Category: Web Technology

Introduction

The nursing profession is intrinsically distressing making stress management a priority. Hospitals and nurses need to take the initiative to prevent or reduce burnout arising from pressures and uncontrolled stressors at the workplace. Literature on the subject indicates that effective stress management results in reduced burnout (Shamar & Kumar, 2018). Effective stress management leads to improved performance at work and ensures well-being. The stakeholders affected in this matter include nursing practitioners, patients, decision-makers, and the community at large. This presentation recommends a web-based system as the best intervention to help nurses effectively manage and cope with stressors in their line of duty.

Practice Issue: Burnout

Burnout has become prevalent

among health workers but its mostly inexperienced nurses. Burnout is defined as chronic related stress within the workplace. (Baranda, 2017). Nurses work in stressful work environment settings that call for not just physical strength, but also emotional, mental, and even spiritual strength, thus the nursing profession is at high risk for burnout. The substantial degrees of stress and feeling overpowered lead to bad quality in the long run, diminished work fulfillment, and can cause an overall negative perception of the field (Baranda, 2017) Due to the expanding prevalence of nursing burnout, there is an urgent need for intervention to reduce nursing burnout levels.

Picot Question

Burnout is particularly an issue of concern to nursing practitioners as it has negative implications for the well-being and the general performance of nurse practitioners (Baranda, 2017). Apart from nurses, burnout compromises the level of patient care, the hospital, and the families of the affected individuals. A web-based intervention is recommended to help nurses manage stress and prevent burnout. Alternatively, there is a personalized intervention that involves face-to-face interaction with nurses. It is, however, not a viable choice considering the nature of the profession and the large population in the field. The outcome will be measured by the full Nursing Stress Scale which includes various symptoms of stress.

Literature Review

There is available literature on burnout, its impact on the nursing profession, and the various ways and strategies to prevent and effectively manage burnout. To find credible and relevant articles, the researcher utilized several sources including the library and the internet. The keywords used to find relevant articles for the research topic included burnout in nursing and stress management and prevention. The articles were filtered to only include recent articles published in the past 10 years to capture the recent findings and evidence of best practices on the subject of burnout in nursing.

Causes of Burnout

The ratio of nurses in the country is quite low leading to a humongous workload for nurses in the profession. Kowalczuk et al., (2020) say that numerous sources cite shifts at workplaces, death of patients which leads to emotional strain, unbearable workloads, feelings of powerlessness, unfriendly management styles, and harsh working environment as causes of burnout in nurses. In addition, long working hours and lack of sleep are due to the high demand for the various services offered by nurses. The nursing profession is stressful when compared to other professions. This is because they deal with difficult situations that cause them immense stress regularly (The University of St Augustine for health sciences, 2020).

Effects of Burnout

Nurses are a very important component of the healthcare system due to their undeniable positive contribution toward the well-being and recovery of patients. However, the nature of this profession makes nurses prone to stress and eventually burnout. Nursing is a high-stress profession, and increased stress levels are linked to poor health and absenteeism among nurses. After analysis of relevant literature, burnout is the main problem affecting the performance of nurses. According to (Aryankhesal et al.(2019), burnout leads to reduced performance quality not only by nurses but also by all hospital staff. The physical and mental demands of the profession make nurses stressed. Shamar and Kumar (2018) mention that stress can cause less productivity while at work, which includes prescription errors and lack of coordination hence compromising the quality of service.

Interventions

Nursing is a high-stress career that is both emotionally and physically exhausting, with a high rate of burnout. (Branda, 2017). Apart from personal detrimental effects associated with stress, poor health, and the general well-being of the nurses, burnout is cited as a major cause of attrition and low admissions into the nursing profession. Owing to the important role played by nurses in the healthcare system, an effective intervention method is required to address the issue as a matter of priority. There are two types of intervention in-person intervention and web-based interventions. Due to the numerous cases and significant levels of burnout that could occur at any time, web-based interventions can be more suitable in stress management and addressing the burnout problem among nurses.

Recommendation

The BREATHE is a stress management method and created exclusively for nurses to provide them with necessary information, techniques, and resources to properly manage the numerous stresses that are unavoidable in their line of work (Dutton and Kozachik, 2020). According to a study on the BREATHE program, nurses who had access to it saw significant improvements in apparent nursing-related stress as well as stress markers on the Nursing Stress Scale (Dutton and Kozachik, 2020). The program gives a system to medical caretakers to get to the mediation now and again and places advantageous to their occupation and their busy schedules. The intervention is accessible to every nurse, and it requires an Internet connection and a connecting device to participate in stress management sessions.

Impacted Stakeholders

The research in the recent past has majorly been to investigate how various policies and work-related components impact the performance of nurses and well-being. Literature focuses on the existing relationships between health institution variables and the resulting impact including quality of care, the safety of patients under caregiver care, ill-health, absenteeism, retention, and job dissatisfaction (Dang and Dearholt, 2018; Branda, 2017). Burnout is often cited as being an outcome of practicing nursing. Its effects are, however, not just personal but affect the wider environment. The wider environment in this context, making up of the stakeholders, therefore, include the individual, the organization, and their patients (Aryankhesal et al., 2019). Effective management of burnout has been associated with positive outcomes and performance hence the need for effective intervention methods to lower or prevent levels of burnout among nurses.

Analysis of the Recommendation

The BREATHE is an evidence-based solution that can help nurses to manage stress levels. The program includes sections on how stress affects the body, assessing stress and identifying stressors, practical stress management tools addressing changing ones views of stressors, changing ones response to stressors, or changing the stressful situation, promoting effective communication skills, taking time to grieve, and depression and anxiety. It was influenced by feedback from nurses in focus groups and feasibility tests. (Dutton and Kozachik, 2020) The only resources needed are the gargets to access the internet, and subscription to the program. On effectiveness of the program, literature indicates that it results in reduction of burnout among users leading to the well being and improved performance at work.

Conclusion

Nurses are constantly working in stressful work environment that not only call for physical strength but also emotional, mental, and even spiritual strength. Due to these overwhelming demands, the nursing professions are at high risk for burnout hence the need for effective stress management. Effective stress management in the nursing profession leads to reduction or rather prevention of instances of burnout leading to improvement in staffing levels and enhancing job performance. The BREATHE is a web-based stress management system, recommended for nurses due to its effectiveness in managing burnout as indicated by literature and feasibility studies.

