Intercultural Design: Task 01
WEEK 01 - WEEK 03 (03/01/2022 - 21/03/2022)
Task 01: Proposal
Directory
-
Lecture
- Week 01
- Week 02 -
Instructions
- Week 01
- Week 02
- Week 03 - Final Proposal Submission
- Feedback
- Reflection
Lecture
Week 01 (03/01/2022)
Today, Dr Charles gave a lecture on Netnography.
Netnography.
Described as: Ethnographic studies, but from the internet. Makes use of observational skills. Uses technologies, internet, forums, social media, etc. "A type of online or internet, ethnography; Netnography provides a guideline for the adaptation of participant-observation procedures to the contingencies of online community & culture that manifests through computer-mediated communications." - (Kozinets, 2010).
Difference between Ethnography & Netnography:
Based on ethnographic studies. Prior to this, Ethnography was used to study cultures. Usually, it is done by visiting and having hands on experience with the culture. Possible to generate as many questions for the culture. However, it can take a long process. Overall, we need to understand how each culture sees things as every culture sees things very differently. Ethnography makes us stay within the culture.
Key points of Ethnographic Experiences:
- First-hand experience
- Participatory
- Face to face
- On-site
- Observational
Physically there, and participate. Learning things of how the cultures talk, see things. Observe the ambience and environments. Learn their ways of civilisation. Field notes in Ethnography are very important to document the cultures.
Netnography.
If you're limited geographically, Netnography combines the internet to Ethnography. Ethnography takes a long and physical process, whereas Netnography can supply an overload of information. Important for us when we are very focused.
In a nutshell,
Figure 1.1.1 Netnography Nutshell, 03/01/2022.
Conduct a Netnography Study which is based on a Theory/Hypothesis which we have right now.
Figure 1.1.2 Netnographic Approach, 03/01/2022.
The above figure shows how one might approach Netnography. There is no fixed way, but there is a systematic way. A focused topic must be looked into. Even with a hypothesis, it is crucial to conduct more studies to find out if it is true. We have to be very specific about the topic of study. Try to think of a problem which you might not be sure about or falsely assumed about this culture. With that, it is possible to generate research questions. Then, it'll become a goal to figure out these questions. What do we intend to discover? It will lead us to think about the instruments used for this research.
Methodology
Figure 1.1.3 Methodology, 03/01/2022.
Which approach do you intend to use?
Inductive Approach
- Have an urge to confirm the assumptions or hypothesis first
- One thinks they know about the culture, so they start writing.
- But, they have to collect the information to prove it.
- Don't know much about it. Have major questions about it.
- Have to build from the ground up which requires collection of more information.
- From the information collected, then only start thinking of a hypothesis/theoretical statement.
Three Types of Data Collection:
- Archival Data [Data without the researcher's involvement]
- Elicited Data [Co-created by researcher and members]
- Field notes [Observational and reflective notes]
Using data, it is important to cite the information and their sources.
When getting a response, it is encouraged to analyse the response. When it comes to text, narrative responses are helpful as they give a lot of description. Below is an example of how a researcher can get a response in a more systematic and ethical way:
Figure 1.1.4 How A Researcher Can Get A Response, 03/01/2022.
- First, introduce yourself
- Put in your questions or ask for opinions to get feedback
Figure 1.1.5 Data Analysis, 03/01/2022.
After putting in your questions into a discussion forum, there are many ways to analyse the responses you will get.
- Coding = Categorising.
- Note = Comment.
- Abstracting = Turning the responses into an abstract description.
- Check & Refining = Recheck and categorise.
- Generalizing = Leads to a conclusive find.
With that said, it is important to observe the things some people say.
Figure 1.1.6 Observing Responses, 03/01/2022.
Underline some of their responses, what does it mean? Categorise & code. Depends on the responses as there is no fixed way of doing things. Observe everything that is sent.
- Identify & explain yourself.
- Ask for permission.
- Consult with experts / look up credible references.
- Informed consent.
- Citation / crediting.
These are important as it'll protect & safeguard the culture, and allows us to avoid plagiarism. Always get permission if you want the culture to share certain things. Be careful with what you write as text is a powerful tool that can be used against you. Communicate with your lecturers and ask for a second opinion whenever unsure. Look up credible sources, do cross-checking online. Whatever information obtained online, it must be cited. There must be a caption, and the reference. Be ethical. Do an ethical Netnography study.
