Second-life retailing: a reverse supply chain perspective

Purpose – The authors examine the role of entrepreneurial business models in the reverse supply chain of apparel/fashion retailers. The purpose of this paper is to offer an alternative approach to the “return to the point of origin” prevalent in the reverse chain of manufacturers but less technically and economically feasible in the case of apparel/fashion retailers. This approach, second-life retailing, not only reduces waste but also democratises consumption. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on an extensive literature review, semi-structured interviews with managers of two second-life retailers in Malaysia and observations of a number of stores. Findings – Using the Business Model Canvas, the authors demonstrate the essential characteristics of second-life retailers. Retailers in this study, unlike retailers in the developed world, combine traditional business models with off-price retailing. There is no clear demarcation between the forward and reverse supply chain used to manage first- and second-hand retailing. Practical implications – The paper demonstrates the potential of innovative business models in the reverse supply chain. It encourages managers to look beyond the “return to the point of origin” and seek imaginative alternatives. Such alternatives potentially could result in additional revenue, enhanced sustainability and democratisation of consumption meeting triple bottom line objectives. Originality/value – This paper highlights the importance and relevance of entrepreneurial business models in addressing the reverse supply chain, demonstrating this with the aid of two Malaysian off-price retailers. It also contributes to our nascent knowledge by focusing on emerging markets.

"Where am I?" Impact of display and content variables on spatial presence and comprehension in virtual environments

Forgetting immediate physical reality and having awareness of one�s location in the simulated world is critical to enjoyment and performance in virtual environments be it an interactive 3D game such as Quake or an online virtual 3d community space such as Second Life. Answer to the question "where am I?" at two levels, whether the locus is in the immediate real world as opposed to the virtual world and whether one is aware of the spatial co-ordinates of that locus, hold the key to any virtual 3D experience. While 3D environments, especially virtual environments and their impact on spatial comprehension has been studied in disciplines such as architecture, it is difficult to determine the relative contributions of specific attributes such as screen size or stereoscopy towards spatial comprehension since most of them treat the technology as monolith (box-centered). Using a variable-centered approach put forth by Nass and Mason (1990) which breaks down the technology into its component variables and their corresponding values as its theoretical basis, this paper looks at the contributions of five variables (Stereoscopy, screen size, field of view, level of realism and level of detail) common to most virtual environments on spatial comprehension and presence. The variable centered approach can be daunting as the increase in the number of variables can exponentially increase the number of conditions and resources required. We overcome this drawback posed by adoption of such a theoretical approach by the use of a fractional factorial design for the experiment. This study has completed the first wave of data collection and starting the next phase in January 2007 and expected to complete by February 2007. Theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed.

Multi-modal fingerprinting for multimedia assets: optimisation of media security protection in online distribution environments

Since the advent of the internet in every day life in the 1990s, the barriers to producing, distributing and consuming multimedia data such as videos, music, ebooks, etc. have steadily been lowered for most computer users so that almost everyone with internet access can join the online communities who both produce, consume and of course also share media artefacts. Along with this trend, the violation of personal data privacy and copyright has increased with illegal file sharing being rampant across many online communities particularly for certain music genres and amongst the younger age groups. This has had a devastating effect on the traditional media distribution market; in most cases leaving the distribution companies and the content owner with huge financial losses. To prove that a copyright violation has occurred one can deploy fingerprinting mechanisms to uniquely identify the property. However this is currently based on only uni-modal approaches. In this paper we describe some of the design challenges and architectural approaches to multi-modal fingerprinting currently being examined for evaluation studies within a PhD research programme on optimisation of multi-modal fingerprinting architectures. Accordingly we outline the available modalities that are being integrated through this research programme which aims to establish the optimal architecture for multi-modal media security protection over the internet as the online distribution environment for both legal and illegal distribution of media products.

