The Stitchery collective : more than pretty clothes for pretty people

As a cultural field, the world of fashion is usually associated with ‘exclusive’ qualities such as celebrity, glamour and the value of being young beautiful and size 10. By and large fashion design courses adhere to this model of fashion production and consumption training their graduates to compete successfully in an industry that seems far removed from the notions inclusivity and connection of community engagement. However, alternative models can and do exist. This presentation tells the story of ‘the stitchery collective’ a group of graduates from QUTs Creative Industries Fashion program who are developing an innovative model of fashion practice focussed around the ideas and values both of community engagement and community cultural development. Their work to date has included projects that target specific community groups – such as “Fashioning Social Inclusion” (2010-2011) that works with Brisbane women who belong to migrant and refugee communities, as well as more recently “WARM” a workshop delivered to children at the 3rd International Kids’ Carnival hosted by La Biennale in Venice (February 2012). A common thread across these programs is a desire to investigate the premise that clothing and dress can potentially act as a lingua franca that enables connection and communication; and that in fact aspects of ‘fashion’ culture can be mobilised in a community focussed context to enhance cultural exchange. The issue of how ‘learning’ happens in these contexts provides rich scope for analysis and discussion – given the innovative and engaged nature of the work our discussion will particularly highlight the ‘leaning through doing’ that occurs as well as the ‘collective’ nature of the design processes we develop and promote. The story will include the voices and perspectives of several of the stitchery collective’s members as well as community partners.

The Stitchery collective : fashion in an expanded field

This practice-based presentation explores the role of fashion as an agent for social inclusion and ethical design practice in communities. The Stitchery Collective is an artist-run initiative based in Brisbane, Australia. Operating at the intersection of craft and design, the fashion-based initiative challenges the assumption that fashion is designed, produced and consumed exclusively in the commercial sector. As a not-for-profit cooperative, the stitchery collective is the first and only fashion organisation in Australia to attract funding under the national and state artist-run-initiative scheme. The collective approach extends to the stitchery design practice, facilitated by individual practitioners working within the organisation who devise programs in the context of collaborative and socially engaged design. Working under the banner of a question, Can fashion be more than pretty clothes for pretty people? the stitchery works to extend the cultural field of fashion practice in the 21st century. The premise of dress as a ‘significant creative or cultural expression’ has informed the expanded definition of fashion practice, as adopted by the stitchery. This alternative classification has fostered partnerships with numerous community groups, including those marginalised in the contemporary fashion context such as recent migrants and refugees. Community engagement programs span design, sewing and up-cycling workshops, sustainability lectures, clothing swaps and public education seminars, supported by partnerships with various cultural, government and educational institutions. In 2011, the stitchery travelled to the Venice Biennale’s 3rd International Children’s Carnival, hosting a workshop series and installation to promote design for sustainability. The proven potential for design to connect community members has motivated the stitchery to question the opportunity for fashion practice to, perhaps uncharacteristically, operate under the banner of ‘design for social good’. Acknowledging craft and design as relational fields, this presentation expands fashion as a tool for social innovation and sustainable practice. The stitchery dislocates the consumer status of fashion with small-scale, localised projects; moving beyond fashion as a dictum of social class to an alternative model that is accessible, conscious, flexible, connected and sustainable. As an undefined post-industrial future approaches, the non-commercial status of the stitchery practice might work to present an image of the active post-consumer. How can the stitchery propose a resilient model of design for the future?

The stitchery collective position paper

This paper introduces ‘the stitchery collective’ – a fashion based artist-run-initiative. First the paper overviews the collective’s broad mission (to use fashion for good) and outlines its operational status. It closes with a brief reflection on how ‘the stitchery collective’ can be seen to contribute to, or align with, the field known as with social innovation.

The stitchery collective

The stitchery collective is fashion-based design collective. Founded in February 2010 the collective brings together creative practitioners from across an expanded field of fashion design to develop innovative new models for both the design, production and consumption of fashion in the 21st century. Under the broad question "can fashion be more than pretty clothes for pretty people?" the collective has developed a range of workshops, exhibitions and creative projects that both engage the wider public and targeted community groups. The projects include "consciousness raising: up cycling workshops, zero-waste pattern cutting workshops, and sewing workshops with members of Brisbane's Karen, Sudansese, and Iraqi communities. Through these projects we test how innovative fashion design practice can engage with questions of environmental sustainability, ethical practices, and social inclusion. Established around a set of people -centred values, the stitchery collective therefore seeks to re-cast fashion as a 'less bad' field of creative endeavor and, one that sustains, inspires and connects individuals and communities. In seeking to develop new models of fashion practice that are socially oriented and environmentally responsible the stitchery outcomes align with the broader field of Design for Sustainability.

