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F A C U L T Y O F H U M A N I T I E S

U N I V E R S I T Y O F C O P E N H A G E N

Master’s thesis

Alejandro Sánchez Segura

The influence of national cultural traits on website design An analysis of usability and accessibility structures on Diaspora websites for high skilled migrants.

Academic advisor: Klaus Bruhn Jensen.

Submitted: 03/06/13

e-diaspora

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Institutnavn: Cognition and Communication Name of department: Department of Media, Cognition and Communication Author): Alejandro Sánchez Segura Titel og evt. undertitel: The influence of national cultural traits on website design Title / Subtitle: An analysis of usability and accessibility structures on Diaspora

websites for high skilled migrants Subject description: This study researches the influence of culture on Human-

Computer Interaction in the context of usability and accessibility in website design. Using Diasporas of high skilled migrants’ websites, the research analyzes the particular prevalence or absence of design elements websites.

Academic advisor: Klaus Bruhn Jensen Submitted: 03.June 2013 Grade:

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The influence of national cultural traits on website design: An analysis of usability and accessibility structures on Diaspora websites for high skilled migrants

SUMMARY

This study researches the influence of culture on HCI in the context of usability and

accessibility in website design in terms of different national culture backgrounds. These

areas (culture, HCI, and national culture background) form the basis of the research. The

research design discusses the approach used to analyze such areas in relation to the broad

research question:

To what extent do usability and accessibility in website design differ across national

culture backgrounds?

This study examines website design features across different countries within a particular

genre in order to measure the impact of national culture traits on usability and accessibility.

The research analyzes the content of websites according to Hofstede’s dimensions of

culture and to the nature of its constitutive elements.

The study was conducted over a period of four months, and the case study consisted of 14

websites representing diasporas of high-skilled migrants (DHSM) from different countries.

Based on Hofstede’s Power Distance and Individualism dimensions of culture, a

comparative analysis of three typologies of national culture trait combinations was

developed in order to explore the influence of national culture backgrounds in website

design. The national cultural trait typologies are: 1) HL: collective with a high power

distance, 2) LH: individualistic with a low power distance, 3) Mixed: a national culture that

fluctuates between HL and LH culture traits. These typologies were represented by the

prevalence or absence of specific web elements.

The results reveal that DHSM websites uses a localized style of web design, in terms of

images, color, user guidelines, HTLM and CSS design. Websites from collectivistic

countries with a high power distance (HL) prefer a high context communication style,

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whereas low context communication is preferred by individualistic countries with a low

power distance (LH). Websites from Mixed national cultural trait combination fluctuated

between HL and LH styles of context communication.

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Contents

INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 7

COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION AND HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION: CULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY .................................................. 9

INTERACTIVITY IN NEW MEDIA ..............................................................................................................11

CYBER-INTERACTIVITY AND WEB INTERFACES .........................................................................................15

USABILITY AND WEBSITE DESIGN ..........................................................................................................18

METAPHORS: CULTURE AND CREATIVIY IN WEBDESIGN ...............................................................21

LOCALIZATION, CULTURE, AND WEB DESIGN ............................................... 25

HOFSTEDE’S DIMENSIONS OF CULTURE .............................................................................................26

METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................. 32

QUALITATIVE OR QUANTITATIVE: METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH FRAME ....................32

RESEARCH FRAME ..........................................................................................................................................34

HOFSTEDE’S CULTURE TRAITS ...............................................................................................................36

WEBSITE GENRE SELECTION ........................................................................................................................39

HOFSTEDE’S DIMENSIONS OF CULTURE: SCORE AND RANK SYSTEM ........................................41

POWER AND INDIVIDUALISM: HOFSTEDE’S DIMENSIONS OF CULTURE IN WEBSITE

ANALYSIS .......................................................................................................................................................43

ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................ 48

OVERVIEW .....................................................................................................................................................48

QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................................49 Photographs ..................................................................................................................................................49 Logos ............................................................................................................................................................60 Website Palette .............................................................................................................................................64 INTERACTIVE FEATURES .........................................................................................................................68

QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS .........................................................................................................................75 OVERALL DESIGN ....................................................................................................................................75 WEBPAGE ANALYZER 0.98 .......................................................................................................................76 VISIBLENET.COM WEBSITE ANALYZER ............................................................................................80

DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................ 82

INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................................82

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SUMMARY OF FINDINGS ..........................................................................................................................82

CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................... 87

THEORETICAL IMPLICATIONS ..............................................................................................................87

CONCLUSIONS .............................................................................................................................................89

STUDY STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS ..............................................................................................90

DIRECTION FOR FUTURE RESEARCH ..................................................................................................91

APPENDIX A ......................................................................................................... 92

APPENDIX B ......................................................................................................... 94

REFERENCES ...................................................................................................... 95

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INTRODUCTION

In this thesis I explore web design with a particular focus on cultural differences and

similarities. The study aims to understand how cultural influences in existing websites lead

to variations in usability and accessibility in website visual design.

Initially, I set out to compare how websites across countries share and maintain information

intended for migrants: a task that is rather difficult to achieve, as web developers adapt a

website’s content – such as pictures, languages, and other features – to target audiences.

For example, in websites providing information for individuals mobilizing across countries

– depending on the cultural, geographic, and economic characteristics of both designers

and users – some websites primarily display information related to migrants with a business

profile, whereas others display more information for migrants with a desire for long stays

or refugee admissions. Based on this observation I narrowed my approach to analyzing

websites made for diasporas of high-skilled migrants.

Websites intended for diasporas of high-skilled migrants present major differences in their

content structure in contrast to other websites for migrants. As an illustration, migrant

websites are generally aimed at foreign individuals who intend to stay or move across

specific countries, and they usually focus on legal, administrative, and integration issues.

On the other hand, websites designed for diasporas of highly skilled migrants aim to create

a community of migrants with a profile in either scientific, business, or humanitarian

endeavors and seek to develop programs in these areas across two or more countries.

As countries move to a more specialized and global growth agenda, these types of diaspora

websites serve as a point of reference to open up, connect, and maintain a knowledge

network across countries. However, as there is no standard design to gather and present

information in websites for all audiences, web development is a controversial issue.

In order to anticipate how audiences will interact with a given website design, web

developers can rely on the users’ perceived cognitive abilities and past experience with the

technology, implicating that website users across the globe can create meaning from the

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website’s content, as they are being exposed to it as well as influenced by the local context

in which these website genres are received.

Two versions of meaning construction derive from this design approach:

1) By conceiving an “Internet culture”, web developers can create an online product

that every user understands and knows how to use. This homogeneous culture

provides a cultural background that everybody can relate to due to the great amount

of time people spend using computer devices and websites with the same

characteristics.

2) Web developers who view users as different according to their cultural backgrounds

thus consider some website features more important than others. As social beings,

parts of our cognitive structures are influenced by our cultural background; and

cultural expectancies and web design can in turn affect a user’s perceptions in terms

of usability and accessibility.

Culture and its influence on website content design has been addressed in various research

(Callahan, 2006; Cyr & Trevor-Smith, 2004; Cyr, Head, & Larious, 2010; Ess &

Sudweeks, 2006; Faiola & Matei, 2006; Li.X., Hess, McNab, & Yu, 2009; Tsikiktisis,

2002), and the analyses of these researchers are highly influenced by Hofstede’s framework

of culture differences and localization.

Geert Hofstede (2005) has conducted cross-cultural research and formulated a theory

conveying that national cultures fluctuate between consistent dimensions of thinking,

feeling and acting, expressed through symbols, rituals, and values. By using Hofstede’s

terms it would be possible to analyze website design as a cultural cognitive expression

located within individuals of the same nationality.

I have sought to investigate if there are significant web design differences and similarities

in websites aimed at audiences with different cultural backgrounds, but with similar target

goals, such as websites intended for diasporas of high-skilled migrants.

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COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION AND

HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION: CULTURE

AND TECHNOLOGY

This chapter provides a literature review of relevant key aspects of the Computer-Mediated

Communication (CMC) and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) fields. The focus of this

section is on how cognitive constructs, especially those affected by social and cultural user

contexts, influence new media features and the creation of meaningful structures for

website users.

In the study of website design it is important to understand how the communication

between users is facilitated in new media. CMC tradition draws on studies in human

cognition, computer science, and communication. Therefore, CMC has a close relationship

with other areas of computer science; as in the case of HCI.

There has been much controversy in both fields, as CMC and HCI view the communication

process and its elements differently.

Phillips, Santoro, and Kuehn (as cited in Kuehn, 1994) broadly describe CMC as a form of

interpersonal communication between users mediated by computers, whereas Walther

(1992) describes CMC as the disseminated transition of information from the sender’s

computers to the receiver’s. Thus, in the first perspective there is an important departure

within the tradition of CMC, as computers are seen not as isolated parts in the

communication process, but rather as key players in the exchange of information between

individuals.

In this regard, CMC is described as an area of research interested in human and computer

interaction, especially in the separate interplay of the medium and the situation in which the

users communicate (Herring, 2007). Herring, however, tries to provide a middle point

between these trends in CMC, describing medium and situation as unordered, open-ended

categories that “… may (or may not) interact, just as there may (or may not) be

patterned correspondences between medium and situation factors, in principle”

(Op. cit., p. 12). This view assumes that users performing different communicative

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tasks are not necessarily using all of the interactive features available in the

medium, nor all the cognitive structures involved in a traditional communicative

setting.

Herring’s approach is best understood on the basis of her description of the technological

and situation facets involved in each category. The medium or technological facet is

determined by the computer’s software and hardware features, and although the

technological features of computer media are not considered as determining factors, they

are believed to affect the computer-mediated discourse on some levels.

The situation or social facets are considered by Herring as important shaping features in

CMC, as they are thought to directly affect the quality of the interpersonal communication

between users. However, any given situation factor is not considered to be continually

significant, but those that are can include users’ information, relationships, purposes, and

the language used between users in the context of communication.

These last situational factors are the departing points for HCI, as this field relates to how

computer systems are being designed for users according to their needs (Carroll, 2012). In

an earlier work, Carroll defines HCI by the usability design of system interfaces:

“HCI is a science of design. It seeks to understand and support human beings interacting with and

through technology. Much of the structure to this interaction derives from technology, and many of

the interventions must be made through the design of technology …” (Carroll, 1997)

Carroll’s view is in line with Ebert, Gershon, and van der Verr’s (2012) view of HCI,

although their definition focuses on visual design. They regard HCI as a field that seeks to

provide operational and engaging visual interfaces that take advantage of the cognitive

capabilities and functionalities of human visual systems, although it is a difficult task to

carry out, as computers are inserted in different devices with different levels of

interactivity.

For the Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (SIGI) the problem with

having a concrete definition relies on HCI’s focus on different topics, and so SIGI has

provided the following delimitation:

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“From a computer science perspective, the focus is on interaction and specifically

on interaction between one or more humans and one or more computational

machines.” (Hewet et al., 2009)

Following the above definitions of CMC and HCI, differences do not appear to be central,

as both fields focus on the communication process and the influence of individuals’

cognitive constructs across new media technology. Their differences are instead located in

the effect of new media characteristics, especially in user-computer interactivity.

INTERACTIVITY IN NEW MEDIA

The earliest interactivity and interpersonal communication research in new media focused

on “… the message and the medium and its power to enable multidirectional

communication … user control and participation” (McMillan, 2002, pp. 275-276;

McMillan, 2006, p. 207).

In accordance with Nancy Baym (2010), different types of media and their products can be

compared to one another focusing on a set of characteristics: temporal structure,

interactivity, social cues, replicability, storage, mobility, and reach (p. 7).

A media’s ability to sustain its messages is captured in the replicability and storage

characteristics. The replicability of media is measured by its ability to manipulate the

information shared and the storage capacity by its capability to keep the exchanged

information between media and users.

The mobility characteristic in media communication refers to the “extent to which they are

portable or stationary” (p. 11), while reach is imbedded in its ability to spread content to

audiences.

The temporal structure of media covers the transition of information in the communication

process, and it is divided in two forms: asynchronous and synchronous. Ideal asynchronous

communication examples in new media are electronic mail, since users are communicating

in separate periods of time. Synchronous communication examples are real time

conferences, since they have a sense of localness and immediacy.

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Social cues are the gatherings of meaningful structures created around the information

context. Interactivity is understood as the medium’s flexibility to let users engage with and

control its interface. Both of these features are understood by Baym as ideally based in

face-to-face communication attributes; thus, users tend to recur to similar cognitive

structures in order to interact in new media and with other users.

In line with both Baym’s concepts of temporal structure, replicability, storage, mobility,

reach and Herring’s technological facets it is still difficult to consider the communication

field of HCI independent from CMC, as both fields agree to study users transmitting

information through a network of computers.

On the other hand, Baym’s interactivity and social cues and Herring’s situation facet view

CMC and HCI as separated fields studying user-computer interactivity. The authors’

divisions suggest that social signs and interactive structures in new media lead users to

react to it, as if they were interacting with the developers of such media, whereas,

according to Sundar and Nass (2000), the parasocial effect in HCI is based on users who

“actively imagine the source to be the psychological locus of their interactions” (Op.cit., p.

684).

In one tradition users react to information imbedded in a structure by a web developer,

whereas in the other tradition they are perceived as a unified active element separete from

its developer.

Heeter (1989, pp. 222-225) in her interactivity model for new media presents a more

detailed perspective on CMC’s views of medium and user. The author has divided the

model into six dimensions, across seven main points:

INTERACTIVITY DIMENSION IMPLICATIONS

Complexity of user choice.

Effort users must exert.

P1: Information is always sought or selected, not merely sent.

P2: Media systems require different levels of user activity.

P3. Activity is a user trait as well as a medium trait.

Responsiveness to the user. P4. Person-machine interactions are a special form of communication.

Monitoring information use.

P5. Continuous feedback is a special form of feedback in which user behavior is

measured on an ongoing basis by a source or gatekeeper of all users.

Ease of adding information. P6. The distinction between source and receiver is not present in all media systems.

Facilitation of interpersonal

communication.

P7. Media systems may facilitate mass communications, interpersonal

communication, or both.

In the complexity and amount of user choice (points 1, 2, and 3), Heeter views news media as a

medium based on a selective of attention, perception, and retention. The author described this

selective process as a bi-directional flow of information, where users’ selective exposure to content

and interactivity is the key to activating the connection between source and receiver in new media.

Monitoring system use is conceived as the retrieval of information pertaining to user behavior

within a media system. Ease of adding information by users – in this model the user is considered

as an information provider to other users within the system. Facilitation of interpersonal

communication refers to the power of new media to allow users to communicate in situations that

otherwise would be limited.

In responsiveness to the users Heeter is concerned with the process of person-machine interaction –

an early term for HCI – and whether it should be called communication. The author’s general idea

is that when people use certain types of mass media, they will be conceived as communicating with

the author of such information systems through the messages emitted/received.

In Heeter’s view of interactivity in new media, a shift can be recognized in the role of receivers and

their overall participation in mass communication models. This shift is from a past paradigm that

regards audiences as passive, almost uniform receivers toward one that perceives audiences as

active users with a set of preferences and some degree of control.

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Also in line with Baym and Herring, Heeter’s audience empowerment in new media comes from the

interface provided by new media systems. Audiences or users and interactive computer systems

require feedback not only to increase and control its information content, but also to establish

interpersonal communication with other users.

Heeter (1989) uses the definition of media frame from Fredin and Krendl to describe the relation

between meaningful content, usability expectations of a media system, and past experiences with

the technology:

“A media frame can be defined as a structure of expectations individuals apply to

organize and understand their experiences with a particular medium. It is evoked

whenever the medium is being thought about or is present.” (As cited in Heeter, 1989,

pp. 230-231)

The media frame conception presents a conceptual division from HCI and CMC. According to

Heeter’s model, new media users, while interacting with computers (medium), will create an

individual frame of meaning from past interactions with the same computer system.

In this sense, CMC is more interested in the communicative environment and user interactions,

whereas HCI leans toward the study of how computer systems and human cognition interact

through user interfaces.

It can be said that these fields differ when it comes to studying new media and the interpersonal

communication between users. CMC is interested in how users communicate through computers,

and HCI is concerned with how users communicate with them.

Nevertheless, both fields agree on the role that cognitive constructs have in the interactivity

between computers and users, especially for constructs and structures derived from the social

context of individuals.

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CYBER-INTERACTIVITY AND WEB INTERFACES

In the past section, I reviewed how different traditions in computer science view the relationship

and impact of cognitive structures. In order to study in detail how HCI and CMC view the

relationship between users and interactive structures imbedded in computers I will elaborate on

McMillan’s cyber-interactivity model of communication.

From a CMC perspective, McMillan (2002) created a four-part cyber-interactivity model that views

receivers and senders as key participants in cyber-activity – a model similar to the audience

empowerment in Heeter’s model. However, in McMillan’s cyber-interactivity description the role

of senders is usually given to web developers, and the role of receivers to users.

In the monologue quadrant, corporate websites are the chosen example. The main intentions of their

creators are to “create and disseminate content to attract an audience, promote a product or service,

build a brand, or perform some other persuasive communication function” (McMillan, 2002).

The feedback quadrant is typified by email links. Email links may provide the receiver with some

symmetrical degree of control by a limited channel to react and provide information, although there

is no warranty of responsiveness from the sender.

