28,023 research outputs found

    Interactive Sonic Environments: Sonic artwork via gameplay experience

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    The purpose of this study is to investigate the use of video-game technology in the design and implementation of interactive sonic centric artworks, the purpose of which is to create and contribute to the discourse and understanding of its effectiveness in electro-acoustic composition highlighting the creative process. Key research questions include: How can the language of electro-acoustic music be placed in a new framework derived from videogame aesthetics and technology? What new creative processes need to be considered when using this medium? Moreover, what aspects of 'play' should be considered when designing the systems? The findings of this study assert that composers and sonic art practitioners need little or no coding knowledge to create exciting applications and the myriad of options available to the composer when using video-game technology is limited only by imagination. Through a cyclic process of planning, building, testing and playing these applications the project revealed advantages and unique sonic opportunities in comparison to other sonic art installations. A portfolio of selected original compositions, both fixed and open are presented by the author to complement this study. The commentary serves to place the work in context with other practitioners in the field and to provide compositional approaches that have been taken

    Metodología de intervención para trabajar ODS. Educación a través de las artes

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    La Agenda 2030 presenta 17 Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS), con sus metas e indicadores universales que los países miembros de la ONU emplean para enmarcar sus políticas. Entre las metas del ODS 4 “educación de calidad” encontramos: “asegurar que todos los alumnos adquieran los conocimientos teóricos y prácticos necesarios para promover el desarrollo sostenible, entre otras cosas mediante la educación para el desarrollo sostenible y los estilos de vida sostenibles, los derechos humanos, la igualdad de género, la promoción de una cultura de paz y no violencia, la ciudadanía mundial y la valoración de la diversidad cultural y la contribución de la cultura al desarrollo sostenible”. La educación, se considera el motor de la Agenda 2030 porque, además de representar el centro del ODS 4, desempeña también un papel notable en la implementación de los demás, mejorando su alcance y efectividad. Así pues, entre las disciplinas que sustentan este trabajo se escogió la Educación para el Desarrollo Sostenible y la Ciudadanía Global como marco de acción y punto de partida en la formación de los ciudadanos de un futuro viable, equitativo y habitable. Se continuó investigando las oportunidades del desarrollo de la Competencia Intercultural en las relaciones humanas, aquello que diferencia a unas personas de otras puede aportar al conjunto de la sociedad y cómo la educación permitiría su aprovechamiento. Con todo ello, se planteó el marco didáctico de interacción en el cual se implementó la interculturalidad en el ejercicio educativo. Se estudió así el poder de las artes como medio de motivación e inspiración a la hora de transmitir de la manera más eficaz posible los valores considerados más arriba. El objetivo del presente estudio se centra en demostrar el potencial de las artes para fomentar las competencias comunicativas, sociales, interculturales, emocionales, de ciudadanía y sostenibilidad. Para ello, se ha realizado una investigación aplicada que deriva en una propuesta concreta de intervención con un programa educativo destinado a la enseñanza de lenguas, tanto primera como extranjera, en distintos niveles de la educación formal en Mali y en España, aplicando un método holístico basado en el paradigma interpretativo. A través de la pintura, la literatura y el cine, se plantean una serie de actividades ideadas para crear un entorno educativo integrador, favorecer el empoderamiento del alumnado y promover el pensamiento crítico, la empatía, la resiliencia, la comunicación, la cooperación y la educación intercultural, como competencias esenciales para la consecución de los 17 ODS, la construcción de un mundo transcultural sostenible y el desarrollo de una ciudadanía global preparada para los retos del siglo XXI. En la metodología de este proceso educativo innovador, multidisciplinar, flexible y adaptable, se ha empleado un análisis del proceso de investigación para monitorizarlo adecuadamente (DAFO). Cada una de las propuestas presenta una recogida de datos cualitativos (observación, rúbricas) y cuantitativos (encuestas, entrevistas) y se ofrece un análisis de contraste de los resultados finales. Con todo, se espera facilitar la exigente tarea que supone hacer consciente a la sociedad de base (desde la misma infancia; desde los niveles más bajos de la misma y en todos los niveles de la educación formal) de en qué consisten los ODS y su relevancia para hacer de todas las personas corresponsables directas en su consecución para garantizar un futuro sostenible para toda la ciudadanía global.The 2030 Agenda presents 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with their universal targets and indicators that UN member countries use to frame their policies. Among the targets of SDG 4 “quality education,” we find the one that seeks: “to ensure that all students acquire the theoretical and practical knowledge necessary to promote sustainable development, among other things through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, the promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, world citizenship and the appreciation of cultural diversity and the contribution of culture to sustainable development”. Education is considered the engine of the 2030 Agenda because, in addition to representing the centre of SDG 4, it also plays a notable role in the implementation of the others, improving their scope and effectiveness. Among the disciplines that support this research, Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship sets the framework for action and represents a starting point in the formation of citizens for a viable, equitable and habitable future. Global citizenship implies human relations and those and intrinsically shaped by culture. Intercultural Education and, more specifically, the development of Intercultural Competence needed to be considered. What differentiates some people from others can contribute to society as a whole and education is the means to explore and understand. For the design of a didactic framework of interaction, the power of the arts was studied as a means of motivation and inspiration when transmitting the values considered above in the most effective way possible. The objective of this study focuses on proving the potential of the arts to promote communicative, social, intercultural, emotional, citizenship and sustainability skills. For this, the theoretical research derived in a concrete intervention proposal with an educational program in language teaching, both first and foreign languages, at different levels of formal education in Mali and Spain, applying a holistic method based on the interpretive paradigm. Through painting, literature and cinema, a series of activities were designed to create an inclusive educational environment, favour the empowerment of students and promote critical thinking, empathy, resilience, communication, cooperation and intercultural education, as essential skills for the achievement of the 17 SDGs, the construction of a sustainable transcultural world and the development of global citizenship prepared for the challenges of the 21st century. In the methodology of this innovative, multidisciplinary, flexible and adaptable educational process, an analysis of the research process has been used to adequately monitor it (SWOT). Each of the proposals presents a collection of qualitative data (observation, rubrics) and quantitative data (surveys, interviews) and contrast analysis of the final results is offered. All in all, it is expected to facilitate the demanding task of making basic society aware (from childhood itself, from its lowest levels and at all levels of formal education) of what the SDGs consist of and their relevance to make all people directly co-responsible in its achievement to guarantee a sustainable future for all global citizens

