The thesis studies the localization/globalization of educational mobile games in emerging markets, particularly Vietnam. In detail, the thesis investigates how an educational mobile game company balances their localization strategy in the pressure of Global Integration-Local Responsiveness (GI-LR), the drivers behind the localization choice and level, and how players react to the strategy. The study reviews and summaries literature review related to GI-LR for MNEs and localization strategy for born-globals and suggests a framework for educational mobile game companies. The literature review indicated that while born-globals try to standardize their products, due to external and internal drivers, they have to adapt to local responsiveness on some levels. The suggested framework indicated that there are three levels of localization for educational game companies: simple, complex, and blending; besides standardization strategy. The thesis focuses on external drivers such as cultural differences and customer demands and studies how this affects the localization level of each game company. The thesis employs multiple case studies to compare different educational game companies that have different localization levels and serve different customer demands. The data collected from both America and Vietnam reviews similarities and differences in how users of each region perceive the games, react to the localization level of the games and suggest game improvements. The study figured out that cultural differences, especially language, and customer demands can change the level of localization of educational game companies. The level of localization can extend to one or several elements of the game. Users from Vietnam noticed some limitations of local language courses and suggested having their local language to be able to understand some games. In the context of emerging markets which have diverse culture and demands, educational game companies should do intense market research in advance to check whether they need to alter the localization level, reducing or raising the total cost of expanding to emerging markets

24th International Conference on Information Modelling and Knowledge Bases

In the last three decades information modelling and knowledge bases have become essentially important subjects not only in academic communities related to information systems and computer science but also in the business area where information technology is applied. The series of European – Japanese Conference on Information Modelling and Knowledge Bases (EJC) originally started as a co-operation initiative between Japan and Finland in 1982. The practical operations were then organised by professor Ohsuga in Japan and professors Hannu Kangassalo and Hannu Jaakkola in Finland (Nordic countries). Geographical scope has expanded to cover Europe and also other countries. Workshop characteristic - discussion, enough time for presentations and limited number of participants (50) / papers (30) - is typical for the conference. Suggested topics include, but are not limited to: 1. Conceptual modelling: Modelling and specification languages; Domain-specific conceptual modelling; Concepts, concept theories and ontologies; Conceptual modelling of large and heterogeneous systems; Conceptual modelling of spatial, temporal and biological data; Methods for developing, validating and communicating conceptual models. 2. Knowledge and information modelling and discovery: Knowledge discovery, knowledge representation and knowledge management; Advanced data mining and analysis methods; Conceptions of knowledge and information; Modelling information requirements; Intelligent information systems; Information recognition and information modelling. 3. Linguistic modelling: Models of HCI; Information delivery to users; Intelligent informal querying; Linguistic foundation of information and knowledge; Fuzzy linguistic models; Philosophical and linguistic foundations of conceptual models. 4. Cross-cultural communication and social computing: Cross-cultural support systems; Integration, evolution and migration of systems; Collaborative societies; Multicultural web-based software systems; Intercultural collaboration and support systems; Social computing, behavioral modeling and prediction. 5. Environmental modelling and engineering: Environmental information systems (architecture); Spatial, temporal and observational information systems; Large-scale environmental systems; Collaborative knowledge base systems; Agent concepts and conceptualisation; Hazard prediction, prevention and steering systems. 6. Multimedia data modelling and systems: Modelling multimedia information and knowledge; Contentbased multimedia data management; Content-based multimedia retrieval; Privacy and context enhancing technologies; Semantics and pragmatics of multimedia data; Metadata for multimedia information systems. Overall we received 56 submissions. After careful evaluation, 16 papers have been selected as long paper, 17 papers as short papers, 5 papers as position papers, and 3 papers for presentation of perspective challenges. We thank all colleagues for their support of this issue of the EJC conference, especially the program committee, the organising committee, and the programme coordination team. The long and the short papers presented in the conference are revised after the conference and published in the Series of “Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence” by IOS Press (Amsterdam). The books “Information Modelling and Knowledge Bases” are edited by the Editing Committee of the conference. We believe that the conference will be productive and fruitful in the advance of research and application of information modelling and knowledge bases. Bernhard Thalheim Hannu Jaakkola Yasushi Kiyok

