The usage of RPGS as an interdisciplinary method of teaching dyslexic students

The aim of this paper is to present a different viewpoint on the educational process through the usage of- adjusted to educational needs - RPGs (Role Playing Games), emphasizing on an interdisciplinary teaching in both cognitive and social-emotional level, which will offer intervention and simultaneously the improvement of the academic weaknesses for dyslexic students. RPGs -in any form- may be a powerful and unique teaching tool so that learning can be fun and meaningfully constructive to the dyslexic learners

Radical Change

As we examine teleworking rules and best practices, we see people deal every day with the requirement to account for their time, performance, and efficiency. This can be emotionally charged due to a lack of clarity in the ways telework is managed, and that is why the authors examine radical change. Radical change involves behavioral indicators that can prove invaluable to starting or improving teleworking. The effect of emotion on radical change dynamics can be best understood by looking at the change process as separate components. There are three critical steps required to achieve radical change: receptivity, mobilization, and learning. At any fixed point in time, a person can accept the need for the proposed change if there is an interpretive, attitudinal state on the cognitive and emotional level. These steps are used to adjust to the cognitive and emotional levels of people involved in change operations.

Hacking Human Beings

This chapter discusses the various areas of human enhancement application where such concerns arise, including physical (chip self-identification and payment, improving hearing with magnetic headphones, improving vision in the infrared spectrum, and use of chips for monitoring bodily functions), cognitive (deep brain stimulation, memory chips, manipulation of neurons and neural dust), and emotional level (mood-fixing, neuroprosthetics) and life-extending technologies (cyborg digital mind, cyborg digital body, cryonic preservation of the body).

Paradoxes of the 30s Soviet Discourse: From the Biblical Metaphor to the Ideology Representation of the Leader

The study first raised the question of using biblical metaphors in the process of establishing Soviet ideology and creating a cult of the leader of the Soviet people. Authors tested the story “Blizzard” by Georgian writer Shalva Dadiani in the context of Georgian cultural mentality and studied the ideology function of the biblical metaphor “The Pillar of Light” in the discourse of Georgian Soviet prose. An analysis of the text proved that in Georgian culture, the basic concepts-metaphors of Christian Doctrine were an effective weapon of Soviet propaganda. At Bible the “The Pillar of Fire”, “The Pillar of Cloud” and “The Pillar of Light” are theophany – the manifestations of the presence of the God. The biblical metaphor transformed into an ideology representation of the Soviet Leader and in the text of the Shalva Dadiani this is an allegory of the New Messiah – Stalin. As a result, with the help of biblical metaphors were formed a new ideological concept (the Soviet leader is the Messiah of the New Doctrine) and the new metaphorical model of Soviet reality. Thus, by transferring the basic values of the traditional Christian conceptual sphere to the Soviet ideological one, a new ideological concept is created and a new metaphorical model of Soviet reality is formed. This achieved a double goal: the inviolability of the Soviet ideologeme was confirmed on an emotional level, and at the same time the respect and trust in the Church that had been carried for many generations was undermined – it was transferred to the new teaching and its adherents.

Book Review: Shamionov R. M., Bocharova E. E., Beskova T. V., Grigorieva M. V., Usova N. V., Klenova M. A., Tarasova L. E. Discriminatory Attitudes in the Modern World

Discriminatory attitudes and discrimination of individuals based on their nationality, religion, gender, age, physique, social status are a serious problem of the modern multipolar world. In the monograph of the group of authors (R. M. Shamionov, M. V. Grigorieva, E. E. Bocharova, T. V. Beskova, N. V. Usova, M. A. Klenova, L. E. Tarasova), the results of theoretical and empirical studies on phenomenology, mechanisms, determinants and types of discriminatory attitudes are presented. The latter are considered as a socio-psychological phenomenon characterized by prejudice and negative feelings towards Others and a willingness to oppress them. R. M. Shamionov and M. V. Grigorieva attempt to develop and validate a tool for assessing discriminatory attitudes and their content at the emotional level. The team of authors are hopeful that the monograph reveals the features of specific types of discriminatory attitudes in the social environment, the factors that reinforce them and the conditions under which they are eliminated. The book will be useful to students and post-graduate students, as well as specialists whose activities are connected with social relations.

