Farmers in the Indus Valley were the first to spin and weave cotton. In 1929, archaeologists recovered fragments of cotton tepees at Mohenjo-Daro, in what is now Pakistan, dating to between 3250 and 2750 BCE. Cottonseed finds at nearby Mehrgarh have been dated to 5000 BCE. A terracotta fragment with fabric impressions was discovered from that era and provides clues on the types of weaving carried out by the ancient Harappans. Literary references further point to the ancient nature of the subcontinent’s cotton industry. The Vedic scriptures, composed between 1500 and 1200 BCE, allude to cotton spinning and weaving.

In ancient times, Paithan was a prosperous trade centre called ‘Pratisthan’ (the city of progress) that exported rich fabrics and precious stones to faraway lands as it fell on the Silk Road. It was a good medium for the exchange of goods like the richly woven textiles. Historians have noted fine paithani sarees with delicate gold and silver thread work being sold in Greece in exchange for gold between 200 and 400 BC.

During the 15th century in Kashmir, Zain-ul-Abedin encouraged the exchange of weavers with Iran, Turkey, and other lands. The weavers who came to India immigrated to Delhi, Agra, Benares, and other parts of the country. During the 17th and 18th centuries, brocades continued to be in extensive use for regal costumes as well as for making temple canopies, as evidenced by the contemporary Mughal paintings.

E-learning is fast becoming a choice for learners in various domains. E-learning as a choice, especially in developing countries, has potential for the users and an opportunity for the HCI designers. In order to capitalise on this opportunity, it will be helpful for HCI designers to look at the attitudes and motivations that make online learning preferable, along with the attitudes and motivations that make offline learning preferable. This research paper reports both quantitative and qualitative methods used to understand attitudes and motivations. While attitudes have been measured using the semantic differential technique, motivations have been dug into using deep probing with unstructured and open-ended qualitative interviews.

Automotive technology is increasingly advanced, and along with these advancements come major privacy concerns for drivers. This is especially true for modern, connected cars equipped with infotainment and telematics systems that can collect substantial amounts of sensitive information. As cars begin to communicate wirelessly, the market for vehicle data is on the horizon. There is a rush to control this data, and many vehicle manufacturers, who control this data at present, aim to become the service provider for all your car-related needs.

Connected cars on the market that are equipped with internet access are able to send and receive data, enable tracking, and communicate private information about consumers. Various smartphone applications as well as manufacturers and service providers have access to a huge pool of data that can be transmitted from a car, and there is a clear disconnect between what is being tracked and what citizens are willing to accept when it comes to car data.

This not only needs strong data protection, but consumers also have a right to know what data they are sharing in order to make informed decisions. Several user studies reveal that consumers feel the need to control their data and the service provider they choose to share it with. They also must have the possibility to shut off communication when possible. Along with the user needs and technical requirements, this project aims at formulating a concept for an interface for self-controlled privacy in connected cars.

A catalogue of requirements for the concept is presented after studying the available literature and the user studies, which examine the user's intentions and expectations from privacy in a car. Based on the requirements listed in the catalogue, a concept for step-wise privacy settings is suggested, which walks the user through the possible changes they can make to ensure privacy. A user-centred approach is followed while creating an interface for the vehicle and an accompanying mobile phone application. The final results are presented along with an analysis of the requirements that are being fulfilled or not by the suggested concept.