Is narrative identity four-dimensionalist?

The claim that selves are narratively constituted has attained considerable currency in both analytic and continental philosophy. However, a set of increasingly standard objections to narrative identity are also emerging. In this paper, I focus on metaphysically realist versions of narrative identity theory, showing how they both build on and differ from their neo-Lockean counterparts. But I also argue that narrative realism is implicitly committed to a four-dimensionalist, temporal-parts ontology of persons. That exposes narrative realism to the charge that the narratively constituted self, on the one hand, and the self that is the object of much of our everyday self-reference and self-experience, on the other, can’t be the same thing. This conclusion may well force narrativists to abandon metaphysical realism about narrative selves — which, in turn, may leave the invocation of ‘narrativity’ as identity-constituting somewhat under-motivated.

What is a cinema? Death, closure and the database

This chapter explores the possible ontological questions and epistemological propositions that arise from detailed empirical research into cinema closures. Repeated pronouncements of the ‘Death of Cinema’ in the wake of technological, social and industrial change serve to reinforce the coincidence of ‘death’ with a type of ‘closure’. The evocation of a ‘crisis’ in the cinema is ordinarily articulated within the terms of specific cultural concerns around transience and transformation in the social experience of the cinema. However, rather than adding another chapter to the apocalyptic historiography of the cinema this paper proposes instead the constitutive importance of ‘closure’ as a critical tool for rethinking our defining assumptions about cinema(s). Specifically, the chapter will demonstrate how the conceptual granularity entailed in the development of a detailed database of venue openings and closings (the Cinema and Audiences in Australia Project database) can in turn lead to a fundamental reconsideration of the ontology of the cinema itself.

High activity and Levy searches : jellyfish can search the water column like fish

Over-fishing may lead to a decrease in fish abundance and a proliferation of jellyfish. Active movements and prey search might be thought to provide a competitive advantage for fish, but here we use data-loggers to show that the frequently occurring coastal jellyfish (Rhizostoma octopus) does not simply passively drift to encounter prey. Jellyfish (327 days of data from 25 jellyfish with depth collected every 1 min) showed very dynamic vertical movements, with their integrated vertical movement averaging 619.2 m d−1, more than 60 times the water depth where they were tagged. The majority of movement patterns were best approximated by exponential models describing normal random walks. However, jellyfish also showed switching behaviour from exponential patterns to patterns best fitted by a truncated Lévy distribution with exponents (mean μ = 1.96, range 1.2–2.9) close to the theoretical optimum for searching for sparse prey (μopt ≈ 2.0). Complex movements in these ‘simple’ animals may help jellyfish to compete effectively with fish for plankton prey, which may enhance their ability to increase in dominance in perturbed ocean systems.

Kierkegaard's mirrors: Interest, self, and moral vision

What is it to see the world, other people, and imagined situations not just as morally compelling, but as making personal demands of us? What is it to experience stories as speaking to us individually and directly? Kierkegaard's Mirrors explores Kierkegaard's unique and challenging answers to these questions. Beginning with the structural account of consciousness offered in Johannes Climacus, this book develops a new phenomenological interpretation of what Kierkegaard calls 'interest': a self-reflexive mode of thought, vision and imagination that plays a central role in moral experience. Tracing this concept across Kierkegaard's work takes us through topics such as consciousness, the ontology of selfhood, ethical imagination, admiration and imitation, seeing the other, metaphors of self-recognition and mirroring, our need for transcendent meaning, and the relationship between scholarship and subjective knowledge. 'Interest' equips us with a new understanding of Kierkegaard's highly original normative, teleological account of moral vision.

