1,139 research outputs found

    Trends and Design Relating literature to industry practice

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    In a crowded market place, where technology and functionality are not enough to differentiate a product from its competitors, the product’s appearance is a major driver of consumer preference. But preferences change over time, and product forms need to reflect this in order to stay relevant. This paper addresses the usage of trends by designers to inform the design and evolution of their products. Published theory regarding trends in product form exists in the fashion and consumer behaviour domains, but not in direct relation to the design of consumer products. This paper is preceded by a synthesis of literature in adjacent fields and compares the literature understanding with real industrial practice. Interviews with 9 professionals in trend research, design consultancy, furniture, fashion and architecture, were undertaken to explore the value and usage of trends across a variety of creative fields. The interview data were used to corroborate and enhance the literature understanding. In addition, the study also provides some emerging comparisons between design disciplines. The product designers interviewed were unlikely to use formal trend research methods: inspiration, tacit knowledge and experience accounts for much of their creative output. However, trend consultancies have developed methods of identifying and using trends to develop products for 5-10 years in the future. The fashion industry also has established ways of to rapidly identify or predict trend information. Keywords: Product form; trends; fashion; foresight</p

    "Completing the performance jigsaw"

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    William Marsh Rice, Houstonian

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    The relation of spatial perception and accuracy of movement to engineering ability

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    David Betton Macomb, Frontiersman

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    Well known in American history is the peripatetic hunter and trapper, farmer and stockholder who at the head of the westward movement pushed into new areas only to abandon them when joined by too close neighbors. These folk were the vanguard of American civilization. Conspicuous among them are Daniel Boone and David Crockett. Less well known are the equally peripatetic professional men - lawyers, teachers, ministers, and physicians - who were largely instrumental in transmitting to the frontier the typical institutions of American life. Like the early group they too abandoned an area when it became stable and settled to turn their footsteps toward a newer frontier

    Role of gender, smoking profile, hypertension, and diabetes on saphenous vein and internal mammary artery endothelial relaxation in patients with coronary artery bypass grafting

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    The aim of this study was to investigate if there was a link between the relaxant responses in saphenous vein (SV) and internal mammary artery (IMA) segments obtained from patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting and the patients' cardiovascular risk factors. Endothelium-(in)dependent relaxations were assessed by isometric tension studies. Endothelium-dependent relaxant responses were greater in IMA than SV and gender, smoking profile and history of hypertension but not diabetes appeared to have an influence on these responses. Endothelium-dependent relaxant responses in both IMA and SV were greater in males than females and relaxant responses in IMA segments were attenuated in smokers, whereas the opposite effect was noted in SV segments. Endothelium-dependent relaxant responses in SV were lower in patients with hypertension. Endothelium-independent relaxant responses were greater in IMA than SV. Endothelium-independent responses were greater in male patients' SV segments, but gender played no role in IMA segments. Diabetes had no effect on endothelium-independent responses in IMA, but SV segments from diabetic patients had greater responses. Neither conduit's endothelium-independent response was affected by hypertensive status. The relationship between risk factor status and endothelial responses is multifactorial, with gender, hypertension, diabetes and smoking status all contributing
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