Computer-mediated Interaction Research Articles

The axis of accessibility and the duality of control of remote workers: A literature review

Remote work has become a routine experience for many managers, forcing them to adapt to new ways of ensuring that employees follow company procedure and achieve job targets. Key among these changes have been to the move to computer-mediated surveillance (CMS), where managers monitor employees through electronic representations of work and computer-mediated interaction (CMI), where managers interact with employees through online communication. The outcome of this move is ambiguous and contradictory. CMS can strengthen control because of how effective it is at reporting on work. However, CMI can weaken control because of how effective it is at withholding work practice. We review the literature on remote work to explain how these apparently contradictory effects interact. We show that the joint effect of CMI and CMS goes beyond changing the amount of control over employees. Instead, this joint effect requires managers to ensure the accessibility necessary for control of remote work: that employees make their work visible and that they make themselves reachable for interaction with managers and peers. We use this new domain of control to outline a two-dimensional model of control.

Human Team Behavior and Predictability in the Massively Multiplayer Online Game WOT Blitz

Massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) played on the Web provide a new form of social, computer-mediated interactions that allow the connection of millions of players worldwide. The rules governing team-based MMOGs are typically complex and nondeterministic giving rise to an intricate dynamical behavior. However, due to the novelty and complexity of MMOGs, their behavior is understudied. In this article, we investigate the MMOG World of Tanks Blitz by using a combined approach based on data science and complex adaptive systems. We analyze data on the population level to get insights into organizational principles of the game and its game mechanics. For this reason, we study the scaling behavior and the predictability of system variables. As a result, we find a power-law behavior on the population level revealing long-range interactions between system variables. Furthermore, we identify and quantify the predictability of summary statistics of the game and its decomposition into explanatory variables. This reveals a heterogeneous progression through the tiers and identifies only a single system variable as key driver for the win rate.

PENILAIAN HEURISTIK TERHADAP TAHAP PERSUASIF SISTEM E-PEMBELAJARAN BERASASKAN MOOCs

The learning concept of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) is capable of receiving a large number of users and it requires little basic knowledge related to the subject taken. This technology will create dynamism and personalization of a wider user learning experience. In order to ensure that the MOOCs e-learning system can benefit users, researchers need to understand and consider the dynamic exchange between user cognition and motivation. Persuasive technology can be applied and integrated to facilitate student adaptation while accelerating their attitude change without using coercion. This technology will create relationships between individuals through computer-mediated interactions or human-computer-human interactions, as well as interactions between individuals and computers. Since the success in the use of e-learning systems depends on the readiness and acceptance of students, the low level of use of e-learning systems previously caused the benefits of online learning to not be optimally received. Research on this topic is still at an early stage where students' opinions or perceptions have not been fully studied. Thus, this study focuses on the heuristic evaluation of the persuasiveness of the Open Learning (PT) system used in Malaysian higher education institutions. The heuristic evaluation of the Open Learning system involves two expert evaluators and this evaluation is done in the form of a face-to-face discussion. Both evaluators are content creators for the PT system who are also experts in the field of e-learning and have been involved from the initial phase of using the PT system in Malaysia. The evaluation done on this PT system focuses on four persuasive categories namely; 1) primary task support; 2) dialogue support; 3) credibility support; and 4) social support. These four persuasive categories are outlined in the Persuasive Design Development Model (PRP). The conclusion from this study is that both experts agree that the dialogue support category needs to be improved by focusing on improving the effective reminder features of the PT system. The reminder principle is one of the persuasive principles outlined in the Persuasive Design Development Model (PRP).

Face Maintenance Rituals and Communication Strategies Used in Puja Astawa’s YouTube Videos

YouTube, a video sharing platform, is famously used these days, not only due to its function as part of entertainment, but also a media of interaction. Unlike, face-to-face interaction or other computer-mediated interaction, YouTube served multi-party interaction and three levels of communication. Its uniqueness leads to questions on whether people engaged in this interaction manage maintaining their interlocutor’s face and what communication strategies are used amid this multi-party interaction considering it may involve people from different social and cultural background. This qualitative research was aimed to analyse the first level communication in YouTube videos by using interactional sociolinguistics approach in order to figure out the types of face maintenance rituals as well as the communication strategies used by the participants in YouTube videos. The data source of the study was Puja Astawa’s YouTube videos, one of the most popular content creators in Bali. In collecting the data, documentation method and note taking technique were used. The data were further analysed using the face maintenance theory proposed by Goffman and communication strategies proposed by Canale and Swain. The result of the analysis shows that presentational rituals is the main rituals used by the participants in Puja Astawa’s YouTube videos. In terms of communication strategies, there are three strategies found, namely (1) code switching, (2) repetition, (3) the use of Balinese particles. Code switching is the mostly used strategy while the use of Balinese particles is the least used strategy.

