Maintaining an awareness of collaborators' actions is critical during collaborative work, including during collaborative visualization activities. Particularly when collaborators are located at a distance, it is important to know what everyone is working on in order to avoid duplication of effort, share relevant results in a timely manner and build upon each other's results. Can a person's brushing actions provide an indication of their queries and interests in a data set? Can these actions be revealed to a collaborator without substantially disrupting their own independent work? I designed a study to answer these questions in the context of distributed collaborative visualization of tabular data. Participants in my study worked independently to answer questions about a tabular data set, while simultaneously viewing brushing actions of a fictitious collaborator, shown directly within a shared workspace. I compared three methods of presenting the collaborator's actions: brushing & linking (i.e. highlighting exactly what the collaborator would see), selection (i.e. showing only a selected item), and persistent selection (i.e. showing only selected items but having them persist for some time). My results demonstrated that persistent selection enabled some awareness of the collaborator's activities while causing minimal interference with independent work. Other techniques were less effective at providing awareness, and brushing & linking caused substantial interference. These findings suggest promise for the idea of exploiting natural brushing actions to provide awareness in collaborative work. / Graduate / 0984 / amirhos.hajiz@gmail.com

This thesis addresses the problem of the influence of a control system on the behaviour of an actor in a social or socio-technical system. In particular, the influence of a performance measurement mechanism on the behaviour of an actor and on the development of workarounds is being studied. <br /><br /> Current literature on those topics generally addresses only selected and rather obvious reasons for the existence of dysfunctional behaviour or the workarounds. However, no precise models of the cognitive processes or the explanation of the mechanisms, which govern this problem, are proposed in a satisfactory manner. In addition, most researchers have focused only on the system?s point of view of the task, paying less attention to the actors? perception of that task. Furthermore, the existing body of work mainly uses a case study format to explain the phenomenon or to validate the proposed solutions and theories. <br /><br /> In this thesis, the problem of the influence control system on the behaviour of the actor is framed in terms of four major concepts: (1) the concept of complexity of the task not being fully captured by the performance measurement mechanism; (2) the concept of an actor perceiving that extra complexity is not being captured by the system and thus choosing alternate paths other than the system-prescribed path; (3) the concept of a network of valence forces associated with alternate paths; and finally, (4) the concept of similarity judgment between the alternative paths and the system-prescribed path based on the actor?s model of the control system?s point of view. <br /><br /> This thesis develops the theoretical framework for analyzing and understanding the issues of dysfunctional behaviour and workarounds. It also presents an empirical experimental study in support of the theoretical discussion and the hypothesis. The experiment examines subjects? rating of quality, defined as a degree of similarity to a target object, of several objects on a page under various performance measurement conditions. The stimulus used for experiment was made up of two dimensional quadrangle figures, including rectangle, parallelograms and trapezes, in various shades of red colour.

This thesis addresses the problem of the influence of a control system on the behaviour of an actor in a social or socio-technical system. In particular, the influence of a performance measurement mechanism on the behaviour of an actor and on the development of workarounds is being studied. <br /><br /> Current literature on those topics generally addresses only selected and rather obvious reasons for the existence of dysfunctional behaviour or the workarounds. However, no precise models of the cognitive processes or the explanation of the mechanisms, which govern this problem, are proposed in a satisfactory manner. In addition, most researchers have focused only on the system?s point of view of the task, paying less attention to the actors? perception of that task. Furthermore, the existing body of work mainly uses a case study format to explain the phenomenon or to validate the proposed solutions and theories. <br /><br /> In this thesis, the problem of the influence control system on the behaviour of the actor is framed in terms of four major concepts: (1) the concept of complexity of the task not being fully captured by the performance measurement mechanism; (2) the concept of an actor perceiving that extra complexity is not being captured by the system and thus choosing alternate paths other than the system-prescribed path; (3) the concept of a network of valence forces associated with alternate paths; and finally, (4) the concept of similarity judgment between the alternative paths and the system-prescribed path based on the actor?s model of the control system?s point of view. <br /><br /> This thesis develops the theoretical framework for analyzing and understanding the issues of dysfunctional behaviour and workarounds. It also presents an empirical experimental study in support of the theoretical discussion and the hypothesis. The experiment examines subjects? rating of quality, defined as a degree of similarity to a target object, of several objects on a page under various performance measurement conditions. The stimulus used for experiment was made up of two dimensional quadrangle figures, including rectangle, parallelograms and trapezes, in various shades of red colour.

