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The action on board Lichas's ship in Petronius's Satyrica presents a rich, repetitive, and multilayered parody of mediation, treaty-making, and the role of emotion in conflict and its aftermath, played out on the most personal level. When Encolpius and Giton are discovered, having accidentally taken passage with Lichas and Tryphaena whom they have egregiously betrayed, the poet Eumolpus seizes the role of mediator and attempts to defend them with an entirely fictitious account of their actions and motivations. His rhetoric only enrages Lichas and produces open warfare on shipboard. Ingenious role-playing by Giton (staging an attempted self-castration) drives Tryphaena to desperate pity and epic parody in appealing for peace, allowing Eumolpus to dictate and conclude a formal treaty among the parties. Initial performances of the actions and emotions of peacemaking amidst a halcyon calm at sea seem successful, but jealousies quickly reemerge, requiring further efforts by Eumolpus to restore harmony. His poetic efforts during the banquet failing, Eumolpus then narrates the story of the Widow of Ephesus, whose misogynistic comedy elicits laughter from all – except for Lichas and Tryphaena. Crosscurrents of jealousy reemerge, and Eumolpus seems to resort to new diplomacy and oaths (iurat Eumolpus verbis conceptissimis, 113) as the text becomes more fragmentary – and the ship is suddenly overwhelmed and wrecked by storm. Prospects for reconciliation founder with the ship (of state?) and its captain, while the perpetually inventive manipulators of language survive to perform again. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apomixis is a reproductive process that produces clonal seeds while bypassing meiosis (or apomeiosis) without undergoing fertilization (or pseudo-fertilization). The progenies are genetically cloned from their parents, retaining the parental genotype, and have great potential for the preservation of genes of interest and the fixing of heterosis. The hallmark components of apomixis include the formation of female gametes without meiosis, the development of fertilization-independent embryos, and the formation of functional endosperm. Understanding and utilizing the molecular mechanism of apomixis has far-reaching implications for plant genetic breeding and agricultural development. Therefore, this study focuses on the classification, influencing factors, genetic regulation, and molecular mechanism of apomixis, as well as progress in the research and application of apomixis-related genes in plant breeding. This work will elucidate the molecular mechanisms of apomixis and its application for plant genetic improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Heterosis is a common phenomenon in plants and has been extensively applied in crop breeding. However, the superior traits in the hybrids can only be maintained in the first generation but segregate in the following generations. Maintaining heterosis in generations has been challenging but highly desirable in crop breeding. Recent study showed that maternally produced diploid seeds could be achieved in rice by knocking out three meiosis related genes, namely REC8, PAIR1, OSD1 to create MiMe in combination with egg cell specific expression of BBM transcription factor, a technology called clonal seeds. Interestingly, there has been very limited reports indicating the feasibility of this approach in other crops. Results: In this study, we aimed to test whether clonal seeds could be created in cotton. We identified the homologs of the three meiosis related genes in cotton and used the multiplex CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system to simultaneously knock out these three genes in both A and D sub-genomes. More than 50 transgenic cotton plants were generated, and fragment analysis indicated that multiple gene knockouts occurred in the transgenic plants. However, all the transgenic plants were sterile apparently due to the lack of pollen. Pollination of the flowers of the transgenic plants using the wild type pollens could not generate seeds, an indication of defects in the formation of female sexual cells in the transgenic plants. In addition, we generated transgenic cotton plants expressing the cotton BBM gene driven by the Arabidopsis egg cell specific promoter pDD45. Two transgenic plants were obtained, and both showed severely reduced fertility. Conclusions: Overall, our results indicate that knockout of the clonal seeds related genes in cotton causes sterility and how to manipulate