The Value of Shared Visual Information for Task-Oriented Collaboration Darren R. Gergle August 2006 CMU-HCII-06-106 Human-Computer Interaction Institute School of Computer Science Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213 Thesis Committee: Robert E. Kraut (Chair), Carnegie Mellon University Susan R. Fussell, Carnegie Mellon University Carolyn P.
Rosé, Carnegie Mellon University Susan E. Brennan, Stony Brook University Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under grants IIS #99-80013 and DST #02-08903, and by an IBM Ph. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the funding agencies. UMI Number: 3241589 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted.
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All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346 Carnegie Mellon DOCTORAL THESIS in the field of HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION School of Computer Science Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA 15213 The Value of Shared Visual Information for Task-Oriented Collaboration Darren R.
Gergle Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy aw va“ TÍ FS -/7 -£Òö6 AC D: | ` V Thesis Committee Chair Department Head ad t4 I\/ 22/2006 APPROVED; Dean Copyright © Darren Gergle 2006 All Rights Reserved. il Keywords: Shared visual information, shared visual space, computer-mediated communication, distance collaboration, computer-supported cooperative work, computer-supported collaborative work, collaborative computing, empirical studies, discourse analysis, language use, computational modeling, rule-based computational model, corpus evaluation, pronoun resolution, reference, visual delay, field-of-view, visual salience, linguistic salience, multivariate adaptive regression splines, MARS, sequential analysis, grounding theory, situation awareness theory, centering theory, task awareness, conversational grounding, experimentation, human factors, human performance, and group performance. 11 Abstract For several decades, researchers and engineers have struggled with the development of systems to support distance collaboration. The failure of many collaborative technologies is due, in part, to a limited understanding of how groups coordinate in collocated environments and how the coordination mechanisms of face-to-face collaboration are impacted by technology.
The major goal of this thesis is to address this deficiency by building a theoretical understanding of the role that shared visual information plays in supporting group communication and performance during task-oriented collaboration. This understanding is developed over three major stages: (1) the development of a paradigm and a series of empirical studies that decompose the features of shared visual information and task structure and explore their interactions in detail, (2) the development and application of a methodology for describing the sequential structure of how visible actions support the understanding of discourse, and (3) the development of a computational model of discourse to further our theoretical understanding of the ways in which shared visual information serves communication in task-oriented collaborative discourse. iv Acknowledgments First and foremost, I would like to thank Bob Kraut for his remarkable thoughtfulness, support, and advice in matters of the academy as well as everyday life. Throughout my tenure as a doctoral student, it was reassuring to know that I could rely on such a brilliant, insightful and gifted mentor.
It has been a genuine pleasure. I would also like to thank my committee members. Sue Fussell has been a tremendous mentor, and I was fortunate to have her serve in a role that is best described as co-advisor. Her boundless energy, shrewd insight, and sympathetic spirit provided me with a great deal of support.
My work would be noticeably impoverished without her contributions. Carolyn Rosé introduced me to a new discipline and served as an incredible teacher and resource. She was exceedingly generous with her time and her thoughts, and provided a level of support far exceeds the expected contributions of a committee member. Finally, Susan Brennan provided a refreshing outside perspective on my work.
Her expertise was invaluable, and her research innovations and genuine brilliance served as a major source of inspiration. Together, this collection of researchers provided me with astonishing resources and a memorable experience. I would also like to express a special thanks to Donna Byron and Joel Tetreault for their valuable feedback and support on the modeling portion of this thesis. They each truly encapsulate the meaning of mentor and scholar, and my work benefited greatly from discussions with them.
In addition, this work would not have been possible without the hard work and support of several research assistants over the years: Matthew Hockenberry, Rachel Wu, Katelyn Shearer, Gregory Li, Megan Branning, Sajiv Shrivastva, and Lisa Auslander. A number of other colleagues have contributed to my work and life in the past few years, including: Anne H. Anderson, Roger Bakeman, Ryan Baker, Aaron Bauer, Laura Dabbish, James Fogarty, Carl Gutwin, Jim Herbsleb, Gary Hsieh, Scott Hudson, Sara Kiesler, Adam Kramer, Gail Kusbit, David E. Millen, Bilge Mutlu, Jeffrey Nichols, Jiazhi Ou, Vincent Quera, Peter Scupelli, A.
Fleming Seay, Irina Shklovski, Jane Siegel, Cristen Torrey, Joe Walther, Jacob O. Wobbrock and Jie Yang. I would also like to offer a special thanks to Thi and Daniel Avrahami, not only for their support in my academic endeavors, but also for welcoming me as family when mine was out of reach, Thanks to Charlie, Wally, Anthony, Harry and the rest of the Jitters crew for keeping me caffeinated and happy over the last five years. My work would not have been possible without the tutelage and inspiration of a number of teachers and professors I have had contact with throughout my academic career: Tom Brinck, George Furnas, David E.
Meyer, and Priti Shah all played a central role in my development. Another major source of inspiration in my academic life has been provided by Judy Olson. She is a model researcher whom I hold in the highest regard, both for the manner in which she approaches her research, as well as the way in which she approaches life. Thank you for the lessons.
Finally, I could not have done this without the enduring love and support of my parents Bob and Barb, my sister Tanya, my brother Jim, my grandmother Ruth, and my greatest source of inspiration and companionship, my wife Tracy. vi To my parents, Robert G. Gergle, for a lifetime of love and support. vii Table of Contents AbsStrACE.
