Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Creatura'

Resumo: O entremez, uma forma teatral cômica, é uma fonte possível para acompanharmos alguns aspectos e transformações da sociedade portuguesa do século XVIII, olhando para seus costumes, o cotidiano da vida familiar e principalmente, para a maneira como foi construída algumas ideias sobre o casamento. As reações ao tradicionalismo, a educação feminina, ao papel social da mulher nesta cultura, seu relacionamento com os homens, seja o pai ou amante/futuro marido, com a mãe, com as modas e mesmo as suas possibilidade de se divertir nesta sociedade são alguns dos temas a serem analisados. Também foram encontradas criticas às práticas sociais da sociedade de corte, como os dirigidos às relações afetivas, principalmente à contestação da prática do casamento arranjado e a sátira aos costumes da nobreza. O entremez é estruturado de acordo com os elementos básicos do texto teatral cômico, apresentando intrigas e linguagem peculiares, que tem como objetivo a rápida identificação dos personagens recorrentes com as situações cotidianas, um dos motivos para a sua grande aceitação e divulgação no período estudado.

L’écoute du sacré touche les racines de la poésie de Pasolini, même si il se décrit comme un athée. La recherche analyse sa poésie dans sa chronologique: les collections de la jeunesse (La meglio gioventù et L’usignolo della Chiesa Cattolica) sont caractérisées par visions et images christologiques dans un paysage de «apparences sacrée» où il découvre l’homosexualité comme une «faute innocente», pas intentionnelle, qui lui empêche d'entrer en communion avec les autres créatures. Pour ce péché il demande écoute, engageant une dispute biblique et théologique. Avec l'arrivée à Rome s’ouvre une nouvelle phase: Pasolini découvre la dimension chorale des banlieues romaines et cette découverte rompt son isolement intellectuel (Le ceneri di Gramsci). Alors il cesse de demander pardon et revoit le concept de péché qui n'est plus à l'intérieur mais aussi à l'extérieur de lui-même, commis par qui (la bourgeoisie néo-capitaliste, hégémonique, irréligieuse et « fasciste ») empêche chaque «créature» d'être telle qu'elle est. Pour chaque «créature», unique, Pasolini appelle à la miséricorde: «Pitié pour la créature!» (La religione del mio tempo) et construit, dans le chemin de la meilleure tradition humaniste de Virgile à Dante à Leopardi, une vision sacrée de la réalité inscrite dans un horizon non « créationniste » mais certainement « créaturelle», dans lequel Dieu ne peut pas être vu mais seulement aperçu à la façon d’un soleil éclipsé, lumière occulte dont on ne voit pas la source, qui tombe sur les créatures (surtout les dernières et les marginalisés) et qui leur donne une vie pleine de sens poétique: l'incarnation du «surhumain» dans l’«humaine» (Trasumanar et organizzar)
The sense of a sacred vision deeply influences the poetry of Pasolini. This research paper confronts the fact that P. always saw himself as an atheist. It analyses his poetry in its chronological evolution, indicating how the first collections (La meglio gioventù and L’Usignolo della Chiesa Cattolica) are characterized by Christological visions and images. In Friuli, in a maternal landscape made up of “sacred appearances”, he discovers his homosexuality as a "guilty innocent", something not intentional and that prevents him from the communion with other creatures. For this sin, he asks to be heard, engaging in a biblical-theological dispute. His arrival in Rome opens a new phase: P. discovers the choral dimension of the Roman suburbs that breaks the previous isolation (Le ceneri di Gramsci). He stops asking for forgiveness and reviews the concept of sin that is not only internal, but also external, committed by the neo-capitalistic bourgeoisie who is both irreligious and “fascist”, preventing any single “creature” from being as it truly is. For every “creature”, unique and different from all the others, P. calls for mercy: «Pity the creature!» (La religione del mio tempo) and in the wake of the best humanistic tradition from Virgil to Dante onwards to Leopardi, he builds a sacred vision of reality which is inscribed into a philosophical horizon, not “creationist” but “creatural", in which God is felt rather than seen, like an eclipsed sun, a dimmed light whose source is impossible to see. A light which illuminates the last “creatures” (workers and all marginalized people), the incarnation of celestial dimension in human history (Trasumanar e organizzar)

Escudriñar el pensamiento y las propuestas de un autor a través de distintos títulos que abarcan una obra tan vasta como compleja, es sólo el primer paso para querer escribir sobre él, pero no es suficiente para revelar, o siquiera comprender a totalidad la intención que éste tuvo al hacerla, pero ejercer un esfuerzo para lograrlo es parte de la labor filosófica. Es desde ahí que uno acepta que no se puede esgrimir una opinión que asegure abordar cada una de las formulaciones marcadas en los distintos trabajos realizados a lo largo de su vida, puesto que, a pesar de que el enfoque siempre sigue una línea, en ésta hay una variedad de problemáticas que se entrelazan para dar sentido a una propuesta; en el caso de este trabajo de investigación, se tiene como finalidad determinar el concepto que tiene del hombre, así como su lugar y su función, partiendo de la idea de Dios.

Marcel ayme, individualiste, denonce les institutions, surtout politiques, qui imposent leur pouvoir au detriment de la liberte de l'individu, noye dans la foule. L'ecrivain recuse le materialisme d'une civilisation ou l'homme perd son ame et ou triomphent les masques du rang social et des institutions religieuses, judiciaires, politiques. Beaucoup d'hommes essaient de fuir un reel decevant dans les paradis imaginaires, la folie ou la mort, d'autant plus que la pratique du masque affecte aussi la vie du couple et de la famille. L'individu parait alors responsable de l'emprise du masque, dont la parole est le materiau essentiel. Il a, en effet, peu de gout pour la verite, aussi dangereuse que le mensonge. C'est, nous dit marcel ayme, que le mal est naturellement dans la creature comme il est en dieu, et que le peche est necessaire a la vie. L'ecrivain nous invite donc a accepter les creatures comme elles sont, et a cultiver l'esperance. Sa quete spiritualiste lui fait rejeter le carcan de la raison, l'heritage intellectualiste du xixeme siecle, litteraire, scientifique et religieux; elle le pousse a renouer avec les croyances instinctives, le culte des morts et des dieux sensibles. Il tente d'y retrouver les racines d'une foi qui ne l'habite pas. Sa quete de dieu est celle du pere, celle de sa propre identite, que revele le mythe obsessionnel des jumeaux. La creation fondamentale etant celle du verbe, assimile a dieu, l'exercice de son pouvoir demiurgique par l'ecrivain lui fait trouver en lui-meme le createur qu'il cherchait, plus libre que dieu, plus acheve grace a sa condition mortelle
Marcel ayme, an individualist, condemns all kinds of institutions and above all political ones, which exert their overwhelming power, depriving the individual of all freedom submerged as he is in the multitude. He rejects a materialistic civilization where man's soul vanishes and where the masks of social status are triumphant. Many a man, in his attempt to escape from a deceptive reality, indulges in imaginary paradises, in madness or death, since using the masks also impairs couple and family life. Therefore, the individual appears to be responsible for the pervading power of the mask. Indeed, he does not care much for truth which is as dangerous as lies. This stems from the fact that evil is, by nature, part of man as well as god and that sin is necessary for life. Thus, the writer invites us to accept creatures as they are and to remain hopeful. Throughout his spiritualistic quest, he throws off the yoke of reason, the legacy from the nineteenth century's intellectualism. He is urged to turn anew towards instinctive beliefs, the worship of the dead and of responsive gods. He endeavours to rediscover the roots of a faith which has never grown in him. His quest of god is the father's, it is that of his own identity which is reveales by the obsessional myth of twins. Because basic creativeness comes from the word which is god, its divine power wielded by the writer, leads him to find in himself the creator he was searching for, freer than god

