Location of navigation menus in websites: an experimental study with Arabic users

Published online: 31 October 2015While Arabic users represent by far the fastest growing language population on the Internet, research about how the peculiarities of Arabic language may shape users’ web interactions is still scarce. The preferences of Arabic users for menu location in websites have been studied. Two competing arguments have been proposed regarding the best location of menus in websites: conventional design (navigation menu should be placed on that side where users expect it based on previous experience) and reading direction (navigation menu should be placed on that side where readers are used to start off reading, so that the navigation menu is likely to be attended first). In an experiment, twenty-five participants with Arabic as mother language (who also spoke English) were briefly presented with screenshots from websites presented in Arabic or English and with menus located either on the left or the right, and rated their perceived visual appeal, usability, and trustworthiness. Results showed that participants judged the Arabic websites more positive when menus were located in the right- rather than in the left-hand side. In contrast, no differences for menu location were observed for English websites. These results are discussed in light of the conventional design and reading direction hypothesis and with regard to their implications for the design of Arabic websites.This research was partially funded by a Grant from the Spanish Secretaría General de Universidades (EDU2014-59422) to the first author

University Homepage Affordances: The Influence of Hyperlinks on Perceptions of Source Credibility

The technology affordances of university website homepages were evaluated to inform the development of prototypical examples of accessible public university and exclusive private university homepages. Affordances are characteristic of the environment that, when perceived, afford or provide opportunities for action (Gibson, 1986). In addition, affordances, such as hyperlinks, also prompt heuristic processes that lead to judgments that are based on peripheral cues rather than substantive information. Integrating the MAIN model (Sundar, 2008) and the Two-Factor Theory (Herzberg, 1966; Zhang & Von Dran, 2000), eye tracking and survey methodology were used to assess differences in perception and credibility judgments of the prototypes developed to represent the website homepages of accessible and exclusive universities. A content analysis was used to assess hyperlinks and other design features of the website homepages of the 10 most accessible and 10 most exclusive Ohio universities. Consistent with prior research, results indicated relatively little variation among the hyperlinks and design elements of university website homepages. The features were used to develop prototypes representative of the two types of university homepages. Those prototypes served as the manipulated independent variable in an experiment and, although the manipulation was correctly perceived, the differences were not statistically significant. Correspondingly, the credibility measures, although consistent with theoretical predictions, were not statistically significant based on the type of prototype viewed. This study thus did not provide evidence of a relationship between number of hyperlinks and credibility. Perceived hygiene and motivator factors however, were significantly positively associated with credibility, consistent with two-factor theory. Additionally, prior experience, particularly with university websites, was associated with the extent to which credibility assessments were not neutral. Participants with more experience were significantly more likely to make non-neutral assessments of credibility than those with less experience, results which are consistent with theory underlying the MAIN model and provide evidence of heuristic processing. This work provides evidence that two-factor theory complements the MAIN model, with potential theoretical and practical benefits. Universities can apply them to develop websites that better meet with user expectations and are thus perceived more favorably

User perceptions of Islamic website (I-webs)

Despite attending face-to-face meetings with the Muslim scholars, the Islamic Websites (I-webs) has been one of the most influential mediums of communication for Muslims across the globe to find information about Islam, and to share the knowledge they learned to both Muslims and non-Muslims. Realizing the significant impact of I-webs in spreading da'wah, it is imperative for the researchers understand the perception of our younger generation about I-webs as the source of information. This paper explores the Muslim Youths' perception of I-webs among undergraduate students aged between 19 to 22 years old. I-webs were evaluated using Islamic Website Evaluation Guidelines (IWEG) survey instrument. The outcome of this research will be used to further improve the design of I-webs to attract more users, particularly among the younger generation to deliver messages on the beauty of Islam

Icon Types, Classical and Expressive Aesthetics, Pleasurable Interaction and Satisfaction with the Process of Semi-literate Users

The hedonic role of icons has been undermined in contemporary human computer interaction research, though users have specifically mentioned the importance of icons while performing aesthetic evaluation of user interfaces. Previous research has also neglected factors like aesthetics and pleasurable interaction while comparing efficiency of same interface elements. In this regard, current study investigates how different types of icons in mobile applications affect the aesthetics and pleasurable interactions of semi-literate users. This study also investigates the extent to which aesthetics and pleasurable interactions affect satisfaction with the process. The study addresses these issues from the theoretical perspectives of metaphor and aesthetics. Significant differences were observed for aesthetics and pleasurable interactions between two different types of icon sets, namely metaphoric and idiomatic. This study suggests that for higher evaluation of aesthetics and pleasurable interaction for semi-literate users, specific icon types are preferred

EXTROVERT OR INTROVERT: HOW PERSONALITY MODERATES THE EFFECT OF VISUAL AESTHETICS ON APP ATTRACTIVENESS IN MOBILE APPLICATIONS

We propose a conceptual model for the context of mobile applications (apps) that explains the relationship between perceived visual aesthetics, perceived visual attractiveness, and intention to download. The model predicts that the aesthetics characteristics influence users’ perceived app attractiveness and users’ intention to download the app. It further predicts an interaction effect, where users’ personality types moderate the effect of aesthetics characteristics on perceived app attractiveness. In other words: differences in aesthetics characteristics explain differences in perceived app attractiveness. However, this effect varies for different types of user personality. We explain the model’s grounding in theory, describe the design of a laboratory experiment for empirically testing the model, and explain our manipulations of the aesthetics characteristics along its classic and expressive dimensions. Besides presenting our conceptual model and describing out planned experimental design, this study encourages researchers to further investigate how aesthetics characteristics affect intention formation depending on user personality types