‘Know know married’: playfulness of Manglish in social media platforms

ABSTRACT Manglish is often associated with negative prestige, such as broken English that arises out of inappropriate direct translations from the Malay language into English. In recent years, however, Manglish has evolved into a range of different functions, particularly in computer-mediated interactions among users of Manglish, and this innovative usage is referred to as ‘modern’ Manglish. The use of modern Manglish expressions shows certain degrees of ‘playfulness’ as a common feature. In this article, we adopt a World Englishes perspective and unpack modern Manglish, comparing it with a number of other named colloquial varieties, particularly Chinglish, Singlish, and Taglish, and we argue that certain usages of Manglish may serve a positive function, so they are worth researching and analysing.

Computer Mediated Interaction in Business

Computer Mediated Interaction in Business

AI-driven Family Interaction Over Melded Space and Time

Computer-mediated interaction services connect people over a distance. However, we address that those people are often “locked in a frame”—which includes an interaction mode, a point in time, or a context of either person. We observe that such lock-ins make it difficult to shape the interaction to be mutually symmetric. In this article, we propose a semantic-equivalent melding of space and time to provide a new form of empathetic interaction. We present HomeMeld and MomentMeld, which aim to meld space and time by applying AI, respectively. HomeMeld provides a sense of living together to a family living apart with AI-driven autonomous robotic avatars. MomentMeld utilizes an ensemble of visual AI to create interaction topics by matching semantic-equivalent photos. In-the-wild experiments reveal that HomeMeld and MomentMeld open new possibilities for empathetic interaction. Finally, we introduce a new interaction service leveraging technical synergy of HomeMeld and MomentMeld.

AFFORDANCES OF LEXICON LEARNING IN PEER-PEER COMPUTER MEDIATED INTERACTION DURING COVID-19 OUTBREAK: DOING TEACHING, INITIATING AND DOING LEARNING PRACTICES

The outbreak of COVID-19 has changed education practices through moving face-to-face education to complete internet-based education. Therefore, the integration of technology which already gained acceleration before the pandemic has become the only solution to be able to carry out educational practices. The issue of making students communicate with each other on online platforms to get the best from educational practice and peer learning especially came into prominence following the outbreak of the COVID-19. This era also brought/raised the importance of the examination of technology integration in various practices in education including the peer-peer interaction in video-mediated task-based communication. To shed a light on an aspect of technology integration, the current study makes use of the data that comes from video recordings of online peer-peer interaction on individual virtual city tours of a group for three weeks during COVID-19 pandemic. The video-recordings of student-student interaction in groups are analyzed by using the micro lenses of multimodal conversation analysis (CA). The study contributes to the field with an in-depth examination of peer-peer interaction out of the classroom. The examination of the data shows that participants do lexicon teaching, initiate and do lexicon learning via negotiation of meaning during their videoconferences on their virtual city tours. Thus, it is obvious that peer-peer computer-mediated interaction provides learning opportunities and enables learning which suggests that tasks which require peer-peer interaction out of classroom can be integrated into course design.

Modelling Spirals of Silence and Echo Chambers by Learning from the Feedback of Others

What are the mechanisms by which groups with certain opinions gain public voice and force others holding a different view into silence? Furthermore, how does social media play into this? Drawing on neuroscientific insights into the processing of social feedback, we develop a theoretical model that allows us to address these questions. In repeated interactions, individuals learn whether their opinion meets public approval and refrain from expressing their standpoint if it is socially sanctioned. In a social network sorted around opinions, an agent forms a distorted impression of public opinion enforced by the communicative activity of the different camps. Even strong majorities can be forced into silence if a minority acts as a cohesive whole. On the other hand, the strong social organisation around opinions enabled by digital platforms favours collective regimes in which opposing voices are expressed and compete for primacy in public. This paper highlights the role that the basic mechanisms of social information processing play in massive computer-mediated interactions on opinions.

“We Will Let You Know”: An Assessment of Digital vs. Face-to-Face Job Interviews via EEG Connectivity Analysis

We focused on job interviews as critical examples of complex social interaction in organizational contexts. We aimed at investigating the effect of face-to-face vs. computer-mediated interaction, of role (candidate, recruiter), and of the interview phase (introductory, attitudinal, technical, conclusive) on intra-brain and inter-brain connectivity measures and autonomic synchronization. Twenty expert recruiters and potential candidates took part in a hyperscanning investigation. Namely, electroencephalography (delta, theta, alpha, beta bands) and autonomic (skin-conductance, heart-rate) data were collected in candidate-recruiter dyads during a simulated job interview and then concurrently analyzed. Analyses highlighted a link between face-to-face condition and greater intra-/inter-brain connectivity indices in delta and theta bands. Furthermore, intra-brain and inter-brain connectivity measures were higher for delta and theta bands in the final interview phases compared to the first ones. Consistently, autonomic synchronization was higher during the final interview phases, specifically in the face-to-face condition. Finally, recruiters showed higher intra-brain connectivity in the delta range over frontal and temporoparietal areas, while candidates showed higher intra-brain connectivity in the theta range over frontal areas. Findings highlight the value of hyperscanning investigations in exploring social attunement in professional contexts and hint at their potential to foster neuroscience-informed practices in human resource management processes.

