education levels and other socially isolated persons (Dan, 1992). A recent Canadian campaign demonstrated improved knowledge by the public of the risk of alcohol consumption during pregnancy in a pre-test/post-test design (Casiro, Stanwick, Pelech, Taylor & Child Health Committee, 1994). Respondents reported that television was their main source of this information significantly more often after the campaign than before the campaign (Casiro et al., 1994).

Health programming rather than PSAs has been used successfully in Finland (Weinberg, 1993). Five series of 15 segments each were aired between 1978 and 1985. The programs helped viewers develop the skills needed to make and sustain behavioral changes and encouraged a supportive social environment for the changes. Viewers reported smoking cessation, weight loss and reduced dietary intakes of fat, sugar and sodium (Weinberg, 1993).

In North America, health professionals are beginning to work cooperatively with the television industry to promote health-enhancing behaviours (Montgomery, 1990; Weinberg, 1993). The Centre for Health Communications at the Harvard School of Public Health launched a campaign to increase the awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving. After the first year, the program took credit for scenes or entire programs devoted to the topic in 25 television programs (Montgomery, 1990). This project has expanded to include technical consultation to the producers of Beverly Hills 90210 for a story line involving body image and dieting in teenage women (Weinberg, 1993). Specialty programs promoting positive health behaviours have begun to be collaboratively created - work which is based largely on the agenda setting concept of social marketing theory.

## Health-Detracting Behaviour

Heavy television viewing has been related to increased low nutritional knowledge and increased perceptions of validity of nutrition claims in commercials (Signorielli, 1990). Many health-detracting behaviours may occur in persons who rely heavily on television as a source of health information as well as those who view heavily (Signorielli, 1990).

A TV Guide survey in 1992 showed the extent to which television and eating habits have become linked (Weinberg, 1993). Two-thirds of respondents reported viewing television while eating their evening meal. In the 18- to 24-year-old segment, three-quarters of respondents reported this behaviour. In a study of pregnant adolescents, it was reported that subjects consumed 38% of their energy intake while viewing television (Goldberg, 1990). This change in the social aspects of mealtime may have an effect on the mental health of viewers and their families.

Klein and associates (1993) reported that adolescents aged 14 to 16 years who were heavy viewers of music videos and televised movies were more likely to engage in health-detracting behaviours such as smoking cigarettes or
marijuana, drinking alcohol or engaging in high risk sexual activity. In a study of adolescent males, Tucker (1987) found that subjects viewing less than two hours of television daily were significantly more physically fit than those viewing two or more hours each day, indicating that they likely were more physically active.

The portrayed ideal body image in the mass media has become slimmer since the 1960s (Myers & Biocca, 1992). The health effects of this societal ideal may be seen in the large numbers of people dieting to lose weight. Of adult Canadians who fall within a healthy weight range, 45% wanted to lose weight, while 7% of those who were already below a healthy weight range wanted to weigh less (Health and Welfare Canada, 1988). An American study showed that in a university population, 35.5% of all smokers, (39% of female smokers and 25% of male smokers) reported using smoking as a weight loss strategy (Health and Welfare Canada, 1988).

As a perpetuating factor in these behaviours, television transmits the thin ideal for females and the muscular ideal for males. These messages, as dieting to lose weight, are not exclusive to adults. Fear of becoming overweight affects children as early as age 6 to 9 years (Czajka-Narins & Parham, 1990). Weight loss dieting behaviours, including binge eating, have been reported in children aged 9 to 12 years (Michaud & Terry, 1993). Recent reports of increased anabolic steroid abuse by adolescents males have been linked to difficulties with body image (Turner, 1994; Yesalis, 1992). Teenage males seem to be turning to these drugs to help them achieve the socially represented ideal body not to enhance performance in sport. Such behaviours compromise growth, reduce vital body nutrient stores, decrease resistance to infection and perpetuate distorted body images (Michaud & Terry, 1993).

Signorielli (1990) reported that heavy viewers of television reported not being concerned about body weight and that they ate or drank whatever they chose, whenever they chose. Thus, television viewing can be linked to a complacency about positive health attitudes and behaviours. Gerbner and associates (1981) termed this the "cultivation of complacency." This effect was based on the unrealistic belief held by the viewer in the "magic of medicine" perpetuated by television programming and commercials. The authors felt this belief resulted in continued unhealthy lifestyle choices by viewers who felt that modern medicine would fix them if problems arose. In light of the present health care system reforms, this continued reliance on the traditional view of medicine, or the illness-care model, will have far-reaching and perhaps devastating effects. There not only is a threat to personal health but a threat to an already over-burdened health care system.

## Television Viewing as Chronic Disease Risk Factor

Television viewing has been linked to body image distortions, reduced fitness levels, increased consumption of low nutrient dense foods and changes in
social eating patterns. But, what are the personal and public health impacts of
these behaviours?

Obesity

A recent report stated that 1 in 5 U.S. teenagers was overweight ("Prevalence of overweight," 1994). The prevalence has increased from 1 in 7 which was reported for the 1970s. An increased prevalence of adolescent obesity will lead to a future increase in obesity of the adult population ("Prevalence of overweight," 1994). Canadian figures have estimated that the increased prevalence of obesity since 1980 has been a 50% increase in children aged 6 to 11 years and a 40% increase in adolescents aged 12 to 17 years (Lechky, 1994). Of these overweight youth, 40 - 90% will become overweight adults (Lechky, 1994). The health risks of this future obesity include increased hypertension, cardiovascular disease, non-insulin dependent diabetes, orthopedic disorders, gallbladder disease and sustained self esteem and body image problems (Groves, 1988, "Prevalence of overweight," 1994), to name only a few.

