This document summarizes a PhD public defense presentation about designing localized websites. The presentation covers:
- Background on website globalization, internationalization, and localization.
- The problem that existing models and methods for designing localized websites have limitations and do not provide clear guidance.
- The aims of the thesis to study the relationship between website design and user culture, propose culture-centered guidelines, and provide a tool to advise on website localization.
- The research approach involved two phases: the first to evaluate culture and cross-culture, and the second focused on website localization in practice.
The document discusses the trial of seven Italian scientists and government officials known as the "L'Aquila Seven" who were convicted of manslaughter for failing to adequately warn residents about the risk of an earthquake in L'Aquila, Italy in 2009 that killed over 300 people. The author argues that the charges against the scientists were unfair and that earthquakes cannot be reliably predicted. The author also argues that understanding the context around the events in L'Aquila is crucial, and that the scientists' actions should be understood through a political rather than common sense logic. The conviction has raised concerns within the international scientific community.
This document summarizes David Alexander's career studying disasters over the past 40 years. It begins with biographical information about Alexander and outlines some of the major theoretical frameworks in disaster studies, including debates around defining and measuring vulnerability. The document then discusses trends in disaster research publications and questions whether progress has been made in disaster risk reduction. It also examines the importance of factors like gender, corruption and resilience. Overall, the document provides a high-level overview of Alexander's work in disaster studies and some of the key issues and debates in the field.
Languages and frameworks for specifying test artifactsZoltan Micskei
Presentation of a PhD dissertation with the following contributions: (i) a robustness test framework for HA middleware systems, (ii) analysis of the semantics of UML 2 Sequence Diagrams, (iii) definition of a test framework and test language (TERMOS) for mobile computing systems.
The document discusses a mobile learning workshop series for teachers focused on communicating with technology. The workshops cover using a mobile device to communicate through presentation portfolios to manage work and share with colleagues, communicating with stakeholders through various tools like Google Drive and online calendars, and using Google services like Gmail, Drive, and Blogger to consolidate communications. The workshops provide examples for teachers to test communicating on an iPad.
Nowadays, we are constantly interacting with computers, mobiles and other wearable devices. These interactions leave behind the digital footprint of the user. This data is used with different goals in the so-called Big Data field to predict customer behaviour in marketing and health research. Learning Analytics tackles this challenge in the Technology Enhanced Learning field.
George Siemens defines Learning Analytics as the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of the data to understand and optimise learning. In this context, we find a variety of studies that process the data different. Some studies implement complex algorithms and display the outcome to the user. Others rely on simpler approaches to process the data but enabling the user to explore the data with understandable, comprehensive and usable visualisations. Users can draw conclusions by their own and, with this information, steer their own learning process. This thesis is contextualised in the latter and intends to help students to become autonomous and lead their own educational process.
This dissertation presents the work in the scope of four research questions: 1) RQ1 - What characteristics of learning activities can be visualised usefully for learners?; 2) RQ2 - What characteristics of learning activities can be visualised usefully for teachers?; 3) RQ3 - What are the affordances of and user problems with tracking data automatically and manually?; and 4) RQ4 - What are the key components of a simple and flexible architecture to collect, store and manage learning activity?.
The exploration of these research questions include the deployment of: 1) three different learning dashboard designs deployed in real courses with 128 students participating in the evaluations; 2) the analysis of two Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) with 56876 enrolled students; and 3) the deployment of an architecture in two real case studies, including a European project with more than 15 scheduled pilots.
Manual and automatic trackers have benefits and drawbacks. For example, manual trackers respect the user privacy in blended learning courses but the data provided by the students is not trusted by their fellow students. Automatic trackers are more accurate, but they do not track the activity outside of the computer, and, therefore, do not provide the complete picture that students demand.
This research also identifies three components to deploy a simple and flexible architecture to collect data in open learning environments: 1) a set of simple services to push and pull the learning traces; 2) a simple data schema to ensure completeness and findability of the data; and 3) independent components to collect the learning activity.
A lefedettségi metrikákat nemcsak a tesztkészlet kiértékelésére lehet használni, hanem arra is, hogy a forráskód alapján olyan teszteseteket származtassuk, amik magas lefedettséget érnek el. Az ilyen technikák hasznos kiegészítői lehetnek a fejlesztői és tesztelői eszköztárnak. Az előadás bemutatja a forráskód alapú tesztbemenet-generáló módszereket és egy konkrét .NET-es egységteszt-generáló megoldás, a Microsoft Pex eszközével kapcsolatos tapasztalatokat.
This document appears to be a dissertation that evaluates the impact of future climate conditions on wind energy production in Europe. The key points are:
1. Statistical downscaling techniques are used to project wind speeds from global climate models (GCMs) down to the scale of wind turbine rotor heights.
2. The downscaling techniques are evaluated for their ability to represent historical wind speeds and improve upon raw GCM output. Downscaling provides added value during summer months but not winter.
3. The downscaling techniques are then applied to GCM projections to estimate changes in wind power output across Europe between 2020-2049. Significant decreases are projected for the Mediterranean, while insignificant increases are projected for Northwestern Europe.
The document discusses the trial of seven Italian scientists and government officials known as the "L'Aquila Seven" who were convicted of manslaughter for failing to adequately warn residents about the risk of an earthquake in L'Aquila, Italy in 2009 that killed over 300 people. The author argues that the charges against the scientists were unfair and that earthquakes cannot be reliably predicted. The author also argues that understanding the context around the events in L'Aquila is crucial, and that the scientists' actions should be understood through a political rather than common sense logic. The conviction has raised concerns within the international scientific community.
This document summarizes David Alexander's career studying disasters over the past 40 years. It begins with biographical information about Alexander and outlines some of the major theoretical frameworks in disaster studies, including debates around defining and measuring vulnerability. The document then discusses trends in disaster research publications and questions whether progress has been made in disaster risk reduction. It also examines the importance of factors like gender, corruption and resilience. Overall, the document provides a high-level overview of Alexander's work in disaster studies and some of the key issues and debates in the field.
Languages and frameworks for specifying test artifactsZoltan Micskei
Presentation of a PhD dissertation with the following contributions: (i) a robustness test framework for HA middleware systems, (ii) analysis of the semantics of UML 2 Sequence Diagrams, (iii) definition of a test framework and test language (TERMOS) for mobile computing systems.
The document discusses a mobile learning workshop series for teachers focused on communicating with technology. The workshops cover using a mobile device to communicate through presentation portfolios to manage work and share with colleagues, communicating with stakeholders through various tools like Google Drive and online calendars, and using Google services like Gmail, Drive, and Blogger to consolidate communications. The workshops provide examples for teachers to test communicating on an iPad.
Nowadays, we are constantly interacting with computers, mobiles and other wearable devices. These interactions leave behind the digital footprint of the user. This data is used with different goals in the so-called Big Data field to predict customer behaviour in marketing and health research. Learning Analytics tackles this challenge in the Technology Enhanced Learning field.
George Siemens defines Learning Analytics as the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of the data to understand and optimise learning. In this context, we find a variety of studies that process the data different. Some studies implement complex algorithms and display the outcome to the user. Others rely on simpler approaches to process the data but enabling the user to explore the data with understandable, comprehensive and usable visualisations. Users can draw conclusions by their own and, with this information, steer their own learning process. This thesis is contextualised in the latter and intends to help students to become autonomous and lead their own educational process.
This dissertation presents the work in the scope of four research questions: 1) RQ1 - What characteristics of learning activities can be visualised usefully for learners?; 2) RQ2 - What characteristics of learning activities can be visualised usefully for teachers?; 3) RQ3 - What are the affordances of and user problems with tracking data automatically and manually?; and 4) RQ4 - What are the key components of a simple and flexible architecture to collect, store and manage learning activity?.
The exploration of these research questions include the deployment of: 1) three different learning dashboard designs deployed in real courses with 128 students participating in the evaluations; 2) the analysis of two Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) with 56876 enrolled students; and 3) the deployment of an architecture in two real case studies, including a European project with more than 15 scheduled pilots.