genes to create clonal seeds in cotton requires further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Heterosis is a common phenomenon in plants and has been extensively applied in crop breeding. However, the superior traits in the hybrids can only be maintained in the first generation but segregate in the following generations. Maintaining heterosis in generations has been challenging but highly desirable in crop breeding. Recent study showed that maternally produced diploid seeds could be achieved in rice by knocking out three meiosis related genes, namely REC8, PAIR1, OSD1 to create MiMe in combination with egg cell specific expression of BBM transcription factor, a technology called clonal seeds. Interestingly, there has been very limited reports indicating the feasibility of this approach in other crops. Results In this study, we aimed to test whether clonal seeds could be created in cotton. We identified the homologs of the three meiosis related genes in cotton and used the multiplex CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system to simultaneously knock out these three genes in both A and D sub-genomes. More than 50 transgenic cotton plants were generated, and fragment analysis indicated that multiple gene knockouts occurred in the transgenic plants. However, all the transgenic plants were sterile apparently due to the lack of pollen. Pollination of the flowers of the transgenic plants using the wild type pollens could not generate seeds, an indication of defects in the formation of female sexual cells in the transgenic plants. In addition, we generated transgenic cotton plants expressing the cotton BBM gene driven by the Arabidopsis egg cell specific promoter pDD45. Two transgenic plants were obtained, and both showed severely reduced fertility. Conclusions Overall, our results indicate that knockout of the clonal seeds related genes in cotton causes sterility and how to manipulate genes to create clonal seeds in cotton requires further research.

AbstractMany researchers are interested in how the kinematics of reach-to-grasp movements in virtual reality (VR), which involve the vergence–accommodation conflict, differ from real space. The present study, conducted in VR, verified the effect of a discrepancy between visual and haptic target size and found that terminal haptic feedback is weighted more heavily than visual information, as is the case in real space. Furthermore, we investigated how the presence or absence of terminal haptic feedback modulates performance in VR by comparing prehension with or without terminal haptic feedback in VR, closed-loop natural grasping in real space, and pantomimed prehension with the eyes closed. Our results suggested that the contribution of a visual image to grip aperture adjustment is quite marginal in situations where terminal haptic feedback is unavailable, and that the performance in VR without haptic feedback is highly correlated with performances driven by fully internal representations (i.e., pantomimed movements). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2010 film and theatre historian David Mayer urged researchers to look to early film for evidence of continuing traditions of Victorian pantomime, arguing its "audiences tolerated, even enjoyed, the same sight-gags and hackneyed routines that amused their Victorian ancestors." This article is a response to his challenge and in the process explores wider interconnections. The harlequinade was the portion of the pantomime that occurred after key characters from the narrative pantomime opening are transformed into Clown, Harlequin, Pantaloon, and Columbine. These stock figures, originally derived from commedia dell'arte, perform a series of comic scenes via mime, dance, and physical action rather than dialogue. Having been an important feature of Regency and Victorian pantomimes, by the end of the nineteenth century the harlequinade had largely vanished (with certain exceptions such as the Britannia Theatre), causing Clement Scott to lament that it is "a pleasure lost for ever and denied to the generation of to-day." My contention is that there is a direct line of inheritance from the harlequinade through stand-alone comic ballets to chase scenes in early film. All demand a particular type of physical performance, choreographed fast-paced action, and humor. Uncovering the tradition allows us better to understand this form of popular amusement and see how Harlequin's antics were reinterpreted for new audiences. Starting from a seemingly unremarkable comic entertainment produced in 1871 at a minor London theatre, the Britannia Theatre in Hoxton, and bearing the intriguing title of Ki-Ki-Ko-Ko-Oh-Ki-Key, I trace its heritage as embodied culture, establishing its links to early nineteenth-century pantomime harlequinade and to simian performance, tracking the appearance of comic or dumb ballets in theatres and music halls in Britain, France, and the United States through one family of performers, the Lauris, and finally identifying the legacy of the complex trap work in silent film of the early twentieth century by examining Lupino Lane's Joyland (1929). