Learning Portfolio 4 – CCA1108

Activity 1 – Credibility Summary

When attaining information, it is always sensible to assess the reliability and trustworthiness of the source; this is no exception for Internet pages and websites. “Advances in ICT (information and communications technology)… now enable any person to send information to large numbers of individuals.” (Kato, Inui, Kurohashi, 2008, p. 142). Due to this openness there is a high chance of incorrect, or dishonest, reporting to be published online by individuals serving there own personal, or group, ambitions. A study done testing youth perception of credibility of information online, found that, “59 per cent reporting that “some” information found online was believable, and 30 per cent reporting that “a lot” of the information found online was believable”. (Flanagin, Metzger, Hartsell, 2010, p. 31-32). When assessing information, there are a number of things a student can check to check to validate the credibility of a source. Journalists check for four things. Provenance, is this the original piece of content, Source, who uploaded the content, Date, when was the content created, and Location, where was the content created? . Wrong information can lead to loss of marks and overall final score. Students should assess the quality of information for their own projects, as it is important for them to sustain their own credibility and reliability throughout their schooling career in assessments.

Bibliography

Kato, Y., Inui, K., Kurohashi, S., ebrary, I. & Ebrary. (2008). Information credibility

           on the web. Bradford: Emerald.

Flanagin, A. J., Metzger, M. J., Hartsell, E., & Ebrary. (2010). Kids and credibility: An

           empirical examination of youth, digital media use, and information

           credibility. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press

Activity 2

In the learning portfolio, Wikipedia is not accepted as a credible resource for academic assignments. What do you think is the reason Wikipedia is not accepted?

I believe that Wikipedia is not accepted in assignments as a credible source of information because, as it says on their own ‘about’ page, “Anyone with Internet access can write and make changes to Wikipedia articles”. Ironically, I find that bit of information on Wikipedia very credible. Wikipedia has the capacity to have its pages information’s changed by anyone without any true expertise in the area; highly affecting it’s credibility. Expertise is, “the perceived knowledge, skill and experience of the source.” (Fogg, 2003, p. 124). Without the knowledge of a users previous insights into the subject, it is impossible to label a source as fully trustworthy, or credible on Wikipedia. This ability to let anyone edit notes on Wikipedia has also lead to the creation of, “heavy fights online called edit wars between groups representing opposing opinions.” (Yasseri, Sumi, Rung, Kornai, Kerész, 2012, p. 1). Rather then just expressing multiple possible opinions, parties believe their own versions of events are more truthful than others. This can lead to further misrepresentation of information in the future, subverting the original information’s truthfulness and purpose, “few barriers prevent people rom publishing on the web, you’ll find deceptive coverage of current events, health information that is factually incorrect, and ads that promise the impossible.” (Fogg, 2003, p. 148).

Bibliography

Fogg, B. J. (2003). Credibility and the World Wide Web. Persuasive Technology:

           Using Computers to Change What We Think and Do. Amsterdam: Morgan

Kaufmann

Yasseri, T., Sumi, R., Rung, A., Kornai, A., & Kertész, J. (2012). Dynamics of conflics

in wikipedia. Plos One, 7:6, e38869. Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0038869

Activity 3

In dot points, in your own words, list anticipated issues that may affect the users’ perceived Web credibility in the future.

• Keeping up with accessibility

It is important for websites to continue to provide feedback and interaction with their users or customers. As technology increases there will be faster ways of responding back. This accessibility can determine a website/companies perception by the public heavily. This can include accessibility for people with social drawbacks, or even disabilities.

• Keeping up with standards of web design

Just as other objects and outlets must keep up with standards of design to be competitive with their rivals, websites must do the same. By keeping up with standards of web design, companies and pages show their viewers/users that they are actively paying attention to their image, and figuratively their usage in the future. It also gives of the perception of being modern. Websites today that have designs reminiscent of the 1990’s are not usually perceived as very credible; it would be no different of web designs now seen in 2026.

• Keeping up with new outlets for promotion

At the moment, present outlets for promotion that exclude the original website include for example, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter etc. These websites allow for different variations of interaction socially and promotionally. In the future it will be important for websites/business to identify these future outlets of promotion to interact with new audiences and demographics who may be interested in their pages.

Learning Portfolio – Item 2

Find a website for each type of credibility and upload snapshots of the websites on our blog site. Provide a brief explanation why the websites are credible.

Four Types of Web Credibility

• Presumed

Australia.gov.au

Presumed Credibility is defined by users pre-emptive opinions of the website in their mind. The ‘.gov’ in web-links connotes official credibility before viewing. The belief that government officials approve the web-link provides a more assuring chance for credible information

• Reputed

Google.com

Reputed websites refer to those that have been promoted or praised by a third party, either by winning awards or just through word of mouth. Google has won numerous awards for it’s design and ease of usage, making it the most popular search engine of the modern age

• Surface

Tumblr.com

Blogs and personal websites are considered to have Surface Credibility as their believability is established through first glances and simple examination. These websites attempt to show more through visual media than text, to communicate more through connotation.

