scholarly journals Retail and Fashion – A Happy Marriage?: The Making of a Fashion Industry Research Design

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecilia Fredriksson

Fashion and retail ought to be a happy marriage. Yet several entrepreneurs in the field of fashion speak of a climate that is difficult to penetrate because of economic and cultural factors. For example, the chain store concept is an expression of the specific and current fashion situation in Sweden: democratic fashion that is cheap and accessible. At the same time, customers now demand personal, unique and ethical fashions. However, there are few possibilities in this climate for low cost development in progressive Swedish design. This article addresses the questions of how special trade conditions are reflected in the relationship between fashion and retail, and how different interests and values are expressed in the culture of Swedish fashion. To gain a deeper understanding of diverse working conditions and strategies, this article analyzes the culture of the Swedish fashion business as a narrative of different social and cultural processes. A conclusion drawn is that a cultural perspective on the oppositions between different practices and logics in the fashion business may contribute to mapping and managing these oppositions.

Author(s):  
Nguyen Thu Ha ◽  
Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen

The retail market in Vietnam continues to grow with the entry of foreign retail brands and the strong rise of domestic businesses in expanding distribution networks and conquering consumer confidence. The appearance of more retail brands has created a fiercely competitive market. Based on the outcomes of previous research results on brand choice intention combined with a customer survey, the paper proposes an analytical framework and scales to examine the relationship of five elements including store image, price perception, risk perception, brand attitudes, brand awareness and retail brand choice intention with a case study of the Hanoi-based Circle K convenience store chain. These five elements are the precondition for retail businesses to develop their brands so as to attract customers.


2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 265-272
Author(s):  
Venelin Terziev ◽  
Preslava Dimitrova

The social policy of a country is a set of specific activities aimed at regulating the social relations between different in their social status subjects. This approach to clarifying social policy is also called functional and essentially addresses social policy as an activity to regulate the relationship of equality or inequality in society. It provides an opportunity to look for inequalities in the economic positions of individuals in relation to ownership, labor and working conditions, distribution of income and consumption, social security and health, to look for the sources of these inequalities and their social justification or undue application.The modern state takes on social functions that seek to regulate imbalances, to protect weak social positions and prevent the disintegration of the social system. It regulates the processes in society by harmonizing interests and opposing marginalization. Every modern country develops social activities that reflect the specifics of a particular society, correspond to its economic, political and cultural status. They are the result of political decisions aimed at directing and regulating the process of adaptation of the national society to the transformations of the market environment. Social policy is at the heart of the development and governance of each country. Despite the fact that too many factors and problems affect it, it largely determines the physical and mental state of the population as well as the relationships and interrelationships between people. On the other hand, social policy allows for a more global study and solving of vital social problems of civil society. On the basis of the programs and actions of political parties and state bodies, the guidelines for the development of society are outlined. Social policy should be seen as an activity to regulate the relationship of equality or inequality between different individuals and social groups in society. Its importance is determined by the possibility of establishing on the basis of the complex approach: the economic positions of the different social groups and individuals, by determining the differences between them in terms of income, consumption, working conditions, health, etc .; to explain the causes of inequality; to look for concrete and specific measures to overcome the emerging social disparities.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 294-303
Author(s):  
Emeline Chauchard ◽  
Julie Mariez ◽  
Marie Grall-Bronnec ◽  
Gaëlle Challet-Bouju