Manual and automatic trackers have benefits and drawbacks. For example, manual trackers respect the user privacy in blended learning courses but the data provided by the students is not trusted by their fellow students. Automatic trackers are more accurate, but they do not track the activity outside of the computer, and, therefore, do not provide the complete picture that students demand.
This research also identifies three components to deploy a simple and flexible architecture to collect data in open learning environments: 1) a set of simple services to push and pull the learning traces; 2) a simple data schema to ensure completeness and findability of the data; and 3) independent components to collect the learning activity.
A lefedettségi metrikákat nemcsak a tesztkészlet kiértékelésére lehet használni, hanem arra is, hogy a forráskód alapján olyan teszteseteket származtassuk, amik magas lefedettséget érnek el. Az ilyen technikák hasznos kiegészítői lehetnek a fejlesztői és tesztelői eszköztárnak. Az előadás bemutatja a forráskód alapú tesztbemenet-generáló módszereket és egy konkrét .NET-es egységteszt-generáló megoldás, a Microsoft Pex eszközével kapcsolatos tapasztalatokat.
This document appears to be a dissertation that evaluates the impact of future climate conditions on wind energy production in Europe. The key points are:
1. Statistical downscaling techniques are used to project wind speeds from global climate models (GCMs) down to the scale of wind turbine rotor heights.
2. The downscaling techniques are evaluated for their ability to represent historical wind speeds and improve upon raw GCM output. Downscaling provides added value during summer months but not winter.
3. The downscaling techniques are then applied to GCM projections to estimate changes in wind power output across Europe between 2020-2049. Significant decreases are projected for the Mediterranean, while insignificant increases are projected for Northwestern Europe.
PhD Defense - A Context Management Framework based on Wisdom of Crowds for So...Adrien Joly
This document summarizes a PhD thesis presentation on developing a context management framework to filter social streams and recommend the most relevant updates. It proposes using contextual tag clouds generated from virtual and social sensors to represent users' contexts. An implementation was developed to test the approach. Evaluation results found that recommended social updates were 72% accurate and about half were deemed relevant to the posting context, depending on the type of social update. Future work is proposed to improve the quality of contextual tags and leverage additional sensors.
The document discusses the portfolio approach to teaching and learning. It proposes that the portfolio approach provides methods to make thinking visible through tools like blogs, cloud storage, and social media. It incorporates three overlapping spheres: the personal portfolio, community of inquiry, and demonstration of competency. The portfolio approach allows practitioners to be intentional lifelong learners and better contribute to their communities. The document then outlines three research questions regarding these spheres and the methodology of autoethnographic reviews and interviews to examine them.
Single SignOn and Context Management Solutionsmanikrane
This document discusses identity and access management products from Health Services Group. It introduces partnerships to expand sales and services capabilities. It then discusses problems in healthcare that these products address, such as single sign-on, user management, and auditing access to patient records. The document describes offerings like single sign-on software, a clinical workstation solution, proximity card authentication, and a privacy auditor tool. It positions these products as securing access while enabling productivity and compliance.
PhD Defense: Computer-Based Support and Feedback for Collaborative Chat Conve...Traian Rebedea
Here are 3 examples of shallow links from the conversation:
- Utterances 30 and 29 form a shallow link, with 30 continuing the thought from 29 about blogs.
- Utterances 37, 38 and 39 form a shallow link, with 38 and 39 asking for more details about the reason mentioned in 37.
- Utterances 67 and 68 form a shallow link, with 68 providing an additional thought that continues the discussion started in 67 about chat's advantages.
How can we increase engagement in teaching and learning activities by encourage the development of teaching presence in the Community of Inquiry model framework.
Balanced Diversity A Portfolio Approach to Organisational Change (2012)Karen Ferris
This presentation will explore what we mean by cultural change; the challenges that we face when trying to embed a change into our organisations.
It proposes the adoption of a new and innovative framework which provides a portfolio approach to embedding change.
This provides a balanced approach using a wide range of practices. It is the adoption of a diverse set of practices within a balanced portfolio that is required to achieve sufficient penetration and traction that will ensure successful organisational change.
The framework can be used for strategic, tactical and operational changes of all sizes and complexity. It can be used for any type of change but we will look at its application for IT Service Management and some practical steps you can take back in the workplace to apply the framework and achieve successful change.
This presentation of my PhD thesis presents the Strategy Execution Framework consisting of 18 success factors related to the process, content and context of the implementation effort. Collectively, these factors help organizations develop and implement their strategies to achieve sustainable organizational success.
Thesis defense presentation of Justin Phillips (SDSU). "The Role of Relatedness and Autonomy in Motivation of Youth Physical Activity: A Self-Determination Perspective."
This document provides tips for successfully defending a thesis. It outlines steps to take before, during, and after the defense. Key points include:
- Prepare thoroughly by scheduling the defense, distributing your thesis to panelists in advance, and practicing your presentation. Consider possible questions.
- On the day of the defense, dress professionally, be confident but not arrogant in your delivery, and limit your presentation to 45 minutes.
- During the defense, justify your methodology and study decisions, demonstrate full knowledge of the topic, and cite experts to support your views. Record panelist feedback.
- After the defense, thank your panelists, incorporate their feedback into your thesis, and meet deadlines for final submission
This document provides tips for writing a thesis. It discusses starting the writing process early by choosing a title and outline. The outline should summarize the argument in one sentence for each chapter. Material should be collected in a binder as it is researched. Examiners will want to understand the thesis quickly, so the abstract, conclusions, and contents should clearly convey the purpose and findings. Getting feedback from others helps improve the thesis before examination. Regularly interacting with potential examiners also helps them understand and appreciate the research.
Powerpoint presentation M.A. Thesis DefenceCatie Chase
This document summarizes a research study that examined self-determination in post-secondary students with learning disabilities based on whether they were identified as having an LD in primary/secondary school or as an adult. The study found no statistically significant differences in self-determination, as measured by a self-determination scale, between the two groups of students. The discussion considers limitations of the study related to measurement, sample size, and sampling biases. Implications are discussed for further examining the relationship between time of LD identification and self-determination with more reliable measures and larger sample sizes.
This document outlines the dissertation of Naomi M. Mangatu titled "Beyond the Glass Ceiling: A Phenomenological Study of Women Managers in the Kenyan Banking Industry." The study explores the lived experiences of 24 women managers in Kenyan banks to understand factors contributing to or hindering their advancement to CEO positions. It uses a qualitative phenomenological research method and the van Kaam 7-step process for data analysis. The findings reveal that while women have made progress in their careers, few break through the glass ceiling to attain top leadership roles in Kenyan banks due to social pressures, cultural norms, and expectations that suppress women's advancement.
How to Defend your Thesis Proposal like a ProfessionalMiriam College
The document provides tips for successfully defending a thesis proposal. It recommends that students plan their presentation as a team, thoroughly prepare the content and delivery, and anticipate questions from the panel. On the day of the defense, it advises dressing professionally, being on time, praying for confidence but not arrogance, engaging the audience, and avoiding verbal tics or defensiveness. It also notes students should record feedback and thank the panelists after the successful defense.
An independent t-test is used to compare the means of two independent groups on a continuous dependent variable. It tests if there is a statistically significant difference between the population means of the two groups. The test assumes the groups are independent, the dependent variable is normally distributed for each group, and the groups have equal variances. To perform the test, the researcher states the hypotheses, sets an alpha level, calculates the t-statistic and degrees of freedom, and determines whether to reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis by comparing the t-statistic to the critical value.
This power point pres will be useful for all the budding PhD aspirants who are preparing for their viva irrespective of their subject. Good Luck & All the Best !
The document summarizes research being conducted on incorporating pile setup into pile design using Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD). The research aims to identify conditions where pile setup may be used, determine the reliability of pile setup prediction methods, and establish resistance factors. Field data on pile setup is presented from a bridge project in Louisiana. Methods for predicting pile setup are described, including empirical equations and static capacity methods using Cone Penetration Test data. Software tools for pile capacity analysis incorporating pile setup are identified.
