The purpose of this study was to to examine what teachers think about visual art and how the learning process in this subject does look like. To answer these issues, I made interviews with five teachers of visual art from different schools, and I examined several examples of pupils’ artworks. The stories of the teachers were analyzed in relation to governing documents and with assumptions from sociocultural theory, postmodernism and pedagogical - aesthetic research as theoretical point of view.

By the qualitative interview method, the observations of the pupil’s artworks, and by the analysis of the interviews with the teachers, I have come to the conclusion that teachers think differently about art but they try to keep themselves in line with the national governing documents. Its affects aspects of disciplines, styles, techniques and medium that is exemplified by the pupil’s art works, and it points out similarities and differences between the pupil’s art works and between the teachers when teaching visual art.

This is a study of qualitative method that aims to investigate how compulsory school students perceive the content of Visual Art Education and the relevance of art education. The study is based on empirical methods that consists of semi-structured interviews with a total of 12 students in grades 6 and 9. The theoretical framework of the study is based on a sociocultural perspective which describes that it is through communication and interaction with others that the individual acquires knowledge and skills.

The theoretical starting points for the study are supported by the concepts of visual culture, visual literacy and Vygotskijs concepts of creativity and imagination with the assistance of contemporary research that describes the concepts from the perspective of a modern-day society. Furthermore, the study uses the cultural circuit from Hall and photo elicitation from Rose as analytical tool to analyze the participants perceptions about Visual Art Education.

The results of my study show that Visual Art Education still represents something that is more similar to a traditional view of artist work, with a focus on techniques and materials. The results also show that the participants perceive Visual Art Education as less important compared to other school subjects and some of the participants don’t think they will benefit from the subject’s knowledge and abilities either in future education, future profession or their private life. This shows the participants narrow view of how abilities linked to visual literacy are relevant in a modern society.

The knowledge contribution added to the problem area and previous research is a deeper understanding of how the participants perceive the relevance of Visual Art Education. The study is important and relevant for the teaching profession, as students need to be made more aware of the breadth and relevance of Visual Art Education. From this content it can be deduced that the abilities that students must acquire through visual arts education are about so much more than just drawing. It is also important that teachers gain insight and understanding of how students perceive the relevance of Visual Art Education for them to be able to move forward.

This thesis project explores combining interactive technology and the natural world, through a more-than-human design approach. This project aims to step away from an industry-driven design by valuing plants as equal in the design process. Throughout this report, an overview of the relevant theory and examples are elaborated on. This overview has informed the project in two ways. It formed the foundation of a concept aiming to improve the user’s interconnectedness with nature and it formed the foundation of an evaluation tool developed for aiding designers in design for plants by addressing three design fields: Design for Care, Design for Cohabitation, and Design for Noticing. The concept and the evaluation tool have been developed in parallel and informed each other throughout the project. The final concept contributes to the discussion about addressing more-than-human actors in design. In this case by addressing plant blindness. The evaluation tool contributes to more-than-human design as a tool to evaluate ideas and projects. This project included an extensive analysis of a design collection, workshops regarding the materiality of living plants and assessment of the evaluation tool, an interdisciplinary design approach, and a prototyping phase during which assumptions regarding the concept were tested.

This essay is one part of my Bachelor's degree project, the other part being the work LOOPAR that was premiered in January of 2021 at Stockholm University of the Arts. The text expands and articulates the thinking processes and conversations in relation to the work. The aim of the text is to acknowledge and reflect the thoughts around the work with other people, dancers, and thinkers, and to scrutinize the main questions of the work: How can we think of repetition in relation to subject formation? And how does repetition and looping construct and affect world making? The essay begins by introducing the main concepts of the work such as 'performativity’, ’subject’, ‘storytelling’, ‘branding’, ‘repetition’ and ‘looping’. In the text, loops can be seen as actions, habits, repeated thinking processes, understandings of norms or different kinds of interactions, which change and transform our perception and understanding constantly about ourselves and the world we live in through persistent repetition. The essay observes how our experiences of ourselves and the world are affected by multiple contexts and felt-sensed experiences and interactions. It further explores the potentialities to decentralize the focus of the individualistic point of views of world making and it moves towards relational ways of thinking. The main references and conversation partners to many of the topics discussed in the essay are Argentine feminist philosopher and activist María Lugones, American professor of Feminist studies, Philosophy and History of Consciousness with a Ph.D. in Physics Karen Barad, and American philosopher and gender theorist Judith Butler. Further the essay reflects the work and methods used in praxis in relation to the thinking processes introduced in the text. At the end the essay asks the two following questions: How we can practice active consciousness and responsibility towards a subject’s positionality and interactions in dancing? And how can dancing together and alone be understood as entangled and overlapped? 

In this study, the life and work of Robert Schumann was examined, with the purpose of from a source critical point of view discovering new perspectives on the composer's mental health and creative tools used in his compositions and writings. Furthermore, the study aimed to debunk common misconceptions about Robert Schumann's fate.

I mitt examensarbete har jag undersökt hur man kan designa en bekväm sittmöbel för offentlig plats, så att den kan produceras och brukas på ett hållbart sätt. Detta är extra viktigt i miljöer där möbler slits i hög takt, och där man i dagsläget bortprioriterar reparation och låter möbler stå och förfalla. I projektet har jag arbetat platsspecifikt med Stockholms stadsbibliotek, men designat med tanken att den kan passa i flera olika miljöer. Detta examensprojekt presenterar ett förslag på hur företag och kommuner kan ställa om till ett mer cirkulärt sätt att bruka möbler. Designförslaget som presenteras är ett alternativ till en stoppad fåtölj. Bind är designad för att kunna produceras och brukas på ett hållbart sätt, så att den kan få ett långt och värdigt liv och bidra till en cirkulär ekonomi.

