ARCS An Augmented Reality Consumption Reducing App

Climate change is a “wicked” problem resulting from overconsumption. This thesis illustrates the importance of addressing sustainable consumption and aims toward helping consumers change their shopping patterns and live a sustainable life in the long run. AR may help in increasing environmental awareness of consumption, providing available information on sustainable consumption, and ways to reduce the Value-Action Gap through the design of AR Consumption Reducing System. By employing the mixed methodology of Research Through Design and Speculative Design, a prototype AR tool with an engagement system for sustainable consumption decision making named ARCS (AR Consumption Reducing App )was developed. Two personas were developed following the speculative design methodology in order to show how the prototype could lead from a probable and plausible to a preferred future

Defining new business models for the mobile device supply chain

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; in conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT, 2012.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. [104]).Mobile device companies typically manage supply and pricing for components that are used in production by their Vertical Integrators (VIs). By controlling the component pricing and supply chain, mobile device companies are able to increase their pricing and supply chain leverage over smaller component suppliers. Maintaining this leverage is crucial in ensuring that mobile device companies can mass-produce high quality products at efficient costs. However these advantages require that companies incur additional operational expenses associated with supply chain management. To reduce costs and improve lead times, OEM companies should consider having 1st Tier suppliers directly manage 2 nd Tier suppliers. This project will investigate VI capabilities to manage quality, design, and cost across the entire range of hardware used in Nokia phones. Alternatively, we will also identify specific program and commodity areas which may benefit from having a more integrated supply chain. We will also investigate how Nokia can reduce supply chain management costs to meet future business needs related to cash flow.' By analyzing Nokia's historical supply chain performance, we will develop a model to quantify Nokia's "level of control" over its supply chain. We define this "level of control" in terms of the Operational Expenses and Investment which Nokia incurs in managing its supply chain. With this model, we will assess how future business constraints will affect Nokia's supply chain control. By evaluating key parameters which influence supply chain control, we can recommend how Nokia can allocate control across its supply chain. Finally, we will apply this model to recommend how Nokia should outsource supply chain management responsibility.by Ethan Y. Xu.S.M.M.B.A

Experiencing the academic library in the Digital Age: From information seeking and user experience to human information interaction

The Digital Age, marked by the prevalent usage of digital technologies and explosion of digital information, has changed the way we communicate and interact with information, and prompts us to think about how it is influencing and transforming user experience with and within academic libraries. For academic libraries whilst their relationships with users may have shifted so too have their audiences. Internationalisation in higher education (HE) institutions has brought greater student diversity and requirements that should be understood to improve student experience and satisfaction. At the heart of HE, academic libraries serve a significant role in students’ learning and researching and their experience in the academic library constitutes an essential part of the learning experience. Within an interpretive paradigm, this thesis explores how international Chinese students experience the UK academic library in the Digital Age. Mixed methods research was conducted with a largely qualitative stance to explore the complexity of library user experience and to investigate library service delivery in order to enhance the future library user experience design. Library log analysis investigated what students do in the academic library through looking into their information seeking behaviour; cognitive mapping and semi-structured interviews were used to examine how students think and feel about the academic library by probing into their user experience. Demonstrating the complexity and multi-layered characteristics of context, this thesis proposed separating contexts to analyse and understand students’ library experience in distinct contexts. The findings developed an original framework theory of ‘context-perception-sense-making’ to depict a holistic picture of students’ library experience, identifying two vital elements, context and perception, which trigger, shape and alter students’ library experience. This thesis brings together the essential components of information seeking behaviour and user experience into the context of the academic library and defines students’ relationships with and within the library in new ways

Leveraging contextual-cognitive relationships into mobile commerce systems

A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of PhilosophyMobile smart devices are becoming increasingly important within the on-line purchasing cycle. Thus the requirement for mobile commerce systems to become truly context-aware remains paramount if they are to be effective within the varied situations that mobile users encounter. Where traditionally a recommender system will focus upon the user – item relationship, i.e. what to recommend, in this thesis it is proposed that due to the complexity of mobile user situational profiles the how and when must also be considered for recommendations to be effective. Though non-trivial, it should be, through the understanding of a user’s ability to complete certain cognitive processes, possible to determine the likelihood of engagement and therefore the success of the recommendation. This research undertakes an investigation into physical and modal contexts and presents findings as to their relationships with cognitive processes. Through the introduction of the novel concept, disruptive contexts, situational contexts, including noise, distractions and user activity, are identified as having significant effects upon the relationship between user affective state and cognitive capability. Experimental results demonstrate that by understanding specific cognitive capabilities, e.g. a user’s perception of advert content and user levels of purchase-decision involvement, a system can determine potential user engagement and therefore improve the effectiveness of recommender systems’ performance. A quantitative approach is followed with a reliance upon statistical measures to inform the development, and subsequent validation, of a contextual-cognitive model that was implemented as part of a context-aware system. The development of SiDISense (Situational Decision Involvement Sensing system) demonstrated, through the use of smart-phone sensors and machine learning, that is was viable to classify subjectively rated contexts to then infer levels of cognitive capability and therefore likelihood of positive user engagement. Through this success in furthering the understanding of contextual-cognitive relationships there are novel and significant advances that are now viable within the area of m-commerce

