Neuroscience and Hindu Aesthetics: A Critical Analysis of V.S. Ramachandran’s “Science of Art”

Neuroaesthetics is the study of the brain’s response to artistic stimuli. The neuroscientist V.S. Ramachandran contends that art is primarily “caricature” or “exaggeration.” Exaggerated forms hyperactivate neurons in viewers’ brains, which in turn produce specific, “universal” responses. Ramachandran identifies a precursor for his theory in the concept of rasa (literally “juice”) from classical Hindu aesthetics, which he associates with “exaggeration.” The canonical Sanskrit texts of Bharata Muni’s Natya Shastra and Abhinavagupta’s Abhinavabharati, however, do not support Ramachandran’s conclusions. They present audiences as dynamic co-creators, not passive recipients. I believe we could more accurately model the neurology of Hindu aesthetic experiences if we took indigenous rasa theory more seriously as qualitative data that could inform future research.

Forms of the Postmodern Historical Novel : Christoph Ransmayr, Daniel Kehlmann, Wolfgang Hildesheimer

L’émergence du postmodernisme aux Etats-unis, mouvement esthétique rejetant les dogmes modernistes, date des années 1960. En s’imposant, durant les dernières décennies du 20ème siècle, comme le paradigme esthétique de l’architecture, des arts et de la littérature, le postmodernisme a également créé les conditions propres à une renaissance du roman historique. Cependant, la fiction historique postmoderne constitue maintenant une nouvelle forme du genre basée sur la parodie, l’ironie et le scepticisme envers les discours dominants. Cette nouvelle forme ne se limite plus à la présentation des récits dans un cadre historique réaliste. Elle remet plutôt en question la validité et par conséquent la nature même du discours historique, problématisant et mettant ainsi à l’avant le processus d’interprétation et de reconstruction du passé. Dans cette optique, la fiction historique contemporaine reflète les débats actuels sur les formes de l’historiographie, débats lancés par Hayden White. Dans les années 1980, la fiction historique a de nouveau fleuri dans l'espace culturel allemand tout comme ailleurs. Le présent mémoire analyse des formes postmodernes de la fiction historique en se basant sur trois romans historiques de langue allemande parus entre 1981 et 2005: Die Schrecken des Eises und der Finsternis de Christoph Ransmayr, Die Vermessung der Welt de Daniel Kehlmann et Marbot : Eine Biographie de Wolfgang Hildesheimer. L’analyse s'appuie sur divers modèles de la fiction postmoderne, en particulier sur le schéma de catégorisation du roman historique élaboré par Ansgar Nünning. Le mémoire montre dans quelle mesure ces romans appliquent des moyens stylistiques typiques pour le postmodernisme et portent un regard critique ou comique sur l’histoire et la culture allemande et autrichienne.

A gravitação da ética do cuidado na mediação : intervenção social e escolar nas escolas

Na resolução de conflitos, no incumprimento de normas e nas situações de indisciplina escolar, exigem-se mediadores e programas de mediação. Na implementação destes programas é essencial formar mediadores para intervirem em contexto socioeducativo com alunos, professores e família, sendo exigido a esses profissionais uma ética profissional mediadora. A necessidade de educar os alunos para integrarem as equipes de mediação implica a promoção de valores de convivência e uma ética do cuidado com os outros. A ética do cuidado e do encontro permite mais possibilidades de convívio e novas formas de existência humana. Procuramos interpretar os pontos de vista de alguns autores sobre a mediação (modelos e programas), destacando a educação para a tolerância, solidariedade, responsabilidade e cidadania, que são exigências da escola no âmbito da educação para os valores. A mediação contribui para resolver conflitos, melhorar a comunicação, as relações e a convivência.

