Unobtrusive Recording Research Articles

Recording and Transcribing Interactions of Individuals Using Augmentative Communication Technologies

The purpose of this article is to provide the reader with tools and recommendations for collecting data and making microanalytic transcriptions of interaction involving people using Augmentative Communication Technologies (ACTs). This is of interest for clinicians, as well as anyone else engaged in video-based microanalysis of technology mediated interaction in other contexts. The information presented here has particular relevance to young researchers developing their own methodologies, and experienced scientists interested in social interaction research in ACTs or as well as other digital communication technologies. Tools and methods for recording social interactions to support microanalysis by making unobtrusive recordings of naturally occurring or task-driven social interactions while minimizing recording-related distractions which could alter the authenticity of the social interaction are discussed. Recommendations for the needed functionality of video and audio recording equipment are made with tips for how to capture actions that are important to the research question as opposed to capturing 'generally usable' video. In addition, tips for processing video and managing video data are outlined, including how to develop optimally functional naming conventions for stored videos, how and where to store video data (i. e. use of external hard drives, compressing videos for storage) and syncing multiple videos, offering different views of a single interaction (i. e. syncing footage of the overall interaction with footage of the device display). Finally, tools and strategies for transcription are discussed including a brief description of the role transcription plays in analysis, a suggested framework for how transcription might proceed through multiple passes, each focused on a different aspect of communication, transcription software options along with discussion of specific features that aide transcription. In addition, special issues that arise in transcribing interactions involving ACTs are addressed.

Nonverbal Social Sensing in Action: Unobtrusive Recording and Extracting of Nonverbal Behavior in Social Interactions Illustrated with a Research Example

Nonverbal behavior coding is typically conducted by “hand”. To remedy this time and resource intensive undertaking, we illustrate how nonverbal social sensing, defined as the automated recording and extracting of nonverbal behavior via ubiquitous social sensing platforms, can be achieved. More precisely, we show how and what kind of nonverbal cues can be extracted and to what extent automated extracted nonverbal cues can be validly obtained with an illustrative research example. In a job interview, the applicant’s vocal and visual nonverbal immediacy behavior was automatically sensed and extracted. Results show that the applicant’s nonverbal behavior can be validly extracted. Moreover, both visual and vocal applicant nonverbal behavior predict recruiter hiring decision, which is in line with previous findings on manually coded applicant nonverbal behavior. Finally, applicant average turn duration, tempo variation, and gazing best predict recruiter hiring decision. Results and implications of such a nonverbal social sensing for future research are discussed.

Assessing cancer clinic visit time as a marker of quality care.

95 Background: The uses of patient time and clinic space in outpatient cancer clinics can be indicators of efficiency and quality of cancer care. Inefficient use of these can have deleterious effects on clinic flow, patient satisfaction, physician/staff morale, and treatment adherence. We tested a unique method of assessing patient time and clinic space in cancer clinics as a measure of cancer care quality. Methods: We video recorded patient occupancy in exam rooms in two outpatient cancer clinics (n = 53) using an IRB-approved, custom-designed unobtrusive recording system (Albrecht et al. 2005) and analyzed use of time. Coders assessed: Patient Occupancy Time (total time in the exam room; POT); Patient Wait Time (time spent in the exam room prior to seeing the oncologist; PWT); and Physician-Patient Interaction Time (PPIT). POT was compared with Scheduled Occupancy Time (from clinic records; SOT) to obtain measures of Discrepancy in Occupancy Time (difference in scheduled exam room time and actual time the patient spent in the exam room; DiOT). Results: Mean POT across both clinics was 82.0 minutes (SD = 36.2), mean PWT was 24.8 minutes (SD = 26.0), and mean PPIT was 31.4 (SD = 14.9) minutes. SOT was only available for Clinic A in which case mean DiOT was 42.6 minutes with a range of 3.5 to 146.5 minutes. Only three cases used the room for less time than originally scheduled. SOT was unrelated to POT, PWT, and PPIT. DiOT was unrelated to PPIT. Conclusions: This method of objectively measuring cancer clinic time can help inform interventions to improve clinic efficiency. We found wait times were lengthy, suggesting an inefficient use of time and space. Importantly, there was no consistent relationship between scheduled and actual time spent in the exam room, reflecting an inefficient use of resources and potential inaccuracy in using scheduled time as a valid measure of quality. [Table: see text]

