Usability Studies on the Web Page Design for E-Commerce

The potential of the World Wide Web on the Internet as a commercial medium and market bas been widely documented in a variety of media. E-commerce is a new phenomenon that changes the way people do business. Therefore, in this report the writer will explore the usability studies on the web page design for e-commerce. The first chapter is the introduction where overview of the project includes the problem statement, problem solving, objectives and scope of the project is discussed. The role and definition of WWW, E-Commerce and its history is discussed in chapter two. Further, in the same chapter the writer continues examine problems with the web page design (e--commerce) and factors affecting the decision to purchase. In the third chapter, the methodology of the web page design is spell out. In chapter four, security technology, which can pose significant threats to web page for e-commerce, is mentioned. Chapter five includes a comparison is done to find out web page design for e-commerce in Malaysia and other countries, and sample web page design based on the usability studies discussed in the above chapters is done. Finally findings and conclusion for this project is mentioned in chapter six

Data‐bility: Endogamous social intimacies on dating apps in Mumbai

In this paper I argue through the double entendre of ‘data‐bility’ that how dateable one is on a dating app relies on data. This techno‐social framework enables an understanding of how dating apps are reconfiguring a politics of sexuality, circumscribed by digital technologies and data. Drawing on research with middle‐class women and gender‐minority dating app users in Mumbai and one dating app executive, the paper investigates how algorithms and users' digital behaviour together constitute data‐bility in three ways. First, dating app algorithms are designed to match those of similar social identities to one another. Second, dating app users engage with others' digital data on profiles and through message chats, reading class through these processes, deciding who to match/reject and correspondingly who is data‐ble. Third, users and algorithmic infrastructures come together to create new regimes of verification, through deeming some users ‘real’ and others ‘fake’ on dating apps, extending violent legacies of categorisation. Together, these processes result in data‐bility, a techno‐social order of digital dating oriented around the exclusion of those labelled ‘creeps’ along class and caste lines

Unpacking the Upper Echelon’s Cognitive Black Box: A Qualitative Study of Selective Attention and Decision Making in Senior Executives

In today’s volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world, senior executives face a myriad of difficult decisions. These decisions are often accompanied by a barrage of stimuli, which can complicate decision-making processes. To traverse these challenges, those in the upper echelons of leadership must manage their selective attention well, make clear sense of unfolding events, and act upon them in ways that maximize organization outcomes. However, there is a gap in research around how the upper echelons of leadership manage their selective attention in high-stimuli decision scenarios. This qualitative grounded theory research addresses this gap by studying the cognitive processes used by senior military executives to manage their limited attentional resources in such environments. Data was collected via semi-structured interviews of a purposive and snowball sampled group of 18 recently retired senior military officers who held key strategic positions during their time in service. Interviews were transcribed, coded using open and axial techniques, and analyzed to develop a grounded theory of how the upper echelons of leadership navigate information-saturated, high-stimuli environments and manage their limited attentional resources when making high-consequence decisions. Findings show that executives rely heavily on the team of people around them while taking steps to create mental space, and then doing the best they can to gather and prioritize information, given time constraints. This model suggests the top management teams play a central role in helping senior executives manage their limited attention, which can shape how senior executives are chosen and developed

Information-seeking on the Web with Trusted Social Networks - from Theory to Systems

This research investigates how synergies between the Web and social networks can enhance the process of obtaining relevant and trustworthy information. A review of literature on personalised search, social search, recommender systems, social networks and trust propagation reveals limitations of existing technology in areas such as relevance, collaboration, task-adaptivity and trust. In response to these limitations I present a Web-based approach to information-seeking using social networks. This approach takes a source-centric perspective on the information-seeking process, aiming to identify trustworthy sources of relevant information from within the user's social network. An empirical study of source-selection decisions in information- and recommendation-seeking identified five factors that influence the choice of source, and its perceived trustworthiness. The priority given to each of these factors was found to vary according to the criticality and subjectivity of the task. A series of algorithms have been developed that operationalise three of these factors (expertise, experience, affinity) and generate from various data sources a number of trust metrics for use in social network-based information seeking. The most significant of these data sources is Revyu.com, a reviewing and rating Web site implemented as part of this research, that takes input from regular users and makes it available on the Semantic Web for easy re-use by the implemented algorithms. Output of the algorithms is used in Hoonoh.com, a Semantic Web-based system that has been developed to support users in identifying relevant and trustworthy information sources within their social networks. Evaluation of this system's ability to predict source selections showed more promising results for the experience factor than for expertise or affinity. This may be attributed to the greater demands these two factors place in terms of input data. Limitations of the work and opportunities for future research are discussed

The gift of life: an existential phenomenological exploration of receiving a lifesaving organ transplant and how this affects life subsequently

