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This paper presents the results of an empirical analysis of deceptive data visualizations paired with explanatory text. Data visualizations are used to communicate information about important social issues to large audiences and are found in the news, social media, and the Internet (Kirk, 2012). Modern technology and software allow people

This paper presents the results of an empirical analysis of deceptive data visualizations paired with explanatory text. Data visualizations are used to communicate information about important social issues to large audiences and are found in the news, social media, and the Internet (Kirk, 2012). Modern technology and software allow people and organizations to easily produce and publish data visualizations, contributing to data visualizations becoming more prevalent as a means of communicating important information (Sue & Griffin, 2016). Ethical transgressions in data visualizations are the intentional or unintentional use of deceptive techniques with the potential of altering the audience’s understanding of the information being presented (Pandey et al., 2015). While many have discussed the importance of ethics in data visualization, scientists have only recently started to look at how deceptive data visualizations affect the reader. This study was administered as an on-line user survey and was designed to test the deceptive potential of data visualizations when they are accompanied by a paragraph of text. The study consisted of a demographic questionnaire, chart familiarity assessment, and data visualization survey. A total of 256 participants completed the survey and were evenly distributed between a control (non-deceptive) survey or a test (deceptive) survey in which participant were asked to observe a paragraph of text and data visualization paired together. Participants then answered a question relevant to the observed information to measure how they perceived the information to be. The individual differences between demographic groups and their responses were analyzed to understand how these groups reacted to deceptive data visualizations compared to the control group. The results of the study confirmed that deceptive techniques in data visualizations caused participants to misinterpret the information in the deceptive data visualizations even when they were accompanied by a paragraph of explanatory text. Furthermore, certain demographics and comfort levels with chart types were more susceptible to certain types of deceptive techniques. These results highlight the importance of education and practice in the area of data visualizations to ensure deceptive practices are not utilized and to avoid potential misinformation, especially when information can be called into question.
ContributorsO'Brien, Shaun (Author) / Laure, Claire (Thesis advisor) / Brumberger, Eva (Committee member) / D'Angelo, Barbara J. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
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Description
Contemporary cities are physical and virtual. This thesis describes the findings of a mixed-methods study concerning visual images of the city in the urban Northeast of the United States. I ground these approaches in existing literature concerning digital media, visual narrative, genre ecology, urban planning, and virtual places. The first

Contemporary cities are physical and virtual. This thesis describes the findings of a mixed-methods study concerning visual images of the city in the urban Northeast of the United States. I ground these approaches in existing literature concerning digital media, visual narrative, genre ecology, urban planning, and virtual places. The first part of the study analyzes the results of a survey in which 150 people responded to questions about social media use and the relationships between image type and the functions of social media in urban contexts. The second part of the study analyzes the results of coding one year of visual images tweeted by @CambMA, the municipal Twitter feed for the City of Cambridge, Massachusetts. These approaches required the development of new tools for analyzing visual communication and genre moves in specific media contexts. My research suggests that specific image types are suited for specific media functions in the context of visual communication in virtual urban environments and that some image types are especially effective in capturing and expressing the city. These findings provide potential strategies for municipal social media channels to consider in terms of how they communicate with their audiences.
ContributorsDel Nero, Zachary (Author) / Maid, Barry (Thesis advisor) / D'Angelo, Barbara (Committee member) / Mara, Andrew (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
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Description
With 285-million blind and visually impaired worldwide, and 25.5 million in the United States, federally funded universities should be at the forefront when designing accessible websites for the blind community. Fifty percent of the university homepages discussed in my thesis failed accessibility checker tests because alternative text was not provided

With 285-million blind and visually impaired worldwide, and 25.5 million in the United States, federally funded universities should be at the forefront when designing accessible websites for the blind community. Fifty percent of the university homepages discussed in my thesis failed accessibility checker tests because alternative text was not provided in the alt-attribute for numerous images, making them inaccessible to blind users. The images which failed included logos, photographs of people, and images with text. Understanding image content and context in relation to the webpage is important for writing alternative text that is useful, yet writers interpret and define the content and context of images differently or not at all. Not all universities follow legal guidelines of using alternative text for online images nor implements best practices of analyzing images prior to describing them within the context of the webpage. When an image used in a webpage is designed only to be seen by sighted users and not to be seen by screen reader software, then that image is not comparably accessible to a blind user, as Section 508 mandates.
ContributorsSabbia, Michael Robert (Author) / Maid, Barry (Thesis advisor) / Brumberger, Eva (Thesis advisor) / Mara, Andrew (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the State Bar of New Mexico's (SBNM) new podcast series, SBNM is Hear. The podcast was initially developed as a member outreach tool and a new platform for professional development and survey questions were developed to gauge the podcast’s effectiveness in these

