Kemal Yildirim

The effect of age, gender and education level on customer evaluations of retail furniture store atmospheric attributes

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the effect of age, gender and education level on customer evaluations of store atmospheric attributes (colour, lighting type, musical genre/tempo/volume, circulation area, lighting, climatic conditions, ambient scent and cleanliness) in the context of retail furniture stores. Design/methodology/approach – To that end, a questionnaire was administered to 273 customers who shopped at furniture stores in the Siteler district of Ankara. The reliability coefficients of the data were defined based on their percentage values. Then, to examine the effect of age, gender and education level on customer evaluations of store atmospheric attributes, the appropriate χ2 analysis was applied. Findings – Significant differences in customer evaluations of store atmospheric attributes emerged based on age, gender and education level. Based on those results, certain store atmospheric attributes (colour, lighting type, musical genre/tempo/volume) preferred by customers were ...

Effect of wall colour on the perception of classrooms

The objective of this research was to assess the effects of three different colours on the interior wall surfaces of classrooms on the perceptual performance of male students, taking into account of their class distinctions. A semantic differential scale composed of 11 bipolar adjectives was applied in order for students of the Incirli Vocational High School, Ankara, Turkey, to evaluate photographs of classrooms with cream, blue and pink wall surfaces. According to the results, spaces with blue walls were perceived to be more positively compared to cream or pink coloured spaces. In addition, it was determined that 9th grade students perceived the spaces more positively compared to 10th, 11th and 12th grade students at level p < 0.05. The results of the study clearly indicate that the use of different colours in interior spaces of a classroom has a statistically significant effect on the perceptual performance of the male students.

Effects on sustainability of various skylight systems in buildings with an atrium

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to compare the natural lighting performance of roof skylight systems in buildings with atriums and to compare the sustainability and energy efficiency of several roof skylight systems for educational buildings with atriums.Design/methodology/approach – Five roof skylight systems previously assessed in another study were adapted for simulation. In order to determine the effects of each skylight system on natural lighting, all the physical data of the building to be studied were recorded and entered into a computer.Findings – The results of the study showed that roof skylight systems should be designed both to limit light during periods of maximum daylight to avoid such problems as glare, flare, and so on; and to direct light indoors as fully as possible during periods of limited daylight. In this regard, the “Moving Sunshade Double Layer” roof system showed better performance than the other four roof skylight systems.Research limitations/implications – In subsequent s...

The Effects of Physical Environmental Factors on Students’ Perceptions in Computer Classrooms

The environmental setting has a direct impact on perception, comfort, motivation, and concentration in learning environments. Accordingly, in computer classrooms, technological equipment and classroom settings can enhance psychological comfort and the learning environment. With this in mind, seemingly subtle differences in interior design/layout, as opposed to the larger matters of architectural design and floor-plan, were assumed to influence the perceptual performance of design students. To verify this hypothesis, the atmospheric attributes of two computer classrooms used to teach 3Dmax and AutoCAD drawing programs at the Department of Furniture and Decoration of Technical Education Faculty at Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey, were tested by eliciting responses to ten bipolar semantic differential items on a Likert-style scale. Results showed that differences in the environmental settings of each classroom had an important influence on the perceptual evaluations of students. Factors such as proximity/distance of pieces of equipment to one another, roominess/crowdedness in terms of the placement of the PC boxes, the presence of paintings and plants, and attention to circulation and sightlines, were observed to have an effect on whether student participants perceived a space positively or negatively. These results imply that preparing an optimal environment would encourage a good relationship between the student and his or her environment, thereby encouraging more productive learning and better motivation and concentration.

Consumer perceptions and functional evaluations of cash desk types in the clothing retail context

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on assessing consumer perceptions and functional evaluations of store cash desks (Flat, L- and U-shaped) in the clothing retail context. Design/methodology/approach – To test the assumption that relationships exist between various types of cash desks and consumer perceptions and functional evaluations, a study was devised using digital pictures of three types of cash desks hypothetically located in a large store. Findings – Results based on semantic differential and functional items show that consumers expressed a more positive perception of flat than of L- or U-shaped cash desks. Men evaluated the store cash desks more positively than women overall. Managerial implications are discussed and directions for future research are proposed. Originality/value – This paper reveals a significant relationship between cash desk type and consumer perceptions and functional evaluations of cash desks. The results of the work suggest that retailers and designers may be ab...

