Publications

Below are papers written by members of the Network Communities Group or by student interns. The most recent publications are listed first.

Rhythm Modeling, Visualizations and Applications (PDF)
James "Bo" Begole, John C. Tang and Rosco Hill
UIST 2003, to appear.

People use their awareness of others' temporal patterns to plan work activities and communication. This paper presents algorithms for programatically detecting and modeling temporal patterns from a record of online presence data. We describe analytic and end-user visualizations of rhythmic patterns and the tradeoffs between them. We conducted a design study that explored the accuracy of the derived rhythm models compared to user perceptions, user preference among the visualization alternatives, and users' privacy preferences. We also present a prototype application based on the rhythm model that detects when a person is away for an extended period and predicts their return. We discuss the implications of this technology on the design of computer-mediated communication.

Approaching and leave-taking: Negotiating contact in computer-mediated communication (PDF)
John C. Tang
Journal submission in review

A crucial difference between face-to-face interaction and computer-mediated communication is how contact negotiation -- the way in which people start and end conversations -- is managed. Contact negotiation is especially problematic for distributed group members who are separated by distance and thus do not share many of the cues needed to help mediate interaction. An understanding from conversation analysis of what resources and cues people use to negotiate making contact identifies ways to design support for contact negotiation in new technology to support remote collaboration. This perspective is used to analyze the design and use experiences with three communication prototypes: The Desktop Conferencing Prototype, Montage, and Awarenex. These prototypes use text, video, and graphic indicators to share the cues needed to gracefully start and end conversations. Reviewing what we learned from these research experiences identifies directions for future research in supporting contact negotiation in computer-mediated communication.

When Can I Expect an Email Response? A Study of Rhythms in Email Usage (PDF)
Joshua R. Tyler (HP Labs) and John C. Tang
Eighth European Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (ECSCW) 2003, Helsinki Finland, September 2003, Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 238-258.

A study of email responsiveness was conducted to understand how the timing of email responses conveys important information. Interviews and observations explored users perceptions of how they responded to email and formed expectations of others responses to them. We identified ways in which users maintain and cultivate a responsiveness image for projecting expectations about their email response. We also discuss other ways people discover contextual cues for responsiveness, which include using tools such as the calendar and phone, accounting for the amount of work time overlap available, and establishing a pacing between email correspondents. These cues help users develop a sense of when to expect a response and when breakdown has occurred, requiring further action.

Activity Rhythm Detection and Modeling (PDF, ACM Digital Library)
Rosco Hill, James "Bo" Begole
CHI 2003, Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, short paper, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA, April 5-10, 2003.
Presentation slides

We present an algorithm for detecting and modeling rhythmic temporal patterns from the record of an individual's computer activity, or online "presence." The model is both predictive and descriptive of temporal features and is constructed with minimal a priori knowledge.

Work Rhythms: Analyzing Visualizations of Awareness Histories of Distributed Groups (PDF, ACM Digital Library)
James "Bo" Begole, John Tang, Randall Smith and Nicole Yankelovich,
Proceedings of the 2002 ACM conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW 2002), New Orleans, LA, USA, Nov 16-20, 2002, ACM Press, NY, pp.334-343.
Presentation slides

We examined records of minute-by-minute computer activity coupled with information about the location of the activity, online calendar appointments, and e-mail activity. We present a number of visualizations of the data that exhibit meaningful patterns in users' activities. We demonstrate how the patterns vary between individuals and within individuals according to time of day, location, and day of the week. Some patterns augment the schedule information found in people's online calendars. We discuss applications for group coordination (especially across time zones) plus opportunities for future research. In light of the popularity of presence and awareness services, this work identifies some of the benefits and privacy risks associated with the uses of online awareness information.

Exploring Web Browser History Comparisons (PDF, ACM Digital Library)
Mark Bilezikjian, John C. Tang, James "Bo" Begole, Nicole Yankelovich,
CHI 2002, Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, short paper, Minneapolis, MN, April 20-25, 2002, pp. 828-829.

This work explores comparing web navigation histories between two people to determine how much shared context might be revealed. We developed a prototype that presents web matches sorted according to frequency, recency, and web site. Interviews with users of the prototype suggest that common interests and preferences can be inferred from the results of these comparisons.

We explored the use of awareness information to facilitate communication by developing a series of prototypes. The ConNexus prototype integrates awareness information, instant messaging, and other communication channels in an interface that runs on a desktop computer. The Awarenex prototype extends that functionality to wireless handheld devices, such as a Palm. A speech interface also enables callers to make use of the awareness information over the telephone. While the prototypes offer similar functionality, the interfaces reflect the different design affordances and use contexts of each platform. We discuss the design implications of providing awareness information on devices with varying interface and network characteristics.

ConNexus: Instant Messaging for the Workplace (PDF)
John C. Tang, Nicole Yankelovich, and James "Bo" Begole, Network Communities Report, April 2000.

ConNexus is a research prototype of an Instant Messaging (IM) system that is designed for use in the workplace. The ConNexus interface reflects how the needs of workplace users differ from what current commercial IM systems offer. ConNexus provides more awareness of others activi-ties to help find opportune times to contact them. It integrates with other workplace communication resources (phone, e-mail, on-line calendar, and desktop conferencing) to facilitate making contact through the appropriate channel(s). The ConNexus interface provides the interactional cues needed to help gracefully start, maintain, and end IM conversations. Preliminary use experience with a working prototype affirmed many of the design concepts and suggested future development in the user interface.

SharedShell: A shared terminal for collaborative system adminstration John C. Tang, Nicole Yankelovich, and James "Bo" Begole, Network Communities Report, June 1999.

This report describes SharedShell, a shared terminal application. SharedShell enables a technical support engineer to see what is happening on a customer's computer, point to items in the terminal window, draw in the window, and even enter commands if the customer permits.

Designing to Support Distributed Collaboration
John Tang & Nicole Yankelovich, Network Communities Report, February 1999.

This brief report describes a study of the collaboration work practices of an organization that is distributed among different sites. We identify how people's geographic separation, organizational boundaries, level of trust, and motivation to work together shape their collaborative activities. We outline implications that these factors have for the design of new technologies to support remote collaboration.

Network Communities: Supporting Distributed Field Organizations
John Tang & Nicole Yankelovich, CSCW 98, November, 1998.

Position paper for the Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) conference that discusses supporting distributed field organizations.