Spotting laughter in natural multiparty conversations

It is essential for the advancement of human-centered multimodal interfaces to be able to infer the current user's state or communication state. In order to enable a system to do that, the recognition and interpretation of multimodal social signals (i.e., paralinguistic and nonverbal behavior) in real-time applications is required. Since we believe that laughs are one of the most important and widely understood social nonverbal signals indicating affect and discourse quality, we focus in this work on the detection of laughter in natural multiparty discourses. The conversations are recorded in a natural environment without any specific constraint on the discourses using unobtrusive recording devices. This setup ensures natural and unbiased behavior, which is one of the main foci of this work. To compare results of methods, namely Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) supervectors as input to a Support Vector Machine (SVM), so-called Echo State Networks (ESN), and a Hidden Markov Model (HMM) approach, are utilized in online and offline detection experiments. The SVM approach proves very accurate in the offline classification task, but is outperformed by the ESN and HMM approach in the online detection (F 1 scores: GMM SVM 0.45, ESN 0.63, HMM 0.72). Further, we were able to utilize the proposed HMM approach in a cross-corpus experiment without any retraining with respectable generalization capability (F 1 score: 0.49). The results and possible reasons for these outcomes are shown and discussed in the article. The proposed methods may be directly utilized in practical tasks such as the labeling or the online detection of laughter in conversational data and affect-aware applications.

Expert and Novice End-User Spreadsheet Debugging

The reliability of end-user developed spreadsheets is poor. Research studies find that 94% of ‘real-world’ spreadsheets contain errors. Although some research has been conducted in the area of spreadsheet testing, little is known about the behaviour or processes of individuals during the debugging task. In this paper, the authors investigate the performance and behaviour of expert and novice end-users in the debugging of an experimental spreadsheet. To achieve this aim, a spreadsheet debugging experiment was conducted, with professional and student participants requested to debug a spreadsheet seeded with errors. The work utilises a novel approach for acquiring experimental data through the unobtrusive recording of participants’ actions using a custom built VBA tool. Based on findings from the experiment, a debugging tool is developed, and its effects on debugging performance are investigated.

Applied Research and Zoo Education: The Evolution and Evaluation of a Public Talks Program using Unobtrusive Video Recording of Visitor Behavior

ABSTRACT The provision of high-quality conservation education has become a priority for modern zoos. This can be delivered in a number of differing ways to account for differences in learning styles and prior knowledge of zoo visitors. At Chester Zoo (United Kingdom), a team of full-time and highly trained interpreters (known as presenters) deliver a diverse public talks program every day of the year. Although these talks attract a large audience, little was understood about their impact on the visitor. As a result, an extensive, unobtrusive study using video recording equipment was undertaken to assess visitor behavior. Results suggest that visitor attentiveness was much higher among those individuals who found themselves in a better viewing position (where they could see the animal and presenter). Visitors who were in poor-visibility positions showed less attention than visitors who were observed under control conditions, without an accompanying talk, indicating a high environmental component to learning potential. When interactive elements were included in a talk (such as an animal feed or enrichment activity) attentiveness was dramatically increased. More crucially, however, was that during talks where there was no interactivity or animals were inactive, attentiveness fell to below control levels, suggesting that heightened visitor expectations created by the anticipation for the talk were not being met—a serious barrier to learning. These findings offer a series of measures that can be taken to improve the educational impact of a zoo talks program whilst, at the same time, providing a better quality experience for zoo visitors.

The Evolution of Audio Recording in Field Surveys

The tools of field survey administration change quickly. By taking advantage of new technology and adapting it for time-honored needs, survey managers can boost the effectiveness, efficiency and quality of data collection. One method which has evolved rapidly is computer audio-recorded interviewing (CARI), an approach to ensuring the quality of data through unobtrusive recording by the computer of the audio portion of inperson interviews, much as silent monitoring has been used to ensure quality at call centers. Several developments in the past few years have improved the technical feasibility of CARI for routine and inexpensive use in field studies. Advances in file compression and available bandwidth enable collection of longer recordings with little strain on transmission capacity and no burden to the interviewer. Use of a simple external file for specifying items to be recorded in a Blaise instrument offers great flexibility in selecting portions of the interview for auditing, even permitting modification of the recorded-item list while an instrument is in production. A web-based monitoring application, for use by trained reviewers in evaluating the audio files, can now provide access to centrally located audio files by geographically distributed staff. Progress has also been made from an operational viewpoint. Work has been done to determine the minimum amount of recording needed to achieve agreement among reviewers as to the authenticity of the recorded session, and cost modeling shows that CARI can provide quality assurance at equal or reduced costs compared to more traditional approaches of re-interview or telephone verification. Use of CARI on several national surveys has provided production experience to bolster laboratory tests. This article reviews the progress of CARI technology in the years since it was introduced, with an emphasis on feasibility for routine use with field surveys.