'Sand in the hand': young people's relationships with commercial media in the digital age

This thesis explores young people's experiences of contemporary, commercial media. It aims to provide a holistic understanding of new and more traditional media use.The study draws its theoretical framework from the fields of communication studies, consumer behaviour, cultural studies, marketing, sociology and social psychology. Despite several studies investigating young people and new media, a richer understanding of media consumption is needed, located within an ever more commercialised landscape. Assumptions of new media participation are frequently taken for granted, with limited critical analysis of the consumer experience. Studies from a marketing perspective have focused exclusively on managerial effectiveness to the detriment of consumer realities. Moving beyond media effects, it takes an active consumer-centered approach, contextualising new media consumption within the everyday lives of young people. It compares and contrasts practitioner tactics with young people's lived experiences of new and traditional media.Multiple methods of enquiry were used, informed by an interpretive approach. The initial fieldwork consisted of 15 interviews with 'expert' agency practitioners, investigating perceptions of youth marketing and the tactics deployed. Following a pilot study, the main consumer phase explored the mediated experiences of adolescents aged 13-17. A total of 175 secondary school pupils from three diverse school settings participated. Each completed a self-completion questionnaire, a smaller sample also contributing a time-based diary. 45 pupils participated in the qualitative phase, guided by the principles of phenomenology. Photo-elicitation and psycho-drawing techniques were utilised to enrichen discussions.The new media experiences of young people in this study were indeed bound up in their everyday lives. Young people were found to have a complex range of 'newmedia' experiences, embedded in their 'in home' and 'out of home' lifestyles. Their active use of the internet, for mood enhancement, experiential learning, escapism and communication, rarely encompassed commercial motivations. Of several barriers to new media use, online practitioner tactics caused the greatest concern. For many young people, such actions were deeply de-motivating, constituting an unwanted intrusion, in contrast to the symbiotic relationship synonymous with traditional advertising. Their consequent elusiveness is epitomised through the metaphor "sand in the hand"

A Nomological Network Analysis of Innovation in Hospitality Education and Industry

The development of a theory of innovation for hospitality innovation finds heightened importance due to the COVID-19 Pandemic that has unleashed a devastating and sustained disruption on global hospitality and tourism. The problem for research is that the industry lacks a taxonomy for research on innovation in hospitality. This study addresses the gap in understanding the nomological relationship between innovation constructs and the observable manifestations of innovation in the hospitality industry. This study used an emergent basic qualitative design of a phenomenon through data collected in three phases. Two large samples of literature and a series of focus groups comprised of a sample of senior executives from the hospitality industry formed the dataset. The researcher used interpretive content analysis to analyze data. The results support the inter and multidisciplinary nature of innovation. Prior hospitality research has centered almost exclusively within the domain, creating a significant gap with innovation\u27s underlying interdisciplinary nature. The observed manifestations of innovation by the sample of senior executives yielded enormous insight into the nature of innovation in the hospitality industry and the urgent need for innovation in light of the COVID-19 Pandemic’s effect upon the industry

A business model framework for the Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) is an emerging technology with research interests transcending disciplines of computer sciences and computer engineering to agriculture, business management, civil engineering, architecture, medical sciences, social science etc. This is because of the potential expanding range of its application areas of wind mill operation and irrigation control, supply chain and logistics, manufacturing, home and office environment, healthcare, social care, etc. As it is usually the case with emerging technologies, IoT is faced with the challenge of bridging the gap between the technology development and corresponding business model design. Without a workable business model, the IoT paradigm may end up in research labs and subsequently fade away. A business model should show how lucrative it is to be in the IoT business by adding value to the customer and generating revenue for the business firm. This research is a contribution towards the goal of developing a business model for IoT, with customer/user value potential as the focal point. The comprehensive literature review carried out during this research (i) outlines the concept of business models; (ii) investigates through desk research, existing digital technology business models with focus on two (2) established digital technology firms and identified five generic components of their business models including but not limited to subscription, training, price, satisfaction, and trust, which were used for the primary investigation; (iii) investigates the IoT state-of-the-arts by elaborating on the IoT space and precursor technologies that are part of its ecosystem with the aim of describing, illustrating and developing application prototypes for three IoT scenarios of health monitoring, the use of the library and borrowing of books (a novel idea), and home environment; (iv) evaluates business model framework representation maps in current use, and specifically modified the general structure, content, and performance framework map to design an adoption framework map called a customer-focused business model framework map for IoT (CBMF4IoT). The unique approach to business model research involved conducting a user-led experiment to investigate the likelihood of IoT adoption of existing digital technology business models, as the customer value potential aspect of a business model design was the focal point of this research. Specifically, the experiment was aimed at determining if there was any significant differences in user inclinations towards the five generic components of existing digital technology business models based on smartphone context and IoT products context in a within-subjects design, with sample population drawn from University of Sussex community. The experimental design relied on participants' past experiences with smartphone for them to indicate their pre-purchase inclinations towards the five generics components. For the IoT products context, descriptions and diagrammatic illustration of the three IoT scenarios with their corresponding Just-in-Mind clickable prototypes served as educational tools to enable participants to be acquainted with IoT in order for them to indicate their potential pre-purchase inclinations towards the five generic components. A unique procedure for business model adoption likelihood was designed using the Sign test for high, low, and medium likelihood of adoption. The results of this test indicate medium likelihood of adoption for three of the generic components and low likelihood of adoption for two of the generic components. The results of this test was then fed to the CBMF4IoT. This thesis demonstrates that reusability of successful digital technology business models could potentially result in market success for an emerging digital technology in a B2C context, as users opinion formed the bases for the conclusions, instead of the conventional opinion gathering from only experts, business owners, and practitioners for a BM research

