A public square provides for a social cultural life to take place. The square ought to be located in the part of the city where human activities are the most intense. The edges of the square consist of the buildings that define its space. The architectural style of these buildings shapes the character of the square and embodies the social cultural circumstances of a society. The experience of a public square goes beyond its structured aspects. In fact, each man-made place is located within a natural landscape that changes its appearances during the rhythm of the day and the seasons. It is the combination of the natural phenomena and the architecture that creates the atmosphere of a place. A total integration between these two elements constitutes the "spirit of place" or genius loci. According to Heidegger, human settlement has an enclosure and any enclosure has a boundary. This is also true for the square, the boundary of which is formed by its surrounding buildings. However, this boundary is not continuous, as it is interrupted by pedestrian paths and streets that lead to the square. The quality of a square’s enclosure is related to the characteristic of the openings. The aim of this design thesis is to conceive a public square for today’s social-cultural environment; a public square that is located within a cultural center at Shirlington, Arlington County, Virginia. The buildings of the center form an architectural unity that sets the stage for community events to take place. The articulation and the form of the buildings related to the natural environment make people feel that they were designed for them. This means a place where people can experience a strong feeling of location. / Master of Landscape Architecture

Las ICC desempeñan un papel fundamental en la planificación estratégica de las ciudades, contribuyendo a su desarrollo económico, social y cultural. Las ciudades con un sector creativo dinámico y diversificado son más atractivas para sus habitantes, residentes y visitantes, lo que se traduce en mayores oportunidades de empleo y negocio. Las ICC también contribuyen a la cohesión social, la tolerancia y la sostenibilidad, y mejoran la imagen general de la ciudad y los centros históricos. El estudio introduce el emprendimiento como factor a ser estudiado en la revitalización de los centros históricos y analiza los agentes del ecosistema emprendedor en diferentes niveles de intervención. Se centra en actividades urbanas con especial simbolismo local, como las industrias culturales y creativas. Comprender el contexto y los factores del ecosistema que impulsan la transformación urbana es esencial para identificar, medir y comparar estos factores. El estudio se centra en responder a preguntas de investigación que relacionan la actividad de las industrias culturales y creativas (ICC) con los centros históricos, y el rol de las ICC en la revitalización de estas zonas urbanas. Su papel en el desarrollo urbano sostenible reconocido por la inclusión de la cultura y el sector creativo en los ODS de la ONU y la estrategia de la Comisión Europea promueven la creación de herramientas de medición para supervisar los indicadores de los ODS e informar la toma de decisiones y la formulación de políticas alineadas con las necesidades de cada área. La investigación justifica la necesidad de desarrollar índices de medida de referencia y explica el proceso de diseño y selección de los factores para los índices compuestos propuestos, a saber, el Índice de Desarrollo Creativo de los Centros Históricos (ICCeH) y el Índice Urbano de Emprendimiento Creativo (IUEC). El estudio confirma finalmente que el ecosistema urbano de emprendimiento puede promover la creación de "clusters" creativos en las ciudades. Se centra en fomentar el emprendimiento y la innovación a través de acciones que ofrezcan oportunidades a artistas, diseñadores y creativos para desarrollar su talento. Las concentraciones creativas atraen y retienen el talento, impulsando a su vez, el crecimiento económico de las zonas urbanas donde se establecen.

