Textured agreements

Flowcharts, Swimlanes, and Timelines

“…This study shows that using diagrams (flowcharts, swimlanes, and timelines) and icons significantly improved the comprehension accuracy and answering speed of the civil servants who participated in the study. These results converge with those of previous studies on visual alternatives to prose in instructions (see, e.g., Michael & Hartley, 1991), especially in regard to contract documents (e.g., Kay & Terry, 2010; Mamula & Hagel, 2015). The effectiveness of the diagrams employed in the JYSE Visual Guide supports cognitive load theory, which predicts that presenting information in ways that support reading, inference making, and interpretation (Sweller, 1994) can reduce “extrinsic” cognitive load—a cause of comprehension errors and slow reading (Jarrett et al, 2010).…”

“…While they often show examples and redesigns, they do not offer an empirical quantification of the benefits of visual alternatives to prose. Few studies sought to experimentally evaluate readers’ comprehension, and while the results of these studies seem encouraging, their validity is affected by methodological limitations: in one study, only a small part of the contract included and tested diagrams (Mamula & Hagel, 2015); in another, the participants were university students, and the visual version of the contract used in the experiment was a mock-up created just for the study (Passera, 2015); another study used explanatory diagrams, but the sample of participants was very small, and the statistical analysis was not thorough (Passera, 2012); and in another, the main finding was that visual elements increase the time spent reading software license agreements, but the increased comprehension of the agreement seemed to be a direct function of the increased reading time (Kay & Terry, 2010). Also, in these studies, the terms visualization and design are used to refer to quite different expressions of visual language: layout and overall document design (Waller et al, 2016), layout and icons (Passera, 2015), explanatory diagrams (Passera, 2012), illustrations and vignettes (Kay & Terry, 2010), and multimodal genres such as comics (Haapio et al, 2016).…”

“…Jansen & Steehouder, 2001; Schriver, 2015). A novel body of research on “contract visualization”—that is, the use in contract documents of diagrams, systems of icons, visually structured layouts, comics, and vignettes (e.g., Haapio, Plewe, & de Rooy, 2016; Kay & Terry, 2010; Mamula & Hagel, 2015; Passera, Kankaanranta, & Louhiala-Salminen, 2017; Passera, Smedlund, & Liinasuo, 2016; Waller, Waller, Haapio, Crag, & Morriseau, 2016)—has reported initial results on using visual explanations in legal–bureaucratic documents. But more rigorously collected and analyzed empirical evidence is needed.…”

Exploring solutions to the privacy paradox in the context of e-assessment: informed consent revisited

“…Taking into consideration that information provided in an informed consent procedure can be quite complex, plain language is a key requirement for making consent truly informed (Kay and Terry 2010;Sand et al 2010;Steinfeld 2016). Some authors believe that having a dialogue is conditional for effective communication of informed consent (Coles-Kemp and Kani-Zabihi 2010; Lie and Witteveen 2017).…”

Enhancing Game-Based Learning Through Infographics in the Context of Smart Home Security

“…Infographics use text and illustrations or images to inspire readers to better remember the information presented [45]. Following a study by Kay and Terry [39], they argued that inclusion could be achieved through the use of iconic symbols, short facts and captions as a means of highlighting relevant important information in complex documents. Similarly, Knijnenburg and Cherry [40] suggested using comics as a more inviting, understandable and engaging medium to improve the communication of privacy notices.…”