Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Two experiments explored speed of communication when transmitting and receiving chat messages in different formats for a military command and control (C2) task. In Experiment 1, participants were prompted with a tactical display and responded by composing chat messages with an appropriate command. Speed, accuracy, and subjective workload were compared for three chat messaging formats: 1) full-text; 2) abbreviated text; or 3) click-chat. Writing full-text messages took longer, resulted in more typing errors and higher workload ratings than abbreviated text or click-chat. Although there was no difference in response times between abbreviated and click-chat messaging, the abbreviated chat yielded higher error rates. A translation delay was evidenced by slower initial response times for abbreviations and click-chat compared to full-text. However, faster message completion, once initiated, compensated for this delay resulting in faster communication overall. Experiment 2 demonstrated that there was no difference in the speed, accuracy, or workload for completing commanded actions when receiving abbreviated compared to full-text chat messages

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bordia

(1997). Face-to-face versus computer-mediated communication: A synthesis of the experimental literature. The Journal of Business Communication, 34, 99 118.

Bolstad

C.A.

Endsley

M.R.

(2005). Choosing team collaboration tools: Lessons from disaster recovery efforts. Ergonomics in Design, 13, 7 14.

Chi

M. T. H.

Glaser

Farr

(Eds) (1988). The nature of expertise. Hilsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Cummings

M. L.

(2004). The need for command and control instant message adaptive interfaces: Lessons learned from tactical tomahawk human-in-the-loop simulations. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 7, 653 661.

Hart

S.G.

Staveland

L.E.

(1988). Development of NASA-TLX (Task Load Index): Results of empirical and theoretical research. In Hancock

P.A.

Meshkati

(Eds.), Human Mental Workload (pp. 139–183). Amsterdam: Elsevier Science/North Holland.

Hiltz

S. R.

Turoff

Johnson

(1989). Experiments in group decision making, 3: Disinhibition, deindividuation, and group process in pen name and real name computer conferences. Decision Support Systems, 5, 217 232.

Knott

B. A.

Bolia

R. S.

Nelson

W. T.

Galster

S. M.

(2006). Effects of collaboration technology on the performance of tactical air battle management teams. Proceedings of the Human Factors Issues in Network-Centric Warfare Conference, Sydney, Australia, 1–3 May 2006.

Siegel

Dubrovsky

Kiesler

McGuire

T. W.

(1986). Group processes in computer-mediated communication. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 37, 157 186.

Weisband

S. P.

(1992). Group discussion and first advocacy effects in computer-mediated and face-to-face decision making groups. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 53, 352 380.

Assessment of a Novel Chat Messaging Interface for Rapid Communication in Tactical Command and Control

Abstract

Get full access to this article

References