Textile forms of wearable technology offer the potential for users to interact with electronic devices in a whole new manner. However, the operation of a wearable system can result in non-traditional on-body interactions (including gestural commands) that users may not be comfortable with performing in a public setting. Understanding the societal perceptions of gesture-based interactions will ultimately impact how readily a new form of mobile technology will be adopted within society. The goal of this research is to assess the social acceptability of a user's interaction with an electronic textile wearable interface. Two means of interaction were studied: the first was to assess the most acceptable input method for the interface (tapping, sliding, circular rotation); and the second assessment was to measure the social acceptability of a user interacting with the detachable textile interface at different locations on the body. The study recruited participants who strictly identified themselves as being of American nationality so as to gain insight into the culture-specific perceptions of interacting with a wearable form of technology.

Pre-Hispanic geometric art forms In Peru and the Andean Area are taken to be an outgrowth of textile techniques. Textiles and fibre arts predate ceramics by several millennia In the Central Andean Area. The artist who created these textiles developed an art style which was to go largely unaltered until the arrival of the Spaniards. The foundations of the Andean art form date to the Pre-ceramic. The restrictive, rather Inflexible nature of the warp and the weft of the cloth (the geometric grid) was to influence the methods of represention that were to follow. Geometric designs were well suited to fit Into the rigid framework. A series of conventions were developed for the representation of symbols. With the development of ceramics, there was leeway for a new style to come Into being. However, this was not to be the case. The potter borrowed extensively from the weaving tradition and Its associated styles (only in Moche times did the potter make a break the highly geometric style developed centuries before, and even then this break with tradition was a short lived one). The pre-Columbian artist often portrayed birds, cats, fish and reptiles. Many of these designs were used frequently and repeatedly throughout the centuries, but none, I would maintain. was represented as frequently as the double-headed serpent, and with so few variants. Andean art Is a truly distinctive art form; very different from European art, and through Its geometricity It conveyed and still conveys a totally different approach to nature and the world surrounding Andean man.

According to Domowitz (1992), the Agni women of Cote d'Ivoire assign proverbs and aphorisms as names to wax-dyed cloth. Women then use the imagery and associated proverbs behind cloth names to send non-verbal messages they would otherwise be unable to express publicly. The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to investigate wax-dyed cloth names including their underlying meanings and uses given by women in Cote d'Ivoire and Togo; and second, to investigate how these names are acquired in French by women who have no formal education. Qualitative results revealed that women in these two countries are very motivated to learn cloth names. New undocumented names and their underlying meanings were also found. Some of these meanings were found to be educational; others are used to maintain status or to clarify power relationships. At the same time, quantitative results indicated that knowledge and use of cloth names in both communities studied is in decline.

The importance of automating the garment manufacturing process has been understood since the early 1980s. However, in spite of millions of dollars spent on research, three decades later, the industry is still far from achieving a fully autonomous process. Previous work on fabric control in automated sewing focused on the control of only a single sheet of fabric using an industrial manipulator with an overhead vision system. These methods did not meet the accuracy and robustness requirements of the sewing process with respect to fabric position and fabric tension. To address these issues, a new method for fabric control in automated sewing is described. It uses the current feed mechanism on sewing machines, feed dogs, but modifies them to be servo-controlled. These servo controlled actuators, servo dogs, individually control two sheets of fabric before the fabric reaches the needle and during the sewing process. The servo dogs actuate the fabric 180o out of phase with the sewing needle, providing incremental control of the fabric when the needle is out of the fabric. To achieve this type of control successfully for automated sewing, the servo dogs have been designed for short displacement, high acceleration motions using a cable drive system powered by voice coil motors. Feedback of fabric position has been determined to be necessary and is to be provided by a thread-tracking vision system. This thesis outlines the general design of the system and discusses a prototype used to validate the design, and describes experiments performed to examine how the fabric will behave with the use of this type of actuation method.