2045 a progressive European city is banning driving and BMW has to respond. Technological evolution, and a culture used to new interfaces leads to the option to recreate the relationship between human and car. But how to interact with our new friends?

Talking to experts in the fields of science fiction, environmentalism, horse riding and piloting helped in first constructing a future and then tailoring an interface-vision for its inhabitants and their autonomous cars.

The result is a tactile bond connecting driver and machine. Working together with your car doesn't have to mean loosing control, it's just another quality of control.

Restoration has been a tool for enhancing selected parts of history, which tells about the ideals of its time. Today most older buildings have already been through several restorations or renovations. How should one approach and valuate historical layers?

The purpose of this thesis has been to study earlier restoration work and its approaches and ideals. From this, interventions and design has been done through an alteration of Börshuset in Gamla Stan in Stockholm. The restoration proposal consists of three interventions done with three different approaches: reconstruction, alteration of the existing and an added function and element. Through this method, the project attempts to answer questions about how we can relate to existing buildings, not just as artefacts of their time, but as living things with a complex and layered history. My proposal is a suggestion to reintroduce lost qualities and value the historical layers that are or have been present in Börshuset. By being aware of the difficulty in appreciating newer layers there is a possibility for a better assessment and decision-making that could save historical layers which might become our future cultural heritage.

Jag har som sångare fått arbeta med en mängd olika dirigenter. Det har väckt funderingar kring vad det är som gör att en viss musikalisk ledare lyckas med att entusiasmera, kommunicera med och nå fram till en grupp körsångare, och vad det är som brister när detta uteblir. Sommaren 2017 väcktes tankarna kring detta ämne till liv med extra kraft, till följd av egna observationer av de två personer som det året hade valts ut till att vara dirigenter för 2017 års World Youth Choir. Dirigent X lyckades i högre grad än dirigent Y med uppdraget att vinna körens hjärta. Att det blev så tycktes ha att göra med allt från deras egna förberedelser, attityd, engagemang för repertoaren och gestik till repetitionstempo. Det som väckte särskilt intresse hos mig var hur de båda dirigenterna hanterade det sociala samspelet med kören under repetitionerna. En av de saker de hade gemensamt var att de gärna använde humor. Det var dock tydligt att det för dirigent Y innebar att denne tappade kontroll och pondus, och att det för dirigent X snarare blev en metod för att höja motivationen och färglägga musikaliska instruktioner. Dirigent Y verkade anstränga sig för att bli omtyckt av sångarna och bli vän med alla, medan dirigent X utan tvivel satte musiken i första rummet. Båda dirigenterna tycktes ägna sig åt glädjeskapande och socialt betingad inspiration som verktyg i sitt dirigentskap, men de olika formerna av glädje som dirigent X respektive Y fokuserade på gjorde att deras respektive relationer till kören blev av olika slag vad gäller både musikalisk kommunikation och tillitsnivån mellan kör och dirigent. Detta är kärnan i denna uppsats: fenomenet som kommer att definieras, problematiseras och diskuteras – arbetsglädje. Detta ord är en kombination av två ord som inte alltid samexisterar, arbete och glädje, sammansmälta till ett enda ord – arbetsglädje. Innebörden är tvådelad, en är att arbetet genererar glädje och en annan att glädjen i sig influerar arbetet (Bredmar, 2014, s. 17). Ämnet är av intresse för mig till följd av funderingarna som väckts till liv av upplevelserna under World Youth Choir 2017, utöver många andra episoder under mitt än så länge korta men innehållsrika körliv. Kan glädjebringande egenskaper såsom humor, lyhördhet, omsorg, socialt ledarskap och ”gruppbyggnings-kompetens” hos dirigenten vara missförstådda som amatörmässiga - framför allt inom den körvärld som präglas av en hög ambitionsnivå?

