Talking Heads vs. Virtual Workspaces: A Comparison of Design across Cultures
比较斯堪的纳维亚和日本在计算机支持的协同工作系统设计上的文化差异，通过两个案例说明文化如何影响技术设计，挑战技术中立性的假设。
The past decade has seen the development of a perspective holding that technology is socially constructed. This paper examines the social construction of one group of technologies, systems for computer supported cooperative work (CSCW). It compares the design of systems for computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) in Scandinavia and Japan with particular attention to the influence of culture on the resulting products. Two case studies are presented to illustrate the argument that culture is an important factor in technology design, despite commonly held assumptions about the neutrality and objectivity of science and technology. The paper further proposes an explanation for why, despite similar technical backgrounds and research interests, CSCW design is conducted differently and produces different results in Denmark and Japan. It argues that, by looking at CSCW systems as texts which reflect the context of their production and the society from which they come, we may be better able to understand the transformations that operate when these texts are ‘read’ in the contexts of their implementation.