Media: Creating Passionate Users picks up on Context

This article won me over immediately by starting with a picture of a cow - in fact two pictures of the same cow, with and without context. The point which this piece goes on to make is that context is more significant to people from Eastern cultures than it is to Americans. Kathy Sierra refers to, and then provides a very simplified guide to the book "The Geography of Thought" and other sources for this assertion. 'The book is amazing, and offers a ton of fascinating research and studies that prove that we DO think differently. My brain processes the world in ways different from that of my Japanese counterparts, and one of the those ways involves context.'

A fact she offers, endorsed by a comment from the Philippines, is that Asians think in verbs where Americans think in nouns. She goes on: 'the Japanese are raised to give a damn about doing a job well, and that the aesthetic sensibility and attention to detail is simply one of the natural outcomes. Context matters.'

Associated Link: Creating Passionate Users: Context matters

All change at the top for System Concepts
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Leslie Fountain has been promoted to joint Managing Director of leading usability consultancy System Concepts.

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The latest issue of Interfaces is now available as a free download from the Interaction Website.

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Cell Phones that Listen and Learn
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Six tips for creating quality usability tests to ensure useful feedback from testers.

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It's all about 'meaningful use'.

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