| 3. |
- Unander-Scharin, Carl, 1964-
(författare)
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Extending Opera - Artist-led Explorations in Operatic Practice through Interactivity and Electronics
- 2015
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Konstnärligt arbete (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- How can we re-empower opera singers, extending their control over accompaniment and vocal expressivity? To answer this question, I have opened a novel design space, Extending Opera, consisting of interactive artist–operated tools to be used on-stage. The research has its methodological groundings in Research through Design (RtD) and Research through the Arts (RttA). This particular method is coined "research-throughthe- art-form-opera" – as I have worked within the realms and traditions of opera, probing its boundaries by designing, researching and creating through its own artistic toolbox.Originally conceived for personal use, the artifacts were later used by other singers and incorporated in performances of opera in small and large scale. By composing and designing for the requirements in operatic productions, high demands on robustness were explored in and through custom-built interfaces.The work resulted in ten novel artifacts and performances exploring the expressivity of these tools. Extending Opera is guided by and probed through three questions:1. How can the design and creation of interactive, artist-operated instruments be informed by deep musical knowledge and be probed by the particular conditions surrounding an operatic production?2. What impact can interactive, artist-operated instruments have on the opera singers themselves and on their vocal technique?3. How can interactive, artist-operated instruments empower opera singers, thus challenging contemporary power hierarchies – thereby reconnecting to the explorative practice in opera's early days?My knowledge contribution has surfaced through artistic practice and consists of the exemplars and the artworks, as well as three abstractions – one procedure, one requirement and one experiential quality.Sensory Digital Intonation highlights how the fine-tuning of technologies and real-time interactivity is incorporated in a feed-back loop with artistic concerns and creativity.Performative Stamina ("The Premiere-Factor") highlights how the traditional procedures leading up to a premiere in opera influence the demands on robustness and reliability within the components and the overall design of the novel artifacts.Vocal Embodiment is an experiential quality that describes how the interactive artifacts change the singing itself.In the conclusion, Artistic Re–Empowerment is discussed, proposing that power structures in opera have been probed through the use of the novel artist-operated interactive instruments.
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| 4. |
- Westman, Jessica, 1979-
(författare)
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Drivers of Children's Travel Satisfaction
- 2017
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Konstnärligt arbete (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The purpose of this thesis is twofold: Firstly, it explores the reasons parents state for choosing the car to take their children to school; Secondly, it investigates how the characteristics of the journey relate to children’s wellbeing, mood, and cognitive performance. This thesis consists of three papers (Papers I, II, and III). Participating in Paper I were 245 parents of schoolchildren aged between 10 and 15 in Värmland County, Sweden. These parents answered a questionnaire wherein they stated to what degree certain statements correlated with their decision to choose the car. In Paper II, 237 children in grade 4 (aged 10-11), in the City of Staffanstorp, Sweden, recorded all their journeys in a diary over one school week, also reporting on their travel mode, current mood while travelling, activities on arrival, and experiences vis-à-vis those activities. Participating in Paper III was a sample of 345 children aged between 10 and 15 attending five public schools in Värmland County, Sweden. These children rated their current mood, filled out the Satisfaction with Travel Scale (capturing the travel experience), reported details about their journeys, and took a word fluency test.Parents’ wish to accompany their children to school, and the convenience of the car, both impact upon the travel mode decision. In addition, parents also seem to choose the car regardless of the distance between home and school. The findings further reveal that the mood children are in varies with how they travel and where they go, and that there is a difference between boys’ and girls’ experiences. Children who travel by car experience the lowest degree of quality and activation, something which is maintained throughout the school day (especially for girls). Social activities during travel bring a higher degree of quality and excitement, while solitary activities bring more stress. The findings further show that using a smartphone, or doing a combination of activities during the journey, results in better cognitive performance. Thus, it is concluded that the mode choice that parents make for their children correlates with those children’s mood and experience. Specifically, where and how children travel, what they do when they travel, and how long they travel for affect their experiences, mood, and/or cognitive performance.
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