Thesis (MEng) -- Stellenbosch University, 2001. / Some digitised pages may appear illegible due to the condition of the original hard copy. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The corporate web site is essential to companies who use the Internet for e-commerce purposes. For these companies, the web site is the platform used to communicate with customers and facilitate business transactions. Internet companies will not be able to do business successfully with an ineffective web site, because this implies that the only contact point that the company has with customers is not functioning properly. It is, however, extremely difficult to identify what an effective e-commerce web site constitutes of. A great need therefore exists for a comprehensive and accurate method to evaluate the performance of the web sites of Internet companies, not only individually but also in comparison with the web sites of other companies in the same industry. Managers of Internet companies would certainly like to know how their web sites perform, what they can do to increase their performance, and which web sites in their industry can be used as a benchmark in certain areas. This thesis aims to address these needs by fulfilling three objectives: ► To develop a framework and criteria for the comprehensive evaluation of e-commerce web sites. ► To use this framework and sound statistical reasoning to develop a method that can be used to evaluate e-commerce web sites quantitively, and represent the results graphically per industry. ► To implement this method by developing computer software that enables users to evaluate web sites and plot the results. To accomplish these objectives, the following methodology was followed: ► Review the research done in the field of web site evaluation for both general and e-commerce web sites. ► Review the research on different techniques in the field of Multidimensional Scaling, and identify an appropriate technique for developing two-dimensional plots of web site evaluation data. ► Expand the web site evaluation research and develop a framework and objective criteria for the evaluation of e-commerce web sites, based on solid business principles. ► Develop a method to gather web site evaluation data that is grouped within industries, and to represent the results graphically using an appropriate Multidimensional Scaling technique. ► Implement the method by developing computer software to automate the process. This document describes the course of the methodology in detail. It reports on the e-commerce web site evaluation framework that was developed; Correspondence Analysis as the Multidimensional Scaling technique used to analyse the evaluation data; the development of the e-commerce web site evaluation method; and the software that was developed in Microsoft Visual Basic to implement the evaluation method. All three objectives were fulfilled in this thesis, in spite of some concerns that are also discussed. The evaluation framework and accompanying software can be used to evaluate all aspects of e-commerce web sites, and the output can be used to draw meaningful conclusions about how these sites can be improved. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die korporatiewe webwerf is onontbeerlik vir maatskappye wat die Internet vir e-handel doeleindes gebruik. Die webwerf is vir hierdie maatskappye die platform wat gebruik word om met kliente te kommunikeer en om saketransaksies te fasiliteer. Internetmaatskappye sal nie in staat wees om suksesvol sake te doen as hulle webwerwe oneffekti'ef is nie, omdat dit sal impliseer dat die enigste raakpunt wat die maatskappy met kliente het, nie behoorlik funksioneer nie. Tog is dit moeilik om te identifiseer waaruit 'n effektiewe e-handel webwerf bestaan. Daar is dus 'n groot behoefte aan 'n omvattende en akkurate metode waarvolgens die werkverrigting van die webwerwe van Internetmaatskappye geevalueer kan word, nie net individueel nie, maar ook in vergelyking met die webwerwe van ander maatskappye in dieselfde industrie. Bestuurders van Internetmaatskappye sal beslis wil weet hoe goed hulle webwerwe funksioneer, wat hulle kan doen om die werkverrigting van webwerwe te verbeter, en watter webwerwe in hulle industrie as uitstaande voorbeelde in sekere areas kan dien. Hierdie tesis spreek die bogenoemde behoeftes aan deur drie doelstellings uit te voer: ► Om 'n raamwerk en kriteria vir die omvattende evaluasie van e-handel webwerwe te ontwikkel. ► Om hierdie raamwerk en gegronde statistiese beredenering te gebruik ten einde 'n metode te ontwikkel wat gebruik kan word om e-handel webwerwe kwantitatief te evalueer, en om die resultate grafies per industrie uit te beeld. ► Om hierdie metode te implementeer deur rekenaarprogrammatuur te ontwikkel wat gebruikers in staat stel om webwerwe te evalueer en die resultate te