By: Diane Stirling
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School of Information Studies (iSchool) Associate Professor Michelle Kaarst-Brown is presenting a paper she co-authored at this week’s 2012 Cultural Attitudes towards Technology and Communication conference (CATaC) in Aarhus, Denmark.
The biennial conference is a premier international forum for current research on the complex interactions between culturally-variable norms, practices, and communication preferences, and interaction with the design, implementation and use of information and communication technologies (ICTs).
Dr. Kaarst-Brown, who has been a faculty member at Syracuse University since 2001, also serves as director of the iSchool’s Doctorate in Professional Studies/Information Management program. She co-authored the paper with Jake Dolezal, Director of Research for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
The paper is “CHAHTA SIA ‘I AM CHOCTAW’: Using Images as a Methodology for Cultural and Technological Discourse.” It discusses the use of an image-based methodology as applied to a study of one native American tribe’s reaction to cultural images and information and communication technologies (ICTs). It also illustrates benefits of conducting a pilot study in advance of a larger qualitative research study, including opportunities for discourse around ICTs in relation to local culture, Kaarst-Brown noted.
The CATaC conference provides one of the most significant international forums for research on how diverse culture attitudes and communication preferences shape the implementation and use of information and communication technologies, according to its website. The conference brings together scholars from around the globe who highlight diverse cultural perspectives, as well as a breadth of disciplines, in their conference presentations.
Conference keynoters are Dr. Rasha Abdulla, Associate Professor and Chair of the Journalism and Mass Communication Department at The American University in Cairo, whose topic is social media and political activism and transformation. In addition, Dr. Randi Markussen, Associate Professor and Head of Group, Technologies in Practice, IT University of Copenhagen, is addressing the topic of e-voting and public control of elections.