Texte remanié de: Diss.--Altertumswissenschaften--Marburg, 1975. / Notes bibliogr. Index.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 17-20, 1994 / Town & Country Hotel and Conference Center, San Diego, California / The advance from alphanumeric terminals to displays using new graphics technologies like the X Window System and Microsoft Windows has in many cases failed to tap the full potential of these technologies. Many common telemetry tasks continue to use similar user interfaces based on tabular real-time data displays and menus. This paper will demonstrate the application of new techniques which, when used with emerging graphics technologies, will maximize the effectiveness of telemetry ground station consoles. Advances in visualization and animation have greatly enhanced the information content of current displays and significantly improved their ease of use.

Main objective of this thesis is to introduce the video game market, with the focus on console market, to professional economic public. Secondary objective is to reveal best marketing strategy on this market, map current trends and predict future economical development of video game industry. The first part of the thesis focuses on the history of entertainment market from late 19th century to 2000s to bring complex portrait of the market. Second part is focused on contemporary situation on the market and the competition. I analysed marketing mix of three biggest players on the console market: Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft. The analysis revealed the crutial parts of succesful marketing mix: technological advanced product, research and development, clear close and immediate communication with customers, importance of following consumer trends (mainly social gaming) and worldwide market presence. Contribution of this thesis, apart from achieving two set objectives, is bringing insight of the market to local small game developers who can benefit from it and become more competitive.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 27-30, 1997 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / PC technology has progressed to the point that it can very effectively support commercial geostationary spacecraft design, manufacture, test, launch, ground station, and on-orbit mission control activities. Many of the manufacturers that provide VME spacecraft test hardware and software are now providing the same functions and performance for the PC. A PC workstation equipped with single and multiple Pentium processors and Windows NT software can support single and multiple uplinks/downlinks and provide client/server capabilities that perform traditional UNIX client/server operations. Such a PC workstation can provide the functionality, features, and performance necessary for commercial spacecraft board-level test, unit-level test, subsystem-level test, spacecraft bus and payload integration, and ground station monitoring and control, as well as on-orbit mission control activities.

This thesis introduces the innovative idea of the use of computer games and interactive entertainment by second-and third-age adults, specifically in the area of game content and interaction. This form of entertainment and technologies has become varied recently, with increased and widening participation of groups such as older adults of differing ages. The purposes of using technology involve well-being, intergenerational relationships and learning; these are some aspects primarily associated with the study of gerontology and game studies. This investigation encompassed two phases. Phase One examined the type of computer games older adults would like to play relating to hobbies, dreams and interests. Qualitative and quantitative data was collected in a step-by-step approach enabling participants to design their own game idea in an informal, jargon-free environment allowing for ease of understanding and coherence. Phase Two of the investigation involved older adults playing one of two consoles (Wii and PS-2). The games chosen were from the sports genre (golf, tennis and boxing) and were required to play for 15 minutes each. Results from Phase One indicated that participants were able to devise and design a number of game genres, and having prior knowledge of gaming did not necessarily aid when trying to design a game concept. Results from Phase Two indicated participants’ playing on the Wii was easier due to the nature of the console pad, rather than the traditional game pad used on the PS-2. Qualitative and quantitative data analysis interaction mechanism was far more influential on participants’ experience of flow than content. Extensive technological developments have enabled audiences in recent years to interact with gaming platforms easier than before, using motion sensor and natural body movement during game play. Preliminary design guidelines established from this investigation stipulate a multitude of aspects relating to interaction and content to enhance the experience of gaming for older adults.

The dissertation is comprised of three papers. In the first two Chapters, I analyze the importance of competition, preference heterogeneity, and socio-economic/country-specific factors to explain the differences in penetration rates of mobile phone services across EU Member States. Chapter 1 presents a model of demand and supply for mobile phone services in which products are perceived as homogenous but consumers are heterogeneous with respect to their valuation of the services. Once a service is purchased, consumers (temporarily) leave the market. The parameters which govern the distribution of preferences are allowed to vary by country and will be estimated as part of the demand specification. The model matches the data well and is able to replicate the observed u-shape in the coefficient of variation in penetration rates over the sample period. Using the demand parameters, consumer acquisition costs are backed out and counterfactual experiments performed. I find that preference heterogeneity and differences in the cost of consumer acquisition explain most of the variation in penetration rates across countries. Competition and other control variables, such as the price of fixed-line calls, play only a minor role. In Chapter 2 I relax the assumption that firms are perceived as homogenous and model them as differentiated products. I incorporate endogenous population weights in a standard random coefficients logit model to capture changes in the demographic composition of potential buyers over time due to the (temporary) market exit of adopters. Compared to the results of Chapter 1, I find a larger role of competition and a smaller impact of the (net) cost of consumer acquisition in explaining differences in mobile phone services diffusion. In the third Chapter, I analyze the effect of a product introduction on labor supply. I demonstrate that it is possible to overcome many of the limitations associated with the lack of individual level purchase data by focusing on teenage labor supply and the introduction of video game consoles. I find that 16- to 17-year old male teenagers significantly increase their hours of work in the months prior to video console introductions beyond the usual male-female difference.