Cross-sectional studies to estimate the association between viewing times
and obesity in both adult males and adult females, found that for subjects
viewing three or more hours of television daily, adjusted estimates showed over
twice the prevalence of obesity as seen with lighter viewers (Tucker & Bagwell,
1991; Tucker & Friedman, 1989). A dose-response effect was seen in both
studies as risk increased with increased daily viewing times. Second only to
prior obesity, television use has been termed the strongest predictor of obesity in
children (Boyle & Morris, 1994). Using food frequency data, Taras and co-
workers (1989) found a significant correlation between caloric intake and the
number of hours spent viewing television. Dietz and Gortmaker (1985) were
able to find strong associations between obesity and television viewing in a
study utilizing cross-sectional data from the National Health Examination
Surveys (NHES II and III) on 6965 children aged 6 to 11 years and 6671
children aged 12 to 17 years. As well, a longitudinal component was present as
data from the NHES III included information on 2,153 children previously seen
in NHES II. For both age groups, there was a significantly greater prevalence of
obesity and superobesity in those who spent more time viewing television.
Gortmaker, Dietz & Cheung (1990) supported a causal connection between daily
television viewing duration and obesity in youth based on both cross-sectional
and longitudinal data. Their study identified a 2% increased obesity prevalence
with each additional hour of television viewed by children and adolescents, after
controlling for possible confounding variables. From longitudinal data, these
authors reported that television viewing was associated with development of
obesity, with an increased incidence rate of 1.3% for each additional hour of
television viewing. As well, rates of remission of obesity decreased by 6.3% for
each additional hour of viewing (Gortmaker, Dietz & Cheung).
A cyclical model for the association between television viewing and obesity has been proposed (Dietz & Gortmaker, 1985; Weinberg, 1993). Television appears to affect both energy intake and energy expenditure. Energy expenditure may be reduced as viewing television requires little energy and also as it displaces more active pursuits. While viewing television, high energy, low nutrient foods are advertised and portrayed within programs. Snacking behaviour increases when viewing television and often takes the form of the lower nutrient dense foods promoted. These factors can result in viewer weight gain. In turn the weight gain may result in less motivation to exercise on the part of the viewer which leads to greater time spent viewing television, and the cycle continues (Weinberg, 1993). To compound this obesity problem, Klesges Shelton and Klesges (1993) found that in normal weight and obese children aged 8 to 12 years, viewing television resulted in a metabolic rate significantly lower than during rest. Other researchers have found a reduced activity level and hence a reduced energy expenditure during viewing compared with sitting quietly or reading (Dietz, Bandini, Morelli, Peers & Ching, 1994; DuRant, Baranowski Johnson & Thompson, 1994). Thus, television viewing may contribute to obesity through a reduced rate of energy expenditure while viewing.

## Fitness

A study to relate television viewing to obesity and physical fitness in adolescent males found light viewers scored significantly better on tests of fitness level than did heavy viewers (Tucker, 1986). A cohort study of adolescent females found only weak associations between adiposity, activity level or a change in either over a two year period, and television viewing time (Robinson et al., 1993).

In almost 9,000 adults, Tucker (1990) investigated the association between television viewing and cardiovascular fitness level. Adults who viewed television for more than four hours each day were only less than half as likely to be fit compared with adults viewing for less than one hour daily and were about three-quarters as likely to be as fit as those viewing three to four hours daily.

A cyclical mechanism for the television viewing association with fitness level, similar to that noted for obesity, was proposed by Tucker (1986).

As television viewing time increases, physical activity tends to decrease. As physical activity declines, physical fitness tends to decline. As physical fitness declines, attraction to passive recreation tends to increase (p. 803).

Increased television viewing is a likely form of passive recreation to be adopted. Thus, a major impact of television is not only the behaviour it promotes but also the behaviour it prevents (Tucker, 1986).
## Serum Cholesterol Levels

The association between time spent viewing television and the prevalence of hypercholesterolaemia was studied in a sample of almost 12,000 employed adults (Tucker and Bagwell, 1992). Results indicated that adults viewing television for three or more hours daily were almost twice as likely to have a serum cholesterol level in excess of 6.02 mmol/L (240 mg/dL) than adults viewing less than one hour daily. Moderate duration viewers (1-2 h/day) were almost one to five times as likely to have hypercholesterolaemia. Neither group was more likely to suffer moderately increased serum cholesterol levels (5.2-6.2 mmol/L; 200-240 mg/dL). The researchers concluded that excessive television viewing may be an important lifestyle factor linked to cardiovascular disease risk (Tucker & Bagwell, 1992).

In a study of over 1000 children aged 2 to 20 years, Wong and co-workers (1992) found that excessive television viewing strongly predicted an elevated serum cholesterol level of 5.2 mmol/L (200 mg/dL) or higher. Compared to infrequent television viewers, children viewing more than four hours daily were 4.8 times as likely to have an elevated cholesterol level. For moderate television viewers, this risk was 2.2 times that of infrequent viewers. While 88% of the children viewing two or more hours daily did not have cholesterol levels over 5.2 mmol/L (200 mg/dL), this high false-positive rate should not overshadow the implied association between excessive television viewing and other behavioral factors which impact on the serum cholesterol levels of children (Wong et al., 1992).

## Nutrition and Body Image Messages on Television

Media effects research has concluded that television viewing can exert a variety of effects on viewers. These effects, though, are dependent on the televised content to which the viewer is exposed (Potter & Ware, 1989). Content analyses of television broadcasts have suggested that the airwaves are saturated with overt and subtle health and nutrition messages.

### Food Related Messages

Early studies indicated that Saturday morning television commercials promoted highly sugared breakfast cereals, snack foods and low nutrient dense beverages (Brown, 1977; Gussow, 1972). More recent analyses have found very few changes have occurred during the intervening years (Cotugna, 1988; Kotz & Story, 1994). Cotugna (1988) reported that on Saturday mornings, 80% of food commercials aired on the major U.S. television networks were for foods of low nutritional quality and that ads for high sugar products still prevailed. She also reported that the proportion of commercials for high fat fast foods, high sodium canned pastas and high sugar cereals had increased. Kotz & Story (1994)
reported that 56.6% of all commercials on Saturday morning U.S. network broadcasts were for food products. Of these, 43.6% were for foods high in fat and/or sugars. Again, highly sugared breakfast cereals were the most frequently advertised product.

