Understanding the preferences of males at different ages for plaid shirts

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-95
Author(s):  
Xiaoxi Zhou ◽  
Hang Xu

Purpose Except the physiological comfort, the design aesthetic of plaid shirts is the decisive factor affecting the purchase decision making of consumers. However, as there is subjectivity and indeterminacy in evaluation of the aesthetic, current research in the literature has little information about the appearance design of checks. The purpose of this paper is to extract the check design features, which influence consumer evaluation, and determine the preferences of men of different ages for the check designs, and the preference differences between them. Design/methodology/approach Through cluster and preference experiments, the perception and evaluation of the subjects were gained. By cluster analysis, typical classifications of check designs were fixed. With Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) algorithm, users’ perceptual space was revealed as to the plaid samples. In the PREFMAP analysis, results of the ideal vectors of men of different ages were drawn. Findings The study results revealed four typical classifications of check designs, identified three design dimensions that had effects on users’ evaluation, and built the relationship between design features of checks and consumer evaluation. Besides, in the study, the differences in preference for check designs between men of different ages were also explored. It was found that young men liked modern check designs, but disliked “small and complex” check patterns. Middle aged men preferred dark and cool colors, with dislike for “youthful vigor style.” While they cared more about check colors, young men attached more importance to the design style. Originality/value Currently, there is little information in the literature about the evaluation of pattern design. In this study, the use of MDS and PREFMAP analysis reveals visualized complex statistical results. The visualization approach is also applicable to design and positioning of other apparel, and can help designers better understand and position design styles and effects, given their consumer groups and design samples.

2020 ◽  
Vol 179 ◽  
pp. 02107
Author(s):  
Wenming Liu ◽  
Penghui Chen

The unique aesthetic characteristics of the fractal pattern are analyzed and discussed, and the aesthetic features of the fractal pattern are used to practice the appearance design and decorative pattern design of the ceramic tea set. Through the practice of product design based on fractal ideas, a set of effective and feasible ideas and methods for applying fractal ideas to product design were explored, which broadened product design ideas and tried new possibilities for product design.


2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoming Zhang ◽  
Kai Li ◽  
Chongchong Zhao ◽  
Dongyu Pan

Purpose With the increasing spread of ontologies in various domains, units have gradually become an essential part of ontologies and units ontologies have been developed to offer a better expression ability for the practical usage. From the perspectives of architecture, comparison and reuse, the purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive survey on four mainstream units ontologies: quantity-unit-dimension-type, quantities, units, dimensions and values, ontology of units of measure and units ontology (UO) of the open biomedical ontologies, in order to address well the state of the art and the reuse strategies of the UO. Design/methodology/approach An architecture of units ontologies is presented, in which the relations between key factors (i.e. units of measure, quantity and dimension) are discussed. The criteria for comparing units ontologies are developed from the perspectives of organizational structure, pattern design and application scenario. Then, the authors compare four typical units ontologies based on the proposed comparison criteria. Furthermore, how to reuse these units ontologies is discussed in materials science domain by utilizing two reuse strategies of partial reference and complete reference. Findings Units ontologies have attracted high attention in the scientific domain. Based on the comparison of four popular units ontologies, this paper finds that different units ontologies have different design features from the perspectives of basis structure, units conversion and axioms design; a UO is better to be applied to the application areas that satisfy its design features; and many challenges remain to be done in the future research of the UO. Originality/value This paper makes an extensive review on units ontologies, by defining the comparison criteria and discussing the reuse strategies in the materials domain. Based on this investigation, guidelines are summarized for the selection and reuse of units ontologies.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Randa Hassan Mohamed ◽  
Gehan Ahmed Ebrahim

The elements and means affecting the formulation and structure of the architectural buildings have been greatly developed by man throughout different ages according to the development of technology, so the dimensions and specifications of configuring dynamic buildings can be designed and controlled in order to leave the required effects on the environment and the user to serve certain purpose or function. But it seems that the process of formulating any architectural vocabulary acting on the dynamic aspect goes beyond the boundaries of the perceived dimensions and the included unperceived one; as the first dimensions may be considered namely the aesthetic aspect in architectural work, while the included unperceived dimensions may display efficiency in work which is greatly influenced by the personality and the formative attitudes of the architect, the site style and the surrounded environment, as well as the economic efficiency of the building. However, the liability issue seems to be the absence of the criterion of forming efficient dynamic configurations in architecture. Accordingly this research aims to reach this criterion as identifying the architectural attitudes; as a decisive in shaping the building as its facades, envelopes, sections or plans. Additionally, it attempts to explain the reciprocal relation between the architectural vocabulary (perceived aspects of configuration) and the unperceived one which is distinguishing the valuable architectural works. The research will attempt to analyze the elements included and the aesthetic and formative considerations while configuring the dynamic building to determine the important role played by such formation in reaching the psychological and physiological effect on the user in turn to maximize its utilization of such architectural work.


