Is it worthwhile going immersive? : evaluating the performance of virtual simulated stores for shopper research : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Marketing at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand

Listed in 2020 Dean's List of Exceptional ThesesAdvances in simulation technology offer the possibility of more authentic shopper environments for virtual store experiments. Criticisms of subjective measures of consumer behavior previously led to the use of test markets or simulated stores for consumer experimental research. As cost implications made such experiments unavailable to the wider market research community, virtual simulated stores (VSSs) were developed as an alternative. However, the adoption of VSSs has been slow as traditional desktop-operated VSSs do not provide an authentic multicategory shopper experience. New simulation technologies offer the opportunity for more immersive and authentic VSS environments. Yet there has been little research on how authenticity of VSSs is impacted by newly available technology such as head-mounted displays, motion tracking, force feedback controllers, and application of place and plausibility cues. Thus, this dissertation asks whether immersive technologies have potential to provide highly authentic VSS environments. Of the many factors that may determine authenticity, this dissertation examines three; participants’ sense of telepresence, the realism of shopper behaviour, and the effects of shopper locomotion alternatives. An immersive VSS incorporating new virtual technologies was specifically designed and built for this research. Three studies were undertaken. The first compared perceived telepresence and usability between a desktop-operated VSS and an equivalent immersive walk-around VSS. The second examined the authenticity of shopper behaviour in the immersive walk-around VSS by comparing observed shopping patterns to those previously reported in the marketing literature. The third tested whether walk-around locomotion was necessary for authenticity, or whether a simpler teleportation method would result in equivalent shopper behaviour and emotions. Results showed that immersive VSS systems are preferable to traditional desktop-operated systems with regards to telepresence and usability. Further, authentic behavioural patterns can be found in immersive walk-around store experiments, including plausibility of private label shares, pack inspection times, shelf-height effects and impulse purchases. Lastly, there were no differences in shopper emotions and purchase behaviour between walk-around locomotion and controller-based instant teleportation, implying that the teleportation technique can be used, thereby reducing the required physical footprint for immersive VSS simulations. Collectively, the findings imply that marketers who study in-store shopper behavior can be confident using immersive VSS for their research as opposed to outdated desktop VSS technology

Theory of frequency-filtered and time-resolved N-photon correlations

A theory of correlations between N photons of given frequencies and detected at given time delays is presented. These correlation functions are usually too cumbersome to be computed explicitly. We show that they are obtained exactly through intensity correlations between two-level sensors in the limit of their vanishing coupling to the system. This allows the computation of correlation functions hitherto unreachable. The uncertainties in time and frequency of the detection, which are necessary variables to describe the system, are intrinsic to the theory. We illustrate the formalism with the Jaynes--Cummings model, showing how correlations of various peaks at zero or finite time delays bring new insights into the dynamics of open quantum systems.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure

Semantic web technologies for video surveillance metadata

Video surveillance systems are growing in size and complexity. Such systems typically consist of integrated modules of different vendors to cope with the increasing demands on network and storage capacity, intelligent video analytics, picture quality, and enhanced visual interfaces. Within a surveillance system, relevant information (like technical details on the video sequences, or analysis results of the monitored environment) is described using metadata standards. However, different modules typically use different standards, resulting in metadata interoperability problems. In this paper, we introduce the application of Semantic Web Technologies to overcome such problems. We present a semantic, layered metadata model and integrate it within a video surveillance system. Besides dealing with the metadata interoperability problem, the advantages of using Semantic Web Technologies and the inherent rule support are shown. A practical use case scenario is presented to illustrate the benefits of our novel approach

A Fully Differential Digital CMOS Pulse UWB Generator

A new fully-digital CMOS pulse generator for impulse-radio Ultra-Wide-Band (UWB) systems is presented. First, the shape of the pulse which best fits the FCC regulation in the 3.1-5 GHz sub-band of the entire 3.1-10.6 GHz UWB bandwidth is derived and approximated using rectangular digital pulses. In particular, the number and width of pulses that approximate an ideal template is found through an ad-hoc optimization methodology. Then a fully differential digital CMOS circuit that synthesizes the pulse sequence is conceived and its functionality demonstrated through post-layout simulations. The results show a very good agreement with the FCC requirements and a low power consumptio

The statistical description of the electron system on the liquid helium surface

It is known that homogeneous distribution of particles in Coulomb-like systems can be unstable, and spatially inhomogeneous structures can be formed. A simple method for describing such inhomogeneous systems and obtaining spacial distributions of electron density is proposed and applied to the case of two-dimensional electron systems on surface of liquid helium. A free energy functional for the model in mean field approximation is obtained. Creation of various types of structures, such as long-range periodical modulation and multi-electron dimples, is predicted by minimizing this functional

The in-flight spectroscopic performance of the Swift XRT CCD camera during 2006-2007

The Swift X-ray Telescope focal plane camera is a front-illuminated MOS CCD, providing a spectral response kernel of 135 eV FWHM at 5.9 keV as measured before launch. We describe the CCD calibration program based on celestial and on-board calibration sources, relevant in-flight experiences, and developments in the CCD response model. We illustrate how the revised response model describes the calibration sources well. Comparison of observed spectra with models folded through the instrument response produces negative residuals around and below the Oxygen edge. We discuss several possible causes for such residuals. Traps created by proton damage on the CCD increase the charge transfer inefficiency (CTI) over time. We describe the evolution of the CTI since the launch and its effect on the CCD spectral resolution and the gain.Comment: 8 pages, 5 colour figures, submitted to SPI

Manufacturing complexity analysis

The analysis of the complexity of a typical system is presented. Starting with the subsystems of an example system, the step-by-step procedure for analysis of the complexity of an overall system is given. The learning curves for the various subsystems are determined as well as the concurrent numbers of relevant design parameters. Then trend curves are plotted for the learning curve slopes versus the various design-oriented parameters, e.g. number of parts versus slope of learning curve, or number of fasteners versus slope of learning curve, etc. Representative cuts are taken from each trend curve, and a figure-of-merit analysis is made for each of the subsystems. Based on these values, a characteristic curve is plotted which is indicative of the complexity of the particular subsystem. Each such characteristic curve is based on a universe of trend curve data taken from data points observed for the subsystem in question. Thus, a characteristic curve is developed for each of the subsystems in the overall system

Statistical characterization of the forces on spheres in an upflow of air

The dynamics of a sphere fluidized in a nearly-levitating upflow of air were previously found to be identical to those of a Brownian particle in a two-dimensional harmonic trap, consistent with a Langevin equation [Ojha {\it et al.}, Nature {\bf 427}, 521 (2004)]. The random forcing, the drag, and the trapping potential represent different aspects of the interaction of the sphere with the air flow. In this paper we vary the experimental conditions for a single sphere, and report on how the force terms in the Langevin equation scale with air flow speed, sphere radius, sphere density, and system size. We also report on the effective interaction potential between two spheres in an upflow of air.Comment: 7 pages, experimen