Technology-mediated Interactions Research Articles

Common ground, cooperation, and recipient design in human-computer interactions

In recent years, the number of human-machine interactions has increased considerably. Additionally, we have evidence of linguistic differences between human-machine interactions and human–human conversations (e.g., Timpe-Laughlin et al., 2022). Therefore, it is reasonable to revisit theoretical frameworks that conceptualize interactional language use and investigate to what extent they still apply to technology-mediated interactions. As a first attempt at exploring whether pragmatics theories apply to human-machine interaction, we examined how well Kecskés's (2013) socio-cognitive approach (SCA) focusing on asymmetric interactions (e.g., between interlocutors of different language backgrounds) applies to the asymmetry of human-machine interactions.Using examples from experimental data, we present the nature of common ground between human and machine (spoken dialogue system) interlocutors, focusing on the construction of and reliance on the emergent side of common ground that is informed by the actual situational experience. Like Kecskés, we argue that both egocentrism and cooperation play a role in human-machine interaction. While the former is manifested in approaching the machine interlocutor as if it was human, the latter appears to play a role in common ground seeking and building as well as in recipient design. We demonstrate that Kecskés's SCA is a fitting framework for analyzing human-machine communication contexts.

Sustaining Synchronous Interaction Effectiveness in Distance Writing Courses: A Mixed Method Study in a KSA University

The sudden transition to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for many learners and teachers due to the fact that most universities suddenly shifted to online learning without providing adequate time for preparing and training teachers and learners in using interactive educational technologies. Such challenges are even more pronounced for language instructors in cultivating and sustaining interactions among learners, especially in writing courses that demand active engagement and interactions. Therefore, this study focused on what and how a writing instructor did through technology in creating an interactive writing environment for KSA learners joining five online writing courses and how learners perceived interactions and identifies the major factors affecting their perceptions. The data were collected from multiple sources: WhatsApp chats, Google Docs chats and comments, screencast recorded discussions, students’ texts, and their responses to an electronic (e-) survey as well as follow-up interviews. The study revealed that in connecting Google Docs to the Blackboard Collaborate Ultra, the instructor engaged learners in multidirectional and multimodal interactions and text writing and revising. The WhatsApp group was also used for individual learner-learner and learner-teacher interaction illustrating support and consultation-seeking behaviors of learners beyond the online classroom time. The learners’ perceptions of technology-mediated interactions (overall, learner-learner and learner-teacher) in the online writing courses were at high levels, though such perceptions varied according to several factors, including socio-demographic characteristics. The study concludes by offering useful pedagogical and research implications.

Aspects of ICT connectivity among older adults living in rural subsidized housing: reassessing the digital divide

PurposeThis article examines aspects of information communication technology (ICT) connectivity among the understudied population of low-income older adults living in rural and peri-urban subsidized housing. We aim to investigate if variations exist in access and connectivity when economic and housing conditions are constant and use data from northern New England.Design/methodology/approachThe multidisciplinary, mixed-methods approach involved administering structured surveys using iPads with senior residents (n = 91) from five housing sites, qualitative observations by field researchers and an ecological assessment of ICT resources at housing, community and state levels.FindingsAll subsidized housing sites were broadband accessible and nearby libraries. Fewer sites had Wi-Fi freely available to residents, and individual residents disparately accessed the Internet. Age and education demonstrably influenced ICT use of social media and email. Technology in the form of iPads used for surveys posed functional challenges for some older adults, but these technology-mediated interactions were also perceived as important sites of sociability.Originality/valueOlder adults disparately access and use ICT relative to socioeconomic status even as housing conditions remain constant, and access and use influences frequency of social connections with friends and family. The findings reveal factors that contribute to the existing digital divide facing older adults and broader lack of digital equity.

Exploring Peoples' Perception of Autonomy and Reactance in Everyday AI Interactions.

Applications using Artificial Intelligence (AI) have become commonplace and embedded in our daily lives. Much of our communication has transitioned from human–human interaction to human–technology or technology-mediated interaction. As technology is handed over control and streamlines choices and decision-making in different contexts, people are increasingly concerned about a potential threat to their autonomy. In this paper, we explore autonomy perception when interacting with AI-based applications in everyday contexts using a design fiction-based survey with 328 participants. We probed if providing users with explanations on “why” an application made certain choices or decisions influenced their perception of autonomy or reactance regarding the interaction with the applications. We also looked at changes in perception when users are aware of AI's presence in an application. In the social media context, we found that people perceived a greater reactance and lower sense of autonomy perhaps owing to the personal and identity-sensitive nature of the application context. Providing explanations on “why” in the navigation context, contributed to enhancing their autonomy perception, and reducing reactance since it influenced the users' subsequent actions based on the recommendation. We discuss our findings and the implications it has for the future development of everyday AI applications that respect human autonomy.

