Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Product search'

Software product lines (SPL) is a software engineering method for creating configurable software systems that can be adapted to a variety of requirements. SPL uses feature models to document the commonalities and variabilities of products. The key challenge is to derive a product configuration that satisfies all business and costumer requirements. Customer requirements are usually neglected, although product configuration has already been investigated in the literature. This dissertation presents a search-based approach to tackle the problem of finding the optimal product configuration that maximizes the customer satisfaction. The latter is modeled as an optimization problem. An exact algorithm and a heuristic are proposed to solve the problem and implemented in a prototype tool. Computational experiments showed that the exact algorithm can find the optimal product configuration for real-life instances found in the literature and that the optimality gap of the heuristic is at most 3%.
Linha de produtos de software (LPS) é um método de engenharia de software para a criação de sistemas de software configuráveis que podem ser adaptados a uma variedade de conjuntos de requisitos. LPS comumente usa modelo de características para capturar e documentar as semelhanças e variabilidades de produtos. O principal desafio é derivar uma configuração de produto que satisfaça todos os requisitos do negócio e do cliente. Os requisitos dos clientes são normalmente negligenciados, embora a configuração do produto já foi investigada na literatura. Esta dissertação apresenta uma abordagem de engenharia de software baseada em busca para resolver o problema de encontrar a configuração de produto ótima que maximiza a satisfação do cliente. Este último é modelado como um problema de otimização. Um algoritmo exato e uma heurística são propostas para resolver o problema e implementado em uma ferramenta protótipo. Experimentos computacionais mostraram que o algoritmo exato pode encontrar a configuração ótima do produto para instancias reais da literatura e que a diferença entre o resultado heurístico e a solução ótima é de no máximo 3%.

Product information search has become one of the most important application areas of the Web. Especially considering pricey technical products, consumers tend to carry out intensive research activities previous to the actual acquisition for creating an all-embracing view on the product of interest. Federated search backed by ontology-based product information representation shows great promise for easing this research process. The topic of this thesis is to develop a comprehensive technique for locating, extracting, and integrating information of arbitrary technical products in a widely unsupervised manner. The resulting homogeneous information sets allow a potential consumer to effectively compare technical products based on an appropriate federated product information system
Die Produktinformationssuche hat sich zu einem der bedeutendsten Themen im Web entwickelt. Speziell im Bereich kostenintensiver technischer Produkte führen potenzielle Konsumenten vor dem eigentlichen Kauf des Produkts langwierige Recherchen durch um einen umfassenden Überblick für das Produkt von Interesse zu erlangen. Die föderierte Suche in Kombination mit ontologiebasierter Produktinformationsrepräsentation stellt eine mögliche Lösung dieser Problemstellung dar. Diese Dissertation stellt Techniken vor, die das automatische Lokalisieren, Extrahieren und Integrieren von Informationen für beliebige technische Produkte ermöglichen. Die resultierenden homogenen Produktinformationen erlauben einem potenziellen Konsumenten, zugehörige Produkte effektiv über ein föderiertes Produktinformationssystem zu vergleichen

Online shopping has become an important part of people’s daily life with the rapid development of e-commerce. In some domains such as books, electronics, and CD/DVDs, online shopping has surpassed or even replaced the traditional shopping method. Compared with traditional retailing, e-commerce is information intensive. One of the key factors to succeed in e-business is how to facilitate the consumers’ approaches to discover a product. Conventionally a product search engine based on a keyword search or category browser is provided to help users find the product information they need. The general goal of a product search system is to enable users to quickly locate information of interest and to minimize users’ efforts in search and navigation. In this process human factors play a significant role. Finding product information could be a tricky task and may require an intelligent use of search engines, and a non-trivial navigation of multilayer categories. Searching for useful product information can be frustrating for many users, especially those inexperienced users. This dissertation focuses on developing a new visual product search system that effectively extracts the properties of unstructured products, and presents the possible items of attraction to users so that the users can quickly locate the ones they would be most likely interested in. We designed and developed a feature extraction algorithm that retains product color and local pattern features, and the experimental evaluation on the benchmark dataset demonstrated that it is robust against common geometric and photometric visual distortions. Besides, instead of ignoring product text information, we investigated and developed a ranking model learned via a unified probabilistic hypergraph that is capable of capturing correlations among product visual content and textual content. Moreover, we proposed and designed a fuzzy hierarchical co-clustering algorithm for the collaborative filtering product recommendation. Via this method, users can be automatically grouped into different interest communities based on their behaviors. Then, a customized recommendation can be performed according to these implicitly detected relations. In summary, the developed search system performs much better in a visual unstructured product search when compared with state-of-art approaches. With the comprehensive ranking scheme and the collaborative filtering recommendation module, the user’s overhead in locating the information of value is reduced, and the user’s experience of seeking for useful product information is optimized.

In this paper, the problem of the search quality on the trading platforms, such AliExpress, eBay and others is explored, the major types of problems that arise in product search by customers are considered. The usage of the classical clusterization algorithms for grouping similar products according to their descriptions is studied. A data set for experimenting consists of different items (smartphones) from e-shop eBay is developed. Each entity in this corpus photos and a product description are given. These texts are used for item comparing in order to perform similar groups or similar items. The results show that the k-means algorithm is good for preliminary grouping but for detailed processing, other methods and approaches are required.

Manufacturers are the leaders in developing new products to drive productivity. Higher productivity means more products based on the same materials, energy, labour, and capitals. New product development plays a critical role in the success of manufacturing firms. Activities in the product development process are dependent on the knowledge of new product development team members. Increasingly, many enterprises consider effective knowledge search to be a source of competitive advantage. This research presents an exploratory case study conducted at an aircraft manufacturer. This investigation uncovered six, empirically derived and theoretically informed, problems to enterprise knowledge search. They have been articulated as (i) the effectual web bandwidth limits search speed; (ii) less relevant search results based on word-frequency recognition models of search engine; (iii) un-useable techniques for enterprise search; (iv) rigour security, reliability, and company policy; (v) poor search performance about unstructured enterprise knowledge; (vi) the lack of tacit knowledge sharing. Existing search methodologies have focused on the internet search, rather than providing effective search for enterprise. This research aim is developed to assist the manufacturing enterprise in meeting the industrial requirements in the following way: a methodology and system that can improve the information and knowledge search performance in new product development process. Based on the exploratory case findings, a knowledge search methodology and system has been developed. Agent technology is used to fulfil the requirements of enterprise search. Some initial tests were conducted to better understand implementation issues and future deployment of the methodology and system in practice.

The sum-product network (SPN) is a recently-proposed generative, probabilistic model that is guaranteed to compute any joint or any marginal probability in time linear in the size of the model. An SPN is represented as a directed, acyclic graph (DAG) of sum and product nodes, with univariate probability distributions at the leaves. It is important to learn the structure of this DAG since the set of distributions representable by an SPN is constrained by it. We present the first batch structure learning algorithm for SPNs and show its advantage over learning the parameters of an SPN with fixed architecture. We propose a search algorithm for learning the structure of an SPN and show that its ability to learn a DAG-structured SPN makes it better for some tasks than algorithms that only learn tree-structured SPNs. We adapt the structure search algorithm to learn the structure of an SPN in the online setting and show that two other methods for online SPN structure learning are slower or learn models with lower likelihood. We also propose to combine SPNs with an autoencoder to model image data; this application of SPN structure learning shows that both models benefit from being combined.We are also the first to propose a distinction between nonmonotone and monotone SPNs, or SPNs with negative edge-weights and those without, respectively. We prove several important properties of nonmonotone SPNs, propose algorithms for learning a special class of nonmonotone SPN called the twin SPNs, and show that allowing negative edge-weights can help twin SPNs model some distributions more compactly than monotone SPNs.

In the field of product development, many organizations struggle to create a value proposition that can overcome the headwinds of technology change, regulatory requirements, and intense competition, in an effort to satisfy the long-term goals of sustainability. Today, organizations are realizing that they have lost portfolio value due to poor reliability, early product retirement, and abandoned design platforms. Beyond Lean and Green Manufacturing, shareholder value can be enhanced by taking a broader perspective, and integrating sustainability innovation elements into product designs in order to improve the delivery process and extend the life of product platforms. This research is divided into two parts that lead to closing the loop towards Sustainable Value Creation in product development. The first section presents a framework for achieving Sustainable Lifetime Value through a toolset that bridges the gap between financial success and sustainable product design. Focus is placed on the analysis of the sustainable value proposition between producers, consumers, society, and the environment and the half-life of product platforms. The Half-Life Return Model is presented, designed to provide feedback to producers in the pursuit of improving the return on investment for the primary stakeholders. The second part applies the driving aspects of the framework with the development of an Adaptive Genetic Search Algorithm. The algorithm is designed to improve fault detection and mitigation during the product delivery process. A computer simulation is used to study the effectiveness of primary aspects introduced in the search algorithm, in order to attempt to improve the reliability growth of the system during the development life-cycle. The results of the analysis draw attention to the sensitivity of the driving aspects identified in the product development lifecycle, which affect the long term goals of sustainable product development. With the use of the techniques identified in this research, cost effective test case generation can be improved without a major degradation in the diversity of the search patterns required to insure a high level of fault detection. This in turn can lead to improvements in the driving aspects of the Half-Life Return Model, and ultimately the goal of designing sustainable products and processes.

