Learning Portfolio 4

Learning Portfolio 4 –

 

Q1) – The Importance of Evaluating Credibility in Websites –

Jacob Neilsen writes of the Web being   “…the great Equaliser”(Nielsen, 2000, p. 92). By this he means that anyone has the right to put up a website and since 2000 the number of people doing just that has increased exponentially. The obvious problem is that it has become more difficult to judge the veracity of websites. In the academic world it is of primary importance that we use accurate information in our studies. Students now are much more likely to Google for answers than attend their college library (Kubiszewski, Noordewier, & Costanza, 2011, p. 659). It is essential that students should take all steps to verify the authenticity and accuracy of online material.

I find it interesting that Robins and Holmes find  the link between site aesthetics and credibility to be compelling and the average time taken to judge a sites credibility, (based on aesthetic grounds) is 3.5seconds (Robins & Holmes, 2008, p. 394) – How many scholarly texts in the library would pass the aesthetic  test?  We should not be blinded by expert presentation in a website – even though this is the skilled designers object. The content should still be examined and checked against benchmark and referenced work.

Q2) – Why is Wikipedia not accepted as a credible resource for academic work?

Wikipedia is generally treated with scepticism by academia. We are told that is acceptable to use the website for initial investigation but not for serious study. Wikipedia is a web based, free content encyclopaedia which is openly editable : that is to say anyone can write articles and /or modify the same. Although some articles are well referenced, others are not. The contributors are not limited to academia. University education has traditionally been based on knowledge and research subject to peer review; that is review by fellow academics.  Wikipedia obviously does not fulfil this criteria.

An interesting paper by Henk Eijkman claims that as the “public face of Web2.0+”,  Wikipedia is seen as a threat to academias’ status as the gate keeper of knowledge (Eijkman, 2010). He argues that Wikipedia is an emblem of the new web based, collaborative learning model and constructive engagement is the desirable way forward.

Q3 – Anticipated Issues that may affect Perceived Web Credibility in the Future.

• Increasing user education and experience of web based issues. This is seen in the take up of on line shopping. A trouble free shopping experience and easy to navigate websites are encouraging the rapid take up of this form of retailing.
• Ever increasing bandwidth will result in greater use of the web for education and health solutions – more people will be exposed to the on line experience and so its credibility will become ever more crucial.
• Web darlings like Facebook, Google, and many others, own an increasing dossier of information about their users. This information is a tradeable commodity that subsidises a perceived- to- be free service. A large proportion of the general public seem happy to divulge their personal details to these corporations. The credibility of these providers is dependant on ethical and appropriate use of these records.

References-

Eijkman, H. (2010). Academics and Wikipedia: Reframing Web 2.0+as a disruptor of traditional academic power-knowledge arrangements. Campus-Wide Information Systems, 27(3), 173-185.

Kubiszewski, I., Noordewier, T., & Costanza, R. (2011). Perceived credibility of Internet encyclopedias. Computers & Education, 56(3), 659-667. doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2010.10.008

Nielsen, J. (2000). Designing Web Usability. Indianapolis, Indiana, USA: New Riders Publishing.

Robins, D., & Holmes, J. (2008). Aesthetics and credibility in web site design. Information Processing & Management, 44(1), 386-399. doi: 10.1016/j.ipm.2007.02.003

Item 2 – Examples of Website Credibility

Presumed Credibility-  

Cambridge is the third oldest surviving university in the world (founded in 1209). It has a long history of research in science and engineering. A massive 89 affiliates of the University have won Nobel Prizes since 1904. I would presume the website to be credible.

Screenshot –  www.cam.ac.uk/univ/ – retrieved 2/11/2012.

Reputed Credibility –

As the national broadcaster, the ABC has earned a reputation for reliable, serious news coverage. The website (along with SBS) would be one of the first Australian broadcasters recommended.

Screenshot – http://www.abc.net.au – retrieved 2/11/2012

Surface Credibility –

The Daikin website is well laid out and pleasing to the eye. Home page has eye catching and legible links to information that the intended customer will require. Limited colours are used to good effect. Icon metaphors are used to good effect. The page looks authentic.Navigation is simple.

Screenshot – http://www.daikin.com.au/ – retrieved 2/11/2012.

Earned Credibility – 

I have used the Emirates website a number over times over the last 5 years and for me it has earned credibility. Airline sites are often hard to navigate and in my experience often do not fulfill expectations of professionalism. This site allow for things like on-line check-in and advance allocation of seats in a straightforward way and, in my experience, it works.