Jondi Keane, Alan Prohm, Erin Manning (2014): organisers and curators

Keane, Prohm and Manning organised performative process for collecting and assembling materials for a publication. The event/process focused on work related to and inspired by the work of Arakawa and Madeline Gins. the festival will be held over 4 days at the Glasshouse in Brooklyn (4-7 June, 12-5pm). The publication, planned for release in 2015/16, is being imagined as a print + digital document an/archiving this moment of movement around – and going forward with – the work of Arakawa and Madeline Gins. This book will be dedicated to Arakawa and Madeline, with special tribute to Madeline, whose own last book, "Alive forerever, not if but when", will be coming out in 2015/6.

Remote monitoring system enabling cloud technology upon smart phones and inertial sensors for human kinematics

Stroke is a common neurological condition which is becoming increasingly common as the population ages. This entails healthcare monitoring systems suitable for home use, with remote access for medical professionals and emergency responders. The mobile phone is becoming the easy access tool for self-evaluation of health, but it is hindered by inherent problems including computational power and storage capacity. This research proposes a novel cloud based architecture of a biomedical system for a wearable motion kinematic analysis system which mitigates the above mentioned deficiencies of mobile devices. The system contains three subsystems: 1. Bio Kin WMS for measuring the acceleration and rotation of movement 2. Bio Kin Mobi for Mobile phone based data gathering and visualization 3. Bio Kin Cloud for data intensive computations and storage. The system is implemented as a web system and an android based mobile application. The web system communicates with the mobile application using an encrypted data structure containing sensor data and identifiable headings. The raw data, according to identifiable headings, is stored in the Amazon Relational Database Service which is automatically backed up daily. The system was deployed and tested in Amazon Web Services.

A randomized controlled trial to reduce falls in people with Parkinson's Disease

Background. Falls are common and disabling in people with Parkinson's disease (PD). There is a need to quantify the effects of movement rehabilitation on falls in PD. Objective. To evaluate 2 physical therapy interventions in reducing falls in PD. Methods. We randomized 210 people with PD to 3 groups: progressive resistance strength training coupled with falls prevention education, movement strategy training combined with falls prevention education, and life-skills information (control). All received 8 weeks of out-patient therapy once per week and a structured home program. The primary end point was the falls rate, recorded prospectively over a 12 month period, starting from the completion of the intervention. Secondary outcomes were walking speed, disability, and quality of life. Results. A total of 1547 falls were reported for the trial. The falls rate was higher in the control group compared with the groups that received strength training or strategy training. There were 193 falls for the progressive resistance strength training group, 441 for the movement strategy group and 913 for the control group. The strength training group had 84.9% fewer falls than controls (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 0.151, 95% CI 0.071-0.322, P < .001). The movement strategy training group had 61.5% fewer falls than controls (IRR = 0.385, 95% CI 0.184-0.808, P = .012). Disability scores improved in the intervention groups following therapy while deteriorating in the control group. Conclusions. Rehabilitation combining falls prevention education with strength training or movement strategy training reduces the rate of falls in people with mild to moderately severe PD and is feasible.

Context sensitivity in action decreases along the autism spectrum: a predictive processing perspective

Recent predictive processing accounts of perception and action point towards a key challenge for the nervous system in dynamically optimizing the balance between incoming sensory information and existing expectations regarding the state of the environment. Here, we report differences in the influence of the preceding sensory context on motor function, varying with respect to both clinical and subclinical features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Reach-to-grasp movements were recorded subsequent to an inactive period in which illusory ownership of a prosthetic limb was induced. We analysed the sub-components of reach trajectories derived using a minimum-jerk fitting procedure. Non-clinical adults low in autistic features showed disrupted movement execution following the illusion compared to a control condition. By contrast, individuals higher in autistic features (both those with ASD and non-clinical individuals high in autistic traits) showed reduced sensitivity to the presence of the illusion in their reaching movements while still exhibiting the typical perceptual effects of the illusion. Clinical individuals were distinct from non-clinical individuals scoring high in autistic features, however, in the early stages of movement. These results suggest that the influence of high-level representations of the environment differs between individuals, contributing to clinical and subclinical differences in motor performance that manifest in a contextual manner. As high-level representations of context help to explain fluctuations in sensory input over relatively longer time scales, more circumscribed sensitivity to prior or contextual information in autistic sensory processing could contribute more generally to reduced social comprehension, sensory impairments and a stronger desire for predictability and routine.

