Susan Wyche
Computing Innovation Fellow at Virginia Tech's Center for Human-Computer Interaction
Transnational Design: Exploring the Local and the Global in HCI

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Accelerated movements of technologies have generated an understanding of place and community that can no longer be considered in purely local terms. However, HCI research tends to focus on local, place-based scenarios, overlooking the new forms of interconnectedness resulting from flows of people and technology from one geographic location to another. In this talk I draw from prior and ongoing research projects to illustrate why technology use must be considered in a national context, but also a transnational context. First, I present the design and deployment of an application that supports Muslims' prayer practice. Findings from this project demonstrate how religious uses of technology reveal the interconnectedness of ICTs and the people who use them. Second, I present results from a study examining how professionals living and working in Nairobi, Kenya, use computers in their everyday lives. I describe the constraints participants encountered when using ICTs to communicate with co-workers in developed countries. Findings from this work demonstrate that ICT access is an issue not confined to developing countries, but one that also had local implications. Throughout this talk I discuss the design and methodological implications this work has for HCI research.

Susan Wyche is a Computing Innovation Fellow (CI Fellow) at Virginia Tech's Center for Human-Computer Interaction. Her research focuses on human-computer interaction, design and cultural studies of technology. In her dissertation, Wyche used religion as a lens to understand how alternative worldviews can inform design. She has explored how Muslims in Atlanta, Charismatic Pentecostals in São Paulo, and Protestant Christians in Nairobi, use mobile phones, computers, and the Internet to support their religious practices. Prior to coming to VaTech, Wyche received her PhD in Human-Centered Computing from the Georgia Institute of Technology, her master's degree from Cornell University and her undergraduate degree in Industrial Design from Carnegie Mellon University. In addition to her academic pursuits, Wyche has professional design experience, most notably working at Libbey Inc. designing glassware and as a design researcher for S.C. Johnson Inc. She has also worked as a research intern at Microsoft Research, Cambridge (U.K.) and Intel Labs (Berkeley).