Rethinking Soft Goods Design Education

According to Merriam-Webster (2017), soft goods are items that are not durable, ones made of textile products. For most of us, when we think of soft goods, we think of sewn items like apparel. In the past, professors relied on students learning basic soft goods/sewing skills from their parents, in home economics classes or through clubs like 4H. From there, those basic skills were enhanced during the students\u27 university design educational experience. However, today\u27s university students are entering without any skills, due to the decline of learning opportunities. Students have no fundamental context regarding soft goods. They do not understand grain lines, seam allowances or notches. For university programs that do offer general soft goods/sewing courses, they tend to be apparel-based and restrained in content. Students typically learn to make small seam samples and an apparel item from commercial patterns or ones that the professor provides. This pedagogical method is outdated, because students are not taught how to work with a variety of materials, machines or learn how patterns are derived. This method also neglects teaching students about other soft goods products like footwear, automobile and furniture upholstery, sports equipment and wearables. The modern-day design student needs a new approach, so they can acquire a solid foundation of soft goods skills to be successful in their field of study. By considering all of the design majors that may need to learn this information, a new pedagogical model was created for a 10-week (quarter system), 2-credit course in soft goods design

Designing a Thoracic Compression and Posture Correction Device for Brass Musicians with Pharyngoceles: A Teaching Opportunity

Brass musicians exert high pressures throughout their bodies when playing, and overtime they can establish pharyngoceles. These are balloon-like protrusions that project through the wall of the pharynx and can over-stimulate the Vagus nerve. When this nerve is stressed, the brass musician can develop extreme pain, nausea and psychological distress. This condition was explored as a studio topic, for a senior level Product Design class. Students were tasked to innovate products for practice, performance or recovery, in an attempt to reduce the symptoms caused by the pharyngoceles

The development of a performance hand wear and tools product innovation framework

18 pagesHumans wear products and use tools that interface with their hands to provide abrasion resistance, impact protection, grip, thermal comfort, and detailed maneuvers. The skills needed to design new and innovative products for the hand are multi-faceted. Academic programs in the US typically focus on soft goods (textile and apparel) or hard goods (industrial and product design/engineering) based design. Therefore, students often do not learn all of the available skills and technologies needed to design hand wear performance products because of the pedagogical split between the different academic disciplines. This case study outlines a three-phase innovation framework, for use by designers throughout the product creation process, specifically for creating performance products and tools for the hand. The phases include strategies for: (1) understanding the hand wear and tool project background, (2) defining the user’s 3D and 2D hand and (3) hand wear and tool product innovation. The paper will also demonstrate how the framework was implemented by students in a graduate level design studio, to create new gloves for athletes. The framework could also be used by students and professionals to design innovative products for other users and to improve safety and overall performance

Examination of current U.S. female firefighting personal protective equipment (PPE) sizing and fitting process challenges: an opportunity to improve safety

26 pagesBetween 2010 and 2014, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) estimated that female firefighters experienced 1260 injuries on the fireground each year. Previous research attributed some of these injuries to ill-fitting fire personal protective equipment (PPE). Therefore, in this mixed-method paper, the authors explored the relationship between fire PPE and injuries, and how they related to sizing and fit. To achieve this aim, data were collected from manufacturer-provided web communications regarding sizing and fit, user surveys (n = 74), and 1:1 interviews (n = 31) with U.S. female firefighters. The data considered how the size and fit standards established by the NFPA and how leading fire PPE manufacturers’ interpretation of standards impacted fit for female firefighters. Interview and survey data pinpointed experiences with the PPE sizing processes that led to poor fit. The data also identified previously undocumented knowledge gaps between NFPA size standards, commercialized products, and processes used by manufacturers and firehouses to fit female practitioners. The study discovered several opportunities to improve the size and fitting process women experienced when acquiring new turnout gear. With effective fire industry partnerships and future research, women can experience fewer injuries, improved comfort, and work performance with their PPE while establishing equality with their male counterparts

Dissecting the Shared Genetic Architecture of Suicide Attempt, Psychiatric Disorders, and Known Risk Factors

