Synthesis and characterization of Fe(III)-doped ceramic membranes of titanium dioxide and its application in photoelectrocatalysis of a textile dye

Pure and Fe(III)-doped TiO2 suspensions were prepared by the sol gel method with the use of titanium isopropoxide (Ti(OPri)4) as precursor material. The properties of doped materials were compared to TiO2 properties based on the characterization by thermal analysis (TG-DTA and DSC), X-ray powder diffractometry and spectroscopy measurements (FTIR). Both undoped and doped TiO2 suspensions were used to coat metallic substrate as a mean to make thin-film electrodes. Thermal treatment of the precursors at 400ºC for 2 h in air resulted in the formation of nanocrystalline anatase TiO2. The thin-film electrodes were tested with respect to their photocatalytic performance for degradation of a textile dye in aqueous solution. The plain TiO2 remains as the best catalyst at the conditions used in this report.

Imagining a New Society: Public Painting as Politics in Postwar Finland

The thesis is the first comprehensive study on Finnish public painting, public artworks generally referred to as murals or monumental paintings. It focuses on the processes of production of public paintings during the post-WWII decades in Finland and the complex relationships between the political sphere and the production of art. The research studies the networks of agents involved in the production of public paintings. Besides the human agents—artists, assistants, commissioners and viewers—also public paintings were and are agents in the processes of production and in their environments. The research questions can be grouped into three overlapping series of questions: First, the research investigates the production public paintings: What kinds of public paintings were realised in postwar Finland—how, where, by whom and for what purposes? Second, it discusses the publicness of these paintings: How were public paintings defined, and what aspects characterised them as “public”? What was their relation to public space, public authorities, and audience? And third, it explores the politics of public paintings: the relationship between Finnish public painting, nationalism, and the memory of war. To answer these questions, extensive archival work has been performed, and over 200 public paintings have been documented around Finland. The research material has been studied in a sociological framework and in the context of the political and economic history of Finland, employing critical theories on public space and public art as well as theories on the building of nationalism, commemoration, memory, and forgetting. An important aim of this research was to open up a new field of study and position public painting within Finnish art history, from which it has been conspicuous by its absence. The research indicates that public painting was a significant genre of art in postwar Finland. The process of creating a national genre of public painting participated in the defining of municipal and state art politics in the country, and paintings functioned as vehicles of carrying out the agenda of the commissioning bodies. In the formation of municipal art policies in Finland in the 1950s, public painting connected to the same tendency of democratising art as the founding of public art museums. Public painting commissions also functioned as an arena of competition and a means of support for the artists. Public paintings were judged and commissioned within the realm of political decision-making, and they suggested the values of the decision-making groups, generally conveyed as the values of the society. The participation of official agents in the production allocated a position of official art to the genre. Through the material of this research, postwar public painting is seen as an agent in a society searching for a new identity. The postwar public painting production participated in the creation of the Finnish welfare society as indications of a humane society. It continued a tradition of public art production that had been built on nationalist and art educational ideologies in the late 19th and early 20th century. Postwar public paintings promoted the new national narrative of unification by creating an image of a homogeneous society with a harmonious communal life. The paintings laid out an image of Finnishness that was modern but rooted in the agrarian past, of a society that was based on hard work and provided for its members a good life. Postwar public painting was art with a mission, and it created an image of a society with a mission.

Finnish buyers’ perceptions of Indian textile and clothing suppliers: Country of origin in focus

Choosing the right supplier is crucial for long-term business prospects and profitability. Thus organizational buyers are naturally very interested in how they can select the right supplier for their needs. Likewise, suppliers are interested in knowing how their customers make purchasing decisions in order to effectively sell and market to them. From the point of view of the textile and clothing (T&C) industry, regulatory changes and increasing low-cost and globalization pressures have led to the rise of low-cost production locations India and China as the world’s largest T&C producers. This thesis will examine T&C trade between Finland and India specifically in the context of non-industrial T&C products. Its main research problem asks: what perceptions do Finnish T&C industry buyers hold of India and Indian suppliers? B2B buyers use various supplier selection models and criteria in making their purchase decisions. A significant amount of research has been done into supplier selection practices, and in the context of international trade, country of origin (COO) perceptions specifically have garnered much attention. This thesis uses a mixed methods approach (online questionnaire and in-depth interviews) to evaluate Finnish T&C buyers’ supplier selection criteria, COO perceptions of India and experiences of Indian suppliers. It was found that the most important supplier selection criteria used by Finnish T&C buyers are quality, reliability and cost. COO perceptions were not found to be influential in purchasing process. Indian T&C suppliers’ strengths were found to be low cost, flexibility and a history of traditional T&C expertise. Their weaknesses include product quality and unreliable delivery times. Overall, the main challenges that need to be overcome by Indian T&C companies are logistical difficulties and the cost vs. quality trade-off. Despite positive perceptions of India for cost, the overall value offered by Indian T&C products was perceived to be low due to poor quality. Unreliable delivery time experiences also affected buyer’s reliability perceptions of Indian suppliers. The main limiting factors of this thesis relate to the small sample size used in the research. This limits the generalizability of results and the ability to evaluate the reliability and validity of some of the research instruments.

