1.
Understanding cultural
differences
Designer Linda Blaasvær
// Relating Systems Thinking & Design 2013 //

2.
Designer Linda Blaasvær
MA Industrial design (2012)
The Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO)
I recently completed my Masters degree in industrial design at the Oslo
School of Architecture and Design. My Master thesis had a systems
oriented design perspective with interaction design as part of the final
design solution.
In the following I will present the essence my master thesis, conducted
in the period from August to December 2012.
Contact details
+ 47 98473136
linblaa@gmail.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/lindablaasvaer

3.
UNDERSTANDING
CULTURAL
DIFFERENCES
A design project
Linda Blaasvær // Relating Systems Thinking & Design 2013 //

4.
INTRODUCTION
“Understanding cultural differences” is a design project that is based
in Systems oriented design, using Gigamapping as the main tool to
achieve a holistic view.
The system under study is the Norwegian military.
I have tried to find out how the military prepare the young Norwegian
soldiers for meeting a foreign culture when they are about to travel in
International operations (INTOPS) for the first time. I question if they
have enough training to understand the cultural differences they will
meet before they leave for military service abroad, and if designers can
provide relevant solutions.

5.
GIGAMAPPING

6.
OBJECTIVE
?
How can desigers help improve the cultural
education of norwegian soldiers traveling in
International operations e.g. Afghanistan?

7.
DESIGN PRACTICE IN NEW AREAS
I was first introduced to this theme in a broader sense through the Systems oriented design course at AHO, led by Birger Sevaldson, spring
of 2011.
We got a client from UNIDIR (research centre within the UN system), Dr.
Derek B. Miller. UNIDIR research various methods to obtain peace and
security in post conflict areas.
During that semester I found this specific potential area to investigate in
my Diploma assignment. This project would not exist without a systems
perspective on a larger system such as UN challenges. That system
design project led me to this task, trying to create a design solution for
Norwegian soldiers in International service.
Designers are not often invited to contribute in such complex and political oriented themes, and I wanted to explore the role of the designer in
such a landscape.

8.
DESIGN PRACTICE IN NEW AREAS
Photo: private
Photo: AHO
Project Review with the client from UNIDIR.
From left: Derek B. Miller, Birger Sevaldson, Linda
Blaasvær and Romain Briant. Spring of 2011.
Systems oriented design course was visited by Kristin
Halvorsen, who was Minister of Education. Spring of
2011.

9.
CULTURAL EXPERIENCE
The design solution evolves within service design and
interaction design, and is an application for mobile
devices: “Cultural Experience”.
During the process I found that a service for Norwegian
soldiers that will offer knowledge from International
operations have to come from within the system to be a
credible service and provide relevant information and
learning’s. The service offers insights from veterans so I
decided that it should be a closed network for veterans
to be able to share also sensitive information.
I have been in contact with people in the defense. The
result has arrived on the basis of research, interviews
with veterans of Afghanistan (also Macedonia, Lebanon),
and second-hand information.
An application for a handheld device is a useful tool
because, it is an accessible tool and the target audience
is accustomed to the medium and they use it daily.
This design is a demo.

10.
RELEVANS
The Norwegian troops pull out of Afghanistan by the end
of 2014. This prototype serves as a template with
Afghanistan as an example. Norwegian soldiers are
present in INTOPS elsewhere and will get new assignments after this. The Norwegian contribution in Afghanistan is the longest war assignment Norway has participated in since 1814, and the knowledge Norwegian
Afghanistan veterans sits on is valuable experience.
" When the Norwegian forces pull out of Afghanistan, it is
not because the goals are reached and the mission is
accomplished. The withdrawal occurs because the goals
can’t be realized, claims John O. Egeland " in Dagbladet
on 11th of September 2012.
The goal was to remove the Taliban and facilitate a
strong central government based on democracy and the
rule of law. It has been difficult to understand the dynamics of power structures, the government is weak and it is
uncertain whether it can stand when the Western forces
pull out. This article discusses the value of the military
contribution to the war and how the Taliban, for example,
do not depend on winning the war, they just need to
hang in there until the West is worn out.
The West has not understood the importance of political
and cultural development claims Egeland. (Egeland,
2012)
Photo: Forsvarets Mediesenter