The document provides a template for reporting the results of an independent samples t-test in APA format. It demonstrates how to write a sentence summarizing that there was a significant/non-significant difference between two groups by including the group means, standard deviations, t-statistic, and p-value filled in from a sample SPSS output.
Reporting a single linear regression in apaKen Plummer
The document provides a template for reporting the results of a simple linear regression analysis in APA format. It explains that a linear regression was conducted to predict weight based on height. The regression equation was found to be significant, F(1,14)=25.925, p<.000, with an R2 of .649. The predicted weight is equal to -234.681 + 5.434 (height in inches) pounds.
The document discusses a domain specific language (DSL) for contextual design. It proposes a model-driven approach to language design to address issues with ambiguity and lack of precision in user-centered design processes and artifacts. Specifically, it focuses on developing a DSL to provide formal semantics and tool support for models used in contextual design, such as cultural models. The talk outlines key problems identified in a case study that motivated this work, and describes how a DSL following language engineering principles can formally define the syntax and semantics of contextual design models.
Cross-cultural Understanding of Content and Interface in the Context of E-lea...Abdalghani Mushtaha
This presentation describes a comparative study in understanding content and interface in the context of e-learning systems by using anthropologists’ and designers’ cultural dimensions. The purpose was to determine the differences between Belgian and Palestinian audiences, and to find the most important cultural dimensions to use for localizing / internationalizing e-learning systems.
Results indicate differences in culture between the two groups, but not as much as expected. The outcome shows similar preferences, whilst others differ.
PhD Defense - A Context Management Framework based on Wisdom of Crowds for So...Adrien Joly
This document summarizes a PhD thesis presentation on developing a context management framework to filter social streams and recommend the most relevant updates. It proposes using contextual tag clouds generated from virtual and social sensors to represent users' contexts. An implementation was developed to test the approach. Evaluation results found that recommended social updates were 72% accurate and about half were deemed relevant to the posting context, depending on the type of social update. Future work is proposed to improve the quality of contextual tags and leverage additional sensors.
The document discusses the portfolio approach to teaching and learning. It proposes that the portfolio approach provides methods to make thinking visible through tools like blogs, cloud storage, and social media. It incorporates three overlapping spheres: the personal portfolio, community of inquiry, and demonstration of competency. The portfolio approach allows practitioners to be intentional lifelong learners and better contribute to their communities. The document then outlines three research questions regarding these spheres and the methodology of autoethnographic reviews and interviews to examine them.
Single SignOn and Context Management Solutionsmanikrane
This document discusses identity and access management products from Health Services Group. It introduces partnerships to expand sales and services capabilities. It then discusses problems in healthcare that these products address, such as single sign-on, user management, and auditing access to patient records. The document describes offerings like single sign-on software, a clinical workstation solution, proximity card authentication, and a privacy auditor tool. It positions these products as securing access while enabling productivity and compliance.
PhD Defense: Computer-Based Support and Feedback for Collaborative Chat Conve...Traian Rebedea
Here are 3 examples of shallow links from the conversation:
- Utterances 30 and 29 form a shallow link, with 30 continuing the thought from 29 about blogs.
- Utterances 37, 38 and 39 form a shallow link, with 38 and 39 asking for more details about the reason mentioned in 37.
- Utterances 67 and 68 form a shallow link, with 68 providing an additional thought that continues the discussion started in 67 about chat's advantages.
How can we increase engagement in teaching and learning activities by encourage the development of teaching presence in the Community of Inquiry model framework.
Balanced Diversity A Portfolio Approach to Organisational Change (2012)Karen Ferris
This presentation will explore what we mean by cultural change; the challenges that we face when trying to embed a change into our organisations.
It proposes the adoption of a new and innovative framework which provides a portfolio approach to embedding change.
This provides a balanced approach using a wide range of practices. It is the adoption of a diverse set of practices within a balanced portfolio that is required to achieve sufficient penetration and traction that will ensure successful organisational change.
The framework can be used for strategic, tactical and operational changes of all sizes and complexity. It can be used for any type of change but we will look at its application for IT Service Management and some practical steps you can take back in the workplace to apply the framework and achieve successful change.
This presentation of my PhD thesis presents the Strategy Execution Framework consisting of 18 success factors related to the process, content and context of the implementation effort. Collectively, these factors help organizations develop and implement their strategies to achieve sustainable organizational success.
Thesis defense presentation of Justin Phillips (SDSU). "The Role of Relatedness and Autonomy in Motivation of Youth Physical Activity: A Self-Determination Perspective."
This document provides tips for successfully defending a thesis. It outlines steps to take before, during, and after the defense. Key points include:
- Prepare thoroughly by scheduling the defense, distributing your thesis to panelists in advance, and practicing your presentation. Consider possible questions.
- On the day of the defense, dress professionally, be confident but not arrogant in your delivery, and limit your presentation to 45 minutes.
- During the defense, justify your methodology and study decisions, demonstrate full knowledge of the topic, and cite experts to support your views. Record panelist feedback.
- After the defense, thank your panelists, incorporate their feedback into your thesis, and meet deadlines for final submission
This document provides tips for writing a thesis. It discusses starting the writing process early by choosing a title and outline. The outline should summarize the argument in one sentence for each chapter. Material should be collected in a binder as it is researched. Examiners will want to understand the thesis quickly, so the abstract, conclusions, and contents should clearly convey the purpose and findings. Getting feedback from others helps improve the thesis before examination. Regularly interacting with potential examiners also helps them understand and appreciate the research.
Powerpoint presentation M.A. Thesis DefenceCatie Chase
This document summarizes a research study that examined self-determination in post-secondary students with learning disabilities based on whether they were identified as having an LD in primary/secondary school or as an adult. The study found no statistically significant differences in self-determination, as measured by a self-determination scale, between the two groups of students. The discussion considers limitations of the study related to measurement, sample size, and sampling biases. Implications are discussed for further examining the relationship between time of LD identification and self-determination with more reliable measures and larger sample sizes.
This document outlines the dissertation of Naomi M. Mangatu titled "Beyond the Glass Ceiling: A Phenomenological Study of Women Managers in the Kenyan Banking Industry." The study explores the lived experiences of 24 women managers in Kenyan banks to understand factors contributing to or hindering their advancement to CEO positions. It uses a qualitative phenomenological research method and the van Kaam 7-step process for data analysis. The findings reveal that while women have made progress in their careers, few break through the glass ceiling to attain top leadership roles in Kenyan banks due to social pressures, cultural norms, and expectations that suppress women's advancement.
How to Defend your Thesis Proposal like a ProfessionalMiriam College
The document provides tips for successfully defending a thesis proposal. It recommends that students plan their presentation as a team, thoroughly prepare the content and delivery, and anticipate questions from the panel. On the day of the defense, it advises dressing professionally, being on time, praying for confidence but not arrogance, engaging the audience, and avoiding verbal tics or defensiveness. It also notes students should record feedback and thank the panelists after the successful defense.
An independent t-test is used to compare the means of two independent groups on a continuous dependent variable. It tests if there is a statistically significant difference between the population means of the two groups. The test assumes the groups are independent, the dependent variable is normally distributed for each group, and the groups have equal variances. To perform the test, the researcher states the hypotheses, sets an alpha level, calculates the t-statistic and degrees of freedom, and determines whether to reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis by comparing the t-statistic to the critical value.
This power point pres will be useful for all the budding PhD aspirants who are preparing for their viva irrespective of their subject. Good Luck & All the Best !
The document summarizes research being conducted on incorporating pile setup into pile design using Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD). The research aims to identify conditions where pile setup may be used, determine the reliability of pile setup prediction methods, and establish resistance factors. Field data on pile setup is presented from a bridge project in Louisiana. Methods for predicting pile setup are described, including empirical equations and static capacity methods using Cone Penetration Test data. Software tools for pile capacity analysis incorporating pile setup are identified.