At present, there is little research conducted on organ transplantation from the perspective of the organ recipient. This study aimed to explore the experience of undergoing lifesaving organ transplantation and how this may affect life subsequently. For the purpose of this research, lifesaving transplants constituted as solid organ transplants, these being heart, lung, liver, and kidney. Six participants were interviewed using semi-structured interviews focusing on the experience of undergoing the transplantation procedure, and how this affected their life following this. The data in the form of the participants' accounts were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis - IPA. Five superordinate themes were identified with 19 subordinate themes falling within these. The superordinate themes were; Embodied Experience which related to the participants’ physical world and their experiences of this, Life & Death relating to the participants’ experience of existence and mortality, Relationships relating to the participants’ actual or intended modes of relating to others in the world, Temporality relating to the participants’ experience of time, and The Psychological relating to the participants’ experiences of their inner world and the relationship they hold with themselves. Consideration and discussion of these themes were conducted, highlighting the implications these findings hold for the field of Counselling Psychology and Psychotherapy, with a nod to Existential literature and philosophy interwoven within this. The study concludes that organ recipients undergoing transplantation experience an array of bio-psycho-social-spiritual issues that professionals working with this population need to be aware of. It is argued that appropriate and sufficient evidence-based interventions should be developed and offered to all those undergoing the transplant treatment as standard in the provision of care provided to this population. Unfortunately, at present psychological support for organ recipients is only offered as and when a need ‘arises’

Lift EVERY Voice and Sing: An Intersectional Qualitative Study Examining the Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Queer Faculty and Administrators at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

While there is minimal literature that address the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans* identified students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), the experiences of Black, queer faculty and administrators at HBCUs has not been studied. This intersectional qualitative research study focused on the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer identified faculty and administrators who work at HBCUs. By investigating the intersections of religion, race, gender, and sexuality within a predominantly Black institution, this study aims to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts at HBCUs by sharing the experiences of the LGBQ faculty and administrators that previously or currently work at an HBCU as a full-time employee. The research questions that guided this study were 1) How have LGBQ faculty and staff negotiated/navigated their careers at HBCUs? and 2) How do LGBQ faculty and staff at HBCUs influence cultural (relating to LGBQ inclusion) change at the organizational level? The main theoretical framework used was intersectionality and it shaped the chosen methodology and methods. The Politics of Respectability was the second theoretical framework used to describe the intra-racial tensions within the Black/African American community. The study included 60-120 minute interviews with 12 participants. Using intersectionality as a guide, the data were coded and utilized for thematic analysis. Then, an ethnodramatic performance engages readers. The goals of this study were to encourage policy changes, promote inclusivity for LGBQ employees at HBCUs, and provide an expansion to the body of literature in the field pertaining to the experiences of LGBQ faculty and administrators in higher education

Hair Trigger 35

An anthology, edited by students, featuring the fiction, prose and creative non-fiction work of students, alumni, and staff. Editors: Liz Baudler, Sayla Blackwood, Keenan Boyd, A.J. Camarena, Ramon Castillo, Karolina Faraci, Lauren Herbert, Courtney Muller, Emily Roth, Larissa Trout. Cover photograph: Joel DeGrand. 325 pages.https://digitalcommons.colum.edu/hairtrigger/1032/thumbnail.jp

Freeflight: Conveying Christian Redemption in Realistic Literature

When I began writing Freeflight in 2008, I did not think of it as part of the Christian fiction genre. I intended to write a realistic novel1 containing ideas that interested me, such as unconditional friendship, the effects of fame, and the world of modern rock music. I wrote for a secular audience, envisioning my novel in the mainstream fiction section of a bookstore instead of on the one shelf of Christian fiction squeezed in the back corner. But finding the best balance between Christian themes and a non-Christian audience is a complicated matter. In this thesis, I attempt to identify what aspects of a Christian novel are most effective for conveying the Gospel to non-Christian readers while still providing unequivocal Christian ideas through the story. How does a Christian author write a realistic novel with supernatural content? How can fiction evoke questions in its audience about God and faith without turning non-Christian readers away? To answer these questions in this thesis, I divide the Gospel into four stages or themes that Christian authors may address in their novels, discuss the relationship between Christian authors and realism, analyze the technique and redemption theme of four novels in the Christian fiction genre, and analyze the same aspects in my own novel. I include a rough draft of my novel as an example of what I have found to be the most effective in communicating the Gospel to a non-Christian audience. While my novel is far from perfect, it contains several qualities that I believe are important to have in a Christian novel

Alone Together: The Experiences of LGBTQIA+ Undergraduates at Faith-based Colleges

This qualitative study aimed to explore the experiences of LGBTQIA+ alumnix who attended faith-based colleges. The study was guided by Strayhorn’s (2019) College Students’ Sense of Belonging Theory and Abes’ et al. (2007) Reconceptualized model of multiple dimensions of identity. The scope of experiences explored was narrowed to three of the five categories in Schreiner’s (2010a) Thriving Quotient. These categories were: positive perspective (outlook on life), social connectedness, and diverse citizenship. The study included 11 participants from 7 faith-based colleges and represented various intersections of sexual and gender identity. The study employed constructivist grounded theory methodology, an inductive research approach which seeks to embrace the pre-existing realities and experiences that both the research and the participants bring to the research process. This method also recognizes the unique reality that is also constructed during the research process itself. The data in the study were collected through semi-structured interviews and were analyzed using open, focused, and theoretical coding. The result of the study was an emergent theory on the experiences of LGBTQIA+ alumnix at faith-based colleges. This theory described how these experiences were both the “same” as majority population experiences and “different.” Similarities included a prioritization of academics and a desire for success, the importance of connections with faculty and peers, and a broadening of perspective when open to experiencing difference. Differences included the presence of fear and anxiety due to institutional behavioral codes, finding belonging outside the bounds of institutional policies, and feelings of betrayal by the institution in terms of diversity, equity, and inclusion practices