Theses and Dissertations - Department of Design and Merchandising
Recent Submissions
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Mechanical and antimicrobial performance analysis of a shark skin bio-mimicked fabric swatch via 3D printing
Biomimicry is a long-practiced concept concerned with development of products with nature as the source of inspiration. Bio mimicked textiles is a branch of textiles wherein textile products are developed to replicate ... -
Custom Paralympic shooting jacket: a single-case product development project
The goal of this research was to develop a custom regulation jacket for a Paralympic Shooting athlete. A six-step design process was implemented to understand the design needs of a Paralympic shooting athlete in their ... -
Bacterial culture components activating colorimetric transition in polydiacetylene nanofiber composites
Polydiacetylene (PDA) demonstrates colorimetric transition behaviors due to conformational changes in π conjugated backbone of PDA macromolecules at external stimuli of bacteria, suggesting potential applications in ... -
Third place: a qualitative examination of socialization and community building in CCRCs
Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs) continue to be a popular option for senior living. Social activity is invariably tied to improved health trajectories and decreased loneliness but is often challenging for ... -
Effects of codesign on consumer acceptance of a wearable technology using the Lilypad Arduino, The
Wearable technology is increasing in popularity, but research shows that significant challenges still exist in user acceptance. Meanwhile, new tools and design and development contexts are becoming accessible to the average ... -
Modernization and cultural identity: the case of Ri-Bhoi women handloom weavers
The handloom industry is a vital part of the rural and semi-rural population of North East Region of India (NERI) providing these populations with a source of employment. Hand woven textiles are deeply associated with the ... -
Millennial consumers' responses to advertising for a transformational apparel product
Owing to the growth in the sportswear industry, and more specifically growth in the outdoor wear industry, companies are innovating products to find a competitive advantage over well established brands. Consumer demand for ... -
Graduate education, research, and the interior design profession
Irrespective of the field, all professions are made up of different components that set a standard for the discipline. These components include, but are not limited to, accreditation, examination, licensing, and research. ... -
Experiences of designing women: a portrait of female interior designers' job satisfaction across career-spans
The subject of job satisfaction is one of the most highly researched topics among organizational psychology (Lu, Barriball, Zhang, & While, 2012). However, only few studies have examined factors of job satisfaction among ... -
Analysis of body armor fit and comfort using 3D body scanning: a case study with an industry partner
This study adopted a single case study approach to evaluate the fit and comfort of a company's body armor product, and improve the design of the product. To achieve this goal, I developed a mixed-methods strategy driven ... -
Nanofiber based smart wound dressing combined with bacteria detection and drug delivery
Since the emergence of Nanotechnology in the past decades, the development and design of nanofibers demonstrated the great potential for applications in wound treatment. Proliferation of bacteria in wound site is a major ... -
Exploring luxury fashion brands' strategic response to crisis: a multiple case study on surviving the Global Financial Crisis
The Global Financial Crisis, 2007-2010, affected the luxury industry, causing an 8% overall decline, major consumer behavior shifts, and increased competitive pressure on luxury fashion brands' strategic responses (Cavender ... -
Factors affecting China's apparel manufacturing industry's international competitive advantage
Since the early 1980s, China has grown its apparel manufacturing export industry by utilizing a large labor pool, low wages, and its access to a significant amount of raw materials (Zhang, Kong, & Ramu, 2015; Zhang & ... -
Exploring cultural perceptions of waiting area design features on mood and quality of care
Healthcare organizations spend millions of dollars to improve the physical attractiveness of their facilities, particularly in more public areas such as lobbies and waiting rooms, however impacts of renovations on perceived ... -
Unhappy with their body?: how Generation Y men respond through clothing behaviors
In the Western society, more men have become interested in body-related issues which led to the growth of their body concerns. Further, men have become more involved in fashion which positively influenced the increase of ... -
Female Muslim consumer purchase preferences for digitally printed portable prayer rugs
The purpose of this study was to investigate female Muslim consumer preferences related to digitally-printed portable prayer rugs in the context of the FEA (Functional, Expressive, and Aesthetic) consumer needs model. For ... -
Development and thermal characterization of polydiacetylene (PDA) nanofiber composites for smart wound dressing applications
Conventional methods of identification of microbiological pathogens infection in wound have many challenges such as the need for specialized instruments and trained personnel, and the long detection time. There is a critical ... -
Understanding college students' compulsive buying tendencies across shopping channels: psychological, affective, and social perspectives
The concept of compulsive buying is a repetitive behavior that affects many people negatively in terms of emotional and financial well being. The purpose of this study was to analyze compulsive buying among college students ... -
Team creative performance: exploring the relationship between team diversity and conflict affecting the creative productivity of interior design student teams
This exploratory case study used mixed methods to examine five main variables and their possible effects on team creative productivity: team learning style diversity, student self-awareness, task conflict, process conflict, ...