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1 – 10 of over 14000Inese Parkova, Ivars Parkovs and Ausma Vilumsone
Flexible light-emitting textile display is designed with floats for electronic elements covering and electronic contacts insulation what at the same time provides an opportunity…
Abstract
Purpose
Flexible light-emitting textile display is designed with floats for electronic elements covering and electronic contacts insulation what at the same time provides an opportunity to develop aesthetic design of the display in the single piece construction of material. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
Display consists of interwoven electrically conductive yarns, non-conductive yarns and SMD LEDs connected to conductive yarns. Industrial jacquard weaving machine have been used, weave patterns were designed in PC-Edit software.
Findings
Weave can be used as a tool to build and evolve electrotextile. Exploring weaving techniques and perceiving electronic circuit as a weave pattern, new approaches can be developed in electrotextile design field.
Research limitations/implications
Connections of electronic elements and conductive textile materials still is actual problem what should be explored in further research.
Practical implications
Flexible light emitting textile display can be used as output interface integrated into communication clothing by representing different animated images directly on clothing. Display also can be used for accessories, room and auto interior etc. applications.
Originality/value
Paper describes method of light source integration directly into textile structure, combining functional and visual design of textile display.
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Mehmet Bulent Durmusoglu and Canan Aglan
The inherent variability on process times and demand are the factors that prevent the efficient application of lean philosophy in multi-project product development (PD…
Abstract
Purpose
The inherent variability on process times and demand are the factors that prevent the efficient application of lean philosophy in multi-project product development (PD) environments. Considering this variability, a hybrid push–pull project control system is developed, and value stream costing (VSC) analysis is performed to reflect the relation between project lead time, capacity and project cost. The assessment of the push/pull project control on lead time improvement and long-term savings on capacity have been aimed with the proposed complete design structure.
Design/methodology/approach
In a team-based structure, formed through clustering, push control techniques for planning tasks within cross-functional teams and pull control techniques for planning tasks between cross-functional teams are developed. The final step evaluates the proposed structure through VSC and long-term savings have been pointed out, especially in terms of freed-up capacity. For the validation of the proposed methodology, an office furniture manufacturing firm’s PD department has been considered and the performance of the hybrid system has been observed through simulation experiments and based on the simulation results, the lean system is evaluated by VSC.
Findings
The results of simulation experiments show a superior performance of the proposed hybrid push/pull project control mechanism under different settings of cycle time between projects or shortly project cycle time, dispatching rules within teams and variability levels. The results of the Box-Score (tool to apply VSC) indicate increased capacity in the long term to add extra projects during the planning period with the same project lead time and without additional cost.
Research limitations/implications
Although extensive simulation experiments have been performed to quantify the effect of project control structure and positive results have been reported on lead time and cost, the proposed design structure has not been tested in all existing PD environments.
Originality/value
To the best of authors’ knowledge, the quantification of the effect of hybrid project control with VSC is the first attempt to be applied in lean PD projects.
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As the size of the population is growing and the capacity of the planet Earth is limited, human beings are searching for sustainable and technology-enabled solutions to support…
Abstract
As the size of the population is growing and the capacity of the planet Earth is limited, human beings are searching for sustainable and technology-enabled solutions to support society, ecology and economy. One of the solutions has been developing smart sustainable cities. Smart sustainable cities are cities as systems, where their infrastructure, different subsystems and different functional domains are virtually connected to the information and communication technologies (ICT) and internet via sensors and devices and the Internet of Things (IoT), to collect and process real-time Big Data and make efficient, effective and sustainable solutions for a democratic and liveable city for its various stakeholders. This chapter explores the concepts and practices of sustainable smart cities across the globe and explores the use of technologies such as IoT, Blockchain technology and Cloud computing, etc. their challenges and then presents a view on business models for sustainable smart cities.
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The purpose of this chapter is to explore the differences in consumers’ willingness to pay for different types of design attributes due to different levels of specific…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this chapter is to explore the differences in consumers’ willingness to pay for different types of design attributes due to different levels of specific anticipatory emotions evoked by them. The research aims to show how firms can benefit by leveraging the findings that different types of design attributes – that is, functionality, aesthetics, and environmental sustainability – affect profit margin per unit differently. Further, the chapter claims that design is a core competency that can pay dividends in terms of profit margins for firms. It is important for firms to develop expertise in understanding and leveraging relationships between the types of design attributes, specific emotions, and consumers’ willingness to pay.
Methodology/approach
The chapter uses the product categories of cell phones and laptop computers in the three experiments to test the hypothesized relationships between design attributes (functionality, aesthetics, and environmental sustainability), specific emotions, and willingness to pay.
