University of Waterloo

About: University of Waterloo is a education organization based out in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 36093 authors who have published 93906 publications receiving 2948139 citations. The organization is also known as: UW & uwaterloo.

Automatic Effects of Brand Exposure on Motivated Behavior: How Apple Makes You “Think Different”

Abstract: This article first examines whether brand exposure elicits automatic behavioral effects as does exposure to social primes. Results support the translation of these effects: participants primed with Apple logos behave more creatively than IBM primed and controls; Disney-primed participants behave more honestly than E!primed participants and controls. Second, this article investigates the hypothesis that exposure to goal-relevant brands (i.e., those that represent a positively valenced characteristic) elicits behavior that is goal directed in nature. Three experiments demonstrate that theprimedbehaviorshowedtypicalgoal-directedqualities, including increased performance postdelay, decreased performancepostprogress, and moderation by motivation.

Reductions in tobacco smoke pollution and increases in support for smoke-free public places following the implementation of comprehensive smoke-free workplace legislation in the Republic of Ireland: findings from the ITC Ireland/UK Survey

Abstract: Objective: To evaluate the psychosocial and behavioural impact of the first ever national level comprehensive workplace smoke-free law, implemented in Ireland in March 2004. Design: Quasi-experimental prospective cohort survey: parallel cohort telephone surveys of national representative samples of adult smokers in Ireland (n = 769) and the UK (n = 416), surveyed before the law (December 2003 to January 2004) and 8–9 months after the law (December 2004 to January 2005). Main outcome measures: Respondents’ reports of smoking in key public venues, support for total bans in those key venues, and behavioural changes due to the law. Results: The Irish law led to dramatic declines in reported smoking in all venues, including workplaces (62% to 14%), restaurants (85% to 3%), and bars/pubs (98% to 5%). Support for total bans among Irish smokers increased in all venues, including workplaces (43% to 67%), restaurants (45% to 77%), and bars/pubs (13% to 46%). Overall, 83% of Irish smokers reported that the smoke-free law was a “good” or “very good” thing. The proportion of Irish homes with smoking bans also increased. Approximately 46% of Irish smokers reported that the law had made them more likely to quit. Among Irish smokers who had quit at post-legislation, 80% reported that the law had helped them quit and 88% reported that the law helped them stay quit. Conclusion: The Ireland smoke-free law stands as a positive example of how a population-level policy intervention can achieve its public health goals while achieving a high level of acceptance among smokers. These findings support initiatives in many countries toward implementing smoke-free legislation, particularly those who have ratified the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which calls for legislation to reduce tobacco smoke pollution.

User-defined motion gestures for mobile interaction

Abstract: Modern smartphones contain sophisticated sensors to monitor three-dimensional movement of the device. These sensors permit devices to recognize motion gestures - deliberate movements of the device by end-users to invoke commands. However, little is known about best-practices in motion gesture design for the mobile computing paradigm. To address this issue, we present the results of a guessability study that elicits end-user motion gestures to invoke commands on a smartphone device. We demonstrate that consensus exists among our participants on parameters of movement and on mappings of motion gestures onto commands. We use this consensus to develop a taxonomy for motion gestures and to specify an end-user inspired motion gesture set. We highlight the implications of this work to the design of smartphone applications and hardware. Finally, we argue that our results influence best practices in design for all gestural interfaces.

Dynamics near Free Surfaces and the Glass Transition in Thin Polymer Films: A View to the Future

Abstract: The past 20 years have seen a substantial effort to understand dynamics and the glass transition in thin polymer films. In this Perspective, we consider developments in this field and offer a consistent interpretation of some major findings. We discuss recent experiments that directly measure mobility at or near the surface of glassy polymers. These experiments indicate that enhanced mobility near the free surface can exceed bulk mobility by several orders of magnitude and extend for several nanometers into the bulk polymer. Enhanced mobility near the free surface allows a qualitative understanding of many of the observations of a reduced glass transition temperature Tg in thin films. For thin films, knowledge of Tg by itself is less useful than for bulk materials. Because of this, new experimental methods that directly measure important material properties are being developed.