Revival of Hejaz embroidery: a collaborative design process engaging Saudi female academics

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 138-156
Author(s):  
Sahar Ejeimi ◽  
Diane Sparks ◽  
Ruoh-Nan Yan
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Collaborative Design ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Saudi Women ◽  
Fea Model ◽  
Apparel Production ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
Workplace Attire

Purpose The purpose of this study was to collaboratively design eight professional dress ensembles incorporating Hejazi tribal embroidery and to evaluate Saudi female academics’ perceptions about those ensembles as appropriate for professional attire. The concept aimed to offer the potential for increased cultural identity by wearing modernized ethnic dress as everyday workplace attire that was relatively practical, affordable and expressive of Saudi cultural identity. Design/methodology/approach The goal in this research was to engage Saudi female academic professionals in designing clothing that integrated Saudi textile and costume traditions into contemporary styles appropriate for the academic work environment. Two models guided the research. The FEA model (Lamb and Kallal, 1992) was used to organize the questions in the survey questionnaire around an integration of culture with functional, aesthetic and expressive aspects of apparel. The second model guiding the research was an adaptation of the USAP participatory co-design model (Demirbilek and Demirkan, 2004). This model was used to engage study participants in the design process. Findings Qualitative results showed that participants were willing to wear the garments in this study, as the garments represented heritage, looked contemporary in terms of style lines, had comfort and interchangeable garment components, embroidery and printed fabric, fabric used in garment designs and color. Quantitative results showed that the ratings for the final garments were generally higher than the first sketches in the first phase. Results of the eight designs in the collection revealed that the aesthetic aspect was the most referenced by the participants among the FEA aspects. Results also indicated that silver waves design received the highest rating among the designs in terms of FEA aspects. Originality/value This research provides greater understanding of the ethnic culture of the Western region of Saudi Arabia for Western scholars. Previous research has indicated an interest in having garment manufacturing take place in Saudi Arabia (Turkustani, 1995). Findings from this research may lead to future study on the state of apparel production in Saudi Arabia and the potential feasibility of establishing a center for training in digital technology to support small business opportunities for Saudi women who are trained for work in the apparel industry.

Male guardianship will limit Saudi women workers

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Women Workers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Saudi Women

Headline SAUDI ARABIA: Male guardianship limits women workers

Institutional barriers to women’s employment in Saudi Arabia

2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (7) ◽  
pp. 713-727 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abeer Alfarran ◽  
Joanne Pyke ◽  
Pauline Stanton
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Labour Force Participation ◽  
Women's Employment ◽  
Employment Policy ◽  
Institutional Barriers ◽  
Women’S Employment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Saudi Women

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the effectiveness of the Saudi employment programme “Nitaqat” in addressing institutional barriers to women’s employment in the Saudi private sector. The paper has a particular focus on the perspectives of unemployed women as the intended recipients of increased employment opportunities. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopts a qualitative approach, drawing on findings from face-to-face interviews conducted with two groups of stakeholders, government officials and unemployed Saudi women. Findings Four key findings are identified. First, the considerable cultural and regulatory barriers of a conservative society are resilient impediments to the success of Saudi employment policy. Second, discrimination against women is endemic in the Saudi society; however, it is largely unrecognised within the Saudi culture and often accepted by women themselves. Third, due to government regulations, cultural constraints and the gendered educational system, the private sector contributes to sustaining labour market segmentation through discriminatory practices. Finally, while a positive change is taking place in Saudi Arabia regarding women’s employment, it is incremental and uneven. Originality/value This paper provides new insights into the institutional barriers related to the labour force participation of Saudi women from the perspective of Saudi women themselves.

