Esta pesquisa traz como ponto de partida minhas experiências poéticas como bailarina da dança denominada Contato Improvisação; experiências estas que vão ao encontro de um corpo sensível, expressivo e sobretudo criativo, a partir do qual é possível a vivência da própria subjetividade no aqui e agora de cada relação e de cada situação. Assim, através deste mergulho em experiências corporais do Contato Improvisação, desenvolvo reflexões e questionamentos acerca de três eixos temáticos centrais: as supostas dualidades corpo-mente, habitual-criativo e eu-outro. Para dar respaldo a esta pesquisa, encontrei ressonâncias em autores como Merleau-Ponty na fenomenologia e Winnicott na psicanálise (além de Marion Milner e Gilberto Safra, entre outros) que convergem, cada um à sua maneira, para a compreensão de que a constituição do self se fundamenta no corpo e na relação com o outro (Winnicott), e de que é importante ao ser humano ter a vivência de ser o próprio corpo e de ser-no-mundo (Merleau-Ponty), desembocando na possibilidade de vivência da criatividade. Como desdobramento desta pesquisa, deixo que estas reflexões tragam questionamentos a respeito da prática clínica, abordando a experiência corporal, a criatividade e a relação paciente-terapeuta, a partir de breves relatos de algumas experiências que vivi no atendimento de pacientes. Assim, nesta dissertação, faço uma leitura do Contato Improvisação a partir de Merleau-Ponty e Winnicott, sem a pretensão de reduzir esta dança aos conceitos destes autores, mas sim como uma tentativa de colocar em palavras um pouco deste universo que é mais corporal, sensorial e poético; e quem sabe poder aprender um pouco sobre maneiras mais criativas de se relacionar com o próprio corpo, com o outro e com o mundo. Em uma espécie de dança entre o Contato Improvisação, Winnicott e Merleau-Ponty, o texto vai se constituindo a partir destes encontros e diálogos, para poder deixar surgir novas criações e novos voos na discussão dos temas desta dissertação / This researchs starting point are my poetic experiences as a dancer in the tecnique called Contact Improvisation. Such experiences meet a sensible body, expressive and creative above all, from which it becomes possible to live ones own subjectivity in the here and now of every relationship and situation. By means of this dive into the body experiences of Contact Improvisation, I develop thoughts and questions on three central topics: the alleged dualities body-mind, customary-creative and self-other. To give basis to the research, I found resonance in authors such as Merleau-Ponty of phenomenology and Winnicott of psychoanalysis (in addition to Marion Milner and Gilberto Safra, among others), who, each at their own way, converge around the idea that the self is grounded on the body and on the relationship with others (Winnicott), and that it is important for the human being to experience being the own body and being-in-the-world (Merleau-Ponty), thus enabling the experience of creativity. As an extension of this research, I have let those thoughts raise questions about the clinical practice by addressing concepts such as the body experience, creativity and patient-therapeut relationship on the basis of a brief reporting of some experiences that I had with patients. Therefore, in this dissertation I address the Contact Improvisation having Merleau-Ponty and Winnicott as basis, without the intention of placing this dance technique under the concepts of those two authors, but as an attempt of putting into words a small part of this more corporeal, sensorial and poetic universe, and maybe learn more about alternative ways of relating to ones own body, the others and the world. In the form of a dance between the Contact Improvisation, Winnicott and Merleau-Ponty, the work builds up from such encounters and dialogues to give room to new creations and new approaches to the topics of the present dissertation

The main aim of the research presented in this thesis is to inform the design of interactive computer systems for supporting creative knowledge work. Research into creativity and knowledge work has been explored and used to develop a criteria modelling approach. The particular contribution of the author's work is the drawing together of that research and applying the findings to interaction design. The publications were selected on the basis of how well they represent the main outcomes of the work. The journey from prescribing system requirements and design goals to framing the system design process in terms of evaluation criteria may be traced through the papers presented. Interest in creativity and the role of computer technology in creative tasks has recently increased. A number of national initiatives have been set in motion in the LJK, beginning in December 1996 with the Initiative for National Action on Creative Technologies, the Creative Media Initiative: Technology Foresight, Department of Trade and Industry, National Endowment for Science and Technology in the Arts (NESTA) and the People and Computers Programme, of the Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC). Thus, the author's involvement in creativity research and computer support is proving to be timely. Amongst her recent initiatives is Creativity and Cognition, an international symposium which brings together creative people in the arts with technologists and scientists. The thesis is divided into three parts : themes and outcomes, methodology and case studies. A criteria-based modelling approach is presented which has evolved from earlier models that represent key elements of creativity and knowledge work. A model of creative knowledge work is proposed and categories of criteria identified. Underpinning the main outcomes are the case studies which were carried out in industry/academic collaborative projects. The findings were considered in relation to other studies. The thesis presents an approach to computer systems design and development that directly links the requirements definition to the application of evaluation criteria. These criteria are based upon the characteristics of the cognitive style and working practices of creative knowledge workers.