• Earned

Abc.net.au/news/

 News websites have recently had a tendency to show advertising and the promotion of certain products through news stories, providing a bias outlook on specific subjects. Abc.net.au is a website that has earned it’s credibility for me, due to it’s various multi-cultural types of perspectives and newsworthy stories. It also has not shown to provide any certain political point of view, staying as journalistically integral as they can.

Learning Portfolio 3 – CCA1108

Activity 1 – Performance Load Summary

The article presented, Performance Load, by Lidwell, Holden, & Butler, describes the concept of Performance Load. It is defined as the amount of physical and mental effort a person is willing to input into achieving a certain objective. It also discloses that when levels of Performance Load are high the likelihood of errors increases, but when it is low, the likelihood of succeeding in objectives increases. It continues to specify the difference between the Cognitive (mental) and the Kinematic (physical) aspects of Performance Load.

Cognitive Load is the defined by the amount of work the brain is used in accomplishing tasks, e.g. memory, analysing, problem solving. “Lacking knowledge of human cognition, we would be left with no overarching structure linking disparate instructional processes and guiding procedures.” (Sweller, Ayers, Kalyuga, 2011, p. v).

Kinematic Load is the juxtaposition of Cognitive load, physical effort. Kinematic load is described as being the bodily steps it takes to accomplish a goal, e.g. Lifting, Walking, & Pulling.

Design should accommodate to both a persons Kinetic and Cognitive efforts, in an attempt to lessen the strain of both during process of attaining goals or objectives.

Bibliography

Sweller, J., Ayres, P., & Kalyuga, S. (2011). Explorations in the learning sciences,

               instructional systems and performance technologies, 1: Cognitive load

               theory (1) Springer.

Image retrieved from: http://sites.psu.edu/siowfa15/2015/12/03/wheres-the-best-place-to-study/

Activity 2 – Chunking Summary

Chunking is seen as the capacity to reduce cognitive load by eliminating unnecessary aspects considered to be hindering advancements, and obstructing progress by compressing the most fundamental information into small, easier, more comprehensible parts. “When we want to remember things, like number and letters, it helps to put them into small groups.” (Dehn, Ebrary, 2011, p. 66). Some examples of Chunking in everyday use are, in mobile phone numbers, with the separation of the ten numbers into three different groups, and shopping lists, with the separation and categorization of goods into certain food groups. “This reduction in cognitive load dramatically reduced the mental effort required.” (Lidwell, Holden, Butler, 2003, p. 148)

“Sequence learning and production is a hierarchical process, such as in speech organization, behavioural sequences, and thought process.” (Fonollosa, Neftci, Rabinovich, 2015, p. 2). In language, chunking can also be found in apostrophising, e.g. ‘Can not’, into ‘can’t’, and, ‘I am’, into ‘I’m’. It is also found in abbreviation, e.g. ‘RBA’, for, ‘Reserve Bank of Australia’, and, ‘NASA’, for ‘The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’. It is clear through particular designs incorporating Chunking that much more information and instruction are translated to the viewer, and a greater sense of knowledge is achieved.

Bibliography

Dehn, M. J., ebrary, I., & Ebrary. (2011). Helping students remember: Exercises and

           strategies to strengthen memory (1. Aufl.;1; ed.). Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.

Fonollosa, J., Neftci, E., & Rabinovich, M. (2015). Learning of chunking sequences

in cognition and behaviour: E1004592. PLoS Computational Biology,

             11(11). Doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004592

Lidwell, W., Holden, K., & Butler, J. (2003). Performance Load. Universal

               Principles of Design. Massachusetts: Rockport.

Activity 3 – Psychology in Design

I believe a study of psychology is necessary in design as it allows you to understand the way in which people interact and communicate with not just each other, but their environment and surroundings. It grants you the ability to know what attracts people and what disgusts people, what they love and what they hate, within a particular atmosphere or subject. With the application of design, it can be used to target “user expectations in terms of the product’s usability, functionality, and requisite user competencies.” (Wilpert, 2005, p. 1), and apply it to your own design to it’s fullest advantage.