2021 ◽  
pp. 003329412110021
Author(s):  
Sizhe Liu ◽  
Wei Zhang ◽  
Xianyou He ◽  
Xiaoxiang Tang ◽  
Shuxian Lai ◽  
...  

There is evidence that greater aesthetic experience can be linked to artworks when their corresponding meanings can be successfully inferred and understood. Modern cultural-expo architecture can be considered a form of artistic creation and design, and the corresponding design philosophy may be derived from representational objects or abstract social meanings. The present study investigates whether cultural-expo architecture with an easy-to-understand architectural appearance design is perceived as more beautiful and how architectural photographs and different types of descriptions of architectural appearance designs interact and produce higher aesthetic evaluations. The results showed an obvious aesthetic preference for cultural-expo architecture with an easy-to-understand architectural appearance design (Experiment 1). Moreover, we found that the aesthetic rating score of architectural photographs accompanied by an abstract description was significantly higher than that of those accompanied by a representational description only under the difficult-to-understand design condition (Experiment 2). The results indicated that people preferred cultural-expo architecture with an easy-to-understand architectural appearance design due to a greater understanding of the design, providing further evidence that abstract descriptions can provide supplementary information and explanation to enhance the sense of beauty of abstract cultural-expo architecture.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 447-460
Author(s):  
Nan Hua

Purpose This paper aims to examine the impacts of IT capabilities on hotel competitiveness. Design/methodology/approach This study adapts and extends Hua et al. (2015) and O’Neill et al. (2008) by incorporating the specific measures of IT expenditures as proxies for the relevant IT capabilities to explore the impacts of IT capabilities on hotel competitiveness. Findings This study finds that expenditures on IT Labor, IT Systems and IT Websites exert different impacts on hotel competitiveness. In addition, IT capabilities exert both contemporary and lagged effects on hotel competitiveness. Originality/value This study is the first that uses financial data to capture direct measures of individual IT capabilities and tests the individual impacts of IT capabilities on hotel competitiveness from both contemporaneous and lagged perspectives. It uses a large same store sample of hotels in the USA from 2011 to 2017; as a result, the study results can be reasonably representative of the hotel population in the USA.


2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 579-590
Author(s):  
Jessica Keech ◽  
Maureen Morrin ◽  
Jeffrey Steven Podoshen

Purpose The increasing desire of consumers for socially responsible luxury products combined with fluctuating supplies in consumer markets are leading various industries to seek alternative sources to be able to meet the needs of its customers. One possible solution that may meet the demands of the future is lab-grown products. Because these products confer multiple benefits, this study aims to investigate the most effective ways to appeal to consumers by aligning the benefits of the products with their values as marketers seek to find effective promotion for these items. Design/methodology/approach We examine the effectiveness of an ethical positioning strategy for two types of luxury lab-grown (synthetic) products among high versus low materialism consumers in three experiments. Findings Findings suggest that a positioning strategy stressing product ethicality is more effective for low materialism consumers, whereas the strategy is less effective, and may even backfire, for high materialism consumers. The impact on social status consumers perceive from a lab-grown product explains why this effect occurs among low materialism consumers. Therefore, marketers should take caution and use specific appeals for different segments based on values such as consumers’ materialism levels. Originality/value If lab-grown products represent the wave of the future, it is important to understand how consumers will respond to this emerging technology and how promotion strategies may enhance their evaluation.


2016 ◽  
Vol 118 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohsen Rasouli Valajoozi ◽  
Nosrat Ollah Zangi

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare and find the significance of aesthetic standards related to the packaging design of pure milk among two groups of parents and children in order to help the designers and marketers to identify these two groups of consumers well. Design/methodology/approach – The results of questionnaire were used to get the required data. The selected samples were divided into two groups of 110 parents and children aged between seven and 14 years old who responded to the questions. The subjects were compared and evaluated within the convenience stores in the cosmopolitan city of Tehran based on four independent variables as the influential factors in packaging attractiveness. Data were analyzed through the statistical analysis software using the Independent t-test analysis. Findings – The results of analysis showed that all the variables vary significantly among these two groups. Besides, the importance and priority of variables were determined for each group based on the mean score of each variable. Originality/value – According to the results of this study, it could be concluded that the selection criteria and packaging attractiveness varies among children and parents, and the aesthetic factors of packaging could be used with different priorities for these two groups. And also at the end of research some practical recommendations are presented in order of importance based on parents’ preferences.