The document provides a template for reporting the results of an independent samples t-test in APA format. It demonstrates how to write a sentence summarizing that there was a significant/non-significant difference between two groups by including the group means, standard deviations, t-statistic, and p-value filled in from a sample SPSS output.
Reporting a single linear regression in apaKen Plummer
The document provides a template for reporting the results of a simple linear regression analysis in APA format. It explains that a linear regression was conducted to predict weight based on height. The regression equation was found to be significant, F(1,14)=25.925, p<.000, with an R2 of .649. The predicted weight is equal to -234.681 + 5.434 (height in inches) pounds.
The document discusses a domain specific language (DSL) for contextual design. It proposes a model-driven approach to language design to address issues with ambiguity and lack of precision in user-centered design processes and artifacts. Specifically, it focuses on developing a DSL to provide formal semantics and tool support for models used in contextual design, such as cultural models. The talk outlines key problems identified in a case study that motivated this work, and describes how a DSL following language engineering principles can formally define the syntax and semantics of contextual design models.
Cross-cultural Understanding of Content and Interface in the Context of E-lea...Abdalghani Mushtaha
This presentation describes a comparative study in understanding content and interface in the context of e-learning systems by using anthropologists’ and designers’ cultural dimensions. The purpose was to determine the differences between Belgian and Palestinian audiences, and to find the most important cultural dimensions to use for localizing / internationalizing e-learning systems.
Results indicate differences in culture between the two groups, but not as much as expected. The outcome shows similar preferences, whilst others differ.
Report - Designing a People Centred Future - Sept 2012Anni Leppänen
The document summarizes a workshop report on the "Designing a People Centred Future" conference held in Helsinki, Finland on September 11-12, 2012. The two-day event explored latest developments in user-centered design and generated a vision for future products and services developed with digital technologies and users at the heart of the design process. It showcased examples of user-centered design, looked at future trends, and aimed to create opportunities for R&D collaboration between international participants from various sectors including business, research, and academia. On the second day, workshop groups discussed questions around implementing user-centered design approaches, emerging tools, and determining value, with the goal of allocating a hypothetical £10 million research investment.
National content strategies can include developing a national website that explores a country through themes, places, and dates. Examples provided were France.fr and DigitalNZ, an online portal for New Zealand cultural assets. Co-innovation was also discussed, defined as collaborative digital projects partnered with others that deliver technological innovation for content access. Examples given were employment opportunities through collaboration and pooled expertise among organizations, as well as partnerships for projects like Digital Theatre and Kingdom of Plants.
This document provides information about a virtual hands-on sustainability project for alumni involving 24 international teams. It outlines the project goals and timeline, which involves four weeks of teambuilding, researching and writing a future scenario, producing a video, and gathering alumni votes. Teams of three alumni from different regions will collaborate virtually on one of five sustainability topics. The document reviews best practices for successful virtual teamwork, including clear communication guidelines, assigning roles and responsibilities, using project management tools on the Alumniportal platform and other collaboration tools like Google Drive.
Die IIK-Fortbildung "Moodle & Web 2.0 für den Unterricht Deutsch als Fremdsprache" hat vom Grundtvig-Netzwerk GINCO (Grundtvig International Network for Course Organisers) die Auszeichnung GINCO AWARD 2012 für eine beispielhafte Fortbildung im Bereich best practice of ICT use erhalten. Die Präsentation, die auf der Konferenz in Hasselt/Belgien am 28.09.2012 gehalten wird, beschreibt das didaktisch-methodische Konzept dieser Fortbildung, die auch 2013 wieder vom 29. Juli - 09. August durchgeführt wird. Für diese Fortbildung können auch wieder Europäische Stipendien über die Programme COMENIUS (Schulbereich) und GRUNDTVIG beantragt werden.
Invited presentation for the Engineering Projects In Community Service - in - IEEE (EPICS-in-IEEE) Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) conference on 27 Oct. 2012.
London Metropolitan University in Second Life - June 2011AlanHudson
London Metropolitan University projects in Second Life - given by Alan Hudson and Sandra Sinfield (London Metropolitan University, and Debbie Holley (Anglia Ruskin University) – to the HERS group - 7th June 2011
Dan Hill is a design professor and director who works on mission-oriented innovation and strategic design. The document provides examples of housing, workspaces, libraries, and other projects that incorporate flexible and adaptable designs. It suggests applying similar approaches to create interconnected green spaces, knowledge hubs, coworking facilities, and retail in Sheffield to activate the urban fabric and revive local industries.
The document announces the upcoming LIN 2012 conference with a call for abstracts on creativity, innovation and change in higher education. It provides details on submitting abstracts by June 22nd and acceptance notifications by September 6th. It also provides an update on nine LIN-funded projects focusing on teaching and learning, including new modules, case studies, and webinars. Finally, it highlights recent awards won by the DIT Learning, Teaching and Technology Centre for their work supporting teaching and learning at DIT.
The document outlines Howard Kramer's presentation on integrating Universal Design content and principles into university curriculum. It discusses definitions of Universal Design, examples of how it has been incorporated into courses at the University of Colorado-Boulder, and seeks input on sharing resources and collaborating to further promote Universal Design in curriculum. The overall goal is to determine how to best increase the amount of classes addressing Universal Design principles and content on campus.
The document summarizes Dr. Jan Devos' presentation on using bricolage to facilitate emergent collectives in small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs). It discusses emergent collectives and bricolage, presents Devos' research question on how bricolage can help adopt emergent collectives, and outlines the action research methodology used in a case study of a drop shipping company. The findings show how bricolage repertoire, dialogue, and outcomes exist in the company and support several of Ciborra's bricolage propositions. The conclusion is that bricolage helped adopt emergent technologies in a way that is more developed than traditional control-based thinking.
This document discusses pushing maritime innovation to help solve problems in developing countries. It proposes holding a design competition for safer and more affordable ferry designs tailored to local conditions. The competition aims to improve ferry safety, create economic opportunities, and spur technological advances. Winning designs could receive funding from the International Finance Corporation to encourage private sector investment. Allies like media, academics, and trade groups would help promote the competition and its goals of better transportation and economic development worldwide.
The document summarizes a workshop on promoting intercultural connections and learning through virtual exchange. It discusses the COIL/EDGE model of collaborative online international learning and experiential digital global engagement. It provides examples of icebreaker activities used in COIL projects and outlines challenges and strategies for communication in virtual exchange, emphasizing the role of global English as a tool for intercultural communication.
The document summarizes the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) framework project in England. The goals are to rebuild or renew every secondary school by 2020, provide inspiring learning environments, and position schools as community hubs. Local authorities lead strategic partnerships and ensure education visions meet standards, while considering community input. Example local projects integrate curriculum and facilities, demonstrate sustainability practices, and engage students in the design process.
Introduction to the BIM Conference LuxembourgSylvain Kubicki
The document provides an overview of a conference on Building Information Modeling (BIM). It introduces the CRP Henri Tudor research institution and its construction program, the NeoBuild innovation cluster for sustainable construction, and provides details on BIM including its benefits for collaboration in the construction sector. The conference program aims to inform practitioners in Luxembourg and the greater region about the latest developments with BIM through presentations from experts across Europe addressing both technical and business aspects of BIM implementation.
Digital Marketing Trends in 2024 | Guide for Staying AheadWask
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PhD Public Presentation
1. Towards Designing Localized
Websites
PhD Public Defense
Abdalghani Mushtaha
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Department of Computer Science
Research Group WISE, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
Abdalghani.mushtaha@vub.ac.be
September 2012
2. Agenda
• Background
• Problem Description
• Aims of the Thesis
• Research Approach
– Phase One: Culture and Cross-culture Evaluation
– Phase Two: Website Localization in Practice
• Contributions and Concluding Remarks
• Future Work
• Questions
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
10/09/2012 | page. 2
4. Globalization
Globalization: is the process of converting a
website to different languages and
communities.
Website Globalization
Website Internationalization
Localize Localize Localize
for for for ...
Country A Country B Country C
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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6. Internationalization
Internationalization: it is philosophy of making website
portable to other localities (extracting language and
culturally dependent elements).