Cette thèse de recherche en art se déploie dans deux dimensions principales intimement liées, l’une épistémologique et l’autre artistique. Premièrement, du point de vue épistémologique, elle est l’expression du continuum entre théorie et pratique. Elle pose l’hypothèse que le méta-art initié par deux artistes : Adrian Piper dans les années 1970 et Jean-Paul Thibeau dans les années 1990, constitue la méthode idoine pour expliciter et analyser l’expérimentation artistique. Le programme théorico-pratique que nous avons conçu s’articule sur deux registres de textes : les récits d’expérience relatant quatre projets (Genius Loci Monflanquin, Genius Loci Aix, Genius Loci Villeneuve, Genius Loci UBUBM) et les commentaires analytiques relatifs aux récits d’expérience (« Comment représenter le mouvement ? », « Comment l’écosophie permet-elle d’éclairer les pratiques artistiques qui investissent le quotidien comme situation d’expérimentation ? », « Comment prendre une décision ? », et « Comment ménager des passes au milieu du milieu ? »). Deuxièmement, du point de vue artistique, cette thèse ouvre un espace d’expérimentation pour la création de l’Atlas Genius Loci. Les situations de chantier à partir desquelles nous avons travaillé (en particulier ceux des universités bordelaises) nous ont amené à pratiquer une recherche-création sur des terrains de vie concrets et à mettre en œuvre des processus de coopération artistique avec des maîtres d’ouvrage et des institutions. À partir d’une interrogation sur les articulations possibles entre l’art et les pratiques architecturales de l’industrie du bâtiment (Building Information Modelling), notre Atlas est devenu un « processus mésologique », un travail d’inter-relation au sein d’un milieu, construisant une présence-alliance entre une artiste et une institution. Le prolongement de cette recherche-création, où le terrain-milieu d’où l’on parle est à la fois explici-té dans sa matérialité et impliqué dans l’expérimentation, s’inscrit dans l’héritage de l’analyse institutionnelle (sociologie) et de la critique institutionnelle (art) pratiquée dès les années 1970. L’enjeu de ce travail porte sur les engagements contemporains de l’artiste dans la société, et réciproquement, sur la place que celle-ci réserve à l’art, il rend compte de la singularité de la recherche en art, et de la façon dont elle ouvre aujourd’hui des perspectives originales pour l’alliance du monde académique avec la société civile. / This research thesis in art unfolds in two main and closely linked dimensions, one epistemological and the other artistic. Firstly, from an epistemological point of view, it is the expression of the continuum between theory and practice. It hypothesizes that meta-art initiated by two artists: Adrian Piper in the 1970s and Jean-Paul Thibeau in the 1990s, defines the right method to explicit and analyse the artistic experimentation. This theoretical-practical program is carried out through the writing of two kinds of texts: the experience accounts of our projects (Genius Loci Monflanquin, Genius Loci Aix, Genius Loci Villeneuve, Genius Loci UBUBM) and the analytical comments ("How to represent movement? ", " How can ecosophy shed light on the artistic practices that take place in everyday life as a experimentation situation? ", "How to make a decision? ", and "How to build a pathway to the heart of a living environment?”). Secondly, from an artistic point of view, this thesis opens up a space for experimentation on the creation of the Atlas Genius Loci. The "construction site situations" from which we have worked (in particular those with Bordeaux universities) have led us to practice a research-creation on tangible living environments, and to pursue artistic cooperation with project owners and institutions. With the possible links between art and architecture (Building Information Modeling) as a starting point, our Atlas has become a "mesological process" claiming a presence-alliance between an artist and an institution. The extension of this research-creation, where the field-environment from where one speaks is both explicit in its materiality and involved in the experimentation, is part of the legacy of institutional analysis (sociology) and institutional criticism (art) practiced since the 1970s.The contemporary commitment of the artist in society, and reciprocally, the place that society gives to art, expresses the singularity of the artistical research, and the way that it now opens up original perspectives for the alliance of the academic world with civil society.

