Credibility can be deifined as believability (Fogg, 2003, pp.122). It relates to the way a page is perceived by a user, in relation to the web, and how effective an online resource is in assisting a user to find the best results.

“In some ways, credibility is like beauty: it’s in the eye of the beholder. You can’t touch, see or hear credibility; it exists only when you make an evaluation of a person, object, or piece of information”. (Fogg, 2003, pp.122)

Credibility consists of two key dimensions; trustworthiness and expertise. Each of these key factors are individually evaluated by the user and then combined to gain a better perspective and develop an overall assessment of the credibility of the site.

Trustworthiness as a key factor in relation to credibility refers to how the goodness and morality perceived is captured by the user. For example people in society depend on certain professionals to be trustworthy. Some of these are judges, doctors and priests. These individuals have a professional duty to be truthful, unbiased and fair” these characteristics are what people trust and if they lose that trust, they are no long considered credible.

Expertise is the second key factor of credibility. It refers to the knowledge, skill and experience is demonstrated through the source and perceived by the user. An example of this is the Label that identifies one as an expert on a subject matter, such as “doctor” or “professor”. Society value the opinions given by experts because it is worth acknowledging and is also highly credible.

Both trustworthiness and expertise are considered credible on their own. This is due to the Halo effect that Fogg states is “if one virtue is evident, another virtue may be assumed, rightly or wrongly”. Trustworthiness and expertise combined lead to high credibility perceptions, and thus sources that are bound to have high credibility contain those two key factors.

As a university student I find that online resources play a big part in my research and study routine. When doing assignments part of my referencing relies on me to use online sources to strengthen and support the basis of my assignment. The credibility of the website and the information contained on the website is very important because if the information is invalid, false, or not up to date, my assignment will suffer and so to will my grades. In order for this to be avoided I scan the page up and down and look for any author credentials, which will tell me whether or not the site is owned by someone. Making sure the page has been updated recently is another way I determine whether a page is credible or not, because if it hasn’t the information may not be current or valid to use. If links don’t work, or if too many advertisements are popping up and distracting me then I know that the page is not worthy of my researching and search somewhere else, preventing me from researching false, invalid information.

Question 2.

When conducting research for an assignment, online resources are very commonly used to assist with findings. Most online resources from the web are accepted, but noted on each assignment page states that Wikipedia is not accepted. Wikipedia is a popular free online encyclopaedia that is easily accessed and can be updated and edited by people all over the globe. Any name or event typed into the Google search engine usually displays a result from Wikipedia near the top of the list. Knowing how heavily relied on Wikipedia is and knowing that facts are turned into fiction through the available editing program set up on the site demonstrates very low credibility for a user. I have noticed when looking at Wikipedia that sometimes the information is off key especially when presenting dates of particular events. Wikipedia is not accepted at University because research is expected from students and effort is what the teachers like to see,instead of having students merely use the insufficient information from Wikipedia. Wikipedia is also not accepted as a source of study because it is misleading for the user and people have the ability to change information to suit themselves.

Question 3.

issues that may affect the users’ perceived Web credibility in the future.

• Lack of author credentials
• Having more then one or two advertisements popping up on the page, distracting the user from the content of information
• The site doesn’t look professional
• The contents of the page isn’t updated on a regular basis.
• The links on the site do not work.
• The URL ends in ‘org’
• The chosen site is difficult to navigate
• The URL has a different name to the company.

A1) sites of credibility:

Presumed: http://www.breastcancer.org/ this site represents a non-profitable organisation, has a URL that ends with ‘org’ and it contains a link called ” Ask-the-Expert online” which allows people to ask experts and voice their opinion to professionals.

Reputed: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/press/awards.html. The mozilla web page is a suitable candidate for repudable credibility. It has won several awards listed down the page including an  award from PC magazine in 2007. The links are all working and lead to other credible pages.

Surface: www.myspace.com.au is a site that is credible on first inspection. It provides links to other sources, it’s appearance is professional and therefore looks appealing to the user and persuades them to sign up and use the site.

Earned: http://www.commbank.com.au/ The commonwealth bank is an example of earned credibility. It is a site that offers correct information to the user. It looks professional and provides consistant services allowing people to access their web bank, allows access to information based on queries, users can make transfers and the site also allows people to browse the site and come to their own conclusion on whether the bank suites them or not. The site is trustworthy and is loyal to its users.

references:

 Fogg, J.B, Soohoo, C., & Danielson, D. (2002)How do people evaluate website credibility. Retrieved May, 2009, from http://www.consumerwebwatch.org/pdfs/stanfordPTL.pdf Doc.