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Responsive dialogue and mutual discourse are considered as two-way communication; in these

quadrants both sender and receiver have a certain degree of control in the communication process.

In responsive dialogue senders create a system intended for them to retain “the primary control over

the communication … such as e-commerce” (McMillan, 2002).

To illustrate, in a website design intended to have a responsive dialogue the web developer makes a

service available in a webpage, and only after the user has solicited and approved this service, a

confirmation message will appear. However, in the mutual discourse both roles “become virtually

indistinguishable in environments such as chat rooms …” (McMillan, 2002), since both have the

opportunity to emit and receive the messages emitted.

In McMillan’s conception of cyber-interactivity, web developers create a website interface that

provides interactivity through the association of user participation and control and specific features.

McMillan’s cyber-interactivity can be understood as a process characterized by in-built computer

structures acting as a medium that allows interpersonal communication among users. However, in

the same work McMillan (2002) recognizes that other traditions, as in the case of HCI, view this

type of interaction as occurring between users and computers: a difference based on how the key

dimensions, such as the nature of the interface and the center of control, are defined.

By the same token, Jensen (2008) believes the levels of interactivity to raise different types of

interpretations. However, besides viewing interactivity as a structural feature only that gives access

to control and information, Jensen also argues that it should be perceived in virtue of the

meaningful content interrelations and its significance to the user.

Jensen not only views the media frames in computers as important to creating meaning – as in the

case of Heeter – consequently, web structures or hyperstructures would work as interactive

meaningful structures in the communication process.

For instance, web users while interacting with website structures do not seek to communicate with

the creators of a determined computer language; rather, they are using familiar imbedded structures

in a medium to reach a result.

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In this way, Jensen (2008) views website interfaces or hyperstructures as the element in which

digital media are constructed, and they should be understood as a third level of articulation:

“Both the meanings of ordinary delimited media messages (first articulation) and their constituents (second

articulation) have normally been ascertained ‘internally’ with reference to an immanent structure of discourse.

Compared to such structure a hyperlink may be said to articulate an “external” meaning, joining one text

(verbal, visual, other) with another suggesting a whole that is not inherent in parts. This discursive whole, to be

sure, may still be studied in its own right or with reference to decoding and uses.” (Op. cit., pp. 188)

Jensen’s articulations of hyperstructures can be understood on the basis of how we obtain meaning

in the communication process. Since information in websites can be presented in different forms –

auditory, visual, or a combination of both – it will influence the manner in which users perform

tasks and perceive the usability of hyperstructures. Additionally, these information slots in

hyperstructures and other forms of communication, according to Jensen, “… enters into a particular

configuration, and that this structure will follow certain social and cultural patterns” (Op. cit., pp.

186).

In other words, besides the use of specific technological features for information control – such as

managing the content of a page using scroll-down or mouse-over menus – hyperstructures provide

users with a different combination of meaningful information displays. Their design can integrate

graphics such as video, pictures, text, icons, and other forms of dynamic information across the

different levels of articulation.

These dynamic properties allow hyperstructures to function beyond mere information receptacles.

They are able to create a meaningful design by integrating the social and cultural relations users

have with their content.

In general, producers of websites, while integrating interactive content in order to reach the desired

audience, must have a notion of how the audience’s mental representations work (Faiola & Matei,

2006). Mental representations are structures of the mind that help individuals make sense of their

environment, and they are in turn influenced by external stimuli like cultural background

(Zerubavel, 1999).

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CMC and HCI are important traditions in computer science, and one of their aims is to understand

how new media technology influences human communication, and vice versa. As there are

conceptual distinctions for viewing the computer and imbedded hyperstructures as medium or

source, there is also an overlap of interests when analyzing the influence of technological features

and social context in the construction of meaning and interactivity.

CMC was defined as a field interested in viewing the computer as a medium for human

communication. On the other hand, the field of HCI is interested in computer-mediated

communication from the stand of the cognitive process and the influence of environmental features

in computers. However, both fields provide the basic models for discussing the influence of

cognitive constructs, especially those derived from social and cultural factors, in terms of usability

and accessibility while designing interactive computer interfaces.

Based on these models, there is less room to conceive new media users as interacting with only one

device and providing structures independent of the sociocultural context in which they are created.

As we are more connected, there is a need for practical approaches to meaningful structures,

usability, and culture.

USABILITY AND WEBSITE DESIGN

As a research approach, HCI is interested in the interaction between cognitive maps, visual design,

and computer interfaces. Consequently, the approaches and concepts of HCI are relevant, especially

for analyzing the usability of website interfaces (see Helander, Landauer, & Prabhu, 1997 for a

review). Usability in website design involves the efficient articulation of content across web pages

in order to successfully meet the goals of web develepers regarding website users.

In the last decades, usability in web design has been considered separate form system functionality,

with the attached slogan “easy to learn, easy to use” (Carrol, 2012, p. 5). However, usability was

perceived more as a quality attribute not closely related to the functionality of the application; thus,

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it could be impoved in later stages of the design development (Juristo, Moreno, & Sanchez-Segura,

2008).

Nevertheless, the usability literature has evolved in diverse directions and has distinct goals. For

example, Norman (2002) believes that optimal design should “make sure that (1) the user can figure

out what to do and (2) the user can tell what is going on” (p. 188). Applied to the conception of

usability in web design, the ideal interface would become part of the interactive environment when

users perform tasks. Thus, the cognitive effort needed to interpret the web tools available does not

require extra mental resources.

Norman’s conception of usability in design departs from early views; he defines a conceptual

process where tasks are more feasible in user-centered designs, and he recognizes three actors: the

designer, the user, and the system. In the same fashion, Norman (as cited in Norman, 2002)

developed a design model in order to explain the usability of a design, assessing one mental aspect

of an actor involved in design and usability:

In this model, the designer should preconceive a system targeted at the cognitive abilities and

limitations of the user, since the system is the only medium through which both parties can

communicate (Op. cit.).

However, today the conditions necessary for achieving high levels of usability still vary depending

on the author: from inhibiting user-induced mistakes, making specific control features, or creating

grand structures that are easy to navigate. Juristo et al. (2008) gathered usability established

conceptions and divided them into three groups:

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1. “Usability recommendations with a potential impact on the UI. Examples of such recommendations

refer to presentation issues like buttons, pull-down menus, colors, fonts, etc. Building these

recommendations into a system involves slight modifications to the detailed UI design.

2. Usability recommendations with a potential impact on the development process, which can only be

taken into account by modifying the development process itself, e.g. recommendations referring to

reducing the user cognitive load, involving the user in software construction, etc.

3. Usability recommendations with a potential impact on the design. They involve building certain

functionalities into the software to improve user-system interaction.” (P. 25)

These usability points seem to be dependent on conventional rules and would not present any

problems; if website developers decide to reach an ideal level of usability, they must convey the

purpose of a website clearly. A website developer must thus create an understandable interface that

makes it easy to recognize and perform the user’s tasks. For example, an image that says “click to

return to homepage here” would indicate that users aim to move from the current position in a

website to another. This clear or easy to understand concept in interactive displays is a conception

closely related to the use of metaphors in individuals.

In summary, by applying Norman’s usability elements (designer-system-user) and Juristo et al.’s

points in designing interfaces, efficacy in terms of accessibility and usability in website design can

be said to be achieved when the use of images, words, and sounds is clearly delivered and

understood. This is so, on the one hand, because the cognitive limitations, physical capabilities, and

experiences of users performing tasks were taken into account, and, on the other, because this

knowledge was applied within the technical and programming limitations in which the interfaces

are loaded.

According to Marcus (1998), website design aims to achieve this feature by the use of metaphors, as

they are “essential similarity conveyed visually through words and images or through acoustic or

tactile means” (p. 43).

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METAPHORS: CULTURE AND CREATIVIY IN WEBDESIGN

Metaphors applied in communication between users and designers are important as they, in the

words of Lakoff and Johnson (1980), help us “understanding and experincing one kind of thing in

terms of another” (p. 5).

Lakoff and Johnson explore the notion of metaphor in the form of narratives. They suggest that

metaphors come into play, when narratives are based on the actual corporal knowledge descriptions

and begin to describe abstract concepts, such as emotions. They adopt the ideas of Michael Reddy

of “conduit metaphor” to explain their approach:

“The speaker put ideas (objects) into words (containers) and sends them (along a

conduit) to a hearer who takes the idea/objects out of the word/containers” (As cited

in Lakoff & Johnson, 1980)

Lakoff (1993) refers to this type of methapor as a conceptual metaphor, as it involves thought and

reason. Lakoff claims that basic concepts like time, quantity, state, change, action, cause, purpose,

means, modality, and category are understood via metaphors. Thus, conceptual metaphors are a

conceptual mapping system of knowledge frames tied to each other through conceptual domains.

This mapping view is also addressed by Köveces (2010), who regards Lakoff’s definition of

conceptual metaphor as a “survey of a more sophisticated later version of cogtnitive linguistic

view” (p. 14). Köveces defines conceptual metaphors as “two conceptual domains, in which one

domain is understood in terms of another” (p. 4). For Köveces, a conceptual domain is the

comprehensible structuration of processed information acquired through the senses.

An adequate example regarding Köveces’ view can be found in the work of Gruber and Davis

(1988). In their work on creativity, the authors are interested in the value of metaphors as an

expresive function and as constitutive of theory. They have studied the systematicity of knowledge

and the ability of an individual to relate to and reconstruct each domain.

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For instance, they consider Darwin’s long life interest in different areas of knowledge and his

ability to integrate different pieces of information into understandable units of analysis as the core

elements that led him to develop the Theory of Evolution:

“… rather than switching allegiances from one belief system to another, he was moving around within a

hierarchically organized system of beliefs and intellectual systems …” (Op. cit., p. 253)

They trace a series of commonalities imbedded in cognitive processes within the contexts in which

they occur. Gruber and Davis analyzed these creative products as final results of a synthesis of a

system of knowledge, purpose, and effect. In other words, they view creative individuals and their

creative processes as the result of a combination of special processes of thought across their

personal history and experiences.

Köveces’ (2010) conceptual metaphor agrees with the view of Gruber and Davis that if an

individual wants to absorb the full meaning of abstract concepts, there is a need to create a series of

mappings or correspondences that move toward a physical concept. However, Köveces emphasizes

the principle of unidirectionality, meaning that in most of the cases an abstract source could not

exemplify a concrete target source. For example, we can refer to “life as a journey that has its up

and downs” or “ ideas are food sometimes hard to digest”, but not the other way around.

These systematic correspondences between sources and targets would form target domains and are

classified as:

“… psychological and mental states and events (emotion, desire, morality, thought), social groups and

processes (society, politics, economy, human relationships, communication) and personal experiences and

events (time, life, death, religion) …” (Op. cit., p. 27)

For instance, a person is describing some else as a warm person or an emotional experience as

going through a series of ups and downs; these are examples of metaphors drawn from an

embodied experience.

23

Two arguments can be drawn from the view of conceptual metaphors as vehicles for concept

learning in group domains. As metaphors can be regarded as the result of the interplay of brain,

body, and world, and as they can be represented through words, objects, or images, their use can

affect the usability levels of the design of user interfaces.

Gruber (as cited in Gruber & Davis, 1988) provides a similar approach, when he used the term

“image of wide scope”. An image is wide when it can be used as a reference for a myriad of

perceptions, actions, and ideas, but it is dependent on its value to the person.

Designing by using meaningful vehicles and semantic tools, such as visual metaphors, would allow

users to spend less effort understanding the technology and shift their focus of attention to other

tasks. Thus, by using consistent or universal visual metaphors –such as those derived from

embodied experiences – a web designer can be confident in raising a website’s usability and

interactivity performance levels.

The individuality of metaphors brings us to the second part of the argument: metaphors’ unique

pathways to knowledge and experiences.

Software and hardware features together with social influences can present a different experience to

user interfaces, for example interpreting Reddy’s ideas and Lakkof’s understanding of metaphors in

the process of web development:

Web developers take their design (object) into platforms imbedded in a system (containers)

and make it available in the form of websites (a long conduit) for a user who can interact

with it.

In turn, the direction across objects, containers, and conduits together with the conceptual mapping

system can be interpreted according to how designers interact with the system or, in other words,

how web developers “code” a website and how they work with its visual aspect.

Coding is generally understood in computer programming as the process of creating instructions for

computers to be able to perfom specific behaviors. In web development these sets of instructions are

24

based on different coding languages such as HTML (hypertext markup languages) or CSS

(cascading style sheets) that are used for particular types of applications.

Experienced web developers not only need to foresee what a web browser will do with a code, but

they also need to have a good grasp of what can or cannot be done in them: indicate to a platform

the basic structure of a webiste, create directions to perform specific actions, and manipulate the

access to the website’s data.

Web developers aim to create a clear back-end design structure (the part of the website that deals

with database, applications, and servers) in order for their websites to perform better, achieving

high levels of usability and accessibility. Therefore, they need to be proficient in a combination of

target domains: information architecture and graphic design.

For the information architecture there are international coding conventions for programming

languages, which aim to reduce the cost of software maintenance as well as improve the quality of

webistes1. The later domain – graphic design is also commonly referred to as visual website design

– is where web developers structure the content of a website to make it more appealing to users.

Website users can be used to different navigation experiences and visual metaphors in accordance

to the type of websites they had accessed in the past.According to Müller and Griffin (2012), the

appealing content of these visuals is the result of the materialization of culture; and design would

benefit from analyzing not only the needs and preferences of users based on operational parts, but

also from decoding how symbols and structures are intertwined with underlying belief models to

create an appealing configuration of its elements:

“In this approach ‘culture’ is pervasive and materializes in the content of images and in the

meanins attributed to the visuals produced in a particular cultural setting. The material

images are sources of the mental images shared by produces and audiences … If visuals are

conceived as cultural materializations, then deciphering the motifs and style of the

1 http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/documentation/codeconvtoc-136057.html Consulted in May

2013.

25

respective visual material can lead to both the intended and the attributed meanings of the

visuals.” (p. 103)

The relationship between culture and the preference to use certain types of images and other visual

features in website design has been studied in different areas: from adapting to the demands of local

industry styles (Li.X., Hess, McNab, & Yu, 2009; Snelders, 2011) and specific website genres

(Callahan, 2006) to national cultural backgrounds (Tsikiktisis, 2002).

LOCALIZATION, CULTURE, AND WEB DESIGN

Localization in website design is the adaptation of the content to fulfill particular user needs: from

basic features – such as region language and currency standards – to more complex features – e.g.

cultural meanings of color and gender roles (Cyr & Trevor-Smith, 2004).

Designing visual content using familiar information presentation generally makes use of visual

metaphors such as symbols, icons, and color. For Barber and Badre (1998), these familiar

presentations are made through the use of cultural markers, defining them as cultural usability or

culturability:

“Cultural markers are interface design elements and features that are prevalent, and possibly

preferred, within a particualr cutlural group. A cultural marker, such as national symbol,

color, or spatial organization, for example denotes a conventionalized use of the feature in

the website, not anomalous berfeature that occurs infrequently.” (p. 2)

Different studies (Callahan, 2006; Geest, 2003; Faiola & Matei, 2006) have addressed the

importance of localizing websites to fit the cultural style of the users. By using culture-based

contextual cues in website design, users can spend less cognitive effort to perform tasks, thus

improving their accessibility and performance rates. Also, the impact of culture-based design is

reflected in improved shopping and user satisfaction rates (González, 2010; Warden & Lai, 2002;

Winn & Beck, 2002).

26

On the other hand, users’ major complaints regarding poor design are related to the data

optimization of a website (i.e. error messages, long download times) and hard-to-find features

(Ceaparu et al., 2004). In computer systems poor design leads to frustrating user experiences in the

form of both emotionally and physically aggressive responses to the computer system (anger) and

somatic discomfort (suffering) (Schleifer & Amick, 1989; Wilfong, 2004).

HOFSTEDE’S DIMENSIONS OF CULTURE

Cross-cultural and cross-national differences have been studied from different angles in visual

communication research, such as the association of visuals to nationwide expectations and

imbedded conventions in media productions (Müller & Griffin, 2012). A work widely used by

researchers in cross-cultural comunication is Hofstede’s theoretical concepts (Hofstede & Hofstede,

2005).

Hofstede’s work is based on a series of tests performed by IBM employees in more than 70

countries, collected between 1967 and 1973. Hofstede realized that workers mentioned the same

culture values, but that these values were considered as essential or dispensable in their work

environment depending on the national culture of the workers. According to the Social Science

Citation, the work of Hofstede has been quoted more than 3,000 times in different fields such as

psychology, management, and communication (as cited in Callahan, 2006) and consists of the

following dimensions:

Power distance (PDI). This dimension relates to the level at which members of a society

expect and accept that power is shared unequally. Power in this dimension is symbolized in

different forms, such as respect, hierarchy, and participation. For example, in countries with

a larger degree of PDI, subordinates expect to be told what to do, whereas in low PDI

countries subordinates expect to be consulted.

Individualism versus collectivism (IDV). The low side of this dimension, defined as

collectivism, is represented by a preference for an interdependent self in the form of thight

27

group knots that offer protection in exchange for unquestioning loyalty. In individualistic

countries, the high side of this dimension, society’s thinking patterns, in terms of I and

individual interests, prevail over the group.

