Abstract:
This paper investigates cultural issues concerning Information and
Communication Technologies (ICTs) and Indigenous Australians. Firstly, it
examines whether the low adoption of ICTs by Indigenous Australians derives
from a rejection of Western values embodied in the technology. A review of the
existing literature shows no evidence for this. Instead, there appears to be an
overwhelmingly enthusiastic response, limited only by a difficulty in accessing the
technology due to cost, isolation, poor telecommunications infrastructure and low
computer skills. Secondly, the paper looks at how ICTs can be implemented to
reflect particular Indigenous Australian cultural concerns. Contrary to the view of
the technological pessimists, who see computers as a vehicle for marginalizing
non-Western cultures, ICTs are shown to be adaptable to other cultures, especially
once people from that culture have input into ICT design and management. A
number of examples of how this is being done in practice are given.