As Taiwanese consumers¡¦ economic ability grew up and pursuing for housing quality expanded in the recent years, their high-quality furniture purchasing behavior has increased gradually .The current research mainly studied the relation between the stage of purchase process and the need for various product information as consumers purchase the high-quality furniture. The examples for the research were 60 students from the National Sun Yat-sen University. The current research applied a 3¡Ñ2 factorial experiment design. Where the purchasing three decision stages were: problem recognition, alternative evaluation and purchase decision, and the furniture category option were sofa of living room and bedding set of bedroom, general data regarding consumer¡¦s information search behavior on furniture purchase were collected in the process of the experiment. Important findings of the current are summarize as follows: (1) Among different purchasing stages, there was significant difference in information needs in terms of category and particular item. But no significant difference in preference for information sources between various furniture items neither among decision stages. (2) Furniture category was found to be a nonsignificant variable to information need and information source. (3) The interaction effect on information needs was found for the variable of decision stage and furniture category.

In the following thesis I examine the possible evolutionary significance of behavioural differences associated with liberal and conservative ideological orientations. In investigating the evolutionary significance of these two orientations I have two primary research questions. First, how do liberal and conservative oriented individuals differ in their responses to the same socio-environmental stimuli? Second, do differences in their responses to socio-environmental stimuli represent alternative behavioural strategies for social interaction, specifically adaptive strategies to maximize returns from social interactions? To answer these research questions I evaluate how trust and cooperation among liberal and conservative oriented individuals are affected by conditions of social change and inequality. Previous research finds that attitudes and behaviours consistent with the tolerance or intolerance of social change and inequality are strong predictors of ideological orientation across a liberal-conservative scale. Based on a synthesis of behavioural research I construct two theoretical frameworks to account for the adaptive utility associated with a sensitivity to social change and inequality; 1) The Group Reciprocity Hypothesis, and 2) The Social Risk Hypothesis. I test these frameworks using an experimental research design. I predict that, if liberal and conservative orientations are reflective of alternative adaptive strategies to maximize returns from social interaction, then the willingness of liberal and conservative individuals to participate in a social interaction should be differentially affected by conditions related to social change and inequality.

As marcas estão presentes no cotidiano dos consumidores e das organizações. Para os indivíduos, as marcas são carregadas de simbolismos, representações e complexos signos de posicionamento social enquanto, para as empresas, as marcas se tornam um ativo extremamente valioso, capaz de diferenciar as suas ofertas em um mercado comoditizado e influenciar o comportamento do consumidor. Neste cenário, o cuidado com a marca na percepção dos consumidores surge quase como condição para uma eficaz gestão estratégica de marketing nas empresas e, também, terreno fértil para pesquisas acadêmicas. Entre os cuidados que a empresa deve ter com as marcas sobre as percepções do consumidor, as estratégias promocionais baseadas na redução de preços merecem atenção. O presente estudo verifica o impacto que a promoção de preços (descontos e ofertas) exerce sobre o Consumer-based Brand Equity (CBBE). Por meio de uma pesquisa experimental do tipo between-subject, uma amostra de 300 estudantes universitários divididos igualmente em seis unidades de teste, foi estimulada através de anúncios impressos, a avaliar o CBBE de duas marcas de tênis (Diadora e Nike) que apresentavam três diferentes níveis de desconto (nenhum, baixo e alto) sobre um preço de referência - em um design fatorial 2x3 - a fim de avaliar se a presença e a intensidade das promoções de preços, presentes no anúncio, influenciariam as percepções dos respondentes sobre as marcas. A pesquisa também avaliou simultaneamente o comportamento de duas metodologias de mensuração distintas: (1) a metodologia de Yoo e Donthu (2001) que mensura