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1 – 10 of 10Ana Júlia Pinto and Antoni Remesar
In the planning and design processes, the urban territories frequently face problems related to the lack of cohesion, not only regarding the morphological fragmentation but also…
Abstract
In the planning and design processes, the urban territories frequently face problems related to the lack of cohesion, not only regarding the morphological fragmentation but also fragilities of social and economic dynamics. The proposed concept of urban cohesion involves these two dimensions – the physical form of the city and the city's socio-economic and socio-cultural dynamics. In introducing this concept our aim is to focus on the idea that public spaces play a fundamental role in those processes, understanding that they are organised in a systematic way. This means that public space is structured in a cohesive system on different territorial scales within the city, forming a "network of networks". Intending to contribute to the strengthening of urban cohesion, the study proposes a method capable of assessing public space networks in terms of their cohesion, not only within the urban structure of the neighbourhood, but also their links to the surrounding networks. This method assumes that the city is formed by diverse territories due to several reasons. Firstly, due to their specific history and genesis, secondly, due to their morphologic characteristics, and thirdly, because of their socio-economic and socio-cultural features. This leads to the key principle that the city is the place of diversity par excellence, and that it is this diversity that gives the city its own character and distinguishes it from other territories. Two cases in the city of Barcelona are analysed. The neighbourhood of Barceloneta, a historic quarter outside the city walls that is now part of its consolidated urban fabric, and the Baró de Viver neighbourhood, an area that can still be considered peripheral to the city.
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Social movement research often focusses on phases of success and large protest events. By contrast, taking an interest in the question of how organizational change occurs within…
Abstract
Social movement research often focusses on phases of success and large protest events. By contrast, taking an interest in the question of how organizational change occurs within social movements, this study points out the importance of phases of low protest activity. The organizational structure of the Portuguese anti-austerity protests provides a thought-provoking case, as large protests organized by civil society actors other than the trade unions were a novelty in 2011. Furthermore, there are long periods of absence of large protests, and the organizational structure of the protests has undergone significant changes. Based on fieldwork in Portugal between September 2011 and March 2013, I differentiate between four phases in the organization of protests against austerity. I argue that it is mainly times of low degrees of activism – times that are rarely taken into account by social movement research – that lead to radical changes in the organizational structure of a social movement. The impact of the following factors on the direction of change is analyzed: (a) strategic choice; (b) values and normative commitments; (c) (potential) alliances and participants; (d) inspiration from other cases of social movement activism; and (e) learning processes, the history of social movements and the impact of memory.
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Andréa Fernanda De Santana Costa, Maria Alice Vasconcelos Rocha, Laura Maria Abdon Fenrnandes, Julia Atroch Queiroz, Ana Carolina Monteiro Gonçalves Agra, Julia Didier Pedrosa Amorim, Leonie Asfora Sarubbo and Leonie Asfora Sarubbo
This study aims to evaluate two bacterial cellulose (BC) films as an alternative textile surface suitable for use in the manufacture of clothing prototypes.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to evaluate two bacterial cellulose (BC) films as an alternative textile surface suitable for use in the manufacture of clothing prototypes.
Design/methodology/approach
A combination of experiments for the production and characterization of BC films with traditional techniques for sewing fabrics was carried out. BC films were produced from the bacterum Gluconacetobacter hansenii UCP1619 and from Kombucha, a consortium of microorganisms grown on sugared tea. The BC films were then purified, characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and evaluated for mechanical strength. Two clothing prototypes were developed by combining BC films with a flat fabric composed of 70% linen and 30% polyester to assess the viability of the garment for future clothing making using biomaterials.
Findings
The results showed that the combination of flat fabric with BC-based biomaterials is a viable alternative for the innovative use of BC films in the manufacture of apparel products, especially after optimizing the mechanical properties of the artefact.
Originality/value
BC application studies in the textile industry are still in their early stages, although they are attracting more and more the attention of researchers around the world. The experiments carried out in this research provide new information on the handling and application of this material in innovative products for the textile industry.
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José Marcelo Honório Ferreira Barros, Sálvio Lima de Carvalho Neto, Ana Julia Dal Forno, Rita de Cássia Siqueira Curto Valle and José Alexandre Borges Valle
The primary goal of domestic washing and drying processes is to deliver clean and dry clothes, but they often result in excessive wrinkling of fabrics. This study aims to evaluate…
Abstract
Purpose
The primary goal of domestic washing and drying processes is to deliver clean and dry clothes, but they often result in excessive wrinkling of fabrics. This study aims to evaluate the wrinkling of linen fabric using image processing techniques after these processes and to quantify various drying performance indicators.
Design/methodology/approach
An image processing software was developed to quantify the smoothness level of linen fabrics subjected to domestic washing and drying processes. Additionally, different washing parameters in a front-loading washer that affect fabric wrinkling were evaluated. Three drying cycles (easy-iron, normal and extra-dry) in a condensation dryer were also analyzed in terms of moisture and fabric wrinkling parameters.
Findings
The results demonstrated a close relationship between water extraction from the fabrics and wrinkle formation. The shortest drying cycle with milder temperatures produced wetter and less wrinkled fabrics at the end of the drying cycle. Conversely, the longer, higher-temperature programs completely removed the moisture from the linen fabrics but resulted in greater wrinkling.