Consumers’ evaluations of fitting rooms in retail clothing stores

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the effect of age, gender and educational level on customer evaluations of the design characteristics of fitting rooms/dressing rooms, such as size, levels of illumination, number of hangers, materials and opening types of doors in retail clothing stores. In the light of these results, the study aims to increase the satisfaction of the customers in retail stores. Design/methodology/approach – These evaluations were analysed according to the demographic characteristics of consumers, such as age, gender and educational level. Since activities in fitting rooms require a certain level of privacy, the features that affected privacy were also considered in this study. The analysis was carried out with research designed for users of fitting rooms in Ankara, Turkey. Findings – Results indicated that demographic characteristics of the customers affected their evaluation of fitting rooms. The statistically significant results between evaluations of customers and t...

An Exploratory and Comparative Evaluation on the Spatial Perception of Two Densities of Multioccupancy Hospital Rooms.

Objective: The objective of this article was to explore interior spatial qualifications on patient perception of two densities of multioccupancy hospital rooms. Background: The research setting of this study was the three- and six-person capacity hospital rooms used for treatment of patients at a large hospital in a major metropolitan city in Turkey. Method: The subjects used in the study were randomly selected from among patients treated in the surgical medical sciences’ departments of the hospital. Accordingly, a research questionnaire was applied to a total of 101 subjects. Results: Results have shown that the three-person rooms were assessed more positively for privacy, functional, and perceptual qualifications compared to the six-person rooms. An increase in the number of persons and interior units of rooms affects negatively the auditory privacy and privacy areas of other patients. Conclusion: Consequently, although these rooms with different spatial sizes were very similar for concentration of persons and commodities, six-person rooms were perceived to be more crowded than three-person rooms.

Genç Odası Mekânı ve İç Donatım Elemanlarının Tasarım Kriterlerinin Belirlenmesi

Bu calismada, universite ogrencilerinin yasadigi odalarin mekân ve ic donati elemanlarinin karakteristik ozelliklerinin ve ogrencilerin odalarina iliskin istek ve memnuniyet durumlarinin belirlenmesi amaclanmistir. Bu maksatla, Orta Dogu Teknik Universitesi (ODTU) Biyoloji ve Gida Muhendisligi Bolumleri ogrencileri arasindan rastgele olarak secilen 94 ogrencinin odasinin mimari buyuklugu; duvar, zemin ve tavan kaplama ozellikleri; donati elemanlarinin karakteristikleri ve malzeme tercihleri; odadaki mobilyalarin satin alma kararlarinin verilmesi gibi hususlar ayrintili bir anket yardimiyla tespit edilmistir. Sonucta, ogrencilerin odalarinin %65’inin buyuklugunun 8-10 m 2 arasinda oldugu; odalarin %75’inin zemininde ahsap/laminant parke kullanildigi; %83’unun duvarinda boya kullanildigi; kiz ogrenci odalarinin duvarinda daha cok pembe ve turuncu, erkek ogrencilerin ise daha cok mavi ve beyaz renklerinin tercih edildigi; ogrencilerin yarisindan fazlasinin mobilyalarini satin alirken kendisinin karar verdigi, ayrica ogrencilerin %90’inin ise mobilyalarinda ahsap ve ahsap esasli malzemelerin kullanilmasini istedikleri belirlenmistir

Determination of Users' Knowledge on the Impact of Organic Chemicals in Interior Equipment Elements on Health: Ankara/Turkey Sample

This study aims to determine the knowledge of users in Ankara according to gender, age and educational background, regarding the hazardous effects on human health of organic chemicals dispersed into the environment from interior equipment elements. The study group consisted of 92 randomly-selected people. The survey, developed in line with the aim of the study, was given to this sample. It was found that participants do not have sufficient knowledge about the organic chemicals dispersed into the environment from interior equipment elements. It was found that young people have less knowledge than middle-aged, and secondary-education graduates have less knowledge than higher-education graduates. It was determined that the users knowledge can be increased, the use of hazardous materials in fabrication manufacturing can be decreased, and that awareness raising activities should be conducted.