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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / In this study, we used the theme "Textile Fabrics" to contextualize chemical contents, in order to favor the teaching and learning process of Organic Chemistry contents for students of last year of a public school in the city of Santa Maria, RS. In this sense, we seek theoretical references of the theme "Textile Fabrics" to establish the relations with the corresponding chemical contents of the target-public. From this, we developed a proposal to approach these contents in the classroom, which was evaluated through interventions, applied in five stages. The methodology of the Three Pedagogical Moments associated to different teaching strategies such as experimental activities and case studies was used to establish the relationships between the contents of chemistry and the students' daily life from the perspective of the theme. The results of this research were obtained through different data collection instruments such as questionnaires, textual productions, research and presentation of papers, reports, observations and notes made by the researcher during the interventions, which were analyzed according to the Textual Discursive Analysis. Regarding the results, we observe an evolution in the construction of the knowledge and several abilities of high school students, which were verified through Analytical tools. Hence, it can be concluded that the theme "Textile Fabrics", associated to the use of different teaching methodologies, approximated Chemistry to student’ reality favoring the teaching and learning process of Organic Chemistry contents. / Nesta pesquisa, utilizamos a temática “Tecidos Têxteis” para a contextualização de conteúdos químicos, a fim de favorecer o processo de ensino e aprendizagem de conteúdos de Química Orgânica para estudantes da 3ª série do Ensino Médio de um colégio público da cidade de Santa Maria, RS. Para tanto, buscamos referenciais teóricos da temática escolhida “Tecidos Têxteis” para estabelecermos as relações com os conteúdos de química correspondentes da série escolhida. A partir disso, desenvolvemos uma proposta para abordar estes conteúdos em sala de aula, que foi avaliada através de intervenções, as quais foram aplicadas em cinco etapas. Utilizou-se a metodologia dos Três Momentos Pedagógicos aliadas a diferentes estratégias de ensino como as atividades experimentais e estudo de casos, para estabelecer as relações entre os conteúdos de química com o dia a dia dos estudantes sob a perspectiva da temática. Os resultados desta pesquisa foram obtidos por meio de diferentes instrumentos de coleta de dados como: questionários, produções textuais, pesquisa e apresentação de trabalhos, elaboração de relatórios, observações e anotações realizadas pela pesquisadora durante as intervenções, os quais foram analisados segundo a Análise Textual Discursiva. Com relação aos resultados obtidos, observou-se uma evolução na construção do conhecimento e de diversas habilidades dos estudantes do ensino médio, que foi constatada por meio dos instrumentos de análise utilizados. Portanto, pode-se concluir que a temática “Tecidos Têxteis”, associada ao uso de diferentes metodologias de ensino proporcionou uma aproximação da Química com realidade do estudante favorecendo o processo de ensino e aprendizagem de conteúdos de Química Orgânica.

This study is a critique of Aso Ebi in Owambe social uniform and social performance phenomena of the Yoruba culture of Nigeria in West Africa. The Aso Ebi phenomenon is a social uniform that is inextricable from the Owambe spectacle of the Yoruba culture, which, in itself, is a social performance. Aso Ebi is a fabric that is selected, made into garments and worn by groups of people who are related to one another in various ways such as family, friends or comrades. The uniforms are worn for social gatherings, especially celebrations, which are popularly called Owambe. These celebrations are very elaborate and loud, much like a grand spectacle put on to show wealth, unity and flamboyance. The research is the explanation of how the Aso Ebi and Owambe social uniforms manifest themselves and this manifestation is presented through a body of artworks. The artworks seek to expose the unseen actualities involved in participating in these social performances and issues of social survival within these cultural phenomena. The analysis addresses the impacts and influence of conformity in cooperative behaviour by an individual within his/her social identity and relationships. The main question this study addresses is whether the positive factors of unity, social order and expressive visual flamboyance of the social phenomena outweigh the negative impacts particularly on the individuals who participate in these social performances. This is done by acknowledging the experiences of the participating individuals in the conformity and transmission modes of these phenomena in this culture. The visual productions of the concepts in the research are achieved through performance, collages, photography and a sculptural installation. The significance of these emergent visual productions is that they shift the focus from the impression of the group to the conformity by the individual. This highlights the problems faced by the participating individuals in the pursuit and participation of this cultural phenomenon. / Department of Art History, Visual Arts & Musicology / M.A. (Visual Arts)

This study is a critique of Aso Ebi in Owambe social uniform and social performance phenomena of the Yoruba culture of Nigeria in West Africa. The Aso Ebi phenomenon is a social uniform that is inextricable from the Owambe spectacle of the Yoruba culture, which, in itself, is a social performance. Aso Ebi is a fabric that is selected, made into garments and worn by groups of people who are related to one another in various ways such as family, friends or comrades. The uniforms are worn for social gatherings, especially celebrations, which are popularly called Owambe. These celebrations are very elaborate and loud, much like a grand spectacle put on to show wealth, unity and flamboyance. The research is the explanation of how the Aso Ebi and Owambe social uniforms manifest themselves and this manifestation is presented through a body of artworks. The artworks seek to expose the unseen actualities involved in participating in these social performances and issues of social survival within these cultural phenomena. The analysis addresses the impacts and influence of conformity in cooperative behaviour by an individual within his/her social identity and relationships. The main question this study addresses is whether the positive factors of unity, social order and expressive visual flamboyance of the social phenomena outweigh the negative impacts particularly on the individuals who participate in these social performances. This is done by acknowledging the experiences of the participating individuals in the conformity and transmission modes of these phenomena in this culture. The visual productions of the concepts in the research are achieved through performance, collages, photography and a sculptural installation. The significance of these emergent visual productions is that they shift the focus from the impression of the group to the conformity by the individual. This highlights the problems faced by the participating individuals in the pursuit and participation of this cultural phenomenon. / Department of Art History, Visual Arts and Musicology / M. A. (Visual Arts)