Damage diagnosis for complex steel truss bridges using multi-layer genetic algorithm

Considerate amount of research has proposed optimization-based approaches employing various vibration parameters for structural damage diagnosis. The damage detection by these methods is in fact a result of updating the analytical structural model in line with the current physical model. The feasibility of these approaches has been proven. But most of the verification has been done on simple structures, such as beams or plates. In the application on a complex structure, like steel truss bridges, a traditional optimization process will cost massive computational resources and lengthy convergence. This study presents a multi-layer genetic algorithm (ML-GA) to overcome the problem. Unlike the tedious convergence process in a conventional damage optimization process, in each layer, the proposed algorithm divides the GA’s population into groups with a less number of damage candidates; then, the converged population in each group evolves as an initial population of the next layer, where the groups merge to larger groups. In a damage detection process featuring ML-GA, as parallel computation can be implemented, the optimization performance and computational efficiency can be enhanced. In order to assess the proposed algorithm, the modal strain energy correlation (MSEC) has been considered as the objective function. Several damage scenarios of a complex steel truss bridge’s finite element model have been employed to evaluate the effectiveness and performance of ML-GA, against a conventional GA. In both single- and multiple damage scenarios, the analytical and experimental study shows that the MSEC index has achieved excellent damage indication and efficiency using the proposed ML-GA, whereas the conventional GA only converges at a local solution.

Damage identification and condition assessment of building structures using frequency response functions and neural networks

This thesis investigated the viability of using Frequency Response Functions in combination with Artificial Neural Network technique in damage assessment of building structures. The proposed approach can help overcome some of limitations associated with previously developed vibration based methods and assist in delivering more accurate and robust damage identification results. Excellent results are obtained for damage identification of the case studies proving that the proposed approach has been developed successfully.

Cutaneous markers of photo-damage and risk of basal cell carcinoma of the skin : a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic research has demonstrated that cutaneous markers of photo-damage are associated with risk of basal cell carcinoma (BCC). However there has been no previous attempt to calculate pooled risk estimates. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis after extracting relevant studies published up to January 2013 from five electronic databases. Eligible studies were those that permitted quantitative assessment of the association between histologically-confirmed BCC and actinic keratoses, solar elastosis, solar lentigines, or telangiectasia. RESULTS: Seven eligible studies were identified and summary odds ratios (OR) were calculated using both random and quality effects models. Having more than ten actinic keratoses was most strongly associated with BCC, conferring up to a 5-fold increase in risk (OR: 4.97; 95% CI: 3.26, 7.58). Other factors, including solar elastosis, solar lentigines, and telangiectasia had weaker but positive associations with BCC with ORs around 1.5. CONCLUSIONS: Markers of chronic photo-damage are positively associated with BCC. The presence of actinic keratoses was the most strongly associated with BCC of the markers examined. IMPACT: This work highlights the relatively modest association between markers of chronic ultraviolet exposure and BCC.

Empower me : social innovation design for homeless families : collective design creativity

Design Creativity has largely been explored as an individual expression of design cognition rather than as the collective manifestation of interaction in context. Recent approaches to design with an emphasis on co-design suggest that the problem-solution space co-evolves through social interaction. Socially Responsive Design for Social Innovation constitutes the most recent and perhaps the most promising domain of application for design thinking practices that emphasize collaborative innovation. In this paper, we describe the ideation of a service design solution for homeless families (Em.power.me), developed through consultation with a range of stakeholders over a three month period. This service design innovation aimed to visualise how such a service would operate and identify the potential benefits for all stakeholders. We focus here on the phases leading to the ideation of the service design.

The suitability of using accumulated plastic strain to assess the damage at the rail-wheel interfaces

Numerous Abaqus [1] finite element analyses have been carried out using various plasticity models to investigate the effect of friction force on the rail head in relation to both the development of the accumulated plastic strain (PEEQ) and the changes in the depth of PEEQ distribution in the wheel-rail contact. The normal force distribution on the rail head was assumed to be Hertzian. The tangential force was implemented as a fraction of the normal force in the subroutine. Each analysis was carried out for a single pass and the effect of various friction coefficient values has been observed.

Damage assessment in beams and plates using variations in modal properties

Damage detection using modal properties is a widely accepted method. However, quantifying such damage using modal properties is still not well established. With this in mind, a research project is presently underway towards the development of a procedure to detect, locate and quantify damage in structural components using the variations in modal properties. A novel vibration based parameter called Vibration based Damage Index is introduced into the damage assessment procedure. This paper presents the early part of the research project which treats flexural members. The proposed procedure is validated using experimental data and/or theoretical techniques and illustrated through application. Outcomes of this research highlight the ability of the proposed procedure to successfully detect, locate and quantify damage in flexural structural components using the modal properties of the first few modes.

Student identities in a mathematical community of practice : radical visible pedagogy and the teacher collective

This study investigated the practices of two teachers in a school that was successful in enabling the mathematical learning of students in Years 1 and 2, including those from backgrounds associated with low mathematical achievement. The study explained how the practices of the teachers constituted a radical visible pedagogy that enabled equitable outcomes. The study also showed that teachers’ practices have collective power to shape students’ mathematical identities. The role of the principal in the school was pivotal because she structured curriculum delivery so that students experienced the distinct practices of both teachers.