References

Aryankhesal, A., Mohammadibakhsh, R., Hamidi, Y., Alidoost, S., Behzadifar, M., Sohrabi, R., & Farhadi, Z. (2019). Interventions on reducing burnout in physicians and nurses: A systematic review. Medical Journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 33, 77. Web.

Baranda,M. (2017).Nurse burnout and the effects of coping and stress management Senior Research Projects. 190. Web.

Dang, D., & Dearholt, S. (2018). Supplemental materials for Johns Hopkins Nursing evidence-based practice: model and guidelines. Sigma Theta Tau International.

Dutton, S., & Kozachik, S. L. (2020). Evaluating the outcomes of a webbased stress management program for nurses and nursing assistants. Worldviews on EvidenceBased Nursing, 17(1), 32-38.

Kowalczuk, K., Krajewska-KuBak, E., & Sobolewski, M. (2020). Working excessively and burnout among nurses in the context of sick leaves. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 285.

Sharma,P. & Kumar,M.(2018 ).Managing stress in Nursing profession, International Journal of Current Research, 10, (05), 69740-69744.

The University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences (2020). Nurse burnout: risks, causes, and precautions for nurses, Web.

Website Evaluation

First Impression Notes

Scribd website is a student-friendly site, in the sense that it stores millions of documents that can be used by students in their research works. The website aims to liberate the written word, and in this regard, it has been able to avail thousands of documents (in the written word) to be shared by millions of readers worldwide (Scribd Inc, 2011, p. 1). Furthermore, the documents available on the website are comprehensive in nature.

Therefore, students can easily research the details of their chosen study topic (Scribd Inc, 2011, p. 1). In this respect, I find the website very interesting because besides having a lot of information regarding different subject areas; it also possesses information in several formats, including books (non-fiction and fiction), presentations, guide manuals, school works, magazines, newspapers, brochures and similar documents (Scribd Inc, 2011, p. 1).

The website is related to my unit of study. It is equally important to the body of knowledge I research since it contains thousands of documents from my field of study (pedagogy). However, accessing this document sometimes takes longer than usual because the documents to be opened are large documents. Moreover, the numerous adverts that pop up during browsing hinder the achievement of the ultimate browsing speed. However, the websites links work perfectly, and in this regard, they redirect the user to the intended target location at a good speed. In this respect, I feel comfortable navigating through the site, and in the same regard, my confidence in the website is equally high.

Web Assessment

• Site URL.
• Site Title: Scribd

The usefulness of the site

Scribd is a very useful website because it allows for the free exchange of information among different users. I find the website very interesting and useful because I can get a variety of information from the website, including entertainment, educational information, and authentic documents. The website is also useful to me because mobile content can also be shared in the same manner as other digital content.

Moreover, users do not experience authorization barriers before reading the documents since several people worldwide can easily use the websites contents. This means that the website acts as an online library, based on the fact that it completely revolutionizes publishing by making it democratic (Scribd Inc, 2011, p. 1). Moreover, document formats such as pdf, PowerPoint presentations, word documents, and the likes can be found. This means that I can get information in whatever format I please, and equally, I can share useful information about my research findings with my colleagues or peers.

• Does the data appear to be up to date and correct? Yes.
• Are there any links that may get students lost or confused? No.
• Must students log in or use a password? No.
• Will they be asked for any personal information? No.
• Incorporating Curriculum Rules, Standards, Benchmarks and Objectives
• Unit of Study to connect with: Pedagogy
• Subjects to incorporate: education, philosophy, information technology.
• Specific skills to tie in with this link: Analysis, research, and multitasking.
• The specific outcome of visiting the site: After visiting the Scribd website, I establish a sense of confidence in undertaking my research papers. In the same regard, I feel contented by the volume and quality of the sites information. I establish these sentiments based on the fact that Scribd stands out as the most reliable site where I can get authentic and credible research data, based on its high-quality data.

Curriculum Standards/ Objectives

• To understand the structural features of information sources such as newspapers, essays, pdf documents, and the likes.
• To develop research skills in writing research responses and expound on different fields of study.
• To comprehend how to organize and deliver oral communication.
• To understand existing technological speaking applications.
• To comprehend international teaching standards.

How long can it take to introduce the site: it can take me 15 minutes to introduce it.

How will students work: Students will work in small groups

How many sessions or visits to the site do you anticipate scheduling: I anticipate making five visits to the site in every class discussion or research topic that has to be studied.

Will you need the lab, or can the session be conducted in the classroom: I need the lab to carry out the study sessions because I will need the internet to access the website content.

What is the backup plan if the Internet connection fails: If the internet connection fails, I plan to use a portable internet modem to stay connected to the internet.

What is the extension activity for advanced students: The extension activity for advanced students will be undertaking physical library research to ascertain the credibility of information obtained through the website. Students will also be required to undertake group discussions to further complement the understanding of the skills studied in class.

Assessment: With regards to the lesson outcome, positive outcomes were registered, in a sense that; students understood what was taught, and in equal measure, they were able to apply what was taught. Moreover, the students understood the subjects taught, and to this extent, the learning objectives were easily attained.

However, there were instances where I had a rough idea of the learning outcomes I expected to achieve and the teaching methodologies that were going to be applied to realize the same outcomes; but, in such instances, I was often faced with the dilemma of clearly defining the learning objective. However, I established that questioning the learning outcome was an enriching process, especially in establishing why the students had to learn what was taught. In this regard, I established that the process was enriching for the students and the instructor, in the same measure.

Notes to yourself: It is always important to test the objective of undertaking a teaching exercise because it can easily uncover a bigger idea, which will enable students to find the learning experience more enriching and worthwhile. No guarantee evaluating ones objective of doing something will make it more interesting, but it easily provides an appropriate guideline or rationale for undertaking the teaching process.

Importance of Website Evaluation in Use of Technology for Independent Study

A websites usability greatly depends on its ease in navigation and its general functionality to provide its users with a rich learning experience (North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, 2005, p. 7). For this reason, Scribd is cited in this study as an appropriate website for student learning because it has an efficient site structure and lacks navigational blocks to enable students to easily carry out independent studies with the guarantee of attaining the right results.

It is also for this reason that many internet users (about 83%) are known to leave a website because it is difficult to get the required information; or similarly, they are subjected to too many clicks before they get the right information (North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, 2005, p. 7).