In the dynamic global environment of today, understanding how travelers acquire information is important for marketing management decisions (Srinivasan 1990; Wilkie and Dickson 1985). For destination marketing managers, understanding information search behavior of travelers is crucial for designing effective marketing communication campaigns because information search represents the primary stage at which marketing can provide information and influence travelers' vacation decisions. Therefore, conceptual and empirical examinations of tourist information search behavior have a long tradition in tourism marketing literature (Etzel and Wahlers, 1985; Fodness and Murray, 1997, 1998, 1999; Perdue, 1985; Schul and Crompton, 1983; Snepenger and Snepenger 1993; Woodside and Ronkainen, 1980). Even though several studies examined travelers information search behavior and the factors that are likely to affect it, they all examined travelers' prior product knowledge as a uni-dimensional construct, most often referred to as destination familiarity or previous trip experiences (Woodside and Ronkainen, 1980). However, consumer behavior literature suggests that the prior product knowledge is not a uni-dimensional construct (Alba and Hutchinson). Alba and Hutchinson (1987) propose that prior product knowledge has two major components, familiarity and expertise, and cannot be measured by a single indicator. In addition, in tourism, little research has been done on the factors that are likely to influence travelers' prior product knowledge and, therefore, their information search behavior. The purpose of this study is to examine travelers' information search behavior by studying the effects of travelers' familiarity and expertise on their information search behavior and identifying the factors that are likely to influence travelers' familiarity and expertise and their information search behavior. A travelers' information search behavior model and a measurement instrument to assess the constructs of the model were designed for the use of this study. The model proposed that the type of information search (internal and/or external) that is likely to be utilized will be influenced by travelers' familiarity and expertise. In addition, travelers' involvement, learning, prior visits and cost of information search are proposed to influence travelers' familiarity and their information search behavior. Even though a very complex travelers' information search behavior model was proposed, only the effects of travelers' prior product knowledge (familiarity and expertise) on travelers' information search behavior were empirically tested due to the complex nature of the model. First the proposed measurement scales were pretested on 224 consumers. After making sure that proposed measures of each construct were valid and reliable, a survey of 470 consumers of travel/tourism services who reside in Virginia was conducted. Structural Equation Modeling (i.e., LISREL) analysis was performed to test the fit of the model. Results of the study confirmed that travelers' prior product knowledge has two components, familiarity and expertise, and expertise is a function of familiarity. Both familiarity and expertise affect travelers' information search behavior. While the effect of familiarity on internal search is positive and on external search is negative, the effect of expertise on internal search is negative and on external search is positive. The study identified a U-shaped relationship between travelers' prior product knowledge and external information search. At early stages of learning (low familiarity), travelers are likely to rely on external information sources to make their vacation decisions. As their prior product knowledge (familiarity) increases they tend to make their vacation decisions based on what is in their memory, therefore, reliance on external information sources decreases. However, as they learn more (become experts), they realize that they need more detailed information to make their vacation decisions. As a result, they start searching for additional external information to make their vacation decisions.
Ph. D.

Thesis (Ph.D)--Management, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009.
Committee Co-Chair: Kavadias, Stylianos; Committee Co-Chair: Toktay, L. Beril; Committee Member: Ferguson, Mark; Committee Member: Gaimon, Cheryl; Committee Member: Saleh, Joseph. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

Background: The concept of the product is a multi faced problem, and involves issues such as core value, tangible and intangible products, services, warranties etc. It is a thick jungle of information regarding what a product can be said to be. Closely linked to the concept of the product are also the terms buying behaviour and value. The first term, buying behaviour, is the understanding of what precedes the purchase, and the second refers to the customer’s perceived value. We believe that these three important concepts have not been sufficiently explored as one. We will investigate the concepts individually and finally join them together as one model.

Purpose: We set out to create a model that integrates the concepts of consumer behaviour and value with the concept of the product. Method: The study is to a large extent theoretical. A small number of interviews have been conducted at the two automotive companies Saab and Porsche, and also with owners of these cars respectively. This empiricism complements the thesis, and shows examples of how theory exists in practice.

Results: We have found a way of effectively combining the three concepts product, value and buying behaviour - a model that explains how value and buying behaviour are integrated into the product concept. Our results should be interesting for anyone wanting to understand that products should be considered as more than just the physical object. Products are also closely connected with intangible issues like lifestyle, belonging, image etc. The concept of the product can better be understood when looking at the product in this"three-dimensional"way. We wish the reader much pleasure.

Bakgrund: Produktkonceptet är ett mångfacetterat problem, och innehåller begrepp som kärnvärden, materiella och immateriella produkter, service, garantier etc. Det är en tät djungel av information gällande vad en produkt kan sägas vara. Nära knutet till produktkonceptet är även termerna köpbeteende och värde. Den första termen, köpbeteende, är förståelsen för vad som föregår köpet, och den andra syftar till kundens upplevda värde. Vi tror att dessa tre viktiga koncept inte utforskats tillräckligt som en enhet. Vi kommer undersöka de tre koncepten individuellt, och slutligen sammanföra dem till en modell.

Syfte: Vi ämnar skapa en model som integrerar koncepten konsument beteende och värde med produktkonceptet. Metod: Studien är i stor utsträckning teoretisk. Ett litet antal intervjuer har utförts på de två biltillverkande företagen Saab och Porsche, och även med ägare av dessa respektive bilar. Denna empiri kompletterar uppsatsen, och ger exempel på hur teori existerar i praktiken.

Resultat: Vi har funnit ett sätt att effektivt kombinera de tre koncepten produkt, kundvärde och köpbeteende - en modell som förklarar hur värde och köpbeteende är integrerade i produktkonceptet. Våra resultat torde vara intressanta för den som vill förstå att produkter måste ses som mer än bara det fysiska objektet. Produkter är nära sammankopplade med immateriella begrepp som livsstil, tillhörande, image etc. Produktkonceptet förstås bättre efter att använt detta"tredimensionella"synsätt. Vi önskar läsaren mycket nöje.

Who provides better inputs to new product ideation tasks: problem solvers with expertise in the area for which new products are to be developed, or problem solvers from "analogous" markets that are distant but share an analogous problem or need? Conventional wisdom appears to suggest that target market expertise is indispensable, which is why most managers searching for new ideas tend to stay within their own market context even when they do search outside their firms' boundaries. However, in a unique symmetric experiment that isolates the effect of market origin, we find evidence for the opposite: Although solutions provided by problem solvers from analogous markets show lower potential for immediate use, they demonstrate substantially higher levels of novelty. Also compared to established novelty drivers, this effect appears highly relevant from a managerial perspective: we find that including problem solvers from analogous markets vs. the target market accounts for almost two thirds of the well-known effect of involving lead users instead of average problem solvers. This effect is further amplified when the analogous distance between the markets increases, i.e., when searching in far vs. near analogous markets. Finally, results indicate that the analogous market effect is particularly strong in the upper tail of the novelty distribution, which again underscores the effect's practical importance. All this suggests that it might pay to systematically search across firm-external sources of innovation that were formerly out of scope for most managers. (authors' abstract)

This dissertation is about games with a continuum of players and horizontal differentiation. The first chapter explains how price dispersion can be a feature of a competitive market with homogenous information and production costs. The second chapter extends the study to group consumption. The third chapter is about multiple equilibria in urban transportation.
Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Business Administration/Strategic Management
Ph.D.
In emergent high technology industries, entrepreneurs and their new ventures play a critical role in enhancing economic growth. In these industries, we can easily see some new ventures grow more rapidly to outperform their competitors. However, looking beyond the surface, new ventures’ growth path is idiosyncratic. More specifically, when growing, new ventures pursue different paths in terms of 1) which technologies they develop, 2) which products they make, and 3) what markets they enter. The question that has struck me is why high-tech new ventures differ on these key strategic choices. Building on literature on entrepreneurship, strategy, industry evolution, and network, this dissertation tries to answer this important question by focusing on intra-firm factors, more specifically, the individual and structural attributes of new ventures. Types of founder experience and new ventures’ knowledge structure are examined in depth. My three studies, each presented as a separate essay herein, investigate how individual (i.e. founder experience) and structural attributes (i.e. knowledge structure) affect key strategic choices regarding i) product market scope (Wernerfelt and Montgomery, 1988), ii) technological search scope (Katila and Ahuja, 2002), and iii) the types of new products (Sanchez and Mahoney, 1996; Henderson and Clark, 1990), respectively. In each, I discuss the relevant theories, methodology, data sources, results and implications. By investigating intra-firm factors that trigger different entrepreneurial strategies, my dissertation responds to an important call – micro-foundation of strategy formation – thus filling a key gap in the entrepreneurship literature.
Temple University--Theses

