The purpose of this thesis is to examine how Virtual Reality can be applied in the product development in the fashion industry. Therefore, the research focuses on potential areas of application as well as opportunities and challenges the implementation of Virtual Reality implies. A narrative literature review is conducted, thoroughly investigating the topic of product development and presenting the four application areas, namely Virtual Training, Virtual Prototyping, Virtual Manufacturing, and Virtual Factory, as well as identified opportunities and challenges. For the empirical part, semi-structured interviews are executed with five product developers of the fashion industry who are chosen based on a snowball sampling approach. The gathered data is evaluated using a thematic analysis. The findings of this study indicate that the areas Virtual Prototyping and Virtual Training were perceived as relevant for the product development in the fashion industry. However, Virtual Prototyping was regarded as most important, for instance, due to the decreased need for physical prototypes resulting in time and cost reductions. Further, the research shows that there are several opportunities and challenges when implementing the Virtual Reality technology in the product development in the fashion industry. This thesis indicates the potential of Virtual Reality in the product development for the fashion industry by showing major opportunities at different stages for the product development process. Nevertheless, there are several challenges that have to be considered in the implementation and handling of Virtual Reality.

Para lidar com a complexidade do processo de desenvolvimento de produtos e especialmente da compreensão das necessidades e anseios dos usuários, a identificação e criação de metodologias como o \"design thinking\" e a engenharia do valor tornou-se importante na geração de valores perceptíveis não só para estes usuários, mas também para as empresas que desenvolvem produtos, para a sociedade e para o meio ambiente. Buscou-se, através da proposta da utilização conjunta das duas metodologias citadas, integradas ao processo de desenvolvimento de produtos, observando as características respectivamente de divergência e de convergência, embasado na realidade auferida na indústria, melhorar a qualidade das fases iniciais do processo de desenvolvimento de produtos, em termos de redução do tempo de desenvolvimento, da assertividade das soluções propostas e dos custos do processo. A validação da técnica proposta deu-se através de dinâmicas envolvendo alunos de um MBA de Gestão e Engenharia de Produtos e Serviços, identificando os fluxos de informação ao longo de 7 ferramentas que compõem o modelo, e, posteriormente, aplicando o modelo completo, observando resultados que atestam a melhor compreensão das etapas e da sinergia relacionada à integração, alcançando objetivos de ensino, mas também de qualidade das soluções obtidas. / To deal with the complexity of the product development process and especially on how to understand the needs and desires of the users, the identification and creation of methodologies such as \"design thinking\" and value engineering became important in generating noticeable values not only for these users but also for companies that develop products for the society and to the environment. By proposing a joint technical of the two mentioned methods, integrated to the product development process, observing the characteristics respectively of divergence and convergence, based on the perceived reality in the industry, it sought to improve the quality of early stages of the product development process, in terms of how to reduce the development time, the assertiveness of the proposed solutions and process costs. The validation of the technique was made through research involving students of an MBA on Management and Engineering of Products and Services, identifying the information flows along the 7 tools that make up the model, and then applying the complete model, observing results that attest to the better understanding of the stages and synergy related to integration, achieving teaching objectives, but also the quality of the solutions obtained.

Environmental awareness has increased during the past 2-3 decades, and companies have gone from simply following legislation to adding environmental considerations into their business plans. The ongoing developments make it interesting to study how leading companies integrate environmental considerations into their product development processes. The aim of this thesis is to study how environmental considerations can be integrated into the product development process. It is based on studies made in the Swedish manufacturing industry. The research has used both quantitative and qualitative methods. The foundation for the conclusion was derived from the four different studies building this thesis. The aggregated conclusion from the studies suggests a conceptual model consisting of four cornerstones that should be addressed in order to ease the integration of environmental concerns: the management, product development process, DfE Mindset, and DfE Tools. The development of this model has its foundation in industrial case studies that show how leading companies have integrated environmental considerations in an innovative way. Combined with the conceptual model is a discussion concerning the usage of existing tools and how sub-activities carried out within the development process are less formal than before. This non-rigid structure is in line with what is suggested in current innovation research for radical innovation, since it enables creativity to flourish and does not limit designers. This freedom of action for the creativity of the personnel in the projects has raised the environmental work to a new level. The thesis also suggests how to use analytical and dialogue-based tools in a development project. It is beneficial to have a dialogue tool in the beginning of a project and in a radical innovation project, while it is beneficial to have an analytical tool later on in a project if more that one tool is used or in an incremental innovation project. / QC 20100820.

