In the apparel industry, pattern making and alterations are expensive and time consuming, because they require iterative fitting and adjustment to develop garment patterns that fit their target consumers. The goal of this paper is to accelerate the pattern making process for jeans customization, which incorporates proper ease distribution at crotch curve in a 3D jeans design and pattern alteration by developing ease distribution models. In this research, four female jeans with different crotch ease allowances were developed. The patterns were drafted using flat patterning methods. The fitting process was conducted and evaluated according to standard fitting criteria. Furthermore, the size 8 mannequin, and then the jeans with the mannequin inside were scanned by the Kinect Body Image System. The crotch curves of the mannequin and the jeans were obtained, and were then extracted to the Accumark CAD system where the radial distance eases of the crotch curves were defined and measured. Correlation analysis between the distance ease and crotch ease allowance was conducted, and regression analysis was used to develop ease distribution models. The applications of the regression models in 3D jeans design and jeans pattern alterations were discussed. This research enhances the understanding of the ease distribution at the jeans crotch area. The results of this research provide essential ease distribution information for the jeans pattern alterations and jeans construction on a 3D model. / text

This exploratory study was designed to examine counseling skill acquisition for Rehabilitation Counseling education students enrolled in a distance education Practicum I course. The course utilized interactive television (ITV), Desire 2 Learn (D2L), a course management system, and some formalized group meetings for curriculum delivery. Students were asked to provide two audio recordings that served as pre-test and post-test measures of counseling skills. Recordings were analyzed by two evaluators. In addition to the recordings, students completed two survey instruments, an initial demographic questionnaire and a survey of attitudes towards the use of technology in the course that was completed along with the post-test recording. A comparison of pre-test and post-test means on the audio recordings revealed no significant change in counseling skills for students enrolled in this course. There was an increase in the number of empathetic responses, clarifying statements, paraphrasing, questions and closing statements on the post-test recordings but a decrease in attending responses and opening statements. Survey findings indicated that students perceived distance education to be an effective use of their time and improved the quality of course interactions. Students also reported that technology made interacting with their peers difficult and somewhat impersonal. Approximately half of the students agreed that they were comfortable with the course technology. A majority to students indicated they would have preferred a traditional approach to learning counseling skills. These findings have implications for counseling programs currently utilizing ITV or webconferencing to deliver clinical skills courses. It may have broader implications for other clinical skills training programs delivering training via other distance education modalities.

The impact of ICT in open and distance learning is now become a common phenomenon. The rapid use of internet and other communication facilities have brought the open and distance education closer to the student community. The paper highlights the application of ICT in open and distance learning system of Assam.

Video teleconferencing is a successful tool in the education and business industry because of its ability to reach a large audience at numerous remote locations. New computer and communications technology allows for advances in teleconferencing capabilities. In this thesis, an analysis of educational teleconferencing requirements is performed to develop viable educational teleconferencing design approaches. These design approaches must consider various transmission means and typical methods of instruction. One design approach is selected and a functional design is performed. The design is evaluated using performance models and the Simscript II.5 simulation language. Curve fitting techniques are applied to observed data to create probability distribution functions used in creating an accurate model. The performance evaluation is used to optimize the transmission protocol and validate the design. The simulation results show that with a 9600 baud transmission rate, the effects of degraded transmission lines, short display times or abnormally large file sizes, have no significant effects on the proper performance of the system.

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No description available.

Šiame darbe atskleistas ir įvertintas įmonėje naudojamas mokymo procesas, sudarytas nuotolinių mokymų sistemos teorinis modelis. Įvertinta mokymų laiko ir kaštų pagrindinės dalys ir sąnaudos. Remiantis įmonėje atliktu tyrimu, ištirti mokymo ir mokymosi versle poreikiai bei trūkumai, išskirti nuotolinio mokymo sistemos pagrindiniai reikalavimai. Pasiūlytos pagrindinės nuotolinio mokymo sistemos charakteristikos ir įrankiai joms realizuoti. Realizuoti demonstraciniai nuotoliniai mokymai ir gautas grįžtamasis ryšys iš vartotojų. / The theoretic model of e-learning system and processes of modern teaching and learning, which operate in business, also teaching/learning time and value are reviewed in this paper. The company personnel’s demand for learning was examined with a purpose to reveal the advantages and weaknesses of teaching and learning systems. Basic requirements and tools for distance learning were described according the above-mentioned examinations. A prototype distance learning system was tested in real-life training of the users of a new software systems. The feedback of training participants was collected and analyzed.

