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Fauquier Gas Company Case Study

Key Facts: The Fauquier Gas Company a leading gas provider had to ensure that it always completed its tasks of providing new gas lines to commercial and residential areas. There was an increase in the demand of gas, and 3 ½ miles of new gas lines had to be available for a customer in September. Secondly, the construction and design organizations were under the vice president of operation’s management. Thirdly, the design organization was headed by a design superintendent known as Mr. Charlie Buck. Lastly, Mr. Pat Wilson was the design engineer and Mr. Bill Murphy was the supply manager at the Fauquier Gas Company.

Problem: There are many problems, which are present in the Fauquier Gas company case study. Mr. Murphy did not have prior information about the scheduled new project that was to commence in June. He only happened to hear about it from Mr. Byers while having lunch. Based upon the experience of Mr. Murphy it would be quite hard to obtain the pipe purchases from the suppliers. The suppliers had to be given quotations in advance so as to prepare everything on time. There was also a conflict of interest as the vice president of operations had dealings in two critical areas of the project. Furthermore, changes were being made to the pipes specifications. The original pipe specifications would have a length of 57 feet, wall thickness of ¾ inches and a 24 inch diameter. However, according to the new changes, the length would be at 40 feet or fewer 5 feet, and a thickness of 3/8 inches. To add on to the existing problems, the new specifications wanted the use of two wrappers, the pry-tech and the coal tar. The two companies that supplied the wrappers were located in Atlanta and Philadelphia, and this would cause additional problems. A lot of time and money would be spent in transporting the wrapper to the Fauquier Gas Company and this would cause delays. The changes to the length and thickness of the pipe would affect the schedule and this would have an economic impact to the company. Lastly, even by April, the pipe specifications purchase request had not been given to Mr. Murphy.

Alternative Solutions:

A meeting involving Mr. Murphy, Mr. Byers, Mr. Buck, Mr. Wilson and the vice president of operations should be scheduled.

Mr. Wilson should immediately give Mr. Murphy the purchase order for the pipe specifications.

Mr. Murphy should immediately get in touch with the suppliers of the pipes and wrappers.

Discussion of Solutions:

In this case, it is evident that there is a lack of proper communication and this is the main reason why the problem occurred. Mr. Murphy should not waste any time in calling all the involved parties for a meeting at once. The purpose of the meeting should be to discuss how the project deadline can be met, as well as about the changes in the specifications of the pipe. During the meeting, they should talk about the manner, which information should be passed on to all the concerned parties. In this case, they should consider options such as sending emails and even posting memos in the various notice boards at the gas company. The most suitable method of communication would be to have weekly meetings whereby they get to discuss about any new projects. This will greatly assist in ensuring that no one misses out on any crucial company information.

Once the parties are in agreement with all that is taking place concerning the new project, Mr. Wilson should give Mr. Murphy the purchase specifications. Upon receiving the specifications, Mr. Murphy should make a call to the suppliers in order to book for an appointment to meet the people who are concerned with the issue at hand. When Mr. Murphy finally gets to go and have a meeting with the suppliers, they should let them know as to why the changes have to be made. This will give the supplier a better idea as to why the sudden changes on the specifications exist. It should be known that personal communication makes quite a difference when trying to sort out a problem as compared to other forms of communication. Lastly, another supplier that deals with wrappers should be contacted and they should be located near the gas company. This will help save on a lot of additional costs that the company would have occurred.

Recommendations: It is most likely that once the solutions are followed the Fauquier Company will benefit. However, there are some recommendations that I suggest so that the problems does not repeat itself in the future. A communication channel needs to be established and all the concerned parties need to be able to receive and give feedback. Secondly, a supplier that is located near the gas company should be found instead of the others that are located in Atlanta and Philadelphia. Lastly, Mr. Murphy should always ensure that he knows about the on goings at the company because his role as a supplier is critical to the success of the company.

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Fascism and its Defining Elements

From the realms of political philosophy, Fascism is considered as a governmental tendency where administrative institutions present dispositions of autocracy, tyranny, and dictatorship. Considerably, regimes applying this style seek to convince citizens that the interests of the nation are more important that individual and civil rights. Thus, the latter can be forgone at the expense of the former. Other major characteristics include forceful crackdowns on opposition systems by use of state resources, political and social regimentation, and existence of other dictatorial features.

The defining elements of Fascism seek to assert the position of the importance of nationality and continuation of ideas of nationalism. Thus, such systems design nationalistic slogans, songs, and other forms of paraphernalia that aim at enhancing nationalism. Further, national security stands out as another major obsession of fascist regimes. In this sense, individuals are governmental institutions establish military and police institutions whose main functions are to intimidate perceived opponents of the system. Such units receive preferential treatment to ensure governmental demands are implemented. This is also accompanied with obsession with punishment of crime that is commonly implemented unlawfully.

In relation to other societal institutions like religion and education, the enlightening ability and power of such institutions commonly gets taken away and consumed into the government. Thus religious institutions almost intertwine with the government; developing what is almost a case of state religions. So is the case of media and communication channels like television, radio, print, and other forms of broadcast. In fascist systems, such institutions are either state owned or extremely controlled. This reduces enlightenment and ensures successful perpetuation of fascist tendencies.

On the other hand, it is worth noting that most Fascists come to power through the support of corporate institutions. As a result, most corporate institutions receive unquestioned government protection. This is irrespective of whether they carry out business in ways that affect the masses negatively and exploit them.

In considerations relating to individuals, Fascists start by not recognising human rights and freedoms. Thus, arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial killings, and detention without trials commonly occur. In extreme cases, torturous tendencies are also identified. Markedly, most Fascists use the ideas of insecurity and solidifying the collective national interest so as to perpetuate these unacceptable elements. Also, Fascists frustrate enlightenment and intellectualism with individuals attempting to enlighten others getting arrested or banned from activity. As well, the collective ability to bargain for wages as well as collective labour power get suppressed extensively.

Corruption, misuse of national resources, and sycophancy also stand out as other distinctive marks of Fascist regimes. Governments are characterised by lack of professional approaches in implementation because appointees are not professionals but rather cronies and sycophants to power holders. Still, ministers, state secretaries and other office holders have overwhelming and uncontrolled power and authority over resources in their dockets. To this end, they commonly loot and misuse such resources. Commonly, the system has sexist and gender discriminative trends where most officials are purely male.

Probably, the most outstanding defining element of Fascism is fraudulent and commonly rigged elections. This is because it is through this means that Fascists set themselves into power. After initial establishments, Fascists employ all state resources including state forces in re-rigging elections to ensure they continually remain in power.

In Sum, Fascism is definitively characterised by continuous election frauds, corrupt systems, oppression of individual rights and the use of ideologies of national security and nationalism to perpetuate undemocratic suppression. Elementarily, it is autocratic and dictatorial.

Favorite Brand Paper – Apple

“Insert name”

“Insert institution”

“Insert Course”

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Reasons for Being Passionate About Apple Inc

Apple is one of the greatest and biggest organizations around. They work in iPod. Macintosh PCs, IPhone, IPad, furthermore iPods The past are a percentage of the gadgets made and showcased by Apple, Incorporated, an organization known for offering smooth, simple to-utilize, profoundly looked for after products around the world (Dennis, 2006). The organization builds a long haul association with purchasers of differing ages by offering incredible administration in their own particular retail locations and through phone help that constructs faithfulness for the brand (Dennis, 2006). Apple puts a high esteem on product separation, picking up the high ground setting costs and accessibility in the commercial center. For a long time the brand was a far second to Microsoft as far as deals and working framework utilization.

Dennis (2006), nevertheless, throughout the last few years, the starting of an expansive scale promotion battle has given the brand an essential place in purchasers’ lives and made the brand hip alongside naturally mindful. Last, the organization is getting a charge out of the impression of offering easy to understand gadgets with numerous learning instruments in examination to Microsoft’s absence of style and convenience. There are numerous reasons why I am energetic about this brand (Linden et.al, 2008). For one they give extraordinary nature of electronics at a high cost however I feel you get what you pay for. An alternate reason is on account of they market their product exceptionally well.

