Quando a palavra está ligada ao corpo e o corpo à palavra (um ensaio dramático)

O objetivo desta tese é, por um lado, abordar a relação entre o corpo e a linguagem a partir das perspectivas da poesia, do teatro e da performance. Por outro lado, propomos que a compreensão de tal campo relacional pode esclarecer pontos em comum entre essas diferentes artes, trazendo uma nova percepção do fenômeno poético. Para tal, fez-se necessário operar um desvio com relação à concepção moderna que entende o corpo enquanto substância material extensa e a linguagem como algo associado à substância subjetiva ideal do pensamento. Pelo contrário, procuramos trabalhar com a hipótese de que corpo e linguagem se encontram em estado de relação senão necessária ao menos constante, valendo-nos da ideia do corpo-em-vida, e da linguagem enquanto ação e enquanto discurso. A análise opera um recorte contemporâneo entre obras que vão das poetas Angélica Freitas e Marília Garcia até a da atriz e encenadora Cristina Flores, e da performer norte-americana Laurie Anderson. A escrita da tese nos levou a uma combinação entre aspectos formais do ensaio e do drama, numa costura de múltiplas vozes, de modo a concretizar o entrelaçamento entre as ideias vividas ao longo da pesquisa e a experiência física da produção do texto

La pensée Sensible

Tese apresentada à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de Doutor em Ciências Sociais, especialidade em Psicologia

The circle in the relationship between space and body. Photo-essay based on Isidro Blasco and the BAPNE method

This article demonstrates a visual study on the educational space in which the teaching of body percussion is carried out in universities. The methodological framework is chosen by the Visual Arts Based Educational Research, using the work of an artist as a conceptual and methodological model. The research remains notable (1) due to the theoretical reference to the BAPNE method, (2) due to the visual reference to the work of Isidro Blasco – especially with the piece “Shanghai Planet 2009” - ;(3) due to the parallelisms established between the object of study in this investigation -the spatial analysis- and the focuses of interest revealed by the art critics in relation to the work of this artist. By means of a visual speech formed with 7 photo-collages the relationship between body and educational space is visualized in the basic disposition of circular learning. The visual constructions by way of photo-collage and their aesthetic charge brings us closer to the intimacy of the educational space, in the style in which it is distributed to the students in the music classroom, the materialization of interpersonal relationships, the occupied and empty volumes.

When our thoughts are not our own: Investigating agency misattributions using the Mind-to-Mind paradigm

At the core ofthe sense ofagency for self-produced action is the sense that I, and not some other agent, am producing and directing those actions. While there is an ever-expanding body of empirical research investigating the sense of agency for bodily action, there has, to date, been little empirical investigation of the sense ofagency for thought.The present study uses the novel Mind-to-Mind paradigm, in which the agentive source of a target thought is ambiguous, to measure misattributions of agency. Seventy-two percent of participants made at least one misattribution of agency during a 5-min trial. Misattributions were significantly more frequent when the target thought was an arousing negative thought as compared to a neutral control.The findings establish a novel protocol for measuring the sense of agency for thought, and suggest that both contextual factors and emotional experience play a role in its generation.

Self-esteem mediates the relationship between connectedness to nature and body appreciation in women, but not men

Connectedness to nature (i.e., an affective and experiential connection to nature) is known to have a positive effect on psychological well-being, but its specific associations with body image have not been fully examined. To attend to this oversight, we conducted a preliminary investigation of associations between connectedness to nature and body appreciation. A total of 380 British adults completed measures of connectedness to nature, body appreciation, and self-esteem. Bivariate correlations revealed significant positive associations between all variables in women. In men, body appreciation was significantly correlated with self-esteem, but not connectedness to nature. Mediation analysis showed that, in women, self-esteem fully mediated the relationship between connectedness to nature and body appreciation. In men, body appreciation was significantly associated with self-esteem, but not connectedness to nature. These results point to a potential route for improving body image among women through connectedness to nature and self-esteem, but further research is necessary.

The use of relaxation therapy as an adjunct to traditional psoriasis therapy /

This research investigated the impact of stress management and relaxation techniques on psoriasis. It had a dual purpose to see if stress management and relaxation techniques, as an adjunct to traditional medical treatment, would improve the skin condition of psoriasis. In addition it attempted to provide psoriasis patients with a sense of control over their illness by educating them about the connection between mind and body through learning stress management and relaxation techniques. The former purpose was addressed quantitatively, while the latter was addressed qualitatively. Using an experimental design, the quantitative study tested the efficacy of stress management and relaxation techniques on 38 dermatological patients from St. John's, Newfoundland. The study which lasted ten weeks, suggested a weak relationship between psoriasis and stress. These relationships were not statistically significant. The qualitative data were gathered through unstructured interviews and descriptive/interpretative analysis was used to evaluate them. Patients in the experimental group believed in the mind body connection as it related to their illness and stress. The findings also showed that the patients believed that the stress reduction and relaxation techniques improved their quality of life, their level of psoriasis, and their ability to live with the condition. Based on the contradictory nature of the findings, further research is needed. It is posited that replication of this study would be vastly improved by increasing the sample size to increase the possibility of significant findings. As wel~ increasing the length of time for the experiment would control for the possibility of a lag effect. Finally, the study looked at linear relationships between stress and psoriasis. Further study should ascertain whether the relationship might be nonlinear

