The thesis examines the factors influencing the sustainability of employee involvement strategies in the Sri Lankan manufacturing sector. Applying the psychological contract perspective, the researcher attempts to explore how employee involvement strategies are sustained at the factory floor level. More specifically, the attempt is to understand the involved behaviour of employee in the perspectives of a relational as well as a transactional psychological contract. The empirical evidence is drawn from three case studies in to consumer products, tobacco products and garment manufacturing in Sri Lanka. The thesis highlights several key findings relating to the process of sustaining employee involvement strategies in Sri Lankan manufacturing firms. First, the existence of a psychological contract in the form of a relational contract supports the sustenance of employee involvement strategies. Second, the social exchange process that produces the relational contract in an employer-employee setting draws from situational factors such as the supportive climate created by employer and employee development programmes and the psychological factors, such as work values, job involvement, and commitment of the employee to organization. Third important factor: the trust placed in the organization by the employee develops exchange relationships with the organization, managers and fellow employees leading to a relational psychological contract, which results in the sustenance of outcomes of employee involvement. Some confirming evidence for the third factor could be drawn from situations where a break down of trust prompts a violation of the psychological contract. In such situations, the relational contract is transformed into a transactional contract resulting in the failure of employee involvement process. Finally, the thesis finds little evidence to support the view that moving down power, information, knowledge and skills and rewards to the frontline employees alone are sufficient to sustain an employee involvement process.

This work explores the opportunities of working with multiplicity in fashion. This provides the freedom ofcombining inspiration from different times, places and cultures. At the same time, it is important that the viewerunderstands the fusion and that the work shows relevance to the current time in fashion. The selected parts inthis fusion are costumes from 19th century America and garments from the Russian designer GoshaRubchinskiy. The focus of this work is a fusion of these two worlds with the aim to find a new way of dressing.By finding methods that explore the complexity of Worldmaking, it led to a better understanding of theimportance of finding the balance between multiplicity and reduction. The materials from these two worlds arebased on items from websites relating to the origin worlds. These items are then developed with inspirationfrom both pleasure and insight. This collection started with two worlds that resulted in a lineup of seven looks. These looks have come torepresent another world, but still contain fragments that can be derived from its origins. This ”another world” isa young concept and eager to continue the creation of a new culture of fashion.

[pt] O objetivo da dissertação é desenvolver um modelo de processo de planejamento apropriado para pequenas e médias empresas - PMEs -, apoiado nos conceitos do processo de planejamento adaptativo, levando-se em conta os aspectos da filosofia da qualidade total e da abordagem sócio-técnica. A partir de uma fundamentação teórica, é desenvolvida uma análise das relações entre a abordagem de planejamento adaptativo, o enfoque sócio-técnico e a qualidade total. Como complemento à fundamentação teórica foi desenvolvido um estudo de caso, em uma pequena e outra média empresa, visando identificar aspectos práticos relevantes para o modelo a ser proposto. O modelo proposto incorpora as características de adaptação, flexibilidade, simplicidade, continuidade, integração e coordenação, identificadas nas análises teórica e prática como essenciais para que sua aplicação atinja efetivamente os resultados desejados, possibilitanto a constante reavaliação das ações planejadas. / [en] This dissertation aims at developing a model for planning process, based on concepts of adaptative planning, which integrate elements of total quality philosophy and sociotechnical systems, appropriate for small and medium size companies. From a theorical basis, the relationship between these three approaches are analized. A case study, covering two companies of the sizes here considered, was conducted, in order to identify the relevant pratical aspects of na effective planning system at this level. The proposed model was developed with the following characteristics: flexibility, simplicity and continuity, with the objective of providing the organizations that may adopt it with the proprieties of adaptation, integration and coordination, here identified, both at theorical and applied levels, as necessary to ensure na effective planning process. / [es] EL objetivo de la disertación es desarrollar un modelo de proceso de planificación apropriado para pequeñas y medianas empresas - PMEs -, apoyado en los conceptos del proceso de planificación adaptativo, llevando en cuenta los aspectos de la filosofía de la calidad total y del enfoque socio-técnico. A partir de una fundamentación teórica, se desarrolla un análisis de las relaciones entre La abordagen de planificación adaptativo, el enfoque sócio-técnico y la calidad total. Como complemento a la fundamentación teórica fue desarrollado un estudio de casos, en una pequeña y una mediana empresa, com el objetivo de identificar aspectos prácticos relevantes para el modelo. EL modelo propuesto incorpora las características de adaptación, flexibilidad, simplicidad, continuidad, integración y coordenación. El análisis teórico y práctico identifica estas características como esenciales para que la aplicación del modelo alcance efectivamente los resultados deseados, permitiendo la constante reevaluación de las acciones planificadas.