The company is successful in building loyal customer relationships across different groups. That has been contributed by various factors:

Stakeholders assume a noteworthy part, specifically clients, on the grounds that “the more subordinate the firm is on the resources gave by a certain stakeholder, the more power that stakeholder has over the firm”. Case in point, the choice for clients to purchase or not purchase will be completely different for the offers of the firm. Therefore fulfilling clients through seeking after higher social measures to separate themselves is ordinarily seen. Also, different stakeholders give more data to clients, permitting clients to settle on more educated decisions (Linden et.al, 2008).

Elevated media scope and expanding legitimate prerequisites for client data make firms’ supplier administration approaches more straightforward, permitting clients to consider the broad view and adjust their purchasing choices to their own particular social guidelines. This gives an enormous impetus to shape organization strategies, for this situation supply administration arrangement, to give a “reliable social record to the client”. An illustration may be to ensure that espresso beans originate from reasonable exchange accomplices that don’t misuse nearby agriculturists (Linden et.al, 2008). The organization would accordingly need to grow its social models over the inventory network by selecting their suppliers to satisfy these guarantees, spreading the impact of social maintainability. Therefore, client social weight is compelling in advancing socially maintainable practices in organizations crosswise over diverse levels. An alternate key stakeholder to advance social manageability is the administration, through regulations and laws. Government weight is characterized as “weights by lawful powers of the association’s nation of origin”. Actually, it is regular to see organizations accomplish more than law or regulations oblige it (McKenna et.al, 2002).

By consenting to higher social models, the company can dodge the steady methodology of progress, in light of the fact that “tightening of regulation may lead firms to set higher guidelines in advance to be arranged for the future and maintain a strategic distance from high correction costs”. By surpassing government prerequisites, it is even conceivable further bolstering make a good fortune against others. On account of supply administration, exchanging expenses of suppliers can be relieved even on account of more stringent administrative prerequisites. Consequently, a larger amount of government social weight urges organizations to preemptively embrace social economical polices (McKenna et.al, 2002).

Competitors and Reasons I prefer Apple over them

Dell and Microsoft Corporations are some of the Apple competitors. Nevertheless, I prefer Apple in the manner in which it performs its activities. The industrial organization model keeps the pool of rivalry small, makes entrance boundaries and helps a firm survey the following venture of its few rivals (Linden et.al, 2008). By utilizing this procedure, a prevailing organization will attempt to keep up a decent footing on the business. An alternate advantage of the industrial organization is hindrances for entrance and results for passageway. Sociological, sparing, political or innovative obstructions can keep new contenders out of a very fragmented business (McKenna et.al, 2002). Having these obstructions set up means an entering firm needs more than the ability to fabricate the item to enter the business sector – frequently, it may require political ties or bigger measures of capital for immediate venture. Understanding a contender’s next conceivable move could decide how a firm needs to communicate with its rival, a business method that is extraordinary to this model. In the wake of computing the contender’s next conceivable moves, an organization could find that it would be best to appropriate the business sector, making the first key move and getting there ahead of its rival (McKenna et.al, 2002).

The firm can utilize two fundamental sorts of business strategiesto influence its business by using its qualities and joining them with the quantity of accessible positions to market its items. These business procedures are expense initiative strategy and separation strategy. Apple is presently chipping away at the separation system by putting extraordinary components in the outline and improvement of its items. The separation procedure is characterized as a strategy that plans to create the items as well as administrations that have extraordinary attributes that are well liked by the clients and are esteemed by them. This system improves the business position of the companies concerning their partners (Dennis, 2006). Thus, Apple Inc. strives hard to give incredible use experience to its clients by offering innovative items regarding equipment, programming items and additionally different offerings.

References

Dennis (2006) Gobalization: TheHidden Agenda. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Linden, G., Kraemer, K. L., & Dedrick, J. (2008). Who Profits from Innovation in Global ValueChains?A Study of the iPod and notebook, PCs,

McKenna, M. K. L., & Murray, W. E. (2002). Jungle law in the orchard:Comparing globalization in the new zealand and chilean apple industries. Economic Geography, 78(4), 495-514.

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Fascism Criticize the First Ideology from the Standpoint of Liberalism

Fascism is counter-evolutionary politics that emerged in Europe in the early years of the twentieth century. The system was a way of responding to social turmoil and devastation brought by the First World War. It was also a response to the Bolshevik Revolution (Kallis, (2003, 3). Fascism is a political ideology where authoritarian measures are used to empower the government, as well as deny citizens their rights. In most cases, an absolute dictator suppresses citizens through violent acts and strict laws (Ringer, 2006, 204). Rulers such as Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini used this system to govern their nations. Fascism may consist of characteristics such as racism, dictatorship and militarism. There are various ideologies associated with fascism such as the populist, elitist and the extreme right-wing principles. Philosophers such as Friedrich Nietzsche, George Sorel and Georg Hegal are the philosophers whose ideologies shaped the Fascist theory. The populist ideology tries to activate the citizens as whole against enemies or oppressors, and also to enhance national unity. Fascism also takes an elitist approach because the will of the people is personified in a select group or a supreme ruler whose authority is the most significant. The system forcibly subordinates all spheres of the society to create an organic community through totalitarianism. It also uses mass organization to enhance integration and control. Organized violence helps to suppress opposition although the intensity of violence is not similar in all circumstances.

Fascism also involves the ideology of extreme right-wing. It acknowledges the nation or race as an organic society that is above other loyalties. This ideology accentuates a belief of racial or national rebirth when a region has gone through a period of destruction or decline. Fascism considers aspects such as materialism and individualism as signs of ethical decay, so its main aim is to eliminate forces that pose a threat to the organic community. Fascists believe that the decay of a society occurs naturally and the most efficient way of eliminating this decay is through violence. Violence is enhances acquirement of power in a society that is experiencing moral decay. The leaders must be willing to use violence to slow down the decay. Hegal believed that war was significant in unifying of a nation, and that peace created a weak nation (Grigsby, 2012, 127). This creates the need for military forces to enhance war. War unites a nation because citizens have to come together to fight their enemy. He also claimed that the members of a community had the responsibility of sacrificing for their nation. The duty of the corporate organization is to make the laws of the state. The system also celebrates aspects such as masculinity mystical unity, renewing power of violence and youth. The system also promotes ethnic persecution, genocide, imperialist expansion and racial superiority doctrines. These occur when a community is against authority. Internationalism in the fascists’ world is based on ideological or racial solidarity throughout the nation. Male supremacy is also dominant in the system (Flood, et.al. 2013, 188). At times, the privileged race or nation encourages female solidarity (Brock, 2009, 262). Nietzsche came up with the idea of a superman to lead the nation. This individual must be creative and also possess a high intellectual capacity. Nietzsche’s idea came from the moral codes in ancient empires that consisted of master and slave morality.

Liberalism in the political sense is when a representative government tries to preserve the rights of the citizens and also maximizes freedom of choice. People can choose what they want with their lives (Joyce, 2003, 1). Fascists deny people their rights because they practice totalitarianism. Liberalists claim that all individuals have equal opportunities before the law. Class privileges are not a common feature in this form of governance. Fascists believe that liberalism enhances materialism and individualism. They claim that individual freedom enhances the division of a nation. Liberalists believe that a human being should focus on their own interests without interference from the society. They criticize the elitist ideology when they suggest that the people have a right to choose their leaders and also to reject oppressive rule. In liberalism, there is one leader but he does not make decisions for the rest of the people. People have to vote to decide what they want. The work of the leader is to ensure that individual interests do not harm other members in a society. This is not the case for fascism because the leader in this system is has absolute authority. This means that the people have no rights. They must follow what the leader wants. The work of the leader is to ensure that people have no freedom to choose what they want. The leaders also come up with mass organizations that punish those who are against the laws of the government. In liberalists’ societies, people carry out their activities as individuals and not as groups. Liberalists claim that he society decays when individuals do not have freedom to do what they want. This leads to war and other negative occurrences. War does encourage unity in a liberalist society; it creates division since people have personal interests. It does not achieve the main objective of liberalism, instead, it causes destruction.

