Online services are required to gain informed consent from users to collect, store and analyse their personal data, both intentionally divulged and derived during their use of the service. There are many issues with these forms: they are too long, too complex and demand the user's attention too frequently. Many users consent without reading so do not know what they are agreeing to. As such,granted consent is effectively uninformed. In this paper, we report on two studies we carried out to arrive at a value-driven approach to inform efforts to reduce the length of consent forms. The first study interviewed unemployed users to identify the values they want these forms to satisfy. The second survey study helped us to quantify the values and value creators. To ensure that we understood the particular valuation of the unemployed, we compared their responses to those of an employed demographic and observed no significant differences between their prioritisation on any of the values. However, we did find substantial differences between values and value creators, with effort minimisation being most valued by our participants.

This research uniquely examines time perspective (TP) predictors of online security behaviour. Participants (N = 121) completed questionnaires assessing computer security use, security behaviour intentions, and time perspective. Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed computer security use was positively by predicted by Future TP. Device Securement was positively predicted from Carpe Diem TP. Updating was positively predicted from a Carpe Diem TP and a Past Negative TP. Proactive Awareness was negatively predicted from Present Hedonism. As time perspective is malleable, an ability to switch effectively between the TPs may enhance aspects of online security.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to test the protection motivation theory (PMT) in the context of fear appeal interventions to reduce the threat of phishing attacks. In addition, it was tested to what extent the model relations are equivalent across fear appeal conditions and across time. Design/methodology/approach A pre-test post-test design was used. In the pre-test, 1,201 internet users filled out an online survey and were presented with one of three fear appeal conditions: strong fear appeal, weak fear appeal and control condition. Arguments regarding vulnerability of phishing attacks and response efficacy of vigilant online information-sharing behaviour were manipulated in the fear appeals. In the post-test, data were collected from 786 internet users and analysed with partial least squares path modelling. Findings The study found that PMT model relations hold in the domain of phishing. Self-efficacy and fear were the most important predictors of protection motivation. In general, the model results were equivalent across conditions and across time. Practical Implications It is important to consider online information-sharing behaviour because it facilitates the occurrence and success of phishing attacks. The results give practitioners more insight into important factors to address in the design of preventative measures to reduce the success of phishing attacks. Future research is needed to test how fear appeals work in real-world settings and over longer periods. Originality/value This paper is a substantial adaptation of a previous conference paper (Jansen and Van Schaik, 2017a, b).

The degree of familiarity with threats is considered as a predictor of Internet attitudes and security behaviors. Cross-sectional data were collected from 323 student participants about their familiarity about 16 different Internet threats. All participants were presented with definitions of threats and then asked to state how familiar they were with each. Their responses were then used to identify the extent to which threat familiarity differed among the sample. Three different clusters were identified. One set of participants were relatively knowledgeable about all threats. Cluster 1 was therefore labeled experts (n = 92). Clusters 2 (n = 112) and 3 (n = 92) showed very different patterns as familiarity appeared to depend on the novelty of the threat (with one cluster showing more familiarity with well-known threats and the other more familiarity with new threats). Participants who were experts were more likely to engage in computer security behaviors than the other two groups. Mediation analysis showed that time spent on the Internet and the length of Internet experience were significant predictors of familiarity, and both were significant indirect predictors of computer security use (suggesting a relationship fully mediated by familiarity). Our paper makes several important contribution. First, the research reflects a systematic effort to investigate the relationship between the familiarity and engagement of online security activities. Second, we provide evidence that familiarity is a mediator between Internet use and security behaviors – making this a baseline variable to consider in terms of training on future threat-oriented interventions aimed at changing security behavior. This study also provides implications for practitioners to improve user familiarity of security risks.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to compare three social cognitive models in their ability to explain intentions of precautionary online behaviour. The models are: protection motivation theory (PMT), the reasoned action approach (RAA) and an integrated model comprising variables of these models. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 1,200 Dutch users of online banking by means of an online survey and analysed using partial least squares path modelling method. Findings The two models equally explain about much of the variance in precautionary online behaviour; in the integrated model, the significant predictors of the two models remained significant. Precautionary online behaviour is largely driven by response efficacy, attitude towards behaviour and self-efficacy. Research limitations/implications One limitation is that the predictor variables – “self-efficacy” and “attitude” – are represented by one item only in the path-analysis because of high cross-loadings of the other items with the dependent variable. Practical implications The results give practitioners a potentially wider range of options to design preventative measures. Originality/value The three models are successfully applied to online banking. This paper concludes that both PMT and RAA make a unique contribution in explaining variance for precautionary online behaviour. This paper is a re-publication of a previous conference paper (Jansen and van Schaik, 2016).