A Arquitetura como Processo Social

Desde o decorrer dos séculos que a arquitetura se tem apresentado de diferentes formas perante o seu público. As sucessivas mudanças na mentalidade social foram em consequência provocando alterações no posicionamento do arquiteto na relação com o utilizador, resultando no distanciamento entre ambos. O processo social da arquitetura acabou por sofrer continuas alterações na sua forma de atuar, perdendo o seu caráter de serviço prestado à sociedade, e funcionando como um instrumento de afirmação e demonstração de poder. Através de uma análise da complexidade nas componentes da sociologia e da espacialidade, pretende-se chegar à essência da conceção do espaço e da forma como este organiza e estrutura a sociedade. A questão primordial encontra-se no assumir do utilizador como um elemento primordial para a modelação do espaço, expondo os efeitos da componente participativa na conceção do programa e do projeto. Na presente dissertação tenta-se perceber de que forma a participação na conceção do projeto arquitetónico, pode exponenciar o processo social da arquitetura. Através da análise de três obras internacionais, procura-se compreender de que forma o pensamento arquitetónico e a metodologia de trabalho dos seus autores representam instrumentos importantes para restabelecer a conexão perdida entre o arquiteto e o utilizador. O que se pretende não é obtenção de uma resposta Universal, mas a exposição de um caminho, e dos instrumentos que podem constituir uma importante ferramenta para a afirmação do processo social da arquitetura, dando a origem a um projeto arquitetónico que represente a visão da sua sociedade e responda às suas necessidades. Uma arquitetura estruturada pela sociedade, onde o arquiteto assume não como um criador, mas como um gestor de recursos.

Words and Emotional Work: Classification Theory’s Constructs Useful for the Analysis of Social Media Data in Terms of Gender, Race, and Sexuality

Presents constructs from classification theory and relates them to the study of hashtags and other forms of tags in social media data. Argues these constructs are useful to the study of the intersectionality of race, gender, and sexuality. Closes with an introduction to an historical case study from Amazon.com.

Ciudad Verde: una mirada desde el reconocimiento social hasta la diferenciación a través de los espacios

La presente monografía se refiere a la vida cotidiana de los residentes del macroproyecto de vivienda de interés social Cuidad Verde en el municipio de Soacha para comprender las formas de reconocimiento que se tejen entre los residentes, transeúntes y visitantes de la ciudadela. Asimismo, analiza los imaginarios espaciales para entender las relaciones sociales entre unos y otros, abordando al macroproyecto no sólo como un lugar físico sino como un espacio que permite reproducir estereotipos sociales, crear mecanismos de distinción, transformar las maneras de apropiación de la vivienda y tejer nociones de progreso a partir del lugar donde se vive.

Social competence at the playground: Preschoolers during recess

Social interactions at the playground have been represented as a rich learning opportunity to hone and master social skills at pre- school years. Specifically, all forms of social play (fantasy, role, ex- ercise or rough-and-tumble) have been related to children’s social competence. The main goal of this study was to examine whether it is a certain kind of social play which facilitates the development of social competence, or if it is just the opportunity for interacting during recess that provides children with an optimal environment for social learning. A total of 73 preschoolers (4–6 years old) were videotaped at the school’s playground. Teachers provided assess- ments of children’s social competence. Children’s interactions at the playground were assessed through an innovative measuring method, based on radio-frequency identification devices. The results showed a positive association between exercise play and children’s social competence. In contrast with the literature, both forms of pretend play, fantasy and role play were unrelated to children’s social competence. Smaller peer groups and longer interactions also demonstrated a positive association with these preschoolers’ social competence. The study shows the importance of outdoor physical play for preschoolers’ social success. More- over, the study suggests that the environment in which children play has an important effect on the adaptive nature of their play.

