In the weave: textile-based modes of making and the vocabulary of handcraft in selected contemporary artworks from South Africa

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Fine Art at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa November 2017This research focuses on handcrafted artworks made by contemporary artists working in South Africa who employ textile-based materials and processes of fabrication related to weaving and/or unweaving in producing sculptural objects, installations and performances. The primary aim is to investigate how and to what ends contemporary artists working in South Africa have chosen to engage in practices that are common to textile-based handcraft traditions of weaving, stitching and tying. This is done with reference to indigenous southern African textile-based traditions of making where appropriate. The focus is on how artists have understood manual work and its philosophy, and how conceptualization in their creative practice is accessed through the physical act of repetitive making by hand, based particularly on those traditional textile craft practices associated with weaving. In examining selected examples, such ‘textilic’ making practice is considered from a generative perspective involving a process of ‘following materials’ through handcrafted fabrication (Ingold 2010a). Furthermore, the study considers a material-conceptual interplay between ‘text, textile and techne (craftsmanship)’ and the knowledge production that this intertwining generates (Mitchell 2012). In South Africa, craft materials and techniques are currently in use by contemporary artists in very particular ways, and in relation to the historically politicized context of the country. I critically examine how the selected artists’ works intersect with a politics of craft that is particular to the country’s post-apartheid context, and how they subvert or destabilize the hierarchical distinction between art and craft.MT 201

An Investigation on High-Resolution Temperature Measurement in Precision Fly-Cutting

The loads acting on a workpiece during machining processes determine the modification of the surface of the final workpiece and, thus, its functional properties. In this work, a method that uses thermocouples to measure the temperature in precision fly-cutting machining with high spatial and temporal resolution is presented. Experiments were conducted for various materials and machining parameters. We compare experimental measurement data with results from modern and advanced machining process simulation and find a good match between experimental and simulation results. Therefore, the simulation is validated by experimental data and can be used to calculate realistic internal loads of machining processes

Multi-Institution Analysis of Infection Control Practices Identifies the Subset Associated with Best Surgical Site Infection Performance: A Texas Alliance for Surgical Quality Collaborative Project

© 2017 American College of Surgeons Background: In an effort to reduce surgical site infection (SSI) rates, a large number of infection control practices (ICPs), including operating room attire policies, have been recommended. However, few have proven benefits and many are costly, time-consuming, and detrimental to provider morale. The goal of this multi-institution study was to determine which ICPs are associated with lower postoperative SSI rates. Study Design: Twenty American College of Surgeons NSQIP and Texas Alliance for Surgical Quality-affiliated hospitals completed this Quality Improvement Assessment Board-approved study. Surgeon champions at each hospital ranked current surgery, anesthesia, and nursing adherence to 38 separate ICPs in 6 categories (attire, preoperative, intraoperative, preoperative, intraoperative, antibiotics, postoperative, and reporting) on 4-point scales for general surgery cases. These data were compared with the risk-adjusted general surgery SSI odds ratios contained in the July 2016 American College of Surgeons NSQIP hospital-level, risk-adjusted reports. Compliance rates were compared between the 7 best (median SSI odds ratio, 0.64; range, 0.56 to 0.70) and 7 worst (median SSI odds ratio, 1.16; range, 0.94 to 1.65) performers using ANOVA. Results: Nearly all hospitals reported maximal adherence to hair removal with clippers (Surgical Care Improvement Project measure Inf-6) and to best-practice prophylactic antibiotic metrics (Surgical Care Improvement Project measure Inf-1-3). Variable adherence was identified across many ICPs and more frequent compliance with 8 ICPs correlated with lower SSI odds ratios, including preoperative shower; skin preparation technique; using clean instruments, gowns, and gloves for wound closure and dressing changes; and transparent internal reporting of SSI data. Operating room attire ICPs, including coverage of nonscrubbed provider head and arm hair, did not correlate with SSI rates. Conclusions: This analysis suggests that the subset of ICPs that focus on perioperative patient skin and wound hygiene and transparent display of SSI data, not operating room attire policies, correlated with SSI rates. Implementation of this subset of evidence-based ICPs may improve SSI rates at lower-performing hospitals