A Cultural Theory of Everyday Usability: Listening to the Ghosts of Consumption  

Posits that although some usability scholars in technical communication have forged fruitful connections between usability and user-centered design and human-centered interaction (HCI), these alliances have not improved usability studies writ large to the extent that it is able to account for culturally-specific complex information systems and how 'users' should, can, and do shape culturally-relevant information before delivery, from the invention to the arrangement, style, and memory of knowledge systems, structures, performances, and products.

Haas, Angela. Michigan State University (2006). Articles>Usability>Cultural Theory

Culture and Usability Evaluation: The Effects of Culture in Structured Interviews  

A major impediment in global user interface development is that there is inadequate empirical evidence for the effects of culture in the usability engineering methods used for developing these global user interfaces. This paper presents a controlled study investigating the effects of culture on the effectiveness of structured interviews in international usability evaluation. The experiment consisted of a usability evaluation of a website with two independent groups of Indian participants. Each group had a different interviewer; one belonging to the Indian culture and the other to the Anglo-American culture. The results show that participants found more usability problems and made more suggestions to an interviewer who was a member of the same (Indian) culture than to the foreign (Anglo-American) interviewer. The results of the study empirically establish that culture significantly affects the efficacy of structured interviews during international user testing. The implications of this work for usability engineering are discussed.

Vatrapu, Ravi and Manuel A. Pérez-Quiñones. Journal of Usability Studies (2006). Articles>Usability>Interviewing>Cultural Theory

Culture in the Further Development of Universal Design

By now most readers of Design for All India have a healthy grasp of Universal Design. Many, perhaps most, have become highly competent in its application as is evident from the articles appearing in past volumes and today. Beyond technical mastery of the Seven Principles, knowledge of best-of-breed solutions, and familiarity with allied concepts such as Visitability, Adaptive Technology, or anthropometrics there is a cultural component to this design approach that is unquantifiably – but undeniably – transforming Universal Design. By systematically and thoroughly examining this cultural component in the coming decade we will discover the true nature of Universal Design to be social sustainability.

Rains, Scott. uiGarden (2008). Articles>Usability>Cultural Theory>Universal Usability

Culture: Wanted? Alive or Dead?    

Is culture dead as a topic of interest to usability and user-interface usability and design professionals? One European anthropologist/ethnographer wrote recently that 'culture is dead' and only of interest to people in the USA (who seemingly have little or no understanding of other cultures around the world). On the other hand, another (USA) usability/design professional recently stated that she thought cross-cultural issues were one of the most important and potent trends in product/service development. Who is right?

Marcus, Aaron. Journal of Usability Studies (2006). Articles>Usability>Cultural Theory