Interesting material I read on ICT4D or HCI:
Gary’s (my research adviser) and Matt’s book:
Mobile Interaction Design
Since I’m looking at implementing the water quality reporting/alerting service on cellular phones (more commonly referred to as mobile phones in Africa), this addresses the constraints of designing for this platform. Chapter 11 is very informative; it warns against developing applications around cultural dimensions like Hofstede’s cultural classification, and suggests an effective approach when designing for cultures over than one’s own is to employ ethnographic or anthropological techniques.
Most people are shocked when they hear that the mobile penetration rate in South Africa exceeds 100% of the population, which basically means that just about everyone (rich, poor, educated, uneducated, young and old alike) has a mobile phone (or even two). So mobile phones provide a good platform to implement information services like the one I am designing since this is the only ‘computer’ many people in South Africa will have access to. For many, not only is their mobile phone their ‘land line’ telephone, it’s also their main access to information. This is true in many developing countries like my home country Jamaica.
