COMMODITY FETISH  Pas de deux

Generative art enhances virtual shopping experience

Cornell University

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ITHACA, N.Y. –  Art infusion theory – the idea that displaying art in retail settings can positively impact consumer behavior – can be applied to the metaverse with similar results, a Cornell design researcher has shown.

Employing algorithm-fueled generative art, So-Yeon Yoon, professor of human centered design at Cornell University, found that the installation in a virtual store enhanced perceptions of exclusivity and aesthetic pleasure for both mass-market and luxury retailers.

“When we think about art, we think it’s more closely aligned with the luxury market,” Yoon said. “But this AI-powered generative art has this capacity to be more practical, affordable and sustainable compared to the expensive artwork that only a luxury market may afford. I think it’s encouraging to see that the mass brand can benefit, as well.”

Yoon is senior author of “Exploring the Impact of Generative Art in Virtual Stores: A Metaverse Study on Consumer Perception and Approach Intention,” which published recently in the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. 

“Big events incorporate generative art a lot, but I think it’s more accessible than people might think,” she said. “I see this research as an opportunity to show that it can be adopted in virtual retail stores, and see what effect it actually has on customers.”

The researchers conducted two experiments involving generative art, which can be both dynamic and static, in virtual fashion retailers. For the first, they created pairs of virtual stores (two mass-market and two luxury brands) that were identical except that one contained a generative art display – a video projected onto a white wall, with ever-changing black-and-white patterns. The other featured a plain white wall.

The 120 study participants were all women, with an average age of around 28. The team found that the presence of art was met with positive reactions in both types of stores; answers were overwhelmingly positive to survey measurement statements such as “I perceive this store as luxurious” and “All in all, this store is attractive to me.”

“We actually found that it had more of an effect on the mass brand shoppers versus the luxury brand,” Yoon said. “It worked better for the participants less familiar with art, which was surprising.”

The second study, involving 90 women, sought to determine which form of art (static or dynamic) was more affecting in terms of consumer behavior, including the likelihood of spreading the word online, known as electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM). Perceptions of exclusivity and aesthetic pleasure were greater in the dynamic-art condition as opposed to the static condition, as were e-WOM intentions.

Yoon said that while the addition of fine art in a mass-market retail outlet might not make economic sense, installing some form of computer-generated art – already popular in major sports events, concerts and interactive gallery shows – could be an option. She is exploring other settings that could benefit from this type of dynamic installation.

“I’d like to explore contexts beyond the retail market – like assisted-living or health care facilities, or  retirement communities,” she said. “You don’t need artists creating one after another. This is constant, like a living art form. It's dynamic, and once it’s created, you have an unlimited number of variations.”

For additional information, see this Cornell Chronicle story.

Cornell University has dedicated television and audio studios available for media interviews.

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Journal

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services

DOI

10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104542. 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Exploring the impact of generative art in virtual stores: A metaverse study on consumer perception and approach intention

 

Concordia study links urban heat in Montreal to unequal greenspace access

Neighbourhoods with lower incomes, less access to education, and higher proportions of racialized residents tend to be hotter due to less vegetation

Concordia University

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image: 

Lingshan Li: “We need to care more about people who are most exposed to excess heat in urban areas.”

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Credit: Concordia University

Trees are essential to cooling down cities. However, a study by Concordia researchers at the Next Generation Cities Institute and the Loyola Sustainability Research Centre shows how tree distribution influences how some residents benefit more from them than others.

In a paper published Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, the authors studied the layout of Montreal’s vegetation — its trees, shrubs and grass — and compared it to daytime temperature readings on the ground, or land surface.

Using satellite imagery and laser imaging, detection, and ranging (LiDAR) technology data, the researchers found that a 10 per cent increase in tree coverage can lower land surface temperature by 1.4˚C. A similar increase in shrubs and grass lowers temperatures by about 0.8°C. They also learned that large, continuous patches of trees cool their surroundings better than small, scattered groupings.

The researchers analyzed and compared vegetation coverage using demographic information from the 2021 Canadian Census. The results revealed that neighborhoods with higher incomes, higher levels of education, and predominantly white populations tended to have access to higher quality green infrastructure. In contrast, poorer, more racially diverse areas received less cooling benefit from green infrastructure.