Liberalism encourages active participation in law making. The people have the freedom to choose the appropriate laws. This is the case for fascism because only the corporate organization has the power to create laws. Liberalist societies also have class divisions but according to the law, the upper class has no authority over the lower class. The only difference is that the upper class has more money than the lower class, so they have a more options concerning how to use their money. The fascist society has social classes, but the upper class has authority over the lower class. The people who belong to the upper class made decisions for those in the lower class. Liberalists claim that this system is oppressive because no one choses to be poor or rich. Some people are only rich because of luck. They were born in rich families, so they inherit wealth. For this reason, the rich should not oppress the poor because everyone is equal in the eyes of the creator. Liberalism also discourages racism because everyone is equal before the law (Zafirovski, 2007, 421). The criticize fascism because it encourages discrimination on racial grounds. Power belonged to the whites, so the blacks were treated unfairly because they had no representative in the government. Liberalism also encourages equal opportunities for males and females while fascism encourages a male dominated society. Women from rich organizations were the only ones who had authority. The rest followed what he males said. Liberalism encourages freedom for all. Women can perform the same tasks as men as well as govern the nation.

References

FLOOD, M. et.al. (2013). International Encyclopedia of Men and Masculinities. New York,

Routledge.

BROCK, R. G. (2009). Rapture and Revelation. Tate Pub & Enterprises Llc.

GRIGSBY, E. (2012). Analyzing politics: an introduction to political science. Belmont, CA,

Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

JOYCE, P. (2003). The rule of freedom: liberalism and the modern city. London, Verso.

KALLIS, A. A. (2003). The Fascism reader. New York, Routledge.

RINGER, R. E. (2006). Excel HSC modern history. Glebe N.S.W., Pascal Press.

ZAFIROVSKI, M. (2007). Liberal modernity and its adversaries: freedom, liberalism and anti-

liberalism in the 21st century. Leiden, the Netherlands, Brill.

Favourite Manager

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Affiliation

Introduction

The success and productivity of an organization not only depend on the provision of resources but also the attributes of a manager or managers (Sturges, Conway & Liefooghe, 2010). With respect to the above statement, this paper will discuss the attributes, qualification and roles of my favourite manager.

Heading the Human Resource department, he is known as Mr Performer since he was able to transform the company from its previous poor marketing performance to an outstanding department. As an employee in the same department in an internship position, I recognized the efforts that the manager employed in order to change the department from its deteriorating standards.

There are several priorities that I considered before choosing my favourite manager; these include quality of service, leadership skills, relationship with the employees, and productivity. The said manager is known of his exceptional service to the company; he is a dedicated individual who works to ensure that results and customer relationship is attained. In addition, he is a transformational leader with excellent communication skills that has made him able to relate well with other senior and junior employees. Based on his results as a departmental leader he can be evaluated as a productive leader, facts such as the company increase of its customer from 2 million clients to 2.5 million during his regime as a marketing manager. He can be considered as a performing and productive manager of all ages in the company.

Conclusion

It worth having such a manager in an organization because the success of an organization depends on the manager’s social and business behaviour. Thus, managers should shape their managerial skills since they are role models.

Reference

Sturges, J., Conway, N., & Liefooghe, A. (2010). Organizational support, individual attributes, and the practice of career self-management behavior.Group & Organization Management, 35(1), 108-141.

Fashion and Clothing

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DateFashion and Clothing

The three brands of shirts can be alienated among diverse market segments in such a way that criminal damage brand is for the low class, billionaires boys club brand for the middle class and vivienne westwood for the rich markets respectively. YouTube, blogging, e-commerce, and social media applications such as Face book and twitter should be used in advertisement to target the rich and the middle class for Vivienne Westwood and the billionaires boys club respectively since they are likely to access these services. Furthermore, Mass media such as business directories, radio, magazines, and TVs should be used in adverting Criminal damage brand to the low class individuals who may easily access them.

Organizing for social activities and sponsoring events in the low class regions may be used in promoting the sale of criminal damage brand to the low class people. Celebrating company’s achievements with the rich and the medium class individuals by inviting music celebrities such as Jay z may and Chris Brown may promote the sales of billionaires boys club and Vivienne west wood respectively (Okonkwo 2007, p.145-147).

The company should have a smart, attractive, and very clear way of displaying the three brands of shirts irrespective of the class. Order catalogues and personalized letters with clearly defined features of the shirts should be mailed to the rich market to promote sales of Vivienne westwood brand. Phone calls, Emails, e-newsletters should be used to the rich and the medium class customers informing them of new fashion arrivals of the vivienne westwood and billionaires boys club brands respectively. Sales people should go to the low class regions to promote criminal damage brand (Lamb, Hair & Macdaniel 2009, p.206-208).

Company should be able to deploy pleasant sales promotion styles such as offering mystery rewards, coupons, discounts to their criminal damage customers upon purchasing the shirts. Mystery reward may comprise raffle tickets. There should be an arrangement for rebate and refunds incase the shirts are not of the same quality as was advertised or if the size is smaller than the customer’s order requirement. The refunds and rebates should apply to both markets.

Personal selling is very important as it builds relationship between customers and the sellers and is very suitable with the criminal damage brand, which targets the low-income earners. Low-income earners ought to be convinced and persuaded to buy this brand since they may deem it expensive. The sellers must have exceptional skills to achieve their target (Easey 2009, p.13-15). The sellers should visit areas of low-income earners since the middle level and the rich do not have to be persuaded to buy products in the same level as their low class counterparts. Salesperson should listen to the customers keenly and serve them with due respect and courtesy to make them feel important. Let the staffs assist and talk to every customer who gets into the store. Company should provide their contacts to all the customers for further information The vivianne westwood and the billionaires boys club customers should have privileged of accessing the company’s information (Shimp 2010, p. 17-18).

There should be a cool music and scent at the background of neatly arranged stores to attract the rich and the middle class to buy Vivienne west wood and Billionaires boys brands respectively. However, music that encourages the lower class to work smart in improving their livelihood should be played in stores where criminal damage brand is sold. Music and scent promotes pleasure and satisfaction whilst reducing monetary perception. The salespeople should be dressed in the various brands in respect to the customers they are serving. The general arrangement of the stores should be eye-catching to all the customers.

Works Cited

Easey, M. 2009, Fashion Marketing, Chichester, John Wiley & Sons.

Lamb, W, Hair, J, & Mcdaniel, 2009, Marketing. Mason, Ohio, South-Western Cengage Learning

Okonkwo, U, 2007, Luxury Fashion Branding Trends, Tactics, Techniques. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.

Shimp, T, 2010, Advertising, Promotion, and Other Aspects Of Integrated Marketing Communications. Mason, Ohio, South-Western Cengage Learning.

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The FBI Virtual Case File Case Study

Any form of inconsistency among the models results in a model clash.

In the Virtual Case File system, there was a clash between the waterfall model and the product model.

The waterfall model calls for the progressive determination of the adopted system requirements such as its codes and design (Gabrys et al, 46).

On the other hand, product model demands the visualization of operational concepts together with their interrelationships.

The waterfall model has a number of assumptions that are to be considered for its successful implementation.

The first assumption is that the partakers in the project determine all necessities prior to implementation money (Kymmell, 241).

Secondly, the determined requirements must not have costly repercussions.

The partakers in the project must have sufficient knowledge about the architecture to be implemented in order to achieve the determined requirements.

The stakeholders’ expectation must be realized through the actual implementation of the requirements.

The project’s generic nature will not undergo mammoth transformation during its development.

Finally, the deadlines set for the project must permit ample time for sequential progress.

If any of the aforementioned assumptions proves to be false then the project that adopts this model will grind to a halt.

The Virtual Case File system second, third and fourth assumption of the waterfall model contradicted with the underpinning principle of property model (Kuhn and Hacking 304).

With regard to the second assumption under the waterfall model, the parties in the project determined requirements, which had high-risk consequences.

The SAIC devised a new management system, which would phase out the ACS. This was considered to be a high-risk maneuver since in the event of VCF failing to work there would be no contingency plan.

The other assumption that made the two models clash is the participants’ insufficient understanding of the right architecture for the successful implementation of the requirements.

Majority organizations rely on enterprise architecture acts as a blueprint, which guides vital determination of requirements.