Doutoramento em Biologia
Antifouling (AF) systems are used worldwide to prevent biofouling, a natural phenomenon characterized by the attachment and growth of living organisms onto submerged surfaces. Biofouling may lead to elevated economic losses not only due to the deterioration of submerged structures but also, in the case of vessels, to the increase of frictional drag that ultimately results in the rise of fuel consumption and the reduction of the vessel´s operational time. The hulls chemical protection against this phenomenon has been a common practice in the naval industry but the leaching of biocides from AF systems into the aquatic environment has frequently caused severe adverse ecological impacts. Therefore, it is critical to search for more environment-friendly AF biocides, valuing the compromise of having a good AF performance to target organisms and the lowest ecological impact. Organotin compounds (OTs), especially tributyltin (TBT) and to a lesser extent triphenyltin (TPT), have been used as biocides in AF paints from the 1960's until their ban in 2008. As a consequence, a number of other compounds emerged as substitutes. There was a return to predominantly copper based AF paints with one or more booster biocides added to the formulations to achieve a maximum performance. These alternatives comprised diuron, irgarol 1051, zinc pyrithione, tolylfluanid and dichlofluanid among others. However, some of them have also been banned or phased out from the market due to their toxic effects to aquatic organisms. One objective of the present thesis was to assess the current levels of these AF biocides along the Portuguese coast. For this purpose, a survey was performed in 2011 where both sediments and tissue samples from the mediterranean mussel Mytillus galloprovincialis were collected and analysed to determine the extent of the above mentioned biocides contamination. It was also assessed the imposex levels in the gastropod Nucella lapillus as a proxy to evaluate the status of TBT pollution. The tissues of this bioindicator were also analysed for OTs due to the proven cause-effect relationship between imposex and TBT/TPT body burden. The results reveal that despite the OT global ban in 2008, TBT was still ubiquitous being measured in all assessed sediment samples (3.0 – 850 ng Sn g-1 dry weight (dw)) and in both mussel (1.1 – 420 ng Sn g-1 dw) and dogwhelk tissues (1.4 – 30.4 ng Sn g-1 dw). TPT was less abundant as it was detected in approximately 50 % of the samples: concentration in sediments varied between the detection limit (dl) of 0.1 and 43 ng Sn g-1 dw; in mussel tissues ranged between the dl of 0.2 and 14 ng Sn g-1 dw; in dogwhelk tissues varied from the dl of 0.2 to 1.6 ng Sn g-1 dw. The percentage of N. lapillus females affected by imposex (%I), the vas deferens sequence index (VDSI) and the relative penis size index (RPSI) were used to measure the intensity of imposex and varied between 36.7 – 100%, 0.39 – 7.75 and 0 – 1.22, respectively. Sterile females were only found at one site. Despite the TBT ubiquity in the Portuguese coast, with major incidence close to naval harbours, a decreasing temporal trend of organotin pollution has been observed; in fact, the comparison of 2011 results with those from previous years denote an evident decline of TBT contamination of sediments and biota (namely, mussels and dogwhelks) and N. lapillus imposex. This survey also detected Cu, Zn and diuron in both sediments and mussel tissues. Although the metals have natural and wide anthropogenic sources and diuron may also come from pesticide use in agriculture, the results may point towards their ubiquitous use in AF-paints in a recent past. In the sediments, Cu, Zn and diuron varied between 1.7 and 240 mg Kg-1 dw, the dl of 10 and 620 mg Kg-1 dw and 7.7 and 67 ng g-1 dw, respectively. In mussel tissues Cu varied between 4 and 11 mg Kg-1 dw, Zn between 94 and 640 mg Kg-1 dw and diuron ranged from the dl of 3 to 20 ng g-1 dw. Seldom it was also detected irgarol - measured in 6 (out of the 13) sampled sediment stations (6.8 – 43 ng g-1 dw) and in 5 (out of the 37) mussel tissue samples (18.7 – 183 ng g- 1 dw) - and its metabolite GS26575 measured in only one sediment sample (41 ng g-1 dw) and varying between 4.1 and 188 ng g-1 dw in 4 (out of 37) mussel tissue samples. Tolylfluanid was only measured in 3 (out of 13) sediment samples (9.4 – 21.9 ng g-1 dw) and in 2 (out of 37) mussel tissues samples (5.3 and 26.8 ng g-1 dw). Dichlofluanid content in mussel tissues varied between 2.3 - 160 ng g-1 dw occurring in 5 (out of 37) stations whilst in sediments was always below the detection limit. Nonetheless, contrasting with TBT spatial distribution, no specific pattern could be clearly recognized on the distribution of these AF biocides. With the implementation of the new Biocidal Product Regulation (EU Regulation 528/2012), emerging substances aiming to present a high AF potential to target organisms and a low environmental impact arose. A low toxicity to non-target species as well as a low tendency to bioaccumulate and a rapid transformation to less toxic products are required characteristics of environment-friendly biocides. For this thesis a bibliographic research was carried out in order to select emerging biocides with promising properties. Three biocides were chosen: tralopyril, triphenylborane pyridine (TPBP) and capsaicin. Tralopyril is the main active substance of ECONEA®, being marketed as a non-persistent and biodegradable copper-free biocide, effective in controlling fouling by barnacles, hydroids, mussels and polychaetas. TPBP, also known as Borocide®, is an organoborane compound used as a broadspectrum biocide mainly in Japan. Capsaicin is a natural occurring substance, derived from the chili pepper plant commonly used as animal repellent and claimed to improve the paint efficiency. Therefore, most of the work of this thesis comprehended the characterization of some aspects of the PBT (Persistence, Bioaccumulation and Toxicity) criteria of these biocides in order to perform a proper ecological risk assessment. Giving the scarcity of data in the literature, the major objective of this thesis was to gather new data about the toxicity of tralopyril, TPBP and capsaicin to freshwater and marine organisms, in order to provide novel insights regarding the potential impact of these chemicals to aquatic ecosystems. Regarding the marine environment, a study with early life stages of target and non-target species was carried out. It showed that the tested biocides impaired larval development in the mussel M. galloprovincialis (EC50_tralopyril = 3.1 μg L-1 and EC50_capsaicin = 3868 μg L-1) inhibited larval growth in the sea urchin P. lividus (EC50_tralopyril = 3.0 μg L-1 and EC50_capsaicin = 5248 μg L-1) and caused mortality to the copepod T. battagliai (EC50_tralopyril = 0.9 μg L-1, EC50_capsaicin = 1252 μg L-1 and EC50_TPBP = 14 μg L-1) in a dose-dependent way. When comparing the risk posed by these three emerging biocides with TBT, a reference AF substance, in a seawater marina model, it was concluded that the three tested compounds pose less risk than TBT but, nevertheless, tralopyril and TPBP might represent a considerable threat to the marine ecosystems. Capsaicin was described as the least toxic compound, apparently with no risk but also not presenting a high biocide performance. The next step was to characterize the toxicity of tralopyril, TPBP and capsaicin to three freshwater model species: the algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, the crustacean Daphnia magna and the fish Danio rerio. The lethal effects of the three biocides were studied for all the aforementioned species whilst sub-lethal effects were only assessed for the algae and zebrafish. Tralopyril was the only biocide that caused mortality to C. reihardhtii (LC50 = 71 μg L-1). In the D. magna acute immobilization test, tralopyril and TPBP revealed similar toxicities but only if the concentrations were mantained constant by means of solution renewal. To the zebrafish, tralopyril was undoubetly the most lethal (LC50 = 5.0 μg L-1) followed by TPBP (LC50 = 447.5 μg L-1). Capsaicin did not exert any lethal effects to any of the species tested. Regarding sub-lethal toxicity, both tralopyril and TPBP caused significant effects on C. reihardhtii effective quantum yield and ATP content, however TPBP was much less toxic. Concerning zebrafish, TPBP inhibited the swim bladder inflation, caused heart edema, reduced the blood flow and, at the highest concentrations, led to a diminish of the heart beat rate, whilst tralopyril only caused an inhibition of the swim bladder inflation though at much lower concentrations. Capsaicin caused an increase on the zebrafish embryo heart beat rate although not in a doseresponsive way. The results herein provided data on the effects of the three emerging biocides on freshwater ecosystems but also, as these species belong to different trophic levels, it helped to reduce the assessment factor used in risk assessment, decreasing the uncertainty of such prediction. Thus, the risk assessment performed for a freshwater marina corroborated previous investigations where capsaicin was identified as an environment-friendly compound whilst tralopyril and TPBP were identified as possible threats to the ecossystem. In order to have some insights into the mode of action of the two most toxic compounds referred above - tralopyril and TPBP - further investigations using a differential proteomic analysis were carried out. Sub-lethal tralopyril and TPBP concentrations regulated both general stress-related and compoundspecific proteins on the zebrafish embryo proteome. The common protein regulations between compounds are thought to be stress-related changes and comprehended the altered expression of proteins involved in energy metabolism, eye structure and in cell differentiation processes. Sub-lethal tralopyril exposure specifically upregulated six other proteins involved in energy metabolism, cytoskeleton, cell division and mRNA splicing whilst exposure to TPBP comprised the regulation of three proteins belonging to the cytoskeleton, cell growth and protein folding. Moreover, calculations on the toxic ratio of both compounds identified TPBP as a baseline toxicant whilst tralopyril was found to have a specific toxicity mode of action. As tralopyril became an important candidate to be used in European waters (due to its inclusion on the Biocidal Product Regulation) and also because this biocide revealed the highest and more specific overal toxicity, additional studies were undertaken to better understand the persistence and bioaccumulation potential of this compound. For that, it was essential to develop a sensitive analytical method to measure tralopyril in aqueous matrices. Therefore, a targeted analytical LC-MS/MS method was established to quantify tralopyril in DMSO (the solvent used in all studies portrayed in this thesis) and water samples (natural river and seawater, and medium used for zebrafish exposures - E3 medium). The limits of quantitation achieved for the different media are sufficiently low to detect tralopyril without a preconcentration step (0.05 μg L-1 for river water and 0.025 μg L-1 for the other media analysed). Estimated tralopyril half-lives were 6.1 h for seawater, 8.1 h for river water and 7.4 h for E3 medium at 18º C. In order to study the bioaccumulation potential, tralopyril concentrations were measured in the whole tissues of M. galloprovincialis following acute and chronic exposure, and after a 10-day depuration period. This biocide rapidly accumulated in the mussel tissues, reaching the steady-state condition within 13 days. Nevertheless, mussels seemed to be able to eliminate the compound since 10 days of depuration resulted in 80% elimination of the accumulated biocide. In order to further understand the sub-lethal toxicity of tralopyril to M. galloprovincialis and the possible mode of action, differential proteomics analysis was performed on the gill proteome of this species following acute and chronic exposure, and after a 10-day depuration period. Interestingly, not only tralopyril but also DMSO (used as solvent) significantly modulated the protein expression in mussel gils after acute and chronic exposure. Altogether, 46 proteins involved in bioenergetics, immune system, active efflux and oxidative stress were found to be regulated in the different exposure scenarios. Notably, after the depuration period, alterations of several proteins were still observed possibly reflecting either the continued effect or the incomplete elimination of this chemical. In conclusion, this thesis shows a change in the paradigm regarding AFbiocides, i.e., moving from older generation biocides with high ecological risk, to new ones that should desirably present low persistence and no impact to nontarget species, a difficult task that involves perseverance and hard work.
