Adolescentes em conflito com a lei e sua noção de regras no jogo de futebol

Adolescents with a course of life based on the lack of ethical and moral values are more vulnerable to the practice of infractions, and in this case the statute of the child and adolescent assumes their insertion on socio educative measures. The objective of this research is to identify the moral development phase in adolescents who are in confl ict with the law. Thirty male adolescents between fi fteen and eighteen years old, who are inserted on the socio educative care Center, were studied. Data were collected through futsal game observation, without the presence of a referee and structured interview, according to the general lines of the Clinical Method of PIAGET (1994). The arrangement of the collected data confi rmed our hypothesis – these adolescents are still with the characteristics of a heteronomical moral, confi rmed by the differences between conscience and the practice of rules in a game situation. Although they know the rules, these are only respected in order to get some benefi ts, like not charging foul, deceive the opponent or simply win the match. It is presumed that the rules would only be respected in the presence of an authority (referee), because he would impose punishments and privations. However, it is believed that the results of this study may become a parameter to educators in order to create favorable situations which can be preventive and interventive to the socio moral development, minimizing suffering and seizing opportunities to the formation of citizens with higher ethical and moral standards, who are able to choose the way to the solidarity, cooperation and justice.

A utilização de material didático impresso para o ensino de um modelo de classificação do esporte na educação física escolar

Pós-graduação em Desenvolvimento Humano e Tecnologias - IBRC

Aldo Rossi, autobiografia scientifica: scrittura come progetto. Indagine critica tra scrittura e progetto di architettura

