Culture and Computer-Mediated Communication

Although the Internet provides many new opportunities for interaction with people from across the world, bridging nations via technology does not guarantee that the cultures of the nations involved are similarly bridged. Mismatches in social conventions, work styles, power relationships and conversational norms can lead to misunderstandings that negatively affect the interaction. My students and I have been examining these cultural processes in computer-mediated communication. Our goal is to understand how cultural dimensions influence CMC and to develop tools to reduce the problems that arise in intercultural communication.

Call for participation

ACM International Workshop on Intercultural Collaboration (IWIC 2009)

CHI 2007 Workshop on Culture and Collaborative Technologies

International Workshop on Intercultural Collaboration, Kyoto, January 24-26 2007. Proceedings available on Amazon

Footprints: Mobilizing Social Networks to Reduce Energy Consumption

This project, with Jennifer Mankoff, Michael Johnson, and Deanna Matthews combines computer science, behavioral science, environmental engineering, and human decision-making to address the social issue of energy consumption. The Footprints system leverages collaborative filtering, context awareness and other domains of computer science to provide individuals with a set of ecologically sound, personalized, pertinent recommendations for steps they can take to reduce their energy use. It leverages the Internet and online social networks to promote the diffusion of energy-saving behavior through a population via processes of imitation, communication, and competition with other groups who are similarly trying to save energy. For more information, please see the project homepage.

Gestural Communication in Collaborative Physical Tasks (NSF # 0208903)

This collaborative project with Jie Yang and Jane Siegel examines the types and functions of gestures in collaborative physical (3D) tasks and develops technologies to allow remote gesturing in video conference systems. We developed the DOVE system that allows remote communicators to draw directly on live video feeds from a local worksite, making it easy for them to point out objects and locations in the workspace. The value of DOVE for collaboration was demonstrated in our 2004 HCI journal article, which can be downloaded here. For more information and initial publications, please see our project website.

Large Scale Collaboration and Multiple Task Performance (NSF # 0325087 and # 0329077)

As part of two new large grant projects, Sara Kiesler, Suzanne Weisband, and I are examining how people distribute their time, effort, and communication across multiple partners, tasks, and work teams. One line of research, being conducted with Yan Xiao and colleagues at the University of Baltimore Medical Center, focuses on understanding large scale collaboration in hospital settings. A second line of research, conducted with Sherry Thatcher at University of Arizona, focuses on how police personnel organize their many activities. In addition, we are working with Dan Siewiorek on the development of algorithms to allocate work across multiple teams and projects. For more information, please see our project website.

Communication and Social Interaction in Online Support Forums

This project, funded in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health e-Technologies Initiative, focuses on developing measures to evaluate the health benefits of participation in online support forums such as chatrooms, electronic bulletin boards, and email distribution lists. Discourse analysis and other techniques are being used to understand the impact of online support on the development of social relationships, participants’ knowledge of their illness, and attitudes toward treatment.

RECENTLY COMPLETED PROJECTS

The Importance of Shared Visual Spaces for Collaborative Tasks (NSF KDI # 9980013)

This large project is a collaboration with Robert Kraut, Jane Siegel, and Jie Yang at Carnegie Mellon University, and Susan Brennan at SUNY Stony Brook. The project combines theoretical analysis of the communications requirements of collaborative tasks, stylized and applied laboratory studies of the effects of visual information on communication and performance in collaborative physical tasks, and the development of new video technologies.

The Development of Shared Mental Models and Group Performance

This collaborative project with Javier Lerch, Bob Kraut, and Alberto Espinosa, uses lab and applied field studies to understand how groups achieve mental models, the trade-offs between the development of shared mental models and cognitive overload, and the effects of these models on team coordination and overall effectiveness.

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