Rejection sensitivity and interaction quality in everyday life

The elevated satisfaction that comes from interacting with close ties, as opposed to distal ties, is well-established in past research. What remains less clear is how the quality of daily interactions between close versus distal ties may vary as a function of personality. Drawing on data from a 2-week experience sampling study ( N = 108 participants, N = 7755 observations), we consider how trait rejection sensitivity (RS)—or the tendency to worry about potential social rejection—interacts with perceived closeness and interaction channel (i.e., face-to-face vs. technology-mediated) in daily life. We find that individuals who are high (vs. low) in rejection sensitivity not only view distal tie interactions as less satisfying, they also perceive close tie exchanges as more enjoyable and supportive—but only for technology-mediated (vs. face-to-face) interactions. We also find that individuals who are high in rejection sensitivity have higher variability in the perceived quality of their interactions. These findings demonstrate the interlocked factors of personality tendencies, perceived closeness, and interaction channel in shaping the variability in the quality of daily interactions.

Change in mental health, physical health, and social relationships during highly restrictive lockdown in the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from Australia.

BackgroundA novel coronavirus first reported in Wuhan City in China in 2019 (COVID-19) developed into a global pandemic throughout 2020. Many countries around the world implemented strict social distancing policies to curb the spread of the virus. In this study we aimed to examine potential change in mental/physical health and social relationships during a highly restrictive COVID-19 lockdown period in Australia during April 2020.MethodsOur survey (n = 1, 599) included questions about concerns, social behaviour, perceived change in relationship quality, social media use, frequency of exercise, physical health, and mental health during COVID-19 lockdown (April, 2020).ResultsWhen estimating their mental health for the previous year 13% of participants reported more negative than positive emotion, whereas this increased to 41% when participants reflected on their time during COVID-19 lockdown. A substantial proportion (39–54%) of participants reported deterioration in mental health, physical health, financial situation, and work productivity. However, most of these participants reported ’somewhat’ rather than ’a lot’ of deterioration, and many others reported ’no change’ (40–50%) or even ’improvement’ (6–17%). Even less impact was apparent for social relationships (68% reported ’no change’) as participants compensated for decreased face-to-face interaction via increased technology-mediated interaction.ConclusionsThe psychological toll of COVID-19 on Australians may not have been as large as other parts of the world with greater infection rates. Our findings highlight how technology-mediated communication can allow people to adequately maintain social relationships during an extreme lockdown event.

Interspecies information systems

This article introduces a new class of socio-technical systems, interspecies information systems (IIS) by describing several examples of these systems emerging through the use of commercially available data-driven animal-centered technology. When animal-centered technology, such as pet wearables, cow health monitoring, or even wildlife drones captures animal data and inform humans of actions to take towards animals, interspecies information systems emerge. I discuss the importance of understanding them as information systems rather than isolated technology or technology-mediated interactions, and propose a conceptual model capturing the key components and information flow of a general interspecies information system. I conclude by proposing multiple practical challenges that are faced in the successful design, engineering and use of any IIS where animal data informs human actions.

“Language not just as words”: Supporting new literacies through a design project in disadvantaged schools in Chile

Young people are increasingly connected in a digital and globalized world, but technology-mediated interactions alone do not necessarily lead to a culture of meaningful participation and meaning making processes. Students from disadvantaged contexts are especially vulnerable to this. Drawing on the Activity-Centred Analysis and Design framework this paper discusses a case study situated in disadvantaged schools in Chile. Phase 1 of the study revealed that high school students’ literacy practices in the everyday classroom mostly reflected low conceptual and procedural understanding of new literacies, confirming that these young learners enacted passive forms of technological use in and out-of-school spaces. Phase 2 of the study involved the development and implementation of a digital project at a Chilean school. Results offer insights on how alterations in tools, learning tasks, and social arrangements, led to reconfigured literacy practices. Findings also show that the relationship between access, use and outcomes is not straightforward, and students’ cultural capital varies, even in disadvantaged schools. Implications of the study stress the pivotal role of schools and the potential of well-orchestrated educational designs, for introducing and encouraging meaningful literacy practices, and for leveling up the access to the digital world.

