Culture and participation in the development of CMC: Indigenous cultural information system case study

Turk, A. and Trees, K. (1998) Culture and participation in the development of CMC: Indigenous cultural information system case study. In: Cultural Attitudes Towards Technology and Communication Conference (CATAC'98) 1998, 1 - 3 August 1998, London, England.

Preview

PDF - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (17kB) | Preview

Abstract

Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) networks need to be viewed as information systems and appropriate socio-technical methodologies employed in their design and evaluation. Human factors issues are of particular importance for such systems, especially where they are used for cross-cultural communication. Culture, values and attitudes towards technology of the system users (and designers) are important factors which can be addressed through the use of a highly participatory system development methodology. Significant ethical issues arise for system developers, especially in the context of systems involving indigenous communities and the preservation of local cultures. The paper discusses these topics and summarises their relevance to a cultural heritage information system being developed with an indigenous community in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.