Website Globalization
Website Internationalization
Localize Localize Localize
for for for ...
Country A Country B Country C
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
10/09/2012 | page. 6
8. Localization
Localization: Adapting a website by making it usable
and culturally acceptable for a particular locale
target audience.
Website Globalization
Website Internationalization
Localize Localize Localize
for for for ...
Country A Country B Country C
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
10/09/2012 | page. 8
9. Some Items May Not
Always Be Acceptable
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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14. Website Usability and User
Culture
• Localisation: Adapting a website by
making it usable and culturally acceptable
for a particular locale target audience.
Website usability
Culturability
User culture
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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15. Website Usability
• “The extent to which a product can be used by
specified users to achieve specified goals with
effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a
specified context of use.”
– The importance of some usability attributes may be
different depending on the website domain.
– Every single website has its own usability
attributes(e.g., time)!
– A website may be usable for you, but not for me.
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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16. User Culture
• People from different countries are different;
every country has its own culture, and the
people of the same country think, understand
and act in a similar way.
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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18. Models of Culture
• Cultural differences have been studied
and researched by many anthropologists:
– e.g., Hofstede, Hall, Victor…
• HCI researchers use models of culture to
provide a better understanding of the
target culture that the website is being
localized for.
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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19. Cultural Consideration in
Website Design
• HCI researchers reported obvious
cultural sensitive website design elements
to be localized for target culture
audiences:
– icons, colors, measurement units, date & time
format, etc.
• Red color in China represents happiness, beauty
and success, while in South Africa it represents
sadness.
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
10/09/2012 | page. 19
20. Cultural Sensitive Website
Design Elements
• HCI researchers reported obvious
cultural sensitive website design elements
to be localized for target culture
audiences.
Cultural markers, Cultural fingerprints, or
Cultural attractors
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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22. Love From the First Sight
• In 2005, I joined the one-year project
“MultiWeb”.
• The aim of the project was:
– To examine the research activities done in the
context of website localization.
– To identify the issues needed to be
considered when designing localized
websites.
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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23. A New Research Question
• The research results leaded to the
question
… whether localization of websites
is still needed?
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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26. Problem
Description
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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27. Anthropological Models and
Website Design
• Most of the anthropological models of
culture had been formed some time ago
and for a specific domain.
– It is not clear to which extent it is valid to use
anthropological models of culture for
designing localized website.
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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28. Localized Websites Design
Guidelines
• HCI researchers are using the
anthropological models of culture to
offer guidelines and standards for
designing localized websites.
– But they do not offer a roadmap to build
localized websites!
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
10/09/2012 | page. 28
29. Localized Website Design
Methods
• Current practical website localization
methods are:
– Very (too) general in assisting a website
developer to integrate culture into the website
design process (e.g., Al-badi, Hsieh, Smith,
etc.).
• Existing website design methods usually do not
provide explicit support for designing a localized
website (e.g., Hera, WSDM, etc.).
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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30. Issues Affecting Designing
Localized Website
• There is a focus on social culture.
– No attention for different types of culture.
• It is not clear yet to which extent existing
local websites give a clear understanding
of the home culture.
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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31. Aims of the
Thesis
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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32. Aims of the Thesis
• To study the relationship between website
design and user culture.
• To propose culture-centred guidelines for
the localization of websites.
• To provide a localized website design
advisor tool
– Providing specific advice on how to localize a
particular website.
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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33. Research
Approach
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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34. Research Approach
Phase One Phase Two
Culture and Cross-culture Evaluation Website Localization in Practice
Objective: Identify the website Objective: Putting the output of phase
cultural markers and the one into practice.
anthropological cultural dimensions To achieve the objective: The 5
that should be taken into groups are organized as levels in a
consideration when designing pyramid based on their importance for
localized websites. localized website design.
To achieve the objective: 7 research Outcome:
studies have been performed. - A design method for cultural-
centered website design
Outcome: 5 different groups of - The Cultural Conceptual Model
cultural markers and anthropologist (C2M) for different purposes
cultural dimensions. - The LWDA tool: generates cultural-
centered website design guidelines
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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36. Phase One
Website User Evaluation
• Cultural markers in local website interfaces [2 research studies, published in
2006]:
- To study the extent to which local website homepages reflected Hofstede’s
score assigned to their country for different cultural dimensions.
• Cultural Understanding of Website [2 research studies, published in 2007]:
- To explore and evaluate the influence of the users’ cultural background on
understanding and acceptance of website content and interface.
- To determine the most important anthropological cultural dimensions for local
website design.
• Website localization preferences [1 research study, published in 2009]:
- To determine the extent to which websites from the same country provide
similar cultural markers and share the same distinctive identity.
Cultural Usability Evolution
• To determine the different types of website design cultural markers and the
anthropological cultural dimensions that are appropriate to be used for website
localization [2 research studies, published in 2009].
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
10/09/2012 | page. 36
37. Cultural Markers in Local
Website Interfaces (1) [2 research studies]
• Methodology: PDI IDV MAS UAI
-------------- -------------- -------------- --------------
– 16 Belgian student.
Malaysia USA Japan Greece
Each dimension was
Guatemal Australia Austria Portugal
examined by 4
Panama Great Britain Venezuela Guatemala
students.
Philippines Canada Italy Uruguay
Mexico Netherlands Switzerland Belgium
– Within one dimension,
Venezuela New Zealand Mexico Salvador
each student examined
10 university Arab Italy Ireland Japan
homepages. countries Belgium Jamaica Yugoslavia
Equador Denmark Great Britain Peru
• 5 universities at least
3 of the seven highest ….. ….. ….. …..
ranked countries. Switzerland Peru Portugal India
Finland Costa Rica Chile Malaysia
• 5 universities, from at Norway Pakistan Finland Great Britain
least 3 of the nine Sweden Indonesia Yugoslavia Ireland
lowest ranked Ireland Colombia Costa Rica Hong Kong
countries. New Zealand Venezuela Denmark Sweden
Denmark Panama Netherlands Denmark
– In total, 40 homepages Israel Equador Norway Jamaica
were analyzed per Austria Guatemala Sweden Singapore
dimension.
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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38. Cultural Markers in Local
Website Interfaces (2) [2 research studies]
• Results: were inconsistent with
previous similar studies described in
the literature.
– Sometimes, huge design differences among
homepages from one single country.
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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39. Cultural Markers in Local
Website Interfaces (3) [2 research studies]
• The experiment was repeated with students from a
different culture and for a different type of websites:
newspaper websites.
– With the aim to validate the results of the first study!
• Results:
– To some extent the results of the second study confirm the
results of the first study.
– Local homepages did not actually reflect the local culture, as
Hofstede’s theory predicted.
• BUT, some cultural values for cultural dimensions exist in some websites.
– Some domains may be more sensitive to cultural difference than
others.
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
10/09/2012 | page. 39
40. Phase One
Website User Evaluation
• Cultural markers in local website interfaces [2 research studies, published in
2006]:
- To study the extent to which local website homepages reflected Hofstede’s
score assigned to their country for different cultural dimensions.
• Cultural Understanding of Website [2 research studies, published in 2007]:
- To explore and evaluate the influence of the users’ cultural background on
understanding and acceptance of website content and interface.
- To determine the most important anthropological cultural dimensions for local
website design.
• Website localization preferences [1 research study, published in 2009]:
- To determine the extent to which websites from the same country provide
similar cultural markers and share the same distinctive identity.
Cultural Usability Evolution
• To determine the different types of website design cultural markers and the
anthropological cultural dimensions that are appropriate to be used for website
localization [2 research studies, published in 2009].
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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41. Cultural Understanding of
Website (1) [2 research studies]
• Methodology: A comparative study was
carried out involving Palestinian and
Belgian students:
– To measure understanding and acceptance of
some pre-selected E-learning portals (WebCT
and Collaborative Learning Centre).
– 16 cultural dimensions were involved.
– A multi-method approach was used.