Seeking and sending signals: Remodelling teaching practice during the Covid-19 crisis

With the increased use of online teaching during the Covid-19 crisis, technology-mediated interactions have become central to the co-constructive nature of learning in universities. This research questions the efficacy of online teaching as it has been implemented during the crisis by examining critical forms of online interaction. These include the strategies used by academics to identify cues from students to allow them to adapt their teaching and the interactions of academics with students to help learners self-regulate their learning. The findings provide evidence that technology-mediated interactions can help academics develop perceptions of students, but this requires opportunities for spontaneous, free-form interactions online. Academics can signal proactive learning strategies to students to help them self-regulate their learning, though these strategies have to be made visible within the online environment. Academics need guidance in the use of technologies to support these fundamental practices.

Defining Leadership in Smart Working Contexts: A Concept Synthesis.

This paper begins by considering the importance of leadership to pursue behavioral, cultural, technological, and ethical aspirations of smart working practices in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of leadership in smart working contexts. We adopt a literary approach to the concept synthesis method with which to critically analyze and conceptually map a wide set of related notions of leadership that are connected with the evolutive dynamics of smart working approaches. According to the scope conditions of the research, the role of leadership emerges with the purpose of changing behaviors, creating shared meanings, and integrating physical and technology-mediated interactions in smart working environments. With this in mind, the iterative integration of smart working and leadership literature has gradually begun to detect and classify the main characteristics of leadership in smart working contexts in terms of leadership antecedents, attributes, and outcomes. The interpretative synthesis results in an overarching conceptualization of “leading in smart working contexts” that depicts leadership as a naturally emerging phenomenon that combines agile logics and change management practices to align interests at different levels of the organization. These premises lead to the alleged “triple-win” configuration of smart working approaches. While encouraging in-depth discussion about the facilitative and performative function of leadership in smart working contexts, this study contributes to advancing knowledge on what “being a smart leader” actually means, and how to operatively apply this notion in smart working contexts. Together, the concept delineation and the operational definition of “smart leadership” offer important insights for both managerial action and future directions of research.

What Are Meaningful Social Interactions in Today’s Media Landscape? A Cross-Cultural Survey

As we increasingly integrate technology into our lives, we need a better framework for understanding social interactions across the communication landscape. Utilizing survey data in which more than 4,600 people across the United States, India, and Japan described a recent social interaction, this article qualitatively and quantitatively explores what makes an interaction meaningful. A qualitative analysis of respondents’ own words finds that meaningful interactions are those with emotional, informational, or tangible impact that people believe enhance their lives, the lives of their interaction partners, or their personal relationships. A quantitative analysis predicting respondents’ ratings of recent interactions finds the attributes most likely to facilitate meaningfulness include strong ties (e.g., friends and family), community ties (e.g., neighbors), shared activities, and synchronicity; meaningful social interactions are also more likely to be planned in advance and memorialized with photos or videos. These attributes are consistent across cultures. Although popular rhetoric often juxtaposes people’s online lives against their offline lives, this research finds in-person interactions can be just as meaningful as technology-mediated interactions. We conclude with a new framework for thinking about social interactions more holistically.

Technology, Value Co-Creation and Innovation in Service Ecosystems: Toward Sustainable Co-Innovation

The work identifies the main enabling dimensions and the strategic drivers to foster value co-creation and sustainable innovation in service ecosystems. The aim is to explore how resource and knowledge integration, through technology-mediated interactions, can lead to the emergence of novelties (new products, services, processes, social, and environmental practices). Based on a re-elaboration of literature, the study introduces a framework that describes the main drivers for managing the emergence of value co-creation and innovation (co-design, co-development, co-delivery, co-learning) across the contexts of exchange of service ecosystems (micro, meso, and macro). A “meta”-level is conceptualized to investigate how management can harmonize an actor’s objectives with an ecosystem’s goal to encourage the diffusion and renewal of a sustainable and innovation-oriented culture. The empirical research applies the framework proposed in the theoretical section to a case study analysis on “Palm”, an Italian company that designs and produces wood packaging. The technique employed is qualitative content analysis. The findings permit conceptualization of the key strategic levers for the management of co-creation and to increase managers’ and scholars’ understanding of (1) the enablers of value co-creation and innovation; (2) the mechanisms leading to knowledge renewal and the continuous production of sustainable innovation.

