Web page design

In search of information on websites: A question of age?

by Eugène Loos

Senior citizens: Digital immigrants in their own country?

by Eugène Loos

Images In Academic Web Pages As Marketing Tools: Meeting the Challenge of Service Intangibility

by Sigal Tifferet

An important dispute among web page designers regards the application of photos and images. In an experimental study... more An important dispute among web page designers regards the application of photos and images. In an experimental study 478 participants evaluated an academic web page differing only in the presence of images and the category of images presented. Feelings of pleasantness, perceived attractiveness of the web page, and perceived service quality were significantly higher in response to a web page with images than to one without, and all were significantly higher in response to photos of buildings than to photos of people. Feelings of pleasantness and perceived attractiveness, but not perceived service quality, were significantly higher in response to abstract decorations and symbols than to photos of buildings or people. The results highlight the importance of service firms including photos and images in the design of web pages and also show that the categories of images chosen can have an impact on the desired outcomes. The findings suggest the role of instrumentality, aesthetics, and symbolism in the design of virtual servicescapes.

The Website of the UK Museum of the Year, 1999

by Jonathan Bowen

Jonathan P. Bowen and Jane Bowen. In David Bearman and Jennifer Trant (eds.), Proc. Museums and the Web 2000, Minneapolis, USA, 16-19 April 2000. Archives & Museum Informatics, Pittsburgh, USA, 2000.
Also available as Technical Report SBU-CISM-00-28, SCISM, South Bank University, London, UK, 2000.

Read more: Museums and the Web 2000 Bowen and Bowen, The Website of the UK Museum of the Year, 1999 http://www.archimuse.com/mw2000/papers/bowen/bowen.html
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives

The River & Rowing Museum celebrates the traditions and environment of the River Thames, the international sport... more The River & Rowing Museum celebrates the traditions and environment of the River Thames, the international sport of rowing and the historic riverside community of Henley-on-Thames in England. Spacious and state-of-the-art, the specially commissioned building was designed by the award winning British architect, David Chipperfield. The museum was opened in August 1998 and is already an architectural landmark. The museum has won a number of awards including the National Heritage UK Museum of the Year 1999, Building of the Year 1999 for England (shortlisted for the Stirling Prize) and Website of the Week for two weeks running in the 24 Hour Museum UK museums portal.

The website has been produced at minimal cost, but is simple and effective in design (matching the minimalist design of the museum building itself) and attracting over 65,000 visitors so far (more than have visited the physical museum). The website is organized in a simple hierarchical manner. The homepage is designed to present the museum in different ways for different categories of user such as general visitors, including the disabled, children, teachers, researchers, group visitors, museum supporters, event organizers, the press, etc.

The presentation will give a history of the development of the website, originally initiated in 1995 several years before the museum actually opened. This helped establish the museum's presence throughout the world, particularly to the rowing community. Plans for the future, especially how the website fits into the museum's marketing strategy, will also be covered. Attendees should gain tips on how to produce a cost-effective website that is designed to be user-oriented.

On-line Collections Access at the Museum of English Rural Life

by Jonathan Bowen

Jonathan P. Bowen, Roy Brigden, Mary Dyson and Kevin Moran (University of Reading). In David Bearman and Jennifer Trant (eds.), Proc. MW2001 Museums and the Web conference, Seattle, USA, 14-17 March 2001. CD-ROM.
Also available as Technical Report SBU-CISM-01-02, SCISM, South Bank University, London, UK, January 2001.

Read more: On-line Collections Access at the Museum of English Rural Life http://www.archimuse.com/mw2001/papers/bowen/bowen.html
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives

The Rural History Centre at the University of Reading, which includes the Museum of English Rural Life, holds... more The Rural History Centre at the University of Reading, which includes the Museum of English Rural Life, holds extensive collections of material relating to the history of food, farming, and the countryside. As a result, it operates as the leading research and resource center for the subject in the country. The collections have been Designated of national importance and are now in receipt of a grant from the UK government-funded Designation Challenge Fund for a project designed to greatly enhance access to the collections via the World Wide Web. The aim is to have a dynamic, database-driven website which will present a thematic route of entry for exploration of the collections.

This collections access project aims to make the information available to a variety of users in an appropriate manner. Specifically targeted users are primary school children (and teachers), the general public (including secondary school children) and expert researchers (e.g., from academia). Different interfaces are provided within the website to accommodate these various types of user in the INTERnet Farm And Countryside Explorer (INTERFACE) section designated as schools, public and advanced users. For example, story-based environments are being included, extracting information from the database. The stories themselves are being generated by hand as static pages based on templates, but the database can be used at any time to include further information on objects or areas of interest. Primary school children can be limited to records that include graphical images, with access via story-based presentations suitable for use as educational resources, with associated teacher support. The public interface provides hierarchical exploration of subject areas. For experts, a more traditional form-based database interface with many fields will provide access to the full database.

One of the key considerations in developing on-line content for museums is bringing together collection management systems and exhibition information into one system. The manner in which collections are integrated into websites is likely to have implications for their accessibility. For example, the location of the access to collections within the overall site and the graphic presentation of the interface may influence visitors' search and navigation behavior. This paper includes information on an evaluation approach that was developed as part of the initial stages of the project. The objectives of the initial evaluation were to identify other sites which provide access to a collections database; to observe how functionality has been implemented; to consider which aspects of the interfaces may be adopted or adapted for the project. The outcome of the evaluations is described, identifying strengths and weaknesses of existing sites. As the sample of sites analyzed is small, this data is discussed in relation to potential uses for this methodology. A technical evaluation of the first version of the new website is also included.

The last part of the paper gives an overview of what is planned for the last part of the project. Not many museum collections are available on-line in a comprehensive form, especially from smaller museums, so this project aims to be exemplary of what can be achieved given appropriate resources

Gender Issues and Museum Websites

by Jonathan Bowen

Clara Baiget, Isabel Bernal, Sue Black, Nadia Blinova, Stefania Boiano, Ann Borda, Jonathan P. Bowen, Wera Grahn (University of Linköping, Sweden), Eleanor Lisney and Teresa Numerico. In David Bearman and Jennifer Trant (eds.), MW2005: Museums and the Web 2005, Vancouver, Canada, 13-16 April 2005.

Read more: Archives & Museum Informatics: Museums and the Web 2005: Papers: Bowen, et al., Gender Issues and Museum Web Sites http://www.archimuse.com/mw2005/papers/bowen/bowen.html
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives

We consider the provision of museum Web sites with respect to gender issues from a number of different perspectives.... more We consider the provision of museum Web sites with respect to gender issues from a number of different perspectives. Design issues for Web access, the use of technology such as Web logs by women, together with some more specialist interests such as on-line gaming are covered. The differences in various cultures are also considered. In particular, the situation in a selection of Spanish, Italian and Russian language museum Web sites is presented. We include a small survey of potential visitors who are members of the British Computer Society BCSWomen specialist group. It is hoped that the discussion here and in the forum itself could feed into a larger study in this area to see how museums can minimize any gender discrimination on their Web sites, increasing accessibility in the process.
"Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition."
        - Timothy Leary (1920-1996)

Keywords: female issues, gender studies, museum Web sites, on-line gaming, Web design, women's rights, Web

Generational Use of New Media and the (Ir)relevance of Age

by Eugène Loos