Which senses dominate at different stages of product experience?

In the area of product design, sensory dominance can be defined as the relative importance of different sensory modalities for product experience. Since product experience is multisensory, it is interesting to know which sensory modality plays a leading role in a particular experience, so that designers could concentrate on the creation of the most relevant product properties. It is often assumed that vision dominates other senses. In the present study, we investigated the importance of different sensory modalities during various episodes of product usage. We asked 120 respondents to describe their experiences with consumer products in the following situations: while buying a product, after the first week, the first month, and the first year of usage. The data suggest that the dominant modality depends on the period of product usage. At the moment of buying, vision is the most important modality, but at later stages other modalities become more important. The dominance of a particular modality may depend on its appropriateness for the particular task. During long-term usage, modality importance depends on product functions and the characteristics of the user-product interaction. We conclude that to create a long-lasting positive product experience, designers need to consider the user-product interaction at different stages of product usage and to determine which sensory modality dominates product experience at each stage. Keywords: Sensory Dominance; User-Product Interaction; Product Design</p

Evaluation of two-phase evaporation pressure drop correlations for low refrigerant mass flux.

This study was conducted to evaluate three currently popular two-phase pressure drop models for extremely low velocity refrigerant flow through smooth circular evaporators in household refrigeration systems. Experimental data was taken at mass fluxes under 70 kg/m2s for two refrigerants, R134A and R600A, internal diameters of aluminum evaporators ranging from 0.186 to 0.317 inches, U-bend internal radii ranging from 0.342 to 0.750 inches in horizontal and vertical orientations of evaporators. The geometry of the samples closely resembled a commonly used serpentine shape with multiple U-bends experiencing both, up- and down-flow of the refrigerant. Two empirical models, Müller-Steinhagen & Heck (1986) and Grönnerud (1979), as well as one phenomenological model, Silva Lima & Thome (2012), were compared to experimental data and all performed very well for horizontally oriented samples. However, in vertical orientation only 60.6 %, 63.3 % and 75.8 % data fell within ± 30 % accuracy band for Grönnerud, Silva Lima & Thome and Müller-Steinhagen & Heck correlations, respectively. The predicted values showed what steps could be taken to improve the performance of all models, which could be accomplished with future work

Haptic Hybrid Prototyping (HHP): An AR Application for Texture Evaluation with Semantic Content in Product Design

The manufacture of prototypes is costly in economic and temporal terms and in order to carry this out it is necessary to accept certain deviations with respect to the final finishes. This article proposes haptic hybrid prototyping, a haptic-visual product prototyping method created to help product design teams evaluate and select semantic information conveyed between product and user through texturing and ribs of a product in early stages of conceptualization. For the evaluation of this tool, an experiment was realized in which the haptic experience was compared during the interaction with final products and through the HHP. As a result, it was observed that the answers of the interviewees coincided in both situations in 81% of the cases. It was concluded that the HHP enables us to know the semantic information transmitted through haptic-visual means between product and user as well as being able to quantify the clarity with which this information is transmitted. Therefore, this new tool makes it possible to reduce the manufacturing lead time of prototypes as well as the conceptualization phase of the product, providing information on the future success of the product in the market and its economic return

A study in pink:What determines the success of gender-specific advertising?

Gender-specific marketing gains importance as women become more influential as consumers. The study investigated an efficiency of two approaches to gender-specific marketing: designing a stereotypically “feminine” product and priming an interdependent self-construal with an advertising scenario. Female participants (N=160) evaluated four advertisements for a soft drink with feminine/gender-neutral product design and independent/interdependent self-construal. The results demonstrated a significant positive effect of interdependent self-construal on the attitudes towards the ad. The effect of stereotypical product design was non-significant. These results suggest that indirect approach to gender-specific advertising via priming techniques may be more efficient than direct use of gender stereotype

(Ne)koherentnost mediteranskih politika EU-a: analiza čimbenika koji utječu na uspješnost primjene

