Discussion Question Set #5

As you study this week's material, please ponder the following discussion questions. Post your responses in the appropriate threads in WebCT.

1. Besides the rules for conversation discussed in lecture, have you noticed yourself adhering to any other rules in your day-to-day conversations?

2. Cite an example in which you experienced a communication breakdown in your own life. How did you detect the breakdown, and how was it ultimately repaired? Could it be classified as a false alarm or garden path?

3. Defend or refute the following statement: "Increasing the fidelity of the audio/video link between two remote conversational participants will enable the participants to communicate better."

4. Defend or refute the following statement: "Given the naturalness of human conversation, we should strive to design computer systems with conversational interfaces."

5. Given what we know about human conversation, do you think that a video mobile phone (i.e., a mobile phone with a small screen that displays the person with whom you're talking) will be successful? Why or why not?

6. How do people use shared representations to coordinate collaborative work?

7. What is to be gained from viewing human-computer interaction as a conversation between humans and a computer? Did you find the analysis framework that results from this perspective to be helpful?

8. If given a choice, would you want to use Portholes to give your work team a sense of group awareness? Why or why not?

9. Describe the key differences between distributed cognition theory, situated action theory, and activity theory.