Author(s):

Woodruff, Allison; Szymanski, Margaret, H.; Aoki, Paul, M.; Hurst, Amy

Title:

The Conversational Role of Electronic Guidebooks

Publication:

Ubicomp 2001: Ubiquitous Computing International Conference

Keywords:

appeal; attention; awareness; collaborative systems; comparative evaluations; control; distraction; enjoyment; ethnographic study; field study; handheld computing; mobile computing; privacy; qualitative research methods; social acceptance; social sciences; user evaluation; user interface; user-centered design

Paper Summary:

The authors seek to identify designs for electronic guidebooks that facilitate rather than hinder social interaction. The authors believe that traditional guidebooks delivered through headphones impede social interaction and propose an electronic guidebook that delivers text and audio (through speakers and/or headphones). The paper discusses a qualitative study of the electronic guidebooks in a historic home where participants could click on images in order to hear audio descriptions of an object though speakers or headphones. Fourteen participants were included in the study, all expect one participant choose to listen to the descriptions through the speakers (one participant choose headphones as he found his partner's speakers to be distracting). Participants were divided into groups of two. They first toured the home with a print guidebook and assistance from a docent and later toured the home using the electronic guidebook. The authors conclude that the design of the electronic guidebook enhanced the social interaction of groups, and in fact, took on a conversational role, wherein participants reacted to the electronic guidebook and it introduced topics of conservation. They also conclude that privacy did not seem to be an issue to participants. Participants were generally social and shared their experiences; the authors cite several examples of participants who were eager to share information with their partners. In conclusion, the paper suggests that the electronic guidebook did enhance social interaction over the use of headphones and did not alter interactions from traditional paper guidebooks.

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