Exploring cultural usability

This paper attempts to explore the concept of usability with a broader scope in the cultural dimension by discussing the emerging notion of cultural usability. It compares the consideration of general cultural factors in two trends of usability studies and investigates the relationship of usability, technology and culture. Then it reviews the current theoretical and empirical work on cultural usability. Next it outlines important components for the concept of cultural usability and provides a tentative model. It ends with suggestions for future work.