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The classical body ownership illusion, such as the rubber hand illusion, is achieved through appropriate proprioceptive displacement within temporal and spatial constraints that do not exceed the limits of proprioceptive flexibility. In the 2023 Best Illusion of the Year Contest, we introduced Buddha's ear illusion (BEI), which creates the illusion of owning a dramatically deformed earlobe through immediate visuotactile stimulation and seemingly challenges classical proprioceptive boundaries. The laboratory experiment examined the mechanics of this illusion, revealing a significant interaction between tactile earlobe pulling and visual miming that contributed to the enhanced perception of earlobe stretch. Importantly, 88% of the participants confirmed the illusory earlobe stretch (a rating of +4 or higher on a 7-point scale). More than half reported an earlobe descent of >10 cm within a 10-s visuotactile stimulation. The findings suggest that BEI operates on a distinct principle separate from proprioceptive modulation in contrast to classical ownership illusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hybrid vigor in plants confers better agronomically significant traits in offspring compared with either parent. Recently, Wang et al. reported a mitosis instead of meiosis (MiMe) system in tomato for clonal gamete production, showing the potential to exploit autopolyploid progressive heterosis by stacking genomes from four grandparents in tetraploid hybrids, developed from crossing MiMe hybrids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers a new interpretation of the phrase “Jewish weight,” especially as it is used in the Greek papyrus known as CPJ 3.519. The Roman-era papyrus preserves part of a work of otherwise unknown fiction, probably a script of a comedic mime about an athletic contest in a gymnasium. Contrary to previous interpreters, a new reading of the “Jewish weight” proposes that the fictional athlete is neither Jewish nor circumcised, but rather a non-Jew who is described as looking Jewish based on the appearance of his genitalia in the nude. “Jewish weight” thus means “an exposed glans, such as Jews have.” This meaning could also work for the only other extant usage of the phrase, in a bawdy Latin epigram of Martial about which classical scholars have disagreed. The argument is bolstered by ancient medical literature that attests to non-circumcised, non-Jewish men who had congenitally short foreskins. These “lipodermic” men could be liable to mockery in settings of nudity, since they bore a sign of imperfect masculinity according to a dominant Hellenistic and Roman cultural ideology of manhood. The article concludes with supporting examples from the Graeco-Roman social context and analogies to other forms of attempted humour that combine sexuality and ethnicity.

The ballerina Tamara Karsavina experienced vast shifts from romantic and post-romantic performance styles to twentieth-century modernism. In the first section of this essay, I give an overview of these shifts; then, I explore Karsavina's writings for insights into her views on performance and artistry. In her writing, she develops her artistic credo and expresses the conviction that to contribute to a living art form, ballet dancers must deepen their expressivity while expanding technique and their practice of classical mime. For her, the future of ballet can be found in the traditions of the danse d'école and the classical repertoire [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the historical portrayal of Aladdin's mother in nineteenth-century British theatrical productions, exploring her significant role in early renditions and later transformations. Topics include the mother's absence in contemporary popular culture, the prominence of Aladdin's story in Western entertainment since the 1700s, and the evolution of the mother's character in pantomimes, emphasizing her comedic role and impact on gender roles and societal attitudes.