The human pursuit of knowledge is the core of the Prometheus myth and science fiction (SF). The punishment of Prometheus is a reflection of the double nature of know­ledge: it can be used for the benefit or the destruction of humanity. SF shares this topic, representing the complex relation between the human race and knowledge through many forms: the encounter with alien cultures and extraterrestrials, the consequences of technologi­cal development, and the confrontation between civilization and its creations. SF works are contemporary representations of the Promethean drama, especially in the narratives that deal with the relation between creators and creatures. This relation is a reaction to what Hans Blu­menberg calls the "absolutism of reality": humankind's belief that it cannot fully control the conditions of its existence. The creator-versus-creature drama in SF evolves through a pro­gressive selection of narratives that aim to give the Prometheus myth a final interpretation. From the monstrous creature of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to the godlike artificial intelli­gences of William Gibson's Neuromancer, the relation between creator and creature in SF de­veloped into new and complex configurations. SF's cyberpunk genre attempts to overcome the creator and creature dichotomy through the humanization of the creature and the objecti­fication of human identity, summarized in the figure of the cyborg. Contemporary cyberpunk literature unifies humankind and its machines in a post human existence, where the differenc­es between organic and artificial self-awareness are demoted. The Prometheus myth is then turned into a quest of identity by beings that are both creators and creatures.
A busca humana do conhecimento é o núcleo principal do mito de Prometeus e da literatura de ficção científica (FC). A punição de Prometeus é um reflexo da natureza dupla do conhecimento: ele pode ser usado para o benefício ou a destruição da humanidade. A FC também lida com este tópico, representando a relação complexa entre a humanidade e o conhecimento através de várias formas: o encontro com culturas alienígenas, as conseqüências do desenvolvimento tecnológico e o confronto entre a civilização e suas criações. As obras de FC são representações contemporâneas do drama prometeico, especialmente nas narrativas que lidam com a relação entre criadores e criaturas. Esta relação é uma reação ao que Hans Blumenberg chama de absolutistmo da realidade, a crença da humanidade de que não pode controlar completamente as condições de sua existência. O drama do criador versus a criatura na FC evolve através de uma progressiva seleção de narrativas que procura dar ao mito de Prometeus uma interpretação final. Da monstruosa criatura do Frankenstein, de Mary Shelley até as inteligências artificiais com características divinas presentes em Neuromancer, de William Gibson, a relação entre o criador e criatura na FC desenvolveu-se em novas e complexas configurações. O subgênero cyberpunk da FC tenta superar a dicotomia entre o criador e a criatura através da humanização da criatura e da objetificação da identidade humana, sumarizada na figura do ciborgue. A literatura cyberpunk contemporânea unifica a humanidade e suas máquinas em uma existência pós-humana, na qual a diferença entre consciências orgânicas e artificiais são esquecidas. Assim, o mito de Prometeus se transforma em uma busca pela identidade de seres que são ao mesmo tempo criadores e criaturas.

Lucky Creature is a collection of poems that considers particular aspects of being human, specifically love, death, isolation, and the nature of knowledge. A primary concern is the body, explored as a vehicle for shame. The role of imagination as a means of escape is also paramount, leading always toward an act of transformation as a chance at immortality in an entropic universe where everything has a shelf life.

This collection of short stories explores themes of contemporary gender performance through the lens of the fairy tale. The stories examine both the reverberations canonical tales continue to have in American society today, and the new iterations of fairly tales we encounter in modern culture, particularly those which we burden young women through film and television. Within the collection of stylistic conceits and narrative concerns specific to the fairy tale, these stories feature isolated narrators and themes of journeying through the forest. Each of these tales presents a female character or characters going into a metaphorical woods; the stories also often invoke the literal woods. The idea of "the handsome prince" figures here as well, in different explorations (most often lampoons) of contemporary masculinity. Many of these stories also foreground the particular dynamics and complexities of relationships between women: friends, rivals, lovers, teachers and students, mothers and daughters.

This thesis presents an analysis of Cantico delle Creature, a composition for mezzo-soprano solo, chamber choir, chamber orchestra, and computer-generated sounds. The choir and orchestra are divided into two spatially separated groups, with the soloist one percussionist (who plays the tam-tams, at the same time triggering the playback of the pre-synthesized sounds) providing a central link between the two ensembles. This work, which lasts approximately twenty-three minutes, sets a text of the same title by Saint Francis of Assisi. The analytical paper which accompanies the composition examines the text, the relation of the text to the form of the piece, the formal structure and textural organization of the music, the use of spatialization, along with the pitch organization and details regarding the creation and playback of the synthesized sounds. In addition, there is a discussion of the use of the computer as a compositional tool, in particular the utilization of CHAOTICS, compositional software based on nonlinear or "chaotic" functions.

Thesis (M.F.A.)--George Mason University, 2009.
Vita: p. 72. Thesis director: Helen Frederick. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts in Art and Visual Technology. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Oct. 11, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-71). Also issued in print.

This Creature, Bride of Christ is a composition for soprano, alto flute, viola, marimba, and computer running custom software for live interactive performance in the Max/MSP environment. The work is a setting of excerpts from The Book of Margery Kempe, an early autobiographical manuscript depicting the life of a Christian mystic. The thesis discusses the historical, sociological, and musical context of the text and its musical setting; the use of borrowed materials from music of John Dunstable, Richard Wagner, and the tradition of change ringing; and the technologies used to realize the computer accompaniment. A score of the work is also included in the appendix.

Hospitals can no longer be thought of as simply healing machines--they are healing organisms. It is Nature that permits every miracle of medicine, and it is Science that permits our understanding of medicine. By combining the two into a single idea, we aim to strike a balance between the duality of Nature and Technology, in order to design a space that relies more on the healing powers of Nature and less on the intrusiveness of Technology.

By focusing on character, humor, and loose narrative, I create a world full of quirky, pitiful creatures that blur the lines between illustration and "Fine Art". Inspired by golden age cartoons, Pop-Surrealism, and late 50's commercial art, I make work that speaks of the awkwardness of human emotion while keeping a "tongue in cheek" attitude about everyday life. This work is expressed through illustration, animation, sculpture, and a lot of sarcasm.
M.F.A.
Department of Art
Arts and Humanities
Studio Art and the Computer MFA

This thesis is a short story collection revolving around the central theme of pop culture. The first story, "After the Win," follows the character Cecil, whose wife Rhonda has recently won The Great British Bake Off. Trouble ensues in Cecil and Rhonda's family as Rhonda starts to focus on her post-Bake Off fame instead of her relationships with her husband and daughter. "Making Friends with a Monster" is about Rick, a half-human, half-lake monster living on the shores of Bear Lake. Because of his existence in an in-between place between man and monster, Rick struggles to find companionship in life. That is, until Anna (AKA the Loch Ness Monster) arrives in his lake and presents him with an enticing offer: to return with her to Loch Ness. The story culminates in Rick's decision. The next story, "The Fourth Wall," is the story of Max and Abby, who are close to getting engaged. Max confronts Abby about her family, who she has never told him much about. Finally, she agrees to take him for a visit to meet her parents. As soon as Max arrives, it becomes apparent that Abby's parents believe they are Ricky and Lucy from the beloved sitcom I Love Lucy, and Max is soon sucked in to the illusion. The last story in the collection is "Feelin' Groovy in Point Pleasant, West Virginia,"which is the tale of a Simon and Garfunkel tribute band that encounters the legendary Mothman monster in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, who happens to be an avid Simon and Garfunkel fan.

This dissertation contends that the kinds of consistency composition both affords and demands in order to hold together as a composition have a special location within European and American late modernism. In the decades surrounding the Second World War, artists acknowledged that art needed to let in disorder to reflect lived experience; yet, it still had to cohere in order to be recognizable as art, or a form of presentation. Paying attention to how diverse late modernist artists were thus creatively challenged, I argue that their works of art demonstrate historically located and informed compositional conservatism, or formal rigidity. Making the case for the breadth of composition's organizing force during the period, I focus on a different artist and disciplinary area in each of three chapters: Francis Bacon's oil paintings, Samuel Beckett's dramatic and theatrical work in Endgame, and Ralph Ellison's novelistic efforts in Invisible Man and his unfinished second manuscript.

