704 research outputs found

    Grounds for a Third Place : The Starbucks Experience, Sirens, and Space

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    My goal in this dissertation is to help demystify or “filter” the “Starbucks Experience” for a post-pandemic world, taking stock of how a multi-national company has long outgrown its humble beginnings as a wholesale coffee bean supplier to become a digitally-integrated and hypermodern café. I look at the role Starbucks plays within the larger cultural history of the coffee house and also consider how Starbucks has been idyllically described in corporate discourse as a comfortable and discursive “third place” for informal gathering, a term that also prescribes its own radical ethos as a globally recognized customer service platform. Attempting to square Starbucks’ iconography and rhetoric with a new critical methodology, in a series of interdisciplinary case studies, I examine the role Starbucks’ “third place” philosophy plays within larger conversations about urban space and commodity culture, analyze Starbucks advertising, architecture and art, and trace the mythical rise of the Starbucks Siren (and the reiterations and re-imaginings of the Starbucks Siren in art and media). While in corporate rhetoric Starbucks’ “third place” is depicted as an enthralling adventure, full of play, discovery, authenticity, or “romance,” I draw on critical theory to discuss how it operates today as a space of distraction, isolation, and loss

    Designing a New Tactile Display Technology and its Disability Interactions

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    People with visual impairments have a strong desire for a refreshable tactile interface that can provide immediate access to full page of Braille and tactile graphics. Regrettably, existing devices come at a considerable expense and remain out of reach for many. The exorbitant costs associated with current tactile displays stem from their intricate design and the multitude of components needed for their construction. This underscores the pressing need for technological innovation that can enhance tactile displays, making them more accessible and available to individuals with visual impairments. This research thesis delves into the development of a novel tactile display technology known as Tacilia. This technology's necessity and prerequisites are informed by in-depth qualitative engagements with students who have visual impairments, alongside a systematic analysis of the prevailing architectures underpinning existing tactile display technologies. The evolution of Tacilia unfolds through iterative processes encompassing conceptualisation, prototyping, and evaluation. With Tacilia, three distinct products and interactive experiences are explored, empowering individuals to manually draw tactile graphics, generate digitally designed media through printing, and display these creations on a dynamic pin array display. This innovation underscores Tacilia's capability to streamline the creation of refreshable tactile displays, rendering them more fitting, usable, and economically viable for people with visual impairments

    Sustainable Value Co-Creation in Welfare Service Ecosystems : Transforming temporary collaboration projects into permanent resource integration

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    The aim of this paper is to discuss the unexploited forces of user-orientation and shared responsibility to promote sustainable value co-creation during service innovation projects in welfare service ecosystems. The framework is based on the theoretical field of public service logic (PSL) and our thesis is that service innovation seriously requires a user-oriented approach, and that such an approach enables resource integration based on the service-user’s needs and lifeworld. In our findings, we identify prerequisites and opportunities of collaborative service innovation projects in order to transform these projects into sustainable resource integration once they have ended

    Changing Priorities. 3rd VIBRArch

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    In order to warrant a good present and future for people around the planet and to safe the care of the planet itself, research in architecture has to release all its potential. Therefore, the aims of the 3rd Valencia International Biennial of Research in Architecture are: - To focus on the most relevant needs of humanity and the planet and what architectural research can do for solving them. - To assess the evolution of architectural research in traditionally matters of interest and the current state of these popular and widespread topics. - To deepen in the current state and findings of architectural research on subjects akin to post-capitalism and frequently related to equal opportunities and the universal right to personal development and happiness. - To showcase all kinds of research related to the new and holistic concept of sustainability and to climate emergency. - To place in the spotlight those ongoing works or available proposals developed by architectural researchers in order to combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. - To underline the capacity of architectural research to develop resiliency and abilities to adapt itself to changing priorities. - To highlight architecture's multidisciplinarity as a melting pot of multiple approaches, points of view and expertise. - To open new perspectives for architectural research by promoting the development of multidisciplinary and inter-university networks and research groups. For all that, the 3rd Valencia International Biennial of Research in Architecture is open not only to architects, but also for any academic, practitioner, professional or student with a determination to develop research in architecture or neighboring fields.Cabrera Fausto, I. (2023). Changing Priorities. 3rd VIBRArch. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/VIBRArch2022.2022.1686

    ‘Engaging’ the workplace ecosystem post-COVID-19: an interplay of environmental factors and employee engagement in hybrid work practices

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    The overall research aim of the PhD project is to better understand the relationship between the physical workplace environment and employee engagement in light of a post-COVID-19 workplace ecosystem. Subsequently, the research objectives are: i) to investigate options for the future development of employee engagement metrics and industry approaches to monitoring workplace design and management, ii) to explore the interplay of employee behaviours and environmental factors for employee engagement in hybrid work practices, iii) to better understand the impact of a workplace ecosystem on employee engagement in hybrid work practices, and iv) to explore options for the development of an ‘engaging’ workplace post-pandemic. The PhD project applies a mixed-method approach: quantitative surveys, interview study and qualitative thematic analysis, and content analysis. The key findings of this PhD project are: i) traditional employee engagement metrics and industry approaches to monitoring workplace design and management do not fully reflect the recent shift to hybrid work patterns in the context of the post-pandemic workplace ecosystem (i.e., home, office, third places, and urban realm), ii) a workplace ecosystem has a positive effect on employee engagement components (i.e., vigour, dedication, and absorption) via the interplay of environmental and behavioural factors, iii) flexibility - associated with both employee behaviours and the physical workplace – is one of the main drivers of employee engagement in a workplace ecosystem, and iv) the evaluation of a workplace ecosystem needs better alignment between organisational and workplace industry metrics in the wider city context to ensure a successful transition to an ‘engaging’ workplace ecosystem post-pandemic. The PhD project found that the compilation of both a home and the office can strengthen and sustain employee engagement post-pandemic. The PhD project contributes to existing knowledge and practice by i) demonstrating the role of the physical workplace environment (indoor/outdoor) as an antecedent of vigour, dedication, and absorption (i.e., the UWES scale), ii) providing new insights on the role of a workplace ecosystem in employee engagement in knowledge-intensive organisations, iii) informing the global workplace industry regarding the future evaluation of an ‘engaging’ workplace ecosystem, and iv) delivering empirically-based research evidence on employee engagement in knowledge organisations working in a hybrid mode

