Beth Kolko on Form, Function and Fiction: ICTs and Their Uses in Resource Constrained Environments
Beth Kolko, Berkman Center fellow and Associate Professor in the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering at the University of Washington, examines what are essentially fictional definitions (what is “the Internet,” “an Internet user,” a “mobile phone”) and discusses how the same collection of circuits and memory can occupy varying cultural meanings across contexts, particularly in resource-constrained environments. She presents a series of case studies of how technology design addresses (or ignores) differences in function and cultural meaning, and the implications of those differences for design.
Photo CC by flickr user arcticpenguin
