Clothing Color Research Articles

Knud den Helliges ørnetæppe i Odense Domkirke – Et forsøg på en nytolkning

Saint Canute the King’s Eagle Cloth in Odense CathedralA new interpretation The eagle silk cloth in Odense Cathedral (Fig. 1) is believed to have been part of the contents of the shrine of Saint Canute (King Canute the Holy); it was perhaps a cape used as a shroud. Today it measures 110 by 133 cm, but originally it was larger, at least 130 by 195 cm. The purple fabric with its blue-black eagle pattern and decoration is generally regarded as a “pannus imperialis ad aquilas magnas” – a term known from medieval texts. The style of its decorative motifs dates it to the 11th or 12th century. Otto von Falke regarded the Odense cloth and related fabrics as the products of the Byzantine state workshop. Agnes Geijer, on the other hand, assumed that the Odense specimen was made by Islamic weavers in Southern Italy or Sicily and that it had formed part of the gifts which Canute’s widow, who had later married Duke Roger of Apulia, sent to the saint’s shrine.Underneath the eagle pattern on the cloth there seems to be an inscription (Fig. 2). Although only a few of the letters are legible the classical philologist Carsten Høeg considered them to be based on Greek letter-forms. It is in fact possible to distinguish at least five, and in addition, there are some possible ligatures of two or three letters (Fig. 3). A comparison between these vestiges and well-known By­zantine textile inscriptions leads to the impression that the last word could have been DESPOTOU, and that several of the preceding signs may be part of the word PHILOCHRISTOU. If so, we have an official dating, and even the name of the emperor in question. Among the rulers in the 11th and the 12th centuries, only five had a name short enough to fit into this context, and if we are right in distinguishing an alpha or a lambda in the beginning, this would exclude all but Alexios. Consequently, we will venture to make a hypothetic reconstruction with this name based on the existing remains (Fig. 4).The style of the fabric makes it most unlikely that anyone else but Alexios I (1081-1118) could come into question. It was he, who – probably in 1103 – received Saint Canute’s brother, King Eric the Good (Erik Ejegod), who died that very same year in Cyprus on his way to the Holy Land. In Eiriksdrapa, the memorial poem written in honour of this king by the contemporary Icelandic bard, Markus Skeggjason, it is explicitly stated that among other rich gifts, Eric was presented with an imperial garment: “allvalds skruði”, i.e. “the emperor’s shroud”.One of the present authors has drawn attention to the possibility that the bluish dark colour of the eagles indicates that the fabric was intended for a “sebastokrator,” a brother or son of the emperor or someone else very close to him. The colours, the ­eagles, and the size of the cloth would actually be appropriate for the type of garment called a “paludamentum”, a purple officer’s cloak worn by the emperor and other highly prominent persons (Figs. 5-6). Some of the leaders of the First Crusade were honoured by being elevated to the status of adopted sons of the emperor, and Krijnie Ciggaar has wondered whether the same could have happened to Eric. If this was the case, then it seems that it was Eric’s imperial silk cloth that was transferred to Odense as a tribute to his more distinguished brother, the martyr saint.Recently, it has been stated that the red colour of the Odense cloth is not genuine purple. However, the loss of most of Anatolia and Lebanon made it difficult for Byzantine workers to obtain the right colour components. Genuine murex-purple was in fact used in Constantinople until the thirteenth century, but this top-quality purple was reserved for the emperor alone. This explains why an inferior dye quality was used for the Odense cloth, which was made for a person with the rank of a seba­stokrator.P.J. RiisKøbenhavnThomas RiisChristian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel

Textile dermatitis in patients with contact sensitization in Israel: a 4-year prospective study.