The first idea of "Art Education" came to my mind when I wrote M.A. thesis entitled:“ The Role of Art in Training and Teaching Children 6-11”, Ten years ago. I was eager to enhance my study to new planning methods of Art universities. The objective of this idea was to open up our cultural institutions to the wider community, to promote learning and to extend the reach of new technologies. So, as a PhD student I liked to work on the idea of values and the hope for development. I left all my past behind to enliven my ambition in the way of innovative art. In the world of communication and digital, I was looking for a way to connect human‟s intellectual values and global digital. I tried to perceive the reality of human‟s nature despite the extraordinary progress in computer and its components. Therefore, it is now appropriate to move our attention to what we might do as teachers in higher education to evaluate the quality of our own work, with the key aim of improving the quality of students learning. Because, a teacher has a unique role, requiring the integration of teaching skills and capability to take an active role in curriculum support, design and implementation. I had so many interviews with many digital artists around the world which made me to question myself: Where am I standing now? What do I intend my artwork to impart? As the global communication has brought artist to communicate globally they intend to suggest the new thinking and new form of art. It is no longer art for art but art for communication and conveys a meaning to observers. Regarding to Oliver Wedell who interprets the best of a book he found, can also be a good expression for me in art: "The best of a book is not the thought which it contains, but the thought which it suggests; just as the charm of music dwells not in the tones but in the echoes of our hearts." Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894), American physician and writer. (Wendell Holmes). This thesis has set out to provide a review of progress in the British universities post 60s. There was historical evidence of this tendency going back into the 19th century, when colleges founded to serve the educational needs of the growing industrial cities turned into the technological universities. The intensity of the certain of new system in England was occurred after World War II. Following post war concern about the need for technical education, and deciding to establish some colleges linked to industry. Indeed, the evaluation of new industry and demanding for reformation, become one of the most important goals in England in those days. Academic atmosphere became institutionalised on policy for technical education in 1950s and 1960s. Appendix 1 contains the main intention to explore the progressive movement of higher education in England. However, It was not the aim to provide a comprehensive theory of the history of education but, in short, I have narrowed my attention to the history of art universities in England since 18th century up to now. So, appendix II, concentrates on the creation of the new system after the 60s and have explored how and why the process of improvement expanded during that period. Chapter 1 with the subject "Digital Art and Iranian Education" has addressed approaches to teaching for creativity in art and illustrates how they can provide rich opportunities for students to discover experience and develop their skills in creative area. The questions here: How can creativity be communicated through teaching? Do we have a specific language for creativity in art? How can we explain the importance of creativity in art? How can teachers make the teaching process itself more creative? would be an overview of teaching and learning process. As it can be an important factor for teachers to know and demonstrate “when”, “where” and “which” language can be matched by creative subject material to avoid creative problem. Actually, creative problem solving depends on using the right tools such as, text, graphics, picture, video, links, searching, random scanning, backtracking, multiple windows, with programmable access and control of other resources such as, spreadsheets, databases, CAD, CD-ROMs, video discs, audio discs, tricks, procedures or methods of analysis. In some cases new tools and methods of analysis must be developed from scratch by the inventor before a problem can be solved and in other cases special tools and procedures must be developed to take the final critical step of enabling successful commercial applications after a university education. Recent technological advances in the arts have created the possibility of new ways of teaching and learning. Identifying successful strategies and techniques for enabling universities to advance is a critical step towards making these goals a reality. This chapter analyse the following conceptual approaches as key issues: Restructuring curriculum and policy in Iranian arts faculties, promoting faculty development and students‟ learning in the context of global standards. More specific issues included: Is there a need for a standard model to deliver university goals? How can we adapt the curriculum? What do we want from creativity and how can we be more creative? Chapter 2 discusses the quality of teaching and learning, resulting in improvements throughout undergraduate education. Therefore, Iranian educational context needs to be considered. I have argued that to increase faculty members‟ effectiveness, the existing competitive, individualistic college structure needs to be transformed to provide a collaborative and innovative environment where the use of computers could emerge as a new practice area. Chapter 3 represents that creative use of computers in digital art is important in learning and teaching. This chapter gives an account of the author‟s experiences in digital printmaking, not just as pieces of art work, but also to develop teaching and learning strategies for Iranian art universities. Chapter 4 states that the development of a professional digital art practice has been an essential task faced by many creative professionals today. The application of digital technologies discussed in this chapter is: What is needed in order to identify a dynamic practice and critical debate relative to educational contexts? How can we visualize the practice and theory of digitalisation? In particular, what is the nature of the collaboration that explores new models of working and practice relevant to the discovery of new methods in future? Indeed, the intersection between digital paintings, the physical body, and multimedia in collaboration with music and video art is one that this chapter discusses as a challenging teaching exemplar in forming learning values. The result promotes a new fine art context that breaks the crossing between the arts. Chapter 5 reveals the world of modern physics and the reality of our mind and our conscious self. The study of quantum physics is the further aim to develop artists‟ consciousness and inner expression for the concept of body energy and interactivity in chapter 6. Chapter 6 considers the hidden values to learn how to focus well on mind throughout the physical body. The collaborative digital art practice has analysed the intellectual activity and produced an interactive visual arts. The study of human being fused my imagination to see and express body in a new form of art as my final project. Chapter 7 examines and explores the idea of using digital art as a form of multimedia project and the opportunity of developing new techniques in performance. These explorations need to develop new tools to facilitate the emerging concept of the higher spatial dimensions, human body and their relationship between art and technology. The intention of this chapter, as a closing chapter, was to suggest a developing a programme, as a short experiential artwork to model a virtual form of the body and to explore the nature of consciousness in the world of the imagination.