This thesis investigates the impact of domestic transport costs and location on exports originating from exporting regions within a developing country. It is presented in the form of three articles, each addressing a different aspect. These articles are accompanied by a literature review of the background and impact of domestic transport costs on trade. The first article provides empirical evidence for the significance of domestic transport costs in exports and the spatial location of manufacturing exporters. Cubic-spline density functions are used and the results indicate (a) the proximity to a port is an important consideration in most export-oriented manufacturing firms' location, with more than 70% of manufactured exports in South Africa originating from a band of 100 km from an export hub; and (b) there appears to be a second band of these firms at a distance of between 200 and 400 km from the hub. Between 1996 and 2004, manufactured exports in the band between 200 km and 400 km from the nearest hub increased, suggesting either an increase in manufactured exports that depend on natural resources due to demand factors, and/or a decrease in domestic transport costs, amongst others. The second article investigates the question of the location of exporters of manufactured goods within a country. Based on insights from new trade theory, the new economic geography (NEG) and gravity-equation modelling, an empirical model is specified with agglomeration and increasing returns (the home-market effect) and transport costs (proxied by distance) as major determinants of the location decision of exporters. Data from 354 magisterial districts in South Africa are used with a variety of estimators (OLS, Tobit, RE-Tobit) and allowances for data shortcomings (bootstrapped standard errors and analytical weights) to identify the determinants of regional manufactured exports. It is found that the home-market effect (measured by the size of local GDP) and distance (measured as the distance in km to the nearest port) are significant determinants of regional manufactured exports. This article contributes to the literature by using developing country data, and by adding to the small literature on this topic. This article complements the work of Nicolini (2003) on the determinants of exports from European regions and finds that the home-market effect is relatively more important in the developing country context (South Africa), a finding consistent with theoretical NEG models such as those of Puga (1998). The third article is an empirical study of the relationship between export diversity and economic growth in a developing country context. Using export data from19 sectors within 354 sub-national (magisterial) districts of South -Africa, various measures of subnational export diversity are constructed. It is found that it is not only important how much is exported, but that it is also important what it is that is exported. Regions with less specialisation and more diversified exports generally experienced higher economic growth rates, and contributed more to overall exports from South Africa. It is also found that distance (and thus domestic transport costs) from a port is inversely related to the degree of export diversity. Estimating a cubic-spline density function for the Herfindahl index measure of export diversity, it is found that export diversity declines as the distance from a port (export hub) increases. Most magisterial districts with high export diversity values are located within 100 km of the nearest port. Furthermore, comparing the cubic-spline density functions for 1004 with those of 1996 shows that distance (domestic transport costs) has become more important since 1996 (under greater openness) with magisterial districts located further than 100 km from the ports being less diverse in 2003 than in 1996. One may speculate that a possible explanation for this changing pattern of export diversity may be the impact of greater foreign direct investment (FDI) in South Africa since 1996. / Thesis (Ph.D. (International Commerce))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007

The choice of appropriate collaborative partners has consistently been reported as a key issue for contemporary managers. This study reports findings from a study which explored the process and criteria of partner selection - how and why partners are chosen. The results show multiple cycles of deal-making, partnership roles and organizational approval. Partner choice criteria focused on partnership requirements, but was influenced by additional factors. These results suggest that partner selection may be much more complex than previously recognized and could be better described as partner negotiation. <br /><br /> The researcher reviewed recent literature on partnerships, decision-making, and partner selection. Concepts from this previous work were updated with data from three initial interviewees experienced in university-industry partnerships. A conceptual Partner Negotiation Model was developed including three cycles of Deal-Making, Organizational Approval, and Partner Role/Selection. Our hypothesized Partner Choice Criteria centred on requirements, but were influenced by resource availability, social network, reputation, politics, and ambiguity. Two Canada-wide distance education consortia were identified as large-scale case studies for investigation of the research theory. A total of 34 informants were contacted. Written business plans, contracts, documents, partner network diagrams and 231 archival e-mails from 36 correspondents were collected and analysed for the two consortia. <br /><br /> The results showed strong support for partner selection included in negotiation cycles of deal-making and organizational approval. Partner choice criteria supported the need to meet documented requirements, but was also strongly influenced by resource availability, social network, and reputation. Additional issues of interest to the interviewees were motivation, operations, unit of partner, self-sustaining income, and integration to one consortium. As well, the Case Study Narratives offered deep, interesting insight into two specific cases of Canadian consortia. <br /><br /> The findings suggest that the formation of partnerships and the process of partner selection are both very complex. This research has provided new insights linking business negotiation concepts with partner selection. A model has been developed for viewing partner selection as negotiation. Three negotiation cycles of deal-making, organizational approval, and partner role/selection have been proposed. The research has identified four criteria that influence why specific partners are chosen ? requirements, resource availability, social network, and reputation. Finally, based on the complexities and issues from this work, a number of ideas for future research have been summarized.

I examine local bias in hedge fund portfolio selection, using Section 13-F original and confidential holding filings. Using Coval and Moskowitz (1999) measure, I find that local bias is present among U.S.-based hedge funds. The holdings of funds are on average 20-67 km closer to hedge funds than the market. I also find that size and leverage of a company serve as determinants of local bias, with the preference of hedge funds for smaller and more levered local companies. I suggest an alternative model for assessment of local bias that yields results further supporting the hypothesis of the existence of local bias among hedge funds. I do not find a positive effect of local bias on performance. Moreover, in some periods I find a strong negative effect of local bias both on raw and risk-adjusted returns. I argue that these findings suggest that the origins of local bias should not be looked for in information asymmetry, and rather may be attributed to perceived informational advantage, flight to familiarity, and some endogenous factors of hedge fund locality.