Through eight experiments this thesis investigated the divergence in children’s abilities in the domain of tool making. Despite being excellent tool manufacturers following full instruction, children displayed great difficulty in innovating novel tools to solve problems. Experiments 1 to 3 found four-to-seven- year-olds’ tool-innovation difficulty to be a robust phenomenon that extended to new tasks requiring different tools made by a variety of methods and materials. Experiments 3 and 4 aimed to discover whether some tool-innovation tasks are harder for children than others. Together these experiments suggested that the difficulty of tool innovation is due to the type of transformation required. Experiments 5 to 8 investigated why children find tool innovation so difficult. Experiments 5 and 6 ruled out singular executive functions as limiting factors on children’s performance. Experiments 7 and 8 found that young children have great difficulty in generating and coordinating the components of a problem even if aspects of the task are highlighted for them. Overall this thesis led to the conclusion that tool-innovation difficulty is due the ill-structured nature of the task. Additionally this thesis provides new definitions and frameworks with which to study tool-related behaviour that will benefit both the developmental and comparative literatures.

This study explores the tension between text and image in the fashion spreads published in three magazines since 1980: The Face, Arena and Vogue. It takes as its starting part Roland Barthes' axiom that the magazine is 'a machine for making Fashion' and pursues his thesis that it is through 'represented clothing', rather than real garments themselves, that the meaning of Fashion is connoted. But it also contests his idea that the Fashion system is a vacuous or trivial form of signification, and in exploring both the verbal and pictorial elements of fashion spreads aims to uncover how they intersect with wider cultural events. The material under discussion has been arranged into three separate parts. Each one has its own discursive framework and diverse methodological perspective, yet it is also dialectically related to the others in a wider argument concerning the construction of the body in word and image in contemporary fashion photography. Part One serves to provide an overview of the evolution of the three chief titles consulted, considering the social, economic and aesthetic factors that have been instrumental in forging an identity for fashion photography since 1980. At the same time, it examines the preoccupation with a postmodern treatment of time and history in various spreads and assesses whether iconocentrism ipso facto renders fashion photography devoid of any deeper meaning. Part Two builds on this argument by analysing the ideas propounded in Roland Barthes' Systeme de la Mode, chiefly the distinction he makes between written clothing (le vetement ecrit) and image-clothing (le vetement-image), in the context of debates on logocentrism. Here I assess whether Barthes' predilection for written clothing is both viable and relevant when it comes to making sense of the symbolic content of represented clothing with particular reference to a fashion spread called 'Amoureuse' from Elle (June 1958). I also evince the same spread along with more contemporary examples to assess the way that Barthes deals with sex and gender in Systeme de la Mode. Part Three consolidates this exploration of gender and fashion by concentrating on the intense interest in sex and the body that has subtended much fashion imagery between 1980 and 1996. At this point, I deal with the objectification of female and male sexualities by mobilising the central tropes of the 'girl' and the phallic body respectively. In the process, I raise a diverse and complex intersection of related issues concerning identity formation and otherness, power, and visual pleasure. Thus I examine the investment that different producers and spectators might have in the fashion image: male and female; straight and gay; and white and non-white. In particular, I draw heavily on the psychoanalytical theories of Freud and Lacan, as well as more recent writing by Julia Kristeva, Luce Irigaray, Judith Butler and Diana Fuss.

The clothes and domestic textiles of the sixteenth century were, next to food, one of the absolute necessities for humankind to survive. This study examines the different types and constructions of textiles closely, using an historical approach, reading original documentation and viewing the scarce fragments of remaining examples. Due to the class of society being considered and the fragility of the textiles, other rare samples, from beyond the sixteenth century needed to be considered to try and assemble a true picture of the textiles available. Agriculture, demography, geography and history have all been drawn upon. The lack of actual samples and the chasm in information regarding these forgotten items of daily living have been continually assessed and evaluated. Other themes addressed include: the relationship of the yeoman in society through sumptuary law; their respect for and association with nature for raw materials; and innovation in improving their skills. Practical attempts to reveal an authentic colour palette of the yeoman world, although not conclusive, have permitted a fresh approach for further enquiry. This research includes detailed worksheets and various hand woven samples which support the practical element of this study, giving a valuable foundation for further investigation. This original work will be of educational value in portraying this sector of society, so easily overlooked because of the grandeur of the sixteenth century nobility. The samples provide tactile experiences reinforcing, the need of textiles to be 'fit for purpose'. Many skills from this period have been lost to future generations, only recreations based on balanced and empiric judgements will help evaluate the of these forgotten fabrics

