A42. Fish,
R.,
Kraut, R., Root, R. & Rice, R. E. (1993). Video as a technology for
informal
communication. Communications of the ACM, 36(1),
48-61.
Also: (1992). Evaluating video as a technology for informal
communication.
In P. Bauersfeld, J. Bennett, & G. Lynch (Eds.), CHI'92: Human
factors
in computing systems (pp. 37-48). NY: ACM.
We have prototyped several video telephone
systems over the past
three
years, one of which is now serving about 125 users on a daily basis.
Our
goal has been to devise new telecommunications applications to support
collaboration
among members of geographically distributed work groups and to use the
insights
derived from building these applications to identify communication
capabilities
that the applications require from a network infrastructure. The design
process
we use at Bellcore combines prototyping communication applications with
behavioral
and social science data collection and analyses. Our designs have often
been
motivated by theories of social interaction, and our evaluation
techniques
include both quantitative and qualitative methods to understand use of
the
systems and directions for change. To assess users’ need for
telecommunications
applications, we have conducted national surveys, telephone interviews,
and
field observations in diagnostic work settings. We prototyped,
deployed,
and evaluated three iterations of video telecommunications systems,
trying
to improve support for collaboration and the balance between privacy
and
accessibility.
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