THE POWER OF BEAUTY: LEVERAGING ON DEEP LEARNING TO DISENTANGLE THE EFFECT OF IMAGE AESTHETICS ON ONLINE PURCHASE

Visuals have been deemed as one of the primary marketing formats in service e-tailing environ-ments to compensate for the abstract and intangible nature of services. Yet, despite the overwhelm-ing empirical evidence attesting to the importance of aesthetics in product and website designs, there is a dearth of research on how the beauty of images depicting service offerings could affect consumers’ behaviour. Subscribing to Stimuli-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework, we attempt to elucidate the power of aesthetics in shaping consumers’ cognitive and emotional responses when they are exposed to the portal image of a service offering. Additionally, we endeavour to explore the heterogeneity of consumers’ responses or their centrality of visual aesthetics, to such images. Blending computer vision and deep learning techniques, we advance a computable and decomposable aesthetic assessment method for scoring the aesthetics of portal images belonging to more than 299,000 local service offerings on a leading Chinese group buying site. We then em-ploy Propensity Score Matching (PSM) to yield initial evidence demonstrating that aesthetics ex-erts significant effects on the online sales of services

How Aesthetic Engagement with IT is Shaping Digital Society: An Ethnographic Example

In this paper, we discuss an empirical example of the everyday aesthetics of engagement with information systems work practices. Drawing on an ethnographic study, we suggest that the information systems phenomena can be seen as a form of artwork in the practices of a new generation of IT professionals. Using the aesthetic ontology of art, an artwork is conceptualised as something that manifests, articulates, and reconfigures the human practices in a digital society. This paper is intended as an empirical contribution towards advancing the discussion of the aesthetics of engagement in the information systems literature

Data Collection, Analysis, and Small-Data Visualization: A Qualitative Interpretation of Novel Fandom Behaviors on Social Media Platforms

This case study focuses on the data visualization method in the context of online fandom activities and the digital platform economy. In media and communication studies, fandom and celebrity studies go hand in hand which not only powers up the economy via its entertainment and news industries but also keeps audiences informed, entertained, and, sometimes, educated. In order to better understand novel fandom activities afforded by new digital technologies, my role in this project was to use the data visualization method and conduct data collection of fan-created texts alongside the digital contents they consumed or the celebrities they followed. This case study discusses the process of data collection and visualization of a small body of fan-created media texts, the underlying design thinking, and the challenges I experienced regarding the amount of data, data cleaning of idiosyncratic and vernacular fandom expressions, as well as the new modality afforded by new digital technologies. This case study also critically reflects on how “small data” can be used creatively under the dominating “big data” discourse in academia and how data visualization can be used to inform and compensate qualitative interpretations and ethnographies, which are widely used in fandom and audience studies

Orthodontists’ and patients’ preferences in website design in the selection of an orthodontic practice: a comparative study

Objective: To determine which website characteristics are preferred by orthodontists, adult patients, and parents of patients. Materials and Methods: 1,000 active members of the American Association of Orthodontists and 750 active orthodontic patients/parents were sampled. Participants rated the importance of website characteristics, indicated presence of those characteristics on the current website, and ranked sample website images. Preferences were compared between orthodontist and the patient/parent group using t-tests and sample websites were compared using ANOVA models and Tukey’s adjusted post-hoc tests. Significance level was set at 0.05. Results: 11 of the 16 website features showed significant differences between patients/parents and orthodontists. Participants preferred sample websites with images of people, information at the top of the page, and an ‘about the doctor’ page with a greater amount of information. Conclusion: This study showed significant differences in preferences between orthodontists and patients/parents, by gender, and between adult patients and parents of adolescent patients

A comparison in pediatric dental website design from a guardian and pediatric dentists’ perspective.

Purpose: This project aims to determine which aspects of pediatric dental practice websites are preferable to the guardians of pediatric dental patients and which of these aspects are currently available to guardians on the websites of pediatric dental practices across the United States. The comparison will reveal if practice websites are meeting the needs of the guardians of pediatric dental patients. Our hope is to provide meaningful guidance to pediatric dentists designing new practice websites and to provide the guardians of pediatric dental patients with an appealing online experience during their use of the aforementioned websites. Methods: A survey with questions regarding design features of pediatric dental practices was administered to the guardians of pediatric dental patients in 3 private practices within an hour drive of Richmond, Virginia. Guardians responded to 16 website characteristics using a numeric scale to indicate desirability. In parallel, a website audit was performed on a representative sample of US pediatric dental practice websites to determine the presence of the same 16 features to allow for comparisons. In addition, guardians also rated sample web pages and answered questions regarding website use and demographics. Results: A total of 51 guardians completed the survey across 3 practices. The majority of respondents were female (36, 71%) and had private insurance (n=43, 84%). Guardians were predominantly between the ages of 25 and 54 (49, 98%) and the majority of the children they represented were between the ages of 5 and 13 (69%). The guardians rated the homepage image showing diverse children (p\u3c0.0001), the “About the Doctor” section in structured list format (p\u3c0.0001) and the location of the contact information banner at top and right side (p\u3c0.0020, p\u3c0.0148 respectively) significantly higher than the other options. The guardians also ranked the homepage information banner location at the top of the page higher than at the bottom but this was not significant (p=0.0528). The guardians also rated 6 features of pediatric dental websites at a level of importance above 50 percent while these features were present on less than 30 percent of the websites audited. These features are online payments, a search function, before and after pictures of treatments, a chat box for communication with the office, video testimonials from guardians and patients and ways the dental practice gives back to the community. Half of the guardians (n=26, 51%) agreed or strongly agreed the website was a factor in the decision to become a patient of a particular dental practice (p=0.0001) and this group visited an average of 2.5 websites before deciding to become a patient at a specific dental practice. Conclusion: Regarding available features, guardians’ preferences seem to differ from what is currently available on pediatric dental websites. Pediatric dentists need to consider adding certain convenience features to their websites to allow a more aesthetic and useful experience for the guardians of their patients. Guardians prefer photos of children with diverse ethnic backgrounds on the homepage of pediatric dental websites. Guardians who use websites to choose a practice reported visiting an average of 2.5 pediatric dental practices’ websites before choosing which pediatric dentist to visit