Os sistemas anti-vegetativos (AV) são usados mundialmente para evitar a incrustação biológica, um fenómeno natural caracterizado pela fixação e crescimento de organismos vivos em superfícies submersas. A bioincrustação pode levar a elevadas perdas económicas, não só devido à deterioração de estruturas submersas, mas também, no caso de navios, ao aumento da resistência à deslocação que resulta num acréscimo do consumo de combustível e na redução do tempo de vida operacional do navio. A proteção química dos cascos dos navios, contra este fenómeno, tem sido uma prática comum na indústria naval, mas a lixiviação de biocidas dos sistemas AV no meio aquático tem frequentemente causado impactos ecológicos adversos graves. Portanto, é fundamental procurar biocidas AV, mais amigos do ambiente, valorizando o compromisso entre ter um bom desempenho AV para atingir organismos alvo mas com um menor impacto ecológico. Os compostos organoestânicos (OTS), especialmente o tributil-estanho (TBT) e, em menor medida o trifenil-estanho (TPT), têm sido utilizados como biocidas em tintas AV desde a década de 1960 até à sua proibição em 2008. Como consequência, uma série de outros compostos surgiram como substitutos. Houve um retorno predominante ao uso de tintas AV à base de cobre com um ou mais biocidas de reforço adicionados às formulações, para alcançar um desempenho máximo. Estas alternativas incluíram diuron, Irgarol 1051, piritiona de zinco, tolilfluanida e diclofluanida entre outros. No entanto, alguns deles também foram proibidos ou retirados do mercado devido aos seus efeitos tóxicos para os organismos aquáticos. Um dos objectivos da presente tese foi avaliar os níveis destes biocidas AV presentes ao longo da costa Portuguesa. Com esta finalidade, foi realizado um estudo científico, em 2011, onde foram recolhidas e analisadas amostras de sedimentos e de tecido de mexilhão (Mytillus galloprovincialis) para determinar a extensão da contaminação pelos biocidas acima mencionados. Foram também avaliados os níveis de imposex no gastrópode Nucella lapillus como forma de verificar o estado da poluição por TBT. Os tecidos deste bioindicador foram somente analisados para o conteúdo de organoestânicos devido à relação causa-efeito já comprovada entre imposex e o conteúdo de TBT / TPT nos tecidos. Os resultados revelaram que, apesar da proibição mundial de OTs, em 2008, o TBT continua disseminado por toda a costa, sendo detetado em todas as amostras de sedimento (3.0 - 850 ng Sn g-1 peso seco (ps)) e também em amostras de tecidos de mexilhão (1.1 - 420 ng Sn g-1 ps) e do gastrópode N. lapillus (1.4 - 30.4 ng Sn g-1 ps). O TPT é menos abundante, uma vez que apenas foi detectado em cerca de 50% das amostras: a concentração nos sedimentos variou entre o limite de detecção (ld) de 0.1 e 43 ng Sn g-1 ps; a concentração nos tecidos de mexilhão variaram entre o ld de 0.2 e 14 ng Sn g-1 ps; a concentração em tecidos do gastrópode variaram entre o ld de 0.2 e 1.6 ng Sn g-1 ps. A percentagem de fêmeas do gastrópode N. lapillus afectadas por imposex (% I), o índice de sequência de vaso deferente (VDSI) e o índice de tamanho relativo do pénis (RPSI) foram usadas para medir a intensidade do imposex e variaram entre 36.7 - 100%, 0.39 - 7.75 e 0 - 1.22, respectivamente. Fêmeas estéreis foram encontradas apenas numa estação de amostragem. Apesar da ubiquidade do TBT no litoral Português, com maior incidência perto de portos navais, foi observada uma tendência temporal decrescente da poluição por organoestanhos; efetivamente, a comparação dos resultados de 2011 com os de anos anteriores denotam uma diminuição evidente da contaminação por TBT não só nos sedimentos e biota (tanto em tecidos de mexilhão como de gastrópodes) mas também no imposex de N. lapillus. Nesta pesquisa também foi detectada a presença de Cu, Zn e diuron em ambas amostras de sedimento e tecidos de mexilhão. Embora os metais possam provir de várias fontes, tanto naturais como antropogénicas, e o diuron possa advir da utilização de pesticidas na agricultura, estes resultados sugerem o uso ubíquo destes biocidas em tintas AV num passado recente. Nos sedimentos, Cu, Zn e diuron variaram entre 1.7 e 240 mg kg-1 ps, entre o ld de 10 e 620 mg kg-1 ps e 7.7 e 67 ng g-1 ps, respectivamente. Em tecidos de mexilhão o Cu variou entre 4 e 11 mg kg-1 ps, Zn entre 94 e 640 mg kg-1 ps e diuron variou desde o ld de 3 a 20 ng g-1 ps. Raramente foram ainda detectados Irgarol – medido em 6 (das 13) estações de sedimentos amostrados (6.8 - 43 ng g-1 ps) e em 5 (das 37) amostras de tecido de mexilhão (18.7 - 183 ng g-1 ps) – e o seu metabolito GS26575 medido em apenas uma amostra de sedimento (41 ng g-1 ps) e variando entre 4.1 e 188 ng g-1 ps em 4 (das 37) amostras de tecido de mexilhão. Tolilfluanida só foi medido em 3 (de 13) amostras de sedimentos (9.4 - 21.9 ng g-1 ps) e em 2 (de 37) amostras de tecido de mexilhão (5.3 e 26.8 ng g-1 ps). O conteúdo de diclofluanida em tecidos de mexilhão variaram entre 2.3 e 160 ng g-1 ps ocorrendo em 5 (de um total de 37) estações, enquanto nos sedimentos esteve sempre abaixo do limite de detecção. No entanto, contrariamente à evidente distribuição espacial do TBT, a distribuição destes biocidas na costa portuguesa não apresentou um padrão específico. Com a implementação do novo Regulamento dos Produtos Biocidas (Regulamento da UE 528/2012), surgiram algumas substâncias emergentes cujo propósito é apresentar um elevado potencial AV para organismos alvo e baixo impacto ambiental. A baixa toxicidade para espécies não-alvo, bem como uma baixa tendência de bioacumulação e uma rápida transformação para produtos menos tóxicos são características necessárias de biocidas mais amigos do ambiente. Para esta tese foi realizada uma pesquisa bibliográfica, a fim de selecionar compostos emergentes com propriedades promissoras. Três biocidas foram escolhidos: tralopyril, trifenilborano piridina (TPBP) e capsaicina. Tralopyril é a principal substância ativa do produto ECONEA®, comercializado como um biocida livre de cobre, não persistente e biodegradável, eficaz no controle da proliferação de cracas, hidrozoários, mexilhões e poliquetas. TPBP, também conhecido como Borocide®, é um composto organoborano usado como biocida de largo espectro, principalmente, no Japão. A capsaicina é uma substância natural, derivada da planta da pimenta utilizada como repelente de animais e que adicionada às tintas AVs alegadamente melhora a sua eficácia. Assim, a maior parte do trabalho desta tese compreendeu a caracterização de alguns aspectos dos critérios PBT (Persistência, Bioacumulação e Toxicidade) destes biocidas, a fim de realizar uma avaliação adequada do risco ecológico. Devido à escassez de dados na literatura, o principal objetivo desta tese foi reunir novos dados sobre a toxicidade do tralopyril, TPBP e capsaicina tanto em organismos marinhos como de água doce, a fim de proporcionar novos conhecimentos sobre o potencial impacto desses produtos químicos nos ecossistemas aquáticos. Relativamente ao ambiente marinho, foi realizado um estudo com estádios iniciais de vida de espécies-alvo e não-alvo. Observou-se que os biocidas testados comprometeram o desenvolvimento larvar do mexilhão M. galloprovincialis (EC50_tralopyril = 3.1 μg L-1 e EC50_capsaicina = 3868 μg L-1) inibiram o crescimento larvar do ouriço do mar P. lividus (EC50_tralopyril = 3,0 μg L-1 e EC50_capsaicina = 5248 μg L-1) e causaram mortalidade no copépode T. battagliai (EC50_tralopyril = 0,9 μg L-1, EC50_capsaicina = 1252 μg L-1 e EC50_TPBP = 14 μg L-1) em função da dose usada. Ao comparar o risco ambiental apresentado pelos três biocidas emergentes com o do TBT, uma substância AV de referência, num modelo de marina de água salgada, concluiu-se que os três compostos testados apresentam menor risco que o TBT. No entanto, tanto o tralopyril como o TPBP podem representar uma ameaça considerável para os ecossistemas marinhos. A capsaicina parece ser como o composto menos tóxico, aparentemente, sem risco mas também sem um alto desempenho biocida. O passo seguinte foi caracterizar a toxicidade do tralopyril, TPBP e capsaicina em três espécies modelo de água doce: a alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, o crustáceo Daphnia magna e peixe-zebra Danio rerio. Os efeitos letais dos três biocidas foram estudados para todas as espécies acima mencionadas, enquanto que os efeitos sub- letais foram avaliados apenas para as algas e peixe-zebra. Tralopyril foi o único biocida que causou mortalidade na alga C. reihardhtii (LC50 = 71 μg L-1). No teste agudo de imobilização da D. magna, tralopyril e TPBP revelaram toxicidades semelhantes, mas somente se as concentrações fossem mantidas constantes por meio de renovação da solução. Para o peixe-zebra, tralopyril foi sem dúvida o composto mais letal (LC50 = 5.0 μg L-1) seguido pelo TPBP (LC50 = 447.5 μg L-1). A capsaicina não exerceu quaisquer efeitos letais em nenhuma das espécies testadas. Em relação à toxicidade sub-letal, tanto o tralopyril como o TPBP causaram efeitos significativos no rendimento quântico efetivo e no conteúdo de ATP em C. reihardhtii, no entanto o TPBP apresentou uma toxicidade bastante mais baixa. Em relação ao peixe-zebra, o TPBP inibiu a inflação de bexiga natatória, causou edema no coração, reduziu o fluxo sanguíneo e, nas concentrações mais elevadas, levou a uma diminuição da taxa de batimento cardíaco, enquanto que o tralopyril causou apenas uma inibição da inflação de bexiga natatória embora numa concentração bastante menor. A capsaicina causou um aumento na taxa de batimentos cardíacos do embrião de peixe-zebra, embora de uma forma não dependente da concentração do composto. Os resultados aqui descritos não só proporcionam informação sobre os efeitos dos três biocidas emergentes sobre os ecossistemas de água doce, mas também, uma vez que estas espécies pertencem a níveis tróficos diferentes, ajudou a reduzir os factores de avaliação utilizados na avaliação de risco, diminuindo a incerteza de tal previsão. Assim, a avaliação de risco realizada para uma marina de água doce corroborou investigações anteriores, em que a capsaicina foi identificada como um composto amigo do ambiente, enquanto que o tralopyril e o TPBP foram identificados como possíveis ameaças ao ecossistema. Com a finalidade de compreender o modo de ação dos dois compostos mais tóxicos, acima referidos - tralopyril e TPBP - novas investigações foram efectuadas usando uma analise proteómica diferencial. Concentrações subletais de tralopyril e TPBP regularam tanto proteínas relacionadas com o stress geral do organismo, como também outras proteínas mais especificas da ação do composto, no proteoma do embrião de peixe-zebra. Pensa-se que a regulação de proteínas comuns entre compostos possa ser relacionada com o stress e abrangeram a alteração de proteínas envolvidas no metabolismo energético, estrutura do olho e processos de diferenciação celular. A exposição a concentrações sub-letais de tralopyril regularam positivamente seis proteínas específicas envolvidas no metabolismo da energia, do citoesqueleto, da divisão celular e no splicing do mRNA, enquanto que a exposição a TPBP levou à regulação de três proteínas pertencentes ao citoesqueleto, crescimento celular e protein folding. Foram ainda efectuados cálculos sobre o Toxic Ratio de ambos os compostos que identificaram o TPBP como um químico responsável por uma toxicidade mais geral, enquanto que o tralopyril parece ter um modo de ação mais específico.Uma vez que o tralopyril se tornou num candidato importante a ser utilizado em águas europeias (devido à sua inclusão no Regulamento dos Produtos Biocida) e também porque este composto revelou a mais alta e específica toxicidade, de entre os 3 biocidas, foram realizados estudos adicionais para compreender melhor a sua persistência e potencial de bioacumulação. Para isso, foi essencial desenvolver um método analítico sensível para medir este composto em matrizes aquosas. Assim, um método analítico por LC-MS/MS foi estabelecido para quantificar tralopyril em DMSO (o solvente utilizado em todos os estudos realizados nesta tese) e em amostras aquosas (águas naturais de rio e do mar, bem como o meio utilizado nas exposições de embriões de peixezebra - Medio E3). Os limites de quantificação do tralopyril nos vários meios utilizados foram suficientemente baixos para detectar tralopyril sem um passo de pré-concentração (0.05 μg L-1 para águas do rio e 0.025 μg L-1 para os outros meios de analisados). O tempo de meia-vida estimado para este composto foi de 6.1 h na água do mar, 8.1 h na água de rio e 7.4 h no meio E3 a 18º C. A fim de estudar o potencial de bioacumulação, foram medidas as concentrações de tralopyril em tecidos de M. galloprovincialis após exposição aguda e crónica, e após um período de depuração de 10 dias. Este biocida acumulou rapidamente nos tecidos de mexilhão, atingindo o estado estacionário em 13 dias. No entanto, pensa-se que os animais sejam capazes de eliminar o composto uma vez que 10 dias de depuração resultaram na eliminação de 80% do biocida acumulado. Com o objectivo de melhor compreender a toxicidade sub-letal do tralopyril em M. galloprovincialis e o modo de ação deste composto, foi realizada uma análise proteómica diferencial no proteoma das brânquias de organismos desta espécie após exposições aguda e crónica e depois de um período de depuração de 10 dias. Curiosamente, não só o tralopyril mas também o DMSO (utilizado como solvente), modularam significativamente a expressão de proteínas nas brânquias de mexilhão após exposições aguda e crónica. No total, 46 proteínas envolvidas na bioenergética, no sistema imunológico, active efflux e no stress oxidativo foram reguladas nos diferentes cenários de exposição. Alterações de várias proteínas foram ainda observadas, depois do período de depuração, possivelmente refletindo quer o efeito contínuo do tralopyril ou da sua eliminação incompleta. Em conclusão, este trabalho mostra uma mudança de paradigma em relação aos biocidas AV, isto é, há uma passagem do uso de biocidas mais antigos com alto risco ecológico, para biocidas mais novos que devem, desejavelmente, apresentar uma baixa persistência e nenhum impacto para as espécies não alvo, uma tarefa difícil que envolve perseverança e trabalho árduo.

