Perspectives on human-computer interaction and culture

Due to the global distribution of technology and its use in highly culturally diverse settings, an understanding of culture, in particular the connection between culture and technology use, is becoming more relevant for distributors and developers of such technology, in order to survive in a dynamic market environment and to be able to offer products that are tailored to the requirements of the specific end user. Therefore, the overarching topic of this thesis is the exploration of the role of culture in human-computer interaction (HCI) as a key factor to understanding the user. This thesis sheds light on the role of culture and socio-cultural systems and their multi-layered manifestations in human-computer interaction. The related research consists of two main strands: The first strand (manuscript 1 and 2) focuses primarily on examining the extent to which national culture is considered in HCI studies, and the extent to which subjects from different national settings are part of HCI studies. The key findings of the first strand are that HCI research tends to neglect culture, or, if it is considered, it is mostly treated narrowly, as a single variable that measures national cultures. The restricted cultural perspective becomes further evident when studying the participant samples from the most relevant HCI conference. There was a strong focus on participant samples from countries whose inhabitants tend to be Western, educated, industrialised, rich and democratic (WEIRD) and most of the other countries were clearly underrepresented. The second strand of this thesis (manuscript 3 to 6) centres on the examination of the relationship between HCI and cultural as well as socio-cultural systems, particularly in knowledge-intensive practices. It shows the rich practices of technology appropriation in study settings outside of the typical WEIRD contexts. Furthermore, it explores the manifold, rich and often complex ways in which the use of technology is impacted by structures and practices of cultural systems, and, in the same way, transforms these systems. The results from both strands of enquiry show that the HCI community should consider the diversity of potential technology users in its research and recommendations. Only in this way can technological developments be realised that are globally useful and usable on a broad scale. To support the HCI community on this path, alongside suggestions for further research projects, this thesis presents several detailed recommendations on how to increase diversity and the consideration of cultural aspects in HCI research and the HCI community

Understanding the ontological requirements for collaborative web-based experiential learning

The challenge of human-computer interaction forces educationalists to think of new ways to understand the social, historical and contextual nature of learning. Discussion and exchange of ideas enable learners to learn together. However, the granularity of the Webbased learning context is extensive; consequently, e- Courseware design faces new dilemmas. Only through targeted research will it be known with any certainty whether Web-based learning gives rise to a new type of learning dissonance [1]. It has been proposed that converged theoretical paradigms that underpin particular digitised or context-mediated learning systems are forcing learners into new ways of thinking [2]. This paper presents an overview of the plans for an experimental project designed to understand the ontological requirements for experiential instructional environments. This project is a joint research initiative involving three Universities in the Asia/Pacific region. Results will be used to inform educationalists interested in developing instructional strategies for a global community.<br /

Challenges of e-government introduction in the Republic of Armenia

The introduction of successful e-government is in the agenda of the Republic of Armenia government. The barriers to greater online citizen engagement in policy-making are not only technological but also cultural, organizational and constitutiona

Addressing the education puzzle : the distribution of education and economic reform

No country has achieved sustained economic development without substantially investing in human capital. Previous studies have shown the handsome returns to various forms of basic education, research, training, learning-by-doing, and capacity-building. But education by itself does not guarantee successful development, as history has shown in the former Soviet bloc, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and the Indian states of Kerala and West Bengal. The question is, when and how does education bring high payoffs? Although theory has suggested a strong causal link between education and growth, the empirical evidence has not been unanimous and conclusive. The authors examine two explanatory factors. First, who gets educated matters a good deal, but the distribution of education is complex and not much has been written about it. They construct an asset allocation model that elucidates the importance of the distribution of education to economic development. Second, how education affects growth is greatly affected by the economic policy environment. Policies determine what people can do with their education. Reform of trade, investment, and labor policies can increase the returns from education. Using panel data from 12 Asian and Latin American countries for 1970-94, they investigate the relationship between education, policy reform, and economic growth. Their empirical results are promising. First, the distribution of education matters. Unequal distribution of education tends to have a negative impact on per capita income in most countries. Moreover, controlling for human capital distribution and the use of appropriate functional form specifications consistent with the asset allocation model makes a difference for the effect of average schooling on per capita income. Controlling for education distribution leads to positive and significant effects of average schooling on per capita income, while failure to do so leads to insignificant, even negative effects, of average education. Second, the policy environment matters a great deal. Our results indicate that economic policies that suppress market forces tend to dramatically reduce the impact of human capital on economic growth. Investment in human capital can have little impact on growth unless people can use education in competitive and open markets. The larger and more competitive these markets are, the greater are the prospects for using education and skills.Curriculum&Instruction,Economic Theory&Research,Decentralization,Public Health Promotion,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Teaching and Learning,Curriculum&Instruction,Economic Theory&Research,Gender and Education

Innovation in Mobile Learning: A European Perspective

In the evolving landscape of mobile learning, European researchers have conducted significant mobile learning projects, representing a distinct perspective on mobile learning research and development. Our paper aims to explore how these projects have arisen, showing the driving forces of European innovation in mobile learning. We propose context as a central construct in mobile learning and examine theories of learning for the mobile world, based on physical, technological, conceptual, social and temporal mobility. We also examine the impacts of mobile learning research on educational practices and the implications for policy. Throughout, we identify lessons learnt from European experiences to date

