Web Browsing Experience Research Articles

Toward a better understanding of the perceived value of an online visit experience: Analysis of the relevance of the experiential value scale approach based on a double replication

As online experiences continue to grow, most researchers and practitioners assess the perceived value of a web browsing experience through restrictive measures originally developed in offline environments. While the experiential value scale (EVS) is the only measure specifically designed 20 years ago to capture the different facets of the perceived value of an online experience, it has only been used twice in this context, even though it is commonly used to study the perceived value of an offline offer. This research note thus aims to assess the relevance and robustness of EVS in an online context. At the end of a double replication of this measure, applied to visits to the websites of the châteaux of Chambord and Chenonceau ( N = 914), the results underline the interest and the conditions of use of this approach, which makes it possible to apprehend more finely the sources of the perceived value of an online visit experience.

Cognitive Load and Website Usability: Effects of Contrast and Task Difficulty

The contrast of a website doesn’t just affect its usability for low-vision individuals; it affects everyone. This study aims to evaluate the effects of contrast (low, medium, or high) on web browsing experience in normally-sighted individuals. Cognitive load associated with the task was assessed using the NASA task load index (NASA-TLX) and the usability of the website was assessed by the systems usability scale (SUS). We found that NASA-TLX scores significantly increased with the amount of time a task took, indicating an effect of task difficulty. The impact of contrast was reported during end-of-study interviews, but no significant difference was found between the three chosen contrast levels in NASA-TLX or SUS scores. This study is part 1 of a multi-part research project and future research will compare low-vision individuals to their typically-sighted peers. Together, the studies in this project aim to quantitatively determine the effects of contrast users’ web browsing experience to further accessibility research and web development guidelines.

Movie Recommendations Based on Emotions Using Web Scraping

Abstract: A recommender system help the users to get personalized recommendations, helps users to take correct decisions in their online transactions, increase sales and redefine the users web browsing experience. The purpose of this project is to recommend a list of movies for a user based on a specific emotion to suit his/her needs and desires. This recommendation system can be achieved through web scraping. Web Scraping is an automatic method to obtain and extract content and large amounts of data from websites. This recommendation system can also provide insights to current movie trends and latest people’s favorites.

Energy and quality of experience aware web browsing for smartphones

In this paper we propose a framework for improving the web browsing experience of users by reducing battery energy consumption and webpage load time, while maintaining the quality of experience for the user. This is made possible through a collaborative protocol between the web server and the web client application that works using HTTP header fields. The innovation herein lies in dynamically creating multiple versions of the webpages that differ in their quality of content and size, and then delivering an appropriate version to the client based on metrics related to the webpage and the user's phone relevant specifications. These metrics include the user's battery consumption profile, user's network speed, the sizes of the different versions of the webpage, and the estimated energy consumption of the versions. We implemented a prototype and validated the system in terms of maintaining the battery profile and enhancing the load time of different webpages. The results indicate that over 50% reduction in power consumption and 80% reduction in speed requirements (and hence download times) can be achieved as a result of switching over to a lower quality version of the webpage that is still in line with the users’ experience.

Personal Web Library: organizing and visualizing Web browsing history

PurposeModern Web browsers all provide a history function that allows users to see a list of URLs they have visited in chronological order. The history log contains rich information but is seldom used because of the tedious nature of scrolling through long lists. This paper aims to propose a new way to improve users’ Web browsing experience by analyzing, clustering and visualizing their browsing history.Design/methodology/approachThe authors developed a system called Personal Web Library to help users develop awareness of and understand their Web browsing patterns, identify their topics of interest and retrieve previously visited Web pages more easily.FindingsUser testing showed that this system is usable and attractive. It found that users can easily see patterns and trends at different time granularities, recall pages from the past and understand the local context of a browsing session. Its flexibility provides users with much more information than the traditional history function in modern Web browsers. Participants in the study gained an improved awareness of their Web browsing patterns. Participants mentioned that they were willing to improve their time management after viewing their browsing patterns.Practical implicationsAs more and more daily activities rely on the internet and Web browsers, browsing data captures a large part of users’ lives. Providing users with interactive visualizations of their browsing history can facilitate personal information management, time management and other meta-level activities.Originality/valueThis paper aims to help users gain insights into and improve their Web browsing experience, the authors hope that the work they conducted can spur more research contributions in this underdeveloped yet important area.

