CyberFair Project ID: 8462

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International Schools CyberFair Project Narrative
Title: OH9 Carves out a Niche in the Sock Industry
Category: 3. Business and Community Organizations
URL: http://librarywork.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2019/gsh8462/index.htm
Bibliography: http://librarywork.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2019/gsh8462/web/s7-3.html

School: SheTou Junior High school
    Chang Hua, Taiwan, Taiwan

8 students, ages 13-14 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 15, 2019. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2018

Classes and Teachers: YA-WEN WEN

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.stjh.chc.edu.tw

Project Overview

1. Description of Our Community

Shetou Township is located on the west side of the Bagua Mountain, and its hosiery industry has developed for more than 40years. After the restoration of Taiwan, Zheng Zheng and his son, Zheng Xue, came to Shetou and brought the first hand-held hosiery machine from Shanghai. They set up “Victory Hosiery Factory,” and led the villagers to make socks together. Gradually, the entire village was transformed from agriculture to textile industry, and almost every family take sock making as their family business. In the heyday, the hosiery factories in Shetou accounted for 80% of the total in Taiwan. Under the policy of “Living Room As Factory” which was promoted to build the export-oriented economy in the 70s, Shetou was famous for the center of Taiwan's hosiery industry, and a well-known rhyme went like this: “We have nothing but countless guavas, socks, and chairmen in our town!” However, the hosiery industry declines these years, and requires the government and enterprises to actively reverse the situation. For example, the 'Weaving Museum' and the 'Weaving Industrial Park' have been established to transform the traditional hosiery industry into a tourism industry that combines “industry,” “culture,” and “leisure” ; the 'Weaving Festival,' which is held under the demands for socks in winter and the harvest season of guavas, is a special event for the local hosiery enterprises to get the resources and opportunities to sell and propogate their products, and what’s more, to win back the glory of the “hosiery kingdom” someday.

2. Summary of Our Project

In the 1960s, Shetou was the only village that produced socks in Taiwan. The production capacity of all kinds of socks accounted for 70% of the total Taiwanese market. At the same time, the socks were exported to the international market and Shetou gained a good name of 'Sock Kingdom.' Because of the liberalization of trade and economics, the Taiwanese hosiery industry once was a sunset industry. However, the brand 'OH9 Taiwan Black Dog Brother' is a turning point in this crisis. After the impact of globalization, OH9 turned from OEM to brand creation, which is a microcosm of the economic difficulties of Taiwan's SMEs. The person in charge, Li Donglin, used to be an athlete who had a dream of becoming a volleyball player. However, he changed his goal due to a serious car accident and returned back to the local industry. He has gone through self-employment, unpaid booking loss and health problem. During his difficult times, he still tried his best to create value-added products and develope professional technology. He also made efforts to make his products equipped with international competitiveness. The socks he made are no longer limited to the features of “warm” and “beauty”, but with “functionality.” Li Donglin not only sticks to the quality of his products, but also conforms to the world trend. He explores customer needs, and finds out problems inside. Meanwhile, he develops professional products, actively transforms the company, and establishes brand characteristics. These are the reason why his story is worth exploring. We hope that through the introduction of the Internet Expo, people can know Li Donglin’s adherence to the traditional industry and his recognition of our country, and therefore pay more attention to the development of local industries so that enterprises will stay in Taiwan and continue to develop sustainably.

3. Our Computer and Internet Access

A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:more than 50%

B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:more than 6

C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection

D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:more than 6

E. Additional comments concerning your computer and/or Internet access (Optional):

The school has applied to Chunghwa Telecom FTTB for 300M broadband internet so we could learn and use the internet at the computer room.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

There were a lots of difficulties that we had to overcome.(A) Drafting and writing feedback:Before visiting the proprietor, Li, Dong Lin, we needed to develop a topic in advance and think about the relevance of the topic. At first, themes and ideas were not clearly defined. The first draft and the content of the interview were disordered, and the key points were not clear. In order to be more efficient, after every meeting, we wrote down what we had learned and recorded the progress of the research. However, the content we wrote wasn’t always well-organized and often repeated, so we were not able to present our result.Under the guidance of the teachers, we started from studying the materials which were collected by the memebers responsible for the main part, and then asked further questions and discussed about how we could modify the text to put our questions accurately. We performed peer review to avoid vague language and record research key points.(B) The challenge of conducting an interview:Conducting an interview was a new experience to us. Our skills gradually matured in the process of group discussions, in-depth inquiry, and asking questions from interviewer’s response. Our abilities of focusing on interviewer’s talking, carefully taking notes, and identifying the problems were also enhenced!Because we needed much time to do a long interview, our teacher contacted the company and arranged the best time for us. Thanks to them, we were able to achieve the mission successfully.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