The exact incidence of textile dermatitis is unknown because of the lack of controlled epidemiological studies. Nevertheless, the increasing frequency of contact dermatitis to clothing has been demonstrated, thus indicating the importance of further investigations in this field. To analyse the results from a 4-year prospective study of the clinical and aetiological features of contact dermatitis to textiles in Israel. We also aimed to assess the frequency and relevance of sensitization to textile dyes and resins in these patients. Six hundred and forty-four patients (441 female and 203 male), referred for the investigation of contact dermatitis, and suspected of having textile allergic contact dermatitis (ACD), were studied. All patients were patch tested with the standard series (TRUE Tests), textile colour and finish series (TCFS) clothing extracts and pieces of garment in some cases. Readings were performed on days 2, 3 and in many patients also on day 7. Eighty-three patients (12.9%) had an allergic reactions to a dye and/or resin allergen. Of them, 43 (51.8%) had positive patch tests to the textile dye allergens, 28 (33.7%) to the formaldehyde and textile finish resins and 12 (14.4%) to allergens from both groups. The highest incidence of sensitization from the dye group allergens was due to Disperse Blue (DB) 124 (30.6%), DB 106 (27.0%) and DB 85 (8.1%) and from the resin group to melamine formaldehyde and ethyleneurea melamine formaldehyde (20.7% each) and urea formaldehyde (18.3%). Present relevance of the patch tests was found in 81.4% of the cases. Concomitant sensitization with allergens from the standard series included nickel sulphate, potassium dichromate, formaldehyde, rubber additives and others. Although chronic dermatitis was the typical clinical presentation, less frequent forms such as purpuric, hyperpigmented and papulopustular lesions and atypical forms such as erythema multiforme-like, nummular-like lesions, lichenification and erythrodermia were observed in 24.4% of the cases. The atypical manifestations were provoked by sensitization to dye allergens and never to resins. Along with the typical distribution in areas of friction on the trunk and extremities, less frequent areas including the hands, face, genital area and the soles were affected too. In view of the increasing frequency of contact dermatitis to clothing, the clinical assessment should include awareness of the classical as well as the unusual and atypical clinical forms and locations of ACD to textiles, for they are not infrequent. Although dyes and among them DB 106 and DB 124 are the most frequent allergens inducing textile dermatitis, concomitant testing with allergens from the textile dyes and resin groups is recommended when investigating patients with textile dermatitis.

Motorcycle rider conspicuity and crash related injury: case-control study

Objective To investigate whether the risk of motorcycle crash related injuries is associated with the conspicuity of the driver or vehicle.Design Population based case-control study.Setting Auckland region of New Zealand...

QUALITY IN PEDIATRIC NURSING CARE: CHILDREN'S EXPECTATIONS

Children's perceptions of pediatric nursing care have not been systematically taken into account in the development of the quality of care. Usually, parents have evaluated children's care and its quality. The purpose of this study was to examine children's expectations concerning the quality of pediatric nursing care by interviewing 20 preschool and 20 school-aged children in Finland. Twenty of them had insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and visited the hospital on a regular basis, and 20 were treated on a surgical ward for a short period. Using content analysis, the interviews were coded and categories and subcategories identified. The children's expectations concerning the quality of nursing care were related to the nurse, nursing activities, and environment. They expected the nurses to be humane and reliable, have a good sense of humor, and wear colorful clothes at work. Both the nurses and the parents were expected to take part in nursing activities. The children expected from nurses, in particular, entertainment, educational, caring, and safety activities, while parents were expected to relieve fears and longing and to provide company. The children also emphasized the role of other children as part of good care. The results demonstrate that children are capable of offering valuable insights into the quality of pediatric nursing care. The results open new avenues for strengthening children's perspectives on pediatric nursing.

A method for human action recognition

This article deals with the problem of classification of human activities from video. Our approach uses motion features that are computed very efficiently, and subsequently projected into a lower dimensional space where matching is performed. Each action is represented as a manifold in this lower dimensional space and matching is done by comparing these manifolds. To demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach, it was used on a large data set of similar actions, each performed by many different actors. Classification results were very accurate and show that this approach is robust to challenges such as variations in performers' physical attributes, color of clothing, and style of motion. An important result of this article is that the recovery of the three-dimensional properties of a moving person, or even the two-dimensional tracking of the person's limbs need not precede action recognition.

Eroticism in Itami's The Funeral and Tampopo : Juxtaposition and Symbolism

Itami creates eroticism in The Funeral (1984) and Tampopo (1985) by combining traditional Japanese notions of aesthetics with a contemporary attitude toward the depiction of sex. Similar to their manifestations in other traditional and modern Japanese performing and visual arts, the shape and color of clothing, covering/uncovering of the body, and objects are juxtaposed to give them symbolic sexual meaning.

Japanese and Korean ideas about clothing colors for elderly people: Intercountry and intergenerational differences

AbstractThis study evaluated the clothing colors worn by elderly persons. We took photos, with elderly persons as models, displayed them on a computer screen, and used computer graphics to produce 75 colors of clothing worn by elderly persons. The 75 colors were evaluated by Japanese and Korean elderly women and female students. We compared the ideal colors and colors actually worn by elderly women in Japan and Korea. The ideal clothing color worn most often, and the images held concerning these colors, were found to differ between elderly women and female students in Japan and Korea, between Japanese and Korean elderly women, and between Japanese and Korean female students. In brief, the ideal clothing color for elderly women was the color satisfying brilliance, functionality, and elegance. We found that Japanese consumers prefer clothing of red hue or light grayish‐orange, whereas Korean consumers prefer colors of cold hues or achromatic colors. The differences observed between Japanese and Korean women seem to be associated with various factors, including traditions, culture, public morals, and racial consciousness. Differences in the rate of aging in the society and the timing of this change may also be involved. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 28, 139–150, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/col.10132