Late modernist artwork exercises formal control in ways extreme enough to be called violent. But if "violence" signifies here how formal control stringently orders components (and excludes others) to bring them into line with composition's demands, this formal signification hardly removes such violence from having lived consequences. More, such components' failure to fall into line, or the artist's failure to accomplish such organization, can itself have unfortunate repercussions. Building on Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari's art theory, which lays the groundwork for aligning apparently dissimilar compositions, I argue that in Bacon, Beckett, and Ellison, compositional force operates in ways shared by larger physical and psychological arrangements. I show how not just home or domestic spaces, but also national and political structures, including, e.g., those defining German fascism, partake in composition's formational activities. Making use of conceptual apparatuses that extend beyond Deleuzoguattarian theory to include psychoanalysis and Frankfurt School theorists, this dissertation examines how the violence (and pleasure) of form variously subtends the period's configurations.

Si escuchó o leyó el mensaje presidencial y los comentarios posteriores de los analistas al respecto, es casi seguro que haya notado dos particularidades. En primer lugar, el uso en el discurso de objetivos y metas inusualmente detalladas, las cuales, más allá de su factibilidad o pertinencia, provocaron comentarios tan sarcásticos como decir que parecía un reporte del INEI.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 1989.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 168-172).
by Jonathan Hudson Connell.
Ph.D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2008.
Title from electronic title page (viewed Sep. 16, 2008). "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy." Discipline: Philosophy; Department/School: Philosophy.

Queer Creatures, Queer Times makes a critical intervention in queer theory and queer poetics through a combination of critical and creative approaches to explore how posthumanist thought and animal studies might correct a blindspot in current critical work on queer experience and texts. Queer theory tends to neglect non/human subjects, yet an ecological and posthumanist critique helps to trouble its humanist bias as well as its overly neat ties to constructivist and performative notions of selfhood. I argue that modern lyric poetry, in emergence during the cultural transmission of Darwinian precepts and the social invention of the homosexual, is uniquely situated to challenge the exclusivist principles that underlie specieisim, Social Darwinism, and heterosexism. While queer theory tends to overlook evolution in the construction of subjectivity and sexuality, I posit that such tendencies diminish opportunities for thinking through non-coherent selfhood and the radical contingency of beings upon other life forms. Accompanying my critical essays on three modernist queer poets, Djuna Barnes, Elizabeth Bishop, and Marianne Moore, are my poetics essay entitled "Towards a Poetics of the Animal" and my poetry manuscript Queer Fish. Both poetic texts explore non-dominant forms of queer relation between animals and humans.

Fotografía Creativa es un curso de especialidad en la carrera de diseño profesional gráfico de carácter teórico - práctico dirigido a estudiantes del 6to ciclo de la carrera que busca desarrollar las competencias generales de pensamiento crítico y ciudadanía y las competencias específicas de comunicación visual y uso de nuevas tecnologías.La imagen es una herramienta muy poderosa al momento de vender una idea o un concepto aprender a manipularlas y editarlas se vuelve una necesidad para el diseñador gráfico actual. Este curso está diseñado para reconocer las tendencias de uso artístico y publicitario que se le puede dar a una imagen comercial; investigar las técnicas con las que se puede utilizar el software específico de edición de imágenes para conseguir resultados visuales muy potentes de tal manera que en su vida profesional el estudiante pueda hacer uso de lo aprendido y utilizar las imágenes para potenciar el mensaje gráfico publicitario.

Descripción:Curso de especialidad en la carrera de diseño profesional gráfico de carácter teórico ¿ práctico dirigido a estudiantes del 6to ciclo de la carrera de Diseño profesional gráfico el cual desarrolla aspectos relacionados al uso de computador como herramienta por excelencia en el desarrollo de material gráfico y multimedios por lo cual nuestros estudiantes deben entender los alcances y posibilidades que el computador les proporciona. En este curso exploramos el bitmap (la foto digital) la manipulación digital de la imagen. La imagen es una herramienta muy poderosa al momento de vender una idea o un concepto aprender a manipularlas y editarlas se vuelve una necesidad para el diseñador gráfico actual. Propósito: Este curso está diseñado para reconocer las tendencias de uso artístico y publicitario que se le puede dar a una imagen comercial; investigar las técnicas con las que se puede utilizar el software específico de edición de imágenes para conseguir resultados visuales muy potentes de tal manera que en su vida profesional el estudiante pueda hacer uso de lo aprendido y utilizar las imágenes para potenciar el mensaje gráfico publicitario.El curso contribuye con el desarrollo de las competencias de Pensamiento innovador (nivel 2) y Pensamiento divergente (nivel 2). El curso cuenta con el prerrequisito de Fotografía Aplicada e Ilustración Digital.

El curso de fotografía Creativa se basa en el desarrollo de actividades que se relacionan con el campo fotográfico comercial o artístico o ambos. Serán importantes el uso de la planificación y la creatividad para que el alumno pueda establecer un flujo de trabajo coherente en la búsqueda de la realización de su proyecto.Para esto plantearemos un orden de procesos que partirá de la elaboración del boceto y producción de la toma fotográfica(planificación) para posteriormente desarrollare el revelado de las fotos y la posterior fotocomposición.

El curso de fotografía Creativa se basa en el desarrollo de actividades que se relacionan con el campo fotográfico comercial o artístico o ambos. Serán importantes el uso de la planificación y la creatividad para que el alumno pueda establecer un flujo de trabajo coherente en la búsqueda de la realización de su proyecto.Para esto plantearemos un orden de procesos que partirá de la elaboración del boceto y producción de la toma fotográfica(planificación) para posteriormente desarrollare el revelado de las fotos y la posterior fotocomposición.

Fotografía Creativa es un curso de especialidad en la carrera de diseño profesional gráfico de carácter teórico - práctico dirigido a estudiantes del 6to ciclo de la carrera que busca desarrollar las competencias generales de Pensamiento Crítico y Pensamiento Innovador y las competencias específicas de Comunicación Visual y Uso de Nuevas Tecnologías.La imagen es una herramienta muy poderosa al momento de vender una idea o un concepto aprender a manipularlas y editarlas se vuelve una necesidad para el diseñador gráfico actual. Este curso está diseñado para reconocer las tendencias de uso artístico y publicitario que se le puede dar a una imagen comercial; investigar las técnicas con las que se puede utilizar el software específico de edición de imágenes para conseguir resultados visuales muy potentes de tal manera que en su vida profesional el estudiante pueda hacer uso de lo aprendido y utilizar las imágenes para potenciar el mensaje gráfico publicitario.

práctico dirigido a estudiantes del 6to ciclo de la carrera de Diseño profesional gráfico el cual desarrolla aspectos relacionados a la dirección de arte y comunicación de la imagen fotográfica.Propósito: Este curso está diseñado para reconocer las tendencias gráficas que se le puede dar a una imagen comercial; investigar las técnicas con las que se puede utilizar el software específico de edición de imágenes para conseguir resultados visuales muy potentes de tal manera que en su vida profesional el estudiante pueda hacer uso de lo aprendido y utilizar las imágenes para potenciar el mensaje gráfico.El curso contribuye con el desarrollo de las competencias de Pensamiento innovador (nivel 2) y Pensamiento divergente (nivel 2). El curso cuenta con el prerrequisito de Fotografía Aplicada e Ilustración Digital.