Bayesian Approach to News Recommendation Systems

This research was responsible for the development of a method for recommending news in online newspapers. This study takes into consideration that each reader has specific needs and interests when reading online newspapers, and it is a challenge to bring personalized and individualized information, in order to meet each reader's needs. The main goal here was solving or minimizing this problem when there is a new reader, because the system has little or no information over the reader’s preferences. This descriptive research used as a subject a new reader from a news portal and all data collected from the web browsing experience was performed without that user’s knowledge. The research may be characterized as applied, since it generated knowledge enough for solving the problem of online newspaper readers. A quantitative approach was adopted, because the news recommended by the system were classified and the system’s accuracy was quantified comparing the system`s suggestions and the decisions made by the readers. The solution adopted involved accessing three different methods. The Bayesian network was adopted as the main method when generating news suggestions to the new reader and the excess of variables was clustered using the K-means algorithm. The probabilities missing on this network were captured through the EM algorithm (Expectation Maximization). This algorithm uses cases in which variables were used to learn how to predict their values when they are not being observed.

Extreme Web Caching for Faster Web Browsing

Modern web pages are very complex; each web page consists of hundreds of objects that are linked from various servers all over the world. While mechanisms such as caching reduce the overall number of end-to-end requests saving bandwidth and loading time, there is still a large portion of content that is re-fetched -- despite not having changed. In this demo, we present Extreme Cache, a web caching architecture that enhances the web browsing experience through a smart pre-fetching engine. Our extreme cache tries to predict the rate of change of web page objects to bring cacheable content closer to the user.

Evaluating sliding and sticky target policies by measuring temporal drift in acyclic walks through a web archive

When viewing an archived page using the archive's user interface (UI), the user selects a datetime to view from a list. The archived web page, if available, is then displayed. From this display, the web archive UI attempts to simulate the web browsing experience by smoothly transitioning between archived pages. During this process, the target datetime changes with each link followed, potentially drifting away from the datetime originally selected. For sparsely archived resources, this almost transparent drift can be many years in just a few clicks. We conducted 200,000 acyclic walks of archived pages, following up to 50 links per walk, comparing the results of two target datetime policies. The Sliding Target policy allows the target datetime to change as it does in archive UIs such as the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. The Sticky Target policy, represented by the Memento API, keeps the target datetime the same throughout the walk. We found that the Sliding Target policy drift increases with the number of walk steps, number of domains visited, and choice (number of links available). However, the Sticky Target policy controls temporal drift, holding it to $$<$$<30 days on average regardless of walk length or number of domains visited. The Sticky Target policy shows some increase as choice increases, but this may be caused by other factors. We conclude that based on walk length, the Sticky Target policy generally produces at least 30 days less drift than the Sliding Target policy.

The 36th Year to Come

The 36th Year to Come

Web Caching Replacement Algorithm Based on Web Usage Data

Web caching is one of the fundamental techniques for reducing bandwidth usage and download time while browsing the World Wide Web. In this research, we provide an improvement in web caching by combining the result of web usage mining with traditional web caching techniques. Web cache replacement policy is used to select which object should be removed from the cache when the cache is full and which new object should be put into the cache. There are several attributes used for selecting the object to be removed, such as the size of the object, the number of times the object was used, and the time when the object was added into the cache. However, the flaw in these previous approaches is that each object is treated separately without considering the relation among those objects. We have developed a system that can record users’ browsing behavior at the resources level. By using information gathered from this system, we can improve web cache replacement policy so that the number of cache hits will increase, resulting in a faster web browsing experience and less data bandwidth, especially at lower cache storage environments such as on smart phones.

The interaction effects of familiarity, breadth and media usage on web browsing experience

Web technology is changing rapidly every day and the internet has become a lifestyle for people all over the world. The power of the web has changed the way people communicate and do business. With the advance of the internet era, a successful website becomes a critical factor for the success of most businesses. Website design is not only about the look of the website. There are many other factors to consider. A well-designed site can induce users to engage in the website, help them find what they are looking for, and understand where exactly they are on the website. This study investigates the user’s perception disorientation, engagement, and intent to use a website in the future by manipulating these three basic factors into eight different experimental conditions. With 2 × 2 × 2 experimental design with content familiarity, site breadth, and media richness in website systems, this study suggests that both the main effects and the interaction effects of the experiment factors are significant. This implies that one or more factors can compensate for the weakness of other factors. Furthermore different people have preferences for different factors; therefore website design should not solely focus on a single factor, but should address all of these factors in accordance with the objective of the business.