Drawing upon data collected as part of the development of a Regional Innovation Strategy (RIS) for the West Midlands region of England, the current study presents an attempt to better understand the factors which may hinder or facilitate product innovation within small manufacturing firms. The focus is upon traditional and/or mature sectors rather than the high-technology small firms (HTSFs), or new technology-based firms (NTBFs), which feature disproportionately in academic and policy discussions. The study adopts a model of firm-level innovation which views innovation outputs as a function of, internal and external, resource inputs and enabling activities set within an institutional framework (broadly defined to encompass instituted behaviours). To this end, the study is influenced by Systems of Innovation (SI) approaches and is, in part, a critique of such approaches. More specifically, employing a sample of 228 small manufacturing firms (i.e. less than 250 full-time-equivalent employees), the thesis considers the relationship between 'innovativeness' and: firm strategy and structure; skills; finance; external linkages; and, performance. Empirical observations are set within a broader conceptual framework of learning, discovery and interaction. Moreover, given the context in which the data was collected, policy considerations loom large. In particular, the thesis considers the extent to which 'spatial' systems of innovation represent appropriate models for economic development, generally, and for the revitalisation of areas characterised by industrial decline and restructuring specifically.

A method for performing robust optimal design that combines the efficiency of experimental designs and the accuracy of nonlinear programming (NLP) has been developed, called Search-and-Zoom. Two case studies from the RF and communications industry, a high-frequency micro-strip band-pass filter (BPF) and a rectangular, directional patch antenna, were used to show that sensitivity optimization could be effectively performed in this industry and to compare the computational efficiency of traditional NLP methods (using fmincon solver in MATLAB R2013a) and they hybrid method Search-and-Zoom. The sensitivity of the BPF's S11 response was reduced from 0.06666 at the (non-robust) nominal optimum to 0.01862 at the sensitivity optimum. Feasibility in the design was improved by reducing the likelihood of violating constraints from 20% to nearly 0%, assuming RSS (i.e., normally-distributed) input tolerances and from 40% to nearly 0%, assuming WC (i.e., uniformly-distributed) input tolerances. The sensitivity of the patch antenna's S11 function was also improved from 0.02068 at the nominal optimum to 0.0116 at the sensitivity optimum. Feasibility at the sensitivity optimum was estimated to be 100%, and thus did not need to be improved. In both cases, the computation effort to reach the sensitivity optima, as well as the sensitivity optima with RSS and WC feasibility robustness, was reduced by more than 80% (average) by using Search-and-Zoom, compared to the NLP solver.