plot. Die volgende metodologie is gevolg om hierdie doelstellings te laat slaag: ► Bestudeer die navorsing gedoen in die veld van webwerf evaluasie van sowel algemene as e-handel webwerwe. ► Bestudeer die navorsing oor verskillende tegnieke in die veld van Multidimensionele Gradering (Multidimensional Scaling), en identifiseer 'n toepaslike tegniek vir die ontwikkeling van tweedimensionele grafiese voorstellings van webwerf evaluasiedata. ► Brei die webwerf evaluasienavorsing uit en ontwikkel 'n raamwerk en objektiewe kriteria vir die evaluering van e-handel webwerwe, gebaseer op stewige sakebeginsels. ► Ontwikkel 'n metode om webwerf evaluasiedata te versamel wat in industriee gegroepeer is, en stel hierdie resultate grafies voor deur die gebruik van 'n toepaslike Multidimensionele Graderingstegniek. ► Implementeer die metode deur die ontwikkeling van rekenaarprogrammatuur om die proses te outomatiseer. Hierdie dokument beskryf die verloop van die metodologie in detail. Dit lewer verslag oor die e-handel webwerf evaluasieraamwerk wat ontwikkel is; Assosiasie-analise {Correspondence Analysis) as die Multidimensionele Graderingstegniek wat gebruik is om die evaluasie-data te analiseer; die ontwikkeling van die e-handel webwerf evaluasiemetode; en die programmatuur wat ontwikkel is in Microsoft Visual Basic om die evaluasiemetode te implementeer. Al drie doelstellings is in hierdie tesis bereik, ten spyte van sommige probleme—wat ook bespreek word. Die evaluasieraamwerk en meegaande programmatuur kan gebruik word om alle aspekte van e-handel webwerwe te evalueer, en die resultate kan gebruik word om betekenisvolle gevolgtrekkings te maak oor die wyse waarop hierdie webwerwe verbeter kan word.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The publication of news websites mushroomed since the establishment of the World Wide Web, but their viability and/or profitability still tend to pose a problem. This study approaches the question from the viewpoint of the niche theory and gratification and investigates the advantages and disadvantages of publishing news on the Internet, as well as possible elements of news-website business models. The latter comprises firstly, costs such as labour, content, production, marketing and distribution, and secondly possible income sources. It also compares a number of different business models. It found, inter alia, that a greater variety on the broader news menu, as well as the development of cost-effective ways to utilise the unique features of the Internet in the presentation of news will be fundamental to the eventual success of news websites. A generally acceptable norm for the measurement and auditing of traffic to news websites will be crucial in the optimal utilisation of the potential advertisingsales income. The study concludes that it is doubtful whether news websites on their own will ever succeed as media enterprises. In most cases news websites will probably only exist as a minor component of websites deriving their income from a variety of other sources. However, technological innovation may come up with new possibilities that may revolutionise the e-news industry in such a way that it may become profitable on its own. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die publikasie van nuuswebwerwe het soos ʼn paddastoel opgeskiet sedert die daarstelling van die Wêreldwye Web, maar die lewensvatbaarheid en/of winsgewendheid van sulke webwerwe blyk steeds ʼn probleem te wees. Hierdie studie benader die vraagstuk uit die oogpunt van die nisteorie en voldoening, en ondersoek die voor- en nadele van nuuspublikasie op die Internet, sowel as die faktore waaruit bedryfsmodelle vir nuuswebwerwe saamgestel kan word. Die laasgenoemde omvat eendersyds koste, soos arbeid, inhoud, produksie, bemarking en verspreiding; en andersyds die moontlike inkomstebronne. Dit vergelyk ook ʼn aantal verskillende bedryfsmodelle. Die bevindings sluit in dat ʼn groter verskeidenheid op die breër nuusspyskaart sowel as die vind van kostedoeltreffende maniere om die unieke eienskappe van die Internet ten volle in die aanbieding van die nuus te benut, onderliggend tot die uiteindelike sukses van nuuswebwerwe sal wees. ʼn Algemeen aanvaarbare norm vir die meting en ouditering van die verkeer na nuuswebwerwe sal deurslaggewend wees in die optimale benutting van die potensiële inkomste uit advertensieverkope. Die studie kom tot die slotsom dat daar twyfel bestaan of nuuswebwerwe as sulks op die lang duur as onafhanklike media-ondernemings sal slaag. In die meeste gevalle sal nuuswebwerwe waarskynlik hoofsaaklik net voortbestaan as ʼn ondergeskikte komponent van webwerwe wat hul verdienste uit ʼn verskeidenheid van ander bronne put. Tegnologiese vernuwing kan egter nuwe moontlikhede daar stel wat ʼn ommekeer in die winsgewendheid van die e-nuusbedryf teweeg kan bring.