11.
WHY AN APPLICATION ?
Illustration photo: www.colourbox.no

12.
PRIMARY USER
The solution became an application, “Cultural Experience”. It is designed for Norwegian soldiers in international service, for them to learn about foreign culture.
The target audience is soldiers travelling for the first time, and the main user is approximately 20 + years old. An application for a handheld device is a useful tool because, it is accessible and the user group is accustomed to the
medium and they use it daily. And in this case, the soldiers are working shifts and would benefit from a device they
can use when it is most suitable.
Insights from the user - interview
"I would use such a service on a smartphone.
For the content to be credible, I would like to
watch videos. And contextual pictures will
make me belive the content"
Olav, 20 years.
Photo: FMS. Norwegian soldier in Afghanistan: http://www.atlanterhavskomiteen.no

13.
BACKGROUND
Kultur på ville veier: En gjennomgang av
Forsvarets satsing på kulturforståelse
Trine Holo og Morten Dehli Andreassen
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
Department of Security and Conflict Management
Soldiers traveling in International service for the first time
do not only meet a war situation; they also face a foreign
country and a foreign culture. The challenges inherent in
manoeuvring in a foreign country, to meet and communicate, not only in a foreign language but also in the context of different norms and values requires a robust
training of the soldiers.
This is something the Norwegian military of course takes
seriously. But discussions in Norwegian media gives
reason to believe that soldiers traveling in International
service is not always so well prepared to meet a foreign
culture as we might hope.
"NATO soldiers trampled in as elephants
in a glass house, with a maximum few
hours of training in cultural understanding."
Gro Holm,
utenrikskommentator
Ref.: www.nrk.no/ytring/afghanistan-var-det-verdt-det
11.09.2 012
Security in Practice 11 · 2010
[NUPI Report]
"You will always find someone who
says that training is unsystematic
and inadequate.”
Harald Høiback,
Forsvarets Stabsskole.

14.
KEY FINDINGS
Little focus on cultural
understanding in a
military context.
CULTURAL EDUCATION
within military education
Do not meet cultural
challenges before they
are presented ‘on the
job’
The various military
institutions have different
understanding and
prioritization of training
in Afghan culture.
Academic
knowledge
Military
skills
The training that exists is
theoretically
Quality assurance is
weak or non-existent.
The deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan leads to that
cultural understanding
will be abandoned in
favor of pure military
skills.
Ref.: Holo, Andreassen. 2010
Personal
development
Physical
capacity