    Strung pieces: on the aesthetics of television fiction series

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    As layered and long works, television fiction series have aesthetic properties that are built over time, bit by bit. This thesis develops a group of concepts that enable the study of these properties, It argues that a series is made of strung pieces, a system of related elements. The text begins by considering this sequential form within the fields of film and television. This opening chapter defines the object and methodology of research, arguing for a non-essentialist distinction between cinema and television and against the adequacy of textual and contextual analyses as approaches to the aesthetics of these shows. It proposes instead that these programmes should be described as televisual works that can be scrutinised through aesthetic analysis. The next chapters propose a sequence of interrelated concepts. The second chapter contends that series are composed of building blocks that can be either units into which series are divided or motifs that unify series and are dispersed across their pans. These blocks are patterned according to four kinds of relations or principles of composition. Repetition and variation are treated in tandem in the third chapter because of their close connection, given that variation emerges from established repetition. Exception and progression are also discussed together in the fourth chapter since they both require a long view of these serial works. The former, in order to be recognised as a deviation from the patterns of repetition and variation. The latter, In order to be understood in Its many dimensions as the series advances. Each of these concepts is further detailed with additional distinctions between types of units, motifs, repetitions, variations, and exceptions, using illustrative examples from numerous shows. In contrast, the section on progression uses a single series as case study, Carnivàle (2003-05), because this is the overarching principle that encompasses all the others. The conclusion considers the findings of the research and suggests avenues for their application

    Self-help/mutual aid groups in mental health : ideology, helping mechanisms and empowerment