 Stephenson, N. (2009). How do your Students assess website credibility. Retrieved May, 2009, from http://www.isteconnects.org/2009/04/01/how-do-your-students-assess-website-credibility/

The Performance Load discusses the humans ability to work. The more effort a task holds the less likely the task will be accomplished or even attempted. the performance load is the amount of physical and mental activity that is required of someone to achieve a goal. when the performance load is high there is bound to be a higher rate of error and teh activity will take more time, where as if the performance load is low the rate of error decreases and the amount taken to achieve the task is less. The performance load consists of two loads; the cognitive load and the kinematic load.

The cognitive load requires a certain amount of mental activity to demonstrate skills such as perception, memory, and problem solving (Lidwell, Holden & Butler 2003) and to achieve goals. It is the amount of information that the brain can store in order to successfully achieve a task before the information is forgotten.

The kinematic load relates to the degree of physical activity one  must under go to achieve a physical task; such as the number of steps and movements or even the amount of force needed. An example of Kinematic force is Morse code is Samuel Morse’s Morse code, where there were a number of taps on a computer to communicate a message.

The performance load of humans isn’t very high therefore human tasks are reduced to minimize cognitive and kinematic work loads so that error and performance time aren’t such an apprehension.

Question 2.

“chunking” is a design technique used to reduce the cognitive load, and is particularly useful in the domain of written communication. Chunking is used so that the brain can translate information in a short period of time. Chunking is necessary because research has found that humans can only store no more then ” seven plus or minus two” items of information at a time. this was found by Harvard Psycologist George A. Miller, who wrote ” The Magical number seven, plus or minus two”

A chunk can refer to words, digits, peoples faces or even chess positions. For example instead of reading individual letters we read words because it is easier for our brain to process, take less time, and less error occurs.

“A man just beginning to learn radio-telegraphic code hears each dit and dah as a separate chunk. Soon he is able to organize these sounds into letters and then he can deal with the letters as chunks. Then the letters organize themselves as words, which are still larger chunks, and he begins to hear whole phrases.” (Miller, 1956)

This gives a person an opportunity to remember more in a shorter period of time.

 Question 3.

Psychology is the ability to understand the mind and it is important in design because without the study of psychology  how would one know how the other may respond to certain colours, shapes and objects? Without being able to understand the audience or being able to cater to their needs there wouldn’t be any positive impact or successful interaction to whom you present to. Psychology is also  a form of communicating, without this form of communication and interaction with another, there is no transfer of information from one person to another, being able to share stories or facts.

psychology is a very important factor in design, without it society would be very unorganised and very puzzled. Simple instructions would be hard to follow and the meanings of objects, shapes and colour would be confusing.

three products that satisfy the design principle of performance load.

The ipod:  a lot of people use an ipod because it is very basic and the programmes are simple to use. It’s exterior is stylish and comes in many colours to suite different age groups.

A key finder: These simple devices save a person the trouble of having to search for their lost keys. Instead all is indeed is the press of the button and a sound will direct you to your keys. They are sophisticated looking and fit on a key ring so they are always by your side.

a mobile phone: A mobile phone is an easy way of communication. It prevents having to send mail and is also portable so one can make contact with another without having to be based in the home. The mobile phone reduces the kinematic factor therfore satisfying the performance load design principle.

References:

Horn, Robert E.,Developing Procedures Policies & Documentation, Information Mapping Inc

Lidwell, W., Holden, K., & Butler, J. (2003). Performance Load. In Universal Principles of Design (pp.148‐149). Massachusetts: Rockport.

Miller, George (1956), The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information. Vol, 63, p. 81-97.

Sweller, John (1988) Cognitive Load During Problem Solving: Effects on Learning. Vol 12, pp 257-258.

Pink discusses the differences between the left and right hemispheres of the brain and the different roles they play in the old and new era, stressing the importance of the right side of the brain in the “conceptual age”

” Right brain thinking is every bit as important now- in some cases more important- then left brain thinking”

He goes on to say that although both parts of the brain are important and work together in concert we are heading into an era where the economy values creativity of artisitc and emotional beauty.

Society has progressed from our ancestory of farmers and has evolved again from factory workers to knowledge workers and is yet again progressing. pink suggests that the six ”right brain directed aptitudes” are necessary in order for success.

six aptitudes:

Design:

design is an element of a product that is not solemnly ‘decoration’ or ‘icing on the cake’ , it’s what attracts the audience on first glimpse.The way that a presentation is dressed can impact the audience either in a positive or negative manner, with the best designs fostering a positive attitude. The design element isn’t just about making the page look pretty, design starts at the beginning. The preparation of a design should be done slowly so that your audience, topic, objectives and key messages are taken into consideration and so you know what you are talking about. The digital form of visuals is added later.

story.