The use of technology in learning is therefore greatly boosted by appropriate websites of study such as Scribd because they are designed to suit the end users need  which is at the core of the use of technology in learning. For students to develop a high order skill in thinking and creativity, they ought to be exposed to numerous literature volumes that challenge their minds and expose them to numerous volumes of research material that expound on their thinking (North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, 2005, p. 7).

It is for this reason that technology plays a crucial role in the learning process, and it is also from the same rationale that a good website plays a critical role in the student learning process. From this understanding, websites that contain numerous volumes of information are the best for carrying out independent studies. Scribd stands at the center of this objective because it is equipped with numerous pieces of information that can effectively provide dynamic perspectives of teaching and learning to students to enrich their learning experience (North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, 2005, p. 7).

Technology has also been known to complement the teachers efforts in learning because students can easily undertake their independent learning objectives. From the virtual learning environment, students are exposed through websites and other technological means, and in the same measure, students can complement what they have learned in the natural learning environment. In this regard, good websites broaden the students learning experience beyond the classroom context.

From this understanding, Scribd stands as a good learning tool for students to carry out their own independent research studies (North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, 2005, p. 7). The website can sufficiently enable students to effectively attain their learning objectives because it contains complementary information regarding various learning topics that are not covered by the instructor, or in some cases, the instructor abstractly covers them. In this regard, students can easily use technology to complement their learning activities.

References

North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. (2005). Critical Issue: Using Technology to Improve Student Achievement. Web.

Scribd Inc. (2011). About Scribd. Web.

The website is one of the primary channels of fostering the mission and vision of institutions. According to Nicholson and Li, a website should have significant influence and popularity based on the importance of its content to the intended audiences (212). The chief objectives of a website to its audience include participation, visitor satisfaction, or taking action (e.g. purchase) (Psaila and Wagner 31). This critical writing paper describes Airbnb website design, its advantages, its disadvantages, and ways to improve inherent shortcomings.

Mainly, many pictures depicting locations around the world characterize the largest section of the Airbnb website. Notably, some of these places include New York, Barcelona, Hawaii, Paris, San Francisco, London, and Budapest (Airbnb, Inc n.pag). At the top section, the website provides visitors with sign up, log in, and become a host option. At the bottom section, the website provides visitors with numerous links to various web pages and social media platforms such as Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and YouTube (Airbnb, Inc n.pag).

The design of the Airbnb website has numerous advantages. First, the website of the company is search engine friendly. A website with a friendly search engine helps visitors to trace relevant pages easily (Webguru India, 44). Second, the Airbnb website enhances user engagement through links to its web pages and social media platforms such as Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and YouTube (Airbnb, Inc n.pag). As Fuchs and Sandoval note, Airbnb achieves the websites primary objective, which is to increase user engagement (211). Third, the sites pictures together with suggestive messages such as Falling in Love in Budapest, provide visitors with the opportunity of choosing their destination based on their themes of travel.

Again, several disadvantages characterize the Airbnb website. First, the website uses many images. Webguru India notes that high usage of images slows down the loading of web pages (45). Second, the moving images lack pausing option. In this regard, these pictures are distracting visitors and affecting their peripheral vision. Third, essential information relating to the company such as About, Policies, Press, and Careers, is not immediately visible at a glance. According to Karwowski, about 90 percent of users do not scroll past the immediately visible information (1289). Since a visitor has to scroll down several, this design reduces visitors engagement.

The notable shortcomings of the Airbnb website can be addressed in several ways. First, some images should be removed. Then, relevant details (e.g. fare and hours of travel) should be put adjacent to the remaining pictures. Second, the moving images should have a pausing option so that website visitors can halt their movement to avoid distraction and reduce vision-related effects. Third, valuable content relating to the Airbnb such as About, Policies, Press, and Careers, should be part of the immediately visible information to increase visitors engagement with the website.

The design of the Airbnb website constitutes numerous pictures and information which are not immediately apparent. The website is search engine friendly and promotes user engagement through links to web pages and social media platforms. However, the presence of many pictures slows down the loading of the web pages. Again, the movement of some pictures distracts website visitors. The Airbnb website can be improved by reducing images, adding more details to the remaining pictures, and placing relevant information at the immediately visible area of the web pages.

Works Cited

Airbnb, Inc 2016, Live there: Book Homes from Local Hosts in 191+ Countries and Experience a Place like You Live there. Airbnb Online. Web.

Fuchs, Christian, and Marisol Sandoval. Critique, Social Media and the Information Society. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2013. Print.

Karwowski, Waldemar. International Encyclopedia of Ergonomics and Human Factors, 2nd ed. 2006. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. Print.

Nicholson, Ann, and Xiaodong Li. AI 2009: Advances in Artificial Intelligence: 22nd Australasian Joint Conference, Melbourne, Australia, 2009, Proceedings. Berlin, Germany: Springer Science & Business Media, 2009. Print.

Psaila, Giuseppe, and Roland Wagner. E-Commerce and Web Technologies: 9th International Conference, EC-Web 2008 Turin, Italy, 2008, Proceedings. Berlin, Germany: Springer Science & Business Media, 2008. Print.

Webguru India. Design Your Imagination: Free Web Design E-Book. Kolkata, West Bengal: Brainware Consultancy Pvt. Ltd, 2010. Print.

The advent of technology in the society especially the Internet illuminates the need to come up with strategies to determine efficiency of information posted in websites and WebPages. This makes it necessary to come up with conclusive and accurate judgments on how a website meets or fail to meet the needs of consumers (Lawrence & Tavakol 190).

Certain criteria must be administered in order to determine efficiency of an organizations webpage or website. An example is seen in Mascot Metal Manufacturers (MMM), a company boasting of world class products and has a detailed outlook of the required quality standards. This site is valuable to a majority of the population especially home owners and builders who may want to establish the authenticity of information posted on the website.

Accuracy

Accuracy is one of the main factors considered by the clients. Swiftness and reliability of the site is evident in the number of customers who depend on it for information about their products. The ability to browse by product and availability of its description presents clients with accurate information on purchases. The hardware products can be expanded for better analysis, providing clients with the ability to order exactly what they want.

The site effectively meets the intentions of the company. The website presents trustworthy information on the quality and purpose of products. Its ability to perform advertising purposes gives it quality and the ease of prediction of future requirements. The initiation and operation of the site requires investments which must naturally result in profits (Lawrence & Tavakol 190).

The company is able to realize significant profits by investing in a website. Performance measures of MMM and how they achieve their objectives is usually assessed annually. The organizations website would be part of this process, and in its evaluation it is seen to align to MMMs objectives.