15.
Zoom: cultural education
EXAMPLE OF MILITARY EDUCATION // description of military service ending with International service
Grunnlegggende nivå
Førstegangstjeneste/
befalsskole, 1 til 2 år
Krigsskole,
bachlor utdannelse
Stabsskolen del 1
(3 mnd)
Nasjonalt langkurs,
Sjøforsvaret (1 år)
Stabsskolen del 2
Utdanning for utenlandstjeneste
International service
Grunnleggende utdannelse er
fagspesifikk. Soldatene får innføring
i grunnleggende militære disipliner;
skyting/marsjiering/felttjeneste o.l.
Oppsummert; Sjøforsvaret utdanner
personell for å seile fartøy og er
styrt mye av sivile regelverk mtp
sertifikater. Det vil og være et
militært tilsnitt, samt øvelser/kursing
som går på mulige trusselgrupperinger.
Stabsmetodikk i fokus og
militære operasjoner.
I Sjøforsvaret var dette et taktisk
operativt kurs med fokus på
bestemte våpen og løsning av
«kjente» operasjoner.
Denne utdanningen har jeg ikke,
men har kikket på UV planen – og
den ligner veldig på utdannelsen
jeg fikk på 2.avdeling på krigsskolen
(Gammel ordning).
Avhengig av hvor en skal, eller
hvilken grad en har er det
forskjellige utdanningspakker.
På lavere gradsnivå (menig til
kaptein/kapteinløytnant) jobber en
normalt innen spesifikke faggrener.
Eksempelvis operasjonsplanlegging
(+2 dager til 60 dager) for Regional
Kommandoen i MeZ.
På mellomsjiktet og høyere
gradsnivå (major/orlogskaptein og
opp) kommer du gjerne inn i
fellesstaber.
Etter at felles grunnleggende modul
er ferdig, skal de normalt gjennom
en fagutdanning som gjør de i
stand til å tjenestegjøre der de er
ment å jobbe etter opplæring.
Menig personell
(førstegangstjeneste) vil etter endt
utdanning havne på avdeling hvor
de skal jobbe i ca 7-9 måneder.
Befalsskoleelever/utskrevet
befalskurs elever får videre
opplæring ved tjenestegjørende
avdeling, evt får de utdannelse på
skole – avhengig av Forsvarsgren.
I utdanningen vil det være noen
nettkurs som går på krigens
folkerett, samt innføring i militære
operasjonsområder – men ikke
spesifikk kulturutdannelse.
(«ny ordning 3 ½ år», gammel
ordning 2+2 år)
Hær/luft er ikke inkludert i dette
scenarioet.
Hær/Luft – følger nok mye samme
bachelor mønsteret hvor fagutdanning er tungtveiende for å
tilfredsstille krav til dette.
Felles er øvelser hvor kadetter blir
satt i ulike situasjoner hvor de
møter «terror grupper», de blir satt
under fangetjeneste, får trening i
motstand mot avhør, trening i
oppførsel etter evt at de er blitt tatt
til fange.
Meg bekjent er det ikke lagt inn
kulturell utdannelse på krigsskolene.
Befalsskolen for etterretning
utdanner personell i språk,
annet hvert år i hhv russisk og
arabisk, pashtu og dari. Kjenner
ikke til om disse får videre innføring
i de ulike samfunnsstrukturene men
er nærliggende å tro.
Her var det en felles utdanning som
la vekt på internasjonal politikk,
sjømakt, lederskap, logistikk,
organisasjon og div annet, men ikke
så mye på kultur i operasjonsområder.
Vi kikket på alquida og taliban og
skrev oppgaver om deres nettverk
og sannsynlige handlingsporteføljer.
3 ukers kurs:
Kurset bestod 1 uke med våpen
tjeneste, ½ uke med sanitet, 1 ½ uke
med operasjonsforståelse av Afghanistan.
Innen fellesstabene deler en inn i
avdelinger som omhandler
personell, etterretning, operasjoner,
logistikk/forsyning, plan, samband,
erfaringssenter, økonomi og sivilt
militært samband (CIMIC).
Innen CIMIC ligger det mye kontakt
med den sivile befolkningen. De får
mer «on the job training» enn de får
kursing i forkant.
Within CIMIC is there
a lot of contact with
the civilian population.
They get more "on the
job training" than they
receive training in
advance.
Law of war
Military operation areas
Language, respectively, Russian and Arabic, Pashtu and Dari
Social Structures
Ref.: Timeline based on interview with a veteran from Afghanistan. Qualitative research.
Yellow keys represent findings of cultural education within the military training and service: At Basic level and then “on the job training” during International service.

16.
WHY
What will be achieved with cultural education
?
Give confidence to the
soldier to behave correctly
in different situations
so that the military tasks
can be performed in the
best possible way.
"To understand the culture
enables you understand
why people behave
the way they do. "
From an interview with
an Afghanistan veteran
Better soldiers cost efficient
Do not shoot at
the wrong time
Do not feel
alienated
Give confidence
to do a good job
Harmless behavior
when in contact with
local population
Concequences with lack of cultural understanding
Misunderstandings
due to language
barrier
Misbehavior
because one is
not familiar with
local customs
The mission
is delayed
People are injured/Fellow soldiers or counterparty
Injury, death, loss of fellow soldiers.

17.
DESIGN VALUE
REDUCE
Fear
Anxiety
Frustration
Discomfort
Stress
Photo: From the documentary movie Armadillo, Metz 2010.

