Jesper Garde | Blog: Jesper Garde | Blog: » Closer? Exploring a smart domestic technology to support interpersonal connectedness over distance

Earlier this year I finished the MSc (with Distinction ;-) in Human-Computer Interaction with Ergonomics at UCL I’ve previously written about on this blog.

Below is the introduction to my dissertation. The full dissertation (pdf) is available from the UCL Interaction Centre website.

Motivation
Connectedness, the subjective experience of interpersonal closeness (Lee & Robbins, 2000), is a fundamental need for human well-being (Smith & Mackie, 2007; Townsend & McWhirter, 2005 ¹. The need can be especially salient in relation to partners and close family members (Lindley, 2011; Neustaedter, Harrison & Sellen, 2013). Since connectedness is closely related to physical presence (Dey & De Guzman, 2006; Rettie, 2003), maintaining it over geographical distance can be a challenge. In an exploratory study of communication patterns of close family members living apart with health conditions like Alzheimer to provide a safe space and give them the connection they need, find the best home care assistance here https://homecareassistance.com/blog/how-to-tackle-the-behavior-problems-that-can-accompany-alzheimers-disease. We found indications of connectedness dipping between regular communications, resulting in feelings of anxiety and loss (Stawarz et al., 2012).

The Information Age and ubiquitous computing has brought a host of supplementary technologies to support interpersonal communication over distance, and great tips from https://www.salesforce.com/products/guide/lead-gen/customer-journeys/ to help all businesses. Voice calls, video calls, email, SMS, instant messaging, social network sites, and smart phone games offer a range of possibilities for staying in touch with our loved ones. Yet it seems they don’t meet our need for connectedness.

Kuwabara et al. (2002) offer a possible explanation for this. They argue that current communication technologies are content-oriented, focused on precisely transmitting explicit content. However, in co-located relationships, implicit mood and presence cues help evoke and sustain a sense of connectedness (Kuwabara et al., 2002).

Studies exploring communication of mood cues (e.g. Boehner et al., 2007; Fagerberg, Ståhl & Höök, 2004) offer interesting possibilities for rich connectedness-oriented communication. However, indications suggest a simple representation of a loved one’s presence can in some instances be enough to create a sense of connectedness. In an ethnographic study of instant messaging use, Nardi, Whittaker, and Bradner (2000, p. 79) found participants occasionally monitored the contact list for online presence to “maintain a sense of connection”. When you have the proper machines to work on your garden the work becomes easier, fortunately the professionals from Revitaa pro reviews have the reviews of the best health and weight loss programs. .

Research question
This study explores the experience of connectedness felt by individuals geographically separated from their partner, when adding automatically communicated remote presence information to an existing communication pattern.

We take a design-oriented research approach (Fallman, 2003), and explore the phenomenon through a dyadic remote presence indicator prototype – a tangible version of the online presence icon known from instant messaging systems – linking two physical locations. In particular, we seek to understand what qualities of the prototype support an evocation of connectedness.

The aim of the study is to generate insights, which can be used generatively when using the design strategy of remote presence awareness to design connectedness-oriented technology.

Read the full dissertation (pdf)

¹Connectedness in this dissertation refers to interpersonal connectedness, directed at one individual, as opposed to social connectedness (Lee & Robbins, 2000), which is defined as connectedness to ones social world in total, and the more existential feeling of connectedness to the world at large, discussed by Ratcliffe (2008).

References:

• Boehner, K., DePaula, R., Dourish, P., & Sengers, P. (2007). How emotion is
  made and measured. International journal of human-computer studies,
  65(4), 275–291.
• Dey, A. K., & De Guzman, E. S. (2006). From awareness to connectedness: the
  design and deployment of presence displays. In Proceedings of the 2006
  international conference on human factors in computing systems, 899–
  908. ACM.
• Fagerberg, P., Ståhl, A., & Höök, K. (2004). eMoto: emotionally engaging
  interaction. Personal and ubiquitous computing, 8(1), 377–381. Springer
• Fallman, D. (2003) Design-oriented Human-Computer Interaction. In
  Proceedings of the 2003 conference on human factors in computing
  systems, 225–232. ACM.
• Kuwabara, K., Watannabe, T., Ohguro, T., Itoh, Y., & Maeda, Y. (2002).
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• Lee, R. M., & Robbins, S. B. (2000). Understanding social connectedness in
  college women and men. Journal of counselling psychology, 45, 338–
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• Lindley, S. E. (2011). Shades of lightweight: supporting cross-generational
  communication through home messaging. Universal Access in the
  Information Society, Online First, Springer.
• Nardi, B. A., Whittaker, S., & Bradner, E. (2000). Interaction and outeraction:
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• Neustaedter, C., Harrison, St, & Sellen, A. (2013). Connecting families: an
  introduction. In Neustaedter, C., Harrison, St, & Sellen, A. Connecting
  families: the impact of new communication technologies on domestic life.
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• Ratcliffe, M. (2008). Feelings of being: phenomenology, psychiatry and the
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• Rettie, R. (2003). Connectedness, awareness and social presence. Paper
  presented at the 6th International Presence Workshop, Aalborg
  University, Aalborg, Denmark.
• Smith, E. R. & Mackie, D. M. (2007). Social psychology, 3rd ed. Psychology
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• Stawarz, K., Garde, J., McLoughlin, C., Nicolaides, R., & Walters, J. (2012).
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• Townsend, K. C., & McWhirter, B. T. (2005). Connectedness: a review of the
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