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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Commun.
Sec. Culture and Communication
Volume 9 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fcomm.2024.1411711

Integrating Cultural Perspectives in Online Ablution Water Usage Monitoring: A Design for Sustainability

Provisionally accepted
Ihwan Ghazali Ihwan Ghazali 1*Tia Tanjung Tia Tanjung 1,2Irianto Irianto Irianto Irianto 3Riza Muhida Riza Muhida 4Safarudin G. Herawan Safarudin G. Herawan 5Hayati M. Asih Hayati M. Asih 6
  • 1 Faculty of Technology and Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (FTKIP), Technical University of Malaysia Malacca, Malacca, Malaysia
  • 2 Faculty of Computer Science,Bandar Lampung University, Bandar Lampung, Indonesia
  • 3 Faculty of Resilience, Rabdan Academy, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
  • 4 Faculty of Engineering,, Universitas Bandar Lampung, Bandar Lampung, Indonesia
  • 5 Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Binus University, Jakarta, Indonesia
  • 6 Faculty of Industrial Technology, Ahmad Dahlan University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Water is an important resource for performing ablution before prayer. However, lack of communication and information between prayer congregations regarding the amount of water used during ablution, the absence of environmental protection consciousness, and the impact of cultural behavior can be the factors causing wasteful water use during ablution. This study aims to design and implement an internet-based monitoring system that integrates cultural values in evaluating ablution water consumption. The correlation between cultural dimensions and preferences for an online monitoring system of ablution practices was examined using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The results showed that uncertainty avoidance, power distance, and long-term orientation were identified to significantly influence online monitoring preferences for ablution activities. The preferences of sensor accuracy, safety case to cover from water, and durable material were determined as the most important design specifications for online monitoring systems. The real-time evaluation of online monitoring was performed through smartphone applications and web-based interfaces. Considering cultural preferences when developing a water monitoring system strategy can increase awareness regarding environmental sustainability, advocate for conscientious water management, and control water usage. The inclusion of cultural value in the design process is expected to provide valuable insights for product designers when establishing design specifications. Additionally, it expands the usefulness of Hofstede's cultural theory in the context of the creation and development of products.

    Keywords: design communication, Ablution, Online monitoring system, Cultural preferences, Environmental issues, sustainability

    Received: 03 Apr 2024; Accepted: 09 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Ghazali, Tanjung, Irianto, Muhida, Herawan and Asih. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Ihwan Ghazali, Faculty of Technology and Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (FTKIP), Technical University of Malaysia Malacca, Malacca, Malaysia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.