Interoceptive sensitivity modulates heart rate and insula activity when listening to music

Interoception plays an important role in emotion processing, but the relationship between the physiological responses associated with emotional experience and interoception is unclear. In this study, we measured interoceptive sensitivity using the heartbeat discrimination task and investigated the effects of individual differences in interoceptive sensitivity on changes in heart rate and insula activity in response to music-induced emotions. We found that the heart rate increased when listening to the music pieces rated as emotionally high-touching in the high interoceptive sensitivity group only. Compared to the emotionally low-touching music, listening to the emotionally high-touching music was associated with higher insula activity. Furthermore, relative to individuals with low interoceptive sensitivity, the region of interest analysis of the insula subregions for individuals with high interoceptive sensitivity revealed significant activity in the bilateral dorsal granular insula, the right ventral dysgranular insula, and the right granular and dorsal dysgranular insula while listening to the high-touching music pieces. Our results suggest that individuals with high interoceptive sensitivity use their physical condition to assess their emotional level when listening to music. Furthermore, the insula activity may reflect the use of interoception to estimate emotions.

Material Agency

<p>The ‘material turn’ of the twentieth century focuses on the vibrancy of matter and non-human agency, providing an engaging platform from which to re-assess, and also promote, the role of materiality in design. The material turn draws away from a ‘representational’ paradigm towards a focus on materials as being non-objective, performative and responsive, where materials operate as authoritative matter. This design research thesis investigates the agential capacity of materials to amplify atmospheric experience in architecture. Through this research proposition, the thesis harnesses contemporary material perspectives to drive a series of enquiries that explore material agency in design. Within this framework, the design research seeks to strengthen relationships between user, matter and site. This method engages and evaluates materials on a tactile and emotional level, reflected in its atmospheric outputs. Ultimately, the design research employs materiality as an agent in the production of a 1:1 scale installation and two speculative building designs at the domestic and public scale. A historic site in East London has been selected to provide the contextual and material foundations for the design research. This thesis concludes that materials have an ability to exert force on the design process when they are engaged in a responsive feedback loop which acknowledges the transformative capacity of both ‘human’ and ‘nonhuman’ elements. The dynamic nature of scaling as a design method supported these findings by encouraging progressive dialogue between matter and design process.</p>

Material Agency

<p>The ‘material turn’ of the twentieth century focuses on the vibrancy of matter and non-human agency, providing an engaging platform from which to re-assess, and also promote, the role of materiality in design. The material turn draws away from a ‘representational’ paradigm towards a focus on materials as being non-objective, performative and responsive, where materials operate as authoritative matter. This design research thesis investigates the agential capacity of materials to amplify atmospheric experience in architecture. Through this research proposition, the thesis harnesses contemporary material perspectives to drive a series of enquiries that explore material agency in design. Within this framework, the design research seeks to strengthen relationships between user, matter and site. This method engages and evaluates materials on a tactile and emotional level, reflected in its atmospheric outputs. Ultimately, the design research employs materiality as an agent in the production of a 1:1 scale installation and two speculative building designs at the domestic and public scale. A historic site in East London has been selected to provide the contextual and material foundations for the design research. This thesis concludes that materials have an ability to exert force on the design process when they are engaged in a responsive feedback loop which acknowledges the transformative capacity of both ‘human’ and ‘nonhuman’ elements. The dynamic nature of scaling as a design method supported these findings by encouraging progressive dialogue between matter and design process.</p>

Social interactions between international visitors in New Zealand: contacts, processes and impacts