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> The influence of marketing on addictive behaviours has been studied among tobacco and alcohol users. Although the fashion industry is highly influenced by marketing, research has poorly studied vulnerability to fashion marketing as a factor related to buying-shopping disorder (BSD) while considering psychological characteristics (buying motives, impulsivity, and self-esteem). <b><i>Objective:</i></b> The objective of the present work is to investigate the relationship between vulnerability to marketing and BSD. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Women (<i>n</i> = 242) were exclusively recruited through social networking. They completed an online survey exploring the severity of BSD using the <i>Compulsive Buying Scale</i> (CBS) and the psychological factors associated with BSD (impulsivity, self-esteem, and buying motives) and an experimental task designed to investigate the intention to purchase in several situations, where marketing modalities such as price, brand, and packaging fluctuate. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Among the 242 participants in the study, 34 were identified as compulsive buyers (14%). Income level was considered, and compulsive buyers displayed a higher level of vulnerability to marketing, except for the packaging modality. High levels of positive urgency, lack of premeditation, and coping motivation were found to be significant predictors of the CBS score, but vulnerability to marketing was not. <b><i>Discussion and Conclusions:</i></b> Compulsive buyers seem to be more sensitive to marketing strategies, although vulnerability to marketing was not identified as a predictor of the severity of BSD. Given the enormous literature on the role of marketing in other addictive behaviours, further studies are needed to better understand the role of marketing in BSD to develop appropriate public health policies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 4610
Author(s):  
Simone Berneschi ◽  
Giancarlo C. Righini ◽  
Stefano Pelli

Glasses, in their different forms and compositions, have special properties that are not found in other materials. The combination of transparency and hardness at room temperature, combined with a suitable mechanical strength and excellent chemical durability, makes this material indispensable for many applications in different technological fields (as, for instance, the optical fibres which constitute the physical carrier for high-speed communication networks as well as the transducer for a wide range of high-performance sensors). For its part, ion-exchange from molten salts is a well-established, low-cost technology capable of modifying the chemical-physical properties of glass. The synergy between ion-exchange and glass has always been a happy marriage, from its ancient historical background for the realisation of wonderful artefacts, to the discovery of novel and fascinating solutions for modern technology (e.g., integrated optics). Getting inspiration from some hot topics related to the application context of this technique, the goal of this critical review is to show how ion-exchange in glass, far from being an obsolete process, can still have an important impact in everyday life, both at a merely commercial level as well as at that of frontier research.


2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (8) ◽  
pp. 1262-1269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel F. Baskerville ◽  
Kerry Jacobs ◽  
Vassili Joannides de Lautour ◽  
Jeff Sissons

Purpose Accounting research has struggled with how ethnicity is to be understood in relation to concepts such as nation and nationality and how ethnicity may impact on accounting and auditing practices, behaviours, education and professional values. These themes are explored and developed in the papers presented in this special issue. In particular, the purpose of this paper is to explore the contrasting theoretical and methodological approaches reflected by the papers in the issue. Design/methodology/approach This is a reflective and analytical paper which explores how notions of ethnicity are conceived and operationalised in accounting research. The authors identified two distinctive analytic ordering processes evident within this AAAJ Special issue: Mary Douglas’ scheme of Grid and Group and the Pierre Bourdieu’s conceptual tools of field, capital and habitus. Findings The “Grid and Group” Culture Theory with Bourdieu’s theoretical tools evident in the papers provide powerful tools to explore the relationship between ethnicity and accounting both conceptually and empirically, suggesting that ethnicity can be deployed to reveal and challenge institutionalised racism. This paper highlights the potential to integrate elements of the “Grid and Group” Culture Theory and Bourdieu’s theoretical tools. The issue of ethnicity and the relationship between ethnicity and accounting should be more fruitfully explored in future. Research limitations/implications The authors acknowledge the challenges and limitations of discussing the issue of ethnicity from any particular cultural perspective and recognise the implicit dominance of White Anglo centric perspectives within accounting research. Originality/value The papers presented in the special issue illustrate that the issue of ethnicity is complex and difficult to operationalise. This paper highlights the potential to move beyond the ad hoc application of theoretical and methodological concepts to operationalise coherent concepts which challenge and extend the authors’ understanding of accounting as a social and contextual practice. But to achieve this it is necessary to more clearly integrate theory, methodology, method and critique.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toon Maas ◽  
Mohamad Tuffaha ◽  
Laurent Ney