«In altri termini mi sfuggiva e ancora oggi mi sfugge gran parte del significato dell’evoluzione del tempo; come se il tempo fosse una materia che osservo dall’esterno. Questa mancanza di evoluzione è fonte di alcune mie sventure ma anche mi appartiene con gioia.» Aldo Rossi, Autobiografia scientifica. The temporal dimension underpinning the draft of Autobiografia scientifica by Aldo Rossi may be referred to what Lucien Lévy-Bruhl, the well-known French anthropologist, defines as “primitive mentality” and “prelogical” conscience : the book of life has lost its page numbers, even punctuation. For Lévy-Bruhl, but certainly for Rossi, life or its summing up becomes a continuous account of ellipses, gaps, repetitions that may be read from left to right or viceversa, from head to foot or viceversa without distinction. Rossi’s autobiographical writing seems to accept and support the confusion with which memories have been collected, recording them after the order memory gives them in the mental distillation or simply according to the chronological order in which they have happened. For Rossi, the confusion reflects the melting of memory elements into a composite image which is the result of a fusion. He is aware that the same sap pervades all memories he is going to put in order: each of them has got a common denominator. Differences have diminished, almost faded; the quick glance is prevalent over the distinction of each episode. Rossi’s writing is beyond the categories dependent on time: past and present, before and now. For Rossi, the only repetition – the repetition the text will make possible for an indefinite number of times – gives peculiarity to the event. As Gilles Deleuze knows, “things” may only last as “singleness”: more frequent the repetition is, more singular is the memory phenomenon that recurs, because only what is singular magnifies itself and happens endlessly forever. Rossi understands that “to raise the first time to nth forever”, repetition becomes glorification . It may be an autobiography that, celebrating the originality, enhances the memory event in the repetition; in fact it greatly differs from the biographical reproduction, in which each repetition is but a weaker echo, a duller copy, provided with a smaller an smaller power in comparison with the original. Paradoxically, for Deleuze the repetition asserts the originality and singularity of what is repeated. Rossi seems to share the thought expressed by Kierkegaard in the essay Repetition: «The hope is a graceful maiden slipping through your fingers; the memory of an elderly woman, indeed pretty, but never satisfactory if necessary; the repetition is a loved friend you are never tired of, as it is only the new to make you bored. The old never bores you and its presence makes you happy [...] life is but a repetition [...] here is the beauty of life» . Rossi knows well that repetition hints at the lasting stability of cosmic time. Kierkegaard goes on: «The world exists, and it exists as a repetition» . Rossi devotes himself, on purpose and in all conscience, to collect, to inventory and «to review life», his own life, according to a recovery not from the past but of the past: a search work, the «recherche du temps perdu», as Proust entitled his masterpiece on memory. If you want the past time to be not wasted, you must give it presence. «Memoria e specifico come caratteristiche per riconoscere se stesso e ciò che è estraneo mi sembravano le più chiare condizioni e spiegazioni della realtà. Non esiste uno specifico senza memoria, e una memoria che non provenga da un momento specifico; e solo questa unione permette la conoscenza della propria individualità e del contrario (self e non-self)» . Rossi wants to understand himself, his own character; it is really his own character that requires to be understood, to increase its own introspective ability and intelligence. «Può sembrare strano che Planck e Dante associno la loro ricerca scientifica e autobiografica con la morte; una morte che è in qualche modo continuazione di energia. In realtà, in ogni artista o tecnico, il principio della continuazione dell’energia si mescola con la ricerca della felicità e della morte» . The eschatological incipit of Rossi’s autobiography refers to Freud’s thought in the exact circularity of Dante’s framework and in as much exact circularity of the statement of the principle of the conservation of energy: in fact it was Freud to connect repetition to death. For Freud, the desire of repetition is an instinct rooted in biology. The primary aim of such an instinct would be to restore a previous condition, so that the repeated history represents a part of the past (even if concealed) and, relieving the removal, reduces anguish and tension. So, Freud ask himself, what is the most remote state to which the instinct, through the repetition, wants to go back? It is a pre-vital condition, inorganic of the pure entropy, a not-to-be condition in which doesn’t exist any tension; in other words, Death. Rossi, with the theme of death, introduces the theme of circularity which further on refers to the sense of continuity in transformation or, in the opposite way, the transformation in continuity. «[...] la descrizione e il rilievo delle forme antiche permettevano una continuità altrimenti irripetibile, permettevano anche una trasformazione, una volta che la vita fosse fermata in forme precise» . Rossi’s attitude seems to hint at the reflection on time and – in a broad sense – at the thought on life and things expressed by T.S. Eliot in Four Quartets: «Time present and time past / Are both perhaps present in time future, / And time future is contained in time past. / I all time is eternally present / All time is unredeemable. / What might have been is an abstraction / Remaining perpetual possibility / Only in a word of speculation. / What might have been and what has been / Point to one end, which is always present. [...]» . Aldo Rossi’s autobiographical story coincides with the description of “things” and the description of himself through the things in the exact parallel with craft or art. He seems to get all things made by man to coincide with the personal or artistic story, with the consequent immediate necessity of formulating a new interpretation: the flow of things has never met a total stop; all that exists nowadays is but a repetition or a variant of something existing some time ago and so on, without any interruption until the early dawnings of human life. Nevertheless, Rossi must operate specific subdivisions inside the continuous connection in time – of his time – even if limited by a present beginning and end of his own existence. This artist, as an “historian” of himself and his own life – as an auto-biographer – enjoys the privilege to be able to decide if and how to operate the cutting in a certain point rather than in another one, without being compelled to justify his choice. In this sense, his story is a matter very ductile and flexible: a good story-teller can choose any moment to start a certain sequence of events. Yet, Rossi is aware that, beyond the mere narration, there is the problem to identify in history - his own personal story – those flakings where a clean cut enables the separation of events of different nature. In order to do it, he has to make not only an inventory of his own “things”, but also to appeal to authority of the Divina Commedia started by Dante when he was 30. «A trent’anni si deve compiere o iniziare qualcosa di definitivo e fare i conti con la propria formazione» . For Rossi, the poet performs his authority not only in the text, but also in his will of setting out on a mystical journey and handing it down through an exact descriptive will. Rossi turns not only to the authority of poetry, but also evokes the authority of science with Max Plank and his Scientific Autobiography, published, in Italian translation, by Einaudi, 1956. Concerning Planck, Rossi resumes an element seemingly secondary in hit account where the German physicist «[...] risale alle scoperte della fisica moderna ritrovando l’impressione che gli fece l’enunciazione del principio di conservazione dell’energia; [...]» . It is again the act of describing that links Rossi to Planck, it is the description of a circularity, the one of conservation of energy, which endorses Rossi’s autobiographical speech looking for both happiness and death. Rossi seems to agree perfectly to the thought of Planck at the opening of his own autobiography: «The decision to devote myself to science was a direct consequence of a discovery which was never ceased to arouse my enthusiasm since my early youth: the laws of human thought coincide with the ones governing the sequences of the impressions we receive from the world surrounding us, so that the mere logic can enable us to penetrate into the latter one’s mechanism. It is essential that the outer world is something independent of man, something absolute. The search of the laws dealing with this absolute seems to me the highest scientific aim in life» . For Rossi the survey of his own life represents a way to change the events into experiences, to concentrate the emotion and group them in meaningful plots: «It seems, as one becomes older. / That the past has another pattern, and ceases to be a mere sequence [...]» Eliot wrote in Four Quartet, which are a meditation on time, old age and memory . And he goes on: «We had the experience but missed the meaning, / And approach to the meaning restores the experience / In a different form, beyond any meaning [...]» . Rossi restores in his autobiography – but not only in it – the most ancient sense of memory, aware that for at least 15 centuries the Latin word memoria was used to show the activity of bringing back images to mind: the psychology of memory, which starts with Aristotele (De Anima), used to consider such a faculty totally essential to mind. Keith Basso writes: «The thought materializes in the form of “images”» . Rossi knows well – as Aristotele said – that if you do not have a collection of mental images to remember – imagination – there is no thought at all. According to this psychological tradition, what today we conventionally call “memory” is but a way of imagining created by time. Rossi, entering consciously this stream of thought, passing through the Renaissance ars memoriae to reach us gives a great importance to the word and assumes it as a real place, much more than a recollection, even more than a production and an emotional elaboration of images.