Masculinity versus femininity (MAS). This dimension represents the preference for

assertiveness, rewarding success in the form of material rewards. The opposite side,

femininity, cares for equality and cooperation, as most of the society is consensus-oriented.

Uncertainty avoidance (UAI) expresses the degree to which members of a society feel

comfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity. Countries with weak UAI present a relaxed

attitude toward ambiguity and chaos. Strong UAI countries have a need for precision and

formalization, and there is a great need for rules, even if these are not used.

Long-term versus short-term orientation (LTO). Societies with a short-term orientation are

highly concerned with establishing the absolute truth, whereas long-term orientation

societies are in search of virtue. People in short-term orientation societies are prone to aim

for fast results and have a minor predisposition to save for the future. In long-term

orientation societies people perceive truth as dependent on the situation. They present a

tendency to adapt and persevere in order to achieve a goal in which they have invested time

and resources.

Indulgence versus restraint (IVR). Restraint in this dimension refers to a society that

regulates itself by strict social norms, whereas indulgence stands for free gratification and

natural human drives.

Hofstede’s dimensions are measured through a set of key differences or culture traits, which are

conceptual opposites within a dimension of culture. In the first four dimensions (PDI, IDV, MAS,

and UAI), Hofstede was able to create a national ranking schema based on the test results or scores

from the workers in a country. However, the last dimensions (LTO and IVR) were developed in

later stages of Hofstede’s research by using different sets of data (Hofstede & Hofstede, 2005; The

Hofstede Centre, 2012-2013).

28

In his book “Culture and Organizations: Software of the mind” (2005), Hofstede views each

individual’s personality as partially influenced by a personal set of mental programs:

“… it is based on traits that are partly inherited within the individual’s unique set of genes

and partly learned … learned means modified by the influence of collective programming as

well as by unique experiences.” (p. 5)

Hofstede’s view is in line with cognitive sociology perspectives, where mental representations are

perceived as greatly shaped by society; hence, much of our cultural background involves shared

patterns of thinking (Zerubavel, 1999). However, Hofstede emphasizes the interplay of inherited

and learned mental programs across his work. He points out that the situation of individuals,

influences cognitive shifts throughout their life time:

“when people grow older, they tend to become more social and less ego oriented (lower

MAS -masculinity index-) At the same time, the gap between women’s and men’s MAS

values becomes smaller and around age fifty it has closed completely. This is the age at

which a woman’s role as a potential child-bearer has ended; there is no more biological

reason for her values to differ from a man’s. This development fits the observation that

young men and women foster more technical interests (which could be considered

masculine) and older men and women more social interests. In terms of values (but not of

necessarily in terms of energy and vitality), older persons are more suitable as people

managers and younger persons as technical managers.” (Hofstede & Hofstede, 2005, p. 127)

Passages like the previous one have earned Hofstede strong critique from e.g. Bhimani (1999),

Harrison and McKinnon (1999), and Redding (1994) (as cited by Cronje, 2011, p. 597). These

articles point out major limitations in Hofstede’s research; some dispute that the validity is affected

by the time span in which the data was collected, others that surveys cannot be used as grounding

structure for this kind of comparative research.

One of the most heated discussions was initiated by Brendan McSweeney (2002a, 2002b). By

pinpointing Hofstede’s dimensions of culture, McSweeney challenged Hofstede’s work and argued

29

that it was based on fallacious assumptions. He criticized the form in which Hofstede conducted and

interpreted the data, ranging from a) the quality of the data and his approach to statistical analysis to

b) the characterization of culture as homogeneous and representative within territory states, and c)

the conception of employees’ organizational culture as permeable to other areas of their lives.

McSweeney’s criticism has been addressed by Hofstede (2002), who pointed out that the work has

been reviewed in more than 1,500 sources, with more than 400 independent correlations. After

2001, four large-scale replications “usually confirm most, but not all the dimensions, but different

replications confirm different dimensions” (p. 1358).

Hofstede remarks that culture and dimensions do not exist; he defines them as constructs whose

sole purpose is to explain and predict behavior. He argues that once they stop providing this service,

researchers should move on to a better framework.

Referring to the score validations on his dimensions, Hofstede describes them as not impliying

assumptions about causality, but rather as pointing out the relationship between national culture and

national institutions. He objects to McSweeney’s critique of his approach to organizational culture

and national culture:

“The organizational culture study tried to identify the values component that differentiated

organizations within the same country rather than similar organizations across nations.

Contrary to our original hypothesis we found out only a weak values component, but strong

differences in what we labeled as ‘practices’ … Values (as we measured them) are hadrly

changeable (they change but not acccordingly to anybody’s intentions) whereas practices

can be modivied- given sufficient management attention.” (Hofstede, 2002, p. 1359)

McSweeney’s concern with Hofstede’s use of the concept of culture and its dimensions was

addressed by Smith (2002). In his work, Smith agrees that Hofstede’s cultural values to some

degree reflect the correlation of cognitions and behaviors and their demographic correlates. On the

other hand, he argues that in some cases the situation in a culture, expresed in values, is not by itself

part of an individual’s definition of culture, but rather the result of circumstances exisiting “at some

prior time” (p. 122).

30

Smith disagreed with the way Hofstede indicates correlations in his dimensions of culture, and the

type of variables that contribute to them. Particularly, Smith criticized the judgment in which

Hofstede associates Power Distance (PDI) and Individualism versus Collectivism (IDV) dimensions

with factors such as lattitude and Gross National Product (GNP). First, he argues that the division

of PDI and IDV is not defendable, as the country scores in these dimensions are correlated at -0.67,

and second, when the GNP was removed during the statistical analysis, the correlation between IDV

and PDI was reduced to -0.32.

For Williamson (2001) the polarized positions regarding Hofstede’s work can be explained on the

basis of the logic of the paradigms used in cultural research. As an illustration, McSweeney’s

(2002a) rejection of Hofstede’s work is primarily based on an objection to using surveys to present

a complete picture of culture. Williamson views the clash of two paradigms: the interpretative and

the functionalist. McSweeney’s assumptions, which fail to shift from assumptions based on an

interpretative framework, clash with Hofstede’s functionalist circular causation approach.

On the one side, Williamson regards Hofstede’s scores as estimated preferences in the cultural

spectrum. Nevertheless, he observes that although there are attributes which are unique to a culture,

Hosfstede’s construction of cultural values challenges the idea of culture as a standard attibute

determinant for the members of a nation.

Several studies in comptuer-mediated communication (Callahan, 2006; Cronje, 2011; Gorman,

2006; Marcus & Gould, 2000; Tsikiktisis, 2002) have used Hofstede’s model to compare and

evaluate how specific key cultural values are reflected in usability and accessibility preferences in

website structures.

By using different versions of a website aimed for Asian and non-Asian users, Li.X., Hess, McNab,

and Yu (2009) have studied the impact of culture on the assimilation of technology. They suggest

that Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, in particular time orientation and invidiualism, can be related

to how users perceive the levels of accessibility and usability in website structures. Individuals from

long-term societies were more persevering, when they faced difficulties understanding the structure

31

of a website. And individualistic approaches, such as personalization of websites, made users to

find web portals more useful.

Another study that used Hofstede’s model to analyze user expectations was conducted by

Tsikiktisis (2002). He found out that users from masculine and long-term orientation cultures have

higher expectations to website quality. The study conducted a series of surveys to measure

expectations across the specific features of websites. The results pointed out that user demands with

regard to quality vary across different cultures. User expectations to quality were expressed in

demands for more interactive features, innovative design, integrated communication, or positive

rewards.

Another study exploring design and user perceptions in websites was conducted by Cyr & Trevor-

Smith (2004). Using culture categories derived from Hofstede’s work, they analyzed local

municipal websites from Germany, Japan and the United states. Their research was aimed to

measure desing preferences for key components related to general design and localization issues.

The study suggests that language, symbols, navigation tools, and content differs across cultures.

In this study, websites from Germany and Japan had more availability to translation than those

from the United States, yet they provided less email based support. There were also individivudal

country differences; for example Japanese websites presented the highest percentage of information

content and a heavy use of external link. However, as they analyzed a website genre, strong

similatiries were also present. For example most websites used white as a backgournd color, and

had a simliar amount of advertisement present in ther websites.

The available research suggest that Hofstede’s model, in particular how he addresses the national

cultural differences through dimesions of culture, is usefull to measure usability and accesibility

preferences in website design. The present thesis investigates how structures in websites correlates

with Hofstede’s cultural values for the selected countries. As the study presents the features of

fourteen diasporas of High skilled migrant websites from different countries, thus the results are

presented to contribute to the development of small models of cross-cultural communication.

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METHODOLOGY

QUALITATIVE OR QUANTITATIVE: METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH FRAME

In order to investigate the effects of national culture traits on website design, I analyzed the content

from different websites targeted at diasporas of high-skilled migrants. Below I provide a specific

background for qualitative and quantitative methodology research and describe how the analysis

was structured in this study.

In research paradigms there are different ways for scholars to gather data and determine what

defines an “analysis” (Jensen, 2008), creating a center of controversy. In the qualitative paradigm or

the methodology, the objects studied are conceived as created and continuously shaped by human

interactions. Thus, the qualitative methodology is argued to be a paradigm with a naturalistic view

of reality that relies on a critical realism of process and meaning (Deacon, Pickering, & Murdock,

G., 2007; Guba & Lincoln, 1982; Jensen, 2008; Smith & Heshusius, 1986).

From a different perspective, the qualitative methodology views the phenomena as existing apart

from the researcher’s perception. Reality in this paradigm can not only be analyzed objectively, but

also be condensed to an empirical label (Gunter, 2002; Guba & Lincoln, 1982; Smith & Heshusius,

1986). Therefore, it has been argued that the quantitative research paradigm is based on a positivist

view in the rationalistic tradition.

These differences are more evident when a researcher elucidates the benefits and limitations of a

research method. For example, Guba and Lincoln (1982) define quantitative methods as

mathematically precise and controllable, whereas qualitative methods deal with objects of study that

are difficult to convert to numerical forms. It would appear then that mixed methods within a

specific methodology or paradigm are unviable, as each type of method deals with information

differently.

However, both methodologies agree that using different approaches to the same methods is

complementary and increases the intersubjectivity and objectivity of research in a general sense

(Guba & Lincoln, 1982; Sale, Lohfel, & Brazil, 2002). This means that understanding and

33

investigating a specific case using different qualitative and quantitative methods within a research

paradigm is a desirable process. It provides the study with a complementary connection to a method

drawn from a perspective that claims that reality is a phenomenon experienced by the individual,

and with a view that perceives reality as shared variances of significance.

Nevertheless, it is of great importance that researchers bear in mind that paradigms differ in how a

method attains a higher level of reliability and validity.

For example, content analysis is a method used in qualitative and quantitative paradigms, and in

media studies it is generally applied to estimate the noticeable properties of large amounts of media

production (Van Zoonen, 1994) with attention to their contextual meaning. That is, as a research

technique content analysis relies on an a priori design and has no restrictions as to the

characteristics to be measured within the framework in which messages are generated (Neuendorf,

2002).

Content analysis is viewed by Deacon et al. (2007) as a preferred tool to analyze communication in

media and cultural studies. In web design and culture, for example, it has been used to study the

cognitive influence of color in websites (Cyr, Head, & Larious, 2010), the importance of its features

to develop personal and social interaction (Papacharissi, 2007), and the localization and global

acceptance of website designs (Cyr & Trevor-Smith, 2004; Li.X., Hess, McNab, & Yu, 2009).

In order to attain a higher level of reliability and validity, the coding process in the quantitative

research tradition requires different steps: a) the coding structure should be based preferably from

previous coding structures, b) coders and judges outside the research group, and c) finally an

intercoding reliable test needs to be conducted2.

Within quantitative research, these methodology limitations mean that the present study is unable to

employ such a technique with a higher level of reliability and validity parameters, as different

stages were used to analyze in-depth the information available on the websites.

2 http://ils.indiana.edu/faculty/hrosenba/www/Research/methods/lombard_reliability.pdf Lombard, Snyder-

Duch, and Bracken (2005) provide an interesting article on why it is important that interceding analysis, software and procedures are available.

34

The coding approach of this study has leaned toward the naturalistic perspective of the qualitative

research paradigm. The qualitative methodology was conceived as a more organized and efficient

approach; in the words of Charmaz, it “can add transparency after the data and in depth analysis has

been conducted” (2006, p. 63). Coding in qualitative analysis is made by compiling elements in

thematic and structure divisions in order to anticipate later interpretations of the object of analysis

(Jensen, 2008; Shannon & Hsieh, 2005)

In a broad sense, the truth value in the qualitative methodology is attainable, as long as the concepts

used in the coding process are in line with how the object of study constructs its reality (Smith &

Heshusius, 1986), and its essential components are “defined and redefined as part of the research

process itself” (Jensen, 2008, p. 245).

This coding strategy involves two steps: heuristic and factual coding followed by categorization of

the information to extract more important elements. Heuristic coding is made by initially assigning

codes to different parts of the information to be analyzed, based on metaphors reflecting certain

qualities of the unit of analysis (Jensen, 2008).

According to Jensen (2008), these two steps in the coding process help to avoid the

“contextualization and decontextualization” of meaningful structures, as the researcher elaborates a

multilayer analytical work that supports a “later detailed analysis of the discursive elements in

context” (p. 248).

As this type of analysis is influenced by the categories and context in which the analytical process is

based, the research frame began by having a practical base on Hofstede’s dimensions of culture,

and how his framework is applied to differentiate countries and national cultures from one another.

RESEARCH FRAME

National and cultural backgrounds are areas of context creation, and they open the door to perform

comparative and cultural communication research in media content studies (Rössler, 2012). These

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research areas in communication studies understand culture as pervasive and reflected in how

people construct communication systems (Esser & Hanitzsch, 2012).

William B. Gudykunst (2003) divided communication studies into two categories with culture as a

central axis: intercultural and cross-cultural studies. The cross-cultural division generally refers to

the individual’s communication in two cultures independent of each other, while intercultural

studies are concerned with the interaction between individuals with different cultural backgrounds.

Cultural communication studies can approch objects of analysis either from the view of an insider

or from the perspective of an objective outsider (Kim, 2012). In sum, researchers in culture

communication aim to gain an understanding of how symbolic information varies within one

context or in reference to another.

Comparative research is usually performed as cross-cultural content analysis, as it uses one

culture’s communication system as a frame of reference to study others (Esser & Hanitzsch, 2012).

One area of comparition is the content of images and their meaning in mass mediated context.

For Müller and Griffing (2012), visual comparison in cultural communication studies relates to how

images are “produced in a particular setting … and shared by producers and audiences” (p. 103).

According to Turner (1999), the assigment of meaning is a dynamic social process, as it depends on

the context of judgment and the perspective of the perceiver.

Visual comparison in comunication studies differs from cross-cultural and cross-national research,

as these areas study visual products in heuristic contexts that are coherent and validated in cultural

backgrounds.

Cross-cultural comparison draws its frameworks for classifying culture from comparative studies

(Gudykunst, 2005; Hall, 1990; Hofstede & Hofstede, 2005), generally using a high and low division

to assert the degree to which a culture belongs to different dimensions (i.e. context, group adherence

– invidualistic versus collectivistic – uncertainty avoidance, and power distance).

Hofstede (2005) created a cultural four-dimensional scale from an initial cross-cultural, cross-

national study performed in a worldwide corporation: high-low power distance, individualism-

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collectivism, masculinity-femininity, and high-low uncertainy avoidance. This dualism in

Hofstede’s dimensions is a very important aspect, as cultures often lean toward one or the other,

although both sides do exist within all cultures.

HOFSTEDE’S CULTURE TRAITS

This ranking by score schema is a key quantitative part in Hofstede’s work, as it provides a

numerical way to differentiate a country’s national culture trait combination. As an illustration,

privileges and status symbols are dealt with differently according to a society’s domain culture.

According to Hofstede (2005), when a country scores higher at the Power Distance dimension

(PDI), its society will present a hierarchical order where status symbols are used to communicate

the social position and the respect expected, as “skill, wealth, power and status should go together…

the powerful should have privileges” (p.67). However, when a country scores lower in this

dimension, it will present a horizontal stratification where the show of privileges and status symbols

are frowned upon, as “all should have equal rights…power is based on formal position, expertise

and ability to give rewards” (p.67)

In order to represent this qualitative side of Hofstede’s work, culture traits and their respective

dimensions of culture3 are summarized in Table A.1. Each culture trait is either assigned the

number 1, which leads to a high score or a typical representation of a dimension, or -1, if the culture

trait leads to a low score or a representation that departs from it. This numerical assignment was

made to emphasize Hofstede’s idea that “culture only exist on comparison” (The Hofstede Centre,

2012-2013) or the importance that opposite constructs can be clearly discerned from one another.

For instance, within the power distance dimension the culture trait or the notion that “status

symbols are normal” represents a higher power division, and it is therefore associated with the

number 1, whereas the notion that “status symbols are frowned upon” is given -1, since countries

with this culture trait are classified as low in the Power Distance dimension.

3 The long term versus short term (LTO) and Indulgence versus Restrain (IVR) are still being developed;

therefore, their culture traits could not be represented in Table A.1.