Inom kreativitetsforskningen har det gjorts omfattande studier för att försöka definiera och mäta kreativitet. Innebörden av kreativitet har förändrats utifrån de historiska och kulturella sammanhang som begreppet använts inom. Genom att förstå begreppet kreativitet menar forskare att människan kan lära sig att identifiera och förstå varje persons unika kreativa förmågor. Det gör oss även till bättre problemlösare - då kreativitet enligt vissa forskare berör olika problemlösarstilar. Sist men inte minst är det viktigt att förstå begreppet kreativitet då det ger människan intellektuell tillfredsställelse. Genom denna studie vill författarna försöka klargöra den egentliga definitionen av begreppet kreativitet, om någon sådan existerar. Författarna vill även studera om en utvald reklambyrå tolkar begreppet likvärdigt som de utvalda kreativitetsforskarna samt se om den utvalda reklambyrån lever upp till sin egen definition av begreppet kreativitet. Inför denna studie valdes ett fenomenologiskt forskningssätt då författarna ville studera ett fenomen utifrån en utvald fokusgrupps perspektiv, vilket i detta fall var en reklambyrå. Datainsamlingen skedde genom 6 intervjuer av semistrukturerad art, vilket fick representera den praktiska definitionen av kreativitet på den utvalda reklambyrån Byrån. Respondenternas svar resulterade i många olika definitioner och beskrivningar av vad de anser att kreativitet är och det är svårt att ge en övergripande tolkning eftersom svaren skiljer sig åt. En slutsats som författarna av denna rapport kan dra utifrån datainsamlingen är att orden; problemlösning, banbrytande och målinriktat, är de mest omnämnda orden som respondenterna använt för att beskriva kreativitet. Likaså är; okonventionell, lösningsorienterad, öppet sinne och urskiljningsförmåga personliga egenskaper som respondenterna anser att en kreativ person bör besitta. Dessa beskrivande ord och egenskaper återkommer i den vetenskapliga teorin av kreativitet och kan därför till viss del visa på likheter mellan teoretisk och praktisk definition. Dock finns det ingen vetenskaplig definition som exakt överensstämmer med någon av respondenternas svar. Av detta drar författarna av denna rapport slutsatsen att definitionen av kreativitet i praktiken är en subjektiv bedömning som skiljer sig från varje användare av begreppet. / Extensive research has been made aiming to define and measure creativity.  The meaning of creativity has changed throughout the historical and cultural context. By understanding the concept of creativity, researchers believe that humans can learn to identify and understand each person’s unique creative abilities. The understanding of creativity also allows us to improve our problem-solving abilities. Last but not least, it is important to understand the concept of creativity as it gives people intellectual satisfaction. Through this study, the authors want to clarify the true definition of creativity, if that exists. The authors also want to study whether a selected advertising agency interpreters the term equaly to the selected creativity researchers and see if the selected advertising agency lives up to their own definition of creativity. Prior to this study, a phenomenological research method was chosen as the authors wanted to study a phenomenon based on a selected focus group perspective, which - in this case - was an advertising agency. The data collection was collected through six interviews of semi structured nature, which would represent the practical definition of creativity in the chosen advertising agency.' The respondents' answers resulted in many definitions and descriptions of what they believe that creativity is. It is difficult to give a comprehensive interpretation because the answers differs. The data collection shows that;  problem-solving, pioneering and goal-directed are the most mentioned words respondents use to describe creativity. Similarly; unconventional, solutionoriented, open-minded and discernment are all personal characteristics that respondents believe that a creative person should possess. These descriptive words and features recur in the scientific theory of creativity and therefore to some extent show the similarities between the theoretical and practical definitions. However, there is no scientific definition that exactly match any of the respondents answers. From this, the authors of this report concludes that the definition of reativity in practice is a subjective assessment that differs from each user of the term.