The Cayley transform of a matrix A , C (A) = (I + A) − 1 (I − A) , has been investigated in the contexts of skew-symmetry, eigenvalue mapping and as a factorization technique for several matrix positivity classes. Here, we extend the discussion to Cayley transforms of almost skew-Hermitian matrices, positive definite matrices, semipositive matrices, as well as subclasses of the M -matrices, H -matrices and their inverses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been suggested that actions can provide a fruitful conceptual context for sound symbolism phenomena, and that tight interaction between manual and articulatory processes might cause that hand actions, in particular, are sound-symbolically associated with specific speech sounds. Experiment 1 investigated whether novel words, built from speech sounds that have been previously linked to precision or power grasp responses, are implicitly associated with perceived actions that present precision manipulation or whole-hand grasp tool-use or the corresponding utilisation pantomimes. In the two-alternative forced-choice task, the participants were more likely to match novel words to tool-use actions and corresponding pantomimes that were sound-symbolically congruent with the words. Experiment 2 showed that the same or even larger sound–action symbolism effect can be observed when the pantomimes present unfamiliar utilisation actions. Based on this we propose that the sound–action symbolism might originate from the same sensorimotor mechanisms that process the meaning of iconic gestural signs. The study presents a novel sound–action phenomenon and supports the view that hand–mouth interaction might manifest itself by associating specific speech sounds with grasp-related utilisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the popularity and unique characteristics of contemporary Singaporean pantomime, comparing it to British pantomime. Singaporean pantomime, performed by Wild Rice, incorporates elements of British pantomime while also reflecting Singapore's culture and sociopolitical concerns. It explores the transformation of traditional characters, reduced audience participation, and the use of Singlish, a local language, to create a shared identity and community. Singaporean pantomime engages with sensitive topics, challenges the audience to question their national identity, and uses food culture to build rapport and construct identity. It is a unique form of theater that reifies identity in postcolonial Singaporean society. [Extracted from the article]

Mimesis is not a minor literary and philosophical concept in western thought. Still, an immanent, marginalized, and in this sense minor conception of performative mimesis (from mimos , actor or performance) is currently informing the transdisciplinary field of mimetic studies. Supplementing Deleuze and Guattari's account of Kafka's "minor literature," this article focuses on Oscar Wilde's dramatizations of performative mimesis revealing that not only language is performative; human lives and bodies are also driven by "an imitative instinct." From The Picture of Dorian Gray to The Importance of Being Earnest , Wilde's dramatic impersonations of homo mimeticus allow him to do not only things with words (speech acts) but also to do things with affects and bodies (mime acts). In the process, he provides new steps to further the mimetic turn or re -turn to a minor, performative, and embodied theory of homo mimeticus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among Pompeian wall inscriptions CIL IV.1261 is well known for its brisk obscenities and problems of text and interpretation. According to the text as it is currently printed, the graffito is generally understood to make a political statement of some kind about the mistreatment of the Roman citizen body; in what circumstances and by whom the collective of ciues Romani has been mistreated cannot be determined from the evidence of the graffito. In this paper, I present a revised text of the graffito, and I argue that the phrase ciuium Romanorum cunnus refers not to the Roman citizen body but to the emperor Nero and that the scene described in the text is the earliest extant testimony to an event that took place in 64 CE and was witnessed by persons unknown, Nero's marriage as bride to his freedman Pythagoras. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because the sophistication of tool use is vastly enhanced in humans compared with other species, a rich understanding of its neural substrates requires neuroscientific experiments in humans. Although functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has enabled many studies of tool-related neural processing, surprisingly few studies have examined real tool use. Rather, because of the many constraints of fMRI, past research has typically used proxies such as pantomiming despite neuropsychological dissociations between pantomimed and real tool use. We compared univariate activation levels, multivariate activation patterns, and functional connectivity when participants used real tools (a plastic knife or fork) to act on a target object (scoring or poking a piece of putty) or pantomimed the same actions with similar movements and timing. During the Execute phase, we found higher activation for real versus pantomimed tool use in sensorimotor regions and the anterior supramarginal gyrus, and higher activation for pantomimed than real tool use in classic tool-selective areas. Although