Examines various industries to show how business endows products with evocative meaning. Kramer was one of the most visionary musical thinkers of the second half of the 20th century. In his The Time of Music, he approached the idea of the many different ways that time itself is articulated musically. This book has become influential among composers, theorists, and aestheticians. Now, in his almost completed text written before his untimely death in 2004, he examines the concept of postmodernism in music. Kramer created a series of markers by which we can identify postmodern works. He suggests that the postmodern project actually creates a radically different relationship between the composer and listener. Written with wit, precision, and at times playfully subverting traditional tropes to make a very serious point about this difference, Postmodern Music, Postmodern Listening leads us to a strongly grounded intellectual basis for stylistic description and an intuitive sensibility of what postmodernism in music entails. Postmodern Music, Postmodern Listening is an examination of how musical postmodernism is not just a style or movement, but a fundamental shift in the relationship between composer and listener. The result is a multifaceted and provocative look at a critical turning point in music history, one whose implications we are only just beginning to understand. A timely essay collection on the development and influence of secular expressions of Buddhism in the West and beyond. How do secular values impact Buddhism in the modern world? What versions of Buddhism are being transmitted to the West? Is it possible to know whether an interpretation of the Buddha’s words is correct? In this new essay collection, opposing ideas that often define Buddhist communities—secular versus religious, modern versus traditional, Western versus Eastern—are unpacked and critically examined. These reflections by contemporary scholars and practitioners reveal the dynamic process of reinterpreting and reimagining Buddhism in secular contexts, from the mindfulness movement to Buddhist shrine displays in museums, to whether rebirth is an essential belief. This collection explores a wide range of modern understandings of Buddhism—whether it is considered a religion, philosophy, or lifestyle choice—and questions if secular Buddhism is purely a Western invention, offering a timely contribution to an ever-evolving discussion. Contributors include Bhikkhu Bodhi, Kate Crosby, Gil Fronsdal, Kathleen Gregory, Funie Hsu, Roger R. Jackson, Charles B. Jones, David L. McMahan, Richard K. Payne, Ron Purser, Sarah Shaw, Philippe Turenne, and Pamela D. Winfield. `I judge this book to be something of a triumph. It provides many valuable insights into how social psychologists work within different paradigms and with quite different assumptions.... Throughout, the writing is clear, central issues are constantly reexamined, and sight is never lost of the whole \"task\" of the book... it addresses central issues both adventurously and provocatively. Students who use it are lucky to have such a feast provided, and they are bound to find the material both challenging and stimulating... there is much more about self issues in this text than in any comparable social psychology text. And that, in itself, is a major achievement' Self & Society This accessible, broad-based and a

The Saturated Self: Dilemmas of Identity in Contemporary Life

Facilitating engaging user experiences is essential in the design of interactive systems. To accomplish this, it is necessary to understand the composition of this construct and how to evaluate it. Building on previous work that posited a theory of engagement and identified a core set of attributes that operationalized this construct, we constructed and evaluated a multidimensional scale to measure user engagement. In this paper we describe the development of the scale, as well as two large-scale studies (N=440 and N=802) that were undertaken to assess its reliability and validity in online shopping environments. In the first we used Reliability Analysis and Exploratory Factor Analysis to identify six attributes of engagement: Perceived Usability, Aesthetics, Focused Attention, Felt Involvement, Novelty, and Endurability. In the second we tested the validity of and relationships among those attributes using Structural Equation Modeling. The result of this research is a multidimensional scale that may be used to test the engagement of software applications. In addition, findings indicate that attributes of engagement are highly intertwined, a complex interplay of user-system interaction variables. Notably, Perceived Usability played a mediating role in the relationship between Endurability and Novelty, Aesthetics, Felt Involvement, and Focused Attention. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The development and evaluation of a survey to measure user engagement