<p>The importance of the social aspect of travelling in general and contacts between visitors in particular has been acknowledged in several publications. Based on sociological and social psychological approaches, literature on social interactions in service and tourism settings as well as several areas of outdoor recreation research provide some insight into the phenomenon. However, little is known about how visitor-visitor interactions manifest themselves and what personal meaning they hold for individuals. This thesis examines social interactions between previously unacquainted international visitors in New Zealand. In doing so, it addresses the reasons why visitors interact with each other, what the dimensions and natures of these interactions are, how they are perceived and evaluated, and how they can impact the visitor experience. A two-stage exploratory qualitative research approach was applied. The first phase of data collection consisted of 40 personal semi-structured in-depth exploratory interviews with international visitors to achieve an initial insight into the occurrence of the phenomenon within New Zealand. Based upon these results, a second round of 76 personal semi-structured interviews with international tourists was conducted in Wellington and Rotorua to collect detailed and contextual information on specific social interactions that visitors had experienced. Data were then analysed using a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches to determine relationships between interaction-related factors. The analysis focussed on why social interactions occur and proceed in certain ways, how visitors perceive them and what types of interactions can influence the visitor experience. Occurrence, process, perception, and impact of visitor-visitor interactions were found to strongly depend upon the visitor type (i.e. travel behaviour) and personality of interviewees, as well as on the environmental settings within which their interactions take place and the characteristics of New Zealand as the destination. The majority of social interactions occurred or proceeded simply due to the pleasure visitors gained from interacting with others, although certain environmental contexts and therefore personal circumstances have been found to encourage interactions more than others. The length, duration, and conversation topics are also dependent upon these contexts, as well as on the relationship between interaction participants and on the dominance of independent travel in New Zealand. While no social interactions were perceived as negative, their perceived depth was found to strongly contribute to the impacts these interactions have on the visitor experience. Profound interactions were often longer and more personal and thus more likely to positively impact satisfaction with the current experience within which the respective interactions occurred than brief and superficial interactions. It was also found that the impact of cumulative social interactions throughout the whole holiday is not necessarily the same as the impact of specific social interactions on the current situation, as even superficial and trivial interactions contribute to a positive and friendly atmosphere. Depending on the visitors’ travel behaviour, social interactions with other tourists positively affected their visitor experience in a variety of ways. For single long-term travellers, this frequently occurred on an emotional level by contributing to psychological well-being and providing social contact and support. Interactions also often affected the travels of visitors by enhancing destination knowledge and understanding, and contributing to travel itineraries and activities and attractions that visitors participated in. This outcome is especially relevant for visitors travelling with their partner who do not benefit on an emotional level to the same extent. Visitor-visitor interactions have thus been found to directly impact other parts of the visitor experience, such as the products and services that are consumed, due to the relevance of word-of-mouth recommendations during these interactions. The complexity of the phenomenon of visitor-visitor interactions however requires further research, especially in identifying the applicability of this study to other forms of tourism or other destinations.</p>

Social interactions between international visitors in New Zealand: contacts, processes and impacts

<p>The importance of the social aspect of travelling in general and contacts between visitors in particular has been acknowledged in several publications. Based on sociological and social psychological approaches, literature on social interactions in service and tourism settings as well as several areas of outdoor recreation research provide some insight into the phenomenon. However, little is known about how visitor-visitor interactions manifest themselves and what personal meaning they hold for individuals. This thesis examines social interactions between previously unacquainted international visitors in New Zealand. In doing so, it addresses the reasons why visitors interact with each other, what the dimensions and natures of these interactions are, how they are perceived and evaluated, and how they can impact the visitor experience. A two-stage exploratory qualitative research approach was applied. The first phase of data collection consisted of 40 personal semi-structured in-depth exploratory interviews with international visitors to achieve an initial insight into the occurrence of the phenomenon within New Zealand. Based upon these results, a second round of 76 personal semi-structured interviews with international tourists was conducted in Wellington and Rotorua to collect detailed and contextual information on specific social interactions that visitors had experienced. Data were then analysed using a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches to determine relationships between interaction-related factors. The analysis focussed on why social interactions occur and proceed in certain ways, how visitors perceive them and what types of interactions can influence the visitor experience. Occurrence, process, perception, and impact of visitor-visitor interactions were found to strongly depend upon the visitor type (i.e. travel behaviour) and personality of interviewees, as well as on the environmental settings within which their interactions take place and the characteristics of New Zealand as the destination. The majority of social interactions occurred or proceeded simply due to the pleasure visitors gained from interacting with others, although certain environmental contexts and therefore personal circumstances have been found to encourage interactions more than others. The length, duration, and conversation topics are also dependent upon these contexts, as well as on the relationship between interaction participants and on the dominance of independent travel in New Zealand. While no social interactions were perceived as negative, their perceived depth was found to strongly contribute to the impacts these interactions have on the visitor experience. Profound interactions were often longer and more personal and thus more likely to positively impact satisfaction with the current experience within which the respective interactions occurred than brief and superficial interactions. It was also found that the impact of cumulative social interactions throughout the whole holiday is not necessarily the same as the impact of specific social interactions on the current situation, as even superficial and trivial interactions contribute to a positive and friendly atmosphere. Depending on the visitors’ travel behaviour, social interactions with other tourists positively affected their visitor experience in a variety of ways. For single long-term travellers, this frequently occurred on an emotional level by contributing to psychological well-being and providing social contact and support. Interactions also often affected the travels of visitors by enhancing destination knowledge and understanding, and contributing to travel itineraries and activities and attractions that visitors participated in. This outcome is especially relevant for visitors travelling with their partner who do not benefit on an emotional level to the same extent. Visitor-visitor interactions have thus been found to directly impact other parts of the visitor experience, such as the products and services that are consumed, due to the relevance of word-of-mouth recommendations during these interactions. The complexity of the phenomenon of visitor-visitor interactions however requires further research, especially in identifying the applicability of this study to other forms of tourism or other destinations.</p>