A Colour Design Tool Based on Empirical Studies

A colour design tool targeted at both unskilled consumers and professional designers is currently under development, on the basis of psychophysical studies into semantic associations of colour, the cultural influences and colour harmony. From experimental results for single-colour associations, 3 underlying factors were identified: “warm-cool”, “heavy-light” and “active-passive”, which were found to agree well with those identified by earlier research. For colour-combination associations, an “additive property” of colour association was discovered: the semantic score of a colour combination can be determined by averaging semantic scores of each constituent colour in that combination. According to the experimental results, there were 4 general patterns of colour harmony: similarity in hue and chroma, difference in lightness, high lightness and the hue effects. While the proposed colour design tool is still in its development stage and has a number of shortcomings, the system is believed to provide practical assistance and support not only for unskilled users but also for designers. Keywords: colour design; colour harmony; colour association; cross-cultural study; e-shopping; colour decision-making; design process; psychophysical method</p

Globalization or Localization? A longitudinal study of successful American and Chinese online store websites

This paper reports the results of a longitudinal study of 2562 images on the homepages of successful American and Chinese online store websites,with the goal of determining whether cultural factors impact their visual presentation and evolution. Descriptive and statistical content analyses reveal that the U.S. and Chinese online store sites showed significant cross-national image differences from their inception; moreover, the Chinese sites diverged further from the U.S. sites over time, strengthening their own cultural identity and suggesting a trend towards localization in a diverse and dynamic world market. These findings support the view that although English-speaking Western culture is widespread in today’s Information Age, other cultures are not necessarily undermined

Culture in the design of mHealth UI:An effort to increase acceptance among culturally specific groups

Purpose: Designers of mobile applications have long understood the importance of users’ preferences in making the user experience easier, convenient and therefore valuable. The cultural aspects of groups of users are among the key features of users’ design preferences, because each group’s preferences depend on various features that are culturally compatible. The process of integrating culture into the design of a system has always been an important ingredient for effective and interactive human computer interface. This study aims to investigate the design of a mobile health (mHealth) application user interface (UI) based on Arabic culture. It was argued that integrating certain cultural values of specific groups of users into the design of UI would increase their acceptance of the technology. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 135 users responded to an online survey about their acceptance of a culturally designed mHealth. Findings: The findings showed that culturally based language, colours, layout and images had a significant relationship with users’ behavioural intention to use the culturally based mHealth UI. Research limitations/implications: First, the sample and the data collected of this study were restricted to Arab users and Arab culture; therefore, the results cannot be generalized to other cultures and users. Second, the adapted unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model was used in this study instead of the new version, which may expose new perceptions. Third, the cultural aspects of UI design in this study were limited to the images, colours, language and layout. Practical implications: It encourages UI designers to implement the relevant cultural aspects while developing mobile applications. Originality/value: Embedding Arab cultural aspects in designing UI for mobile applications to satisfy Arab users and enhance their acceptance toward using mobile applications, which will reflect positively on their lives.</p

Native fruit traits may mediate dispersal competition between native and non-native plants

Seed disperser preferences may mediate the impact of invasive, non-native plant species on their new ecological communities. Significant seed disperser preference for invasives over native species could facilitate the spread of the invasives while impeding native plant dispersal. Such competition for dispersers could negatively impact the fitness of some native plants. Here, we review published literature to identify circumstances under which preference for non-native fruits occurs. The importance of fruit attraction is underscored by several studies demonstrating that invasive, fleshy-fruited plant species are particularly attractive to regional frugivores. A small set of studies directly compare frugivore preference for native vs. invasive species, and we find that different designs and goals within such studies frequently yield contrasting results. When similar native and non-native plant species have been compared, frugivores have tended to show preference for the non-natives. This preference appears to stem from enhanced feeding efficiency or accessibility associated with the non-native fruits. On the other hand, studies examining preference within existing suites of co-occurring species, with no attempt to maximize fruit similarity, show mixed results, with frugivores in most cases acting opportunistically or preferring native species. A simple, exploratory meta-analysis finds significant preference for native species when these studies are examined as a group. We illustrate the contrasting findings typical of these two approaches with results from two smallscale aviary experiments we conducted to determine preference by frugivorous bird species in northern California. In these case studies, native birds preferred the native fruit species as long as it was dissimilar from non-native fruits, while non-native European starlings preferred non-native fruit. However, native birds showed slight, non-significant preference for non-native fruit species when such fruits were selected for their physical resemblance to the native fruit species. Based on our review and case studies, we propose that fruit characteristics of native plant communities could dictate how well a non-native, fleshy-fruited plant species competes for dispersers with natives. Native bird preferences may be largely influenced by regional native fruits, such that birds are attracted to the colors, morphology, and infructescence structures characteristic of preferred native fruits. Non-native fruits exhibiting similar traits are likely to encounter bird communities predisposed to consume them. If those non-natives offer greater fruit abundance, energy content, or accessibility, they may outcompete native plants for dispersers