In response to climate change, there is a growing need for the UK to reduce carbon emissions in the domestic sector. As a majority of energy consumed within the domestic sector is as a result of space and water heating, research in the field focuses on thermal comfort. The literature on thermal comfort is dominated by an examination of the physiological aspects, and although the influences of psychological and socio-cultural aspects are often recognised, their relationship to the physiological aspects is not fully understood. Additionally, the literature typically studies various elements of comfort (e.g. thermal, acoustic, lighting, etc.) in isolation to each other rather than taking a holistic approach which would mirror how they are experienced in the real world and identify potential associations. As a result, this thesis explores the multi-dimensions of comfort in the domestic environment. This research begins by taking a user-centred approach to exploring UK householders perspectives of comfort in the home. Through interviewing householders, the findings revealed householders attributed a wide scope of factors to their own experience of comfort, from aesthetics to feeling secure in their home; the findings highlighted the significance of psychological factors to householders comfort. The following stage involved a focused and in-depth exploration of the psychological dimensions of domestic comfort through photo elicitation interviews. The findings supported the presence of four intertwined psychological dimensions and further established the multidimensional nature of comfort. The final study was conducted to establish when comfort and unwinding takes place in householders everyday lives. Through the use of two self-reporting ethnographic tools, namely SenseCams and diaries, householders were observed in their homes. The findings captured householders engaging in various comfort making activities and also demonstrated the value of using self-reporting tools in the home context. In the final stage, a classification of domestic comfort was generated which presents an accumulation of the findings from this research to produce a holistic and multi-dimensional notion of domestic comfort.

Esta es una Tesis de Compendio que trata de ofrecer una unidad temática a diez artículos publicados en libros y en revistadas indexadas, además de dos libros resultantes de investigación. Estos textos, publicados, en cinco países diferentes (España, Brasil, México, Argentina y Guatemala), son evidencias del esfuerzo investigador de una trayectoria que empezó en los años 80. La problematización que provocó la línea de investigación fue el interrogante sobre la capacidad creativa y sus posibilidades éticas, sociales y ciudadanas, aplicadas a la educación en su sentido más amplio. Alrededor de las relaciones posibles entre estos campos temáticos, se ha ido construyendo, a lo largo de los años, una praxis que ha planteado prácticas y reflexiones diversas. Los textos de este compendio representan pausas reflexivas acerca de esta praxis y se publicaron entre 2002 y 2012. Lo que unifica temáticamente los artículos y libros en esta tesis es el planteamiento teórico que entiende la educación como un proceso creativo sistémico. La tesis propone una pedagogía para el desarrollo de la ciudadanía creativa. No se enseña a nadie a ser un ciudadano inventivo, pero se pueden generar las condiciones para que sí pueda aprender a serlo. La cuestión principal es aprender cómo ser este tipo de ciudadano. Para ello hace falta plantear el tema de la persona, del proceso, del ambiente y del producto creativo. Es el ámbito educativo el que tiene en sus manos la posibilidad de favorecer la emergencia de la ciudadanía creativa. Es decir, son los espacios educativos los que favorecen que personas y colectivos se tornen capaces de aportar evolución social frente a los retos actuales. Este proceso puede darse a medida que se favorecen acciones e interacciones coherentes con un modo de ser y de pensar el ejercicio de la ciudadanía (ethos creativo). El objetivo de esta tesis es sistematizar la amplitud y diversidad praxiológica en un compendio con sentido más profundo. Para ello, se ha organizado como anexo el compendio de los diez artículos y los dos libros seleccionados, que son representativos de esta diversidad. Esto va precedido de una justificación de 211 páginas, dividida en introducción, desarrollo, discusión general, conclusiones y bibliografía. La introducción explicita la relación conceptual básica. En el desarrollo, son ampliados los ámbitos temáticos que dan unidad al compendio. A continuación, se hace una discusión general sobre los objetivos y los resultados provisionales de esta línea de investigación. Las conclusiones, igualmente provisionales, cierran las reflexiones. Se utiliza la palabra “provisionales” en función del carácter investigativo del tema, que seguramente seguirá en proceso. Antes de la bibliografía, se habla de la proyección de la tesis. Se utilizan mapas mentales para resumir y mostrar el carácter sistémico de las principales ideas y sus conexiones. Estos mapas aparecen en distintas partes del texto, además pueden encontrarse por separado en la web Ciudadanía Creativa que acompaña esta tesis: www.crearmundos.net/tesis/ciudadaniacreativa
This is a Thesis by Publication which seeks to provide a themed unit of ten articles published in referred books and journals as well as two books which result from investigation. These texts which have been published in five countries (Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Guatemala) are evidence of a trajectory of research effort that commenced in the 1980’s. The issue which provoked this investigation was the question of creative capacity and its ethical, social and civic potential, applied to education in its broadest sense. Over the years a praxis, which has proposed various practices and ideas, has been created around the possible relationships between these thematic areas. The texts of this compendium represent thoughtful opinions about this praxis and were published between 2002 and 2012. This Thesis proposes pedagogy for the development of creative citizens. It seeks to develop resourceful individuals and groups, capable of creating original "products" through imaginative process in order to create societies which are prepared to face the challenges of the XXI century. It is based on the principle that nobody is taught to be a creative citizen, rather the conditions can be provided to allow them to learn to become one. For this the issue of systemic interaction between the following four basic elements is raised: the person, the process, the environment and the creative product. From this perspective is it the educational field that has the opportunity to favour the emergence of creative citizens. That is, it is the educational environment that encourages individuals and collectives to become enabled to use social evolution against current challenges. This process can become evident as actions and interactions that are coherent with a way of being and thinking on citizenship are favoured (creative ethos). So, the thematically unifying element of this compendium is an understanding of education as a systemic creative process. This Thesis is accompanied by the Ciudadanía Creativa website (www.crearmundos.net/tesis) where the elements of the compendium are expanded with quantitative and qualitative evidence of the projects quoted in the articles.

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Kent State University, 2008.
Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Jan. 5, 2010). Advisor: Paul O'Keeffe. Keywords: sculpture, performance, fabric, beauty, sewing, feminine. Includes bibliographical references (p. 28).

This analysis of apocalyptic rhetoric brings nine generations of the written text of the Johannine Apocalypse into a contemporary (1989-1994) framework which includes phenomena such as self-determination, mutual interdependence and psychoterror. The discussion is mediated by disciplines and backgrounds of Religion and Literature. The critical method is religio-literary. Literary themes from the Johannine Apocalypse, especially themes of annihilation, torment, blessedness and rapture, structure the discussion. These themes are related to ideas of self-determination such as were proclaimed at the United Nations World Conference on Human Rights (UNWCHR), Vienna, 1993. The discussion questions the axioms of self determination, especially the matter of indivisibility which came to issue during UNWCHR, Vienna, 1993. Some policies and practices of the Australian government's human rights activities are discussed. Attention is then redirected to the Johannine Apocalypse as a polyvalent source of apocalyptic ideation and a source of social empowerment.

Emotion communication is an important aspect of social interaction. Affect display research from psychology as well as social human-robot interaction has focused primarily on facial or vocal behaviors, as these are the predominant means of expression for humans. Much less attention, however, has been on emotion communication through touch, which, though unique among the senses, can be methodologically and technologically difficult to study. Our thesis investigated the role of affective touch in the social interaction between human and robot. Through a process of design and controlled user evaluation, we examined the display, recognition, and emotional influence of affective touch. To mitigate issues inherent in touch research, we drew from interaction models not between humans but between human and animal, whereby the robot assumes the role of companion animal. We developed the Haptic Creature, a small, zoomorphic robot novel in its sole focus on touch for both affect sensing and display. The robot perceives movement and touch, and it expresses emotions through ear stiffness, modulated breathing, and vibrotactile purring. The Haptic Creature was employed in three user studies, each exploring a different aspect of affective touch interaction. Our first study examined emotion display from the robot. We detail the design of the Haptic Creature's affect display, which originated from animal models, then was enhanced through successive piloting. A formal study demonstrated the robot was more successful communicating arousal than valence. Our second study investigated affect display from the human. We compiled a touch dictionary from psychology and human-animal interaction research. Participants first rated the likelihood of using these touch gestures when expressing a variety of emotions, then performed likely gestures communicating specific emotions for the Haptic Creature. Results provided properties of human affect display through touch and high-level categorization of intent. Our final study explored the influence of affective touch. Results empirically demonstrated the human's emotional state was directly influenced from affective touch interactions with the robot. Our research has direct significance to the field of socially interactive robotics and, further, any domain interested in human use of affective touch: psychology, mediated social touch, human-animal interaction.