Findings
The research finds that different attributes of design – functionality, aesthetics, and sustainability – evoke different types of emotions and different levels of willingness to pay.
Research limitations/implications
The data were primarily collected via experiments in a behavioral laboratory.
Practical implications
Firms can leverage different attributes of design to position and price products according to emotional requirements of the target customer segment to match their willingness to pay and maximize profit margin per unit.
Originality/value
The research specifically measures willingness to pay in joint presentation – independent evaluation scenarios to assess differences in how functionality, aesthetics, and sustainability impact willingness to pay.
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Craig Standing and Geoffrey G. Roy
Developing macro queries in software systems is a complex task for many users. Geographical information systems (GIS) are large software systems that require much effort to…
Abstract
Developing macro queries in software systems is a complex task for many users. Geographical information systems (GIS) are large software systems that require much effort to develop expertise in. A functional programming design approach has a number of distinct strengths that can be represented in a graphical query language interface to aid users in macro query development. A visual functional query language (VFQL) for Geographical Information Systems is presented and its strengths and weaknesses discussed. The system is based on a visual functional programming design approach. This offers a consistent, non‐procedural, strongly typed environment where users can develop their own higher order functions. The approach integrates functional programming, visual programming and knowledge and rules. VFQL’s effectiveness is evaluated compared with a text based command language for GIS macro query development. The results of an experiment indicate that users could develop solutions to simpler tasks more quickly and with fewer errors than a comparative text based command language. On more complex tasks there was no significant difference. From this we deduce that VFQL demonstrates certain design features to help the development of macros or small programs for users but that the complexity of the problem in difficult tasks is likely to be the most important determinant of the error rate and time to complete the task.
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Klaus-Peter Wiedmann, Janina Haase, Jannick Bettels and Christian Reuschenbach
Industrial markets are generally associated with objective decision-making in which rational and functional product benefits are central. Recently, however, subjective aspects of…
Abstract
Purpose
Industrial markets are generally associated with objective decision-making in which rational and functional product benefits are central. Recently, however, subjective aspects of decision-making, such as visual appeal, are attracting research attention. The purpose of this paper is to examine, first, the effect of product color as a non-functional design element on attitude toward the product and, second, the underlying causal relationships of this effect in the context of industrial products.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted an online quasi-experiment in the dental market with a sample of 300 dentists. The product stimulus was a picture of a treatment chair that varied in color. An analysis of variance tested the effect of product color on attitude. Structural equation modeling investigated the underlying effects of product evaluation.
Findings
The results indicate that product color affects attitude toward the product. Further, the authors find an insightful causal chain of direct and indirect effects on attitude. The most effective path runs via visual appeal and aesthetics, while haptics and functionality are of minor importance.
Originality/value
This paper is one of the first to provide empirical evidence for the effect of non-functional design elements such as product color on the evaluation of an industrial product. The results provide valuable insights into the effects on attitude in this context and stress the great importance of visual appeal and aesthetics in the product evaluation process.
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This research aims to investigate the impact of incorporating product shadows in brand advertising on consumer brand evaluations.
Abstract
Purpose
This research aims to investigate the impact of incorporating product shadows in brand advertising on consumer brand evaluations.
Design/methodology/approach
Three studies were designed using experimental approach to demonstrate how the presence of a product’s cast shadow in a brand’s promotional frame implicitly influences brand evaluations differently for experiential vs functional brands.
Findings
The presence of a product’s cast shadow in a visual frame implicitly complements abstract processing of an experiential brand but hurts a functional brand’s concrete gestalt by acting as visual noise, thereby improving an experiential brand’s overall evaluation in comparison to a functional brand.
Research limitations/implications
Current findings highlight the importance of using appropriate visual elements (especially subtle elements such as product shadows) to ensure communication consistency between the firm-formulated brand concept and the consumer-perceived brand image.
Practical implications
Experiential (vs functional) brand images are harder to build and maintain. Current findings show that a mere presence of the product’s shadow in an experiential (vs functional) brand’s ad frame reinforces the experiential brand image by acting as a consistent element in the experiential brand’s ad frame that enhances the overall ease of product evaluation. Hence, product shadows should be used as strategic tools by brand managers, rather than a random ad-execution choice.
Originality/value
This research makes an initial attempt to explore the relationship between product shadows and consumer brand perceptions. It provides a deeper understanding of the underlying process (based on associative networks memory model, construal level theory and processing fluency model) that influence specific brand perceptions (experiential vs functional) when a product is showcased with its shadow in a promotional frame.
