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

Abstract

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.

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

“…It may be reasonably assumed that an instructor and mechanic trainee should be co-located for in-person training sessions; however, that may not be necessary and, indeed, an expert may not be easily accessible for any number of reasons. By considering the communication objectives of training on physical tasks, such as establishing trust between interactants, engagement with one another and with the task, and shared visual situational awareness, we can investigate whether various CMC tools may actually afford outcomes competitive with those of the in-person benchmarks (e.g., Dianiska et al, 2020). While there are more constructs than are described here which are important to achieving communication objectives, for simplicity, only trust, engagement, and shared situational awareness are followed in this example.…”

Video-analysis based methodologies for psychosocial research

“…This thesis proposes a video analysis-based methodology to facilitate psychosocial research via computer-mediated communication (CMC). This research supports a larger research effort called Systematic Communication Objectives and Telecommunications Technology Investigations and Evaluations (SCOTTIE) [1], conducted via a joint effort by Raytheon Technologies and Iowa State University and supported by a grant from ARPA-E. A videoanalysis-based methodology to quantify the human facial behavioral synchrony is presented as well as experimental findings associated with the development of the methodology. Video analysis-based methodologies provide a means to collect facial behavioral data from a digitally mediated interaction to support psychosocial research conducted in remote settings.…”

“…The goal of SCOTTIE is to develop a unified model based on psychosocial constructs [25] crucial for in-person interactions like trust, rapport, presence, shared mental models, quantify travel replacement thresholds, and validate it through human subject studies. The CMC systems with acceptable performance as per the derived travel replacement threshold should be able to replace in-person face-to-face communication making travel unnecessary and thus saving time, energy, and green house gases [1].…”

“…Secondary data is collected from scenario 1: Zoom condition of Circuit world experiment [2] of SCOTTIE project [1]. An IRB covers the SCOTTIE project.…”