The Voice of Grardnr

Activity Two

grardnr — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:00:20 +0000

Activity One

grardnr — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:49:38 +0000

Presumed credibility: based on general assumptions in the users mind.

I assume a university wouldn’t lie to you.

Reputed credibility: based on third party endorsements, reports or referrals.

Many recording companies have a youtube page which they use as an official medium for videos and interviews.

Surface Credibility: based on simple inspection, first impressions.

This site features many features and interviews with well known guitar players.

Earned Credibility: based on firsthand experience that extends over time.

I have consistently retrieved accurate tabs from the site for years.

Question Three

grardnr — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:44:16 +0000

-Listing a physical address, contact number and/or email address have been seen as steps to increase credibility, but the overall scores relating to the level of credibility have dropped. This could be because, although it still increases a sites credibility to have such information, people are coming to realise how easy it is to falsify such information.
-Already a source if incredulity, if a site automatically pops up new windows with ads has seen a further decrease in credibility, ostensibly because people are more aware of scams.
-As to be expected, any site that offers quick customer service responses, confirmation of transaction emails and credentials for articles has seen steady increases in credibility.
-Although not particularly significant, slight negative changes were registered for sites with rarely updated content, inactive links, typographical errors and sudden unexpected unavailability. I suspect these negative responses come more from frustration than mistrust, because it is fair to say that even large, multinational companies are subject to server crashes, typos and periods of inactivity.
-Sites that end with “.org” are consistently presumed as being credible. This is probably due to the fact that the word “organisation” has extremely positive connotations.

Question Two

grardnr — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:43:30 +0000

As much as the glittering convenience of an interactive treasure trove of information that is sorted and can be accessed simply by typing in keywords may appeal to even the most hardworking and library-infatuated students, this format is not without its flaws. Wikipedia’s biggest flaw would be the omnipresent issue of credibility; since anyone can contribute with little to no content control, there is the constant shadow of doubt over whether or not anything written in the article is “true.”
As a student, flaw is one that can be, but as of yet has not been, easily addressed. Wikipedia itself requests citations for all entries, and as such is often laboriously referenced. Such is the extensive referencing on some pages that Wiki is not used as an information source as a go to guide for references. It seems reasonable, to me at least, that should an article be researched and referenced to a degree equal to (or greater than) many print articles, it is a credible source as much as the print article. Conversely, if you are greeted with spelling mistakes, poor grammar and an overall slipshod quality entry, it seems an insult to the intelligence of your readers and yourself that you would use such a reference.
Despite its flaws, the Wikipedia format has the potential to be an incredibly convenient and informative source of information, should these few issues be ironed out.

Question One

grardnr — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:42:12 +0000

The internet exists as a medium wherein anyone can have a voice, anyone can contribute without restrictions or censorship. Although this seems like a utopian, almost hippie-esque, ideal, there are significant drawbacks to this, namely the fact that anyone can contribute to the content of the internet: it was estimated in 2006 that there was over 300 million internet hosts worldwide (week five table thing). With such a vast number of people contributing, it is fair to say that not everything uploaded would be gold; virtually no form of content control means that anyone can post literally anything they like.
As a student, this puts me in a somewhat awkward position. With the vast, instantly accessible resource that is the internet right there at my fingertips, it’s tempting to never leave the comfort and convenience of my house while doing any assignment like, say, this one right here. However, since it is impossible to truly gauge sites content on view alone, there remains a strong affinity to books and journals even today.
Credibility is defined by the Collins English Dictionary as “the quality of being capable to be believed.” It comes from the Latin word credere, which means “to believe” (Fogg, 2003, p.122). It is not an inherent quality, but more rather a perceived one, coming from a combination of perceived trustworthiness and perceived expertise. Although it can be said to be “in the eye of the beholder,” there can be a certain consensus on what degree of credibility a site may have, and as such which sites are fair game to be used as references and which aren’t.
One key example of how credibility may affect a student would be Wikipedia: Anyone can contribute to Wiki, and as such what should be a convenient and powerful tool for research and education is shrouded in a considerable degree of uncertainty. The increased role of the reader, to “format the text” how they please (Snader, 1996, p. 6) means that there is no way to truly be certain of its credibility.

Fogg, B. J. (2003). Persuasive Technology: Using Computers to Change What We Think and Do.
Amsterdam: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.

Snader, I. (1996). Hypertext: The Labyrinth. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.

McLeod, W. (1988). The New Collins Dictionary and Thesaurus.
Wrotham: HarperCollins Publishers.

Internet Software Consortium. (2006). Retrieved 3/12/06 from www.isc.org.