Fostering sustainability through technology-mediated interactions

PurposeThis article addresses the lack of scholarly attention paid to the sharing economy from a sociological perspective, with respect to the technology-mediated interactions between sharing economy users. The paper provides a critical overview of the sharing economy and its impact on business and communities and explores how information technology can facilitate authentic, genuine sharing through exercising and enabling conviviality and non-direct reciprocity.Design/methodology/approachThe paper begins with a critique of the technology-mediated sharing economy, introduces the concept of conviviality as a tool to grow and shape community and sustainability within the sharing economy and then explores reciprocity and sharing behaviour. Finally, the paper draws upon social exchange theory to illustrate conviviality and reciprocity, using four case studies of technology-enabled sharing.FindingsThe paper contributes to the emerging debate around how the sharing economy, driven by information systems and technology, affects social cohesion and personal relationships. The paper elucidates the central role conviviality and reciprocity play in explaining the paradoxes, tensions and impact of the sharing economy on society. Conviviality and reciprocity are positioned as key capabilities of a more sustainable version of the sharing economy, enabled via information technology.Originality/valueThe findings reveal that information technology-mediated sharing enterprises should promote conviviality and reciprocity in order to deliver more positive environmental, economic and social benefits. The diversity of existing operations indicated by the findings and the controversies discussed will guide the critical study of the social potential of sharing economy to avoid treating all sharing alike.

Platform Interactions and Emergence of an Organizational Field: Case Study on Ola

Most digital enterprises begin as technology start-ups offering niche services, and then evolve into digital platforms providing a range of services. Against the backdrop of almost non-existent logistic and supply chain infrastructure, weak regulatory framework, low penetration of smartphones and Internet, low consumer confidence and trust on online transactions, digital entrepreneurs in developing countries literally have to build the platform ecosystem along with their organization. In this paper, we use institutional theory as a lens to trace the emergence and evolution of digital platforms in India. We posit that digital platforms are emerging organizational fields embodying new network logics with algorithms and technology-mediated interactions playing a central role in creating value. In particular, we take the case of Ola, an online cab aggregator from India to illustrate that digital platforms as organizational field evolve through three phases of (a) innovation introduction, (b) mobilization and (c) structuration. In the first phase, the organizational field characteristics are consequences of activities undertaken to raise cognitive legitimacy and respond to competitive forces. In the second phase, a mix of coercive and mimetic forces shape the institutional field resulting in increase in socio-political legitimacies. In the third phase, the process of structuration sets in as isomorphic forces become more normative. The theoretical framework developed in this paper contributes to extant information system research by putting forth that the characteristics of emerging organizational field are shaped by the interplay between the responses of the focal organization to isomorphic forces, and the actions taken by it to establish cognitive and socio-political legitimacies. Empirically the study is on digital platforms located in a large developing country with very high potential for online transactions but relatively low penetration of Internet and smartphones. Conceptualizing organizational field as digital platforms enables making sense of the changing business landscape, and examine issues of sustainability and legitimacy.

A literature review of features and trends of technology-supported collaborative learning in informal learning settings from 2007 to 2018

Recently, collaborative learning in informal learning settings has been gained increasing interest. This study reviewed 70 papers about technology-supported collaborative learning published from 2007 to 2018. The subjects, objects, rules, contexts, interactions, and tools were analyzed based on the adapted framework of activity theory. The results indicated that undergraduate and postgraduate students mainly participated in technology-supported collaborative learning in the past 12 years. Mixed learning outcomes in natural science learning domains were the major learning objectives. In terms of rules, most studies adopted mixed collaborative learning methods and provided guidance for students. However, no rewards were provided in most studies. In addition, most studies mainly occurred in online learning community or after-school clubs. Technology-mediated interactions were generally adopted and participants mainly interacted with group members. In terms of trends of technology-supported collaborative learning, the findings revealed that the increasing trends in the higher education level and large sample size were found from 2013 to 2018. More and more studies focused on engineering design tasks and adopted self-selected heterogeneous groups. Mixed hardware and software with mixed functionalities significantly increased from 2013 to 2018. The findings were discussed in depth, together with implications and recommendations for future studies.

Communication modeling: considering complexity in digital technology policies

Políticas voltadas a tecnologias digitais raramente tendem a considerar modelos de comunicação abrangentes, tampouco o modo como a informação é realmente gerada e assimilada em um processo comunicacional. Normalmente, os modelos que descrevem a comunicação são inteiramente circunscritos pela dimensão técnica. Em interações mediadas pela tecnologia, a efetividade entre a intenção de uma mensagem e como ela é recebida e compreendida por um usuário é fundamental para a criação de conhecimento e a construção de intersubjetividades, e pode ser decisiva em políticas de TIC. Interatividade, múltiplos contextos e subjetividade são fatores condicionantes desse processo complexo. Este artigo apresenta uma reflexão sobre como modelos de comunicação que incluem esses fatores podem contribuir para o entendimento fenomenológico da comunicação, cobrindo lacunas de modelagens usualmente adotadas, cujo foco atém-se predominantemente à dimensão tecnológica ou de comunicação de massa. Uma compreensão mais ampla e multidimensional da complexidade inerente ao processo comunicacional pode suportar com maior eficiência a formulação de políticas de tecnologias digitais.