Figure 1.1.7 Example of asking in a discussion group, 03/01/2022.
Advantages of Netnography.
- There is a high scope of potential valuable data. (So much information out there due to information overload.)
- It can overcome geographical limitations. (Times have shifted as how we used to do this before. Now, a more hybrid practice is implemented)
- Data is naturally occurring. (Real time information on social media is constantly occurring and the feed is real and happening.)
- Opportunity to discover unexpected findings. (Sometimes we think we know things, but we can get the chance to learn even more than we knew.)
- Data may be available online that wouldn't be available in a face-to-face context. (There's only so much information that we can get physically, but the internet provides us the rest of the data online.)
- More contemporary and current.
- Largely empirical. (If you're 100% relying on the Internet, you are just collecting and measuring information but has not much qualitative work or experience.)
- Researchers may not be familiar with online platforms. (Maybe, you haven't used a forum platform before, which becomes a problem)
- Data collection & analysis may be time consuming or may have invalid data. (Not all data can be relevant. It is important to have a specific focus to avoid feeling overwhelmed by the information presented.)
In a nutshell,
Figure 1.1.8 Netnography Nutshell, 03/01/2022.
Week 02 (10/01/2022)
Culture and Us.
The Origin of Narcissist: In Greek Mythology, Narcissus was the son of the River God, Cephissus & the nymph, Liriope. Distinguished for his beauty and good looks, Narcissus fell in love with his own reflection in the waters of the spring and pined away. There is a flower which sprang up where he passed.
Narcissistic: "Having or showing an excessive interest in or admiration of oneself and one's physical appearance." (Oxford Languages, 2022.)
However, we might not know of the meanings behind the paintings including Narcissus if we have never learnt about the Greek Culture.
The words we use in certain contexts comes with meanings that can be tied to a particular culture. Being able to understand said meaning depends on our positions as outsiders or insiders.
What is Culture?
As Malaysians, we think of culture as the various ethnicities. We also think of the various foods, celebrations, festivals, art forms, and many more. We can define the obvious parts of a culture this way.
What we know of most cultures are what we can see. However, like an iceberg, there are deeper, unseen parts.
"If the culture of a society was the iceberg, then there are some aspects visible above the water, but there is a larger portion hidden beneath the surface." - Edward T. Hall (1976)
"The external, or conscious, part of a culture is what we can see and is the tip of the iceberg includes behaviours and some beliefs. The internal, or subconscious, part of the culture is below the surface of a society and includes some beliefs and the values and thought patterns that underlie behaviour." - Hall (1976)
Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, concepts of the universe, & material objects & possessions acquired by a group of individuals in the course of generations through individual & group striving. It is also a way of life for a group of people and how they have behaviours, beliefs, values, & symbols that they accept without questioning or thinking about them, which are passed along by communication & imitation from a generation to another. Not only that, culture is also symbolic communication. Symbols can include a group's skills, knowledge, attitudes, values as well as motives. The meanings for these symbols are learned and deliberately perpetuated in a society through its institutions.
The deeper internal part of a culture represents the core of the culture. To govern the culture, values must be set. In the screenshot below, it shows which part of a culture is in the external core vs the internal core.
As a person explores a culture, they might first see the most obvious behaviours, but as they spend more time, they start to learn the underlying beliefs, values & thought patterns which dictate that behaviour.
Layers of Culture
National Level: Associated with the nation as a whole.
Regional Level: Associated with ethnic, linguistic, or religious differences that exist within a nation.
Gender Level: Associated with gender differences.
Generational Level: Associated with the differences between generations.
Social Class Level: Associated with educational opportunities & differences in occupation.
Corporate Level: Associated with particular culture of an organisation. Applicable to employed individuals.
Cultural Frames
Refers to socially shared assumptions of the meaning of events and actions (Goffman, 1974) through which individuals come to understand the relevance for a particular time, place & community (Diehl & Mcfarland, 2010). When a culture is framed, we are focusing on understanding specific aspects of that culture, to learn how the participants of that culture assigns their meanings and determines the appropriateness for the context.
Significance
There is a significance in line with UNESCO's intercultural education. Where learning takes places in the forms of:
- Knowing: Allows a person to communicate with other languages & other areas of knowledge & makes communication possible. (In a design aspect, it is visual communication)
- Doing: Acquire occupational skills as well as be able to gain the competence to deal with many situations and work in teams.