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Each set of opposite culture traits within a dimension was considered in the same manner.

Whenever a construct was in line with Hofstede’s high characteristic ideas within a dimension of

culture – such as “more individualistic” for IDV, “less feminine” for MAS, or “need precision” for

UAI – it was given a 1, and the opposite, a construct that distanced itself from a culture regarded as

masculine, individualistic etc., was given a -1.

Some of these culture traits can be easily represented either through images, text, or interactive

features. For instance, “privileges and status symbols” can be represented by an interactive feature

that only grants access to different parts of a website to exclusive paying members. Thus, in order to

measure culture traits on websites, it was necessary to select a type of website.

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Table

A.1 POWER DISTANCE

INDIVIDUALISM VS

COLLECTIVISM

MASCULINITY VS

FEMININITY

UNCERTAINTY

AVOIDANCE

1

Autocratic or oligarchic

governments based on

cooptation

Everyone has a right to

privacy

Strong gender work

division

Need for precision and

formalization

1

Privileges and status

symbols are normal and

popular

Thinking patterns in

terms of "I"/ individual

interests prevail over

collective interests Corrective society

High stress and high

anxiety

1

Dependancy of less powerful

people

Harmony is maintained

and direct

confrontations avoided Competition

Show of emotions and

aggressions

1

Subordinates expect to be

told what to do

Management is

management of

individuals

Immigrants should

assimilate

Low participation in

voluntary association

and movements

1

Mostly power countries with

a small middle class

Resources should be

shared with others

Humanization of work

by job content

enrichment

Different modes of

address for different

others

1

Power is based on tradition

or family, charisma, and the

ability to use the force

Low context of

communication prevails Ego-boosting

What is different is

dangerous

1

White-collar jobs are valued

more than blue-collar jobs

Trespasing lead to guilt

and loss of self-respect

Job choice based on

career opportunities

Citizen protest should be

repressed

1

The way to change a political

system is by changing the

people at the top (revolution)

Showing happiness is

encouraged, and

sadness discouraged

Men and women

different subjects

Negative attitudes

toward young people

1

Educational policy focuses

on universities Independent self Report talk

Need for rules even if

these will not work

1

The ideal boss is a

benevolent autocrat, or

"good father"

Media is the primary

source of information

Decisive and

aggressive Time is money

1 Centralization is popular

Diplomas increase of

economic worth and/or

self-respect

Economy should be

preserved: big is

beautiful

Focus on decision

content

1 More supervisory personnel

Occupational mobility is

higher

Money over leisure

time Aggressive Nationalism

1

Managers rely on superiors

and on formal rules

Everyone is expected to

have a private opinion

Lower share of working

women

Worse at invention,

better at implementation

-1

Pluralist governments based

on outcome of majority

votes

Private life is invaded

by group(s)

Work related positions

are equally filled by

both sexes

Tolerance for ambiguity

and chaos

-1

Privileges and status

symbols are frowned upon

Thinking patterns in

terms of "we"/

Collective intersts

prevail over indiviual

intersests Corrective society

Low stress and low

anxiety

-1

Interdependance between

less and more powerfull

people.

Speaking one's mind is

a charateristic of an

honest person Average as a norm

No show of emotions

and agressions

-1

Subordinates expect to be

consulted

Management is

management of

individuals

Inmigrants should

integrate

High participation in

voluntary associations

and movements

-1

Mostly wealthier countries

with a large middle class

Individual ownership of

resources

Humanization of work

by contact and

cooperation

What is different is

curious

-1

Power is based on formal

position, expertise, and

ability to give rewards

High context of

communciation prevails Ego-effacement

Citizen protest is

acceptable

-1

Manual work has the same

status as office work

Trespassin leads to

shame and loss of face

for self and group

Job choice based on

intrinsic interests

Similar modes of

address for different

others

-1

The way to change a political

system is by changing the

rules (evolution)

Showing of sadness is

encouraged, and

happiness discouraged

Men and women same

subjects

Positive attitudes

toward young people

-1

Educational policy focuses

on secondary schools Interdependent self Rapport talk

No more rules than

necessary

-1

The ideal boss is a

resourceful democrat

Social network is the

primary source of

information

Intuition and

consensus

Framework of

orientation

-1 Decentralization is popular

Diplomas provide entry

to higher status groups

Environment should be

preserved: small is

beautiful

Focus on decision

process

-1 Fewer supervisory personnel

Occupational mobility is

lower

Leisure time over

money Defensive nationalism

-1

Managers rely on their own

experiences and on

subordinates

Opinions are

predetermined by group

membership

Higher share of

working women

Better at invention,

worse at implementation

HIGH

INDEX DIVISON

LOW INDEX DIVISION

HOFSTEDE'S DIMENSIONS OF CULTURE

CULTURE TRAITS

KEY DIFFERENCES IN CULTURE TRAITS - HIGH AND LOW SCORE INDEX DIVISION

39

WEBSITE GENRE SELECTION

According to Baym (2010), different web-based endeavors differ in the arrangement of elements;

therefore, research performing a content analysis of multiple types of websites will require a myriad

of variables, thus reducing the strength of the results. From a website design approach, choosing

one genre provides the researcher with a stable context to work with in terms of the designer’s and

users’ final goals.

The website genre selected was the diasporas of high-skilled migrants (DHSM). DHSM websites

consist of self-organized groups of migrants with a specific educational, professional, and national

background (Kuznetsov, 2006) that aim to create bridges by collaborating with their home and host

country institutions.

This international relationship not only requires management of human resources across nations,

but also construction, communication, and maintenance of information within DHSM websites. As

international networks eager to increase their market exposure, they receive technological and

economic support from different international organizations such as the World Bank (Kuznetsov,

2006). One effective way to do this is through the Internet; designing a website that communicates

their mission and goals is thought to be one of their top priorities. From a national and cultural

standpoint, selecting DHSM as a website genre provided the possibility to pair each diaspora’s

website country with the national culture traits in Hofstede’s framework.

The World Bank4 provides few links to different DHSM websites, and on some of them it was

possible to find links to other DHSM websites; for example, the Mexican diaspora website5 had

links to the New Zealand, Argentinian, Colombian, and Honduran diaspora websites. Another

method used to find diaspora websites was an Internet search using different web search engines.

4http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/WBI/WBIPROGRAMS/KFDLP/0,,contentMDK:20692386~pagePK:64156158~piPK:641

52884~theSitePK:461198,00.html Consulted from September 2012-January 2013 5 http://www.redtalentos.gob.mx/index.php Consulted from September 2012- January 2013

40

21 DHSM websites were found, but only 14 could be used. A consideration in this step was to take

into account only websites available in English or Spanish, based on the argument that a global

language approach will require extensive language proficiency and resources beyond the scope of

this study. Another consideration was whether a DHSM website represented a country within

Hofstede’s framework. At this point it is worth mentioning that although Hofstede’s analysis is

extensive, it provides national culture traits information for only 93 countries.

The selected websites were inserted in Table A.2, along with their corresponding rank and score. As

previously mentioned, Hofstede has created a series of tests to measure culture traits that are

considered important or dependent across different countries. The countries were given a score in

accordance with their results, , and based on this score the countries were given a rank number.

It is evident from Table A.2 that all the countries, with the exception of Switzerland, were given

only one score number by Hofstede, but their ranking fluctuates from 1 to 25 places within a

dimension of culture.

Table A.2

COUNTRY WEBSITES

Power

Distance

Score

Power

Distance

Rank

Collectivism vs

Individualism

Score

Collectivism vs

Individualism

Rank

Masculine vs

Feminine

score

Masculine vs

Feminine

Rank

Uncertainty

Avoidance

Score

Uncertainty

Avoidance

Rank

Argentina www.raices.mincyt.gov.ar 49 52- 53 46 33- 35 56 28-29 86 17-22

Australia www.advance.org 36 62 90 2 61 20 51 55-56

Austria-US www.ostina.org 11 74 55 27 79 4 70 35- 38

Chile www.chileglobal.net 63 37- 38 23 55 28 67 86 17- 22

Colombia www.redescolombia.org 67 30-31 13 70 64 14-16 80 29-30

Ireland www.theirelandfunds.org 28 69 70 15 68 9-10 35 66 -67

East Africa (Uganda,

Rwanda Zimbabwe )

www.ugandandiaspora.com,

www.dfzim.com ,

www.rwandandiaspora.gov.rw 64 34-36 27 49- 51 41 54 52 54

Malasya www.scientificmalaysian.com 104 1 -2 26 52 50 34-36 36 65

Mexico www.redtalentos.gob.mx 81 10- 11 30 46-48 69 8 82 26-27

Scotland www.sdi.co.uk/globalscot.aspx 35 63-65 89 3 66 13-Nov 35 66-67

Switzerland www.swisstalents.org 26 (G) 70 (F) 22-25-34 69(F) 64(G) 16-17-19 72(G)58(F) 58 -22-24 70(F)56(G) 50-35-38

New Zealand www.keanewzealand.com 22 71 79 7 58 22-24 49 58-59

Highest value 104 1 91 1 110 1 112 1

Lowest Value 11 74 6 74 5 74 8 54

MEDIAN 51.923077 0 49.61538462 0 58.07692308 0 60.15384615 0

GENERAL SCORE AND RANK ACCORDING TO HOFSTEDE'S DIMENSIONS OF CULTURE

41

Across Hofstede’s work (Hofstede & Hofstede, 2005), references can be found to a country’s high

or low position in a dimension of culture. However, there is no strict criterion for how this high or

low categorization is established, as Hofstede generally refers to it as either closer to or distinct

from the middle ranking or the test score’s center (ibid.). Therefore, as Hofstede generally provides

one score number value per country, the score’s median was calculated, adding the highest and

lowest score number value in the respective dimension of culture in order to help categorize a

country’s position.

HOFSTEDE’S DIMENSIONS OF CULTURE: SCORE AND RANK SYSTEM

Based on the score division elaborated in this study and the literature considerations (Hofstede &

Hofstede, 2005), specific national culture trait combinations can be discerned across the websites

selected. I summarized these culture trait combinations in Table A.3.

Table A.3

COUNTRY

POWER

DISTANCE

INDIVIDUALISM

VS

COLLECTIVISM

MASCULINITY

VS

FEMENINITY

UNCERTAINTY

AVOIDANCE

HIGH OR LOW

NATIONAL CULTURE

TRAITS PIMU

COMBINATION

TOTAL NATONAL

CULTURE TRAITS

BY PIMU

COMBINATION

Argentina LOW LOW LOW HIGH LLLH LLLH:1

Australia LOW HIGH HIGH LOW LHHL LHHL:3

Austria LOW HIGH HIGH HIGH LHHH LHHH:1

Chile HIGH LOW LOW HIGH HLLH HLLH:1

Colombia HIGH LOW HIGH HIGH HLHH HLHH:2

Ireland LOW HIGH HIGH LOW LHHL LHLL:1

East Africa HIGH LOW LOW LOW HLLL HLLL:2

New Zealand LOW HIGH LOW LOW LHLL MIXED:1

Malaysia HIGH LOW LOW LOW HLLL

Mexico HIGH LOW HIGH HIGH HLHH

Scotland LOW HIGH HIGH LOW LHHL

Switzerland MIXED MIXED MIXED MIXED MIXED

*PIMU: An acronym used in this study to summarize Hofstede's dimensions of culture: Power distance,

Individualism versus collectivism, Masculinty vs femininity, Uncertainty avoidance

COUNTRY'S DOMAIN CULTURE TRAITS ACCORDING TO SCORE POSITION WITHIN HOFSTEDE'S DIMENSIONS OF CULTURE

42

Across the websites selected, 8 different PIMU6 combinations were found using the high and low

classification in Table A.2. These sets of countries presented a culturally diverse sample, and in

these culture trait combinations only two opposite dimensions of culture were consistent across the

sample: Power Distance and Individualism versus Collectivism.

When a country was given a high power distance score, it would be given a low score in the

individualism dimension, and when a country scored low in the power distance dimension, it scored

high in the individualism dimension (see Table A.3 for the Power Distance and Individualism

versus Collectivism columns). The consistency between the culture trait opposites provides an

argument for dividing the content analysis of websites into two main sections: a High Power

Distance and Low Individualism division (HL) and a Low Power Distance and High Individualism

division (LH). As expected, websites have a marked preference for addressing and providing

solutions to the designers and users.

However, two countries – Argentina and Switzerland – did not follow this low-high score division,

and considerations were made regarding these cases. According to Hofstede7, due to the massive

influx of European migrants, the culture trait combination of Argentinian society fluctuates between

what he calls “modern and individualistic traits” and a status that “should be underlined”. Based on

Hofstede’s consideration, and for the purpose of this study, Argentina will be considered as a

country with a culture trait combination of a low power division and a high individualism.

However, it is expected – in a lower number – to share website design characteristics with countries

in the other culture trait spectrum.

On the other hand, the divergence of Switzerland’s score is based on markedly different language

and thus culture zones within this country. Hofstede (2005) provides different scores for

Switzerland based on French and German speaking zones, and these zones are thought to be

somehow related to the scores and culture traits of France and Germany, respectively.

6 *PIMU: An acronym used in this study to summarize Hofstede's dimensions of culture: Power Distance,

Individualism versus Collectivism, Masculinity versus Femininity, Uncertainty Avoidance. 7 http://geert-hofstede.com/argentina.html Consulted in April 2013.

43

Hofstede’s considerations regarding Switzerland differ from his view of the Argentinian culture

trait combination. The effects of European migration to Argentina – adapting and influencing a

local culture – began in the early 1900s, whereas the influence of the two language zones in

Switzerland, although limited to two languages – as Italian and Romansh are also recognized as

official languages – is related to a long history of clear language-culture zone divisions.

Consequently, Switzerland is the only country in this study that is believed to truly possess mixed

culture trait combinations.

POWER AND INDIVIDUALISM: HOFSTEDE’S DIMENSIONS OF CULTURE IN WEBSITE ANALYSIS

In order to apply Hofstede’s Power and Individualism culture trait concepts, they need to be

interpreted within the elements that constitute the digital media content of the DHSM websites.

While studying the influences of cultural features in website design, Callahan (2006) presented an

interesting summary of some of the available research using Hofstede’s cultural model to interpret

differences in website design. As in the case of this study, the authors mentioned by Callahan view

high and low cultural traits through Hofstede’s dimensions of culture.

Callahan, 2006, pp.

248

44

Similarly, Jensen (2008) views digital media content as meaningful structures. This content is

present in different levels of articulation, exemplified by connective nodes between texts, images, or

other user-interactive features imbedded in hyperstructures. Although scattered across cultural

dimensions, the authors mentioned by Callahan divide the content of websites in a similar way the

one suggested by Jensen.

In analyzing digital media content, especially in terms of a website’s meaningful structures and

culture comparisons, there are key limitations in the approach suggested in Callahan’s summary.

First the authors mentioned by Callahan only consider the relation between image content and

access to information as the unique meaningful structure in a website; in Jensen’s work this is

represented only as an articulation level – see figure below. Second, the elements studied in

Callahan’s work fluctuate from images to interactivity features only at the front end of the website

design across all of Hofstede’s dimensions of culture.

The approach adopted by Callahan towards Hofstede’s dimension and website’s elements, might be

the reason that only two of the 14 hypotheses could be supported.

Three levels of articulation.

Jensen, 2008, p. 189

45

In this sense, the approach of Jensen provides a far more concise distinction of website elements as

meaningful structures and thus a more suitable model for the content analysis strategy in the present

research. For example, static text and static images communicate meaning differently, like when

they are given an interactive feature, such as the property of redirecting the user to another website.

In the “Localization, culture and web design” section, the idea of website elements as cultural

markers was introduced. While studying usbaility and culture in web design, Barber and Badre

(1998) presented the idea of cutlural markes as design elements found in web pages. Such

elements become cultural markers by their particualr prevalence or abscene in specific cultural

groups. In the same study Barber and Badre indentified a wide range of cultural markers from

HTLM -i.e. number of images and links-, to Achitecture specific –i.e. office and lanscape. (see

Table B.1 in Apendix B)

Barber and Badre points that “the list must be flexible in order to account for changes in the web

sites and technology” (1998, p.7) Drawing from their work the present study uses the following

elements:

HTLM and CSS Specific: HTLM images, CSS images, # of lines, # of keyworkds, #of

images, #bold tags, # anchor tags, #headings # of links, # of external links, #external outbound

links, # external inbound links,

Specific colors: flag, pictures, background, tabs, text

Links: internal, external.

Photograph composition: #individuals, background images

Architecture: office, urban, outdoors, background color.

Acces to information: Membership types, contact information style, guideline sections

Consequently, for the comparative analysis of these elements Jensen’s levels of articulation were

grouped into the following constructs: Images, Website palette, Interactive Features and Web

interface and design elements.(Table A.4)

46

The resulting hypotheses were made by interpreting the elements described in Table A.4, with the

respective cultural traits in the High- Low division in Power Distance and Individualism::

H1: The rate at which a DHSM website uses logos and pictures within a theme fluctuate

according to national culture traits combination.

According to Hofstede (2005), collectivistic countries with high power distance prefer to

show their status differences, and as this is based on family, charisma, and social networks,

private life is invaded by them. In individualistic and low power distance countries,

privileges and status are frowned upon, power is based on expertise, and everyone has a

right to privacy.

