Information Systems meets CUltural COmpetencies (IS-CUCO)
The NSF Funded Information Systems meets CUltural COmpetencies (IS-CUCO) addresses how population sectors, e.g., urban areas with Hispanics, make limited use of Information Systems (IS) when making decisions to access resources such as food. IS-CUCO identifies how cultural, linguistic, data, and infrastructure factors impact the use of IS by Hispanic populations and incorporates these factors into the software engineering process. The project members are from Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) located in communities with large Hispanic populations (New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and El Paso). IS-CUCO also builds research capacity and trains the next generation of professionals who develop IS with more culturally relevant information.
The Cultural Elements Framework for Information Systems (CEFIS)
The Information Systems Meets Cultural Competencies (IS-CUCO) project aims to integrate cultural, linguistic, data, and infrastructure factors into ISs that provide access to food-security services such as food pantries to increase their use by populations with Hispanic. CEFIS, a product of the IS-CUCO project, aims to integrate cultural elements into the user interface design of Food Assistance Information Systems (FAIS) to increase its use and adoption.
The Cultural Elements Framework for Information Systems (CEFIS) organizes cultural elements and maps them onto user-interface components that may be incorporated into information systems such as websites. CEFIS describes key cultural elements and provides examples that may apply to various cultures. A CEFIS case study provides specific examples for the Hispanic culture and the application domain of food security. CEFIS can also be extended to other cultures and application domains by substituting the content in the In-Practice Examples Section for each cultural element.
Software engineers/website developers may increase the usage and adoption of FAIS by utilizing CEFIS to identify and incorporate a set of elements of a population sector culture into the User Interface (UI) design of the information system/website— the more cultural elements and UI components the software engineer considers, the better the experience for the target audience (e.g., population sector).
A technical report, for CEFIS is available below
CEFIS Technical ReportA User Manual for CEFIS can be found below
CEFIS User ManualCEFIS Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
CEFIS breaks down Culture into three groups Norms, Values, and Symbols which are further decomposed into Cultural Elements. A cultural element has different Manifestations, which are mapped to a component of a user interface. Groups, Cultural Elements, and their Manifestation are shown below. The CEFIS Technical Report provides a detailed information for each WBS part.
Interactive Framework
The Interactive Framework assists users in navigating layered cultural information by providing a clear and intuitive interface. Each element—Domain, Group, Cultural Element (CE), and Manifestation—can be expanded or collapsed to explore content progressively. This is achieved by holding CTRL + SHIFT and clicking on the highlighted areas to reveal or hide Cultural Elements, Manifestations, or information boxes. Additionally, users can toggle detailed descriptions and definitions by clicking the ≡ icon associated with each component. This structure enhances usability and promotes a deeper understanding of the hierarchical relationships within the cultural framework.
Click below to view our interactive CEFIS prototype, hosted on Lucidchart:
View FrameworkIS CUCO UTEP Project Members
| Project | Faculty | Students |
|---|---|---|
| CEFIS |
Dr. Oscar A. Mondragon Dr. Josiah M. Heyman |
Jeffrey Escamilla, PhD Student Elizabeth Martin, MSSwE Fatima Orpineda, BSCS |
| FAIS Ontology |
Dr. Natalia Villanueva Dr. Josiah M. Heyman Dr. Oscar A. Mondragon |
Bianca Alvarez, PhD Student Lidice Castro Jimenez, MSCS |