The notion of sustainability has become an extensive area of research ever since the term emerged in the late 1980s, due to the negative effects of unsustainable production and consumption patterns on environmental stewardship, social equity and economic development. There have been various approaches developed for product design and education within the context sustainability. Biomimicry is one of those approaches, and its implications for product design education have recently started to be explored. In this study, an educational tool - Biomimicry Sketch Analysis (BSA) - was developed and integrated into the idea-generation phase of an educational design project at the undergraduate level in the Department of Industrial Design at the Middle East Technical University (METU). This integration is analyzed throughout the graduate thesis study, to understand and explore the implications of the biomimicry approach for sustainability in product design education. The educational tool within this approach was found as influential among the third year industrial design students for the idea-generation phase, yet the results of this study included both pros and cons for the incorporation of the BSA exercise.

This essay is about the development process I have undergone during my experience-based preschool teacher education. I write about my internal process, about how I as a childcare worker go from assertiveness and believing in myself into fighting doubts, thoughts and feelings as a preschool teacher. The purpose with this essay is to make the difficulties with managing new knowledge and practicing it in real life visible, and at the same time overcome your uncertainty in a new professional role. The essay is based on two stories from my professional life where I, in the first one portray my actions and behavior as a childcare worker and in the second one as a preschool teacher. Based on my stories I try to answer questions as what does the individual learning process look like when going from one professional role to another in the same profession? What impact does theoretical knowledge have on practical knowledge? I have used reflection and writing as methods for my paper. I have reflected through dialogues together with fellow students and colleagues, but I have also reflected in my thoughts by having an internal dialogue. I base my essay on phenomenology and hermeneutic theory which both are experience based and evolve from interpretations and understandings of phenomena that arise in one`s mind. To be able to visualize my thinking the reflection has been an important part of my writing and also for being able to take different perspectives and examine myself critically. In this essay I discuss different kinds of knowledge and I base it on Aristotle´s three forms of knowledge. I begin my paper with describing my non doubting period and by using scientific theories I try to deepen my knowledge about why I go from being confident to having doubts.  The core of the story is the part about my doubting period where I discuss the importance of theoretical knowledge. I reflect upon and highlight different dilemmas in which a person`s knowledge is invisible and I discuss whether a uniform would make any difference to what knowledge you possess in the eyes of a beholder. / Den här essän handlar om min utvecklingsprocess jag har genomgått under min erfarenhetsbaserade förskollärarutbildning. Jag skriver om min inre process, om hur jag som barnskötare går från självsäkerhet och att tro på mig själv till att kämpa med tvivel, tankar och känslor som förskollärare. Syftet med denna essä är att synliggöra svårigheterna med att förvalta vetenskaplig kunskap och praktisera den i verkligheten, och samtidigt övervinna sin osäkerhet i en ny yrkesroll. Essän bygger på två berättelser utifrån min verksamhet där jag i den första delen gestaltar mitt handlande och agerande som barnskötare och i den andra delen som blivande förskollärare. Utifrån mina berättelser försöker jag att svara på frågor som, hur kan den individuella lärprocessen se ut när man går från en yrkesroll till en annan inom samma verksamhet? Vilken betydelse har teoretisk kunskap för det praktiska kunnandet?    Jag har använt mig av reflektion och skrivande som metod. Tillsammans med klasskamrater och kollegor har jag reflekterat genom dialog, men jag har också haft en inre dialog då jag har reflekterat i tankarna. I min essä utgår jag från teorier som fenomenologi och hermeneutik vilka utgår från erfarenheten och som bygger på tolkningar och förståelse av fenomen som uppstår i ens medvetande. Reflektionen har varit en viktig del i mitt arbete för att synliggöra mina tankegångar och för att kunna inta olika perspektiv och granska mig själv kritiskt. I essän diskuterar jag olika sorters kunskap och utgår ifrån Aristoteles tre kunskapsformer. Jag börjar med att beskriva min icke tvivlande period och med hjälp av teorier försöker jag fördjupa min kunskap genom att bli medveten om varför jag går från självsäkerhet till att börja tvivla. I den tvivlande perioden finns essäns kärna, där jag ingående diskuterar vikten av kunskap. Jag reflekterar över och belyser olika dilemman då kunskapen inte syns, och funderar över om en uniform har någon avgörande betydelse för vilken kunskap man besitter, i en betraktares ögon.

Many software development projects start with an existing code base that has to be tightly integrated into a new system. In order to make a robust system that will achieve the desired business goals, developers must be able to understand the architecture of the old code base and its rationale. This thesis presents a lightweight approach for the recovery of software architecture. The main goal of the approach is to provide an efficient way for architecture recovery that works on small to mid-sized software systems, and gives a useful starting point on large ones. The emphasis of the process is on the use of well established development techniques and tools, in order to minimize adoption costs and maximize the return on investment.