elementos cognitivos e comportamentais e (2) a metodologia de Vázquez, Río e Iglésias (2002) que mensura o Consumer-based Brand Equity com base em duas dimensões de utilidade da marca: valor funcional e valor simbólico. Entre os principais achados desta pesquisa, pode-se destacar que - ao contrário do suporte teórico - neste experimento, a promoção de preços quando aplicada em anúncios impressos, não gerou impacto estatiscamente significativo sobre a média geral do Consumer-based Brand Equity e tão pouco sobre suas dimensões separadamente. A principal contribuição gerencial desta pesquisa consiste na indicação de evidências de que as promoções de preços, enquanto estratégias de curto prazo, podem continuar sendo uma das mais utilizadas estratégias de promoção de vendas sem prejuízo ao valor da marca na percepção do consumidor. Sob o ponto de vista acadêmico, este trabalho contribui principalmente na validação da escala de Yoo e Donthu (2001) no contexto brasileiro e em pesquisas experimentais. Da mesma forma, esta pesquisa ajuda a validar a ainda pouco utilizada escala de Vázquez, Río e Iglésias (2002) indicando que esta escala de mensuração precisa de outros estudos mais robustos até adquirir a solidez necessária à sua ampla utilização. Também como uma das implicações acadêmicas desta pesquisa, destacam-se os indicativos que, em um contexto de pesquisa experimental, os achados de alguns autores como Yoo, Donthu e Lee (2000), Villarejo-Ramos e Sanchez-Franco (2005) e Buil, Chernatony e Martínez (2008, 2011) que identificaram a influência das promoções de preços sobre certas dimensões do Consumer-based Brand Equity merecem ser revistos. / Brands are present in consumers life and organizations. For individuals, brands are loaded with symbolism, representations and complex social positioning signs. As for businesses, brands become an extremely valuable asset, able to differentiate their offerings in a commoditized market and influence consumer behavior. In this scenario, the care with the brand in consumers' perception emerges almost as a condition for effective strategic marketing management in firms and also fertile ground for academic research. Among the care the company should have with brands on consumer perceptions, promotional strategies based on reducing prices deserve attention. This study evaluates the impact of price promotions (discounts and offers) exerts on the Consumer-based Brand Equity (CBBE). Through an experimental study of the between-subject type, a sample of 300 college students divided equally into six test units was stimulated through print ads, to evaluate the CBBE of two sneaker brands (Nike and Diadora) which had three different discount levels (none, low and high) on a reference price - in a 2x3 factorial design - in order to assess if the presence and intensity of price promotions, present on the announcement, influence the perceptions of respondents about brands. The survey also assessed simultaneously the behavior of two different measurement methodologies: (1) the methodology of Yoo and Donthu (2001), which measures cognitive and behavioral elements and (2) the methodology of Vázquez, Rio and Iglesias (2002) which measures the Consumer-based Brand Equity based on two dimensions of use of the mark: functional value and symbolic value. Among the key findings of this research, it can be noted that - unlike the theoretical support - in this experiment, the promotion price when applied in print ads did not generate statistically significant impact on the overall average of the Consumer-based Brand Equity and neither on its dimensions separately. The main managerial contribution of this research is the indication of evidence that price promotions, when used as shortterm strategies, may still be one of the most used strategies to promote sales without prejudice to the value of the brand in consumer's perception. From the academic point of view, this work contributes mainly in the scale validation of Yoo and Donthu (2001) in the Brazilian context and experimental research. Likewise, this research helps validate the still underused scale of Vázquez, Rio and Iglesias (2002) indicating that this scale of measurement needs other more robust studies to acquire the necessary strength to its extensive use. Also as one of the academic implications of this research highlight the indicative that in the context of experimental research, the findings of authors like Yoo, Donthu and Lee (2000), Villarejo-Ramos and Sanchez- Franco (2005) and Buil, Chernatony and Martínez (2008, 2011) who identified the influence of price promotions on certain dimensions of Consumer-based Brand Equity deserve to be reviewed.