The enterprise architecture gives a description, organizes the IT structure, and proceeds to outline the objectives of the project organization.

However, the problem with the VCF project was that the FBI did not have the enterprise architecture.

Results from numerous reports such as the one conducted by the National Research Council reveal that the FBI department without the blueprint could not make coherent determinations on the project’s requirements.

The final assumption that contributed to the model clash was that the determined requirement was not equivalent to the stakeholders’ expectations.

The FBI, working with the SAIC, approached Congress for more funds to quicken the process of developing the system. Congress accepted the request and in exchange to that act, it expected the system to be ready in December 2003 instead of June 2004.

However, the FBI had not mapped out a strategic course for the achievement of completion within the stipulated deadline.

The project contract was amended to show the new deadlines but the original software contracts were not amended to reflect the formal criteria for the FBI to accept the VCF system (Feenberg and Norm 71).

Works Cited

Feenberg, Andrew, and Norm Friesen. (re) inventing the Internet: Critical Case Studies. Rotterdam: Sense, 2012

Gabrys, Bogdan, Robert J. Howlett, and L C. Jain. Knowledge-based Intelligent Information and Engineering Systems: 10th International Conference, Kes 2006, Bournemouth, Uk, October 9-11, 2006: Proceedings. Berlin: Springer, 2006.

Kuhn, Thomas and Hacking Ian. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chicago, IL [etc.: The University of Chicago Press, 2012.

Kymmell, Willem. Building Information Modeling: Planning and Managing Construction Projects with 4d Cad and Simulations. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008.

Fashion Design

Contents

TOC o “1-3” h z u HYPERLINK l “_Toc376930990” Introduction PAGEREF _Toc376930990 h 1

HYPERLINK l “_Toc376930991” History of Textile PAGEREF _Toc376930991 h 2

HYPERLINK l “_Toc376930992” Textile innovations PAGEREF _Toc376930992 h 3

HYPERLINK l “_Toc376930993” Textile Designer PAGEREF _Toc376930993 h 5

HYPERLINK l “_Toc376930994” Fashion Design PAGEREF _Toc376930994 h 6

HYPERLINK l “_Toc376930995” How textile Designer and a fashion Designer collaborate to work together PAGEREF _Toc376930995 h 7

HYPERLINK l “_Toc376930996” Influential Fashion Designers PAGEREF _Toc376930996 h 8

HYPERLINK l “_Toc376930997” Issey Miyake PAGEREF _Toc376930997 h 9

HYPERLINK l “_Toc376930998” Nuno Corporation – Reiko Sudo PAGEREF _Toc376930998 h 9

HYPERLINK l “_Toc376930999” Liza Bruce PAGEREF _Toc376930999 h 10

HYPERLINK l “_Toc376931000” Sarah Taylor PAGEREF _Toc376931000 h 11

HYPERLINK l “_Toc376931001” Schoeller Textile AG PAGEREF _Toc376931001 h 11

HYPERLINK l “_Toc376931002” Norma Starszakowna PAGEREF _Toc376931002 h 11

HYPERLINK l “_Toc376931003” Jacob Schlaepfer PAGEREF _Toc376931003 h 12

HYPERLINK l “_Toc376931004” The future of fibre and fabrics PAGEREF _Toc376931004 h 12

HYPERLINK l “_Toc376931005” Designers primary concern Aesthetics PAGEREF _Toc376931005 h 13

HYPERLINK l “_Toc376931006” How the innovations of fabrics bring the world of art, design, engineering and science ever closer? PAGEREF _Toc376931006 h 14

HYPERLINK l “_Toc376931007” Microfibers PAGEREF _Toc376931007 h 15

HYPERLINK l “_Toc376931008” Microfibers on the market PAGEREF _Toc376931008 h 16

HYPERLINK l “_Toc376931009” Metallics PAGEREF _Toc376931009 h 16

HYPERLINK l “_Toc376931010” Nonwovens PAGEREF _Toc376931010 h 17

HYPERLINK l “_Toc376931011” Synthetic foams, rubbers and gels PAGEREF _Toc376931011 h 18

HYPERLINK l “_Toc376931012” Carbon, glass, fiber optic and ceramic PAGEREF _Toc376931012 h 20

HYPERLINK l “_Toc376931013” Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc376931013 h 21

HYPERLINK l “_Toc376931014” Work cited PAGEREF _Toc376931014 h 21

IntroductionThe word fashion in its entirety means change. Due to the pace of change, designers are always under constant force to maintain their creative momentum. According to Kathrine and Jenine, innovations and technologies has acted as a catalyst of change by decreasing the lead-time between design and finished stock entering the retail environment (Kathryn M. and Janine). According to Operath, clothes are the representation of man’s personality (Operath). We cannot deny the fact that clothes are amongst bare necessities in life. Apparently, clothing and textile depicts an individual’s personality. Due to altering times and the way the global world is moving, a radical revolution in the textile industry, has affected the fashion world tremendously (Operath). Quick and timely variations in the textile sector impacts deeply on the choice of both the fashion designer and the consumers at large. This has made the future or latest trends of fashion not to last for longer periods (Operath). Textiles, as a mirror, provide an interesting and enlightening vantage point to look at society.

Therefore, this paper is dedicated to show how textile innovation has influenced the fashion world by looking at various aspects such as: the history of textile, textile innovation, fashion and textile design, and some of the prominent fashion designers. The paper will also examine the future of fibres and the new technologies that make fashion bloom.

History of TextileAccording to Jenkins, the history of textile industry is almost as old as the history of human civilization. Through the years, innovations in clothing production, manufacture and design has come to a rise. As early as 4000 BC, hand operated spindles along with a loom were the most important tools for production of textile in Europe. Raw materials commonly used were wool and linen (Jenkins).

As Jenkins states in his book, “The Cambridge history of western textile,” the 18th and 19th Centuries saw the discovery of machines and mechanization in the production of fabric (Jenkins). The most significant innovations that came during this time changed clothing forever. In accordance with Jenkins, the findings of various synthetic strands like nylon shaped a wider market for textile products and progressively led to the invention of new and improved sources of natural fiber (Jenkins). In the Industrial Revolution period, the Textile industry evolved from being a domestic small scale industry to the state of prominence it currently holds due to the emergence of machines like the spinning wheels and handlooms. Raw materials included wool, flax and cotton however; the place where a cloth was being produced determined the material to be used (Jenkins).

In the Industrial Revolution era, Wyatt and Paul invented machines like the flying shuttle (1733), the flyer, the bobbin and the roller spinning machine. These inventions by Wyatt and Paul increased the speed of production. Later inventions included the carding machine by Lewis Paul in 1748 and the spinning jenny in 1974. Richard Arkwright then later invented the water frame in 1771 followed by Edmund Cartwright’s power loom in 1784 (Heerman).

In recent times, up-to-date techniques, electronics and innovations have led to a highly competitive, cheap textile offering almost all types of clothes or designs an individual could desire. According to Jenny, there is a repetition in the use of certain patterns and fabrics throughout the history of textiles. These textiles remain classics and some classics remain constantly popular in some form or another (Udale).

Textile innovationsInnovations in textile do not necessarily mean innovations in the fabric itself; still, it can be understood to be innovation in machinery of textile. According to Gale and Kaur, Textile chemistry and the mechanization of machinery have brought sweeping changes that revived textile production and design. The attitudes towards innovation and the generations of new ideas in textile and fashion differ from one country to another. For instance, the Italians particularly advocate advances in their textile industry and encourage the associations between textile and fashion (Gale and Kaur).

Apparently, many countries like Japan value innovation in textiles and its relation to fashion to such a higher degree that they are prepared to invest in it. Recent innovations in the industry include nanotechnologies. Nanotechnologies have created new textile products that can detect chemicals and gases, generate mobile power and incorporate flexible sensing system. According to Wright, these nanotechnologies manipulate the properties of materials at the molecular level to produce enhanced performance qualities. In addition, nanotechnologies are the drivers behind many textile innovations.

