This dissertation is a study of the mechanization of cotton spinning in turn-of-the-twentieth-century China. More specifically, it examines efforts made by the Chinese workers to keep imported spinning machines performing at maximum efficiency in their cotton mills. Such efforts ranged from customizing and modifying machines to suit the specific needs of individual cotton mills to repairing broken machines, maintaining aging machines, and sourcing parts locally by copying the originals. It also addresses endeavors made beyond the shop floor such as the cultivation of cotton varieties that better accommodated machine spinning and knowledge production of spinning technology and cotton cultivation in professional journals. The study of industrialization, especially regarding the rise of factory workers as a new social class, was once a popular topic for social historians and feminist scholars in the China field. Previous scholarship investigated the fragmented nature of the Chinese working class in terms of gender, skill, and native places, with detailed accounts of the workers’ daily lives. However, these studies have paid little attention to the actual process of mechanization. Mechanization on the Chinese shop floor was far from smooth, since foreign machines malfunctioned for various reasons at different stages of operation, requiring continuous adjustment, maintenance, and repair. Without an examination of this challenging process, we underestimate the Chinese as passive recipients of machines and technologies, under the assumption that Western machinery was a one-size-fits-all instrument for Chinese industrialization. My dissertation rectifies this neglect by reconstructing the concrete process of mechanization from a technological perspective. It draws upon a variety of technical writings such as machine manufacturers’ manuals, their contracts with client mills, engineering journals, agricultural reports, and factory regulations. It also revisits more conventional sources such as interviews with former factory workers. A critical reading of these sources reveals that Chinese engineers, machinists, and female machine operators strived to solve technological problems specific to their factories, with multiple layers of knowledge obtained through hands-on experience of machines and cotton as well as formal engineering education. All these human efforts to make better use of machines under varying financial, technological, and material conditions of each cotton mill, combined with larger political and social circumstances, determined the course of mechanization in China. The factory system in China was thus a craftwork, locally made on the basis of the global circulation of machines and technologies. By highlighting the process of mechanization, rather than mere importation of machines, this study makes interventions into the discussion of Chinese industrialization and, beyond that, into debates about industrialization and technology transfer more generally. First, in exploring a range of handwork performed by technical experts at different stages of mechanization, it argues for the significance of manual labor in the making of the factory system, thereby complicating the long-held dichotomy between craft and mechanization. Second, by demonstrating how new sets of knowledge were created on the Chinese shop floor in the course of using foreign machines, it challenges the assumption that technology transfer simply emanated from the West to be disseminated to the rest of the world.

En la actualidad, las industrias textiles presentan frecuentemente problemas en el área de producción, como los elevados tiempos de producción. Este es uno de los principales problemas que se presentan en este tipo de empresas, por la falta de organización de los procesos comprometiendo tanto la productividad como la competitividad de estas. Por ello, para la solución de este problema se propone la implementación de las herramientas del Lean Manufacturing y distribución de planta para reorganizar los procesos de producción, y a su vez, establecer métodos de trabajo adecuados, mediante el diseño de un modelo de optimización de tiempos en la producción, el cual consta en 2 fases enfocadas al proceso productivo y el personal. Como resultado de la implementación se obtendrá una reducción del tiempo de producción del 23.13% y 52.48%. del tiempo actual en el caso de edredones y sábanas, respectivamente. De la misma manera, se mejorará la productividad del operario, aumentando en 54.31% en el caso de edredones y 53.37% en sábanas. / At present, the textile industries frequently present problems in the production area, such as the long production times. This is one of the main problems that arise in this type of company, due to the lack of organization of the processes, compromising both their productivity and their competitiveness. Therefore, for the solution of this problem, the implementation of Lean Manufacturing tools and plant distribution is proposed to reorganize production processes, and in turn, establish appropriate work methods, by designing a time optimization model. in production, which consists of 2 phases focused on the production process and personnel. As a result of the implementation, a reduction in production time of 23.13% and 52.48% will be obtained. of the current time in the case of quilts and sheets, respectively. In the same way, the productivity of the operator will be improved, increasing by 54.31% in the case of quilts and 53.37% in sheets. / Trabajo de investigación