Social competence at the playground: Preschoolers during recess

Social interactions at the playground have been represented as a rich learning opportunity to hone and master social skills at preschool years. Specifically, all forms of social play (fantasy, role, exercise or rough-and-tumble) have been related to children’s social competence. The main goal of this study was to examine whether it is a certain kind of social play which facilitates the development of social competence, or if it is just the opportunity for interacting during recess that provides children with an optimal environment for social learning. A total of 73 preschoolers (4–6 years old) were videotaped at the school’s playground. Teachers provided assessments of children’s social competence. Children’s interactions at the playground were assessed through an innovative measuring method, based on radio-frequency identification devices. The results showed a positive association between exercise play and children’s social competence. In contrast with the literature, both forms of pretend play, fantasy and role play were unrelated to children’s social competence. Smaller peer groups and longer interactions also demonstrated a positive association with these preschoolers’ social competence. The study shows the importance of outdoor physical play for preschoolers’ social success. Moreover, the study suggests that the environment in which children play has an important effect on the adaptive nature of their play.

. Parentesco y producción: la organización social de la agricultura de exportación en la provincia de Limón, Costa Rica, 1920-1960

Resumen Describe los patrones migratorios que moldearon el perfil demográfico de la vertiente caribe de Costa Rica en la primera mitad del siglo XX, para luego analizar los papeles de genero y las formas de parentesco que imperaban entre los pobladores de la zona, en relación con la organización de la labor productiva y reproductiva en la misma. Abstract The author describes the imgrations patterns which shaped the demographic profile of the Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica in the first half of the twentieth century, and goes on to analyze gender roles and kinship forms among residents of the zone, and reproductive labor there.

Policultivo, modernización y crisis: paradojas del cambio técnico-social en la caficultora centroamericana

ResumenEn éste artículo el autor analiza qué cambios conllevó la introducción, expansión y posterior intensificación de la caficultura en los sistemas de producción locales del Pacífico Centroamericano, cómo se entrelazaron los cambios tecnológicos con las diversas modalidades de organización social del trabajo en zonas cafetaleras, y de qué manera incidieron tales transformaciones técnicas y sociales en la viabilidad económica de distintos tipos de unidades productivas, sobre todo en coyunturas adversas del mercado cafetalero.AbstractIn this study, the author discusses changes resulting from the introduction, expansion and subsequent intensification of coffee growing in local productions systems of the Central American Pacific region. He explains technological changes in the various forms of social organizations of production in coffee-producing areas, and how such technological and social transformations have affected the economic feasibility of different types of units of production, especially under adverse conditions of the international coffee market.

Incentives, Sustainability, and Law: The relationship between executive pay regulation and corporate social responsibility

What is the relationship between executive pay regulation and corporate social responsibility (CSR)? Currently, CSR is neither sufficiently included in economic research on executive pay, nor is pay regulation considered as a potential instrument in the growing body of CSR legislation. The successful proliferation of CSR in business practice and the attention policymakers and legislators now pay to it, however, have raised the importance of answering these questions. Thus, this blind spot in corporate governance—the relationship between compensation, CSR, and law—is the topic of this thesis. The dissertation approaches these issues in two subsequent research question: first, the role of executive pay regulation as an institutional determinant of CSR engagement is identified. From the results of this, the second research question arises: should legislators promote CSR engagement and—if so—how? Lastly, a case study is conducted to map how the influence of index funds as an important driver of CSR in corporate governance should be accommodated in the design of CSR legislation. The research project shows that pay regulation is part of the institutional determinants of CSR and, depending on its design, can incentivise or discourage different forms of CSR engagement. As a form of private self-regulation, CSR is closely interconnected with legal rules and the result of complex underlying drivers inside and outside the firm. The study develops a differentiation of CSR activities to accommodate this complexity, which is applied in an analysis of pay regulation. Together, these inquiries form a comprehensive picture of the ways in which pay regulation sets incentives for CSR engagement. Finally, the thesis shows how CSR-oriented pay regulation is consistent with the conventional goals of corporate governance and eventually provides a prospect for the integration of CSR and corporate law in general.

[the Sociology Of Health In Brazil - The Creation Of An Identity].