Ourselves as humans are natural storytellers, and have grown up around stories, stories we have been told by those around us, stories from everyday lives, facts, real stories. Unfortunately as time has progressed  “story” has become equal to fiction and falsehood, a lie. Somewhere along the line in modern society the internet became the storyteller of all storytellers, providing data and ” facts” that are widely available for people to read, and the novelty of storytelling has now been degraded to all seriousness in the business realm. From what has been gathered college students find the best way to be taught by their professors are through story, the best profeessor doesn’t just use books, they engage in the subject and put personality into the material they are sharing.

symphony.

symphony is described in the “conceptual age”, by pink as ” the ability to use seemingly unrelated pieces to form and articulate the big picture before us” focus, specialisation and analysis are no longer as crucial to our needs as they were in the “information era”. symphony does not require you to dumb down important points being presented, nor does it require you to talk about points that are popular in the mass media. Symphony does not require you to dumb down important points being presented, nor does it require you to talk about points that are popular in the mass media.The symphony of a presentation is understanding what is being presented and inviting the audience to share that interest. it is not about regurgitating facts. symphony is deciding what matters, and what is important and being able to let go of other points that aren’t as relevant.

empathy.

Emotional is a keyword associated with the word empathy. it’s about putting yourself in the position of the user and determining whether they understand what you are saying or not.empathy allows the presenterto sense the nonverbal ques from the audience, whether or not they understand your point or where you are coming from. it is being there for the audience and catering to their needs. Being empathetic means you might change parts of your presentation, making a few adjustments, when you can sense the audience is not “getting it” and changing structure so they are impacted positively.

Play.

pink believes that in the conceptual age, the element of play in a working environment is necessary. ” work is not just about seriousness but about play aswell.” Indian physician Madan Kataria also makes a point in daniel Pink’s book that many people in society have come to believe that serious people are the best suited for business, when in fact this isn’t true, he says ” thats yesterday’s news. Laughing people are more creative people. They are more productive people.” Society have become accustomed to believe that presentations should be dull, informative and ugly. Although this approach to business is still alive, there is hope that the approach will also become yesterdays news, and society might enlighten their audiences when feeding presentations.

meaning

when a presentation is made in front of an audience, no matter who they are, you as the presenter have an impact on them, making a small difference in the world to whoever it might be ; teachers, students, the company you work for. In order for a presentation to be successful no matter who you are presenting to, it should be enthusiastic and you should demonstrate to the audience that you know what you’re talking about and you’ve done the homework on the subject you’re presenting. this will make the audience feel catered to, like you have taken time to think of what they will appreciate. an audiences expectations of a presentation is usually very low due to the fact that they are used to boring facts being read to them and no interest is put into it. If you were to exceed this expectation and demonstrate appreciation towards the audiece, they will show appreciation towards you and both yourself and the audience will feel fulfilled. Meaning is constructed when you have shared some of your expertise with a crowd, when you have shared your story with others. by connecting and rewarding your audience you will find that you have found meaning within yourself.

Question 2.

My powerpoint presentation design was based on the topic of Childhood Obesity. This topic was chosen because i feel strongly about the negative impact obesity has on the nation let alone how it is effecting australian children.

my design aspect of my powerpoint design i believe was slightly too complex for this particular assignment. As said by Daniel Pink  ” The best designs are so well done that the ” design” is never even noticed consciously by the observer.” The design for the assignment incorporated photographs as the backdrop. although each photograph was relevant to the topic, they were distracting and also tended to blend in with the writing and therefore the audience would have lost focus.

The colour mechanism i was going for was grey red black and white. At the time i believed them to be relative to the topic because they are colours associated with being upset and angry, and that was how i felt about the topic and was trying to express that to the audience. Looking at the colours now i see that these colours are very dull and wouldn’t have enticed the audience at all, infact it would have been rather boring to watch.

I demonstrated emotion through my presentation by keeping  my presentation very basic, using minimal long words on the slides so that i could go through the presentation with the audience and explain my desired points of argument. I would go through the points slowly so the audience wouldn’t be confused or show a lack of understanding to the presentation.