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Charlotte Sullivan, Helen Lynch and Amanda Kirby
As occupational therapists embrace evidence-informed and occupation-centred practice, the use of standardised visual perceptual tests remains a strong feature of typical…
Abstract
Purpose
As occupational therapists embrace evidence-informed and occupation-centred practice, the use of standardised visual perceptual tests remains a strong feature of typical paediatric practice. Yet, the research evidence for the use of such tools is inconclusive at best. This study compared the results of the Test of Visual Perceptual Skills (TVPS) with a checklist of reported functional difficulties in 30 children attending occupational therapy. The purpose of this paper was to determine the usefulness of visual perceptual testing in relation to occupation-centred practice.
Design/methodology/approach
A descriptive correlational study design was used. Participants were 30 primary school-age children who were on a paediatric occupational therapy caseload. An additional 30 typically developing children participated in the development of the checklist.
Findings
Correlations were found between reported functional visual skill difficulties and two subtests of the TVPS (visual memory and visual discrimination). No correlation was found between the reported functional difficulties and any of the other five subtests of the TVPS or the total score.
Originality/value
Results highlight the weak relationship that existed in this study between standardised measures of visual perception, as measured by the TVPS, and functional difficulties. Therapists are cautioned to explore both the evidence base for continued use of standardised visual perceptual measures to inform occupation-centred practice and the need to embrace a more comprehensive person-centred approach to visual perceptual assessment.
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Seyed Morteza Hosseini, Shahin Heidari, Shady Attia, Julian Wang and Georgios Triantafyllidis
This study aims to develop a methodology that extracts an architectural concept from a biological analogy that integrates forms and kinetic behavior to identify whether complex…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to develop a methodology that extracts an architectural concept from a biological analogy that integrates forms and kinetic behavior to identify whether complex forms work better or simple forms with proper kinetic behavior for improving visual comfort and daylight performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The research employs a transdisciplinary approach using several methods consisting of a biomimetic functional-morphological approach, kinetic design strategy, case study comparison using algorithmic workflow and parametric simulation and inverse design, to develop an interactive kinetic façade with optimized daylight performance.
Findings
A key development is the introduction of a periodic interactive region (PIR), which draws inspiration from the butterfly wings' nanostructure. These findings challenge conventional perspectives on façade complexity, highlighting the efficacy of simpler shapes paired with appropriate kinetic behavior for improving visual comfort. The results show the façade with a simpler “Bookshelf” shape integrated with a tapered shape of the periodic interactive region, outperforms its more complex counterpart (Hyperbolic Paraboloid component) in terms of daylight performance and glare control, especially in southern orientations, ensuring occupant visual comfort by keeping cases in the imperceptible range while also delivering sufficient average spatial Daylight Autonomy of 89.07%, Useful Daylight Illuminance of 94.53% and Exceeded Useful Daylight Illuminance of 5.11%.
Originality/value
The investigation of kinetic façade studies reveals that precedent literature mostly focused on engineering and building physics aspects, leaving the architectural aspect underutilized during the development phase. Recent studies applied a biomimetic approach for involving the architectural elements besides the other aspects. While the biomimetic method has proven effective in meeting occupants' visual comfort needs, its emphasis has been primarily on the complex form which is difficult to apply within the kinetic façade development. This study can address two gaps: (1) the lack of an architectural aspect in the kinetic façade design specifically in the development of conceptual form and kinetic behavior dimensions and (2) exchanging the superficial biomimetic considerations with an in-depth investigation.
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Ksenia Kirillova and Janelle Chan
This paper aims to investigate the effect of hotel aesthetics as represented in online spaces (e.g. online travel agency website) in prospective guests’ evaluation of expected…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the effect of hotel aesthetics as represented in online spaces (e.g. online travel agency website) in prospective guests’ evaluation of expected service quality and booking intentions, as well as the interplay between aesthetic and functional values as related to those outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
A scenario-based experimental design is conducted with 203 Chinese respondents. A between-subject two-way multivariate analysis of covariance (high vs low aesthetic value; high vs low functional value), which also controlled for respondents’ individual tendency to appreciate beauty, is used.
Findings
Results show that high aesthetic value hotels are more likely to be booked and perceived as able to deliver better services in SERVQUAL dimensions of tangibles, reliability and assurance. There are no significant effects for responsiveness and empathy. Given the presence of the aesthetic effect, hotel functional value has no impact on the outcome variables.
Practical implications
Hotel managers are recommended to employ professional photographer-artists who are aware of the aesthetic value of hotels and can translate this value into information technology-mediated spaces. Such professionals should be able to create a composition that balances the elements of classic (e.g. symmetry vs asymmetry) and expressive (e.g. color) aesthetics.
Originality/value
This research brings out a number of insights from the product experience literature in the hospitality context and points to the limitations of the product visual attractiveness in engendering positive service quality evaluation.
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