As marcas estão presentes no cotidiano dos consumidores e das organizações. Para os indivíduos, as marcas são carregadas de simbolismos, representações e complexos signos de posicionamento social enquanto, para as empresas, as marcas se tornam um ativo extremamente valioso, capaz de diferenciar as suas ofertas em um mercado comoditizado e influenciar o comportamento do consumidor. Neste cenário, o cuidado com a marca na percepção dos consumidores surge quase como condição para uma eficaz gestão estratégica de marketing nas empresas e, também, terreno fértil para pesquisas acadêmicas. Entre os cuidados que a empresa deve ter com as marcas sobre as percepções do consumidor, as estratégias promocionais baseadas na redução de preços merecem atenção. O presente estudo verifica o impacto que a promoção de preços (descontos e ofertas) exerce sobre o Consumer-based Brand Equity (CBBE). Por meio de uma pesquisa experimental do tipo between-subject, uma amostra de 300 estudantes universitários divididos igualmente em seis unidades de teste, foi estimulada através de anúncios impressos, a avaliar o CBBE de duas marcas de tênis (Diadora e Nike) que apresentavam três diferentes níveis de desconto (nenhum, baixo e alto) sobre um preço de referência - em um design fatorial 2x3 - a fim de avaliar se a presença e a intensidade das promoções de preços, presentes no anúncio, influenciariam as percepções dos respondentes sobre as marcas. A pesquisa também avaliou simultaneamente o comportamento de duas metodologias de mensuração distintas: (1) a metodologia de Yoo e Donthu (2001) que mensura elementos cognitivos e comportamentais e (2) a metodologia de Vázquez, Río e Iglésias (2002) que mensura o Consumer-based Brand Equity com base em duas dimensões de utilidade da marca: valor funcional e valor simbólico. Entre os principais achados desta pesquisa, pode-se destacar que - ao contrário do suporte teórico - neste experimento, a promoção de preços quando aplicada em anúncios impressos, não gerou impacto estatiscamente significativo sobre a média geral do Consumer-based Brand Equity e tão pouco sobre suas dimensões separadamente. A principal contribuição gerencial desta pesquisa consiste na indicação de evidências de que as promoções de preços, enquanto estratégias de curto prazo, podem continuar sendo uma das mais utilizadas estratégias de promoção de vendas sem prejuízo ao valor da marca na percepção do consumidor. Sob o ponto de vista acadêmico, este trabalho contribui principalmente na validação da escala de Yoo e Donthu (2001) no contexto brasileiro e em pesquisas experimentais. Da mesma forma, esta pesquisa ajuda a validar a ainda pouco utilizada escala de Vázquez, Río e Iglésias (2002) indicando que esta escala de mensuração precisa de outros estudos mais robustos até adquirir a solidez necessária à sua ampla utilização. Também como uma das implicações acadêmicas desta pesquisa, destacam-se os indicativos que, em um contexto de pesquisa experimental, os achados de alguns autores como Yoo, Donthu e Lee (2000), Villarejo-Ramos e Sanchez-Franco (2005) e Buil, Chernatony e Martínez (2008, 2011) que identificaram a influência das promoções de preços sobre certas dimensões do Consumer-based Brand Equity merecem ser revistos. / Brands are present in consumers life and organizations. For individuals, brands are loaded with symbolism, representations and complex social positioning signs. As for businesses, brands become an extremely valuable asset, able to differentiate their offerings in a commoditized market and influence consumer behavior. In this scenario, the care with the brand in consumers' perception emerges almost as a condition for effective strategic marketing management in firms and also fertile ground for academic research. Among the care the company should have with brands on consumer perceptions, promotional strategies based on reducing prices deserve attention. This study evaluates the impact of price promotions (discounts and offers) exerts on the Consumer-based Brand Equity (CBBE). Through an experimental study of the between-subject type, a sample of 300 college students divided equally into six test units was stimulated through