18.
DESIGN VALUE
PROVIDE
Cultural understanding
Emotional accomplishment
Confidence
Photo: Forsvarets Mediesenter

19.
Holdninger og praksis
Sosiale spill
Ideer
Mønster for stemmegivning
Potensiale for vold
samfunn
Fiksede valg - disengagement
interaksjoner
Conflicts
Trusselgrupperinger
Islam
Samfunnsstrukturer
sunni og shia
liv og død
The network of Kunduz
Konflikten og aktørene
Economy
”Phantom kvinnelige stemmer”
Politics
Religion
Hvordan vinne Afghan valg
Omdømme
Komplekse spill i forhandling og avtaler
Adferd
Status
Language
Allianser
individ - organisasjoner
Smak
FRAMING THE TERM CULTURE
Kunnskap og erfaring
Kjønnsroller – Mann & kvinne
Kvinners rettigheter
Myths
Kleskoder
Normer
Ramdan
Jihad
Security
Pashtunwali – Doing Pashto
Mat & drikke
Lukt
Historie
Verdier
Islam
Musikk
Ungdomskultur
Familien
Urbefolkning
The way of the Pashtuns
Fashion
Tradisjonsdrakt
Taleban
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
Al-Qaeda
Geografi
Land
Tilgang til ressurser
Politisk representasjon
Høytider
Folkeskikk
Do’s and Don’ts
Tradisjoner
stammefolk
Design & Arkitektur
Islamic Architecture
Churches
Vann
Landskap og dyreliv
mennesker

20.
FRAMING THE TERM CULTURE
GENERAL
academic
General culture
Social Structures
Threat groupings
Country Specific
History
Language
Interaction/
Social games
PERSONAL
experience
Personal knowledge
Communication/
Language
Personal experience
“Lessons learned”

21.
HOW
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
academic
PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE
experience
“Lessons learned”
Transferring experience based
knowledge of cultural understanding
INEXPERIENCED
SOLDIER
VETERAN

22.
EDITOR
MODEL
SHARE EXPERIENCE
SHARE ACADEMIC
KNOWLEDGE
DATABASE
VETERANS
CULTURE EXPERTS
SOCIAL SCIENTISTS
JOURNALISTS
PHOTOGRAFERS
BEFORE DEPARTURE
SOLDIER
DURING SERVICE

23.
Scenario: BEFORE DEPARTURE
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Service on the Internet
Download application
Viewing vetranprofiler
Learning about the veterans
cultural experience

24.
FRAMING THE TERM CULTURE WITH A SYSTEMIC APPROACH
The application includes learning from veterans with experience from international
service. They share their experience of encounters with another culture during
service abroad. Inexperienced soldiers can reap the experience of others with the
aim of reducing misunderstandings and avoid difficult situations.
Veterans possess vast amounts of experience inexperienced soldiers can benefit
from. But how can young, inexperienced soldiers have access to this knowledge?
My response to this has been to design an application that provides “lessons
learned”.
The application aims to be a solution that engages, and providing valuable experiences a venue to reach inexperienced soldiers.

25.
WIREFRAMES
Carrier
12:00 PM
Carrier
12:00 PM
Logo
INTRODUCTION
Description of application
VETERANS
TIPS
CULTURE & SOCIETY
DICTIONARY
PHOTO & VIDEO
FAVORITES
HOME
SETTINGS
VIDEO
2012 12 19
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet,
consectetuer adipiscing elit.
VIDEO
3
2012 12 10
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet,
consectetuer adipiscing elit.
HOME
Latest uploaded content
CATEGORIES

26.
WIREFRAMES
Carrier
12:00 PM
Carrier
Back
VETERANS
SORTER
AREA
POSITION
12:00 PM
VETERAN NAME
NAME
UPDATED 11/15/2
TIPS
NAME
PHOTOS
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet
UPDATED11/15/2
Lorem ipsum
dolor sit amet
UPDATED 11/15/2
NAME
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet
UPDATED 11/15/2
NAME
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet
VETERANS
Scroll list / can sort (not filter)
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod
tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam,
quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo
consequat. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie
consequat, vel illum dolore eu feugiat nulla facilisis at vero eros et accumsan et iusto odio
dignissim qui blandit praesent luptatum zzril delenit augue duis dolore te feugait nulla
facilisi. Nam liber tempor cum soluta nobis eleifend option congue nihil imperdiet doming
id quod mazim placerat facer possim assum. Typi non habent claritatem insitam; est usus
legentis in iis qui facit eorum claritatem. Investigationes demonstraverunt lectores legere
me lius quod ii legunt saepius. Claritas est etiam processus dynamicus, qui sequitur
mutationem consuetudium lectorum. Mirum est notare quam littera gothica, quam nunc
putamus parum claram, anteposuerit litterarum formas humanitatis per seacula quarta
decima et quinta decima. Eodem modo typi, qui nunc nobis videntur parum clari, fiant
sollemnes in futurum.
VIDEOER
VETERAN PROFIL