Although the Internet has become a major source for accessing news, there is little research regarding users' experience with news sites. We conducted an experiment to test a comprehensive model of user experience with news sites that was developed previously by means of an online survey. Level of adoption (novel or adopted site) was controlled with a between‐subjects manipulation. We collected participants' answers to psychometric scales at 2 times: after presentation of 5 screenshots of a news site and directly after 10 minutes of hands‐on experience with the site. The model was extended with the prediction of users' satisfaction with news sites as a high‐level design goal. A psychometric measure of trust in news providers was developed and added to the model to better predict people's intention to use particular news sites. The model presented in this article represents a theoretically founded, empirically tested basis for evaluating news websites, and it holds theoretical relevance to user‐experience research in general. Finally, the findings and the model are applied to provide practical guidance in design prioritization.

Recent research suggests that psychological needs such as competence and relatedness are involved in users’ experience with technology and are related to the perception of a product's hedonic and pragmatic quality. This line of research, however, predominately focuses on positive leisure experiences, and it is unclear whether need fulfillment plays a similar role in negative experiences or in other activity domains such as work. Therefore, this study investigates need fulfillment in positive and negative experiences, and in work and leisure experiences in two separate studies by analyzing almost 600 users’ experiences with technology along with ratings on need fulfillment, affect, and perceived product quality. Results suggest that work and leisure experiences as well as positive and negative experiences differ in terms of need fulfillment. Hence, both activity domain and valence of experiences are important factors that should be taken in account when modeling user experience.

Three-dimensional (3-D) route-planning support offers a promising solution to overcome problems with wayfinding in complex indoor environments. An experiment was conducted to test the effect of 3-D route-planning support in a realistic setting, a large hospital building, during normal operation. Forty participants performed navigation tasks either with (n = 20) or without (n = 20) 3-D route-planning support. Support resulted in faster navigation, more use of artwork specifically installed to aid wayfinding, fewer navigation errors, less disorientation and less anxiety. In addition, participants used different strategies for wayfinding: without navigation support they used signs and route colour, but with navigation support they used not only the artwork, but also the existing furniture and other landmarks. The acceptance of 3-D route-planning support was high. Overall, the results support the value of 3-D route-planning support.

Although news websites are used by a large and increasing number of people, there is a lack of research within human‐computer interaction regarding users' experience with this type of interactive technology. In the current research, existing measures of user‐experience factors were identified and, using an online survey, answers to psychometric scales to measure website characteristics, need fulfillment, affective reactions, and constructs of technology acceptance and user experience were collected from regular users of news sites. A comprehensive user‐experience model was formulated to explain acceptance and quality judgments of news sites. The main contribution of the current study is the application of influential models of user experience and technology acceptance to the domain of online news. By integrating both types of variable in a comprehensive model, the relationships between the types of variable are clarified both theoretically and empirically. Implications of the model for theory, further research, and system design are discussed.

The information architecture of websites is the most important remaining source of usability problems. Therefore, this research explores automated cognitive computational analysis of the information architecture of large websites as a basis for improvement. To support goal-specific analysis, an enhanced model of web navigation was implemented with a novel database-oriented approach. Web navigation was simulated on the information architecture of two large sites. With the improved labeling system of the information architecture, simulation results showed a significant reduction in navigation problems. The results of two experiments demonstrate that sites with improved information architecture result in better outcomes of user information retrieval. Our database-oriented approach is extensible, allowing non-goal-specific analysis, modeling of nontext media content, and analysis of the organization- and navigation systems of information architectures.