print ads, to evaluate the CBBE of two sneaker brands (Nike and Diadora) which had three different discount levels (none, low and high) on a reference price - in a 2x3 factorial design - in order to assess if the presence and intensity of price promotions, present on the announcement, influence the perceptions of respondents about brands. The survey also assessed simultaneously the behavior of two different measurement methodologies: (1) the methodology of Yoo and Donthu (2001), which measures cognitive and behavioral elements and (2) the methodology of Vázquez, Rio and Iglesias (2002) which measures the Consumer-based Brand Equity based on two dimensions of use of the mark: functional value and symbolic value. Among the key findings of this research, it can be noted that - unlike the theoretical support - in this experiment, the promotion price when applied in print ads did not generate statistically significant impact on the overall average of the Consumer-based Brand Equity and neither on its dimensions separately. The main managerial contribution of this research is the indication of evidence that price promotions, when used as shortterm strategies, may still be one of the most used strategies to promote sales without prejudice to the value of the brand in consumer's perception. From the academic point of view, this work contributes mainly in the scale validation of Yoo and Donthu (2001) in the Brazilian context and experimental research. Likewise, this research helps validate the still underused scale of Vázquez, Rio and Iglesias (2002) indicating that this scale of measurement needs other more robust studies to acquire the necessary strength to its extensive use. Also as one of the academic implications of this research highlight the indicative that in the context of experimental research, the findings of authors like Yoo, Donthu and Lee (2000), Villarejo-Ramos and Sanchez- Franco (2005) and Buil, Chernatony and Martínez (2008, 2011) who identified the influence of price promotions on certain dimensions of Consumer-based Brand Equity deserve to be reviewed.

As marcas estão presentes no cotidiano dos consumidores e das organizações. Para os indivíduos, as marcas são carregadas de simbolismos, representações e complexos signos de posicionamento social enquanto, para as empresas, as marcas se tornam um ativo extremamente valioso, capaz de diferenciar as suas ofertas em um mercado comoditizado e influenciar o comportamento do consumidor. Neste cenário, o cuidado com a marca na percepção dos consumidores surge quase como condição para uma eficaz gestão estratégica de marketing nas empresas e, também, terreno fértil para pesquisas acadêmicas. Entre os cuidados que a empresa deve ter com as marcas sobre as percepções do consumidor, as estratégias promocionais baseadas na redução de preços merecem atenção. O presente estudo verifica o impacto que a promoção de preços (descontos e ofertas) exerce sobre o Consumer-based Brand Equity (CBBE). Por meio de uma pesquisa experimental do tipo between-subject, uma amostra de 300 estudantes universitários divididos igualmente em seis unidades de teste, foi estimulada através de anúncios impressos, a avaliar o CBBE de duas marcas de tênis (Diadora e Nike) que apresentavam três diferentes níveis de desconto (nenhum, baixo e alto) sobre um preço de referência - em um design fatorial 2x3 - a fim de avaliar se a presença e a intensidade das promoções de preços, presentes no anúncio, influenciariam as percepções dos respondentes sobre as marcas. A pesquisa também avaliou simultaneamente o comportamento de duas metodologias de mensuração distintas: (1) a metodologia de Yoo e Donthu (2001) que mensura elementos cognitivos e comportamentais e (2) a metodologia de Vázquez, Río e Iglésias (2002) que mensura o Consumer-based Brand Equity com base em duas dimensões de utilidade da marca: valor funcional e valor simbólico. Entre os principais achados desta pesquisa, pode-se destacar que - ao contrário do suporte teórico - neste experimento, a promoção de preços quando aplicada em anúncios impressos, não gerou impacto estatiscamente significativo sobre a média geral do Consumer-based Brand Equity e