Effectiveness

In order to determine the efficiency of the MMM website, it is imperative to gauge the level of user satisfaction. This is achieved upon analysis of how effectively I can access the required information (Lawrence & Tavakol 192). Ease of access ultimately culminates in satisfaction among users and MMM.

Convenience

The most requested items are the ones which are most conveniently placed on the right side of the page. There are easy commands in the site with weighty topics, which when clicked on, open up smaller sub-topics hence expedient for the client to make choices. Requests which the consumer places on the search engine are prioritized, and put in more accessible areas.

Users may have their own preferences of search names, and it is beneficial for the website developer to avail the desired names in the search engine (Lawrence & Tavakol 194).

The site saves time both in commuting and conversations through having a business inquiry form through which they can express their needs and place orders. Formalities in finalizing transactions, which may be boring or involve a lot of tension in face-to-face communications, are easily avoided through interactive web sites. Easy questions like acceptable forms of payment and choices of products get easier and faster response rather than wasting time in appointments.

Objectivity

The size of the website does not hinder its functionality. It must summarize the latest objectives of the company, and give a general outlook on how it intends to achieve its missions and further emphasize its ISO status. Information on awards, location, date of initiation, and future prospects are outlined to create more impact for purchases. Users require information on which company they are operating with or intend to exploit. The tale of MMM is thus documented in this website.

A customer base is easily grown through the website. The success of an organization is significantly influenced by the contacts of clients it has (Lawrence & Tavakol 196). The efficiency of the website to take in addresses throughout the day and night gives it a plus over the ordinary workforce. It has consequently provided options and motivation for customers to attach their contact information.

Contact information

Clear contact information and locations are clearly indicated so that prospective customers can easily follow directions. The website is a useful tool for providing such critical information which strives to make interaction easy. Phone numbers, fax, and email addresses and any other form of communication must be provided. Ways in which clients can provide their details and what challenges they face in the site is offered.

In conclusion, the MMM website provides excellent first impression of MMM in the present world of online commerce. The site is often the first place that customers come in contact with the hardware business, giving information on how good the company is doing marketing.

The site attracts customers who may not be easily reached through other structures of announcements. More customers are thus reached through the vast possibilities of the Internet (Lawrence & Tavakol 197). The evaluation of the MMM website has thus helped generate information on the implication of a site in any business organization.

Work Cited

Lawrence, Dave & Tavakol, Soheyla. Balanced website design: optimizing aesthetics, usability and purpose. London: Springer, 2007. pp 190-197

Introduction

With the internet revolution spreading to cover the education sector, a number of websites have been created and dedicated to various faculties. History, as a subject, has witnessed the creation of thousands of websites serving as guides for scholars and other interest groups. This essay seeks to analyze one such website, describing its interface and the contents of its database. The website named The Avalon Project:Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy has been selected as the subject site for the purposes of this exercise.

The Avalon project

The website, a project of the Lillian Goldman Law Library Yale Law School, is dedicated to historical and cultural hallmarks, starting 400BCE and has documents of events that happened in the period running up to 2003. The websites home page has the catalogue of documents presented immediately after the header banner. In this catalogue, there are nine categories. These are: Ancient (4000BCE-399), Medieval (400-1399), 15^th Century (1400-1499), 16^th Century (1500-1599), 17^th Century (1600-1699), 18^th Century (1700-1799), 19^th Century (1800-1899), 20^th Century (1900-1999) and 21^st Century (The Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy 1).

On the footer is the physical address of the library and links to other administrative pages of the website. Among the prominent tabs on the navigation bar, at the bottom of the page, are links to the Law School and library.

Technical analysis

The technical aspects of the website can be analyzed by considering the readability, performance and site organization. These criteria are discussed below.

Readability

The font type used in the entire website is easy to read and is consistent. The font size is also easy on the eye and anyone with normal vision can go through the text without strain. However, the lines, which run from one side of the screen to the other, negatively affect the level of concentration of the reader. It would be appropriate for the creators of the website to consider shortening the lines in order to reduce the neck strain coming from moving the eyes from one extreme to the other.

Performance

Each of the websites pages loads easily even in slow internet connections. This helps make the website user-friendly and encourages the user to go through as many pages as possible on a single visit.

Site organization

The website is also devoid of clutter with the different navigation tools well laid out on a page. The global navigation bar is consistent throughout the various pages making it easy for the user to easily move from section to the other without getting lost.

Content analysis

In order to complete the analysis of the website five key items that pertain to the content need to be evaluated. These are: the accuracy, authority, currency, objectivity and coverage of documents.

Accuracy of documents

The documents contained in the database of the website have been written by professionals in the respective fields most of whom maintained a high degree of accuracy in their initial research. These writers have the necessary academic and professional experience needed to produce material that is regarded as scholarly. In this regard, anything they publish on a particular topic will be received as credible and starting point to shape fresh discussions. The documents were produced to help students and other researchers in their studies and scholarly duties. In order to ascertain accuracy, the distinction between Webmaster and author has been made clear by attaching the names of the authors and the original media of publication to each article.

Authority

The Yale Law School is a creditable institution of learning, when it comes to studies on law. Any academic documents published on the schools website can be treated as scholarly. Even though the qualifications of the writers of the various articles and papers on the website are not listed, their names are provided and a quick search on the internet can yield all their professional information. The website in current review assumes the structure of a typical library and anyone going through it gets the same experience as visiting a physical library.

Objectivity

The primary goal and objective of the website is to provide material that other scholars can reference to, when doing their own independent researches. In the event that opinions are presented in an article, they come from a scholarly base, and they are intended at shaping future discussion. The material also makes for a good read for anyone that is interested in historical studies. As a guarantee of the objectivity of the website, no advertisements are carried on any of the pages neither are their links to external commercial websites. In addition, there are no charges for accessing any of the documents on the website. This clearly shows that the website was created for academic purposes and not commercial grounds as would have been the case if the creators had different objectives.

Currency

The Avalon Project website is not a news website. Therefore, the articles carried there are not updated on a daily basis as would have been the case if it was dealing with information that changes every day. However, the collection of articles on the website is constantly updated with new documents being added on a regular basis. The website intends to be the go-to place for information on historical happenings. The variety and age of records on its database clearly show that it meets this objective. The links on each and every page of the website work effectively and no dead links were experienced in the evaluation. This shows that the website is well managed with the links getting updated on a regular basis.