Le principal objectif de l’étude consiste à démontrer, en temps de crise économique mondiale, comme il serait possible de conjuguer exigences de croissance économique et stratégies de protection et de valorisation du patrimoine, dans une perspective durable, en considérant que le tourisme représente un dès possible secteur pour le développement territorial, l’intégration sociale et l’amélioration des conditions de vie des collectivités locales. La région Campanie et la province de Caserte – territoires objets d’étude en Italie - sont dotés d’un exceptionnel patrimoine culturel, paysager et immatériel mais ne sont pas suffisamment protégés et valorisés. À cette fin, la recherche analyse et propose des stratégies de gestion des biens à travers l’étude des best practices françaises dans le domaine du tourisme culturel, considérées comme le moteur de développement durable du territoire. La France, classée premier pays au monde pour le nombre de visiteur international, selon les statistiques de l’Organisation mondiale du tourisme, a développé une politique gouvernementale de long terme visant à la protection et à la promotion du patrimoine, grâce à des interventions sur les biens, sur la structure organisationnelle des institutions responsables, et sur toutes les formes d'art de la production intellectuelle. En Italie, en revanche, la stratégie de gestion s’est souvent montrée inadéquat par rapport au prestige international dont elle dispose sur le plan de son patrimoine culturel, paysager, gastronomique et immatériel. Un management contestable des biens, a donné lieu à une croissance limitée de l'économie par rapport à son potentiel avec un effet négatif sur le patrimoine. / The main objective of this study is to demonstrate, in times of global economic crisis, how it is possible to combine economic growth needs and strategies for the protection and enhancement of the heritage in a sustainable way, starting from the assumption that tourism is one of possible areas for regional development, social integration and improvement of living conditions of local communities. The Campania Region and the Province of Caserta – territories object of study in Italy - have a unique cultural, landscape and intangible heritage but is not sufficiently protected and enhanced. To this end, the research analyzes and proposes policies for managing assets through the study of international "best practices", in particular in France, in the field of cultural tourism, seen as an engine for sustainable development of local communities. France, the first country in the world for number of international visitors, according to updated data, provided by the World Tourism Organizations, has developed a long-term government policy aimed at the protection and enhancement of heritage, through actions on assets, on the organizational structure of the institution in charge, and targeted promotion of all art forms of intellectual production. In Italy, however, the management strategy has often shown inadequate compared to the international prestige of the country for its cultural, landscape, food, wine and intangible heritage, with a limited growth of economy if compared with this heritage’s potential with the consequent negative effect on heritage.

The aim of the dissertation is to interpret genius loci of the industrial and periphery landscape in painting and photography. Symbolic aspects originating from the atmosphere of the place are analyzed on the basis of concrete artists, works and resources. Another aim of the dissertation is to map contemporary Czech artists. Their works are put into context with roots in the arts history and with foreign artists. Apart from paintings, the photographic works are discussed. However, only names and works that can illustrate the concerned content areas have been selected.

Sedan 2007 har ett forskningsprojekt på s.k. ”framtidens kärnkraft”, även kallat för fjärde generationens kärnkraft pågått i Sverige. För den här studien har jag dels antagit ett historiskt perspektiv för att undersöka hur detta projekt har utvecklats och förändrats över tiden. Jag har även använt mig av Faircloughs kritiska diskursanalys som metod och teori för att undersöka vilka argument som har använts (och på vilket sätt som dessa argument har förmedlats) när olika representanter bakom projektet försökte övertyga både Regeringskansliet 2012 och Energikommissionen 2015 om värdet av denna teknik. I den teknikhistoriska undersökningen uppdagades det att mellan åren 2007 - 2017 hade syftet och designen hos den föreslagna reaktorkonstruktionen förändrats avsevärt. Från början hade projektet handlat om att upprätta en forskningsanläggning i Sverige med både tillhörande reaktor, bränsletillverkningsanläggning och upparbetningsanläggning för produktion av plutonium som reaktorbränsle. Projektet fick däremot avslag från regeringen efter att både KVA och Vetenskapsrådet hade ställt sig kritiska till projektets utformning, ur både tekniska och samhällsekonomiska perspektiv. Därefter förändrades projektets utformning till att istället handla om kommersiell elproduktion för den kanadensiska gruvindustrin i Arktis. I den diskursanalytiska undersökningen visade det sig att framställningen av fjärde generationens kärnkraft i det analyserade materialet har vilat bakom en okritisk och positiv inställning till tekniken. Argumenten som har använts har för det mesta handlat om teknikens teoretiska möjligheter, men väldigt lite om realismen i dessa visioner. När åsikter eller värderingar har förekommit, har dessa nästan uteslutande formulerats som vedertagna sanningar, vilket både förstärker och upprätthåller aktörerna som auktoriteter på området. I analysen diskuterar jag även fem olika diskurser som jag identifierade i det analyserade materialet. Dessa diskurser menar jag verkar både reproducerande och omstrukturerande på den rådande diskursordningen, vars syfte har varit att försöka skapa ett förnyat intresse för fjärde generationens kärnkraft som tidigare gick under namnet ”bridreaktor”. / Since 2007 a Swedish research project have been attempting to develop “the next generation” of nuclear power plants, also called the fourth generation of nuclear power. In this study, I have partly adopted a historical perspective in order to investigate how this research project have developed and changed over time. I have also applied the methodology of Faricloughs critical discourse analysis in order to identify what kind of arguments and rhetoric’s that were used by some of the representatives of this project when they tried to convince the Swedish cabinet office in 2012 and the Swedish Energy commission in 2015 of the value of this technology. In the historical investigation, it was discovered that between the years of 2007 and 2017, the purpose and design of the proposed reactor had undergone several transformations and changes. At first, the leaders of the research project had been considering building a research facility in Sweden that would not only include a reactor, but also a fuel fabrication and reprocessing facility for production of plutonium fuel. However, the project was never approved by the Swedish government, after both KVA and Vetenskapsrådet had expressed criticism towards the project, due to both technical and socio-economic considerations. As a result, the direction of the project was transformed into commercial power production for the mining industry in the Canadian Arctic. In the discourse analysis, it became evident that the information and arguments that had been presented in the analysed material had been framed in a strictly positive and uncritical manner. The arguments that were portrayed had mostly addressed the theoretical possibilities of the technology, but very little about the realism of these visions. When opinions or values had been expressed, they had almost exclusively been phrased as inherent truths, which can contribute to both strengthening and upholding their status in society as authority figures. In the discourse analysis, I also discuss five different discourses which I have identified in the material that was analysed. These discourses were then concluded to be both reproducing and restructuring on the current order of Swedish nuclear and energy discourse.