tão pouco sobre suas dimensões separadamente. A principal contribuição gerencial desta pesquisa consiste na indicação de evidências de que as promoções de preços, enquanto estratégias de curto prazo, podem continuar sendo uma das mais utilizadas estratégias de promoção de vendas sem prejuízo ao valor da marca na percepção do consumidor. Sob o ponto de vista acadêmico, este trabalho contribui principalmente na validação da escala de Yoo e Donthu (2001) no contexto brasileiro e em pesquisas experimentais. Da mesma forma, esta pesquisa ajuda a validar a ainda pouco utilizada escala de Vázquez, Río e Iglésias (2002) indicando que esta escala de mensuração precisa de outros estudos mais robustos até adquirir a solidez necessária à sua ampla utilização. Também como uma das implicações acadêmicas desta pesquisa, destacam-se os indicativos que, em um contexto de pesquisa experimental, os achados de alguns autores como Yoo, Donthu e Lee (2000), Villarejo-Ramos e Sanchez-Franco (2005) e Buil, Chernatony e Martínez (2008, 2011) que identificaram a influência das promoções de preços sobre certas dimensões do Consumer-based Brand Equity merecem ser revistos. / Brands are present in consumers life and organizations. For individuals, brands are loaded with symbolism, representations and complex social positioning signs. As for businesses, brands become an extremely valuable asset, able to differentiate their offerings in a commoditized market and influence consumer behavior. In this scenario, the care with the brand in consumers' perception emerges almost as a condition for effective strategic marketing management in firms and also fertile ground for academic research. Among the care the company should have with brands on consumer perceptions, promotional strategies based on reducing prices deserve attention. This study evaluates the impact of price promotions (discounts and offers) exerts on the Consumer-based Brand Equity (CBBE). Through an experimental study of the between-subject type, a sample of 300 college students divided equally into six test units was stimulated through print ads, to evaluate the CBBE of two sneaker brands (Nike and Diadora) which had three different discount levels (none, low and high) on a reference price - in a 2x3 factorial design - in order to assess if the presence and intensity of price promotions, present on the announcement, influence the perceptions of respondents about brands. The survey also assessed simultaneously the behavior of two different measurement methodologies: (1) the methodology of Yoo and Donthu (2001), which measures cognitive and behavioral elements and (2) the methodology of Vázquez, Rio and Iglesias (2002) which measures the Consumer-based Brand Equity based on two dimensions of use of the mark: functional value and symbolic value. Among the key findings of this research, it can be noted that - unlike the theoretical support - in this experiment, the promotion price when applied in print ads did not generate statistically significant impact on the overall average of the Consumer-based Brand Equity and neither on its dimensions separately. The main managerial contribution of this research is the indication of evidence that price promotions, when used as shortterm strategies, may still be one of the most used strategies to promote sales without prejudice to the value of the brand in consumer's perception. From the academic point of view, this work contributes mainly in the scale validation of Yoo and Donthu (2001) in the Brazilian context and experimental research. Likewise, this research helps validate the still underused scale of Vázquez, Rio and Iglesias (2002) indicating that this scale of measurement needs other more robust studies to acquire the necessary strength to its extensive use. Also as one of the academic implications of this research highlight the indicative that in the context of experimental research, the findings of authors like Yoo, Donthu and Lee (2000), Villarejo-Ramos and Sanchez- Franco (2005) and Buil, Chernatony and Martínez (2008, 2011) who identified the influence of price promotions on certain dimensions of Consumer-based Brand Equity deserve to be reviewed.