Studies of Canadian network commercials on Saturday morning television found similar content concerns (Ostbye, et al., 1993; Wadsworth, 1992). Breakfast cereal ads comprised 25% of all food ads with 57% of these being for high sugar cereals (Wadsworth, 1992). Other major product categories advertised included sweets, low nutrient dense beverages and canned pastas (Ostbye, et al., 1993; Wadsworth, 1992). Significant differences between networks were found, with 71.6% of the commercials on YTV being for food products (Wadsworth, 1992) and neither CBC-English nor CBC-French airing any food commercials (Ostbye, et al., 1993; Wadsworth, 1992). As well, Ostbye and co-workers (1993) reported that Much Music aired a significantly greater proportion of commercials for low nutrient dense beverages. Such differences suggest both targeting of particular audience groups by the food industry and dissimilar advertising policies amongst the networks.

Byrd-Bredbenner (1994) took this Saturday morning television research one step further by analyzing nutrition related incidents in the programming itself. She found that food and body image incidents occurred an average of six times per hour. Program characters ate to socialize or to cope with emotions. When a food pyramid was constructed based on the frequency of televised food portrayals, it was nearly opposite to the U.S. Food Pyramid (Byrd-Bredbenner 1994). A similar effect had been produced using only advertised food product; (Kotz & Story, 1994).

The nutritional messages contradictory to current nutritional guidelines are not exclusive to children's programming. Research results have indicated that prime time television is far from immune to these pervasive messages. Studies have reported that 25% to 30% of prime time commercials were for food products (Kaufman, 1980; Ostbye et al., 1993; Signorielli, 1990). Ostbye and co-workers (1993) found that food products represented the largest single category of advertisements on Canadian prime time television. They found the most common foods advertised were beverages, including alcoholic beverages, complete meals, breakfast cereals and french fries. Significant network differences were evident with beverage commercials being heaviest on Much Music - 66% of total advertisements on the network with 41% of total advertisements being for soft drinks.

The practice of "product placement", which consists of the paid, prominent placement of brand-name products within program content (Black & Bryant 1992), has resulted in much greater exposure to brand-name food items for the viewer. This, coupled with the possible nutrition messages embedded in programs, led to the analysis of prime time program content. Kaufman (1980)
reported that references to food occurred two to three times in each 30-minute segment analyzed. She also found more food references in program content than in commercials. Despite the obvious bias evident in terms of actual minutes of programs versus commercials, this finding pointed to the importance of television programs as sources of nutrition messages.

Way (1983), in a study of 51 ongoing prime time series, found food related behaviours occurred at a rate of 1.77 per character, 5.3 per program and 7.67 per hour of programming analyzed. As well, food related behaviours which involved foods of higher nutritional quality almost equaled behaviours related to lower nutritional quality foods. Upon closer inspection of the behaviours, though, Way (1983) discovered that foods which were eaten were of lower nutritional quality than foods which were purchased, prepared, served or requested.

Higher televised rates of food references had been reported by Gerbner and co-workers (1981). In a study of one week of prime time broadcasts, they found an average of 9 incidents per hour. A more recent study found similar aired frequencies - 4.8 incidents per 30 minutes (Story & Faulkner, 1990). Difficulties in comparisons between studies exist, though, due to the lack of standardized definitions of food incidents and differences in data collection procedures (Sylvester, Achterberg, & Williams, 1995). This is a common complication encountered with content analysis methodologies which often use different data sets, recording instruments and recording procedures (Krippendorf, 1980).

Since major motion pictures are often broadcast on television, knowledge of the nutrition messages they contain would be useful information for the nutrition educator. An analysis of 71 of the top 100 dollar grossing films of 1991 for food and nutrition related messages found that 76% of the films contained at least one major food scene. Portrayal of higher nutrient density, lower fat foods was related to higher socioeconomic and educational status of the characters.

The context surrounding food related behaviours has received some attention. Portrayed eating incidents have emphasized snacking (Gerbner et al., 1981; Kaufman, 1980). Episodes involving drinking were predominated by alcoholic beverages followed by coffee and tea (Gerbner et al., 1981). Kaufman (1980) found television characters were portrayed as happy in the presence of food, snacked often and rarely ate alone, indicating the emphasis on social aspects of eating.

The “prime time diet” appears to consist of foods of lower nutrient density with an emphasis on low nutrient beverages, sweets and snack foods. These portrayals have been likened to the typical North American consumption pattern (Ostbye et al., 1993; Story & Faulkner, 1990). This eating pattern is lower in fibre and complex carbohydrates and higher in fat, sodium, simple carbohydrates, caffeine and alcohol than current nutrition recommendations suggest (Health & Welfare Canada, 1990).
## Body Image Messages

Kaufman (1980) investigated the body image portrayed in the ten top ranked prime time programs on U.S. network television. Of persons portrayed in food related situations, 88% were rated as being of thin or average body size and 12% as being overweight or obese. More men (15%) than women (8%) were rated as overweight or obese (Kaufman, 1980). This trend towards portrayal of larger male body types more often than larger female body types was confirmed by other researchers (Signorielli, 1990; Silverstein et al., 1986). Overweight persons were deemed to be under-represented in box office films, as well (Sylvester, Achterberg & Williams, 1993).

Children, adolescents and young adults were rarely portrayed as overweight or obese (Kaufman, 1980). This study also found disproportionate obesity among racial minority characters. Personal characteristics of overweight and obese persons tended to be more negative than for their thin counterparts (Kaufman, 1980). Thus, the dramatic functions of larger body sizes seem to be limited.

It seems, therefore, that television provides a paradoxical view of food. Slim characters abound, yet they continually eat high energy foods. Eating is portrayed as a "consequence-free" activity (Byrd-Bredbenner, 1994).

Content analyses of television programs and commercials have indicated many subtle nutrition and body image messages are continuously portrayed. According to social learning theory principles, with time, repeated viewing of such messages may affect viewers. As lower nutrient dense food was often presented as a prop or to give characters something to do with their hands (Byrd-Bredbenner, 1994), it may be a result of writers and producers not understanding the potential such scenes may have on viewer learning or their not being aware of higher nutrient dense food substitutes. As well, these portrayals may be due to a contract situation with a food manufacturer.

