Assessment of Lighting Strategies and Their Influence on Users' Experience in Art Galleries

Adequate daylighting represents both an element of pleasure and at the same time, an element of pain. Often, these two essentials tend to conflict with one another since revealing artwork to a source of concentrated light can sometimes affect its eminence. There is, therefore, a significant need to assess lighting strategies used in art galleries and their influence on users of art galleries. This project aims to assess lighting strategies and their influence on the users of selected art galleries. This research made use of quantitative research approach. The data were collected through a structured questionnaire, and the IBM SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) was used to analyze the quantitative data. Results show that natural lighting is essential in achieving a positive user experience, and the positioning of openings should be considered when designing an exhibition space to avoid glare. Conclusively natural lighting should be considered in designing exhibition spaces. In other to achieve this natural lighting without hurting the users, positioning of the opening ought to be considered carefully. In conclusion, lighting strategies used an exhibitio

Dancing in the Streets - a design case study

How do you transform a city center at night to enhance the experience of residents and visitors and to combat the public’s fears over safety and security after dark? This challenge was set by the York City Council’s “Renaissance Project: Illuminating York,” and we took them up on it. We made it our goal to get pedestrians to engage with our interactive light installation—and to get them dancing without even realizing it. People out shopping or on their way to restaurants and nightclubs found themselves followed by ghostly footprints, chased by brightly colored butterflies, playing football with balls of light, or linked together by a “cat’s cradle” of colored lines. As they moved within the light projections, participants found that they were literally dancing in the street

Design Improvements from users’ experiences of low and zero carbon technologies

The development and rapid consumer adoption of low and zero carbon (LZC) technologies are key elements of UK and EU carbon reduction strategies to meet the challenge of climate change. Many LZC technologies are available, ranging from established energy efficiency products such as home insulation and energy-efficient lighting to more innovative renewable energy technologies, including solar thermal systems, micro-wind turbines, solar photovoltaics and biomass stoves. This paper examines key influences on consumer adoption – and non-adoption – of energy efficiency products and renewable energy systems based on the findings of a UK Open University project, which conducted some 111 in-depth telephone interviews plus an on-line survey with nearly 400 responses. The results show that it is important to research consumer requirements and use behaviours when developing ‘green’ technologies. Consumer adoption of LZC products and systems has been relatively slow and, even when installed, due to behavioural effects, they have not always reduced carbon emissions as much as expected. The results of this study of UK consumers’ experiences shows that improved designs are required to address barriers to LZC adoption and problems in use, including functionality, ergonomics, interconnectedness with other systems and symbolic value, as well as price and payback. Offering challenges for designers, engineers and managers, the paper identifies user-centred improvements to promote more rapid adoption and effective use of LZC technologies

Climate Change: the citizen's agenda Evidence to Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

i). This paper summarises some results of research by the Open University of the key influences on the adoption – and non-adoption – by mainly environmentally-concerned UK citizens of low and zero carbon (LZC) technologies. These include energy efficiency measures (such as loft insulation, condensing boilers and compact fluorescent lamps covered by the Energy Efficiency Commitment) and micro-generation energy technologies (such as solar water heating, photovoltaics and micro-wind turbines included in the DTI's Clear Skies scheme and Low Carbon Buildings Programme). The research also includes the benefits and problems experienced by the citizens who adopted these LZC technologies, plus ideas and policies for overcoming the barriers to their adoption and their effective use in reducing carbon emissions. The tables in the paper show that each LZC technology has different drivers, barriers, benefits and problems and hence ideas and policies for improvements, but there are some common factors that affect the different technologies. ii) The main driver for citizen adoption of LZC technologies is reducing fuel bills and/or saving energy in the context of rising fuel prices. Another key driver for adoption of LZC technologies is environmental concern (esp. climate change and nature conservation), at least for the mainly 'greener' citizens we surveyed. iii) The barriers to adoption vary widely depending on the technology concerned and go beyond the well-known financial issues. Examples of significant barriers to the adoption of energy efficiency measures include peoples' concerns about irritant fibres in loft insulation materials, needing to clear the loft, and loss of loft storage space when installing the recommended thickness of insulation; the reputation of condensing boilers among installers and consumers for unreliability and shorter life; and the size and perceived ugliness of compact fluorescent lamps, and a failure to communicate improvements in CFL design and technology since their introduction. However, even for environmentally concerned citizens, capital cost is a major barrier to adoption of micro-generation technologies, together with the uncertain performance and reliability of innovative technologies. iv) The benefits of insulation are reported (even by non fuel-poor citizens) largely in terms of warmer homes rather than in reduced energy consumption, i.e. the 'rebound effect' of insulation could be higher than the figure assumed for the Energy Efficiency Commitment. In contrast, improved heating controls when used properly and condensing boilers appear to have little rebound effect and so should help more directly to reduce carbon emissions. Energy efficient lighting appears to involve a relatively small rebound effect, as some users choose to leave CFLs switched on longer and/or may install additional CFL lighting. (v) The micro-generation technologies as well as reducing carbon emissions, offer citizens who can afford to install them (for whom grants were only a relatively minor driver) great pleasure in using renewable energy as well as focusing their attention on saving energy. vi) To encourage the widespread adoption and effective use of these LZC technologies requires different actions and policies tailored to the specific technologies: e.g. allowing use of eco-friendly materials in subsidised loft insulation schemes; designing and installing user-friendly controls that provide feedback on energy used or saved; energy companies offering financing packages to install micro-generation systems; and regulations and standards guaranteeing the performance, reliability and durability of micro-generation technologies