Orientador: Artur Zaghini Francesconi / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Química / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-19T04:03:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Viola_DimasHenriqueLanfredi_M.pdf: 2239811 bytes, checksum: 6bf0b52a70649c64b5b66555fd7154a6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: Neste trabalho foram obtidos dados experimentais da entalpia molar em excesso em função da composição das soluções líquidas binárias contendo 1-nonanol ou 1-decanol e acetonitrila a (298,15, 303,15 e 308,15) K e pressão atmosférica utilizando um calorímetro de solução Parr 1455 modificado. O modelo ERAS e a teoria PFP foram aplicados na tentativa de correlacionar os dados experimentais. Todas as soluções estudadas apresentaram valores positivos para a entalpia molar em excesso em todo o intervalo de composição. Os resultados de entalpia molar em excesso aumentam com o aumento da temperatura e do número de átomos de carbono do álcool. O modelo ERAS e a teoria PFP descrevem satisfatoriamente o comportamento da entalpia molar em excesso dos sistemas estudados / Abstract: In this work, experimental excess molar enthalpies ( ) of binary liquid mixtures containing 1-nonanol, or 1-decanol + acetonitrile have been determined as a function of composition at (298.15, 303.15 and 308.15) K and atmospheric pressure using a modified 1455 Parr solution calorimeter. The solution model ERAS and the PFP theory were applied with the attempt of correlating the experimental data. E m H All the studied systems showed values of excess molar enthalpy positive over the whole composition range. The results of excess molar enthalpy increase with the temperature and with the number of carbons in the alkanol chain. The solution model ERAS and the PFP theory were able to describe the main features the behavior of excess molar enthalpy for the studied systems / Mestrado / Sistemas de Processos Quimicos e Informatica / Mestre em Engenharia Química

Master of Science / Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering / Mohammad H. Hosni / Byron W. Jones / The 2015 Airline Traffic Data released by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS 2016), shows that the commercial flights serving the United States carried an all-time high of 895.5 million passengers in 2015, which represents an approximate 5 % increase in number of passengers from 2014. There is a potential for disease and/or contaminants spreading throughout the airliner cabin raising health risks for passengers and crewmembers onboard flight. In order to limit health risks caused by spread of disease and/or contaminants, it is necessary to understand the various factors affecting the airliner cabin environment. Ventilation effectiveness is one such factor investigated in this study. In addition, experiments were conducted using tracer gas to study the dispersion of tracer gas inside an airliner cabin. Experimental investigations were carried out inside a wide body, eleven-row Boeing 767 mockup cabin and a narrow body, five-row Boeing 737 mockup cabin. The Boeing 767 mockup cabin was constructed with actual aircraft components for air distribution to represent a real aircraft cabin, while the Boeing 737 mockup cabin is a fuselage section from an actual Boeing 737 aircraft. Thermal manikins occupied each seat of both the cabins to simulate thermal load from an average seated person. Four sets of experiments were conducted to evaluate the ventilation effectiveness and dispersion of tracer gas inside the aircraft cabin mockups. The first set of experiments investigated the ventilation effectiveness in a Boeing 767 mockup cabin. The second set of experiments determined the ventilation effectiveness at various heights and locations in a Boeing 737 mockup cabin. The third set of experiments focused on the study of dispersion of tracer gas inside a Boeing 737 mockup cabin with ventilation air. The last set of experiments aimed to study the dispersion of tracer gas inside a Boeing 737 mockup cabin with no ventilation air. The ventilation effectiveness studies were performed by using Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) as a tracer gas and applying the tracer gas decay method. The conclusion for the first set of experiments was that air is efficiently and uniformly supplied to all seat locations inside the Boeing 767 mockup cabin with no clear patterns with respect to seat locations, i.e. window versus center versus aisle observed. From the second set of experiments, it was concluded that the ventilation effectiveness is uniform throughout the Boeing 737 mockup cabin irrespective of seat locations and elevations from cabin floor. In order to determine the spread of disease and/or contaminants, a mixture of CO₂ and Helium (He) was used as a tracer gas. Tracer gas was released from particular locations inside the cabin to simulate gaseous contaminants released by a passenger and sampled at various locations throughout the cabin. The third set of experiments revealed that transport of tracer gas inside an aircraft cabin depends on the source location as well as on the relative distance of the sampling point from the source. Dispersion of tracer gas in the longitudinal direction was also observed inside the cabin. From the fourth set of experiments, it was concluded that even in the absence of ventilation air, considerable dispersion of tracer gas occurred in both the longitudinal and lateral directions.