Thus, diasporas of high skilled migrants (DHSM) websites from individualistic countries

with low power distance (LH) will present a lower number of logos and group pictures with

an outdoor photography composition, in contrast to countries with collective and high power

distance (HL).

Images

Website

palette

Interactive Features

Web interface and design

elements

Text

Specific

colors

Acces to information

Images

Photograph composition

Architecture

Hyperlinks

Links

HTLM and CSS specific

Tale A.4

47

H2: The rate at which a DHSM website design uses different color hues that varies

according to national cultural traits combinations.

For Hofstede (ibid.), collectivistic countries with a high power distance (HL) prefer a high

context communication style, whereas low context communication is preferred by

individualistic countries with a low power distance (LH). Color appeal, as a type of

information that can be manipulated by designers and perceived by users, is assumed to vary

in accordance with the style they find more appropriate or pleasing. Is expected that in LH

websites there will be a less use of color; thus presenting a monochromatic palette.

H3: The frequency with which different DHSM websites provides a type of access to

information or services that vary according to national culture traits combination.

Hofstede (2005) describes individualistic countries with a low power distance (LH) as

decentralized with a tendency to share resources at all levels of society; centralization, on

the other hand, is the case with collectivistic countries with a high power distance (HL). This

process is thought to be reflected in how countries with different culture traits administer

access to information on their websites. The websites located in the LH national culture trait

combination will to a greater extent provide more personal and egalitarian access to

information.

H4: Guidelines for member behavior and data protection in DHSM websites differ

according to national culture traits combinations.

As in the case of H1, this hypothesis is derived from countries’ approach to privacy rights.

In addition, lower power distance countries attach great importance to transparency and

rules, as their preferred way to change a political system is by changing the rules and voting

for their implementation. Thus, an elaborate description of these aspects will be present on

websites from countries with culture traits labeled as individualistic and with a horizontal

power distance distribution (LH).

48

H5: Page components on different DHSM websites disagree in size and number according to

national culture traits combinations.

As in the case of H2, this hypothesis is drawn from the preference for high or low context

communication in the culture trait combinations. However, this hypothesis deals with the

amount of files on a website relative to its size. The files or elements in a determined web

page can include features such as HTML files, flash, video, audio, etc. and are usually

measured in bytes. As collectivistic countries with a high power distance society (HL) prefer

high context communication styles, is expected that the number and size of its elements will

be greater than those from websites representing countries with opposite national cultural

traits.

ANALYSIS

OVERVIEW

In the first stage of the analysis parts of the DHSM websites were analyzed to establish a coding

scheme, which was later applied to the rest of the DHSM websites and their sections. This strategy

helped to add more category elements related to the testing of the hypotesis, as some of them were

not considered the first coding listing.

In order to test hypotheses 1 and 2 (image and color), a content analysis was conducted of the start

page and the about us or mission pages of DHSM websites,

Hypotheses 3 and 4 (access to information) involved analysis of the entire website, as it required

searching for specific interactive features. The qualitative data provided in this search was later

entered into different tables in order to quantiatively measure the differentes across DHSM

websites.

Finally, hypothesis 5 (weight of a website and size of its elements) was tested using website

performance and speed analysis tools. These tools provided different page statistics, and based on

this quantitative analysis the internal elements of a website could be measured and compared to the

culture trait constructs provided by Hofstede.

49

In hypotheses 1 through 4 the coding for the analysis of the information provided on a website was

first performed in a subjective analysis and then translated into a numerical form; for that reason,

these analyses were arranged in a section named “Qualitative Analysis”. In hypothesis 5 the first

analysis of the information on a website was performed with an external tool and then translated in

order to measure the qualitative traits; this analysis was arranged in the section named “Quantitative

Analysis”. This approach to labeling the analyses made it easier to elucidate the steps in which the

content analysis was performed to test each hypothesis, rather than the methodology behind the

method, as it has already been mentioned that this research abides by the qualitative paradigm.

QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS

H1: The rate at which a DHSM website uses logos and pictures within a theme fluctuate

according to national culture traits combination.

Photographs

Visual resources in websites, such as photographs, provide the user with meaningful content.

Photographs in order to communicate ideas, emotions, values or metaphors, can omit or emphasize

objects and space within their boundaries, in an efficient or interesting way (Krages, 2005).

Web developers choose certain types of compositions photographs according to the arrangement of

the visual elements perceived in them, in order to make visual communication easier to

comprehend. Visual cognition has been studied by Gestalt Theory, which conceives human

perception as governed by the following principles:

“

People tend to perceive by distinguishing between a figure and a background (the figure-round

relationship).

Objects that are close together are likely to be seen as a group (the principle of proximity).

Objects that are similar are more likely to be seen as a group (the principle of similarity).

People tend to see complete figures even when part of the information is missing (the principle

of closure).

People tend to perceive subjects as continuous figures (the principle of continuity)

” (Krages, 2005, p. 7)

50

Even though these principles can be used directly as a guide to compose photographs, they aid to

explain how users and designers view the elements in a picture. Factors such as the presence of

individuals or the type of background in photographs give important visual clues.

The idea behind the following analysis is to be as truthful as possible to Hofstede’s notion that

“culture exists in comparison”. As the culture trait differences to be analyzed relate to the

approaches to work, private life, and group cohesion in different countries; opposites were based on

the reality of the individuals composing the object of study and may not apply to a different section

of the general population.

The actors from the websites to be analyzed are members of diasporas of high-skilled migrants:

highly talented professionals from different areas of work, especially individuals involved in the

knowledge-intensive sectors of the world economy. Typically, most of their work is carried out in

offices, laboratories, workshop or conference rooms, and studios. In this sense, when the following

section relates to “office work” environments, it refers to these indoors situations, whereas the

opposite construct “private life” was thought to occur in outdoor, urban settings, as it refers to

situations outside these premises.

In the same manner, individual versus couple or group pictures refer to the situations in which

individuals prefer to work and to the way their success is measured according to culture traits. The

only column that did not follow this conflict is related to a blurred white-gray-black background, as

it was based on its recurrent appearance across all the websites analyzed; thus, the pictures with

these background characteristics were canalized based on the number of individuals on the picture.

Method Design

In the column titled “CULTURE TYPE” in Table P.1 DHSM websites from countries with HL

culture traits (collective with a high degree of power distance) were colored blue, whereas those

with LH culture traits (individualistic and low degree of power distance) were given the color

orange. The only country expected to have mixed culture traits (ranging from LH to HL),

Switzerland, was colored green.

51

In the top row of Table P.1 two main count groupings were made according to the number of

persons in a picture: red = individual photographs, purple = group pictures. If a picture displayed a

single person, it was filtered to the individual section, but if a photograph displayed more than one

individual, it was filtered to the group section. The total number of pictures in the individual and

group sections in Table P.1 were organized in two columns labeled “TOTAL RESULTS INDIV.” –

for photographs showing a single individual – and “TOTAL RESULTS GROUP” – for photographs

showing couple or group pictures.

The individual and group pictures were also divided according to the architecture content: office

and work, outdoor and urban, and blurred white-gray-black background. Each category described in

Table P.2 relates to a column with the same name presented in Table P.1.

For example, in the start page of the Australian DHSM website four pictures of individuals can be

observed. The picture located at the top left of the web page shows an individual in what appears to

be a conference; this type of picture was added to the “SINGLE & OFFICE-WORK” column in the

individual section.

The rest of the pictures available in this part of the Australian website show single individuals on a

white, gray, or blurred background. These three pictures were added to the number count at the

column labeled “SINGLE & WHITE-GRAY-BLACK-BLURRED”.

52

Start page -

Australian

DHSM website

- ADVANCE

Start Page of

the Rwandan

DHSM website

53

Table

P.1

WEB

SITE

S

COUN

TRY

REPR

ESEN

TED

CULT

URE

TYPE

SING

LE

&

OFFI

CE-

WOR

K

SING

LE

&

OUTD

OORS

-

URBA

N

SING

LE

&

WHI

TE-G

RAY-

BLAC

K-BL

URRE

D

TOTA

L

RESU

LTS

INDI

V.

COUP

LE

&

OFFI

CE-

WOR

K

COUP

LE

&

OUTD

OORS

-

URBA

N

COUP

LE

&

WHI

TE-

GRAY

-BLA

CK-

BLUR

RED

GROU

P

&

OFFI

CE-

WOR

K

GROU

P

&

OUTD

OORS

-

URBA

N

GROU

P

&

WHI

TE-G

RAY-

BLAC

K-BL

URRE

D

TOTA

L

RESU

LTS

GROU

P

TOTA

L

NUM

BER

OF

PICT

URES

CLAS

SIFI

CATI

ON B

Y

HIGH

ER T

YPE

OF

INDI

VIDU

ALS

AND

BACK

GROU

ND

ww

w.c

hile

glob

al.n

et

Chi

leHL

40

04

10

04

20

711

1.a

ww

w.re

desc

olom

bia.

org

Col

ombi

aHL

11

02

00

01

10

24

1,2.

c

ww

w.s

cien

tific

mal

aysi

an.c

omM

alay

sia

HL4

54

130

00

10

01

141.

b

ww

w.rw

anda

ndia

spor

a.go

v.rw

Rw

anda

HL1

00

10

00

24

06

72.

a

ww

w.u

gand

andi

aspo

ra.c

omU

gand

aHL

69

1732

00

06

02

739

3.b

ww

w.d

fzim

.com

Zim

babw

eHL

00

00

00

00

00

00

c

ww

w.re

dtal

ento

s.go

b.m

xM

exic

oHL

00

00

00

01

00

11

1.a

ww

w.ra

ices

.min

cyt.g

ov.a

rAr

gent

ina

LH1

00

10

00

00

00

11.

b

ww

w.a

dvan

ce.o

rgA

ustr

alia

LH2

04

61

00

20

03

91.

b

ww

w.k

eane

wze

alan

d.co

mN

ew Z

eala

ndLH

10

23

00

00

00

03

3.b

ww

w.o

stin

a.or

gA

ustr

iaLH

00

00

00

00

10

11

1.a

ww

w.th

eire

land

fund

s.or

gIre

land

LH2

11

41

31

45

014

182.

a

ww

w.s

di.c

o.uk

/glo

bals

cot.a

spx

Sco

tland

LH4

10

52

00

00

02

71.

b

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DES

CR

IPTI

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OF

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TEG

OR

IES

Table P.2

54

On the other hand, the Rwandan DHSM website displays a different picture arrangement. Although

it also shows four pictures, as was the case with the Australian DHSM website, the start page uses

many group pictures. At the top and in the lower right section, the Rwandan DHSM website

displays two group pictures, and their background with the light combination gives the impression

that they were taken in a forest. These pictures were added to the column count labeled “GROUP &

URBAN-OUTDOORS”.

The picture at the central upper part of the website displays an individual on what appears to be a

podium in a conference hall; therefore, it was added to the column count labeled “SINGLE &

OFFICE-WORK”. The last picture, located at the central lower part of the website, displays five

individuals in what appears to be an award ceremony held indoors. This picture was also added to

the column count labeled “GROUP & OFFICE-WORK”.

Finally, the “CLASSIFICATION BY HIGHER TYPE OF INDIVIDUALS AND

BACKGROUND” column in Table P.1 follows the color, letter, and number depicted in Table P.3,

and it was used to point out the final higher ratio of nominative characteristics of pictures on a

specific website: number of individuals appearing in a photograph and the theme used.

The higher ratio number of individuals in a picture was classified as follows. A higher ratio of

group pictures on a website was represented by the letter “a” and the color purple. A higher ratio of

pictures of individuals was represented by the color green and the letter “b”. If a website did not

present enough pictures to make this distinction, it was represented by the letter “c” and the color

yellow.

The type of theme of a picture was classified as follows. When a website displayed a higher number

of work-related pictures, it was represented by the number 1; a higher number of urban, outdoor-

Table P.3

a A higher display of group pictures 1 Higher display of office-work background

b A higher display of individual pictures 2 Higher display of outdoors-urban background

c No significant differences were observed 3 Higher display of white-gray-black-blurred background

CLASSIFICATION

55

related pictures was represented by the number 2; and if the picture count portrayed a higher

number of white-gray-blurred backgrounds, it was represented by the number 3.

In Table P.4, all the countries from the sample as well as their culture trait type were aligned with

their final picture and theme combination. As an illustration, in the case of the Australian DHSM

website, there were a total of six pictures showing single individuals and three with groups. Also,

five of these nine pictures displayed a work or office related background. Consequently, the

Australian DHSM website was labeled individualistic with a work-related theme. The Rwandan

DHSM website was labeled collectivistic with an urban, outdoor-related theme, as there was a

majority of urban, outdoor-related group pictures.

CULTURE

TYPE

COUNTRY

REPRESENTED COMBINATION PICTURE - THEME

HL Zimbabwe no clear difference

HL Colombia mixed picture and theme combination

HL Uganda individualistic with a white-gray-blurred background-related theme

LH New Zealand individualistic with a white-gray-blurred background-related theme

HL Rwanda collectivistic with an urban, outdoor-related theme

LH Ireland collectivistic with an urban, outdoor-related theme

HL Malaysia individualistic with an office-, work-related theme

LH Argentina individualistic with an office-, work-related theme

LH Australia individualistic with an office-, work-related theme

LH Scotland individualistic with an office-, work-related theme

Mixed Switzerland individualistic with an office-, work-related theme

HL Chile collectivistic with an office-, work-related theme

HL Mexico collectivistic with an office-, work-related theme

LH Austria collectivistic with an office-, work-related theme

Table P.4

56

The results (Table P.1) from the qualitative analysis of photographs on the start page and pages

describing the DHSM website’s mission were organized in a truth table (Table P.5). This last table

was interpreted using cross tabulations from fQCA 2.0, which is fuzzy set/Qualitative Comparative

Analysis software8

The values in Table P.5 are based on a High-Low division. To create the column titled “HIGH OR

LOW CONTEXT WEBSITE”, first the arithmetic mean from the column “TOTAL NUMBER OF

PICTURES” in Table P.1 was calculated. Afterwards, if a website-country had above the average

number of pictures it was assigned the value “1”; otherwise it was assigned the value “0”.

According to Hofstede there is a correlation between collectivistic cultures and their inclination to

prefer high context communication (2005, p89). Thus, the value of “1” was assigned if the

predominant pictures in a website displayed couples or groups of individuals, “0” if displayed more

photos of a single individual; or “0.5” if these divisions could not be made.

Hofstede mentions that the right of privacy is a central theme in collectivistic countries, as is

“…normal and right that one’s in-group can at any time invade one’s private life” (2005, p.104).

Based on this assumption, the last column “TYPE OF BACKGROUND” was created to divide the

8 http://www.u.arizona.edu/~cragin/fsQCA/software.shtml Consulted in May 2013

Table P.5

WEBSITES

COUNTRY

REPRESENTED

CULTURE

TYPE

HIGH OR LOW

CONTEXT

WEBSITE

HIGHEST

TYPE OF

PICTURE

TYPE OF

BACKGROUND

www.chileglobal.net Chile HL 1 1 0

www.redescolombia.org Colombia HL 0 0.5 0.5

www.scientificmalaysian.com Malaysia HL 1 1 0

www.rwandandiaspora.gov.rw Rwanda HL 0 0 1

www.ugandandiaspora.com Uganda HL 1 0.5 0.5

www.dfzim.com Zimbabwe HL 0 0.5 0.5

www.redtalentos.gob.mx Mexico HL 0 1 0

www.raices.mincyt.gov.ar Argentina LH 0 1 0

www.advance.org Australia LH 1 1 0

www.keanewzealand.com New Zealand LH 0 0.5 0.5

www.ostina.org Austria LH 0 1 0

www.theirelandfunds.org Ireland LH 1 0 0.5

www.sdi.co.uk/globalscot.aspx Scotland LH 0 1 0

www.swisstalents.org Switzerland Mixed 0 1 0

57

countries by the higher type of photograph background scenery in their pictures. A higher ratio of

individuals photographed in a office-work or indoor related staging was assigned the value “1”. If

websites presented a higher number of pictures of individuals with an urban or outdoors setting,

they were assigned the value “0”. Some websites displayed more photographs of landscapes, or

with a color or blurred décor; as those can not be classified within a specific category, they were

assigned the value “0.5”. (Table P.7)

Results

The study of pictures from the DHSM websites provided stimulating results (Table P.6). As

mentioned in the methodology, by choosing a website genre, the sample websites were expected to

Table

P.6 Column code value

1 Higher display of group photos. 0 Higher display of single individual photos

0.5 No clear division could be made

Colum code value

1 Higher display of office-wok background 0 Higher display of outdoors-urban background 0.5 Higher display of color, blurred or landscape

background

Table

P.7

58

have common traits. In the case of the DHSM websites analyzed, the common trait was the display

of photographs of individuals than group pictures (50 % vs. 36 %). Also, there was a stronger

preference for the work-, office-related theme (58 %) than the urban, outdoor-related theme (14 %).

