112 research outputs found
Linguistic Representations of Motion Do Not Depend on the Visual Motion System
No full textEmbodied semantics proposes that constructing the meaning of motion verb phrases relies on representations of motion in sensory cortex. However, the data reported by earlier studies as evidence for this claim are also explained by a symbolic-semantics view proposing interactions between dissociable systems. In the experiments reported here, participants were visually adapted to real and implied leftward or rightward motion, which produced a motion aftereffect opposite to the direction of the adapting stimulus. Participants then decided whether a directionally ambiguous or a leftward- or rightward-directional verb phrase implied leftward or rightward motion. Because the visual system is engaged in the motion aftereffect, embodied semantics predicts that responses in the motion-aftereffect direction (opposite to the direction of the adapting stimulus) are facilitated, whereas symbolic semantics predicts response facilitation in the direction of the adapting stimulus (opposite to the direction of the motion aftereffect). We found response facilitation in the direction of real- and implied-motion adapting stimuli in ambiguous and directional verb phrases. These results suggest that visual and linguistic representations of motion can be dissociated. © The Author(s) 2012
Fake Truth. The Legal Issue of Archaeological Forgery
No full textArt forgery is a crime against public trust and it is frequently considered to be a violation of truth, intended as the correspondence between language and reality. Starting from the Buonarroti case, the author compares art forgery and fake artwork, which can have an effect of truth, and tries to explain the legal meaning of authentication, which requires a judicial procedure when the controversy of attribution is permanent. Examining the van Meegeren case, the author concludes the analysis with a critique of the correspondence theory of truth and with the proposal of a dialectical model for the authentication of works of art. Finally, considering the F words (forge, false, fake, fictional), it is asserted in the essay that, in today’s culture, fake artwork preserves the profound ambiguity of truth in fiction
Rethinking the concept of lingua illustre in the absence of a common language. Considerations from Africa
No full textThe author starts from a brief reflection on Dante Alighieri’s concept of volgare illustre, considering its role as a powerful mark of identity cohesion, repeatedly invoked as an essential element in the Italian question of language. The quest for a common, distinguishing code was supposed to be pivotal for the foundation of a feeling of national solidarity in the culturally and linguistically fragmented reality of Italy, until its unification in 1861. In Italy, the so called “question of language”, that offers some interesting hints for the object of this paper, represented a topic addressed
by many scholars during more than 5 centuries. In an attempt to understand whether some of the insights offered by the Italian question of language could be fruitfully applied to the context of contemporary sub-Saharan Africa, the focus of the paper rotates around the geo-linguistic aspects and sociolinguistic practices that characterize modern plurilingual and multilingual African countries. These practices seem, at least in the medium term, not to allow the affirmation of a common language. However, right in these practices, the author traces some common strategies, adopted by speakers of different languages and belonging to different cultures, that could be seen as constitutive of a pan-African stylistic code. In this perspective, these strategies should be seen as tools consciously used by skilled orators as illustrious marks, aspiring to the creation of a space of a distinguished, illustrious supranational unity. In particular, as an exemplum, the author analyses in this light the potential of proverbs, underlining their increasingly conscious use in different contexts and domains in most African countries
Effects of fire on mortality and resprouting patterns of Stryphnodendron adstringens (Fabaceae)
No full textIn the last 20 years, fire frequency in South America's largest savanna, the Cerrado, has increased by 41%. Although resprouting represents the main post-fire regeneration mechanism that allows plant species to persist in the Cerrado, under the new scenario of high fire incidence, small individual trees may not be able to regrow, while large individual trees may be subject to meristematic apical death or “topkill”. In this study, we evaluated the resistance and resilience of a tree species with a wide geographic distribution in the Cerrado, Stryphnodendron adstringens (Fabaceae) to non-prescribed fire and its resprouting dynamics. Seventy out of the 72 individuals of S. adstringens studied suffered topkill, indicating a low resistance to fire. To monitor the development and dynamics of resprouts for 17 months, we randomly selected 54 individual trees. Altogether, 143 resprouts were recorded in these 54 individuals during 3, 6, 10, and 17 months after fire, being 90% in the first 3 months. Larger individual trees had a larger number of resprouts and of larger sizes. Resprout mortality (14%) was higher in the 17th month post-fire. Multiple logistic regressions revealed that the survival probability of resprouts to the 17th month increased with their size but decreased with their number. We conclude that S. adstringens has low resistance but high resilience to, at least, a single fire. Also, there is a trade-off between the production of resprouts and their chance of survival. Thus, frequent fires can reduce the recruitment and persistence of the species.Fil: Silva Ferreira, Bárbara Stephanie. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: Oki, Yumi. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: Côrtes Figueira, José Eugênio. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: Aguilar, Ramiro. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; Brasil. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Abreu Baggio, Vinícius. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: Fernandes, Geraldo Wilson. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; Brasi
