HTML%20for%20Breakfast:%20Science%20on%20the%20Web

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HTML for Breakfast Science on the Web

• Patrick R. Michaud
• Texas AM University-Corpus Christi
• pmichaud_at_sci.tamucc.edu

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Research History

• 1990 A Methodology for the Objective Evaluation
  of Hypermedia Environments
• (Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Southwestern
  Louisiana)
• 1991 Release of World Wide Web
• (T. Berners-Lee, CERN)
• 1993 Release of NCSA Mosaic
• (Mark Andreesen, UIUC)
• 1994 CBI/TAMU-CC sets up web site

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Informal Research Questions (1994)

• How effective is HTML and the World Wide Web for
  publishing scientific research results?
• How quickly will knowledge of a web page spread
  throughout the Internet?

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Research Challenges

• Choice of publication topic
• Computer Science?
• Environmental Studies?
• HTML/WWW?
• Topic should be relevant to wide audience, yet
  have some scientific basis for publication

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• Barry 1993 identifies an important hazardous
  consumer product that is largely unregulated and
  freely available to small children

Kellogg's Strawberry Pop-Tarts
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Strawberry Pop-Tart Blow-Torches

• In August 1994 I performed some follow-up
  research to Barry 1993 and published the
  results on the web. The resulting publication is
  available at
• http//www.sci.tamucc.edu/pmichaud/toast/

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Observations

• Although HTML was a fairly primitive language in
  1994, it was effective in communicating results
• In Partridge 1995, the author solicited user
  opinions of SPTBT and other contemporary web
  sites.
• Participants rated site as "best organized" and
  "best use of graphics"
• (Interestingly, participants rated site as least
  useful.)

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Observations

• Even though the site was not advertised, it was
  linked rapidly into the web and public media

Number of hits to /pmichaud/toast/