Saudi women’s work challenges and barriers to career advancement

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Al-Asfour ◽  
Hayfaa A. Tlaiss ◽  
Sami A. Khan ◽  
James Rajasekar
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Gender Discrimination ◽  
Career Advancement ◽  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Career Barriers ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Saudi Women

Purpose Few studies have explored the work challenges and career barriers faced by women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Drawing on Institutional Theory, the purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences of employed Saudi women through in-depth interviews. Design/methodology/approach The paper employs a phenomenological qualitative approach drawing on 12 in-depth semi-structured interviews with Saudi women. Findings The findings reveal a significant number of prominent societal and organizational structural and attitudinal barriers to the advancement of Saudi women in paid employment. Among others, these barriers include a lack of mobility; the salience of gender stereotypes; gender discrimination in the workplace; limited opportunities for growth, development, and career advancement; excessive workload caused by a lack of family-work balance; and gender-based challenges related to dealing with pregnancy. Research limitations/implications Despite the contributions of this study, it also has limitations, particularly the convenience sampling approach and the focus on the KSA. The small sample size means that the findings cannot be generalized to all women employed in Saudi Arabia and should be generalized within Saudi Arabia and other Arab societies only with caution. Originality/value The paper contributes to the understanding of work challenges and barriers of Saudi women in the workforce. It provides fresh insights to the issues surrounding women in Saudi Arabia and the need to address them in order to provide support for their career advancement.

Toward ontology of designer-user interaction in the design process: a knowledge management foundation

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 201-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaehyun Park ◽  
Arkalgud Ramaprasad
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Collaborative Design ◽  
Research Question ◽  
User Interaction ◽  
User Interactions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Design Function ◽  
Research Gap ◽  
Effective Design

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore an ontology of designer-user interaction with a knowledge management foundation. To address this research gap, the authors ask the following research question: what types of knowledge on designer-user interactions are associated with design function and approach in creating effective design outcomes in a collaborative design process? Design/methodology/approach Based on ontology of a knowledge management foundation and 99 design projects, the authors conceptualized the ontology of designer-user interaction, which considers design role, function, approach and outcome as a knowledge of designer-user interaction in the design process. Findings Based on this analysis, the authors theorize an ontology of designer-user interactions with five dimensions: participant, role, function, design approach and design outcome. Also, this study presents a case study of how this ontology could be applied into the actual projects. Originality/value In this study, the authors explore an ontology of designer-user interaction with a knowledge management foundation, because previous interdisciplinary design studies have not formalized the types of designer-user interaction. To address this research gap, the authors ask the following research question: What types of knowledge on designer-user interactions are associated with design function and approach in creating effective design outcomes in a collaborative design process?

scholarly journals Women and Words in Saudi Arabia

1995 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-276
Author(s):  
Sherifa Zuhur
Keyword(s):  
Women Writers ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Sexual Identity ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Literary Work ◽  
Cultural Analysis ◽  
Muslim Woman ◽  
Literary Production ◽  
Saudi Women

Arebi embarks on cultural analysis via the literary work of ninecontemporary Saudi women writers in this thoughtful and provocativediscussion of gender and literary production at a significant historicaljuncture for Saudi women. The import of this discussion for and aboutMuslim women, by a Muslim woman, exists not only in its particularcountry context but also in the troubling debate now raging over personalexpression and commitment to "feminist" reform versus Muslimperceptions of a continuing ideological invasion that is heavily influencedby western political hegemony. I need not even mention the nameof Taslima Shahin for readers to acknowledge some degree of anguishin our sharp disagreements over the issue of gender versus culture.The voices of these female Saudi writers range from the avant-gardeto conservative "journalese," and Arebi contends that they illustrate thecomplex nature of female discourse in an Arab-Islamic context. However,she seems to have backed into asserting a unique and nonfeminist positionfor Saudi women, using such slogans as "quality not equality," althoughthe subjects of her study often write otherwise. Arebi arrives at this analyticalquandary by a similar route that has been followed by other sincerescholars and observers. As Leila Ahmed commented some years ago:It is only when one considers that one's sexual identity alone (andsome would not accept even this) is more inextricably oneselfthan one's cultural identity, that one can perhaps appreciate howexcruciating is the plight of the Middle Eastern feminist caughtbetween those two opposing loyalties, forced almost to choosebetween betrayal and betrayal ...

