A 1000 word report on the shoes UP students wear and what they SHOULD wear

Shoes and you

A Student Report on the State of Shoe Technology

by Group 8: Fr∞ts and Vegetables | STS THY

Abstract

Science and technology has allowed us to progress in a multitude of ways, and our footwear is not an exception. However, development in shoe technology has been so rapid that choosing footwear has become a task that requires more than a simple glance. Footwear manufacturers resort to unusual and arcane terminologies and claims of better performance, vogue fashion, and unparalleled comfort and convenience, all to make their product stand out.

This paper will tackle one aspect of footwear technology -- performance enhancement. It will also attempt to tackle the correlation between claims of shoe manufacturers versus those who actually use them. Introduction A brief history of footwear

The first footwear were made by the ancient civilizations that was dated to be around 10,000 years ago. They used animals skin or fur to wrap around their feet for warmth and protection. They invented the sandals which at the time was leather stuffed with straw and it became the most popular footwear in the early civilization.

The modern sport shoes (with the present standard of modern humans) probably started with the “Plimsoll”, a lightweight rubber-soled shoes that would one day be known as the sneakers. It can be seen as early as in the early 19th century. The plimsoll used a manufacturing technique called  vulcanisation to meld rubber and cloth together using heat. These shoes became increasingly popular quickly because it provided comfort and style, were lightweight and allowed the user to move around silently unlike the old shoes they had back then.

{sources:

www.footwearhistory.com
http://www.popularmechanics.com/outdoors/sports/technology/the-evolution-of-athletic-shoe-tech#slide-1}

Shoe Technology: What exists now Footwear technology Today

Three things: Lightweight, Ergonomic, Modern.

Based on the survey that we have conducted, at outstanding 80% of respondents said that the shoe brand they recommend most is Nike. Nike is widely known for its sports-casual themed shoes due to comfort, durability, and style, also as agreed upon by our respondents. Since Nike shoes are also known for their innovative shoe technology, let us take a look at three of their top shoe innovations.

Perhaps the most famous shoe innovation that Nike has introduced is Nike Air. This “air cushioning technology” was introduced by Nike way back in 1979 and is still used today. This technology features small pouches or bubbles of air inside the shoe to add comfort. In every step, the shoe is somehow compressed and it recovers on the following stride.

The next one is the up-and-coming Nike Flywire which is featured in almost all the latest Nike sports shoes. These Flywire are made of special braided polyester similar to what is used in the making of Kevlar. These filaments act like support as if cables on a bridge and they are strategically placed to help minimize the use of fabric, thus lightening the product.

Lastly, one of Nike’s latest innovations is Nike Lunarlon. The name is inspired by the concept of astronauts walking on the moon, as if walking on marshmallows. According to Nike, this new cushioning foam is 30% lighter than their usual foam, thus making the shoes lighter, softer and more comfortable. Ultimately, when wearing shoes with Lunarlon, the impact of the landing is decreased significantly.

There are certainly more shoe improvements and innovations from other brands and style of shoes and this is a testament to the rising popularity and significance of footwear science and technology in our society.

{sources:
www.footwearhistory.com
http://www.popularmechanics.com/outdoors/sports/technology/the-evolution-of-athletic-shoe-tech#slide-1}

Case Study: What the UP Diliman students choose

Analytics here.

Nature of the Study

We conducted a small, online survey on what footwear UP students use and prefer. We garnered 68 respondents over the course of less than a week.

Our respondents were asked so to choose which footwear they usually wore in school, and were requested to pick one which they wore the most. We then asked them the reasons why they chose that footwear over others.

Demographic

The majority of our respondents were freshmen (49%), and were female (53%). 57% hailed from the College of Engineering.

However, there are alternatives for people who don’t like shoes. The survey showed that around 30% of UP students actually wear slippers and sandals in school, citing comfort as the main reason why they prefer them. Hot days and long walks almost every day(although sometimes are the slippery roads during rainy season) can cause a lot of discomfort and sometimes pain for our feet, and wearing comfortable open footwear lessens that nuisance.

Results

The ideal shoe (for UP students, mostly from the College of Engineering and College of Music) is…comfortable (fit to your foot), durable, functional (in UP’s case, for walking from building to building and enduring the scorching heat from the sun). Also, 43% of the people who answered the survey believes that the brand matters, and it takes time before buying the perfect shoes. Maybe the fact that the reputation of the brand makes it credible, and trustworthy to be bought. Apparently, the brand that is most favorable by UP students that they think delivered this function is Nike that garnered 38% of the votes in the survey, followed by Adidas (22%) and other brands.

Conclusion: Recommendation

Shoes all over the world, like jobs, have been specialized for various specific tasks. The kind of shoes one wears depends on the kind of job or activity that he does, the comfort he wants to feel or sometimes just for the outfits they want to wear. In the survey on what kind of shoes UP students wear, for example, we can see that most students prefer wearing either rubber shoes or slippers, probably because it takes a lot of walking when going from one building to another.

Shoe Technology: is it worth investing in?

Our walking bipedal nature has been one of the evolutionary characteristics of our species and with us, the shoe technology has also evolved in its own way. From a bunch of leaves to haystacks to what we now have… a wide variety of comfortable and user-friendly shoes that will adjust to each and every type of people out there. So definitely! Why shouldn’t our shoes evolve with us?

References:

{sources:
www.footwearhistory.com
http://www.popularmechanics.com/outdoors/sports/technology/the-evolution-of-athletic-shoe-tech#slide-1}

{sources:

http://www.popularmechanics.com/outdoors/sports/technology/the-evolution-of-athletic-shoe-tech
http://www.footlocker.com/striperpedia/article/5000742/cushioning}

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmZKJv7pQOxmdEkxNnZLdk83VTRVV0RtRUxsb2JMckE#gid=0 FORM -> summary of responses