Evaluating the consistency of immediate aesthetic perceptions of web pages

Two experiments were designed to replicate and extend [Lindgaard et al.'s, 2006. Attention web designers: you have 50 ms to make a good first impression! Behaviour and Information Technology 25(2), 115–126] findings that users can form immediate aesthetic impression of web pages, and that these impressions are highly stable. Using explicit (subjective evaluations) and implicit (response latency) measures, the experiments demonstrated that, averaged over users, immediate aesthetic impressions of web pages are remarkably consistent. In Experiment 1, 40 participants evaluated 50 web pages in two phases. The average attractiveness ratings of web pages after a very short exposure of 500 ms were highly correlated with average attractiveness ratings after an exposure of 10 s. Extreme attractiveness evaluations (both positive and negative) were faster than moderate evaluations, landing convergent evidence to the hypothesis of immediate impression. The findings also suggest considerable individual differences in evaluations and in the consistency of those evaluations. In Experiment 2, 24 of the 50 web pages from Experiment 1 were evaluated again for their attractiveness after 500 ms exposure. Subsequently, users evaluated the design of the web pages on the dimensions of classical and expressive aesthetics. The results showed high correlation between attractiveness ratings from Experiments 1 and 2. In addition, it appears that low attractiveness is associated mainly with very low ratings of expressive aesthetics. Overall, the results provide direct evidence in support of the premise that aesthetic impressions of web pages are formed quickly. Indirectly, these results also suggest that visual aesthetics plays an important role in users’ evaluations of the IT artifact and in their attitudes toward interactive systems.     

Linking objective design factors with subjective aesthetics: An experimental study on how structure and color of websites affect the facets of users’ visual aesthetic perception

The present study examines how objective design factors of a website are linked to different facets of subjective aesthetic perception. Five online experiments based upon the screenshots of real-existing websites with a total of N = 194 participants were conducted to isolate and analyze the effects of two objective structural factors (vertical symmetry, visual complexity) and three objective color factors (hue, saturation, brightness) on the different facets of subjective aesthetic perception (simplicity, diversity, colorfulness, craftsmanship) measured with the Visual Aesthetics of Website Inventory (Moshagen & Thielsch, 2010). Although all investigated factors are apparent features in website design, their effects on different facets of subjective aesthetic perception are not yet well understood. Our results show that websites of high symmetry, low complexity, blue hue, medium brightness or medium and high saturation received the highest overall aesthetics ratings. Furthermore, data reveal that structural factors compared to color factors have a manifold and greater impact on the different facets of subjective aesthetic perception than the color factors. Both structural factors have a great impact on simplicity, diversity and craftsmanship whereas the color factors have a great impact especially on colorfulness. Only complexity affects all facets of subjective aesthetic perception. The other objective design factors had effects on specific facets. Our findings shed light on the relationship between objective and subjective factors of aesthetic perception and may help designers to systematically target specific facets of visual aesthetics.     

Promote physical activity among college students: Using media richness and interactivity in web design

Recently with widely available access, the web has emerged as a medium for new interventions. However, as yet, little is known about what makes some websites more effective than others. This study investigated an approach to developing websites that utilized two media characteristics – media richness and interactivity – to promote physical activity among college students. Four forms of websites were developed and tested in a 2 × 2 between-subject experiment (high vs. low richness; high vs. low interactivity) that was conducted among 205 participants. Overall, media richness had a significant main effect on college students’ intention to visit the fitness center while interactivity influenced the likelihood they would recommend it. Although media richness did not have a significant main effect on recommendation, a significant interaction effect was observed that rich media led to higher recommendation intention when interactivity level was low. In addition, knowledge, attitude and trustworthiness of the fitness center mediated the effects of media richness and interactivity on behavioral intentions. These findings support the efficacy of utilizing these media characteristics to design web-based health interventions promoting college students’ physical activity.     

