Children searching information on the Internet: Performance on children's interfaces compared to Google

Children frequently make use of the Internet to search for information. However, research shows that children experience many problems with searching and browsing the web. The last decade numerous search environments have been developed, especially for children. Do these search interfaces support children in effective information-seeking? And do these interfaces add value to today’s popular search engines, such as Google? In this explorative study, we compared children’s search performance on four interfaces designed for children, with their performance on Google. We found that the children did not perform better on these interfaces than on Google. This study also uncovered several problems that children experienced with these search interfaces, which can be of use for designers of future search interfaces for children

Pension helpdesk calls:A repair mechanism in the client communication of financial institutions

This paper analyzes the role of helpdesk calls in the client communication package of pension funds.Our audio-corpus of 77 helpdesk calls contained 104 client questions. These show that clients seem tocall the helpdesk in order to repair a comprehension problem, to find specific information they missed,to repair incorrect information or an administrative failure. In terms of Media Synchronicity Theory,helpdesk calls are most often used to repair unsuccessful conveyance processes by providing extra infor-mation, rectifying information or by addressing misunderstandings. Overall, the helpdesk is only usedfor straightforward inquiries and problems, not for financial advice

Three types of children’s informational web sites: an inventory of design conventions

"Purpose: Research on Web design conventions has an almost exclusive focus on Web design for adults. There is far less knowledge about Web design for children. For the first time, an overview is presented of the current design conventions for children's informational Web sites. Method: In this study a large corpus of 100 children's international, informational Web sites from four different domains (science, pets, arts, and health) is analyzed. The instrument for analyzing the Web sites included categories on visual design, navigation and information architecture. Results: The design conventions identified in this study show that designers of children's informational Web sites often follow general Web design guidelines. This study also shows that there is still much confusion about how to design Web sites for children. A closer look at the data revealed three categories of informational Web sites especially designed for children, diverging from a classical to a playful design approach. Conclusion: An overview is presented of the current design conventions for children's informational Web sites. The identified design conventions should be further tested and validated as design standards for children's informational Web design. Further, the design of children's informational Web sites is determined by two dimensions of aesthetics; classical and expressive. In this study, expressive aesthetics results in playful visual design or in a total playful interaction design. The effects of playful design on children's affect and cognition will be an important topic in future research on children's digital search behavior.

Worker mobility in a search model with adverse selection

We analyze the effects of adverse selection on worker turnover and wage dynamics in a frictional labor market. We consider a model of on-the-job search where firms offer promotion wage contracts to workers of different abilities, which is unknown to firms at the hiring stage. With sufficiently strong information frictions, low-wage firms offer separating contracts and hire all types of workers in equilibrium, whereas high-wage firms offer pooling contracts, promoting high-ability workers only. Low-ability workers have higher turnover rates and are more often employed in low-wage firms. The model replicates the negative relationship between job-to-job transitions and wages observed in the U.S. labor market

Precautionary allergen labeling: Current communication problems and potential for future improvements

While there are EU laws for priority allergenic ingredients information on food product packaging, there is no legislation about Precautionary Allergen Labelling (PAL) for unintended allergen presence (UAP). As a result, PAL is used in different ways by different manufacturers and retailers, which hampers consumers’ interpretation of the information in the PAL. Previous research has focused on the forms of PAL that are used and on the way they are interpreted and used by consumers. This study adds the perspective of producers, retailers and branch organizations. Thirteen interviews with QA- and QC-professionals were conducted to find out more about the reasoning behind their PAL-use and to find out how PAL could be optimized. Results show that harmonization is needed, on different levels: in the way information on UAP is shared between parties involved in the food chain; in the way PAL is presented and phrased; and in the rules and regulations on PAL. More research is needed on possible ways to share (updates on) information on UAP with consumers

Precautionary allergen labeling: Current communication problems and potential for future improvements

