Do You Need to Travel? Mapping Face-to-Face Communication Objectives to Technology Affordances

Computer-mediated communications (CMC) can be used as a substitute for face-to-face (FtF) meetings but their effectiveness is highly context dependent. This paper describes a theoretical framework and initial experimental design for characterizing a travel replacement threshold. This effort begins with a use case of remote engineering maintenance training, conducted in three conditions: side-by-side (physically proximate), teleconference (using off-the-shelf software), and a custom VR/AR system designed to provide the apprentice with a virtual view of both the instructor’s larger scale lab and smaller scale workbench. The research hypotheses, experimental protocol, and dependent measures are described. The task involves an instructor demonstrating a circuit board troubleshooting task to a remote apprentice. The apprentice then completes the trained task independently, and performance and subject preferences are compared across conditions. The details of this paper, the result of extensive literature review and winnowing of variables, may assist researchers exploring CMC, training, or social communication

Placenta Imaging Workshop 2018 report:Multiscale and multimodal approaches

The Centre for Medical Image Computing (CMIC) at University College London (UCL) hosted a two-day workshop on placenta imaging on April 12th and 13th 2018. The workshop consisted of 10 invited talks, 3 contributed talks, a poster session, a public interaction session and a panel discussion about the future direction of placental imaging. With approximately 50 placental researchers in attendance, the workshop was a platform for engineers, clinicians and medical experts in the field to network and exchange ideas. Attendees had the chance to explore over 20 posters with subjects ranging from the movement of blood within the placenta to the efficient segmentation of fetal MRI using deep learning tools. UCL public engagement specialists also presented a poster, encouraging attendees to learn more about how to engage patients and the public with their research, creating spaces for mutual learning and dialogue

Evaluating Metrics for Standardized Benchmarking of Remote Presence Systems

To reduce the need for business-related air travel and its associated energy consumption and carbon footprint, the U.S. Department of Energy's ARPA-E is supporting a research project called SCOTTIE - Systematic Communication Objectives and Telecommunications Technology Investigations and Evaluations. SCOTTIE tests virtual and augmented reality platforms in a functional comparison with face-to-face (FtF) interactions to derive travel replacement thresholds for common industrial training scenarios. The primary goal of Study 1 is to match the communication effectiveness and learning outcomes obtained from a FtF control using virtual reality (VR) training scenarios in which a local expert with physical equipment trains a remote apprentice without physical equipment immediately present. This application scenario is commonplace in industrial settings where access to expensive equipment and materials is limited and a number of apprentices must travel to a central location in order to undergo training. Supplying an empirically validated virtual training alternative constitutes a readily adoptable use-case for businesses looking to reduce time and monetary expenditures associated with travel. The technology used for three different virtual presence technologies was strategically selected for feasibility, relatively low cost, business relevance, and potential for impact through transition. The authors suggest that the results of this study might generalize to the challenge of virtual conferences.This is a pre-print of the research abstract Peasley, Charles, Rachel Dianiska, Emily Oldham, Nicholas Wilson, Stephen Gilbert, Peggy Wu, Brett Israelsen, and James Oliver. "Evaluating Metrics for Standardized Benchmarking of Remote Presence Systems." arXiv preprint arXiv:2105.01772 (2021). DOI: 10.48550/arXiv.2105.01772. Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0). Copyright 2022 The Authors. Posted with permission

Evaluating Metrics for Standardized Benchmarking of Remote Presence Systems

To reduce the need for business-related air travel and its associated energy consumption and carbon footprint, the U.S. Department of Energy\u27s ARPA-E is supporting a research project called SCOTTIE - Systematic Communication Objectives and Telecommunications Technology Investigations and Evaluations. SCOTTIE tests virtual and augmented reality platforms in a functional comparison with face-to-face (FtF) interactions to derive travel replacement thresholds for common industrial training scenarios. The primary goal of Study 1 is to match the communication effectiveness and learning outcomes obtained from a FtF control using virtual reality (VR) training scenarios in which a local expert with physical equipment trains a remote apprentice without physical equipment immediately present. This application scenario is commonplace in industrial settings where access to expensive equipment and materials is limited and a number of apprentices must travel to a central location in order to undergo training. Supplying an empirically validated virtual training alternative constitutes a readily adoptable use-case for businesses looking to reduce time and monetary expenditures associated with travel. The technology used for three different virtual presence technologies was strategically selected for feasibility, relatively low cost, business relevance, and potential for impact through transition. The authors suggest that the results of this study might generalize to the challenge of virtual conferences