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    In the last quarter of the twentieth century, self-help/mutual aid groups for mental health issues started to emerge in growing numbers, mainly in Western societies, offering and/or advocating for alternative non-traditional forms of support, and attracted the attention of many researchers and clinicians for their unique characteristics. Among the subjects of interest are typologies of groups, helping mechanisms and benefits from participation. However, there is lack of systematic research in the area and existing studies have been largely confined to the therapeutic value of these groups instead of acknowledging their socio-political meaning and subsequent psychosocial benefits for their members like personal empowerment. The present study was conducted during the transitional years from a Conservative to a newly elected Labour Government (1996 -1998), with subsequent policy shifts taking place in the welfare sector. The purpose of the study was to explore the potential of self-help groups as part of a broader new social movement, the service user movement, focussing on the English scene. It addressed this issue examining the relevance of a group typology based on political ideology and focus of change. To test the validity of this classification for members, a set of individual characteristics and group mechanisms as well as their change through time were examined. The sample consisted of fourteen mental health selfhelp/mutual aid groups from London and South East England, with a variety of structural and organisational features. The methodology used was a combination of both quantitative (self-completion questionnaires) and qualitative techniques (analysis of written material, participant observation and interviews). Measurements were repeated after a one-year interval (Time 1N=67, Time 2 N=56). Findings showed that, indeed, political ideology of self-help/mutual aid groups provided the basis of a meaningful typology and constitutes a comprehensive way of categorising them. Group ideology was related to specific helping mechanisms and aspects of personal empowerment. Specifically, conservative and combined group members reported more expressive group processes like sharing of feelings and self-disclosure, while radical group members were more empowered and optimistic. Group identification was also associated with specific helping activities and aspects of empowerment in the three group categories. The psychosocial character of group types and the beneficial outcomes for members remained stable through time. In general, prolonged participation was reflected in greater member identification with the group and resulted in improved mental wellbeing, increased social support, companionship and optimism for the future

    Studies of strategic performance management for classical organizations theory & practice

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    Nowadays, the activities of "Performance Management" have spread very broadly in actually every part of business and management. There are numerous practitioners and researchers from very different disciplines, who are involved in exploring the different contents of performance management. In this thesis, some relevant historic developments in performance management are first reviewed. This includes various theories and frameworks of performance management. Then several management science techniques are developed for assessing performance management, including new methods in Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Soft System Methodology (SSM). A theoretical framework for performance management and its practical procedures (five phases) are developed for "classic" organizations using soft system thinking, and the relationship with the existing theories are explored. Eventually these results are applied in three case studies to verify our theoretical development. One of the main contributions of this work is to point out, and to systematically explore the basic idea that the effective forms and structures of performance management for an organization are likely to depend greatly on the organizational configuration, in order to coordinate well with other management activities in the organization, which has seemingly been neglected in the existing literature of performance management research in the sense that there exists little known research that associated particular forms of performance management with the explicit assumptions of organizational configuration. By applying SSM, this thesis logically derives some main functional blocks of performance management in 'classic' organizations and clarifies the relationships between performance management and other management activities. Furthermore, it develops some new tools and procedures, which can hierarchically decompose organizational strategies and produce a practical model of specific implementation steps for "classic" organizations. Our approach integrates popular types of performance management models. Last but not least, this thesis presents findings from three major cases, which are quite different organizations in terms of management styles, ownership, and operating environment, to illustrate the fliexbility of the developed theoretical framework

    Comparative analysis of the transition from early childhood education to primary education: factors affecting continuity between stages

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    p. 411-454The educational transition between early childhood education and primary education is a complex moment of change with repercussions throughout the academic life of the students. For this reason, it is important to seek continuity between both educational stages. A successful transition produces for the social, cognitive and emotional well-being of the student. The aim of this study is to find out how transition-related factors apply in ten European Union (EU) countries. The factors analyzed are the age of onset of transition, the teacher-student ratio, types of clustering, financing of the stage, responsibility, and both initial and in-service teacher training. The methodology followed in this study is documentary analysis and the main source of data search has been the European Commission's Eurydice portal. The results show differences in stage change within each country, especially in the explicit consideration of a transition period. The main conclusion is that there is a great difference between the northern and southern countries. The main differences between countries in the transitions from early childhood education to primary education in the EU are in the years of compulsory education, the teacher/student/unit ratio, the initial teacher training, and the decentralization of education.S

    Estudio del mecanismo de reacción e inhibición de cisteína proteasas mediante métodos multiescala