Jag har som sångare fått samarbeta med en mängd dirigenter av olika slag. Sommaren 2017 var jag för första gången med om en session med World Youth Choir. Kören var en stor grupp bestående av kördirigenter, musikstudenter och sångare mellan 18 och 26 år från 35 olika länder, ett särskilt intressant sammanhang för en dirigentstudent att observera hur en dirigent arbetar med en grupp ambitiösa, semiprofessionella eller professionella sångare från varierande traditioner och skolor. Två dirigenter hade valts ut att leda 2017 års upplaga av World Youth Choir, och det var en stor skillnad i hur de respektive dirigenterna blev bemötta av kören. Den ena dirigenten var populär och uppskattad hos närapå varenda sångare medan den andra fick stora delar av kören emot sig, vilket hade en tilltagande negativ inverkan på vårt samarbete med den dirigenten. Många frågor uppstod hos mig som dirigentstudent. Mitt engagemang skiftade när dirigenterna byttes ut, vilket verkade bero på aspekter som repertoarval, repetitionsmetodik, attityd, tempo och gestik. Det var uppenbart att den populära dirigenten för World Youth Choir 2017 hade förberett sig mer, hade ett mer personligt förhållande till sin repertoar, var ärlig i sitt konstnärskap, hade en högre grad av struktur, en tydligare musikalisk vision, ett högre tempo och framför allt högre förväntningar på sångarna. Detta i kontrast till den andra dirigenten som ansträngde sig för att vara trevlig, använda humor och sprida värme, men som inte hade samma omsorg om och koncentration på musiken. Följden av detta blev att den här dirigentens musik också blev mindre populär hos kören. Detta förstärker hypotesen att dirigentens arbetsglädje i högsta grad påverkar graden av framgång i verksamheten, samt att den består av många beståndsdelar. Detta arbete är en undersökning av faktorer som påverkar hur dirigenter fungerar vid repetitioner samt konserter, med särskild inriktning på arbetsglädje och dess uppkomst. Studien tittar närmare på vad som gör en repetition eller konsert njutbar för dirigenten och vad denna lust har för effekter på kort och lång sikt. Jag tar upp musikens beståndsdelar, då min hypotes är att det delvis är dirigentens engagemang för repertoaren som skapar förutsättningar för ett lustfyllt arbetsklimat. Går det att observera och reflektera kring effekterna av humor, värme samt ett gott bemötande från dirigentens håll – det vill säga isolera dessa faktorer och undersöka vad de har för relevans? Texten syftar också till att närmare undersöka om det finns tillfällen där dirigentens lust i själva verket har en negativ 2 inverkan på musikaliskt resultat, ifall körledarens strävan efter att få hela processen att genomsyras av inspiration kan vara i vägen för genuint musicerande. För att få ut så många lärdomar som möjligt av mitt arbete så har jag valt att utöver samtal med två kördirigenter som är tongivande förebilder till mig även använda mig av mina egna erfarenheter. Jag har ofta efter repetitioner jag själv lett funderat över hur det egentligen har gått, i fråga om hur sångarna verkat ha upplevt tillfället och hur musikaliskt utvecklande och givande det varit för dem. Utöver det har jag ofta känt en stark tillfredsställelse då jag varit säker på att jag gjort någonting mycket meningsfullt. Den lyckliga känslan av att ha åstadkommit någonting bra har gjort mig nyfiken på vad den glädjen består av. Inom ramarna för den här uppsatsen har jag direkt efter avslutad körövning skrivit ner mina spontana intryck från repetitionstillfället ur perspektivet arbetsglädje kontra effektivitet. Jag hoppas att anteckningarna ska bli ett nyttigt komplement till de erfarenheter jag fått ta del av i litteraturen jag läst och i samtal med två av mina dirigentförebilder. I mitt förarbete har jag läst min studentkollega Rebecka Gustafssons uppsats Sådan dirigent, sådan kör, som handlar om det komplexa ämnet att som dirigent ställa musikaliska och disciplinära krav på körer. Hon hade metoden att skicka ut en enkät till körsångare för att samla information. Hon föreslog i slutet av sin uppsats att ett sätt att bygga vidare på hennes arbete vore att ställa liknande frågor till dirigenter. Jag valde en annan riktning på min egen uppsats, men jag blev ändå inspirerad av Rebeckas text och valde att i mitt arbete fokusera på dirigenten. Hennes fokus på disciplinära regler och musikaliska krav gjorde också att jag på ett sätt blev inspirerad att utforska det som jag anser ligger bortom de parametrarna.

Efter min praktik år 2021 på det gymnasium jag själv studerade vid väcktes det intresse för rösthälsa jag alltid haft, men inte fördjupat mig i. Under praktikperioden träffade jag på ett flertal tjejer med mer eller mindre allvarliga röstproblem och det berörde mig att det fortfarande såg ut så, då jag under gymnasietiden också hade klasskompisar med röstproblem som förhindrade dem att delta i undervisningen. Studiens forskningsfråga formulerades på följande sätt för att söka förståelse angående vad som orsakar unga kvinnors röstproblem: Vilka biologiska och rösttekniska faktorer till röstproblem hos en ung kvinnlig sångerska framträder i forskning som väsentliga att beakta i sång- och musikundervisning? För att besvara forskningsfrågan utförde jag en systematisk litteraturstudie med kvalitativ ansats. Datainsamlingen gjordes från två databaser, JSTOR och EBSCO, vilket slutligen genererade totalt 12 vetenskapliga artiklar. Dokumenten analyserades och kodades först inom två huvudsakliga kategorier och sedan inom tio underkategorier. Resultatet visade att faktorerna är av komplex karaktär och att det oftast är en ansamling av faktorer som orsakar att en ung kvinnlig sångerska får röstproblem, men att konsekvenser av målbrottet och överansträngning var de, i litteraturen, oftast förekommande. Studien är utformad att ge en generell överblick över de biologiska och rösttekniska faktorer som tas upp i den utvalda litteraturen då tidigare forskning ofta är fördjupad i en eller några av faktorerna. En sammanställning, som jag försökt göra här, kan vara mer lättillgänglig och användbar i en musikpedagogs yrkesliv när denne möter en elev med röstproblem och inte har tid eller möjlighet att ge sig in i litteraturen för att börja hjälpa till.

The work revolves aorund the notion of the artist as a jester. In 6 parts the text points to both (art) history and contemporary art. The form resembles to an extent the structuring of the later solo-exhibition and seeks to prevent a linear reading and as such, form becomes content.

This work investigates the expressive quality of the negative form of ready-made garments through the method of making impressions. The work aims to explore how imprints of garments created in alternative materials such as flour and plaster could be used as a trompe l’oeil print motif in fashion design. It is an exploration about how our pre-existing perception of archetypal garments expands when the garments are represented through their imprint in a new material, colour and slightly different form. The study was conducted using experimental methods such as making impressions of garments in a layer of flour or capturing their negative form in plaster or clay. The created impressions were photographed and then digitally printed on different textile qualities with sublimation or reactive dyes. The printed fabrics were then transformed into three-dimensional garments through the technique of draping and with consideration of the garment’s traditional placement. Selected imprints were altered in scale or printed as a fragment, that in turn, affected the final form of these garments. What is presented in this work is a variety of garments that demonstrate how negative impressions of archetypal garments are used as a decorative visual texture as well as a suggestion for form.

