A review of the empirical studies of computer supported human-to-human communication

This paper presents a review of the empirical studies of human-to-human communication which have been carried out over the last three decades. Although this review is primarily concerned with the empirical studies of computer supported human-to-human communication, a number of studies dealing with group work in non-computer-based collaborative environments, which form the basis of many of the empirical studies of the recent years in the area of CSCW, are also discussed. The concept of person and task spaces is introduced and then subsequently used to categorise the large volume of studies reported in this review. This paper also gives a comparative analysis of the findings of these studies, and draws a number of general conclusions to guide the design and evaluation of future CSCW systems

How Push-To-Talk Makes Talk Less Pushy

This paper presents an exploratory study of college-age students using two-way, push-to-talk cellular radios. We describe the observed and reported use of cellular radio by the participants. We discuss how the half-duplex, lightweight cellular radio communication was associated with reduced interactional commitment, which meant the cellular radios could be used for a wide range of conversation styles. One such style, intermittent conversation, is characterized by response delays. Intermittent conversation is surprising in an audio medium, since it is typically associated with textual media such as instant messaging. We present design implications of our findings.Comment: 10 page

Making Space for Stories: Ambiguity in the Design of Personal Communication Systems

Pervasive personal communication technologies offer the potential for important social benefits for individual users, but also the potential for significant social difficulties and costs. In research on face-to-face social interaction, ambiguity is often identified as an important resource for resolving social difficulties. In this paper, we discuss two design cases of personal communication systems, one based on fieldwork of a commercial system and another based on an unrealized design concept. The cases illustrate how user behavior concerning a particular social difficulty, unexplained unresponsiveness, can be influenced by technological issues that result in interactional ambiguity. The cases also highlight the need to balance the utility of ambiguity against the utility of usability and communicative clarity.Comment: 10 page

The Impact of Cognitive versus Affective Aspects on Consumer Usage of Financial Service Delivery Channels

This paper explores the consumer decision-making process when using service delivery channels. Among service delivery channels, the main focus of the research concerns technology-based delivery channels. Technology continues to change the delivery function of companies and to affect customers’ usage decisions regarding the delivery channels available. Understanding how customers react to the technology-content of channels and decide how to use the delivery channels of the firm is a key asset for achieving profitability and differentiation. This conclusion is particularly valuable as firms address the financial impact of new technology-based channels and their success in transferring low value-added transactions to electronic channels. Despite the development of new technology-based delivery channels, there is limited knowledge about how customers react to, choose and use these channels. The paper addresses this research void by developing a model that describes customers’ attitudes and usage frequency behavior in the context of banking delivery channels. A set of hypotheses concerning affective and cognitive determinants of consumers’ behavior is derived from the model. These hypotheses were generated after extensive research into the fields of services marketing, psychology and innovation theories, together with insights provided by a series of in-depth interviews conducted with bank managers and customers. A questionnaire was mailed to users of the four main bank delivery channels. The findings demonstrate that consumer decision concerning usage frequency differs between delivery channels, and illustrate which factors should be stressed in order to affect this decision.