Incorporating Sustainability in Global Sourcing Process, Industry Focus- Apparel / Textile

This is a Master’s thesis research, which mainly aims at identifying the sustainability issues in sourcing process and to identify the core competencies in sourcing process through triple bottom line adaptation. The focus of this thesis is on apparel industry’s sourcing process. The purpose of this thesis is to examine global apparel industry’s reality in their sourcing process and how buyers-suppliers are cooperating with their sourcing process to incorporate sustainability. Other goal of this research paper is to provide recommendation for sustainable sourcing process for companies and how the stakeholders can be benefitted by sustainable sourcing. The literature review part of this paper has presented the research gaps from the earlier researches along with the key concepts, academic purposes and key definitions. Theoretical framework chapter has focused on global sourcing strategies and firm’s competencies and sustainable strategies. From the theoretical framework, author has presented essential theory which establishes the link between research questions and proposed hypotheses. Main results and findings have been presented in empirical findings and in data analysis chapter. This study is an exploratory research followed by deductive method and primary data has been used to evaluate the current situation of apparel industry; which will assist to build the recommendation model. Primary data has been collected through online questionnaires and secondary data has used to cover the literature and theoretical parts. Therefore, the potential outcome of this paper will display the importance of sustainable sourcing from academic point of view and also from the business perspective. As a final point, this paper has followed the research objectives and has generated some new directions for further studies.

Perceptions of green branding and identity building amongst small Finnish textile producers

The textile industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world. The amount of air and water pollution it causes puts a burden on the environment. There are companies who have taken the environmental and social aspects into account in the their production and chosen to operate in a green manner. This thesis studies how the phenomenon of green branding is seen from the perspectives of small Finnish textile companies. The theory used in this thesis has to do with green branding and identity building. The theory is used to analyze the results of the empirical findings. The main research question that the thesis aims to answer is how green branding is perceived within the Finnish textile industry. In order to answer the main research question, empirical data was collected from five relevant companies within the Finnish textile industry. The companies interviewed for the study were WST, Saana ja Olli, RCM, R-collection and Tiensivu. The study was conducted as a multiple case based study where multiple experts from green companies were interviewed. The experts were all owners or employees of companies that have a so-called green brand identity. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews, where the relevant experts from each company were interviewed either by themselves, in pairs or in groups. The data that was collected for this study was primary data, and the results of the study are mainly based on the experiences and opinions of the experts interviewed. The data collected does not cover the entire green textile industry within Finland, but study does however give a fairly comprehensive view of the phenomenon, as the textile industry in Finland is quite concise. The general findings of the study show that all experts from the companies interviewed agreed that a green brand identity does benefit their company in one way or the other. The findings also show contradictions with the older theory (eg. Charter et al. 1999, Pickett et al. 1995), and perhaps give a more modern view of the thoughts within the industry.

Patterns in space : a regional study of motif in Minoan wall painting

This thesis consists of a quantitative analysis of the regional prevalence of certain artistic motifs as they appear in Minoan wall painting of the Neopalatial period. This will help to establish the relative degree of artistic autonomy exercised by each of the sites included in this study. The results show that the argument for itinerant artists during this time period is a strong one, but the assumption that these travelling artists were being controlled by any one palace-centre is erroneous. Rather, the similarities and differences seen suggest that the choices were predicated either by the specific patrons, or by the function of the associated building or room. Thus, the motifs found within this study should be understood as constituting a cultural identity, with greater or lesser degrees of regional homogeneity, which act as one facet of a number of cultural indicators that can be used to better understand the role of artists and regional dynamics on the island during the Bronze Age.

Painting signage on old Student Union, Chapman College, Orange, California

Painting signage on old Student Union, Chapman College, Orange, California, as part of a campus renewal project in 1973. Originally the manual arts building and bus repair garage for Orange Union High School. Building annex additions through 1975 increased the size to 19,680 sq. ft. Used as a student union by Chapman College. In 1996 the building became the Cecil B. DeMille Hall, housing the Film and TV department.

Watercolour painting, Trees

A watercolour painting of trees, 15cm x 10com, signed by Margaret Woodruff.

Letter to Mr. William Leary, steward of the Long Point Company, from S.D. Woodruff regarding the painting of the new building at Long Point

Letter to Mr. William Leary, steward of the Long Point Company, from S.D. Woodruff regarding the painting of the new building at Long Point (2 ½ pages, handwritten), June 11, 1875.

Receipt from George Begy for painting

Receipt from George Begy for painting.

Watercolour painting of the Woodruff coat of arms on paper

Watercolour painting of the Woodruff coat of arms on paper. This measures 43 cm. x 31 cm., n.d.

Le role de la grappe industrielle quebecoise de la mode et du textile sur l'impact du libre-echange Canada-Etats-Unis-Mexique.

Rapport de recherche

Codes de conduite et droit d'association : une étude exploratoire du secteur du textile

Avec la globalisation de l’économie, l’entreprise traditionnelle est devenue un réseau global de producteurs liés par des contrats. À la suite de certains abus commis par les entreprises multinationales, notamment en ce qui concerne les droits fondamentaux des travailleurs, les entreprises et la société civile ont développé des mécanismes de régulation privés dont les codes de conduite privés. La présente étude cherche à déterminer quels pouvaient être les véritables destinataires des codes de conduite : les travailleurs du pays d’origine de l’entreprise (généralement situés dans un pays développé) ou les travailleurs des pays de production (généralement situés dans des pays en développement). À cette fin, le mémoire compare le contenu des codes de conduite de Nike, de Gap et de Levi-Strauss sur ce sujet avec les observations de l’Organisation internationale du travail pour les travailleurs des États-Unis, de l’Inde et du Bangladesh. Certains écarts entre les protections accordées par les codes et les besoins des travailleurs sont ainsi identifiés. Dans la dernière partie du mémoire, la question d’étude est élargie afin d’examiner si les codes ne seraient pas destinés à des personnes autres que les travailleurs, soient les consommateurs, les actionnaires ou l’entreprise elle-même.