Originality/value
The development of an image processing technique to quantify the wrinkling of linen fabric allowed for more objective evaluation of this parameter. Additionally, this study allowed for the correlation of various drying indicators with the wrinkling generated in the linen fabric.
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Jeferson Correia, Ana Júlia Dal Forno, Cintia Marangoni and José Alexandre Borges Valle
The purpose of this paper is to identify and diagnosis waste management practices used by clothing manufacturing companies in Santa Catarina state Brazil.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify and diagnosis waste management practices used by clothing manufacturing companies in Santa Catarina state Brazil.
Design/methodology/approach
The data for this multiple case study were obtained from interviews and by using a questionnaire to collect company data. After the analysis of the responses to questionnaires issued to 22 companies, a scoring system was developed to systematically classify these companies at either a basic, intermediate or advanced levels.
Findings
According to the classification used, eight companies were characterized at the basic level, eight at the intermediate level and six as advanced. Most of the companies have already implemented measures for reuse or recycling of textile scraps, probably because of the economic value added.
Research limitations/implications
The classification system proposed proved to be an effective tool for identifying: if each company had a plan of action involving requirements of Brazil’s National Solid Waste Policy; if the company had a management system in accordance with Law 12,305; the quality of solid waste treatment at the entire company and in its clothing sector; if the company adopted shared responsibility actions; and if it had knowledge of the negative environmental impacts.
Originality/value
This paper presents a classification system for companies based on a questionnaire. The system allows determining the degree of compliance with Brazilian waste management legislation.
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Ana Julia Grilló-Méndez, Mercedes Marzo-Navarro and Marta Pedraja-Iglesias
To identify the risks associated by consumers with renting clothes.
Abstract
Purpose
To identify the risks associated by consumers with renting clothes.
Design/methodology/approach
A descriptive research with a quantitative approach was carried out. First, the measurement models of the variables involved in the proposed model were validated. After verifying the existence of the variables, the resulting model was finally estimated through structural equation modelling.
Findings
The results obtained establish the six dimensions that make up the problems associated by consumers with the clothing rental business model. These problems encompass various types of risks: financial, physical, performance, psychosocial, inconsistency with values and lifestyle, as well as lack of trust in the service provider. The results obtained show that only inconsistency, financial risk and physical risk have a significant effect on attitude. These performance risks, together with the consumer's attitude towards renting, have a negative effect on the intention to rent.
Originality/value
Factors that have a negative effect on attitude have been studied less than the facilitators of attitude. This is the first study in Spain.
Practical implications
The results will help managers to understand the adoption behaviours of these models.
Social implications
This study helps understand the social innovation needed to change consumers' relationship to clothing.
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Diana Aksenova, Wenjie Cai and Maria Gebbels
This study aims to examine the multisensory experiences of participating in a cooking class and how they shape perceptions of destinations in the pre-trip stage. Performance…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the multisensory experiences of participating in a cooking class and how they shape perceptions of destinations in the pre-trip stage. Performance theory and prosumption provide a theoretical lens to investigate how a cooking class influences the pre-trip destination sensescape.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used participatory action research consisting of an immersive Tatarstan cooking class experience with the supporting materials of music and videos, focus group discussions and participant observations.
Findings
Cooking class participants prosume local culture and (re)construct the perceptions of Tatarstan by partaking in cooking classes through a multisensory experience. The pre-trip destination sensescape formation in the cooking class is dynamic, stimulating and memorable. With active engagement in co-creating in the process, such experience significantly strengthens and reshapes the perceptions of a destination.
Practical implications
Cooking classes can be leveraged in pre-trip marketing as a tool to enhance the competitiveness of tourism destinations and contribute to accessible tourism, such as engaging visually impaired tourists’ other heightened senses in experience design and marketing.
Originality/value
This study revealed that participation in cooking classes involves active, embodied and multisensory engagement, which acts as a vehicle of the destination perception change.
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Sarah Reibstein and Laura Hanson Schlachter
Worker cooperative practitioners and developers often claim that democratic worker ownership advances egalitarianism within and beyond the workplace, but most of the empirical…
Abstract
Purpose
Worker cooperative practitioners and developers often claim that democratic worker ownership advances egalitarianism within and beyond the workplace, but most of the empirical evidence in the USA is based on ethnographic case studies or small-scale surveys. This study aims to leverage the first national survey about individuals' experiences in these unique firms to test for the presence of inequalities by gender, race and immigration status in the broader sector.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses a 2017 survey comprising a sample of 1,147 workers from 82 firms. This study focuses on measures of workplace benefits that capture material and psychological ownership, wealth accumulation, wages, workplace autonomy and participation in governance. This study uses ordinary least squares regression models with fixed effects alongside pooled models to determine the effects of gender, race, immigration status and the intersection of gender and race on these outcomes, both within and between firms.
Findings
This study finds no evidence of wage gaps by gender, race or immigration status within worker cooperatives, with job type, tenure and worker ownership status instead explaining within-firm variation in pay. Still, this study documents sector-wide disparities in material and non-material outcomes by gender, race and immigration status, reflecting differences in individual-level human capital and job characteristics as well as widespread occupational segregation and homophily.
Originality/value
The paper offers a novel contribution to the literature on workplace empowerment and inequality in participatory firms by analyzing race, gender and immigration status in the most robust dataset that has been collected on worker cooperatives in the USA.
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