This work explores the relation between the body and garments by illustrating the cycle of dressing, wearing and undressing in woven images. Based on experimental methods, such as scanning and photographing, images of garments are generated capturing garment details, surface qualities, movement, folds and volume. These demonstrate the constantly changing relation between the body and garments within the cycle of dressing, wearing and undressing. In translating the photographs and scans of the garments into weaves, a shading technique for jacquardweaving is applied that enables a translation of an image of a 3D-garment into a flat weave keeping the 3D qualities present in the picture. Through a gradation of satin weaves, different hues are created in order to define shadows and other surface qualities.  The changing relation between the body and garments is interpreted in different ways including the body’s presence as well as its absence which results in immediate material responses of the garments and demonstrates the various appearances of the body within this relation. This work results in a variety of woven images pointing out the different stages within the cycle of dressing, wearing and undressing. By using the image as a tool, its pictorial value of capturing moments of change and succession is emphasized. With this work, a new perception of bodily shapes in textiles is provided. Instead of imitating the body’s presence in garments through 3D – forms, alternative ways are shown in how to achieve a corporal illusion in flat weaving-constructions.

This work starts with a simple question of ; Why not to draw the garment directly on the body since this is the way it will inevitably be worn? Working through steps; wrapping into a fabric and drawing the garment on the body to reveal lines for constructing that is directly based on the body, this work shows an alternative way of constructing a garment; the result that is presented can be seen as a base for further development within the field this method has explored. Further, the work challenges the current norms in archetypical garments with the intention to redefine their expression, where the methods aim is to broaden the field of garment construction, investigating the gap between construction lines and material expectations. The method Write Drunk/ Edit Sober is both discovering the fundamentals of garment construction and questioning the systematic interpretations we place on a garments connection to materials.

Denna rapport beskriver det utredande arbetet som genomförts på en nytestmöjlighet för membrantygers ångpermeabilitet som skapats påMittuniversitetet. Ångpermeabilitet innebär ett materials förmåga att släppa igenomfukt. Denna nya testrigg kan simulera mer verkliga förhållanden (temperatur ochluftfuktighet) än vad den testmetod som utförts tidigare på Mittuniversitetet enligten ISO-standard för ångpermeabiliteten kan simulera. Syftet med arbetet var attgenomföra tester på den nya testriggen och få en förståelse för yttertygernaspåverkan på membranet samt utvärdera resultatet mot ISO-standardtestet förångpermeabiliteten för att se om dessa resultat skiljer sig åt. Vidare har fyra olikaunderklädestyger testats med målet att kunna utvärdera deras påverkan påmembrantyget. Målet med detta projekt var att genomföra dessa tester samt attutvärdera resultatet och materialens egenskaper.Inledningen av projektet gav grundläggande kunskap om skalplagg, membraneroch andra aktuella material och denna kunskap var värdefull för att sedan kunnautvärdera resultaten som gavs. Förstudien följdes sedan av en planeringsfas avvilka tester som skulle utföras och slutligen ett genomförande av två olikatestomgångar i den nya testriggen samt en testomgång enligt ISO-standardtestet.Ett luftpermeabilitetstest genomfördes också som ytterligare en faktor för attutvärdera olika egenskaper på underklädestygerna. Resultaten från samtliga testerberäknades och analyserades för att nå slutsatser om samtliga material och vad sompåverkar dem.Resultatanalysen visade att membrantygerna inte fungerar på samma sätt när denyttre och inre temperaturen förändras och resultatet från den nya testriggen gav intesamma resultat som ISO-standardtestet. Resultatet från testerna medunderklädestygerna var svårare att analysera och där hade en större bredd på deolika materialen samt en annan placering av testsensorer behövts för att eventuelltkunna göra en bättre utvärdering.Syftet och målet med detta projekts uppnåddes och en utvärdering av de testadematerialen samt testmetoderna har kunnat genomföras. / This report describes the investigative work carried out on a new test opportunitythat measures the water vapor permeability of textiles for the purpose of qualitycontrol. Water vapor permeability is a garments ability of transfer moisture. Thisnew test rig, established by Mid Sweden University, can simulate conditions thatresemble more like the actual use of shell garments, compared with the ISO-standard test for water vapor permeability used in Mid Sweden University today.The purpose with the project was to perform tests on the new test rig and comparethe outer fabric´s impact on the membrane as well as evaluate and compare theresults from the ISO-standard test. Furthermore have four different base layerfabrics been tested with the goal of being able to evaluate their impact on themembrane fabric. The goal of this project was to carry out these tests as well asevaluate the results and the properties of the materials.The introduction of the project gave basic knowledge of shell garments,membranes and other different materials and this knowledge was valuable for laterevaluation of the given results. The study was then followed by a planning of thetest that was to be carried out and finally an implementation of two different testrounds in the new test rig and one test round in the ISO-standard test. A test for thedetermination of the permeability of fabrics to air was also carried out as anotherfactor to evaluate different characteristics of the base layers. The results from alltests was analyzed and evaluated to reach conclusions about all materials and whataffects them.The result showed that the membrane fabrics does not work at the same way whenthe ambient and the internal temperature changes. Also, the result from the new testrig was not the same as the result from the ISO-standard test. The result from thetest with the base layers was more difficult to analyze and a greater width of thematerials and also another location of the sensors perhaps would make it easier toanalyze.The purpose and goal with this project have been achieved and analyses have beencompleted. / <p>Betyg 191104</p>