## Media Literacy Strategies

With the expected future growth of cable television, VCR use and the integration of the television and the home computer, increases in television viewing may occur. "If there is any chance that our current unscrutenized enslavement to TV can affect [the health of viewers], now is the time to do something about it" (Wadsworth, 1993). Several calls for increased efforts to improve media literacy levels of the television viewing public have been made (Kotz & Story, 1994; Kubey, 1994; Taras & Gage, 1995; Tucker, 1990).

The need for television viewers to become responsible and informed consumers is clear. Improving the media literacy skills of viewers of all ages should reduce the impact of negative nutrition and body image messages broadcast by television. Emphasis on skill development will assist viewers with their critical appraisal of health related messages.
There is a need for development of updated media literacy tools for use with community nutrition programming and health curricula. Interdisciplinary efforts of nutrition, communications and education specialists would maximize the effectiveness of such educational tools. Media literacy skill development should be included in all new nutrition education and healthy weight programming. Of equal importance is the addition of media literacy components to existing programming. It is recommended that such components

(1) foster and develop awareness of the detrimental health effects of excessive television viewing, especially as they pertain to healthy eating, exercise and body image, and

(2) provide the opportunity to develop skills for critical viewing of television programming and advertisements in order to identify persuasive techniques which could adversely affect healthy eating, exercise and body image attitudes and behaviours.

When discussing the sociocultural determinants of nutritional well-being with their clients, nutrition professionals should emphasize the possible effects of television viewing on food choice behaviour and body image attitudes. Workshops on these topics, held with adult, adolescent and child viewers, will increase awareness of the link between television viewing and nutritional health status.

To advocate for healthier television viewing habits, communications, education and nutrition professionals may adopt several strategies. As possible approaches, professionals could:

* encourage viewers to set a limit on television viewing time and to substitute an alternative physical activity.

* encourage parents and caregivers to view programming with children and to discuss the concepts of advertising and entertainment programming.

* foster discussion and facilitate skill building for interpretation of imagery viewed on television in order to recognize underlying messages, not only of advertisements but of programming, as well.

* encourage discussion amongst viewers regarding foods and eating styles portrayed and those not portrayed on television.

* encourage discussion amongst viewers of the body image attitudes and stereotypes promoted through television broadcasts.

* identify local and national organizations to which viewers can direct concerns over televised message content.

Strategies such as these may improve media literacy levels of television viewers and increase awareness of the potential health hazards associated with heavy viewing. However, there is a need for the evaluation of these strategies and educational components to determine their effectiveness in increasing recognition of persuasive techniques and in changing health related attitudes and
behaviours over time. As well, such components and strategies will need to be
tested and adapted for use with various population groups. Again, these efforts
would benefit from an interdisciplinary approach with input from both field level
practitioners and researchers.

Summary

There is no question that television viewing is a powerful and pervasive
lifestyle factor in present day society. The sheer magnitude of leisure time
devoted to television viewing along with the multitude of health related
messages portrayed by the medium, influence health attitudes and behaviours. It
seems that the widespread use of this medium by all sectors of the population
may contribute to maladaptive health habits and hence, affect chronic disease
risk.

Several researchers have begun to work with television rather than against this form of popular culture. The need to consider the environment within which the television industry functions is beginning to be recognized. This shift away from research based on a single aspect of a complex communication process should lead to a greater understanding of the social and cultural contexts of television - a vision of the totality of television viewing.

Further research needs to look at the nutrition related messages portrayed in television programs and commercials and the effects these have on food behaviours and body image attitudes. At the same time, however, the nutrition community must continue to build working relationships with producers, directors and writers, to assist in the presentation of positive nutritional messages, both in eating scenes and scenes where food is merely a prop.

It is imperative that the environment of the television medium, as well as
the messages it carries, be understood by viewers, researchers and the television
industry itself. Also, communications, education and nutrition specialists should
join forces to strengthen media literacy skills of television viewers. Without such
efforts, as Tucker (1990) feared, the effects of television viewing could outweigh
those of health promotion campaigns.

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Acknowledgements

The author gratefully acknowledges the kind assistance and insightful comments of Drs. Shawna Berenbaum and Richard Schwier during the preparation of this manuscript.

AUTHOR

L. A. Wadsworth, Ph.D., is a Public Health Nutrition consultant, Health Promotion Division, Population Health Branch, Saskatchewan Health., Saskatoon, SK. E-mail:
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NAVIGATING BACKWARD: CONCRETE VS.
ABSTRACT REPRESENTATION IN
HYPERTEXT BUTTONS

Elizabeth Boling

Kira S. King Dale Avers

Yu-Chen Hsu

Jiunde Lee

Ted Frick

**Abstract:** The users of instructional hypertext programs must rely on the mechanisms provided by designers for access to the functions of the programs, including functions typically called "navigation," or moving between the various displays and states offered by the program. Such access is often provided by means of "buttons," or selectable hot spots on the display, and the design of these buttons can either help or hinder users' efforts to navigate the program. When navigation involves returning to a previously visited display or state, or navigating backward, users are particularly prone to misinterpret the meaning of navigation buttons.

Two preliminary studies are discussed, one showing that designers of 130 surveyed HyperCard (TM) stacks make less consistent choices for "specific" navigational functions than they do for "general" navigational functions, and the other demonstrating that subjects make fewer errors in choosing navigation buttons for "specific" navigational functions when the representation of the buttons is concrete (i.e., a miniature image of the destination for the navigational move) than when the representation is abstract (i.e., a form of arrow).

**Résumé:** Les utilisateurs de programmes hypertexte doivent se fier aux instructions données par ses dessinateurs pour accéder aux fonctions des programmes comme la fonction 'navigation', soit le déplacement entre différentes pages de présentation. Ce déplacement est souvent effectué par l'utilisation de boutons. Le modèle du bouton peut soit aider ou nuire aux efforts de l'utilisateur lors de la navigation. Lorsque la navigation implique le retour aux pages de présentation précédentes, les utilisateurs sont particulièrement portés à mal interpréter la signification des boutons.

