Managing Open Innovation: An Exploration of Information Technologies and Open Search Patterns

Product presentation in e-commerce has gained substantial attention from disciplines including information systems, marketing, psychology and management. Many studies compare newly emerging technologies and innovative presentation formats to traditional use of two-dimensional text and pictures. However, the emergent nature of these new technologies, like consumer focused virtual reality, results in instability of form and function in three-dimensional environments. This literature review synthesises the findings of extant literature, discusses important theoretical foundations and identifies the most popular research theories and research methods utilised. Additionally, it classifies constructs used to capture characteristics of presentation formats, consumers’ reactions and performance, as well as marketing-related effects (e.g. attitudes to product and purchase intention). Furthermore, some potential misinterpretation of terms used to describe product presentation have been identified. The literature review concludes with a discussion of implications and suggestions for future research of product presentation in e-commerce contexts

Using Augmented Reality as a Medium to Assist Teaching in Higher Education

In this paper we describe the use of a high-level augmented reality (AR) interface for the construction of collaborative educational applications that can be used in practice to enhance current teaching methods. A combination of multimedia information including spatial three-dimensional models, images, textual information, video, animations and sound, can be superimposed in a student-friendly manner into the learning environment. In several case studies different learning scenarios have been carefully designed based on human-computer interaction principles so that meaningful virtual information is presented in an interactive and compelling way. Collaboration between the participants is achieved through use of a tangible AR interface that uses marker cards as well as an immersive AR environment which is based on software user interfaces (UIs) and hardware devices. The interactive AR interface has been piloted in the classroom at two UK universities in departments of Informatics and Information Science

Assessing the effectiveness of architectural design communication through public participation methods

The range of communication methods available to architects to present design development has expanded over recent years. With an increase in competition between architectural practices and the resulting reduction in professional fees, it is becoming increasingly important to deliver quality projects in an efficient manner. A greater understanding of user interaction is invaluable for architects in order to assess specific requirements and produce design solutions. Effective design communication is also beneficial in the reduction of backtracking during the design phase and remedial work to buildings during construction. As a result, Architects are required to make difficult decisions about which method to use to present work at specific stages of the design process. Principles from public participation processes provide an underpinning for data collection from stakeholder representatives of an educational refurbishment project in the UK. Three forms of media were used to present the design: 2D drawings; a 3D model; and a VR (virtual reality) model. The stakeholders were divided into three groups with the environment, presentation and method of expressing opinion controlled. The results showed that a similar number of opinions were expressed in each presentation although with reference to different aspects of the design. The balance between positive and negative opinions also differed between each of the media. The findings of this paper suggest several themes, including that a balance of media should be used at different stages of the architectural design process. 2D drawings appear essential in representing the arrangement of spaces; the 3D model encourages a balanced view, providing architects with information to aid critical design decisions; and finally, the VR model could be used for marketing purposes as critical analysis appears to be adversely affected by high quality rendered images

Supporting Memorization and Problem Solving with Spatial Information Presentations in Virtual Environments

While it has been suggested that immersive virtual environments could provide benefits for educational applications, few studies have formally evaluated how the enhanced perceptual displays of such systems might improve learning. Using simplified memorization and problem-solving tasks as representative approximations of more advanced types of learning, we are investigating the effects of providing supplemental spatial information on the performance of learning-based activities within virtual environments. We performed two experiments to investigate whether users can take advantage of a spatial information presentation to improve performance on cognitive processing activities. In both experiments, information was presented either directly in front of the participant or wrapped around the participant along the walls of a surround display. In our first experiment, we found that the spatial presentation caused better performance on a memorization and recall task. To investigate whether the advantages of spatial information presentation extend beyond memorization to higher level cognitive activities, our second experiment employed a puzzle-like task that required critical thinking using the presented information. The results indicate that no performance improvements or mental workload reductions were gained from the spatial presentation method compared to a non-spatial layout for our problem-solving task. The results of these two experiments suggest that supplemental spatial information can support performance improvements for cognitive processing and learning-based activities, but its effectiveness is dependent on the nature of the task and a meaningful use of space

Usability evaluation of a virtual museum interface

The Augmented Representation of Cultural Objects (ARCO) system provides software and interface tools to museum curators to develop virtual museum exhibitions, as well as a virtual environment for museum visitors over the World Wide Web or in informative kiosks. The main purpose of the system is to offer an enhanced educative and entertaining experience to virtual museum visitors. In order to assess the usability of the system, two approaches have been employed: a questionnaire based survey and a Cognitive Walkthrough session. Both approaches employed expert evaluators, such as domain experts and usability experts. The result of this study shows a fair performance of the followed approach, as regards the consumed time, financial and other resources, as a great deal of usability problems has been uncovered and many aspects of the system have been investigated. The knowledge gathered aims at creating a conceptual framework for diagnose usability problems in systems in the area of Virtual Cultural Heritage

Beyond 2D Product Presentation in E-commerce: A Literature Review

Product presentation in e-commerce has gained substantial attention from disciplines including information systems, marketing, psychology and management. Many studies compare newly emerging technologies and innovative presentation formats to traditional use of two-dimensional text and pictures. However, the emergent nature of these new technologies, like consumer focused virtual reality, results in instability of form and function in three-dimensional environments. This literature review synthesises the findings of extant literature, discusses important theoretical foundations and identifies the most popular research theories and research methods utilised. Additionally, it classifies constructs used to capture characteristics of presentation formats, consumers’ reactions and performance, as well as marketing effects (e.g. attitudes to product and purchase intention). The literature review concludes with a discussion of implications and suggestions for future research of product presentation in ecommerce contexts