Cultural Dimensions to Multimedia Design

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Cultural Dimensions to Multimedia Design

• MEMO Conference
• October 18, 2001
• Davina Pruitt-Mentle
• Educational Technology Outreach
• http//www.edtechoutreach.umd.edu/

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What does culture have to do with education?
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Cultural Dimensions to Multimedia

• Making learning resources more accessible and
  flexible to a wide range of learners is a major
  concern of educators today.

• In order to do this- ...educators must recognize
  that their ways our ways that are usually based
  on values and principles that may differ then
  others. And others ways are just as important.
  Brislin Yoshida (1994) call this process
  ethnorelative

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The way to deal with diversity is not to deny it
or ignore it, but to learn about differences so
they dont impair communication
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The first step in effective intercultural
communication is acceptance of diversity To do
this one must

• Examine your own values
• Examine values of others
• Look at the implications of these values for
  education
• Determine where the differences lie
• Determine how to best overcome the differences

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Outline

• Miscommunication overview
• Examples of miscommunication
• High vs. Low Context
• Design Suggestions
• Hofstedes 5 cultural Dimensions as related to
  websites

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Cross-Cultural Cross Wiring

• Language
• spoken
• written
• symbols
• Non-verbal communication
• body
• facial expression
• gestures

• Symbols
• company logos
• religious images
• flags

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Spoken Written Language

• All languages have a number of forms/styles and
  different registers for different types of
  situations
• Diglossia/multiglossia-custom of using different
  languages for different purposes (Fishman, 1971a)
  
• Spanish ? English
• formal ? informal
• colloquial ? regular
• Different dialect/ different sub-cultures
• American vs. English (British)
• Northern vs. Southern vs. Cajon vs. street

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Spoken Written Language Language Reflects
Environment

• Amazon area -no word for snow
• Americans - snow, powder snow, sleet, slush,
  blizzard, ice
• In Northern Germany, ein Glas Weisswein bitte
  (a glass of white wine, please) or specify
  Moselwein or Rheinwein
• In Southwest Germany- expected to specify type of
  wine, vineyard and year

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Spoken and Written Language We Translate
Concepts That Fit Our Priorities

• Navajo do not have a word for late (time is
  relative)
• Mandarin Chinese, one word (qing) represents
  various hues of blue and green
• Americans tomorrow means midnight to midnight
• Spanish-speaking mañana means in the future
• Chinese do not have a word for communication
• letter exchange
• transportation traffic
• Administration (educational setting)
• American ? superintendent/ dean
• French ? upper-level clerical staff

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Written Communication

• Understand Patterns of Organization
• East Asian cultures organize material based on
  relationships rather than on linear progression
• Canadians like to have recommendations at the
  beginning of a report

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Written Communication Dates

• American - May 6, 2010 or 05/06/2010
• German - 6. Mai 2010 or 6.5. 2010
• International (increasing usage) 2010 May, 6 or
  2010, 05, 06

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Spoken and Written Language High-Context vs.
Low-Context

• Edward Hall, distinguished cultures on the basis
  of the role of context in communication
• High-Context - less words more other clues (ex.
  Japan)
• Low-Context - words, words, words (ex. German
  Swiss)
• US middle of the Low-context range

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High - Context

• View word-level-only messages as unsophisticated,
  childish, and rude
• Prefer-allusion to classical texts, parables and
  proverbs, understatements and antiphraxis (saying
  something in terms of what it is not) Asian
  thought pattern - negative space
• I have some small experience in that-
  world-famous mathematicians life work

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Spoken Language Why is this important for
educators regarding multimedia?

• Verbal (audio) now part of multimedia
• Like Assistive technology - can choose
  gender/dialect
• Translator difficulties
• order of words varies in different languages
• translation can not interpret formal vs.. informal

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Non-Verbal Communication

• Body
• Facial Expression
• Gestures

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Non-Verbal Body Language

• Rules regarding standing and position distance
• Face-on for Arabs
• 45 degree angle for Anglo-Saxons
• Side-to-side for Chinese

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Non-Verbal Communication

• Smiling in Japan is strongly associated with
  nervousness, social discomfort, or sorrow

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Non-Verbal Body Language

• In Buddhist Thailand never cross legs
• The sole of the foot is the furthest part from
  heaven and the least sacred. To show the bottom
  of the foot to someone is to show disrespect

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Non-Verbal Communication

• In Asian and Middle-eastern cultures it is
  appropriate for the same sex to walk hand in hand
  but not the opposite sex

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Symbols

• China, death is not mentioned even by homonym
  (words that sound like other words)

• El Dia de Los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, is a
  fiesta with deep meaning to Mexicans

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Symbols Hand Gestures emblems

• V-for victory in US is obscene in some European
  countries

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Symbols, Idioms and Metaphors

• Americans use militaristic origin terminology
• Many cultures choose a more cooperative approach

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Symbols, Idioms and Metaphors

• Sports have provided U.S. with numerous metaphors
• Many cultures do not understand baseball/football
  terms like

• Bases are loaded
• Got to first base
• Out in left field
• Third down, nine to go

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Hofstedes Dimensions of Culture

• Dutch cultural anthropologist
• 1978-1983
• rated 53 countries
• identified 5 cultural dimensions
• rated on indices for each dimension
• normalized to values (0 to 100)

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Hofstedes Five Dimensions

• Power Distance
• Individualism vs. Collectivism
• Masculinity vs. Femininity
• Uncertainty Avoidance
• Long- vs. Short-Term Time Orientation

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Power Distance

• High Power Distance cultures believe that the
  more powerful people must be deferred to and not
  argued with, especially in public
• Based on gender, age, seniority, position
• Low Power Distance cultures believe ideas/people
  are assumed to be equal

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Power Distance

• High Power

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Power Distance

• Low Power

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Individualism vs. Collectivism

• High Individualist

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Individualism vs. Collectivism

• Low Individualist

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Individualism vs. Collectivism

• Political Message

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Masculinity vs. Femininity

• Masculine roles
• assertiveness
• competition
• toughness
• Feminine roles
• home and children
• people
• family

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Masculinity vs. Femininity

• High masculinity

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Masculinity vs. Femininity

• Medium Masculinity

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Uncertainty Avoidance

• The extent to which uncertainty and ambiguity are
  tolerated

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High Uncertainty Avoidance Collectivism
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Low Uncertainty Avoidance Individualism
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Short/Long Term Time Orientation

• Short Term

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Short/Long Term Time Orientation

• Long Term

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Conclusions

• Become familiar with your own values
• Explore and recognize the values of others
• Understand the implications of these values for
  education
• Determine where the differences lie
• Determine how to best overcome the differences
• Expose students to diverse resources
• Choose diverse examples
• Examine cultures within your school
• Consider/double check your design strategies