USER EXPERIENCE JOURNEY WITH MULTIPLE DEVICES AND TELEPRESENCE DURING QUARANTINE

Many cities and countries around the world started quarantine and city lockdowns to diminish the spread of Covid-19, configuring the end of the 20th century: the century of technology. The fast growing technology and communication possibilities upgrades human-computer interactions from industrial development before computing to connecting users to many computers in a dynamic ecosystem in pervasive experiences. The new social challenges from quarantine and self-preservation takes home isolation, technology, Internet, family, education, work and communication to surface new sense of things and interactions. Each generation has their own perspectives and mental models about the pandemic times and the use of technology, creating themselves the necessary bridges between channels to make their experience journeys easier and to reach objectives. This research focus on understanding how quarantine and social isolation in Rio de Janeiro affected the 4 generations’ interaction with digital devices and he diversity of channels, how it affected their own sense of space and isolation, influencing communication, entertainment, work and learning. The research was conducted during the quarantine official decree in the city – from March 16th to June 1st

Company-university collaboration in applying gamification to learning about insurance

Incorporating gamification into training–learning at universities is hampered by a shortage of quality, adapted educational video games. Large companies are leading in the creation of educational video games for their internal training or to enhance their public image and universities can benefit from collaborating. The aim of this research is to evaluate, both objectively and subjectively, the potential of the simulation game BugaMAP (developed by the MAPFRE Foundation) for university teaching about insurance. To this end, we have assessed both the game itself and the experience of using the game as perceived by 142 economics students from various degree plans and courses at the University of Seville during the 2017–2018 academic year. As a methodology, a checklist of gamification components is used for the objective evaluation, and an opinion questionnaire on the game experience is used for the subjective evaluation. Among the results several findings stand out. One is the high satisfaction of the students with the knowledge acquired using fun and social interaction. Another is that the role of the university professors and the company monitors turns out to be very active and necessary during the game-learning sessions. Finally, in addition to the benefits to the university of occasionally available quality games to accelerate student skills training, the company–university collaboration serves as a trial and refinement of innovative tools for game-based learning

Abordagens da relação entre diversidade cultural e experiência do usuário em produtos de design : uma revisão sistemática

This paper aims to identify different theories that guide methods of studying the influence of cultural diversity on users' experience with design products. To this end, a systematic review of the literature, comprising 80 academic papers in the scope of design for cultural diversity is carried out. The central procedure of the work unfolds in the classification and analysis of these papers. The study identifies the recurrent use of some methods of cultural analysis, indicating the tendency of research in the area to develop as cross-cultural comparisons – or transcultural studies. Other models, such as multicultural or intercultural studies, are recent and still scarce. The results obtained also point to the predominance of the North America/Europe axis as motivators of research in the area, in addition to highlighting the lower number of those that focus on the Latin America/Africa axis.Este artigo tem como objetivo identificar diferentes teorias que orientam métodos de estudo da influência da diversidade cultural na experiência dos usuários com produtos de design. Para tanto, é realizada uma revisão sistemática da literatura, composta por 80 trabalhos acadêmicos no âmbito do design para a diversidade cultural. O procedimento central do trabalho se desdobra na classificação e análise desses artigos. O estudo identifica o uso recorrente de alguns métodos de análise cultural, indicando a tendência das pesquisas na área se desenvolverem como comparações transculturais – ou estudos transculturais. Outros modelos, como os estudos multiculturais ou interculturais, são recentes e ainda escassos. Os resultados obtidos também apontam para a predominância do eixo América do Norte/Europa como motivadores de pesquisas na área, além de destacar o menor número daquelas que se concentram no eixo América Latina/África

Do Remittance Flows Stabilize Developing Countries in the aftermath of Sovereign Defaults?

Remittances are transfers of money by foreign workers to their home countries. These remittance flows have been considered a very important source of finance for many developing countries accounting between 5-40% of the recipient country's GDP. This paper empirically examines whether remittance flows stabilize developing countries in the aftermath of sovereign defaults. To this end, we conduct Dynamic System Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) estimation techniques by Arellano and Bover (1995) and Blundell and Bond (1998) taking into account annual data cutting across 81 countries from 1990- 2010. We find that indeed remittances play a significant role in stabilizing a country which has defaulted on its sovereign debt. The findings of this study exhibit different results for different measures of default episodes. All in all our findings confirm yet another channel through which remittances can have a positive influence on recipient countries' economy since they support the hypothesis that the occurrence of a sovereign default spurs on an upsurge in remittances which play a stabilizing role

Interaction techniques for older adults using touchscreen devices : a literature review

International audienceSeveral studies investigated different interaction techniques and input devices for older adults using touchscreen. This literature review analyses the population involved, the kind of tasks that were executed, the apparatus, the input techniques, the provided feedback, the collected data and author's findings and their recommendations. As conclusion, this review shows that age-related changes, previous experience with technologies, characteristics of handheld devices and use situations need to be studied