This paper attempts to describe and analyze the culture of the furry fandom within the context of anthropologist Anthony Wallaces model of cultural revitalization movements. This paper argues that the furry fandom represents a modern, subcultural revitalization movement in which values, identity, and sexuality are transformed through the mechanism of zoomorphic symbolism. Over one-hundred interviewees were formally and/or informally interviewed during the course of this study. Interviewees generally expressed a deep affinity for childhood and a negative perspective on adolescent culture. This paper argues that the transformation of identity present in the furry fandom is based on a synthesis of idealized concepts of childhood culture and reactions to negative-self images developed during adolescence. This revitalization process is most evident in the sexual practices of many furries. Rather than a conglomeration of fetishes, the sexual practices of the fandom represent an attempt to redefine individuals "mazeways" through the merging of childhood iconography with sexual empowerment and other traits desired by interviewees.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 1999.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this thesis an exploration is made into whether or not hieroglyphs reflect ideas of the ancient Egyptians themselves. By examining "living creature" hieroglyphs one may contemplate why the ancient Egyptian chose a particular manner of depiction. The manner of depiction can then be examined insofar as what ideas they may reflect. In this way study into other groups of signs such as those of the environment may be used to further illuminate the lives and our understanding of the ancient Egyptian(s). This thesis begins with an examination of both the problem inherent in such a task and an overview of some of the "processes" involved. By understanding that a reconstructed reality, that of the hieroglyph, reflects both real and perceived characteristics represented in glyphic form, one may seek out the mental impressions considered relevant to the people themselves. Next the role literacy played and still plays is discussed. This discussion includes a brief historical overview of both the history of decipherment and the "language" of the ancient Egyptians. The importance of "writing", artistic in nature in Egypt in regards to hieroglyphs, is then discussed as it relates to its use as symbol. Hieroglyphs are then discussed in their role as art, communication, and language emphasizing the multitudinous role(s) which they served. The importance is thus reiterated that hieroglyphs served as a communication of ideas to both the literate and the "illiterate" in at least a menial manner. After providing a "background" context of both the world and time of hieroglyphs and their subsequent "understanding" and interpretation, there is an analysis of the hieroglyphs for living creatures including the following Gardiner groupings: (1) mammals, (2) birds, (3) amphibians and reptiles, (4) fish, (5) invertebrates and lesser animals. The signs are examined in regards to their function and variations followed by some observations and comments related to the "structure" and perspective of the sign itself. Summary observations and comments are then made about each group. The thesis is then brought full circle by examining the implications of what hieroglyphs can tell us about the ancient Egyptians, via the perceptive and communicative role which they played. By understanding hieroglyphs as "fingerprints" of/from the mind of the people and subsequently their culture, this framework may provide a new mechanism into understanding the Egyptian via their own visualization and perceptive nature. A case is then proposed that this new "mechanism", if it is indeed considered feasible, can be applied to not only the physical world consisting of nature such as the environment, but also to groups which depict manmade objects.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie tesis is die moontlikheid ondersoek dat hierogliewe iets van die ideewereld van die antieke Egiptenare reflekteer. In die bestudering van "lewende wese" hierogliewe kom vrae op soos waarom die antieke Egiptenare juis 'n spesifieke vorm van voorsteIIing verkies het. Die vorm van voorsteIIing kan dan bestudeer word vir die idees wat dit moontlik mag reflekteer. Ander groepe/velde van tekens, soos die van die breër omgewing, kan gebruik word om verdere lig te werp op die lewe van die antieke Egiptenaar(e) en ons verstaan daarvan. Die tesis begin met 'n bestudering van die inherente probleme in die aanpak van so 'n taak en 'n oorsig oor sommige van die "prosesse" daarby betrokke. By die verstaan van die hieroglief as 'n gekonstrueerde realiteit, wat weklike sowel as afgeleide eienskappe reflekteer, ontdek die ondersoeker daarvan iets van die persoonlike/kulturele indrukke wat deur hierdie groep mense as relevant ervaar is. In die volgende afdeling kom die rol van geletterdheid aan die beurt. Hierdie bespreking sluit 'n bondige historiese oorsig oor die geskiedenis van ontsyfering asook die taal van die Egiptenare in. Die belang van die "skryfkuns" en veral die kunsaard daarvan in die Egiptiese hierogliewe word vervolgens bespreek. Dit is veraI waar soos dit in verhouding staan met die gebruik daarvan as simbool. Die veelsydige rol(le) en belang van hierogliewe in die kuns, kommunikasie en taal word dan ondersoek en bespreek. Die klem word daarop gelê dat hierogliewe as die kommunikasie van idees aan beide die geletterde en "ongeletterde" dien. Nadat 'n agtergrondkonteks van die wereld en tyd van die hierogliewe en die daaruitvloeiende "verstaan" en interpretasie daarvan gegee is, word 'n analise van die "lewende wese" hierogliewe gedoen. Dit sluit die volgende groeperinge van Gardiner in: (1) soogdiere, (2) voels, (3) amfibiee en reptiele, (4) visse, (5) invertebrata en kleiner diere. Hierdie hierogliewe word ondersoek in terme van hulle funksie en variasies, gevolg deur waarnemings en opmerkings aangaande die "struktuur" en die perspektief van die teken. Opsommende observasies en enkele opmerkings oor elke groep volg daarna. Die tesis word afgerond met 'n ondersoek na die implikasies van wat ons kan wys word uit die hierogliewe aangaande die antieke Egiptenare, via die perspektiwiese en kommunikatiewe rol wat dit vervuI. Deur hierogliewe te verstaan as die "vingerafdrukke" van die begrip van hierdie mense kan hierdie raamwerk 'n nuwe meganisme in die verstaan van die Egiptenaar via die visualisasie en waarneembare aard daarvan, vorm. 'n Voorstel word gemaak dat hierdie nuwe "meganisme", indien dit uitvoerbaar is, toegepas kan word, nie net op die hierogliewe van die fisiese wereld bestaande uit die natuur en die omgewing nie, maar ook op hierogliewe wat mensgemaakte voorwerpe voorstel.

PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO
COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DO PESSOAL DE ENSINO SUPERIOR
PROGRAMA DE SUPORTE À PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO DE INSTS. DE ENSINO
O presente texto tem como objetivo relatar o universo do refúgio na cidade do Rio de Janeiro; analisando os fatores socioeconômicos e culturais que permeiam o movimento de entrada e permanência dessa população no município. Aborda principalmente questões relativas aos direitos humanos, problematizando ao mesmo tempo, sua existência por vezes abstrata, fator que dificulta a inserção dos deslocados na sociedade, aumentando com isso, as fraturas existentes entre eles e o Estado-Nação. Fez-se uma tentativa no sentido de compreender quais os lugares ocupados pelos deslocados nessa nova territorialidade em que se privilegia o fim das limitações comerciais e econômicas, garantindo livre fluxo de capitais em detrimento do próprio fluxo da vida humana.
This text is intended to provide a report on the refuges universe in Rio de Janeiro by analyzing social, economic and cultural aspects which permeate the motion and permanence of this population. It approaches questions concerning the human rights, arguing at the same time its own existence, sometimes abstract, which makes difficult the social insertion of the refugees and increases the rupture between this social group and the state-nation. There was an attempt to understand the places occupied by the refugees in this new territoriality where the end of commercial and economic limitations and the free flow of capital is encouraged rather of the flow of human life.

