Partners in the street ballet: An embodied process of person-space coupling in the built environment

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 294-307
Author(s):  
Alasdair Turner

The diurnal movements of pedestrians in the built environment are sometimes typified as a ‘street ballet’, where each actor or dancer has their own set role within a larger complex. Every individual in the ballet may have many influences on their behaviour including the physical layout of the environment, cognitive strategies to navigate it, experiential or affective preferences as well as social, economic and political factors, but ultimately each one seems to obey apparently choreographed actions. The aim of this article is to understand whether or not there is in fact an underlying choreography to the ballet, in that certain steps or moves are more likely than others, such that a ‘dance’ through daily life is constructed. To do so, simple automata that use active perception to inhabit the world are evolved against different tasks within the environment, representing different sets of moves that may be taken. It is shown that any evolved automaton appears to embody a mathematical person–space relationship that joins visual affordance with motor action: the convergence of a simple Markov model of visual movement. From the Markov model, a general model of embodied action in the environment is proposed, whereby memory of the dance is ingrained over evolutionary history, such that it forms building blocks for non-discursive action within the built environment and comprises a possible common phenomenological framework.

Author(s):  
Syed Fahad Javaid ◽  
Aishah Al-Zahmi ◽  
Munir Abbas

Dementia represents a significant problem in the Middle East. Sociocultural and political factors that shape conceptions of health and care tend to stifle research and the dissemination of knowledge throughout the Middle East. These socio-political challenges concerning engagement with individuals living with dementia and their carers include language barriers, stigmatization, logistical constraints, lack of informal support outside of hospitals, and over-dependence on clinicians for dementia information. There is an urgent need in the Middle East to increase care and support for adults with dementia and their carers, enhance research efforts and improve the dissemination of information related to dementia in the region. One possible way to do so is to begin to promote a knowledge-based culture throughout the Middle East. This can be achieved by aligning traditional deterministic and spiritual perspectives of mental health with more Western, scientific, and evidence-based models. We suggest employing practical, multidimensional approaches to deal with the stated challenges, both at individual and societal levels. Doing so will improve knowledge of dementia and allow health and social care systems in the Middle East to begin to address a growing problem.


2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 110-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel B. Hess

During the early 20th century, the urban housing supply in Estonia expanded quickly to meet growing housing demand, resulting in tenement districts conceived for maximum profitability of rental units. In Karlova, a district near the city center of Tartu, about five hundred wooden houses, built between 1911 and the early 1920s and displaying simple Art Nouveau details, are set amid a charming district with a distinct milieu. This article focuses on three time periods during which the development of its built environment gave Karlova its distinctiveness: (1) the years leading up to World War I; (2) the interwar period; and (3) the two decades since 1991, or the post-transition period. Although the district was neglected during the Soviet era, it remains remarkably intact and has even experienced, since the 1990s, gentrification. The high-quality housing stock and charming built environment has much to offer to its diverse population of students, professionals, families, and longtime residents. Santrauka Dvidešimtojo amžiaus pradžioje gyvenamųjų namų pasiūla Estijoje greitai augo atitikdama į augančius gyvenamojo ploto poreikius. Minėtos situacijos rezultatas - daugiabučių namų kvartalai sukurti taip, kad iš nuomojamų patalpų būtų gaunamas maksimalus pelnas. Karlova – kvartalas netoli Tartu centro. Jį sudaro apie penki šimtai medinių namų, pastatytų tarp 1911 ir 1920 metų. Pastatams būdingos paprastos Art Nouveauarchitektūrinės detalės, jie pastatyti išskirtinėje patrauklioje aplinkoje. Pateikiamame straipsnyje nagrinėjami trys laikotarpiai, per kuriuos užstatymo kaita aptariamoje teritorijoje sukūrė išskirtinį jos tapatumą: 1) laikotarpis iki Pirmojo pasaulinio karo; 2) tarpukaris; 3) du dešimtmečiai po 1991 m. Nežiūrint to, kad sovietiniais metais teritorija buvo nesaugoma ir ja nesirūpinama, Karlova išsaugojo nepažeistą architektūrinį urbanistinį vientisumą, o po 1990 m. teritorijoje prasidėjo gentrifikacijos procesai. Aukštos kokybės gyvenamasis užstatymas ir žavi urbanistinė aplinka gali daug pasiūlyti įvairioms gyventojų grupėms: studentams, profesionalams, šeimoms ir vyresnio amžiaus žmonėms.