Recognition of people by dairy calves using colour of clothing

We examined whether very young dairy calves are able to discriminate between two people, and whether they use the colour of clothing or other indices to do so. During the familiarisation phase, one person (the familiar rewarder), who always wore the same colour clothes, gave milk, spoke gently and patted the calves in their individual pen for 6 days each week. During the test phase, the calf had to make a choice in an Y-maze placed in front of the gate of its stall. When the calves chose the familiar rewarder, they received 200 ml of milk as reinforcement. When they made the incorrect choice, they received nothing and were returned to their stall. On each test day, the calves made eight choices. The criterion of success was that the calf made at least six correct choices in eight trials on each of two consecutive test days ( P<0.021 by the binomial law). The first experiment was carried out with fourteen 1-week-old male and female Holstein calves to see if calves could approach a person, who changed position in the maze, in order to obtain a feed reward. The familiar rewarder wore the same clothes as during the period of familiarisation and was in one arm of the Y-maze. The other arm was empty and the position of the familiar rewarder in the maze was randomised. Eleven of the 14 calves reached the criterion for success, after only three tests. The second experiment, carried out with five 2-week-old calves, examined whether the calves can differentiate the familiar rewarder (wearing the same clothing as during the period of familiarisation) from another person (the non-rewarder) wearing clothes of a different colour. The criterion of success was reached by all five calves. The third experiment was carried out with seven 2-week-old calves. It examined whether the calves can differentiate the familiar rewarder and the non-rewarder, when the two people are wearing clothes of the same colour (i.e. the same colour worn by the familiar rewarder during the phase of familiarisation). None of the calves were able to reach the criterion of success within a limited number of four test days. Often, calves would always choose the same arm of the maze. The fourth experiment was carried out on six 1-month-old calves. It was similar to experiment 3 with the difference that the familiar rewarder and the non-rewarder both wore the same colour clothes, but which were not the same colour as worn during the phase of familiarisation. Only one calf achieved the criterion of success within two test days. Results demonstrated that colour cues help very young calves to discriminate between two people, when these people wear different colour clothing. Some calves may be able to use other indicators than the colour of clothing. The Y-maze method is an promising way of examining calves’ abilities to recognise people.

Visual Surveillance System with Multiple Cameras in Wide Area Environment.

This paper proposes a seamless tracking system that is a real time visual surveillance system for detecting and tracking people and monitoring their activities in a wide area environment with multiple overhead cameras. This system is composed of multiple vision systems with overhead cameras and a database server. AIl vision systems are connected with a database server through a computer network in order to upload and download some information of a detected human such as hair color, cloth color, and human location. A vision system can identifies people previously detected by a vision system, checking corresponding features and position stored in the database. AIl people are therefore tracked in a wide area environment. We propose the seamless tracking system and the ways to detect and to identify those people and then show their performance using our developed system.

Dairy cattle’s choice of handling treatments in a Y-maze

Our objective was to study dairy cattle’s preferences for handling practices by allowing animals to choose treatments in a Y-maze. Animals were first trained to expect one treatment on one side of the maze and another treatment on the other side of the maze. Animals were then allowed to choose between the two sides. In all experiments treatments were balanced for arm of the maze, color of clothing and handler. In the first experiment we validated the use of the Y-maze, using 34 heifers who chose between (a) pail feeding versus control; (b) hit/shout versus control and (c) hit/shout versus pail feeding. Heifers chose (a) pail feeding more often than control ( P<0.001), and (b) control more than hit/shout ( P<0.001), and (c) pail feeding significantly more often than hitting and shouting ( P<0.001). This demonstrates that animals can choose between treatments. In a second experiment, 24 cows were given choices between various handling treatments thought to be aversive (a) shout versus hit, (b) shout versus cattle prod, and (c) control versus tail twist. No significant difference was found in any of the three comparisons. In a third experiment, 16 cows were used to determine if cows had a preference for hand feeding versus control and gentling versus control and 24 heifers were used to determine if a preference existed for gentling, pail feeding, or hand feeding over control. Cows showed no preference between control and gentling treatments but chose feeding by hand significantly more often than control ( P<0.05). In contrast, heifers showed no preference between control and hand feeding but chose pail feeding more often than the control treatment ( P<0.01). Heifers also showed no preference between control and gentling. In a fourth experiment, 24 cows were used to compare talking in a gentle voice versus control, gentle voice versus shouting, and shouting versus control. Cows showed no preference between talking in a gentle voice and control but chose control and talking in a gentle voice more often than shouting ( P<0.05). Cattle can choose between handling treatments and the Y-maze is an effective method for determining cattle’s preferences. Shouting and the use of cattle prods is aversive; tail twisting is not aversive, if done gently. Feeding is rewarding although, for heifers, feeding by hand may not be. We found no evidence that gentling or being spoken to in a gentle voice is rewarding for cattle.

