The purpose of this study was to examine whether participants can form impressions and make inferences about a hotel based only on the physical environment or design of the hotel lobby. The study investigated how the interior arrangement, furnishings and other aspects of hotel lobbies influenced participants' first impressions and...
The purpose of this study was to develop a slow fashion design model using the house of quality model (HOQ) to provide designers an opportunity to improve the overall sustainability of an apparel product. Slow fashion is based on the slow food movement that supports the consumption of food that...
Older adults prefer to age in place, necessitating a match between person and environment, or person-environment (P-E) fit. In occupational therapy practice, home modifications can support independence, but more knowledge is needed to optimize interventions targeting the housing situation of older adults. In response, this study aimed to explore the...
Pattern grading is a method of creating multiple sizes of a garment style. Grading to extreme sizes is not recommended since the design and drape of the garment can be distorted. Researchers suggest that customized fit is a solution for creating sizes in a garment style. However, manufacturers continue to...
The goal of this study was to pursue the construct of transcendence from a psychosocial, developmental perspective to predict who will volunteer and its influence on the average number of volunteer hours worked per week. The predictor variable is the self-transcendence subscale score on the Adult Self-Transcendence Inventory (ASTI) (Levenson...
This thesis evaluates the programs, activities, and relationships of Enfoque Ixcan, a non-profit eye care project providing services to a rural area of Guatemala.
I conducted ethnographic interviews with key stakeholders of the organization and carried out participant observation in the Ixcan region of Guatemala in February 2006. The research...
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect that Pell Grants have on Stafford Loan debt accumulation and to identify other factors that affect Stafford Loan debt accumulation.
The sample consisted of 32,525 dependent undergraduate students from more than 100 different four-year public institutions. All the students...
This thesis addresses the issue of comfortable and functional living environments to provide seniors with opportunities for "age in place," that is, living in one's own house after retirement. Such living environments enhance seniors' life satisfaction since the majority of seniors prefer to stay in their own houses and live...
This study focused on users' emotional responses to a sustainable and a non-sustainable interior environment. Emotional reactions toward interior environments were tested by having subjects complete a survey. The survey tested users' emotional reactions with a mixed methods approach by including both qualitative and quantitative questions. The scope of this...
The purpose of this study was to examine conditions under which functional ability predicts relocation of older persons. Data for this study came from a sample of 6,225 respondents aged 70 or older, who were interviewed both at Wave 1 (1993) and 2 (1995) of a longitudinal national survey of...