However, when the sample was divided and grouped according to culture traits, it showed a clear

preference for different features. Websites from countries whose national culture traits were

considered as individualistic with a low power dimension (LH) displayed a higher number of

individual (57.1 %) than group pictures (40 %), whereas countries with culture traits perceived as

collective with a high power dimension (HL) displayed a higher number of group (60 %) than

individual pictures (28.6 %). Websites with a Mixed national culture traits, were inclined for

presenting pictures of individuals (representing the 14.3% from the total sample)

In an individual account of the websites, the Irish DHSM website was the only website from the LH

division that presented a consistent high ratio of group against individual pictures, the most

recurrent setting being outdoor settings.

Surprisingly, of the total number of websites analyzed the Ugandan DHSM website followed by the

Malaysian DHSM website had the highest total number of pictures portraying individuals in

different settings, predominantly individuals photographed on a blurred background. The Mexican

DHSM website, on the other hand, displayed only one group picture. Contrary to the initial national

culture trait expectations – of fluctuating numbers of collectivistic and individualistic traits – the

Swiss DHSM website displayed only two pictures of individuals in a work-related theme, whereas

the Colombian DHSM website displayed an equal number of group and individual pictures in both

work- and outdoor-related themes; and the Zimbabwean DHSM website mostly displayed

photographs of landscapes and jewelry.

59

In the case of the background composition of pictures, websites from LH countries displayed more

work-, office-related pictures (50%); whereas HL country’s websites represented only 37.5%.

Websites from HL countries displayed the same preference for the photography composition across

two divisions: three websites presented preferred individuals in either a color, blur or landscape

based background; and three websites preferred photos of individuals in a work-, office-related

background.

Furthermore, HL websites displayed a higher number of photographs in total (an average of 10

pictures in total compared to LH websites with an average of five pictures), and to a certain degree

this result lends support to the high context versus low context communication preferences based on

culture traits discussed in hypotheses 2 and 5.

Start page - Zimbabwean diaspora - DFZ

60

Logos

Method Design

In Table L.1 DHSM websites were divided according to their national culture traits. DHSM

websites with national culture traits defined as HL (high power division and collective) were

marked with the color blue. Websites with LH national culture traits (individualistic with a low

power division) were marked with an orange color; and websites with a Mixed combination of HL

and LH national culture traits were marked with a green color. The total number of logos presented

on the start page and pages describing a diaspora’s mission were counted and listed in the columns

titled “NUMBER OF LOGOS START PAGE” and “NUMBER OF LOGOS ABOUT US PAGE”,

respectively.

Table L.1.

WEBSITES

COUNTRY

REPRESENTED

CULTURE

TYPE

NUMBER OF LOGOS

START PAGE

NUMBER OF LOGOS

ABOUT US PAGE

USE OF SOCIAL

MEDIA LOGOS

TOTAL OF

LOGOS

TOTAL OF LOGOS

MINUS SOCIAL

MEDIA

TOTAL OF LOGOS

CLASSIFICATION

TOTAL OF LOGOS MINUS

SOCIAL MEDIA

CLASSIFICATION

www.chileglobal.net Chile HL 11 5 8 16 8 a b

www.redescolombia.org Colombia HL 3 6 4 9 5 b b

www.scientificmalaysian.com Malaysia HL 10 5 6 15 9 a b

www.rwandandiaspora.gov.rw Rwanda HL 7 7 2 14 12 c a

www.ugandandiaspora.com Uganda HL 29 11 5 40 35 a a

www.dfzim.com Zimbabwe HL 5 5 6 10 4 b b

www.redtalentos.gob.mx Mexico HL 11 5 0 16 16 a a

www.raices.mincyt.gov.ar Argentina LH 5 4 0 9 9 b b

www.advance.org Austarlia LH 8 8 10 16 6 a b

www.keanewzealand.com New Zealand LH 11 5 8 16 8 a b

www.ostina.org Austria LH 4 1 0 5 5 b b

www.theirelandfunds.org Ireland LH 8 8 5 16 11 a a

www.sdi.co.uk/globalscot.aspx Scotland LH 3 3 4 6 2 b b

www.swisstalents.org Switzerland Mixed 6 6 0 12 12 a a

LOGOS

AVERAGE

START PAGE

AVERAGE ABOUT

US PAGE

AVERAGE TOTAL

OF LOGOS

AVERAGE TOTAL OF LOGOS

MINUS SOCIAL MEDIA

a

TOTAL OF

WEBSITES 9 6 14 10

b

c HL 11 6 17 12

LH 6.5 5 11 7

MIXED 6 6 12 12

QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF LOGOS

CULTURE TYPE

Use of logos above average

Use of logos below average

No significant differences were observed

61

In the first step of the analysis, it was noticed that the amount of logos related to social media, such

as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, among others, differed from the amount of institutional logos

across the sample – as in the case of New Zealand’s DHSM website. Therefore, it was thought

necessary to make a counting division concerning the total number of social media logos and

institutional logos.

These considerations were represented in Table L.1 in the column titled “USE OF SOCIAL

MEDIA LOGOS” by counting the number of social media logos on both the start page and the

mission pages. Similarly, the number of institutional logos were counted and listed in the column

“TOTAL OF LOGOS MINUS SOCIAL MEDIA”.

By calculating the average number of logos across these features, it was possible to visualize the

websites across the sample that presented a higher and lower number of logos, respectively. These

websites are represented in Table L.1 and highlighted with the color red and red numbers for both

the “TOTAL OF LOGOS” and “TOTAL OF LOGOS MINUS SOCIAL MEDIA” columns.

By coding the results with different letters I was able to follow the same high (a) and low (b)

classification mentioned before, but a “no significant differences were observed” (c) stage was

needed as well, as some websites presented different culture trait combinations within a country.

This strategy is applied in the columns titled “TOTAL OF LOGOS CLASIFICATION” and

“TOTAL OF LOGOS MINUS SOCIAL MEDIA CLASIFICATION”, and by doing so I was able to

follow the trends across the total sample as well as trace any differences according to their culture

trait characteristics.

The last two columns and their results where coded into truth tables separately, and interpreted

using fQCA 2.0, which is fuzzy set/Qualitative Comparative Analysis software9. The letter (a) was

assigned with the value “1”, the letter (b) with the value “0”, and the letter (c) with the value “0.5”.

The “TOTAL OF LOGOS CLASIFICATION” is represented in Table L.2, and the “TOTAL OF

LOGOS MINUS SOCIAL MEDIA CLASSIFICATION” in Table L.3.

9 http://www.u.arizona.edu/~cragin/fsQCA/software.shtml Consulted in May 2013

62

Results

As in the case of the picture analysis section, a general overview of the websites analyzed

highlighted some common characteristics. Aside from the social media logos, the l4ogos counted

across the sample represented different organizations: from transnational companies – such as

beverage and fashion companies – to national institutions, government and humanitarian

institutions. There was a high use of logos (57.1 %) across the sample; however, when only the

institution-related logos were counted, there was a clear shift in preferences, as only 5 websites

from the sample presented a high use of logos (36 %) .

Table L.2

TOTAL OF LOGOS CLASIFICATION

Table L.3 TOTAL OF LOGOS MINUS

SOCIAL MEDIA CLASSIFICATION”

63

The DHSM websites were grouped according to culture traits, following Hofstede’s dimensions of

culture. In the total use of logos, there was a slight difference (7 %) between the grouping

representing countries with a collectivistic culture and a high power distance division (HL) and

websites representing countries with individualistic cultures with a low power distance (LH).

Conversely, this trend shifted dramatically, when only instistutional logos were taken into account,

as 5 out of 6e websites in the LH division (83%) and 4 out of 7 websites in the HL division used

fewer logos on average (57 %).

Although the website representing a country with a Mixed culture type, the Swiss diaspora,

displayed a lower number of logos on the start page (6 logos) than the websites from HL and LH

cultures (11 and 6.5, respectively), it had an equal amount of logos on the start and about us pages,

as it displayed no social media-related logos. This differed from both HL and LH websites, since

the websites from both culture types displayed more logos on the start pages than on the mission

pages (6 for HL, 5 for LH, and 6 for Mixed). Following the hypothesis, Switzerland was the only

country to present this mix of characteristics regarding the use of logos.

The Argentinian, Austrian, Mexican, and Swiss DHSM websites did not display any logos related

to social media. The Australian DHSM website, however, used these types of logos extensively to

link the start page and about us or mission pages with other social media websites. As it can be seen

in Table L.1, there is a notable difference between the total amounts of logos used on the websites.

For example, in the case of the Australian DHSM website, the social media logos represented more

than half of the logos available, whereas no such logos were displayed on the Swiss DHSM

website.

As culture trait group cases, the analysis of images on the DHSM websites followed Hofstede’s

considerations of status and sense of belonging. In the majority of the instances analyzed, websites

with an HL culture trait combination presented almost twice as many logos as their counterparts

with an LH culture trait combination. The results corroborate earlier studies on graphical elements

on websites, as they correlate with Hofstede’s Power Distance and Individualism culture trait values

for the same countries. (Callahan, 2006; Cyr & Trevor-Smith, 2004)

64

Website Palette

H2: The rate at which a DHSM website design uses different color hues, varies according to

national cultural traits combinations.

The DHSM websites displayed different palette combinations; some applied color designs based on

a combination of one or two color hues; whereas others applied a multi-chromatic design by

combining more than three color hues.

Method Design

In table PT.1 the websites analyzed were organized by country and culture type. In the column titled

“CULTURE TYPE”, countries classified as collective with a high degree of power distance were

assigned the HL code, whereas countries classified in this thesis as individualistic with a low degree

of power distance were assigned the LH code. The only country expected to have both HL and LH

characteristics, Switzerland, was classified with the code Mixed.

Start page – The Swiss DHSM website – Swiss

talents

65

In the column titled “CLASSIFICATION”, three different color and number codes were

implemented in order to describe a palette style on a website. For polychromatic palettes the color

blue and the letter “a” were used; for monochromatic palettes the color red and the letter “b” were

used; and finally, for websites that did not fit one category, the color green and the letter “c” were

used.

The “CLASSIFICATION” column was then converted to a truth table where the letter “a” was

assigned the value “1”, the letter “b” with the value “0”, and the letter “c” with the value “0.5”. This

table was analyzed using the f QCA software and produced the following cross tabulation:

WEBSITES

COUNTRY

REPRESENTED CULTURE TYPE CLASSIFICATION

www.chileglobal.net Chile HL a

www.redescolombia.org Colombia HL a a

www.scientificmalaysian.com Malaysia HL b b

www.rwandandiaspora.gov.rw Rwanda HL a c

www.ugandandiaspora.com Uganda HL a

www.dfzim.com Zimbabwe HL b

www.redtalentos.gob.mx Mexico HL a

www.raices.mincyt.gov.ar Argentina LH a

www.advance.org Australia LH b

www.keanewzealnd.com New Zealand LH b

www.ostina.org Austria LH b

www.theirelandfunds.org Ireland LH b

www.sdi.co.uk/globalscot.aspx Scotland LH b

www.swisstalents.org Switzerland Mixed a

QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF A WEBSITE'S PALETTE

PALETTE CODE DESCRIPTION

Use of a polychromatic palette

Use of a monochromatic palette

Not clear

Table PT.2

CLASSIFICATION

TABLE PT.1

66

Results

In contrast to the other parts of the qualitative analysis section, the general overview did not present

a specific trend, as there was an equal amount of DHSM websites with a monochromatic and

polychromatic palette. On the other hand, when the sample was grouped according to the websites’

culture trait combination, there was a remarkable difference.

Websites with an HL culture trait combination (collectivistic with a high power distance) displayed

a 71 % preference for a polychromatic palette, whereas the number was 87 % for monochromatic

websites with an LH culture trait combination (individualistic with a low power distance). The

websites that followed this HL polychromatic pattern were: Chile, Colombia, Rwanda, Uganda, and

Mexico.

On the Chilean DHSM website, the palette varied from different shades of blue to gray, red, and

yellow. In the same line, the DHSM websites of Colombia, Rwanda, Mexico, and Uganda used

bright colors to emphasize interactive features, such as the names of tabs that led to other sections

of the website. Colors assigned to different interactive features in these countries were frequently in

line with a national emblem color combination. For example, DHSM website of Rwanda showed a

strong preference for green and blue, the country’s national colors.

With the exception of the Ugandan DHSM website, which had a dark background, the same DHSM

websites in the cultural color spectrum also displayed a dual background color combination based

on their national emblems.

Start page of the Chilean DHSM website About us page, Rwandan DHSM website

67

As mentioned above, websites representing countries with an LH culture trait (individualistic with a

low power distance) generally presented a monochromatic palette (only 17 % presented a

polychromatic palette). The DHSM websites that followed this LH monochromatic pattern were

from Australia, Austria, Ireland, New Zealand, and Scotland.

The colors frequently used for the monochromatic palette were blue, gray, and black. The start page

of the Austrian DHSM website, for example, presented a gray hue color combination in its palette

design. Furthermore, the majority of the DHSM websites used either black or white font colors for

tab names to navigate across the website.

However, there was no preferred background color combination across these websites.

Nevertheless, the color white was constantly used in different forms and elements across these

websites. The Australian site displayed an all-white background, but the DHSM websites of New

Zealand, Ireland, and Scotland preferred using it in combination with a different color.

Start page of the Austrian DHSM website Start page of the Ugandan

DHSM website

68

In the case of the Malaysian and Zimbabwean DHSM websites, although from countries classified

with HL culture traits, both websites displayed a monochromatic palette. Both sites preferred using

black, white, and different shades of gray. The color font used in the navigation feature varied from

different shades of gray to white.

These findings are in line with previous studies in usability and color preferences in website design,

as color scheme selections based on the culture of the users are found to increase trust and

satisfaction (Cyr & Trevor-Smith, 2004; Cyr, Head, & Larious, 2010).

INTERACTIVE FEATURES

H3: The frequency with which different DHSM websites provides types of access to

information or services, vary according to national culture traits combination.

H4: Guidelines for member behavior and data protection in DHSM websites, differ

according to national culture traits combinations

Start page of the Malaysian DHSM

website – Scientific Malaysian

69

Method Design

Different interactive features were analyzed using a qualitative approach and organized in Table I.1.

In the columns titled “WEBSITES” and “COUNTRY REPRESENTED” the DHSM websites and

their respective countries were inserted.

In the third column titled “CULTURE TYPE” DHSM websites from countries with an HL culture

trait combination (high in power distance, but low in individuality) were assigned a blue color, and

DHSM websites from countries with an LH culture trait combination (low in power distance, but

highly individualistic) were assigned an orange color. Finally, the only country website expected to

have a mixed combination of HL and LH cultural traits was assigned a green color.

In the columns titled “TYPE OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION”, “TYPE OF GUIDELINES”, and

“HANDLING OF INQUIRIES” specific national culture traits were measured according to

different interactive features and the access to information they provided. (Table I.2)

Table I.1

COUNTRY

REPRESENTED

CULTURE

TYPE

TYPES OF

ACCESS TO

INFORMATION

TYPE OF

GUIDELINES

HANDLING

OF

INQUIRIES

Chile HL 1.b 2.a 3.c

Colombia HL 1.b 2.a 3.a

Malaysia HL 1.a 2.a 3.a

Rwanda HL 1.c 2.a 3.a

Uganda HL 1.b 2.a 3.a

Zimbabwe HL 1.a 2.a 3.a

Mexico HL 1.b 2.a 3.c

Argentina LH 1.b 2.a 3.a

Australia LH 1.a 2.b 3.a

New Zealand LH 1.b 2.b 3.c

Austria LH 1.b 2.a 3.c

Ireland LH 1.a 2.b 3.c

Scotland LH 1.b 2.b 3.c

Switzerland Mixed 1.b 2.b 3.c

QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS - INTERACTIVE FEATURES

www.ostina.org

www.theirelandfunds.org

www.sdi.co.uk/globalscot.aspx

www.swisstalents.org

www.ugandandiaspora.com

www.dfzim.com

www.redtalentos.gob.mx

www.raices.mincyt.gov.ar

www.advance.org

www.keanewzealand.com

WEBSITES

www.chileglobal.net

www.redescolombia.org

www.scientificmalaysian.com

www.rwandandiaspora.gov.rw

70

If different types of memberships were available – i.e. based on the amount of money required to

join the diaspora, experience of the individual, or area of interest – the website was assigned the

number and letter combination 1.a and placed in the column titled “TYPES OF ACCESS TO

INFORMATION”. If a website provided only one type of membership with the same access to

information, it was assigned the combination 1.b. If a website did not provide clear structures –

such as a page or link – for becoming a member, it was categorized with the character and number

combination 1.c.

In the column titled “TYPE OF GUIDELINES” a website’s schemas for members’ behavior and

personal information trade were analyzed. If a website did not provide a clear set of rules, it was

labeled 2.a. On the other hand, if a website had a specific page or link explaining members’

information trade and behavioral code it was labeled 2.b. Finally, if this aspect could not be

measured due to limited access – i.e. the links provided information for members only – it was

labeled 2.c.

In the last column titled “HANDLING OF INQUIRIES” a website’s form of contact with its

members was measured by categorizing it on three forms:

DESCRIPTION

1.a Different types of memberships, having a hierarchical or pyramidal access to information

1.b One type of membership, giving members a horizontal access to the information

1.c

Column: Type of guidelines2.a

2.b

2.c No clear difference

3.a

3.b

3.c

Column: Types of access to information

No clear difference

Rules, guidelines or procedures to information trade behavior are not clearly specified. Relying more in tradition or past interactions to guide interactions

Encourage of members' inquiries through a special FAQ and contact section

Website’s structure provides FAQ, contact section and provides contact information on who is in charge of the area of interest.