Background Suicide is a leading cause of death worldwide, and nonfatal suicide attempts, which occur far more frequently, are a major source of disability and social and economic burden. Both have substantial genetic etiology, which is partially shared and partially distinct from that of related psychiatric disorders. Methods We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 29,782 suicide attempt (SA) cases and 519,961 controls in the International Suicide Genetics Consortium (ISGC). The GWAS of SA was conditioned on psychiatric disorders using GWAS summary statistics via multitrait-based conditional and joint analysis, to remove genetic effects on SA mediated by psychiatric disorders. We investigated the shared and divergent genetic architectures of SA, psychiatric disorders, and other known risk factors. Results Two loci reached genome-wide significance for SA: the major histocompatibility complex and an intergenic locus on chromosome 7, the latter of which remained associated with SA after conditioning on psychiatric disorders and replicated in an independent cohort from the Million Veteran Program. This locus has been implicated in risk-taking behavior, smoking, and insomnia. SA showed strong genetic correlation with psychiatric disorders, particularly major depression, and also with smoking, pain, risk-taking behavior, sleep disturbances, lower educational attainment, reproductive traits, lower socioeconomic status, and poorer general health. After conditioning on psychiatric disorders, the genetic correlations between SA and psychiatric disorders decreased, whereas those with nonpsychiatric traits remained largely unchanged. Conclusions Our results identify a risk locus that contributes more strongly to SA than other phenotypes and suggest a shared underlying biology between SA and known risk factors that is not mediated by psychiatric disorders.Peer reviewe

SPORTS INDUSTRY MEETS ACADEMIA: THE PEDAGOGICAL DEVELOPMENT OF AN MS DEGREE PROGRAM IN SPORTS PRODUCT DESIGN

14 pagesIn the U.S., Portland, Oregon, is home to the sports product design industry. Jobs in this industry vary from entry-level retail assistants to CEOs, but the heart of it all revolves around designers and the inventive products they create. Becoming a successful designer can be very challenging and competitive, as undergraduate design and engineering programs in the U.S. provide basic skills but not industry-specific skills that fully allow designers to succeed in all divisions (apparel, footwear, and equipment) of the sports product industry. The University of Oregon, through a strategic initiatives effort, identified this opportunity and developed an integrative Master of Science graduate degree program in Sports Product Design. The program was created to include specialized courses from the departments of human physiology, journalism, business, and design to develop graduates proficient in using theories and creative problem solving skills to invent products that push the boundaries of athletic performance. Students learn how design can reduce athletic injuries and extend careers, improve performance, and address issues related to gender and diverse body types, including athletes with disabilities. This paper will review the creation of this one-of-a-kind program in the U.S., including pedagogical considerations, curriculum, and student inventions over the last three years

Modification of the Female Figure Identification Technique (FFIT) Formulas to Include Plus Size Bodies

6 pagesWith new 3D plus size body scan data available through surveys like Size North America and manufacturers investing in their own data, there was an opportunity to study the shape of modern female plus sized bodies to inform the fit of products for this emerging business demographic. The researchers partnered with a leading apparel company to analyze 3D plus size body scans with the Female Figure Identification Technique (FFIT) for apparel developed by Simmons, Istook, and Devarajan (2004), using mathematical representations of the FFIT body shapes created by Lee, Istook, Nam, and Park (2007). However, during the project, it was discovered through visual inspections there were opportunities to modify the FFIT mathematical formulas to be more inclusive of plus size women. The inspections indicated that some scans were inaccurately classified or not sorted into any shape category. Since plus size women often have larger abdomens than bust or hips, the formulas were modified to include a check for that condition. By understanding shape, manufacturers can have a better idea of how to design, fit and grade products for this market throughout a size range, as opposed to relying on only 2D measurements or linear grading rules from a sample size

Examination of current U.S. female firefighting personal protective equipment (PPE) sizing and fitting process challenges: an opportunity to improve safety

Between 2010 and 2014, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) estimated that female firefighters experienced 1260 injuries on the fireground each year. Previous research attributed some of these injuries to ill-fitting fire personal protective equipment (PPE). Therefore, in this mixed-method paper, the authors explored the relationship between fire PPE and injuries, and how they related to sizing and fit. To achieve this aim, data were collected from manufacturer-provided web communications regarding sizing and fit, user surveys (n = 74), and 1:1 interviews (n = 31) with U.S. female firefighters. The data considered how the size and fit standards established by the NFPA and how leading fire PPE manufacturers’ interpretation of standards impacted fit for female firefighters. Interview and survey data pinpointed experiences with the PPE sizing processes that led to poor fit. The data also identified previously undocumented knowledge gaps between NFPA size standards, commercialized products, and processes used by manufacturers and firehouses to fit female practitioners. The study discovered several opportunities to improve the size and fitting process women experienced when acquiring new turnout gear. With effective fire industry partnerships and future research, women can experience fewer injuries, improved comfort, and work performance with their PPE while establishing equality with their male counterparts.Sokolowski, S.L., Griffin, L., Wu, Y. et al. Examination of current U.S. female firefighting personal protective equipment (PPE) sizing and fitting process challenges: an opportunity to improve safety. Fash Text 9, 40 (2022).https://doi.org/10.1186/s40691-022-00314-8, Posted with permission Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.<br