I was very familiar with the topic of discussion because it is a subject that interests me and i find it very concerning the way obesity is impacting the children of todays australian society. I kept relevant points on my powerpoint slides and tried not to exaggerate or heavily discuss each aspect of childhood obesity, but my powerpoint did exceed over the 1MB  limit so therefore i took to resizing my powerpoint and deleting irelevant pieces of information and kept what was necessary.

my powerpoint slide along with assignment one and two were saved on my dad’s computer and he just moved house so therefore the computer is in storage so i can not show the images on this screen.

references:

Desires. Retrieved on the 29^th of May, 2009, from http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2006/09/applied-empathy-a-design-framework-for-meeting-human-needs-and-desires.php

Pink, Daniel (2005) Revenge of the Right Brain. Retrieved May 24th, from http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.02/brain.html?pg=1&topic=brain&topic_set=

Reynolds, G. (2008). Presentations in “The Conceptual Age”. In Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas onPresentation Design and Delivery (pp. 14‐19). Berkeley, CA: New Riders.

The aesthetic usability effect discusses the phenomenon of a users preference of  products that have great aesthetic quality over its usability. A well designed product is pleasing to the eye and one often perceives aesthetic products to be easier to work and use and therefore have a higher probablity rate of being purchased and used. Products that have a higher usability and are not as aesthetic on the other hand usually shadow the more aesthetic products and are usually rated second best.

This is similar to the phenomenon of human interaction on first perception. The more attractive human is recognised by others and treated nicely on first impressions, where as the less attractive human is less acknowledged and less approachable. The way a person is first perceived influences the attitude that a person has towards another and how the other person will be treated.

A positive attitude is usually fostered by an aesthetic product, and a product of less aesthetic value is usually associated with a negative attitude. Because there is such a liking towards an aesthetic product the user is more tolerant of the design and any problems it may have.  An example of this is when a name is given to a design that the user has developed feelings towards, and is also treated with affection, loyalty and patience. The relationship with a design, whether being positive or negative, heavily effects the interaction with the design. The more positive relationship leads one to be more productive  and helps catalyze problem solving and creative thinking, where as on the other hand a more negative relationship with a design leads to the user interacting very narrow mindedly towards the design, and lessens creativity. This can cause stress and fatigue to a user and therefore redcudes cognitive performance.

being such a positive influence on society the aesthetic designs should be aspired to be created.

analysis/discussion:

i have looked at this article many ways and have had several attitudes towards it, but in my opinion although the aesthetic product seems easier to use, they are usually the most expensive product, not the easiest to use and they are just simple designs that have been heavily developed to entice people to spend big money on them. people are willing to spend big on products because they are sheep in the cog machine that is our society.

question 2.

Here are three examples of products i have found in my everyday surroundings that meet the aesthetic usability effect principle:

the Chrysler 2009: luxurious cars are aesthetic products that make driving more enjoyable. If all society needed was a set of wheels to take us from place to place then the image of the car wouldn’t matter,but this isn’t the case. In society today not only do the clothes one wears on their back matter, but so does the car they drive. The car is a fashion statement that is made when out and about on the roads. An example of this is the chrysler 300. The very first impression of a chrysler is a positive one. The chrysler 300 has a luxurious exterior design that complements its muscular figure, with the use of bold colours to heighten its eccentric sheek appearance, it invites people to look and stare.  The chrysler 300 does not only have a sophisticated design on the outside it is also very well equipped on the inside containing Torino leather-trimmed seats and available genuine California Walnut Burl catering to comfort and evoking every ounce of elegance. Its aesthetic design is enough to intrigue anyone at a first glimpse, whether or not being easy to function or use.

hair removal products: Another aesthetic product that meets the aesthetic usablility principle is hair removal wax. Although when reading about the product in supermarkets and reading instructions, the product looks simple,but it can be quite complex. the way the wax is presented it looks appealing, in comparison to a razor.Advertisements make hair removal wax seem so pain free and easy to use, but after the wax has been melted in the microwave and is being applied to the body areas of hair that need removing, wax can go everywhere, and the pain inflicted upon ones self is excruciating. The pain is tremendous but it doesn’t stop women, and some men from using the product. It’s become common to use wax over razors ; although razors do the same job in shorter periods of time and arent as painful, theyve now seem to become rated second best. The idea of having smoother looking legs for a longer period of time, drives women and men away from the usability prospect of the design and focuses their attention on the value of aesthetics.

Nokia e71:  this is a product that is aesthetic, but the usability isn’t the best. i know this because i own this phone. I bought the Nokia e71 because it looked similar to that of a blackberry. I knew it was the latest nokia, i knew it looked good, and i knew that others would think it was cool. I put myself on a two year plan just to call it my own. The mobile also comes in different colours to appeal to a various audience. The Nokia e71 may look good but is quite difficult to use, the prorgams are all very complex and get very annoying sometimes, but although the programs are hard it is nice to own such a sleek looking phone with all the latest programs and downloads.

references:

Baisya, K.R., & Das, G.G. (2008). Aesthetics in Marketing. India: Sage.

