Business plan of Clothie: an innovative platform to shop for local fashion

The objective of this master project is to develop a business plan for an innovative fashion service. Over one-third of the global population own a smartphone. Statistics reveal that more than 90% of the time spent by smartphone users on their devices, is consumed within Apps. Nevertheless, millions of local stores around the world do not benefit from this opportunity. Clothie wants to unlock the market for those fashion retailers that are struggling to stay in business, by offering a tool capable of creating a potentially unlimited client base. Besides, its entertaining approach to the fashion world is expected to generate unprecedented value for the ones eager to find new apparel products. Shaping its strategy around the concept of ‘Lean Startup’, the team will develop the platform in light of the feedback received from the customers, creating authentic value while saving time and resources. Joining the fast-growing Portuguese economy will facilitate the customer development process, granting the opportunity to introduce Clothie to an increasing audience of tourists keen to shop locally. Thanks to its unique value curve, Clothie is able to stand out from the competition and create a ‘Blue Ocean’ - becoming the first ever 'location-based fashion shopping app' to be released on the market. The astonishing potentialities of the project are evidenced by the financial forecasts generated, which outline the scalability of the business and the exceptional value Clothie can provide to its shareholders.O objetivo deste projeto de mestrado é desenvolver um plano de negócios para um serviço inovador de moda. Mais de um terço da população mundial possui um smartphone. As estatísticas revelam que mais de 90% do tempo gasto pelos utilizadores de smartphones nos seus dispositivos é gasto nos aplicativos. No entanto, milhões de lojas locais em todo o mundo não beneficiam dessa oportunidade. A Clothie quer desbloquear o mercado para os retalhistas de moda que estão a lutar para permanecer no negócio, oferecendo uma ferramenta capaz de criar uma base de clientes potencialmente ilimitada. Além disso, estima-se que a sua abordagem de entretenimento para o mundo da moda crie valor sem precedentes para aqueles que desejam encontrar novos produtos diferenciados. Moldando a sua estratégia em torno do conceito de "Lean Startup", a equipa desenvolverá a plataforma à luz do feedback recebido dos clientes, criando valor autêntico enquanto poupa tempo e recursos. Juntar-se à economia portuguesa em rápido crescimento facilitará o processo de desenvolvimento do cliente, dando a oportunidade de apresentar a Clothie a um público cada vez maior de turistas ávidos por fazer compras no país. Graças à sua curva de valor única, a Clothie é capaz de se destacar da concorrência e criar um “Blue Ocean” - tornando-se o primeiro aplicativo de compras de moda baseado em localização a ser lançado no mercado. As surpreendentes potencialidades do projeto são evidenciadas pelas previsões financeiras geradas, que descrevem a escalabilidade do negócio e o valor excepcional que a Clothie pode proporcionar aos seus acionistas

Study of Development Potential Chrysanthemum in Buleleng Regency

The purpose of this study was to determine the potential of agro-climate, technology of cultivation, harvest and post-harvest chrysanthemums. This study uses survey method, through the collection of primary data and secondary data. This research is located in the village of Pancasari, District Sukasada, Buleleng Bali Province. Descriptive survey conducted on 40 respondents chrysanthemum growers using the component identification of determinants of commodity production chrysanthemum include: site selection, infrastructure, crop production processes and post-harvest handling. The survey results showed that 100% of the farmers have chosen a suitable location with agro-climatic conditions required by the chrysanthemum plant, and 86.09% of the farmers have been using the means needed to support the process of crop production. In the process of production of 78% in accordance with the operational procedures. At the stage of harvest and post-harvest handling 80% have been implemented by farmers and some still use conventional methods of handling. Thus Pancasari village has a potential location for the cultivation of chrysanthemum as a mainstay commodity

The occurrence of paraffin and other petroleum waxes in the marine environment: A review of the current legislative framework and shipping operational practices

Among the various materials that make up marine debris, lumps of petroleum waxes such as paraffin and microcrystalline wax, are regularly found on beaches worldwide, although not included in the current definition of marine litter. Ingestion by marine organisms is occasionally documented in the scientific literature and mass beaching events are frequently reported along the European coasts, with obvious detrimental consequences to the local communities that have to manage the clean-up and disposal of this substance. According to Annex II of the MARPOL regulation, petroleum waxes are classified as "high viscosity, solidifying, and persistent floating products," whose discharge at sea of tank-washing residues is strictly regulated, but currently permitted within certain limits. Starting from the description of a large stranding event occurred along the Italian coasts in 2017, we review the existing knowledge and regulatory framework and urge the relevant authorities to address this issue, showing that wax pollution is creating evident damages to the European coastal municipalities. Pending further investigations on the potential hazard that this kind of pollution is posing to marine ecosystems, we suggest a careful and more stringent revision of the policies regulating discharges of these products at sea

Neustonic microplastics in the Southern Adriatic Sea. Preliminary results.