When it comes to healthcare, most industries have embraced microfiber-cleaning products. This is due to their major capability to address the market’s concerns about preventing cross-contamination in the company. According to Julie Silas, some microfiber mop systems are well designed such that they can isolate germs and bacteria that were picked up during cleaning easily. Microfiber products when used with a small amount of chemical cleaning agents will do quite a good service (Silas). Wool is an example of textiles that are healthy and make one feel comfortable. A pure wool fabric has ability to reduce allergies at home. It also lacks flammability. Merino wool is the best fabric to use with baby sleep bags and caps because it provides a year round safe temperature while providing warmth, circulating air and preventing any moisture from accumulating. Wool also absorbs humidity while remaining dry and it contains natural lanolin, which is a biologically active substance at the same being water resistant. Using natural wool materials helps to reduce dust mites, asthma, skin diseases and upper respiratory tract infections (B. N. Wright).

In recent years, the textile industry has been more innovative in technical developments that the clothing industry. Major innovations have taken place in technical fabrics developed for their functional properties and performance in fields such as sportswear and uniforms. Environmentally friendly fabrics as well as fabrics manufactured from organic natural fibres are now available in the market. These reflect the changing priorities of the consumers. Goworek gives examples of some of the innovative fibres, which include Tencel (recyclable and biodegradable fabric), Goretex (has micropores that allows perspiration to escape whilst resisting rain), and Coolmax (made from specially engineered polyester fibres, with thermoregulatory and moisture properties) (Goworeck).

According to Goworeck, fabric manufacturers have also developed micro-encapsulation, which allows additional elements encapsulated within fibres incorporating scents or insect repellent finishes. For example, the lingerie brands have designed garments ranges made from fabrics containing these microencapsulated aromas. Also under development are smart fabrics, which can respond to the wearer’s environment. Designers like Philip are in the process of developing wearable electronics with garment containing mobile phones and camera to locate the wearer, electronic club wear and sportswear with MP3 technology to monitor sporting performance. These developments in textile are aimed at specific uses and it is unlikely that fabric technologies will push the boundaries further by applying similar innovations into fashion fabrics (Goworeck). In one way or the other, innovations have affected traditional manufacturing and design processes subsequently. According to Gale, weaving, knitting and embroidery have eventually given way to genetically or chemically grown fabric.

Textile DesignerThe role of a textile designer comprises of a myriad of descriptions including inventor, scientist, designer, and engineer. Textile designers have a handle on the requirements of the textile manufacturer and the intricacies of the market place. Starting with the consideration of the eventual use of a fabric, they develop ideas and realize concepts. Depending on the textile designers area of expertise, be it creative or scientific, design outcomes can range from fabrics for use in fashion and interiors to highly complex technologically advanced, performance materials. A textile designer finds the right balance between creativity, innovation and commercialism (Gale and Kaur).

A large proportion of textile designers work for fabric manufacturers, but many others also work for retailers or suppliers of fashion and homeware products (Goworeck). Gowereck observes that within the fashion industry, textile designers always remain anonymous to the consumers, while fashion designers take all the credit for the total design of the garments, using numerous sources of fabrics, designed by several textile designers working for various companies (Goworeck). According to Gowereck, textile designers are less famous compared to their fashion design counterparts. According to Gowereck, Textile design bridges fashion design and many other cloth related field and it fulfills so many purposes in our lives. Almost all our lives revolve around the textile designs for example we move on vehicles which use tires reinforces with strong textile cord, we put on clothing every day.

Fashion DesignAccording to Cooklin, the title fashion design includes not only those who work at the couture level but also those involved in mass production at all price levels of the market. Therefore, fashion design is a discipline that entails the application of design and aesthetics or natural beauty to apparel and accessories (Gerry Cooklin). Fashion design varies over time and place; moreover, cultural and social latitudes of a people group have also greatly influenced fashion design. In a number of ways, fashion designers work to design clothing and accessories. Fashion designers either chose to work alone or as a team. Due to the time required to bring a garment to the market and the anticipated change in consumer tastes, fashion designers attempt to design both aesthetically pleasing and functional clothing to satisfy the consumer’s desire for aesthetically designed clothing.

While making these aesthetically pleasing as well as functional clothing, fashion designers consider both the likely wearer of the garment and at what situations, events or occasion. In their work, fashion designers choose from a wide range and combinations of materials, colors, patterns and styles to work with.

According To Stecker, fashion design started in the 19th century with Charles Frederick Worth being the first designer to have his brand name sewn into his created garments (Stecker and Pamela). Worth’s success was such that he was able to dictate to his customers what they should wear, instead of following their lead as earlier dressmakers had done (Stecker and Pamela). In fact, to describe him, the term couturier was formed. Innovations enable fashion designers to differentiate their products and improve their competiveness and textile still seems to underpin the structure of fashion. Fashion is also an expression of what people feel and think. At all market levels, consumers demand products that are innovative, individual and technologically advanced. The design process more than ever builds on serious consideration of the consumers needs and desires in order to satisfy an increasingly sophisticated and discerning market.

How textile Designer and a fashion Designer collaborate to work togetherAccording to Gale & Kaur, it is evident that the discovery of a new fabric can revolutionize a fashion design or can create the foundation for the philosophy behind a collection (Collin and Jasbir) According to Gale & Kaur, scientific, mechanical and technological inputs from professionals, in the textile industry, can fuel a fashion designer’s notion about possibilities in clothing. As we can note, there is a mutually beneficial relationship between the textile and fashion designers in that the fashion designer is equipped with new and exciting materials to work with whilst the textile designer is provided with an effective promotional tool by fashion (Collin and Jasbir). Gale and Kaur further exclaims that a fashion designer can collaborate with a textile designer on a one-on-one basis or partner with a textile company and acquire a custom-made design solely for their use. Across the globe, the coexistence of fashion and textiles is evident. Apart from these companies being key employers, they also significantly contribute to numerous economic systems around the world (Gale and Kaur). As Kaul and Gale states, within this complex relationship, fashion supplies a constant flow of new and varied formulations in apparel. Fashion is ultimately dependent upon textile and cannot exist without textiles. The two industries create a phenomenon greater than any of them, an essential aspect of their commercial success and perhaps the impetus for the world trends (Gale and Kaur). The relationship between textile and fashion is a mutually beneficial one.

Influential Fashion DesignersAccording Pamela Stecker, understanding the role played by leading designers in the development of fashion serves several purposes. First, it inspires us and serves as a source of ideas for themes, materials, decorative treatment and approaches to garment construction (Stecker and Pamela). It also provides us with an understanding of how past and present designers create clothing which expresses the time in which they live (Stecker and Pamela).

In the world of Textile design, Japan is a dynamic leading force in the world hence enjoys and international reputation in the production of pioneering textile designs (Collin and Jasbir). Japan is home to some of the world’s textile designers not only in terms of aesthetic qualities but also concerning the development of innovative materials and techniques of printing and weaving. Some of these leading designers include, Issey Miyake and Reiko Sudo. Often, the Japanese are regarded as the engineers of world textile design perhaps due to the intimate relationship developed between manufacturers and designers. The knowledge of various limitations or functions of industrial machinery form an integral part of Japanese textile design psyche that enables them to simultaneously refer and challenge traditional Japanese and Western convections in terms of industry and craft tradition (Collin and Jasbir). According to Gale, Japan’s basic design, the concepts of design execution have changed little; however, technologies in the execution of these designs have changed.

Issey Miyake

Miyake was born on 22 April 1938 in Hiroshima, Japan. On August 6, 1945, just at the age of seven, he witnessed and survived the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb. He joined Tama Art University in Tokyo to study graphic design and graduated in 1964 and after his graduation; he worked in Paris and New York City and later returned to Tokyo in 1970 where he established the Miyake Design Studio. The Design studio was a high-end producer of women’s fashion (Collin and Jasbir). In the late 1980s, he did experiments with new methods of pleating that allowed both flexibility of movement for the wearer in addition to ease of care and production. He designed the black turtleneck, which later become Steve Job’s signature attire. He worked closely with a team of textile designers and engineers, the most prominent being Makiko Minagawa and Dai Fujiriwa. They put their expertise and together they developed fabric and fashion in unison (Gale and Kaur).