This work investigates the expressive quality of the negative form of ready-made garments through the method of making impressions. The work aims to explore how imprints of garments created in alternative materials such as flour and plaster could be used as a trompe l’oeil print motif in fashion design. It is an exploration about how our pre-existing perception of archetypal garments expands when the garments are represented through their imprint in a new material, colour and slightly different form. The study was conducted using experimental methods such as making impressions of garments in a layer of flour or capturing their negative form in plaster or clay. The created impressions were photographed and then digitally printed on different textile qualities with sublimation or reactive dyes. The printed fabrics were then transformed into three-dimensional garments through the technique of draping and with consideration of the garment’s traditional placement. Selected imprints were altered in scale or printed as a fragment, that in turn, affected the final form of these garments. What is presented in this work is a variety of garments that demonstrate how negative impressions of archetypal garments are used as a decorative visual texture as well as a suggestion for form.

This report started with the guideline project that revolved around two problems in the game industry, the hypersexualization of female characters and their stereotypical designs in games, and a wish to solve these problems. Fashion was chosen as a new approach to solving them and the question formulation for the guideline project was: how can we incorporate fashion in order to strengthen a female characters personality, role and overall design in games? 

Three methods were used; firstly a systematic literature review to gather knowledge about the fashion industry as well as the game industry’s character design process. Secondly, the creation of the guideline, “The design handbook – how to improve female character design”, which would serve by presenting a solution to the problem. Thirdly, qualitative interviews to test whether or not the guideline could serve as a possible solution against the problems of sexist and stereotypical designs and if it could overall improve female character design in games.   

The results of the qualitative interviews deemed the project a success; nine out of ten interviewees answered that it would serve as a solution against the problem of both hypersexualization and stereotypical designs. The results of the guideline project and the interviews answered the bachelor’s thesis’ question formulation about how to improve female character design through fashion in the following way:  

• Be inclusive. The priority should be to design interesting characters, regardless of gender.
•  Know who your character is. Give the character a complex and interesting personality and design with that personality in mind; it should be strengthened through all the other design choices (be it color, silhouette or outfit details).  
• Make it believable. The outfit needs to work like a second narrator and should not contradict the setting, the personality or the character’s role.  

Studiens syfte är att undersöka om barn och föräldrar känner till instrumentet trumpet och vilka föreställningar de har om detta instrument.

Mina frågeställningar är:

• Vad vet 6-7 åringar och deras föräldrar om instrumentet trumpet?
• Vilka föreställningar har de om instrumentet trumpet?

För att ta reda på dessa frågor har jag genomförd en enkätstudie i Arvika med barn i första klass och deras föräldrar. 33 vuxna och 34 barn från sammanlagt tre skolor deltog i undersökningen.

Resultaten visade att kunskapen om trumpet är ganska stor bland 6-7 åringarna och deras föräldrar. Alla respondenterna i denna undersökning vet vad trumpet är och över en tredjedel av de 67 respondenterna känner till någon som spelar trumpet. Bland barnen existerar ingen stor ”kändis” på trumpet, istället känner de till vänner eller bekanta som spelar. De vuxna angav till viss del vissa kända musiker ofta då jazztrumpetare av äldre slag. Vidare så verkar 6-7 åringarna ganska fördomsfria om trumpet, då de anser att unga som gamla och män som kvinnor spelar trumpet. Föräldrarna tror däremot att trumpetspel domineras av män, i övrigt verkade de vara ganska fördomsfria. Kommunala musikskolan verkar ha ett starkt varumärke i Arvika eftersom många av respondenterna uppgav att de visste att de kan kontakta musikskolan om de vill börja spela trumpet. Resultaten visade också att trumpet inte ses som tråkigt, de flesta tycker det verkar mittemellan eller roligt att spela trumpet.

Utifrån resultaten i denna studie klarar trumpeten sig bra. Samtidig tycks trumpeten vara ett stycke undan den status en kunde önskat sig.

Kort beskrivelse av prosjektet:

Oppgaven har vært å tegne et samlingshus for et antall omgivende videregående skoler. Ved å sentralisere ulike funksjoner som bibliotek, sosiale arealer og matsal fungerer huset som et felles læresenter for elevene. 

I en tidlig fase fant jeg ut at jeg ville fokusere på å gjøre huset tilgjengelig for offentligheten slik at det ikke blir stående tomt utenom skoletidene. Dette ville jeg uttrykke både i form og i tolking av programmet.

Så hvordan viser man at en bygning er åpen for alle i form? Jeg valgte å ta inspirasjon fra det mest offentlige jeg kjenner til, nemlig det offentlige rommet. Det jeg anser som spesielt med dette er at rommet bare fortsetter og fortsetter og består ikke av stengte vegger som man ofte finner i konvensjonelle bygninger. Ved å la gulvet være sammenhengende gjennom hele huset oppnås et interiør som jeg tror kan oppfattes som et offentlig rom. Jeg forsterket denne opplevelsen ved å koble gulvet til fjellet som grenser til tomten og huset ble dermed en offentlig vei per definisjon. 

Hvordan fungerer interiøret? En utfordring har vært å definere rom når konseptet er at det skal være helt åpent. Derfor har jeg valgt ut fire parametere for å definere funksjonene: Møbler, et flatt gulv, dobbel takhøyde og til slutt det stengte rommet (se diagram, romdefineringer, s. 5).

