Dispersed alarm systems – a review

The increase in the number of retired, elderly and very old in society has begun to pose the problem of how to provide access to care services for those in households which are not purpose built, specially adapted and serviced accommodation. Liberalization of telecommunications in the U.K. allied to technical advances have allowed ‘dispersed alarm systems’ to be developed and thus provide a means of communication between isolated elderly people in distress and a central emergency service. The selection of an appropriate system and its management are discussed in this paper.     

Evaluation of industrial policy — The case of the Swedish textile and clothing industry

This paper evaluates the Swedish industrial policy for the textile and clothing industry and attempts to provide an interview-based method for assessing the effects of state intervention. The Swedish industrial policy, in the period 1970–1990, was general and defensive in character. In the majority of firms interviewed, government policy had either no effect at all on firm behaviour or where effects were found there were no underlying market imperfections. Only in a minority of firms was it found that the policy alleviated market imperfections and changed firms' investment behaviour in a way which was judged to be beneficial for the firms' competitiveness. Therefore, the Swedish industrial policy for the textile and clothing industry was associated with very substantial inefficiencies in the use of sizeable resources.     

ATC生效后的中国纺织服装业面临的挑战与应对策略

全球纺织品服装配额已取消，我国纺织产业更被各界普遍认为是首当其冲的受益行业。但近期的种种迹象表明，在后配额时代，我国纺织服装业前景并非坦途一片，各种挑战依然存在，我们必须采取措施，积极应对。     

Assessment of the clothing and textile component in fashion merchandising programmes

Abstract The purpose of the study was to examine the importance of the educational criteria to graduates of fashion merchandising programmes. A 74-item questionnaire based on the core curricular competencies identified by the International Textiles and Apparel Association (ITAA) and course objectives of two fashion merchandising programmes was developed. The questionnaires were mailed to 296 alumni of two universities. The response rate was 37%. Twenty-four (32%) of the criteria were rated as most important or very important. Of these, 42% were based on the ITAA core competencies and 58% on course objectives. An additional analysis was conducted to determine whether managers rated the criteria differently from merchandisers. t-Tests determined that there was a significant difference in only 10 of the criteria. The results of this study provided a means to assess two fashion merchandising programmes. It also provided an initial validation of the ITAA core competencies from a fashion merchandising perspective and a preliminary examination of the educational criteria for a fashion merchandising core.     

Late globalization and evolution,episodes and epochs of industries: Evidence from Danish textile and fashion industry, 1945–2015

This paper explores the conceptual terrain of what we term late globalization. The late globalization phenomena are multilevel and multidimensional; this paper offers an initial portal into these phenomena. Understanding late globalization would provide academic insights and help in shaping practices at international, national, sectoral, and corporate levels. The paper follows a macro‐conceptual to a micro‐empirical path to provide illustrative empirical evidence. Studying the emergence and evolution of Danish Textile and Fashion Industry (DTFI) between 1945 and 2015—a quintessential sector for globalization—allows the examination of several interrelated issues: critical events, impediments, pressures, and turning points that shaped DTFI; main institutional players that motivated key policy changes in and evolution of DTFI; and effects of late globalization on size, mission, location, knowledge, growth, and structure of DTFI. This longitudinal case study of the development of the DTFI brings to the fore key features that shape late globalization at the sectoral‐national level: government industrial policies toward domestic and foreign players in an industry, global competition that shapes and continually reshapes (cost as well as quality‐driven) location of key value chain activities (and the concomitant global distribution of core competencies and skills), and the growing role of information technologies that enable globally‐dispersed value chains to function in cohesive and unified ways. Late globalization has additional levels and dimensions; and we point to implications for future research.     

Technology in the textile and clothing industries: implications for developing countries

Textile and clothing production has changed from a craft-oriented skill to a mechanical means of mass-production in the developed world since the Industrial Revolution, but has remained as an artisan-based industry in the Third World. With the availability of modern techniques to developing nations, however, there is a risk that industrialization may eliminate this craft aspect. The end result of its appearance may well be a major loss, both of unique characteristics and of products prized for their originality by connoisseurs of fine textiles.     

The ‘Real’ Impact of GATT/WTO – a Generalised Approach

Rose’s result in 2004 that GATT/WTO has no significant impact on bilateral trade triggered off a series of empirical studies. Each of those studies augments Rose’s paper in one specific methodological aspect with the general finding that GATT/WTO significantly fosters members’ trade, although the estimated impact varies between 2 per cent and 195 per cent of trade creation. We combine the methodological contributions of previous studies to overcome these isolated approaches, to account for possible interactions and to develop a more general view on the impact of GATT/WTO. In particular, we find that GATT/WTO promotes members’ trade by around 86 per cent.     

Dietary guidelines – a self-assessment

Abstract: Men and women were asked to rate food choices by the dietary guideline messages and by nutrient analysis as a pilot to study a contemporary audience who were not main food preparers.     

中欧纺织服装国际竞争力的测度与对比分析

作为纺织服装生产和出口的主要经济体,欧盟在国际纺织服装市场上是中国厂商较强的竞争对手之一。虽然中国在纺织服装生产上具有较强的比较优势,但欧盟在纺织服装产品的现实竞争力上却具有明显的优势,因而很难确定中欧纺织服装产业的真正实力。为此,有必要进一步测度中欧纺织服装的潜在国际竞争力,以找出其长远的趋势,为中国纺织服装行业在国际市场竞争中提供一定的借鉴。     

Healthy eating in the school environment – a holistic approach*

The curriculum that pupils are taught within the classroom environment can either be reinforced or weakened by what goes on in the rest of the school environment. The study focused on pupils aged 11–12 years, to establish if healthy eating theory was put into practice in the school environment. The research encompassed three areas within the school: the pupils who are the recipients of the theory; the teacher who teaches them the importance of food and cooking skills; and the providers of food within the school environment. Three different post‐primary schools located within the Coleraine area of Northern Ireland were used.