no regions showed significant differences in activation magnitude during the Plan phase, activation patterns differed between real versus pantomimed tool use and motor cortex showed differential functional connectivity. These results reflect important differences between real tool use, a closed-loop process constrained by real consequences, and pantomimed tool use, a symbolic gesture that requires conceptual knowledge of tools but with limited consequences. These results highlight the feasibility and added value of employing natural tool use tasks in functional imaging, inform neuropsychological dissociations, and advance our theoretical understanding of the neural substrates of natural tool use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2016 presidential election marked a new era of political campaign featured by social media-powered professional and citizen journalism. Still, legacy news organizations such as the New York Times (NYT) and the Washington Post amassed significant influences among voters in both online and offline settings. Against this backdrop, this study examines how NYT covered Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump during the 2016 election. Drawing upon the rich literature in moral psychology, particularly the model of intuitive morality and exemplars (MIME; Tamborini, 2012, "A Model of Intuitive Morality and Exemplars." In Media and the Moral Mind, edited by R. Tamborini, 43–74. London, England: Routledge). A computerized textual analysis of over 1,000 socially transmitted NYT stories regarding both candidates was performed. Findings show that the NYT's election coverage displayed a certain level of coverage neutrality, and the use of moral terms in NYT's coverage at critical time points might have contributed to Trump's final victory in 2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Motor imagery (MI) is a method of imagining movement without actual movement, and its use in combination with motor execution (ME) enhances the effects of motor learning. Neurofeedback (NFB) is another method that promotes the effects of MI. This study aimed to investigate the effects of NFB on combined MI and ME (MIME) training in a standing postural control task. Methods: Sixteen participants were randomly divided into MIME and MIME + NFB groups and performed 10 trials of a postural control task on an unstable board, with nine trials of MI in between. Electroencephalogram was assessed during MI, and the MIME + NFB group received neurofeedback on the degree of MI via auditory stimulation. A postural control task using an unstable board was performed before and after the MIME task, during which postural instability was evaluated. Results: Postural instability was reduced after the MIME task in both groups. In addition, the root mean square, which indicates the sway of the unstable board, was significantly reduced in the MIME + NFB group compared to that in the MIME group. Conclusion: Our results indicate that MIME training is effective for motor learning of standing postural control. Furthermore, when MI and ME are combined, the feedback on the degree of MI enhances the learning effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting from a re-interpretation of the reading KEΡATAYΛEI at line 17 of P. Matr. inv. 44+119, this article compares the content of the Madrid mime papyrus with a famous scene of Menander's Theophoroumene which also relates to the performance of rituals connected with Phrygian cults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is edited, translated, annotated and commentated a text that is included in the manuscript Ambrosianus Graecus 855. It is proposed that this text is a short mime, that it can be performed in limited premises, with satirical intention; and that its authorship may be awarded to Theodorus Prodromos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulties with tool use and pantomime actions. The current study utilized functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to examine the neural mechanisms underlying these gestural difficulties. Thirty-one children with and without ASD (age (mean ± SE) = 11.0 ± 0.6) completed a naturalistic peg-hammering task using an actual hammer (hammer condition), pantomiming hammering actions (pantomime condition), and performing meaningless actions with similar joint motions (meaningless condition). Children with ASD exhibited poor praxis performance (praxis error: TD = 17.9 ± 1.7; ASD = 27.0 ± 2.6, p < 0.01), which was significantly correlated with their cortical activation (R = 0.257 to 0.543). Both groups showed left-lateralized activation, but children with ASD demonstrated more bilateral activation during all gestural conditions. Compared to typically developing children, children with ASD showed hyperactivation of the inferior parietal lobe and hypoactivation of the middle/inferior frontal and middle/superior temporal regions. Our findings indicate intact technical reasoning (typical left-IPL activation) but atypical visuospatial and proprioceptive processing (hyperactivation of the right IPL) during tool use in children with ASD. These results have important implications for clinicians and researchers, who should focus on facilitating/reducing the burden of visuospatial and proprioceptive processing in children with ASD. Additionally, fNIRS-related biomarkers could be used for early identification through early object play/tool use and to examine neural effects following