Discourse Analysis of Voice-Based Computer-Mediated Communication in Distributed Work

Abstract: Computer-mediated remote voice communication among care providers is analyzed by a newly proposed discourse model. Nursing and care are central to healthcare services, and improvements in the quality and efficiency of healthcare processes are important issues. Effective communication support that does not interfere with normal operations is an urgent need. Here we examined a “smart voice tweet system” intended to overcome this problem by supporting collaboration across different sites. We field-tested this system at an elderly care facility in Japan for 5 days in 2013. We observed the activities of groups of care workers during residents’ lunch and dinner and collected data on use of the system. By discourse analysis based on the proposed model, we confirm the validity of the voice tweet system as a support for remote voice communication among staff collaborating to achieve tasks. The findings can be used to design rules for estimating the ongoing status of collaborations and classifying voice tweets by purpose to decide whether they should be sent or just recorded. This research is based on joint research conducted by the Toshiba Corporation, the Shimizu Corporation, and the Japan Institute of Science and Technology with support from the Japan Science and Technology Agency.

Keywords: Voice, Communication, Collaboration, Discourse, Model, Exchange structure

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe100276

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