HH HC HH An TH HH HO TH HA T0 BH TH TRE 115 09010035 050400505001 iv AcknowledgmeniS. «nọ TH Họ HH Ti HE SE 5B 6184 Vv Table of ConternfS. su cà HH HH HH g0 TH TH TH HT Hà In HP HE T0 n0 viii List Of FIiQures. HH HH TH HO 00800 0T TH Em 10T ĐH E4 057370 xiii List Of Tabl@S.- Ác Hà HH HH HH HH TH Hà HH TH HH AT HH HE H03.0787 XV List of Reproduced PubliCatiOnS.
HH HH TH HH TH Hà TH HH Tà TH HA HA Đưa hy xvi Chapter 1 Introduction .3 Research approach and impaCI.- - v9 HH H01 012 ng Hà 00114 1xx 4 Chapter 2 Theoretical and Experimental FramewWOrK.- HH HH ng HH Ha nen 5 21 I0 i10 10 c2 0n.1 Visual information in support of BTOUTI1TE.2 Visual information in support of situation 3W2TET€SS. cu HH re, 6 2.3 The impact of technological-mediation on the availability of visual information .2 Overview of the puzzle study pa7AđiET. s2 HH 01111101 1 1011 HH nrưn 8 2.1 The puzzle study †ASE. «SH TH HT HT HT HT HT TT ng 8 2.2 Collection of empirical studies .- ¿6 < kg nh ng 9 2.3 Dissertation OTEAT1ZA1OH.
LH HH ng HH HT TH TH net 11 Chapter 3 The Impact of Shared Visual Information on Collaborative Performance. sả 5 TH HT TH HH TT TH HT 1491 210 15 3.3 Study 1: The impact of shared visual information on collaborative performance .1 Identifying the critical elements of shared visual Information.2 Facilitating conversation and 8TOUndÌTE. Maintaining awareness Of task SEA(€. càng HH HH HH ng HH kg 20 3.- ---- + HH Thu TT Tu TH HH TT 24 3.3 Participants and procedures.
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47 443 Study 2: The impact of visual delay on collaborative perfOrmance.4 Study 3: The impact of task dynamics and Visual đe Ìay. cty 57 4 AL Method.c HH ng HT TH HT ghen 57 “n. 63 Chapter 5 Shared Visual Information for Grounding and Awareness.2 The role of visual information in supporting collaDorat1OH.1 Sittiation AWALTENESS ha. ác «ch HT HH ng Hiện 68 5.
The impact of technological mediation on the availability of visual information .4 Overview of @XD€TITTETIS.- 7< <5 Y3 1 kh HT g1 HT TH TT TH TH gi 70 5.3 Study 4: Replication Study occ cccsssssssersssseessssseseesesscessacrsessssssssseseersesseeneees 71 5.2 Results and điSCUSSIOTI.--- < G11 112111 HT TT HT gà HH nh H0 gia 74 5.2 Results and isCuSSiOT1.5 Study 6: Field of View SỈUỦY. HH HH TH HH HH HT TH Tàn nh 88 5.2 Results and discussion. - HH HH TH HH TH Hà HH HT 97 5. Ăn HH HH TL tà Thư 98 5.2 Practical design impliCatOTIS.3 Limitations and future đir€CfÍOIS.
104 Chapter 6 The Sequential Structure of Language Use and Visual Actions.2 Action and language in COmmUTIICAfÏOTI. ác c2 1k3 vn kg ng ngyệy 107 6.3 Decomposing the puzzle task 00T.4 Using sequential analysis techniques to examine grounding sequences. HH ng HH To Hà Tu TH TC HT ch nh 111 6. ch HT HH Hà HT HH g6 114 6.1 References tO a DI€C€.
SH HH HH HH nh ng Tà tt 115 6. Hy HH HH TH HH LH TH HH1 118 6. 121 Chapter 7 Developing a Model of Referring Behavior in the Presence of Shared Visual InfOrmatÏOnn. HH HH BH HH HH BH BA TH BHYT BH EEĐE.
HH HT HT HH tk 125 TAQ — MOtivation nh .2 Reference in collaborative (1SCOUTSG. óc Sàn HH gọn ngàng 131 7.1 Linguistic context in support of T€Ï€T€IIC€.- SH HH HH HH He, 131 7.2 Visual context in support of T€Ï€T€TIC€. án TH th th HH tt 132 7.3 Toward an integrated mOdeÌ. ong ng no ng TH TH 135 73 The general modeling ÍrATI€WOTKK.
-ó- «5< tt 9 9H ng HH H9 ke 136 7.1 A Centering ooo vn ố ố a .2 The Left-Right Centering algorithm. - cv HH HH gu Hiệp 137 7. Overview of the modeling archit€CfUF€.4 The PUZZLE CORPS. HT HH Hà HH HH ng 143 7.4 Proposed ranking strategies.
143 Chapter 8 Model Evaluation. «cà HH TH ng 4n ng v01.3 Data pre-processing .4 Model OVervViewS oi csccscceseessesesssssssssesseessesesseseesssesonsenseesessesseessssesasssaseeeeaaeseeneeeees 154 8.1 The language-only IOỞ€ÌL. k9 TH TH Tà Hàng net 154 8.2 The visual-only model ,. -- -c+s 9v HT HH TH TH TH HH ng 156 8.3 The co nh.QQ LG TH ng cv 157 8.
Model performance r€SUÏ(S. -- se kg HH HH Hy kh 158 8.6 Error anal ySiS.1 Generalizability of the mOdeÌS.