Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper explores how congressional candidates use the web to present information, the motivations that drive their presentation strategies, and the effect that various presentation technologies (i.e., graphics, pictures, audio, and video) have on those who visit candidate websites. Content analysis results from 2002, 2004, and 2006 confirm that fairly simple presentation features are ubiquitous across a broad sample of congressional candidates’ websites although more advanced technologies have developed gradually. Further analysis shows that the decision to include advanced multimedia is driven not only by practical concerns, like time and resources, but also by political considerations such as race competitiveness. To test the effect that presentation strategies have on website visitors, I conducted an experiment with a 2006 U.S. Senate candidate. The results of this experiment show that sophisticated presentation strategies can, in fact, help campaigns in a number of important ways – they can increase voters’ support for the candidate, focus the attention of likely voters on key campaign issues, and slightly boost knowledge of the candidate’s background and policy positions for those most engaged with the campaign. Taken together, this study demonstrates that candidates are motivated to use presentation technologies, at least in part, by strategic political concerns (i.e., race competitiveness) and that these concerns are largely addressed as evidenced by the positive outcomes reported in the experiment.

Publication Type: Oral Presentation
Abstract: During the 2006-07 academic year, University of Arizona (UA) students, faculty and staff designed and implemented a “green retrofit” for the UA Visitor Center (VC). This retrofit emphasized two main components: water and energy. A team of students constructed several water harvesting systems, both active and passive. The active system features two cisterns with a combined capacity of approximately 2,300 gallons that catch roof runoff for irrigation of native plants. Once plants are established, the only irrigation they will receive will be harvested rainwater. The lush native vegetation currently in place is in contrast to the previous landscape which was bare and sloped into adjacent thoroughfares, creating flooding and erosion problems during monsoon rains. Rainwater harvesting allows water to slow down and percolate through the soil, reducing on-site erosion. The energy portion of this project involved installation of a photovoltaic system on the south side of the building to maximize hours of sunlight and public visibility. Technicians installed the system’s inverter inside the VC as part of a public education display where visitors can observe both the current amount of power being generated by the system as well as the total amount of power generated since its installation. The VC project could not have been completed without a groundswell of voluntary cooperation among several university offices and departments—a unique occurrence at a large university. This paper presents the VC project as a case study of interdisciplinary cooperation in working towards campus sustainability.

Publication Type: Abstract
Abstract: Leave No Trace (LNT) is a conservation education program and tool designed to lessen the ecological and sociological impact human powered recreationalists have on the natural environment. The program has been promoted within the US National Park Service (NPS) since 1994, however there is limited knowledge regarding the effectiveness of the program for influencing visitors’ behaviors and protecting natural resources.

Based upon Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior (1991), this research effort evaluated a model hypothesized to be predictive of US NPS overnight backcountry users’ compliance with promoted LNT guidelines. Data were collected via a self-administered questionnaire from overnight backcountry users in two NPS Units; Glacier National Park, MT (n=278) and Olympic National Park, WA (n=313).

This presentation focuses on the theoretical underpinning of the conceptual model and presents results regarding the structural viability of the model. For the practitioner or manager, considerations for improving the effectiveness of the LNT message and targeting specific attitudes and behaviors will be presented so as to mitigate the potential impacts on biodiversity caused by visitation.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Congressional candidate websites have become increasingly sophisticated over time. House and Senate candidates continue to use various technologies in the hopes of making a good impression on those who visit their sites. One of the most common strategies is to use multimedia technology. In this paper, I expore the impact that multimedia has on congressional candidate website visitors. My experimental results suggest that information presented with multimedia is more persuasive than simple text alone. In particular, multimedia use is associated with improved perceptions of the candidate's character and policy positions which transfer into higher overall evaluations and an increased tendency to vote for the candidate.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Museums need to attract more visitors. Personalization of exhibitions is one way to achieve this end. There are various options for personalization using information systems. A major question is how directive personalization should be. This paper reports on two explorative studies into methods for personalizing digital content presentation in museum exhibitions. Visitor preference for and acceptance of 1) profiling methods, varying as to context sensitivity and 2) presentation methods, varying as to the amount of guidance imposed on visitors by the presentation, were tested using a simulated exhibition.The main findings are that visitor satisfaction with context sensitive, stepwise profiling was higher than with immediate, abstract profiling; that independent exploration was preferred to directive guidance; that visitor variables had only minor influences throughout on satisfaction with both profiling and guidance methods. Implications may be that using context-sensitive interaction resulting in suggestions to the visitor is a much more successful option than sign-in forms and the like opaque methods instantly returning a profile. In closing we recommend a continuous and adaptive form of profiling during the entire visit, enabling a flexible form of presentation varying as to the degree of guidance.