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Dimensioning cultural diversity in eServices architectures

Dimensioning cultural diversity in eServices architectures Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the development of a culturally sensitive and end‐user‐centric software architectural framework for the development of eService applications in information and communication technologies for development (ICTD) contexts. The research is undertaken within the Siyakhula Living Lab (SLL) in South Africa. Design/methodology/approach – Action research is the approach undertaken in this research with an extensive literature review to inform the development of the architecture, which is later qualitatively and quantitavely validated. Findings – Various factors have to be taken into consideration for technology solutions to be effective in their context of deployment. The authors have provided an architecture that intrinsically enables software solutions to be developed from the ground up with concern for flexibility for context sensitivity. The PIASK architecture separates the presentation, interaction, access, social networking and knowledge base components into five distinct functional layers. This architecture is validated for: technical viability through a development of a knowledge portal in SLL; cultural sensitivity through Dooyeweerd's theory of modal aspects; and user centricity using a SALUTA‐based evaluation. Practical implications – The successful evolution of any society towards a knowledge society is predicated on technology solutions that embrace and that are sensitive to the socio‐cultural diversity of that society. The PIASK architecture developed in this research is a tool that can be used in the realization of services and applications for ICTD contexts in South Africa and other third‐world countries. Originality/value – The software architecture developed specifically for ICTD contexts to encapsulate context sensitivity and user centricity is the primary and novel contribution of this research. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Systems and Information Technology Emerald Publishing

Dimensioning cultural diversity in eServices architectures

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References (37)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2011 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
1328-7265
DOI
10.1108/13287261111164880
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the development of a culturally sensitive and end‐user‐centric software architectural framework for the development of eService applications in information and communication technologies for development (ICTD) contexts. The research is undertaken within the Siyakhula Living Lab (SLL) in South Africa. Design/methodology/approach – Action research is the approach undertaken in this research with an extensive literature review to inform the development of the architecture, which is later qualitatively and quantitavely validated. Findings – Various factors have to be taken into consideration for technology solutions to be effective in their context of deployment. The authors have provided an architecture that intrinsically enables software solutions to be developed from the ground up with concern for flexibility for context sensitivity. The PIASK architecture separates the presentation, interaction, access, social networking and knowledge base components into five distinct functional layers. This architecture is validated for: technical viability through a development of a knowledge portal in SLL; cultural sensitivity through Dooyeweerd's theory of modal aspects; and user centricity using a SALUTA‐based evaluation. Practical implications – The successful evolution of any society towards a knowledge society is predicated on technology solutions that embrace and that are sensitive to the socio‐cultural diversity of that society. The PIASK architecture developed in this research is a tool that can be used in the realization of services and applications for ICTD contexts in South Africa and other third‐world countries. Originality/value – The software architecture developed specifically for ICTD contexts to encapsulate context sensitivity and user centricity is the primary and novel contribution of this research.

Journal

Journal of Systems and Information Technology – Emerald Publishing

Published: Aug 16, 2011

Keywords: ICT4D; Software architectures; Context‐sensitive eServices; South Africa; National culture; Ethnocentrism

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