Culture in the design of mHealth UI:An effort to increase acceptance among culturally specific groups

Purpose: Designers of mobile applications have long understood the importance of users’ preferences in making the user experience easier, convenient and therefore valuable. The cultural aspects of groups of users are among the key features of users’ design preferences, because each group’s preferences depend on various features that are culturally compatible. The process of integrating culture into the design of a system has always been an important ingredient for effective and interactive human computer interface. This study aims to investigate the design of a mobile health (mHealth) application user interface (UI) based on Arabic culture. It was argued that integrating certain cultural values of specific groups of users into the design of UI would increase their acceptance of the technology. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 135 users responded to an online survey about their acceptance of a culturally designed mHealth. Findings: The findings showed that culturally based language, colours, layout and images had a significant relationship with users’ behavioural intention to use the culturally based mHealth UI. Research limitations/implications: First, the sample and the data collected of this study were restricted to Arab users and Arab culture; therefore, the results cannot be generalized to other cultures and users. Second, the adapted unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model was used in this study instead of the new version, which may expose new perceptions. Third, the cultural aspects of UI design in this study were limited to the images, colours, language and layout. Practical implications: It encourages UI designers to implement the relevant cultural aspects while developing mobile applications. Originality/value: Embedding Arab cultural aspects in designing UI for mobile applications to satisfy Arab users and enhance their acceptance toward using mobile applications, which will reflect positively on their lives.</p

An aesthetic for sustainable interactions in product-service systems?

Copyright @ 2012 Greenleaf PublishingEco-efficient Product-Service System (PSS) innovations represent a promising approach to sustainability. However the application of this concept is still very limited because its implementation and diffusion is hindered by several barriers (cultural, corporate and regulative ones). The paper investigates the barriers that affect the attractiveness and acceptation of eco-efficient PSS alternatives, and opens the debate on the aesthetic of eco-efficient PSS, and the way in which aesthetic could enhance some specific inner qualities of this kinds of innovations. Integrating insights from semiotics, the paper outlines some first research hypothesis on how the aesthetic elements of an eco-efficient PSS could facilitate user attraction, acceptation and satisfaction

Sustainability in design: now! Challenges and opportunities for design research, education and practice in the XXI century

Copyright @ 2010 Greenleaf PublicationsLeNS project funded by the Asia Link Programme, EuropeAid, European Commission

Chinese university students' academic vocabulary learning using mobile technology in English medium instruction settings

The advent of mobile technology has ushered in transformative changes across various domains, including the educational landscape. Within this context, the present study embarks on an in-depth exploration of the utilization and effectiveness of mobile technology for vocabulary learning in English Medium Instruction (EMI) settings in Chinese higher education institutions. Employing a robust mixed-methods research design, the study meticulously examines multiple facets of mobile vocabulary learning, including the efficacy of specialized mobile applications, the pedagogical strategies they employ, and the socio-cultural factors that influence their adoption and implementation. One of the pivotal findings of this research is that mobile applications serve as potent tools for enhancing academic vocabulary acquisition. They do so by fostering learner engagement, facilitating personalized learning experiences, and implementing pedagogical strategies grounded in established learning theories. However, the study also uncovers a set of challenges that learners encounter, such as issues related to time management and the lack of structured pedagogical guidance, which can impede the effective utilization of these applications. To provide a holistic understanding of these complex dynamics, the study introduces an innovative conceptual framework. This framework not only synthesizes the empirical data but also situates it within the broader academic discourse, thereby offering a comprehensive lens through which the challenges and advantages of mobile-assisted vocabulary learning can be viewed. The contributions of this research are manifold. It offers groundbreaking insights that have the potential to shape pedagogical practices in the fields of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and mobile learning. Furthermore, it provides actionable recommendations for educational stakeholders, ranging from instructors to policymakers, who are involved in the integration of mobile technology in EMI settings. Lastly, by identifying areas that warrant further investigation, the study lays a robust foundation for subsequent research endeavors, thereby enriching the academic dialogue surrounding mobile-assisted vocabulary learning in EMI contexts

A Case Study of the Ritual Space Construction of the Chinese Festival Series Program

