Completed

This doctoral dissertation aims to explore the role of history in shaping the cultural strategy and the international image of a country. The importance of the historical past to the creation of nation-state and its effect on the effort of states to create their national identity is highlighted. Particular analysis is required regarding the involvement of the political scene to the transmission of the historical past to the future generations through the formation of the national narrative. The very interesting tendency of the last decades to approach the past also via a cultural perspective (termed as ‘‘cultural turn’’ in the relevant literature) is presented. In this context, a central point of analysis is the formation of a national cultural strategy in the contemporary international competitive environment since culture constitutes one of the three pillars of the “soft power” of the nations-states. The case of Spain in the twentieth century is examined and analyzed, as it suggests a case of a country having been shocked by great historical events during this period (civil war, dictatorships, etc.). A detailed analysis is presented regarding the way in which Spain handled its historical past in its attempt to build a prosperous, democratic future.

The aim of this thesis is to highlight the coordinated effort of nation-states to strengthen the concept of national element internally by exploiting the creation of the national narrative as well as to promote and disseminate externally their particular cultural characteristics through the development of cultural strategies, in order to ensure a promising and prosperous future.

Advisor: Christos MERANTZAS, Associate Professor, University of Patras

The aim of this PhD dissertation is to investigate: a) the in-depth progress of the visual arts in the city of Thessaloniki, b) the historical and social conditions in which the artistic works were created, c) the analysis of the cultural data of the city, d) the intercultural examination of the artistic creation and e) the registration of the artistic works and the artistic potential active in Thessaloniki. The up to date scientific research on Art in Thessaloniki, is distinguished by its fragmentary and epidermal character, since it is referred almost exclusively to individual artists and works that were accepted only by a particular public without anyone getting deeper to factors that played a significant role in the evolution of art and culture in the city. After the Great War, historical and social conditions were changed in Thessaloniki. Specifically we can refer to the refugee issue and the Macedonian topic, the intercultural character of the city, the historical factors, the new economic conditions, the urbanization, and the fact that Thessaloniki was considered to be the predominant city in northern Greece. These conditions combined with its primary intellectual development, also being so close to Mount Athos and its influence, as well as the cultural institutions that emerged dynamically in the city in the post-war years, strengthened a “profile” of intellectual autonomy, which promoted movements and actions having as main objective the projection of an artistic style with many peculiar characteristics and attributes. The “School of Thessaloniki”, which was the subject of a critical study in the field of literature, was a symptom of this perception of Thessaloniki’s role in the contemporary Greek culture and its significance to the history of the artistic modernism in modern Greece. The expected results will be based, on one hand, on a horizontal examination of the visual events in combination with the historical and social facts and on the other hand on a correlation with the views of culture (literature, theater and cinema) that vertically compose the spiritual qualities of the city.

Advisor: Iliana ZARRA, Professor, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

The present thesis is divided into two parts. The first part sets down the evolution of new forms in urban sites, focusing on the region of Agrinio, a modern Greek city developed during the 20th century. The evolution of sites is directly interconnected with the historical, social and economic circumstances of the era, that led to the rapid urbanization and growth of the city. The correlation of these is traced back in the beginning of the 20th century, involves the Occupation, the Inter- & Civil-War periods and is accomplished with the Post-War period in the year of 1974. In those chronicles, the present thesis focuses rigorously on public places such as squares, stadiums, martyr places, town markets, parks, churches, cemeteries, transit intersections etc. Specifically, what is presented are the conditions of their creation, function, development and functional inclusion in the social-economic scheme of the city in conjunction with the acceptation given through several aspects (e.g., monuments, names-giving). The goal of the aforementioned approaches is the salience of not only the depiction of their reformation, but also of their usage, depending on the current dominant social, ideological and economic trends which were recorded in the city and was imposed by the public-institutional remembrance. In the second part of this thesis, an effort is made the subconscious function of the area to be recorded, not in the regard of the dominant institutional remembrance but through their re-enactment. In achievement of this, literature is chosen as the city of Agrinio does not possess valuable references in other forms of art, such as painting or film industry. The depiction of locales is unfolded in four thematic narratives. The first looks into the literary references about the rural city of tobacco with its sequential crossings and routes. The second narrative presents the city of Agrinio as a turbulent city in the years of war, the exits of escape, but mainly it investigates the literal re-enactment of the places of torture. The third one tries to revive the old city through the memories of ordinary people, and after their synthesis, a complete literal mnemonic puzzle is created, recording in that way its subconscious experiences. This thesis ends with the fourth narrative which displays the material-aesthetic

