Papers by Keyword: Collaborative Tools

Abstract: This paper analyses the results obtained from an online learning experience, in which fashion professionals and students were invited to explore and use a set of technology-based tools to develop their projects. It was expected that these tools and resources would potentiate and create a contextualized online learning experience in fashion design, helping learners to think and learn with each other, to bring ideas to life while interacting with data and information that were made available to them. A set of tools and resources were researched, identified, and allocated with specific fashion-design tasks. Participants were then asked to resolve these tasks resorting to the tools and resources presented and exploring beyond them, experimenting with potential uses in fashion design projects. The aim was also to understand if learners would acknowledge their potential to create a learning community, through connectivity and shared goals, helping them to develop their projects and stimulating reflective-thinking and self-determined capabilities, needed in the fashion professional environment. The results demonstrated that although learners recognised the potentiality of these tools for their fashion design projects, by convenience or lack of technological skills, they resorted to traditional methods of developing and communicating their projects. The results also demonstrated that like any technology adopted for educational purposes in the past, technologies-based tools, collaborative and mobile technologies require a further discussion about their limitations and potentialities and further experimentation by the fashion design sector.

Abstract: Fashion, as a simultaneously cultural and global phenomenon, has become an attractive factor in many cities, particularly the large metropolises where it assumes a prominent role, as in Paris, London, Milan, or New York. In countries where fashion does not assume notoriety and global prestige, there is an emergence of fashion movements more associated with local cultural characteristics, which are used by fashion designers as sources of inspiration and differentiation.In major cities, world-renowned designers and brands take on recognized importance, and the attractiveness that fashion districts have on visitors is notorious. In smaller cities, however, generally associated with cultural and artistic heritage, fashion appears in some places as a specific offer, marked by originality and differentiation of historical roots or inspired by local culture. The interest in fashion, in general, leads the management of territories to associate the local dynamics of fashion creation with shopping tourism, creating specific itineraries and infrastructures, in an attempt to follow the example of the big cities and, thus, develop the fashion business by increasing the reasons of interest to visitors.The study aims to analyse the dynamics of development of the fashion business in medium-sized cities with strong tourist attractiveness, to design a territory management model that maximizes the notoriety of local fashion, and stimulates economic activities directly and indirectly related to fashion.

Abstract: This paper presents the results of empirical research conducted during March to September 2009. The study focused on the influence of virtual research and development (R&D) teams within Malaysian manufacturing small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The specific objective of the study is better understanding of the application of collaborative technologies in business, to find the effective factors to assist SMEs to remain competitive in the future. The paper stresses to find an answer for a question “Is there any relationship between company size, Internet connection facility and virtuality”. The survey data shows SMEs are now technologically capable of performing the virtual collaborative team, but the infrastructure usage is less. SMEs now have the necessary technology to begin the implementation process of collaboration tools to reduce research and development (R&D) time, costs and increase productivity. So, the manager of R&D should take the potentials of virtual teams into account.