1995 ◽  
Vol 27 (9) ◽  
pp. 1463-1491 ◽  
Author(s):  
J D Sidaway ◽  
M Power

As Mozambique was one of a number of Third World states that embraced Marxism-Leninism during the 1970s, the establishment and subsequent collapse of a socialist development project since independence in 1975 has had profound social, political, and economic consequences. Against these contexts, and through a chronological account which begins with the impacts of Portuguese colonialism and Mozambican nationalist responses, we analyse the contradictory impact of political and economic changes accompanying colonialism, independence, attempted socialist transformation, and the end of socialism in Mozambique as they are mediated through the built environment of the Mozambican capital city of Maputo. The combined political, social, and cultural facets within these transformations and continuities are evident throughout the account and we specify some of the ways in which these are intertwined with the political economy of urbanization. In the conclusion we reconsider what the changing trajectory of Maputo represents in global and comparative terms. We do so with reference to debates about the changing forms of international capitalist regulation and the reconfiguration of dependency.


Author(s):  
Marco Bonizzato

Neural prostheses are designed to counter the effects of neurotrauma and restore the fundamental building blocks of human experience including motor action, sensation and meaningful communication with other individuals. Here, we present an overview of active avenues, open questions and debated topics in neuroprosthetics, such as targeting the mechanisms of sensorimotor recovery and designing brain interfaces for scalability. We review leading opinions in this thriving field, aiming to inform translational practice towards clinical adoption.


Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 241
Author(s):  
Elisabetta Palagi ◽  
Giada Cordoni

Involuntary synchronization occurs when individuals perform the same motor action patterns during a very short time lapse. This phenomenon serves an important adaptive value for animals permitting them to socially align with group fellows thus increasing integration and fitness benefits. Rapid mimicry (RM) and yawn contagion (YC) are two behavioral processes intermingled in the animal synchronization domain. Several studies demonstrated that RM and YC are socially modulated being more frequently performed by individuals sharing close relationships. This evidence highlights the relation between RM/YC and emotional contagion that is the capacity of two or more individuals to share the same affective state. In this review, we try to delineate a possible developmental trajectory of emotional sharing phenomena by using, as a model species, the domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris), a valid example of empathic predisposition towards individuals belonging both to the same and the different species. We contrast available findings on RM and YC in dog–dog and dog–human dyads with those in wolf–wolf dyads, in order to investigate if the ability to emotionally engage with conspecifics (wolf–wolf and dog–dog) is evolutionary rooted in canids and if provides the basis for the development of inter-specific emotional sharing (dog–human).


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivier Mousis ◽  
Artyom Aguichine ◽  
Ravit Helled ◽  
Patrick Irwin ◽  
Jonathan I. Lunine

<p>We aim at investigating whether the chemical composition of the outer region of the protosolar nebula can be consistent with current estimates of the elemental abundances in the ice giants. To do so, we use a self-consistent evolutionary disc and transport model to investigate the time and radial distributions of H<sub>2</sub>O, CO, N<sub>2</sub>, and H<sub>2</sub>S, i.e., the main O-, C-, N, and S-bearing volatiles in the outer disc. We show that it is impossible to accrete a mixture composed of gas and solids from the disc with a C/H ratio presenting enrichments comparable to the measurements (70 times protosolar). We also find that the C/N and C/S ratios measured in Uranus and Neptune are compatible with those acquired by building blocks agglomerated from grains and pebbles condensed in the vicinities of N<sub>2</sub> and CO ice lines in the nebula. In contrast, the presence of protosolar C/N and C/S ratios in Uranus and Neptune would imply that their building blocks agglomerated from particles condensed at higher heliocentric distances. Our study demonstrates the importance of measuring the elemental abundances in the ice giant atmospheres, as they can be used to trace the planetary formation location and/or the chemical and physical conditions of the protosolar nebula.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>


eLife ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Wesley Maddox ◽  
Kate L Randall ◽  
Ravi P Yadav ◽  
Brittany Williams ◽  
Jussara Hagen ◽  
...  