Hvilken rolle spiller programmet i konseptet? Flere av funksjonene i programmet var hva man ofte tenker på som soner kun for ansatte, som for eksempel administrasjon, rengjøring og kjøkken Jeg valgte å utfordre denne ideen og gjøre det slik at disse funksjonene ble tilgjengelige for folk flest. Gjennom et internt bookingsystem kan selv de som ikke er elever anvende huset og dets muligheter. For eksempel kan man booke, utenom skoletider, kjøkkenet for å lage mat i større volumer, black boxen for å holde en forestilling, et singelrom som kontor, et konferanserom for lesesirkelen på søndager, det multifunksjonelle torget for en bryllupsfest, osv.

Hva oppnår man ved å koble huset med Enskede Gård? I planprogrammet står det: ”Stockholms ytterstad har till stor del vuxit fram etappvis och resulterat i stadsdelar som sinsemellan skiljer sig åt, men som i sig själva har ett homogent bostadsbestånd med likartade typologier och prisnivåer. (...) Slakthusområdet, som är tänkt att omvandlas under drygt ett decennium, är en del av denna utveckling. (...) En mer differentierad prisbild och lägre hyresnivåer finns att hitta i det befintliga beståndet, vilket gäller både bostäder och lokaler. Därför spelar programmets ambition att koppla samman Slakthusområdet med omkringliggande stadsdelar en viktig roll i att minska den geografiska segregationen mellan de olika områdena och skapa en funktionell helhet av dagens separata delar”. Utover dette ligger Lindeparken gymnasiesärskola i området og kan med grepet ta del av læresenterets tilbud. 

Materialer? Ved å bruke materialer som ofte forekommer i et byrom kan følelsen av et offentlig og åpent rom forsterkes. I huset forekommer derfor stein, asfalt, betong, glass og stål. I tillegg har jeg fokusert på å la grensen mellom ute og inne defineres kun med glass samtidig som den dras inn ved den offentlige veien. Utover dette har jeg latt de rommene som er stengte få en varmere karakter, slik at de blir som små hus man går inn i, fra gaten.

This paper is about save systems and will analyze save functions in various games. Save systems in games are usually blamed for harming the suspension of disbelief as it is an act taking place outside the game and should only be used for its intended purpose: letting the players store their game data, and progress whenever they need.

The game save function developed as rapid leaps of technology were made, with the beginning era of home consoles and home computers allowing players to spend more time playing, creating a demand for longer play sessions in games which lead to a need of methods for storing game data.

The analysis of save systems is carried out in this paper by using MDA Framework (Mechanics, Dynamics, Aesthetics), a tool used for documenting game design. This framework can be used to analyze a game from a designer‟s or player‟s perspective. By reversing the framework ADM (Aesthetics, Dynamics and Mechanics) one can analyze the user experience, which is how the player perceives the game‟s aesthetics to be, depending on the dynamics and mechanics.

This analysis aims to provide knowledge of how consistency in game design and the save system can be used to create a cohesive game world that facillitates the player's experience and immersion.

In a future vision for rail travel, trains will be designed as an activity-based whole space, with different areas for various activities, such as relaxing, socialising or family bonding. My degree project, in collaboration with SJ, proposes a concept carriage dedicated to work, analogous to spending a day at a mobile coworking space. By recognising the new ways of working, this carriage will cater for the needs of different individuals and various types of work and will include private digital meeting spaces, group compartments, collaborative open spaces and cocoon-like seating options in quiet areas. Unlike other modes of transportation, trains allow for passengers to navigate and experience different spaces. By enhancing the use of space and incorporating amenities that improve the user experience, I aim to transform the perception of long train journeys from tedious to exciting and allow a more seamless and efficient way of getting work done while travelling. Ultimately, this degree project encourages sustainable travel through user-centred design. 

Inom bild- och bildkonstämnet har sparsamhet och återvinning ständigt varit en grundläggande del. På grund av de globala klimatfrågorna har hållbar utveckling blivit aktuellt inom alla livsområden, utbildningsnivåer och läroämnen. Denna studie fokuserar på värdet av bild- och bildkonstutbildning som ett komplext verktyg för att lyfta fram hållbar utveckling och dess miljöaspekter. Syftet är att ta reda på vilka möjligheter två bild- och bildkonstlärare, från Sverige och Finland, ser på ämnet i relation till miljöundervisning. Studien fokuserar på två lärares uppfattningar om bild- och bildkonstämnets möjligheter samt de värderingar som styr urvalet för innehållet. Resultatet visar att ämnet bild- och bildkonst har många olika möjligheter när det gäller undervisning inom hållbarhet som ett verktyg för att få fram de nya perspektiv som konst kan erbjuda. Avslutningsvis visade studien att lärares intresse för miljöfrågor ger dem mer inspiration, dock påverkar detta inte direkt innehållet i undervisningen.

This project degree paper is examining, analyzing and discussing the way towards the final interpretation of a piece of music. As a musician, the way to perform music on stage is always accompanied with some doubts and decisions that are made during its way to a concert performance regarding all kinds of aspects while playing. Therefore, this paper is critically viewing the factors that have an impact on musicians along the study of a piece.To be able to present the different factors Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet in G minor op. 57 has been analyzed from the point of view of my own interpretation and the interpretation of Shostakovich himself on the piano together with two different quartets: the Beethoven and Borodin Quartet. This in order to clarify and find ways to understand the way Shostakovich himself wanted the music he produced to sound.The study showed that even though Shostakovich was very accurate with his notation in the scores, the music was performed differently depending on the musicians. Music itself is not only produced and generated by the composer likewise the musicians themselves have not only their own thoughts to consider, but also four greater factors: the musician’s technical abilities, the composer’s biography, historical knowledge and the use of both recordings and visuals to receive a more accurate understanding of the music. All this in order to produce an objectively more correct way of playing and to fulfill the intentions of the composer, which also showed can be dependent on the musicians.