Picture perfect: Girls’ and boys’ preferences towards visual complexity in children’s websites

This experiment examined children’s aesthetic preferences for websites designed for them. It applied Berlyne’s theory of aesthetic preference to these websites: a theory that suggests that people prefer a medium level of stimuli to a low or high level of stimuli. The experiment used a 2 × 3 between-subject design and involved 45 boys and 45 girls. In the experiment the children were asked to rate 12 children’s learning websites for aesthetic preference. The websites had been classified according to whether they displayed a high, medium or low level of visual complexity. The results of the experiment showed that overall the children preferred websites that displayed a medium level of visual complexity to those that displayed a high or low level of visual complexity. Thus the results supported Berlyne’s theory. However, when the children’s ratings were analysed with respect to their gender, it was found that the boys preferred a high level of visual complexity and the girls preferred a medium or low level of visual complexity. In other words, Berlyne’s theory was partly supported. Further analysis revealed other gender related aesthetic preferences. This paper should be of interest to anyone who designs learning websites for children.     

Development of a piezoelectric lead titanate thin film process on silicon substrates by high rate gas flow sputtering

Polycrystalline lead titanate (PT) thin films in the range of 3–6 μm were crack and void free deposited on silicon substrates in a high rate gas flow sputtering process. Gas flow sputtering uses the hollow cathode effect which results into high deposition rates of about 120 nm/min. (1 1 1) Textured platinum was used as bottom electrode to assist the nucleation of PT.Material properties of the PT thin films as well as the Pt bottom electrode like topography, morphology, chemical composition, and structure are evaluated. The sputtered PT layers show clearly Perovskite traces in XRD patterns, even the (1 1 1) texture of the Pt is partial transferred. The most difficult part is to fulfil the empirical formula PbTiO₃. This problem is solved by stabilising the process parameters. It was shown that the temperature has got enormous influence at the stoichiometry.     

The effects of source cues on online news perception

Among various interface cues, expertise, identity, and bandwagon cues have been consistently found to have significant effects on media users’ perceptions of online news content. To examine the effects of these three types of heuristic cues in the context of online news consumption, the current study involved a 2 (expertise cue: low vs. high) × 2 (identity cue: in-group vs. out-group) × 2 (bandwagon cue: low vs. high) online experiment. A total of 121 undergraduate students participated in the study. Significant two-way interaction effects between the expertise and bandwagon cues on perceived credibility suggested the positive combined effect of these two cues. Moreover, significant three-way interaction effects among expertise, identity and bandwagon cues indicated that the interaction effects between expertise and bandwagon cues tend to work as a function of the identity cue. While confirming the importance of the identity cue in users’ perceptions of online news, three-way interaction effects confirmed the co-occurrence of heuristic and systematic processing. The interaction effects also suggested that people process news systematically when the recommenders are out-group members, whereas they process news heuristically when the recommenders are in-group members. Theoretical as well as practical implications have also been discussed in this article.     

The effects of 0.2 Hz varying latency with 20–100 ms varying amplitude on simulator sickness in a helmet mounted display

The relationship between the occurrence of simulator sickness (SS) and varying latency in a helmet-mounted display (HMD) was explored in this study. Previous work has always considered latency to be a constant. The aim of this research was to determine if a latency that varied over time would impact the experience of SS for HMD users. An object location task was used while viewing real, live video scenes via HMD. A planned comparisons approach was utilized with four experimental conditions, 2 of them having constant latency (0 ms added to system baseline, 200 ms added to system baseline) and 2 of them having sinusoidally varying latency (100 ms amplitude at 0.2 Hz frequency, and 20–100 ms varying amplitude at 0.2 Hz frequency). These conditions allowed for the assessment of the effects of constant latency vs. varying latency on the experience of SS. The results indicated that a varying latency is associated with greater experience of SS among HMD users than constant latency. Results also indicated, as has other recent research, that added constant latency on its own does not appear to be associated with the experience of higher levels of SS in an HMD.     