Nowadays, with concerns about environmental and health issues, the awareness of more environmentally friendly and sustainable waste disposal is growing. However, due to the widespread disposal of waste items in the fashion field, such as landfills and incineration, the problems caused by these disposal methods cannot meet people’s sustainable needs for waste treatment. Therefore, the project is based on consumers, focusing on the sustainable treatment of used garments, and provides some possibilities for solving problems related to other types of used products.  In order to achieve this goal, this project starts from the literature review of garments disposal behavior, and through the understanding of the theories such as life cycle assessment and waste hierarchy, as well as the collection and analysis of user survey data, completed the design of the project solution. By reference to the theoretical framework and application of the methodological framework, the project finally proposed a solution composed of three consumer-oriented design ideas, mainly in the form of social design to facilitate people’s recycling, reuse and other sustainable disposals of used garments.

Emerging countries have enriched supply chains of influential multinational organizations. Business in emerging markets have led to both positive and negative outcomes. Stakeholders have a strong impact in emerging markets in relation to local communities. There have been lots of research connecting stakeholder responsibility with sustainability. Those studies have been the inspiration for this study. This research recognizes how stakeholders can contribute in the emerging market through the help of third parties. The study models the relation between CSR and stakeholders. The risk factor is more pronounces in some industries more than others, so this study primarily seeks to examine how risk factors can be mitigated in the Bangladesh garments industry.  In this case study, the qualitative method was approached and followed up by semi-structured interviews to answer the research question. The interview was held in various organizations, and 13 respondents shared their experiences through interviews. Six of the interviewees were managers from different parts of ready-made garments business and operations functions. The rest of the interviewees belong to the production floor. The interviewees answered questions related to the importance of buyers, safety regulations, and NGOs in the industry. From the findings, thematic analysis was conducted. Based on the findings, the study has concluded that engagement of third parties can impact work conditions in the examined setting. The importance of audit is underscored by in the data and seems to be instrumental for efforts of preventing accidents. To successfully develop an industry without creating negative effects on society, stakeholders need to be more involved in the safety of factory workers. Approaching this issue with third party involvement can be a useful solution for the buyer. / <p>Confidential</p>

This paper investigates garments as containers of stories in Maggie O’Farrell’s The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (2007). Michel Foucault’s ideas about penal practice are used to study how items of clothing are used to discipline the female body and sexuality. O’Farrell’s novel is also analyzed from the perspective of trauma theory as presented by Cathy Caruth. In this context, we study how trauma is portrayed through the novel's presence and absence of garments. Further, a didactic perspective is added to our discussion of trauma theory, garments, and Foucault’s theories in the classroom. An issue to be investigated is how a safe space can be created in the classroom so that the teacher may introduce sensitive topics such as rape.   Keywords: garments, Foucault, trauma theory

No description available.