5.4 Review
5.4.3 Customs and Trends
In this research, the new forms of communication media were addressed to salve the social problems, such as the isolation phenomenon caused by habitually usage of media. Hence, the prototypes were respectively framed in three different types for the later evaluations.
People’s dependence and tendencies of their customary communication media reflect on their acceptance of new types. In field trial, all engineers were very curious about the exceptional forms of Tree of Sound Track, and most of them had positive reflections on it. It is notable that the engineers, who are especially fond of this installation, are over the age of thirty, and rarely rely upon the Internet. In all brief quizzes after field evaluations, one of these interviewees expressed that he already got used to communicating or receiving information through the Internet, and he also thought that the system of Tree of Sound Track should be framed as a webpage, which for him was much convenient to access.
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Through the investigations and prototype evaluations, it is revealed that most people greatly rely on the technology media they use. Parts of interviewees expressed that they would be anxious and nervous if they forgot to bring their cell phones with themselves or had no internet access. People already have a custom to receive information on a constant channel or through the same media. Once there is something different or changed of their customary media, they might be persecuted and unaccommodated. However, the habitually usage of media is the main factor that cause the people isolated or grouped. Therefore, to develop new communication media for improvement in social relationship, the acceptance of different groups and people’s customary usage should be under consideration.
In the research, to attract the people who are grouped by habitually usage of media, Tree of Sound Track and Fruity Air are both offered intimate and novel appearances to engage people to approach and use. In terms of the results, Tree of Sound Track attracted the engineers indeed, and gained lots of positive respondence.
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6. CONCLUSIONS
The interactions and life-style of Taiwanese high-tech engineers are revealed with interviews and probe diaries. Meanwhile, the reasons that cause the colleagues isolation were also explored. Through the participatory design, we tried to bring up several guidelines to improve the interpersonal relationship between colleagues.
Such issues like communicating and interpersonal relationship are involved in many different aspects of people’s lives, from personal characteristics to culture, so the research and design work have to consider extensively, not only focus on the operations between people and interfaces of artifacts, but the people’s subtle emotional perceptions of their environment, personal connectedness, and the detail limitations that might effect the communicating activities.
Through the investigations, the interpersonal relationships between colleagues in this research seem cordial no more. Most interviewees and probe participants complained about the situations of discord and isolation in their working environments. They also mentioned that it seemed impossible to make friends if there were competitions among colleagues. The various factors that might affect the social interactions in the working environments were considered as the personal characteristics, huge work stress with fast tempo, the management style of the companies, and the extreme unequal ratio of females to males. However, such a circumstance as management style, provoking the competitions between colleagues, seems a current trend and is impossibly reformed in this short-term research.
In the participatory design session, design concepts were enriched by the participants from different viewpoints. Most of participants believed that releasing people’s stresses from work and encouraging their interactions are quite effective ways to enhance their social relationships. Especially through the activities of sharing, colleagues could become closer and friendlier.
In the research, the prototype was developed based on the findings of investigations and the
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workshop, and the emotional and intimate interface is applied to improve their embodied visual environments. The prototypes developed in the research have received lots of different reflections through the field trails, and most participants had the positive opinions on our design concepts. However, to get into people’s real habitual lives of communication will be a significant challenge in the future.
In the past, there were lots of ways to convey one’s concern, which are direct, plain, and perceptual. In such issues to enhance the interpersonal interactions and social relationship, there is an approach to extend the possibility of technology from people’s activities and circumstances they engaged in. In the research, we did not to request the engineers to connect with others straightforward, but promote the social contact and raise the concerns between of colleagues through other behaviors, like sharing one’s experience. In addition, there are a lot of research groups devoted to address a prototype background communication device that aims to create a sense of emotional presence between two people who are separated by space or time.
Even though technology will never replace the physicality and immediacy face-to-face contact, there exist different limitations of reality. In fact, technology and artifacts could bring people closely together by sharing with the idea of intimacy, experience and their emotions, and convey some kind of awareness between family members separated by a distance. We hope our study could promote the connectedness between people and make people’s lives abundant in the future.
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Appendix A: The Research Script for Dyad Interview
訪談進行流程與提問重點
研究主題： Communication in the Working Environment 研究人員：黃可薰 指導教授：鄧怡莘
一、說明與介紹 (5 mins)
• 自我介紹、介紹彼此(受訪者與訪問者)
o 訪問者姓名、年齡、職業（參考 基本資料）
o 生活型態、檔案測寫
• 說明研究內容與目的
o The objective of this investigation is to find out the contexture and experience of daily
communication between colleagues, and in addition, to have an insight into the fundamental and emotional needs of coworkers. Through the understanding of the behavior and customs of communication media or channels that mediate between people and their work partners, the way the emotional senses affect the awareness of the presence may be emerged. After, a new communication media design concept based on this research outcome might be expanded to enhance the inherent relationship between people working together, and the application of technology to make people attuned to their colleagues in varies sense will also be discussed.