Elektrophysiologische Charakterisierung der Neurone im Tectum opticum des Goldfisches hinsichtlich Farbe und Bewegung

Die vorliegende Arbeit verfolgte mehrere Ziele. Die Hauptaufgabe war es, farbsensitive und bewegungssensitive Neurone im Tectum opticum des Goldfisches zu finden und diese hinsichtlich ihres Antwortverhaltens zu charakterisieren. Aus Verhaltensversuchen ist bekannt, dass sowohl das Ganzfeldbewegungssehen als auch das Objektbewegungssehen „farbenblind“ ist, da die Verarbeitung dieser Sehleistungen jeweils nur von einem Zapfentyp getrieben wird. Es sollte untersucht werden, ob sich diese Farbenblindheit auch auf Ebene der tectalen bewegungsempfindlichen Neurone finden lässt. Schließlich sollten die Ableitorte im Tectum opticum kartiert werden, um festzustellen, ob es jeweils bestimmte örtlich abgegrenzte Areale für Farbe einerseits und für Bewegung andererseits gibt.rnDie Aktivität von tectalen Units wurde durch extrazelluläre Ableitungen registriert. Um farbspezifische Neurone zu identifizieren und zu charakterisieren, wurden 21 verschiedene Farbpapiere (HKS-Standard) aus dem gesamten Farbenkreis (ausgenommen UV) präsentiert. Auf jedes Farbpapier folgte ein neutrales Graupapier. Des Weiteren wurde eine Schwarz-Weiß-Grau-Sequenz gezeigt, um das Antwortverhalten der Units auf Helligkeitswechsel zu prüfen. Jeder Stimulus wurde für fünf Sekunden präsentiert und die gesamte Stimulussequenz wurde mindestens dreimal wiederholt. Zur Identifizierung bewegungssensitiver Neurone wurde ein sich exzentrisch bewegendes schwarz-weißes Zufallspunktmuster präsentiert. Um die „Farbenblindheit“ des Bewegungssehens zu testen, wurden zwei rot-grüne Zufallspunktmuster präsentiert, die den L-Zapfen des Goldfisches unterschiedlich stark modulierten. Den meisten Units wurden sowohl die Farb- als auch die Bewegungsstimuli gezeigt.rnEs konnten 69 Units abgeleitet werden. Von diesen antworteten 34 sowohl auf Farbstimuli als auch auf Helligkeitsreize, 19 Units reagierten ausschließlich auf Farbstimuli, 15 Units zeigten sich nur für den Bewegungsstimulus sensitiv und zwei Units beantworteten ausschließlich Helligkeitswechsel. Die farbempfindlichen Units konnten in 14 Gruppen eingeteilt werden: sechs Gruppen im Rotbereich (22 Units), fünf Gruppen im Blau-Grünbereich (21 Units), eine Gruppe im Gelbbereich (zwei Units), eine Gruppe, die alle Farbstimuli mit Erhöhung der Aktivität (sechs Units) und eine Gruppe, die alle Farbstimuli mit Erniedrigung der Aktivität (eine Unit) beantwortete. Es wurden zwei Arten von Gegenfarbzellen gefunden: Rot-ON/Blau-und-Grün-OFF (12 Units) und Rot-OFF/Blau-und-Grün-ON (sieben Units). Es wurden verschiedene zeitliche Antwortmuster gefunden. Während einige Units nur Reizwechsel beantworteten, zeigten die meisten Units ein tonisches Antwortverhalten. Manche Units beantworteten jeden Stimuluswechsel phasisch und darüber hinaus bestimmte Stimuli tonisch. Die meisten tectalen Neurone zeigten eine Grundaktivität. Alle Units, denen sowohl der Farb- als auch der Bewegungsstimulus gezeigt wurden, antworteten nur auf eine Stimulusart. rnDiese Ergebnisse lassen folgende Schlüsse zu: Die Verarbeitung von Farbe und Bewegung im Tectum opticum des Goldfischs wird über zwei unterschiedlichen Verarbeitungswegen geleistet, da alle Units entweder auf Farb- oder auf Bewegungsstimuli antworten. Das Bewegungssehen wird im Goldfisch durch nur einen Zapfentyp (M- oder L-Zapfen) vermittelt und ist somit “farbenblind”, da alle bewegungssensitiven Units die Aktivität einstellten, wenn der Stimulus nur noch einen Zapfentyp modulierte. Es scheint spezifische Areale für „Farbe“ und „Bewegung“ im Tectum opticum des Goldfisches zu geben, da bewegungssensitive Units bevorzugt im posterio-medialen Bereich in einer Tiefe zwischen 200-400 µm gefunden und farbspezifische Units vor allem im anterio-medialen Bereich entdeckt wurden.