Development agencies and policymakers are increasingly advocating tourism as a viable and legitimate poverty reduction strategy in least-developed countries (LDCs). However, the rhetoric surrounding tourism development mechanisms in the context of LDCs far outweighs the empirical evidence. Much of the tourism literature has examined impacts of tourism in LDCs, but little research has examined development processes and their impacts on poverty, comprehensively defined. This study examines the development processes by which tourism affects poverty, analyses the effects of tourism employment on poverty conditions, and explores ways that tourism can contribute to poverty reduction. These objectives are addressed using a multi-methods research approach and case study situated in Nkhata Bay, Malawi. The research findings demonstrated that tourism development mechanisms of employment, local sourcing, and philanthropy were most prevalent in Nkhata Bay, while mechanisms such as direct sales, the establishment of small enterprises, taxes, and infrastructure were less apparent. Further analysis revealed that while tourism employment had positive effects on monetary and employment conditions of tourism employees, these effects did not reflect improvements in other facets of poverty. The main conclusions of the study are that tourism is not an indelible force for poverty alleviation, as it can have alleviating, perpetuating, and exacerbating effects on poverty. However, while tourism offers limited poverty reduction potential as a national economic development strategy, tourism facilitates alternative sources of development finance, such as philanthropy, which can support alternative development processes on a local level, and may be more effective in harnessing the potential of tourism to deliver poverty reduction objectives.

Rural areas across the developed world have encountered economic decline due to trends of industrialisation and urbanisation (Lane, 1994). The damaging effects of the declining economy have persuaded governments to recognize these problems and tourism has been presented as a catalyst to revitalize disadvantaged rural areas (Riberio & Marques, 2002). Tourism often represents a means of generating revenue and increasing employment opportunities. Today, the idea that tourism will save disadvantaged rural areas has grown into a widely agreed upon notion, which is reflected in a vast range of policy documents. This thesis has questioned whether the promise of rural tourism to contribute to local community development has surfaced as a result of over optimism. The purpose of this study was to determine if tourism is a viable tool for development in rural areas by stepping back and evaluating what is really happening in practice in rural areas. This study examined if, and to what extent, the reported benefits of rural tourism are realized on the ground at the local community level. However, there is little to be gained by examining the impacts of tourism without examining the processes which have contributed to the creation and growth of rural tourism. This research consisted of a close examination of the rural tourism development process and the impacts of its development in a rural village in the Czech Republic. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, household survey questionnaires, secondary data analysis and finally, participant observation. The analysis of the data revealed four main themes, which include: (1) the nature of tourism development, (2) the impacts of tourism, (3) the role of tourism, and (4) the future of tourism development. The findings of this research showed that residents held a favourable view towards tourism development and are supportive of future tourism development. Tourism is attributed to the many positive changes that have occurred in the village. Moreover, residents reported valuing the social contributions of tourism more than the economic contributions. It was revealed that there is an awareness future tourism planning and monitoring is needed, however, there is a distinct lack of organized tourism planning in the village. The study concluded that tourism’s promise of providing development potential to rural communities, as outlined, remains partially unfulfilled. Residents have a realistic grasp on the role of tourism in their village and as such, realize that tourism is currently not a viable development option for their village. This study demonstrates that it should not be assumed that rural economic development is a natural outcome of rural tourism.

For a company to be competitive today, one way is to create a natural feedback loop from the production department to the design department with information regarding the production systems ability to deliver a finished component. The purpose with this feedback loop is to create respect for tolerances and to more design for manufacturing and assembly. The studied company in this thesis work developed a quality program to reach a spiral of continuous improvements to reduce cost of poor quality (CoPQ) and to reach an improved quality level (PPM). The object of this work was to test and improve the quality program called The Zero Tolerance Program. Delimitations were made when the work was started and ongoing which led to that the impact on PPM could not be studied. The connection to CoPQ was difficult to obtain and could only be proved theoretically, not practically, due to the short timetable. During the short amount of time the right root cause could not be found. The thesis work findings came to a number of identified Measurable Success Criteria and requirements which must be in place for the further progress of The Zero Tolerance Program. / PREPARE

Many software development projects start with an existing code base that has to be tightly integrated into a new system. In order to make a robust system that will achieve the desired business goals, developers must be able to understand the architecture of the old code base and its rationale. This thesis presents a lightweight approach for the recovery of software architecture. The main goal of the approach is to provide an efficient way for architecture recovery that works on small to mid-sized software systems, and gives a useful starting point on large ones. The emphasis of the process is on the use of well established development techniques and tools, in order to minimize adoption costs and maximize the return on investment.