Bibliography

Wilpert, B. (2005). Psychology and design processs. European Psychologist,

                 10(3), 229-236. Doi: 10.1027/1016-9040.10.3.229

Image retrieved from: http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/apple/apple-macbook-air

Learning Portfolio 2 – CCA1108

Activity 1 – Consistency Summary

“Establishing consistency means setting and maintaining expectations by using elements people are familiar with.” (Schlatter, Levinson, 2013, p. 4). Lidwell, Holden, & Butler, again in, Aesthetic-Usability Effect, attempt to explain the importance of Consistency. They describe that there is a higher chance of adoption and application when arrangements and strategies are articulated and illustrated in very much alike styles. The article characterizes four different variations of Consistency, Internal, External, Functional, and Aesthetic.

When referring to Internal Consistency, Lidwell, Holden & Butler define it as consistency that attributes to different aspects within an organization or system. An example found in the article, Accident Analysis & Prevention, which can supports this definition, establishes that, “Study results show that geometric design consistency has a significant effect on safety of rural motorways” (Farid, Abdel-Aty, Lee, Eluru, Wang, 2016, p. 1). The consistency in form alerts the viewer to an established set of principles and rules regarding the interpretation of that object.

External Consistency refers to the consistency of Internal Consistency within different and separate organizations or environments. One example of this could be major supermarket chain’s brands on various separate products e.g. Coles chips, dishwashing liquid, meat. An article for the Journal of Product & Brand Management, found that, “When consumers have cognition of a brand through previous encounters, they will assess the brand’s products in subsequent encounters based on the consistency of the product with their existing brand image.” (Sheng Goh, Chattaraman, Forsythe, 2013, p. 274-275). The linking of all these different environments to support the same brand is paramount in the achievement of external consistency in a major organization.

Where Aesthetic Consistency is to be consistent in fashion and manner, consistency in meaning and operation are used to describe Functional Consistency. Reoccurring symbols for different functions influence the attitude of the user to commonly associate that operation with that illustration. “Attitude theories… very often use consistency as a general principle: a person’s attitudes are thought to be consistent with one another.” (Mower-White, 2015, p.19). This interweaving of attitudes and symbols, when consistent, can see them used on various different products, sometimes establishing them as the norm of that symbol for usage.

Biliography

Schlatter, T., & Levinson, D. (2013) Visual usability (1^st ed.) Morgan Kaufman.

Farid, A., Abdel-Aty, M., Lee, J., Eluru, N., & Wang, J. (2016). Exploring the

transferability of safety performance functions. Accident Analysis &

                 Prevention, 94, 143-152. Doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2016.04.031

Sheng Goh, Y., Chattaraman, V., & Forsythe, S. (2013). Brand and category design

consistency in brand extensions. Journal of Product & Brand

                 Management, 22:4, 272-285. Doi: 10.1108/JPBM-03-2012-0109

Mower-White, C. J., & Ebook Library. (2015;1982). Consistency in cognitive social

                 behavious: An introduction to social psychology. New York, New York;

London, [England];: Psychology Press. Doi: 10.4324/9781315724294

Activity 2 – 3 Study Examples

1. Pioneer Amplifier

This Pioneer Amplifier is a great example of Functional Consistency. The operation of minimizing and maximizing different aspects of music is represented through these circular knobs, in which to turn the knob counter-clockwise will turn a particular sound down, and clockwise to raise it. Lidwell, Holden, & Butler, in Aesthetic Usability, say that, “Functional Consistency improves usability and learnability by enabling people to leverage existing knowledge about how the design functions.” (2003, p. 46). After learning of one of the knobs behaviours, the repetitious design allows for users to associate the rest of the knobs to their immediate functions.

2. Coles Branding

Coles branding provides a typical example of External Consistency. It observes “internal consistency across multiple, independent systems.” (Lidwell, Holden, & Butler, 2003, p. 46). These various products all indicate the Coles logo, even though the ranges of goods are diversified. Lidwell, Holden, & Butler also describe that, “It is more difficult to achieve because different systems rarely observe common design standards.” (2003, p. 46). The consistency of the logo on all the products allows for easier recognition for the producer of them; but the only way External Consistency can exist is with the establishment of Internal Consistency.

3. Road Signs

Internal Consistency is defined by the consistency of different elements within one particular system. Lidwell, Holden, & Butler say, “Internal Consistency cultivates trust with people; it is an indicator that a system has been designed, and not cobbled together.” (2003, p. 46). Road signs are a perfect example of Internal Consistency. Their consistency in colour, shape, and text alert the viewer to a particular set of rules that apply to those symbols. If road signs were all different colours and geometrical shapes, traffic chaos would surely ensue, as people would not be able to interpret and decipher the various variations in signals.

Bibliography

Lidwell, W., Holden, K., & Butler, J. (2003). Aesthetic-Usability Effect. Universal

                   Principles of Design (p. 46). Massachusetts: Rockport.