This article examines whether the implementation of the EU\u27s Mediterranean policies has been unsuccessful due to the incoherence of these policies. Termed as incompatibility of goals among the EMP, the ENP and the UFM, incoherence is analysed in various subfields of the EU\u27s external action, namely in the functional external dimensions of internal policies (Justice and Home Affairs/JHA, Energy, Transport, Environment and Education) and external relations (Trade) on one side, and in Foreign Policy on the other. Functional subfields prove to retain more coherence and higher implementation success, with Education being exemplary. Conversely, political subfields (democratization and respect for human rights) expose incoherence and consequently about 50% failure of implementation. Nevertheless, in JHA (the fight against irregular immigration and terrorism), where the former functional cooperation became highly politically burdened, results show even higher non-implementation, which bears more general relevance for EU external action policy-making.Članak se bavi pitanjem jesu li dosadašnje tri mediteranske politike EU-a bile neuspješne zbog svoje nekoherentnosti. Definirana kao nekompatibilnost ciljeva između EMP-a, ESP-a i UZM-a, nekoherentnost je analizirana kroz razna područja vanjskoga djelovanja EU-a, naime kroz funkcionalna područja eksternaliziranih unutarnjih politika (unutarnja pitanja i pravosuđe, energetika, transport, okoliš i obrazovanje) i vanjskih odnosa (trgovina) te kroz vanjsku politiku EU-a. Funkcionalne politike pokazale su se koherentnijima i s većim uspjehom u primjeni, što je predstavljeno na primjeru obrazovanja. Nasuprot njima, politička područja (demokratizacija, poštivanje ljudskih prava) razotkrivaju nekoherentnost te 50 postotnu neuspješnost u primjeni. Međutim, unutarnja pitanja i pravosuđe (posebno suzbijanje migracija i terorizma), u kojima je sadašnja funkcionalna suradnja postala visoko politizirana, rezultiraju najvišim stupnjem neprimjene, što postaje sve relevantnije za proces odlučivanja na razini vanjskoga djelovanja EU-a

Political Criteria vs. Political Conditionality: Comparative analysis of Slovenian and Croatian European Union accession processes

This study analyses the differences in content and procedure in the application of political criteria and political conditionality in the EU accession processes of Slovenia and Croatia. The article ascertains that with regard to substance, the Commission and EU member states did apply political criteria more extensively and meticulously to Croatia in comparison to Slovenia, but mainly due to the difference in the states’ initial assessment of preparedness for EU membership and the application of the principle of own merits. Empirical results, however, show that the differences in political conditionality did not only stem from Croatia’s post-conflict conditions, but also from the EU’s experience of the 2004 and 2007 enlargements and the concern about the EU’s absorption capacity. As for the accession process procedure, the latter has increasingly empowered the Commission rather than EU member states, which bears relevance for future (Western Balkans) enlargements

The morphological analitizm: the analytical forms of the adjectives and their functional interpretation

Стаття присвячена дослідженню проблеми сучасного морфологічного аналітизму. Основна увага зосереджена на аналізі аналітичних прикметникових форм та їх функціональної реалізації в реченнєвих конструкціях. Article is devoted research of the problem of the modern morphological analitizm. Basic attention is concentrated on the analysis of the analytical forms of the adjectives and their functional realization in the constructions of a sentence

Do extraverts prefer extraverted ads? Consumer responses to visual and selfcongruity in advertsing

Recent studies emphasize positive effects of congruity in advertising on consumer responses, but the effects of different types of congruity remain unclear. This study investigated the effects of visual and ad/self-congruity on consumers’ attitudes toward the ad, perceived product quality and purchase intentions. In a 2x2 between-subjects experiment (N=173), introverted and extroverted participants were exposed to advertisements with introverted/extraverted visual design for extraverted/introverted products. The results demonstrated the positive effect of visual congruity on attitude towards the ad. However, the effect of ad/self-congruity was non-significant. Both introverted and extraverted consumers preferred the congruent combination of the introverted product and advertisemen