In 2016, a potter's workshop was probably discovered in the center of Prešov. A large amount of pottery and tiles come from the place.The presence of the workshop is a significant finding on its own, but the unique motifs on the front of the tile chambers adds to the meaning. Although the depiction of coats of arms on tiles is known, it is the first time when the coat of arms of today's East Slovak cities such as Prešov and Kežmarok is present on stove tiles. The task of my thesis is to date and evaluate the regional significance of this unique finding.

We are bound to live with the Roma, but how… The aim of this study is to create a new concept of the environment as an alternative to the current general plan. In the latest urban plan of the town of Banska Stiavnica, the district of Sobov is designed as a recreation zone. However the plan doesn’t tackle the issue of the ethnical minority. This scheme is based on the simple principle of the interconnection of two key topics: the sustainable development in the prevention of social exclusion and the preservation of the environment. On the one hand, it resumes the continuity of resettlement of Sobov, creating a community feeling and the esteem of one´s home in the inhabitants, on the other hand it provides basic information about the district, life of the Roma and their work to the visitors and also offers an appropriate recreation facility. The majority will have to live side by side with the minority and this provides a chance for better housing to the socially challenged citizens in exchange for their participation on the development. The technical solution considers low-cost tower blocks emphasizing the lifestyle and problems of the Roma people using traditional materials, technologies, unqualified labour and also the already existing boreholes to obtain energy with thermal pumps.

No description available.

The purpose of this study is to find and evaluate a course in crafts in a small rural school with the hope that it may be of some value to teachers in rural districts, and that it may help provide a more general education for the rural school child. The results of an interest questionnaire, projects suggested by the students, projects made, and direct observations will be the means used in determining the needs and interests of the Waneta School students. A comparison of suggested projects and of projects made by the students, and the results of an evaluation questionnaire and a rating sheet will be used in evaluating the course in terms of the students' needs and interests.

This thesis addresses the significant but often overlooked relationship between Jane Austen's works and the body of criticism about them and the two major craft movements of the nineteenth century: the Handicraft Movement and the Arts and Crafts Movement. The connections occur at two important moments during that century—first, at the moment of Austen's career during the Regency/Romantic period, and second, at the Victorian moment of the years surrounding the 1869 publication of James Edward Austen-Leigh's Memoir about Austen. In both of these moments, critics and reviewers repeatedly respond to Austen's life and works by using craft-related diction. This diction and the coetaneous nature of the craft and critical movements are indicative of the ongoing struggle throughout the nineteenth century to negotiate, eliminate, or redefine the art versus craft aesthetic binary. During the Regency moment, this negotiation begins to emerge in the heyday of the Handicraft Movement and its love for ornamentation. However, it is not until the years surrounding the publication of Austen-Leigh's Memoir that the interdisciplinary ideologies of craft and literary aesthetics burst forth. This period of overlap is short-lived, lasting approximately two decades. Nevertheless, by acknowledging its existence and examining its influence upon the Memoir and the criticism surrounding it, we can gain a greater appreciation for the aesthetic context in which the Memoir was published and for the image of Austen crafted by Victorian reviewers—an image that would ultimately become the literary inheritance of readers and scholars in the twentieth century.

In the Surface Development Test, self-perceived Sewing Expertise was significant in predicting participants' test scores. For the Paper Folding Test, Knitting and Crocheting Expertise were significant, suggesting expertise may mitigate age effects.; Spatial ability has been a topic of much research and debate over the past few decades. Yet, there are gaps in the current literature. Spatial ability refers to the aptitude of an individual to mentally rotate objects, visualize spaces, and recognize patterns (Linn & Petersen, 1985). A highly spatial task that is not addressed in research literature is crafting. Crafting may refer to knitting, crocheting, sewing, and other hobbies that include manipulations of materials. These crafts are spatially oriented, because they necessitate mental rotation, pattern recognition, and 3-D visualization to create an object. While research tends to favor males on certain spatial tests (Voyer, Voyer, & Bryden, 1995), research on the relationship between expertise and spatial ability has concentrated on traditionally male dominated domains, such as architecture and video games (Salthouse & Mitchell, 1990; Sims & Mayer, 2002). The traditionally female domain of needlework crafting expertise has not been studied empirically. First, a literature review is presented to give an overview of previous spatial ability research. The paper then describes the needlework crafts of sewing, knitting, and crocheting, including their historical significance and the spatial processes involved. A study was conducted to test the hypothesis that more expertise in needlework crafts will correlate with better performance on spatial ability tests. Three hundred and four adult women (ages 18-77) completed the study. Participant experience level was determined by self-perceived level of crafting expertise. Participants performed three spatial ability tests from the ETS Factor Reference Kit (Ekstrom et al., 1976): Paper Folding, Surface Development, and Card Rotations. Results indicated that age was correlated negatively with performance in all spatial tests. Only age was significant in the Card Rotations Test.

Computers are used in the music field for generation of sound, for composing music, for analysis of music, and for musicological applications, such as cataloguing a bibliography of music literature. These areas are relatively new aspects of computer usage, and research is being conducted to stay abreast of current technological advancements. Avant-garde composers are challenged by new advances in music. Computer-generated music is one of the new trends, but the composer is usually limited in the use of the medium for two reasons: there are no computers to which he may have access, and/or there is not enough knowledge about computer-generated music. The composer sometimes feels that he must have vast knowledge of the computer before he can attempt to use it in musical composition; however, a limited amount of investigation of computer-generated music has shown that methods can be codified to the point where great technical knowledge is not required of the composer.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the existence of recreation programs in adult day care centers, the utilization of textile crafts in them, and the types of textile crafts used. Systematically selected, the sample was taken from the Health Care Financing Administration's Directory of Adult Day Care Centers. A questionnaire developed for this study, and an explanatory cover letter were mailed to 203 directors nationwide. A 51 percent response rate resulted in 103 useable returns. Recreation was included in 100 of the 103 adult day care centers. The respondents indicated that clients who attended adult day care generally participated in recreation. Textile crafts were part of 97 recreation programs, and activities were directed by trained recreation staff members knowledgeable about textile crafts. Crafts made available to clients were those the staff were capable of teaching. Sewing, crocheting, and weaving were ranked by respondents as easiest for clients, and needlepoint, embroidery, and macrame’ were ranked as difficult. Although the value and benefit of textile crafts to clients was not investigated, the fact that facilities include textile crafts within their programs suggests that crafts play an important part in filling the needs of at least some of the elderly. / Master of Science

The purpose of this study is to determine if it is possible that training in the crafts as used in industrial arts today could be an aid to a better understanding of the meaning of religion or at least to give the student room for philosophic thinking rather than merely training in crafts.