Best of the Web: Just for Kids

There is no shortage of websites for children. In May 2009, approximately 16 million children aged 2 to 11 years (9.5% of all online users) were reported to spend an average of 11 hours online (Nielsen Online, July 6, 2009). These data represent a 63% increase in time spent online in young children since 2004. The purposes of this On the Web article are to provide a brief overview of online safety for children, review quality criteria relevant to children’s sites, and provide examples of high-quality health sites just for kids. And if you have Internet search experience and are between the ages of 55 to 76 years, then you in particular should keep reading! The findings of a recent study suggest that Internet searching can improve brain function, especially the abilities of a middle-aged or older adult to make decisions and

A SIP-based web client for HTTP session mobility and multimedia services

This work leverages Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) transportation and mobility mechanism to transfer session data between two Web browsers. In addition, a Web browser can now act as an adaptive User Agent Client to surf the Internet and make voice calls as a SIP client. It is a novel work that uses SIP to transfer session data between Web browsers and borrows SIP Mobility types to introduce new service namely, content sharing and session hand-off, to the Web browsing experience. Referred to as a SIP-based HTTP session mobility service, it offers personal mobility to end users, and facilitates session mobility in Web browsing. While content sharing refers to the ability to view the same Web resource on two Web browsers and does not require moving session data, session hand-off refers to the migration of a Web session with its session data (cookies, hidden form elements and rewritten URL) to another Web browser. Results showed that the integration of SIP into a Web browser does not degrade the performance of a Web browser. Results also showed that the service could not work on all websites because of the Same Origin Policy (SOP) used by Web browsers to transfer cookies. The hybrid-based architectural scheme proposed and implemented here is compared with other existing Web session migration schemes. On the service commercialization, if the privacy and security of session data could be guaranteed by the implementers, a flat rate could be periodically charged regardless of the varying session data sizes. In another sense, it could be rendered as a Value Added Service (VAS) to customers.

Drafting Behind Akamai: Inferring Network Conditions Based on CDN Redirections

To enhance Web browsing experiences, content distribution networks (CDNs) move Web content ¿closer¿ to clients by caching copies of Web objects on thousands of servers worldwide. Additionally, to minimize client download times, such systems perform extensive network and server measurements and use them to redirect clients to different servers over short time scales. In this paper, we explore techniques for inferring and exploiting network measurements performed by the largest CDN, Akamai; our objective is to locate and utilize quality Internet paths <i xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">without</i> performing extensive path probing or monitoring. Our contributions are threefold. First, we conduct a broad measurement study of Akamai's CDN. We probe Akamai's network from 140 PlanetLab (PL) vantage points for two months. We find that Akamai redirection times, while slightly higher than advertised, are sufficiently low to be useful for network control. Second, we empirically show that Akamai redirections overwhelmingly correlate with <i xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">network</i> latencies on the paths between clients and the Akamai servers. Finally, we illustrate how large-scale overlay networks can exploit Akamai redirections to identify the best detouring nodes for one-hop source routing. Our research shows that in more than 50% of investigated scenarios, it is better to route through the nodes ¿recommended¿ by Akamai than to use the direct paths. Because this is not the case for the rest of the scenarios, we develop low-overhead pruning algorithms that avoid Akamai-driven paths when they are not beneficial. Because these Akamai nodes are part of a closed system, we provide a method for mapping Akamai-recommended paths to those in a generic overlay and demonstrate that these one-hop paths indeed outperform direct ones.

Jump Into the PDA Pool!

Jump Into the PDA Pool!

Magpie: Experiences in supporting Semantic Web browsing

Magpie has been one of the first truly effective approaches to bringing semantics into the web browsing experience. The key innovation brought by Magpie was the replacement of a manual annotation process by an automatically associated ontology-based semantic layer over web resources, which ensured added value at no cost for the user. Magpie also differs from older open hypermedia systems: its associations between entities in a web page and semantic concepts from an ontology enable link typing and subsequent interpretation of the resource. The semantic layer in Magpie also facilitates locating semantic services and making them available to the user, so that they can be manually activated by a user or opportunistically triggered when appropriate patterns are encountered during browsing. In this paper we track the evolution of Magpie as a technology for developing open and flexible Semantic Web applications. Magpie emerged from our research into user-accessible Semantic Web, and we use this viewpoint to assess the role of tools like Magpie in making semantic content useful for ordinary users. We see such tools as crucial in bootstrapping the Semantic Web through the automation of the knowledge generation process.