Underserved areas also had higher populations of vulnerable age groups, meaning those under five years old and those over 65.

“Demand for the cooling provided by urban vegetation is based on the population of vulnerable groups,” says lead author Lingshan Li, a PhD candidate in the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment. “We need to care more about people who are vulnerable and most exposed to excess heat in urban areas.”

Finding the cooling mismatches

The model draws on three key indicators, developed using data from several sources:

• Heat exposure – Measured using land surface temperature data from Landsat satellite imagery provided by the US Geological Survey;
• Vegetation coverage – Assessed through LiDAR and aerial imagery from the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal’s Metropolitan Canopy Index, which maps vegetation coverage across the island of Montreal
• Population data – Drawn from the 2021 Canadian Census, including statistics on age, education, income and visible minority status.

Next, the researchers created a statistical model to predict how vegetation affects surface temperatures. They used three variables: percentage of high vegetation (tree canopy), percentage of low vegetation (shrubs and grass) and a “large patch index of high vegetation,” which measured how extensive and uninterrupted the main tree clusters were within each study area.

Their model explained roughly 80 per cent of the variation in surface temperatures across the island. It also showed that temperatures can be reduced by increasing vegetation coverage, and that larger, connected patches of trees amplify cooling.

Cooling supply and demand

With this information, they developed a “cooling supply index” – which assigned a value between 0 (low cooling) and 1 (high cooling) – and a “cooling demand index,” which reflected the proportion of residents in vulnerable age groups. Neighbourhoods with higher numbers of these residents were determined to have higher demand for cooling.

Comparing these indices showed where mismatches occurred.

Wealthier and better educated areas like Outremont and the West Island had more tree cover and thus greater cooling, whereas Saint-Léonard, Montréal-Nord, and Anjou, which have higher proportions of visible minorities or lower average household incomes, were found to have fewer trees and more heat-vulnerable residents.

Li says this study can help planners and municipal authorities prioritize where to build parks and greenspaces so they can make their cities more equitable.

“Urban areas have limited space, so we cannot create as many green spaces as we would like,” she says. “We have to better understand how to manage our urban green infrastructure to maximize its benefits.”

Contributors to this study include Angela Kross, associate professor, Geography, Planning and Environment; Carly Ziter, assistant professor, Biology; and Ursula Eicker, professor, Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Financial support for this study was provided by the Trottier Family Foundation and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

Read the cited paper: “Analyzing spatial patterns of urban green infrastructure for urban cooling and social equity.”

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Journal

Urban Forestry & Urban Greening

DOI

10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128983 

Method of Research

Imaging analysis

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Analyzing spatial patterns of urban green infrastructure for urban cooling and social equity

COI Statement

Lingshan Li reports financial support was provided by The Trottier Family Foundation. Lingshan Li reports financial support was provided by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Carly Ziter, Angela Kross reports financial support was provided by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Carly Ziter, Ursula Eicker reports financial support was provided by The Trottier Family Foundation. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

 

Boron isotopes reveal how nuclear waste glass slowly dissolves over time

Biochar Editorial Office, Shenyang Agricultural University

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Boron isotope tracers of diffusion during glass dissolution

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Credit: Thomas L. Goût, Rui Guo, Sambuddha Misra, Edward T. Tipper, Madeleine S. Bohlin, Yandi Hu & Ian Farnan

A new study has uncovered how tiny differences in boron atoms can help scientists better predict the long-term behavior of glass used to store hazardous waste. The findings, published in Environmental and Biogeochemical Processes, could improve forecasts of how radioactive materials are released from storage over thousands of years.

Glass is often used to immobilize contaminants such as radionuclides and heavy metals, locking them safely inside a stable structure. However, when groundwater seeps into disposal sites, the glass can gradually dissolve. Understanding this process is crucial for ensuring the safety of geological waste repositories.

Researchers from Peking University, the University of Cambridge, and partner institutions used boron isotope “fingerprinting” to trace how boron moves within dissolving glass. By comparing two types of borosilicate glass, one containing magnesium and one without, the team discovered that the diffusion of boron atoms depends strongly on the glass composition and the time it has been exposed to water.