Gesù continuatore di Giovanni. Studio storico-esegetico sulla relazione tra Gesù di Nazaret e Giovanni il Battista

L’enigma della relazione tra Gesù e Giovanni il Battista ha da sempre stimolato l’immaginazione storica degli studiosi, suscitando una varietà di ipotesi e valutazioni, spesso assai diverse. Ciò nonostante, tutti concordano su un punto: che, almeno nella sua fase maggiore in Galilea, il ministero di Gesù fosse una realtà essenzialmente autonoma, diversa, originale e irriducibile rispetto alla missione di Giovanni. In controtendenza con questa “impostazione predefinita”, il presente studio sostiene la tesi secondo cui Gesù portò avanti la sua missione come intenzionale e programmatica prosecuzione dell’opera prematuramente interrotta di Giovanni. Nella prima parte, si esamina approfonditamente quale memoria della relazione sia conservata nelle fonti più antiche, cioè Q (qui analizzata con particolare attenzione) e Marco – a cui si aggiunge Matteo, che, in ragione dello stretto legame storico-sociologico con Q, offre un esempio illuminante di rinarrazione della memoria altamente originale eppure profondamente fedele. La conclusione è che la memoria più antica della relazione Gesù-Giovanni è profondamente segnata da aspetti di accordo, conformità e allineamento. Nella seconda parte si esaminano una serie di tradizioni che attestano che Gesù era percepito pubblicamente in relazione al Battista e che egli stesso condivideva e alimentava tale percezione riallacciandosi a lui in polemica con i suoi avversari, e dipingendolo come una figura di capitale importanza nella predicazione e nell’insegnamento a seguaci e discepoli. Infine, si argomenta l’esistenza di ampie e sostanziali aree di accordo tra i due a livello di escatologia, istruzioni etiche e programma sociale, missione penitenziale verso i peccatori e attività battesimale. L’ipotesi che Gesù portasse avanti l’attività riformatrice di Giovanni, in termini di una campagna purificatoria “penitenziale-battesimale-esorcistica” in preparazione dell’avvento di Dio, consente infine di armonizzare in modo soddisfacente i due aspetti più caratteristici dell’attività di Gesù (normalmente giustapposti, quando non contrapposti): escatologia e miracoli, il Gesù profeta e il Gesù taumaturgo.

Aggression and its function as a hub mediating host defense against the slavemaking ant Protomognathus americanus

In meiner Dissertation beschäftigte ich mich mit unterschiedlichen Verteidungsstrategien, derenrnEffektivität und Evolution, der Ameisenart Temnothorax longispinosus (“Sklaven”), gegenüberrneinem sozialen Parasiten - der nahverwandten, sklavenhaltenden Art Protomognathusrnamericanus (“Sklavenhalter”). Wir entdeckten eine neue Kategorie der Verteidigungsstrategie,rnwelche es dem Wirten ermöglicht, flexibel auf die nicht vorhersagbaren Angriffe des Parasitenrnzu reagieren. Darüber hinaus erforschten wir, wie die Wirte ihre kollektive Verteidigung an einernVielzahl unterschiedlicher Angreifer anpassen können. Wir konnten feststellen, dass Wirte in derrnLage sind ihre kollektive Verteidigung dem Grad der Bedrohung anzupassen. Dies weist daraufrnhin, dass Selektion die Verteidigung gegen unterschiedliche Typen von Angreifern voneinanderrnunabhängig beeinflussen könnte. In einer dritten Studie belegten wir experimentell, dass diernParasiten die Evolution der Kolonieaggressivität der Wirtsart direkt beeinflussen. Die letztenrnbeiden Publikationen beschäftigten sich mit Sklavenrebellion, einer rätselhaftenrnVerteidigungsstrategie, da noch unklar ist, wie eine Eigenschaft von nicht reproduzierendenrnIndividuen vererbt werden kann. In einer Metaanalyse konnten wir die weite Verbreitung undrnhohe Variabilität dieser Eigenschaft dokumentieren, und fanden Hinweise, dassrnVerwandtenselektion eine mögliche Erklärung für die Evolution dieses Merkmals darstellenrnkönnte.