Deux études sont présentées ici. La première démontre que les dessinateurs de 130 cartes HyperCard TM font des choix de façon moins constante lorsqu'ils effectuent des fonctions de navigation spécifique que lorsqu'ils effectuent des fonctions de navigation générale. La seconde étude démontre que les sujets font moins d'erreurs de choix de boutons de navigation lors de fonction spécifique de navigation lorsque le bouton est représente de façon concrete (image miniature qui illustre la destination) que lorsque le bouton est représenté de façon abstraite (une forme de flèche).
Hypermedia and Navigation

Even though people using hypermedia programs are usually sitting still in front of computer displays, they are said to be "moving through" the programs and sometimes "getting lost!" in them (Apple Computer, 1989; Edwards & Hardman, 1989). They are observed to use strategies similar to those people use in physical wayfinding, including using "landmarks", or easily recognizable screen displays, in order to orient themselves in relation to the rest of the available information (McKnight, Dillon & Richardson, 1993). Although legitimate questions have been raised concerning the sufficiency of physical wayfinding terminology to describe interactions between humans and hypertexts (Landow, 1990; Stanton & Baber, 1994), such terminology is nevertheless useful for designers who must provide the means by which users interact with hypermedia programs.

Designers of instructional hypermedia often focus on the teaching and learning aspects of such programs to the exclusion of considering the navigational task facing the learners who will use the programs (Fry & Soloway, 1987), but the visual elements that operate as intermediaries between the program and the learners comprise a sign system that must be understandable if the programs are to be usable (Mullet and Sano, 1995).

Representation and Hypermedia Sign Systems

A sign is a representation of a thing, tangible or intangible, called an *object*. The object of a sign is called its *referent*, since it is the thing to which the sign refers. See figure 1. A sign only functions as a sign when someone, called the *interpretant*, recognizes that sign as a representation of the object (Noth, 1990). In a hypermedia program the *sign* may be an arrow on the screen, the *object* may be a concept ("moving forward through the displays in this program"), and the *interpretant* will be the user of the program.

<figure><img src="image_2.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 1:** Sign, object and interpretant relationship.</figcaption></figure>
By definition signs are representations, and representations may take
different forms, of which Bruner (1966) defines three: enactive, iconic and
symbolic. Although Bruner discusses the representation of knowledge, not
specifically of signs, his definitions of the three forms of representation will
help clarify our discussion of the forms of signs.

Enactive Representation

Enactive representation is used when we must represent “things for which we have no imagery and no words” (Bruner, 1966, p. 10), like playing tennis or riding a bike. Enactive representation is most applicable to discussions regarding the interaction of hardware and hypertext (Kay, 1989), and to animated icons (Baecker, Small & Mander, 1991), both beyond the scope of this study.

Iconic Representation

Iconic representation “depends on visual or other sensory organization and upon
the use of summarizing images” (Bruner, 1966, p. 10-11), or pictures. In the
case of computer interfaces, we may describe pictures as any visual
representation which is not a part of some existing symbol system used for
writing.

At this point the terms used for describing representations of knowledge
and the common terms used to describe elements of computer sign systems
become confusing. Iconic representation is the form used for computer icons
when the computer term “icon” is used correctly, but not every iconic
representation (even in the computer interface) is an icon (Horton, 1994). The
authors of this study do not presume to coin new terms either for computer
interface elements or for iconic representations. Instead we will use the term
“pictorial” to refer to iconic representations on hypertext navigation buttons.

Symbolic Representation

Symbolic representation is “representation in words or language” (Bruner, 1966, p. 11). In the case of computer interfaces all elements drawn from existing symbol systems for writing are symbolic representations. Text labels on navigation buttons are the examples of such symbolic representations with which we are presently most concerned. Function and Form in Hypermedia Sign Systems

The function that a navigation button performs when it is selected is
distinct from the form, or representation, of that button on the computer screen.
Once a hypertext designer has made the decision that users of the program will
be able to return to the screen display just previously viewed, he has decided on
a *function*, or capability for action -- in this case, navigation -- to be offered to
the user. That function may be represented in any number of ways, not all of them visual (e.g., a recorded voice might recite the options available and prompt users to press certain keys to select one as happens in the currently ubiquitous telephone menuing systems.) In the event that a function is represented visually, it may take one of the types of forms discussed above or a combination of those types (in the case of buttons containing both pictorial representations and text labels, or symbolic representations). It is clear that the form of a navigation button influences the ease with which users may perceive its function (Boling, Beriswill, Xaver, Hebb, Kaufman & Frick, 1996; King, Boling, Anneli, Bray, Cardenas & Frick, 1996), apart from whether or not the function was well-conceived.

## Consistency in the Forms Designers Use for Navigation Buttons

In a prior study (King, et al., 1996) we discovered that people who had some experience using HyperCard (TM) stacks were not always able to perceive the functions of navigation buttons displaying "standard" pictorial representations (the ones available in the HyperCard authoring system). Subjects' performance was significantly better when the buttons displayed text labels, either alone or in conjunction with the pictorial representations. We speculated that part of the trouble might be that different designers choose different pictorial representations for the same functions. If users of instructional hypermedia programs often see different images on buttons that have similar functions, or see the same image on buttons that perform different functions, they might not develop any reliable background knowledge for guessing at the function of a button in an unfamiliar program, even if they have encountered the image on that button before. We conducted a survey to discover whether or not most designers of the instructional HyperCard stacks we reviewed were using pictorial representations consistently or inconsistently with other designers of similar products.

## Methodology

### *Collecting and Classifying the Buttons*

We collected 130 readily available HyperCard stacks from the School of Education computing environment at Indiana University. The majority of these stacks were ones classified as "educational" from a large collection of shareware widely disseminated across the Internet. Electronic mail messages alerting students to the presence of this shareware collection had been circulated through the network in the months before our prior study (King, et al., 1996), and since the subjects for that study were drawn from the School of Education we
reasoned that some of the HyperCard stacks with which they had experience
would have been these, or ones similar to these.