An assessment of eye-gaze potential within immersive virtual environments

In collaborative situations, eye gaze is a critical element of behavior which supports and fulfills many activities and roles. In current computer-supported collaboration systems, eye gaze is poorly supported. Even in a state-of-the-art video conferencing system such as the access grid, although one can see the face of the user, much of the communicative power of eye gaze is lost. This article gives an overview of some preliminary work that looks towards integrating eye gaze into an immersive collaborative virtual environment and assessing the impact that this would have on interaction between the users of such a system. Three experiments were conducted to assess the efficacy of eye gaze within immersive virtual environments. In each experiment, subjects observed on a large screen the eye-gaze behavior of an avatar. The eye-gaze behavior of that avatar had previously been recorded from a user with the use of a head-mounted eye tracker. The first experiment was conducted to assess the difference between users' abilities to judge what objects an avatar is looking at with only head gaze being viewed and also with eye- and head-gaze data being displayed. The results from the experiment show that eye gaze is of vital importance to the subjects, correctly identifying what a person is looking at in an immersive virtual environment. The second experiment examined whether a monocular or binocular eye-tracker would be required. This was examined by testing subjects' ability to identify where an avatar was looking from their eye direction alone, or by eye direction combined with convergence. This experiment showed that convergence had a significant impact on the subjects' ability to identify where the avatar was looking. The final experiment looked at the effects of stereo and mono-viewing of the scene, with the subjects being asked to identify where the avatar was looking. This experiment showed that there was no difference in the subjects' ability to detect where the avatar was gazing. This is followed by a description of how the eye-tracking system has been integrated into an immersive collaborative virtual environment and some preliminary results from the use of such a system.

Quality of Life Issues and Second-Generation Migration: the Case of 'Bajan-Brit Returnees'

This paper forms part of research that is investigating the migration of young Bajan-Brits to Barbados. Specifically, it explores the role of quality of life issues in the decision-making processes of young Bajan-Brits as they negotiate their 'return' to Barbados. The research, based on 51 in-depth qualitative interviews conducted with an under-researched cohort of young Bajan-Brits living in Barbados, argues from a 'lure of home' conceptualisation that the return of young Bajan-Brits to Barbados can best be understood from the context of a search for a better quality of life in the face of social and economic disenfranchisement in the UK context. Subsequently, the paper examines the extent to which the quality of life factors which formed the basis of return to Barbados have in fact been realised on the part of young Bajan-Brits in their adjustment to life in Barbados. The paper ultimately argues that despite problems of adjustment, young Bajan-Brits have generally been successful in actualising a better quality of life in Barbados. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

"Racism in a Melting Pot...?" Trinidadian mid-life transnational migrants' views on race and colour-class on return to their homes of descent

This paper deals with second-generation, one-and-a-half generation and ‘‘prolonged sojourner” Trinidadian transnational migrants, who have decided to ‘return’ to the birthplace of their parents. Based on 40 in-depth interviews, the paper considers both the positive and critical things that these youthful transnational migrants report about returning to, and living in, this multi-ethnic plural society and the salience of racial and colour-class stratification as part of their return migration experiences. Our qualitative analysis is based on the narratives provided by these youthful returnees, as relayed ‘‘in their own words”, presenting critical reflections on racism, racial identities and experiences as transnational Trinidadians. It is clear that it is contexts such as contemporary working environments, family and community that act as the reference points for the adaptation ‘‘back home” of this strongly middle-class cohort. We accordingly encounter a diverse, sometimes contesting set of racial issues that emerge as salient concerns for these returnees. The consensus is that matters racial remain as formidable legacies in the hierarchical stratification of Trinidadian society for a sizeable number. Many of our respondents reported the positive aspects of racial affirmation on return. But for another sub-set, the fact that multi-ethnic and multi-cultural mixing are proudly embraced in Trinidad meant that it was felt that return experiences were not overly hindered, or blighted by obstacles of race and colour-class. For these returnees, Trinidad and Tobago is seen as representing a 21st century ‘‘Melting Pot”. But for others the continued existence of racial divisions within society – between ethnic groups and among those of different skin shades – was lamented. In the views of these respondents, too much racial power is still ascribed to ‘near-whiteness’. But for the most part, the returnees felt that where race played a part in their new lives, this generally served to advantage them. However, although the situation in Trinidad appears to have been moderated by assumptions that it remains a racial ‘Melting Pot’, the analysis strongly suggests that the colour-class system of stratification is still playing an essential role, along with racial stereotyping in society at large.

