Page 249 - Culture Technology Communication

232 Lorna Heaton

A corollary of not trusting a computer system to model all in-
stances of human communication or to successfully translate the
subtleties of day-to-day interaction, is the focus of many Japanese
CSCW systems on providing channels for communication rather
than trying to specify content or process. By providing a variety of
channels, nothing more, nothing less, a CSCW system should ideally
be able to support all kinds of communication regardless of the mes-
sage content or objective. This is clearly the case with MAJIC in
which research and evaluation have focused exclusively on the phys-
ical environment. In TeamWorkStation/Clearboard, too, the focus is
on providing an environment which simulates as closely as possible
a face-to-face situation and which does not in any way constrain po-
tential use.
Another feature of Japanese CSCW systems is that they are
careful to provide support for traditional, paper-based forms of work-
ing, and ways of integrating paper and electronic information. De-
signers view the systems they design as complementary to, not
replacements for standard practices; their aim is to support groups,
not to replace or reconfigure all their activities. TWS and Clearboard
use video to capture texts or drawings on paper. The MAJIC system
integrates a desk that people can work on. These systems also allow
people to draw using pen or pen-based computing technology. This is
all the more significant considering the transformations involved in
converting keyboard input to Japanese ideograms or kanji. As one
informant notes, “typing is not easy for us.”
When language cannot convey all meaning, nonverbal communi-
cation becomes more important. Perhaps most significantly, Japan-
ese CSCW systems are also characterized by extensive emphasis on
providing contextual cues so that Japanese using these systems will
be able to orient their behavior appropriately. This emphasis on the
contextual translates into research on spatial awareness, gaze
awareness rather than eye contact, gesture, interpersonal distance,
physical feedback, and large displays. One informant even went so
far as to insist that physical feedback must be integrated into the in-
terface design because he does not believe it is possible for Japanese
to have an entirely intellectual relationship with the computer.
Furthermore, considerable attention is paid to creating a plea-
surable physical environment or a shared environment, as in TWS
or MAJIC, with tones of virtual reality. If a CSCW system is to be
useful in Japan, it is important that a sense of atmosphere or feeling
transpire through the system. A Japanese psychologist whose re-
search interest is group dynamics tells me that the most important