This study evaluates the content coverage of Google Scholar and three commercial databases (Arts & Humanities Citation Index, Bibliography of the History of Art and Art Full Text/Art Index Retrospective) on the subject of art history. Each database is tested using a bibliography method and evaluated based on Péter Jacsó’s scope criteria for online databases. Of the 472 articles tested, Google Scholar indexed the smallest number of citations (35%), outshone by the Arts & Humanities Citation Index which covered 73% of the test set. This content evaluation also examines specific aspects of coverage to find that in comparison to the other databases, Google Scholar provides consistent coverage over the time range tested (1975-2008) and considerable access to article abstracts (56%). Google Scholar failed, however, to fully index the most frequently cited art periodical in the test set, the Artforum International. Finally, Google Scholar’s total citation count is inflated by a significant percentage (23%) of articles which include duplicate, triplicate or multiple versions of the same record.

This study identified current trends in website design and development for college and university recreation programs accredited by the NRPA/AALR Council on Accreditation. Emphasis was on design, content, governance, and development. The study was an attempt to provide insight for program administrators by identifying current practices related to website design and development. This was the first study to identify current trends in website design and development at nationally accredited recreation programs. This information can be used to evaluate existing websites and plan future website development. Data were collected using an electronic survey instrument created with E-listen software. Three invitations were emailed to program administrators at college and university recreation programs accredited by the NRPA/AALR Council on Accreditation (n=98). Basic descriptive statistics including measures of central tendency and frequency distributions were calculated to address the research questions. The results of this study showed that faculty were most often responsible for their program’s website construction, content and design input, and maintenance. Students did not play a large role in these responsibilities. The websites were most commonly maintained monthly. The most common components available on program websites were informative and served as marketing and recruiting tools. The majority of websites did not contain components for student entertainment or communication. Over half of the websites included links to professional organizations’ homepages. Just under half of the websites did not include a link to the National Recreation and Park Association.

The previous research have found that consumers' choices of vacations may be significantly influenced by mental imagery processing, which is considered to be high elaboration cognitive processing. Mental imagery is defined as an experience that significantly resembles the experience of perceiving some object, event, or scene, but which occurs in the absence of the appropriate stimuli for the relevant object, event, or scene. This study first aims to identify imagery-eliciting Web site features and second, to test their influence on persuasion-related outcomes such as attitude strength, confidence, and attitude resistance. Finally, this study investigates the role of individual processing style (e.g., visualizer or verbalizer) as a moderator variable. A total of 252 subjects participated in a Web-based experiment to examine the influence of selected Web site features on individual imagery processing and its effect on consumers’ attitudes and expectations. It involved a 2 (narrative vs. expository text) × 2 (pictures vs. no picture) × 2 (sounds vs. no sound) full factorial between-subjects design. The data was analyzed primarily using a structural equation modeling methodology. Structural model results revealed that the mental imagery construct strongly influenced the communication effects, which were represented by attitude strength and attitude confidence. In addition, the results of the study found that the communication effects had a significant impact on attitude resistance. This implies that the stronger attitude creates stronger resistance to a negative impact. In the context of the influence of Web site features (e.g., narrative text, pictures, and sound) inducing mental imagery processing, only pictures have a significant effect on mental imagery processing, which support positive effects of concrete pictures on mental imagery processing. In conclusion, the findings of this study show that mental imagery processing is important. Thus, we need to continue to investigate what forms of Web site designs and features best support imagery processing. More specifically, tourism marketers need to understand how certain stimuli influence mental imagery processing, and then they need to enhance Web site designs to capture potential customers.

<p>The popularity of personal computers and recent advances in Internet technology has provided companies with a new medium for selling their products and increasing their customer base. Due to the influx and acceptance of these new possibilities for both users and businesses, all the more organizations are choosing to exploit electronic commerce. This concept is nothing new or novel, but over the years recent development in the domain of e-commerce has increased tremendously and it has become more commonplace and viable as a solution for customers to easily and effectively shop for products and services. One reason for users not to do an online purchase is feelings of uncertainty and dependency on the unknown, but more importantly a lack of trust for the vendor and the technology involved in the transaction. The focus of this report is on aspects of user trust in business-to-consumer e-commerce and how specific factors of e-commerce, i.e., usability, web site design, security, transference and privacy, influence user trust in e-businesses.</p><p>Eleven respondents who had some experience in e-commerce purchases were interviewed using open-ended questions to find out how they perceived trust in general and how certain factors influence their perception of trust in e-commerce. The results of this study show that usability, web site design, security, and transference and privacy, directly influence user trust in e-businesses since these factors lie closest to the user and are deciding factors for the users and influence their decisions regarding transactions in e-commerce. These results can be of importance for vendors since they show how the customers perceive trust and which factors can directly influence their trust in a vendor and their experience with e-commerce and that the factors can play a deciding role on whether or not a customer will make a purchase.</p>

Through a qualitative case study this research examines the needs of three generalist high school teachers in relation to arts integration, writing, critical thinking, and the art museum website. The study also examines the perspectives of art museum educators in relation to how museum websites can be used to support teaching the writing process in the school classroom. Arts integration and the museum website are analyzed in depth through literature review and in-depth semi structured interviews. This research aims to present a model for collaborative website design where the museum website is designed around classroom teachers' curricular needs.