• 保密與配合 o 可否錄音
o 可否拍照、合照？（訪談結束後進行）
o 有無其他需要配合的地方
o 說明訪問內容僅做研究參考，絕對不會外流
• 準備錄音器材、準備開始訪談（閒聊、避免疏離感）
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- Passages (Background awareness: presence/ Intimate interfaces/ encounters with stranger/ shared experience/ full body interface/ public space)
- Habitat (Background awareness: reassurance & presence/ sense of context for communication/ ambient design)
- Aura (Background awareness: presence/ Intimate interfaces: intuitive and visceral way/ keepsake of the future)
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- iCom (Background awareness: presence/ interpersonal communication) - Iso-Phone (Intimate interfaces/ interpersonal communication/ slow
communication/ full body interface)
- One2One (Background awareness: presence/ keepsake of the future) o 對於感知的開發和應用有什麼看法、喜歡的方式、或是想到其他形式？
o 請問您對這些溝通工具的看法觀點、希望深入探討或是有興趣的地方在哪
三、詢問臨時想到的問題或先前未考慮的問題(5 mins)
四、結尾(5 mins)
• 是否有哪些與人溝通或是和工作環境有關的事項並未含括在訪問內容中？若有，能否請你說明一 下
• 訪問過程中是否有任何事情讓你覺得不愉快，我們需要改進的地方？
• 檢視所有記錄的文件並詢問受訪者是否同意我們帶走
• 致贈受訪費，請受訪者簽領據
• 感謝受訪者接受我們的訪問
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訪談進行流程與提問重點
附錄
研究主題： Communication in the Working Environment 研究人員：黃可薰 指導教授：鄧怡莘 關於現階段其他研究的看法
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Appendix B: The Research Script for Probe Diary
場域觀察──日誌問題研究主題： Communication in the Working Environment 研究人員：黃可薰
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71 五、工作環境
Environment
Date 2006 / /A. 請在右頁空白處，大致畫出您所在工作環境的平面圖，並標上您與同事之間的距離。
B. 請您利用日誌後面所附的貼紙，標記您所處描述您所處的工作環境。
C. 工作環境：
4.1 就您所知，您或是您的同事都對於工作環境有什麼特別喜歡或是不喜歡的地方？
4.2 同事之間，彼此是否存在著相當的影響力呢？
4.3 請問您對您的工作環境有什麼喜好?
4.4 或是說哪些情況下會令你工作起來最愉快、效率高?
六、工作環境日誌樣本
Environment
A. 請您利用日誌後面所附的貼紙，標記您所處描述您所處的工作環境。
（若是您的個人用品、擺設的方式與所附的圖不同，可隨意畫上示意圖或是用文字描述）
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Environment
B. 請在右頁空白處，大致畫出您所在工作環境的平面圖，並標上您與同事之間的距離。
圖例：
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Appendix C: The Research Plan for Field Trials
[聲音的痕跡—實驗規劃]
研究主題： Communication in the Working Environment 研究人員：黃可薰 指導教授：鄧怡莘
壹、 研究簡介：
本研究的主題探討工作空間中的人際溝通，希望藉著前端研究的發現與結果，提出一些概念藉以 增進人與人之間的距離，並且促使工作夥伴之間的感情能更為融洽。
本實驗裝置的設計，緣由聆聽各種聲音是普遍的休息方式，可以和緩工作緊張的步調，釋放壓力 並調適身心；並且藉由分享生活中的各種聲音，能了解工作夥伴所喜愛的音樂或是各種愉快經驗。
外觀上簡潔的樹木外型，給人舒適、洗鍊的感覺，能放鬆心情，希望能提供忙碌工作者不一樣的感 官經驗。期望此裝置能成為促進工作者之間情誼的媒體。
貳、實驗目標：
了解工作者是否能藉由聲音的分享和交流、觀看同伴訊息，紓解工作中的壓力，並且因而產生更 多彼此之間直接或間接的互動，促使感情更融洽。探討非同步的對話方式（留言、交換聲音等）， 是否較即時性的方式（電話、聊天等）造成較小的困擾，以及本實驗裝置的外觀造型在工作環境中 所能造成影響之看法。
参、實驗裝置：
聲音的痕跡：分享樹。這棵樹座落在休息空間裡，簡單如同剪影般的線條給人從容、閒適的感覺。
忙碌之餘來到休息空間的工作者，可以在樹下享受片刻的休憩。樹上有著小型的揚聲器，播送著之 前曾在樹下休息的人，留下的各種聲音足跡，可能是談話聲、笑聲或是他們想分享給其他人的音樂。
本實驗的模型樹，不能實際的使用及操作：包括上傳、下載聲音檔等等，只能隨機的播放預先錄 製好的音樂。期望能藉由模型，表達本設計概念，以及測試工作者在休息之餘對本裝置所營造模擬 情境的觀感。
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2.4 實驗收尾
11. 回收實驗器具：實驗結束後（四時三十分至五時），回收實驗裝置、留 言板上之留言等等。
12. 收尾：
z 詢問實驗中是否造成參與者困擾的地方，以及可以改進的地方。
z 檢視所有記錄的工具之檔案及文件，並詢問參與者是否同意我們帶走。
z 檢視所有記錄的工具之檔案及文件，並詢問參與者是否同意我們帶走。