Comparing kinematic changes between a finger-tapping task and unconstrained finger flexion-extension task in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Repetitive finger tapping is a well-established clinical test for the evaluation of parkinsonian bradykinesia, but few studies have investigated other finger movement modalities. We compared the kinematic changes (movement rate and amplitude) and response to levodopa during a conventional index finger-thumb-tapping task and an unconstrained index finger flexion-extension task performed at maximal voluntary rate (MVR) for 20 s in 11 individuals with levodopa-responsive Parkinson's disease (OFF and ON) and 10 healthy age-matched controls. Between-task comparisons showed that for all conditions, the initial movement rate was greater for the unconstrained flexion-extension task than the tapping task. Movement rate in the OFF state was slower than in controls for both tasks and normalized in the ON state. The movement amplitude was also reduced for both tasks in OFF and increased in the ON state but did not reach control levels. The rate and amplitude of movement declined significantly for both tasks under all conditions (OFF/ON and controls). The time course of rate decline was comparable for both tasks and was similar in OFF/ON and controls, whereas the tapping task was associated with a greater decline in MA, both in controls and ON, but not OFF. The findings indicate that both finger movement tasks show similar kinematic changes during a 20-s sustained MVR, but that movement amplitude is less well sustained during the tapping task than the unconstrained finger movement task. Both movement rate and amplitude improved with levodopa; however, movement rate was more levodopa responsive than amplitude.

Reduced motor imagery efficiency is associated with online control difficulties in children with probable developmental coordination disorder

Recent evidence indicates that the ability to correct reaching movements in response to unexpected target changes (i.e., online control) is reduced in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). Recent computational modeling of human reaching suggests that these inefficiencies may result from difficulties generating and/or monitoring internal representations of movement. This study was the first to test this putative relationship empirically. We did so by investigating the degree to which the capacity to correct reaching mid-flight could be predicted by motor imagery (MI) proficiency in a sample of children with probable DCD (pDCD). Thirty-four children aged 8 to 12 years (17 children with pDCD and 17 age-matched controls) completed the hand rotation task, a well-validated measure of MI, and a double-step reaching task (DSRT), a protocol commonly adopted to infer one's capacity for correcting reaching online. As per previous research, children with pDCD demonstrated inefficiencies in their ability to generate internal action representations and correct their reaching online, demonstrated by inefficient hand rotation performance and slower correction to the reach trajectory following unexpected target perturbation during the DSRT compared to age-matched controls. Critically, hierarchical moderating regression demonstrated that even after general reaching ability was controlled for, MI efficiency was a significant predictor of reaching correction efficiency, a relationship that was constant across groups. Ours is the first study to provide direct pilot evidence in support of the view that a decreased capacity for online control of reaching typical of DCD may be associated with inefficiencies generating and/or using internal representations of action.

The unstable print: Material challenges in printmaking and the moving image

The past few years have seen an emergence of printmakers motivated by moving-image technology to use print as performative creative practice; in film and animation, as installation and in various processes of thinking and production. Notions of movement and change that could be said to identify much of our contemporary world reflect the interests of a number of printmakers who utilize printmaking characteristics of multiplicity and reproduction by integrating the digital and the handmade within the moving-image. There seems to be a restlessness by some artists who wish to explore an unbounded, experimental approach to printmaking; perhaps it is a natural progression for printmakers to relate their processes of thinking and production to concepts of frame-by-frame production – to additive and subtractive methods, multiple imagery and the reproduced or copy. But what happens when printmaking that has entered the realm of multimedia technology returns to the physical, material print? This paper presents and discusses printmaking as moving image, and in particular the practice of printmaking that utilizes the copy and multiplicity while exploiting qualities of change through, for example, organic non-archival materials. Drawing from my own print projects and practice as well as the work of other Australian printmakers, the paper asks: can the physical print convincingly perform, not only represent, movement and change as analog experience through its materiality, and how is it to be valued within printmaking conventions concerned with longevity and permanence?