<p>“A bridge has to be designed”. Every bridge is the exploration of all degrees of a freedom of a project: the context, cultural processes, technology, engineering and industrial skills. A successful bridge aims to dialogue with these degrees of freedom to achieve a delicate equilibrium, one that invites the participation of its users and emotes new perceptions for its viewers. In short, a good design “makes the bridge talk.”</p><p>Too often, the bridge, as an object, is reduced to its functionality. Matters of perceptions and experiences of the users are often not considered in the design process; they are relegated to levels of chance or treated as simple decorative matter. The longevity of infrastructure projects, in general, and bridges, in particular, highlights the deficiencies of such an approach. The framework to design bridges must include historical, cultural, and experiential dimensions. Technology and engineering are of paramount importance but cannot be considered as “an end in themselves but a means to an end”. This paper proposes to discuss three projects by Ney &amp; Partners that illustrate such a comprehensive exploration approach to footbridge design: the Poissy and Albi crossings and the Tintagel footbridge.</p><p>The footbridges of Poissy and Albi dialogue most clearly with their historical contexts, reconfiguring the relationship between old and new in the materiality and typology use. In Tintagel, legend replaces history. Becoming a metaphor for the void it crosses, the Tintagel footbridge illustrates the delicate dialogue of technology and engineering on one side and imagination and experience on the other.</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 201
Author(s):  
Nik Mohd Faris Nik Min ◽  
Intan Nurul ‘Ain Mohd Firdaus Kozako ◽  
Muhammad Ammar Haidar Ishak ◽  
Mohd Hafeez Al-Amin Abdul Wahab ◽  
Ayu Kamareenna Abdullah Thani ◽  
...  

Change usually occurs when an organization replaces its management, technological change or product diversification, et cetera. However, organizational change can increase work stress levels, and employees need to cope with new and old stressors.  This research emphasizes the factors of job stressors, such as role overload, role ambiguity, unprofitability, poor peer-relation, and strenuous working conditions. The purpose of this research was to identify the relationship between job stressors and organizational change among academic staff at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Cawangan Kelantan (Machang Campus) and to identify the most affected job stressor during the organizational change. The research was non-experimental which was categorized by correlation. Quantitative data was collected using a questionnaire contained three separate sections and was distributed to 155 academic staff at UiTM Cawangan Kelantan (Machang Campus). The reliability analysis was conducted and the Cronbach Alpha value ranged from 0.529 to 0.852. Pearson Correlation was used to examine the relationship between job stressors and organizational change, and it was found that all variables of job stressors had a significant relationship with organizational change except for unprofitability. It was also found that the most affected job stressor during organizational change was poor peer-relation. The researchers hope that this study would educate employees regarding factors affecting job stressors towards organizational change.  Keywords: Organizational change, role overload, role ambiguity, unprofitability, poor peer-relation, strenuous working conditions.


Robotica ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Shengjie Wang ◽  
Kun Wang ◽  
Chunsong Zhang ◽  
Jian S Dai

Abstract A kinetostatic approach applied to the design of a backflip strategy for quadruped robots is proposed in this paper. Inspired by legged animals and taking the advantage of the leg workspace, this strategy provides an optimal design idea for the low-cost quadruped robots to achieve self-recovery after overturning. Through kinetostatic and energy analysis, a four-stepped backflip strategy based on the selected rotation axis with minimum energy is proposed, with a process of selection, lifting, rotating, and protection. The kinematic factors that affect the backflip are investigated, along with the relationship between the design parameters of the leg and trunk being analyzed. At the end of this paper, the strategy is validated by a simulation and experiments with a prototype called DRbot, demonstrating that the strategy endows the robot a strong self-recovery ability in various terrains.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
PHUC VAN PHAN

Public governance and income inequality relationship is complex and debatable. This paper examines the extent to which the quality of local governance affects inequality in Vietnam spanning the 2006–2016 period. I apply a generalized method of moments (GMM) estimators to a dynamic panel data extracted from the Vietnam’s provincial competitiveness index and the Vietnam household living standard surveys. The findings are that there is a positive inequality — corruption link but no statistically significant correlation coefficient between the overall level of governance and income disparity. The study, therefore, suggests that the Vietnamese Government at all levels should consider both more effective legal practices and economic low-cost solutions to mitigate corruption.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document