Emotional design in multimedia learning: Differentiation on relevant design features and their effects on emotions and learning

Previous research into multimedia learning has mainly focused on cognitive factors to investigate different instructional conditions and design principles. Emotional factors have so far been widely neglected. However, recent studies showed that the emotional design of multimedia learning material can evoke positive emotions in learners that in turn facilitate the learning process. Following this lead, our study aims to further explore the potential of an emotional design. We seek to differentiate the current findings by systematically deducing emotionally relevant design features and also taking into account negative emotional states. In order to deduce relevant design features, we adopt concepts from web design. German college students (N = 334) were assigned to one of nine conditions, created by two design factors (classical vs. expressive aesthetics), each with two levels (high vs. low) and a usability factor (high vs. low usability) as well as a control group (no color/gray scale). Unexpectedly, objective differences in aesthetics or usability did not affect learners’ emotional states. However, the perceived aesthetics and usability positively affected the emotional states of the learners. Learners’ emotional states had a minor impact on learning outcomes but a larger impact on learners’ intrinsic motivation, including the motivation to continue working with the material.     

Extending multimedia research: How do prerequisite knowledge and reading comprehension affect learning from text and pictures

The present study aimed at extending research on multimedia design principles by investigating their validity as a function of learners’ reading comprehension and scientific literacy. Students (N = 125; age: M = 15.11 years) learned about cell reproduction during their regular Biology lessons in one of six conditions resulting from cross-varying multimedia (text only vs. text plus animations) and text modality (spoken vs. written vs. spoken and written). Recall and transfer were assessed immediately after learning and again 1 week later. Overall, adding animations to text as well as using spoken rather than written text improved only immediate recall; in addition, a multimedia effect for delayed recall was observed for learners with higher levels of scientific literacy. A redundant presentation of text proved harmful especially for delayed performance measures. Reading comprehension did not moderate multimedia design effects. Students with more suitable cognitive prerequisites were better able to maintain performance from the immediate to the delayed tests. Future multimedia research should further investigate the boundary conditions that moderate multimedia effectiveness.     

The effects of graphical display and screen ratio on information retrieval in web pages

Although many web pages consist of blocks of text surrounded by graphics, there is a lack of valid empirical research to aid the design of this type of page [D. Diaper, P. Waelend, Interact. Comput. 13 (2000) 163]. In particular little is known about the influence of animations on interaction with web pages. Proportion, in particular the Golden Section, is known to be a key determinant of aesthetic quality of objects and aesthetics have recently been identified as a powerful factor in the quality of human–computer interaction [N. Tractinsky, A.S. Katz, D. Ikar, Interact. Comput. 13 (2000) 127]. The current study aimed to establish the relative strength of the effects of graphical display and screen ratio of content and navigation areas in web pages, using an information retrieval task and a split-plot experimental research design. Results demonstrated the effect of screen ratio, but a lack of an effect of graphical display on task performance and two subjective outcome measures. However, there was an effect of graphical display on perceived distraction, with animated display leading to more distraction than static display, t(64) = 2.33. Results are discussed in terms of processes of perception and attention and recommendations for web page design are given.     

Social media metrics: Third-person perceptions of health information

The present study investigated the role of social media metrics (i.e., number of shares and comments) displayed alongside online news stories in shaping users’ perceptions of the content and its influence. In a web-based experiment (N = 144), participants first read a cancer news story that displayed either a high or a low level of social media metrics, then reported their perceived story influence on the self and others, as well as their behavioral intentions. In the low social media metrics condition, the general story influence was perceived to be stronger for others than for the self, indicative of the “third-person effect.” This effect, however, was diminished to insignificant levels in the high social media metrics condition. Further, social media metrics had an ultimate indirect effect on behavioral intentions via the third-person effect. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are provided in the end.     

Differentiation of online text-based advertising and the effect on users’ click behavior

Online syndicated text-based advertising is ubiquitous on news sites, blogs, personal websites, and on search result pages. Until recently, a common distinguishing feature of these text-based advertisements has been their background color. Following intervention by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the format of these advertisements has undergone a subtle change in their design and presentation. Using three empirical experiments, we investigate the effect of industry-standard advertising practices on click rates, and demonstrate changes in user behavior when this familiar differentiator is modified. Using three large-scale experiments (N₁ = 101, N₂ = 84, N₃ = 176) we find that displaying advertisement and content results with a differentiated background results in significantly lower click rates. Our results demonstrate the strong link between background color differentiation and advertising, and reveal how alternative differentiation techniques influence user behavior.     

