Human body postures convey useful information for understanding othersemotions and intentions. To investigate at which stage of visual processing emotional and movement-related information conveyed by bodies is discriminated, we examined event-related potentials elicited by laterally presented images of bodies with static postures and implied-motion body images with neutral, fearful or happy expressions. At the early stage of visual structural encoding (N190), we found a difference in the sensitivity of the two hemispheres to observed body postures. Specifically, the right hemisphere showe da N190 modulation both for the motion content (i.e. all the observed postures implying body movements elicited greater N190 amplitudes compared with static postures) and for the emotional content (i.e. fearful postures elicited the largest N190 amplitude), while the left hemisphere showed a modulation only for the motion content. In contrast, at a later stage of perceptual representation, reflecting selective attention to salient stimuli, an increased early posterior negativity was observed for fearful stimuli in both hemispheres, suggesting an enhanced processing of motivationally relevant stimuli. The observed modulations, both at the early stage of structural encoding and at the later processing stage, suggest the existence of a specialized perceptual mechanism tuned to emotion- and action-related information conveyed by human body postures.

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Emotional and movement-related body postures modulate visual processing

The use of commercial video games in combination with other media can provide opportunities to learn skills related to critical thinking, digital literacy, and media production. These media tools offer opportunities for users to participate in the new emerging forms of participatory culture. By means of an ethnographic study carried out in a Spanish primary school, this article presents an analysis of the skills that can be developed through the use of the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire video game and movie and how education professionals can use them at school in order to change the way students learn. The results show how students can develop their critical capacity by comparing these two media, and that this enables them to develop processes geared to digital literacy at the same as it helps them become producers through the creation and publication of blogs.

Developing Skills in Digital Contexts: Video games and Films as Learning Tools at Primary School

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/cogs.12044

Dynamic Simulation and Static Matching for Action Prediction: Evidence from Body Part Priming.

The objective of this paper is to critique the modernization of an essential public service - Air Navigation Services (ANS) - since the early 1980s. The paper focuses on the changes to the financial management and accountability regimes of four Anglo-American ANS providers.Frederickson and Smith (2003) state that lines of political control and hierarchical authority have been strained by the devolution of regulatory policy to autonomous entities. Traditional notions of parliamentary accountability have suffered with the emergence of collaborative forms of governance and alternative delivery systems. Nevertheless, the public holds government ultimately responsible for the performance of ANS providers. In order to protect the 'public interest' while maintaining arm's length control, various governments have introduced 'managerialist' instruments of accounting, budgetary control, auditing and quality assurance (Lapsley, 2008).The modernization of ANS are examined using Considine's (2001) governance models and the financial management and accountability technologies utilized to implement control and monitor change. Fundamental issues in the financial management reforms are accountability, accounting and reporting, and performance monitoring (English et al., 2005, p. 23).A contextual, historical view of ANS from the mid 1980s to 2007 is provided with a view to identifying and accounting for the pattern of similarities and differences in reform trajectories. The findings from the four cases studied highlight a move away from ex ante controls (rules), towards ex post control systems in which outcomes are held up to scrutiny through financial reporting mechanisms. Data reveals a significant increase in the use of quantitative performance indicators (PI) and performance audit. However, their prevalence and type are not uniform across all governance models for ANS.In conclusion, it is argued that there is no single model of public service modernization. In practice, the diffusion and adoption of new reform doctrines varies from one location to another, reflecting the different weightings attached by reformers to traditional and new public service values.

Wes Carleton

Papers

Simulating the future

US agency feels the pinch