Este trabalho consiste no estudo da noção de gênio em Fernando Pessoa. Delimita por objetivo a identificação e análise de seu alcance e grau de penetração tanto nas formulações estéticas quanto poéticas do autor. O estudo se divide em três frentes, que definem a metodologia utilizada e o recorte do corpus investigado. A primeira aborda o ethos do homem de gênio nas cartas a João Gaspar Simões, Adolfo Casais Monteiro e Armando Côrtes-Rodrigues. A segunda frente do trabalho propõe a análise dos textos teóricos de Pessoa sob a perspectiva do gênio, pormenorizadamente os escritos sobre a questão Shakespeare-Bacon. A terceira frente se concentrará no estudo das leituras que Fernando Pessoa realizou do historiador e ensaísta escocês Thomas Carlyle (1795 - 1881), mais especificamente da obra On Heroes, Hero-Workship,and The Heroic in History. / This work consists of a study of the notion of genius in Fernando Pessoa. This research delimits as its goal the identification and analysis of Fernando Pessoas genius both in his aesthetic formulations and his poetics. The present work is divided into three sections, each defined by the methodology used and the selection of the corpus being investigated. The first part addresses the ethos of the man of genius in the letters to João Gaspar Simões, Adolfo Casais Monteiro, and Armando Côrtes-Rodrigues. The second part aims to analyze Pessoas theoretical texts from the perspective of the genius, carefully examining the writings that reflect on Shakespeare-Bacon. The third part will focus on Fernando Pessoas readings of the Scottish historian and essayist Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881), specifically of Carlyles work On Heroes, Hero-Workship, and The Heroic in History.