gesture-based interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the themes of conflict and peace as depicted within the English calendar custom of well dressing, a form of rural folk art where large tableaux are produced annually in the summer months using only natural materials pressed into a clay-filled board which is then sited at a local water source as an offering of gratitude for the essential gift of water. The custom is traditionally associated with the counties of Derbyshire and Staffordshire although it has spread further afield in recent years. The research includes both fieldwork (the author has been documenting the completed well dressings as well as their construction for a number of years, and in 2022 became a participant in the custom for the first time by joining the team of volunteer well dressers at the closest site to where he grew up) and study of archival sources including local newspaper reports to see how elements of the design process have changed over the years and been subject to influence by external trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For Edmond Rostand, dramatic writing is a medium ensuring communion between the author and the spectator, a bond questioned by Plato. This article studies how Edmond Rostand's poetic plays illustrate the quest for the public's understanding of the poet and how the characters thrive for their lost social recognition. His works shed light on the poet at work, each of the characters being an accomplished or budding versifier to reveal that poetry is legitimate work, which requires skills. Edmond Rostand's poetic style deconstructs literary and social norms that have led to his contemporaries' loss of authenticity. Misunderstood by theater goers and critics, disappointment led the playwright to improvisation and to pantomime, in which gestures could not alter the fragile and fleeting idea, making poetry easier to comprehend and bridging the gap between the author and his audience, establishing the poet as a worthy citizen again. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Nabo is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper presents and defends the following theoretical arguments: (1) The uniqueness of the human condition lies in the fact that only humans engage in collaborative computation, where different individuals work together on shared computational challenges. Collaborative computation is the foundation of our cumulative cultures. (2) Collaborative computation requires individuals to engage in instructive communication, where senders do not just send messages to receivers—but also send them instructions that the receivers are obliged to follow in the course of computing the messages. (3) The process of human evolution was driven throughout by the invention and development of tools of instructive communication. (4) In this process, two separate major transitions should be identified. The first was made possible by the toolkit of representational gestures (pointing, eye contact, manual demonstration, pantomime and more) that Merlin Donald called the toolkit of mimesis. Mimesis allows for collaborative computation as long as the information requiring computation is available for direct experiencing by the participants. The second was made possible by language, the tool that allowed its users, for the first time, to engage in collaborative computations of information they did not experience together—through the systematic instruction of the mental computations of imagination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article looks at different approaches to staging Street Theater about Human Rights in a multilingual environment. Theater on the streets intended to convince passers-by to stop and watch a short skit needs to attract with visual and theatrical techniques, but since Human Rights are conceptual, the actors need to get their message across using words audience members can mull over. How can a maximum number of passers-by be reached in an urban environment where there are three, even four, national languages? Research is ongoing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I propose that the evolution of teaching has been central in extending manipulative intentions. Demonstrating may be the evolutionarily first form of expression that is productive, ostensive, and involves informative intention. Demonstration also involves theory of mind. Then pantomime goes a step further and involves a communicative intention. Pantomime can thereby function as displaced communication used for more complex expressions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study deals with the family history of one of the most famous czech actors, Pešek, whose history started in the 19th century in the context and the approach of theatre troupes of that time (esp. the Zöllners). From the 1860s to the 21st century the family was also connected with theatre and/or acting scholarship, as well as working on new methodes of acting while being in touch with famous czech modernistic, avant-gardistic or, at the present time, american directors. The crucial part of the family archive is deposited in The Department of Theatre History MZM. Its importance stands in its mirroring of the complexity of czech performative activities and their changing potential in the last hundred and fifty years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introducing asexual reproduction through seeds – apomixis – into