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The term ‘consumption experience’ has become ubiquitous in marketing and consumer research circles. In this thesis I question the appropriateness of this canonical term. In its stead I employ the non-dualistic term ‘experiaction’, coined by an ecological psychologist, which points to the functional inseparability of experiencing and actions. I adopt a field-theoretical, phenomenologically-informed, perspective, whilst participating in, analysing, and writing about ten video-recorded research conversations. Likewise I address the various spin-off texts deriving from the initial conversations, such as transcripts and viewing-logs. I show that ‘field’-embedded individuals notice and act on many aspects of their immediate micro-environments, including their own intra-personal goings-on and expressive outputs. Through data analysis I identify five categories of regulable variables that an individual can act on as s/he seeks to regulate his/her sensing, relative to his/her reference value(s). Seen through this cybernetic lens, momentary human being comprises of a cyclical, ongoing process of self-regulation, in which individuals expediently employ and/or modify accessible resources and goings-on, in the service of seeking to actualise their currently-preferred, or expected, states-of-being, and to minimise unwelcome deviations therefrom. This thesis challenges the prevalent notion that when people consume particular products/services these offerings sponsor offering-dedicated experiences - what some people describe as ‘consumption experiences’. The concept of experiaction, in contrast, comprises of an ongoing interaction between a person and his/her micro-environment, in which the individual attends to, and acts on, whichever aspect(s) of his/her 360°-‘inner’-‘outer’-‘field’ become(s) momentarily salient to him/her, within the parameters imposed by his/her currently-sustained reference value(s).

The term ‘consumption experience’ has become ubiquitous in marketing and consumer research circles. In this thesis I question the appropriateness of this canonical term. In its stead I employ the non-dualistic term ‘experiaction’, coined by an ecological psychologist, which points to the functional inseparability of experiencing and actions. I adopt a field-theoretical, phenomenologically-informed, perspective, whilst participating in, analysing, and writing about ten video-recorded research conversations. Likewise I address the various spin-off texts deriving from the initial conversations, such as transcripts and viewing-logs. I show that ‘field’-embedded individuals notice and act on many aspects of their immediate micro-environments, including their own intra-personal goings-on and expressive outputs. Through data analysis I identify five categories of regulable variables that an individual can act on as s/he seeks to regulate his/her sensing, relative to his/her reference value(s). Seen through this cybernetic lens, momentary human being comprises of a cyclical, ongoing process of self-regulation, in which individuals expediently employ and/or modify accessible resources and goings-on, in the service of seeking to actualise their currently-preferred, or expected, states-of-being, and to minimise unwelcome deviations therefrom. This thesis challenges the prevalent notion that when people consume particular products/services these offerings sponsor offering-dedicated experiences - what some people describe as ‘consumption experiences’. The concept of experiaction, in contrast, comprises of an ongoing interaction between a person and his/her micro-environment, in which the individual attends to, and acts on, whichever aspect(s) of his/her 360°-‘inner’-‘outer’-‘field’ become(s) momentarily salient to him/her, within the parameters imposed by his/her currently-sustained reference value(s).

This paper presents a simple evolutionary model to study the diffusion patterns of product innovations for consumer goods. Following a Veblenian theme, we interpret consumption as a social activity constrained by social norms and equality of opportunity. Societies that allow for more behavioral variety will experience faster adoption of new consumer goods. We also find that the speed of diffusion as well as the saturation levels reached highly depend on the equality of opportunity. Combining these two effects, we conclude that a social structure displaying behavioral variety and equal opportunities dominates any other social set-up in terms of the speed of adoption of product innovations. (author's abstract) / Series: Working Papers Series "Growth and Employment in Europe: Sustainability and Competitiveness"

Thesis (Ph.D.)--McMaster University, 2006. / Supervisor: Thomas Crossley. Includes bibliographical references.