MEASUREING VISUAL SEARCH REACTION TIME AND ACCURACY FOR A PRODUCT LABELWARNING AS A FUNCTION OF ICON, COLOR, COLUMN, AND VERTICAL PLACEMENT

SWINDELL, JULIE ANN

Abstract
There is a large body of work written on how to design effectivewarnings. Within an information-processing perspective, before a warning can be heeded it must be noticed,read, understood, retained, retrieved at the appropriate time, and acted upon. If a warning is not noticed (thefirst step in the process), the linear sequence is broken and compliance behavior is much less likely to result.This study examined factors that might facilitate the noticeability of a warning in a simulated product label. Thefactors examined were icon, signal word color and placement. The experiment examined a 5 icon x 3 color x 2column x 3 placement design. Participants were to decide which of two warnings was present in a given labeland reaction time was measured. Afterwards, participants were asked to order the 16 label conditions fromthe most- to least-noticeable warnings. The results showed icon/signal word pairs presented in red or bluewere found significantly faster than those presented in black although red was not significantly greater thanblue. All icon conditions showed significantly faster reaction times than when the icon was absent, althoughthere were differences found between the icon conditions. Warnings in the left column were found significantlyfaster than those in the right column. Those warnings located at the top of the column were significantly fasterthan those located in the middle or at the bottom of a column, although no significant difference was foundbetween the latter two locations. The addition of color or icon overrode any effects of column or placement.The results of this study suggest that minor changes to a fairly extensive warning label such as the addition of anicon or color, could greatly improve warning noticeability.

Inventors face three key problems when attempting to uncover new product inventions: vast design spaces, interconnected product elements, and uncertainty as to the payoff to a proposed product design. In order to make vast design spaces tractable, inventors rely on search heuristics. The primary objective of this thesis is to enhance our understanding of the role that search heuristics play in the inventive process for physical products. The central metaphor underlying this study is that product invention can be considered as a complex adaptive system. Invention is conceptualised as a search process, on a landscape of product possibilities, by a population of profit-seeking inventors. It is argued that a substantial component of the inventive process can be captured in an evolutionary algorithm, wherein product inventions are continually created, tested in the marketplace, and ultimately displaced by subsequent inventions. A simulation model of the process of product invention is developed using a novel synthesis of two general frameworks drawn from the literature of complex adaptive systems, Kauffman's NK model and Holland's genetic algorithm. The simulation model is used to test a series of hypotheses which examine the sensitivity of the product invention process to the search heuristics used by inventors, under varying levels of product element interconnection, and under varying levels of uncertainty regarding payoffs to proposed product inventions. The key finding of the simulation experiments is that if search heuristics are confined to those which are rooted in past experience, or to heuristics which merely generate variety, successful product invention does not occur. Successful invention only occurs when inventor's expectations as to the relative fitness of potential product inventions are incorporated into the model of invention. The simulations also demonstrate that the effectiveness of the search heuristics of inventors is robust with respect to noisy expectations as to the worth of a potential invention, and is robust with respect to conditions of technical uncertainty. The simulation results underscore the importance of formal product / project evaluation procedures in organisations, and the importance of market information when inventing new products.

Objective: The goal of this research was to determine whether alternate-line shading (zebra-striping) of grid-based displays affects the strategy (i.e., “visual flow”) and efficiency of serial search. Background: Grids, matrices, and tables are commonly used to organize information. A number of design techniques and psychological principles are relevant to how viewers’ eyes can be guided through such visual works. One common technique for grids, “zebra-striping,” is intended to guide eyes through the design, or “create visual flow” by alternating shaded and unshaded rows or columns. Method: 13 participants completed a visual serial search task. The target was embedded in a grid that had 1) no shading, 2) shading of alternating rows, or 3) shading of alternating columns. Response times and error rates were analyzed to determine search strategy and efficiency. Results: Our analysis found evidence supporting a weak effect of shading on search strategy. The direction of shading had an impact on which parts of the grid were responded to most rapidly. However, a left-to-right reading bias and middle-to-outside edge effect were also found. Overall performance was reliably better when the grid had no shading. Exploratory analyses suggest individual differences may be a factor. Conclusion: Shading seems to create visual flow that is relatively weak compared to search strategies related to the edge effect or left-to-right reading biases. In general, however, the presence of any type of shading reduced search performance. Application: Designers creating a grid-based display should not automatically assume that shading will change viewers search strategies. Furthermore, although strategic shading may be useful for tasks other than that studied here, our current data indicate that shading can actually be detrimental to visual search for complex (i.e., conjunctive) targets.

Este trabalho investiga vestígios de efeitos geracionais na escolha do etanol como combustível para carro. Há evidências de que as políticas de incentivo aos programas de diversificação da matriz energética influenciaram os hábitos de consumo. Apesar do baixo envolvimento do consumidor na compra de commodities, mas tendo em conta fatos como a crise do petróleo, o Proálcool, o advento dos motores a álcool e flex fuel, este estudo investiga se há algum efeito geracional na preferência por etanol em detrimento da gasolina como combustível. O estudo faz uso de um questionário, aplicado somente para consumidores que tomam decisões de abastecimento de carros tipo flex. A amostra inclui consumidores de ampla faixa etária, de acordo com as necessidades de cobrir diferentes possibilidades de efeitos geracionais. Os resultados apontam para alguns indícios, particularmente para preocupações ambientais e envolvimento com o carro.
This research investigates traces of generational effects in choice of ethanol as a car fuel. There are evidences that incentive policies applied in the diversification programs of energetic matrix has influenced consumption habits. Despite low consumer involvement in the purchase of commodities, but considering facts such as the oil crisis, the Alcohol Program, the advent of ethanol and flex fuel engines, this study investigates whether there is any effect on the generational preference for ethanol over the gasoline fuel. The study makes use of a survey, applied only to consumers who make decisions in flex fuel cars filling. The sample includes consumer’s wide age range, in order to cover the needs of different possibilities generational effects. The results point to some evidence, particularly for environmental concerns and car involvement.