- Living together: Developing an understanding with other people and get an appreaciation for interdependence.
- Being: Develop our own personality and be able to act with greater autonomy and great responsibilities.
Instructions
Week 01 (03/01/2022 - 09/01/2022)
Firstly, we were told to separate into groups. After I found my group, my group mates and I created a WhatsApp group to have communication with each other.
Then, we decided to have a group meeting on Wednesday (05/01/2022) on Microsoft Teams. As a group, we decided it would be best for us to brainstorm some ideas for our chosen topic before our meeting and present it to the rest on the day. Below is a screenshot of what I had prepared for the meeting.
Below is the meeting minutes for the meeting we had.
Together, we discussed our group rules first, before sharing our opinions and information we had gathered about our suggested topics. After we gave it a thought, we voted for the topics we were interested in. In the end, the topic of 'Gaming Culture' won. Thus, we agreed on it and decided to find some of our own information and come together in a few days to share our findings.
The findings I thought of looking at; Collecting in Games as well as Let's Players / Streamers. The below PDF shows the information I collected to share at our next meeting.
After getting feedback from Ms Anis, we were able to find our focus; Safe Haven. We each were able to use parts of the information which we have already created to do this. As a team, we agreed to research more to ensure we are able to learn as much as possible about this Safe Haven which gaming provides to people.
Week 02 (10/01/2022 - 16/01/2022)
From Friday (Week 01) until Wednesday (Week 02), I searched more of the sub topic I was assigned; Collecting In Games and the Gambling aspects of it. Below is the PDF of the part I was tasked to wrote.
Next, we had a meeting on Wednesday during 2pm. Below is the meeting minutes for the meeting.
During this meeting, we also did our slides, and discussed our ideas with one another, listening to what each other had to say. Doing the slides as we discussed brought out an easier outlook for each of us, and made us be able to visualise the ideas more clearly than we did before.
Week 03 (17/01/2022 - 23/01/2022)
On the Tuesday (18/01/2022), we called on Discord. We did the following:
- Cleaned up the slides
- Discussed our parts for the group presentation
- Discussed our final output
Final Submission:
Feedback
Week 01 [07/01/2022, Friday]
When looking through our research, Ms Anis gave some tips for us. Angle in such a way to get a clearer direction = Approach can make final output. Nowadays, there is a variation of genres / how or why people play games. It is advised to look at the bigger picture. What is the best way to highlight the culture within the gaming culture?
A Safe Haven concept can show running away from the world type beat, which can reflect how comfortable people feel within the gaming realm and what keeps them playing, etc. How does gaming companies get away with certain things due to this 'safe haven' concept, maybe just because it's not real. It can give more room to explore & have potential for a final outcome.
What kind of project captures the gaming culture? Does it provide an outlet for people who like to collect / enjoy the thrill of collecting items in games rather in real life. Is it possible to look into the preservation of collecting rare/novelty items.
Week 02 [14/01/2022, Friday]
During our consultation, Ms Anis looked through our slides. Firstly, she advised to generalise the questions & to combine four and five together. Ask combination of while gaming provides safe haven to consumer, what is the best way to capture the essence of the idea of safe haven in artwork. Ask a question in relation to how we’re connecting safe haven to gaming culture to our output. Questions to ask ourselves are, "What is the reason we are trying to express with our project output?", "Are we creating awareness or warning people about potentially harmful safe haven?" That’s why we must have a rationale.
She mentioned how as a group, we have a big idea, but it seems to not be going somewhere. Remember that we only have 5 weeks and Covid when we are showing. Avoid social experiments unless you want to use it under your short film. Don’t think too big, think of a smaller niche project that we can do. Maybe a infographic or web comic for ideas under gaming culture. With different topics. Keep the project output that we can do within five weeks. Another idea could be to create a game-book or art-book capturing a game persona, which captures our own game personas. For safe haven to express ourselves. View at a subjective way of how people exercise their rights with gaming. Re-imagine if we were game characters, what form would I take? Jumanji as a study.
Reflection
Overall, I was able to find out a lot about gaming culture through this project. It was insightful as I was able to learn a bit more from what I actually thought about gaming. I used to think it was just a way people relaxed or destressed, but this project has allowed me to learn that it is in fact a lot more than that.
Besides that, this project allowed me to obtain some knowledge on how to work with others. Working with my groupmates has proved to be an interesting, but joyous experience as I see how they work, and feel inspired by observing their working habits and patterns