Analysing the Role of Interactivity in User Experience

An experimental investigation into the role of interaction in user experience (UX) with a controlled manipulation of interactivity features (e.g. avatars, interactive video) in a university information website is reported. The more interactive version had better affect and hedonic ratings, even though its perceived usability was worse. Analysis of qualitative data showed users were attracted to the interactive features, although they complained about poor usability. The results of the experiments are discussed to consider the role of interactivity in user experience and the differences between users’ quantitative judgements of UX and their comments on interactive features which reveal different perspectives

A user-study examining visualization of lifelogs

With continuous advances in the pervasive sensing and lifelogging technologies for the quantified self, users now can record their daily life activities automatically and seamlessly. In the existing lifelogging research, visualization techniques for presenting the lifelogs and evaluating the effectiveness of such techniques from a lifelogger's perspective has not been adequately studied. In this paper, we investigate the effectiveness of four distinct visualization techniques for exploring the lifelogs, which were collected by 22 lifeloggers who volunteered to use a wearable camera and a GPS device simultaneously, for a period of 3 days. Based on a user study with these 22 lifeloggers, which required them to browse through their personal lifelogs, we seek to identify the most effective visualization technique. Our results suggest various ways to augment and improve the visualization of personal lifelogs to enrich the quality of user experience and making lifelogging tools more engaging. We also propose a new visualization feature-drill-down approach with details-on-demand, to make the lifelogging visualization process more meaningful and informative to the lifeloggers

Usability Of Grant Websites

Website usability is a widely explored area in the professional writing field, and many different types of websites have been analyzed for usability. However, grant websites have not been studied from this perspective. According to Jakob Nielsen and Kara Pernice (2010), a website’s usability centers around considerations of page layout, navigation, functional web design elements, pictures, and advertisements. This study explores how 2 items from this list – page layout and functional web design elements criteria -- are presented in two national grant websites, grants.gov and grantwatch.com, and two local grant websites, arc.gov and cfwnc.org. In this study, I attempt to find out how national and local grant websites differ in terms of usability. I found that usability is higher in the local grant websites according to the chosen criteria and that the functional web design elements criteria were non-problematic across all four websites

Exploring Online Communication Strategies to Propagate Meat Consumption Ideologies

Animals are raised for human consumption. This practice has become an increasingly divisive issue in America. On one side of this issue are those who believe that eating animals and using their byproducts is natural, normal, necessary, and nice; on the other are those believe consumption of animals is unnecessary and morally wrong. The purpose of this study was to explore how pro- and anti-meat consumption organizations communicate, reinforce, and advance their ideology online to actively shape public opinion. Online textual and visual strategies were examined, building on the foundational tenets of ELM, social identity theory, anti-consumption/reasons against, and inoculation theory. The homepages of three anti-meat organizations and three pro-meat organization websites were examined using a multi-phase content analysis that included critical discourse analysis, persuasive narratives, and semiotics strategies. Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected. Input and output of animal production is contrasted on the pro- and anti-meat websites. Animal Rights Vegan Activists (ARVA) organizations portray animals as having souls, and are portrayed as equals to humans. Compassionate people are portrayed as those who expose the cruelty of using animals as a food source, and are vegan. Pursuit, rescue, and wretched excess plots are favored. Inoculations against lifestyle norms and values are favored. ARVA consistently portrays itself as an alternative societal lifestyle. The meat organizations focus exclusively on food. Meat is quick, easy, affordable, and nutritious. Families want to eat it, and consumers feel good about serving it. Adventure, discovery, and maturation plots are favored. Inoculations against other meats, rather than against ARVA are present. Lifestyle norms and values, credibility, and information about meat appeared to be the inoculations favored. Rather than strengthening the universal brand of meat, the organizations actively subvert it through internal competition. Instead, pro-meat consumption organizations should promote their universal brand (i.e., meat) in a manner that not only resonates with the average consumer, but also encourages collective action by consumers in defense of the meat industry

Online servicescape dimensions as predictors of website trust in the South African domestic airline industry

Increased costs, competition and a dynamic environment have led to South African domestic airlines relying more on their own websites as outlets for airline tickets. Customers’ e-commerce uptake with respect to buying airline tickets online has been slow, attributed mostly to a lack of website trust. A well-designed online servicescape has been identified as an important contributor to website trust by several authors, but not yet in this particular context or industry. This study investigates the extent to which three online servicescape dimensions predict website trust in the South African domestic airline industry. A quantitative and descriptive research design was followed, and 300 responses were collected through self-administered questionnaires from domestic airline passengers who had purchased an airline e-ticket from a website. A multiple regression analysis indicates that online financial security is the best predictor of website trust, followed by layout and functionality and aesthetic appeal. Consequently, it is recommended that South African domestic airlines that wish to cultivate website trust should focus primarily on enhancing the online financial security of their websites, followed by customising the layout and functionality of their websites, and lastly improving aesthetic appeal by increasing the entertainment value of their websites.Key words: aesthetic appeal, domestic airline industry, layout and functionality, online financial security, online servicescape, servicescape dimensions, website trus