Purpose/Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate future marketing channels from the perspective of professional marketers.

Material/Method: The study is based upon interviews with six professional marketers.

Main results: Traditional marketing is not being put aside but needs to be combined with new methods. There are several new and exciting ways to gain attention from the audience, all depending on the purpose of the campaign. Mobile technology is considered upcoming and target group defining is a key issue.

The study shows that multi-sided markets pose difficulties when the relevant product market is to be defined. These difficulties pertain to two questions. The first question is whether one or several markets should be defined. In this regard, it is not easy to extract a coherent method from the cases examined. Instead, the methods applied give the impression of ad hoc-solutions, where similar circumstances result in dissimilar outcomes. Indeed, it is hard to reconcile the different market definitions in Visa International MIF and MasterCard MIF. The uncertainties are not limited to these two cases, as the methods applied in Google Shopping too give rise to ambiguities. Why was the market for general search engine platforms separated into two distinct product markets, but the market for comparison shopping services encompassed both sides? Unfortunately, this discussion was not present in the decision. This only serves to reinforce the impression that these questions are solved on an ad hoc-basis. A clear method of approaching multi-sided markets is desirable, not least because the enforcement of competition rules must be characterized by consistency and foreseeability. Hopefully, the judgement in Google Shopping will bring further clarity to this. Nonetheless, the conclusion is that one market should be defined when differences between competitive constraints on the two sides are absent. E contrario, this means that two markets should be defined when such differences are present. This is true regardless of the market in question being a transaction or a non-transaction market. This method seems preferable to strictly adhering to the division of multi-sided markets into transaction or non-transaction markets. If the Commission’s analysis is correct in that there are no differences in competitive constraints on the two sides of comparison shopping services, in combination with crossing network effects, the platform’s multi-sidedness is a necessary trait for both sides. This means that a substitute has to be multi-sided in order for it to be included on the relevant product market, which minimizes the risk for false negatives. Vice versa, the definition of two markets allows for one-sided products to be included on the relevant product market, which minimizes the risk for false positives. This is important not only for the binary finding of dominance or non-dominance, but also the degree of dominance. As concluded above, incorrectly defining one market may artificially inflate the degree of dominance into false super-dominance, and incorrectly defining several markets may artificially dilute the degree of dominance. The second question is how substitutability should be measured. It is obvious from the cases examined that qualitative measures are used and not quantitative measures. The products’ characteristics, intended use, purpose, functionalities, users’ perceptions of the product, etc. were given much attention. The SSNIP test was not applied in any of the cases. The first conclusion to be drawn from the examination above is therefore that the difficulties regarding measuring substitutability on multi-sided markets mainly concern quantitative measures. The arguments against applying a SSNIP test related to the cellophane fallacy (in two different forms, one of which was deceivingly similar to the reverse cellophane fallacy) and differences in price sensitivities between the two sides. Network effects present an additional difficulty, which may lead to exaggerated results when measuring substitutability. The second conclusion to be drawn is that there exists a reluctance to apply a SSNIP test in a way that is tailored for multi-sided markets. One method that has been proposed is to apply the test on the total sum paid by both sides, while allowing the intermediary to adjust the increase in price in accordance with its price structure. The categorical dismissal of applying the test in this way suggests that adapted versions have some time to wait before being introduced into case law and decisional practice. If they, as their proponents argue, are a robust way of broadening the evidence of possible substitutability, this is unfortunate. The risk of defining the market overly narrow or overly broad is of course present in this regard as well. A broader spectrum of evidence therefore minimizes the risk of incorrectly finding both dominance and non-dominance.

I will attend to creation suitable model of e-marketing for e-shop with flowers in my diploma work. The aim will by join the possible instruments of online marketing in order that the company can succesfully work on the Internet. and ensure the betterposition before the competition. I will focus on e-marketing and its individua instruments. I will make some analysis of the company, by virtue of I will propose what kind of e-marketing can company use. Last but not least I will attend to the aims, which company should achieve and own potential which should valorize.

The purpose of this study is to generate an understanding of first-time buyers of high involvement products, by examine how they search for information and evaluate alternatives. Three research questions were formulated to achieve the purpose of the study. Two of them concern first-time buyers’ behavior and the third one aims to answer if any possible explanations to their behavior could be identified. The study is based on theories within the research field of consumer behavior regarding purchase behavior, the consumer decision process, decision making style, involvement and knowledge along with uncertainty. In order to answer the purpose and the associated research questions, data was collected with a qualitative approach through semi structured interviews. The empirical data was analyzed by a thematic analysis, derived from a model based on the theoretical framework. The results of the study indicate that first-time buyers do not consider their internal information search adequate, and therefore search for further information externally. Their external information search tends to involve several sources. The sources credibility seems to be based on previous experiences from other situations. How they evaluate alternatives also seems to be influenced by previous use of cut-offs and decision rules, to simplify their decision making. Further the results argue that the stages search for information and evaluation of alternatives is rather integrated and iterative than detached. However, it appears that the decision-making style of first-time buyers of high involvement products differ in their degree of involvement, levels of knowledge and experienced uncertainty. Both the complex and the dissonance reducing buying behavior is occurring in first-time buyers of high involvement products. Additionally, the results indicate that tendencies of both a complex and dissonance reducing buying behavior could be identified in one individual.This study is written in Swedish.
Syftet med den här studien är att skapa en förståelse för förstagångsköpare av högengagemangsprodukter genom att undersöka hur de söker information och utvärderar alternativ. Tre forskningsfrågor formulerades utifrån studiens syfte, varav två rör förstagångsköpares beteende och den tredje ämnar ge svar på eventuella förklaringar till deras agerande. Studien utgår från teorier inom forskningsfältet för konsumentbeteende som berör köpbeteende, köpbeslutsprocessen, beslutsfattarstil, engagemang samt kunskap och osäkerhet. Med ett kvalitativt angreppssätt samlades data in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer för att ge svar på syftet med tillhörande forskningsfrågor. En modell togs fram baserat på den teoretiska referensramen som sedan låg till grund för en tematisk analys av empirin. Studiens resultat visar att förstagångsköpares interna informationssökning inte är tillräcklig vid högengagemangsköp, vilket resulterar i att ytterligare information söks externt. I den externa sökningen tenderar de att söka information från flera källor. Källornas trovärdighet verkar bedömas utifrån deras tidigare erfarenheter från andra sammanhang. Även utvärderingen influeras av tidigare tillämpning av brytpunkter och beslutsregler som underlättar beslutsfattandet. Det framgår också att stadierna informationssökning och utvärdering av alternativ snarare sker integrerat, i en iterativ process, än var för sig. Studiens resultat bekräftar att beslutsfattarstil, engagemang samt kunskaps- och osäkerhetsnivå influerar informationssöknings- och utvärderingsprocessen hos förstagångsköpare av högengagemangsprodukter. Däremot framgår det att förstagångsköpare av högengagemangsprodukter har olika beslutsfattarstil, grad av engagemang samt besitter olika nivåer av kunskap och upplever varierad grad av osäkerhet. Både ett komplext och dissonansreducerande köpbeteende förekommer hos förstagångsköpare av högengagemangsprodukter. Dessutom visar resultatet att det kan identifieras tendenser som tyder på både ett komplext och dissonansreducerande köpbeteende hos en och samma individ. Studien är skriven på svenska.