This master project degree paper aims to examine, analyze and discuss the road towards afinal interpretation of a piece of music. A performance on stage is only the tip of the iceberg. For a musician, the act of performance is always accompanied with doubts and decisions regarding all kinds of aspects while playing: whether in practice rooms, concert halls or in front of a teacher or a jury. Therefore, this degree paper will view the factors which have an impact on musicians throughout the study of a piece in the journey to infallibility. In order to present these different factors, Nicolò Paganini´s Caprice No. 24 has been analyzed from the point of view of my own interpretation and technical difficulties: from the practice room, lessons, to a master class and finally a performance on stage in front of a jury and an audience (during different stages of the learning and rehearsal process). The study showed that it is multifactorial. Besides thorough technical work, there are other factors involved such as concrete musical ideas, posture and the control of nerves. All this together can be seen as major factors that would lead to an infallible performance of a piece of music.

The state of the world is changing. By 2050, The earth’s population will increase by 3 billion and building sector is asked to construct 3 billion new housing units inside urban centres. Since one of the fundamental needs is food, agriculture sector also needs to adjust itself to this growing number of people. Nevertheless, in 2019, Agriculture used 50 per cent of all earth’s habitable land and experts estimate that we need 109 hectares more land to cultivate however this amount of habitable land is approximately the land which is represented by the country of Brazil and 20 per cent more. Moreover, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations states that water use grew twice as much as population increase and agriculture already is using approximately 70 per cent of the global freshwater. At this point, experts like Professor Dickinson Despommier suggests that the only way humanity can tackle its future food safety issues is to find ways to introduce vertical farming inside Urban centres. The High Garden project is resulted by the world state today and is trying to find an architectural solution to the mentioned issues. It starts firstly by studying the issues more thoroughly and then tries to form a framework which includes and transcends them. It studies how the construction sector is acting now and how it can reorient itself to the situation whilst limiting its negative environmental impact. Then the thesis tries to understand the basics of vertical farming methods compared to the conventional geoponics farming as it is practised today and how it can integrate the better cultivation solution inside city centres. The last step of the theoretical studies of the project is to look at the history of integrated farming and EcoArchitecture. After understanding the theories of the issue, then the thesis starts to form itself as an architectural intervention using the architectural tools and methods and combining the studied disciplines. The result of the thesis is a modular configuration which can accommodate various activities such as aeroponic farming, local markets, zen areas, and drone subscription deliveries etc. Because of the modular construction of the project, it can adapt and adjust itself to different situations and it uses an algorithmic tool to analyse and study existing cities to find proper intervention points. Then it is attached to the existing buildings as a sustainable green extension solving some issues and revitalizing the dead city edges. Keywords: State of the World, rapid urbanization, population growth, geoponic agriculture, Co2 emission, greenhouse gas emission, aeroponic farming, modular architecture, sustainable architecture, EcoArchitecture

Tehran, the capital of Iran has undergone major urbanization in the last century, which has caused uncontrollable urban growth. Poor regulation and control of this growth has given rise to environmental problems including high air and water pollution. In turn, this has led to urban growth towards the mountains in the north, where the environment is better. However, this pressure to develop in the north has increased segregation of the city and created a clear social division of class between the northern and southern parts of the City.

In light of this, and in the context of Tehran as an extremely dense city with limited green space, the City sees a possibility in transforming an unused military airport in the southern districts of the city into a new urban park.

This master thesis explores how to reclaim the 270Ha former airfield and develop it as an urban park with strengthened links to surrounding neighbourhoods.

The work aims to gain an understanding of how large vacant areas can become successful public areas and green places in the community. The work is based on urban theory and site analysis and brings forward design proposals for the park.

Analysis work is divided into an investigative and exploratory stage. The investigative part includes literature studies, data collection and mapping of the city’s urban morphological development, taking into account physical and socio-economic processes. The exploratory part consisted of inventories, site studies and interviews in Tehran, as well as integration analysis with space syntax to explore accessibility and connections in the new park.

Throughout the study shows how and why the city has evolved and highlights a connection between living in the southern districts, which are low-income areas, with also having poor access to public and recreation areas.

This analysis forms the foundations for the design proposal, visualizations and programs presented about how the area can be designed as a new urban city park.

In conclusion, the study highlights that in order to be able to develop new places or renew existing area’s, consideration must be given to urban morphological development. This includes the socio-economic and socio-ecological process. It further concludes, that a ecological viewpoint together with a understanding of the physical environment, the urban landscape identity and the need of people in the context needs to be brought together to plan and create parks and urban spaces

We present an overview of the art project Aganta Kairos (To Fish the Metaphysical Time). This project celebrates the neutrino-the ghost particle-which scientists consider a cosmic messenger and the artist regards as a link between people who care about their relationship to the cosmos and question their origins. The artwork is based on a performance of celebration and seeks to build a human community that encompasses different knowledge domains and interpretations of the universe. This intersection of knowledge is realized during the performance of placing a plaque, held with witnesses, and during subsequent exhibitions. Images, sounds, videos, and sculpture testify to the diversity of approaches to questioning our origins, ranging from traditional western science to ancient shamanism. The sites were selected for their global coverage and, for the South Pole, Mediterranean, and Lake Baikal, their connection to ongoing neutrino experiments. In December 2020, a plaque was installed at the South Pole IceCube Laboratory, the seventh and final site. We provide examples of images and links to additional images and videos.

On a national scale, statistics relating to moving patterns shows that youths and young adults are the ones who tend to move the most. The case in Västerbotten is similar as in the rest of Sweden and many municipalities are experiencing a population decline. This thesis aims to look into the motives behind moving from the perspective of youths and young adults and through that propose a strategy to strengthen the place attachment youths and young adults feel to their home municipality. The research is centered around Lycksele in Västerbotten.