Nuno Corporation – Reiko SudoOver the past two decades, the towering figure in Japanese textiles has been Jun’ichi Arai and the Nuno Corporation. Having grown up in Kiryui, a small town north of Tokyo, he established himself as an individual designer. In 1984, he co-founded the Nuno Corporation with Reiko (Lesley). Nuno means “functioning fabric.” Having begun as a specialist textile shop in Tokyo, it is now famous as a world leader in the design of experimental contemporary fashion and interior textiles. According to Lesley, Nuno has tapped into both high and low-tech solutions using synthetic and natural fibres. In terms of both technology and aesthetics, Nuno has pushed forward the boundaries of textile design. For Arai, textiles are a vehicle for tactile and sensory stimulation and the designs he produced at Nuno exploited the textural and sculptural potential of textiles to the full. Jun’ichi now works independently but Nuno’s spirited approach to textile is continuing to the present day under the inspired leadership of Reiko Sudo (Lesley). Nuno is considered paradise of textile design as they make beautiful fabrics and incredibly interesting materials and weaves. (Lesley). According to Helen Brown, Nuno Corporation has taken a unique approach to innovation in that it does not conform to a linear model where three stages, research, development, and commercialization happen in a predictable sequence (Helen). Nuno Corporation according to Helen makes a sustained effort to pursue creative and artistic challenges. Their beautiful new textiles have an international influence on perceptions of scope of textile design (Helen). From Nuno Corporation, we learn that when artists can make significant impact on innovation when they work with industry.

Liza Bruce

Bruce was born in 1954 in New York City. At the age of 27, She started her own company in New York after attracting attention with the stylish swimwear she designed for herself and her friends. She later expanded her range to include daywear life jackets and tunics. She makes easy-to-wear, easy-to-pack clothes, which cling to the body. In the eighties, she was instrumental in the development of new Lycra based fabrics, which she used to evolve her signature-streamlined silhouette (Miner and Christine). In 1982, she designed high end-bathing suits, in 1988, she began designing ready-to-wear and in 1989, she launched outerwear designs. According to Minderovi, she worked exclusively with tubular fabrics for several seasons and her preoccupation with streamlining led to her invention of leggings’ and the evolution from her swimwear collection of ‘the body’ as the basis of the emancipated wardrobe of the eighties (Miner and Christine). She was undoubtedly the undisputed queen of the Black cat suit, and the swimsuits she designed for the Robert Mapplethorpe (Miner and Christine).

Sarah TaylorAccording to Gale and Kaur, Sarah Taylor has become somewhat of a pioneer in the field of weaving. Her research specializes on developing light-emitting fabrics using optic fabric. Fiber optic has been used in protective clothing for military use but Taylor has been investigating their possible applications within interiors, perhaps as multifunctional mood-enhancing design pieces. She was in 2002, nominated for the Jarwood Applied Arts Prize and in 2006; she received a Scottish Arts Council Creative Award (Hotcourses). Through controlling the colors of the light released from the fibers, Taylor proposes that it would be possible to agitate or calm the environment (Gale and Kaur).

Schoeller Textile AGSchoeller specializes in the advancement and manufacture of innovative and smart textile technologies for active sports, work wear, lifestyle, and fashion together with office furniture (Rasmussen). Schoeller dates back to 1867 and operates the most modern plant in accordance with blue signs which is the world’s most strict environmental standard. In cooperation with Universities and research institutes Schoeller develops customer specific and branch specific solutions. Schoeller only uses high quality and ecologically safe materials that are produced in Switzerland. Schoeller meets the highest standards. Among their innovation is a new finishing technology for garment fabrics that harness heat reflecting properties of certain minerals to keep the wearer warm. It has also developed new finishing technology for garment fabrics to protect wearers from ticks and mosquitoes (Down).

Norma StarszakownaNorma was born in 1945 in Crosshill Fife Scotland. In 1966, she gained a diploma in Art and Design at Duncan of Jordanstone. She was the head of textiles and chair of Design at the Dundee University. 1999-2002, she was director of research development at the University of Arts London and chair of the UK research Assessment Panel for Art and Design. In collaboration with Issey Miyake, she created a uni-colored fabric for Winchester Cathedral. She uses color to convey her feelings about Scotland history and achievements (Gale and Kaur).

Jacob SchlaepferHe is mostly referred as the best European embroidery. His fabrics have contributed to helping develop luxurious textiles as well as very playful styles. Jacob ensures balance between innovations, fashion and any bother requirements of his client. His creative designers are also said to have succeeded in combining all that implies to technology in handcraft making (Rasmussen).

The future of fibre and fabricsAccording to Operath, the future of Textile Industry is difficult to foresee in regards to how much and what kind of textile is produced, which country and which firm will produce textile and which structural characteristics it will have. In regards to people’s taste, and ever improving quality in textile and fashion in the outside world, fashions in this field have undergone different variations. Designers and consumers at large have a wide range to choose from due to the quick and timely variations in the sector. Due to this, the future of fashion or the latest fashion does not last for long in nowadays (Operath).

It is anticipated that the appearance of the textile design portfolio will evolve as the practices of world textile design is evolving. In relation to a May 2008 report on the state of the U.S. specialty fabrics marketplace by Specialty Fabrics Review, the global textile industry has undergone tremendous change through the last 10 years and more change is anticipated to take place in the industry in the coming years (Rasmussen). The Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) does regular research to keep members informed about industry economic trends and on the outlook for different industry segments that use “specialty fabrics,” the term given to textile products manufactured mainly for their performance and functional properties, rather than for decorative purposes (Wright and Bruce). Specialty fabrics are classified into many fields, such as automotive applications, medical textiles, geotextiles, architectural textiles, agrotextiles, and protective clothing and gear. Consistent with Rasmussen, through technological upgrades, textiles firms around the world are under are under ever-increasing pressure to be more efficient. Textile production is not any more a low technology, labor-intensive enterprise. (Rasmussen). Generally, we cannot foresee the future of fibre and fabrics. Nonetheless, from what we already know of the past of textiles, we observe that textile innovation will have roles in soft engineering, in reinforcement and in protection, some of the most basic ways we intervene in our material environment (Collin and Jasbir).

Designers primary concern AestheticsAesthetics is a field of philosophy that brings together Aristotle and Plato. Its main goals are establishing guideline rules for beauty as well as taste when it comes to fine arts (George and Milner). According to aestheticians, the main purpose of visual arts is creating beauty in any object (Gale and Kaur). The applied arts mainly refer to the design of furniture, clothing, household products, and appliances among many others.

The dress used to appear loose as compared to figure hugging fashion garments of that time. In the past artistic clothes and especially dresses were mainly embellished with daffodils, large sunflowers and peasant decoration (Jenkins). Its colors appeared earthy and were natural. Also natural softer vegetable dyes used to produce some half tints of amber gold and salmon although most of aesthetics liked the colours to look strange as well as old faded.

How the innovations of fabrics bring the world of art, design, engineering and science ever closer? The innovation of world’s fabrics has been arising in many different countries and at a very high level. Many countries are adopting this innovation because it has come up with new developments of art, design, manufacturing and science. As agreed by most writers, innovation is the key to growth and expansion. Nonetheless, some practices of innovative business are inspired in their creativity. According to Foreman founder of Enventys, innovation is widely used though not well understood. Innovation is changing the mindset of various companies from internal brainstorming to utilization of a host of ideas (Foreman). Innovations do mostly come from strategic partnerships using technology from a variety of sources (Gale and Kaur). In properties and performance of textile, one is acquired with knowledge and understanding of textile technologies and innovations of other applications (Stecker and Pamela). This is quite important because it helps to evaluate the effects of innovation on the performance of fabric and the likely effects on the society, consumer and the environment. According to Gale & Kaur, innovation of fabrics is one of the areas seen to bring close the fields of art, design, manufacturing and science (Gale and Kaur).

In the recent years, a technology has come up with science of extruding extremely fine filaments of microfibers while ensuring that maintenance of uniformity and strength of such processing characters is kept safe for consumers and manufacturers of textile. These microfibers are finer compared to luxury natural fibers such as silk. These have led to some people in the textile industry to refer microfibers as supernatural. Animals and plants produce supernatural fibers but processes of geology can also produce them. Their classification is according to their origin; vegetable fibers are based of cellulose, mineral fibers are in the group of asbestos, wood fibers are from tree sources and animal fibers consist of particular proteins such as wool, silk, catgut, sinew etc.