I am Safe, so I will Help: Prosocial Impact of Marking Oneself Safe during Disasters

In the aftermath of disasters, people anxiously desire to immediately inquire or inform their loved ones about their safety. A social safety check system (SSCS) is a single-click safety status broadcasting mechanism on social platforms during crises. While millions of people use it globally during disasters, millions ignore the system. Research investigating the antecedents and consequents of SSCS adoption during disasters is scarce. We examine the unforeseen prosocial consequences (donations, volunteering, information sharing) of SSCS adoption. Based on theoretically established link between individuals’ state gratitude and prosocial tendencies, we posit that using SSCS would act as a gratitude intervention and will lead to higher prosocial intentions among adopters as compared to non-adopters. We test our hypotheses using scenario-based controlled experiment. A post-hoc study reveals the motivators and concerns in adoption of SSCS. The study investigates a sociotechnical tool in disaster management with impact on the societal welfare of disaster-hit communities

Exploring The Aesthetic Values and Components of Digital Graphic Novels: A Systematic Review

The digital graphic novel (DGN) is a comic book evolution that tells stories in a range of genres. Due to its benefits, DGN has gained a reputation over the years. This paper explores the theoretical parts of DGNs that make them valuable resources for research and information, identifies the benefits for designers, researchers, and DGN readers. Nonetheless, this study focuses on the aesthetic values and components in designing appealing DGNs. A systematic literature review has been performed on 128 sources. In general, findings from this review have classified five benefits of DGN that impact the educational areas; DGN can encourage learners to read, able to improve critical thinking, serve as a new dimension of learning, build visual literacy, and able to give positive values in learning. This study summarizes the current literature and identified six aesthetic elements and fourteen components that affect the design of DGNs. This study presented a research outline with several opportunities for researchers and practitioners to explore aesthetic values

Visuaalisen markkinoinnin hyödyntäminen digitaalisilla alustoilla

Tiivistelmä. Tämä tutkimus käsittelee digitaalisilla alustoilla tapahtuvaa visuaalista markkinointia ja sen hyödyntämistä. Tutkimukset digitaalisesta sisällöstä ovat vasta alkutekijöissään ja niiden tutkimuspohja on rakennettu lähinnä käyttäjien luoman ja sponsoroidun sisällön varaan (Järvinen & Taiminen, 2016; Müller & Christandl, 2019). Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on lisätä ymmärrystä visuaalisten markkinointikeinojen käytöstä kuluttajien suosimilla digitaalisilla alustoilla. Tarkastelun kohteena on visuaalisuuden sisältö, sen toistuvuuden tai sitä seuraavan dialogin sijasta. Tutkimus keskittyy kahteen laajaan kokonaisuuteen ja niiden yhdistämiseen. Ensimmäisenä niistä ovat digitaaliset alustat ja laitteet, jotka mahdollistavat niiden käytön. Toisena kokonaisuutena on visuaalinen markkinointi, eli visuaalisten elementtien, kuten kuvien ja videoiden hyödyntäminen markkinoinnissa (Li & Xie, 2020). Kokonaisuuksien yhdistäminen tapahtuu sovittamalla visuaalisen markkinoinnin luoma sisältö digitaalisille alustoille. Tutkimusmetodina käytetään narratiivista kirjallisuuskatsausta. Tärkeimpinä johtopäätöksinä huomataan, että miellyttävä visuaalinen markkinointi herättää huomion, on visuaalisesti miellyttävän näköinen ja onnistuu säilyttämään huomion. Sisällön tarkasteltu suuruus nostaa sen miellyttävyyttä, mutta yhtä ainoaa kaavaa täydellisen visuaalisen ilmeen luomiseksi ei voitu tunnistaa. Koska digitaaliset alustat kehittyvät jatkuvasti tulee visuaalisen markkinoinnin hyödyntää useita eri alustoja ja juuri niille tyypillisiä visuaalisia keinoja. Näyttöpaneelien ominaisuudet vaikuttavat sisällön näyttäytymiseen ja sen vuoksi sisällön optimointi eri alustoja ja laitteita varten on tärkeää. Erityishuomiona havaittiin laajakuvaa (16:9) leveämpien kuvasuhteiden olevan hyödyllisiä niin visuaalisessa mielessä kuin sovitettaessa samaa sisältöä toistettavaksi useilta eri laitteilta. Liikkeenjohdollisten johtopäätösten perusteella tutkimus antaa vahvan syyn käyttää resursseja visuaalisen markkinoinnin toteuttamiseksi. Teoreettisen kontribuution osalla tutkimus yhdistää aihealueen tiedon yhtenäiseksi kokonaisuudeksi, jonka avulla miellyttävän sisällön rakentaminen on mahdollista