Enhancing information awareness through speech-induced anthropomorphism

............................................................................................................... 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS............................................................................................ 2 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS...................................................................................... 7 LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................... 8 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................ 12 1.1 MOTIVATION ................................................................................................ 12 1.1.1. Problems with current interfaces ......................................................... 12 1.1.2. The case for a humanised approach..................................................... 14 1.1.3. Pitfalls of a humanised approach......................................................... 15 1.1.4. Exploiting speech output to enhance information awareness................ 17 1.2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES ................................................................................ 17 1.2.1. Benefits of speech in the user-interface ................................................ 18 1.2.2. Linguistic variation in a humanised system.......................................... 19 1.2.3. Avoiding rudeness in a humanised system............................................ 20 1.2.4. Enhancing information awareness ....................................................... 21 1.2.5. Designing an experimental environment .............................................. 22 1.2.6. Evaluating the humanised interaction style.......................................... 24 1.3 THESIS STATEMENT....................................................................................... 27 1.4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY........................................................................... 28 1.4.1. Delineation of the problem space......................................................... 28 1.4.2. Spoken message design........................................................................ 28 1.4.3. Designing and prototyping the experimental environment.................... 28 1.4.4. Evaluating the concept ........................................................................ 29 1.4.5. Analysis and implications for design.................................................... 29 1.5 SUMMARY ................................................................................................... 30 CHAPTER 2: REINFORCING SOCIAL ACCEPTABILITY ............................... 31 2.1 OVERVIEW ................................................................................................... 31