The effect of acute exercise type on body image attitudes

The current study examined the effect of two types of acute exercise (resistance and mind-body yoga) on state body image attitudes, to see which, was most effective at reducing body image concerns. I t was hypothesized that both types of exercise would lead to improvements in body image, with yoga showing the biggest benefits. Collegeaged female non/infrequent exercisers (n = 40) completed state measures of body satisfaction, social physique anxiety (SPA), and appearance orientation prior to and following participation in a single yoga and resistance class. Participation in the yoga class was associated with decreases in SPA and increases in body satisfaction. However, participation in the resistance class was associated with no changes in any of the study variables. These findings indicate participation in a single yoga class may have positive effects on body image attitudes, which may encourage non-exercisers to become more active.

Figures de l'esprit : le soi et l'autre dans l'écriture de la séduction

Cette thèse pense la place des figures littéraires (le Cantique des cantiques, Kierkegaard, Hofmannsthal) et cinématographiques (Matador d'Almodóvar) de la séduction dans la relation entre le soi et l'autre. Elle interroge le rapport au sacré et à la transcendance que pose l'écriture de la séduction. Dans le premier chapitre, les frontières établies entre littérature et philosophie (personnage conceptuel, figure esthétique) sont interrogées à travers les figures de la séduction. À ces figures sont associées les figures de matadors, qui permettent de penser la violence extrême de la séduction et l'instant au cours duquel la conscience ne peut plus se dédoubler. Le deuxième chapitre est une réflexion, à partir des figures du maître et de l'esclave, sur le désir et la conscience de soi et de l'autre dans la séduction. Les figures tauromachiques exposent le sacrifice à l'œuvre dans la séduction. Le dialogue est ici pensé au sein de la séduction, pour saisir la place de celle-ci dans la formation de la pensée. Le troisième chapitre développe le rapport entre le soi, l'autre et le monde qu'établit la séduction. Le dandysme permet d'approcher la tension entre la matière et l'esprit que posent la séduction et son écriture. Le dialogue à l'œuvre dans la séduction est présenté comme un espace de formation. La séduction est envisagée comme séduction éthique, quête de la bonne distance, exercice spirituel. La syncope, le duende, l'extase sont décrits comme des états de conscience où la distance entre le soi et le monde, le soi et l'autre, l'esprit et la matière s'abolit. À partir de ces états, l'ouverture vers l'infini et vers la transcendance que peut poser la séduction est exposée. Dans le quatrième chapitre, la séduction est pensée comme le parfum du sacré, à travers une lecture du Cantique des cantiques. Par la séduction, l'importance du corps dans le sacré est soulignée. La place du secret et de la foi dans la séduction, dans le sacré et dans le littéraire est étudiée. La séduction permet une plongée érotique dans le monde et dans le réel, par les figures et par les images qu'elle déploie. Le savoir de la séduction est un parcours, savoir du corps et de l'esprit.

An O(N) Algorithm for Three-Dimensional N-Body Simulations

We develop an algorithm that computes the gravitational potentials and forces on N point-masses interacting in three-dimensional space. The algorithm, based on analytical techniques developed by Rokhlin and Greengard, runs in order N time. In contrast to other fast N-body methods such as tree codes, which only approximate the interaction potentials and forces, this method is exact ?? computes the potentials and forces to within any prespecified tolerance up to machine precision. We present an implementation of the algorithm for a sequential machine. We numerically verify the algorithm, and compare its speed with that of an O(N2) direct force computation. We also describe a parallel version of the algorithm that runs on the Connection Machine in order 0(logN) time. We compare experimental results with those of the sequential implementation and discuss how to minimize communication overhead on the parallel machine.

Biases in comparative analyses of extinction risk: mind the gap

1. Comparative analyses are used to address the key question of what makes a species more prone to extinction by exploring the links between vulnerability and intrinsic species’ traits and/or extrinsic factors. This approach requires comprehensive species data but information is rarely available for all species of interest. As a result comparative analyses often rely on subsets of relatively few species that are assumed to be representative samples of the overall studied group. 2. Our study challenges this assumption and quantifies the taxonomic, spatial, and data type biases associated with the quantity of data available for 5415 mammalian species using the freely available life-history database PanTHERIA. 3. Moreover, we explore how existing biases influence results of comparative analyses of extinction risk by using subsets of data that attempt to correct for detected biases. In particular, we focus on links between four species’ traits commonly linked to vulnerability (distribution range area, adult body mass, population density and gestation length) and conduct univariate and multivariate analyses to understand how biases affect model predictions. 4. Our results show important biases in data availability with c.22% of mammals completely lacking data. Missing data, which appear to be not missing at random, occur frequently in all traits (14–99% of cases missing). Data availability is explained by intrinsic traits, with larger mammals occupying bigger range areas being the best studied. Importantly, we find that existing biases affect the results of comparative analyses by overestimating the risk of extinction and changing which traits are identified as important predictors. 5. Our results raise concerns over our ability to draw general conclusions regarding what makes a species more prone to extinction. Missing data represent a prevalent problem in comparative analyses, and unfortunately, because data are not missing at random, conventional approaches to fill data gaps, are not valid or present important challenges. These results show the importance of making appropriate inferences from comparative analyses by focusing on the subset of species for which data are available. Ultimately, addressing the data bias problem requires greater investment in data collection and dissemination, as well as the development of methodological approaches to effectively correct existing biases.