Synapses are fundamental information processing units that rely on voltage-gated Ca2+ (Cav) channels to trigger Ca2+-dependent neurotransmitter release. Cav channels also play Ca2+-independent roles in other biological contexts, but whether they do so in axon terminals is unknown. Here, we addressed this unknown with respect to the requirement for Cav1.4 L-type channels for the formation of rod photoreceptor synapses in the retina. Using a mouse strain expressing a non-conducting mutant form of Cav1.4, we report that the Cav1.4 protein, but not its Ca2+ conductance, is required for the molecular assembly of rod synapses; however, Cav1.4 Ca2+ signals are needed for the appropriate recruitment of postsynaptic partners. Our results support a model in which presynaptic Cav channels serve both as organizers of synaptic building blocks and as sources of Ca2+ ions in building the first synapse of the visual pathway and perhaps more broadly in the nervous system.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (75) ◽  
pp. 832
Author(s):  
Elaine Cristina Vieira Cobos ◽  
Claudia Leme Ferreira Davis

<p>O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar se a aprendizagem e o uso de estratégias metacognitivas tinham impacto positivo na escrita. O referencial teórico adotado foi o da Psicologia Cognitiva, guiado por Flavell (1976). O método adotado, de natureza qualitativa, foi aplicado junto a duas estudantes de Pedagogia. Os procedimentos consistiram em sete encontros, cujos propósitos foram: (a) oferecer uma exposição acerca de como escrever uma resenha e de como empregar estratégias cognitivas para fazer isso; (b) promover a escrita de três resenhas; (c) coletar junto às participantes duas autoavaliações; e (d) entrevistar cada estudante, para conhecer como pensavam o processo de escrever. Para a análise dos resultados, três categorias foram criadas (conhecimento acerca da Pessoa, da Tarefa e das Estratégias Metacognitivas). Os resultados indicaram que houve evolução na escrita, sugerindo que estratégias metacognitivas devem ser ensinadas durante a educação básica.</p><p><strong>Palavras-chave</strong>: Psicologia Cognitiva, Metacognição, Escrita, Formação de Professores</p><p> </p><p><strong>Estrategias metacognitivas: análisis de su impacto en la escritura de reseñas</strong></p><p>El objetivo de este estudio fue verificar si el aprendizaje y el uso de estrategias metacognitivas ocasionaban un impacto positivo en la escritura. El referente teórico adoptado fue el de la Psicología Cognitiva, guiado por Flavell (1976). El método, de naturaleza cualitativa, se aplicó a dos estudiantes de Pedagogía. Los procedimientos consistieron en siete encuentros, cuyos propósitos fueron: (a) ofrecer una exposición acerca de cómo escribir una reseña y cómo emplear estrategias cognitivas para hacerlo; (b) promover la escritura de tres reseñas; (c) recoger junto a las participantes dos autoevaluaciones; y (d) entrevistar cada estudiante, para conocer cómo pensaban el proceso de escribir. Para analizar los resultados, se crearon tres categorías (conocimiento acerca de la Persona, de la Tarea y de las Estrategias Metacognitivas). Los resultados indicaron que hubo evolución en la escritura, sugiriendo que las estrategias metacognitivas deben enseñarse durante la educación básica.</p><p><strong>Palabras clave: </strong>Psicología Cognitiva, Metacognición, Escritura, Formación de Profesores</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Metacognitive strategies: analysis of their impact on writing reviews</strong></p><p>The aim of this study was to verify if the learning and use of metacognitive strategies had a positive impact on writing. The theoretical framework adopted was that of Cognitive Psychology, guided by Flavell (1976). Two students of Pedagogy participated in the study, which employed a qualitative method. The procedures consisted of seven meetings, aiming to: (a) introduce how to write a review and how to use cognitive strategies to do so; (b) write  three  reviews; (c) collect two self-assessments  from  the  participants; and, (d) interview each student to learn about their writing process. In order to analyze the results, three categories were created (knowledge of the Person, of the Task, and of the Metacognitive Strategies). The results indicated that there was an evolution in the writing, suggesting that metacognitive strategies should be taught during basic education.</p><p><strong>Keywords</strong>: Cognitive Psychology, Metacognition, Writing, Teacher Training</p>


Author(s):  
Verónica Ruiz Abou-Nigm

This chapter calls for the mobilization of private international law, reflecting on the pitfalls of private international law’s outreach and the lack of awareness of the potential that its methodologies and techniques have in contributing to the necessary accommodation of different legal cultures. Bridging legal diversity is more often than not a complex task. Private international law thinking, however, is developed to do just that. The challenge is how to tailor the streaming of private international law thinking in a manner that becomes relevant to the day-to-day life of lawyers and ordinary people. The question is how to do so openly and effectively. To this purpose, this chapter introduces the concept of ‘pluralistic thinking’ as developed in social psychology, with the aim of grasping where the cognitive barriers to fully understand the potential of private international law come from, and of generating ideas in relation to the building blocks for further embracement of diversity. This final chapter engages with culturalist approaches to provide insights that could prove enlightening to private international law practice, particularly in the context of regional integration. Bringing together several threads in this book, this final chapter portrays private international law as a methodology that embraces multiplicity and pluralism in the accommodation of legal diversity.


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