Forecasting a language shift based on cellular automata

Language extinction as a consequence of language shifts is a widespread social phenomenon that affects several million people all over the world today. An important task for social sciences research should therefore be to gain an understanding of language shifts, especially as a way of forecasting the extinction or survival of threatened languages, i.e., determining whether or not the subordinate language will survive in communities with a dominant and a subordinate language. In general, modeling is usually a very difficult task in the social sciences, particularly when it comes to forecasting the values of variables. However, the cellular automata theory can help us overcome this traditional difficulty. The purpose of this article is to investigate language shifts in the speech behavior of individuals using the methodology of the cellular automata theory. The findings on the dynamics of social impacts in the field of social psychology and the empirical data from language surveys on the use of Catalan in Valencia allowed us to define a cellular automaton and carry out a set of simulations using that automaton. The simulation results highlighted the key factors in the progression or reversal of a language shift and the use of these factors allowed us to forecast the future of a threatened language in a bilingual community.

Biologia, religiositat i rituals (i II)

La religiositat pot actuar de mecanisme de cohesió, però sobretot a nivell de societats tribals on tots pertanyen a la mateixa comunitat

Singing Desire : erotismo y deseo en las canciones para laúd en Inglaterra, 1597-1615

Las canciones para laúd o ayres en la Inglaterra de finales del siglo XVI y principios del XVII además de ser un género muy importante dentro de la música inglesa, son una manifestación cultural de varios ámbitos, tales como patronaje, comercio, género, clase social, filosofía y religión. Con sus letras eróticas en combinación con la voz solista, la música del laúd y la viola da gamba, fueron un medio de expresión muy intenso que permitía la entrada a un universo de sentimiento, pero que también representaba un pensamiento filosófico y una conciencia retórica. Basado en estudios previos, este ensayo explora las ayres desde diferentes ámbitos: el social, el de género, el humanista y el literario para entender el género de las ayres a fondo de manera que le sea útil al intérprete al momento de abordar este repertorio.

Transcending the self in immersive virtual reality

Cognitive neuroscientists have discovered various experimental setups that suggest that our body representation is surprisingly flexible, where the brain can easily be tricked into the illusion that a rubber hand is your hand or that a manikin body is your body. These multisensory illusions work well in immersive virtual reality (IVR). What is even more surprising is that such embodiment induces perceptual, attitudinal and behavioural changes that are concomitant with the displayed body type. Here we outline some recent findings in this field, and suggest that this offers a powerful tool for neuroscience, psychology and a new path for IVR.