The research questions that the thesis aims to seek answers for are; What could an architectural strategy that aims to support youths in their leisure time and also strengthen their connection to the area look like? and What programmatic aspects are important to consider in such a strategy?

The thesis investigates spatial needs from the perspective of youths and young adults which have been investigated through literature studies and action based research focused on interviews and a workshop. Four themes were common in both interviews and the workshop, these were; closeness to nature, possibility of work, valuable leisure time and a sense of home. To understand how an urban strategy can respond to the themes, strategies applied in other municipalities have been analysed. A finding was that in order for strategies to attract more inhabitants, they need to have a holistic approach and offer a complete lifestyle. Creativity is a theme which came up during interviews and literature studies as a possible platform around which an area can become considered as more attractive.

The proposal is an urban strategy which aims to respond to the common themes from interviews and the workshop by enhancing and encouraging activities taking place and activating social space. This proposal suggests a strategy which aims to strengthen the notion of sense of place to enhance place attachment and through that possibly invite more young adults to move back in the future.

This paper looks upon monsters as a medium; how concentration of fear can result in the demonisation of individuals. It explores how the use of craft, with a focus on stop motion animation, can be used as a tool to build empathy and help to heal fragmentations of society. Working with contemporary mythologies, crafted techniques are metaphorically related to the fragility of societal structures and collective narratives. Hand crafting references relics of consumer culture and explores variable autonomies over personal narrative, investigating imbalances of power.

Introduction: Today, humanity is trying to develop in all areas of life, so that we can reach a cleaner, more modern, and more sustainable world. This study highlights the importance of architecture to improve areas of life. This report talks about a type of architectural design. It is called biophilic design which means to combine nature with buildings. This study is about biophilic design in school buildings.

Method: To perform the survey, three different methods were chosen. The first method was a questionnaire sent to college students and high school students, the second method was interviews conducted with knowledgeable architects who have extensive experience in the subject of biophilic design and the last method was literature studies.

Results: All data collected from the questionnaire, the interviews and literature studies are summarized as follows:Most college students and high school students think that when you are closer to nature it makes you feel better and that it would help improve the teaching process. Architects who were interviewed thought that biophilic design in school buildings has both advantages and disadvantages, but in general they support the idea of using and spreading the idea more in Sweden.

Analysis: The analyzed data have shown that it is possible to implement biophilic design on the inside and outside of a school building in unusual ways. But many problems will arise, and one must have the will to continue to maintain these materials. It turned out that having these natural elements in school will contribute to a positive effect on the learning environment and the students themselves. For example, as a more creative, calm, and de-stressing environment. Having a green roof seems like an innovative idea but it requires a lot of maintenance.

Discussion: This study focuses on how to implement biophilic design in a school building and what impact it has on the learning environment. The study addressed what is required to integrate the qualities of nature in the right way to maximize its effects. Studying biophilic design, nature and how it affects people and architecture and its impact on people has helped to lead to a clear result.

“We are neither living nor dying, we are something in between”

Since the beginning of history, the living and the dead have been separated. This has made it almost im- possible to co-live together under one roof. We, ‘the living’, have even created “deathscapes” which have set a clear boundary between us and them, ‘the dead’. In every society, with its own cultural norms and rituals, they act with the dead in their own way - some are buried, others are burnt, but what is common across all societies is that they are not evident in our lives anymore. Looking at it from an urban perspective, the dead occupy a big patch of land in every city. This acts as a burden, as it makes “forbidden spaces” where the living is not able to be part of it.

However, in each topic, there is a lesson that can be learned from it. In this case, it’s a 6km stretch informally and formally built, with a rich history and poor squatters who have no choice except to dwell with the dead. This is City of the Dead, located in Cairo, Egypt. The extreme lack of housing has pushed a part of society to live informally in cemeteries, where they have learned to co-live in the same room as the dead; they’ve embraced the idea of sleeping next to the dead, working and playing on those deathscapes.

But ever since the government announced that they will demolish those deathscapes as a part of demolishing all informal settlements in Cairo, the time has come to make a stand against this decision, instead learning from their “life hack” and applying it throughout the City of the Dead – creating a society where the dead and living are not separated, maximizing the lost potentials in cases such as City of the Dead and making them not looked down upon and marginalized. This thesis aims to design the city and improve the lives of people living in these cemeteries, dealing with each case with care and compassion.

This research focuses on the emergence of 'digital walls' that can project images onto almost all or even the entirety of interior (and perhaps exterior) walls, and what implications this might have for how we arrange our rooms. It demonstrates the arrangement, i.e., the way that domestic products are arranged physically, of rooms changes in the domestic environment in a complex scenario when using large screens. Due to the fast-growing demand for large screens, this product could potentially be available to be used by people in their home environments; however, it does not yet exist in reality at this scale. Constructing large screens can be carried out using different production methods. Here, this concept is called the digital wall, a very thin wall-sized interactive screen. The characteristics of the digital wall will vary to be able to create different scenarios. One such scenario is a space in the home where the surface of the wall is covered with screens, which allows multiple possibilities to experience and interact with digital content. 

In this research, the social gathering space of homes, nowadays called the living room, is considered as a highly relevant space for installing the digital wall. In this space, the conceptual framework outlines the basic elements of the research and demonstrates the relationships between people’s interactions with the digital wall and domestic products in the domestic environment. I show two examples from design history to understand how arrangement changes impact the home environment: the transformation of the parlor to the living room, and entry of the television into the living room. These two examples are focused on the place in the home where people gather for socializing. The discussion of these examples led to the elaboration of the relationships between the elements in the conceptual framework.