Microfibers As defined by Caijun Shi, microfibers are synthetic fibers that made up of a blend of polyester and polyamide or nylon. They are also defined as fibres that are less than one denier thick (Down). According to Down, Microfibers have the ability to produce specific qualities when specifically engineered. Through special engineering, microfibers become crease resistant, light in weight, strong, soft and sheer to handle with excellent draping qualities (Down). Some people do confuse microfiber and cotton clothes because of the similar thickness and feel but there is difference between the two. Microfiber strands are very small such that it is difficult to see them with bare human eyes (Caijun Shi). In the last century, microfiber technology has proved to be the most important product innovation to the cleaning industry. Microfibers play a big role in bringing together the aspects of art, design, manufacturing and science. In keeping with Gale & Kaur, Microfiber is one of the most important developments on the technology to extrude fine filaments at the same time maintaining uniformity and processing of characteristics expected by those in the business of textile (Gale and Kaur). Originally, microfibers were developed for sportswear that had to perform well in all weather conditions but gradually fashion and textile designers saw the huge potential for their development. Microfibers are today used to produce sportswear and other high performance garments, fashion garments, Lingerie, leisurewear, interior or furnishing products, and technical textile such as smart clothes. Smart clothes have incorporated advanced sensors and microprocessors which act as an aid for partially sighted people (Down).

Microfibers on the market According to Thomas J.A. Jones, the market for microfiber products has proved to be lucrative although some challenges are arising up due to commercial settings. Most designers do not like to use a particular fabric without first knowing the price. This business is also full of textile brokers who sell the leftovers of fabrics from garment manufacturers, fashion designers etc (Jones). Most microfiber distributers agree that the growth of the microfiber products in retail market will lead to growth in commercial products also. Microfiber market is very high because its products for example; cleaning products clean so well due to use of chemical cleaning agents. Distributors have mainly adopted the market of microfiber products. The science and engineering of fabrics is quite simple to the fashion designers. Most of the fashion designers prefer the idea of materials technology. In most cases, innovation work is left to the mills who determine which innovations are supposed to be available to the consumer (Gale and Kaur). There has been a competitive gain between textile chemical and fiber suppliers who are enthusiastically pursuing developments in the textile industry in order to maintain this competitive market. The development of new products in this industry is very essential because it helps to maintain the competitiveness of both fiber and fabric brands. This process involves analyzing the target customer or maybe market and conducting a



FCAT Analysis Project – Reading

Student Name:

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Instructor:

December 1st, 2013.

FCAT Reading Analysis Project

Introduction

On 24th May, 2012 FLDOE (the Florida Department of Education) published District and State data summary from 2012 spring of the FeAT 2.0 (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test) for Grade 3 students. These results were published in advance of the rest of other grade levels to allow for promotion decisions. In 2011, FLDOE transitioned to FCAT 2.0 from FCAT in Reading to conform to the new standards of academic standards. In that respect, therefore, this criterion test evaluates the mastery ability of students of the content of grade-level, as outlined in the NGSSS. The FCAT Reading tests were for the first time administered in 2011 spring. In that initial FCAT 2.0 administration tests, the results of students were represented by FCAT equivalent scale. Nevertheless, in 2012 FeAT 2.0 students’ results for FCAT 2.0 Reading are represented in a new developmental scale scores that ranges between 140 and 302. Moreover, Achievement Levels derived from these novel scale scores have been obtained.

The newly developed FCAT 2.0 Achievement Scores maintain similar values as indicated for the FeAT Levels 1 to 5, but they cannot be compared directly, Level 3 stands as the satisfactory performance indicator. Grade 3 students have to attain FeAT 2.0 Level 2 Achievement or greater in Reading to be allowed for Grade 4 promotion.

To facilitate cross time comparisons, the FLDOE did retrofit the scores in 2011 to the new reporting scale of FeAT 2.0. The tables below comprise data based on both FCAT Equivalent SSS scores that were deduced from 2011, and the new FeAT 2.0 retrofitted scores, where applicable. It is important to highlight that these summary data are obtained from all the students evaluated, comprising the ELL (English Language Learners) as well as Students with Disabilities. They also comprise even students who enrolled for the first time in Grade 3 and or previously retained Grade 3 students.

Table 1

FACT 2.0 (2011 & 2012) Reading Level Data for State, District ad School

Grade Year Developmental Scale Score (Mean) School-District School-State State District School 2012 48% 71% 69% -2% 21% 2011 45% 75% 70% -7% 25% Table 2: Percentage of Students Scoring in FCAT Reading in Levels 1 & 2Table 2

Reading in 2012

StudentGroup Total Students White Black Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander AmericanIndian Female Male StandardCurriculum ELL Free or ReducedLunch Total ESEother thanGifted

Grade 3

__ 27 40 25 16 13 24 25 28 31 28 19 41

Check if a concern x Table 3: FCAT Reading 2012 level data for State, District and School

SCHOOL, DISTRICT, STATE COMPARISON OF MEAN POINTS EARNED ON SUBTESTS

CLUSTERS WORDS/PHRASES MAIN IDEA/PURPOSE COMPARISONS REFERENCE/RESEARCH GRADE ENTITY POSSIBLEPOINTS 12 POSSIBLEPOINTS 14 POSSIBLEPOINTS 13 POSSIBLEPOINTS 12 MPE % MPE % MPE % MPE % 3 SCHOOL 8/12 67 7/14 50 8/13 61 7/12 58 DISTRICT 8/12 67 8/14 57 9/13 69 8/12 67 STATE 7/12 58 7/14 50 7/13 54 7/12 58 Analysis

As one of the numerous transformations to the Florida school accountability and State’s assessment system, the FLDOE changed to FCAT 2.0 from FCAT IN 2011 to be in line with novel academic content detailed in the NGSSS. Expected performance levels based on these new assessments are specifically a challenge in Miami-Dade County, based on the disproportionate proportion of ELL served in our schooling system: about 70,000 learners across the district or almost thrice the percentage served by other bid districts within the State.

In general, the performance of the third grade students in the district in 2012 remained stable, looking at the retrofitted 2011 FCAT 2.0 score.

In FCAT 2.0 Reading 67% of the Grade 3 District students obtained level 3 and above and this is one percentage higher on newly developed retrofitted scale. In spite of the disproportionate number of ELL learners served within our systems, Miami-Date County Public School did well than the State in Reading. 69% of Grade 3 District students demonstrated proficiency in reading (levels 2-5) meeting Grade 4 promotion requirement.

In comparing the FCAT 2011 original scale results with the 2012 FCAT2.0 results, the number of students scoring at levels 3-5 declined in both students statewide and District’s students. Nonetheless, the statewide decline in Reading was greater compared to the District. Even though the M-DCPS students demonstrated stable performance on the newly established FCAT 2.0 scale, it reflects a 14 points drop in Reading based on the scoring percent 3 and above of the old FCAT SSS 2011 scale.

Possible Causes of differences in the FCAT 2.0

In the process of identifying the possible causes of differences in FCAT 2.0 Reading, students who were successful were able to draw connections and make correct conclusions. They were also able to establish the major idea of a text as well as interpret exact information for instance identify the purpose of the author and understand quotation content and identify relevant ideas to back their conclusions. On the other hand, the group that was unsuccessful might have been due to having problem to:

Establishing an overall understanding what the text means

Concentrating on textual information as opposed to focusing on prior knowledge

Relying on the features of the text to understand to text

Carefully and Comprehensively reading the whole text

Understanding and finding the causal relationship

Something other than instruction could be teacher pay. This analysis shows that a correlation between student performance and teacher salary exist as better pay by district school improved job performance.

Potential Solutions

The possible suggestions to bridging the causing the differences in FCAR Reading scores would be to teach the entire scope of the entire benchmark due to the fact the various aspects of benchmarks can be evaluated from one year to the other. Instructions should be developed carefully to enable learners move from basic comprehension and decoding to critical reading and high-level cognitive skills and this can be done through adopting a broad range of reading assessments to evaluate the progress of students and to guide instruction.