After we did the research for the project, and know more about the local enterprise organization--Donglin Development Enterprise Co., Ltd., we learned that the success and stability of a company, and the establishment and maintenance of a brand needed various aspects of support and enthusiasm. The way that 'OH9 Taiwan Black Dog Brothers' keeps observing customers’ needs, continuously develops functional products, and expands related products, embodies that 'unsatisfaction is the first element of progress' and inspires us to be more enthusiastic for our dreams. We hope that through the introduction of the Internet Expo, more people will know 'OH9 Taiwan Black Dog Brother' and hope that more people will pay attention to the development of local specialty industries, so that enterprises can stay in Taiwan and operate sustainably. 'Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.' - Theodore Roosevelt

6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?

From the process of data construction, we learned to use software, hardware and the Internet to search for relevant materials, and use the communication software to conduct a questionnaire survey to understand the opinions of customers on Donglin Socks. Finally, we presented our work by setting up webpages, and, in this way, we also see the power of technology. Through teamwork, we tried to communicate with each other, discovered our own deficiencies, and learned the strong points of others. By discussing, recording and sharing ideas, we became more polite and respectful toward others. We also became more focus on what other’s were talking about. We became brave in expressing ideas and things that need clarification, as well as understanding how to communicate effectively when our opinions were different. In the process of work assignment and schedule planning, we learned the attitude of being responsible and how to manage time effectively.

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Project Elements

1) What information tools & technologies did you used to complete your CyberFair project?

We used computers to do research on the internet. Image section:Digital Camera?Scanner?PhotoCap?PhotoShop?Printer?Dreamweaver. Data record: Microsoft Word?Microsoft PowerPoint?Microsoft Excel?Voice Recorder Pen?Computer Newspaper?Magazine?Filezilla and Google Drive.The others:Cell Phone?Communication software.

2) In what ways did you act as "ambassadors" and spokespersons for your CyberFair project both on-line and in person.

Interview Ambassador: We asked our family and relatives about the development of local hosiery first to have a preliminary understanding. By doding so, we bonded with our loved ones at the same time. Then, we did interviews at the exhibition, the owner’s home, and the factory to collect the information needed and to clarify the questions in mind. During the interview, we showed our preparation and intentions, which made the interviewees recognize us more and have higher expectations for the research results. Marketing Ambassador: Through this research, we have a deeper understanding of the local hosiery industry. In addition to understanding the process of making socks, we also discovered the characteristics and functions of various types of socks. We hope that the professional and plentful information we provide will not only meet more people’s needs, but also enable them to know the specialties of local industry and motivate them to take a trip to Shetou to learn more about the hosiery industry. We have systematically recorded the organization and development of the company, hoping to let more people know about its management philosophy and its brand, and pay more attention to local industry development issues.

3) What has been the impact of your project on your community?

“Being successful doesn’t mean gaining something, but ‘being persistent’ and ‘leading a meaningful life’.” The new educational trend in Taiwan emphasizes that students should gain the knowledge and their abilities by using 'literatre-based approach,' which inspires us to care about the importance of the environment around us. We want to focus on the development and organization of the enterprises in our hometown, and make the research content into webpages. Through this special project, We not only know the growth and operation of the local companies, but also have a deeper understanding of our 'cultural identity.'

4) How did your project involve other members of your community as helpers and volunteers?

(1) Mr. Li Donglin, the owner of the company: Through the interviews, we realized the hardships of Mr. Li’s entrepreneurship and the breakthrough of enterprise development. He is passionate, devoted and patient in professional sports socks career. (2) Employees of the company: They were very hospirable and they treated us kindly during the interview. They explained everything in detail, and taught us how to operate various hosiery machines, how to make a sample, and how to select yarns during the process of making DIY socks. The practical experience made our project of School CyberFair go more smoothly.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

Discovery: “Do what you can, do what you like to do, and do what is worth doing.” The creation of the brand 'OH9' comes from the persistence and enthusiasm of the Li family. They understood and supported each other, and persued their dreams together. In the same spirit, we also completed the project of the School CyberFair by teamwork. Now we know that our abilities can be improved by training, our dreams can be achieved by putting into practice, and the acheivement we made is the most satisfying thing to us.

Lessons : In the past, we were too shy to express our own ideas and feelings in public. After having many meetings, interviews, and discussions, we became proactive in every activity, and our oral expression also improved. Now we are able to to take turn expressing our personal thoughts bravely and clearly.

Surprises: The project gave us an enlightment--we can’t always be complacent with the status quos: if we take things as they are, and only seek ease and comfort, we will fall behind the times. Once the environment changes and we are not fully prepared for it, we may end up being out of step with the society.

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View our CyberFair Project (Project ID: 8462)

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