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An actor seeking to improve his craft can find numerous sources containing countless tips and techniques on the art of acting. However, the majority of these books target the adult actor often leaving young performers struggling to understand complex acting theory. With the goals of creating a nurturing learning environment and quality performance work within a compact rehearsal schedule, this thesis project created and evaluated a new synthesis of modern acting theory for directors to use when working with young performers. This technique adapted and coalesced several perspectives on foundational acting theory-specifically looking at the use of a character's wants and actions as described by Bruder et al., Caldarone & Lloyd-Williams, Cohen, Jory, Mamet, and Stanislavski. I tested the developed technique using an independent production of The Cat Who Ran by Naoko Kudo performed by a group of seventh through tenth grade actors. This thesis shares the process of creating this rehearsal tool with its readers. This process included researching and synthesizing the technique, documenting my process as director and acting coach for The Cat Who Ran, testing the technique throughout the production of The Cat Who Ran, evaluating the effectiveness of the technique through qualitative observation from production team and audience members, and theorizing the potential effectiveness for other scripts. The documentation of the project includes surveys, worksheets, text analysis, and production photos.

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Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / Jana R. Fallin / This qualitative study sought to inquire into, identify and examine elements of musical expression as exemplified in jazz performance from a phenomenological approach. The purpose was to identify the various elements utilized by expert performers and listeners in perceiving musical expression, to determine whether or not these elements are held in common between performer and listener, and to explore the relation of personal experiences of the phenomenon with aesthetic philosophy and educational practice. Aesthetic concepts were drawn from the writings of Stephen Davies and Peter Kivy while jazz principles and foundations were drawn from Ted Gioia and Gunther Schuller. Ten subjects, five world-class jazz artists and five nationally recognized jazz critics, were selected based upon reputation and professional standing and interviewed in naturalistic settings of their own choosing (home, office, studio). Each subject listened to six recordings of the jazz standard My Funny Valentine as recorded by established jazz icons: Miles Davis, Paul Desmond, Gerry Mulligan, Bill Evans with Jim Hall, Sarah Vaughan, and Keith Jarrett. All were encouraged to comment in a stream-of-consciousness manner while listening to the examples. Additionally, fifteen statements drawn from the literature were read for subjects to rate on a five-point Lykert scale ranging from “totally agree” to “totally disagree”. Interviews were transcribed and coded into themes. Lykert responses were analyzed within group using means and ranges and between groups utilizing difference of means. Results, as interpreted by this researcher, reflect seven themes identified by performers (Sound, Individuality, Virtuosity and Intellect, Communication, Specific Musical Elements, Mood or Character, and Originality and Innovation) and six themes enumerated by critics Individuality, Virtuosity and Intellect, Communication, Specific Musical Elements, Mood or Character, and Originality and Innovation). No attempt was made at stratification of themes, as this was exploratory research. While both groups used the concept of sound, context placed it under the concept of individuality for critics while performers used it more specifically towards the establishment of mood. Lykert responses confirmed strong similarity of thought between the two groups.

"Mémoire présenté à la Faculté des études supérieures en vue de l'obtention du grade de Maître en droit (LL.M.)" / En prenant pour acquis qu'il existe bel et bien une relation entre droit d'auteur et évolution médiatique, nous avons tenté d'expliciter cette relation en nous penchant sur le cas des artistes interprètes et exécutants. Ainsi, en mettant à contribution l'une des théories de la communication, la médiologie, nous avons, d'une part, identifié ce que l'on appelle, en jargon médiatique, un média dominant; d'autre part, nous avons caractérisé la mentalité médiatique qui en découle. Enfin, nous avons examiné le droit d'auteur à la lumière de ces caractéristiques afin de déterminer quelle place revenait à l'artiste interprète et exécutant dans un contexte médiatique précis. Plus spécifiquement et conformément à la démarche que nous venons de décrire, la première partie de ce mémoire a donc porté sur l'influence d'un premier média dominant, l'imprimerie. Le statisme et la fixité exigés par la prédominance de ce média a naturellement orienté notre analyse vers l'importance de la fixation en droit d'auteur. Comme la fixation revêt une place de choix en droit d'auteur, la prestation artistique, qui ne répond pas à ce critère, est reléguée au régime des droits voisins. Puis, avec l'avènement d'un second média dominant, le média de réseaux, c'est une toute autre ère qui s'ouvre, celle de la dématérialisation. La fixation devient alors un critère en pleine perte de vitesse. Malgré tout, la communauté internationale continue de croire que la prestation artistique relève du régime des droits voisins Cependant, le Traité de l'OMPI octroie aux artistes interprètes et exécutants plus de droits. Serait-ce le premier signe d'une éventuelle accession des artistes interprètes et exécutants au régime de droits d'auteur? / If we assume that copyright laws and the evolution of media are linked, our analysis of performance artists attempts to clarify this relationship. Using mediology as a tool for communication theory, we first identified a dominant media, or what is referred as a «mediasphere» in mediology. Next, we qualified its resultant mentality. Finally, we used these characteristics to examine copyright laws in an effort to determine the position of performers in a given mediasphere context. More specifically, the first part of this thesis focuses on the influence of the print as a dominant medium. The prevalence of this medium demands a level of statism and fixity which prompts us to analyze the importance of fixation in copyright laws. Considering the predominance of fixation in copyright laws and the transitory nature of the artistic performance, performers are only granted neighboring rights, not copyrights. Nowadays, the emergence of the electronic medium seems to give way to a new mediasphere in which dematerialisation is the key. Therefore, fixation as a criterion for determining whether or not to copyright a work of art is slowly losing its significance. Despite this fact, the international copyright community continues to believe that performers should be protected by neighboring rights. However, the WIPO Treaty of 1996 grants performers greater rights. Is this the first sign ofperformers gaining potential access to authorship?