I explored relevant design research methodologies to bring this future scenario into the present to understand the relationships between people and the digital wall. I applied research through design and the constructive design research approaches to frame the design research methodology. In this thesis, I set up seven series of design studies in two cluster groups: Supportive studies and Main studies. All of the design studies were conducted in the Design Research Lab, the actual space for carrying out the design experiments, prototyping the digital wall, and the setting of the experiments for user participation. The Lab was fully equipped with relevant technology and allowed me to use multiple methods to collect data while people were experiencing the design study sessions. The Lab was useful as a platform to understand user experiences, barriers for interactions as well as people's experiences in a simulated space of a domestic environment. 

The main contribution of this research is to understand the forms of arrangement changes when people use the digital wall in homes. The research demonstrates two significant implications that are seen in two forms of arrangements: tangible arrangement and imperceptible arrangement. These findings are useful for both designers and users of the elements of domestic contexts and the relations that can be shaped by the presence of a digital wall in home environments. This understanding may provide design guidelines in future scenarios in which the digital wall is used in homes. The findings are also beneficial for designing the domestic environment, improving the arrangement of space, and raising the requirements for designing domestic products.

This paper presents the possibilities of a design lab that can be used in evaluation processes for different design subjects in design education. Three student projects from different domains are studied to explore how utilizing a design lab for user involvement can affect the design process. The Design Lab is situated at Mid Sweden University and can project images, video and online materials on three walls and provide sound. Different tools to collect data are available, such as video cameras, equipment for psychophysical measurement and software for analysis. The studies show that design students can use the lab to prototype different scenarios or environments as well as to display large subjects at an appropriate scale. The study found that the Design Lab offers possibilities to involve diverse groups of users, such as people with disabilities, the elderly and even dogs, which gave the students the possibility to obtain feedback from the specific users that could provide the most valuable input.

To understand how different design solutions affect users, designers traditionally use different evaluation methods that mainly rely on conscious feedback from the users. However, the complexity of human behaviour, where a large part is unconscious, point to a need for an extended tool box addressing the part not accessible to human conscious knowledge. Here, we describe a design research lab where traditional methods are complemented with tools to measure physiological signals influenced by emotional and sympathetic responses. These tools include galvanic skin response (GSR), electrocardiograph (ECG), and electroencephalograph (EEG). Typical sessions with acquired data of conscious and unconscious user reactions are described. The large body of data collected, which also require non-design expertise for interpretation, suggest that a further development towards simplified output data of the unconscious reactions is needed to allow wider use within industrial design work.

To understand how different design solutions affect users, designers traditionally use different evaluation methods that mainly rely on conscious feedback from the users. However, the complexity of human behaviour, where a large part is unconscious, point to a need for an extended tool box addressing the part not accessible to human conscious knowledge. Here, we describe a design research lab where traditional methods are complemented with tools to measure physiological signals influenced by emotional and sympathetic responses. These tools include galvanic skin response (GSR), electrocardiograph (ECG), and electroencephalograph (EEG). Typical sessions with acquired data of conscious and unconscious user reactions are described. The large body of data collected, which also require non-design expertise for interpretation, suggest that a further development towards simplified output data of the unconscious reactions is needed to allow wider use within industrial design work.

This essay is a personal exploration of my artistic practice in relation to my bachelors exhibition “Olivlunden”, where material memory, trauma and cultural erasure is embodied in a series of works made out of charcoal. The essay contemplates the significance of focusing on minor details as a method to narrate one's work, but more importantly as a coping mechanism amid a landscape of violence. In the essay, charcoal as a medium to narrate arson attacks on olive groves is discussed in the framework of de-linking, which at its core involves a deliberate disengagement from the structures and systems that perpetuate colonial legacies. The essay will discuss the intentionality behind choosing materials and the symbolic meanings that materials carry for my artistic practice. Furthermore, the essay explores how art can be a form of resistance and a means to challenge dominant narratives rooted in Western imperialism. The essay weaves together microhistory and materiality, arguing that the minor details hold the capacity to activate otherness and bring marginalized stories into the narrative. The body of work that was presented for the exhibition are discussed as pieces of landscape art that hold the possibility to offer a nuanced understanding of resilience, adaptation and symbiosis at both the smallest and grandest scales. 

Syftet med studien var att belysa hur förskollärare beskriver hur barn ges möjlighet att möta musik i förskolan. Semistrukturerade intervjuer med åtta förskollärare har genomförts på sex olika förskolor, för att fördjupa kunskapen om musikens funktion för förskolebarns utveckling samt förskollärares förhållningssätt kring barns spontana musikintressen. Resultatet visar att samtliga förskollärare i grunden hade en positiv relation till musik och var medvetna om musikens betydelse för barns utveckling. Å andra sidan visade det sig att flera av förskollärarna saknade medvetenhet om barns spontana musicerande och i stället lade fokus på den inplanerade verksamheten.

I två analyser av filmerna; Do The Right Thing av Spike Lee (1989) och Hemligheter och lögner av Mike Leigh (1996), har jag undersökt  hur och varför samhällsproblematik  som berör klass- och rasfrågan presenteras på film utifrån hur cultural studies teoretiskt förhåller sig till problematiska relationer mellan kulturella identiteter i USA och Storbritannien. Jag kom fram till att identifikationen av den kulturella identiteten var olika i respektive länder; USA och Storbritannien. I USA var rastillhörigheten utgångspunkten för den kulturella identiteten och i Storbritannien var det klasstillhörigheten utgångspunkten för den kulturella identiteten.