technology as a cultural practice

Title

Technology

as a Cultural Practice

Rachel HinmanSenior Research Scientist - Nokia Research Center

Title

90 Mobiles in 90 Days

NPR slide

NPR slide

Mobile

NPR slide

NPR slide

UX as Problem Solving

Hypothesis vs. Agenda

Make it Work!


What are we missingwhen we frame our work as

problem solving?


Parables of the “Problem Solving” approach

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Hypothesis vs. AgendaNPR slide

What are we missing?


We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us.

Marshall McLuhan


Central Idea:

Technology is a cultural practice


Central Idea:

The time has come to stop thinking of our work solely as “problem-solving” and start thinking of it is as a form of cultural expression.


Cultural practice?


Everyday life rituals


Social practices


Medical treatment


Forms of artistic expression


Governance, leadership, and conflict resolution


Power Relationships


Cultural Institutions


Housing


Religion


Cultural Practices:

-Everyday life practices-Social practices-Medical treatment practices-Forms of artistic expression-Religious and spiritual practices-Governance and leadership, conflict resolution-Cultural institutions-Power relationships-Housing and construction


What does technology and user experience have to do with cultural practices?


Edges worth tracking


New technology makes its way almost everywhere within two years.

~ Jan Chipchase


CHI 2010 Themes:

•Feminism in HCI

•HCI and Politics

•Inclusive Design

•Design for Emerging Markets

•Designing for Social Impact

•HCI and the Environment


Signals


Uganda: Mobile Money


“How does it work?”


1. Create an account with authorized dealer



2. Download Mobile Money application to mobile




3. Transfer funds – Passcode, recipient’s phone #




3. Transfer funds – Passcode, recipient’s phone #

4. Recipient retrieves funds from authorized dealer (if they have the cash)


?


Gestalt: Figure Ground


McLuhan believed that to fully grasp the effect of a new technology, one must examine figure (medium) and ground (context) together, since neither is completely intelligible without the other.

McLuhan argued that we must study media in their historical context, particularly in relation to the technologies that preceded them.


India: Mobile Literacy


774 Million**UNESCO Institute for Illiteracyhttp://www.uis.unesco.org/ev.php?URL_ID=6401&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201


Literacy


Literacy involves a continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community and wider society.


The Rearview Mirror


Mobile presents an opportunity to invent new ways for users to interact with information and each other.

Opinion!


91

Opinion!


Even in situations in which a spirit of exploration and freedom exist, where faculty are free to experiment to work beyond physical and social constraints, our cognitive habits often get in the way.

Marshall McLuhan called it “the rear-view mirror effect,” noting that “We see the world through a rear-view mirror. We march backwards into the future.”


How can I apply this idea to my daily work?


Less of this, more of that


Get out of the UX Echo Chamber


Cultural Relativism


Reaching out and touching and shaping the world… allowing the world to touch and reshape us.

Reuben Margolin


Thanks!

technology as a cultural practice

Design

agenda npr slide

agenda governance

agenda housing

agenda chi

agenda parables

agenda uganda

agenda religion

agenda signals