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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42. Cultural Understanding of
Website (2) - Results [2 research studies]
• This part measures the understanding of the two
portals
Meaning Icon Expectation Matching Expectation Matching
[Ps.] [Ps.] [Be.] [Be.]
Homepages 77% 0% 84% 0%
Calendar 86% 41% 81% 62%
Chat 93% 89% 90.5% 92%
Syllabus 62% 2% 52% 0%
Links 23% 0% 43% 0%
Mail 79% 37% 100% 32%
Discussion 19% 23% 62% 14%
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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43. Cultural Understanding of
Website (3) - Results [2 research studies]
International Trade and Communication
Face-Saving
Experience of Technology
Specific vs. Diffuse
Affective vs. Neutral
Achievement vs. Ascription
Universalism vs. Particularism
Uncertainty Avoidance Belgium
Power Distance
palestine
Gender Roles
Context
Authority Conception
Time Orientation
Internal vs. External Control
Individualism vs. Collectivism
Human Nature Orientation
0 1 2 3 4 5
Rating scale 1 to 5 : 1= strongly disagree … 5 = strongly agree
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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44. Cultural Understanding of
Website (3) - Observation [2
research studies]
• There is a convergence in some cultural values between
students of both countries.
– However, there are still differences in some of cultural
dimensions.
• Some cultural factors are still important and should be
taken into consideration when do localization.
• Thanks to modern communication: cultural gap between
the two groups seems to decrease.
• New culture seems to appear.
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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45. Phase One
Website User Evaluation
• Cultural markers in local website interfaces [2 research studies, published in
2006]:
- To study the extent to which local website homepages reflected Hofstede’s
score assigned to their country for different cultural dimensions.
• Cultural Understanding of Website [2 research studies, published in 2007]:
- To explore and evaluate the influence of the users’ cultural background on
understanding and acceptance of website content and interface.
- To determine the most important anthropological cultural dimensions for local
website design.
• Website localization preferences [1 research study, published in 2009]:
- To determine the extent to which websites from the same country provide
similar cultural markers and share the same distinctive identity.
Cultural Usability Evolution
• To determine the different types of website design cultural markers and the
anthropological cultural dimensions that are appropriate to be used for website
localization [2 research studies, published in 2009].
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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46. Website Localization
Preferences [1 research study]
• Methodology:
– Research has been conducted where we re-
examined, validated and compared local
websites from the same country.
• Results:
– Many differences between local websites from
the same country.
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
10/09/2012 | page. 46
47. Phase One
Website User Evaluation
• Cultural markers in local website interfaces [2 research studies, published in
2006]:
- To study the extent to which local website homepages reflected Hofstede’s
score assigned to their country for different cultural dimensions.
• Cultural Understanding of Website [2 research studies, published in 2007]:
- To explore and evaluate the influence of the users’ cultural background on
understanding and acceptance of website content and interface.
- To determine the most important anthropological cultural dimensions for local
website design.
• Website localization preferences [1 research study, published in 2009]:
- To determine the extent to which websites from the same country provide
similar cultural markers and share the same distinctive identity.
Cultural Usability Evolution
• To determine the different types of website design cultural markers and the
anthropological cultural dimensions that are appropriate to be used for website
localization [2 research studies, published in 2009].
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
10/09/2012 | page. 47
48. Cultural Usability Evolution
(1) [2 research studies]
• This research was built upon the existing
body of research in website design and
anthropologists’ cultural dimensions:
– Cultural markers evaluation: re-evaluate some
pre-researched websites.
– Evaluation & ranking of 16 anthropologist’s
cultural dimensions.
The findings were evaluated and compared against
earlier research results!
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
10/09/2012 | page. 48
49. Cultural Usability Evolution
(2) – 1st study [2 research studies]
Comparison of cultural markers in current and earlier versions of the
same website (22 websites).
Evaluation and comparison focused on five main
design components:
(1) Text density, size, orientation, style, and type;
(2) Page layout;
(3) Colors;
(4) Pictures, graphic elements, and sound;
(5) Interaction and navigation.
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
10/09/2012 | page. 49
50. Cultural Usability Evolution
(3) - Findings [2 research studies]
• Some cultural markers disappeared, some
are new, while others are still used.
Cultural markers Cultural markers
Cultural markers
appeared in old only appear in
only appeared in
and current current website
old version
website version version
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
10/09/2012 | page. 50
51. Cultural Usability Evolution
(4) – 2nd study [2 research studies]
• 19 experts participated to evaluate 16
cultural dimensions.
– More than 6 years of experience in the field of
user-interface design, localization, or
translation.
The Participants were asked for:
– Their opinion about each cultural dimension ;
– To rate it from 1 to 5, according to its importance for
local website design.
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
10/09/2012 | page. 51
52. Cultural Usability Evolution
(5) – Findings [2 research studies]
• Cultural dimensions according to their importance for
local website design [two research results]:
Aaron Marcus research results Current research results
1 Context Experience of Technology
2 Technological development Context
3 Uncertainty avoidance International Trade and Communication
4 Time perception Gender Roles
5 Authority conception Uncertainty Avoidance
6 Affective vs. neutral Human Nature Orientation.
7 Face-saving Power Distance
• The findings indicate that anthropological cultural
dimensions are still considered to be important for local
website design.
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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55. Every Culture, Website and
Time have its Own Meaning
• The culture of Web users changes and
shifts with the understanding of the Web!
• Websites from the same country provide
different cultural markers!
Social
• .Two kinds of culture
Digital
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
10/09/2012 | page. 55
56. Different Cultural Markers
for Local Website Design
• Identifying absolute and clear-cut cultural
markers or using a dedicated
anthropologist cultural model for designing
localized website is not possible.
Cultural markers Cultural markers Markers appear
Cultural markers
appear in old and only appear in from using the
only appeared in
current website current website Internet and new
old version
version version technology
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
10/09/2012 | page. 56
59. Phase Two
Phase Two
Website Localization in Practice
Objective: Putting the output of phase one into practice.
To achieve the objective: The 5 groups are organized as levels
in a pyramid based on their importance for localized website
design.
Outcome:
- A design method for cultural-centered website design
- The Cultural Conceptual Model (C2M) for different purposes
- The LWDA tool: generates cultural-centered website design
guidelines
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
10/09/2012 | page. 59
60. Pyramid of Cultural Markers
Vista Fully-localized (5)
Variable Highly-localized (4)
Social cultural markers
Broad Localized (3)
Stable Semi-localized (2)
Digital cultural markers e-culture Globalize (1)
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
10/09/2012 | page. 60
61. Pyramid of Cultural Markers
• Each level considers markers of:
– Website design elements
• (1) Text on websites
Vista
• (2) Colors
Variable
• (3) Layout and Organization
• (4) Pictures, Graphic Elements, and Broad
Sound Stable
• (5) Interaction e-culture
• (6) Navigation
– Anthropological cultural
dimensions.
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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62. E-Culture Level (1)
• This group contains the
cultural markers that come
from using the Web and new Vista
technology (some cultural Variable
Broad
markers are not related to
Stable
the user’s social culture): e-culture
– Digital Cultural Markers.
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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63. E-Culture Level (2)
• Three digital cultural markers groups:
– Web Digital Markers (WDM): e.g.,
the home page icon.
Vista
– Domain Digital Markers (DDM): Variable
e.g., shopping basket in an e- Broad
commerce website. Stable
e-culture
– Country Digital Markers (CDM):
e.g., Franco Arabic is used between
Arab Web users (Writing Arabic with
the Latin alphabet).
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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64. E-Culture Level (3)
Design Markers (requirements and advices)
Element (R): required, (A): Advice
Text on - The website content text needs to be Vista
websites translated to the local target language (R) Variable
[T]
- Use text orientation and font size as Broad
required by the domain or context (R) Stable
- …… e-culture
- ……
Colors [C] - Red, green, black, white, orange and blue colors
are culturally sensitive colors. Avoid using
…..
culturally sensitive colors in this level. It is also
….. ……….
…..