Column: Handling of inquiries

No clear difference

Detailed set of guidelies for members' behaviour and the managing of personal information

Table

I.2

71

3.a For websites that provided only a frequently asked question (FAQ) section or a contact

area.

3.b For websites that provided the same contact options as in 3.a in addition to contact

information – i.e. full name, phone number, or email – of personnel working in other areas

of interest within the diaspora.

3.c For websites that did not provide a clear structure. At the central level the website

provided a 3.a style for handling inquiries. However, direct contact information (3.b

typology) was scattered either throughout the website or as the website branched out to

groups located in other countries: e.g. the Swiss diaspora – chapter San Francisco; the

Mexican diaspora – chapter France.

It is important to mention that in the column titled “HANDLING OF INQUIRIES” the entire

DHSM website was analyzed. Also due to the nature of the task of web design analysis, all links

provided on the same website, but located in different countries were also taken into account.

The results from the last three columns (“TYPES OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION”, “TYPE OF

GUIDELINES” and “HANDLING OF INQUIRIES”) were entered into truth tables and analyzed

using a cross tabulation from fQCA 2.0 software. The letter-number combinations 1.a, 2.a and 3.a

were assigned the value “1”. The letter-number combinations 1.b, 2.b and 3.b were assigned the

value “0”. The letter-number combinations 1.c, 2.c and 3.c were assigned the value “0.5”

72

Table I.3 TYPES OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION

Table I.4 TYPES OF GUIDELINES

Table I.5 HANDLING OF INQUIRIES

73

Results

As shown in TablesI.3, I.4, and I.5 three types of interactive features were analyzed: access to

information, type of guidelines, and handing of inquiries. As websites belonging to the same genre,

the sample presented similar characteristics: 71 % of the sample offered one type of membership,

and 64.3% of the total of websites did not present a detailed set of guidelines for members’ behavior

or data protection. An important result that sets this section apart from the rest of the qualitative

analysis is that an equal number of websites either provided only an FAQ section (42%) or an FAQ

section and different contact information for the person in charge of their area of interest (50%).

When the sample was grouped according to national culture traits (HL, LH, and Mixed), some cases

revealed slight differences and others a clear preference for the given culture background.

In terms of access to information (Table I.3), 10 websites were inclined to provide one type of

membership, where countries with a HL national culture trait combination represented a 40% and

countries with a LH national culture trait combination represented a 50%. Conversely, in terms of

preference regarding administering users’ personal information and guidelines (Table 1.4), there is a

clear difference between different national culture traits: None of the websites from countries with

culture traits categorized as HL (collectivistic with a high degree of power distance) provided a

detailed members’ behavioral code or explained the final use of the personal information provided

in the sign-in process. With the exception of the Argentinian and Austrian DHSM websites, the

majority of the websites (36 %) from both countries with culture traits categorized as LH

(individualistic with a low degree of power dimension) and Mixed (with both culture traits from LH

and HL) were keen to provide links to web page sections explaining in detail how members’

information was being handled and guidelines for proper use of the website. The Rwandan DHSM

website was the only website from the sample that did not provide a clear structure with regard to

becoming a member.

In the last table (Table 1.5 HANDLING OF INQUIRIES) only two forms were used across the

sample: 1 (FAQ and contact section) and 0.5 (contact section, FAQ, and direct contact to personnel

– but the latter information is scattered throughout the website or external links are provided). An

illustration of the 0.5 style for handling inquiries is present on the Scottish DHSM website. When

one uses the contact us link, all that appears is a form with an 0800 number and a request for

74

specific information which the user can fill in (Figure I.1). Nevertheless, when the website was

examined further in the diaspora chapters, it revealed different contact information (Figure I.2).

As previously mentioned, no website from the sample provided a contact section and direct

information about their members.

When the sample was divided according to different national culture traits, an interesting effect

appeared: 71.4 % of DHSM websites with HL culture traits (collectivistic and high in power

division) provided only an FAQ and a contact section, whereas only 28.6 % of the DHSM websites

from countries with culture traits marked as LH (low in power division and individualistic) had this

characteristic.

A problem with the analysis in this section was that the majority of the LH websites (67 %) were

divided according to chapters or subgroups. Generally, the main website provided only an FAQ and

a contact section- However, the structure of a webpage changed when a Diaspora was located to

represent their network in different countries. Their specific FAQ, contact section and personnel’s

contact information, was usually dispersed through different sections the website. Therefore, these

websites were categorized as 0.5 or “no clear difference”

Figure I.1 Figure I.2

75

QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS

OVERALL DESIGN

The usability and accesibility of websites can be analyzed from different angles, such as manual

clasification or with automatic software tools. The past section performed a comparative analysis

on websites, by evaluating their visual composition. The evaluation consisted on measuring and

comparing visual website elements such as background color, number of pictures and accesibility

features.

According to McMillan (as refered in Bauer & Scharl, 2000) this approach can be complemented by

the use of tools that consider more information imbeded in the website system. This section used

two web performance optimization tools (web page analyzer 0.9810

from Website Optimization, and

visible.net website analyzer11

) to analyze websites from diasporas of high skilled migrants.

Web performance optimization (WPO) tools are intended to quantify web page elements, either by

the number of elements or byte size. Following the analysis, these tools suggest customizing actions

in order to increase the download and display speed in which a web page is loaded on to the user’s

web browser.

The downturn of using these performance checking tools is that the website analyzed needs to share

information – such as the source code – with the application. As some of the websites use a secure

hypertext transfer protocol (HTTPS) – a protocol used for secure network communication and

private web browsing private – and other data protection features, the WPO tools were unable to

provide results for these types of websites. Therefore, such websites were not included in this step

of the analysis.

Content analysis of websites using WPO tools is seen as a complementary approach to the analysis

performed in the Qualitative Analysis section. As the researcher is unable to influence how the tools

count the elements on a website, the results provide direct information about the inner structures in

10

http://www.websiteoptimization.com/services/analyze/ Consulted in October 2012. 11

http://www.visible.net/tools/analyzer/ Consulted in October 2012.

76

websites. Furthermore, these results can be interpreted following Hofstede’s culture traits in order

to compare to the results derived from the analysis in the Quantitative Analysis section.

This section aims to test the following hypothesis:

H5: Page components on different DHSM websites disagree in size and number according

to national culture traits combinations

Method Design

WEBPAGE ANALYZER 0.98

In Table QT-1, the results from the analysis performed by the webpage analyzer 0.98 are

summarized by country and culture trait combination. All websites from countries with

collectivistic and high power distance culture trait combinations were assigned an HL code,

whereas websites from countries with culture traits described as individualistic and low power

distance were assigned an LH code. Due to its markedly diverse cultural background, Switzerland

was the only country from the sample that was expected to have both HL and LH culture traits;

therefore, it was given the code Mixed.

The global statistics are summarized in the columns titled “TOTAL SIZE” and “TOTAL

OBJECTS”. The “TOTAL OBJECTS” column refers to the total number of HTTP requests or the

total number of objects on a page. The object overhead influences the description and wait time, and

the webpage analyzer 0.98 recommends a maximum of 20 objects per page, as they count for 80 %

of a website’s latency.

77

There are two main sections across the columns: “OBJECT SIZE TOTALS” and “TOTAL

NUMBER OF OBJECTS”. These sections, analyze the elements used to run applications like Java

applets, audio, video, and flash animations, as well as elements that are not hosted on the original

website server, but are imbedded in it; thus, users do not need to visit other websites to view them.

The difference between these sections is that the columns in the “OBJECT SIZE TOTALS” section

measures the size of these elements in bytes, whereas the columns in the “TOTAL NUMBER OF

OBJECTS” section aim to count the total number of specific objects on a web page.

For example, the column titles “HTML” in the section “OBJECTS” counts the byte size of the

HTML file, whereas the column titled “TOTAL HTML” in the “TOTAL NUMBER OF

OBJECTS” section counts the number of HTML files (all websites presented only one file).

Two acronyms are used recurrently in Table QT-1: 1) CSS (Cascading Style Sheet) which is a style

sheet language used to improve accessibility and to affect images, text, and scripts; and 2) HTML

(Hypertext Markup Language) which is a markup language for producing web pages used to

describe and translate the structure and information in text form as well as to complement text with

objects – such as images

Table QT-1

OBJECT SIZE TOTALS

WEBSITES COUNTRY

TYPE OF

CULTURE TOTAL SIZE

TOTAL

OBJECTS HTML

HTML

IMAGES

CSS

IMAGES

TOTAL

IMAGES

TOTAL

HTML

TOTAL

HTML

IMAGES

TOTAL

CSS

IMAGES

TOTAL

IMAGES

TOTAL

SCRIPTS

TOTAL

CSS

IMPORTS

www.chileglobal.net Chile HL 794385 33 18315 258812 369000 627872 1 14 4 18 7 7

www.redescolombia.org Colombia HL 901549 168 10244 357793 424403 782196 1 19 143 162 2 3

www.scientificmalaysian.com Malaysia HL 116293 26 9642 46287 0 46287 1 2 14 16 8 1

www.redtalentos.gob.mx Mexico HL 2393620 77 721237 1200920 919529 2120449 1 34 28 62 6 8

www.raices.mincyt.gov.ar Argentina LH 128804 26 6320 108578 9423 118001 1 22 2 24 0 1

www.advance.org Australia LH 351047 38 4802 238679 95501 334180 1 10 14 24 7 6

www.keanewzealand.com New Zealand LH 453889 89 9689 73195 282695 355890 1 17 65 85 5 0

www.ostina.org Austria LH 1823763 222 139288 796551 784154 1580705 1 13 179 192 8 21

www.swisstalents.org Switzerland MIXED 24923 11 5666 18479 0 18479 1 9 0 9 0 1

TOTAL NUMBER OF OBJECTS

WEB PAGE ANALYZER 0.98 - WEB REPORT

78

In Table QT-1 the columns titled “HTML IMAGES” and “CSS IMAGES” refer to the total size of

those types of images linked to the HTML file of a website; and both results are added to the

“TOTAL HTML” column in the “OBJECTS” section. The columns titled “TOTAL IMAGES” and

“TOTAL CSS IMAGES” count the total number of HTML and CSS images, respectively; and their

results are summarized in the “TOTAL HTML” column in the “TOTAL NUMBER OF OBJECTS”

section.

The column “CSS IMPORT” displays the number of external CSS files on a specific website,

which is also a loading functionality of CSS language. The column “TOTAL SCRIPTS” aims to

count the total number of external script files, and the “TOTAL CSS IMPORTS” column has a

similar characteristic, the only difference being that it aims to count the style rules in a document

derived from an external style sheet.

The results from Table QT-1 were interpreted in truth tables, and cross tabulated using fQCA 2.0

software.

The values in these following truth tables are based on a High-Low division. To create this division,

the arithmetic mean from each column in Table QT-1 was calculated. Afterwards, if a specific

country- website result was above a column’s average it was assigned the value “1”; but it was

below it was assigned the value “0”.

Results

The different calculations of size and number of elements across HTML and CSS files are

important, as they provide different results. As an illustration, the size of 44 % of the total sample

was above average (77,767,474.8 bytes), but all the websites had one HTML file. From this group

(Table QT-2 Total Size) 75% belonged to collectivist and high power distance countries (HL) and

25 % to individualistic and low power distance countries (LH).

Table QT-2

79

Across the sample, the websites representing the Austrian and Mexican diasporas consistently

presented more information across the columns in Table QT-1. The Swiss DHSM website had the

lowest figures in all columns.

The websites that could not be analyzed using the webpage analyzer 0.98 were grouped in two

similar continental backgrounds, but with opposite culture trait combinations: Rwanda, Uganda, and

Zimbabwe with the culture trait combination HL (collectivistic and high in power division), and

Scotland and Ireland with the culture trait combination LH (individualistic and low on power

division).

The average size of the websites was 776,474.78 bytes, and only 44 % of the sample was larger.

Websites from countries with culture traits categorized as HL on average revealed a bigger byte size

in their internal elements (Total Average Size: HL: 1,051,461.8, LH: 689,375.75). Thus, websites

representing countries with HL national culture traits, as theorized by Hofstede, consistently

presented opposite results in contrast to those from countries with LH national cultural traits.

However, this tendency partially shifted with regard to the number of external elements, as websites

from countries with culture traits categorized as LH used more external files.

The only tendency that showed the same values across the sample was in the “TOTAL HTML”

column in the “EXTERNAL OBJECTS” section. Also, in the “TOTAL SCRIPTS” column both HL

and LH diasporas presented close percentages. Only the Swiss diaspora did not report any CSS

images, external scripts, or CSS imports. (See Appendix A).

The trends evident from Table QT-1 can be better appreciated in Table QT-3, as the average results

from each culture type group and column are compared to the total average.

Table QT-3

TYPE OF

CULTURE

AVERAGE

OF TOTAL

SIZE HTML

HTML

IMAGES

CSS

IMAGES

TOTAL

IMAGES

TOTAL

HTML

TOTAL

HTML

IMAGES

TOTAL

CSS

IMAGES

TOTAL

IMAGES

TOTAL

SCRIPTS

TOTAL

CSS

IMPORTS

HL 1051461.75 189860 465953 428233 894201 1 17.25 47.25 64.5 5.75 4.75

LH 689375.75 40025 304251 292943 597194 1 15.5 65 81.25 5 7

MIXED 24923 5666 18479 0 18479 1 9 0 9 0 1

776474.778 102800 344366 320523 664895 1 15.5556 49.889 65.7778 4.77778 5.333333TOTAL AVERAGE

AVERAGE OF OBJECT SIZE TOTALS AVERAGE OF EXTERNAL OBJECTS

80

Table QT-4

VISIBLENET.COM WEBSITE ANALYZER

The results of the analysis performed by the visible.net webpage analyzer are summarized in Table

QT-4. As specific national culture traits were identified in the literature, DHSM websites were

aligned as follows:

HL: websites from cultures with a high power division, but low in individuality.

LH: websites from cultures with a low power division, but high in individuality.

Mixed: websites from countries with a marked multicultural background, with both LH

and HL culture traits.

The column titled “PAGE SIZE” is the only column in Table QT-4 that lists the results in bytes, as

this column aims to measure the total size of a web page. In the case of this table, the page analyzed

was the start page of each DHSM website. In the column titled “PAGE TEXT” the WPO tool

measures a page’s total body text according to the number of words appearing on it.

The rest of the columns in Table QT-3 also count the number of times an element appears on a

page. Each column title refers to and counts an element from the list below:

WEBSITES COUNTRY

TYPE OF

CULTURE

PAGE

SIZE*

PAGE

TEXT** KEYWORDS

ANCHOR

TAGS-HREF

ANCHORS

BOLD TAGS-

HTML

BOLD/STRONG

HEADINGS-

HTML

HEADINGS

ALT TAGS-

IMAGE

ALTS

TOTAL

INTERNAL

LINKS

EXTERNAL

OUTBOUND

LINKS

EXTERNAL

INCOMING

LINKS

www.chileglobal.net Chile HL 18363 184 18 24 0 17 14 21 12 0

www.redescolombia.org Colombia HL 44327 477 0 72 0 6 1 92 3 0

www.scientificmalaysian.com Malaysia HL 61155 869 172 77 7 18 9 81 10 0

www.rwandandiaspora.gov.rw Rwanda HL 37148 522 64 83 0 17 2 80 19 0

www.ugandandiaspora.com Uganda HL 82008 1576 14 104 0 49 61 148 25 0

www.dfzim.com Zimbabwe HL 19869 303 30 49 0 9 19 55 5 0

www.redtalentos.gob.mx Mexico HL 72137 1092 171 123 3 4 27 95 61 0

www.advance.org Australia LH 19284 287 55 66 0 13 9 58 8 0

www.keanewzealand.com New Zealand LH 40706 659 189 56 0 12 4 67 8 0

www.raices.mincyt.gov.ar Argentina LH 6322 188 48 2 2 0 20 19 5 0

www.theirelandfunds.org Ireland LH 27813 216 32 73 12 2 13 23 9 0

www.swisstalents.org Switzerland MIXED 5668 31 30 3 0 0 0 18 1 0

*page size expressed in bytes

**page text expressed in the number of words

VISIBLE.NET - WEB REPORT

81

KEYWORDS: Keywords in this context are index entries that are related to a specific

document or record.

ANCHOR TAGS – HREF ANCHORS: In programing language anchor tags, also known as

HREF anchors, are the HTML codes linking a page to a particular section within a page.

BOLD TAGS – HTML BOLD/STRONG: Both strong and bold are logical tags, and they

are used by the designer to emphasize particular text elements on a page.

HEADINGS – HTML HEADINGS: In order to arrange a web page’s configuration and

content, search engines use headings. These headings in turn show the entire document

structure.

ALT TAGS – IMAGE ALTS: In website design an alt attribute provides alternative

information about an image, if the image cannot be displayed.

TOTAL INTERNAL LINKS: Internal links are hyperlinks that refer to a web page element

on the same website.