Screenshot – http://www.emirates.com/ – retrieved 2/11/2012

Learning Portfolio 3

Learning Portfolio 3-

Item 1

Q1) Summary of Performance Load article-

Performance Load refers to the degree of mental and physical effort required to carry out a task. Physical or Kinematic load is an obvious obstacle to successfully reaching a goal. Sweller wrote of the limitations imposed by cognitive load while discussing the emphasis on problem solving in education(Sweller, 1988). Zipf wrote of the Principle of Least Effort and argued that humans tend to minimize the rate of work-expenditure over time – that the greater the effort required the less the chance of success(Zipf, 1949). Common experience shows that the greater the opportunity for error, the greater the chance of failure – the more complicated a system is the greater the chance of a mistake being made.

Aviation has long been a critical proving ground in this area.  A Qantas A380 made an emergency landing in Singapore in 2010 after an engine disintegrated. The emergency resulted in 54 emergency or error messages confronting the crew – each one requiring a checklist procedure. Airbus has now looked at rationalising the generation of alarms – in this case the pilots must have been very close to performance overload and disaster (Sorensen, 2011).

Successful design should always minimise required cognitive and physical effort to complete a task.

Q2) “Chunking”-

The term “chunking” is a term used in psychology to describe how recall can be improved by grouping responses. George Miller used the expression in a paper he presented in 1956 in which argued that short term memory was limited to a capacity of seven plus or minus two bits of information (Miller, 1956). These “bits” of information are of indefinite size and Millar says that by arranging the bits into larger, manageable “chunks”, the volume of information recall will be increased.

He cites as an example the operator learning the Morse Code. The dots and dashes are at first remembered as discrete chunks. At the next step the letters are recognised as the base chunk. As the operator becomes familiar with the code, whole words become the base chunk. The recall has improved from say seven dot/dashes to seven words (Miller, p. 93).

Chunking is important in the presentation of visual communication – especially websites. People scan rather than read webpages  In all but the simplest of websites a hierarchical model should be followed (Schneider et al., 2012, p. 298). Chunks of information should be arranged in logical fashion to augment the understanding and memory process. Bullet points, headings, keywords and icons all aid the understanding and memory process.

Q3) Effective Visual Design and Psychology-

Psychology is described as the “systematic study of mind, or mental states and processes, the science of human nature”(Macquarie Essential Dictionary, 2010).

I would consider that good design and psychology are closely linked. Design is about objects, users and their relationship – the designer must understand the way their audience think and react. In all forms of communication, not least information system design, the designer must be cognisant of their audience and ensure that they are talking in a way that will be well received and understood.

We have previously discussed the importance of aesthetics and its role in enhancing usability. While usability is based in the main on scientific and engineering principles, aesthetic design is an imprecise, subjective element of design and surely subject to psychological consideration (Norman, 2002).

 

Item 2-

Examples of Products that satisfy the Performance Load Principle –

Visa Card-  Spending money could not be easier. The Visa Card is recognised around the world and accepted by most ATM’s. The physical effort involved in pushing the card into a reader slot has been addressed with the introduction of the ‘payWave’ card – the day cannot be far away when we will only have to glance at the terminal for funds to be transferred!

Kindle e-Reader-   Amazon have refined the art of removing money from the kindle reader. The device can instantly connect 3G or Wi-Fi to the Amazon Library for browsing and one button push initiates book download which appears usually within 60 seconds. Payment is by credit card, details of which are with Amazon. This process is fast and easy when compared with Sony who produce an arguably more attractive product, but require a tortuous download process.

On Line Shopping –We are living through a revolution in retailing – it may be a cliché but it’s true.  Web retailing is improving constantly but already satisfies many consumers’ requirements. Shopping Performance Load is dramatically reduced. Mental effort is reduced as specialist sites offer recommendations to guide buyers; physical effort is reduced to keyboard strokes.

 

References-

Macquarie Essential Dictionary. (2010).  (5th ed.). The University of Sydney, NSW 2006 Australia: Macquarie Dictionary Publishers P. L.

Miller, G. (1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two: some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychological Review, 63(2), 81. doi: 10.1037/h0043158

Norman, D. (2002). Emotion and Design. Interactions, 9(4), 36-42.

Schneider, G., Evans, J., Shelly, G., Frydenberg, M., Evans, P., Thomas, M. A., . . . Prochran, S. (2012). CCA1108/4208 Communications and Digital Technology. South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia: Cengage Learning Australia P.L.

Sweller, J. (1988). Cognitive Load During Problem Solving: Effects on Learning. Cognitive Science, 12(2), 257-285. doi: 10.1207/s15516709cog1202_4

Zipf, G. K. (1949). Human Behaviour and the Principle of least effort. An introduction to human ecology. Cambridge, Mass.: Addison Wesley Press.