TV festival gala is one important form of ritual communication of traditional Chinese festivals. The Chinese Festival Series Program innovate the ritual construction path of the program while maintaining the sense of ritual of the traditional festival galas, making the Chinese Festival Series Program a representative work of Chinese festival galas in recent years. This study aims to explore the ritual space construction of the Chinese Festival Series Program. It adopted the case study approach by taking Chinese Festival Series Program as the research object, and analyzed the text of the programs mainly from the physical space, media space, narrative space and the associated space of history and reality. The analysis results demonstrated that breaking the single physical space and building diverse scenes can make the narrative more hierarchical, and allow the audiences to experience a more realistic program space. The addition of new technology also brings richness to the narrative space. The convenient interactivity of the new media platform creates an exclusive media interaction space for the audiences. Through the ritual space construction, the Chinese Festival Series Program associate the past space with the present space, allowing the audiences to develop memory-related activities in the ritual space

Culture-centred integration of ICT in Southeast Asia secondary schools

V. Sithira studied cultural integration with educational tools for Southeast Asian secondary schools. She found that culture-based learning has more to do with the design of ICT. She investigated the cultural presence in Southeast Asia and proposed new cultural activity metaphors and cultural theme metaphors in ICT to improve learning experience. She proposed new Cultural Motivational Elements of ICT guidelines for ICT developers that can significantly improve education with technology in Southeast Asia

Design of Equipment Rack with TRIZ Method to Reduce Searching Time in Change Over Activity (Case Study : PT. Jans2en Indonesia)

Janssen is a manufacturing plant that works in furniture assembly. Component shortages often occurs, it will cause the increase of work in process (WIP) in assembly section. In previous studies, we analyze the root causes with FMEA and then it is resulted that router section is the constraint of the system. There are many non value added activities such as searching and transportation caused by a messy condition of work places and the devices that aren’t put in the right place. The impact is that the time allocated for every change over is higher than before. There are many components that are worked by the router section, so improvements are needed to minimize changes in over time. 5S method and the use of a new design of rack by TRIZ method are suggested for fixing the conditions of work environment. It is expected to eliminate non value added activities and changes in over time. Result shows that we can reduce non value activities in change over of regular components up to 41% and the elimination of this time is 41,6%. The non value activities in changeover of new items is 36,6% and this elimination of time is 53,3%. Key word : change over, kaizen, design, TRIZ metho

The utilization of artificial intelligence in online advertising and its perceived effectiveness

This study explores the utilization of Artificial Intelligence in online advertising process and the impact of using AI each stage in that process with the overall perceived effectiveness. It also provides a better understanding of the magnitude of using AI in the four stages of advertising online: namely consumer insights, ad creation, media planning and buying, and finally ad evaluation. Process model of AI utilization in online advertising is the conceptual model of the study, which is developed from the previous literature. A triangulation methodology is implemented to enhance the credibility of the research study and leads to a more comprehensive understanding of the topic. Online survey is conducted with digital advertisers worldwide from both agency and client side. Nonrandom sampling (N=60) was implemented to test 5 constructs from the perspective of the respondents. Three in-depth interviews were also conducted before and after the online questionnaire to analyze the findings and results and demonstrate insights on the five proposed research questions. Findings of the study showed beyond doubt that AI is stepping strongly and progressively in the four stages of the data-based online advertising process. Moreover, it significantly showed that there is a relationship between AI utilization in each stage and the following one. Finally, results indicated that using AI in each advertising stage promotes the perceived effectiveness of the overall online ad process

Blue-and-White: Exploring Mixed Reality Technology for Representing and Facilitating Intercultural Dialogue in Museums

Since the 1980s, museums have been viewed as being able to promote conversations between communities in multicultural societies. The shift from the idea of a museum-going public to museum-going publics has contributed to efforts on the part of institutions to aid in addressing the diversity of experiences and interests that mark the postmodern world. The development of digital technology, mixed reality (MR), for example, has transformed the shared understanding of communication and the perception of information. This thesis presents an argument that MR can be effectively utilized to create a platform in which cross-cultural links between artefacts can be represented dynamically and interactively, to formulate a more diverse narrative about the history and material life, for museum audiences. By augmenting the narrative, the museum space can become a powerful platform to help audiences raise awareness of intercultural dialogue. A mobile-based augmented reality (AR) prototype that uses the story of what is commonly known as “Blue-and-White pottery” [青花; pinyin: qīng-huā or blue patterns and flowers] as a case study was developed to demonstrate the argument. This thesis concludes with a discussion of the potential for emerging technologies to solve contemporary problems in museums