The current - and very relevant - debate about the way authors and performers lose control over exploitation, and more importantly, revenue generated through use of their works and performances in the digital world somewhat overshadows the fact that there are existing scenarios arising from the normal course of dealings in such works where the same occurs and were remedy of any such "injustice" has not been fully enshrined in law. A right to additional fair remuneration is a concept recognised to various degrees in some Member States of the EU but not all, scaling from (seemingly) zero in the UK to quite an elaborate regulation in Germany. Where they are recognised, application and enforcement of relevant provisions also vary. The EU sought to harmonise the issue of author's and performer's access to fair share of revenue generated from exploitation of their work or performance (for normal dealings and in digital spheres of copyright exploitation) in its new draft Directive. The Proposal for a Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market published in September 2016 dedicates its Chapter 3 of Title IV to Fair remuneration in contracts of authors and performers; contract adjustment mechanism introduced in Article 15 attempts to tackle the issue by proposing a statutory right to additional remuneration being introduced throughout the EU Member States. Or, was the aim of this provision originally even broader? In this work, three main areas are addressed: (i) the background and justification of inclusion of such provisions into the Draft DSM Directive; (ii) current applicable law in Germany, Czech Republic and the UK; three countries each representing different historical and doctrinal approach to copyright law and thus providing unique benchmarks for the analysis, (iii) reconciliation of the first two parts: analysing what - if any - change in the national legislation would be needed for the three Member States to transpose the provision into the national laws. By way of conclusion, recommendations to amend Article 15 of the draft Directive is based on the analysis made in the third part.

En prenant pour acquis qu'il existe bel et bien une relation entre droit d'auteur et évolution médiatique, nous avons tenté d'expliciter cette relation en nous penchant sur le cas des artistes interprètes et exécutants. Ainsi, en mettant à contribution l'une des théories de la communication, la médiologie, nous avons, d'une part, identifié ce que l'on appelle, en jargon médiatique, un média dominant; d'autre part, nous avons caractérisé la mentalité médiatique qui en découle. Enfin, nous avons examiné le droit d'auteur à la lumière de ces caractéristiques afin de déterminer quelle place revenait à l'artiste interprète et exécutant dans un contexte médiatique précis. Plus spécifiquement et conformément à la démarche que nous venons de décrire, la première partie de ce mémoire a donc porté sur l'influence d'un premier média dominant, l'imprimerie. Le statisme et la fixité exigés par la prédominance de ce média a naturellement orienté notre analyse vers l'importance de la fixation en droit d'auteur. Comme la fixation revêt une place de choix en droit d'auteur, la prestation artistique, qui ne répond pas à ce critère, est reléguée au régime des droits voisins. Puis, avec l'avènement d'un second média dominant, le média de réseaux, c'est une toute autre ère qui s'ouvre, celle de la dématérialisation. La fixation devient alors un critère en pleine perte de vitesse. Malgré tout, la communauté internationale continue de croire que la prestation artistique relève du régime des droits voisins Cependant, le Traité de l'OMPI octroie aux artistes interprètes et exécutants plus de droits. Serait-ce le premier signe d'une éventuelle accession des artistes interprètes et exécutants au régime de droits d'auteur? / If we assume that copyright laws and the evolution of media are linked, our analysis of performance artists attempts to clarify this relationship. Using mediology as a tool for communication theory, we first identified a dominant media, or what is referred as a «mediasphere» in mediology. Next, we qualified its resultant mentality. Finally, we used these characteristics to examine copyright laws in an effort to determine the position of performers in a given mediasphere context. More specifically, the first part of this thesis focuses on the influence of the print as a dominant medium. The prevalence of this medium demands a level of statism and fixity which prompts us to analyze the importance of fixation in copyright laws. Considering the predominance of fixation in copyright laws and the transitory nature of the artistic performance, performers are only granted neighboring rights, not copyrights. Nowadays, the emergence of the electronic medium seems to give way to a new mediasphere in which dematerialisation is the key. Therefore, fixation as a criterion for determining whether or not to copyright a work of art is slowly losing its significance. Despite this fact, the international copyright community continues to believe that performers should be protected by neighboring rights. However, the WIPO Treaty of 1996 grants performers greater rights. Is this the first sign ofperformers gaining potential access to authorship? / "Mémoire présenté à la Faculté des études supérieures en vue de l'obtention du grade de Maître en droit (LL.M.)"

