Culturally Appropriate Web User Interface Design Study

Abstract

A number of research studies support the importance of culturally appropriate design for e-business, e-commerce and advanced learning applications. This is not surprising, considering influence of user interface design on usability, accessibility and acceptability of software. To identify cultural preferences in visual interface design, the authors conducted research studying culture-specific web interface design elements for a large number of countries all over the globe. This chapter reports on study methodology and results, focusing mostly on the global colors study. The authors explain the approach and research methodology they utilized to conduct the automated “cultural audit” for identification of culture-relevant design and color preferences in web interface design. Research methodology for a manual “cultural audit” is also discussed. The authors present the overall findings of their study, and conclude with observations on the usefulness of their research approach, the applicability of cultural analysis tools the authors developed and future research in culturally appropriate user interfaces.

Netnography

“…Kurikko and Tuominen (2012, p. 13) hold that "some of the most important standards of quality in netnography are immersive depth, prolonged engagement, researcher identification, and persistent conversations." However, these characteristics appear to be absent from the work of many researchers claiming to use netnographic methods or approaches (such as Aitamurto, 2013;Bletsos et al, 2013;Di Guardo & Castriotta, 2013;Kondratova & Goldfarb, 2010) and even from those who cite seminal netnography texts by Kozinets (2002Kozinets ( , 2010. Conversely, some online researchers including Lampel and Bhalla (2007) and Keeling, Khan, and Newholm (2013) have chosen not to label their work as netnographic, given that the researcher's level of engagement with their participants was less than Kozinets (2010) recommended for true netnographies.…”

Addressing Learner Cultural Diversity in Mooc Design and Delivery: Strategies and Practices of Experts

“…The authors use the analogy of an onion to explain the complexities of culture that include attitude, goals, symbols, practices, and values. While Hofstede's (2001) model is based on national archetypes, it is considered seminal in its relation to many multicultural distance learning environment studies (e.g., Bentley, Vawn-Tinney, & Chia, 2005;Kondratova, Goldfarb, Gervais, & Fournier, 2005;Morse, 2003;Renner, Laumer, & Weitzel, 2015;Rogers et al, 2007;Shishah & FitzGerald, 2016;Sieffert, 2006;Swierczek & Bechter, 2010). Given that individual learner's learning preferences may vary across different cultures and/or nations (Fail, 2011;Hofstede, 1983Hofstede, , 1986, it is important to consider cultural diversity in online course design because courses are often developed based on instructors' personal values, preferences, expectations, and experiences (Ahn, Yoon, & Cha, 2015;Speece, 2012).…”