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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65. Stable Level (1)
• This level includes all cultural
markers that were clearly
emphasized and found in many Vista
previous researches, as well as Variable
those confirmed by my research Broad
studies. Stable
e-culture
• It considers
– Website design elements &
– Anthropological cultural dimensions.
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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66. Stable Level (2)
Design Markers (requirements and advices)
Element (R): required, (A): Advice
Text on - Adjust the amount of text to the target culture
websites [T] Vista
(R)
Variable
- Adjust the level of formality of website text to
the target culture (A) Broad
- …. Stable
- ….. e-culture
Colors [C] - …..
Layout and - …..
organization - …..
[L]
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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67. Stable Level (3)
• Anthropologists cultural
dimensions to be considered
for the stable level are: Vista
Variable
– Context
Broad
– Experience of technology
Stable
– Uncertainty avoidance e-culture
– Power distance
AM PhD Defence – Brussels
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68. Stable Level (4)
• Context, “The degree of
direct and explicit
information needed in a Vista
website”. Variable
Broad
• This dimension affects the Stable
following website design e-culture
elements:
T L C GS I N
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69. Broad Level
• The Broad cultural level
includes the website design
markers and the Vista
anthropological cultural Variable
Broad
dimensions that were:
Stable
– discovered in my research. e-culture
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70. Variable Level
• The Variable level includes
the cultural markers and
anthropological cultural Vista
dimensions that were: Variable
Broad
– discovered in previous
Stable
research and were not
e-culture
confirmed in this current
research.
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71. Vista Level
• The Vista level contains all
the other anthropological
cultural dimensions that Vista
were: Variable
Broad
– not mentioned neither in the
Stable
current nor in previous others
e-culture
research studies.
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72. Using the Cultural Markers
Pyramid Levels
• Website Globalisation
– only the “e-culture
level”, should be
Vista Fully-localized
considered.
Variable Highly-localized
Broad
• Bottom-up Website Localized
Localization Stable Semi-localized
– Levels should be e-culture Globalize
applied bottom up.
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73. A Design Method for
Cultural-Centered Website
Design
Plan The Website
Website Website domain Degree of
Target country Language
domain Related Localisation (1 to 5)
Vista
Compose the Required Cultural Model
Variable
Anthropological cultural dimenstions Website design elements
Broad
Stable
Cultural Specification
e-culture
Investigating the target local culture Interviewing local cultural experts
Localized Website Design Elements Specification
Layout and Pictures, graphic
Text Colors Interaction Navigation
organization elements and sound
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74. Observation
• The cultural markers pyramid only
provides generic guidelines
– Which still need to be instantiated for a certain
culture (e.g., navigation depth accepted by
target culture group).
• The proposed Cultural Markers Pyramid is
useful for technical users who are familiar
with anthropological cultural dimensions.
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75. Phase Two
Cultural Markers Pyramid
Putting the Cultural
Markers Pyramid into
Practice
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76. Putting the Cultural Markers
Pyramid into Practice
Phase Two
Website Localization in Practice
Objective: Putting the output of phase one into Practice.
To achieve the objective: The 5 groups are organized as levels
in a pyramid based on their importance for localized website
design.
Outcome:
- The Cultural Conceptual Model (C2M) for different purposes
- The LWDA tool: generates cultural-centered website design
guidelines
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77. Cultural Conceptual Model
(C2M)
• The Cultural Conceptual Model (C2M) is a
formal description of the Cultural Markers
Pyramid.
• Easy to be shared by experts and provides a
central and unique source of knowledge:
– Can be used to maintain, testing and enhancement
this knowledge.
• The conceptual model can be used by different
applications and systems to provide different
kinds of support.
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78. Cultural Conceptual Model
(C2M) Overview
Object-Role Modelling
(ORM) for Conceptual
Knowledge
Representation.
The conceptual model
has been tested and
several improvements
have been applied
before I obtained this
final model.
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80. Putting the Cultural
Conceptual Model (C2M)
into Practice
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81. Building a Localization
Ontology from C2M
• C2M is an ontology describing a
particular domain which is website design,
with the focus on the special purpose of
cultural localization.
• Mapping:
– ORM into Ontology Inference Layer (OIL),
– Mapping OIL and XML Schema into OWL.
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82. OWL Code Generated from
Mapping the XML Schema
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83. Mapping ORM into a
Relational Schema
• It is possible to create a corresponding
database
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84. Putting the Cultural Markers
Pyramid into Practice
Phase Two
Website Localization in Practice
Objective: Putting the output of phase one into Practice.
To achieve the objective: The 5 groups are organized as levels
in a pyramid based on their importance for localized website
design.
Outcome:
- The Cultural Conceptual Model (C2M) for different purposes
- LWDA tool: generates cultural-centered website design
guidelines
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89. Target Localized Website
Specification Guideline (1)
Localized Website Design Advisor “LWDA”
Localization level 3, Broad:
>>> BroadWebsiteDesignElements:
•BroadWebsiteDesignElements contains BroadColors.
•BroadWebsiteDesignElements contains BroadInteraction.
•BroadWebsiteDesignElements contains BroadLayoutAndOrganization.
•BroadWebsiteDesignElements contains BroadNavigation.
•BroadWebsiteDesignElements contains BroadPicturesGraphicAndSound.
•BroadWebsiteDesignElements contains BroadTextOnWebsite.
BroadColors:
•BroadColors is an instance of StableColors.BroadColors use SensitiveColors (Inherited from
StableColors) .
• SensitiveColors used in WebsiteDomain [Kids,News and Health].
{Expert note:
- White: Do not use this color. This color is a symbolism of death and mourning.
- Red: Use this color. This color is a symbolism of good luck, celebration and summoning
- Blue: Use this color. This color is a symbolism of immortality
}
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90. Target Localized Website
Specification Guideline (2)
BroadNavigation:
•BroadNavigation is an instance of StableNavigation.BroadNavigation is concerns on CategorizationLinkGrouping (Inherited
from StableNavigation) .
{Expert note:
- Chinese website users prefers website interfaces extremely busy, links everywhere
}
•BroadNavigation is concerns on NumberOfLinksInaGroup (Inherited from StableNavigation) .
{Expert note:
- the average between 8 to 30. The fact that Chinese pages are more dense, does not translate into shorter pages, but
into higher amounts of items shown simultaneously to the website user.
}
•BroadNavigation is concerns on InformationAccessibility.
• InformationAccessibility meets experience of TargetCultureGroup [China].
{Expert note:
- The home page presents all sections of the website. This gives website users a quick peek of the content
- Chinese website users prefer different paths to arrive to the same information
}
•BroadNavigation is concerns on NavigationalStyle.
• NavigationalStyle meets TargetCultureGroup [China].
{Expert note:
- Chinese website because they are web pages are so clustered
- Links opened in the new browser window
}
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92. Concluding Remarks (1)
• Relying on only one theory of anthropological
model of culture is not desirable:
– The more anthropological models of culture are
involved in a study, the more insight there is into the
user social culture preferences.
• New technology and Internet experience
have slightly decreased the gap between the
cultures for many people who are using the
Web.
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93. Concluding Remarks (2)
• Some anthropological cultural dimensions
are important and should be taken into
consideration to understand the social
culture of the website target audience.
• Some website domains may be more
sensitive to cultural difference than others
(e.g., news and learning).
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94. Concluding Remarks (3)
• Local websites from the same country
does not always provide similar cultural
markers.
• Web users are using two different types of
cultures to understand a website:
(1) Digital culture
(2) Social culture
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95. Concluding Remarks (4)
• Three different groups of digital cultural
markers exist:
– Web Digital Markers “WDM”
– Domain Digital Markers “DDM”
– Country Digital Markers “CDM”
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96. Concluding Remarks (5)
• When a website user is facing an unknown
website design element in a website (e.g.,
a picture, icon), then
the website user uses a specific way for
understanding the meaning of this element, in
which the digital culture and social culture both
play an important role.
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97. Concluding Remarks (6)
• The seven experiments showed that it is
difficult to establish an absolute and clear-
cut set of cultural markers to be used for
designing localized website.