Advisor: Theodora MONIOUDI-GAVALA, Professor, University of Patras

The purpose of this doctoral dissertation is to explore the pedagogical use of internet and web technologies in the design, development and evaluation of a didactic intervention for teaching history in secondary education, with a focus on issues related on art and cultural. According to an overview of the relevant literature on the theory and research in the field of education, the incorporation of internet and web technologies into the learning process has been associated with significant learning outcomes. In particular, the contribution of Informatics in general, and in particular the Internet and web to the achievement of the cognitive, socio-emotional and digital teaching objectives has been highlighted. By providing a wide range of usability options and specifications, internet and web technologies can significantly assist active and self-regulated learning. The student lies at the center of the educational process and enjoys important involvement in the achievement of the learning goals. Furthermore, the educational application of the principles of digital games is explored aiming at engaging and immersing the student in the learning process. Adopting the principles of gamification in the design of educational serious games as well as in the design of teaching scenarios with game-based activities has been scientifically proven to facilitate learning and help to improve school performance. Specifically, game-like conditions are associated with the development of creativity, the cultivation of critical thinking, and the promotion of problem-solving, negotiation and decision-making skills. Moreover, they contribute to the strengthening of interpersonal relationships and the prevalence of a pleasant classroom atmosphere. The present endeavor attempts to pedagogically link Internet and web technologies with the principles of gaming in the design of a teaching intervention aimed at expanding historical knowledge and promoting the cultural awareness of a group of eighteen pupils (six girls and twelve boys) in secondary education in the context of History. The selected teaching method chose was exploratory and collaborative with the aim of experiential approach to knowledge. The free online application Artsteps was used to develop the teaching scenario. In addition, the lesson was supported by worksheets for circumscribing the directions of inquiring activities. The ultimate goal was to create group virtual exhibitions on the cultures developed in Greece during the Prehistoric Bronze Age (3000-1100 BC). For the assessment of the didactic intervention and the online application, the research methods of observation, group unstructured interview, and the Likert-scale questionnaire were used to evaluate student perceptions and views. Results indicate that the suggested teaching intervention successfully contributed to achieving the cognitive and pedagogical objectives of the lesson. In particular, the intervention created conditions for active, creative, collaborative and playful learning. In addition, it helped to foster a more positive attitude of students towards art and culture on the one hand, and to History on the other. Finally, the majority of the students commented positively on the user friendliness of the virtual environment of the Artsteps application, as well as on its contribution to the lesson consolidation.

