Looking to speak

On the temporality of misalignment in interaction involving an augmented communicator using eye-gaze technology

Authors

  • Christopher R. Engelke University of California - Los Angeles
  • D. Jeffery Higginbotham State University of New York at Buffalo

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jircd.v4i1.95

Keywords:

temporality, time, sequence, augmentative alternative communication, human-computer interaction

Abstract

This study investigates the different temporal orders that manifest in interactions involving a participant using an Augmentative Alternative Communications (AAC) device. Studies examining the use of AAC devices have regularly incorporated a particular understanding of temporality by using time as a measuring device to compare inter- and intra-individual action. In this paper we present an alternative perspective on time-in-interaction by showing how participants attend to time by examining their interactive behavior. Here, time is conceived in terms of how participants experience the duration and unfolding of a particular utterance. Through a close analysis of an interaction between a man with late-stage ALS and his wife, this paper shows how different orientations to time can underpin breakdowns of intersubjectivity. The analysis traces elements of this temporal disconnect to a variety of sources including the normative temporal expectations for the production of utterances through mouth-speech and the functioning of the device itself. The temporal misalignment leads to slippages in the participants’ orientation to the sequential relevance of utterances and utterance parts that leads to misunderstanding.

Author Biographies

  • Christopher R. Engelke, University of California - Los Angeles

    Christopher Engelke is a doctoral candidate in the linguistic anthropology programme at the University of California Los Angeles. After doing research on pilgrimage and healing ceremonies in South Asia for several years, Engelke returned to the United States to complete his Ph.D. Integrating theory and methods from linguistic anthropology, phenomenology, and talk-in-interaction research, Engelke's dissertation research examines the design and use of assistive communications technologies. The primary focus of this work is on the ways that people with speech disabilities participate in everyday interactions, and the effects that various tools and practices have on the structures of interaction and manifestations of intersubjectivity. Engelke's research also explores the ways that able-bodied designers/engineers approach the task of creating devices for people who encounter a different set of affordances than themselves and the narrative presentations of augmented communicators. Engelke has worked on a number of assistive technology design projects including various technologies for people with sensory disabilities and InTRA, a suite of applications that leverage partner speech to improve the flow of interactions involving augmented communicators.

  • D. Jeffery Higginbotham, State University of New York at Buffalo

    Dr. D. Jeffery Higginbotham is a professor of Communicative Disorders and Sciences at SUNY- Buffalo as well as Director of Buffalo’s Signature Center for Excellence in Augmented Communication. The thrust of his research focuses on how individuals use assistive technologies to interact with their social world. To accomplish this, he studies the talk-in-interaction of augmented speakers and their partners and the human and device design factors associated with assistive technology use. Dr Higginbotham is a founding member of the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Communication Enhancement. He also consults with industry on augmentative communication device design.

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Published

2013-06-20

How to Cite

Engelke, C., & Higginbotham, D. (2013). Looking to speak: On the temporality of misalignment in interaction involving an augmented communicator using eye-gaze technology. Journal of Interactional Research in Communication Disorders, 4(1), 95-122. https://doi.org/10.1558/jircd.v4i1.95

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