OCBIL theory aims to develop an integrated series of hypotheses explaining the evolution and ecology of, and best conservation practices for, biota on very old, climatically buffered, infertile landscapes (OCBILs). Conventional theory for ecology and evolutionary and conservation biology has developed primarily from data on species and communities from young, often disturbed, fertile landscapes (YODFELs), mainly in the Northern Hemisphere. OCBILs are rare, but are prominent in the Southwest Australian Floristic Region, South Africa’s Greater Cape, and Venezuela’s Pantepui Highlands. They may have been more common globally before Pleistocene glaciations. Based on the premise that natural selection has favoured limited dispersability of sedentary organisms, OCBILs should have elevated persistence of lineages (Gondwanan Heritage Hypothesis) and long-lived individuals (Ultimate Self Hypothesis), high numbers of localised rare endemics and strongly differentiated population systems. To counter such natural fragmentation and inbreeding due to small population size, ecological, cytogenetic and genetic mechanisms selecting for the retention of heterozygosity should feature (the James Effect). The climatic stability of OCBILs should be paralleled by persistence of adjacent semi-arid areas, conducive to speciation (Semiarid Cradle Hypothesis). Special nutritional and other biological traits associated with coping with infertile lands should be evident, accentuated in plants, for example, through water-foraging strategies, symbioses, carnivory, pollination and parasitism. The uniquely flat landscapes of southwestern Australia have had prolonged presence of saline lakes along palaeoriver systems favouring evolution of accentuated tolerance to salinity. Lastly, unusual resiliences and vulnerabilities might be evident among OCBIL organisms, such as enhanced abilities to persist in small fragmented populations but great susceptibility to major soil disturbances. In those places where it is most pertinent, OCBIL theory hopefully lays a foundation for future research and for better informed conservation management.

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OCBIL theory: towards an integrated understanding of the evolution, ecology and conservation of biodiversity on old, climatically buffered, infertile landscapes

An electronic commerce marketing channel is fully mediated by information technology, stripping away much of a product's physical informational cues, and creating information asymmetries (i.e., limited information). These asymmetries may impede consumers' ability to effectively assess certain types of products, thus creating challenges for online sellers. Signaling theory provides a framework for understanding how extrinsic cues ᾢ signals ᾢ can be used by sellers to convey product quality information to consumers, reducing uncertainty and facilitating a purchase or exchange. This research proposes a model to investigate website quality as a potential signal of product quality and consider the moderating effects of product information asymmetries and signal credibility. Three experiments are reported that examine the efficacy of signaling theory as a basis for predicting online consumer behavior with an experience good. The results indicate that website quality influences consumers' perceptions of product quality, which subsequently affects online purchase intentions. Additionally, website quality was found to have a greater influence on perceived product quality when consumers had higher information asymmetries. Likewise, signal credibility was found to strengthen the relationship between website quality and product quality perceptions for a high quality website. Implications for future research and website design are examined.

http://ftp.misq.org/skin/frontend/default/misq/pdf/appendices/2011/WellsValacichHessAppendices.pdf

What signal are you sending? how website quality influences perceptions of product quality and purchase intentions

Visual aesthetics has been shown to critically affect a variety of constructs such as perceived usability, satisfaction, and pleasure. Given the importance of visual aesthetics in human-computer interaction, it is vital that it is adequately assessed. The present research aimed at providing a precise operational definition and to develop a new measure of perceived visual aesthetics of websites. Construction of the Visual Aesthetics of Website Inventory (VisAWI) was based on a comprehensive and broad definition of visual aesthetics so that the resulting instrument would completely describe the domain of interest. Four interrelated facets of perceived visual aesthetics of websites were identified and validated in a series of seven studies. Simplicity and Diversity have repeatedly been treated as formal parameters of aesthetic objects throughout the history of empirical aesthetics, Colors are a critical property of aesthetic objects, and Craftsmanship addresses the skillful and coherent integration of the relevant design dimensions. These four facets jointly represent perceived visual aesthetics, but are still distinguishable from each other and carry unique meaning. The subscales contained in the VisAWI demonstrate good internal consistencies. Evidence for the convergent, divergent, discriminative, and concurrent validity of the VisAWI is provided. Overall, the present research suggests that the VisAWI appears to be a sound measure of visual aesthetics of websites comprising facets of both practical and theoretical interest.

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Facets of visual aesthetics

Three studies were conducted to ascertain how quickly people form an opinion about web page visual appeal. In the first study, participants twice rated the visual appeal of web homepages presented for 500 ms each. The second study replicated the first, but participants also rated each web page on seven specific design dimensions. Visual appeal was found to be closely related to most of these. Study 3 again replicated the 500 ms condition as well as adding a 50 ms condition using the same stimuli to determine whether the first impression may be interpreted as a 'mere exposure effect' (Zajonc 1980). Throughout, visual appeal ratings were highly correlated from one phase to the next as were the correlations between the 50 ms and 500 ms conditions. Thus, visual appeal can be assessed within 50 ms, suggesting that web designers have about 50 ms to make a good first impression.

