Browsing by Subject "drawing"
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Item Directional Bias in Representational Drawings of Graspable Objects by Right and Left Handers: The Contribution of Affordances vs. Biomechanical Principles(2014-01-03) Liew, Keen SeongThis study investigated the orientation of representational drawings of everyday, graspable objects by right- and left-handed adults. Two competing hypotheses were examined. One was an affordance-based hypothesis which predicted that the graspable position of objects would be positioned in the side of space in which they are normally interacted upon. This effect was expected to be enhanced for objects involving self-directed movements (e.g., cup, toothbrush) than object-directed movements (e.g., hammer, tennis racket). The other was a biomechanical hypothesis, which predicted left placement of graspable portion of the objects be drawn by right handers and right placement by left handers, reflecting a greater ease of executions of outward directed movements. Sixty English-speaking right handers and 37 left handers each drew a total of 20 graspable objects. An overall left placement of graspable portions of objects was found, regardless of object movement type. With one exception (jug), the left bias was greater in right handers in 17 of the 20 objects. The results indicate that a biomechanical account provides a better explanation of drawing direction biases than an affordance account.Item The HABS Culture of Documentation with an Analysis of Drawing and Technology(2012-02-14) Akboy, SerraThe Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) is one of the oldest federal programs in the United States. In 1933, the HABS culture of documentation started with the mission of creating a permanent record of the nation's architectural heritage. Since the inception of the program, the formal documentation methodology has been measured drawings, large-format photographs, and written histories. HABS documentation accentuates the act of drawing as a mediating conversation between the documenter and the historic environment. In a typical HABS project, the documenter is immersed in the historic setting by hand measuring the structure and creating field notes. The documenter's intimate access to the artifact develops his awareness of cultural heritage and helps cultivate an appreciation for the compositional sensibilities of the architectural precedents. However, the HABS culture of documentation has been fine-tuned to incorporate a number of digital technologies into documentation projects. When projects involve issues of logistics, time, and cost, HABS professionals utilize a host of digital methodologies to produce measured drawings. Although HABS prepares deliverables to meet the archival standards of the Library of Congress, the hardware and software necessary to recognize digital files have a limited lifespan that makes them unacceptable for use in the Library. Only measured drawings that use archival ink on stable translucent material, accompanied by negatives on safety film, can be submitted to the Library. Thus, if HABS pursued only digital technologies and deliverables, the effects of this approach on the quality of the documenter's engagement with cultural heritage would pose a significant question. This study addressed the question of how the HABS culture of documentation evolved in regards to drawing and technology, and how this relationship might be transformed in the future. Using HABS as a focus of inquiry is important in order to illuminate similar dynamics in heritage projects that utilize digital technologies. The methodology used in this study included a literature review, participant observations, and an analysis of documentation projects, as well as in-depth interviews with HABS staff, project participants, private practitioners, and academicians. The outcome of the study will be recommendations to heritage professionals for a future that resides in digital means without compromising the qualities that the HABS experience has offered to generation of documenters.