Barrett S. Caldwell

Appropriateness of communications media use in organizations: situation requirements and media characteristics

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to examine media use in organizations as affected by situation requirements and media characteristics. This paper discusses the strength of four existing models describing communications media use in individuals and organizations. The paper also presents research which evaluated interactions of multiple situation variables affecting communications media appropriateness in a survey population. Participants rated die acceptability of each of twelve communications media in each of eight hypothetical organizational situations. Situations varied based on high or low levels of three factors: message urgency, amount of message content, and distance between communicators. Results indicated (1) situations have unique and significant contributions to media appropriateness; (2) appropriateness of media usage depends on the match between situation requirements and media characteristics, and (3) situation effects are more salient in some ‘situation-dependent’ media. Another survey...

Social isolation and integration in electronic environments

Abstract This paper examines the role of communications technology advances in affecting social interactions in groups and organizations. A discussion of the functions of communication and contact leads to the development of the concept of the ‘electronic environment’. Past research identifies issues of a persons need for contact and the costs and benefits of contact in computer-mediated or other electronic communications media. In this paper, these issues focus on social isolation, integration, and feedback between group members as vital aspects of effective group interaction. Understanding of these aspects is presented as a key to appreciating the influence of communications media on organizational and social behaviour. Although the initial focus of this paper is on interactions between individuals within a group, applications are also discussed regarding interactions between groups, or between individuals and others outside the primary group. Examinations of the implications of the concept of electron...

Factors affecting user tolerance for voice mail message transmission delays

This article addresses nontechnology factors influencing the acceptance of system performance in an electronic voice messaging (“voice mail”) system. Over 1,000 state government and university employees in a midwestern U.S. state responded to a survey evaluating voice mail systems previously installed in employees’ phone systems. Situational constraints of message urgency, message content, and sender‐receiver distance were examined. These constraints, as well as two measures of user experience, were studied to determine relationships between task or situational factors and user acceptance (tolerance) for message transmission delay. Results of the study demonstrated significant main effects of all three situation factors, as well as two situation interaction effects, on delay tolerance. User experience as measured by frequency of use, but not length of system availability, was also significantly related to tolerance for message transmission delay. This article discusses these results in the context of user...

Human performance and control of multiple systems

Many systems involving multiple remote sensors or machines require a single operator to control more than one device simultaneously. Interface design issues for such systems can be formidable because the inherent complexity of multiple-platform control creates significant opportunities for operator confusion and overload. An exploratory study was conducted to examine some of these issues using a simulated industrial security task. The experiment manipulated the type of remote sensor (fixed-site or mobile), the number of displays that had to be monitored, and two types of event complexity (number of targets and redundancy of target images) using response time as the dependent measure. Results showed that significant performance penalties may be encountered in multiple-platform control and that these penalties accumulate at seemingly low levels of complexity.

Communication Media Acceptance in Organizations: An Alternative Research Model

This paper describes an alternative approach to examining the role of situational, technological, and physiological factors in electronic media use in organizations. Existing models of media use tend to focus on one dimension of the communication process. Major theories discussed are Social Presence (Short, Williams, and Christie, 1976), Information Richness (Daft and Lengel, 1984; 1986), and Social Information Processing (Fulk, Steinfield, Schmitz, and Power, 1987). The authors” perspective derives from a combination of elements of these theories. In our view, communication media use is affected by interactions of three dimensions of factors: media characteristics, situational demands, and individual and organizational acceptance. The authors” current research is briefly described, with a sample of results which support the hypotheses of multidimensional interactions in acceptability of communication media in organizations.

Development of Models for Park Rangers' Perceived Isolation of National Park Service Areas

Asurvey of U.S. National Park Service (NPS) rangers examined perceived isolation, personality, and organizational variables. Park areas in a variety of isolated and nonisolated settings were sampled. Statistical indices in this study address issues of isolation previously noted as important in NPS areas. Indices relating to park distance from small urban areas reflect substantial elements of perceived isolation ratings. Models based on these indices provide more information regarding relative isolation perceptions than do personality, organizational, or existing official NPS classification variable models.

Usability Design Considerations in Providing Computer Support for Health Informatics

A primary goal of the HeartCare research project is to apply human factors design principles to the usability of an information technology implementation for home use by recovering coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients. It attempts to provide patients direct access to the information regarding their recovery, support self-monitoring, motivation and home management of their readjustment after surgery. The WebTV commercial product is used as the implementation instrument. The WebTV interface has proposed several questions that are not addressed by traditional user interface guidelines. Screen size, font size and navigation are a few areas that require new design approaches reflecting the limitations of TV displays. Nursing advisory panel interviews will also be conducted in order to estimate the amount to time, knowledge and clinical experience needed to respond to the information flow on the network. We will also be documenting the design process to identify system implementation requirements.

User-Defined Control Limits for Acceptable Message Transmission Delays in Computer-Mediated Communications

Growing use of computer-mediated communications technology in organizations has increased the demands on system performance and intensified the need for technology implementations that are responsive to user needs and expectations, situation constraints, and task demands. This paper describes research intended to develop control limit specifications for one class of communications systems, electronic voice mail. Based on surveys of over 1000 respondents, this research uses a feedback control model of tolerance for message transmission delay to determine upper control limits of “maximum tolerable delay” across a range of situation constraints related to message urgency, message volume, and sender-receiver distance.

Issues of Dependence and Reliance on Technological Advancement: Examples from American Football and Air Traffic Control

This paper addresses aspects of dependence and reliance on new technologies, using American football and air traffic control as examples. Football has developed an audio communication system between the coach and quarterback in a hostile environment (auditory signal in a noisy stadium). Should technological breakdown occur, performance could suffer if the users are not proficient with backup systems (hand signals transmitted from the sideline). Dependence on technology takes a more serious form in air traffic control, as thousands of lives depend on technology performing as expected. Backup systems exist, but suffer from the same weaknesses as the existing system and cannot handle the volume of system activity. The possibility of technological failure needs to be considered before implementing and relying on new systems, and can often be mediated by careful and innovative thinking before new technology is adopted.

Information Exchange and Team Coordination in Human Supervisory Control

Abstract This paper addresses issues of “socio-technical” demands for effective team performance in supervisory control tasks. Team members must exchange data and system information, as well as interpersonal meanings and contexts, in order to develop shared and synchronized models of system behavior. The author’s extensions of current human performance models, including SRK frameworks, incorporate multiple information exchange and task coordination performance issues required to support expert team performance and “optimal” information exchange in a dynamic task environment.