Coverage

The website was created for use by individuals that are not necessarily technologically-savvy. These are persons who know how to use the internet and have other basic document manipulation skills. However, their knowledge does not extend to specialized software administration. This is shown by the fact that the website does not need special software to access any information and, therefore, users cannot fail to access any of the pages if they do not have particular software. The interface of the website is also user-friendly, with the links connecting directly to the specific page that they are labeled for.

Conclusion

This project had set out to analyze a history website. The site titled the Avalon Project was selected for the analysis and its various components, from the structure to the content, were given a critical look. If the website was to be given a rating based on this analysis, it would score highly with its only weakness being the length of the lines. It should be noted that this analysis focused on the major elements of the website and a page-by-page evaluation should be conducted for an exhaustive analysis.

Works Cited

The Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy 2012. Web.

Presentation plays a pivotal role in ensuring successful online marketing. Almost every hotel or has a website that is designed to market the hotel. This discussion shall analyze and compare websites belonging to two hotels based in New York. The selected websites include Hotel Gansevoort and New Yorks Hotel Pennsylvania websites.

Analysis of the Websites

New Yorks Hotel Pennsylvania homepage contains pictures and advertisements for the offers the hotel has. Also, some tabs redirect the viewer to different pages containing more information about the hotel, its services, and rates. The website is visual and immediately captures the viewers attention (NEW YORKs HOTEL PENNSYLVANIA 1). However, according to my analysis, the website is not well designed. For example, a client has to go to different tabs to get different kinds of important information. This may be time-consuming and confusing to a client who is not internet savvy or has a slow internet connection.

On the other hand, Hotel Gansevoort has a simplified website with an easy-to-use graphic user interface. Besides, the homepage provides all the information needed to know the products and services offered by the hotel (Gansevoort 1). Similarly, the webpages contained in this website are organized, informative, and has few pictorial aids. In my opinion, this is the best website among the two because it is simple to use, organized, and informative.

If I were to market one of these websites, I would advise my clients to visit New Yorks Hotel Pennsylvania website. However, I would recommend that the hotel changes the outlook of the web pages by reducing the pictures and including more product and services information on the homepage. This is because pictures if overused are distractive and may steer the viewer away from the important information or make it hard for them to find the information they are looking for.

Works Cited

Gansevoort. New York Citys first luxury urban resort that transformed the Meatpacking District from gritty to chic. 2012. Web.

NEW YORKs HOTEL PENNSYLVANIA. So Central So New York. 2012. Web.

In evaluating the website it is important to mention all relevant considerations that were used in its creation. This is because the development of any successful endeavour requires adequate planning and preparation (Shelly, Napier & Rivers 2009). According to Shelly, Napier, and Rivers, a good approach to the development of a detailed design plan involves six distinct steps (2009).

The first step that was considered in the design of the CompleteQuarters website was the definition of the purpose of the website in question. To achieve, this it was necessary to outline the goals and objectives the site was to meet in a given duration. Goals, in this case, refer to targets to be accomplished within a specified time frame, while objectives are the methods chosen to accomplish the goals (Shelly, Napier & Rivers 2009).

The next step in the process is the identification of the sites target audience. This step is also considered crucial given that after identifying a target audience the developer can select a suitable theme based on the target audience (Shelly, Napier & Rivers 2009). In this case, the target audience is composed mainly of adults and therefore the site was developed with this in mind. Based on this position the site focused on using colors and themes that would appeal to adults.

The step that followed was to determine the sites general content. Based on the purpose of the website in question and the target audience a suitable choice can be made to satisfy the target audience (Shelly, Napier & Rivers 2009). Another step that was adhered to that relates to general content was the selection of the site structure. Again based on the perceived target audience the structure selected was meant to be suitable for the audience (Shelly, Napier & Rivers 2009).

The next step involved designing an appropriate look and feel for the CompleteQuarters website. Also of importance was the consideration of the website navigation system. This is of utmost importance given that this allows users to move around the website (Shelly, Napier & Rivers 2009). A poor navigation system is likely to discourage users from using the website due to additional complexity caused by poor navigation.

In addition to the above considerations, it was thought wise to minimize the number of animations used so as not to irritate the target audience (Syed 2004). In addition to that, the design completely avoided the use of blinking text, which is reported to be very distracting. Consideration was also given to the selection of a suitable background and text colour to ensure the text was always legible.

One of the potential problems encountered was the limited knowledge of the use of JavaScript. With greater technical knowledge of the approach, it would have been possible to create a far better website to provide a competitive advantage. However to justify the choice it should be noted that JavaScript was selected given that it does not require any additional software to run (Syed 2004). Alternative mechanisms such as PHP require additional software, which adds unnecessary complexity to the process of creating the website. It should be noted that the lack of programming expertise also led to the elimination of such superior methods for developing the solution. It should be noted that JavaScript is indeed adequate for the operations required on the proposed website.

The main reason behind the use of strategic approaches to web design is based on the potential of web-based business. There has been a significant increase in advertising expenditure, which can be attributed to the role of new companies such as Google and their role on the internet (Shuen 2008). Google has managed to continually increase its advertising revenue and that enabled many companies to start earning significant sums from the internet (Shuen 2008). This position posits that for companies interested in profit generation a strategic approach to the web-based market plays a very crucial role in achieving business objectives.

It has been observed that through technology the protection of trade secrets has become increasingly difficult (Holland, Reed, Lee, Kimmel & Peterson 2007). In the case of the proposed website, this will have to be ensured through the use of appropriate security such as user login. This can help ensure the companys private information is not leaked out through the hands of competitors.

Another potential security problem is the role of external entities, such as suppliers that could lead to leaks and potential legal or ethical dilemmas (Holland et al., 2007). In avoiding the legal problems that could arise from such alliances the proposed business suggests the use of non-disclosure agreements or NDA (Holland et al., 2007). Such agreements obligate the recipients of confidential material to keep it confidential and use it only for the intended purpose. This appears a wise approach to avoid confidentiality issues that could arise due to handling customers financial data.

References

Holland, CJ, Reed, DM, Lee, SH, Kimmel, AI & Peterson, K 2007, Intellectual Property: Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights and Trade Secrets, Entrepreneur Media Inc., Printed in Canada.

Shelly, GB, Napier, HA & Rivers, OI 2009, Web Design: Introductory Concepts and Techniques, Course Technology, Boston.