One sample of every button from each of the 130 stacks was collected into a
single HyperCard stack which was created for this purpose. As each button was
collected the researcher also entered into the data stack a description of the function that
button represented in the stack from which it came was collected. Two researchers
reviewed this collection individually, then reviewed and discussed the collection
together to develop a definition list for the major functions represented by the buttons
(as they had been described at the time of their collection).

A second stack was created in which all the collected icons appeared. The
nine navigational functions were listed on every card.

To establish interrater reliability a third researcher, who had not
participated either in gathering the icons or in developing the navigational
function list, went through this second stack and classified each icon into a
single function using a definition list. Following the third rater's classification,
all three raters agreed that two functions, "home" and "quit," were identical.
Those functions were collapsed into the single function "home," after which
interrater reliability was .97. Of the discrepancies remaining those involving
navigation were all related to confusion in the backward navigation functions
and were resolved through clarification of the definition list,

<figure><img src="image_3.png" /><figcaption>Figure 2: Classification stack into which buttons were copied for Study I, showing a collected button, its original description, its origin and the reviewer's classification of the button.</figcaption></figure>
Determining Consistency

From the original 1111 buttons collected we selected only those which had been classified as navigational. Of those, we selected the ones using pictorial representations in the form of arrows. We chose to focus on arrow forms since they fit Easterby's description of "figural goodness" (1970), they are used across cultures and time to represent directional motion (Dreyfuss, 1972), and they were selected for use by designers on nearly 40 percent of the buttons in our sample. This selection process left us with a total of 427 buttons in the final study.

These 427 buttons fell into seven functional categories: 1) "next," 2) "previous," 3) "home," 4) "main menu," 5) "way out," 6) "go back," and 7) "1st card of section." These same buttons fell into eight formal categories: (see Table 1) 1) right-facing arrow (A), 2) left-facing arrow (B), 3) upward-facing arrow (C), 4) downward-facing arrow (D), 5) right-facing arrow with vertical bar (E), 6) left-facing arrow with vertical bar (F), 7) curved left-facing arrow (G), and 8) doubled left-facing arrow (H). The formal categories are illustrated in Table 1. All variations of a certain formal type were categorized together; e.g., black arrows and white arrows and arrows shaded to look dimensional were all classified as type "A" providing they had a straight stem and the head faced to the right.

We determined the consistency with which designers chose pictorial representations for navigational functions by measuring the reduction in uncertainty for a user faced with a particular button displaying an arrow. Uncertainty regarding the function of a particular navigation button is maximum for the user of multiple hypertexts if different forms (or types of arrows) are used to represent the same function, like "go back," in every one of those hypertexts. Uncertainty is somewhat reduced when navigation buttons with the same function share the same form across hypertexts, and uncertainty is entirely reduced if the same function is represented by the same form in every hypertext.

Formulas 1-5 show how reduction of uncertainty was calculated in Table 1, where $H$ = uncertainty (Coombs, Dawes & Tversky, 1970).

$$H_{\text{red}} = \frac{100 [ (H_{\text{max}} - H_{\text{obs}})/H_{\text{max}} ]}{[1]} \quad [1]$$

$$H_{\text{max}} = - \frac{\log_2 (1/n)}{2} \quad [2]$$

$$H_{\text{obs}} = - \sum P_i (\log_2 P_i) \quad [3]$$

$$P_i = \text{probability that navigational function}$$

$$\text{i occurs} = \text{frequency/total} \quad [4]$$

$$n = \text{number of navigation functions (=7)}$$
<table><caption>**Table 1:** Summary of reduction in uncertainty for 8 arrow forms representing 7 navigational functions (n = 427).</caption><thead><tr><th>FORM</th><th>A<br>n =</th><th>B<br>n =</th><th>C<br>n = 5</th><th>D<br>n = 2</th><th>E<br>n = 2</th><th>F<br>n = 11</th><th>G<br>n = 50</th><th>H<br>n = 3</th></tr><tr><th></th><th>f P</th><th>f P</th><th>f P</th><th>f P</th><th>f P</th><th>f P</th><th>f P</th><th>f P</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th>Function</th><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><th>next<br>n = 124</th><td>105 1.0</td><td>0 0.0</td><td>0 0.0</td><td>2 1.0</td><td>2 1.0</td><td>0 0.0</td><td>0 0.0</td><td>0 0.0</td></tr><tr><th>previous<br>n = 97</th><td>0 0.0</td><td>91.95</td><td>2 0.4</td><td>0 0.0</td><td>0 0.0</td><td>2.19</td><td>0 0.0</td><td>0 0.0</td></tr><tr><th>home<br>n = 96</th><td>0 0.0</td><td>0 0.0</td><td>0 0.0</td><td>0 0.0</td><td>0 0.0</td><td>0 0.0</td><td>2.04</td><td>0 0.0</td></tr><tr><th>main menu<br>n = 69</th><td>0 0.0</td><td>2.02</td><td>2 0.4</td><td>0 0.0</td><td>0 0.0</td><td>3.27</td><td>5.30</td><td>0 0.0</td></tr><tr><th>way out<br>n = 26</th><td>0 0.0</td><td>2.02</td><td>0 0.0</td><td>0 0.0</td><td>0 0.0</td><td>0 0.0</td><td>7.14</td><td>0 0.0</td></tr><tr><th>go back<br>n = 20</th><td>0 0.0</td><td>0 0.0</td><td>0 0.0</td><td>0 0.0</td><td>0 0.0</td><td>1.09</td><td>13.26</td><td>3 1.0</td></tr><tr><th>1st card<br>of section<br>n = 40</th><td>0 0.0</td><td>1.01</td><td>1.02</td><td>0 0.0</td><td>0 0.0</td><td>5.45</td><td>13.26</td><td>0 0.0</td></tr><tr><th>% reduction<br>in<br>uncertainty</th><td>100</td><td>87</td><td>46</td><td>100</td><td>100</td><td>36</td><td>25</td><td>100</td></tr></tbody></table>

## Results

Of the eight forms, we discovered that four displayed no uncertainty (or 100 percent reduction in uncertainty) within our sample. Of these, three forms
(D, E and H) were infrequent in the sample (less than 1 percent each). The remaining form, the right-facing arrow (A), accounted for almost one fourth of the total sample. Another form, the left-facing arrow (B), displayed an 87 percent reduction in uncertainty and was represented in the sample almost as frequently as was the right-facing arrow (A).