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No full textEsclerose Múltipla (EM) é uma doença autoimune, inflamatória e desmielinizante, a qual afeta o sistema nervoso central (SNC) podendo ocasionar disfunções sensoriais, cognitivas e/ou motoras. Até o momento não há cura, entretanto, os indivíduos acometidos podem apresentar expectativa de vida prolongada e de boa qualidade utilizando-se da terapêutica medicamentosa correta e se envolvendo nos programas de reabilitação física e cognitiva, os quais se relacionam diretamente à aprendizagem motora (AM). Entende-se AM como um fenômeno que compreende mudanças no SNC, advindas de experiências e práticas prévias, relacionadas à capacidade de realizar tarefas motoras específicas, resultado de processos de neuroplasticidade. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi avaliar aspectos do AM na EM. O estudo foi aprovado pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa com Humanos da Escola de Artes, Ciências e Humanidades da Universidade de São Paulo - EACH/USP - através do parecer número 1.947.155; CAAE 60189716.6.0000.5390. A amostra foi composta por 36 indivíduos, sendo 18 com Esclerose Múltipla Remitente Recorrente (EMRR) e 18 sem a doença, os quais foram submetidos a testes que avaliaram aspectos do AM: aquisição, retenção a curto e a longo prazo e transferência, através da realização de uma tarefa de função manual avaliada por um sistema computadorizado. Os testes foram filmados nos planos sagital e transversal durante a execução da tarefa, sendo estes vídeos avaliados posteriormente de forma qualitativa. Os resultados encontrados neste estudo foram semelhantes entre os grupos na maioria das variáveis estudadas, demonstrando que os indivíduos com EMRR, de baixa incapacidade motora e com até 10 anos de diagnóstico, apresentam a mesma curva de AM que indivíduos sem a doença. Apesar da capacidade de AM deste indivíduo estar íntegra, algumas particularidades encontradas nesta população indicam a necessidade de repensar as estratégias terapêuticas utilizadas neste grupo, a fim de potencializar as capacidades de aprendizagem motoraMultiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune, inflammatory and demyelinating disease, which affects the central nervous system (CNS) and can cause sensory, cognitive and / or motor dysfunctions. At the moment there is no cure, however, the affected individuals can present long life expectancy and good quality by using the correct drug therapy and becoming involved in physical and cognitive rehabilitation programs, which are directly related to motor learning (ML). ML is understood as a phenomenon that includes changes in the CNS, arising from previous experiences and practices related to the capacity to perform specific motor tasks, the result of neuroplasticity processes. The aim of this study was to evaluate aspects of ML in MS. The research was approved by the Committee of Ethics in Research with Humans of Escola de artes, ciências e humanidades- Universidade de São Paulo - EACH / USP - number 1,947,155; CAAE 60189716.6.0000.5390. The sample consisted of 36 individuals, 18 of them with RRMS and 18 without the disease, who underwent tests that evaluated aspects of ML: acquisition, short and long term retention and transfer, by performing a function task manual evaluated by a computerized system. The tests were filmed in the sagittal and transversal planes during the execution of the task, these videos being evaluated later in a qualitative way. The results found in this study were similar between the groups in most of the variables, demonstrating that the individuals with RRMS, with low motor incapacity and with up to 10 years of diagnosis, present the same motor learning curve as individuals without the disease. Although the motor learning ability of these individuals is suitable, some particularities found in the MS population indicate the need to rethink the therapeutic strategies used in this group, in order to potentiate the motor learning abilitie
Languages and Empires in French West Africa: encounters, clashes and mixing from the colonial era to the present time
No full textThis contribution intends to offer a prospective glimpse of what could be the future relations between French and the linguae francae and/or minority languages of West Africa starting from a synthesis of the historical, socio- linguistic and literary analysis of the encounters, clashes and mix-ups that have characterised them from the colonial period until today.
France, although formally a Republic, at the time of the colonisation of Africa from 1881 onwards, behaved in the occupied territories in a very authoritarian way, adopting a rigid stance, under the banner of linguistic and cultural assimilation of the local communities. Without any ambition to offer a complete picture of the issue, the contribution will discuss the changing attitudes of politicians, intellectuals, and ordinary people from the 1920s until today towards the French language, as well as towards vehicular and local languages.