Dramatistic User Experience Design: The Usability Testing of an e-Government System in A Non-Western Setting

This dissertation investigates rhetorical situatedness as a factor that culturally designates users’ motives in adopting a new technology. The application of Kenneth Burke’s dramatism extends the discussion about the situation where an interaction takes place to include acting and meaning-making in Non-Western settings as contextual and situated. This expansion is essential to reinforce the understanding of how cultural contexts impact users’ motives, specifically users from Non-Western settings, to adopt a technology. The traditional Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research stresses mechanical and technical aspects between a user (agent) and a technology device (agency) in order to reduce user errors. This approach isolates the rhetorical situation of interaction in a computer interface, thus eliding the cultural situatedness by regarding the situation as something fixed, such as in a laboratory. Adding a cultural context provides a fuller picture of this interaction. Using a civic records online system called e-Lampid, which is administered by Surabaya City Government in Indonesia as a case study, I discover five elements of situatedness that contribute significantly to weave acting and meaning-making into a culturally informed interaction. User motives are shaped by internal and external situations that are collective, local, and both onsite and off. Dramatism is a tool for analysis and production that prioritizes cultural awareness. Dramatistic User Experience (UX) design offers analytical, comprehensive, and systematic perspectives on the design process. Dramatistic UX integrates three different approaches: usability testing, rhetorical awareness of situations, and needs analysis. The synergy of dramatism, user experience, and design thinking provides a holistic approach to construct a rhetorically grounded and culturally contingent user experience design

Proceedings of the 17th Annual Conference of the European Association for Machine Translation

Proceedings of the 17th Annual Conference of the European Association for Machine Translation (EAMT

Hedonické nebo pragmatické preference? Komparativní analýza uživatelů platforem Android a iOS z pohledu UX a informačního chování

The theoretical part of the thesis presents the evolution of the fields of human-computer interaction (HCI) and user experience (UX) including hedonic-pragmatic model of user experience. It further presents platforms and ecosystems in general, the evolution of smartphone market and the platforms of Android and iOS, and explains the basic concepts of information and consumer behaviour. A part of the thesis is a qualitative study examining the differences between the preferences towards smartphones of Android and iOS users, and differences in their information behaviour. It was found out that the participants - users of both platforms have mostly pragmatic reasons for their platform preference but describe them differently; that Android users seek more information at the time of smartphone purchase decision and that some iOS users, unlike Android users, started using their platform based on observation of others' good user experience with it.Teoretická část práce představuje vývoj oborů interakce člověk-počítač a uživatelské zkušenosti včetně hedonicko-pragmatického modelu. Dále jsou představeny platformy a ekosystémy obecně, vývoj trhu se smartphony a samotné dvě platformy Android a iOS. Vysvětleny jsou i základní koncepty informačního a zákaznického chování. Součástí práce je kvalitativní výzkum, jenž zkoumá rozdíly v požadavcích uživatelů obou platforem na bázi hedonicko-pragmatického modelu uživatelské zkušenosti a v jejich informačním chování. Bylo zjištěno, že účastníci výzkumu - uživatelé obou platforem mají zejména pragmatické důvody, ale i některé hedonické důvody pro volbu své platformy, ale popisují je jiným způsobem; a zároveň, že uživatelé Androidu zjišťují více informací při kupování nového smartphonu a že uživatelé iOS se v některých případech, na rozdíl od uživatelů Androidu, rozhodli pro svoji platformu na základě pozorování spokojenosti okolí.Institute of Information Studies and Librarianship - New Media StudiesÚstav informačních studií - studia nových médiíFilozofická fakultaFaculty of Art