Neustonic micro-plastic abundance and polymeric composition were determined after a cruise conducted in the Southern Adriatic Sea between May 9th and 17th 2013. Plankton samples were collected using a Neuston net (200 µm mesh size) which sampled the first 50 cm of the sea surface at a speed of ~2 kts for 5-6 minutes. Samples were then stored in ethanol 70% and in the laboratory micro-plastics were hand-picked using a dissecting stereomicroscope, counted, weighed and split into 7 different size classes. On a subset of collected particles (> 0.7mm) FT-IR analyses were performed to characterize the polymeric composition of the items. All 29 surface tows contained plastic particles of various typologies (e.g. filaments, fragments, thin plastic films), colours and sizes. A total of 5940 plastic particles were collected during the survey, the vast majority of which were hard plastic fragments (78.5%) or synthetic fibers and filaments (19.2%). Most particles were white (27.8%), transparent (22.5%) or black/grey (21.4%). 98.2% of all the particles were < 5 mm and plastic abundance markedly increased with decreasing size (i.e. 52.8% of all the particles were smaller than 0.5 mm), indicating very high fragmentation rates. Overall, an average concentration of 1.05 ± 1.13 particles/m2 and 442.88 ± 1145.96 g/km2 was observed throughout the study area, with micro-plastic densities ranging from 0.10 particles/m2 to a maximum of 4.86 particles/m2. FT-IR analyses indicated polyethylene as the predominant polymer (41%), followed by polyester and paint (12%), polypropylene (10%), polystyrene and polyimide (5%), polyammide (3%), paraffin (4%) and 1% bioplastic (i.e. polycaprolactone). In addition, 7% of the items were characterized as non-plastic materials (i.e. minerals, cellulose and cotton fabric), suggesting a potential bias when visually sorting for micro-plastics. On the whole, very high levels of plastic pollution have been found in our study area. Despite any clear geographical pattern in plastic distribution was identified, the conspicuous spatial heterogeneity in plastic abundances and polymeric compositions seem to confirm the existence of multiple pollution sources insisting on the Adriatic Sea

Effect of Plant Material and Variety for Production and Quality Chrysanthemum

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect between types of cuttings and between varieties of plant material on any type of plant material chrysanthemum cuttings. Methods trial with a randomized block design factorial nested pattern. The results showed that the treatment effect of plant cuttings type of material does not give a significant effect on all parameters observed. Influence of cuttings between varieties at any plant material gives a significant influence on the parameters, the maximum number of leaves, flower stalks weight and economical weight of fresh flowers. The average weight of the highest economical due to the influence between the varieties in each type of plant material cuttings from mother plants found in fiji white varieties 93.83 g and not significant with 93.46 g fiji yellow varieties. So also in effect between varieties on any type of cuttings from the plant material production plant gives the same result

Seasonal variation of microplastics density in Algerian surface waters (South-Western Mediterranean Sea)

Coastal waters worldwide are widely contaminated with various-size plastics, whose presence in aquatic ecosystems has been shown to produce a wide range of economic and social impacts and harmful effects on marine ecosystems. While microplastics have been reported from many regions of the Mediterranean Sea, very few data exist regarding microplastics concentration inn Algerian waters. In this study, we used a Manta trawl (330 μm) at six sampling stations in Bou-Ismail Bay, Algeria (South-West Mediterranean Sea) in order to provide novel information about the occurrence and composition of microplastics along the Algerian coast. Sampling was performed seasonally at six different sampling stations in 2018, providing additional information about the spatio-temporal variability of microplastics concentrations at the sea surface. Microplastics were found in all collected samples, with highly variable concentrations of 0.95, 0.88, 1.26, and 0.36 items/m3 in Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer, respectively, and an overall mean concentration of 0.86 ± 0.35 items/m3. A classification based on the shape and appearance of microplastics indicated the predominance of fibers (32%), followed by fragments (27%), films (16%), foams (13%), and granules (12%). A qualitative microplastics analysis through Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) revealed that microplastics were mainly composed of polyethylene (68.2%), polypropylene (24.7%), polystyrene (4.1%) and other polymers (3%). These data provide an initial overview of the quantity, characteristics, and spatio-temporal distribution of floating microplastics in Bou-Ismail Bay (Algeria)