There should also be monitoring and emphasizes concerning comprehensive school-based reading programs in all content areas, to promote acquisition of vocabulary through systematically offering intentional world-learning programs and assist learners establish appropriate strategies for determining the information relevance presented in various texts.

Differences in FCAR Reading scores can also be reduced through developing pre-reading by way of post-reading programs and make sure that the learner is proficient in the application of such programs for informational and literary text, and since learners could have less expository (informational) text experience, offer additional explicit practice and instruction strategies developed to improve comprehension of such text.

Concerning teacher salary, the government should deploy more difficult hiring and screening process, and this will essentially get rid of teachers who are sub-par and improve the proportion of high quality teaching staff. Ultimately, this could result to better performance without deploying financial incentive for better test scores.

Reference

1 Dec. 2013 <http://app1.fldoe.org/FCATDemographics/Definitions.aspx>

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Fashion Merchandising

Introduction

The importance of expansion of a business’ operations cannot be gainsaid as far as safeguarding the profitability of the business is concerned. This is especially having in mind that the main aim of businesses is to increase their sales volume and, consequently, their profits. In essence, it is always imperative that the business carries out a comprehensive research on the locations where it intends to expand so as to determine the viability of the venture. This relates to the potential demand in the intended location and, consequently, the potential for success in the new location. This paper aims at comparing the various aspects pertaining to Arizona City and California City with regard to the expansion of Classy Seedling. Classy Seedling aims at offering flattering, beautiful, and affordable garments for expectant mothers. The business deals in classic, casual styles that would be appropriate for numerous settings. It has recognized the fact that most expectant women are saving their money for the time when the baby comes. In essence, they offer clothing at retail prices ranging from $45 to $75, in quality and easy-to-care-for fabrics. This paper will compare the social, economic, as well as housing characteristics, and the demographic estimates of the Arizona City and California City.

Arizona social characteristics

Social characteristics of a certain location entail the characteristics of individuals living in that society. In Arizona City, White people make up 73% while the Blacks make up 4.1% of the total population. Alaska native persons and American Indians take up 4.6% of the population, while Asian persons take up 2.8% of the total population. Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders form the smallest percentage of the population, which is 0.2% ( HYPERLINK “http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/04000.html” http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/04000.html). The distribution of the races in Arizona means that the business has numerous degrees of freedom as to the clothes that it introduces, which gives it high chances of succeeding in the city.

California social characteristics

The proportion of the white people in California is less than in Arizona. The whites make up 57.6%, black persons, 6.2% and Asian persons 13%, while American Indians and Alaska native persons make up 1.0% of the population. As in the case of Arizona City, native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders make up the smallest group in California at 0.4%. Individuals who have more than one race in California City make up 4.9% of the entire population ( HYPERLINK “http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06000.html” http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06000.html). The multiplicity of races in California City means that the business has chances of succeeding in the city as the idiosyncrasies of one race would not affect the profitability of the business (Rubinfeld and Hemingway, 47). However, the dominance of whites means that they hold the key to the profitability of the business.

Economic characteristics of Arizona City

As at 2007, Arizona City boasted of a total of 491,529 firms, 2.0% of which are owned by blacks while Asians owned 3.3% of them. Hispanics-owned firms amounted to about 10.7% while Alaska natives and American Indians owned about 1.9% of the firms. It is worth noting that 28.1% of the firms in Arizona City are owned by women, which essentially speaks of a considerably high level of women empowerment as far as finances are concerned. It is noteworthy that the households in the city had a median income of $50,448, with only 15.3% of the people living below poverty level ( HYPERLINK “http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/04000.html” http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/04000.html). The high percentage of women who own businesses coupled with the low poverty rate show the possibility of high purchasing power, which may signal at high potential for profitability (Rubinfeld and Hemingway, 39).

California economic characteristics

As at 2007, California City boasted of a total of 3,425,510 firms. Spaniards owned a large chunk of these firms at 16.5% followed by Asians who owned 14.9% of the firms. On the other hand, blacks owned about 4.0% of the firms, while Alaska natives and American Indians owned 1.3 percent of the firms. 0.3% of the firms in California City were owned by native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders. It is noteworthy that women owned almost a third of the firms in California at 30.3 percent as at 2007. California households have a median income of $60,883, and a poverty level of 13.7%, which is lower than that of Arizona ( HYPERLINK “http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06000.html” http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06000.html). This makes California to be quite viable for investment since the low poverty rates underline the possibility of high purchasing power (Rubinfeld and Hemingway, 78).

Housing characteristics in Arizona City

Housing comes as a crucial determinant of the viability of a location for business, thanks to the fact that it signals at the economic capabilities of the people of that area. In Arizona, 79.8% of the people were found to have been living in the same for one year and over in the period between 2006 and 2010. As at 2010, Arizona City had a total of 2,844,526 housing units. It is worth noting that, for the period between 2006 and 2010, the house ownership rate in the city was 67.4%, which speaks of financial capability and stability of investment. Out of these housing units, 20.7% of them were in multiunit structures. Notably, the owner-occupied housing units had a median value of $215,000 ( HYPERLINK “http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/04000.html” http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/04000.html). Within the same period, the city had a total of 2,326,468 households, with an average of 2.63 persons per household. The high level of home ownership means that people have high chances of remaining in the city, meaning that the market is relatively guaranteed. This cements the viability of the area for expansion (Rubinfeld and Hemingway, 66).

California housing facts

For the period between 2006 and 2010, 84% of the population lived in the same house for one year or more. The city had a total of 13,680,082 housing units as at 2010, with 57.4% of the population owning the housing units. These units housed a total number of 12,392,852 households between 2006 and 2010, with every household being composed of 2.89 persons on average. Within the same period, 30.7% of the housing units were in multiunit structures. The median value of the owner-occupied housing units in California City was almost twice that of Arizona at $458,500 ( HYPERLINK “http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06000.html” http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06000.html). High population coupled with the high home ownership underlines the economic power of the people in the area, which shows that the area is viable for expansion (Rubinfeld and Hemingway, 45).

Arizona demographic estimates

Demographics refer to the characteristics of the populations of a place. It includes characteristics such as density, size, growth and distribution. Arizona City had an estimated population of 6,482,505 as at 2011, which was an increase from the 2010 population estimates of 6,392,017. The population had increased at a rate of 24.6% from 2000 to 2010. Female persons take up 50.3% of the population ( HYPERLINK “http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/04000.html” http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/04000.html). The population between 18 years and 65 years of age takes up 60.7% of the population, which means that most of the people are within the fertile bracket. The percentage increase in population means that there is quite a high migration or birth rate in the city, which makes the city viable for the maternity clothes that Classy Seedlings offers.

California City ACS demographics

California had an estimated population of 37,691,912 as at 2011, which was an increase from the estimated 37,253,956 in 2010. The population has grown by 10% from 2000 to 2010 with people between the 18 and 65 years of age taking up 63.6% of the population. The proportion of females in this city is 50.3% of the total population ( HYPERLINK “http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06000.html” http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06000.html). These demographics show that California has high potential for sustaining businesses, thanks to the high population especially between the fertile stages of life (Rubinfeld and Hemingway, 34).

In conclusion, the paper aimed at examining the prospects that Arizona City and California City hold for Classy Seedling’s profitability. It has shown that both cities are mostly composed of whites with most businesses owned by Hispanics. As per housing, most of the population in both cities lived in the same house for a year, in the period between 2006 and 2010. This shows that there is relative stability in the cities, which makes them viable for investment. However, it is worth noting that California had a higher median income than Arizona, which means that the people in California may have a higher capability than those in Arizona. In addition, the poverty levels in California are lower than in Arizona, which enhances its viability for investment.

Works cited

United States Census Bureau. California. 2012, Web retrieved 19th June 2012 from HYPERLINK “http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06000.html” http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06000.html

United States Census Bureau. Arizona. 2012, Web retrieved 19th June 2012 from HYPERLINK “http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/04000.html” http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/04000.html

Rubinfeld, Arthur and Hemingway, Collins. Built For Growth: Expanding Your Business Around The Corner Or Across The Globe. New York: Wharton School Pub. 2005. Print