Designing low and zero carbon products and systems – adoption, effective use and innovation

This paper summarises the aims, methods and some results of a study of the influences on consumer adoption – and non-adoption – of established energy efficient and innovative renewable energy products and systems; the problems and benefits experienced by users of these low and zero carbon (LZC) technologies; and improvement ideas to make the products/systems more desirable and effective at saving energy and carbon. The influences on adoption and effective use vary for the different technologies and include the socio-economic context, consumer attitudes and values and communication sources. Product/system characteristics are also crucial, and include functional and ergonomic utility; interconnectedness with other systems, 'green' and aesthetic symbolism, and cost. Technical, financial and other ideas for reducing the barriers to adoption and tackling the problems experienced by users are a step towards a more rapid and effective take-up of these LZC products and systems

Retail design: lighting as an atmospheric tool, creating experiences which influence consumers’ mood and behaviour in commercial spaces

Retail design is no new discipline, but a scientific approach is of rather recent date. Since atmosphere has been proven to have an influence on consumer’s behaviour from a marketing point of view, this Ph.D. focuses on the designers’ perspective. This paper addresses one aspect of atmosphere: lighting and its influence on consumers’ mood and buying behaviour. Following an introduction in the discipline of retail design, we discuss the notion of ‘atmosphere’ and its relationship to lighting. We also develop a theoretical framework as a first part of a three-part process: literature review, experiments and validation. This first part includes the development of hypotheses and research questions. We will summarise a long tradition of research into architectural physics and psychology in both retail and work environments. Additionally, we also attempt to describe the applied research category: research by design. The set-up of the first experiment, currently undertaken, is explained via its method (participants, instruments, procedure) with an analysis of the preliminary results. Furthermore, the second part - the experiments and a design - and the third part - the development of guidelines - are briefly described. Keywords: Retail Design; Lighting; Consumer Behaviour; Research By Design; Mood; Atmosphere</p

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

Designing low and zero carbon products and systems: improvements based on consumers’ experience of adoption and use

The development and rapid consumer adoption of low and zero carbon (LZC) technologies are key elements of UK and EU carbon reduction strategies to meet the challenge of climate change. Many LZC technologies are available, ranging from established energy efficiency products such as home insulation and energy-efficient lighting to more innovative renewable energy systems, including solar thermal systems, micro-wind turbines, solar photovoltaics and biomass stoves and boilers. This paper examines key influences on consumer adoption – and non-adoption – of energy efficiency products and renewable energy systems based on the findings of a UK Open University project, which conducted some 90 in-depth telephone interviews plus an on-line survey with nearly 400 responses during 2006. The survey results show that it is important to research consumer requirements and use behaviours when developing ‘green’ technologies. Consumer adoption of LZC products and systems has been relatively slow and, even when installed, due to behavioural effects, they have not always reduced carbon emissions as much as expected. The results of this study of UK consumers’ experiences shows that improved designs are required to address barriers to LZC adoption and problems in use, including functionality, ergonomics, interconnectedness with other systems and symbolic value, as well as cost and payback. Offering challenges for designers and engineers and marketers, the paper identifies user-centred ideas and concepts to promote more rapid adoption and carbon-saving use of LZC technologies

Understanding gaming floor influences on player behaviour

Efforts to entice and retain player activity within a casino gaming environment require bringing to bear a range of sensory and physical influences. The challenge is to accomplish the operators’ objectives while at the same time ensuring any potential negative effects on the player are minimised. How casinos keep this in balance is at the heart of how the gaming floor works, and assessing such matters is becoming a necessary part of social responsibility