skip to main content
10.1145/1900441.1900443acmotherconferencesArticle/Chapter ViewAbstractPublication PagespdcConference Proceedingsconference-collections
research-article

Being participated: a community approach

Published:29 November 2010Publication History

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we explore the concept of participatory design from a different viewpoint by drawing on an African philosophy of humanness -Ubuntu-, and African rural community practices. The situational dynamics of participatory interaction become obvious throughout the design experiences within our community project. Supported by a theoretical framework we reflect upon current participatory design practices. We intend to inspire and refine participatory design concepts and methods beyond the particular context of our own experiences.

References

  1. Beck, E., Madon, S. and Sahay, S. On the Margins of Information Society: A comparative study. Routledge, part of the Taylor and Francis Group. 2004.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  2. Bidwell, N., Reitmaier, T., Marsden, G. and Hansen, S. Designing with Mobile Digital Storytelling in Rural Africa. CHI2010. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  3. Bidwell, N., Standley, P., George, T. and Steffensen, V. The Landscape's Apprentice: Lessons for Design from Grounding Documentary. Designing Interactive Systems Cape Town. DIS'08. 2008. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  4. Blake, E. Software Engineering in Developing Communities. CHASE Workshop, ICSE, 2010. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  5. Blake, E. How to Provide Useful ICT When Called Upon. Interactions. September/October. 2006, 20--21. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  6. Blake, E. and Tucker, W. Socially Aware Software Engineering for the Developing World. Proc. IST Africa, 2006.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  7. Bohm, D. On Dialogue. Routledge, Great Britain. 2007.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  8. Brereton, M. and Buur, J. New Challenges for design participation in the era of ubiquitous computing, Co-Design. Taylor and Francis, June 2008. 4(2):101--113.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  9. Bujo, B. and Murove, M. (ed.). Is there a specific African ethic? in African Ethics: An Anthology of Comparative and Applied Ethics. University of KwaZulu-Natal Press. 2009.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  10. Byrne E. and Leopoldo J. Contextuality of Participation in IS Design: A Developing Country Perspective. Proc. PDC 2004. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  11. Finnegan, R. The oral and beyond: doing things with words in Africa. Oxf./Chicago: James Currey/UCP. 2007.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  12. Green, L. 'Indigenous Knowledge' and 'Science': Reframing the debate on Knowledge Diversity. 2008. 4(1):144--163.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  13. Hull, G. and Schultz, K. Literacy and Learning Out of School: A Review of Theory and Research. Review of Educational Research. 2001, 71: 575--611.Google ScholarGoogle ScholarCross RefCross Ref
  14. Kearins, J. Visual memory skills of Western Desert and Queensland children of Australian aboriginal descent: A reply to drinkwater. Australian Journal. of Psych, 1978, 30(1):1--5.Google ScholarGoogle ScholarCross RefCross Ref
  15. Marcus, G. Ethnography in/of the World System: The Emergence of Multi-Sited Ethnography. Annual Review of Anthropology, 1995, 24: 95--117.Google ScholarGoogle ScholarCross RefCross Ref
  16. Martin, K. Ways of Knowing, Ways of Being and Ways of Doing: a theoretical framework and methods for Indigenous re-search and Indigenist research: Voicing Dissent, New Talents 21C: Next Generation. Journal of Australian Studies, 2003, 76: 203--214.Google ScholarGoogle ScholarCross RefCross Ref
  17. Maunder, A., Marsden, G., Gruijters, D. and Blake, E. Designing interactive systems for the developing world -- reflection on user-centred design. ICTD 2007.Google ScholarGoogle ScholarCross RefCross Ref
  18. Mbiti, J. African Religions and Philosophy. (2nd ed). Heinemann (First edition 1969). 1990.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  19. Merkel, C., Xiao, L., Farooq, U., Ganoe, C., Lee, R., Carroll, M. and Rosson, M. Participatory Design in Community Computing Contexts: Tales from the field. Proc. PDC 2004, 1--10. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  20. Munyaka, M. and Motlhabi, M. Ubuntu and its Sociomoral Significance, in African Ethics: An Anthology of Comparative and Applied Ethics. Murove MF (ed.) University of KwaZulu-Natal Press. 1990.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  21. Oyugi, C., Dunckley, L., and Smith, A. Evaluation methods and cultural differences: studies across three continents. Proc. NordiCHI 2008. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  22. Puri, S., Byrne, E., Nhampossa, J. and Quraishi, Z. Contextuality of Participation in IS Design: A developing country perspective. Proc. PDC 2004. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  23. Sherwani, J., Ali, N., Penstein Rose, C. and Rosenfeld, R. Orality-Grounded HCID: Understanding the Oral User. Information Technologies and Development. 5(4). 2009.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  24. Tacchi, J. Watkins, and Jerry, J. 'Participatory Research and Creative Engagement with ICTs'. In Proc. ACM Sensys 2007Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  25. Walker, K., Underwood, J., Waema, T., Dunckley, L., Abdelnour-Nocera, J., Luckin, R., Oyugi, C. and Camara, S. A ResourceKit for Participatory Socio-technical Design in Rural Africa, CHI 2008. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  26. Winschiers, H. Dialogical system design across cultural boundaries. Doctoral Dissertation. http://www.sub.unihamburg.de/disse/482/Disse.pdf, 2001.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  27. Winschiers, H. The challenges of participatory design in an intercultural context: Designing for Usability in Namibia, Proc. PDC 2006.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  28. Winschiers, H. and Fendler, J. Assumptions Considered Harmful The Need to Redefine Usability. Usability and Internationalization, Part I, HCII 2007 Ed N. Aykin; LNCS Springer Verlag Berlin Heidelberg Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  29. Winschiers-Theophilus, H., Fendler, J., Joubert, D., Zimmermann, I., Stanley, C., and Mukimbira, S. A Bush encroachment Decision Support System's Metamorphosis. Proc. OZCHI 2008 Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  30. Winschiers-Theophilus, H. Cultural Appropriation of Software Design and Evaluation. In Handbook of Research on Socio-Technical Design and Social Networking Systems. Whitworth, B. (Ed.). IGI Global. 2009Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  31. Orr, J. E. Talking About Machines: An Ethnography of a Modern Job. ILR Press/Cornell University Press, USA. 1996.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar

Index Terms

  1. Being participated: a community approach

      Recommendations

      Comments

      Login options

      Check if you have access through your login credentials or your institution to get full access on this article.

      Sign in
      • Published in

        cover image ACM Other conferences
        PDC '10: Proceedings of the 11th Biennial Participatory Design Conference
        November 2010
        314 pages
        ISBN:9781450301312
        DOI:10.1145/1900441

        Copyright © 2010 ACM

        Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

        Publisher

        Association for Computing Machinery

        New York, NY, United States

        Publication History

        • Published: 29 November 2010

        Permissions

        Request permissions about this article.

        Request Permissions

        Check for updates

        Qualifiers

        • research-article

        Acceptance Rates

        Overall Acceptance Rate49of289submissions,17%

      PDF Format

      View or Download as a PDF file.

      PDF

      eReader

      View online with eReader.

      eReader