6. IUID in Theory—Scientific Research

Cf. https://​www.​usabilityblog.​de/​nutzen-sie-kulturdimensione​n-zur-erfolgreichen-internationalisi​erung-und-lokalisation/​, last access 9th of February 2019.

Adaptive systems or agent systems offer a promising approach for the successful globalization of user interfaces through the integration of cultural imprinting in the user model used (cf. Heimgärtner 2012 and Dagstuhl Workshop 2014).

This book is intended to make an initial contribution by presenting the most important principles of IUID. As an author, I am happy to answer your questions and provide feedback on the book as well as on the IUID topic in general. Further information can also be found at https://​www.​iuic.​de.

Experimental setup, data evaluation, and results are described in detail in Heimgärtner (2007).

Structural equation models (SEM) are among the statistical methods of conformative factor analysis. An SEM consists of a set of equations. On the left side of the equations are the effect variables and on the right side are the effect variables that probably influence these effect variables—the causation variable (endogenous variable) multiplied by a causal factor. Variables without effect are exogenous variables. If there are no feedback loops, one speaks of a hierarchical SEM (Kenny 1979, p. 32 ff.). SEMs have two basic elements: variables and parameters. Unlike variables, parameters do not vary across individuals or groups, but describe the entire population (e.g., average or variance). In SEMs, parameters are multiplied by variables. The sum of such parameter–variable combinations corresponds to the effect variable. The resulting equation is called the structural equation. AMOS is a software application to graphically model such equations. AMOS is the abbreviation for “analysis of moment structures”. Details on AMOS can be found in Arbuckle (2005) or Byrne (2001).

Further details on these structural equation models and detailed explanations on parameter estimation can be found in Heimgärtner (2012).

This requires, in particular, the clarification and delimitation of the blurriness of the concept of culture, which can be achieved by a suitable working definition of culture (cf. Chap. 2.​1), in order to obtain a clear and concise explanatory model. Future research must also show to what extent cultural interaction indicators can ultimately be derived systematically from cultural models or linked in a very concrete and detailed way to cultural dimensions.

This has a particular impact on culturally adaptive HMI systems. For example, the combination of cultural interaction indicators (CIIs) with NLP principles means a “cultural” adaptation on the individual level—as suggested by Heimgärtner (2012). Criticism of the validity of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and indices weakens confidence in them. This in turn implies that it would be better or at least advisable to build a culturally real-adaptive HMI system not on cultural dimensions, but on parameters that reflect the user’s direct behavior with the system. A proposed solution can be found in Heimgärtner (2012).

Through the author’s collaboration with DIN, corresponding findings on intercultural HMI design are incorporated into German and (via the ISO mirror committees at DIN) international standards of the 9241 series of standards.

Initial approaches in this direction were undertaken in 2010 at the IAD in Darmstadt with corresponding workshops (cf. Röbig et al. 2010).

This book is intended to make an initial contribution to this by presenting the most important principles of IUID. As an author, I am happy to answer your questions and provide feedback on the book as well as on the IUID topic in general. Further information can also be found at https://​www.​iuic.​de.