    Applications

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    Volume 3 describes how resource-aware machine learning methods and techniques are used to successfully solve real-world problems. The book provides numerous specific application examples: in health and medicine for risk modelling, diagnosis, and treatment selection for diseases in electronics, steel production and milling for quality control during manufacturing processes in traffic, logistics for smart cities and for mobile communications

    Warehousing in the UK: Operations, Planning and Decarbonisation - Full Briefing Report

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    Water quality in agriculture: risks and risk mitigation

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    This publication, Water Quality in Agriculture: Risks and Risk Mitigation, emphasizes technical solutions and good agricultural practices, including risk mitigation measures suitable for the contexts of differently resourced institutions working in rural as well as urban and peri-urban settings in low- and middle-income countries. With a focus on sustainability of the overall land use system, the guidelines also cover possible downstream impacts of farm-level decisions. As each country has a range of site-specific conditions related to climate, soil and water quality, crop type and variety, as well as management options, subnational adjustments to the presented guidelines are recommended. Water Quality in Agriculture: Risks and Risk Mitigation, is intended for use by national and subnational governmental authorities, farm and project managers, extension officers, consultants and engineers to evaluate water quality data, and identify potential problems and solutions related to water quality. The presented guidelines will also be of value to the scientific research community and university students

    Idle No More: A Rhetorical Analysis of a Movement

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    This project investigates discursive and material constraints against and possibilities for decolonial resistance and existence by rhetorically analyzing key features of the Idle No More movement. Since November 2012, Idle No More has been an active, Indigenous-led, grassroots social justice movement advocating for environmental protections and Indigenous rights. I contribute additional insights about the movement’s cumulative impacts by interrogating two defining features of its emergent phase (flash mob round dances and social media activism) and its relation to reconciliation-based and resurgence-based approaches to decolonization. Foregrounding structural and symbolic violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people as a foundational feature of settler colonialism, I outline how Idle No More-affiliated round dances challenge the gendered constraints of coloniality. Next, reading the Twitter hashtag “#Ottawapiskat” as a successful reframing of colonial attempts to delegitimize Indigenous political activism, I argue that Idle No More digital activism is characterized by dynamic interactions between discursive and embodied interventions. Turning toward the temporal overlap between the movement’s emergence and the proceedings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, I find that state and public responses to Idle No More illustrate the limits of pursuing decolonial aims through the institutions and discourses of the settler state. Finally, examining a resonant example of resurgence-based initiatives within the Idle No More movement, I posit that youth-led long walks like the Journey of Nishiyuu constitute embodied and emplaced testimonies of survivance. Foregrounding existing insights by Indigenous scholars, artists, and activists, I identify and evaluate how systemic constraints on inherent Indigenous sovereignty become sites of active contention and subversive political struggle. In doing so, I assert that the Idle No More movement can be understood as an ongoing revitalization of the third space(s) of sovereignty. Altogether, this project challenges normalizations of settler colonialism as an unalterable reality by actively anticipating futures informed by other sociopolitical realities: ones which already existed before and will continue to exist beyond currently dominant power structures

    The Impact of Social Media Marketing on Promoting the Cultural Heritage Tourism: A Case Study of Portugal

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    Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Data Driven Marketing, specialization in Digital Marketing and AnalyticsThis research is the result of an exploratory and descriptive investigation that focuses on analyzing 21 social media profiles of entities related to the cultural and heritage tourism sectors in Portugal. The purpose is to gather concrete data and observe the most successful social media marketing strategies employed by these entities. The research aims to address two main research questions: “How can social media marketing contribute to the building and strengthening of Portuguese Cultural Heritage and Tourism?” and “How can marketers incorporate virtual reality into a marketing strategy in the cultural tourism and heritage sectors and derive value from it?”. Therefore, the intention is to explore how social media platforms can be leveraged to promote and attract visitors to Portuguese cultural heritage sites and tourism destinations. By analyzing the social media profiles of relevant entities, the research seeks to identify effective strategies that contribute to the overall promotion and enhancement of Portugal's cultural heritage and tourism offerings. The research also aims to investigate how virtual reality can be integrated into marketing strategies within the cultural tourism and heritage sectors. Virtual reality has the potential to provide immersive and interactive experiences, allowing potential visitors to engage with cultural and heritage sites virtually. The study seeks to explore how marketers can harness virtual reality technologies to create valuable and engaging content that entices visitors and enhances their overall experience. By examining the social media profiles and activities of these entities, the research aims to provide insights into successful social media marketing practices, as well as explore the potential of virtual reality in marketing strategies for cultural tourism and heritage sectors. The findings of this research can help tourism organizations understand the impact of consumers' behavior and preferences and guide them in making informed decisions about their marketing and promotional efforts
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