In this thesis, I explored three topics, each addressing a different aspect online search for products and people. In chapter one, we investigated whether consumers’ response to online product reviews depends, not only on static dimensions but also on more dynamic features such as narrative style. We showed that depending on the review’s narrative style, consumers engage in an imaginary social interaction with the reviewer that significantly improves recommendation acceptance. The topic of interest in chapter two is product evaluation based on online product ratings. More specifically, we measured the relative effects of ratings expressed on larger versus smaller scales. The results suggest that when consumers aggregate ratings from different online product review websites, ratings expressed on larger scales have a stronger effect on product evaluation. In chapter three, we examined online dating and tested whether partner search via swift evaluation of profile photos, as is typical for apps such as Tinder, would promote a commodified view of other people. The findings provided evidence for a reduced perception of humanness in others, and lower fairness considerations after a date search task.
En esta tesis, he explorado tres temas, cada uno abordando un aspecto diferente de la búsqueda en línea de productos y personas.. En el capítulo uno, investigamos si la respuesta de los consumidores a las opiniones de productos en línea depende, no solo de las dimensiones estáticas, sino también de las características más dinámicas como el estilo narrativo. Demostramos que, según el estilo narrativo de la opinión, los consumidores participan en una interacción social imaginaria con el escritor que mejora significativamente la aceptación de las recomendaciones. En el capítulo dos nos centramos en la evaluación de productos basada en calificaciones de productos en línea. Más específicamente, medimos los efectos relativos de las calificaciones expresadas en escalas más grandes versus más pequeñas. Los resultados sugieren que cuando los consumidores agregan calificaciones de diferentes sitios web , las calificaciones expresadas en escalas más grandes tienen un efecto más fuerte en la evaluación del producto. En el capítulo tres, examinamos las citas en línea y comprobamos si la búsqueda de pareja a través de una evaluación rápida de las fotos de perfil, como es típico en aplicaciones como Tinder, promueveuna visión comercial de los demás. Los hallazgos muestran un incremento en la deshumanización hacia los demás, así como menores consideraciones de equidad después de una tarea de búsqueda de citas.

The work undertaken explored the potential for discovery of new bioactive metabolites from soil fungi. The research developed selective mycological isolation techniques and maximised metabolite production from active selected fungi by application of the OSMAC approach and concept of hormesis. Novel active compounds were discovered and many other known compounds characterised.

The first chapter of this thesis deals with some substitution reactions of -carbolines aimed at the synthesis of the metabolite 6-hydroxyharmine which is produced when harmine is incubated with rat liver microsomes. The conversion of 6-bromo- and 6-nitro-harmine into its hydroxy-analogue was not achieved but direct hydroxylation of harmine using lead tetra-acetate trifluoroacetic acid followed by in situ reduction with zinc dust gave 6-hydroxyharmine. This reaction also worked with harman and norharman. In the second chapter, the synthesis of 4-aryl-5,2'-oxido-coumarins has been carried out by oxidative coupling, using dichloro-dicyanobenzo-quinone or potassium ferricyanide on methoxy- or hydroxy-4-phenylcoumarins. Our synthesis of 4',5'-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-4-phenyl-5,2'-oxido-coumarin confirmed that one of the natural products isolated from Coutarea latiflora was indeed an oxido-coumarin. The third chapter examines the corrosion inhibitive properties on mild steel of naturally occurring organic compounds and their derivatives. Mono- and di-sodium salts of carboxylic acids, amino-acids, lignins, tannins and humic acids and extracts of the plants Crtisus scoparius (broom), Calluna vulgaris (heather), Pteridium aquilinum (fern), the seaweeds Fucus ceranoides and Pelvetia canaliculata and mussels Mytilus edulis all show indhibitor properties. An assessment of their relative efficiencies has also been made. The last part of this chapter discusses the corrosion inhibitive properties of oxidation products derived from castor and olive oils.

The Large Hadron Collider located at CERN is currently the most powerful particle accelerator and ATLAS is an experiment designed to exploit the high energy proton-proton collisions provided by the LHC. It opens a unique window to search for new physics at very high energy, such as supersymmetry, a postulated symmetry between fermions and bosons. Supersymmetry can provide a solution to the hierarchy problem and a candidate for Dark Matter. It also predicts the existence of new particles with masses around 1 TeV, thus reachable with the LHC. This thesis presents a new search for supersymmetry in a previously unexplored search channel, namely the production of charginos and neutralinos directly decaying to electroweak on-shell gauge bosons, with two leptons, jets, and missing transverse momentum in the final state. The search is performed with proton-proton collision data at a center of mass energy of √s = 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS experiment in 2012. The design of a signal region sensitive to the new signal is presented and a data driven technique to estimate the Z+jets background is developed. Precise measurements of hadronic jet energies are crucial to search for new physics with ATLAS. A precise energy measurement of hadronic jets requires detailed knowledge of the pulse-shapes from the hadron calorimeter signals. Performance of the ATLAS Tile Calorimeter in this respect is presented using both pion test-beams and proton–proton collision data.

At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2 and Paper 4: Technical report from the  ATLAS experiment.

Advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) are the products of a non-enzymatic reaction that occurs in the blood between glucose and albumin. The receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE) is a transmembrane protein primarily located in the endothelial cells of small vasculature which binds AGEs. When RAGE binds to its ligands, it activates a chronic inflammatory response in the genes. While this is most likely a natural immune response, in diseases that result in chronically high levels of AGEs in the blood, such as diabetes, the chronic inflammation can cause damage to the vasculature. This occurs by altering the microenvironment of the basal membrane in tissues where RAGE is expressed. Complications such as edema, retinopathy, nephropathy and cardiovascular disorders can result from this inflammation. Birds have an average fasting blood glucose level 4-5 times higher than that of a human being, making them an ideal animal model for studying adaptation to chronic high blood glucose levels. Additionally, they , do not suffer from these RAGE-related inflammatory disorders. This suggests that RAGE may not be present in birds. Tissue from Mourning Doves (Zenaida macroura) was examined for the presence of RAGE through antibody based protein identification techniques. Though not strongly conclusive, the evidence suggests that RAGE is not present in the small vasculature of Mourning Doves.

碩士
國立聯合大學
管理碩士學位學程
102
ABSTRACT An important aspect of consumer behavior in electronic environments is the search habits consumers adopt when gathering information before making a purchase decision. Very little research has been conducted using observation method within the area. Therefore, the aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of how consumers search for product information online through observation. More specifically, this study further explores how the consumers search their product information online and their time spending on each of product information items. The purpose of this study is to investigate consumer product information search behavior between two different product information presentation designs concerning what they search, how much time they spend on each of the information. We used observation to investigate product information search behavior online. Results show that the Categorical product information presentation design is much superior to the Traditional in terms of times participants spent on the information items. Conclusion discussed about consumer’s product information search behavior online, implications of the research findings and suggestions for the future study.

碩士
國立中央大學
企業管理研究所
95
In the past, many researchers have studied about the relationship between new product and market return, but in fact, a new product must still fit a suitable business model, therefore, corporation can make profits, and it provides these inferences in the search engine industry. In order to define what is the good search engine, this paper uses consumer decision model of the consumer behaviors, and analysis what is good and bad by internal and external search behavior. As a result, analysis three factors in good search engine : efficiency, complete, and precise. After studying google and other competitors, this paper analysis the business models, in order to try to explain its business assumptions and production positions. The paper found google does not good search engine, but it uses to fit its model ‘Adsense and Adwords’. Google understands completely the intentions behind the searchers. It provides different intentions to advertisers, they can choose targets they want to promote , in order to raise their advertiser effectiveness , and increase the quality of the search.

碩士
國立臺灣大學
商學研究所
101
As people''s living standards and consumption levels increase, consumer demand is also becoming more diverse than before. To satisfy varied consumers’ demands, manufactures provide a variety of new products on the market for consumers to choose from. Common ways for consumers to know new products are advertising and product trial. Compared to advertising, product trial will help consumers know new products much faster. Moreover, to increase the awareness of product, many manufactures will invite well-known figures to be product endorsers. However, consumers often find out there is a discrepancy between advertising and product trial. After finding out the direct experience from product trial is not as good as the arguments of advertising, are consumers’ attitudes toward products worse due to the endorser? This research chooses a pen as a product in the experiment. Advertising /product trial, endorser and search/experience attribute are independent variables; product attitude and attitude certainty are dependent variables. The research mainly examines when there is a discrepancy between advertising and product trial, whether consumers would correct for the bias factor of endorser and how bias correction would influence consumers’ attitudes towards product. The result shows that when subjects see the advertising with an endorser, after product trial, the subjects’ attitudes towards the product are much inferior to those who not see an endorser in the advertising before product trial.

碩士
國立中正大學
資訊工程所
94
Automatic information fusion from di®erent purchasing sites is useful to customers. Most purchasing sites provide product search systems for customers to find the target products. However, customers would like to do some comparisons, such as price, speci¯cation and uses opinion comparison between similar products from different sites. It is very time consuming for us to do these comparisons. In this thesis, we present a integrated product search system WISH that aims to provide these comparison information. According to the queries typed by customers, WISH will send the queries to different product search systems, and then extract products from returned pages. Because of large amounts of heterogeneities, WISH will use XML as the description language of the search system profile. Moreover, WISH will provide advanced search with back-end database enhancement. The product reviews that is carried out with another project of Opinion Mining is also integrated into WISH.