Collaboration in a distributed research program

PurposeResearchers need to collaborate to address grand challenges such as climate change, poverty and sustainable food production. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the researchers in a globally distributed research program interact to move their research forward.Design/methodology/approachThe authors interviewed 14 participants in the research program.FindingsIn spite of the spatial distribution of the researchers the output from the research program is predominantly collaborative; as much as 79 percent of the publications are co-authored by researchers from multiple countries. However, the researchers mostly work alone on their contributions to their joint work and spend minimal time interacting. This strategy of minimal interaction is punctuated by islands of intense interaction when they occasionally meet in person. Interaction feels natural, productive and satisfying to them when they are co-located but less so when they are distributed, probably because they experience technology-mediated interaction over a distance as somewhat impoverished. The interviewees mention that the minimal-interaction strategy incurs the risks of cracks in common ground and of misconstruing minimal interaction as lack of commitment. But the strategy is generally well-liked.Research limitations/implicationsThe experience of technology-mediated interaction as impoverished points to an explanation for the finding of less interaction in distributed than co-located research. It should be noted that the study is restricted to one research program.Originality/valueBy questioning widely touted recommendations for ongoing, regular and sustained interaction this study provides a fresh look at scientific collaboration.

I hear but I don't see you: Interacting over phone reduces the accuracy of perceiving affiliation in the other

In-person interactions are characterized by better psychological and interpersonal outcomes than technology-mediated interactions. These benefits are thought to stem from the presence of more communication channels for the expression and reception of affiliative cues and the effortless processing of these cues. We investigated whether in-person versus phone-mediated interactions are characterized by higher accuracy of perceiving the other's affiliation and higher bias of assumed similarity with this other regarding affiliation. Using an event-contingent recording methodology, cohabitating romantic partners reported their perception of the other's affiliative behavior and their affiliative behavior in interactions with each other during a 20-day interval. Participants during in-person interactions (1) were more accurate in perceiving affiliative behavior and (2) assumed greater similarity between their own and their partner's affiliative behavior. Findings suggest that greater accuracy in perceiving affiliation and assumption of similarity with the romantic partner with respect to affiliation may in part explain the benefits of in-person interactions.

The Facilitating Role of Communication Technology in Nonresident Father–Teen Relationships

The goal of this study was to understand communication technology’s role in nonresident father–teen relationships. A qualitative study explored the meanings teens attributed to technology-mediated interactions with their nonresident fathers. The study found that teens’ interactions mediated by contemporary communication technologies helped maintain connections with their fathers in multiple ways, increased intimacy, helped them feel part of the same world, facilitated family interaction, and allowed teens to control access to parts of their lives. Results and implications for research and practice are discussed.

Inclusion or expulsion: Digital technologies and the new power relations in China’s “Internet finance”

The financial sector in China is well known as a government-dominated hierarchy, and the access to financial services has been controlled primarily by the state-run banks. Fin-tech businesses, or so-called “Internet finance,” in China have included new actors such as Internet companies, small and medium enterprises, and small lay investors in the financial regime. The new entrants’ technology-mediated interactions with the government engendered new politico-economic relations within and beyond the market, in the cyberspace and in everyday life. How have the Chinese modes of financial inclusion reconfigured the power relations between the state, corporations, and the investing public in China? Through the political-economic analyses of three specific forms of fin-tech businesses—third-party payment, peer-to-peer lending, and money market fund this article argues that Chinese fin-techs have enabled a broader societal participation to investment practices and empowered Internet corporations alongside the state-controlled financial systems. Thus, such an inclusion is less about the “inclusive finance” endorsed by the World Bank for the under-represented social groups’ accesses to financial services. It is more of a technology-facilitated financialization initiated by the state, promoted by information technology companies, and popularized among small investors. Rather than leading to the decentralization of financial power, China’s fin-tech has formed a higher level of concentration of financial capital controlled by the Chinese oligopoly Internet corporations. Moreover, the collaborations and competitions between the growing fin-tech companies and the state-owned financial sector deserve further observations.