Darbe nagrinėjami muzikavimo bosine gitara specifiniai bruožai. Bosinė gitara pastaruoju metu yra populiarus muzikos instrumentas, kuriuo gali būti atliekama įvairių stilių ir žanrų muzika. Šis instrumentas padeda palaikyti visą ansamblio ritmą, gyvybingumą, pulsą. Visgi pažymėtina tai, kad bosinės gitaros mokytojams Lietuvoje nepakanka metodinės informacijos šaltinių lietuvių kalba. Tai yra didelė neformaliojo ugdymo įstaigų problema, kurią bandant spręsti buvo rengiamas šis darbas. Tyrimo tikslas: išanalizuoti esminius grojimo bosine gitara bruožus. Tyrimo uždaviniai: apžvelgti bosinės gitaros istorinę raidą; aptarti svarbiausias šio instrumento rūšis; panagrinėti žymiausių bosinės gitaros atlikėjų nuopelnus bei jų indėlį į bosinės gitaros raidą; išanalizuoti grojimo bosine gitara stilius bei mokymo metodikas. Bakalauro darbe apžvelgta istorinė bosinės gitaros vystymosi raida, aptartos bosinių gitarų rūšys, supažindinama su žymiausiais pasaulio bosinės gitaros atlikėjais. Antrojoje darbo dalyje analizuojami muzikavimo bosine gitara specifikos bruožai. Darbe didelis dėmesys skiriamas muzikos stilių, kuriuose dominuoja bosinė gitara, apžvalgai. Taip pat siekiama panagrinėti grojimo bosine gitara technikas bei kiekvienos jų ypatumus, specifinius bruožus. / Paper analyzes the specifics of playing bass guitar. The bass guitar is a very popular musical instrument nowadays. It is the core of music groups of different styles. The given instrument helps to keep the overall rhythm, pulse and vitality of the company. It was hence really interesting and useful for me to get insight into the path “taken” by this musical instrument. Aim: To analyse the essential characteristics of playing the bass guitar. Goals: to review the historical development of the bass guitar; to discuss the most important types of the instrument; to explore the merits of the most famous bass guitar players and their contribution to the evolution of the bass guitar; to investigate the styles and teaching methodologies of playing the bass guitar. The bachelor thesis presents a review of the historical development of the bass guitar, discusses the types of the bass guitar, and introduces the world famous bass guitarists. Section Two analyses the specifics of playing the bass guitar. Much attention is paid to the overview of music styles dominated by the bass guitar. The thesis also aims to explore the techniques of playing the bass guitar, and their individual specific characteristics and features.

This thesis examines the process of new product development for small firms, aiming to specify what separate top performers from the rest. Every year, thousands of new products are introduced to the market. Yet, 75 % to 90 % of all products launched suffer from failure. Prevailing theory is founded on examinations on large firms, which differ significantly from small firms in terms of financial and human capital. This gives reason to suspect that prevailing theory fail to serve the specific needs of a small firm. In this study, previous research is summarized in a theoretical framework. A set of survey questions was sent out to 2,287 managers in Swedish small manufacturing firms. A research model was developed to help analyze and interpret the 156 complete responses. 32 significant variables separating top performers from the rest were acknowledged and three factor areas were specified in a framework for small firm new product success. The findings of our study indicate that prevailing theory fail to serve small firms. We conclude that small firms benefit from focusing to simplify rather than adding to refine, and that this is strongly correlated to the limited financial and human resources of a small firm.

This study aims towards high performing students’ perspective on motivation and how they consistently obtain high grades in English classes. Different characteristics from Skolverket’s study that were common for high performing students along with Reeve’s self-determination theory was used as background research. Qualitative interviews were used to analyse the high performing students’ perception of how they are challenged in English classes and how they motivate themselves. The results show that high performance in English classes is not so much an innate ability, which some are born with, but rather a question of motivation and character.