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo principal investigar o problema da autonomia estética da música instrumental no Romantismo alemão. Através do exame de textos filosóficos, literários e de crítica musical, procuramos investigar a seguinte questão: como foi possível que a arte musical que até o século XVIII era considerada como um objeto indigno para a filosofia e para a estética se estabelecesse como a esfera mais elevada do espírito humano no Romantismo e no Idealismo alemão? A fim de responder a essa pergunta, pareceu-nos necessário levar em conta a maneira pela qual se compreendia a música no século XVIII e qual o conceito de razão que estava em sua base. A principal hipótese que procuramos explorar diz respeito à filosofia crítica de Kant, que permitiu que o pensamento encontrasse um paradigma na música. Com a chamada revolução copernicana, Kant acentuou a subjetividade de maneira radical, abrindo, pela primeira vez, a possibilidade da música ser reconhecida como uma linguagem não-objetiva, que foi desenvolvida principalmente por autores como Wackenroder, Tieck e Hoffmann. Todavia, as condições de possibilidade para a compreensão da música como expressão do inefável, bem como a proximidade que se estabelece entre música e religião, devem ser buscadas primeiramente na filosofia kantiana. / The main purpose of this research is to examine the problem concerning the aesthetic autonomy of instrumental music in German Romanticism. Through the examination of philosophical and literary texts, as well as musical criticism, the following question is investigated: how was it possible that the musical art - which was considered an unworthy object for the philosophy and the aesthetics until the 18th Century - could establish itself as the highest sphere of the human spirit during the Romanticism and the German Idealism? In order to answer to this question, it seems necessary to take into account the way music was understood during the 18th Century and what conception of Reason lay in its basis. Our main hypothesis concerns Kants critical philosophy, which made possible the thought of finding a paradigm in music. With the so called Copernican revolution, Kant stressed subjectivity in a radical way and, for the first time, provided the possibility of recognizing the music as a non-objective language, developed later by authors like Wackenroder, Tieck and Hoffmann. However, the conditions of possibility for the understanding of music as expression of the ineffable, as well as the proximity established between music and religion, must be searched firstly in the Kantian philosophy.

Contemporary models of declarative memory state that when initially learned, all novel information is encoded by the hippocampal system before being consolidated or transformed to depend on neocortical structures subserving semantic memory. Based on observations with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), this thesis presents evidence that novel associations may be directly encoded by the semantic system in humans. While the hippocampus is often involved in information processing at the early stages of learning, the semantic system is seen to encode associative memory traces in the first instance (chapter 2). Furthermore, it is proposed that the hippocampus is not involved in learning when associative information is gradually accumulated across a series of ambiguous events. This is characteristic of cross-situational learning (xSL) which allows for the acquisition of word-object associations (i.e. nouns) during infancy. It is shown that xSL is not well accounted for by a prominent model of contextual learning - the temporal context model (chapter 3). Additionally, fMRI data suggest that neocortical structures rather than components of the hippocampal system are preferentially involved in xSL compared to traditional methods of training (chapter 4). Finally, it is suggested that rapid hippocampal learning mechanisms rely on specialised neuronal-microglial interactions. The administration of a microglial inhibitor (minocycline) was found to modulate hippocampal function and bias its use when other learning systems would have been more advantageous (chapter 5). Collectively, these findings suggest that the hippocampal system is specialised for rapidly encoding information that is explicitly provided, yet may not be recruited when associative information is collated across ambiguous events. At the same time, the neocortical semantic system may be able to learn new information at faster rates than previously thought. As such, it is hypothesised that amnestic patients may be able to acquire some forms of declarative material if presented in an appropriate manner.

Age-related decline in cognitive performance and brain structure can be offset by increased exercise. Little is known, however, about the cognitive and brain structural consequences of long-term high-effort endurance exercise. In a cross-sectional design, we recruited older adults who had been engaging in high-effort endurance exercise over at least twenty years, and compared their cognitive performance and brain structure with a non-sedentary control group similar in age, sex, education, IQ, depression levels, and other lifestyle factors. We hypothesized that long-term high-effort endurance exercise would protect against the age-related decline in memory, attention, and brain structure. Our findings, in contrast to previous studies, indicated that those participating in long-term high-effort endurance exercise, when compared without confounds to non-sedentary control volunteers, showed no differences on measures of speed of processing, executive function, incidental memory, episodic memory, working memory, or visual search. On measures of prospective memory, long-term exercisers performance suggested a self-imposed increase in effort, which did not impact on ability to complete the PM task. In complex attention tasks, they displayed a differential strategy to controls. Structurally, long-term exercisers only displayed higher diffuse axial diffusivity, an index of axonal integrity, than controls, but this did not correlate with any cognitive differences.