Master of Science / Department of Apparel, Textiles and Interior Design / Joy Kozar / This study documents Saudi women who have succeeded in operating their own small businesses, namely in the production of apparel goods. The study notes the reasons that motivate women to establish this kind of work and the factors that help women to be successful in apparel production in Saudi Arabia. Additionally, the study explores the challenges that women encounter in the apparel production field, as well as the commitment women have to offering employment to Saudi girls and young women. This study is important given a lack of appropriate employment opportunities for women in Saudi Arabia and the weak rate of women’s participation in the workforce in Saudi Arabia. Qualitative data was collected to gain in-depth information about the characteristics of successful female entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia. The current study also adds new insight related to entrepreneurial success and failures, stemming from factors identified by participants. As part of the study, it was discovered that Saudi female entrepreneurs were motivated by financial and non-financial factors, pull and push, and internal and external motives. Personal characteristics of the business owner, the quality of the product produced within the firm, advertising and promotion strategies, family support, previous education, availability of resources, and years of experience were all elements identified by participants as contributing to their success. Obstacles suffered by participants included competition, filing government paperwork, conflict between roles at work and home, marketplace changes, and lack of management skills. Finally, when asking the participants about their ability or willingness to extend their work to accommodate larger numbers of Saudi women, it was found that the business owners had several reasons for not planning to do this, including the lack of the skills needed for this industry upon Saudi women and the preference of Saudi women to work in the service sector.

<p>The subject of this qualifying paper is an Edo Period N&omacr; theater <i> ch&omacr;ken</i>. Upon receipt, this choken was in very poor condition. There were six types of damage that needed treatment. </p><p> <i>First</i>, there was extensive warp breakage along the full length of the shoulders and sleeve bottoms and one area of full loss to the base fabric, exposing wefts. <i>Second</i>, a couched metallic thread was used as an outline to five vase motifs and as patterning for four butterflies. All used &lsquo;urushi,&rsquo; better known as Japanese lacquer, for an adhesive binding a metal foil its paper substrate. This couched thread had either loss to the metallic surface, to the combined metallic and lacquer surface, or was hanging, and at times twisted back upon itself. <i>Third</i>, there was a cut and finely woven, metallic coated paper used for some of the leaf and insect wing motifs that was tattered, unaligned, had loss to its metallic surface, and was not secure to the base fabric. <i>Fourth</i>, there were areas of weft breakage exposing warps. <i>Fifth</i>, the six exposed selvages that run the full length of the two sleeves and one body panel all needed to be strengthened. <i>Sixth</i>, there was one 3 by 4 inch area in the lower back of the body panel which had complete fabric loss. </p><p> Untreated areas were: areas of warp distortion in the front body panel; a few loose embroidery threads throughout the five floral/vase motifs; and a small amount of loss due to insect infestation. </p><p> Research was done and methods developed in order to find treatment techniques for the lacquer based metallic thread, the cut and woven paper motifs, and the extensive warp breakage extending along the shoulders and sleeve bottoms. </p><p> Due to the difficulty of finding English equivalents to Japanese textile terminology, I included a Comparative Glossary that I hope will be useful to other researchers in this field. </p><p> This project proved to be challenging, but in the end, very rewarding with a new body of knowledge concerning materials used in this type of cultural object. </p>

Tez (Yüksek Lisans) - Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi, Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Tekstil Mühendisliği Anabilim Dalı, 2008. / Kaynakça var.

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Novel poly(imide siloxane) copolymers were prepared and developed as high performance fiber coatings. These copolymers were synthesized and characterized extensively as a function of chemical composition. The polyimides were then utilized to coat prototype fibers which were subsequently evaluated regarding thermal stability, thermal behavior, and hydrophobicity. The polymer series included poly(imide siloxane)s which were prepared in two steps, the first involving the generation of soluble poly(amic acid} intermediates which were then cyclodehydrated by heating in a coamide solution, at temperatures ranging from 140 to 170°C, resulting in soluble polymer which exhibited excellent thermal and mechanical properties. Because of the different nature of the imide and siloxane, a two phase microstructure developed at relatively low block molecular weight. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and contact angle measurements indicated that the surface of the copolymer films was dominated by siloxane. A series of coating solutions was prepared, controlling the solution concentration, solvent, and viscosity. Polybenzimidazole and Kevlar aramid multifilament yarns were immersion coated, dried, and evaluated. Due to the surface segregation of siloxane, these coated fibers advantageously displayed lower moisture sorption as measured in three environments of different humidities. Thus, the coating acted as a hydrophobic barrier. These coated fibers were also evaluated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) which displayed that the dynamic thermo-oxidative stability was improved. Finally, thermal expansion coefficients were measured in order to determine coating integrity or matrix/resin integrity under thermal stress. / M.S.