Activity One

grardnr — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:40:54 +0000

Computer keyboards, QWERTY keyboards in particular, have been designed for maximum functionality. By having the entire alphabet, digits 0 to 9 and most well known symbols there at ones fingertips means that the kinematic load is minimised; no more than two or three keystrokes are required to get virtually any symbol. Cognitively, the load is diminished by arranging the letters in such a way that the natural layout of the hand and the workings of the eye easily glide over the most commonly used keys.

With all the numbers you would need saved into the phones memory, and with stopwatch, calculator, alarm clock and camera peripherals all as standard, the modern mobile phone lowers both the cognitive and kinematic load of small everyday tasks with aplomb.

By replacing the analogue hands of a scale with a digital readout, electronic scales make it much easier to get accurate measurements. Kinematically, the scales also require less assembly, precision with ones hands and overall maintenance.

Question 3

grardnr — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:37:32 +0000

The school of psychology is a fluctuating, inexact science which has tasked upon itself the immense goal of understanding the workings of the human mind. As such, any endeavour whose goal it is to illicit some reaction from people would be in an advantageous position with an understanding of some psychology.
In the field of design, a grounding in psychology would be incredibly useful, not only for a greater understanding of the target audience but also the ability to minimise any potential controversies that could come as a result of a misdirected or misread message. With an understanding of psychology, it could be easier to make designs that engage the target demographic without offending or antagonising others.

Question 2

grardnr — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:36:35 +0000

When people have to remember something, they almost subconsciously break it into smaller pieces of information for easier recall. Consider your mobile phone number; odds are you recite it as 3 or 4 groups of smaller numbers rather than all at once. This kind of recall is referred to as “chunking” and is used by most people to remember large pieces of information
Just as people use chunking in their everyday life to make information more manageable, visual artists and designers also use this principle when designing to make their works more digestible. Should a piece be too dynamic and full of activity, people will react to it negatively, feeling as though it is too busy or cluttered to have any real message. Similarly, something that is not ordered and organised in any particularly appealing fashion will appear aimless and lacking in meaning.
Visual artists and designers will often “chunk” themes and ideas in their designs. This can include doing things like keeping at colour themes consistent throughout, utilising simple geometric conventions (like the “golden rectangle”) and not having too much dynamic action in play in the same sections of the design. By keeping the flow of a design simple, without elements leading the eye in all different directions, the artist can ensure that the viewer will not be overly distracted and keep their focus on the important elements of the design
By viewing “chunking” in designing the same way we view “chunking” in memory; with larger pieces of information broken down into more manageable, visually appealing sections which help the entire design remain functional and aesthetically pleasing.

Question Three

grardnr — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:35:26 +0000

When given a task to do, it is important to remember just how the load is spread out. Trying to accomplish too much at once will lead to burnout, and too many small tasks will be time consuming and unpleasant. Performance load is described as “the degree of mental and physical activity required to complete a goal” (Lidwell, Holden & Butler, 2008, p.148). By managing this, tasks are easier and less stressful to accomplish.
The mental part of performance load –cognitive load- is based upon perception, memory and problem solving. When given large amounts of information to process, it can be said that the cognitive load is becoming too great. This can be helped in a number of ways, such as “chunking” information. Because short term memory has limited capacity, breaking information into smaller, more manageable chunks can help ease the cognitive load.
Kinematic load refers to the physical load. This is not just tiring physical exertion, but even things like typing. Morse code, for example, had an incredibly heavy kinematic load, simply because every letter is required to be tapped out physically.
The lesser the performance load, the more likely it is that a goal is achieved with less mistakes. This is defined in a somewhat roundabout way by the 89/20 rule; 80 percent of errors come from 20 percent of interactions. Basically, the more someone has to do, the more errors will be made and be obvious weaknesses in the finished product. As such, minimising performance load wherever possible is integral to a job well done.

Lidwell, W., Holden, K., & Butler, J. (2003). Universal Principles of Design.
Massachusetts: Rockport.

Mohs, R. (2009). How human memory works. Retrieved 26/08/09.

http://health.howstuffworks.com/human-memory.htm

Towers, A. (2008). Usability Friction. Retrieved 9/10/09.

http://usabilityfriction.com/2008/11/05/10-ways-to-improve-usability-when-you-thought-it-was-too-late/

Activity One

grardnr — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:31:57 +0000

Re-Done Powerpoint Assignment 2

Very little was done to change the overall feel or structure of the assignment, but a few lighthearted slides were added before the section on memory retention to add to the sense of Play.