Cultural Attitudes towards Technology and Communication

Conference theme:
Off the shelf or from the ground up?
ICTs and cultural marginalization, homogenization or hybridization
The biennial CATaC conference series provides a continuously expanding
international forum for the presentation and discussion of current research
on how diverse cultural attitudes shape the implementation and use of
information and communication technologies (ICTs). The conference series
brings together scholars from around the globe who provide diverse
perspectives, both in terms of the specific culture(s) they highlight in
their presentations and discussions, and in terms of the discipline(s)
through which they approach the conference theme. The first conference in
the series was held in London in 1998, the second in Perth in 2000, and the
third in Montreal in 2002.
Beginning with our first conference in 1998, the CATaC conferences have
highlighted theoretical and praxis-oriented scholarship and research from
all parts of the globe, including Asia, Africa, and the Middle-East. The
conferences focus especially on people and communities at the developing
edges of ICT diffusion, including indigenous peoples and those outside the
English-speaking world.
Understanding the role of culture in how far minority and/or indigenous
cultural groups may succeed - or fail - in taking up ICTs designed for a
majority culture is obviously crucial to the moral and political imperative
of designing ICTs in ways that will not simply reinforce such groups'
marginalization. What is the role of culture in the development of ICTs
"from the ground up" - beginning with the local culture and conditions -
rather than assuming dominant "off the shelf" technologies are appropriate?
Are the empowering potentials of ICTs successfully exploited among minority
and indigenous groups, and/or do they rather engender cultural
marginalization, cultural homogenization or cultural hybridization?
Original full papers (especially those which connect theoretical frameworks
with specific examples of cultural values, practices, etc.) and short papers
(e.g. describing current research projects and preliminary results) are
invited.
Topics of particular interest include but are not limited to:
- Culture: theory and praxis
- Culture and economy
- Alternative models for ICT diffusion
- Role of governments and activists in culture, technology and communication
- ICTs and cultural hybridity
- ICTs and intercultural communication
- Culture, communication and e-learning

SUBMISSIONS
All submissions will be peer reviewed by an international panel of
scholars and researchers and accepted papers will appear in the conference
proceedings. You may purchase the conference proceedings from the 2000 and
2002 conferences from http://www.it.murdoch.edu.au/catac.
There will be the opportunity for selected papers from this 2004 conference