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Attention web designers: You have 50 milliseconds to make a good first impression!

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of micronization technique on performance and stability of the model drug formulated in a suspension-based pressurized metered-dose inhaler (pMDI). The model drug, triamcinolone acetonide (TAA), was subjected to ball milling or air-jet milling prior to formulation of the pMDI. The dose delivery characteristics of the emitted aerosol cloud were monitored for the ball-milled, air-jet-milled, and unmicronized TAA pMDI formulations prior to and after storage at 25 and 40 degrees C. Cascade impaction was used to determine the aerodynamic particle size distribution of the emitted dose. Both micronization techniques reduced the drug particle size distribution and the polydispersity of the drug particles to a similar extent, but the ball-milling technique reduced the crystallinity of the drug to a greater degree compared to the air-jet-milling technique. The air-jet-milled and unmicronized TAA pMDI displayed similar aerodynamic particle size distributions of the emitted aerosol and respirable fractions over the storage period. The ball-milled TAA resulted in a pMDI formulation with the smallest aerodynamically sized particles and the highest respirable fraction compared to the air-jet-milled or unmicronized TAA pMDI formulations. The micronization techniques significantly influenced the dose delivery characteristics as a result of different initial particle size distributions, amorphous contents, and surface energies.

Influence of Micronization Method on the Performance of a Suspension Triamcinolone Acetonide Pressurized Metered-Dose Inhaler Formulation

Kwongan is an important vegetation type in southwestern Australia. It occurs in small patches throughout Tutanning Nature Reserve. Eleven patches, totalling 64 ha, were found to contain 315 vascular plant species: over half the total species recorded for the whole reserve. The patches were floristically heterotoneous (cf. Westhoff & van der Maarel 1973) but could be grouped according to three major soil types. The richest kwongan was on pockets of shallow duplex soil occurring midway down the landscape profile. Species richness appears to decline only slightly with increasing time since fire. Presence of emergent Banksia attenuata at one site did not influence the overall speciesrichness of that area.

The kwongan (sclerophyllous shrublands) of Tutanning Nature Reserve, Western Australia

Agile processes emphasize collaboration. We were interested in studying collaboration in agile teams including interaction designers, since the integration of user interaction design processes and software development processes is still an open issue. This study focused on designer and developer collaborations in the early stages of project work at four workplaces. We found designer-developer collaborations were extensive and we developed a categorization scheme of collaboration forms and artefacts that support this relationship. While some designer-developer collaborations were directed towards planning, which has been extensively researched, a larger part was directed towards realignment work. This latter type of collaborative work took three basic forms: scheduled, impromptu, and chats. Regardless of the form of collaboration, designer-developer interactions were mediated by twelve categories of artefacts. These artefacts helped designers and developers to determine, more specifically, what to create. We discuss the implications of our observations on alignment work for theory and practice.

Collaborative Events and Shared Artefacts: Agile Interaction Designers and Developers Working Toward Common Aims

Software engineering (SE) and human computer interaction (HCI) disciplines typically have separate processes and design artifacts. The paper describes a coevolutionary design process, which incorporates both SE and HCI processes, and indicates how design artifacts can be usefully shared throughout the development of an interactive product. We show how scenarios in particular can serve as a bridge between the two disciplines. We present a tool called Scenic Vista that is a prototype for a development environment of linked SE and HCI design artifacts. The design artifacts in Scenic Vista are: task hierarchies, textual scenarios, Unified Modelling Language (UML) sequence diagrams, and ClockWorks user interface architectures.

Judith M. Brown

Papers

Attention web designers: You have 50 milliseconds to make a good first impression!

Influence of Micronization Method on the Performance of a Suspension Triamcinolone Acetonide Pressurized Metered-Dose Inhaler Formulation

The kwongan (sclerophyllous shrublands) of Tutanning Nature Reserve, Western Australia

Collaborative Events and Shared Artefacts: Agile Interaction Designers and Developers Working Toward Common Aims

Sharing human-computer interaction and software engineering design artifacts