Lidwell, W., Holden, K., & Butler, J. (2003). Aesthetic‐Usability Effect. In Universal Principles of Design (pp. 18‐19). Massachusetts: Rockport.

Norman, D. A. (2002). Emotion and design: Attractive things work better. Interactions Magazine, ix (4), 36-42.

here are some useful tips that will help use wordpress and make a wordpress site of your own.

1. To create a wordpress account go to www.wordpress.com and click sign up now, follow the prompts and keep clicking next until you are told that a site has been created for you. By going into ur hotmail and clicking the highlighted  site you will be directed to your own wordpress account and you can start editing and uploading different backgrounds to suit yourself and make the page your own.

2. to create a post you first must log in to your account, then on your main web page go down the left hand side and you will see a sign saying post, click on this, then click add new. a new page will upload and you’ll have space to write about what you want.

3. when altering your page to make it suites you, make sure you don’t over do it with colour because that can be distracting, and the audience won’t be focused on what you’ve been writing about, their eyes will be wandering around looking at all the colours you’ve used. its good to use some colour,  but just dont use too much.

colours such as black and grey are the most common colours used for the writing. Bold colours should be used sparingly taking into consideration people who have colour deficiency and can only see a few colours so these colours would be best to used to cater to a larger audience. 

4. you can click on the header ( which is found at the top of your page and includes your title) and you will be brought back to your main page.

5.  when choosing a font, try not to be too drastic by using fonts that people will find hard to read. It’s best to stick  to “san serif” or even more basic ” serif” fonts. Font sizes shouldnt be too large either when writing your blog. The most common size is 12 for writing, and then going quite large for the title using perhaps a size 28 up to mid 30. This will break down your blog so that the audience knows which is the title and which is the writing.

6. your page must be easy to access. By using links the audience viewing your page can click on the tags that they are most interested in and read for themselves, and they will also become more familiar with where they are going. This could make views increase and make your page more popular.

7. homepage backgrounds should say something about your blog topic and a little bit about yourself.

for instance my background is of agyness deyn, shes looking down with a mans arm wrapped around her neck and she has her hand over her face avoiding paparazzi. she has just come out from a party it seems and she looks unsure and vulnerable. I chose this picture because i feel i am at a very vulnerable stage in my life and i am also unsure about which path i will take in my future. i also chose this picture because agyness deyn is one of my favourite models, i know shes not perfect and in life has alot to learn and reflect on, as do i.

i used references from the week 10 student reading.

These techniques are helpful, but to an extent. not all of the learning techniques give the student the chance to voice their opinion and show the teacher what they have learnt over the duration of the course. 

Essays usually have a basis argument that the student makes evident and the student usually researches to strengthen this argument and show the teacher their writing ability, but it doesn’t give the opportunity for first person reflection, nor the ability for a student to voice themselves.

Speeches illustrate a students ability to talk in front of a crowd and voice their argument, it doesn’t show a students growth in the learning process nor does it allow a student to speak about what they want, or show how they feel. s

Examinations are usually a set of questions that a student can choose from and structure an argument without having to reference any books, more or less demonstrating only some of what they have learnt throughout the term.

An opportunity such as the learning journal enables a student to voice themselves, it is a reflective piece of work that demonstrates the learning progress that a student has made throughout the semester. 

” among the many benefits of journal keeping, the aspect that consistently emerges as a special strength is its value in enabling students to make  connections. Such connections facilitate the assimilation and development of concepts and assist students to discover personal meanings in their learning experiences.”

a learning portfolio promotes students to take what they have learnt, whether it being from lectures and tutorials or from the their own experiences and write how they feel, what they have interpreted from these experiences and concepts that they’ve been taught, and why they feel the way they do.

” in a survey of 246 students who had used journals in a range of contexts at queensland university of technology, only 5% reported that they had not benefited from the technique” 

This certifies that the learning journal is a technique that is reliable. It enables students to  bringing to the teachers attention the progress a student has made throughout the semester. The learning journal shows what students have taken from the tutorials and lectures over the semester and allows them to excel in thoughts and opinion, promoting the process of learning,and allows them to reflect through their writing, expressing and clarifying how they feel.

Ballantyne, R & Packer, J (1995) Making Connections. ACT: Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia

Popp, M.S. (1997) Learning Journals in the K-8 classroom. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.