Modelling and analysis of complex products design based on supernetwork

Kybernetes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 861-887 ◽  
Author(s):  
Na Zhang ◽  
Yu Yang ◽  
Jiafu Su ◽  
Yujie Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Product Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Collaborative Design ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Design Elements ◽  
Complex Products ◽  
Design Resources ◽  
Product Design Process ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose Because of the multiple design elements and complicated relationship among design elements of complex products design, it is tough for designers to systematically and dynamically express and manage the complex products design process. Design/methodology/approach To solve these problems, a supernetwork model of complex products design is constructed and analyzed in this paper. First, the design elements (customer demands, design agents, product structures, design tasks and design resources) are identified and analyzed, then the sub-network of design elements are built. Based on this, a supernetwork model of complex products design is constructed with the analysis of the relationship among sub-networks. Second, some typical and physical characteristics (robustness, vulnerability, degree and betweenness) of the supernetwork were calculated to analyze the performance of supernetwork and the features of complex product design process. Findings The design process of a wind turbine is studied as a case to illustrate the approach in this paper. The supernetwork can provide more information about collaborative design process of wind turbine than traditional models. Moreover, it can help managers and designers to manage the collaborative design process and improve collaborative design efficiency of wind turbine. Originality/value The authors find a new method (complex network or supernetwork) to describe and analyze complex mechanical product design.

scholarly journals Online shopping in a restrictive society: lessons from Saudi Arabia

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Roper ◽  
Eman Saleh Al-Kahifah
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Consumer Behaviour ◽  
Online Shopping ◽  
Marketing Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Saudi Women ◽  
Online Purchases ◽  
Academic Marketing ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Restrictive Environment

Purpose Western consumers are able to take shopping for granted, their major restriction being financial. This study aims to understand motivations to buy fashion items online in the culturally restrictive environment of Saudi Arabia, which imposes considerable fashion and behavioural restrictions, particularly on women. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative research was conducted with a sample of 34 Saudi women in their home country providing a deep insight into the restrictions that women face when shopping and how they react to these restrictions. Two theoretical lenses, psychological reactance and system justification theories are invoked to understand and explain consumer behaviour. Findings Motives for online shopping are quite different in a restrictive society. The definition of utilitarian motivations in online shopping is developed to reflect the drivers to overcome cultural restrictions or to align one’s shopping behaviour with them. Similarly, hedonic reasons for online purchases are expanded to incorporate nuances found only in such societies, where hedonic motivations include enjoying the breaking of societal restrictions. Originality/value This study is conducted is focussed on a country in which little academic marketing research has taken place due to considerable restrictions on movement and access. Western texts on consumer behaviour are not fully appropriate for understanding such a society.

Women empowerment: new paradigm shift of Saudi women into labor workforce

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Musrrat Parveen
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Labor Force ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Women Empowerment ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Saudi Women ◽  
And Gender