The performativity of nonviolent protest in South Asia (1918 - 1948)

This study seeks to address a gap in the study of nonviolent action. The gap relates to the question of how nonviolence is performed, as opposed to the meaning or impact of nonviolent politics. The dissertation approaches the history of nonviolent protest in South Asia through the lens of performance studies. Such a shift allows for concepts such as performativity and theatricality to be tested in terms of their applicability and relevance to contemporary political and philosophical questions. It also allows for a different perspective on the historiography of nonviolent protest. Using concepts, modes of analysis and tropes of thinking from the emerging field of performance studies, the dissertation analyses two different cases of nonviolent protest, asking how politics is performatively constituted. The first two sections of this study set out the parameters of the key terms of the dissertation: nonviolence and performativity, by tracing their genealogies and legacies as terms. These histories are then located as an intersection in the founding of the nonviolent. The case studies at the analytical core of the dissertation are: fasting as a method in Gandhi's political arsenal, and the army of nonviolent soldiers in the North-West Frontier Province, known as the Khudai Khidmatgar. The study begins with an overview of current theorisations of nonviolence. The approach to the subject is through an investigation of commonly held misconceptions about nonviolent action, such as its supposed passivity, the absence of violence, its ineffectiveness and its spiritual basis. This section addresses the lacunae within existing theories of nonviolence and points to possible fertile spaces for further exploration. Section 3 offers an overview of the different shades of the concept of performativity, asking how it is used in various contexts and how these different nuances can be viewed in relation to each other. The dissertation explores how a theory of performativity may be correlated to the theorisation of nonviolence. The correlations are established in four boundary areas: action/inaction, violence/absence of violence, the actor/opponent and the body/spirit. These boundary areas allow for a theorising of nonviolent action as a performative process. The first case study is Gandhi's use of the fast as a method of nonviolent protest. Using a close reading of his own writings, speeches and letters, as well as a reading of responses to his fast in British newspapers and within India, the dissertation asks what made fasting into Gandhi's most favoured mode of protest and political action. The study reconstructs his unique praxis of the fast from a performative perspective, demonstrating how display and ostentation are vital to the political economy of the fast. It also unveils the cultural context and historical reservoir of body practices, which Gandhi drew from and adapted into 'weapons' of political action. The relationship of Gandhian nonviolence to the body forms a crucial part of the analysis. The second case study is the nonviolent army of the Pashtuns, Khudai Khidmatgar (KK), literally Servants of God. This anti-imperialist movement in the North-West Frontier Province of what is today the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan existed between 1929 and 1948. The movement adopted the organisational form of an army. It conducted protest activities against colonial rule, as well as social reform activities for the Pashtuns. This group was connected to the Congress party of Gandhi, but the dissertation argues that their conceptualisation and praxis of nonviolence emerged from a very different tradition and worldview. Following a brief introduction to the socio-political background of this Pashtun movement, the dissertation explores the activities that this nonviolent army engaged in, looking at their unique understanding of the militancy of an unarmed force, and their mode of combat and confrontation. Of particular interest to the analysis is the way the KK re-combined and mixed what appear to be contradictory ideologies and acts. In doing so, they reframed cultural and historical stereotypes of the Pashtuns as a martial race, juxtaposing the institutional form of the army with a nonviolent praxis based on Islamic principles and social reform. The example of the Khudai Khidmatgar is used to explore the idea that nonviolence is not the opposite of violent conflict, but in fact a dialectical engagement and response to violence. Section 5, in conclusion, returns to the boundary areas of nonviolence: action, violence, the opponent and the body, and re-visits these areas on a comparative note, bringing together elements from Gandhi's fasts and the practices of the KK. The similarities and differences in the two examples are assessed and contextualised in relation to the guiding question of this study, namely the question of the performativity of nonviolent action.