Gyration

European Renaissance and Romantic landscape appeared in vistas. The conditions of the industrial revolution and, according to Patrick Maynard and Jonathon Crary, the film camera especially, led to a Modernist re-vision vividly recorded in Xavier Herbert’s contrary Modernist vision, prompted by seeing the Australian bush, its ‘... stunted trees, the mulga and the wilga and the gimlet gum, doing a kind of dance, spinning past, seeming to swing away from the train to the horizon and race ahead, to come back...the same set of trees in endless gyration’.

Sublime: process and mediation

The Sublime: Process and Mediation expounds on the concept of a 'Material Sublime' as relevant to the development of artistic practice. The author maintains that the creative process is generative, highlighting the connection between nature, the body, and latent forms of knowledge as revealed through material interaction significant in the activity of painting.  She argues for a co-emergence maintaining the sublime experience traverses a liminal space wherein binary oppositions such as the distinction between mind and matter are negotiated.   

Georgics of the mind and the architecture of fortune: Francis Bacon's therapeutic ethics

This essay complements recent work by Soreana Corneanu situating Bacon’s epistemology in a larger lineage of literature concerning ‘cultura animi’ in early modern Europe, by focusing on Bacon’s conception of a therapeutic philosophical ‘Georgics of the mind’ in The Advancement of Learning, the Essays, and other texts. We aim to show firstly (in Part 2) how Bacon’s conception of human nature, and the importance of habit and custom, reflects the ancient pagan thinkers’ justifications of philosophical therapeutics. Attention will also be paid in this connection to Bacon’s sensitivity to another marker of ancient therapeutic philosophy as Pierre Hadot in particular has recently presented it: the proliferation of different rhetorical and literary forms aiming at different pedagogic, therapeutic, and psychogogic aims. Part 3 then will examine Bacon’s changes in practical or ‘magistral’ philosophy, carried out on the therapeutic ethical grounds which Part 2 has examined, but proposing a much more active ‘architecture of fortune’ to philosophical and political aspirants.

Cameras and body memory create new blends of performance with visual art practice

I propose that a learnt somatic experience of dance can translate into another discipline such as visual art. In my visual art practice I combine both photography, which is traditionally seen as a still medium, and performance in order to create a new form of embodiment. I have developed two series of art works of prints and video made in response to the Australian landscape. By analyzing my method of movement and photography I will describe how an embodied dance language can result in a material outcome – a series of drawings of light and movement, a body signature made possible through old and new technology. I have activated a performative state while capturing images discovering new ways of using technology reliant upon my knowledge of dance, performance and photography. Making a human size camera to make analogue prints I gained an intuitive knowledge of light – a skill that has become foundational in performance and photography. In response to space and light in the Australian landscape I then built a custom made camera that allows for the longest possible time to capture an image. I move while taking the image and use the camera as if an eye at the end of my arm. In this way I activate dance skills and embodied knowledge of space, timing and light, opening up a radical space for new thinking, making and performing.Furthermore this process engages memory and sentiment embodied through age. Many artists have responded to the unique qualities of the Australian landscape and by using a performative/photographic approach I have engaged with my own body memory. Being brought up in the landscape and training in ballet my body has acquired memories at a cellular level. My method has given memory a voice. In doing these works I have become conscious of how unconscious memories of the space and light in the landscape is a movement vocabulary activated in a way that ‘feels’ like dancing. As an ageing person this experience is profound and the resultant materialisation of the photographs and videos leave a material record of the event. The sentiments evoked through my process bridge the past with the present, the body with the mind, memory with body and space connecting disciplines in a new way.The materialisation of artworks itself continues cross-disciplinary processes using a technique that is a continuum of the performative. Through using technology I release memory of the landscape and pixel by pixel build imagery that relies on and is a part of the performative process. It is a photographic performance dance manifesting as pigment on paper exhibited a gallery context. The exhibition allows a space for the viewer to respond - re-membering the universal the act of moving. The works titled ‘body signatures’ and ‘Fly Rhythm’ become a communicative device in the gallery context.My paper through an analysis of process and methods used in making the two series will talk to several of the subjects listed and reveal a new way of connecting performance and visual art and old and new technologies.