The aim of this special issue is to contribute to the improvement of the existing cognitive models of web navigation like SNIF-ACT (Fu and Pirolli 2007), CoLiDeS (Blackmon et al. 2005, Kitajima et ...

Cognitive and experiential factors in human–computer interaction have been the focus of significant recent attention, but there is a lack of a much needed integrated approach to these issues. The current article proposes such an approach and applies this, combined with the person–task–artifact model (Finneran & Zhang, 2003), to the modeling of web navigation. In an experiment, artifact complexity and task complexity were manipulated. The effects of the experimental manipulations and intrinsic motivation on flow experience, task performance and task outcome were tested. The main effects of the manipulations were confirmed. Further analyses demonstrated that flow was a mediator of the effect of experimental manipulations on task performance, and task performance was a mediator of the effect of flow on task outcome. Overall, the results in the domain of web navigation that are presented here demonstrate the need for taking an integrated cognitive-experiential approach in the modeling of human–computer intera...

The proliferation of technology has provided educational institutions with opportunities to integrate technology into their curriculum. Technology acceptance refers to a user's willingness to employ information technology for the tasks it is designed to support. This study compared the four models (TRA, TPB, TAM, and integrated) to examine which model best helps to predict preservice teachers' intentions to use technology. Data were gathered from 429 preservice teachers from a teacher training institute in Singapore, and structural equation modeling was used to compare the four models in terms of overall model fit, explanatory power, and path significance. The results demonstrate that the models did not differ in explanatory power. Attitude as an independent variable was found to have the greatest impact on the intention to use technology.

The present study is part of a research programme that aims to develop and test a psychological model of end-users’ experience with news sites. An exploratory study of interaction experience with a news Web site was conducted. An online questionnaire was used to collect information on demographics, Internet-use and news-site use behaviour of users of a particular news site, and to recruit participants for a think-aloud study. The protocol analysis of screen-capture and audio recordings of participants, who used a news site while thinking aloud, yielded five categories of experience: impression, content, layout, information architecture and diversion. These categories are regarded as spontaneous, self-reported aspects of users’ experience with a news site. A set of interaction-experience questionnaires revealed significant differences between regular users and non-users of a news site. Correlation and regression analyses demonstrated support for Hassenzahl’s model of interaction experience. The study presents a first attempt to empirically investigate the aspects of interaction experience in relation to online news sites.

In many situations, people make judgments on the basis of incomplete information, inferring unavailable attributes from available ones. These inference processes may also well operate when judgments about a product’s user-experience are made. To examine this, an inference model of user-experience, based on Hassenzahl and Monk’s [2010], was explored in three studies using Web sites. All studies supported the model’s predictions and its stability, with hands-on experience, different products, and different usage modes (action mode versus goal mode). Within a unified framework of judgment as inference [Kruglanski et al. 2007], our approach allows for the integration of the effects of a wide range of information sources on judgments of user-experience.

An experiment, using two versions of a Web site varying in usability, tested three models of user experience: an interaction experience model, a technology acceptance model and an integrated experience-acceptance model. We found that the perceptions of three product attributes (Pragmatic Quality, Hedonic Quality-stimulation and Hedonic Quality-identification) and technology acceptance variables (the beliefs of Perceived Ease of Use, Perceived Enjoyment and Perceived Usefulness, and Intention to Use) are separate underlying psychological dimensions. A positive effect of usability on task performance, interaction experience and acceptance was found. In the interaction experience model, the evaluation of Goodness (overall interaction quality) was less stable and influenced by both Pragmatic Quality and Hedonic Quality, but the evaluation of Beauty was more stable and only influenced by Hedonic Quality. In the technology acceptance model, Perceived Ease of Use was a determinant of Perceived Enjoyment and Perceived Usefulness, and the latter two were independent determinants of Intention to Use. In the integrated model, perceptions of product attributes were independent determinants of beliefs, but evaluations were not independent determinants of Intention to Use. Future modelling work should address a range of interactive systems, information architecture and individual differences.

