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Perceived Threat, Perceived Security
Street market in Lhasa sells a wide range of underwear with security pocket for men (shown but not tested) and women. We've had blind user study participants in India who used scent amongst other criteria to know the denomination of bank-notes, and I wonder to what extent the inevitable smell of sweat/urine/blood would affect this understanding? In what other contexts will objects pick up a physical or digital scent?
It's easy to underestimate how the perceived risk of theft affects how objects are carried and then positioned when not in use, and how for people living in that environment it becomes second nature.
Spent a couple of hours in coffee shop in Chengdu - observed the same behaviour on two separate tables: person A sits down and (is later proved to be) waiting for person B. Person A takes off coat and hangs it on the inside of the back of the chair and waits 10+ minutes for person B to arrive. Person A has strong tactile feedback with the coat. Person B arrives and takes off coat and hangs it on the outside of the chair - minimal tactile feedback to the coat. Person B is able to rely on the eyes of Person A to notice a theft attempt of the the coat itself, whereas Person A needs to fend for herself for a while at least and hangs the coat in in a manner that makes its removal more noticeable.
Yes, should have taken a photos to explain this, but it simply wasn't the right thing to do in the context. And yes, 80 RMB (8 Euro) for a cafe presse with fresh ground coffee was a little steep.
Writing from Beijing | December 20, 2005 | Permalink
Comments
Hi Jan,
I'd like to email regarding a project I'm working on and ask for your advice. Possible?
Thanks!
Chuck
Posted by: Chuck Schroeder at December 21, 2005 2:13 AM
Sure.
Try firstname.lastname@thecompanyiworkfor.com
Jan
Posted by: Jan at December 21, 2005 8:33 AM
Since you have disabled comments on the "Oversight" entry below...
What makes you think online gaming is not communication?
Posted by: Janne at December 21, 2005 5:29 PM
> What makes you think online gaming is not communication?
Valid point - online gaming or even the act of solo gaming in the presence of others is/can be considered commmunication. Post should have read something like: 'primarily entertainment 99% of the time, primarily communication 1% of the time' In the two hours or so I was in here I observed a lot of people actually playing single person shooters - the net connection had considerable lag so they didn't appear to spend a lot of online and there was minimal communication within the room.
Posted by: Jan at December 21, 2005 8:05 PM
Considering how my friends play, for them online gaming seems to be more communication than entertainment. Though, it could be argued that these two are inseparable, as communication in this case *is* entertainment.
Posted by: Janne at December 23, 2005 1:53 AM