DISSERTATION Submitted in partial (50%) fulfilment of the requirements for the degree MAGISTER TECHNOLOGIAE in BUSINESS INFORMATION SYSTEMS in the FACULTY OF BUSINESS INFORMATICS at the CAPE PENINSULA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY 2005 / The growth of the World Wide Web has spawned a wide collection of new information sources, which has also left users with the daunting task of determining which sources are valid. Most users rely on the web because of the low cost of information retrieval. Other advantages of the web include the convenience in terms of time and access as well as the ability to easily record results. It is also claimed that the web has evolved into a powerful business tool. Examples include highly popular business services such as Amazon.com and Kalahari.net. It is estimated that around 80% of users utilise search engines to locate information on the Internet. This of course places emphasis on the underlying importance of webpages being listed on search engines indices. It is in the interest of any company to pursue a strategy for ensuring a high search engine ranking for their e-Commerce website. This will result in more visits from users and possibly more sales. One of the strategies for ensuring a high search engine ranking is the placement of keywords in the body text section of a webpage. Empirical evidence that the placement of keywords in certain areas of the body text will have an influence on the websites’ visibility to search engines could not be found. The author set out to prove or disprove that keywords in the body text of a webpage will have a measurable effect on the visibility of a website to search engine crawlers. From the findings of this research it will be possible to create a guide for e- Commerce website authors on the usage, placing and density of keywords within their websites. This guide, although it will only focus on one aspect of search engine visibility, could help e-Commerce websites to attract more visitors and to become more profitable.

Investigates how teachers evaluate WebQuests in an effort to describe and identify a common, generalizable rubric that new users of WebQuests could use. The investigation included how often the teachers who were surveyed used WebQuests in the classroom, and what these teachers used to evaluate WebQuests. Examines whether teachers are using rubrics they had created themselves, or WebQuest rubrics that are provided for them.

In 1975, J.K. Hvistendahl and Mary R. Kahl tested 200 individuals to determine if readers preferred serif type for the body text of stories in newspapers. Subjects read stories set in serif and sans serif type. They were timed and asked for their preference as to which typeface they felt was more legible. The researchers found that test subjects preferred serif type the body text in their newsprint. After comparing the time it took subjects to read stories, researchers found readers needed less time to read stories set in serif type than sans serif.Almost 25 years later, another generation of readers has emerged, and Web pages are commonplace among many newspapers today. Yet nothing has been done to determine if these same findings are true for the World Wide Web. This study set out to do just that.Two hundred subjects were recruited for this study, each one placed into one of four groups: male student, male non-student, female student, and female non-student. Each subject was asked to read two 325-word stories, each on its own World Wide Web page. One story was set in a serif typeface, the other set in a sans serif typeface. Subjects were unobrusively timed with a stopwatch as they read each story. After reading the two stories, they were asked which typeface they felt was more legible, serif or sans serif.Overall, readers showd no statistically significant preference for serif or sans serif type in body text on the World Wide Web. The data was tested with ANOVA while frequencies and were also gathered. Only one statistically significant interaction surfaced which found that male students, who preferred sans serif type, took a statistically significant longer time to read online stories set in serif type. / Department of Journalism

The majority of Web site design literature mainly concentrates on the technical and functional aspects of Web site design. There is a definite lack of literature, in the IS field, that concentrates on the visual and aesthetic aspects of Web design. Preliminary research into the relationship between visual design and successful electronic commerce Web sites was conducted. The emphasis of this research was to answer the following three questions. What role do visual design elements play in the success of electronic commerce Web sites? What role do visual design principles play in the success of electronic commerce Web sites? What role do the typographic variables of visual design play in the success of electronic commerce Web sites? Forty-three undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory level MIS course used a Likert-style survey instrument to evaluate aesthetic aspects of 501 electronic commerce Web pages. The instrument employed a taxonomy of visual design that focused on three dimensions: design elements, design principles, and typography. The data collected were correlated against Internet usage success metrics data provided by Nielsen/NetRatings. Results indicate that 22 of the 135 tested relationships were statistically significant. Positive relationships existed between four different aesthetic dimensions and one single success measure. The other 18 significant relationships were negatively correlated. The visual design elements of space, color as hue, and value were negatively correlated with three of the success measures. The visual design principles of contrast, emphasis radiated through contrast, and contrast shape were negatively correlated with three of the success measures. Finally, the typographic variables of placement and type size were both negatively correlated with two of the success measures. This research provides support to the importance of visual design theory in Web site design. This preliminary research should be viewed as a realization of the need for Web sites to be designed with both visual design theory and usability in mind.