Both in terms of prevalence and impact, domestic violence is a significant problem in modern society. The current study investigated women's acceptance of internet sites with domestic-violence information as an additional source of support. Perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, social influence and awareness of sites were predictors of intention to use sites. However, awareness and experience of domestic violence predicted use of sites. We argue that technology acceptance needs to be studied in the context of a detailed analysis of ‘Everyday Life Information Seeking’ to better understand acceptance and as a basis for designing effective support sites.

A major area of research is how a positive ‘user experience’ – or interaction experience – of the use of digital artefacts (e.g. web sites, virtual worlds and personal digital assistants) can be promoted (Hassenzahl and Tractinsky, 2006). This experience does not only include usability, but also other cognitive, socio-cognitive and affective aspects of users’ experience in their interaction with artefacts, such as users’ enjoyment, aesthetic experience, desire to repeat use, positive decision to use a digital artefact and enhanced mental models. Research in this area is timely because we are approaching the ‘loyalty decade’, where interaction experience will become the main success factor (Nielsen, 2008). Hence, the success of digital artefacts is to a large extent positively influenced by the extent to which they promote a high-quality experience in their users. Furthermore, user experience (UX) manifests as quality in design, in interaction and in value, with diverse measures from many methods and instruments. One of the challenges related to UX is how to select appropriate measures to address the particularities of an evaluation context. The necessity and utility of UX measures is apparent, because such measures enable professionals to benchmark competitive design artefacts and to select appropriate design options. However, both the construct validity and predictive power of some UX measures are of particular concern. Consequently, modelling users’ experience – as a basis for producing design guidance – is especially important.

3-D models are often developed to aid the design and development of indoor and outdoor environments. This study explores the use of interactive 3-D visualization for public consultation for outdoor environments. Two visualization techniques (interactive 3-D visualization and static visualization) were compared using the method of individual testing. Visualization technique had no effect on the perception of the represented outdoor environment, but there was a preference for using interactive 3-D. Previously established mechanisms for a preference for interactive 3-D visualization in other domains were confirmed in the perceived strengths and weaknesses of visualization techniques. In focus-group discussion, major preferences included provision of more information through interactive 3-D visualization and wider access to information for public consultation. From a users' perspective, the findings confirm the strong potential of interactive 3-D visualization for public consultation.

Recent research into user experience has identified the need for a theoretical model to build cumulative knowledge in research addressing how the overall quality or ‘goodness’ of an interactive product is formed. An experiment tested and extended Hassenzahl’s model of aesthetic experience. The study used a 2 × 2 × (2) experimental design with three factors: principles of screen design, principles for organizing information on a web page and experience of using a web site. Dependent variables included hedonic perceptions and evaluations of a web site as well as measures of task performance, navigation behaviour and mental effort. Measures, except Beauty, were sensitive to manipulation of web design. Beauty was influenced by hedonic attributes (identification and stimulation), but Goodness by both hedonic and pragmatic (user-perceived usability) attributes as well as task performance and mental effort. Hedonic quality was more stable with experience of web-site use than pragmatic quality and Beauty was more stable than Goodness.

The effects of design parameters of rating scales on the perceived quality of interaction with web sites were investigated, using four scales (Disorientation, Perceived ease of use, Perceived usefulness and Flow). Overall, the scales exhibited good psychometric properties. In Experiment 1, psychometric results generally converged between two response formats (visual analogue scale and Likert scale). However, in Experiment 2, presentation of one questionnaire item per page was better than all items presented on a single page and direct interaction (using radio buttons) was better than indirect interaction (using a drop-down box). Practical implications and a framework for measurement are presented.