The goal of this thesis is to investigate the manufacture of metalworking ceramics in late prehistoric Scotland (ca 1000BC – AD800) from the perspective of ceramic technology and with the aim to reconstruct social and material trajectories. This has been implemented through the use of an integrated analytical methodology, interpreted by developing current theories on technology. Previous studies of metalworking ceramics in Scotland have rarely paid full attention to ceramic technology; research has instead focused on metallurgical issues such as metal identification and material morphology. This is central for answering questions regarding metallurgical processes, but fails to answer important questions regarding the technology and manufacture of the ceramic material. The successful production of moulds and crucibles requires that a craft specialist has expert skills in the preparation and firing of clay as well as understanding of the process and design of metal casting. This makes metalworking ceramics an important resource for investigating variation in individual skill and experience, cultural traditions, and scale of production. The main focus is on moulds and crucibles, but parallels, both in terms of method and theory, are made to other types of metalworking ceramics and pottery. The technological relationship between pottery and metalworking ceramics is therefore a vital link in the assessment of production and technological traditions. In addition, clays from a number of sites have been sampled, with the goal to monitor the utilization of clays for the production of different ceramic materials. Materials from nine primary sites, from Traprain Law (East Lothian) in the south to Mine Howe (Orkney) in the north, are central to the discussion of ceramic technologies. The context of casting and crafts from further sites in Scotland and beyond has been essential in the reconstruction of casting production in the late prehistoric period. Developing from ideas of technology as an active process, this study has investigated the collection and preparation of clays to make different ceramic materials. This investigation has employed a range of analytical techniques frequently applied to the study of archaeological ceramics, including ceramic petrography, Scanning Electron Microscopy, X-Ray Spectrometry and X-Ray Diffraction. The focus has been on technology; studies of provenance are auxiliary to the broader questions. It is a central conclusion of this work that the production of metalworking ceramics saw a development towards a more specialised function and technology during the late prehistoric period, and that this development was closely related to material traditions, to some extent transcending wider social trajectories. This research, highlighting particular and general technologies, has showed that the study of ceramic technology of moulds and crucibles can be a valuable resource for the study metallurgical production and technology.

This study explores the relationship between wood-crafting activity and technological development in metal tools during the Late-Middle and Late Bronze Age in Southern England. It suggests that a number of tool types and forms can be characterised as direct responses to specific crafting processes. The study further suggests that through analysis of those tools and crafting processes, the socio-technological relationships between craftspeople and materials can be better explored. The thesis makes a case for the importance of wood-use during the British Bronze Age as a material key both to a range of craft activities and technological change. The discussion highlights the lack of a cohesive analysis of its use, potential and material relationships. It suggests that a semantic approach to craft practice can inform as to how those practices were facilitated, and that particular craft processes focussed on wood-use are manifested in surviving tools. Four tool types are examined - socketed axes, gouges, chisels and saws; their morphology and structure are analysed to discern variations in function and structural trends which are suggestive of common approaches to production and use. The results of this analysis are linked to woodcrafting practices to highlight how particular forms of each tool type were targeted to activity. The study concludes by arguing that Bronze Age tool forms, and their production, were the result of a complex network of social, technological and developmental influences. It finds that a number of forms were indeed targeted to specific wood-crafting tasks, and that tools ostensibly produced separately followed common structural trends which derived from those tasks. The study also concludes that certain tool forms such as saws manifest multi-material developmental origins, and that analysis based on crafting functions has the potential to provide a more cohesive perspective of Bronze Age tool development than has previously been developed.