The remaining three forms (C, F and G) displayed low reduction in uncertainty, or a high probability that users encountering these forms would have seen them used to represent different functions before. Of these forms, the left-facing arrow with vertical bar(F) and the doubled left-facing arrow (G) are the same forms that accounted for 75 percent of the total error in our previous study (King, et al., 1996).

Discussion

We had expected to find that designers, especially designers of shareware and non-commercial stacks like those in our sample, would be inconsistent in their choices of forms to represent navigational functions. Instead we found them to be 100 percent consistent in some cases and very inconsistent (a low of 25 percent reduction in uncertainty) in others. We had also speculated that designers might be less consistent representing backward navigational functions, or functions involving a return to some location, than in representing other kinds of navigation (Nielsen, 1995). However, although all the forms displaying less than 15 percent reduction in uncertainty in this sample were forms representing backward navigation functions, the left-facing arrow (B) was a notable exception in that it was used almost as consistently as the right-facing arrow (A) in a similar number of instances.

To explain the difference between our expectations and our results, we speculated that some of the functions designers are trying to represent may be more difficult to match with forms than are other functions. Maccia (1987; 1988) distinguishes between “knowing that,” or general knowledge, and “knowing that one,” or specific knowledge. In the physical wayfinding analogy we have already discussed, “knowing that” would be equivalent to the knowledge that my destination is “someplace where I can buy food.” In contrast, “knowing that one” would be. equivalent to the knowledge that my destination is “the little yellow grocery store on the corner.” Since hypertexts are. defined by links between nodes, neither of which have true spatial equivalents in the physical world, and since users perceive themselves to be moving between those links McKnight, Dillon, & Richardson, 1993), a user in our analogy could very well end up in one location wanting to’ return to “the little yellow grocery store” but be presented only with the choice to go to “some one of the places where you were last week.”

Applying the concepts of specific and general knowledge to the design of forms, we may draw upon Wileman's (1993) "ways to represent an object." These range from concrete, in which the image attempts to mimic its referent as faithfully as possible, to abstract, in which the pictorial elements are simplified and reduced until they bear little resemblance to the referent and eventually become verbal symbols, or words. An abstract pictorial representation *must* be used for general knowledge, *since* "knowing
that” has no visual or physical presence of its own from which to draw the concrete representation. Abstract pictorial representations may also be used for specific knowledge, but in the case of “knowing that one” the designer does have another choice -- concrete pictorial representation. The designer may represent the function, “return to the little yellow grocery store,” as a concrete image of the little yellow grocery store.

## Concrete versus Abstract Representations for Backward Navigation

It may be that the conscientious attempts many designers make to be consistent in creating the forms of navigation buttons for hypertext lead them to make inconsistent choices in the forms of buttons for specific navigation because it is difficult to match a specific function like “Go back to that menu that I saw just after I got into this section,” with an abstract, or general, form like an arrow.

There is precedence both for questioning consistency in the interface (Grudin, 1989) and for using concrete pictorial representations as navigational aids in hypertext, called *miniatures* (Nielsen, 1990). In addition several principles of visual perception argue for the possibility that concrete pictorial representations will offer usability advantages for navigation. Humans are known to have impressive recall over extended periods of time for images they have seen previously (Paivio, 1971). We are likewise able to recognize objects even when they have undergone considerable transformation (Winn, 1993), although this facility is specifically described for transformation of viewing angle rather than for reduction in overall size of the image. Since the miniaturization of an image involves no angle transformation, recognition may be expected to be high until the resolution of the image deteriorates significantly. If recognition and recall of the destination screen is relatively easy, we might expect users to call on their “landmark” knowledge to select the appropriate concrete pictorial representation for backward navigation more effectively than they could interpret an abstract representation for the same navigation.

We decided to conduct a second, preliminary study to test the merits of pursuing our line of reasoning regarding concrete and abstract representations. This second study was designed to discover whether users of hypertext would make fewer errors in selecting navigation buttons when those buttons contained concrete representations, or miniatures, than when they contained abstract representations -- in this case arrows.

## Methodology

### *Instrument*

A paper instrument consisting of a series of screens from a hypertext program was created. Although the program did not actually exist, the researchers drew up a program structure diagram and created simulated screens to represent the main menu, two subsection menus, and content screens from the two subsections.
Navigation buttons representing the functions "quit," "more information," "help," "main menu," "go back," "previous," and "next" were included on each screen. Two versions of the instrument were prepared, Instrument A and Instrument B. In Instrument A every navigation button displayed abstract pictorial representations. In Instrument B concrete representations (miniature versions of the destination screens) were substituted for the "main menu" and "go back" arrows on those buttons. Since we hoped to observe the effect of concrete versus abstract pictorial representation without the demonstrated error reduction resulting from the inclusion of text labels (Boling, et al., 1996; King, et al., 1996), the navigation buttons in both Instruments A and B contained pictorial representations only (see Table 2).

<table><caption>**Table 2:** Summary of functions, functional definitions, and the concrete and abstract pictorial representations used on instruments A and B.</caption><thead><tr><th>Form</th><th>Functional Definition</th><th>Concrete Representation (instrument A)</th><th>Abstract Representation (instrument B)</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>quit</td><td>leave the program</td><td>(same as instrument B)</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>more information</td><td>view a display with more detail regarding the information the user is seeing now, including content-related help</td><td>(same as instrument B)</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>help</td><td>view instructions for using the program itself (non-content-related help)</td><td>(same as instrument B)</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>main menu</td><td>return from the current display to the primary menu display of the program</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>go back</td><td>return from the current location to the primary menu display of the current section</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>previous</td><td>return to the most recent display viewed</td><td>(same as instrument B)</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>next</td><td>advance to the next designated display in the program sequence</td><td>(same as instrument B)</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>
One screen was depicted on each of 28 pages of the instrument with text below describing the user's context, a specific task to be completed, an the instruction to circle the part of the screen that would help perform that task. For example, "You're tired of reading this section, 'Family History.' You would like to read another section, 'Early Years.' Circle the part of the screen that you would click in order to return to the list of sections" (see Figure 3).