Spatio-temporal credit assignment in population learning

Learning by reinforcement is important in shaping animal behavior, and in particular in behavioral decision making. Such decision making is likely to involve the integration of many synaptic events in space and time. However, using a single reinforcement signal to modulate synaptic plasticity, as suggested in classical reinforcement learning algorithms, a twofold problem arises. Different synapses will have contributed differently to the behavioral decision, and even for one and the same synapse, releases at different times may have had different effects. Here we present a plasticity rule which solves this spatio-temporal credit assignment problem in a population of spiking neurons. The learning rule is spike-time dependent and maximizes the expected reward by following its stochastic gradient. Synaptic plasticity is modulated not only by the reward, but also by a population feedback signal. While this additional signal solves the spatial component of the problem, the temporal one is solved by means of synaptic eligibility traces. In contrast to temporal difference (TD) based approaches to reinforcement learning, our rule is explicit with regard to the assumed biophysical mechanisms. Neurotransmitter concentrations determine plasticity and learning occurs fully online. Further, it works even if the task to be learned is non-Markovian, i.e. when reinforcement is not determined by the current state of the system but may also depend on past events. The performance of the model is assessed by studying three non-Markovian tasks. In the first task, the reward is delayed beyond the last action with non-related stimuli and actions appearing in between. The second task involves an action sequence which is itself extended in time and reward is only delivered at the last action, as it is the case in any type of board-game. The third task is the inspection game that has been studied in neuroeconomics, where an inspector tries to prevent a worker from shirking. Applying our algorithm to this game yields a learning behavior which is consistent with behavioral data from humans and monkeys, revealing themselves properties of a mixed Nash equilibrium. The examples show that our neuronal implementation of reward based learning copes with delayed and stochastic reward delivery, and also with the learning of mixed strategies in two-opponent games.

Witnessing reconciliation reduces arousal of bystanders in a baboon group (Papio hamadryas hamadryas)

Reconciliation is the occurrence of friendly behaviour between opponents shortly after an aggressive conflict. In primate groups, reconciliation reduces aggression and post-conflict arousal. Aggression within a group can also increase arousal of bystanders (e.g. increase bystanders’ rates of self-directed behaviour). Since reconciliation reduces aggression between opponents, we tested whether it also reduces self-directed behaviour in bystanders. Following aggression in a captive group of hamadryas baboons, one observer conducted a focal sample on one of the combatants to document reconciliation and a second observer simultaneously conducted a focal sample on a randomly selected bystander. Matched control observations were then collected on the same individuals in a nonaggressive context to obtain baseline levels of behaviour. The self-directed behaviour of bystanders was elevated after witnessing a fight compared to baseline levels. If combatants reconciled aggression, bystander rates of self-directed behaviour significantly decreased. If combatants did not reconcile aggression, bystander rates of self-directed behaviour remained at elevated levels, significantly higher than after reconciliation. If combatants affiliated with partners other than their original opponent, bystander rates of self-directed behaviour did not decrease. The rate of bystander self-directed behaviour after a combatant affiliated with its opponent was significantly lower than the rate after a combatant affiliated with other animals. Witnessing aggression increased arousal in bystanders, and reconciliation between the combatants was accompanied by reduced bystander arousal. The reduction was specific to contexts in which former opponents interacted. We suggest that bystanders recognized the functional significance of this conflict resolution mechanism when it occurred in their group.

Witnessing reconciliation reduces arousal of bystanders in a baboon group (Papio hamadryas hamadryas)

Reconciliation is the occurrence of friendly behaviour between opponents shortly after an aggressive conflict. In primate groups, reconciliation reduces aggression and postconflict arousal. Aggression within a group can also increase arousal of bystanders (e.g. increase bystanders' rates of self-directed behaviour). Since reconciliation reduces aggression between opponents, we tested whether it also reduces self-directed behaviour in bystanders. Following aggression in a captive group of hamadryas baboons, one observer conducted a focal sample on one of the combatants to document reconciliation and a second observer simultaneously conducted a focal sample on a randomly selected bystander. Matched control observations were then collected on the same individuals in a nonaggressive context to obtain baseline levels of behaviour. The self-directed behaviour of bystanders was elevated after witnessing a fight compared to baseline levels. If combatants reconciled aggression, bystander rates of self-directed behaviour significantly decreased. If combatants did not reconcile aggression, bystander rates of self-directed behaviour remained at elevated levels, significantly higher than after reconciliation. If combatants affiliated with partners other than their original opponent, bystander rates of self-directed behaviour did not decrease. The rate of bystander self-directed behaviour after a combatant affiliated with its opponent was significantly lower than the rate after a combatant affiliated with other animals. Witnessing aggression increased arousal in bystanders, and reconciliation between the combatants was accompanied by reduced bystander arousal. The reduction was specific to contexts in which former opponents interacted. We suggest that bystanders recognized the functional significance of this conflict-resolution mechanism when it occurred in their group. (c) 2013 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Outline of a theory of efficient teams in Sport.