This research examines an approach for capturing 3D surface and structural data of moving articulated creatures. Given the task of non-invasively and automatically capturing such data, a methodology and the associated experiments are presented, that apply to multiview videos of the subjects motion. Our thesis states: A functional structure and the timevarying surface of an articulated creature subject are contained in a sequence of its 3D data. A functional structure is one example of the possible arrangements of internal mechanisms (kinematic joints, springs, etc.) that is capable of performing the motions observed in the input data. Volumetric structures are frequently used as shape descriptors for 3D data. The capture of such data is being facilitated by developments in multi-view video and range scanning, extending to subjects that are alive and moving. In this research, we examine vision-based modeling and the related representation of moving articulated creatures using Spines. We define a Spine as a branching axial structure representing the shape and topology of a 3D objects limbs, and capturing the limbs correspondence and motion over time. The Spine concept builds on skeletal representations often used to describe the internal structure of an articulated object and the significant protrusions. Our representation of a Spine provides for enhancements over a 3D skeleton. These enhancements form temporally consistent limb hierarchies that contain correspondence information about real motion data. We present a practical implementation that approximates a Spines joint probability function to reconstruct Spines for synthetic and real subjects that move. In general, our approach combines the objectives of generalized cylinders, 3D scanning, and markerless motion capture to generate baseline models from real puppets, animals, and human subjects.

Robot control systems evolved with genetic algorithms traditionally take the form of floating-point neural network models. This thesis proposes that digital control systems, such as quantised neural networks and logical networks, may also be used for the task of robot control. The inspiration for this is the observation that the dynamics of discrete networks may contain cyclic attractors which generate rhythmic behaviour, and that rhythmic behaviour underlies the central pattern generators which drive lowlevel motor activity in the biological world. To investigate this a series of experiments were carried out in a simulated physically realistic 3D world. The performance of evolved controllers was evaluated on two well known control tasks—pole balancing, and locomotion of evolved morphologies. The performance of evolved digital controllers was compared to evolved floating-point neural networks. The results show that the digital implementations are competitive with floating-point designs on both of the benchmark problems. In addition, the first reported evolution from scratch of a biped walker is presented, demonstrating that when all parameters are left open to evolutionary optimisation complex behaviour can result from simple components.

Abstract La metafora è stata tradizionalmente considerata come uno strumento linguistico dal valore esclusivamente estetico, ma agli inizi degli anni Ottanta questa teoria è stata messa in discussione: la metafora è per noi uno strumento conoscitivo fondamentale: ci consente di organizzare le nostre conoscenze e di crearne di nuove, aiutandoci a categorizzare elementi e concetti astratti o troppo complessi come elementi di cui possiamo fare esperienza quotidianamente e che sono sufficientemente strutturati nel nostro sistema concettuale. Le metafore di questo tipo vengono definite metafore concettuali. La messa in discussione della teoria tradizionale della metafora comporta inevitabilmente anche la messa in discussione del concetto di similarità, visto non più come una causa della metafora, ma come la sua conseguenza, e del meccanismo che ne sta alla base. La teoria cognitiva della metafora, in ricerche successive, è stata confermata attraverso le teoria neurale della metafora: l'insorgere di una metafora comporta la creazione di un legame tra aree diverse del cervello che rappresenta fisiologicamente la metafora.

Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências, Florianópolis, 2013.
Made available in DSpace on 2013-12-05T23:10:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 320906.pdf: 3852058 bytes, checksum: f76b24f3a609281787c0890e932c2090 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013
A creatina modula a bioenergética celular e apresenta efeito antiexcitotóxico, antioxidante e apresenta propriedades neuroprotetora e antidepressiva, no entanto, os mecanismos intracelulares responsáveis por esses efeitos ainda não estão bem estabelecidos. No primeiro captítulo desta tese foi analisado o efeito da administração de creatina (p.o.) em camundongos no teste de suspensão pela cauda (TSC), um teste preditivo de atividade antidepressiva. Além disso, foi avaliado o envolvimento dos sistemas de neurotransmissão dopaminérgico, serotonérgico, noradrenérgico, glutamatérgico, bem como as vias de sinalização intracelular mediadas por L-arginina/óxido nítrico (ON), proteína cinase A (PKA), proteína cinase C (PKC), cinase da cinase ativada por mitógenos (MEK)/cinase ativada por estímulos extracelulares (ERK) 1/2, cinase dependente de Ca2+/calmodulina (CaMK-2), fosfatidilinositol 3 cinase (PI3K)/proteína cinase B (AKT), glicogênio sintase cinase 3ß (GSK-3ß), proteína alvo da rapamicina em mamíferos (mTOR) e hemeoxigenase-1 (HO-1) implicadas no efeito antidepressivo da creatina no TSC. A administração de creatina (0,1-1000 mg/kg) reduziu o tempo de imobilidade em camundongos submetidos ao TSC, sem alterar a atividade locomotora. O efeito anti-imobilidade promovido pela administração de creatina no TSC foi bloqueado pelo pré-tratamento dos camundongos com ?-clorofenilalanina metil éster (PCPA; 100 mg/kg, i.p., por 4 dias consecutivos, inibidor da síntese de serotonina (5-HT)), a-metil-?-tirosina (AMPT; 100 mg/kg, i.p., inibidor da enzima tirosina hidroxilase), haloperidol (0,2 mg/kg, i.p., antagonista não seletivo de receptores dopaminérgicos), SCH23390 (0,05 mg/kg, s.c., antagonista de receptores dopaminérgicos D1), sulpirida (50 mg/kg, i.p., antagonista de receptores dopaminérgicos D2), prazosina (1 mg/kg, i.p., antagonista de receptores a1-adrenérgicos), N-metil-D-aspartato (NMDA) (0,1 pmol/sítio, i.c.v.), D-serina (30 µg/sítio, i.c.v., agonista do sítio da glicina do receptor NMDA), arcaína (1 mg/kg, i.p., antagonista do sítio das poliaminas dos receptores NMDA), L-arginina (750 mg/kg, i.p., precursor de ON), SNAP (25 µg/site, i.c.v, doador de ON), 7-nitroindazol (25 mg/kg, i.p., inibidor da enzima óxido nítrico sintase neuronal), H-89 (1 µg/sítio, i.c.v., inibidor de PKA), KN-62 (1 µg/sítio, i.c.v., inibidor de CaMK-2), queleritrina (1 µg/site, i.c.v., inibidor de PKC), U0126 (5 µg/sítio, i.c.v., inibidor de MEK1/2), PD09058 (5 µg/sítio, inibidor da MEK1/2), LY294002 (10 nmol/sítio, i.c.v., inibidor de PI3K), wortmanina (0,1 µg/sítio, inibidor de PI3K), rapamicina (0,2 nmol/sítio, i.c.v., inibidor de mTOR), protoporfirina de zinco (10 µg/sítio, i.c.v., inibidor da enzima heme oxigenase-1). Alémdisso, creatina (0,01 mg/kg, dose sub-efetiva) em combinação com doses sub-efetivas de SKF38393 (0,1 mg/kg, s.c., agonista de receptores dopaminérgicos D1), apomorfina (0,5 mg/kg, ip, agonista preferencial de receptores dopaminérgicos D2), fenilefrina (0,4 µg/sítio, i.c.v., agonista de receptores a1-adrenérgico), WAY100635 (0,1 mg/kg, s.c., antagonista seletivo de receptores 5-HT1A), 8-OH-DPAT (0,1 mg/kg, i.p., agonista de receptores 5-HT1A), fluoxetina (5 mg/kg, p.o., antidepressivo inibidor da recaptação de serotonina (ISRS)), paroxetina (0,1 mg/kg, p.o., ISRS), citalopram (0,1mg/kg, p.o., ISRS), sertralina (3 mg/kg, p.o., ISRS), amitriptilina (1 mg/kg, p.o., antidepressivo tricíclico), imipramina (0,1 mg/kg, p.o., antidepressivo tricíclico), reboxetina (2 mg/kg, p.o., antidepressivo inibidor seletivo da recaptação de noradrenalina, ISRN), bupropiona (1 mg/kg, p.o., antidepressivo inibidor da recaptação de dopamina e noradrenalina), MK-801 (0,01 mg/kg, p.o., antagonista de receptores de NMDA), cetamina (0,1 mg/kg, i.p., antagonista de receptores NMDA), AR-A014418 (0,01 µg/sítio, i.c.v., inibidor seletivo da enzima GSK-3ß), cloreto de lítio (10 mg/kg, p.o., inibidor não seletivo da enzima GSK-3ß), protoporfirina de cobalto (0,01 µg/sítio, i.c.v., indutor da expressão de HO-1) reduziu o tempo de imobilidade no TSC, em comparação com qualquer um dos fármacos administrados isoladamente. Este conjunto de resultados sugere que o efeito antidepressivo da creatina no TSC seja mediado por uma ativação de receptores dopaminérgicos D1 e D2, bem como dos receptores 5-HT1A e a1-adrenérgico, e uma inativação de receptores glutamatérgicos NMDA, além de envolver a ativação de PKA, PKC, MEK1/2, PI3K/AKT, mTOR, HO-1 e uma inibição de GSK-3ß. Tendo em vista que existe uma grande comorbidade entre a depressão e a doença de Parkinson (DP), e sabendo que antidepressivos de distintas classes protegem da morte celular induzida por toxinas dopaminérgicas, como a 6-OHDA, o segundo capítulo desta tese investigou o efeito neuroprotetor da creatina frente a morte celular induzida pela toxina dopaminérgica 6-OHDA. Esta diminuiu a viabilidade de células de neuroblastoma humano SH-SY5Y, bem como de fatias de estriado cerebral de ratos. A creatina apresentou um efeito protetor contra a toxicidade induzida por 6-OHDA (10?5000 µM) em células SH-SY5Y e este efeito foi revertido por diferentes inibidores de cinases: LY294002 (10 µM), KN-93 (1 µM, inibidor de CaMK-2), H-89 (2 µM), PD98059 (10 µM) e queleritrina (0,1 µM). Além disso, 6-OHDA reduziu a fosforilação de GSK-3ß (Ser9) em células SH-SY5Y e a incubação com creatina reverteu este efeito. Ainda, 6-OHDA (50-300 µM) reduziu a viabilidade celular em fatias de estriado de ratos e creatina ou fosfocreatina (2,5-10 mM) reverteueste efeito. Ainda, verificamos que 6-OHDA aumenta a produção de espécies reativas de oxigênio e induz uma diminuição na fosforilação de AKT (Ser473) e GSK-3ß (Ser9) em fatias de estriado de ratos, sendo que a creatina ou fosfocreatina (5 mM) reverteu este efeito. O inibidor da PI3K LY294002 (30 µM) reverteu o efeito da creatina e da fosfocreatina sobre a viabilidade celular e produção de espécies reativas de oxigênio em fatias de estriado expostas a 6-OHDA. Além disso, 6-OHDA diminuiu o imunoconteúdo de tirosina hidroxilase e creatina ou fosfocreatina reverteu este efeito. O efeito protetor de creatina ou fosfocreatina na modulação do imunoconteúdo de tirosina hidroxilase em fatias de estriado de ratos expostas a 6-OHDA parece ser dependente da ativação da via de sinalização intracelular PI3K/AKT, uma vez que LY294002 (30 µM) reverteu este efeito. Este segundo conjunto de resultados sugere que a creatina apresenta efeito neuroprotetor frente à morte celular induzida por 6-OHDA e este efeito parece ser devido a propriedades antioxidantes e ativação das vias de sinalização intracelular mediadas por PKA, PKC, MEK1/2, PI3K/AKT e uma inibição de GSK-3ß. Esta tese sugere que a creatina pode ser uma nova alternativa terapêutica para o tratamento da depressão e da DP.