2015 ◽  
Vol 115 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuchih Ernest Chang ◽  
Anne Yenching Liu ◽  
Sungmin Lin

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate privacy boundaries and explores employees’ reactions in employee monitoring. Design/methodology/approach – The research used the metaphor of boundary turbulence in the Communication Privacy Management (CPM) theory to demonstrate the psychological effect on employees. The model comprised organizational culture, CPM, trust, and employee performance in employee monitoring to further investigated the influence exerted by organizational culture and how employees viewed their trust within the organization when implementing employee monitoring. Variables were measured empirically by administrating questionnaires to full-time employees in organizations that currently practice employee monitoring. Findings – The findings showed that a control-oriented organizational culture raised communication privacy turbulence in CPM. The communication privacy turbulence in CPM mostly had negative effects on trust in employee monitoring policy, but not on trust in employee monitoring members. Both trust in employee monitoring policy and trust in employee monitoring members had positive effects on employee commitment and compliance to employee monitoring. Research limitations/implications – This research applied the CPM theory in workplace privacy to explore the relationship between employees’ privacy and trust. The results provide insights of why employees feel psychological resistance when they are forced to accept the practice of employee monitoring. In addition, this study explored the relationship between CPM and trust, and offer support and verification to prior studies. Practical implications – For practitioners, the findings help organizations to improve the performance of their employees and to design a more effective environment for employee monitoring. Originality/value – A research model was proposed to study the impacts of CPM on employee monitoring, after a broad survey on related researches. The validated model and its corresponding study results can be referenced by organization managers and decision makers to make favorable tactics for achieving their goals of implementing employee monitoring.


2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 1873-1891 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tung-Hsuan Wan ◽  
Yun-Shu Hsu ◽  
Jehn-Yih Wong ◽  
Shin-Hao Liu

Purpose Human capital is the most important determinant of the Hospitality industry’s success. Executive chefs should be skilled in both management and culinary arts, in addition to ensuring the success of the entire hospitality division. The study aims to understand the competencies of executive chefs in international tourist hotels in Taiwan. Design/methodology/approach Literature review and behavioral event interviews were conducted with ten executive chefs and executive sous chefs. The modified Delphi method verified the results using 15 experts. Findings A competency framework was created, with four quadrants – managerial, operational, behaviors and skills – to classify executive chefs’ competencies. Each competency was further divided into sub-competencies – culinary research, emotional control, negotiation skills, job guidance and proactive thinking ability – for 25 items. Quadrants I and II are hard competencies that can be improved through education and training, whereas the third and fourth are soft competencies that require more time for development in workers. Practical implications The two-step study developed a competency framework with a practical reference value. The study results could be utilized by human resources managers during their companies’ training, recruitment, selection and promotion. Originality/value Besides the Delphi method, a deep behavioral event interview that enabled determining critical competencies was also used to collect data. The results obtained could be used to structure schools’ curricula. Collaborations between the hospitality industry and schools could help develop better curricula and training plans to maximize the availability of educational resources.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 294-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samsul Islam

Purpose This study aims to expand the current knowledge of the Six Sigma approach in a period of time when there is little direct evidence of the need to improve the credit card account opening process. This is an important but neglected area of focus in the Six Sigma literature. This study explores the extent to which process improvement practices are extended to the credit card department. Design/methodology/approach A case study methodology is adopted in this study to facilitate an exploration of the implemented Six Sigma approach in the credit card department of a leading commercial bank. The process improvement tool used is the define, measure, analyze, improve and control (DMAIC) cycle. Findings The study’s results confirm that the Six Sigma approach improves the quality of the credit card account opening process. So, the Six Sigma approach can account for a reduced number of keying-in errors, resulting in better data accuracy and improved customer satisfaction. Research limitations/implications The authors, in an attempt to render the study results more feasible for data collection, have chosen to focus on the process of the new accounts unit of the credit card department. Therefore, the authors have not taken into account the other units (e.g. transaction processing) of the same department. Practical implications The results of this study will be useful in persuading bank management to evaluate and implement the Six Sigma approach. Hence, this research will assist bank managers with replies to questions, such as: “What impact will Six Sigma have on process-centric improvement, such as the new accounts opening process of a credit card department?” Originality/value Within the literature on the Six Sigma practice, there is little research that focuses on the implementation of this particular toolset especially for credit card departments. This indicates a gap in the field. A new contribution to bridging that gap comes from the analysis of the results for the Six Sigma concept, which addresses the new accounts opening process.


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