Visa Card Image – Retrieved 23/10/2012 http://mozo.com.au/credit-cards/articles/shoppers-credit-card-details-exposed/800406142

Kindle Image – Retrieved 23/10/2012  http://weberhighlibrary.pbworks.com/w/page/49073664/KINDLES

Shopping Trolley Keypad Image – Retrieved 23/10/2012 http://www.indyposted.com/129267/top-10-tips-for-cyber-monday-2010/

Learning Portfolio 2

Q1)  Summary of article – “Consistency”

Consistency refers to the intelligent design of systems where a specific command or path will always take you to the same destination. The system is designed to minimise confusion. “It is much easier for a person to perform an act by using an already learned skill or behaviour than to learn a new technique”(Badre, 2002, p. 148). Products should be designed in a consistent way so that full advantage is taken of skills already acquired by the user.

The article describes the four main kinds of consistency.  Aesthetic consistency is related to the look or style of the product – an obvious example of this would be the omnipresent corporate ‘ look’ of MacDonalds. The fast food giant maintains the image throughout its real estate,  merchandising and advertising.

Functional consistency refers to the operational or practical aspect of the product. Max Gadney of BBC News OnLine refers to the importance of consistent “Grammar’ within his website- by this he means consistent ergonomics and visual language (Braun et al., 2002, p. 22).  Gadney explains that consistency rules must always apply;  for example-

• All links should look and behave in a consistent manner.
• Colours should be used to indicate and produce consistent actions and results.

Internal consistency refers to logical and harmonious design within a system. This is important to minimise user confusion. The user will understand that care and thought has gone into the design: Respect and trust for the product will be encouraged.

Finally, external consistency refers to the desirability of uniform codes and harmony in separate, unrelated systems – the idea being that user experience will be advantageously transferable.  I would suggest that external consistency may, under some circumstances, be a disadvantage in the marketplace – Apple has made a hugely successful niche regardless of  the difference between its own codes and that of the major software producer, Microsoft.

Q2)  3 Examples of Products that meet the Consistency Principle.

• Automatic Teller Machines –  ATMs  are to be found in, at least the cities, of most countries around the world. The form is based around the standard display screen, keypad, card slot and note dispenser.  The screen will usually show information in the local tongue – unfortunately consistency has not fully penetrated the language barrier, although English is often used. The keypad buttons will generally follow the international layout and colouring even if the labels are in the local dialect. There are usually transfer icons indicating acceptable, well recognised international card options  such as Visa, Plus and Mastercard.  ATM.s around the world exhibit aesthetic, functional and external consistency to various degrees.  From my experience, the degree of consistency in ATM design is sufficient to allow anyone to interact with the machines regardless of where in the world they are.

• International Road Signage – It is entirely feasible that any West Australian driver could be driving in Perth and within 24hrs find themselves on the autobahns of Germany or, say the backroads of Patagonia. The UN Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals (1968) has been signed by most developed or developing countries and applies functional and aesthetic consistency to signs and signals around the world. While many signs are well understood by visiting drivers, research by Shanna Ward et al., indicates that due to the inconsistencies that do exist, a  lack of minimal instruction when issuing International Drivers Licences can still lead to “critical confusion” on the road (Ward, Wogalter, & Mercer, 2004).

• VW Beetle –  In 1991, 100 motoring journalists from around the world voted the Volkswagon Beetle the  “Car of the 20^th Century”(“A Brief History of the Beetle,” 1994). The car was one of the most successful designs ever and over 21 million were built worldwide. In the context of consistency, the design is noteworthy in that through many new models over 40 years the aesthetic and functional design basics did not change. Even when a new Beetle was introduced in 1994 the aesthetic lines were retained – albeit a cosmetic similarity.

 

Badre, A. N. (2002). Shaping Web Usability. Indianapolis, Indiana, USA: Addison – Wesley, Pearson Education.

Braun, K., Gadney, M., Haughey, M., Roselli, A., Synstelien, D., Walter, T., & Wetheimer, D. (2002). Usability: The Site Speaks For Itself. Birmingham, UK: glasshaus Ltd.

A Brief History of the Beetle. (1994). from www.vsvwa.freeservers.com/bughist2.html

Ward, S. J., Wogalter, M. S., & Mercer, A. W. (2004). Comprehension and Training of International Road Signs. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 48(17), 2104-2108. doi: 10.1177/154193120404801705

ATM Image – Retrieved 13/10/2012 – http://www.talkafrique.com/science-and-technology/face-recognition-atm-your-face-no-card/attachment/atm-india

International Road Sign Image – Retrieved 13/10/2012 http://travelcenter.discoverfrance.net/car-leasing/road_signs.shtml

VW Beetle Image – Retrieved 13/10/2012 – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Beetle

 

 

Learning Portfolio 1

Q1) Summary of article- “Aesthetic – Usability Effect”

The article addresses what the authors call the “Aesthetic – Usability Effect”.   This basically says that designs with a certain level of utility or user-friendliness are immeasurably improved if they also incorporate aesthetic appeal. The proponents argue that the beauty of a product may compensate for deficiencies in the product – the user experience will certainly be enhanced.