We examine whether the precepts of what have been termed 'close', 'intimate', or, more specifically, 'communal' relationships in Social Psychology may be communicated via Web site content and whether this positively impacts Site-Loyalty. We introduce a variable called Site-Communality defined as the extent to which Web site content signals that a company's relationship with its customers goes beyond the formal, 'tit for tat' business dealings that are typically expected from purely commercial exchanges, and instead, more closely abide by the norms and behaviours evocative of friendships and/or family relations. We develop multi-dimensional measures of Site-Communality and Site-Loyalty. Using Structural Equation Modelling (LISREL VIII), we then empirically investigate the influence of Site-Communality on the attitudes and behavioural intentions associated with Site-Loyalty using cross-sectional data collected from 305 subjects asked to explore and evaluate one among many real Web sites chosen so as to maximize variability on Site-Communality. / Our results show that Site-Communality has a strong, direct, positive effect on the attitudes and behavioural intentions associated with Site-Loyalty. This directly contradicts conjectures from several authors dismissing as unimportant or irrelevant to Web site design, the affective/relational aspects more closely associated with traditional, interpersonal, face-to-face commercial encounters (e.g., Cox & Dale, 2001; Zeithaml, Parasuraman, & Malhotra, 2001, 2002). Generally, such factors were believed to loose their relevance in self-service, Web-based commercial environments, at best, becoming contingently important only when customer/employee communications actually occurs (i.e., emails/telephone conversations). / However, contrary to our expectations, our results show that the positive relationship between Site-Communality and Site-Loyalty is attenuated (rather than accentuated) by the visitor's 'Communal-Orientation in Traditional Commercial Environments' which is defined as the extent to which a consumer enjoys 'getting to know' employees (i.e., waitress, bank teller, hair stylist) and relating with them on a more personal-level than is typically required for the effective delivery of a service. One possible explanation for this unexpected result is that when highly communally-orientated consumers are exposed to a Web site high in Site-Communality, they may be reminded of what they are missing out on if they choose to conduct their business online rather than in more traditional business environments.

This study examines the impact of national culture on the content of corporate Web sites, and Web users’ attitudes and intentions toward culturally congruent or incongruent Web sites. In this work, culturally bipolar clusters based on Hofstede’s (1991) and Hall’s (1976) cultural dimensions are conceptualised. New Zealand and Korea are chosen as representatives of the respective bipolar clusters. This research utilises both content analysis and experimental research to provide deep insight into an area which has not yet been explored. Two studies are undertaken, Study One, focusing on the content analysis, examines how the use of visual communication and Web features differs between the two countries and between industry types. Study Two assesses Web users’ predispositions to respond favourably or unfavourably to the Web site. Web users’ perceptions, measured by experimental research with four culturally manipulated Web sites, are assumed to be the most suitable concept for studying the effectiveness of Web sites. Three ethnic groups are involved: Korean university students, New Zealand university students, and English-Korean bilingual university students. The findings reveal differences in the content of corporate Web sites from the two countries. However, these results do not support the findings of extant research. The results show that the corporate Web sites studied can be distinguished not only by the two national cultures, but also by other significant factors such as a company’s characteristics, its online presence strategy, national broadband infrastructure, and unique Internet culture. Additionally, the segment of young adults shows a convergence of cultural value systems which can be attributed to the fact that young adults in both countries have similar perceptions toward corporate Web sites regardless of their nationalities. Language structure and local terminology on the Web sites, however, are still important. This study contributes to knowledge by providing critical insights into the effectiveness and cultural congruence of Web sites. The results will benefit both academics and practitioners.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 2006. / Title from title page screen, viewed on February 4, 2008. Dissertation Committee: Dent M. Rhodes (chair), Temba C. Bassoppo-Moyo, Cherie A. Toledo. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 208-222) and abstract. Also available in print.

Zugl.: Hohenheim, Univ., Diss., 2007

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Melbourne, Dept. of Information Systems, 2007. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [253]-266).