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The purpose of this study is to explore possibilities for textile companies in European high-cost countries to relocate production to low-cost countries in North Africa by performing a case study on Sweden and Morocco. The study will thereby contribute to increased understanding of nearshoring opportunities in low-cost countries. Sweden is seen as an example of a European high-cost country and Morocco is seen as an example of a North African low-cost country. By investigating nearshoring from a European high-cost country to a North African low-cost country, the authors conclude the advantages and disadvantages of nearshoring. Through a case study with a qualitative approach, observations and semi-structured interviews with industry professionals were conducted. The interviews were designed to investigate the advantages and disadvantages of relocation of production from both the production country perspective and from the outsourcing country perspective. The authors identified disadvantages that include increased labor and production costs, financial assistance for environmental standards, human rights issues and bad supplier relationships. Despite challenges, nearshoring offers advantages like increased flexibility and potential sustainable development, enhancing brand image and potentially increasing revenue. The findings emphasize the need for future research on differentiating nearshoring from traditional offshoring, assessing the environmental implications of various sourcing locations, and exploring the supplier-customer relationship for successful nearshoring implementation.

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No description available.

A legislative authority empowered to protect Srilanka's environment, operating similarly to the Environmental Protection Agency of the U.S., is needed, along with wastewater treatment. Wastewater parameters of importance in treatment are BOD, COD, total suspended solids, settleable solids, pH, colour, turbidity, ammonia or nitrate nitrogen, heavy metals, sulfides, phosphates, and phenols. Methods of industrial waste treatment vary depending on the climatic conditions, the industry, raw materials, and process adopted. Textile and pulp and paper industries exist in Srilanka and have very high pollution potential. Methods of treatment to finally generate reasonably good quality effluent are available. Processing of effluents from these type industries together with municipal sewage is feasible and economical. Due to the complex nature of the composition of industrial wastes, a final decision could only be made after a thorough investigation of the industrial complexes, the methodology used, and pilot plant studies.

The implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the United States, Canada, and Mexico created a barrier-free production and trade zone in North America. Surrounding the implementation of NAFTA, a great volume of public, political, and academic attention was given to the impact of the agreement on the aging U.S. textile industry with high labor costs. The major NAFTA provisions, the elimination of tariffs and quotas and rules of origin, were predicted to create and divert U.S. trade in textile goods and expand domestic textile production activities. Since its implementation, however, volatile macroeconomic and political environmental changes have severely interfered with the role of NAFTA. Over ten years have passed since the implementation of NAFTA. The objectives of this research are to investigate the pattern of the U.S. textile industry's production activities under NAFTA and to determine the impact of the agreement on the industry's production activities. This research consists of two parts. Part I is a qualitative analysis that investigates changes in the industry's trade and production activities under NAFTA based on the review of literature and trade and industry data. Part II of this research, a quantitative analysis, applies a normalized restricted translog profit model to the textile industry's production activities under the influence of NAFTA in order to identify the pattern of the industry's output supply and input demand and to determine the impact of NAFTA on the industry. The outcomes of these analyses are used to make an overall assessment of the impact of NAFTA on the U.S. textile industry and draw policy implications. The outcome of the qualitative analysis suggests NAFTA as an effective policy in expanding and regionalizing U.S. trades in textile goods and promoting domestic textile production activities in the early years of implementation. Since the late 1990s, however, macroeconomic and political changes have dominated over the role of NAFTA, partially undoing the changes in U.S. textile trade and production activities made in the early years of the agreement. The outcome of quantitative analysis identifies the significant, but negative effect, of NAFTA on the U.S. textile industry's profit performance in the early years of NAFTA, probably due to intensified import competition, fall of real output prices, and numerous mill closings. Overall, NAFTA is recognized as a short-term, transitional policy measure for the U.S. textile industry because of the limited importance of Mexico in U.S. textile trade, the short period of NAFTA implementation, and several dynamic environmental factors including exchange rate changes, U.S. signings of multiple regional trade agreements, and the emerging dominance of China in world textile trade under the phase-out of the Multi-fiber Arrangement that have changed international and domestic textile market competition. Ultimately, this study concludes that a trade policy is not likely to provide a long-term solution for the survival of U.S. textile industry. / Ph. D.