Abstract : Creatine modulates cellular bioenergetics and presents antiexcitotoxic, antioxidant, neuroprotective and antidepressant properties; however, the intracellular mechanisms responsible for these effects are not well established. In the first chapter of this thesis, the effect of creatine administration (p.o.) in the mouse tail suspension test (TST), a test predictive of antidepressant activity, was investigated. In addition, the possible involvement of neurotransmission systems (dopaminergic, serotonergic, noradrenergic and glutamatergic), and the intracellular signaling pathways mediated by L-arginine/nitric oxide (NO), protein kinase A (PKA), protein kinase C (PKC), mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1/2 (MEK 1/2)/ extracellular-signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK 1/2), Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase-2 (CaMK-2), phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT), glycogen synthase kinase-3ß (GSK-3ß), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in the antidepressant-like effect of creatine in the TST was evaluated. The administration of creatine (0.1-1000 mg/kg) reduced the immobility time in mice submitted to the TST, without changing locomotor activity. The anti-immobility effect of creatine in the TST was blocked by pretreatment of mice with p-chlorophenylalanine methyl ester (PCPA; 100 mg/kg, i.p., for 4 consecutive days, inhibitor of serotonin (5-HT) synthesis), a-methyl-p-tyrosine (AMPT, 100 mg/kg, i.p., inhibitor of tyrosine hydroxylase), haloperidol (0.2 mg/kg, i.p., non-selective dopamine receptor antagonist), SCH23390 (0.05 mg/kg, s.c., dopamine D1 receptor antagonist), sulpiride (50 mg/kg, i.p., dopamine D2 receptor antagonist), prazosin (1 mg/kg, i.p., a1-adrenoceptor antagonist), NMDA (0.1 pmol/site, i.c.v.), D-serine (30 µg/site, i.c.v., agonist of the glycine site of the NMDA receptor), arcaine (1 mg/kg, i.p., antagonist of the polyamine site of the NMDA receptor), L- arginine (750 mg/kg, i.p., a precursor of nitric oxide, NO), SNAP (25 µg/site, i.c.v., NO donor), 7-nitroindazole (25 mg/kg, i.p., inhibitor of neuronal nitric oxide synthase), H-89 (1 µg/site, i.c.v., PKA inhibitor), KN-62 (1 µg/site, i.c.v., CaMK-2 inhibitor), chelerythrine (1 µg/site, i.c.v., PKC inhibitor), U0126 (5 µg/site, i.c.v., MEK1/2 inhibitor), PD09058 (5 µg/site, MEK1/2 inhibitor), LY294002 (10 nmol/site, i.c.v., PI3K inhibitor), wortmannin (0.1 µg/site, PI3K inhibitor), rapamycin (0.2 nmol/site, i.c.v., mTOR inhibitor), zinc protoporphyrin (10 µg/site, i.c.v., HO-1 inhibitor). Furthermore, creatine (0.01 mg/kg, sub-effective dose) in combination with sub-effective doses of SKF38393 (0.1 mg/kg s.c., dopamine D1 receptor agonist), apomorphine(0.5 mg/kg, i.p., preferential agonist of dopamine D2 receptor), phenylephrine (0.4 mg/site, i.c.v., a1-adrenoceptor agonist), WAY100635 (0.1 mg/kg, s.c., a selective 5-HT1A receptor antagonist) 8-OH-DPAT (0.1 mg/kg, i.p., a selective 5-HT1A receptor agonist), fluoxetine (5mg/kg, p.o., selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)), paroxetine (0.1 mg/kg, p.o., SSRI), citalopram (0.1 mg/kg, p.o., SSRI), sertraline (3 mg/kg, p.o., SSRI), amitriptyline (1 mg/kg p.o., tricyclic antidepressant), imipramine (0.1 mg/kg, p.o., tricyclic antidepressant), reboxetine (2 mg/kg, p.o., selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor), bupropion (1 mg/kg, p.o., dopamine and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor), MK-801 (0.01 mg/kg, p.o., NMDA receptor antagonist) ketamine (0.1 mg/kg, i.p., NMDA receptor antagonist), AR-A014418 (0.01/site, i.c.v., GSK-3ß inhibitor), lithium chloride (10 mg/kg, p.o., non-selective GSK-3ß inhibitor), cobalt protoporphyrin (0.01 µg/site, i.c.v., inducer of HO-1 expression) decreased the immobility time in the TST as compared to either drug administered alone. This set of results suggest that the antidepressant-like effect of creatine in the TST is mediated by the activation of dopamine D1 and D2 receptors, 5-HT1A receptors, and a1-adrenoceptors as well as an inactivation of NMDA receptors. Moreover, this set of results also indicates that activation of PKA, PKC, MEK1/2, PI3K/AKT, mTOR, HO-1 and inhibition of GSK-3ß are involved in the antidepressant-like effect of creatine in the TST. Considering: i) the high depression and Parkinson's disease comorbidity; ii) antidepressants of different classes protect the cell death induced by dopaminergic toxins, such as 6-OHDA, the second chapter of this thesis also evaluated the neuroprotective effect of creatine against cell death induced by the dopaminergic toxin 6-OHDA. We demonstrated that 6-OHDA decreased the cell viability of human neuroblastoma cells SH-SY5Y, as well as rat striatal slices. Creatine protected against the toxicity induced by 6-OHDA (10-5000 mM) in SH-SY5Y cells and this effect was reversed by different kinase inhibitors: LY294002 (10 µM), KN-93 (1 µM, CaMK-2 inhibitor), H-89 (2 µM), PD98059 (10 µM) and chelerythrine (0.1 µM). Furthermore, 6-OHDA reduced phosphorylation of GSK-3ß (Ser9) in SH-SY5Y cells and creatine (10 µM) reversed this effect. Also, 6-OHDA (50-300 µM) reduced cell viability and increased the production of reactive oxygen species in rat striatal slices and creatine or phosphocreatine (2.5-10 mM) reversed this effect. We also find that 6-OHDA decreased the phosphorylation of AKT (Ser473) and GSK-3ß (Ser9) in rat striatal slices and creatine or phosphocreatine reversed this effect. The PI3K inhibitor LY294002 (30 mM) reversed the protective effect of creatine or phosphocreatine against cell viability and production of reactive oxygenspecies in striatal slices exposed to 6-OHDA. Furthermore, 6-OHDA decreased the tyrosine hydroxylase immunocontent and phosphocreatine or creatine reversed this effect. The effect of creatine or phosphocreatine on the modulation of tyrosine hydroxylase immunocontent in rat striatal slices exposed to 6-OHDA could be dependent on the activation of the intracellular signaling pathway mediated by PI3K/AKT, since LY294002 (30 mM) reversed this effect. This second set of data suggests that creatine has neuroprotective effect against cell death induced by 6-OHDA and this effect could be due to the antioxidant properties and activation of intracellular signaling pathways mediated by PKA, PKC, MEK1/2, PI3K/AKT and an inhibition of GSK-3ß. This thesis suggests that creatine may be a novel therapeutic alternative for the treatment of depression and Parkinson's disease.

