July 18, 2003
Researchers delve into human factor
The Business Standard reports on a gathering this week at IBM's Almaden Research Center, where computer scientists, academics and anthropologists gathered, to exchange ideas and understanding of the ways humans interact with machines and how technology is being consumed.
According to Intel anthropologist Genevieve Bell, who has travelled to homes in the far East as part of her study of cultural differences within the emerging middle class in Asia, "I never would never known that in some places people are buried with paper versions of their laptops so they will have technology in the next world (nice!), while in other spots, people have monks bless their cell phones.
Sometimes, Bell said the findings are disturbing, such as the cell phone faceplates in Malaysia that show a plane crashing into the World Trade Center".
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