Thursday, May 12, 2011

Interactive Layout


This is the layout I’ve been working on for the interactive CD. Some changes may be made in the logo. Also, some parts may be animated, such as the eyes of the character, and the speech bubble will change according to the changes taking in place in the main area. The arrow will also be animated over the ‘Start’ button for easier access to the starting point.

I’m currently working on voice-overs for the videos I’ve recorded (where I’m explaining how to use e-commerce). When it’s ready, I’ll be ready to start coding and I should be done. 


Intro Animation



The intro animation has been done with Photoshop, flash, after effects, and sound added on premier. The concept behind it is that the ‘mascot’ is doing her daily chores, and after shopping she needs to use the bank service. Only to find a huge line in front of her. Time passes, the heat seems to be increasing, and nothing seems to be changing except for her nerves and the melting shopping bag. Then everything goes in reverse, and we find the character relaxed in the comfort of her home, with a cocktail in hand. Why would she struggle and suffer the heat if she can do transactions from the comfort of her own home?
After the intro animation, the layout appears.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Results from surveys



43 individuals participated in this survey between the age of 40 and60

Question number 1: Only 6 individuals were female in this survey
Question number 2: only 3 participants said they never use bank services, on the other hand 8 said daily, 16 said weekly and 15 said monthly
Question number 3:
Question number 4: 9 participants said they don’t make use of the internet, the other 34 do.
Question number 5: 15 out of 34 individuals only use the internet for browsing, Facebook or Youtube, while 19 participants make better use of the internet by paying fees, internet banking or shopping online.
Question number 6: 8 participants out of 43 think the problem about lack of education about the internet is due to the lack of opportunities. While the other 35 think it’s due to the lack of interest and motivation of the individuals themselves.
Question number 7: 8 out of the 9 individuals who don’t make use of the internet would benefit from the internet if they had the opportunity.22 individuals already make use of these services, while the rest 12 participants who make use of the internet for just browsing are willing to make more good use of it for online services.
Question number 8: All participants except 1 have agreed that there is need for a creative solution to motivate individuals for internet services. This participant doesn’t make use of the internet.
Question number 9: Only two participants have not agreed that it would be positive to learn about the internet from their home. These two participants don’t make use of the internet.
Question number 10: 15 participants are not willing to pay for a helping hand about online services. 6 of these however are individuals who already have the knowledge of these services. While the other 9 don’t use such services or incapable of doing so.
Question number 11: 5 out of 9 individuals who don’t make use of the internet don’t have any interest in getting help for online services. The other 4 would be interested in the online banking. 2 out of 15 participants who only use internet for browsing and fun would like to get Ebay covered, other 6 participants chose online banking, 2 are not interested and 5 in how to create an email account.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Chapter 3 – Methodology



 In this dissertation, I will look into human psychology of adults and older adults, and find issues related to the usage of the internet and problems adults encounter when they start aging.  To help in determining this, various research methods will be used. Both quantitative and qualitative research will be conducted, because I will be looking for both few precise and detailed answers, and also a good amount of answers from various social classes that will help me throughout my findings.
Quantitative research will be carried out to middle aged individuals which I will be base my project on the findings I will get. Surveys will be conducted amongst different social classes and individuals who have different background and education. The reason is to find out how many individuals are willing to use the internet to shop, pay or use internet banking facilities and if they are willing or not to pay for a helping hand which will get them through these issues.
Since this dissertation will be focused on middle aged individuals, the quantitative research will be based on males and females over the age of 40. It is not known yet whether there are more males who make use of the internet or females. Males and females will also be questioned randomly, based on their education background and social statuses and not by their gender, but most importantly, the age will be fundamental and not other issues.
Over 50 middle-aged individuals have been questioned in this survey which I’m confident it will be enough to conduct some positive outcome for my research. In the survey, people will be asked whether or not they make use of the internet and consequently what they use it for. I may find that some people already make use of the internet and benefit from the online services while I may find other individuals who don’t make use of it at all. This dissertation project will not be based on any of these two last mentioned, but on individuals who make use of the internet but not yet of its benefits to pay bills or banking services, regardless of the reason behind this.
Individuals will be asked other questions such as if they are willing or not to pay for interactive animation CD that would help them through internet issues. Might be that I will get a negative response for that and will have to take actions accordingly. To help me understand better from whom I’m getting answers is the occupation field that has been added to determine what kind of education the individual was exposed to.
Another strategy for my quantitative research will be based on the official statistics found in NSO – National Statistics Office, Malta. A survey on ICT usage by households in 2008 revealed that internet access in Malta. The objective of this survey was to obtain relevant indicators on information communication technology usage by households and individuals in Malta and Gozo. The target population comprised persons who live in Maltese households and who are aged between 16 and 74. A sample of 1,500 from the target population was taken by selecting a random number of individuals. The first section of this survey was directed towards obtaining information on availability of ICT items within the interviewee’s household. The second section was aimed directly at the interviewee, thus enabling the NSO to obtain information on the personal use and preferences of the individual in this sector. These data are comparable to the data of other EU countries who participated in this exercise. These precise statistics will help in getting an accurate idea of the usage of the internet in Malta.

Qualitative research will consist of gathering information from books and websites as well as interviews. Interviews are proposed for this research, to various possible middle aged customers of my final product, which means I will be conducting interviews after my dissertation project is complete. In the interview, individuals will be asked whether the solutions I have proposed have succeeded or not. Other questions in the surveys will focus on the typography, white spaces, simplicity, timing and interactivity used in the project and if they have been effective or not.

From the books which I mentioned in the literature review, fruitful information will be gathered and collected to be further discussed in the findings chapter together with examples and references. The information gathered from these books and websites, helped determine what kind of questions should be asked when conducting the surveys and what questions to ask during the interviews to see whether these have made the right research.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Methodology Points


·     These are some important points I have gathered in order to complete a successful Methodology

  •  Introductory paragraph that describes the problem that you will be addressing through your methodology
  • ·Qualitative or Quantitative research method
  • ·Attempting to answer and the problems that you might face in finding answers.
  • General definition or some type of overview of the approach you will use in conducting your  research.  An explanation of the methods you will utilize to gather the data necessary to address the problem
  • Provide justification for selecting this method of research. Explanation for deciding not to utilize certain commonly accepted research methods. Or, explanation for purposely including or excluding certain groups from your research.
  • Description of how you will go about collecting the necessary data as well as the analytical procedure you will use to draw conclusions based on this information
  • Discuss certain variables that may have an impact on the outcome of your research
  

Monday, April 4, 2011

Statistics

Found official statistics

http://www.nso.gov.mt/statdoc/document_view.aspx?id=2323 - NSO National Statistic - ICT usage by households and individuals: 2008

http://www.internetworldstats.com/eu/mt.htm - Malta Internet Usage, Population and Telecommiunication

http://www.nationmaster.com/country/mt-malta/int-internet  Nation Master - Maltese Internet Stats