Dielectric and piezoelectric properties of [0 0 1] and [0 1 1]-poled relaxor ferroelectric PZN–PT and PMN–PT single crystals

The properties of PZN–PT and PMN–PT single crystals of varying compositions and orientations have been investigated. Among the various compositions studied, [0 0 1]-optimally poled PZN-(6–7)%PT and PMN-30%PT exhibit superior dielectric and piezoelectric properties, with K^T ≈ 6800–8000, d₃₃ ≈ 2800 pC/N, d₃₁ ≈ −(1200–1800) pC/N for PZN-(6–7)%PT; and K^T = 7500–9000, d₃₃ = 2200–2500 pC/N and d₃₁ = −(1100–1400) pC/N for PMN-30%PT. These two compositions are also fairly resistant to over-poling. The [0 0 1]-poled electromechanical coupling factors (k₃₃, k₃₁ and k_t) are relatively insensitive to crystal composition. [0 1 1]-optimally poled PZN-7%PT single crystal also exhibits extremely high d₃₁ values of up to −4000 pC/N with k₃₁ ≈ 0.90–0.96. While [0 1 1]-poled PZN-7%PT single crystal becomes over-poled with much degraded properties when poled at and above 0.6 kV/mm, PZN-6%PT crystal shows no signs of over-poling even when poled to 2.0 kV/mm. The presence of a certain amount (i.e., 10–15%) of orthorhombic phase in a rhombohedral matrix has been found to be responsible for the superior transverse piezoelectric properties of [0 1 1]-optimally poled PZN-(6–7)%PT. The present work shows that flux-grown PZN–PT crystals exhibit superior and consistent properties and improved over-poling resistance to flux-grown PMN–PT crystals and that, for or a given crystal composition, flux-grown PMN–PT crystals exhibit superior over-poling resistance to their melt-grown counterparts.     

Effects of captions and time-compressed video on learner performance and satisfaction

Digital video is becoming increasingly popular in higher education with faculty digitally recording and broadcasting lectures for students to learn-on-demand, such as iTunes University or YouTube. Students have discovered accelerated playback features in popular computer software and use it to reduce the amount of time watching video-enhanced instruction. In the current study, 147 undergraduate students were randomly assigned to one of six video treatments based on a 3 Video Speed (1.0 = Normal vs. 1.25 = Fast vs. 1.50 = Very Fast) × 2 Captions (Captions Present vs. Captions Absent) × 2 Trial (Trial 1 vs. Trial 2) design. Results show no significant difference on learner performance across treatments based on Video Speed. Captions were found to have a significant negative effect on learner performance. A significant difference was found on learner satisfaction in favor of a normal Video Speed. The findings suggest that learners might be able to accelerate Video Speeds up to 1.5 times the normal speed, but are generally less satisfied with the learning experience.     

Can synchronicity and visual modality enhance social presence in mobile messaging?

As companies move increasingly toward text-based computer-mediated communications (CMC) for providing customer service, they tend to lose out on the social presence of a live agent interacting in person or via the telephone. Given the importance of social presence for maintaining healthy customer relations, how can companies counter the relative lack of social presence in CMC? Increasing the synchronicity of communications is one solution, but it is not always possible to provide instant responses to customers. In such cases, can a richer modality (e.g., picture of the customer-service agent) make up for diminished synchronicity and thereby enhance social presence? We addressed these questions with a 3 [synchronicity: high (no delay in response time) vs. medium (1-h delay) vs. low (6-h delay)] × 3 [modality: text-only vs. text+picture vs. text+emoticon] ful factorial, between-subjects experiment in which participants (N = 108) interacted with a customer service agent in a mobile e-commerce context. Data reveal that participants in high synchronicity and text+emoticon conditions felt higher social presence and perceived the customer service agent more positively than those in other conditions. Social presence and task impression mediated the relationship between each independent variable and their evaluations of the customer service agent.     