<figure><img src="image_4.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 3:** Diagram of the layout for each page of the instrument used in the concrete versus abstract buttons study.</figcaption></figure>

Tasks requiring the use of all navigation buttons were included in the instrument, although we intended to measure only errors in backward navigation tasks (those requiring selection of the "main menu" or "go back" buttons). The additional tasks were included so that subjects would not begin to focus on backward navigation and so that they had a chance to see certain screens before they were asked to try and navigate back to those screens. Through an error in assembling the instrument packets, 3 out of the 16 backward navigation tasks appeared in the packets *before* the subjects saw the screens to which they were
navigating. These tasks were not included in the final count of backward navigation data.

A paper instrument was selected over a "live," computer-based hypertext program in order to reduce the potential confounding effects of subjects getting lost when they made incorrect choices of navigation buttons (McNight, Dillon & Richardson, 1993), and to ensure that data could be collected on a sufficient number of controlled backward navigation instances. A simulated program was used to ensure that our subjects would be exposed to a program they had never seen, and would, therefore, be attempting to perceive the functions of buttons without prior learning in that context.

## Subjects and Procedure

A convenience sample of 35 first-year graduate students of instructional technology was used in the study. Subjects completed the instruments before a regular class session on a voluntary basis. The instrument packets were presorted to ensure that every other student sitting side by side would receive either Instrument A or Instrument B. Based on the reported length of time taken by subjects to complete a similar instrument in the King study (1996), subjects were given 20 minutes to complete all the tasks. All but three subjects completed the instrument within 20 minutes.

Researchers tabulated errors for each instrument and then grouped the errors according to the type of task. Three team members checked the tabulations independently. Three instruments were discarded because they were incomplete.

## Results

Mean number of errors in identifying navigation buttons for each of the treatment groups are reported in Table 3.

<table><caption>**Table 3:** Mean number of errors in backward navigation for Group A and Group B.</caption><thead><tr><th>Group</th><th>Mean</th><th>Standard<br>Deviation</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Group A - abstract<br>pictorial representations (arrows): n =<br>18</td><td>9.61</td><td>3.759</td></tr><tr><td>Group B - concrete<br>pictorial representations<br>(miniatures): n = 14</td><td>6.92</td><td>4.340</td></tr></tbody></table>
A one-tailed t test revealed a significant difference between Group A and Group B (t = 1.838, p. < .05), with the subjects who saw concrete representations (miniatures) making significantly fewer errors in identifying buttons for backward navigation than subjects who saw abstract representations (arrows).

## Limitations of the Study

The sampling technique used in this study is sufficient only for a preliminary exploration of the issues. Although the results of the study are encouraging enough to warrant further research, they must be verified by sampling from a more general population.

The process of printing out color screen images in black and white, then photocopying them into the paper instrument packets resulted in some loss of fidelity between the miniature representations on the navigation buttons and the larger images on the target screens. The process also caused buttons which were "grayed out," indicating that they were unavailable at the moment, to appear darker than the other buttons rather than lighter. It is unclear what effect, if any, these visual distortions may have had on subjects' performance. Since the problems affected Instrument B (miniatures) more than Instrument A (arrows), and subjects still made fewer errors with Instrument B, we speculate that the problems did not affect our results unduly. However, repetition of the study with a higher-fidelity instrument is called for.

We did not make observations to discover whether or not subjects turned the pages of the instrument back (Group B) to check the image on a previous page before deciding which miniature image represented the right choice. While observation of such checking would provide inferential support for the "landmark navigation" premise on which our study is based, with an electronic instrument no such checking would be possible and actual error rates for the concrete representation condition might differ.

## Discussion

Since the results of our second study were significant in spite of its limitations, we believe there is reason to investigate the use of concrete representation in hypertext navigation more closely. Such an investigation would include a larger and more precise version of this study, as well as studies focusing on the design issues and alternatives for such concrete representations.

### Implication of the Use of Miniatures for the Design of Screen Displays

Given the current and continuing size and resolution limitations of computer displays, screen images used for representing navigation functions must be reduced to as little as 100th or less of their original size in order to be useful as buttons. The
problems of creating miniature images that are simultaneously discriminable one
from another and sufficiently like the original to be recognized easily are known to
designers (Nielsen, 1995; Rubens, 1989), and faced the researchers in this study as
well. The primary implication for designers of using miniatures for navigation is that
the original screens, particularly "landmarks" screens, will have to be designed with
respect to the properties they will exhibit in miniature as well as those they exhibit at
full size.

For this study we reduced the entire screen display for use on a given
button. An alternative strategy would be to choose a small portion of the original
display, probably an easily recognized visual element, and reproduce it full-size
on the navigation button. Providing such visual elements were not simply
symbols (which would move them into the abstract, or general knowledge,
category of representations), such elements might take advantage of users'
"landmark" knowledge to facilitate navigation without the drawbacks associated
with creating viable miniatures of full screens.

*Interaction of Concrete Representation and Text Labels on Navigation Buttons*

The use of text labels has been shown to improve users' performance in all
navigation functions, including backward navigation (Boling, et al., 1996; King,
et al., 1996). The combination of miniature screen representations and text
labels might yield greater improvements than the use of either on alone, or the
use of text labels with abstract pictorial representations.

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Acknowledgments

The authors appreciate the assistance of Lindsay Bennion, Robert Carteaux, Jr., and Paula Holder in carrying out these studies.

AUTHOR

Elizabeth Boling is an Assistant Professor, Instructional Systems Technology; Kira S. King is a Ph.D. candidate; Yu-Chen Hsu is a graduate student; Jiunde Lee is a graduate student; and Ted Frick is an Associate Professor. All are at Indiana University; Bloomington, Indiana. Dale Avers is an Instructor in the physical Therapy Program, Mount St. Mary's College. Email contact: eboling@indiana.edu
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