Second language development in face-to-face versus synchronous computer-mediated interactions: Dyadic type and language proficiency

Language negotiations facilitate second language acquisition (SLA) in both face-to-face (FTF) and computer-mediated interactions. Research shows that dyadic type can impact the quantity and quality of negotiations. Although both learner (L)-learner and native speaker (NS)-L dyadic type interactions have shown to be beneficial to SLA, it is still unclear which dyadic type is more effective for second language (L2) development in FTF and computer-mediated interactions. To fill this gap, this quantitative study compares FTF versus text-synchronous-computer-mediated communication (SCMC) task-based interactions by examining the following question: Is there a significant difference in the (1) frequency of negotiations and (2) effect of negotiations on subsequent L2 development in FTF interactions compared with text-SCMC in the following three dyadic types: NS-low-proficiency learners (LPL), NS-high-proficiency learners (HPL), and HPL–LPL? The study is grounded in the Interaction Hypothesis, which argues that comprehensible input, opportunities for modified output, and noticing are essential for interactions to facilitate SLA through negotiation episodes. The participants included four NSs, four LPLs, and four HPLs. The participants were paired up to form two of each of the following dyadic types: NS–LPL, NS–HPL, and HPL–LPL. All dyads performed one task in each mode. The learners took a tailor-made posttest, designed to measure their L2 development. The data collection included transcribed FTF interactions, SCMC chats, and posttest scores. The interactions were coded for negotiation episodes and strategies. The posttest responses were coded as correct, partially correct, or incorrect. Chi-square test of independence was used to analyse the quantitative data because of their categorical nature and small sample size. Results found no statistically significant difference in the frequency of negotiation episodes among the three dyadic types or the LPLs’ and HPLs’ language learning outcome in FTF versus SCMC. Pedagogical implications are discussed.

The role of gaze in meaning negotiation episodes in video synchronous computer-mediated interactions

Abstract The outbreak of COVID-19 led to the replacement of many traditional classroom teaching and learning activities with online interactions through synchronous audio or video conferencing tools. Technically, the key difference between audio and video conferencing is the latter’s use of a webcam. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the webcam’s role in video synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC). Negotiation for meaning episodes, in which interlocutors try to resolve non-understanding through verbal interaction, were selected for analysis because they are widely believed to be helpful for second language acquisition. Specifically, this paper focuses on where interlocutors look during negotiated interactions in video SCMC and whether a statistical relationship exists between looking at a peer’s video image and successful meaning negotiation. Four dyads of English learners completed information gap tasks with potentially unknown words through learner–learner video SCMS interactions. Students’ multimodal performance was screen recorded for a gaze analysis and one-on-one interviews were conducted to confirm the students’ gaze directions. The results reveal a statistically significant positive relationship between the duration of one’s gaze at the peer’s video image and the number of successful meaning negotiation episodes in a dyad.

The Impact of Giving Feedback in Online Discussions

Abstract. In online discussions, users often evaluate comments from other users. On the basis of face theory, the present study analyzed the effects of evaluative replies on the evaluated comment authors. The investigation complements existing research, which has mainly focused on effects of comments on uninvolved readers. In the experimental study presented here, disapproving evaluations provoked negative and less positive emotions, and the evaluated authors were less willing to participate in the online discussion further. The authors’ perception of face threat mediated these effects. The results contribute to face theory in computer-mediated interactions and to our understanding of online discussions with dissonant standpoints.

How is Collaborative Innovation in Smes Organised? Exploring the Use of Conventional and Computer-Mediated Interaction

How is Collaborative Innovation in Smes Organised? Exploring the Use of Conventional and Computer-Mediated Interaction

On the stress potential of videoconferencing: definition and root causes of Zoom fatigue

As a consequence of lockdowns due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the resulting restricted social mobility, several billion people worldwide have recently had to replace physical face-to-face communication with computer-mediated interaction. Notably, the adoption rates of videoconferencing increased significantly in 2020, predominantly because videoconferencing resembles face-to-face interaction. Tools such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Cisco Webex are used by hundreds of millions of people today. Videoconferencing may bring benefits (e.g., saving of travel costs, preservation of environment). However, prolonged and inappropriate use of videoconferencing may also have an enormous stress potential. A new phenomenon and term emerged, Zoom fatigue, a synonym for videoconference fatigue. This paper develops a definition for Zoom fatigue and presents a conceptual framework that explores the major root causes of videoconferencing fatigue and stress. The development of the framework draws upon media naturalness theory and its underlying theorizing is based on research published across various scientific fields, including the disciplines of both behavioral science and neuroscience. Based on this theoretical foundation, hypotheses are outlined. Moreover, implications for research and practice are discussed.

