baby cam

[Brian MacWhinney]

Dear Info-CHILDES,

     I very much appreciate Margaret's input on this issue.  However,  
my own reaction to this project, when Deb Roy first mentioned it to  
me about a year ago, was different from Margaret's.  I considered it  
a remarkable opportunity for a busy father to spend more time with  
his child than might otherwise be possible.  Personally, I still very  
much value the fact that I was  able to join work and family life for  
several years in the process of recording and transcribing speech  
samples from my own children.
     I agree with Margaret that one of the big outputs of this type  
of project is in the area of systems computing and terabyte storage  
management.  This work will inevitably have consequences outside of  
the field of child language.  For example, there is an interesting  
project here at CMU that seeks to use similar video technology to  
monitor patients in extended care centers to make sure that they are  
receiving care and attention when required.
      On the issue of IRB review, I understand that there is no  
intention to publish these data generally, so the concerns that  
Margaret raises in that regard would not apply.
      Margaret assumes somehow that the child cannot leave the  
house.  I don't see anything that suggests this to be true.  I am  
copying this message to Deb Roy so that he can perhaps further  
clarify us all regarding such details.
       On the negative side, I must say that I am not much of a fan  
of the fisheye lens video view.  My Ross used the fisheye lens a lot  
in his skateboard videos, particularly in facial close-ups, and that  
was indeed creepy!

--Brian MacWhinney

On May 18, 2006, at 11:12 AM, Margaret Fleck wrote:

>
> So, I'm guessing that everyone on this list has seen a blurb on the  
> following
> project:
>
>    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4987880.stm
>
> Thinking about what a relatively small set of fixed-position  
> cameras and mics
> is likely to capture, or not capture, one could easily write this  
> off as primarily an
> exercise in systems computing and terabyte storage management.    
> However, eventually
> someone is going to attempt something similar with more plausible  
> recording technology.
>
> My question is:   am I the only person who finds this creepy and  
> how did they get
> this past human subjects review?
>
> The big thing that worries me is the pressure to keep the baby and  
> eventually
> the toddler cooped up in the house.   Not out in the garden where  
> they can't
> record.   Not out at the book store or restaurants with Mom and  
> Dad.   Not at
> playgroups or daycare.
>
> And cooped up, moreover, in a house where everyone has had to  
> consent being recorded,
> there's strong pressure to mind what they say and do, take their  
> adult conversations into
> another room, turn off the stereo, etc.   This kind of strange half- 
> life makes sense
> for a traditional hour-long recording session, but who could live  
> that way all the time?
> Doesn't the baby belong at the family dinner table, where Daddy is  
> complaining about
> what his colleagues said at the faculty meeting?
>
> Margaret
>    (Margaret Fleck, U. Illinois, Computer Science)
>
>
>