Abstract
Video mediated communication alters our perception of the way in which we interact and communicate. In contrast to face to face or audio only (e.g., telephone) communication, there is relatively little systematic research on the effect of video conferencing on communication within groups of people at dispersed locations (Harrison, 1991b; Harrison et al, 1992b; Sellen, 1992; Wolf, 1988; Cohen, 1982; Short, Williams, and Christie, 1976). In this paper we describe a study of how participants at three distant locations perceived differences between face to face (within site) and video mediated (between site) communication. Results indicate that participants perceived between site, mediated communication to be unnatural and uncomfortable. They felt there were problems with gaining floor control and with conversation flow. Additionally, participants perceived the between site, mediated communication to be less interactive, less social, and less enjoyable than the face to face, within site communication. The insights gained through this and other case studies, summarized here, will be used to guide our future research. This study is one in a series of field trials and controlled experiments aimed at understanding the human factors issues associated with video communication and the design of such systems.
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