Watching the brain oscillate: Identifying the neural correlates of illusory jitter

Moving borders defined by small luminance changes (or colour) can appear to jitter at a characteristic frequency when they are placed in close proximity to moving borders defined by large luminance changes (Arnold & Johnston, 2003). Using psychophysical techniques, we have now shown that illusory jitter can be generated when these different motion signals are shown selectively to either eye – implicating a cortical locus for illusory jitter generation. Using magneto-enceohalography (MEG) to record brain activity, we have also found that brain oscillations, of the same frequency as the illusory jitter rate, are enhanced when illusory jitter is experienced. This does not occur when observers are exposed to either isolated motion signals defined by small luminance changes (or colour) or to physical jitter of the same frequency as the illusory jitter. We believe therefore that the enhanced brain activity is related to illusory jitter generation rather than to jitter perception, or to isoluminant motion, per se. These observations support our hypothesis that this illusory jitter is generated in cortex by a dynamic feedback circuit. We believe that this circuit periodically corrects for a spatial conflict generated by proximate motion signals that differ in perceived speed.

USO DE HISTÓRIAS EM QUADRINHOS EM SALA DE AULA: INCENTIVO À LEITURA

Sabe-se que uma grande dificuldade na educação é ajudar os alunos a criarem o hábito de ler. Muitos preferem assistir à televisão (geralmente novelas, filmes ou desenhos), brincar na rua com os colegas ou passear ao invés de ler. Infelizmente, os professores não contam muito com o apoio de alguns pais para ajudar seus filhos a criarem esse hábito de leitura, pois estão tão ocupados com as situações do dia a dia e não participam ativamente da vida dos filhos. Este trabalho consiste em investigar o uso das histórias em quadrinhos como elemento motivador para o incentivo à leitura. Para isso verificou-se compreender a estrutura das HQs, como podem auxiliar o professor em sala de aula e se podem ser usadas no desenvolvimento do hábito de leitura. A pesquisa foi de revisão bibliográfica, com bases nos estudos de Marcuschi (1991 e 2010), Cirne (1971, 1975, 1997 e 2000), Fávero, Andrade e Aquino (2009), Martins (1985), Solé (1998), Vergueiro (2006) e Yunes (1984), entre outros. Verificou-se que as HQs são ótimos recursos para o incentivo à leitura, pois os recursos apresentados por elas auxiliam nessa aprendizagem, dando a sensação de ouvir a história . O gênero histórias em quadrinhos, que os PCN orientam para o uso, é um apoio para se discutir oralidade na sala de aula, tendo um claro interesse no estudo da língua oral, sendo uma de suas características, representar elementos de oralidade. Por meio desses recursos, o aluno se vê parte da história , pois sente que está presenciando o seu acontecimento, enquanto sua imaginação flui livremente.

French television talk: what tenses for past time?

On the basis of a transcribed French television corpus made of two news bulletins, two chat shows and one literary programme recorded in February 2003, this paper explores the claim that passé simple (PS) may still be used in prepared oral discourse (Pfister 1974). The corpus does not provide support for that use on television, but it seems to suggest a shift from temporal to aspectual features in French television talk: a perfective presentation prevails on a past presentation. This trend would need to be confirmed by a larger television corpus, tested in other types of oral discourse and tested on written corpora.

But somehow it was only television: West German Narratives of the fall of the Wall in recent novels and their screen adaptations

East Germans have long been criticised for harbouring a feeling of Ostalgie, a nostalgia for their old, Socialist state, but only recently has it become apparent that many west Germans obviously experience a similar sense of loss and longing for a seemingly simpler time before reunification. The texts that express these feelings tend to focus on the fall of the Wall as the pivotal point of change in German post-war history. Typically the characters in these books deny the significance and impact of this major political event and strive to reduce its importance, at best to a minor television moment. This attitude can be observed in the novels liegen lernen and Herr Lehmann and in their film adaptations. Despite having been accused of indulging a feeling of Westalgie, a closer analysis reveals that they are in fact deliberately provocative and challenge eastern and western stereotypes. In addition the films find ways to transport the books’ ironic narrative to the screen, and they also reinforce the authors’ implicitly critical attitude towards their characters’ political apathy by portraying the fall of the Wall in ways different to the books. The films react to the provocation voiced in the novels and function like an intertextual commentary as they integrate the opening of the border into a meaningful context for the protagonists and restore it to its historic importance.