Shuen, A 2008, Web 2.0: A Strategy Guide, OReilly Media Inc., Sebastopol, CA.

Syed, H 2004, A Complete Introduction to the World of Web Design: A Visual Approach, Lulu Press Inc., Printed in the USA.

Developing a website requires the application of multiples skills which enhances the utilization of multiples cues for maximum effects. This seems to be a complicated task that requires ingenuity and innovativeness on the part of the website designer. While this is not necessarily false, there are, nevertheless, some basic requirements through which a website achieves maximum effect. This includes the choice of colors, choice of words, incorporation of multimedia tools, and the general organization of the website.

The World Resources Institutes approach to environmental management involves transforming ideas to protect the earth and promote development because sustainability is essential to meeting human needs and fulfilling human aspirations in the future (Who We Are par. 3).

To meet its objective, WRI uses its website as an online knowledge sharing tool where users can access knowledge and information freely. Since WRI intends to use its website to achieve the desired effect on the user, it, therefore, incorporates multimedia tools, the use of color, and the choice of words in the written text. Thus, the websites coolness and warmth communicate clarity and practicability of WRIs mission, which enables users to develop optimism on environmental sustainability.

WRIs website seems to be the institutions online knowledge sharing tool. WRIs website is a one-stop destination for students, organizations, civil societies, educators, government agencies, and departments seeking practical solutions to sustainable environmental management. To harness the usability of the numerous resources within the website, WRI has opted to incorporate documents, charts and tables, audio and video clips as well as photo slides. This has multiple effects on website users. The websites color scheme combines a white background, a shade of deep light green as the main color. There are also scattered colorful links incorporating shades of cool and warm colors.

This gives the visitors a cool and warm reception which works well to communicate the websites appeal and the enhancement of WRIs main agenda; propagation of peaceful and mutual relationship between people and the ecosystem. It is imperative to note that the color scheme and the photo slides are the most eye-catching homepage features; the color scheme due to coolness and warmth and the picture slide due to its central location within the homepage.

There are also drop down windows on the homepage menu bar that links users to other pages within the website, which contain useful information. These windows dropdown with much ease, and are depicting page content thus enabling the user to navigate the website with ease.

To avoid cluttering the homepage, the videos are not embedded on the homepage but are to be found at strategic locations in subsequent pages. The audiovisual tools are few but well detailed with relevant information. Overall the website is not only simple to use but also warm, resourceful, and easily captures WRIs clarity, practicability, and optimism regarding environmental management. The website also avoids portraying a negative impression on the current status of the global environment.

As indicated earlier, WRIs website is a one-stop information resource center. The website is useful for a variety of users ranging from students, civil society, government agencies, scholars, educators, journalists, and policymakers. After launching the website, a pop-up window requests the user to identify which of the category mentioned above the user falls, with a clear reminder that such information is used to improve the website to meet all the users needs.

WRIs website is a very useful resource for students (in the post-secondary level of education), scholars, and educators undertaking environmental management studies; these find credible and scientifically verifiable information on the website. Additionally, government environmental agencies, NGOs, and journalists are likely to find useful resources within the website. But while the above mentioned constitutes the websites most probable audience, not all who fall within these categories are likely to find the websites appealing. The website only appeals to those with a clear and optimistic mind as well as those seeking to build practical solutions to urgent environmental challenges which will lead to sustainable environmental management (Who We Are par. 2).

The approach to environmental management varies, depending on the motives and incentives available; some environmental managers prefer to adopt a cautionary approach, others a theoretical approach, while others prefer the proactive approach (Harrington and Morgenstern 15 to 17).

Harrington and Morgensterns (15 to 17) assumptions seem to auger well with WRIs approach to environmental management. While environmental management is a sensitive issue with a global appeal, WRI through its website demonstrates the commitment towards working with governments, companies, and civil society in efforts to develop a practical approach that goes beyond research to put ideas into action (Who We Are par. 1).

While this indicates WRIs practical optimism, it nevertheless portrays WRIs as the most effective sustainable environmental advocate and is likely to dilute credible work done by other bodies such as UNEP. The websites text also reveals concealed WRIs self-praise in its success stories which portray WRIs system of managing for results, and the push towards designing robust strategies that ensure success and accountability (Success Stories par. 3).

While such statements reflect the WRI approach to environmental management, the word choice is indicative of WRIs commitment to using its website to communicate the practicability of a sustainable environment. Additionally, the websites textual feel is indicative of achievable success in sustainable environmental management by employing relevant technical jargon which highlights WRIs top outcomes and success stories that reflect a positive change in the world (Success Stories par.1). The copy, on the other hand, denotes achievable economic benefits as a result of WRIs work which helps communities to protect environmental capital through improved access to environmental Justice (Success Stories par. 2).

The analysis of the websites reveals subtle differences between genuine WRI successes and self-praise. Nevertheless, such differences do not create unintended desire or negative appeal. On the contrary, the websites portray a clear image of a proactive approach to environmental management. The website does not negate the influence of human activities on environmental degradation but prefers to highlight clear and practical actions through which people can easily accrue benefits from a sustainable environment.

This seems to be WRIs overarching aim, and as such the website craftily utilizes numerous tools, especially those described within this essay, to impel users to seek simple and practical steps in managing their environmental capital. Thus, users of the website gradually develop the desire to bring positive change in the management of available environmental resources. In addition to this, WRI creates valuable lessons on the need to not only appreciate environmental resources but also utilize them efficiently and effectively for social-economic development. Such an apple is mostly achieved through images that portray communities enjoying the benefits of a luxuriant ecosystem. Thus, through its website, WRI instills in people the desire to protectively utilize environmental capital to meet their current and future needs.

This is unlike OneWorld UKs website which adopts radical activism. Coupled with alarming images of a decimated natural environment, OneWorld UK portrays grave danger if the utilization of natural resources is not significantly reduced (Environmental Activism par. 5). As such WRIs website implicitly discourages people from adopting a radical approach in the management of environmental capital, and instead seek solutions that enable them to reverse rapid degradation of ecosystems and assure their capacity to provide humans with needed goods and services ( People & Ecosystems par 1).

As demonstrated earlier, the website utilizes numerous tools, namely photos, videos, ads, tables, charts, and text to effectively communicate its desired message. This effectively improves the users experience while using the website since it appeals to the users multiple senses. One of the greatest failures of the website though is its inability to harness the usability of social media tools, especially on its homepage.