A new and efficient intelligent collaboration scheme for fashion design

Technology-mediated collaboration process has been extensively studied for over a decade. Most applications with collaboration concepts reported in the literature focus on enhancing efficiency and effectiveness of the decision-making processes in objective and well-structured workflows. However, relatively few previous studies have investigated the applications of collaboration schemes to problems with subjective and unstructured nature. In this paper, we explore a new intelligent collaboration scheme for fashion design which, by nature, relies heavily on human judgment and creativity. Techniques such as multicriteria decision making, fuzzy logic, and artificial neural network (ANN) models are employed. Industrial data sets are used for the analysis. Our experimental results suggest that the proposed scheme exhibits significant improvement over the traditional method in terms of the time–cost effectiveness, and a company interview with design professionals has confirmed its effectiveness and significance

Three-dimensional tissue scaffolds from interbonded poly(e-caprolactone) fibrous matrices with controlled porosity

In this article, we report on the preparation and cell culture performance of a novel fibrous matrix that has an interbonded fiber architecture, excellent pore interconnectivity, and controlled pore size and porosity. The fibrous matrices were prepared by combining melt-bonding of short synthetic fibers with a template leaching technique. The microcomputed tomography and scanning electron microscopy imaging verified that the fibers in the matrix were highly bonded, forming unique isotropic pore architectures. The average pore size and porosity of the fibrous matrices were controlled by the fiber/template ratio. The matrices having the average pore size of 120, 207, 813, and 994 mm, with the respective porosity of 73%, 88%, 96%, and 97%, were investigated. The applicability of the matrix as a three-dimensional (3D) tissue scaffold for cell culture was demonstrated with two cell lines, rat skin fibroblast and Chinese hamster ovary, and the influences of the matrix porosity and surface area on the cell culture performance were examined. Both cell lines grew successfully in the matrices, but they showed different preferences in pore size and porosity. Compared with two-dimensional tissue culture plates, the cell number on 3D fibrous matrices was increased by 97.27% for the Chinese hamster ovary cells and 49.46% for the fibroblasts after 21 days of culture. The fibroblasts in the matrices not only grew along the fiber surface but also bridged among the fibers, which was much different from those on two-dimensional scaffolds. Such an interbonded fibrous matrix may be useful for developing new fiber-based 3D tissue scaffolds for various cell culture applications

The Emotional Impact of Casino Servicescape

This study investigates the emotional impact of casino servicescape among Chinese table games gambling participants, and its impact on their approach/avoidance behavior. Data on casino servicescape, pleasure, arousal and dominance emotion (PAD) and approach/avoidance responses were obtained from 158 Chinese gamblers in Macau and analyzed using path analysis. The results of this study suggest that aesthetic factors within servicescape significantly influence the customers\u27 perception of the overall servicescape quality. While gambling facilitating factors within servicescape have significant impact on PAD emotions, they are not significant components of the perceived overall servicescape quality. Both overall servicescape quality and PAD emotions have significant positive influence on approach responses. The current study shows that besides inducing pleasure (satisfaction) emotion in customers, a successful strategy would include arousal and dominance emotions when designing and managing the casino servicescape. Casino operators could benefit from designing facilities that can make a customer feel satisfied, excited, and in control

Trade-offs between Shopping Bags Made of Non-degradable Plastics and Other Materials, Using Latent Class Analysis: The Case of Tianjin, China

white pollution, plastic bag ban, conjoint choice experiment, willingness to pay, latent class analysis, China, degradable plastics, cloth, paper, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Consumer/Household Economics, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q1,

PORK MARKET DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH PROJECT: MARKET POTENTIAL FOR ALBERTA'S PORK IN SELECTED U.S. MARKETS