Can observer clothing color affect estimates of richness and abundance? An experiment with point counts

Abstract Red-plumaged birds (red species) may behave more visibly in the presence of a red-orange safety vest that field observers must often wear, but species lacking red plumage (non-red species) may behave less visibly (i.e., the species-confidence hypothesis). Such responses may bias many common counting techniques. We experimentally tested if observer clothing color could affect richness and abundance variables derived from point counts. During summer and winter, we surveyed point-count stations while alternately wearing a red/orange vest (vest counts) and not wearing a vest (control counts). Winter estimates of species richness, total abundance, abundance of non-red species as a group, and the White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) were significantly lower when the vest was worn, but red species were not significantly different. We did not observe any significant effects of the vest during summer counts. Power was high for community-level variables and intermediate for non-red species, but low...

紙芝居にみる暗黙知

Eigen pattern extracts the implicit knowledge in the picture-story show The Little Mermaid. The eigen pattern changing reveals the effect of colors sympathized with the emotion of the main character Mermaid. The picture-story show is a kind of visual arts. Watching the pictures stimulates audience's imagination, and then it helps to understand the atmosphere of story world. Pictures with various colors reflect on Mermaid's complex feelings. On the other hand, when Mermaid makes up her mind, then the pictures become monochrome. Furthermore Mermaid paints with pale color clothes at all times in this picture-story show. This means, other character with pale color clothes sympathized with Mermaid. This is the effective way for audience to understand the story.

Children’s incidental learning of the colors of objects and clothing

Few researchers have examined adults’ and children’s incidental recall of color information. In Experiment 1, we examined how well children recalled the colors of items seen in a first aid demonstration. Color recall of objects was above chance levels after three different time delays. However, recall of clothing color was poor. In Experiment 2, we examined whether colors of items from the same category (e.g., items of clothing) were more difficult to remember than distinct items (i.e., belonging to a range of different categories). Children and adults saw 18 items from three different categories. Color recall was above chance levels. The colors of distinct items were recalled more often than the color of category items. The results suggest that color is encoded automatically to some extent. However, participants had difficulty in recalling the color of clothing worn by the experimenter.

Japanese and Korean elderly people's evaluation of clothing colors for elderly people.

This study evaluated the clothing colors in the elderly. We took photos using the elderly as models, displayed them on a computer screen, and produced 75 colors of the clothing in the elderly using computer graphics. The 75 colors were evaluated by Japanese and Korean elderly women. We compared the ideal colors for and the colors actually worn by elderly people in Japan and Korea. Japanese and Korean elderly women differed concerning their ideal clothing color and their most often worn color. The images concerning clothing colors also differed between the two groups, suggesting differences in their views related to clothing. Japanese elderly women tended to view clothing as a means of expressing their individuality, while Korean elderly women tended to view clothing as a means of expressing their character.

Japanese and Korean female students' evaluation of elderly people's clothing colors.

This study evaluated the clothing colors in the elderly. We took photos using the elderly as models, displayed them on a computer screen, and produced 75 colors of the clothing in the elderly using computer graphics. The 75 colors were evaluated by Japanese and Korean female students. We compared the ideal colors for and the colors actually worn by elderly people in Japan and Korea. Korean students tended to evaluate high value colors positively, while Japanese students tended to evaluate low value colors positively. When asked to choose the ideal clothing color for elderly people, the choices differed between the Korean student group and the Japanese student group. The images held concerning these colors also differed between the two groups. When selecting the ideal color to be worn by elderly people, Japanese students attached importance to taste, brilliance, functionality and comfort. On the other hand, Korean students attached importance to commonness and inactivity when selecting the ideal clothing color for elderly people. Thus, in the present study, the evaluation of the clothing colors for elderly people differed between Japanese and Korean students.

