Filed under: Uncategorized
By Todd Pendergast
Raleigh, NC – Imagine a wave of millions of plastic toys on their way–not to the store shelves–but back to the factory. A rash of recent recalls of unsafe products has caused many parents to lose faith in Chinese-made toys and kids products.
On August 1, nearly 1 million Chinese-made Fisher-Price toys were recalled because they contained lead paint. Two weeks later, their parent company, Mattel, ordered a recall of nearly 10 million more faulty toys. The list of defective products keeps growing, and this week includes the largest crib recall in history. Thursday’s recall of 425,000 play yards by Kolcraft Enterprises Inc. is the second major recall of a children’s nursery product in a week. On Sept. 21, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalled a million Graco brand cribs by Simplicity Inc. due to design and hardware defects.
On September 11, U.S. and Chinese product safety agencies announced an agreement to improve the safety of imported toys and other consumer products. Companies have implemented numerous product recalls, but are industry and government doing enough to keep kids safe? For some local families, the answer is no. “I look at my child’s playroom filled with neon plastic toys, and a list of recalls three pages long, and what are the chances that we are going to find all of these and say, we’ve got that,” said Kelly Hollis of Raleigh. Kelly and her husband Jim have an infant and a four year old. They are concerned about the effectiveness of these recalls. “There are probably many things that slip through the cracks,” added Kelly.
Are parents taking action?
Kelly said she no longer shops at consignment stores or accepts toys from friends, “because you really don’t know what the recalls were four years ago.” She mentioned that she’s been shopping at special boutique shops that carry natural wood toys. “They cost more, but are more likely to be safe,” she added.
However, Kathy Nilsson, another mother from Raleigh, doesn’t think there’s much she can do about it. “If you go to a store, and everything your kid wants is made in China, what can you do?” asks Kathy. “Besides, even if the product is made here, you wonder where they get their paint,” she added.
Are companies and the government taking enough action?
“I’m not sure,” said Kathy, who usually learns about recalls from her mother. “I am glad they are getting the information out there, but I wish they would do more on the front end. I think there should be more regulation and oversight in the first place,” added Kelly. “The company (RC2 Corporation) was very responsive and provided good communication after we sent our Thomas trains back, but I think it’s the government’s responsibility to make sure these imports are meeting our safety standards. It’s appalling that Mattel apologized to the Chinese during their crisis,” said Kelly.
How to stay informed
The most direct way to get information on product recalls is through the CPSC website. You may choose to visit the site regularly, or you may want to take advantage of the website’s email alerts and RSS feeds. Five simple steps will help you learn if you have products affected by a recall:
- Visit the Consumer Product Safety Commission website.
- Click on Recalls and Product Safety News.
- Search by manufacturer, date or product type
- Scan the list of recalled products and look for products in your home. Check your model numbers against the ones listed to see if your product is included.
- If you do have a recalled product, read all the information and follow the instructions for remedy and consumer contact.
The rash of recalls has focussed the public’s attention, but whether this will lead to better safety regulations and safer products is an open question.
“I imagine that the problems were always there, but this is the ripple effect from all the exposure in the news,” said Kelly. Kathy added, “Inspectors are paying more attention now, so China is under the magnifying glass.” “It’s a symptom of our non-regulated world, and now I don’t trust any of the toys.”
News sources:
“On August 1, nearly 1 million Chinese-made Fisher-Price toys were recalled…”
Associated Press. (http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070801/toy_recall.html?.v=12)
“Two weeks later, their parent company, Mattel, ordered a recall of nearly 10 million more…”
The Associated Press. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20254745/)
CNN.com. (http://money.cnn.com/2007/08/14/news/companies/mattel/index.htm)
“Thursday’s recall of 425,000 play yards by Kolcraft Enterprises…”
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. (http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07315.html)
On Sept. 21, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalled a million Graco brand…”
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. (http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07307.html)
“On September 11, U.S. and Chinese product safety agencies announced an agreement to improve the safety of imported toys and other consumer products.”
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. (http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07305.html)
“It’s appalling that Mattel apologized to the Chinese during their crisis.”
Quote by Kelly Hollis confirmed by the Canadian Press. (http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5iCS6azNXZQiyubu8CXeodKqNMyzw).
Interview sources:
Kelly and Jim Hollis, parents from Raleigh, NC.
Kathy Nilsson, mother from Raleigh, NC.
Jennifer Barwick, mother from Raleigh, NC.
Alicia Gilsenan, mother from Cary, NC.
Interview questions:
Are you aware of the recent wave of recalls of child products?
Are you concerned about the recalls?
Have you changed your buying habits as a result?
Do you check to see where products are made?
How do you keep up with recalls?
How do you feel about how companies are handling the recalls?