Textile conservation, defined here as the preservation, investigation and presentation of textiles, is often viewed largely as a technical and aesthetic problem. This research develops an alternative view by understanding objects as being subject to both material and social change. The dynamic aspects of this material and social process is emphasised as ‘stuff happens’. This research proposes, and provides evidence for, a material culture approach to textile conservation, and demonstrates its development and application. An analysis of case studies shows how the material and the social interact at the point of assessment and intervention. Examination of the material aspects of textile conservation reveals that social values influence decision-making. Values held at the time of conservation are shown to depend on the categories used. Investigation of these categories demonstrates that any anomalous quality of the textile undergoing conservation allows for contestation of social values. As values change over time, analysis of each conservation assessment and intervention reveals a comparison of values held at different times viewed retrospectively. The resulting approach is centred on the interaction between things, persons and language where each mediates relations of the others. It is argued that this material culture approach enhances understanding of the dynamic material and social environment of textile conservation principles and practices.

Nigerian textile and clothing industries is face with crisis under the pressure of influx of smuggled second-hand clothing and cheap and poor quality of Chinese textiles. The situation has resulted to closure of many textile industries and massive unemployment with inability of the few existing industries to compete favourably base on price. The study was carried out in Abeokuta among tie-dye/batik practitioners and consumers of tie-dye/batik products with the aim to examine the challenges facing the resist dyeing industries. The research method is divided into three: Theoretical- this involves using secondary data from books, journal, newspaper, and the web to gather background information; Statistical- this involves the use of questionnaire to gather primary data. The data collected was analysed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Scientist); and Visual- this entails the use of images to establish facts and make judgement on the basis of the facts discovered. The findings revealed that the challenges facing the practitioners are multi-facet ranging from poor educational status, lack of adequate training/re-training programmes, poor financial status, low customers’ patronage, poor management and marketing skill, lack of adequate and functional social amenities, low purchasing power of consumers who often buy on credit and pay on instalment (some don’t bother to pay their debt), increased competition from smugglers of second-hand clothing and imported Chinese textiles, poor/ no knowledge of information technology, low access to international/ overseas markets and minimal willingness to take risk. Consumers of tie-dye/batik are pertinent to the study. The findings from the consumers shows that about half of the consumers interviewed cannot afford to buy clothes monthly while slightly more than half buy clothes on credit and pay on instalment. The industry has being affected with change in taste of consumers, consequently one third of the consumers do not patronise tie-dye/batik fabrics. Consumers pointed out that tie-dye/batik fabrics are not colourfast and the designs are too common (frequently seen). Consumers also complained of poor customers services of the practitioners. Base on the findings, the study proposes holistic approach to the challenges. A sustainable model of five major pillars (Continuous innovation, Customer Relationship Management, Government Policy Support, Networking and Practitioners Personal Capacity Development) is proposed. Absence of any of the pillar will result to sustainability collapse of tie-dye/batik industry. Other model being proposed include establishment of an Export Centre with an effective and efficient two way communication model; EVIPI an acronym of English words to stimulate innovative entrepreneurial drive in niche marketing, a model for internal secondhand clothing to revisit the pass me down clothing culture among the Yoruba and a networking model to complement each other for development.