– For this reason, this research has argued the
need for different groups of cultural markers
for local website design and localization.
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98. Contributions (1)
• Five cultural markers
groups are
organized as a Fully-localized
pyramid targeting Highly-localized
five different levels of Localized
website localization. Semi-localized
Globalize
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99. Contributions (2)
• The Cultural Conceptual Model (C2M) is
provided.
– Formal representation of the cultural markers
pyramid’s guidelines.
– Transformed into two different technical
specifications: (1) a Localization Ontology and
(2) a Relational schema.
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100. Contributions (3)
• As proof of concept for the theory developed in
the thesis, the Localized Website Design Advisor
(LWDA) was developed.
– Dynamically generates specific website localization
guidelines by given a target country, language, level
of localization (1 to 5), and website domain.
• Two cultural markers information repositories
were created:
– Localization Ontology
– Cultural knowledge base
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101. Future Work
Adaptive Cultural-centered
Websites
A Methodology for user cultural-
centered Localized Website Design
Building a Cultural Database
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102. Future Work - Personalized
Culture-centred Websites
• Suppose that a person is 30 years old:
– Currently he has been living in Belgium for 10
years, and he is form China where he lived for
20 years.
What kind of website localization should we
offer for this person?
To which cultural group does this person
belong (e.g., Belgium or China)?
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103. Future Work - A Methodology
for user cultural-centered
Localized Website Design
• Future research Plan The Website
may focus on Website Website domain Degree of
Target country Language
extending and domain Related Localisation (1 to 5)
enhancing the
proposed Compose the Required Cultural Model
method.
Anthropological cultural dimenstions Website design elements
• Or integrate the
proposed model Cultural Specification
with other exist
Investigating the target local culture Interviewing local cultural experts
website design
methods (e.g.,
WSDM) Localized Website Design Elements Specification
Layout and Pictures, graphic
Text Colors Interaction Navigation
organization elements and sound
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104. Future Work - Building a
Cultural Database
• Database storing all website cultural markers
to be used for:
- Website Localization - Website Globalization.
Culture and
Cross-culture
Database
• In this respect, my student Rasha Tolba did
some efforts:
– She has gathered the social cultural markers of three
website domain: news, health and learning for Jordan.
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105. Questions
Thank You !!
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106. Summary and Main
Contribution
• Phase 1: 7 research studies to study the relationship between
websites design and user culture.
– The culture of Web users changes with the understanding of the Web!
– Websites from the same country provide different cultural markers!
– Two kinds of culture: Social and Digital.
– One list of cultural markers to be used for designing localized website is
not possible.
• Phase 2: put the research findings in practice:
– Five cultural markers groups are organized as a pyramid targeting five
different levels of website localization.
– Transformed the cultural pyramid into the Cultural Conceptual Model
(C2M), to be used for different purposes.
– The Localized Website Design Advisor - LWDA – tool was built to
dynamically generate localized website specifications guidelines.
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Editor's Notes
-Thank you for being here and for your time to judge my PhD thesis.- Study the relationship between website design and user culture.- The outcome of my research are, local website design guidelines, and a tool. All were proposed to assist website developer to design localized website.
Global Website is One Website Fit all Users
International Website is a Core Template Website
Doesthisculturalacceptable?For some people is not acceptable!
These local websites should be usable, understandable and acceptable…This is just in EU…. If you need making profit you need to speak the language and meet the expectation of local people!
makingwebsiteusersfeelsthiswebsite is made forme…
Interface design elements and features that are preferred, shared, well understood and accepted within a particular cultural group.
the results of the project was not as expected!And, for this unexpected result, this thesis is for
*** They translate the cultural dimensions into local website design guidelines…*** “do” and “do not do” it is vital to have clear guidelines to assist website developer in designing localized websites
The effect of cultural models on website design markers
Homepages, example
The Belgians insist on follow the rules whenever possible.For the Palestinians, relationships are more important than rules.
The Web itself is transformed from a so-called "Read-only Web" to a "Read-Write Web".“Digital natives“: New ways of information absorption.
What are the cultural markers in the earlier & current website version?2. When looking at cultural markers, are there significant differences in the current and earlier versions of the website a. If so, what are those differences?4. What are the cultural markers similar on both versions of the website?
As an example of some cultural markers used before in an earlier website version that do not appear in current version, we can mention the website of the Universiti Utara Malaysia. Empirical research carried out by Gould (Gould et al., 2000) has shown that the website of the Universiti Utara Malaysia presented and focused on authority figures and contained power symbols. In their investigation they found that, this Malaysian website contained links on the home page to website administration, pictures and symbols focusing on the country itself rather than featuring photographs of individuals. Moreover, black background, monumental buildings, top level menu selection focused on symbolism and information about the leaders of the University, which correlates well with Malaysian cultural background. By contrast, the current version of the Malaysian university website focuses on individuals. The website now contains pictures of students and teachers, the black background has disappeared, no pictures of monumental buildings anymore and the website’s menu is more focused on students. But still there are some cultural markers available in the current website version. As an example, the current website contains a picture in the homepage of a girl wearing a scarf, which is a symbol for Muslims girls
studied the relationship between website design and the user’s culture
As all the previous researchers are predict…
- Different levels of website localization. --- One single cultural model for localized website design could, in fact, be a poor choice because different levels of localization may be needed in different situations.
Social culture: customs, traditions, morals, and values that affects everyone from their physical environment, such as: family, friends, religion, etc.Digital culture” is powered by the use of the Web and digital technology. Currently, people can do most of their daily activities using new forms of technology, for example students can study, write, read news, get information and interact in ways that are very different from previous generationspeople who are using the Web are likely to be faced with different types of websites coming from various countries, which results in new understandings and new experienceWeb and other digital communication technology has an impact on culture, as well as that it creates a culture of its own
Franco Arabic
For example, in order to localize “website text element” using this level of localization, two things are required: (1) translate the website text to the target language, and (2) investigate if there are specific font size and text orientation requirements from the domain or the context that need to be taken into consideration. Note that for this level, it is not required to consider the issues such as the amount of text, the font type and formality of the text.
hence the name “stable”
the amount of text needed and the formality of the text are both culturally sensitive and need be considered at this level. Thus, the amount of text and the formality of the text need to meet the expectations of the target culture (e.g., some societies are expecting to find more information and require more explanation, while other society’s prefer quick and direct information).
This is because the markers in a level must be read as cumulative; each level depends on each lower level.This is because this level contains the digital culture, which is shared and understood by all Web users, bypassing the cultures.
We do not have the intention to provide a detailed localized website design method, although we do see the need for such a method. However, is should be possible to integrate the method into existing web design methods
Is a conceptual representation of the Cultural Markers Pyramid.
- ORM is easy to understand by non-computer technical users.- ORM is easy to be shared, exchanged, tested, validated and maintained.- There are many tools support drawing ORM.- ORM can be translated into pseudo natural language statements.
TransformC2M into a practical format: To be useable in practice, it is best to translate the C2M into a format that can be implemented easily. This transformation will be described on this section
An alternative to the use of an ontology for creating our knowledge base is the use of a relational database. That relational database could be used for storing all relevant in-formation that is needed to design a localized website
Localization Ontology: is used for providing abstract cultural specificationsCultural markers knowledge base:Is used for storing the values and the description of these specifications for a particular website domain, a particular target country, and a specific website localization level.
--First talk about the availability of cultural markers in the knowledgebase, then about the un-availability !-- (separation between the marker itself and the value of the marker)
Accordingly, it is not possible to build up an understanding about the target culture requirements by take some of local websites from the target country as example for localizing another local website for that country.we promote the idea that in order to design a localized website, it is necessary to consider two kinds of cultural markers: social and digital cultural markers
An interesting finding observed from two research studies (see section 6.2.3) was that if a website user is facing an unknown website design element in a website (e.g., a picture, icon), then the website user uses a specific way for understanding the meaning of this element, in which the digital culture and social culture both play an important role.
Another valuable contribution is the
We have distinguished between these two cultural information repositories because each one has its own contribution and role.