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the State Bar of New Mexico's (SBNM) new podcast series, SBNM is Hear. The podcast was initially developed as a member outreach tool and a new platform for professional development and survey questions were developed to gauge the podcast’s effectiveness in these two areas. An electronic survey was deployed to active members of the SBNM through email. Respondents were asked questions regarding their demographics, whether they had listened to the series, and what content they would like to hear in the future. The survey resulted in 103 responses, of which 60% indicated that they had not listened to the podcast. The results showed that listenership was evenly divided between generations and that more females listened to at least one episode. The open-ended responses indicated that the two cohorts of respondents (listeners and non- listeners) viewed the podcast a potential connection to the New Mexico judiciary. Future recommendations include conducting an annual survey to continue to understand the effectiveness of the podcast and solicit feedback for continued growth and improvement

ContributorsPettit, Morgan (Author) / Lauer, Claire (Degree committee member) / Mara, Andrew (Degree committee member) / Carradini, Stephen (Degree committee member)
Created2020-12-10
Description

Grubhub's user reviews from the Apple IOS store were analyzed to provide alternate user experience (UX) solutions through answering the following:
1. How is Grubhub's mobile app meeting user expectations?
2. How can Grubhub improve the mobile app experience?

ContributorsDiaz, Samantha (Author) / Harris, LaVerne Abe (Degree committee member) / D'Angelo, Barbara J. (Degree committee member) / Mara, Andrew (Degree committee member)
Created2019-12-13
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Description

As the impact of technology on daily life continues to grow, online learning platforms for primary, secondary, post-secondary, and professional institutions find ways to:

1. Connect peers and instructors through digital communication.
2. Engage users more fully in learning.
3. Provide access to resources that enhance deep-impact education.

Online learning platforms, or learning management

As the impact of technology on daily life continues to grow, online learning platforms for primary, secondary, post-secondary, and professional institutions find ways to:

1. Connect peers and instructors through digital communication.
2. Engage users more fully in learning.
3. Provide access to resources that enhance deep-impact education.

Online learning platforms, or learning management systems (LMS), are used to connect instructors and students through synchronous and asynchronous engagement tools, provide space for the transfer of resources and ideas, and track progress. However, these platforms were designed with more mainstream purposes - and more digitally savvy - users in mind.

Adult learning programs (with members ages 50+) currently have no online learning and sharing platform specifically designed to fit the needs and desires of their users. Despite the multitude of barriers to successful use, adult learning programs recognize the need to engage with members digitally and are seeking an online learning platform centered around their users.

This project, utilizing best practices in technical communication and mixed methods user experience research, broadens the boundaries of communication design by creating an online learning platform prototype specifically for adults ages 50+ through the lens of information design, content management, and user experience outcomes.

ContributorsBaker, Abby (Author) / Knopf, Richard (Degree committee member) / Lauer, Claire (Degree committee member) / Mara, Andrew (Degree committee member)
Created2019-11-11
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Description

For more than 50 years, my aunt was a professional chef and baker who catered hundreds of events and owned a bakery before retiring. Her recipes have never been formally documented and are rarely shared because only she knows them. The purpose of the cooking website content strategy was to

For more than 50 years, my aunt was a professional chef and baker who catered hundreds of events and owned a bakery before retiring. Her recipes have never been formally documented and are rarely shared because only she knows them. The purpose of the cooking website content strategy was to document five decades’ worth of my family’s recipes and write a cooking website content strategy report that will be used in the future to create the cooking website. Creating the website preserves the recipes and provides a resource that can be cited and referred to by future generations of my family. The cooking website applied project consists of a website content strategy report, including a social media strategy and website designs, documented recipes and oral histories, content audit, and content analysis.

