Computer-Supported Cooperative Work

(CSCW)

What is CSCW?

Two or more people doing something together using various computer tools to get

the job done using computer mediated

communication (CMC)

CSCW & CMC (computer-mediated communication)

Is electronic communication different from other modes of communication?

What is the impact on organizations? How does it affect decision making? What about privacy? How to support remote collaboration? Social aspects?

Multimedia communication

Communication is both verbal and nonverbal Conversation is shaped by the medium. Different media have different affordances and

different grounding costs. Affordances enable or support different things. Costs can be problematic and can influence people’s

choice of medium.

Multimedia communication

Next: an example of people doing the same task, but using speech only, vs. using both speech and visual information

Consider: How does the medium shape communication?

Effects of visual evidence on grounding

Director & Matcher had copies of the same map

The task was to get M’s car icon aligned with D’s

Half the time, D could see M’s car on D’s map (visual plus verbal evidence)

Half the time, D couldn’t see M’s car (verbal evidence only)

Measure: convergence over time

(Brennan, 1990)

Example 1: D cannot see M’s icon

D: #you're in the upper far far upper corner of the screen, it says Sea Street?

M: *yah*D: *way* at the top?M: yeh [icon in correct

location]D: you're you're just a little bit on

the rooad, and the corner of your car is touching A of Sea. but you're mostly off the road. the road is to your right.just a- touching *the car.*

M: *the road* is to the right of the car?

D: put the road-put the car right on the roadand you'll overlap me.

M: ok.

Example 2: D sees what M is doing

D: ok,now we're gonna go over toM-Memorial Church?and park right in Memor- [icon in correct location]right there.that's *good.*

M: *that's* rude,to park in the church.

D: hheh heh

D: oknow we're goin:g-umm north-east?uhwaitstopok,that body of waterthere's uhSnootwhat'uz that say?

ShootFlying?

M: yup

D: Hill Road?ok,you wanna park right on theeFly.right there.good.

Visual co-presence & installments

With verbal evidence only:

050

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0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Time (seconds)

With verbal evidence only:

050

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0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Time (seconds)

Presentation phase

Acceptancephase

With visual and verbal evidence

050

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0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Time (seconds)

With visual and verbal evidence

050

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0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Time (seconds)

“Ok, right there!”

The point:

Grounding is much easier in a visual task when one person can see what the other is doing This is because the Matcher can provide evidence of

understanding while the Director is speaking (so the presentation phase is done in parallel with the acceptance phase).

Also, one person (the Matcher) adjusts to what the other (the Director) can see.

In ordinary communication, the medium people choose is affected by their purpose

When might you choose the phone, vs. face-to-face, vs. email, vs. texting? Checking in with your parents Checking in with your best friend Asking someone for a favor Turning down a request for a favor from a casual

acquaintance Asking a professor for an extension Asking your TA for help with a problem

Some affordances of media:

Copresence Visibility Audibility Interactivity Simultaneity

Reviewability Revisibility

(Clark & Brennan, 1991)

Grounding in Media - some costs

Start-up costs Production costs Reception costs Understanding

costs

Display costs Repair costs Turn-taking costs Face management

costs

2 Dimensions of CSCW:

PLACE

Same Different (co-located) (remote)

Same (synchronous)

TIME

Different (asynchronous)

A. Same time, same place

Face-to-face communication 2 people in front of the same computer Electronically equipped meeting room Computerized classroom (like this one)

B. Same time, different place

Telephone Text teleconferencing Video teleconferencing Shared editors (audio channel added) Active badge technology

C. Different time, same place

Leaving a note on the fridge Project scheduling and coordination

tools Version control

D. Different time, different place

Letters Email Bboards Electronic journals

Dimensions of CSCW:

PLACE

Same Different (co-located) (remote)

Same (synchronous)

TIME

Different (asynchronous)

Advances in email

Automated filtering (mail agents) Multimedia and attachments Structured messages

Information Lens (Malone)– Template-based messages of different types– Enables automatic filtering

The Coordinator (Flores & Winograd)– Made speech acts explicit (PRS Ch. 4,130-133)– e.g., acknowledge, promise, counter-offer, decline,

free-form (used most often!)

Email & organizations (Sara Kiesler)

Egalitarian Broadcastable (pros and cons) Recipient may be ambiguous Blurs differences: formal & informal Flaming Anonymity One of several communication modes

Meeting and Decision Support

Argumentation tools Asynchronous, co-located

Meeting rooms Synchronous, co-located

Shared drawing surfaces Synchronous, remote

Electronic whiteboards

Needed: “floor control” (whose turn is it?) Who is writing? How to point? Anonymity - pros and cons

Video teleconferencing

Advantages Is a picture worth a thousand words? Facial expression, body language, etc. Know who is talking in a multi-person mtg Family get-togethers, etc.

Video teleconferencing

Issues or disadvantages Hard to frame large groups, locate camera Video window/wall - can’t walk to camera Eye-contact is difficult Picturephone was an invasion of privacy Requires lots of bandwidth Difficulty in feeling co-present

What is video really useful for, anyway?

When is video useful?

To see the same document or screen Live, broadcast lectures To see the same object in the world

Kraut’s VR repair application (WYSIWIS)

Maybe, to keep up with friends & relatives...

Awareness mechanisms Video windows Shared representations (dynamic or static)

If dynamic, lets you monitor task progress

Avatars representing real people (vs. agents) Notification of individuals logging in or out Texting and interactivity Facebook

“Meeting” new people vs. ability to find long-lost people Additional info about status or state Privacy issues

Some conclusions:

The affordances of the medium shape the conversation that takes place.

The media people use for communicating shape their relationships.

The effects of media on relationships shape organizations.