The dissertation is comprised of three papers. In the first two Chapters, I analyze the importance of competition, preference heterogeneity, and socio-economic/country-specific factors to explain the differences in penetration rates of mobile phone services across EU Member States. Chapter 1 presents a model of demand and supply for mobile phone services in which products are perceived as homogenous but consumers are heterogeneous with respect to their valuation of the services. Once a service is purchased, consumers (temporarily) leave the market. The parameters which govern the distribution of preferences are allowed to vary by country and will be estimated as part of the demand specification. The model matches the data well and is able to replicate the observed u-shape in the coefficient of variation in penetration rates over the sample period. Using the demand parameters, consumer acquisition costs are backed out and counterfactual experiments performed. I find that preference heterogeneity and differences in the cost of consumer acquisition explain most of the variation in penetration rates across countries. Competition and other control variables, such as the price of fixed-line calls, play only a minor role. In Chapter 2 I relax the assumption that firms are perceived as homogenous and model them as differentiated products. I incorporate endogenous population weights in a standard random coefficients logit model to capture changes in the demographic composition of potential buyers over time due to the (temporary) market exit of adopters. Compared to the results of Chapter 1, I find a larger role of competition and a smaller impact of the (net) cost of consumer acquisition in explaining differences in mobile phone services diffusion. In the third Chapter, I analyze the effect of a product introduction on labor supply. I demonstrate that it is possible to overcome many of the limitations associated with the lack of individual level purchase data by focusing on teenage labor supply and the introduction of video game consoles. I find that 16- to 17-year old male teenagers significantly increase their hours of work in the months prior to video console introductions beyond the usual male-female difference.

This thesis explores the three campaigns Greenpeace has made towards the video game console producing companies, Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. Using a qualitative approach I investigate how communication from an environmental organization may affect companies and what challenges Greenpeace face when they develop campaigns in relation to companies. Even though the industry is quickly expanding, almost no one had ever discussed video game consoles in relation to the environment. The situation changed when Greenpeace included Microsoft and Nintendo in their 6th edition of the “Guide to Greener Electronics”. In this guide companies in the consumer electronic industry were ranked based on their environmental communication and Microsoft and Nintendo received a very low score. Greenpeace was critiqued for the way their guide was carried out. The “Clash of the Consoles” campaign was an internet video summarizing the critics towards the game console producing companies from “Guide to Greener Electronics”. The campaign “Playing Dirty” investigated chemicals in the consoles and concluded that the companies followed legislation on regulated chemicals, but on unregulated chemicals high levels was fond in some cases. Greenpeace is usually known for using a direct approach with striking images in their campaigns. But in these cases no striking images have been used which makes it harder for them to gain sympathy for their campaigns. The concept of CSR which is socially constructed has great importance for environmental communication. However CSR has a large number of different interpretations. As shown in the thesis Greenpeace and the three companies focus on different aspects of CSR.

Abstract The video game consoles was accompanied with players for decades, from the video game consoles of the first generation that have simple screen and hardware, to the video game consoles of the seventh generation that have exquisite screen, online functions, and excellent hardware, players have deep impressions on these video game consoles of every generation. In the market of new generation video game consoles, Wii was favored with consumers after Nintendo began to sale it, because we could use the motion controller to control the games. However, the gap of the quantities of new generation video game consoles was narrowed by the SONY and Microsoft after they started to offer motion controllers, the Playstation Move for PS3 and Kinect for XBOX 360. Therefore, understandingthe factors that affect the intention of X and Y generation consumers, the main consuming group of video game consoles, to purchase new generation video game consoles is the important thing for corporations. We add perceived playfulness and portraits of the new generation into Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and modify TAM to discuss the factors to affect the intention of X and Y generation consumers to purchase new generation video consoles. The total research effective tests are 202 copies. The conclusions of this study are presented as follows: 1. X generation consumers pay more attention to perceive usefulness, and Y generation consumers pay more attention to perceived playfulness. 2. Variables that affect X and Y generation consumers most are perceived usefulness, perceived playfulness, portraits of video game consoles and intention of use. 3. TAM is confirmed that it¡¦s suitable for the study on video game consoles.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 27-30, 1997 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / Lunar Prospector’s project engineering staff selected a Windows PC platform as the RF test console for the Lunar Prospector spacecraft. The spacecraft test team chose the PCbased RF test console because the PC provides a low-cost, common platform with a graphical user interface. The PC provides point-and-click, menu-driven windows that are common throughout the satellite factory. The PC RF test console is being used to exercise the Lunar Prospector spacecraft RF link for RF commanding, telemetry, and ranging signals during factory test, including thermal vacuum chamber testing. For spacecraft command and control at the factory, the PC-based RF test console is networked to a UNIX workstation over RS-422. The PC RF test console and spacecraft interface are controlled through a coax switch residing in a test rack next to the workstation. The PC RF test console is connected directly to the Lunar Prospector spacecraft using coax cable through the spacecraft Telemetry, Commanding, & Ranging (TC&R) RF antenna hat for both transmit and receive functions. The PC RF test console is also connected hard-line to the spacecraft transponder through the transponder RS-422 connection. This connection provides the ability for spacecraft telemetry to be received at the PC at RF or baseband. The same hard-line spacecraft telemetry data is provided to the UNIX workstation for comparison. NASA’s Lunar Prospector project is the first of the Discovery series of “faster, better, cheaper” missions to be competitively awarded. Lunar Prospector project funding was capped by NASA to ensure that no overruns would occur. The mission was funded to support the scientific community’s desire to verify the presence of ice on the moon and collect environmental data to understand the dynamics that may have led to polar ice deposits. The Lunar Prospector mission received funding in 1996 with a launch planned for September 1997