The Choice of Color, Topic and Toys: An Empirical Study of Gender Roles

Typically, toy manufacturers use the color pink for girls’ toys and the color blue for boys. They also design gender-related theme worlds for girls and boys based on gender-based stereotypes, justified by different playing preferences of the two sexes. Socially-oriented toys such as dolls are meant for girls and non-social toys such as trucks are attributed to boys. In toy shops, early-stage shaping of the gender profile is thus achieved by color and theme design. This early-stage reinforcement and reproduction of gender stereotypes has been criticized because stereotyping can limit further child development and learning. The goal of this article is to examine the contribution of the color-setting and theme design to the perception of toys, the gender-related assignment as well as the preferences for playing with toys. For this purpose, the use of the eye-tracking technology is combined with a questionnaire. In an experiment six pairs of “LEGO®” models, which have been systematically varied in color and theme, are shown to 74 four- and five-year-old children. The results reveal that the original gender-stereotyped “LEGO®” models attract more attention among children than the varied gender-incongruent models. The original “LEGO®” models are clearly assigned to gender. In the case of the varied models, the color is more distinctive than the theme for gender classification and the interest in playing with the models. This work is licensed under a&nbsp;Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.</p

User-Friendly Website Design: A Combined Eye-Tracking Study

A simple and intuitive operation – the so-called usability analysis of websites – is indispensable in modern times. In particular, drop-out rates can be applied as an indicator of existing usability problems. Eye-tracking is a proven method for the evaluation of the usability of websites. The aim of the study was to improve the usability of the website of an educational institute for trainees in the region as the target group. For this purpose, the use of an eye-tracking technology was combined with a survey of 30 trainees. The eye-tracking study was task-oriented: subjects were asked to inform themselves of particular course offers, and to register for the relevant courses. This procedure and the subsequent survey provided tangible indications of the search and surfing behaviour of the target group as well as their assessment of the usability of the website. This combination of methods allows the development of recommendations for optimizing the website with regard to its orientation, structure and level of comprehensibility. This work is licensed under a&nbsp;Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.</p

Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting - a Stakeholder`s Perspective Approach

Background: International financial reporting standards have constantly been facing fast-growing significant development. This has mainly been driven by the aim of better serving the needs of the investors. Awareness that corporate financial reporting provides short-sighted information and measures has been rising among politicians, in the society and on the financial markets. Therefore, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reporting as a form of non-financial reporting has made it to limelight. Various reporting types developed, but the type of reporting is hardly codified. Objective: The goal of this paper is to identify the superior CSR reporting type from a stakeholder\u27s perspective. After identifying and analyzing central guidelines on CSR reporting and presenting different approaches, the authors will apply a positive-empirical methodology. Methods/Approach: In this first innovative joint attempt, eye-tracking technology is combined with a questionnaire for approaching CSR quality. Results: This study demonstrates the validity of the used methodology for the analysis of search and information browsing behavior in various types of sustainability reports. Conclusions: Overall our findings indicate that the reporting type "reference sustainability report" may not be advisable from a stakeholder’s perspective

How Does the Attitude to Sustainable Food Influence the Perception of Customers at the Point of Sale? - an Eye-Tracking Study

Sustainability is a growing megatrend in our society entailing an increasing importance of sustainable consumption. Consumers associate sustainable products with ecological and regional production including a high credibility. In order to take advantage of this trend manufacturers of sustainable foods must communicate the sustainability of their products via packaging and displays at the point of sale. The objective of this article is to examine how the design of display elements succeeds in conveying sustainability for a new organic juice. In addition, the perception of individual design elements of sustainable products is determined. To this end, a field study was carried out in a supermarket combining eye-tracking technology with a survey of 32 customers. At the entrance, customers were asked to buy a variety of the newly introduced "Emsländer" organic juice, and then participate in the survey. The results demonstrate that customers with a positive attitude towards sustainable food fixate individual display elements referring to sustainability components for longer and remember product features better. Hence, the positive attitude towards sustainable food results in a higher visual attention at the point of sale. These findings provide recommendations for the design of the display. This work is licensed under a&nbsp;Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.</p

Still Searching or Have You Found It Already? – Usability and Web Design of an Educational Website

Background: Apart from a straight-forward and intuitive operability an appealing design determines the success of a website equally well. For this reason, the selection of images and navigation bars plays a determining role. The eye tracking method proved to be appropriate in order to verify the usability of websites. Objectives: The aim of the study was to improve the usability of the website of an educational institute for trainees as target group. Methods/Approach: For this purpose, the use of an eye-tracking technology was combined with a survey. The eye-tracking study was implemented task-oriented. Test persons were asked to search for particular courses within this institute. Results: This approach in combination with a subsequent questionnaire resulted in tangible indications of search patterns of the test group. Furthermore, their perception and their appraisal of the usability as well as the web design was analysed. Even though most tasks were accomplished effectively and efficiently with a positive user feedback, a potential for improvement was detected, in particular with regard to the images and the location of the search field. Conclusions: The selected choice of methods enables researchers and web designers to derive recommendations for the orientation, structure, optimisation and comprehensibility of a website