Advisor: Dimitris TSOLIS, Assistant Professor, University of Patras

This doctoral thesis addresses issues related to secondary education teachers’ perceptions of innovative teaching practices that involve Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in educational practice. It explores the educational identity of teachers with regard to ICT, and in particular the cognitive, didactic, extracurricular, personal profile in the particular field of interest, as well as their perceptions of the pedagogical value of ICT in teaching practice. In addition, the influence of the broader social, cultural and economic context in shaping teachers’ pedagogical beliefs about ICT is studied. In this context, the personal and extrinsic obstacles to achieve ICT integration in the educational process are examined.The study of the aforementioned issues is the basis for targeting the main topic of the doctoral thesis, which concerns the educational digital game. The widespread use of digital games by adolescents, the successful development of the cognitive game-learning combination, and the potential to exploit digital games-based learning (DGBL), have shifted research interest in this direction. Under this light, the creation of one educational digital game and the application of two educational digital games during the implementation of the School Activities Program, as well as the role of the teacher in this educational process are initially evaluated on an empirical basis. At a second level, this research aims to explore the more generic profile of secondary education teachers, who, by employing innovative ICT teaching practices, support the use of digital games to improve the learning process. In addition, the research interest focuses on the external factors that affect the context in which the teacher is invited to engage in play activities in order to shape an integrated ‘environment’ for the exploitation of digital educational games. The study concludes with the development of a theoretical model, outlining the integrated profile of the teacher who has all the necessary skills to effectively integrate digital games into the teaching practice. Finally, there are some suggestions for future research efforts that can extend / improve the results of the research.It is noted that the research interest of the present thesis lies in the fact that the general perceptions of ICT teachers regarding their approach towards digital educational games have not been examined so far. Moreover, there is no exploratory study on the integrated profile of the teacher who views play activity not only as an interesting prospect, but as a pleasant and highly beneficial teaching practice. The study is supported by a theoretical approach and a literature review of the topics of interest. With regard to the theoretical framework, it focuses on the most important areas of the general axis of Information and Communication Technologies, the relevant perceptions of teachers and the factors that contribute to their formation. In addition, there is a theoretical approach to digital gaming and educational digital games (‘serious games’) in relation to learning theories, Digital Game-based Learning, and the various benefits they bring to the educational process. As for the methodological framework, empirical research initially focused on the creation and evaluation of a two-dimensional and the evaluation of a three-dimensional game (the latter is an evolution of the former). Furthermore, a quantitative research was carried out involving secondary education teachers in the Region of Western Greece, through the development and circulation of a questionnaire that served as a data collection tool. Statistical processing of the results included at first the overall target population and secondly a targeted sample derived from the processing of the original statistical population. Following an evaluation of the results, relevant conclusions were drawn. The findings of the research demonstrate that, while the teaching profile of teachers is student-centric, they do not, however, use ICT pedagogically during teaching practice. They acknowledge more strongly the contribution of ICT to extracurricular activities, such as the implementation of School Activities Programs. In addition, their strong interest on ICT training is identified, even though relevant technological knowledge and skills gaps are revealed. Moreover, it is concluded that external factors that shape the framework for the integration of ICT into the educational practice may be considered as major obstacles in the deployment of ICT during the educational practice. These primarily relate to the need to improve the infrastructure and to reinforce the school culture of collaboration in this direction. On the contrary, personal barriers to supporting and promoting innovative ICT teaching practices are valued as minor. Additionally, teachers’ perceptions of ICT in general, as well as their contribution to professional development and the learning process are inferred. Nevertheless, there are doubts about the quality of the New Technologies in terms of their use by the students. In the field of perceptions about digital educational games, their added value is recognized in the educational practice, despite their extremely limited use. The varied benefits of creating and, secondarily, using a serious game as an innovative teaching practice in formal or semi-formal education are noted. The conclusions drawn from the analysis and interpretation of the results of the targeted sample of teachers who strongly support the exploitation of educational digital games to improve the learning process, reveal differences from the general sample and shape the particular characteristics of their profiles. Worth mentioning is the very strong availability of these teachers to transform their teaching practice and their role in it, their repeated voluntary participation in innovative extracurricular collaborative activities with their students, their systematic engagement with ICT during preparation for teaching, their self-education on ICT coupled with more frequent use of ICT in daily teaching and the limited negative impact of extrinsic barriers on the aforementioned choice. In terms of their perceptions on ICT, these are identified as positively strong in the fields of connection with the demands of modern social reality, professional development and willingness to provide an interesting and attractive profile to teaching in order to reinforce students’ motivation to learn.

Advisor: Dimitris TSOLIS, Assistant Professor, University of Patras

Welcoming the new digital era, Culture and Cultural Heritage integrates the technology and the applications of the Computer Science increasingly on a daily basis, both in research and in its everyday practice. This dissertation hosts a particularly extended study of the international scientific literature studying a plethora of digital systems which support various cultural scientific fields with their services. Through the aforementioned study it is made clear that the wide majority of digital services, which have been proposed to date, refer to the support of the procedures not only of the digitization and the digital preservation, but also the organization and public notification of the cultural information.

In this dissertation, we attempted to imprint the next step in the relation between Information Technology and Culture, considering that technology evolves and provides humanity with new achievements, daily (Internet of Things, Augmented and Virtual Reality, Semantic Web, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles). The answer proposed by this dissertation is the modernization of digital services that support the management processes (recording, digitization, organization, dissemination, exploitation) of the cultural information in order to become more up-to-date, adaptable, scalable, personalized and effective or in other words  more ‘intelligent’. We propose the creation of intelligent digital environments which are designed in such a way as to offer intelligent services for Culture and Cultural Heritage, in a modern way, but to support the sustainability of the institute that operates them, as well.

Advisor: Dimitris TSOLIS, Assistant Professor, University of Patras