Wavelet-based Estimation of Generalized Fractional Process

This paper aims to propose an estimation procedure for the parameters of a generalized fractional process, a fairly general model of long-memory applicable in modeling biomedical signals whose autocorrelations exhibit hyperbolic decay. We derive a wavelet-based weighted least squares estimator of the long-memory parameter based on the maximal-overlap estimator of the wavelet variance. Short-memory parameters can then be estimated using standard methods. We illustrate our approach by an example applying ECG heart rate data. The proposed method is relatively computationally and statistically efficient. It allows for estimation of the long-memory parameter without knowledge of the short-memory parameters. Moreover it provides a more general model of biomedical signals that exhibit periodic long-range dependence, such as ECG data, whose relatively unobtrusive recording may be advantageous in assessing or predicting some physiological or pathological conditions from the estimated values of the parameters.

Natural filling cystometry in infants and children

To evaluate natural filling cystometry in infants and young children. The study group comprised 37 infants and young children (mean age, 4.1 years) with various urological conditions. Suprapubic catheters were used in all patients with urethral sensation. Natural filling urodynamic (NFU) studies were performed using an ambulatory recorder and with an observer present throughout. For comparison, 17 of the 37 patients also had slow filling conventional cystometry (CMG). All NFU studies were successfully completed and the great majority of patients were unaffected by the investigation procedures. In comparison with conventional cystometry there were significant differences. For NFU, there was a lower bladder capacity (means, NFU 122 mL vs CMG 188 mL, P < 0.03); lower pressure rise on filling (means, NFU 5.7 cmH2O vs CMG 16.1 cmH2O, P < 0.001) and higher maximum detrusor pressures during micturition (means, NFU 130 cmH2O vs CMG 78 cmH2O, P < 0.01). Voiding efficiency was also slightly greater with NFU compared with CMG. Detrusor instability was recorded in five patients only during NFU and in two other patients only during CMG. A natural filling cystometry method which incorporates an unobtrusive recording system is likely to be superior to conventional CMG for assessing bladder function in infants and children. This is because (i) bladder function is investigated in near to natural conditions, (ii) the patients are mostly unaffected by the investigation procedures, (iii) there are significant differences between NFU and CMG in the measurements obtained, indicating that CMG may give false indices of bladder function.

A SINGLE‐SUBJECT APPROACH TO EVALUATING VEHICLE SAFETY BELT REMINDERS: BACK TO BASICS

A single-subject ABA reversal design was applied to evaluate the effectiveness of a limited 8-s safety belt reminder system and two modified reminder systems (a delayed and second reminder) to increase the safety belt use of 13 drivers. The research was conducted with a specially equipped research vehicle that permitted the manipulation of different safety belt reminder stimuli and the unobtrusive recording of a driver's belt use. For 2 subjects, the limited 8-s reminder increased safety belt use. For another 2 subjects, the second reminder markedly increased belt use. Some subjects were uninfluenced by the reminder systems presented; others always buckled up during both baseline and intervention conditions. The approach and results are discussed with regard to the application of behavior analysis methodologies (e.g., cumulative records) and principles (e.g., schedules of reinforcement) to advance the utility and investigation of safety belt reminder systems.

A ROUTE RECORDER FOR THE VALIDATION OF A BRANCHING PROGRAM

Abstract The problems of validation can be considerably eased, by having to hand as much positive information as possible about the student's decisions and route through a branching program. The author accents some of the validation difficulties and relates them to the need for an automatic, unobtrusive recording device. A description of a mechanical route recorder is given, together with details of its use for providing a permanent record of each answer choice made on the “ Canterbury “ teaching machine. The device has a low cost and has been used by the Post Office for the validation of branching programs in telephone engineering.