Background The extent to which interventions are perceived as acceptable to users impacts engagement and efficacy. Objective In this study, we evaluated the acceptability of (1) the smartphone app ...Drink Less (intervention) and (2) the National Health Service (NHS) alcohol advice web page (usual digital care and comparator) among adult drinkers in the United Kingdom participating in a randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of the Drink Less app. Methods A subsample of 26 increasing- and higher-risk drinkers (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test score≥8) assigned to the intervention group (Drink Less; n=14, 54%; female: n=10, 71%; age: 22-72 years; White: n=9, 64%) or usual digital care group (NHS alcohol advice web page; n=12, 46%; female: n=5, 42%; age: 23-68 years: White: n=9, 75%) took part in semistructured interviews. The interview questions were mapped on to the 7 facets of acceptability according to the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability: affective attitude, burden, perceived effectiveness, ethicality, intervention coherence, opportunity costs, and self-efficacy. Alongside these constructs, we also included a question on perceived personal relevance, which previous research has linked to acceptability and engagement. Framework and thematic analysis of data was undertaken. Results The Drink Less app was perceived as being ethical, easy, user-friendly, and effective for the period the app was used. Participants reported particularly liking the tracking and feedback sections of the app, which they reported increased personal relevance and which resulted in positive affect when achieving their goals. They reported no opportunity cost. Factors such as negative affect when not meeting goals and boredom led to disengagement in the longer term for some participants. The NHS alcohol advice web page was rated as being easy and user-friendly with no opportunity costs. However, the information presented was not perceived as being personally relevant or effective in changing drinking behavior. Most participants reported neutral or negative affect, most participants thought the alcohol advice web page was accessible, and some participants reported ethical concerns around the availability of suggested resources. Some participants reported that it had acted as a starting point or a signpost to other resources. Participants in both groups discussed motivation to change and contextual factors such as COVID-19 lockdowns, which influenced their perceived self-efficacy regardless of their assigned intervention. Conclusions Drink Less appears to be an acceptable digital intervention among the recruited sample. The NHS alcohol advice web page was generally considered unacceptable as a stand-alone intervention among the recruited sample, although it may signpost and help people access other resources and interventions.
We live in a computerized and networked society where many of our actions leave a digital trace and affect other people's actions. This has lead to the emergence of a new data-driven research field: ...mathematical methods of computer science, statistical physics and sociometry provide insights on a wide range of disciplines ranging from social science to human mobility. A recent important discovery is that search engine traffic (i.e., the number of requests submitted by users to search engines on the www) can be used to track and, in some cases, to anticipate the dynamics of social phenomena. Successful examples include unemployment levels, car and home sales, and epidemics spreading. Few recent works applied this approach to stock prices and market sentiment. However, it remains unclear if trends in financial markets can be anticipated by the collective wisdom of on-line users on the web. Here we show that daily trading volumes of stocks traded in NASDAQ-100 are correlated with daily volumes of queries related to the same stocks. In particular, query volumes anticipate in many cases peaks of trading by one day or more. Our analysis is carried out on a unique dataset of queries, submitted to an important web search engine, which enable us to investigate also the user behavior. We show that the query volume dynamics emerges from the collective but seemingly uncoordinated activity of many users. These findings contribute to the debate on the identification of early warnings of financial systemic risk, based on the activity of users of the www.
Usability is a quality that a web page can have due to its simple use. Many recommendations aim to improve the web user experience, but there is no standardization of them. This study is part of a ...saga, which aims to order existing recommendations and guidelines by analyzing the behavior of 20 Information Technology (IT) developers. This publication analyzes the set of guidelines that determine "user responses" when they interact with a website. It is intended to group these guidelines and obtain data on the application of each of them. The test is carried out with 20 web developers without training or experience in web usability. The objective is to know if there are "user response" guidelines that a developer with no training or usability experience applies innate. Since web developers are also users, it is believed that there may be innate behavior that is not necessarily learned. The purposes of the work are: 1) Enumerate the most forgotten recommendations by web developers. This can help to think about the importance of offering specific training in this field. 2) Know the most important recommendations and guidelines, according to the web developers themselves. The investigation is carried out as follows: First, IT engineers were asked to develop a website; Second, user tests were performed and the most neglected and most applied guidelines were evaluated. The level of compliance was also analyzed, as developers lack experience in web usability and could be applying a guideline, but not correctly; Third, web developers are interviewed to find out what guidelines they consider necessary. The results are intended to help us understand if a web developer without training or experience in web usability can innately apply guidelines on "user responses". The objective of the study is to determine that there are guidelines that are applied intuitively and others that are not, and to know the reason for each situation. The results determine that the guidelines considered essential and those that are most applied innately have something in common. The results reveal that the essential guidelines and those that are most commonly implemented inherently share certain commonalities. KEYWORDS Action, Guidelines, Recommendations, Usability, User Response, User Experience, Web.