Magpie: Experiences in Supporting Semantic Web Browsing

Magpie has been one of the first truly effective approaches to bringing semantics into the web browsing experience. The key innovation brought by Magpie was the replacement of a manual annotation process by an automatically associated ontology-based semantic layer over web resources, which ensured added value at no cost for the user. Magpie also differs from older open hypermedia systems: its associations between entities in a web page and semantic concepts from an ontology enable link typing and subsequent interpretation of the resource. The semantic layer in Magpie also facilitates locating semantic services and making them available to the user, so that they can be manually activated by a user or opportunistically triggered when appropriate patterns are encountered during browsing. In this paper we track the evolution of Magpie as a technology for developing open and flexible Semantic Web applications. Magpie emerged from our research into user-accessible Semantic Web, and we use this viewpoint to assess the role of tools like Magpie in making semantic content useful for ordinary users. We see such tools as crucial in bootstrapping the Semantic Web through the automation of the knowledge generation process.

IHOPerator: user-scripting a personalized bioinformatics Web, starting with the iHOP website.

BackgroundUser-scripts are programs stored in Web browsers that can manipulate the content of websites prior to display in the browser. They provide a novel mechanism by which users can conveniently gain increased control over the content and the display of the information presented to them on the Web. As the Web is the primary medium by which scientists retrieve biological information, any improvements in the mechanisms that govern the utility or accessibility of this information may have profound effects. GreaseMonkey is a Mozilla Firefox extension that facilitates the development and deployment of user-scripts for the Firefox web-browser. We utilize this to enhance the content and the presentation of the iHOP (information Hyperlinked Over Proteins) website.ResultsThe iHOPerator is a GreaseMonkey user-script that augments the gene-centred pages on iHOP by providing a compact, configurable visualization of the defining information for each gene and by enabling additional data, such as biochemical pathway diagrams, to be collected automatically from third party resources and displayed in the same browsing context.ConclusionThis open-source script provides an extension to the iHOP website, demonstrating how user-scripts can personalize and enhance the Web browsing experience in a relevant biological setting. The novel, user-driven controls over the content and the display of Web resources made possible by user-scripts, such as the iHOPerator, herald the beginning of a transition from a resource-centric to a user-centric Web experience. We believe that this transition is a necessary step in the development of Web technology that will eventually result in profound improvements in the way life scientists interact with information.

Drafting behind Akamai (travelocity-based detouring)

To enhance web browsing experiences, content distribution networks (CDNs) move web content "closer" to clients by caching copies of web objects on thousands of servers worldwide. Additionally, to minimize client download times, such systems perform extensive network and server measurements, and use them to redirect clients to different servers over short time scales. In this paper, we explore techniques for inferring and exploiting network measurements performed by the largest CDN, Akamai; our objective is to locate and utilize quality Internet paths without performing extensive path probing or monitoring.Our contributions are threefold. First, we conduct a broad measurement study of Akamai's CDN. We probe Akamai's network from 140 PlanetLab vantage points for two months. We find that Akamai redirection times, while slightly higher than advertised, are sufficiently low to be useful for network control. Second, we empirically show that Akamai redirections overwhelmingly correlate with network latencies on the paths between clients and the Akamai servers. Finally, we illustrate how large-scale overlay networks can exploit Akamai redirections to identify the best detouring nodes for one-hop source routing. Our research shows that in more than 50% of investigated scenarios, it is better to route through the nodes "recommended" by Akamai, than to use the direct paths. Because this is not the case for the rest of the scenarios, we develop lowoverhead pruning algorithms that avoid Akamai-driven paths when they are not beneficial.

A framework for reuse of user experience in Web browsing

This paper examines aspects affecting user behaviours in Web browsing with a discussion of existing models for both the computer and human aspects of Web browsing. Problems in Web information retrieval are analysed and studies related to the reuse of user experience in Web browsing are reviewed. An object-oriented model for user behaviours in Web browsing is proposed in which both the information from the Web and the information retained by users are modelled as objects. Thus, user actions on the Web are described as a graph of objects or transformations from one object to another. A framework for reuse of user experience is provided. The possible methods of reusing Web browsing experience are described for the scenario of reusing by oneself (history mechanism, prediction) or reusing by others (collaborative filtering, instructions).