The use of a comprehensive set of psychometric instruments for measuring the quality of interaction in Web sites is proposed. Five existing scales for Web site evaluation, each measuring a key construct in human-computer interaction, were used together. The set of 5 scales demonstrated good distinguishability of factor structure, and all scales possessed adequate reliability. Evidence for validity of the scales was obtained, but additional work is necessary to establish the conditions under which these properties are best demonstrated. Aesthetic quality emerged as a separate scale that moderately correlated with other scales and level of task performance, highlighting the importance of aesthetics in interaction with Web pages. The results suggest the 5 scales can be used to measure the quality of interaction in Web sites for both monitoring and continual improvement of these sites.

Within the framework of technology acceptance modelling (Davis ), this study investigated the acceptance of a computerised decision-support system in primary care. Thirty general practitioners (GP) completed a questionnaire that detailed potential advantages of the system. A majority (70%) of GPs intended to use the system with a 2-min increase in consultation times (for proportion of GPs intending to use, CI0.95 = [0.54; 0.85]) and eight advantages of the system were predictors of intention to use (RL 2 = 0.51, p < 0.05). However, a majority (77%) did not intend to use the system with a 5-min increase in consultation time (CI0.95 = [0.12; 0.42]). Furthermore, a majority of 90% preferred the system to be used by non-physicians (CI0.95 = [0.78; 0.98]). These results confirm relationships between acceptance factors in a new domain, but most importantly they indicate the need to consider the balance of perceived advantages, or benefits, and disadvantages, or costs, of a new system in technology acceptance modelling. Implications for the design of a prototype system and further research are discussed.

Technological developments in Virtual Reality (VR) appear to outpace progress in design methodology of VR. The theory of Perceptual Opportunities (POs) has previously been proposed as a basis of such a design methodology (Blade and Padgett, 2002). This paper presents the first empirical study investigating the effect of representation of POs on users' behaviour in Virtual Environments (VEs). The current study has a methodological focus, using POs as a framework and desktop VR as a experimental environment. The application of an experimental paradigm is illustrated with two experiments. Evidence was found for an effect of movement type on choice of objects in a simple VE. Implications for VE design and the methodology of empirical research in the framework of POs are discussed.

The drive towards evidence-based practice in health-care requires changes in work practices and supporting technology. In response to the requirement to provide evidence, the current research proposes a new low-cost system for 3-D postural assessment. The aims of the study were (1) to assess the technology acceptance model (Davis 1993) for the new system and (2) to derive user requirements with user involvement early in the development process. A prototype system was developed and demonstrated to physiotherapists. Technology acceptance was assessed using standardized questions (Davis and Venkatesh 1996) and user needs were assessed with open-ended questions. Relations between the technology acceptance components confirmed findings of previous research, with perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness identified as pivotal factors in clinical acceptance, and implications for design were drawn. Specific user requirements for system development were derived from the qualitative results. The prospects for computer-aided quantitative assessment of posture are discussed.

Usability is paramount for the success of Web sites. This study aims to contribute towards Web design guidelines for usability through an empirical investigation into two Web page design parameters. Using a 2 × 4 mixed measures experimental design, we studied the effects of frame layout and background contrast on visual search performance. One hundred and eighty-nine undergraduates carried out a visual search task using mock Web pages. Analysis showed an effect of layout both on accuracy and speed measures, with frames located at the top or left of the screen leading to better performance. No main effect of contrast was found, although there was an interaction between layout and contrast in reaction time for hits. Preference for frame layout was dependent on background contrast. The results are discussed in terms of visual search processes and design recommendations are given.

The research investigated how input from users can be used to inform system design at an early stage. The study was conducted in the context of a smart card project in an educational organization. Scenarios of smart card system use were developed based on claims analysis. For the purpose of evaluating the scenarios, a model of system acceptance was devised. Evaluation questionnaires based on the acceptance model were developed and used by potential system users to evaluate the scenarios. Multiple regression analysis of the questionnaire responses indicated which causal links in the acceptance model were significant, and enabled the elements of system functionality likely to have an impact on acceptance to be identified. This approach enables the importance of particular system functions to be assessed at an early stage of system design.