Learning Portfolio 1 – CCA1108

Activity 1 – Aesthetic-Usability Effect Summary

In his article, Experimental Philosophy of Aesthetics, Florian Cova quotes Kendall Walton’s theories of Aesthetics, one of them describing that, “aesthetics is a philosophical field… that relate[s] to, and overlap[s] with, questions in other philosophical areas such as ethics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and… language” (Cova, 2015, p.3). Lidwell, Holden, & Butler, in their article, Aesthetic-Usability Effect, describe the sense of relationship a user personally conceptualises and establishes with the design of a certain product, in turn, effecting their future usage of the goods or services.

Ole Thyssen in his book, Aesthetic Communication, also identifies a relationship, proposing that the, “communication works with signs, so the sender, by giving form in a sense-based medium, opens up an imaginary world of meaning on which the sender and receiver must agree, if the communication is to succeed” (Thyssen, 2011, p. 1-2). Aestheic-Usability Effect suggests that products with more easy to use and eye-catching features stimulate a higher chance of positive reception amongst audiences. It also implies that this personal connection subconsciously compensates the user for any features that are actually flawed in the item. The piece uses the early Nokia mobile phones as an example, explaining that the personalized features allowed for more patience when it came to problems such as bad reception and regular disruptions of calls.

In Aesthetics, Nicolai Hartmann and Eugene Kelly found that, “Aesthetics presupposes things of beauty, likewise the mental acts that appreciate them, along with a peculiar way of beholding, a sense of beauty, and an inward devotedness” (Hartmann, Kelly, 2014, p. 34). Mengyue Wang identifies another consequence of the Aesthetic-Usability Effect in her article focusing on the Aesthetic designs of phone app icons, saying, “Well-designed icons allow users to recognize their functions without additional instructions” (Wang, 2016, p. 3). This reinforces the notion of attitude influence and formations of products before and/or during usage.

Lidwell, Holden, & Butler, conclude in Aesthetic-Usability Effect, that designers should strive to make their concepts as Aesthetic as possible, reiterating that it advertises an atmosphere for the product to be more greatly acknowledged and profitable.

Bibliography

 Thyssen, O., & Palgrave Macmillan. (2010, 2011). Aesthetic Communication. New

York, NY. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire; Palgrave Macmillan.

 

Cova, F., Garcia, A., & Liao, S. (2015). Experimental philosophy of aesthetics.

              Philosphy Compass, 10(12), p. 927-939. Doi: 10.1111/phc3.12271

 

Hartmann, N., Kelly, E., & Ebrary. (2014). aesthetics. Berlin;Boston. De Gruyter.

Wang, M., & Li, X. (2016) Effects of the aesthetic design of icons on app

downloads: Evidence from an android market. Electronic Commerce

                 Research. Doi: 10.1007/s10660-016-9245-4

Activity 2 – 3 Study Examples

1. Marley Speakers

These speakers, created by Marley, an audio system and headphone company, are a great example of Aesthetic-Usability Effect. The simple placement and visibility of the icons on the top on the top of the speaker are easily identifiable, volume, Bluetooth, and power. I find this encompasses what Lidwell, Holden, & Butler, mean when products “influence attitude formation” (2003, p. 18). The users pre knowledge of the icons meanings communicates the definition of their purpose and function on the product easily. The wooden finishing on the product also provides aesthetic as it could possible connote craftsmanship, and/or higher monetary value.

2. Mortein Insect-Spray

“In a study of… computers… early impressions influenced long-term attitudes about their quality and use.” (Lidwell, Holden, Butler, 2003, p. 18). Through aesthetic design, users can make immediate decisions on products through one or two second glancings. This Mortein Insect-Spray, is a good example of communication of meaning through colour and symbolism. The red colouring of the can, symbolises danger of hazard. The picture of bugs getting zapped by symmetrical lightning is a skilful use of design, but also a communication of the products function. Upon closer inspection the words on a silver/metal section of the can, reading, “Kills in 1 spray”, is an attempt at advertising the products quality, connoting efficiency in it’s colouring.

3. Nintendo Gameboy Color

The article Aesthetic-Usability Effect, states that, “personal and positive relationships with a design evoke feelings of affection, loyalty, and patience.” (Lidwell, Holden, Butler, 2003, p.18). This Gameboy Color is my own personal example of the Aesthetic-Usability Effect, as the aesthetic design of this hand-held gaming console still affects me today. It’s playful and simple design usually has me coming back to entertain myself with Pokemon Blue, even with it’s flaws in the modern era of gaming, many years after receiving it. E.g. slow pacing, under-developed graphics, content of games. The relationship I have with it in the past and now, are sure to see me having it around into the foreseeable future.

Bibliography

Lidwell, W., Holden, K., & Butler, J. (2003). Aesthetic-Usability Effect. In Universal      

                    Principles of Design (pp. 18-19). Massachusetts: Rockport