Domestic animals' fear of humans and its effect on their welfare

Many studies on pigs, poultry, and dairy cattle have shown that rough or aversive handling of farm animals by people can substantially reduce the animals' productivity and welfare. Some of this effect occurs because the animals become afraid, either of people in general, or of specific individuals as a result of aversive handling. In this paper, we review a number of studies showing that farm animals handled roughly or aversively learn to associate the handling with people, and that this learned fear of people can have marked effects on production. The ability to recognize individual people has now been shown indisputably for many species of farm animals, although under some circumstances, animals do not behave differently to different people. Animals' learned fear of individual people can markedly affect their productivity. For example, in dairy cattle, the presence of an aversive handler during milking can reduce milk yield and substantially increase residual milk. Pigs appear to use multiple cues to distinguish people, although visual cues are clearly important. Cows can readily learn to distinguish between people wearing different colour clothes, but it is more difficult for them to distinguish between people wearing the same colour. Furthermore, cows' responses to people change markedly when clothing colour is changed, although this does not seem to be true for poultry. However, animals' responses to people can be affected by the context. For example, cattle's learned responses to individuals can be strongly affected by the place they are in. We finish with some suggestions as to how these results can be used to reduce fear in farm animals.

EVALUATION OF IMAGES OF CLOTHING COLOR IN THE ELDERLY

EVALUATION OF IMAGES OF CLOTHING COLOR IN THE ELDERLY

Cloth color preference under the influence of face cooling

1. We studied the effect of face cooling accompanied by a fall of tympanic temperature on color preference in 8 women at an ambient temperature of 28°C.2. The face only was cooled by blowing 15°C air at 6 m/s on the face only. Controls received either no wind at all or a wind (24°C, 6 m/s) on the body and appendages only.3. Most subjects preferred warmer colors after facial cooling than after no facial cooling.4. The facial cooling and decrease in tympanic temperature may indicate an increase in load error between core temperature and set-point.

How do miniature pigs discriminate between people? The effect of exchanging cues between a non-handler and their familiar handler on discrimination

Behavioural tests using operant conditioning were conducted to examine how miniature pigs discriminate between people. During a 3-week handling period, six 8-week-old pigs were touched and fed raisins as a reward whenever they approached their handler. In subsequent training, the handler and a non-handler wearing dark blue and white coveralls, respectively, and wearing different eau de toilette fragrances sat at each end of a Y-maze. Pigs were rewarded with raisins when they chose the handler. Successful discrimination occurred when the pig chose the handler at least 15 times in 20 trials ( P<0.05: by χ 2 test). When all pigs exhibited successful discrimination under these standard conditions, they were exposed to Experiments 1 through 4. In Experiment 1, (1) handler and non-handler exchanged colours of coveralls; (2) handler and non-handler exchanged eau de toilette; (3) handler and non-handler exchanged both cues. The non-handler was chosen significantly more often following the exchange of coverall colours and the exchange of both coverall colours and eau de toilette. However, the handler was chosen significantly more frequently following exchange of eau de toilette only. In Experiment 2, when both handler and non-handler wore coveralls of the handler's original colour, the pigs had difficulty discriminating between them. In Experiment 3, both handler and non-handler wore coveralls of new colours. The pigs easily chose the handler wearing red or blue vs. white coveralls. In Experiment 4, (1) two novel people wore coveralls of the original colours of handler and non-handler; (2) the test with the original experimenters was conducted under the original conditions but in a novel place. Between novel people, the one wearing the handler's original colour of coveralls was preferentially chosen by the pigs. The pigs had difficulty discriminating the handler from the non-handler in a novel place. Pigs appear to discriminate between a familiar handler and a non-familiar person based primarily on visual cues, prominent of which is colour of clothing.

Visual alliesthesia—cloth color preference in the evening under the influence of different light intensities during the daytime

KIM, S. H., AND H. TOKURA. Visual alliesthesia—cloth color preference in the evening under the influence of different light intensities during the daytime. PHYSIOL BEHAV 65(2) 367–370, 1998.—The primary purpose of this study was to determine the effect of bright and dim light exposure during the daytime on cloth color preference in the evening. Ten healthy female volunteers were exposed to bright light of 5000 lx (“Bright”) or dim light of 200 lx (“Dim”) from 0730 ± 1 h to 1800 hours, 200 lx from 1800 hours to 2330 ± 1 h, and complete darkness during the sleep period (2330 hours ± 1 h to 0730 ± 1 h). The subjects were instructed to select the most preferable single one out of 41 cloth colors (24 × 52 cm, 100% cotton), every 5 min from 2100 hours to 2200 hours. Most subjects preferred a warmer cloth color in the Dim condition. The rectal temperature showed clear circadian rhythm both under Bright and Dim conditions but it was significantly lower during sleep in the Bright condition. On the contrary, leg skin temperature was significantly higher during the evening and sleep in the Bright. It is concluded that warmer cloth color is preferred in the evening after Dim condition at an ambient temperature, being based on the higher set point of core temperature after Dim.