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    En esta tesis doctoral se realizaron estudios computacionales para las enzimas caspasa-1 y la 3CLpro del SARS-CoV-2. Estas enzimas pertenecen a la familia de las cisteína proteasas, las cuales hidrolizan sus respectivos sustratos rompiendo un enlace peptídico en particular. En esta reacción interviene una diada catalítica conformada por un par Cis-His. La caspasa-1 fue seleccionada debido a su importancia farmacológica en la enfermedad de Alzheimer, y la enzima 3CLpro del SARS-CoV-2 por estar involucrada en el proceso de replicación del virus responsable de la enfermedad del COVID-19. Para ambas se realizaron estudios que ayudaron a racionalizar el mecanismo de reacción con su sustrato natural utilizando m todos QM/MM. También se realizaron estudios de una serie de inhibidores enzimáticos covalentes identificando las interacciones clave enzima-sustrato que ayudar n a mejorar el desempeño de los inhibidores frente a sus respectivas enzimas. El mecanismo de reacción encontrado para la enzima caspasa-1 ocurre por una ruta alternativa al mecanismo estándar de este tipo de enzimas. En el mecanismo encontrado en nuestras simulaciones la cisteína catalítica se activa directamente por el grupo amino de su sustrato natural, lo que facilita el posterior ataque nucleofílico del azufre al carbonilo y la ruptura del enlace peptídico. En este estudio se determinó que el estado de protonación de la dada catalítica que mejor correlaciona con los resultados experimentales es aquel en el que ambos residuos están neutros, encontrándose el protón de la histidina sobre el nitrógeno delta. También se determina que los inhibidores más potentes para la caspasa-1 son aquellos que, presentan mejores interacciones con los residuos His342, Pro343 and Arg383, adicionalmente a las interacciones ya bien caracterizadas para la estabilización del oxianión formado durante la reacción. En el caso de la 3CLpro del SARSCoV-2, los resultados apuntan a que la dada catalítica en el complejo de Michaelis se encuentra en estado neutro, siendo necesaria la activación de la cisteína por parte de la histidina catalítica para que la reacción proceda. Posteriormente el grupo amino del sustrato abstrae el protón de la histidina mientras se da el ataque nucleofílico del azufre de la cisteína sobre el carbono del carbonilo del enlace peptídico. Para la etapa de de-acilación se describió un mecanismo de reacción alternativo, en donde el grupo amino del grupo saliente desprotona la molécula de agua que posteriormente va a hidrolizar el complejo acil-enzima. En cuanto a la inhibición enzimática, se encontró un mecanismo de intercambio de protones mediado por una molécula de agua, o un grupo hidroxilo. Los hallazgos de esta tesis doctoral abren la puerta para el desarrollo de potentes inhibidores para las dos enzimas involucradas en este estudio, esperando así contribuir al desarrollo de medicamentos que ayuden a tratar las enfermedades en las que se encuentran involucradas.In this doctoral thesis, computational studies were carried out for the enzymes caspase-1 and 3CLpro of SARS-CoV-2. These enzymes belong to the cysteine ​​protease family, which hydrolyze their respective substrates by breaking a particular peptide bond. This reaction involves a catalytic dyad made up of a Cis-His pair. The enzymes Caspase-1 and the SARS-CoV-2 enzyme 3CLpro were selected due to its pharmacological importance in Alzheimer's disease and in the COVID-19 disease respectively. For both, studies were carried out that helped to rationalize the reaction mechanism with its natural substrate using QM/MM methods. Also, studies on a series of covalent inhibitors were conducted in order to identify the key enzyme-substrate interactions that will help improve the performance of the inhibitors against their respective enzymes. The reaction mechanism found for the caspase-1 enzyme occurs through an alternative route to the standard mechanism of this type of enzyme. In the mechanism found in our simulations, the catalytic cysteine ​​is activated directly by the amino group of its natural substrate, which facilitates the subsequent nucleophilic attack of sulfur on the carbonyl and the breaking of the peptide bond. In this study it was determined that the protonation state of the catalytic dyad that best correlates with the experimental results is the one in which both residues are neutral, with the histidine protonated on the delta nitrogen. It was also determined that the most potent inhibitors for caspase-1 are those that present better interactions with residues His342, Pro343 and Arg383, in addition to the interactions already well characterized for the stabilization of the oxyanion formed during the reaction. In the case of the 3CLpro of SARSCoV-2, the results indicate that the catalytic dyad in the Michaelis complex exist in a neutral state, requiring the cysteine be activated ​​by the catalytic histidine for the reaction to proceed. Subsequently, the amino group of the substrate abstracts the proton from the histidine while the nucleophilic attack of the cysteine ​​sulfur on the carbonyl carbon of the peptide bond takes place. An alternative reaction mechanism was described for the deacylation step, where the amino group of the leaving group deprotonates the water molecule that subsequently hydrolyzes the acyl-enzyme complex. Regarding enzyme inhibition, a proton exchange mechanism mediated by a water molecule or a hydroxyl group was found. The findings of this doctoral thesis open the door for the development of powerful inhibitors for the two enzymes involved in this study, thus hoping to contribute to the development of drugs that help treat the diseases in which they are involved
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