The ethnic Asian market in Washington and Oregon constitutes a sizable niche market for fresh Canadian pork. Since California possesses a large population segment that originates from Asia, the characteristics of the ethnic Asian-origin market in the northern part of that State are also of interest since this may also be a potential niche market for Canadian pork. The objectives of the first part of this study are to evaluate the Asian ethnic markets for fresh pork in the United States Pacific Northwest and Vancouver. In the second part of the project the assessment of the market for fresh pork by Asian-origin consumers was extended to San Francisco. In this extension, a detailed assessment was also made of the product preferences for fresh pork by Asian-origin consumers in San Francisco and the behaviour patterns associated with store choices of these fresh pork consumers. Asian retailers and distributors in Vancouver, Seattle and Portland were surveyed by direct interview during November and December 1996. The survey applied semantic differential scaling questions, open-ended questions and a stated preference task, a conjoint methodology, to examine pork retailer's and distributor's perceptions of fresh pork produced in Western Canada and in the Midwest United States. Personal interviews with wholesalers and retailers were also applied in the San Francisco market survey which was conducted in 1998. Two consumer surveys were also conducted in San Francisco in 1998, directed at Asian-origin consumers of fresh pork. The structure of the market for fresh pork represented by retailers catering to Asian consumers in Vancouver differs from that in Seattle and Portland. The "Asian market" in Vancouver is dominated by many small shops that deal directly with packers. The small shops in Seattle and Portland deal with distributors and wholesalers. Distributors play a small role in Vancouver's retail market. Asian retailers in Seattle deal with a variety of suppliers, including both packers and distributors. In Portland, retailers catering to Asian consumers trade mainly with distributors and a local packer-wholesaler. In San Francisco, Asian stores and butcher shops prefer to obtain pork through smaller joggers, while American style supermarket retailers catering to the Asian consumers purchase pork directly from meat packing companies; fresh pork is sold in different ways in the different types of stores catering to Asian consumers that are found in these markets. The first survey found that Western Canadian pork enjoys an image of superior quality amongst retailers and distributors in Seattle's ethnic Asian market. Asian retailers in Portland are less familiar with Western Canadian pork and did not regard it as highly as did retailers in Seattle. However, distributors in Portland are more familiar with Western Canadian pork and consider it to be superior to Midwest United States pork in terms of overall quality, meat colour and fat trim. In both these markets, Western Canadian pork is generally considered to be expensive. These results are not statistically significant, however they are of economic relevance since most of the major players in the segment were interviewed. Little knowledge of Western Canadian pork was evidenced by retailers or consumers in this market segment in San Francisco. Western Canadian pork presently enjoys a reputation for superior quality amongst the retailers that specialize in sales to Asian consumers in Seattle and Portland. However it is also clear that many members of the trade lack information or experience with Canadian pork. Consequently, there is an opportunity for Canadian processors to maintain or increase market share through more education and promotion to this market segment. The 1998 survey of Asian-origin consumers of fresh pork in San Francisco focused on two aspects: preferences for fresh pork attributes and choice of store for fresh pork purchases. An intercept survey method was chosen to select and interview consumer respondents. Some 40% of the 196 respondents to the store choice survey purchase most of their fresh pork from American style supermarkets, 33% purchase mostly from small Asian stores, 24% from large Asian stores, and the rest from butcher shops. The most popular cut of pork purchased by Asian consumers is loins, followed by pork shoulders and butts, then pork leg, bellies, hock, and offal. The analysis indicated that socio-economic and demographic factors, as well as store attributes, significantly affect Asian consumers' store and product choices. The analysis of the ranking of selected attributes of fresh pork by Asian-origin consumers in San Francisco, California showed that freshness is ranked as the most important attribute, followed by the attributes of the color of meat, lowness in fat, and the whiteness of fat. The attributes of price, freedom from chemicals, and being USDA labelled were also ranked to be of importance. The attributes of little or least importance were knowing that pork came from the US, customized pork cuts, the variety of pork cuts, packaged pork, vacuum packed pork and seasoned and prepared pork. Empirical results from an ordered probit model postulated to explain respondents' rankings of attributes indicate that particular demographic and socio-economic characteristics of Asian-origin consumers influenced the importance rankings for the pork attributes that were identified to be important. For example, Chinese origin consumers were appreciably more sensitive to pork price than were other Asian-origin groups. One facet of the findings is that marketing strategies should not treat Asian-origin consumers as a single homogenous niche group in marketing since there are identifiable sub-groups of these consumers with specific attitudes and preferences. The importance placed on different attributes by particular ethnic subgroups, and their different preferences for stores at which fresh pork is purchased, provides useful information on which to develop strategies to target market development activities at the Asian-origin ethnic subgroups.Marketing, International Relations/Trade,