Western intellectual property frameworks have at least one feature in common: performers are less protected than authors. This situation knows many justifications, although all but one have been dismissed by the literature: performers are simply less creative than authors. As a result, the legal protection covering their work has been proportionally reduced compared to that of their authorial peers. This thesis investigates this phenomenon that it calls the 'author-performer divide'. It uncovers the culturally-rooted principles and legal reasoning that policy-makers and judges of Australia, France, the United Kingdom and the United States have developed to create in the legal narrative a hierarchy between authors and performers. It reveals that those intellectual property systems, though continuously reformed, still contain outdated conceptions of creativity based on the belief in ex nihilo creation and over-intellectualised representations of the creative process. Those two precepts combined have led legal discourse to portray performers as their authors' puppets, thus underserving of authorship themselves. This thesis reviews arguments raised against improving the performers' regime to challenge the preconception of performers as uncreative agents and questions the divide it supports. To this end, it seeks to update the representations of creativity currently conveyed in the law by drawing on the findings of other academic disciplines such as creativity research, performance theories as well as music, theatre and dance studies. This comparative inter-disciplinary study aims to move current legal debates on performers' rights away from the recurring themes and repeated arguments in the scholarship such as issues of fixation or of competing claims, all of which have made conversations stagnate. By including disciplines beyond the law, this analysis seeks to advance the legal literature on the question of performers' intellectual property protection and shift thinking about performative forms of creativity.

(in English) The thesis explores decision making in creative artistic process in adults. The aim of this study is to determine what and how the adults reflect during an art activity and its aftermath, as well as what other phenomena occur in the creative process. The theoretical part is divided into four parts. The first section deals with decision making - the terminology and the three theories of intuitive decision making. The second part presents basic knowledge about creativity. The third part deals with the creative process and its models. The fourth one describes two methods used in the research. The empirical part consists of qualitative and quantitative research. The qualitative research was conducted using a semi-structured interview with 14 adults, who drew on stimulus matrix - scribbling, which was created for this purpose. The objective of the qualitative research was to map the decision making in the given activity. The purpose of the quantitative research was to compare the used scribbling method with the Torrance Figural Test of Creative Thinking. The results of both surveys are described in detail and discussed with the available literature. The conclusion of the thesis offers recommendations on the use of the collected data and possible further research on this topic. Klíčová slova...

In this dissertation, I will be looking at the actor as a craftsperson and artist from both a secular and a theological standpoint in order to determine if the labour of acting can be considered both as work, a “proper job”; and as a calling from God, a vocation. The main questions prompting and shaping this dissertation have arisen out of my own personal experience as an actor struggling both in the performing arts business and with my Christian faith. So, the opening chapter will introduce a personal background approach to the dissertation. It will summarize the experiences that brought me to the place of asking these two questions. It will also serve as an introduction to the life of Dorothy L. Sayers, outlining her own life and demonstrating why she is important to our work as actors. Chapter Two will then cover historical data on Anti-Theatrical Prejudice, laying the foundation for the ongoing discomfort with and misunderstanding regarding the actor's craft. Chapters Three and Four will examine separately our notions of work (Three) and then of vocation (Four) in order to gain a broader view of these two terms. At this point, we will have laid the path to reintroduce Dorothy L. Sayers in Chapters Five, Six and Seven, both as a partner in conversation and as one who held this broader understanding of the terms work and vocation and applied them to creative activities, in particular acting. The final chapter will look at acting as connected to the basic features of life. It, among other things, will revisit some of the anti-theatre argument; pick up on ideas such as the imagination's ability to rehearse life; and will examine some uses of acting as a means of human exploration and social change. Finally, we will explore the artistry, technique, and craft of the actor, to firmly establish the place of acting in society as an important task, a “proper job,” and a Christian vocation.