Vision 2020 - A whole life-cycle information management system for built environments

A whole life-cycle information management vision is proposed, the organizational requirements for the realization of the scenario is investigated. Preliminary interviews with construction professionals are reported. Discontinuities at information transfer throughout life-cycle of built environments are resulting from lack of coordination and multiple data collection/storage practices. A more coherent history of these activities can improve the work practices of various teams by augmenting decision making processes and creating organizational learning opportunities. Therefore, there is a need for unifying these fragmented bits of data to create a meaningful, semantically rich and standardized information repository for built environment. The proposed vision utilizes embedded technologies and distributed building information models. Two diverse construction project types (large one-off design, small repetitive design) are investigated for the applicability of the vision. A functional prototype software/hardware system for demonstrating the practical use of this vision is developed and discussed. Plans for case-studies for validating the proposed model at a large PFI hospital and housing association projects are discussed.

Object life cycles & interaction environments for cross media production & distribution

This paper addresses the requirements for a Work/flow Management System that is intended to automate the production and distribution chain for cross-media content which is by nature multi-partner and multi-site. It advocates the requirements for an ontology-based object lifecycle tracking within work/flow integration by identifying various types of interfaces, object life cycles and the work-flow interaction environments within the AXMEDIS Framework.

A tool for replay and analysis of gaze-enhanced multiparty sessions captured in immersive collaborative environments

A desktop tool for replay and analysis of gaze-enhanced multiparty virtual collaborative sessions is described. We linked three CAVE (TM)-like environments, creating a multiparty collaborative virtual space where avatars are animated with 3D gaze as well as head and hand motions in real time. Log files are recorded for subsequent playback and analysis Using the proposed software tool. During replaying the user can rotate the viewpoint and navigate in the simulated 3D scene. The playback mechanism relies on multiple distributed log files captured at every site. This structure enables an observer to experience latencies of movement and information transfer for every site as this is important fir conversation analysis. Playback uses an event-replay algorithm, modified to allow fast traversal of the scene by selective rendering of nodes, and to simulate fast random access. The tool's is analysis module can show each participant's 3D gaze points and areas where gaze has been concentrated.

Eye-tracking for avatar eye-gaze and interactional analysis in immersive collaborative virtual environments

Participants' eye-gaze is generally not captured or represented in immersive collaborative virtual environment (ICVE) systems. We present EyeCVE. which uses mobile eye-trackers to drive the gaze of each participant's virtual avatar, thus supporting remote mutual eye-contact and awareness of others' gaze in a perceptually unfragmented shared virtual workspace. We detail trials in which participants took part in three-way conferences between remote CAVE (TM) systems linked via EyeCVE. Eye-tracking data was recorded and used to evaluate interaction, confirming; the system's support for the use of gaze as a communicational and management resource in multiparty conversational scenarios. We point toward subsequent investigation of eye-tracking in ICVEs for enhanced remote social-interaction and analysis.

Eye tracking and gaze based interaction within immersive virtual environments

Our eyes are input sensors which Provide our brains with streams of visual data. They have evolved to be extremely efficient, and they will constantly dart to-and-fro to rapidly build up a picture of the salient entities in a viewed scene. These actions are almost subconscious. However, they can provide telling signs of how the brain is decoding the visuals and call indicate emotional responses, prior to the viewer becoming aware of them. In this paper we discuss a method of tracking a user's eye movements, and Use these to calculate their gaze within an immersive virtual environment. We investigate how these gaze patterns can be captured and used to identify viewed virtual objects, and discuss how this can be used as a, natural method of interacting with the Virtual Environment. We describe a flexible tool that has been developed to achieve this, and detail initial validating applications that prove the concept.