677 research outputs found
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Can we rehabilitate the guilds? A sceptical re-appraisal
No full textThis paper examines recent attempts to rehabilitate pre-modern craft guilds as efficient economic institutions. Contrary to rehabilitation views, craft guilds adversely
affected quality, skills, and innovation. Guild rent-seeking imposed deadweight losses on the economy and generated no demonstrable positive externalities. Industry flourished where
guilds decayed. Despite impairing efficiency, guilds persisted because they redistributed resources to powerful groups. The ‘rehabilitation’ view of guilds, it concludes, is theoretically
contradictory and empirically untenable
Designing 21st Century Standard Ware: The Cultural Heritage of Leach and the Potential Applications of Digital Technologies
No full textThis practice-based research investigates the potential applications of digital manufacturing technologies in the design and production of hand-made tableware at the Leach Pottery. The methodology for the research establishes an approach grounded in my previous experience as a maker that is informed by an open, experimental, emergent, and responsive framework based on Naturalistic Inquiry.
A critical contextual review describes the cultural heritage of Leach which, for the purposes of the research, is developed through the Leach Pottery as a significant site, the historical production of the iconic Leach Standard Ware and the contemporary production of Leach Tableware. This is followed by an examination of Potter’s Tools in the Leach production environment, and a review of makers’ digital ceramic practice.
The contextual review is followed by an explication of ‘standards’ presented through visual lineages of Standard Ware and Leach Tableware to define ‘standard’ at a design (macro) level, followed by an examination of how ‘standard’ operates at a making (micro level) level. This chapter presents new knowledge in relation to defining the visual field of Leach Pottery tableware production and its standards of design.
A chapter focussed on practice presents the outcomes and analysis of my engagement with digital manufacturing technologies which resulted in the development of new tools to support Leach Tableware production and the interrogation of Leach forms, in different mediums, which led to the creation of Digital-Analogue Leach forms. The practice culminated in the design and development of new 21st century Standard Ware: a range of 9 forms, called Echo of Leach, that were developed by myself using digital and analogue methods: the designs were realised by myself, the Leach Studio, and a further four makers. The outcomes of the research were presented in a three month exhibition at the Leach Pottery in 2013.
The conclusions of the research draw on the key points raised in the analysis of the practice and relate these to the approaches to making pottery that are highlighted in the cultural heritage of Leach in the contextual review. These are also discussed in relation to ways in which these findings could be taken forward into development of knowledge about Standard Ware, especially in a broader studio pottery context
Modelling and Control of Experimental Scale Hydrofoil Craft
No full textHydrofoil crafts with fully submerged foils can provide fast and economical waterway transport. However, their operation requires reliable onboard control systems to ensure the safety and comfort of their passengers, especially in rough sea conditions. This thesis project is focused on the dynamical modelling and the design of motion control systems for an experimental scale hydrofoil craft that is available at TU Delft, namely the Hydrofoil Education and Research Platform (HEARP).The development of the dynamical model of HEARP is done by taking inspiration from the dynamics of marine crafts and aircraft and relying on different assumptions to obtain a simple and low-order model. The resulting model is a linearized state-space model with three degrees of freedom, namely heave, roll, and pitch, and includes the influence of regular waves. Because of inaccurate available data for the mass properties of HEARP, variations of the system parameters due to nonlinearities, and changes in the operating conditions, different uncertainties are assigned to most system parameters.The use of multivariable feedback control methods for the motion control of hydrofoil crafts is limited, so this work is focused on exploiting such methods to improve the performance and robustness of such systems. The representation of the perturbed system using real parametric uncertainties is proved to be computationally expensive for the control design. Thus, the perturbed system is approximated by complex (dynamic) perturbations. A signal-based H-infinity optimal controller is designed using the nominal system, and a mu-synthesis optimal robust controller is designed using the approximated perturbed system.The performance and robustness of the proposed controllers are evaluated in both frequency and time domains through simulations. From the results, it is concluded that both controllers offer high-performance system responses for both reference tracking and disturbance rejection of incident waves. Furthermore, by comparing the two controllers, it is observed that the mu-synthesis controller shows superior robustness for the modelled uncertainty. In contrast, the H-infinity controller has a slightly better performance when considering the perturbed systems with the real parametric uncertainty. The results of this thesis project can be used in the future to experimentally validate the accuracy of the proposed dynamical model and the performance of the designed controllers.HEARPMechanical Engineering | Systems and Contro
