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Computers, Communication, and Groningen

Work-Study Program in

Computer-Mediated Communication,

RuG

John Nerbonne & Gisela Redeker

21 Jan 2000

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Work-Study in CMC, RuG

• Why CMC?

• Alfa-Informatica & Communications

• Work-Study Program– Contents, Structure, Questions

• Students, Companies, University– Opportunities for Collaboration

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Why Computer-Mediated Communication?

• IT in Communication– Email, DTP, FTP, WWW– Voice over IP, Multimedia– Ecommerce, GSM, Wireless Nets

• IT ICT• Flexible Comm., Multilinguality,

Search-Summarize, Multiaccess

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CMC will keep growing

• Prices still falling, participation rising

• Gigaport, Gigaworks• Business mergers

– AOL - Time/Warner– Bertelsmann?

• New opportunities ...

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What hath Email wrought?

400 Mil. accounts• New comm. channels • New collaborations• Smooth transition

text multimedia• Need for screening, …

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Patterns of Communication

• Sproull & Keisler: who’s communicating what?

• Face-to-face vs. e-conferencing (email, news)– decision times– proposal making– holding the floor– flaming (venting emotions)

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Channels of Communication

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Organizational Effects

• Communication is organizational task, like– purchasing, marketing,

bookkeeping,...

• Organizations evolve to reflect tasks

• Work evolves, too.

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Email enables new work forms

• Allows collaboration without simultaneity (asynchronous)

• Eases record keeping

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CSCW• asynchronous, recorded

communication structure reflecting

decision-making, authority, planning, ...

“computer-supported co-operative work” (CSCW)

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Emerging Topics

• Multipurpose DB’s, documentation

• XML “on-demand documentation”

• CMC program: – Electronic Publishing– Database Applications

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Flexible Expression in XML

• Information Systems deliver via telephone, monitor, PDA, …

• Info “just in time”• CMC program:

– Interactive Web Design

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Emerging Topic: Sensitive Access

• “World-Wide” access can be too much• intranets, PICS• authorization

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Emerging Topic: Search• Thirsty in waterfall?

– most IR still tf •idf

• new topics:– web-sensitivity

(Google, Clever)– access (Yahoo)

• CMC program: – IR

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Who is CMC in Groningen?

• Alfa-informatica– focus on language, text technology

• Communication Studies– focus on organizational communication

• other courses from Business, Psychology

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Alfa-informatica• Mission: promote ICT in Humanities

– foci: language and text technology, databases– instruction:

• programming, db’s, graphics, statistics, electronic texts, info systems,…

– research: • voice information (train schedules via telephone)• automatic dictionary access (language learning)

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Glosser

• help with French

– endings (grammar)

– dictionary access

– other examples

– word pronunciation

• web version

– www.let.rug.nl/alfa/• “projects”

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Train Schedules by Phone

• speech recognition in telephone info system– “When’s the next train to Zwolle?”

• NWO program with KPN, Philips• 80K conversations in ‘97 • Groningen

– words, sentences– G. van Noord, leader– more accurate than competitors

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Communication Studies

• Mission: understand and improve organizational communication– focus: language and media– instruction:

• context analysis, assessment of effects• analysis of texts, meetings, film/tv, Web sites

– research: • discourse structures, cognitive processing • corporate communication

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Projects

• Corporate Communication

on the Web, e-commerce• Acceptance and use of

intranet applications• ICT for issues management• ICT in customer service

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CRCC

Communication Research

and Consultancy Center

• diagnostic communication audits

• communication management

• seminars and training

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CMC

• Opportunity: manipulate medium-dependence of communication – useful technically (flexible delivery)

• Problem: volatile subject matter– keep rapid change under microscope

• Solution: business alliances

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Business Alliances

• Work-Study (“duaaltraject”) – requires 6 month work period – supervision from business and university– possible final project 3-4 month further

collaboration

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CMC

• Principles of Comm.• Organizational Comm.• Media and Computers• Information Graphics• Electronic Publishing• Databases

• Principles ICT• Information Systems• Interactive Web Design• Information Retrieval• Database Applications• CSCW

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Work-Study in CMC: Gains

• University• Broader view of CMC• Business alliances

• Businesses• Systematic view of CMC• Contact with potential employees

• Students• Entry into dynamic area• Broaden professional network

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CMC Team• Leonie Bosveld, ICT Basics, Advising

• Erik van den Hout, XML, Interactive Web Design

• Hennie Klein, Information Retrieval

• Edwin Kuipers, Databases, Authorization

• John Nerbonne, Language Processing

• Gisela Redeker, Organizational Communications

• Petra Smit, Multilingual Processing

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Potential CMC Partners

• Gemeente Groningen

• Castel

• Wisdom Assoc., Assen

• Cascade

• KPN

• TNO

• Small Business Center, Groningen

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CMC

• active scientific area• commercially applicable• interested partners• solid team

• http://www.let.rug.nl/cmc/