Piezoelectric unimorph valve assembled on an LTCC substrate

In this paper a piezoelectric initially open valve was designed in low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC), manufactured using standard processes, and tested with integrated gas channels inside the LTCC module. Actuation of the valve was based on a piezoelectric unimorph with a diameter of 15 mm and thickness of 0.35 mm glued onto the fired LTCC substrate. Subsequently, a series of tests, including flow, displacement and switching time measurements, was carried out. Measurements of the valve revealed a flow of 143 ml/min under 1 bar pressure, leakage levels of 4%, valve displacement of 1.3 μm, and closing times less than 30 ms. Additional miniaturization and integration of an embedded valve in the LTCC will be pursued, enabling improved manufacturing as a batch process and micro- and nano-litre fluid management for various applications.     

The negative impact of saturation on website trustworthiness and appeal: A temporal model of aesthetic website perception

Previous research on the perception of websites has shown that users' impressions of websites generated in ultra-rapid display durations (50 ms) correlate with their assessment after longer display durations. Based on the importance of color saturation in the design of websites, we present a 2 ✕ 3 ✕10 study design in which participants either assessed highly saturated or desaturated versions (between-subjects) of 50 websites coming from 10 content domains. All websites were presented three times to each participant in varying durations (50 ms, 500 ms, and 10 s), and each site was rated regarding its trustworthiness, visual appeal, and perceived usability. In contrast to a large body of research describing positive effects of higher saturated colors, our results show that these findings cannot be generalized to website perception, as we found negative effects of saturation depending on the content domain. Furthermore, we propose a temporal model of website perception based on the results in which users first evaluate the visual appeal of a website, followed by a continuous re-assessment of apparent usability, and lastly its trustworthiness. The results have broad implications for the design and presentation of information using digital media.     

Fiber optics sensor for sub-nanometric displacement and wide bandwidth systems

In this paper, we report fiber optics sensor with sub-nanometric resolution and wide bandwidth. It relies on an increase of the reception fibers number and on low-noise electronics. Moreover, a reference channel has been implemented using a semi-reflective plate to eliminate the source fluctuations and the fiber sensor was isolated to limit external influence of temperature and pressure. Thus we achieve both a sub-nanometric resolution on a 400 ms integration time and a long-term drift as low as 40 nm h^?1. The setup has been also adapted to high speed applications by increasing the bandwidth up to 38 kHz. It can display a 28 nm peak-to-peak limit of resolution on an aluminized piezoactuator. It has been successfully used to test the resonance frequency of a vibrating plate actuated by two high-frequency prototypes of piezoactuators. These improvements lead to low cost fibers optic sensors interesting for non-contact displacement measurements with high sensitivity.     

Knowledge sharing and social media: Altruism,perceived online attachment motivation,and perceived online relationship commitment

Social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, have become extremely popular. Facebook, for example, has more than a billion registered users and thousands of millions of units of information are shared every day, including short phrases, articles, photos, and audio and video clips. However, only a tiny proportion of these sharing units trigger any type of knowledge exchange that is ultimately beneficial to the users. This study draws on the theory of belonging and the intrinsic motivation of altruism to explore the factors contributing to knowledge sharing behavior. Using a survey of 299 high school students applying for university after the release of the public examination results, we find that perceived online attachment motivation (β = 0.31, p < 0.001) and perceived online relationship commitment (β = 0.49, p < 0.001) have positive, direct, and significant effects on online knowledge sharing (R² 0.568). Moreover, when introduced into the model, altruism has a direct and significant effect on online knowledge sharing (β = 0.46, p < 0.001) and the total variance explained by the extended model increases to 64.9%. The implications of the findings are discussed.     

Internet use and verbal aggression: The moderating role of parents and peers

This research investigated the influence of parent–adolescent communication quality, as perceived by the adolescents, on the relationship between adolescents’ Internet use and verbal aggression. Adolescents (N = 363, age range 10–16, M_T1 = 12.84, SD = 1.93) were examined twice with a six-month delay. Controlling for social support in general terms, moderated regression analyses showed that Internet-related communication quality with parents determined whether Internet use is associated with an increase or a decrease in adolescents’ verbal aggression scores over time. A three way interaction indicated that high Internet-related communication quality with peers can have disadvantageous effects if the communication quality with parents is low. Implications on resources and risk factors related to the effects of Internet use are discussed.