Submitted by Adriana Alves Rodrigues (aalves@espm.br) on 2017-11-08T11:46:59Z No. of bitstreams: 1 FILIEP DE OLIVEIRA COSTA.pdf: 34744343 bytes, checksum: 71634fee97ac357a57fe6a65745efe6e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Alves Rodrigues (aalves@espm.br) on 2017-11-08T11:47:34Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 FILIEP DE OLIVEIRA COSTA.pdf: 34744343 bytes, checksum: 71634fee97ac357a57fe6a65745efe6e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ana Cristina Ropero (ana@espm.br) on 2017-11-10T12:15:05Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 FILIEP DE OLIVEIRA COSTA.pdf: 34744343 bytes, checksum: 71634fee97ac357a57fe6a65745efe6e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-11-10T12:15:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 FILIEP DE OLIVEIRA COSTA.pdf: 34744343 bytes, checksum: 71634fee97ac357a57fe6a65745efe6e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-27 / This research has as its theme the fashion shows as communicational ambiences, consumption of memories, experiences and also spaces of performances. The theoretical object is related to the uses of places of memories of the city of São Paulo as a way of intensifying the communicative strategies for the consumption of the institutional discourse of the brand that circulates in each parade. The empirical objects are the Ellus brand parade, namely: Winter 2008, Summer 2012, Winter 2013, Winter 2014 and Winter 2016. The question that guided the research presupposes that fashion shows are already consecrated advertising strategies as a way of publicizing brand. But for this research these parades also behave as a process that communicates the city and its places of memory (spaces and characters) through the performance that the parade itself performs. We seek to investigate whether the parades so understood convert the memories into a strategy for the symbolic consumption of Ellus' institutional discourse, which translates as sophisticated, urban and transgressive. The general objective is to identify and analyze how Ellus brand fashion shows that use the city and its memories (spaces and characters) communicate and convert memory into a strategy for the symbolic consumption of the brand's institutional discourse. The specific objectives are: to recognize the strategies of the production of the symbolic consumption of the values ​​enunciated in the narrative of the advertising brand Ellus by means of the analysis of the selected parades (Winter 2008, Summer 2012, Winter 2013, Winter 2014, Winter 2016); to identify the places of memory of the city of São Paulo, its characters and the game that is established between the representations of memory and its characters presented in the selected parades; to analyze the parade as performance (gesture, body, soundtrack and the circumstances of its accomplishment, like time and space). The theoretical reference includes authors such as Maria Aparecida Baccega, Everardo Rocha, Don Slater, Ana Paula de Miranda, Mary Douglas, Baron Isherwood, Claudia Pereira, Andreas Huyssen, Michel Pollak, Pierre Nora, Monica Nunes, Iuri Lotman, Paul Zumthor, among others contribute to the discussions. As methodological procedures are carried out bibliographical research in authors of the semiotics of culture, memory, consumption and fashion, and documentary research in videos of the parades and institutional of Ellus and graphic pieces of advertising campaigns of the brand. In addition, we refer in speeches of journalists specialized in fashion news, who were relevant allied to some theoretical aspects. The research corpus includes the analysis of photographic images and frames of the parades (urban spaces, clothes, gestures, soundtracks, temporal marking and construction of the elements that mark the spaces of the parades like scenography, lighting). The results indicate that there are strategies to provide the symbolic consumption of the memories of the locations of the parades in a way that will result in the loyalty of brand clients and symbolic consumers of the repositioned memories not only of the city of São Paulo but also of large urban spaces according to the urban, transgressive and sophisticated institutional discourse of Ellus. / Esta pesquisa tem como tema os desfiles de moda como ambiências comunicacionais, de consumo de memórias, de experiências e também de espaços de performances. O objeto teórico é relativo aos usos de lugares de memórias da cidade de São Paulo como forma de intensificar as estratégias comunicativas para o consumo do discurso institucional da marca que circula em cada desfile. Os objetos empíricos são o desfile da marca Ellus, a saber: Inverno 2008, Verão 2012, Inverno 2013, Inverno 2014 e Inverno 2016. A questão que norteou a pesquisa pressupõe que os desfiles de moda são estratégias publicitárias já consagradas como forma de divulgação de marca. Mas, para esta pesquisa estes desfiles também se comportam como um processo que comunica a cidade e seus lugares de memória (os espaços e os personagens) por meio da performance que o próprio desfile realiza. Buscamos investigar se os desfiles assim compreendidos convertem as memórias em estratégia para o consumo simbólico do discurso institucional da Ellus, que se traduz como sofisticada, urbana e transgressora. O objetivo geral é identificar e analisar de que forma os desfiles de moda da marca Ellus que utilizam a cidade e suas memórias (os espaços e os personagens) comunicam e convertem a memória em estratégia para o consumo simbólico do discurso institucional da marca. Os objetivos específicos são: reconhecer as estratégias da produção do consumo simbólico dos valores enunciados na narrativa da marca publicitária Ellus por meio da análise dos desfiles selecionados (Inverno 2008, Verão 2012, Inverno 2013, Inverno 2014, Inverno 2016); identificar os lugares de memória da cidade de São Paulo, seus personagens e o jogo que se estabelece entre as representações da memória e seus personagens apresentados nos desfiles selecionados; analisar o desfile como performance (gesto, corpo, trilha sonora e as circunstâncias de sua realização, como o tempo e o espaço). O referencial teórico inclui autores como Maria Aparecida Baccega, Everardo Rocha, Don Slater, Ana Paula de Miranda, Mary Douglas, Baron Isherwood, Cláudia Pereira, Andreas Huyssen, Michel Pollak, Pierre Nora, Mônica Nunes, Iuri Lotman, Paul Zumthor, entre outros que contribuem para as discussões. Como procedimentos metodológicos são realizadas pesquisas bibliográficas em autores da semiótica da cultura, memória, consumo e moda, e pesquisa documental em vídeos dos desfiles e institucional da Ellus e peças gráficas de campanhas publicitárias da marca. Além disso, nos referenciamos em falas de jornalistas especializados em notícias de moda, que foram relevantes aliadas a alguns aspectos teóricos. O corpus da pesquisa inclui a análise a partir de imagens fotográficas e frames dos desfiles (espaços urbanos, roupas, gestos, trilhas sonoras, marcação temporal e construção dos elementos que marcam os espaços dos desfiles como cenografia, iluminação). Os resultados indicam que há estratégias para proporcionar o consumo simbólico das memórias das locações dos desfiles de forma que resultem na fidelização dos clientes da marca e consumidores simbólicos das memórias ressignificadas não apenas da cidade de São Paulo, como também de grandes espaços urbanos de acordo com o discurso institucional de urbana, transgressora e sofisticada da Ellus.