The international trade of textiles and apparel between the United States and the People's Republic of China was the focus of this research. It had three objectives. The first objective was to investigate the textile and apparel industrial sectors in the PRC, and to describe the PRC's pattern of importation and exportation of textile and apparel products worldwide. The second objective was to investigate the role of price in relation to import market share. The market share of consumption rather than market share of imports was examined in the final objective. Data for these analyses were obtained from the Textile Information Management System database (TIMS), the Department of Labor statistical database (LABSTAT), United Nations international trade series, and the State Statistical Bureau of the PRC. SAS procedures were used for analyses (SYSREG and TSCSREG), and to graphically depict the changes in market shares. Overlay graphs showed the percentage of consumption supplied to the U.S. market by the domestic industry, the PRC, and other importing countries. The results of the linear regression analyses suggest that for the 21 active categories studied, the combination of relative price, market share lagged one quarter, and market share lagged two quarters is a significant predictor of the current period's market share; but relative price alone is an unreliable predictor. From 1976 to 1981 the other importing countries increased their market share in these selected categories by five or more percentage points in twice as many categories as did the PRC, and in three times as many as u.s. producers. Increases and decreases in consumption balanced each other out, but domestic production showed twice as many decreases as increases in these categories. Overall, U.S. producers were more competitive in man-made fiber and wool apparel than in comparable cotton categories. They were also more competitive in the female apparel market than in the male apparel market. The implications of this research relate to policy formulation of textile agreements between the United States and the People's Republic of China, and to possible production decisions by U.S. manufacturers. / Ph. D.

Pretreatment is a common approach for removing color and reducing the organic load of textile dyeing and finishing wastewater. Subsequent aerobic treatment is often employed to complete organic removal as well as remove toxicity and metals. The wastewater from the textile dyeing and finishing industry studied was not treated efficiently and often failed effluent toxicity and metals tests. In this research project, various pretreatment alternatives were studied in an attempt to identify the most efficient and economical method(s). Also, aerobic, biological treatment was performed in bench-scale reactors to determine the biological kinetic coefficients of the wastewater so that the overall efficiency and performance of the biological treatment system might be improved. Effluent toxicity of the wastewater was also evaluated in hopes that improved treatment efficiency would yield subsequent improved effluent toxicity. The performance of a sequencing batch reactor was compared to that of the continuous-flow reactors. In regard to pretreatment with various polymers, coagulation with a blend of inorganic aluminum and a polyamine (AL220, Polymer Systems, Inc.) produced the most economical and efficient results. Subsequent addition of an anionic polymer improved the settling characteristics of the chemical flocs. Color removal ranged from 71-90% and DOC removal averaged 25% with AL220 doses between 400-600 mg/L. Increased sludge ages (θ_c) of the continuous-flow reactors produced improved removal efficiencies. Sludge ages of 8-30 days resulted in an average of 55-68% COD removal. Kinetic analysis produced values of 0.032 d⁻¹ and 0.619 for k_d, and Y, respectively. K_s and k could not be determined accurately. This difficulty was attributed to possible inhibitory effects and a residual, biorefractory COD that was not quantified in this study. The SBR, operated with a cycle time of one day and an average MLSS concentration of 4,266 mg/L, achieved an average 69% COD removal and 59% color removal. Addition of nutrients did not appear to improve these efficiencies. Settling characteristics of the sludge were excellent. Preliminary acute toxicity testing of the SBR effluent and effluent from the 8 day θ_c reactor produced encouraging results. Subsequent chronic toxicity testing of the 15, 20 and 30 day θ_c reactors yielded a maximum No Observed Effect Concentration of 50-75%. / Master of Science