Green urban spaces are a vigorous part in cities development, all over the world (Swanwick, Dunnet, & Wooley, 2003). These spaces are persistently constructed and negotiated over a creative process, which includes a network of actors, such as clients, designers, constructors, and users. This thesis addresses this process - with a case study of landscape architects in Stockholm, and their practice of creativity. The landscape architects present one group of actors involved in the process, where they design urban spaces for the future through their creative work. It begins with a mental image, an idea, and ends with a built site, a designed space. In reference to practice theory (Ortner, 1984 and 2006) and the biosocial becomings approach (Ingold, 2013), I analyze how creativity as a practice is socially produced by history, culture and power, through the biosocial growth of the creative agent, the landscape architect. Referring to Hallam and Ingold ́s definition (2007, p. 3), I understand creative practice as an improvisational process. I argue that creativity is accumulated, i.e. a becoming practice amongst becoming creative agents. While investigating the practice of creativity through a traditional participant observation, I primarily focus on sounds, where I listen to the practice, and use it as a method of collecting empirical data. With that method, I enrich the registration of sensor impressions (Borneman & Hammoudi, 2009, p. 19) during my fieldwork, providing a sonic dimension to the knowledge of creative practice amongst landscape architects.

This dissertation can broadly be summarized as an examination of the construction and maintenance of a specific type of “authentic” American identity through the lens of folk music. Drawing from interpretive perspectives within the sociology of culture and social psychology, social constructionism and symbolic interactionism in particular, I combine ethnographic research with 61 interviews at two different “folk musicians’ festivals” (festivals where attendees, not hired professionals, produce the music). My principal focus at these festivals concerns the various practices and stories surrounding the creation and performance of original folk music. I use the empirical platform of musicians’ festivals, where folk songwriters are plenty, combined with the theoretical synthesis of music and narrative, to examine how such practices and stories shape, and are shaped by, culture, emotion, and identity. Specifically, I am interested in the cultural “work” accomplished by the interrelationships among music and narrative at festivals, around songwriting, and in songs, particularly as such “work” relates to the (re)production and reception of folk and festival culture, participants’ emotional experiences, the construction and maintenance of participants’ personal and collective identities, and the purposeful evocation of social change. In attending to the importance of process and meaning-making, I examine the process through which one accomplishes authenticity as a folk and festival member, the creative process of songwriting, and the process through which listeners experience and interpret “good songs.” I offer the concepts (and processes) of songwriting as inquiry and songwriting in action to account for how these interrelationships “work” for songwriters and listeners, but also for sociologists, particularly in terms of including the (mostly neglected) lived and embodied dimensions of emotional experience. Throughout, I explore how stories and practices in and around the process of musical production and performance are largely influenced by broader cultural narratives that circulate in and around folk music culture, particularly as they relate to the notion of “authentic identity” through emotionality, creativity, and social justice.

In this thesis, I explore the dynamics of German Swiss folk music today in relation to the emerging musicians who have been involved in a folk music post-secondary program in recent years. Approaching the field as a community of musical practice (Lave and Wenger 1991), I attend to processes of learning and transmission and to the spaces of experience in which it takes place. In participant responses, three key themes emerged. The first was the significance of the recently-established folk music postsecondary program as a site of learning and participation for emerging German Swiss musicians. The second was the importance of creativity among this demographic, and the way in which learning environments and spaces of experience (Gosselain 2016), such as universities or festivals, shape this creative potential. The third was the centrality of Swiss folk music festivals to the continuance of this music and community, and the way in which they offer spaces of experience in which to connect, learn, share, and participate. In this thesis, I draw on the theoretical concepts of legitimate peripheral participation, boundary objects, spaces of experience, and genealogy, and explore issues pertaining to informal and formal learning, intergenerationality, access and power, and peripherality. / Graduate / 2018-08-31