While there are EU laws for priority allergenic ingredients information on food product packaging, there is no legislation about Precautionary Allergen Labelling (PAL) for unintended allergen presence (UAP). As a result, PAL is used in different ways by different manufacturers and retailers, which hampers consumers’ interpretation of the information in the PAL. Previous research has focused on the forms of PAL that are used and on the way they are interpreted and used by consumers. This study adds the perspective of producers, retailers and branch organizations. Thirteen interviews with QA- and QC-professionals were conducted to find out more about the reasoning behind their PAL-use and to find out how PAL could be optimized. Results show that harmonization is needed, on different levels: in the way information on UAP is shared between parties involved in the food chain; in the way PAL is presented and phrased; and in the rules and regulations on PAL. More research is needed on possible ways to share (updates on) information on UAP with consumers

How to Test Mandatory Text Templates: The European Patient Information Leaflet

The structure of patient information leaflets (PILs) supplied with medicines in the European Union is largely determined by a regulatory template, requiring a fixed sequence of pre-formulated headings and sub-headings. The template has been criticized on various occasions, but it has never been tested with users. This paper proposes an alternative template, informed by templates used in the USA and Australia, and by previous user testing.The main research question is whether the revision better enables users to find relevant information. Besides, the paper proposes a methodology for testing templates. Testing document templates is complex, as they are “empty”. For both the current and the alternative template, we produced a document with bogus text and real headings (reflecting the empty template) and a real-life document with readable text (reflecting the “filled” template). The documents were tested both in Dutch and in English, with 64 British and 64 Dutch users. The test used a set of scenario questions that covers the full range of template (sub)topics; users needed to indicate the text locations where they expected each question to be answered. The revised template improved findability of information; this effect was strongest for the “filled” template with readable text. When participants were shown both filled templates, there was a clear preference for the revised template. A closer analysis of the findability data revealed question-specific effects of topic grouping, topic ordering, subtopic granularity and wording of headings. Most of these favoured the revised template, but our revision led to adverse effects as well, for instance in the new heading Check with your doctor. Language-specific effects showed that the wording of the headings is a delicate task. Generally, we conclude that document template designs can be analyzed in terms of the four parameters grouping, ordering, granularity and wording. Furthermore, they need to be tested on their effects on information findability, with template translations requiring separate testing. The methodology used in this study seems an appropriate one for such tests. More specifically, we find that the new patient information leaflet template proposed here provides better information findability

Human Thrombomodulin Knock-In Mice Reveal Differential Effects of Human Thrombomodulin on Thrombosis and Atherosclerosis

We sought to develop a murine model to examine the antithrombotic and antiinflammatory functions of human thrombomodulin in vivo

The effect of aluminium on twinning in binary alpha-titanium

The deformation mechanisms of binary Ti–Al model alloys (0–13.1 at.% Aluminium) have been investigated with respect to the twinning activity using in-situ loading in combination with neutron diffraction as well as detailed post mortem electron backscatter diffraction analysis. A consistent starting grain size and texture was generated for all alloys promoting tensile twinning during compression testing. Long-wavelength neutron diffraction and selected area diffraction transmission electron microscopy analysis were carried out to detect evidence of Aluminium ordering and Ti3Al formation.It was found that raising the Aluminium content in Titanium does first slightly enhance twinning, with {10View the MathML source2} tensile twinning being by far the dominant type, while the critical residual intergranular strains for twin initiation decreases. This suggests that either the lowering of stacking fault energy by Aluminium or its solute solution strengthening effect are important factors. At around 7 at.% Aluminium a turning point in twinning activity was noticed and a further increase in Aluminium did result in a dramatic loss of twinning activity particularly when the material had been exposed to an additional low temperature age. The dramatic decrease of twinning activity is strongly correlated with increasing evidence of short range ordering and also early signs of Ti3Al-formation in case of the highest Aluminium content. In addition, electron backscatter diffraction analysis revealed that the formation of Aluminium ordered zones do severely hinder growth of twin boundaries