Creativity in-transit: material ideals and spatial negotiations

 “Creativity in-transit” is a series of artworks and exegesis that explore how movements undertaken while transiting draw attention to everyday and collaborative encounters. Packing a bag is analysed as a situation where travellers negotiate a range of material, spatial, and environmental interactions, attuning travellers to collective experiences of movement.

Whole-body vibration versus proprioceptive training on postural control in post-menopausal osteopenic women

BACKGROUND: To prevent falls in the elderly, especially those with low bone density, is it necessary to maintain muscle coordination and balance. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of classical balance training (BAL) and whole-body vibration training (VIB) on postural control in post-menopausal women with low bone density. METHODS: Sixty-eight subjects began the study and 57 completed the nine-month intervention program. All subjects performed resistive exercise and were randomized to either the BAL- (N=31) or VIB-group (N=26). The BAL-group performed progressive balance and coordination training and the VIB-group underwent, in total, four minutes of vibration (depending on exercise; 24-26Hz and 4-8mm range) on the Galileo Fitness. Every month, the performance of a single leg stance task on a standard unstable surface (Posturomed) was tested. At baseline and end of the study only, single leg stance, Romberg-stance, semi-tandem-stance and tandem-stance were tested on a ground reaction force platform (Leonardo). RESULTS: The velocity of movement on the Posturomed improved by 28.3 (36.1%) (p<0.001) in the VIB-group and 18.5 (31.5%) (p<0.001) in the BAL-group by the end of the nine-month intervention period, but no differences were seen between the two groups (p=0.45). Balance tests performed on the Leonardo device did not show any significantly different responses between the two groups after nine months (p≥0.09). CONCLUSIONS: Strength training combined with either proprioceptive training or whole-body vibration was associated with improvements in some, but not all, measures of postural control in post-menopausal women with low bone density. The current study could not provide evidence for a significantly different impact of whole-body vibration or balance training on postural control.

Duet: Improvising spatial dialogues with an artificially intelligent agent

This paper presents an experimental framework for a virtual reality artwork, Duet, that employs a combination of live, full body motion capture and Oculus Rift HMD to construct an experience through which a human User can spatially interact with an artificially intelligent Agent. The project explores conceptual notions of embodied knowledge transfer, shared poetics of movement and distortions of the body schema. Within this context, both the User and the Agent become performers, constructing an intimate and spontaneously generated proximal space. The project generates a visualization of the relationship between the User and the Agent without the context of a fixed VR landscape or architecture. The Agent's ability to retain and accumulate movement knowledge in a way that mimics human learning transforms an interactive experience into a collaborative one. The virtual representation of both performers is distorted and amplified in a dynamic manner, enhancing the potential for creative dialogue between the Agent and the User.

Smartwatch: performance evaluation for long-term heart rate monitoring

Recent advancement in wearable technologies, particularly smart watches embedded with powerful processors, memory subsystems with various built-in sensors such as ac-celerometer, gyroscope and optical sensor in one single package has opened a whole new application space. One of the main applications of interest is the monitoring of movement patterns, heart rate, ECG and PPG particularly for longer duration's in natural environments. In this study, we conducted a performance evaluation on the optical heart rate sensor of the smartwatch with respect to the commonly used ECG and PPG devices. Results have shown that the heart rate acquired from the smartwatch is reasonably accurate with a high degree of correlation. Further, we conducted a preliminary exerise to evaluate sleep quality using the heart rate readings and accelerometer readings captured from the smartwatch and compared with a commercially available and clinically used non-contact sleep sensor, RESMED S+.