Integrating Culture in the Design of ICTsPatricia A. YoungPatricia A. Young is an assistant professor in Literacy Education at the University of Maryland, Balti-more County. Her current research involves the development of the Culture Based Model, an interculturalinstructional design framework that guides designers through the management, design, development andassessment process while taking into account explicit culture based design specifications. Her otherresearch examines the history of Instructional Design and Technologies made by and for AfricanAmericans. Address for correspondence: Dr Patricia A. Young, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department ofEducation University of Maryland at Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Academic IV, A Wing,Room 429, Baltimore, MD 21250. email: [email protected] and internationally, designers are challenged with meeting theneeds of diverse populations, and they are faced with the dilemma of how tointegrate culture in the design of information and communication technolo-gies (ICTs). This paper reviews the literature in the fields of human–computerinteraction and instructional design to argue that the present methods of inte-grating culture in design serve a limited scope of what culture can be in thedesign process. Two conclusions were drawn from this research. First, it isapparent that integrating culture in the design of ICTs serves a broader scope,from the generic or culture-neutral, to the specialised or culture-specific.Second, this review indicates that design has not caught up with technologyand that to create for diverse audiences the process must be deliberate.IntroductionThe global technological marketplace has brought with it the need to address interna-tional and local target audiences. To remain competitive, companies have begun toaddress the needs of the many and the few. This shift is less apparent but should beconsidered in the design of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Thischange in focus is significant for designers of ICTs as their role moves to a diversificationof design. The problem with diversifying design is knowing how to go about it, whatsteps to take and what roads should never be travelled. This task is often left up to thedesign team or designer. Either way, culture is at the core of the design process.Human–computer interaction (HCI) and instructional design (ID) are two fields thathave considered the integration of culture in the design of ICTs. For almost 20 years,researchers and designers in HCI have been examining the cultural differences thatBritish Journal of Educational Technology Vol 39 No 1 2008 6–17doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2007.00699.x© 2007 The Author. Journal compilation © 2007 British Educational Communications and Technology Agency. Published byBlackwell Publishing, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA.inhibit and support the design process (Aykin, 2005; Hall & Hudson, 1997; Taylor,1992). These differences are sharply apparent in the 2006 Internet world statistics thatestimates over 1 billion people are accessing the Internet and are communicating in atleast 10 major languages (Internet World Stats: Usage Population Statistics, 2006).Therefore, it is apparent that meeting the technological needs of foreign and domesticmarkets can be a challenging task and that there needs to be specific frameworks orguidelines to enable product development. The internationalisation and localisation ofproducts have aided in defining the design of user interfaces. Internationalisation seeksto eliminate culture, thus making the product one that can be used by all or a universaldesign. Localisation tailors products to the needs of a target audience (Horton, 2005).ID, over the last 20 years, has seen more of a focus on educating learners and asprinkling of paper s on factors related to integrating culture in ID (Subramony, 2004).The literature in ID has focused on culture through the application of theories andmethods such as cultural diversity, cultural pluralism and cultural sensitivity (Scheel &Branch, 1993). Cultural diver sity broadly refers to the multiplicity of identities withingroups and societies (Bennett, 1999). Nieto (1996) defines cultural pluralism as themaintenance of one’s language and culture when he or she is living with anotherculture. Cultural sensitivity is an awareness of cultural similarities and differences andhow they might affect beliefs, values, behaviour and learning (Stafford-Robinson,1999). Therefore, the role of culture in ID has many meanings that inform learners andlearning. There are models for the design of instruction in ID; however there is littlefocus on integrating culture within these models (Gustafson & Branch, 2002). Thesetrends towards internationalisation and localisation in HCI and multiculturalism in IDshould have designers rethinking what it means to integrate culture in the design ofICTs and, more important, rediscovering how to do it.Through an examination of design specifications in HCI and ID, this review argues thatthe current state of research representing culture in the design of ICTs serves a limitedscope of what culture can be in the design process. Designers and researchers needmore guidance in the form of models or frameworks to incorporate culture andenhance the design process. HCI and ID are two fields wherein researchers and design-ers are grappling with the integ ration of culture in the design process. It seems fittingthat the concerns of these disciplines be examined as an interdisciplinary inquiry,because designers in both fields are addressing the same question: what is culture in thedesign of ICTs?This article covers literature that focuses on design in the fields HCI and ID, culture andtechnology. The sequence of this paper begins with definitions of culture as perceived inboth disciplines. This is followed by a review of empirical and conceptual papers on HCIand ID, and a concluding statement.This is not a complete review of literature in HCI and ID but a sampling of what exists.Game design has been excluded because of space requirements; however many of thedesign issues discussed might be of interest to designers in this area.Integrating culture 7© 2007 The Author. Journal compilation © 2007 British Educational Communications and Technology Agency.Definitions of cultureThroughout history, there have been many definitions of culture hypothesised by theo-rists and