Is chatting with a sophisticated chatbot as good as chatting online or FTF with a stranger?

Emotionally-responsive chatbots are marketed as agents with which one can form emotional connections. They can also become weak ties in the outer layers of one's acquaintance network and available for social support. In this experiment, which was designed to study the acquaintance process, we randomly assigned 417 participants into three conditions: face-to-face (FTF) chat with a human, online chat with a human, and online chat with a commercially-available, emotionally-responsive chatbot, Replika. After a 20-min getting-acquainted chat, participants reported their affective state and relational evaluations of the chat. Additionally, all chats were recorded and text analyzed using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) program. In all conditions, participants reported moderate levels of positive emotions and low levels of negative emotions. Those who chatted FTF with a human reported significantly more negative emotions than those who chatted with a bot. However, those who chatted with a human also reported more homophily with and liking of their chat partner and that their partner was more responsive. Meanwhile, participants had fewest conversational concerns with the chatbot. These findings have implications for future computer-mediated interaction studies: conversations with chatbots appear to have different affordances and effects on chatter enjoyment and conversational concerns in getting-acquainted contexts. These results may help designers improve reception and marketability for chatbots in consumer markets.

Familiars in a Strange Land

Familiars in a Strange Land

Genological stratification of diplomatic discourse on Twitter

Scientific and technological progress with all its achievements has affected various spheres of human life. Philological disciplines, including communicative linguistics, are no exception. The means of communication have changed significantly in recent decades. No one is surprised by computer-mediated interactions, the internet has become available, and it is not difficult for many people to use personal electronic gadgets. These new developments have affected both the sphere of personal communication, including business, work, and professional relationships. All this is also relevant for diplomatic discourse, the evolutionary leap of which has taken place literally in half a century: from isolation and going beyond political discourse to the level of independent development to its current functioning with the active use of the entire palette of communication tools, methods, and techniques, including Internet resources, in particular, microblogs. The purpose of this article is to determine, describe and make an attempt to predict the levels and structure of genres of diplomatic discourse in the coming decades using examples of its manifestations on Twitter in the best traditions of classical linguistics schools and considering the achievements of new research areas in linguistics.

Developing EFL Learners’ Intercultural Sensitivity Through Computer-Mediated Peer Interaction

ABSTRACT This study investigated whether online communication among learners from different cultural backgrounds mediates Iranian EFL learners’ intercultural sensitivity (IS) development. To this end, two experimental and one control groups, and a group of intercultural speakers participated in the study. Each Iranian group consisted of 15 EFL learners who were university students majoring in English language and Literature at upper-intermediate and advanced levels of proficiency. The intercultural group consisted of 4 non-native English speakers of differing cultural backgrounds. The first experimental group engaged in intercultural discussions with intercultural speakers, while the second experimental group took part in in-person cultural discussions with their peers. Learners in the control group discussed general topics with their peers. Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS) was used to evaluate IS of the participants prior and after the completion of the study. Findings revealed the outperformance of the first experimental group in IS. However, no significant difference was found between the control and second experimental groups in their interaction engagement, interaction confidence, and interaction attentiveness. Implications of the study are discussed in the paper.

Multilingual Conversational Systems to Drive the Collection of Patient-Reported Outcomes and Integration into Clinical Workflows

Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and their use in the clinical workflow can improve cancer survivors’ outcomes and quality of life. However, there are several challenges regarding efficient collection of the patient-reported outcomes and their integration into the clinical workflow. Patient adherence and interoperability are recognized as main barriers. This work implements a cancer-related study which interconnects artificial intelligence (spoken language algorithms, conversational intelligence) and natural sciences (embodied conversational agents) to create an omni-comprehensive system enabling symmetric computer-mediated interaction. Its goal is to collect patient information and integrate it into clinical routine as digital patient resources (the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources). To further increase convenience and simplicity of the data collection, a multimodal sensing network is delivered. In this paper, we introduce the main components of the system, including the mHealth application, the Open Health Connect platform, and algorithms to deliver speech enabled 3D embodied conversational agent to interact with the cancer survivors in five different languages. The system integrates cancer patients’ reported information as patient gathered health data into their digital clinical record. The value and impact of the integration will be further evaluated in the clinical study.