Thesaurus of craft and professional terminology in Ukrainian bibliopegy: the issues of a special dictionary formation
No full textThe article covers terminological problems which arise when medieval manuscripts’ bindings are described for scientific catalogs and electronic databases. The author attempts to analyze the causes of these problems and ways to overcome them. Reviewed are handwritten and printed sources, which contain the terms dealing with manuscripts production, and substantiated is the relevance of formation of the national craft and professional terminology thesaurus in Ukrainian codicology and bibliopegy. We have also defined the basic steps of the dictionary creation, which are the following: collecting special terms and creating a glossary and card index; translation, editing and unification of borrowed terms; creation of a digital visual dictionar
Improvement of craft organizations using the national training fund
No full textArtykuł dotyczy funkcjonowania sektora mikro, małych i średnich przedsiębiorstw, w szczególności zakładów rzemieślniczych. Autorka skupia się na wybranym wycinku funkcjonowania przedsiębiorstw sektora MŚP – zakładach rzemieślniczych, a konkretnie na wykorzystaniu Krajowego Funduszu Szkoleniowego do podnoszenia kompetencji pracowników i właścicieli tych zakładów. Rozważania teoretyczne uzupełniono o wyniki badań empirycznych, w których prezentuje się opinie respondentów dotyczące deklarowanej chęci wykorzystania Krajowego Funduszu Szkoleniowego.The article concerns the functioning of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, in particular craft enterprises. The author focuses on the selected section of the functioning of the SME sector – craft enterprises, and specifically the use of the National Training Fund to raise the competence of employees and owners of these establishments. Theoretical considerations supplemented by the results of empirical research, which presents the opinions of the respondents on the declared willingness to use the National Training Fund
Drifting into a night sky: An investigation of Ukiyo-E's influence o Van Gogh's craft
No full textThe dissertation Drifting into a night sky explores the influence of the Japanese woodcut art Ukiyo-E on the latter part of Van Gogh’s artistry, specifically his time at the Saint-Paul asylum. The thesis begins by examining the key characteristics of the Ukiyo-E movement and follows by exploring Van Gogh’s Japonism, to explain what principles of the art style fascinated and influenced Van Gogh. Afterward, the effects of his Japanese muse on his artistry are analysed. The visual and mostly literary analysis used during this part of the research shows how the Japanese influence might have changed his craft or view up until his stay at Saint-Paul. The thesis finalizes the research by comparing paintings of Van Gogh from the asylum period with Ukiyo-E prints through literary and visual analysis, supported by the context created by earlier chapters. Finally, the exploration done during each of the chapters and most of all the final visual research will result in the formulation of a conclusion.AR2A011Architectural History ThesisArchitecture, Urbanism and Building Science
On craft and being crafty
No full textThis thesis explores how designers might approach human behaviour as a material to be worked on. Unlike politicians, economists, lawyers, philosophers, psychiatrists and many others, designers have few
disciplinary resources to draw on in this space. Indeed, it is barely discussed at all. Contemporary designers are, we are told, supposed to treat people and things differently, and ensure that the latter are subservient to the agendas of the former - calls that become all the more insistent when designers are looking for ways to incorporate the design of services and organisations into their practice, a project that summons the prospect of breaking this taboo.
But what would a form of design that took human behaviour as its object actually be like? This thesis takes up this question as an issue in the philosophy of design, through investigating a long and rich history of suspicions about designers - namely, suspicions that they might extend their material palette from dead materials to living human beings. This exploration uncovers the emergence in the Industrial Revolution of today’s fears that designers might ‘treat people like things’; but it also uncovers an older, almost lost history of ideas about design, which understood its applicability to human beings in a way
that, today, is strikingly unfamiliar. Here we find the almost forgotten but still-lingering link between
craft and being crafty, encapsulated well by the lost ancient Greek concept of mêtis, 'cunning intelligence'. Mêtis isolates that aspect of design at work when extraordinary effects are elicited from unpromising materials, connecting design to political intrigues, daring military stratagems, the operations of impresarios and salesmen, and other instances wherein, through ingenious means, the weak prevail over the strong.