An attempt will also be made to give an account of how these changes are linked both to the adoption of specific linguistic, economic, educational and social policies and to the linguistic practices that have characterised every aspect of daily life.
In her final remarks, the author will attempt to outline some hypotheses for the future, considering a possible repositioning of the various parties involved
From random to regular: Neural constraints on the emergence of isochronous rhythm during cultural transmission
No full textA core design feature of human communication systems and expressive behaviours is their temporal organization. The cultural evolutionary origins of this feature remain unclear. Here, we test the hypothesis that regularities in the temporal organization of signalling sequences arise in the course of cultural transmission as adaptations to aspects of cortical function. We conducted two experiments on the transmission of rhythms associated with affective meanings, focusing on one of the most widespread forms of regularity in language and music: isochronicity. In the first experiment, we investigated how isochronous rhythmic regularities emerge and change in multigenerational signalling games, where the receiver (learner) in a game becomes the sender (transmitter) in the next game. We show that signalling sequences tend to become rhythmically more isochronous as they are transmitted across generations. In the second experiment, we combined electroencephalography (EEG) and two-player signalling games over 2 successive days. We show that rhythmic regularization of sequences can be predicted based on the latencies of the mismatch negativity response in a temporal oddball paradigm. These results suggest that forms of isochronicity in communication systems originate in neural constraints on information processing, which may be expressed and amplified in the course of cultural transmission.publishedVersion© The Author(s) (2018). Published by Oxford University Press. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact [email protected]
Investigation of transversal cracking in cement bound reclaimed asphalt road base courses
No full textThis thesis is a study on the cracking behaviour of road bases constructed with cement bound reclaimed asphalt (also known in the Netherlands as AGRAC). It is decided to focus on this material because of the few researches available on the topic although the material being widely applied, at least in the Netherlands. Thegoal of adding cement to the recycled asphalt aggregate is primarily to increase the resistance to permanent deformation (rutting). But, as in all cement-bound materials, in the AGRAC base layer shrinkage cracks might occur which could reflect through the overlying asphalt layers. Because of this, during the last decades the cement content was reduced from the initial 4-5% down to 2-2.5% (by mass). In order to study the cracking behaviour of AGRAC, in this research one grading and two cement contents (2% and 4% m/m) are considered. A series of tests is performed to evaluate the properties of the two AGRAC mixes at different values of curing time (up to 130 days) and 3 different temperatures (0, 15 and 30°C). The dependence on the curing time and temperature are considered because of the presence in the mix of cement and bitumen respectively. In particular the tests performed are: indirect tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, shrinkage, thermal deformation, Poisson’s ratio and relaxation. The mechanical properties retrieved from these tests are used as input in a model which predicts the occurrence of cracks in an AGRAC base. If cracks occur, the model characterizes the crack pattern in terms of time of occurrence of the cracks, crack spacing and crack width. The calculations are done in two cases: non-weakened (plain) and weakened (with joints) base.From the laboratory tests performed a dependence of the mechanical properties of AGRAC on the material temperature is clearly visible. Interesting results are also derived from the model, which shows the influence of the time of construction of the base (the worst scenario is observed for construction in August) and the difference in the cracking behaviour between the two AGRAC mixes (2 and 4% cement m/m). It is observed that the AGRAC mix with 4% cement leads to a higher risk of cracking compared to AGRAC 2%. In the worst scenario of base with AGRAC 4% constructed in August many crack series occur with a very close final crack spacing. The model shows how in this case even applying saw-cuts in the base is inefficient in terms of controlling the crack formation process
Formal semantics in the neurology clinic: Atypical understanding of aspectual coercion in ALS patients
No full textAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease of the motor system with subtle adverse effects on cognition. It is still unclear whether ALS also affects language and semantics, and if so, what aspects and processes exactly. We investigated how ALS patients understand verb phrases modified by temporal preposition phrases, e.g., “To watch TV for half an hour.” Interpretation here requires operations such as aspectual coercion that add or delete elements from event structures, depending on temporal modifiers, and constraints on coercion, which make combinations with certain modifiers not viable. Using a theoretically-motivated experimental design, we observed that acceptance rates for aspectual coercion were abnormally high in ALS patients. The effect was largest for the more complex cases of coercion: not those that involve enrichment of event structures (“To switch on the TV in half an hour,” where a number of failed attempts must be included in the interpretation) but those that, if applied, would result in deletion of event structure elements (“To repair the TV for half an hour”). Our experimental results are consistent with a deficit of constraints on coercion, and not with impaired semantic processes or representations, in line with recent studies suggesting that verb semantics is largely spared in ALS.© 2016 Baggio, Granello, Verriello and Eleopra. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms
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