Modelling the Multi in Multi-Party Communication

This thesis investigates the effects of multimedia communications technology on the interaction of mixed- and same-role groups. The first study explores the effect of video and audio conferencing on small, role-differentiated problem-solving groups in the laboratory. The second laboratory study examines the impact of shared video technology on the communication of role-undifferentiated groups. A multi-faceted analytical approach is employed, including indices of task performance, process and content of communication, patterns of interaction and subjective user evaluations. Lastly, a field study looks at how the communication process of business meetings is affected by status constraints and audio conferencing technology. The findings show that both multimedia video and audio communications technology have similar impacts on the patterns of speaker contributions in different types and sizes of groups, and that the extent of their effect is influenced by the presence or absence of role differences between group members - whether experimentally manipulated in the laboratory or organisationally assigned roles in a naturalistic setting. Technology-mediation appears to exaggerate the impact of status and role such that group members say more disparate amounts and interact less freely than in face-to-face groups, in particular it exaggerates the dominance of one individual. Surprisingly, multimedia conferencing technology can support free and equal participation in groups whose speakers have similar roles but evidence of its effect on speakers of similar status is equivocal. The implications for communication outcome and design of communications technology are discussed

The role of eye gaze in regulating turn taking in conversations: a systematized review of methods and findings

Eye gaze plays an important role in communication but understanding of its actual function or functions and the methods used to elucidate this have varied considerably. This systematized review was undertaken to summarize both the proposed functions of eye gaze in conversations of healthy adults and the methodological approaches employed. The eligibility criteria were restricted to a healthy adult population and excluded studies that manipulated eye gaze behavior. A total of 29 articles—quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods were returned, with a wide range of methodological designs. The main areas of variability related to number of conversants, their familiarity and status, conversation topic, data collection tools—video and eye tracking—and definitions of eye gaze. The findings confirm that eye gaze facilitates turn yielding, plays a role in speech monitoring, prevents and repairs conversation breakdowns and facilitates intentional and unintentional speech interruptions. These findings were remarkably consistent given the variability in methods across the 29 articles. However, in relation to turn initiation, the results were less consistent, requiring further investigation. This review provides a starting point for future studies to make informed decisions about study methods for examining eye gaze and selecting variables of interest

Going Through the Motions: Participation in Interpreter-mediated Meeting Interaction Under a Deaf and a Hearing Chairperson

In multiparty meetings involving deaf and hearing participants, sign language interpreters are tasked to render talk ‘accessible’ to all by mediating differences across languages, modalities, interactional norms, and cultural statuses (Roy, 1989, 1993; Mindess, 1999; Van Herreweghe, 2002). Although this context of work is relatively common for interpreters, their practices and the interactional outcomes for participants are under-researched. This case study compares chairing and meeting practices under a deaf chairperson and a hearing chairperson, respectively. The impact of chairing on interpretability and deaf participation are discussed. An interactional sociolinguistics framework informs analysis of meeting data and retrospective participant interviews. Analysis shows that deaf participation is qualitatively different and experienced as more accessible under the deaf chairperson due to temporal alignment with the deaf chair, reduced conflict between visual inputs, and more confidence to clarify information and bid for turns. Interactional features that limit or enhance deaf participation are worthy of attention by interpreters and regular participants of interpreter-mediated meetings