ContributorsKlemp, Jamie (Author) / Maid, Barry M. (Degree committee member) / Carradini, Stephen (Degree committee member) / D'Angelo, Barbara J. (Degree committee member)
Created2019-04-26
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Description

This report aims to provide The Arts Partnership, an arts-based non-profit organization in the Fargo, ND-Moorhead, MN area, with recommendations on improving its “Connecting the Dots” weekly e-newsletter. The research was conducted using three separate channels – a quantitative survey of the current e-newsletter recipients, a qualitative coding exercise to

This report aims to provide The Arts Partnership, an arts-based non-profit organization in the Fargo, ND-Moorhead, MN area, with recommendations on improving its “Connecting the Dots” weekly e-newsletter. The research was conducted using three separate channels – a quantitative survey of the current e-newsletter recipients, a qualitative coding exercise to uncover themes in each e-newsletter, and an analysis of the top-clicked links in each e-newsletter. The original research, combined with information gleaned from the literature review, results in seven recommendations The Arts Partnership can implement into its current program. These recommendations include reducing the amount of HTML in each e-newsletter to avoid SPAM traps, keeping the email as scannable as possible, maintaining its subscriber base to eliminate waste, ensuring its e-newsletters are mobile-responsive, improving the subject line of the e-newsletters, and finally, considering using a different email program that provides more features The Arts Partnership can use to continue to improve its newsletters.

ContributorsPramme, Beth (Author) / Lauer, Claire (Degree committee member) / Maid, Barry M. (Degree committee member) / Mara, Andrew (Degree committee member)
Created2018-12-06
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Description

The purpose of this applied project was to research potential methods for conducting performance and evaluation observations on users of Positive Train Control (PTC) and recommend the most effective measures of performance (MOPs) and measures of efficiency (MOEs) of those users. I conducted a study to collect and analyze what

The purpose of this applied project was to research potential methods for conducting performance and evaluation observations on users of Positive Train Control (PTC) and recommend the most effective measures of performance (MOPs) and measures of efficiency (MOEs) of those users. I conducted a study to collect and analyze what data could be observed and examined most effectively to produce causal explanations of behaviors when utilizing the PTC system. This study was done through literature review, interviews of PTC users and trainers, and through direct observations as I rode on trains watching crews interact with the system. Additionally, I researched several studies on human computer interface (HCI) usability studies of various software applications. Based upon the results, I recommend that direct-participant observations be employed and apply both the system and individual MOPs and MOEs identified in the report to track user’s proficiency. The data collected from these observations can be centralized and used to identify behavioral trends, drive corrective actions, create future policies as well as training content. These observations will address the need to have structured observations which allow observers to focus undistracted on the specific behaviors that affect train operations. This database would also identify employees that may need additional or refresher training.

ContributorsBeitia, Adam (Author) / Lauer, Claire (Degree committee member) / Maid, Barry M. (Degree committee member) / Mara, Andrew (Degree committee member)
Created2018-12-06
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Description

Information can be created and shared online instantaneously. While this means that users can be informed faster than ever, it also means that inaccurate or fabricated stories can spread just as quickly. Newsgroups have become more scrutinized than ever. With this in mind, I wanted to research how an independent

Information can be created and shared online instantaneously. While this means that users can be informed faster than ever, it also means that inaccurate or fabricated stories can spread just as quickly. Newsgroups have become more scrutinized than ever. With this in mind, I wanted to research how an independent publication like The State Press can get the retain their reader base and I provided recommendations that are based on three key concepts of Technical Communication: write for an audience, provide an efficient user experience, and establish an ethos. I researched academic and professional articles related to communication and analyzed data that was provided by an editor from The State Press. The recommendations pertain to five categories: content output, operating systems and service providers, user demographics, user behavior, and search engines. The content is ethical and feasible for an independent publication and will bolster the readership and increase the overall level of engagement between the staff and the readers.

ContributorsBegaye, Cody (Author) / Carradini, Stephen (Degree committee member) / Mara, Andrew (Degree committee member) / Brumberger, Eva (Degree committee member)
Created2018-04-30