Other websites, such as OneWorld UKs, pops up a social media window whenever a user swipes the curser near the social media links. This function is conspicuously missing from WRIs homepage. The social media links are squeezed at the top of the homepage obscuring the websites social media functionality. This denies it the opportunity to improve interactivity among users. However, this shortcoming only exists on the homepage and is sufficiently compensated for in subsequent pages, especially the news page.

As previously described, the website utilizes multimedia messages which are typically used to emphasize WRIs intended message and enforce implied message. The purpose of using multimedia typically is inline with the websites commitment to clarity, straightforwardness, and practicability. As such, the websites multimedia messages seem to be chosen to communicate WRIs goals and objectives.

Concerning the use of multimedia, it is also imperative to note that, while OneWorld UKs utilizes multimedia messages that typically portray gloom and a decimated natural environment, WRIs website, on the other hand, posts carefully selected pictures, videos, and audio clips that portray successful communities enjoying the benefits of a thriving ecosystem. While this magnifies WRIs successful outcomes, it also underlines WRIs commitment to promoting peaceful and mutual relationships between people and ecosystems.

Thus, instead of causing alarm in the way OneWorld UK does through its website, WRIs websites do well in encouraging people to seek practical ways through which peaceful and mutual relationship with the ecosystem is achieved. A typical use of multimedia within the website also underlines WRIs clarity of vision and focus.

The development of a successful website requires not only understanding basic web development tools but also goes beyond understanding the purpose for which the website is to be used. Web developers ought to understand the particular mission and vision of a website and incorporate tools from which maximum effect is achieved. WRIs website does this excellently, and not only sets itself well above website from other environmental advocates but also helps it attain the long-lasting effect. This emanates from the fact that WRI utilizes numerous multimedia tools that appeals to users of multiple sensory cues. Thus, the website is very effective in enhancing WRIs message.

Works Cited

Environmental Activism. 2012. Web.

Harrington, Winston, and Richard Morgenstern. Versus Command and Control: Whats The Best Approach for Solving Environmental Problems? Economic Incentives. 2004. Web.

People & Ecosystems. n.d. Web.

Success Stories. n.d. Web.

Who We Are. n.d. Web.

Executive Summary

The Wikispaces website usability evaluation was done using Nielsens principles of efficiency, memorability, learnability, errors, and user satisfaction, and the results led to the discovery of the strengths and weaknesses of the platform. The results of the study showed that the website provides a good interactive platform that guides new and experienced on how to navigate to the desired webpages with little effort. However, to perform new tasks, visitors find it necessary to understand how to use the new web pages. Besides having good usability, the website lacks error handling mechanisms to prevent users from making reduce errors when interacting with the webpages. However, further design improvements were suggested to give the user personalized control.

Evaluation criteria

1. Opening the homepage of the target website
2. Navigating through the web pages
3. Interacting and controlling the website
4. Functionality, control, language, error prevention, feedback, consistency, and visual clarity.

General overview

The Wikispaces provides a flexible platform for users to navigate through the homepage without experiencing difficulties (Agarwal and Venkatesh 2). Experienced and less experienced people find it easy to open new web pages without being trained on how to use the website.

The website provides clear guidelines on how to move to the desired location without prior knowledge about it. After one has opened a new web page, it always guidelines what to do by supporting their actions, making it easy to navigate, read, and access the website, leading to positive user experiences and the desire to come back again.

Evaluation

According to Reward, the usability principles used to evaluate the website as proposed by Nielsen, include learnability, efficiency, memorability, few errors, and user satisfaction (12).

Learnability

Learnability is the ease with which users learn how to use the website and understand its functionality. A critical analysis of the website showed that the homepage provides guidelines for users to select the web page of their choice with ease from the two options available. After clicking on the education icon, it automatically creates the classroom web page on a new page, which automatically takes one to the free classroom. The classroom page provides a summary of the users expectations without providing links to navigate to those expectations such as creating a new schedule and assessing students engagements in real-time, among others.

Efficiency

A critical evaluation of the efficiency of the wiki website shows that engagements to the target audience of students happen in real-time (Kessler and Bikowski 5). However, the user must take some time to learn how to use the new classroom before starting to interact with the students (Waddell and Burks 4). However, the webpages can be designed with links that guide the user to a specific task. Besides, each task should be made distinctly separate so that a user does not get confused with many tasks on the same webpage. For instance, creating a new classroom requires the user to know the target audience and get in touch with them (Zhang and Von Dran 29). However, the website allows users to engage in various activities, which makes it attractive to the learning and teaching communities.

Memorability

According to Kessler and Bikowski, memorability is the ease of remembering how to use the system after a period of non-use (10). For instance, a user should remember how to create a wiki after a period of non-use, which is an important system functionality. Memorability can be enhanced by reducing the number of icons on the homepage and providing messages and links to those webpages that a person had already visited.

Errors

The system is not completely error-free because new users find it difficult to create and use new wikis. One suggestion is to messages that guide new users on how to create a new wiki. Besides, it is slightly difficult for users to interact with some elements which enable them to sign up, find contact information, and share ideas with other users. For those elements that users find difficult to interact with, a link should be provided for a user to click on and ask for help. Some webpages with the help information should only be revealed when a user clicks on their links.

Strengths of the Design

It was established that some learners and teachers found the site pleasant to use (Zaharias and Poylymenakou 9). Some of the positive points that led to user satisfaction include better usability, positive visibility, freedom, real-time responses, and user-enabled control (Zaharias and Poylymenakou 9). The website is visible, clear, properly organized, and uses icons and elements that are easy to use.

Users satisfaction

User satisfaction is a measure of the extent to which the user finds the system pleasant. Zaharias and Poylymenakou argue that a significant number of users are satisfied with the website (10).

Opportunity for Improvement

The opportunity for improvement includes focusing on creating a user interface for emergency exits when one makes a mistake by clicking on the wrong button to reduce the frequency of making errors. Another opportunity is to enable users to create the right interactive environment, adopt better aesthetics, and minimize the number of elements on the education web page. Also, it provides a mechanism for users to recognize that they have made a mistake and recover from it, and enable user control and freedom.

Recommendations for improvement

Based on the findings from the study, the following recommendations were made: include better visual clarity by assigning links to images for error prevention to enable the users to interact with the website and avoid making errors. Enabling prompt feedback, privacy settings, and providing user control to cancel all operations at ones discretion were additional recommendations that could make the website more interactive and user friendly.