Introduction So far, social psychology in sport has preliminary focused on team cohesion, and many studies and meta-analyses tried to demonstrate a relation between cohesiveness of a team and its performance. How a team really co-operates and how the individual actions are integrated towards a team action is a question that has received relatively little attention in research. This may, at least in part, be due to a lack of a theoretical framework for collective actions, a dearth that has only recently begun to challenge sport psychologists. Objectives In this presentation a framework for a comprehensive theory of teams in sport is outlined and its potential to integrate research in the domain of team performance and, more specifically, the following presentations, is put up for discussion. Method Based on a model developed by von Cranach, Ochsenbein and Valach (1986), teams are considered to be information processing organisms, and team actions need to be investigated on two levels: the individual team member and the group as an entity. Elements to be considered are the task, the social structure, the information processing structure and the execution structure. Obviously, different task require different social structures, communication processes and co-ordination of individual movements. Especially in rapid interactive sports planning and execution of movements based on feedback loops are not possible. Deliberate planning may be a solution mainly for offensive actions, whereas defensive actions have to adjust to the opponent team's actions. Consequently, mental representations must be developed to allow a feed-forward regulation of team member's actions. Results and Conclusions Some preliminary findings based on this conceptual framework as well as further consequences for empirical investigations will be presented. References Cranach, M.v., Ochsenbein, G. & Valach, L. (1986). The group as a self-active system: Outline of a theory of group action. European Journal of Social Psychology, 16, 193-229.

Decision making in beach volleyball defense: Crucial factors derived from interviews with top-level experts

Objectives: In fast ball sports like beach volleyball, decision-making skills are a determining factor for excellent performance. The current investigation aimed to identify factors that influence the decisionmaking process in top-level beach volleyball defense in order to find relevant aspects for further research. For this reason, focused interviews with top players in international beach volleyball were conducted and analyzed with respect to decision-making characteristics. Design: Nineteen world-tour beach volleyball defense players, including seven Olympic or world champions, were interviewed, focusing on decision-making factors, gaze behavior, and interactions between the two. Methods: Verbal data were analyzed by inductive content analysis according to Mayring (2008). This approach allows categories to emerge from the interview material itself instead of forcing data into preset classifications and theoretical concepts. Results: The data analysis showed that, for top-level beach volleyball defense, decision making depends on opponent specifics, external context, situational context, opponent's movements, and intuition. Information on gaze patterns and visual cues revealed general tendencies indicating optimal gaze strategies that support excellent decision making. Furthermore, the analysis highlighted interactions between gaze behavior, visual information, and domain-specific knowledge. Conclusions: The present findings provide information on visual perception, domain-specific knowledge, and interactions between the two that are relevant for decision making in top-level beach volleyball defense. The results can be used to inform sports practice and to further untangle relevant mechanisms underlying decision making in complex game situations.

Perception of critical situations involving football fans: dynamics of conflict escalation and de-escalation

Title: The perception of critical situations involving football fans – how conflicts escalate or de-escalate Authors: Brechbühl, A.1, Schumacher, A.1 & Seiler, R.1 1Institute of Sport Science, University of Bern, Switzerland Abstract: Introduction: Fan violence in the context of football matches is a prominent issue in today’s western societies and Switzerland presents no exception. A lot of research has been conducted on reasons for fan violence, mostly with fans of national teams. A prominent model is the Elaborated Social Identity Model (ESIM; Drury & Reicher, 2000): ESIM highlights the importance of interactions between the involved groups and their effect on the development of social identities. Another model is the aggravation mitigation model (AM model; Hylander & Guvå, 2010) which illustrates factors that can contribute towards an escalation or non-escalation of group violence, such as the “categorization” of the opponent group. Despite these models, research about the individual perceptions, and in particular, what factors distinguish between an escalation versus a non-escalation of a potentially violent situation in domestic football, is as yet scarce. This explorative study examines perceptions of critical situations in the domestic football fan context in Switzerland. Methods: An explorative qualitative design was employed to gather data about critical situations (CS) around football matches of two clubs of the Raiffeisen Super League. A CS is defined as a setting in or around the football stadium where violence between football fans and another group could occur. Eight CS were identified and analysed. Fifty-nine narrative interviews with individuals involved in a CS, e.g. fans, police officers or security personnel, were conducted. Interviews were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Results: The involved opposing groups expressed group-specific perceptions. Furthermore a strong tendency to negatively stereotype the opponent group was observed. Provocative symbols, such as balaclavas or riot-gear uniforms, were considered as highly relevant for the interpretation of the situation. Successful communication and sufficient distance between opponent groups supported the appeasement of a CS. These findings also underline the importance of knowledge about the local fan culture. This culture serves as basis for the perception of legitimacy, which was assessed to be essential for a de-escalation of a CS by fans. Discussion/Conclusion: This study improves the understanding of fan violence in the domestic football context in Switzerland. Based on the results it is suggested to deploy security or police forces without riot gear but with the goal of seeking dialogue with the fans to increase the likelihood of a peaceful ending in a CS. The findings also support the applicability of the ESIM (Drury & Reicher, 2000) and the AM model (Hylander & Guvå, 2010) in the context of domestic fan violence. Due to possible differences in the local fan cultures in Switzerland, research in this area should be continued. References: Drury, J., & Reicher, S. (2000). Collective action and psychological change: The emergence of new social identities. British Journal of Social Psychology, 39, 579-604. Hylander, I., & Guvå, G. (2010). Misunderstanding of out-group behaviour: Different interpretations of the same crowd events among police officers and demonstrators. Nordic Psychology, 62, 25-47.