By uncovering and developing these ideas, the thesis provides a view of design that connects it to human
behaviour not through domination but through clever manipulation, a morally complex but undoubtedly potent approach that informs an alternative conception of how human behaviour might be understood as the object of design. The principle contribution of this thesis is, therefore, to provide a novel examination of human behaviour as the object of design; its main achievement is to provide the design disciplines with, on the one hand, an exposition of the implicit associations this project has at present; and on the other, the disinterment of mêtis and related ideas as a promising counter-perspective
Vergílio Ferreira e o que está antes da escrita
No full textEscrever foi o ofício de Vergílio Ferreira. Pensar acompanhou o ofício. Ambos foram a sua razão de ser e por isso são verosimilmente dois títulos/ temáticas de obras suas. Escrever foi a última, já póstuma, insistindo para além do fim na problemática de escrever. Pensar o excessivo vitalismo, o seu mundo vivido compulsivamente, sobretudo a partir de Aparição, expressará a relação afetiva, simpática, que o autor teve com o mundo. A escrita do romancista-filósofo da ofuscação do eu por si mesmo aponta claramente para muito mais mundo, muito mais palavras, muito mais indizíveis, indefiníveis, talvez até impensáveisWriting was the office of Vergílio Ferreira. Think accompanied the craft. Both were their reason for being and so are credibly two titles / themes of his works. Writing was the last, already posthumous, insisting beyond the end "on the issue of writing." Think excessive vitalism, your world experienced compulsively, particularly from Apparition, express the emotional relationship, friendly, that the author had with the world. The writing of novelist-philosopher of obfuscation of self itself clearly points to much world, more words, more ineffable, indefinable, perhaps even unthinkable..
Between Context and Craft
No full textHlavním tématem mé práce je řemeslnost v současném umění. Její realizace spočívá v otevření dílny pro studenty FaVU v budově fakulty na Údolní pod názvem DÍLNA MARTINY pro FaVU. Zde organizuji workshopy technik, jež jsem si osvojila v průběhu uplynulého studia na FaVU. Svým spolužákům se tu snažím zprostředkovat zkušenost s medii, která jsem použila k tvorbě vlastních prací. Protože na FaVU není žádná oficiální dílna, je DÍLNA zároveň kritickou reakcí na fungování školy. Všímám si, z jakých ateliérů pocházejí studenti, kteří o DÍLNU mají zájem. Důležitý je proces tvorby, přípravy a průběhu dílny, vzájemná interakce. Celoškolním šířením letáků a aktualizací informací na internetových stránkých ateliéru utvářím povědomí o problému a prostor pro diskusi. Nahlížím na problematiku rukodělné tvorby z druhé strany a to ze strany, umělce, který učí a vytváří podhoubí pro nová díla a nápady namísto tvorby vlastního hmotného díla. Výstupem mé práce celý tento proces – škola ve škole. Procesuální projekt, jehož výsledkem bude autorská dokumentace, instalace.The main topic of my work is question of craft in the connection with contemporary fine arts. The implementation of the work is based an open workshop for students of the Faculty of Fine Arts in Brno inside the building of the faculty in Údolní under the name DÍLNA MARTINY pro FaVU. In this place, I organize workshops of techniques , which I acquired during my past studies at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Brno. I try to pass on the experience with techniques, which I used for creation of my own works to my schoolmates. Because there is no official workshop in the Faculty of Fine Arts, DÍLNA is my critical response to the functionning of the school at the same time. I notice which studios are the students attending the workshops from. The process of the creation, preparation and course of the workshops as well as the interaction are important part of the project. I spread the information about workshops through the whole school by posters and by our studio´s internet website. Like this, I create a mental space for discussion. I review the problems of the craft from the other side, from the side of the artist, who teaches and creates matrix for new art pieces and ideas instead of creation of my own material work. The outcome of the work is the whole process – a school inside the school. It is a processual project of which author´s documentation and installation is the final outcome.
The Craft of Violin Making Through the Eyes of a String Instrument Player
No full textDiplomová práce s názvem Houslařské řemeslo očima hráče na smyčcový nástroj se
zabývá problematikou stavby houslí. V teoretické části nabízí informace od profesionálních
houslařů a popisuje proces výroby houslí krok za krokem. Praktická část pak přibližuje
vlastní zkušenost autora s tvorbou nástroje. Tyto dva pohledy následně porovnává. Práce
dále pojednává o současném stavu tohoto řemesla, o tom, jak se v posledních letech
vyvinulo, o výzvách, před kterými tento obor stojí i o jeho vyhlídkách do budoucna, mezi
které patří i používání alternativních materiálů. Stěžejním bodem této práce pak je slovník
houslových pojmů a česko-anglický slovník houslařského náčiní. Tyto slovníky by mohly
pomoci hudebníkům k porozumění houslařské terminologie.The thesis titled "The Craft of Violin Making Through the Eyes of a String
Instrument Player" explores the intricacies of violin construction. The theoretical part
provides insights from professional violin makers and describes the step-by-step process
of violin making. The practical part details the author's personal experience in creating an
instrument. These two perspectives are then compared. The thesis also discusses the
current state of the craft, its development in recent years, the challenges it faces, and its
future prospects, including the use of alternative materials. A key feature of this work is
a glossary of violin-related terms and a Czech-English dictionary of violin-making tools.
These glossaries aim to help musicians understand violin-making terminology
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