Design revolutions: IASDR 2019 Conference Proceedings. Volume 4: Learning, Technology, Thinking

In September 2019 Manchester School of Art at Manchester Metropolitan University was honoured to host the bi-annual conference of the International Association of Societies of Design Research (IASDR) under the unifying theme of DESIGN REVOLUTIONS. This was the first time the conference had been held in the UK. Through key research themes across nine conference tracks – Change, Learning, Living, Making, People, Technology, Thinking, Value and Voices – the conference opened up compelling, meaningful and radical dialogue of the role of design in addressing societal and organisational challenges. This Volume 4 includes papers from Learning, Technology and Thinking tracks of the conference

Use of smartphone-based interventions to support smoking cessation and pharmacotherapy use

This thesis reports findings from seven studies to develop and provide a preliminary evaluation of three smartphone apps tackling a different aspect of quitting. Study 1 was a pragmatic randomised controlled trial (RCT) of the NRT2Quit app that focused on improving adherence to nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) during quitting. Due to slow recruitment, the study was terminated early, but there was some evidence that the app could aid cessation. Study 2 was a theory-informed qualitative study of smokers’ and ex-smokers’ use of NRT, which identified barriers in capability, opportunity and motivation to NRT use and engagement with support on NRT use, which could also explain the poor recruitment into the NRT2Quit trial. Study 3 was a think-aloud study about NRT2Quit that showed that smokers were interested in the advice offered within the app, but preferred more comprehensive support, including craving management tools (CMTs). Study 4 was a pragmatic RCT of the BupaQuit app that offered CMTs versus an app version without them and found no detectable impact on cessation and several challenges to conducting pragmatic RCTs of apps. Study 5 identified barriers to verification of abstinence in such trials using personal carbon monoxide (CO) monitors. Study 6 involved follow-up interviews with the BupaQuit trial participants and found that while they were interested in CMTs, the app failed to meet their perceived needs, and many used unassigned cessation support. Study 7 used a mixed-methods approach to explore smokers’ views on personal, smartphone-enabled CO monitors and associated apps, which found that smokers were interested in such support but also highlighted challenges for the development and evaluation of such programmes. This PhD suggests that smokers can articulate a number of desired features in cessation apps, but making these appealing, engaging and effective remains a major challenge, and many barriers exist to appropriate evaluation

An Investigation into the Positive Visual Experience Design for the Elderly

Visual impression is the first impact on human perception through receiving and assessing the external information observed by the eyes. Therefore, product appearance is closely linked to the human’s visual experience and can affect human’s mood throughout the process of information perception and product manipulation. Generally, visual ability declines as age increases, which can lead to visual impairment and unpleasant moods among the elderly. For the elderly, there is a need to improve the quality of the visual experience in design. The aim of this research is to explore feasible methods to discover the consistency between subjective desires and objective environmental reactions in order to provide the optimal pleasurable visual experience conditions for elderly individuals in design. The objectives are 1) To examine the common elderly visual experience features in relation to physiological and psychological effects, specifically reflected in vision, perception, and emotion; 2) To determine a positive visual experience framework for elderly-focused design based on visual experience consideration; 3) To develop positive visual experience assessments and test methods specially designed for the elderly in order to gather information and data about subjective desire and objective reaction to objects; 4) To analyze the results of consistency between subjective preference and objective attraction in order to form a positive visual experience for elderly individuals. This research describes the research process and its findings. Initially, the introduction of the thesis presents the research motivations and background, with its aim and objectives defined. Related literature supporting the research is then examined for further understanding of aging, visual experience and relevant emotional issues, and research methodologies. Based on this understanding of the elderly visual experience and visual experience behavior, along with observations of purchasing processes, interviews with the elderly, and interviews with experts, a set of assessment tools (VPTs) was developed for assessing the elderly visual experience factors from the two perspectives of subjective preference and objective attraction. Based on statistical analysis, the elderly general cognitive features, and a series of positive visual experience factors that affect the emotional mood of the elderly were determined. The results of the investigation contribute to design for the elderly with positive visual experience factors identified for enhancing the elderly satisfaction in their visual experiences and manipulating product design to create a positive emotional state. This VPTs assessment tool can also be recommended as a reference for investigating into other various target groups’ visual experience features