XSS Attacks Seth Fogie, Jeremiah Grossman, Robert Hansen, Anton Rager, Petko D. Petkov
2011, 2007, 2011-04-18
eBook
A cross site scripting attack is a very specific type of attack on a web application. It is used by hackers to mimic real sites and fool people into providing personal data. XSSAttacks starts by ...defining the terms and laying out the ground work. It assumes that the reader is familiar with basic web programming (HTML) and JavaScript. First it discusses the concepts, methodology, and technology that makes XSS a valid concern. It then moves into the various types of XSS attacks, how they are implemented, used, and abused. After XSS is thoroughly explored, the next part provides examples of XSS malware and demonstrates real cases where XSS is a dangerous risk that exposes internet users to remote access, sensitive data theft, and monetary losses. Finally, the book closes by examining the ways developers can avoid XSS vulnerabilities in their web applications, and how users can avoid becoming a victim. The audience is web developers, security practitioners, and managers. * XSS Vulnerabilities exist in 8 out of 10 Web sites * The authors of this book are the undisputed industry leading authorities * Contains independent, bleeding edge research, code listings and exploits that can not be found anywhere else
Explore built-in WordPress features and the power of advanced plugins and themes for building modern websites using exciting recipes Key Features * Build custom features and extend built-in features ...in WordPress with custom coding and plugins * Get to grips with extending WordPress as an application framework * Manage non-functional aspects of your website such as security, performance, and maintenance Book Description WordPress has been the most popular content management system (CMS) for many years and is now powering over 30% of all websites globally. With the demand for WordPress development and skilled developers ever-increasing, now is the best time to learn WordPress inside out. This book starts with simple recipes for configuring WordPress and managing basic platform features. You'll then move on to explore how to install and customize WordPress plugins, widgets, and themes. The next few chapters cover recipes for content and user-management-related topics such as customizing the content display, working with content types, using the new Gutenberg editor, and customizing editorial workflow for building advanced blogs. As you advance, you'll learn how to use WordPress as an application framework as well as a platform for building e-commerce sites. This WordPress book will also help you optimize your site to maximize visibility on search engines, add interactivity, and build a user community to make the site profitable. Finally, you'll learn how to maintain a WordPress site smoothly while taking precautions against possible security threats. By the end of the book, you'll have the tools and skills required to build and maintain modern WordPress websites with the latest technologies and be able to find quick solutions to common WordPress problems. What you will learn * Install and customize WordPress themes and plugins for building websites * Develop modern web designs without the need to write any code * Explore the new Gutenberg content editor introduced in WordPress 5 (Bebo) * Use the existing WordPress plugins to add custom features and monetize your website * Improve user interaction and accessibility for your website with simple tricks * Discover powerful techniques for maintaining and securing your websites * Extend built-in WordPress features for advanced website management Who this book is for This book is for beginners who want to build powerful modern websites with minimum coding knowledge and intermediate web developers who want to extend the basic features of WordPress to cater to advanced modern website technologies. Although prior experience with WordPress is not required, familiarity with basic PHP, HTML, and CSS is necessary to understand the concepts covered.
Drupal 8 brought a release cycle that allows for new functionality to be added at a much faster pace. This extends into the new shiny Drupal 9 release. However, this also means code deprecations and ...changing architecture that you need to stay on top of. This book updates the previous editions and includes the new functionality introduced in.
Nigel Gibbens, the UK's Chief Veterinary Officer, announces the launch of a new website and blog that will help government vets share their experiences with the wider veterinary community