Human-computer interaction (HCI) became a focus of the software industry in the 1980’s and the major pre-occupation was usability. Alan Badre describes the concentration on “ease of use, ease of learning, memorability, lack of errors and satisfaction”, (Badre, 2002, p. pg13). Note that ‘satisfaction’ was the only nod to a consideration of emotion as a factor in HCI.

In 1995 ground-breaking research was carried by Japanese researchers Kurosu and Kashimura into the effect of aesthetics in HCI design. This research suggested that the practical usability of the design had less to do with inherent usability , than with the apparent beauty (aesthetic) of the design (Kurosu & Kashimura, 1995). A high level of usability was shaded by a new factor – the emotional connection of the user to the product – practicality was not the be-all and end-all.

The power of emotional over cognitive action cannot be overestimated.  Donald Norman – in a magazine preview of his book, Emotion and Design describes a telling example.  He describes the act of walking, running and jumping on a 10m x 1m plank on the ground, and then the same with plank 200m in the air – “Why would a simple task suddenly become so difficult- impossible even….. the affective (emotional) system works independently of (cognitive) thought” (Norman, 2002).

A design with elevated aesthetics encourages goodwill in the user and will often soften the effect of practical shortcomings – Norman cites the cheap wine which always tastes better in a fancy glass!

Aesthetics in HCI design has become a topic of major interest,  but it is evident that good design should include generous helpings of both usability and aesthetics.

Q2) Three examples of products that meet the aesthetic-usability principle

• The Kindle e-reader –   Employs aesthetics and ease of use to
  maximise the user experience. The reader is light in weight, smooth in look and touch, and the e-ink print is re-assuringly similar to traditional book print. The controls are ergonomically located to enhance the reading experience. The reader is a perpetual sales point for Amazon and the ease with which books can be purchased and downloaded is a marketing masterpiece. Prior to the introduction of e-ink readers, the reading experience on monitors was a poor alternative to paper print. There was – and still is with some readers- a great reluctance to give up the traditional printed book. The combination of usability and aesthetics of these readers has succeeded in winning over a rapidly increasing share of the market.

• The Nespresso Coffee Maker–    Like Amazon, Nespresso are on a marketing winner. The concept of the coffee capsule, with its’ exclusive supply point, is a brilliant concept for Nespresso. The machine is well designed for ease of use. The machine produces a consistent  drink regardless of the user skill level. The machine is aesthetically  pleasing and suits the décor of the modern kitchen.  The marketing around Nespresso – exclusive stores, celebrity advertising, membership benefits etc combine with the product itself to make the perceived coffee experience somewhat more than it actually is – (as a Nespresso addict, I’m not actually complaining!).

• The Concord – a now historic example of an obviously privileged section of the market being won over by a design which owed a lot of its success to aesthetics. For the lucky passenger the plane offered the fastest means (to this day) for the public to travel between a limited number of destinations. The plane had many critics from the start- mainly on environmental grounds.  The fact that it became loved – even if to a limited extent – must point to its’ aesthetic appeal as much as its’ utility. The ‘form following function’ principle particularly applies to aircraft (Lauer & Pentak, 2005) and in many cases has resulted in aesthetically pleasing designs. Concord became the symbol for speedy travel and its passengers could forgive its’ cramped cabin and environmental footprint at least in part because of its ‘beauty’.

References-

Badre, A. N. (2002). Shaping Web Usability. Indianapolis, Indiana, USA: Addison – Wesley, Pearson Education.

Kurosu, M., & Kashimura, K. (1995). Apparent Usability vs. Inherent Usability: Experimental Analysis on the Determinants of the Apparent Usability. CHI ’95 Conference Companion, 292-293.

Lauer, D., & Pentak, S. (2005). Design Basics. Boston, USA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Norman, D. (2002). Emotion and Design. Interactions, 9(4), 36-42.

Concord Image – Retrieved 10/10/2012 http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/aircraft/types/aerospatialebac-concorde.htm

Kindle Image – Retrieved 10/10/2012 http://weberhighlibrary.pbworks.com/w/page/49073664/KINDLES

Nespresso Image – Retrieved 10/10/2012                                   http://quickespresso.com/nespresso-pixie/nespresso-pixie-coffee-machine/