No description available.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / Having graduated from the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in 1998, I found myself reassigned there two years later only to watch the same frustrating cycle of inefficiency and ineffectiveness. Classes were still being manually scheduled using 3x5 cards, the results transferred into a 1970’s mainframe for printout on 15 inch-wide computer paper, and then distributed by hand. Incoming US and international families from any of 50 countries found it difficult to locate timely orientation information. Students, faculty and staff did not have a convenient, consistent method of finding people, places or things on campus. The school’s intranet was littered with outdated, irrelevant information. And the crews of 300 warships, positioned worldwide, were hungry for 24/7 distance learning programs. Bureaucracy, fiscal pressure, excruciating oversight, and declining enrollment stifled the school’s prospects. A group of us in the technology department launched the school’s first Web Operations Group and I modeled NPS’s new website after Monterey’s weekly open-air farmer’s market. I harvested three conclusions: 1) Like the fresh produce sold every Tuesday afternoon, no one wants information that is beyond a week old; 2) The marketplace provides a secure, convenient, consistent forum in which to transact business as well as ideas; 3) The stalls with better marketing and more relevant produce or services garnered more business. I started attending NPS bi-weekly leadership meetings and asking lots of questions. With no budget, I taught myself how to use web-authoring tools, studied the government Web edicts, and leveraged my server privileges to help stakeholders communicate ideas, collaborate on research projects and partner with NPS. After collecting survey data, I pitched the final concept to school leadership, crafted the new website over Christmas break, and went live six weeks later. As a result some report processing was reduced from two days to two minutes, information resources were doubled, data clutter was reduced by 96%. The redesigned website now loaded in a third of the time and a simple, ubiquitous search tool helped people locate campus resources instantly. / Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy

Thesis advisor: Ana M. Martínez Alemán / The term “diversity” was popularized in Justice Powell’s opinion in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, which identified the benefits of a diverse student body as a compelling state interest. Forty years after Bakke, deep inequities remain in higher education and racist events occur with regularity on college campuses (“Campus Racial Incidents : The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education,” n.d.). Institutions continue to struggle to address student concerns and a significant gap remains between students and administrators on the topic of diversity and inclusion. Because the public website is the face of the university to the world and the most powerful platform for conveying institutional values, goals, and priorities, representations of diversity on university webpages are potent statements about how institutions address these topics (Snider & Martin, 2012). Jesuit universities in particular have a 500-year tradition in education that is founded on a deep respect for cultural difference, making them an excellent choice for a study on diversity (O’Malley, 2014). This exploratory qualitative study utilizes Critical Discourse Analysis to examine how diversity is characterized on Jesuit higher education websites. The 28 Jesuit higher education institutions in the United States were analyzed during two time periods using a framework combining elements of Fairclough (2003) and McGregor (2014). The data were interpreted through the lens of Critical Race Theory (CRT), which posits that racism continues to be endemic and omnipresent in the United States. CRT scholarship on microaggressions, whiteness, and colorblindness is a foundational element of this analysis Based on this analysis, institutions were placed in an adapted model of diversity development based on Williams (2013). While respecting cultural difference and care for the marginalized is at the core of the Jesuit mission, translating this to an inclusive diversity web presence has presented challenges for institutions. In this study, just 3 of the 28 Jesuit higher education institutions attained the most advanced stage—Inclusive Excellence. Few Jesuit institutions placed diversity at the core of the mission or maintained cohesive and powerful diversity messaging across the website. This study found instances where imagery, prose, and information architecture issues reinforced hegemonic norms and objectified individuals. This analysis concludes with diversity website content recommendations for administrators, communications professionals, and faculty who seek to be inclusive rather than alienate, deconstruct hegemonic norms rather than reinforce them, and balance marketing goals with campus authenticity. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