Works Cited

Agarwal, Ritu, and Viswanath Venkatesh. Assessing a firms web presence: a heuristic evaluation procedure for the measurement of usability. Information Systems Research 13.2 (2002): 168-186. Print.

Kessler, Greg, and Dawn Bikowski. Developing collaborative autonomous learning abilities in computer mediated language learning: Attention to meaning among students in wiki space. Computer Assisted Language Learning 23.1 (2010): 41-58. Print.

Raward, Roslyn. Academic library website design principles: development of a checklist. Australian Academic & Research Libraries 32.2 (2001): 123-136. Print.

Waddell, Cynthia, and Michael Burks. Constructing accessible web sites. Vol. 34. Birmingham: Glasshaus, 2002.Print.

Zaharias, Panagiotis, and Angeliki Poylymenakou. Developing a usability evaluation method for e-learning applications: Beyond functional usability. Intl. Journal of HumanComputer Interaction 25.1 (2009): 75-98. Print.

Zhang, Ping, and Gisela Von Dran. Expectations and rankings of Web site quality features: Results of two studies on user perceptions. System Sciences, 2001. Proceedings of the 34th Annual Hawaii International Conference on. IEEE, 2001. Print.

The Business Insider website is ranked fourth in the top 100 list of the most popular blogs by Technorati. The blog provides information on a wide range of topics, including technology, finance, politics, business strategies, lifestyle, entertainment, and other general topics. The Business Insider publishes a wide range of content, which makes it possible for the website to attract a lot of readers. It provides deep analysis on different topics, making it easy for readers to understand the essence of different items published.

The website has been in existence since 2007, and it has a lot of traffic because its content is insightful. The website has good writers who have positive relationships with readers. The websites readers are interested in different types of content, and this has helped them expand their knowledge in different areas (Technorati, 2013).

This website will be evaluated based on different criteria. The websites content is a key criterion because it determines if users will find it attractive. Attractive content makes a website more appealing to its visitors and determines if they will return or not. The design of the website will also be evaluated to determine how different sections are arranged, and if this makes it easy for visitors to browse the website.

The focus on the websites design will also assess how different topics are categorized and how this encourages users to continue exploring the website. The way content, photos, graphics, and text are presented will also be analyzed to find out if they make the website visually attractive to visitors (Hoekman, 2010, p. 67). Lastly, the evaluation will look at how the website relates to its users through interactions, links, and bookmarks.

The Business Insider has rich and diverse content, which attracts more readers to the website. The website provides current financial, technology, entertainment, and political news stories that appeal to readers interests. The website has skilled writers who are knowledgeable on a wide variety of topics published there. It has reputable financial analysts who interpret various business and political events incisively to make readers understand how they affect them.

The website publishes insightful stories that keep its readers well informed about different events happening in various places. The content published by the website appeals to the perspectives of different readers, which makes it more relevant (Hoekman, 2010, p. 72). Therefore, readers find it easy to relate to different news and feature items published by the website easily. This has earned the website a lot of credibility from loyal readers who have a keen interest in published items.

The websites news stories and features are insightful, which has helped it sustain the loyalty of its readers. Visitors to the web page are directed to various items that appeal to their interests, which are listed under different topics (Huang, 2008, p. 87). Readers interested in reading the latest news are able to get these stories on the websites homepage. This makes it easy for them to access the latest published content quickly.

The website also has a separate section that advises small business owners on effective strategies they can use to make their businesses more successful. The website has different experts drawn from a variety of professions who share their opinions with readers on different topics. This makes it possible for readers to use the advice they obtain to improve their lifestyles. The websites writers and analysts use simple analogies to make readers understand their messages easily.

The design of the website has been done in an effective way, which makes it easy for users to locate items they are interested in reading easily. The websites design allows users to bookmark published items they find interesting, which they can refer to afterward. This approach helps to sustain their interest in the website. The websites design has various segments that contain different types of content.

This is divided into six broad categories, namely, tech, finance, politics, strategy, life, and entertainment. These are displayed at the top of the page, and readers can scroll under each category to find different items they want to explore (Huang, 2008, p. 90). This encourages readers to explore the website and go through different topics that have relevant items that appeal to them. Therefore, the websites design is responsive to users readership patterns and interests.

The websites design also has several photographs and graphics, which give the website a strong visual appeal. The text is written in different types of fonts to reinforce meaning and direct readers attention to various types of content displayed by the website.

This makes it possible for readers to differentiate between headlines, news, and feature stories published by the website. Writers and contributors use pictures and other diagrams to illustrate stories that are published on the website, to make it easy for readers to understand what they mean (Reich, J., & Daccord, 2010, p. 78). These pictures add luster to the website because they make it more attractive and visually stimulating. They encourage readers to read and explore other items published on the website. The websites exterior design has different color tones, which makes it more attractive.

The website makes it possible for readers to interact and share their opinions regarding various news stories they read. This adds value to the website because writers and web administrators are able to identify topics that interest readers. This makes all writers and contributors get more feedback about content published on the website. This motivates them to work hard to produce high-quality content that satisfies readers expectations. Readers can correct factual errors made by writers, which makes them understand their mistakes. Therefore, they get an opportunity to improve their performance.

The constant interaction between the websites contributors and its readers makes it possible for the editorial team to understand which topics interest readers. This encourages them to do more research to uncover interesting information that sustains readers interest (Salvendy, 2012, p. 79). The website is also linked to online social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, which makes it possible for readers to share what they have read with other users. Users are also made aware of new content posted on the website through social networking sites.

The blog has been in existence for close to 6 years after it was launched in 2007. It targets readers aged 18 to 45 who are interested in a variety of topics ranging from politics, entertainment, finance, and technology. The blog was founded by Dwight Merriman and Kevin Ryan, who also founded Double Click. Henry Blodget was also involved and has remained a crucial member of the editorial team. He worked previously as a financial analyst at Wall Street and helped the websites editorial team to develop good business content.

References

Hoekman, R. (2010). Designing the obvious: A common sense approach to web & mobile application design. New York, NY: Pearson.

Huang, X. (2008). The emergence of online consumer groups. Ann Arbor, MI: ProQuest.

Reich, J., & Daccord, T. (2010). Best ideas for teaching technology. New York, NY: M.E Sharpe.

Salvendy, G (2012). Handbook of human factors and ergonomics. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Technorati Media (2013). 2013 digital influence report. New York NY: Author. Web.