Energy management has been an important function of organisations since the oil crisis of the mid 1970’s led to hugely increased costs of energy. Although the financial costs of energy are still important, the growing recognition of the environmental costs of fossil-fuel energy is becoming more important. Legislation is also a key driver. The UK has set an ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction target of 80% of 1990 levels by 2050 in response to a strong international commitment to reduce GHG emissions globally. This work is concerned with the management of energy consumption in buildings through the analysis of energy consumption data. Buildings are a key source of emissions with a wide range of energy-consuming equipment, such as photocopiers or refrigerators, boilers, air-conditioning plant and lighting, delivering services to the building occupants. Energy wastage can be identified through an understanding of consumption patterns and in particular, of changes in these patterns over time. Changes in consumption patterns may have any number of causes; a fault in heating controls; a boiler or lighting replacement scheme; or a change in working practice entirely unrelated to energy management. Standard data analysis techniques such as degree-day modelling and CUSUM provide a means to measure and monitor consumption patterns. These techniques were designed for use with monthly billing data. Modern energy metering systems automatically generate data at half-hourly or better resolution. Standard techniques are not designed to capture the detailed information contained in this comparatively high-resolution data. The introduction of automated metering also introduces the need for automated analysis. This work assumes that consumption patterns are generally consistent in the short-term but will inevitably change. A novel statistical method is developed which builds automated event detection into a novel consumption modelling algorithm. Understanding these changes to consumption patterns is critical to energy management. Leicester City Council has provided half-hourly data from over 300 buildings covering up to seven years of consumption (a total of nearly 50 million meter readings). Automatic event detection pinpoints and quantifies over 5,000 statistically significant events in the Leicester dataset. It is shown that the total impact of these events is a decrease in overall consumption. Viewing consumption patterns in this way allows for a new, event-oriented approach to energy management where large datasets are automatically and rapidly analysed to produce summary meta-data describing their salient features. These event-oriented meta-data can be used to navigate the raw data event by event and are highly complementary to strategic energy management.