"I know but one freedom, and that is the freedom of the mind" Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Web metrics offer significant potential for online businesses to incorporate high-quality, real-time information into their strategic marketing decision-making (SDM) process. This SDM process is affected by the firm�s strategic direction, which is critical for web businesses. A review of the widely researched strategy and SDM literature identified that managers use extensive information to support and improve strategic decisions and make informed decisions. Offline SDM processes might be appropriate for the online environment but the limited literature on web metrics has not researched information needs for online SDM. Even though web metrics can be a valuable tool for web businesses to inform strategic marketing decisions, and their collection might be less expensive and easier than offline measures, virtually no published research has combined web metrics and SDM concepts into one research project. To address this gap in the literature, the thesis investigated the differences and commonalities of online and offline SDM process approaches, the use of web metrics categories for online SDM stages, and the issues encountered during that process through four research questions. A preliminary conceptual model based on the literature review was refined through preliminary research, which addressed the research questions and investigated the current state of web metrics. After investigating various methodologies, a multi-stage qualitative methodology was selected. The use of qualitative methods represents a contribution to knowledge regarding methodological approaches to online research. Four stages within the online SDM process were shown to benefit from the use of web metrics: the setting of priorities, the setting of objectives, the pretest stage and the review stage. The results identified the similarity of online and offline SDM processes; demonstrated that Traffic, Transactions, Customer Feedback and Consumer Behaviour categories provide basic metrics used by most companies; identified the Environment, Technology, Business Results and Campaigns categories as supplementary categories that are applied according to the marketing objectives; and investigated the results based on different types of companies (website classification, channel focus, size and cluster association). Three clusters were identified that relate to the strategic importance of the website and web metrics. Modifying the initial conceptual model, six issues were distinguished that affect the use of web metrics: the adoption and use of web metrics by managers; the integration of multiple sources of metrics; the establishment of industry benchmarks; data quality; the differences to offline measures; as well as resource constraints that interfere with the appropriate web metrics analysis. Links to offline marketing strategy literature and established business concepts were explored and explanations provided where the results confirmed or modified these concepts. Using qualitative methods, the research assisted in building theory of web metrics and online SDM processes. The results show that offline theories apply to the online environment and conventional concepts provide guidance for online processes. Dynamic aspects of strategy relate to the online environment, and qualitative research methods appear suitable for online research. Publications during this research project: Weischedel, B., Matear, S. and Deans, K. R. (2003) The Use of E-metrics in Strategic Marketing Decisions - A Preliminary Investigation. Business Excellence �03 - 1st International Conference on Performance Measures, Benchmarking and Best Practices in the New Economy, Guimaraes, Portugal; June 10-13, 2003. Weischedel, B., Deans, K. R. and Matear, S. (2004) Emetrics - An Empirical Study of Marketing Performance Measures for Web Businesses. Performance Measurement Association Conference 2004, Edinburgh, UK; July 28-30, 2004. Weischedel, B., Matear, S. and Deans, K. R. (2005) "A Qualitative Approach to Investigating Online Strategic Decision-Making" Qualitative Market Research, Vol. 8 No 1, pp. 61-76. Weischedel, B., Matear, S. and Deans, K. R. (2005) "The Use of Emetrics in Strategic Marketing Decisions - A Preliminary Investigation" International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising, Vol. 2 Nos 1/2, p. 109-125.