How do you feel about how the government is handling it? Why is there a sudden outbreak of these problems?
Audience
Citizens from the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina.
Filed under: Uncategorized
By Todd Pendergast
PittsburghTrib.com is a website version of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review newspaper. The site includes news from wire services and local writers and other typical large newspaper content. The amount and variety of web site content makes for a tough task as Jay Small explains, “If it’s your job to design the homepage for a newspaper website, you already deserve sympathy.”
My critique of PittsburghTrib.com will focus on its home page, its overall organization, its use of visuals and its writing style. Determining the main goals of a site of this scale is difficult, because the site tries to do so many things. This appears to be the source of the site’s usability issues, as it is crowded with all kinds of content for many types of audiences.
Site Organization
The web site suffers from a general lack of identity and hierarchy that makes it disorienting for new and returning visitors. The first thing that came to mind as I used the site, is Patrick Lynch and Sarah Horton’s work that suggests, “pages should direct the user’s attention, prioritize information and make the user’s interactions with a web site more enjoyable and more efficient.” PittsburghTrib.com discourages visitors by emphasizing too many elements that compete for their attention. The site is an example of “clown’s pants,” which is Lynch and Horton’s metaphor for sites “where everything is garish and in the end nothing is emphasized.”
The most dominant item on the home page is the flashing ad at the top of the page, which seemed to have more emphasis than the masthead, the navigation or any other element. Credibility research concludes that visitor’s don’t like websites that seem too commercial in their purpose. This ad, multiple newspapers’ logos, and the “Trib Total Media” navigator made me spend considerable time trying to figure out where I was and where the main navigator might be. I would suggest consolidating this information into a less conspicuous menu and providing clarity about the identity and purpose of the site.
Poor organization and a general lack of emphasis on the PittsburghTrib home page:
Page Layout
The site incorporates a common three column layout that appears to be designed for the 600 x 350 screen standard. Given the amount of content this site provides, I would explore using the wider 750 x 400 standard. This would increase the column width for articles, lessening the need for long vertical scrolling, and creating some much needed white space.
An example of a wider page layout and article width on http://www.newsobserver.com
Navigation
The site’s navigation scheme was confusing, hard to find and violates many of the findings of the Eye Track 3 study. The main navigation was not located near the hotspots identified by the study. There is a horizontal navigator above the large ad, and then there is a main navigator on the left that was almost completely below the fold on a typical 1024 by 768 pixel monitor.
The site navigation could also be improved by integrating the findings of Steve Krug’s usability studies. Visitors’ use of the site would be encouraged by anticipating their needs:
- Where am I? I would suggest that the navigator highlight the link of the current page or that the page incorporate a page heading.
- Where do I begin? Where did they put it? I would suggest emphasizing the navigator by moving it to a more central position that is not below the fold. A horizontal navigation scheme that clusters all navigation tools in the same general area of the page could make the navigation more easily adaptable to visitors.
- What’s most important here? A hierarchy needs to be developed that features dominant elements to help direct the visitor’s attention. This can be done by eliminating some of the distracting graphics and icons.
Content
PittsburghTrib.com’s use of visuals discourages visitors from exploring the site. There is a general lack of identity and too many variations in color, size and style of icons and fonts. I would suggest creating and adhering to a graphic identity guide for standard usage. There are too many flashing icons and ads, which tend to reduce credibility and discourage the use of the site. There are several flashing mug shots of writers, but the pictures are tiny and Jakob Nielsen’s research suggests that mug shots are usually ignored. These mug shots are in one of Eye Track 3’s biggest hot spots, so I would move these to a less prominent position unless their content has been deemed critical.
Advertisements are probably a necessity for this site, but credibility and user experience by announcing where ads begin. I would suggest they remove the “click here for discount fares” ad that is embedded in the weather icon. I tried to click on the weather icon but it isn’t linked, so I clicked on the ad by mistake. Deceptive tactics like these may decrease the credibility of the website and discourage repeat visitors.
Deceptive advertisement embedded in navigation icon:
Writing Style
The site features articles from several major wire services and from local journalists. In general the writers make good use of the inverted pyramid model in their articles. However, there wasn’t much to facilitate the reader’s scanning, and it didn’t cater to varying interest levels. I would suggest increased use of Nathan Wallace’s multi-level writing model. For example, the site employs paragraph summaries, but I would suggest displaying them in bold on the same line as the blurbs, as is suggested by the Eye Track 3 findings. I also found no use of bold face for major points and little use of bulleted lists to aid in scanning. The local writers could be encouraged to use these in their articles.
A Strategy for Change
I realize that many of my suggestions would be resisted by departments within the newspaper, so I would suggest that a comprehensive usability study be done. The results of this study would likely bolster the case for change if they could be linked to improved web site readership.