Le symbole du dieu-createur potier, etudie dans ses manifestations mythologiques anciennes (civilisations antiques de la mesopotamie, de l'egypte et d'israel) et dans ses prolongements litteraires modernes, permet la mise en evidence d'un scheme symbolique meconnu. Celui-ci s'exprime par une collection de matieres, un reseau de gestes et des relations tissees par les divins modeleurs a l'instant de la creation. La portee de cette image, dans la variete de ses expressions, est la source de son remarquable universalisme
The symbol of potter-god, studied in its ancient mythological manifestations (antic civilisations of mesopotamia, egypt and israel) and in its modern literary extensions, may make evident a disregarded symbolicscheme, wich is expressed by a collection of materials, a combination of gestures and relations woven by the divine modellers at the very moment of creation. The extent of that image, in the variety of its expressions, is the source of its remarkable universalism

Seminario para optar al grado de Ingeniero en Información y Control de Gestión
El presente trabajo se propone analizar el fenómeno conocido como “Contabilidad Creativa”, que estuvo presente durante largo tiempo desde el conocimiento público de los llamados escándalos financieros, en donde grandes empresas se vieron involucradas en irregularidades en su contabilidad. Con ello se pretende retomar el tema en nuestro país, por cuanto ha pasado un poco al olvido por parte de la opinión pública, no así para las empresas ya que han debido preocuparse por las nuevas normativas que las afectan. La mayoría de los usuarios de la contabilidad están convencidos de que tiende a ser una materia exacta, es decir, que refleja fielmente una imagen de la realidad. Sin embargo, los principios y normas contables existentes permiten elegir entre diversas alternativas, lo que posibilita elegir la más conveniente y que proyecte lo que se desea y es aquí donde aparece la llamada Contabilidad Creativa, que se utiliza comúnmente para describir el proceso mediante el cuál los contadores utilizan su conocimiento de las normas contables para manipular las cifras incluidas en las cuentas de una empresa, aprovechándose de los vacíos de la normativa existente, y de las posibles elecciones entre diferentes prácticas de valoración que ésta ofrece.

"En esta charla discutiremos sobre las crecientes oportunidades que aparecen el día de hoy para los creadores y comunicadores que buscan vivir de la publicidad, la creatividad o el marketing, en esta nueva era donde la independencia creativa es cada vez más valiosa. La industria del marketing y la publicidad ha visto un renacimiento de la independencia creativa. Desde agencias independientes, emprendimientos innovadores y hasta nuevos modelos de negocio creados a partir de la aplicacion de la creatividad. Discutiremos tambien como los nuevos medios y plataformas crean nuevas formas de expresión que fomentan la creatividad y con ello genera nuevas fuentes de negocio."

In this essay I discuss the magical creatures in the Harry Potter series; not the complete series but Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Many scholars say that the Harry Potter novels are didactic, moralist books in different ways. What I investigate is if the magical creatures in the novels can be read as metaphors for issues that the teenage reader finds difficult to deal with and if they could also offer ways to help. More specifically I look at the giant and the werewolf as metaphors for separate types of outsiders who have to try to handle the prejudice of others; one being strange because of genes and one because of an illness. I also look at the house-elf as a metaphor for various oppressive situations one can encounter as a child and also for how to cope with change. In connection to the house-elves I also discuss racism and social class. The last two creatures I investigate are the Dementor as a metaphor for depression and the Boggart as a symbol for fear. My conclusion is that one can read these creatures as symbols or metaphors for difficulties for teenagers in various ways and that these interpretations almost always also offer a way to handle said difficulty.

Parasitic wasps constitute one of the last remaining frontiers in the charting of animal diversity. The Braconidae is the second most species-rich family of parasitic wasps; the world fauna has been estimated at 40 000 species and the Swedish fauna is believed to include a little more than 2 000 species, 1 200 of which are currently documented. This thesis is a contribution to the rapidly increasing knowledge of braconid diversity. In paper I, a new gregarious parasitoid, Meteorus acerbiavorus sp. nov. (Braconidae: Eupohrinae), is described from specimens reared from the cocoons of the butterfly Acerbia alpina (Quensel) (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae) in northwestern Finnish Lapland. Based on a molecular phylogenetic analysis, the new species is shown to belong to the M. rubens species group. In the second paper, the Western Palearctic fauna of the tribe is revised, seven new species are described and a key to the Western Palearctic species is presented. Two molecular markers, 28S and COI, are used to study phylogenetic relationships in the tribe. The molecular results showed that the Meteorini fall into four well supported clades. The results also reveal a considerable cryptic species diversity. The third paper deals with distributional, phenological and in many cases rearing data from nearly 2 500 specimens (44 species) of the Meteorini in the collection of the National Museums of Scotland (NMS), Edinburgh. Patterns in the breadth of host ranges are discussed in relation to a reiterated speciation hypothesis. Paper IV examines the phylogenetic relationships of the entire subfamily Euphorinae based upon four gene regions (18S, CAD, 28S D2, and COI). A revised classification of the Euphorinae is proposed that recognizes 55 genera and 14 tribes. Our study shows that early members of the Euphorinae were parasitoids of coleopteran larvae, with a host shift to larval Lepidoptera, adult or immature hosts in the Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Neuroptera, Orthoptera and Psocoptera.

At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: In press. Paper 4: Manuscript.