Published in

Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, CSCW3(4), p. 1-31, 2021

DOI: 10.1145/3432913

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Seeing in Context

Journal article published in 2021 by Sharifa Sultana, Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed ORCID, Jeffrey M. Rzeszotarski
This paper was not found in any repository, but could be made available legally by the author.
This paper was not found in any repository, but could be made available legally by the author.

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Abstract

There is a risk that modern practices of information communication and visualization in human-computer interaction can sideline communities due to their prioritization of scientific rationality. Such ideological hegemony can complicate interactions with data and computers, especially for low-literate communities in the global south. Through a six-month long ethnographic study with Nakshi-Katha makers, Hindu Idol makers, and witchcraft practitioners, we investigated how rural practitioners use their own forms of representation and narrative in record keeping, social and religious storytelling, and information mediated decision making. We find that traditionally developed approaches towards presenting and communicating information often make use of concrete units to represent entities and connect to designers' cultural practices and the physical location. Further, we identify how medium has significant influence in meaning-making. Often these strategies and conventions are passed down through generations within the community. In this paper, we discuss how this rural tradition differs from the modern information communication practices, discussing how an understanding of traditional practices for representing information can be useful in developing more accessible, and culturally appropriate modern tools and technologies for the people of rural Bangladesh and similar communities.