Browsing by Author "Davis, Susan L."

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    Appalachian quilts of Floyd County, Virginia
    Davis, Susan L. (Virginia Tech, 1980-05-09)
    The purpose of the research was to study the evolution of quilts in Floyd County, Virginia, as a means of documenting the life and culture of the county natives. Both documents and relics were examined and methods of qualitative and quantitative analysis were utilized. The relics were any existing quilts made in Floyd County, while the documents included not only those in traditionally written form, but those in the unwritten form--in this case, twenty-two oral interviews. A visual instrument was developed to substantiate subject responses to interview questions. Geographic, economic and cultural factors were shown to have played an important part in determining the characteristics of Floyd County quilts. County aesthetic values were determined to be closely related to nature. Design lines were moderately complex and color preferences fell in the primary and secondary color range. Due to the historic functional use of quilts, no relation was found between the women's craftsmanship and design ability.
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    The effect of specially designed garments on the observable make- believe play behavior of four- to six-year-old females
    Davis, Susan L. (Virginia Tech, 1983-12-05)
    The nonverbal messages conveyed by dress are learned earlier by today's children than they have been at any time in the past. Yet, little empirical research has examined the effect of clothing on the behavioral development of the preschool child. Dress is a medium for carrying out the serious roles of life, but it is also a medium for play. Although numerous studies have investigated play, an important element of child development, few have included dress as a factor. Research has shown that not all children participate in all forms of play behavior, particularly dramatic play, which contains the element of make-believe. Furthermore, research has shown that increased associative fluency in preschool children is dependent specifically on the occurrence of make-believe play. A child, deficient in such divergent-thinking skills, would seem somewhat disadvantaged and less able to cope with a problematic environment. The present study asks the question: Can the wearing of specially designed clothing raise levels of observable make-believe behavior for preschool children? Two research hypotheses were formulated to address this question: l) There will be a difference in player/nonplayer imaginativeness scores while wearing control and experimental garments. 2) There will be a difference in player/nonplayer imaginativeness scores while wearing Experimental Garment I or II.