EXTERNAL OUTBOUND LINKS: “A link from one domain to another is said to

be outbound from its source anchor and inbound to its target.”12

EXTERNAL INCOMING LINKS: “[A]ny links received by a web node (web page,

directory, website, or top level domain) from another web node.”13

To add more clarity, the results from Table QT-4 were also interpreted in truth tables, and

performed a cross tabulation using fQCA 2.0 software. The values in the resulting tables (see

Appendix A) were based on a High-Low division. To create these, the arithmetic mean from each

column in Table QT-4 was calculated. Afterwards, if a website contained above the average number

of elements registered in a column it was assigned the value “1”; if it was below the average it was

assigned the value “0”.

As in the case of the webpage analyzer 0.98, the column results from Table QT-4 and representing

the web report from Visible.net, show that countries with HL cultural traits have web pages with

more in-built elements (HL 83.3% vs LH 16.7%). The Ugandan DHSM website showed the

highest figure for page size (bytes), page text (1,576 words), HTML headings (49), image alts (61),

and total external links (148). The Mexican DHSM website was close to the Ugandan website’s

12

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperlink 13

Ibid.

82

column figures, only exceeding it in the number of HREF anchors (123) and external outbound

links (61).

In a particular account of websites, the New Zealand diaspora had the highest number of keywords

(189), and the Irish DHSM website the highest number of bold tags (12).

The only website with Mixed cultural traits, the Swiss website, revealed an overall low number of

elements compared to the rest of the sample. The only score that was higher than the rest of the

sample was the number of keywords (30), as the Colombian DHSM website had no keywords at all.

The absence of different elements on the Swiss DHSM website might be the very property that

makes the results from both WPO tools (weboptimization.com and visible.net) similar. WPO tools

use different metric factors; thus, the results may vary. Therefore, the fact that the Swiss DHSM

website showed almost similar results using different WPO tools is considered unusual.

DISCUSSION

INTRODUCTION

This chapter summarizes the findings in terms of the hypotheses. For each construct, the

corresponding findings are summarized in relation to the respective hypotheses: images (H1), color

(H2), access to information (H3), guidelines for the use of websites (H4), size and number of page

components (H5).

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

In this section, the results of the study are discussed in terms of hypotheses associated with culture,

web design, accessibility and usability. Table S.1 lists the hypotheses, constructs and variables used

in the study.

83

Findings respect to each hypothesis, including the qualitative and quantitative results are

summarized in Table D.2.

Hypothesis

Number

Hypothesis Description

Constructs

Variables

H1

The rate at which a DHSM website

uses logos and pictures within a theme

fluctuate according to national culture

traits combination.

Images

Number and

background

composition of

photographs,

number of logos.

H2

The rate at which a DHSM website

design uses different color hues that

varies according to national cultural

traits combinations.

Website

palette

Specific colors of

background, tabs

and text.

H3

The frequency with which different

DHSM websites provides types of

access to information or services that

vary according to national culture traits

combinations.

Interactive

Features

Membership

types and

website’s styles

of contact

information.

H4

Guidelines for member behavior and

data protection in DHSM websites that

differ according to national culture

traits combinations

Guideline

sections: users’

behavior and

personal

information.

H5

Page components on different DHSM

websites that disagree in size and

number according to national culture

traits combinations.

Web

interface

and design

elements

HTLM and CSS

specific

Table S.1

84

Table D.2

Hypothesis Result Significance found and aspects that influence website design

H1

Partially

Supported

National cultural traits and a DHSM’s website design were

correlated in the amount of logos and pictures.

When divided by national culture traits, websites were inclined

to display a certain type of photograph composition.

H2

Supported

National culture trait combinations of diasporas were correlated

with the use of specific website color palletes.

H3

Not

Supported

No difference in the contact information access

Almost the same type of membership across websites

H4

Supported

A website’s preference for rules and guidelines were correlated

with the DHSM national culture traits.

H5

Supported

Size and amount of website elements were correlated with a

website’s national culture traits combinations.

85

Hypotheses H1, H2, H5

The comparative analysis of websites showed that there is a correlation across websites in

accordance to pictures, color and other image related elements.

In H1 and H5 DHSM websites from collectivistic cultures with a high power distance division (HL)

were inclined to use a higher number of pictures. Whereas websites representing countries from

individualistic cultures with a low power distance (LH) showed a lower number of pictures. In H1

this result was represented by the number of pictures appearing at the Home and About us pages. In

H5 this correlation, between website design and national cultural traits, was represented by the

Total Size of HTLM and CSS files, images and objects.

In H1 the counting of elements was done manually, whereas in the H5 was done through the use of

specialized software. It is interesting to see that even though different approaches were used to

analyze the data, the results were similar.

Furthermore, when the picture background composition (H1) and the color palette of the websites

(H2) were analyzed, consistent differences appeared. Images of single individuals had a higher ratio

in LH culture countries than in websites from HLnational culture traits. More than 71% of websites

from collectivistic countries with a high power distance (HL) displayed a polychromatic pallete,

whereas 87% of websites from individualistic countries with a low power distance (LH) preferred a

monochromatic palette.

However, when the study analyzed the use of logos (H1) there was no significant difference at first

sight, as the sample displayed almost the same amount of logos across websites with different

national culture traits. At second glance, when the logos were counted and divided according to

what they represented –social media or institutions-, there was a notable difference across websites.

When only institutional logos were taken into account, websites from HL cultures presented a

higher use of logos than websites from LH countries. Additionally, the only website from a country

with a Mixed culture type (a type of culture that oscillates between HL and LH cultural traits)

displayed interesting characteristics, such as a similar number of institutional logos –i.e. companies

or universities- but no social media related logos –i.e. twitter or Facebook.

The hypothesis H1 is partially supported, as there was a consistent difference in the use of images

across countries in line with their national cultural traits. Nevertheless, the use of logos provided

86

mixed results as the difference was only small (7%) across websites when the individual meaning of

logos was not taken in to account.

The hypotheses H2 and H5 are supported, as the study showed there are consistent differences in

the amount of colors, as well as in the number and size of HTLM and CSS specific files.

Therefore the number and size of images fluctuates according to specific national cultural traits in

diasporas of high skilled migrants

Hypotheses H3, H4

The hypothesis H4 was supported, as national cultural traits were good predictors for the use of

guidelines on the websites. Diaspora websites from countries with a HL national cultural traits

combination did not presented any guidelines, whereas the majority of the LH websites presented

detailed sections or pages with this feature. From those websites that did not follow the hypothesis,

the Argentinian diaspora – previously classified as with an LH combination- did not present any

guidelines or detailed contact information. Argentina was considered by Hofstede (2005) as a

special case within the Latin American countries. As a massive number of Europeans migrated to

Argentina in the 1900’s, the cultural trait combination of Argentinian society fluctuates between HL

and LH combinations. This difference in guidelines, may obey local tendencies, as in different Latin

American countries there is not a strong demand or enforcement for these features, thus either web

developers have not been required to include them or users have not requested them.

Therefore the presence or absence of guidelines regarding member behavior and data protection,

are correlated with the specific national cultural traits combination in a diaspora’s website.

Hypothesis H3 was not supported, as access to information and services did not vary in websites

according to different national cultural traits. An equal number of diasporas across the opposite

poles of the Power Distance and Individualism dimensions presented a type of membership, a FAQ

section (42%) or another type of contact information (50%). However one important aspect in this

section of the analysis is, that when links were followed for specific diaspora delegations (i.e. the

Scottish diaspora in the U.S. or London), webpage structures changed.

87

Therefore interactive features to access information or services do not fluctuate according to

specific national cultural traits in diaspora of high skilled migrants

CONCLUSIONS

This thesis began with the question: “To what extent do usability and accessibility in website design

differ across national culture backgrounds”

The analysis in this research involved the comparative analysis of fourteen websites for Diasporas

of high skilled migrants. It involved the qualitative and quantitative analysis of images, text and

interactive features imbedded in websites. Three of five hypotheses were supported:

H2: The rate at which a DHSM website design uses different color hues varies according to national

cultural traits combinations.

H4: Guidelines for member behavior and data protection in DHSM websites differ according to

national culture traits combinations.

H5: Page components on different DHSM websites disagree in size and number according to

national culture traits combinations.

THEORETICAL IMPLICATIONS

The objective of this research was to investigate if there are differences in accessibility and usability

in websites from different cultures. It also intended to provide a deeper understanding of design

variables and methods of analysis relevant to the localization of websites.

Different traditions in Computer Science have analyzed the role of culture in human-computer

communication (Carroll, 1997; Kuehn, 1994) They agree that to some degree, the interaction of

humans with computers and their communication structures, are influenced by culture. With diverse

cultural backgrounds, it was anticipated that countries with similar interests would display similar

preferences in website design. The main findings of this research supports this idea –in terms of

images, color and number of files- of localization and culturability in website design.

88

The problem of using cultural markers to improve the usability of webistes lays upon the

organization of interface elements within a particular culural group. To appeal to certain cultural

groups, the content of websites can be organized according to the nature of its elements and how

they might influence users’ overall interactive experience (Barber & Badre, 1998). In relation to

web design and performance, if an interface requires less effort to understand and perform tasks,

users will be more satisfied, as it reduces their anxiety and uncertainty levels (González, 2010;

Warden & Lai, 2002; Winn & Beck, 2002).

A series of web elements were used in this study to investigate the effects of culture on website

design, in terms of usability and accessibility. These elements were grouped into three levels (text,

images and hyperlinks), analyzed in different constructs (Images, Website palette, Interactive

Features, Web interface and design elements), across specific national cultural trait combinations

(HL, LH and Mixed)

In this study, Images have a preference in localized websites. Besides the amount and size, images

can display specific compositions that are in line with a website genre. This research has supported

the notion that website genres influence the selection of specific images that reflect the main

purpose of a website (Li.X., Hess, McNab, & Yu, 2009; Snelders, 2011). As the ideal users from

Diaporas’ websites carry out their work in offices, laboratories or conference rooms; this led to the

preferance for photograps that capture individuals in these architectural settings. The study results

demonstrated the complexities of cultural dimensions. In the case of Hofstede’s dimensions of

culture (2005), the Power distance division and Individualism dimensions are represented by

opposite preferences. The opposite poles are always present in a culture, usually one being more

dominant than others.

In the context of images in web design, these dominance was evident in the preference for a type,

size and amount of images, when the sample was divided into groups by their national cultural

traits.

Similarly, the Website Palette was influenced by the dominant culture of a website. The main study

result supports the idea that color, is used to reflect specific cultural meaning and preferences (Cyr

& Trevor-Smith, 2004).

89

This research indicated that national cultural trait combinations; in particular for the Diasporas of

high skilled migrants, plays an decisive role in the structure of information. Corresponding to the

result from the page components, the research supported the notion that web developers consistently

opt to structure data to fit the cultural style of ideal users (Callahan, 2006; Geest, 2003; Faiola &

Matei, 2006)

CONCLUSIONS

The websites studied in this research were found to vary across national cultures. Websites

representing different diasporas of high skilled migrants presented specific characteristics, some

more evident than on other websites: the Ugandan diaspora presented more pictures, the Mexican,

Austrian and Argentinian websites did not present logos of social media, the Chilean website

presented the more colorful-flag related website pallete, etc. The stable variations in the number and

size of HTLM and CSS objects and images, suggest different approaches to website design in terms

of shaping and presenting data.

The websites also presented similar tendencies across diasporas, as it was expected from studying a

single genre. The majority of the websites analyzed presented pictures of individuals located in

offices or indoor architectural environments; a low number of logos, and the same style to access

information and services.

Also, the great majority of diasporas were oriented for highly talented individuals, and within a

single look one can notice that values, promotional strategies and areas of interest varied across

groups of countries with a closer geographic or cultural background. Diasporas representing the

Australian, New Zealand and European countries, presented the major concerns to resguard and

clarify different types of guidelines. These countries have also stronger regulations for the

management of private data, thus the emphasis of these features was standard.

The results of the equivalences and dissimilarities in website design can be approached from

Hofstede’s Power distance and Individualism dimensions. The cultural makers drawn from the

literature relate to specific culture traits, though is not yet a complete list. The comparative analysis

provided strong correspondences as much of the correlations did occur in the hypothesized

direction.

90

However, some outcomes are weaker than anticipated. It appears that the results indicate that

interactive features in terms of access to information have more likely an “internet culture” design

than one based on localization and culturability.

It is possible that Hofstede’s model is not applicable to study specific features in websites. It might

be the case that the limitations in the present study- such as a small number of websites and genre

studied - are not able to show the entire potential of Hofstede’s model.

Hofstede’s dimensions and cultural markers in websites require a more intense approach, especially

while studying usability and accessibility features. Thus, Hofstede’s model and cultural trait

divisions are meant to be understood as recommendations for web developers that aim to achieve

culturability in web design. As culture is not the only variable to have in mind while designing

websites, it is important to ask whether it is possible that other aspects motivated web developers to

use a specific design. It is possible that they were influenced by economic factors, as less sponsored

websites might not have resources to use sophisticated software, have their own domain or have

staff dedicated to that solely purpose.

STUDY STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS

The outcomes provided by the study have strengths and limitations in different aspects. The

research investigated one website genre, Diasporas of high skilled migrants (DHSM). The design

aided to construct stable evaluations but likewise creates different effects in the results. For

example, as the users of DHSM’s websites are usually individuals talented in academic or business

areas, it is more likely that they will be a frequent point of reference in photographs.

Also, the number of websites and countries analyzed were fourteen, where two of Hofstede’s

dimensions of culture were used. This approach can present differences and similarities across the

websites selected..

The main limitation of this research relates to the nature of the sample. First, countries usually are

officially represented by one DHSM website. Being recognized and sponsored by governments,

business, academic or other credited national institutions was considered a necessary characteristic

in the sample. This in order to have higher certainty that the website design followed a specific

91

model based on national culture traits. Hence the results may not be generalizable to other types of

websites.

Second, although more countries are adopting the Diaspora website model to increase the contact

with their talented individuals abroad (Kuznetsov, 2006); the website genre is relative new and few

websites are available. In the same line, Hofstede’s dimensions of culture are valid for a limited

amount of countries; so even though a country could have a DHSM website, if it was not listed in

this framework it could not be tested for cultural differences and similarities. It would be

stimulating to see the outcomes of forthcoming studies based on the entire DHSM websites.

Qualitative and quantitative analyses were used at different stages of the research, in order to

complement each other’s weaknesses in terms of validity, and to provide profound understandings

of the elements studied. Furthermore the results were cross analyzed involving software tailored for

the number of cases used in this research (fsQCA-2.0 software). The findings played a critical role

in creating a deeper understanding of theoretical aspects of the research.

DIRECTION FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

Important questions remain about how culture influences accessibility and usability in website

design. Particularly from the perspective of users and the website genre studied: Is culturability in

website design becoming less apparent when users specialize in one genre? Are there specific

culture traits that suit better to one genre and users’ necessities? Are there website designs that are

more appealing for different users across genres? These inquiries lead to the necessity for additional

studies that evaluates users’ necessities, preferences in accordance to their national cultural traits

92

APPENDIX A

Website Optimizer 0.98 - Web report, truth table and cross tabulation analysis

WEBSITES COUNTRY

TYPE OF

CULTURE

TOTAL

SIZE

TOTAL

OBJECTS HTML

HTML

IMAGES

CSS

IMAGES

TOTAL

IMAGES

TOTAL

HTML

TOTAL

HTML

IMAGES

TOTAL

CSS

IMAGES

TOTAL

IMAGES

TOTAL

SCRIPTS

TOTAL

CSS

IMPORTS

www.chileglobal.net Chile HL 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1

www.redescolombia.org Colombia HL 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0

www.scientificmalaysian.com Malaysia HL 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

www.redtalentos.gob.mx Mexico HL 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1

www.raices.mincyt.gov.ar Argentina LH 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

www.advance.org Australia LH 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1

www.keanewzealand.com New Zealand LH 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0

www.ostina.org Austria LH 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1

www.swisstalents.org Switzerland MIXED 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

93

Visible.net- Web report, truth table and cross tabulation analysis.

WEBSITES COUNTRY

TYPE OF

CULTURE

PAGE

SIZE*

PAGE

TEXT**

KEYW

ORDS

ANCHOR

TAGS-

HREF

ANCHOR

BOLD

TAGS-

HTML

BOLD/

HEADINGS-

HTML

HEADINGS

ALT TAGS-

IMAGE

ALTS

TOTAL

INTERNAL

LINKS

EXTERNAL

OUTBOUND

LINKS

EXTERNAL

INCOMING

LINKS

www.chileglobal.net Chile HL 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

www.redescolombia.org Colombia HL 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0

www.scientificmalaysian.com Malaysia HL 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0

www.rwandandiaspora.gov.rw Rwanda HL 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0

www.ugandandiaspora.com Uganda HL 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 0

www.dfzim.com Zimbabwe HL 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

www.redtalentos.gob.mx Mexico HL 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0

www.advance.org Australia LH 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

www.keanewzealand.com New Zealand LH 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0

www.raices.mincyt.gov.ar Argentina LH 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

www.theirelandfunds.org Ireland LH 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0

www.swisstalents.org Switzerland MIXED 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

94

APPENDIX B

Table B.1

Barber and Badre, 1998, p. 7

95

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