Trust, Competition and Cooperation in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Objective: Impaired social interactions and repetitive behavior are key features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In the present study we compared social decision-making in subjects with and without ASD. Subjects performed five social decision-making games in order to assess trust, fairness, cooperation & competition behavior and social value orientation. Methods: 19 adults with autism spectrum disorder and 17 controls, matched for age and education, participated in the study. Each subject performed five social decision-making tasks. In the trust game, subjects could maximize their gain by sharing some of their money with another person. In the punishment game, subjects played two versions of the Dictator’s Dilemma. In the dictator condition they could share an amount of 0-100 points with another person. In the punishment condition, the opponent was able to punish the subject if he/she was not satisfied with the amount of points received. In the cooperation game, subjects played with a small group of 3 people. Each of them could (anonymously) select an amount of 5, 7.5 or 10 Swiss francs. The goal of the game was to achieve a high group minimum. In the competition game, subjects performed a dexterity task. Before performing the task, they were asked whether they wanted to compete (winner takes it all) or cooperation (sharing the joint achieved amount of points) with a randomly selected person. Lastly, subjects performed a social value orientation task where they were playing for themselves and for another person. Results: There was no overall difference between healthy controls an ASD subjects in investment in the trust game. However, healthy controls increased their investment over number of trials whereas ASD subjects did not. A similar pattern was found for the punishment game. Furthermore, ASD subjects revealed a decreased investment in the dictator condition of the punishment game. There were no mean differences in competition behavior and social value orientation. Conclusions: The results provide evidence for differences between ASD subjects and healthy controls in social decision-making. Subjects with ASD showed a more consistent behavior than healthy controls in the trust game and the dictator dilemma. The present findings provide evidence for impaired social learning in ASD.

Perceptions of critical situations involving football fans: the dynamics of conflict escalation or de-escalation

Fan violence in the context of football matches has drawn the attention of stakeholders and the media. This phenomenon has also attracted the scientific community’s attention, where research mostly focused on reasons for violence escalation. The Elaborated Social Identity Model (ESIM; Drury & Reicher, 2000) for example focuses on group-interactions and social identities, while the Aggravation Mitigation Model (AM model; Hylander & Guvå, 2010) concentrates on factors contributing to an escalation or a non-escalation of group-violence. However individual perceptions of the different persons involved in potential conflicts have not been sufficiently examined. Beside of that research in domestic football or involving ultrafans is scarce. Especially in Switzerland, there is a lack of research concerning the dynamics of the development or non-development of fan violence. This exploratory study included eight critical situations from the season 2012/2013 of the Swiss premier league to gather data about the perceptions of various persons involved (fans, police officers or security) and the dynamics contributing towards escalation or de-escalation. Fifty-nine narrative interviews were conducted and analysed with interpretative phenomenological analysis (Smith, Flowers, & Larkin, 2009). The individuals involved (fans, police and security personnel) showed groupspecific perceptions and a tendency to stereotype the opponent group. Provocative symbols (balaclavas or riot-gear uniforms) were important for the interpretation of the situation. No escalation occurred when successful communication and sufficient distance between the groups was established. Knowledge about the local fan culture is important, because it influences the perception of legitimacy on the side of the fans. This study improves the understanding of fan violence and is congruent with the ESIM and the AM model. It is suggested to deploy police dialogue teams without riot gear. Their task is to establish direct communication with the fans to facilitate a peaceful ending of a critical situation.