This study is an assessment of preferences and the perceived satisfaction of clothing for a group of large-sized women shopping in the Dallas metropolitan area. Demographic information was gathered from the respondents to compare the relationship between the clothing preferences and the demographic variables. The participants in this study were sixty large-sized women who shopped in two large-sized specialty stores in Dallas, Texas. The data were collected by use of a personal interview instrument developed by the researcher. This study concludes that large-sized women perceived the selection of large-sized clothing ranging from good to fair with variation in their satisfaction of style, price, fabric, and availability. Large-sized women prefer the following style features: the A-line skirt, the V-neckline, the A-line dress, the bishop sleeve, the solid fabric design, and the color green.

The intent of this study is to reveal essential elements learned by reflecting and analyzing the applied design process in developing a specialized garment for a child with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). I researched and determined the clothing needs of one child with SMA, designed and created a pair of adaptive pants based on the needs of the child, tested the final product through a trial wear of the adaptive pants, and I evaluated and revised the adaptive pants. Through this study I also determined ways in which my design process can inform my teaching of applied design in my elementary art classroom.

Bloodline: An Experiment in Knit and Proximity is research by practice that has its origin in an affective encounter experienced during the performance of two women knitting together, a mother and daughter – who simultaneously knit a conjoined red line, Bloodline – initiated by the daughter, who is, in this context, both artist and writer. The research responds to this question: how might I account for a moment of affect, to explain its manifestation in association with knitting and the knitted thing, and to substantiate my hypothesis that the knitted object, and knitting as process, have a unique capacity to explore the issues of proximity and distance that are encountered and negotiated in Bloodline? This research adopts an auto ethnographic and mixed methodology approach to investigate the context, practice and outcomes of hand knitting as illuminating the experience and meanings of attachment, separation and loss – the problematic of being in relation with and to another. It seeks to contribute, through a process of ‘close looking’ and the production of evocative objects (Turkle, 2011), to a language of textile practice that is as much concerned with the sticky, unpleasant and unknown as it might be with the sensuous and warm.

No description available.

This practice-led research examines how the emerging role of the ‘material designer’ can enrich the design process in Human Computer Interaction. It advocates embodiment as a design methodology by employing tacit knowledge; focusing on a subjective, affective and visceral engagement with computational materials. This theoretical premise is explored by drawing on the fields of soft robotics, as well as transitive and programmable materials. With the advancement and democratisation of physical computing and digital fabrication, it is now possible for designers to process, or even invent and composite new programmable materials, merging both their physical and digital capabilities. This study questions how the notion of soft can develop a distinct space for the design of novel user interfaces. This premise is applied through a phenomenological understanding of technology development—as opposed to generating data which is solely reliant on observable and measurable evidence. Bio-engineered technologies such as electroactive polymer, pneumatic and hydraulic actuator systems are deployed to explore a new type of responsive, sensual and organic materiality. Here, traditional medical diagnostic applications such as microfluidics are transferred into the experimental contexts of textiles and wearable technology. Therefore, by thinking through physical prototyping, a bodily engagement with materials and the interpretation of the elements of water, air and steam; a designer can create a fertile ground for a polyvalent imagination. Together, this methodology is used as a qualitative system for collecting and evaluating data on the significance of design-led thinking in soft robotic materials. This research concludes that there are insights to be gained from the creative practice and exploratory methods of material-led thinking in HCI that can contribute to the commercial research and development fields of wearable technology. Outputs include a prototype box of ‘Invention Tools’ for textile designers and the identification and creation of the role 04 of embodied making in relation to the imagination. Further, soft composite hybrids, incorporating elastomers, have potential applications in colour, texture and shape changing surfaces. Thus, this thesis argues that it is within the creative soft sciences that the next advancements in soft robotics may emerge.

No description available.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 1963. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-83). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Minnesota, 2002. / Advisers: Edward L. Farmer, Ann Waltner. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 314-336). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether ice hockey facial protectors can decrease overall head acceleration during blunt impacts as well as to identify if attenuation differences exist between visors and cages. Commercial models of three cages and three visors were assessed. Blunt impacts were simulated permitting the measurement of peak accelerations (PA) within the surrogate head form. Results indicated that indeed face protectors in combination with helmets substantially reduced PA during blunt impacts within threshold safety limits (below 300 g's). In general, cages showed lower PA than visors (p=0.004). Differences between models were also observed during repeated impacts and impact site (p=0.0001, p=0.007). In conclusion, this study demonstrates that facial protectors function beyond their role in preventing facial injuries, complementing the role of the helmet in attenuating head deceleration during impact. Consequently, the utilization of facial protectors may reduce the severity and incidence of mTBI.