27.
WIREFRAMES
Carrier
12:00 PM
Back
Carrier
VIDEO NAME
12:00 PM
FAVORITES
PEOPLE
VIDEOER
TIPS
UPDATED 11/15/2
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy
nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi
enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis
UPDATED 11/15/2
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy
VIDEO
FAVORITES
Content to favorite page stored and grouped
by content type (people, videos, tips, etc.)

28.
SPLASHSCREEN
FLOW DIAGRAM
LEVEL 0
LOGIN
?
HOME
LEVEL1
LEVEL 2
CATEGORIES
VETERANS
TIPS
DICTIONARY CULTURE
&
SOCIETY
PHOTO
&
VIDEO
FAVORITES
SUB-CATEGORIES
(Veteran profiles)
NAME1 NAME 2 NAME 3 NAME 4 NAME 5 NAME 6 NAME 7 NAME 8
(profil)
LEVEL 3
Tips
Video Pictures
Gallery
LEVEL 4
Video

29.
NAVIGATION
SERVICE
BLUEPRINT
DESCRIPTION:
AFGANISTAN
Horizontal menu slide. Clear top bar navigation with
reserved space for conventional navigation at the top
(”back“ and a button for reaching all categories at any
level). It is relatively space efficient.
1
HOME PAGE
CHOOSE COUNTRY
Space reserved for step-by-step
navigation “back”
Category button
always visible
APP STORE
DOWNLOAD
Carrier
Back
12:00 PM
Carrier
12:00 PM
Logo
MENY
CATEGORY
1
CATEGORY
2
CATEGORY
CATEGORY
CATEGORY
APP DOWNLOAD
Download country spesific app from App Store
CATEGORY
CATEGORY
2
CATEGORY
3
5
7
4
Carrier
6
12:00 PM
8
2
iPhone / iPad
Download country spesific app from App Store

30.
MOCK UP

31.
WHY IS CULTURAL
UNDERSTANDING
IMPORTANT?
PROVIDE THE SOLDIER WITH
Increased knowledge about the culture and
the conflict
Confidence to do a good job
Feeling of recognition
Increased sense of achievement
REDUCE
Fear
Anxiety
Frustration
Discomfort
Stress

32.
CULTURAL EXPERIENCE
Is a tool for Norwegian soldiers international service to better understand
a foreign culture - you reap the experiences of others with the aim of
reducing misunderstandings and
avoid difficult situations.
CONCLUSION
Perhaps one can never be well
enough prepared in such situations,
and it is difficult to predict what
awaits one. But I believe that inexperienced soldiers can benefit from
what I have called "lessons learned",
in the application “Cultural Experience”.

33.
Project / Understanding cultural differences
Further references and insights about the project upon request.
PRESENTATION
RSD2 Symposium 9th-11th October 2013
Emerging Contexts for Systemic Design
AHO – Oslo School of Architecture & Design, Oslo, Norway
http://systemic-design.net/
EXHIBITION
Bridge – Design Collaboration 13.06.2013 - 25.08.2013
DogA - the Norwegian Centre for Design and Architecture
http://www.aho.no/en/AHO/News-and-events/Calendar/2013/Bridge--design-collaboration/
AWARD
Award for Social Innovation. By Norsk Form. 01.02.2013
http://www.norskform.no/Temaer/Nyheter/Nytt-fra-Norsk-Form/Linda-Blaasvar/
Resourceful people connected to the project:
The veterans for insights and feedback
Birger Sevaldson / AHO
Mosse Sjaastad / AHO
Renata Mikaulaiskaite / interaction designer
Adrian Paulsen / AHO
Anne Lene Haarstad / service designer
L.B./ 2013