Purpose The purpose of this study is to emphasize on women empowerment that leads to a new paradigm shift of Saudi woman into labor force. This study also outlines how Saudi Government has formulated several policies and reforms to empower women in the workplace, especially gender equality. Also, this study will discourse a clear idea on numerous measures initiated by Saudi Government on how to empower Saudi women in the labor force and what would be the impact of women empowerment and gender equality on Saudi economy. Design/methodology/approach The research methodology has undertaken the Saudi feminization approach that emphasizes solely on uplifting women empowerment within the context of social changes that are arising in Saudi Arabia. The data analyzed comes from the primary data statistics report that depicts 10 years of data from general authority for statistics (GaStat) for the period ranging from 2010–2016 (Q2) and 2016 –2020 along with global gender gap index (GGGI) for the period of 2006, 2017 and 2020. Additionally, data was considered from the latest articles, Saudi news, statistics revealed by “Pew Research Center,” international labor organization (ILO, 2020), which depicts the involvement of Saudi women at international level. Findings The data were analyzed from GaStat for the period ranging from 2010–2016 (Q2) and 2016–2020 along with GGGI for the period of 2006, 2017 and 2020 that has shown drastic changes in inspiring Saudi women empowerment pertaining to the labor market, the educational field, economic participation and gender equality. The most interesting point was that the total Saudi employed persons, especially males are double of females’ ratio. It depicts that until Q3 and Q4, 2018 females were still facing unemployment phase and their economic participation was less in comparison with male Saudis. However, there found to have a new paradigm shift; rising of Saudi women in various sectors in the year 2019 where unemployment decreased to 5.7%, labor force participation at 58.8%. Social implications Saudi Arabia is stringing very hard to develop its economy over the next decade and beyond and have strong-minded to strengthen the contribution of women to development of society and economy. Currently, Saudi women have found ample job opportunities welcoming them in various sectors. Furthermore, they can work in numerous professions and fields that were formerly limited to men. According to Leyal Khalife (2019, July 1) and the statistics released by “Pew Research Center,” Saudi Arabia has experienced the highest growth rate – among G20 countries –of women joining the workforce in the past 20 years. The data revealed that women accounted for 23% of Saudi’s workforce in 2018 – a rise of 7% increase since 2018. Finally, today Saudi Arabia has shown the highest growth rate among G20 states, including Australia, Germany, Brazil and others. Originality/value The latest reforms emphasizes on minimizing the gender gap and inspire young girls to build a career path. This procedure specifies that Saudi female should formulate their tactics and approaches to encounter gender disparity and attain social fairness and equality not specific to education only but consider all the matters of life pertaining to context of male-dominating societies.

Empowering woman through legal reforms-evidence from Saudi Arabian context

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lubna Javed Rizvi ◽  
Zahid Hussain
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Saudi Arabian ◽  
Women Empowerment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Freedom Of Movement ◽  
Legal Reforms ◽  
Saudi Women ◽  
Vision 2030 ◽  
Council Of Ministers

Purpose This current paper aims to review the literature for two main reasons. First, to outline the propositions of women empowerment in manifesto of “Vision 2030”and how these implementations have added to woman’s success in different facets of the economy. Second, to review the current reforms made to empower woman under Saudi law published in 08/2019 when the Council of Ministers presented numerous revisions to civil and labour laws that increase women’s rights and discourse concerns of travel, employment and finance. Design/methodology/approach The investigation is found on both an analysis of the secondary literature including records and information pertaining to the current economic alterations and improvements influencing women. Findings Despite the various limitations in Saudi Arabia, many Saudi women are joining the workforce. Nowadays, Saudi female are selecting new professions which were previously unexplored. Study revealed that Saudi females in different organizational framework are equally competent as male in higher ranks, if not slightly higher (Al-Shamrani, 2015). Within this context, Saudi Arabia was labelled as one of the economies with the most progress towards gender equality since 2017 in the World Bank’s Women, Business and The Law 2020 report; the report attributed this advancement to the increases in freedom of movement and economic opportunities for women as a result of the aforementioned reforms. Originality/value This paper has reflected on the success of measures by government to empower woman in the thirst to fulfill “Vision 2030” in Saudi Arabian context.

Causing a Stir

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Camilo POTOCNJAK-OXMAN
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Collaborative Design ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activity ◽  
Design Team ◽  
Design Processes ◽  
Early Stages

Stir was a crowd-voted grants platform aimed at supporting creative youth in the early stages of an entrepreneurial journey. Developed through an in-depth, collaborative design process, between 2015 and 2018 it received close to two hundred projects and distributed over fifty grants to emerging creatives and became one of the most impactful programs aimed at increasing entrepreneurial activity in Canberra, Australia. The following case study will provide an overview of the methodology and process used by the design team in conceiving and developing this platform, highlighting how the community’s interests and competencies were embedded in the project itself. The case provides insights for people leading collaborative design processes, with specific emphasis on some of the characteristics on programs targeting creative youth

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