In laboratory experiments, the glasses were placed in pure water at 90 degrees Celsius for up to 112 days. Measurements of boron isotopes showed that at early stages, boron was released evenly from the glass surface. Over time, however, diffusion through an altered surface layer became a key mechanism controlling the release. In magnesium-bearing glass, the formation of secondary minerals slowed the dissolution, creating a dense, protective layer. In contrast, the magnesium-free glass developed a surface layer that offered little protection, allowing boron to continue diffusing out.

“Boron isotopes provide a sensitive and direct tracer of how waste glasses interact with water,” said lead author Thomas L. Goût. “They help reveal when the glass dissolves uniformly and when the process becomes controlled by diffusion through a transformed surface layer.”

The research offers a new approach for monitoring and modeling glass corrosion in environmental and nuclear waste management. By identifying how isotopic signatures change as glass ages, scientists can better estimate the long-term release of contaminants into groundwater systems.

This study demonstrates that isotope-based techniques can provide detailed insights into the complex reactions occurring within waste materials. Such knowledge is essential for designing safer storage strategies for nuclear and industrial waste in the coming centuries.

 

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Journal reference: Goût TL, Guo R, Misra S, Tipper ET, Bohlin MS, et al. 2025. Boron isotope tracers of diffusion during glass dissolution. Environmental and Biogeochemical Processes 1: e005  https://www.maxapress.com/article/doi/10.48130/ebp-0025-0004  

 

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About the Journal:

Environmental and Biogeochemical Processes is a multidisciplinary platform for communicating advances in fundamental and applied research on the interactions and processes involving the cycling of elements and compounds between the biological, geological, and chemical components of the environment. 

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DOI

10.48130/ebp-0025-0004 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Boron isotope tracers of diffusion during glass dissolution

 

New technique boosts electron microscope’s clarity

University of Victoria (UVic) research team achieve a major breakthrough in electron microscopy to visualize atomic-scale structures.

University of Victoria

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A team of researchers at the University of Victoria (UVic) have achieved a major breakthrough in electron microscopy that will allow scientists to visualize atomic-scale structures with unprecedented clarity using lower-cost and lower-energy microscopes than ever before.

Led by Arthur Blackburn, co-director of UVic’s Advanced Microscopy Facility, the team developed a novel imaging technique that allowed them to achieve sub-Ångström resolution (less than one ten-billionth of a meter) using a compact, low-energy scanning electron microscope (SEM)—a feat previously possible only with a large, high-cost transmission electron microscope (TEM).

This work shows that high-resolution imaging doesn’t have to rely on expensive, complex equipment. We’ve demonstrated that a relatively simple SEM, when paired with advanced computational techniques, can achieve a resolution that rivals or even surpasses traditional methods.”

Arthur Blackburn, co-director of UVic’s Advanced Microscopy Facility and Hitachi High-Tech Canada Research Chair in Advanced Electron Microscopy

The research, published in Nature Communications , opens the door to more accessible microscopy for labs around the world. The new technique allows for high-resolution, atomic-scale images without the previously prohibitive cost, space and personnel requirements.

The breakthrough was made possible by applying a technique called ptychography, which uses overlapping patterns of scattered electrons to build a highly detailed picture of a sample. Using this technique, the team was able to reach a resolution of just 0.67 Ångström—less than the size of an atom, and 1/10,000 the width of a human hair—using a low-energy beam on a SEM. Previously, achieving sub-Ångström resolution required a high-energy beam and a TEM.

“This could be transformative for fields like materials science, nanotechnology and structural biology,” says Blackburn. “The advance will most immediately benefit the research and production of 2D materials, which are promising in the development of next-generation electronics. Long term, it could also assist in determining the structure of small proteins, leading to advances in health and disease research.”

This work was conducted in partnership with Hitachi High-Tech Canada and supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

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Journal

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-025-64133-3 

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Sub-ångström resolution ptychography in a scanning electron microscope at 20 keV

Article Publication Date

14-Oct-2025