This article analyzes the historical, social and cognitive dimensions of the sociology of medicine in the construction of its identity, from Wolf Lepenies' perspective. It is understood that the construction of an identity does not end with the first historical manifestations, but is consolidated when it is institutionalized and structured as a field of knowledge by creating its own forms of cognitive expression. The text is divided into three parts: in the first the precursors are presented, highlighting the role played by some travelers, naturalists and folklore scholars, followed by social physicians-scientists and the first social scientists (1940-1969). In the second part, aspects of the consolidation of the social sciences in health are presented at two significant moments, namely the 1970s and 1980s. In the third part, the issues raised by the field are addressed in general terms. It is considered that once the main structural stages are in place there is still a need for the formation of new generations of social scientists in health. It is also essential to disseminate scientific production and to ensure that the relations are studied in depth and institutionalized with the sociological matrices on the one hand and with the field of health on the other.

[the Teaching Of Social Sciences In Health: Between Practice And Theory].

The models of teaching social sciences and clinical practice are insufficient for the needs of practical-reflective teaching of social sciences applied to health. The scope of this article is to reflect on the challenges and perspectives of social science education for health professionals. In the 1950s the important movement bringing together social sciences and the field of health began, however weak credentials still prevail. This is due to the low professional status of social scientists in health and the ill-defined position of the social sciences professionals in the health field. It is also due to the scant importance attributed by students to the social sciences, the small number of professionals and the colonization of the social sciences by the biomedical culture in the health field. Thus, the professionals of social sciences applied to health are also faced with the need to build an identity, even after six decades of their presence in the field of health. This is because their ambivalent status has established them as a partial, incomplete and virtual presence, requiring a complex survival strategy in the nebulous area between social sciences and health.

[almost An Autobiography: A Study Of Social Scientists In Health Based On The Lattes Curriculum].

Among the various ways of adopting the biographical approach, we used the curriculum vitaes (CVs) of Brazilian researchers who work as social scientists in health as our research material. These CVs are part of the Lattes Platform of CNPq - the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, which includes Research and Institutional Directories. We analyzed 238 CVs for this study. The CVs contain, among other things, the following information: professional qualifications, activities and projects, academic production, participation in panels for the evaluation of theses and dissertations, research centers and laboratories and a summarized autobiography. In this work there is a brief review of the importance of autobiography for the social sciences, emphasizing the CV as a form of autobiographical practice. We highlight some results, such as it being a group consisting predominantly of women, graduates in social sciences, anthropology, sociology or political science, with postgraduate degrees. The highest concentration of social scientists is located in Brazil's southern and southeastern regions. In some institutions the main activities of social scientists are as teachers and researchers with great thematic diversity in research.

Chronic Telogen Effluvium And Female Pattern Hair Loss Are Separate And Distinct Forms Of Alopecia: A Histomorphometric And Immunohistochemical Analysis.

Chronic telogen effluvium (CTE), a poorly understood condition, can be confused with or may be a prodrome to female pattern hair loss (FPHL). The pathogenesis of both is related to follicle cycle shortening and possibly to blood supply changes. To analyze a number of histomorphometric and immunohistochemical findings through vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), Ki-67, and CD31 immunostaining in scalp biopsies of 20 patients with CTE, 17 patients with mild FPHL and 9 controls. Ki-67 index and VEGF optical density were analyzed at the follicular outer sheath using ImageJ software. CD31 microvessel density was assessed by a Chalkley grid. Significant follicle miniaturization and higher density of nonanagen follicles were found in FPHL, compared with patients with CTE and controls. Ki-67+ index correlated positively with FPHL histological features. The FPHL group showed the highest VEGF optical density, followed by the CTE and control groups. No differences were found in CD31 microvessel density between the three groups. Histomorphometric results establish CTE as a distinct disorder, separate from FPHL from its outset. Its pathogenic mechanisms are also distinct. These findings support the proposed mechanism of 'immediate telogen release' for CTE, leading to cycle synchronization. For FPHL, accelerated anagen follicular mitotic rates and, thus, higher Ki-67 and VEGF values, would leave less time for differentiation, resulting in hair miniaturization.