Master of Science / Department of Apparel, Textiles, and Interior Design / Sherry J. Haar / This study was based on the concept of slow design, proposed after the slow food movement. The idea of slowing down production processes and increasing product quality and value suggests an antidote to the fast cycle of the fashion industry. Slow design supports two principals, inheriting tradition and maintaining eco-efficiency, which guided this project. Inheriting tradition is an expression that explores ways to sustain lost art and traditional heritage in our daily lives, as well as develop products that establish personal meaning for the consumer. Maintaining eco-efficiency of product production involves utilization of eco-friendly materials and sustainable approaches to aid in developing a healthier and cleaner ecosystem. The overall goal of this design research was to celebrate and sustain the spiritual and material civilization of the Chinese culture by creating a modern artistic interpretation of Chinese traditional arts using an environmentally conscious approach that was applicable to apparel design. This research created modern surface design on a group of garments from traditional Chinese Su Xiu embroidery, physical resist techniques, and natural dyes. This practice-based research utilized the paradigm of naturalistic inquiry to guide the stages of this project. A progressive design process was adopted in response to the unexpected events in the final artifact development. In the design exploration stage, a color library was created to provide the color story for the final artifacts. Basic Su Xiu embroidery stitches and traditional physical resist techniques were sampled with selected flosses and fabrics. Various samples were critiqued and analyzed to develop three unique techniques from characteristics of traditional Chinese Su Xiu embroidery, physical resist techniques (Zha Jiao, Feng Jiao, pole- wrapping, and Jia Xie), using natural dyeing techniques with woad and madder. Natural dye findings included using madder to overdye woad to adjust or reverse colors and that woad overpowered the effects of iron and acid premordants. The outcome resulted in a water-inspired series of three garments that showed evidence of simplified traditional techniques with reduced production time, energy, and dyeing material while encompassing elements of traditional art using a modern aesthetic. The designs and process were presented in a public exposition.

Master of Science / Department of Apparel, Textiles, and Interior Design / Minyoung Suh / The purpose of this study was to explore printed antennas as an alternative technique for applying hyperthermia treatment. The antenna consisted of a printed ground plane and a thin copper plate. The ground plane was made of silver conductive ink printed on a flexible substrate. The challenge of the printed ground plane was limited conductivity. Multi-layer printing was one of the ways to increase the conductivity of the printed trace. This study examined whether the multiple-layered printings on the ground plane influence the performance of the antenna. The ground plane printed on a flexible substrate was evaluated for its conductivity and capacity to handle the heat energy for the extended time duration at the elevated temperature. This research was conducted in two experimental stages. The first stage of the experiment was designed to test conductivity of the ground plane. Ground planes were printed on a 32.5 mm × 17.0 mm substrate. The thickness and resistance of up to five layers of conductive printing were tested to verify how repeated printing improved the resistance and resistivity. Results showed that the multi-layering technique reduced the resistance of the printed trace, but statistically, the ground plane had no significant improvement in resistance beyond the triple layer printing. With an increase of the thickness, resistivity rather increased after the triple layer printing. The second stage of the experiment was used to assess the performance of the entire antenna. Antennas were fabricated using ground planes with triple and quintuple layers based on resistance and resistivity measurements. The antennas showed an acceptable level of performance in terms of antenna return loss and temperature elevation. The statistical analysis of return loss, power handling capability over the time, and temperature elevation was not significant among the antennas with triple and quintuple layered ground planes. Antennas were able to achieve 42 ˚C within 10 minutes at a 2cm deep location with the return loss of -13.76 dB. Most importantly, experimental results showed that antennas were able to handle 15 watt power without degrading the antenna performance. The antenna showed a successful performance in power handling and reaching the tumor temperature.

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