Communication Objectives Model (COM): A Taxonomy of Face-to-Face Communication Objectives to Inform Tele-Presence Technology Adoption

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) has become the new normal in the era of pandemic-induced physical distancing. CMC has dramatically reduced business travel and daily commuting for knowledge workers able to work from home, which in turn reduces carbon emissions and energy expenditure. CMC offers a different communication experience compared to in-person interactions, and its impact on the success of communication is complex. Here, we report the Communication Objectives Model (COM), a framework developed to: a) understand differences in the performance of communication objectives between CMC and face-to-face interactions, and b) guide future research on measurement of such communication objectives. Given that effective communication is essentially the result of a team activity, the psychosocial constructs that comprise our framework are derived from team research across multiple domains (e.g., social psychology, human-computer interaction, and computer supported cooperative work). Constructs of interest include trust, rapport, engagement, conflict management, collective efficacy, mental models, and shared situation awareness. For each construct, we provide a definition, empirical evidence, and theoretical bases for its observable behavioral markers, as well as potential measurement methods and analytical techniques. The contributions of this research include a framework for characterizing differences between different communication media, a hypothetical implementation demonstrating how the framework can inform the decision to travel in-person versus to deploy CMC (i.e., a travel replacement threshold), and an inventory of tools and techniques that can be used to measure and assess the psychosocial constructs involved in CMC

Communication Objectives Model (COM): A Taxonomy of Face-to-Face Communication Objectives to Inform Tele-Presence Technology Adoption

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) has become the new normal in the era of pandemic-induced physical distancing. CMC has dramatically reduced business travel and daily commuting for knowledge workers able to work from home, which in turn reduces carbon emissions and energy expenditure. CMC offers a different communication experience compared to in-person interactions, and its impact on the success of communication is complex. Here, we report the Communication Objectives Model (COM), a framework developed to: a) understand differences in the performance of communication objectives between CMC and face-to-face interactions, and b) guide future research on measurement of such communication objectives. Given that effective communication is essentially the result of a team activity, the psychosocial constructs that comprise our framework are derived from team research across multiple domains (e.g., social psychology, human-computer interaction, and computer supported cooperative work). Constructs of interest include trust, rapport, engagement, conflict management, collective efficacy, mental models, and shared situation awareness. For each construct, we provide a definition, empirical evidence, and theoretical bases for its observable behavioral markers, as well as potential measurement methods and analytical techniques. The contributions of this research include a framework for characterizing differences between different communication media, a hypothetical implementation demonstrating how the framework can inform the decision to travel in-person versus to deploy CMC (i.e., a travel replacement threshold), and an inventory of tools and techniques that can be used to measure and assess the psychosocial constructs involved in CMC.This is a pre-print of the article Dianiska, Rachel E., Peggy Wu, Charles Peasley, Kaitlyn Ouverson, Jacklin Stonewall, Emily Oldham, Brett Israelsen, Stephen B. Gilbert, and James Oliver. "Communication Objectives Model (COM): A Taxonomy of Face-to-Face Communication Objectives to Inform Tele-Presence Technology Adoption." PsyArXiv Preprints (2021). DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/3q4u2. Posted with permission.</p

Do You Need to Travel? Mapping Face-to-Face Communication Objectives to Technology Affordances

Computer-mediated communications (CMC) can be used as a substitute for face-to-face (FtF) meetings but their effectiveness is highly context dependent. This paper describes a theoretical framework and initial experimental design for characterizing a travel replacement threshold. This effort begins with a use case of remote engineering maintenance training, conducted in three conditions: side-by-side (physically proximate), teleconference (using off-the-shelf software), and a custom VR/AR system designed to provide the apprentice with a virtual view of both the instructor’s larger scale lab and smaller scale workbench. The research hypotheses, experimental protocol, and dependent measures are described. The task involves an instructor demonstrating a circuit board troubleshooting task to a remote apprentice. The apprentice then completes the trained task independently, and performance and subject preferences are compared across conditions. The details of this paper, the result of extensive literature review and winnowing of variables, may assist researchers exploring CMC, training, or social communication.This is a manuscript of a proceeding published as Dianiska, Rachel E., Charles J. Peasley, Nicholas Wilson, Neil Barnett, Leilani Hammel, Ben Purdy, Peggy Wu, Elizabeth Shirtcliff, James H. Oliver, and Stephen B. Gilbert. "Do You Need to Travel? Mapping Face-to-Face Communication Objectives to Technology Affordances." In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting 64, no. 1 (2020): 1069-1073. DOI: 10.1177%2F1071181320641256. Posted with permission.</p