This thesis presents a new approach for fabricating free standing structures on flexible substrates using the screen printing technique. The research addresses electronic textile applications and is intended to provide a new method for realising sensors and complex structures on fabrics. Conventional smart fabric fabrication methods, such as weaving and knitting, are only able to achieve planar structures with limited functionality. Packaged discrete sensors can also be attached directly to fabrics but this approach is unreliable and unsuitable for mass production. The reported materials and the fabrication processes enable free standing structures to be formed by printing functional layers directly on top of the fabric. This reduces the fabrication complexity and increases wearer comfort and the flexibility of the fabric. This research details an investigation into sacrificial materials suitable for use on fabrics. A plastic crystalline material (Trimetlylolethane (TME)) was identified as an appropriate sacrificial material because it sublimates which reduces the chance of stiction occurring. A screen printable TME paste has been achieved by dissolving TME powder in a solvent mixture of cyclohexanol (CH) and propylene glycol (PG). The TME sacrificial paste can be cured at 85 oC for 5 minutes providing a solid foundation for subsequent printed layers. This sacrificial layer can be removed in 30 minutes at 150 oC leaving no residue. EFV4/4965 UV curable dielectric material was identified as an appropriate structural material for use with TME. The feasibility of the sacrificial and structural materials has been demonstrated by the fabrication of free standing cantilevers and microfluidic pumps on fabrics and flexible plastic films. Printed cantilevers, with capacitive and piezoelectric sensing mechanisms, have been demonstrated as human motion sensors. A printed microfluidic pump with a maximum pumping rate of 68 μL/min at 3 kHz has also been demonstrated. Both the cantilever and micropump have been demonstrated, for the first time, on fabrics and polyimide substrates, respectively.

The work submitted for the PhD by Publication is evidence of my investigation into the significance of textiles as an aesthetic experience within a socially engaged form of material practice, some of which involves other people. Social engagement has been an active and deliberate agent in the aesthetic transformation of functional material objects in two of my publications called The Sleeping Bag Project and You Are the Journey. A third publication is a co-edited book called Outside: Activating Cloth to Enhance the Way We Live. A range of essays by artists, curators and writers discloses previously unwritten commentaries on community initiatives that probe a range of empathetic modes of investigation that explore meaningful spaces for participation. I have come to recognise that a proactive attitude towards collaboration is evident in all three publications. It is exemplified by my approach to co-orchestrating the Outside book and by an eagerness to work with others to advance the concept of the transformative power of cloth within the live arena for socially engaged textile practices today. The relations between an aesthetic transformation and socially engaged practice was implicit in Rozsika Parker’s seminal text The Subversive Stitch first published in 1984 providing an analysis of textiles within social history. At the beginning of work on this PhD my relationship with the book was complex and full of tensions. My perceptions of Parker’s work changed as I discovered at the very end of my thesis connections between her work and mine that enable a deeper understanding of the need in my socially engaged textile practice today for the kind of aesthetics she describes historically as arising from social constraint. Consequently The Subversive Stitch has now re-appeared with value as a touchstone for my work in a contemporary context. The thesis then discusses examples of the outcomes of practices by other artists and considers the attention given to visual aesthetics within socially engaged practices. Ideas are developed to suggest how the aesthetic dimension of textiles may enhance principles of communal giving as an innovative strategy stretching beyond the coalition government’s Big Society agenda presented in 2010. Examples from investigations of textiles in museum archives including embroideries created by internees within Second World War prisoner-ofwar camps in the Far East are also examined. The aesthetic dimension of the embroideries carries significance through the vulnerable context in which they were created, as a potent series of statements involving cloth in action. In contemporary Britain, I have shown how such everyday objects as sleeping bags and travel tickets can capture the imagination by creating a connection with participants, when they may not have been consciously seeking an insight separate from the functionality of these objects. Nevertheless, an aesthetic gesture is surreptitiously tucked away. This has created a hybrid form of social engagement that can move fluidly between private and public spaces. The social engagement also involves processes of interaction and exchange with the object in the presentation of an active relationship with the object that is both seen and unseen.

Founded on the premise that the existing literature on Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel does not give a comprehensive, balanced and objective survey of the dress designs produced by the house from 1916-1929, the thesis ‘Reviewing Chanel’ provides a catalogue raisonné of the designs shown in British and French Vogue during this period. This representative sample of Chanel’s work facilitates the very necessary and overdue re-assessment of Chanel’s early career and contribution to twentieth century fashion. Part One of the Introduction includes a review of the existing literature on Chanel and explains the rationale behind the production of a catalogue of the dress designs reproduced in British and French Vogue. Part Two serves as the introduction to the twenty-eight essays which outline the principal developments in each of the dress design collections presented by the house between 1916-1929. Each essay provides an analytical summary of the key themes and developments of the collection and relates Chanel’s work to that of the other leading houses in Paris during this period.