crop species could revolutionize agriculture by allowing F1 hybrids with enhanced yield and stability to be clonally propagated. Engineering synthetic apomixis has proven feasible in inbred rice through the inactivation of three genes (MiMe), which results in the conversion of meiosis into mitosis in a line ectopically expressing the BABYBOOM1 (BBM1) parthenogenetic trigger in egg cells. However, only 10–30% of the seeds are clonal. Here, we show that synthetic apomixis can be achieved in an F1 hybrid of rice by inducing MiMe mutations and egg cell expression of BBM1 in a single step. We generate hybrid plants that produce more than 95% of clonal seeds across multiple generations. Clonal apomictic plants maintain the phenotype of the F1 hybrid along successive generations. Our results demonstrate that there is no barrier to almost fully penetrant synthetic apomixis in an important crop species, rendering it compatible with use in agriculture. Previously, a proof-of-concept for low frequency synthetic apomixis was established in a laboratory strain of rice by combining MiMe mutations with the egg cell expression of the embryogenic trigger - BBM1. Here, the authors achieve clonal seed formation in hybrid rice with almost full penetrance and higher fertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yet, in the remainder of the chapter Agamben continues to criticize Arendt's concept of action by addressing the problems with Aristotle's notion of praxis, whose tenuous connection to Arendt's concept has just been demonstrated. (Agamben, [12], p. 63) Thus, Agamben interprets Aristotle's idea of the "work of man" differently from Arendt (see Agamben, [6]; [8], p. 246). Hannah Arendt's thought has been a major influence on Giorgio Agamben's political theory. While Agamben certainly shares Arendt's diagnosis, he entirely disagrees with her solutions, claiming that the "restoration of classical political categories proposed by Leo Strauss and, in a different sense, by Hannah Arendt, can have only a critical sense" (Agamben, [1], p. 187). [Extracted from the article]

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Samuel Beckett's encounter with the aesthetics of ballet has not been fully acknowledged for its impact on his writing. Yet throughout his life Beckett investigated problems of kinaesthetics, and the mechanics of human movement was inspired by his reading of the seventeenth-century Cartesian philosopher Arnold Geulincx (1624–1669), reflected initially in Beckett's novel Murphy (1938). At the same time, Beckett's interest in the specificities of physical movement also derives from his spectatorship of, and comments on Petrouchka and other ballets in 1934–5, performed in London by the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo and Polish Ballet. Beckett's subsequent meeting with a British ballet dancer, Deryk Mendel, working in Paris in the fifties, sustained this focus. Mendel was immersed in the burgeoning development of French mime and new movement forms, and Beckett created the mime Acte sans paroles (1957) for him. Mendel subsequently worked with Beckett as performer and director, including the first transmission of Eh Joe (He Joe!, 1966) for German TV. Beckett's encounter with Mendel consolidated his interest in the puppet figure of Petrouchka and initiated an enduring exploration of choreographic forms throughout his late work. His direction of his own plays in the 70s and 80s frequently focused on the rhythm and pacing of movement, spatial disposition of figures on stage, and latterly Beckett revitalized the enduring resonances of his encounters with ballet in a uniquely choreographic style for the performers of his late work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Around the middle of the nineteenth century, there arose a type of circus performer in England called 'Shakespearean clowns'. These clowns constituted a transitory figure between the age of Georgian pantomime clowns and the establishment of the typical circus clown in the later part of the century. One of the more neglected representatives of the genre was James Clement Boswell, who enjoyed a brief period of success in England before becoming a sensation in Paris during the 1850s. Although he was universally praised, his clowning also evoked bafflement. This article studies reviews of and periodical articles on Boswell in order to get a picture of his performances and clown persona, and of how critics perceived him and turned him into an example of the melancholy clown trope. The resistance that Boswell's act and persona offered to the writers, however, illustrates that he was part of a change in the figure of the clown from its early nineteenth century incarnation to the twentieth-century clown and comic. Boswell's clowning prefigures the irony and deadpan comedy that would become more prevalent in modern comedy. He is also illustrative of the increasing detachment of the clown figure from representations of a social reality, and the creation of the modern circus clown as an essentially unreal character that epitomizes a separate outlook on life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new turn to Mass Innovation and Mass Entrepreneurship (MIME) initiatives in China mark a concrete step to reconfiguring and appropriating the western maker movement rhetoric to fit China's context. In this paper, we explore the nascent China's maker movement under the guidance of the state's MIME initiative to identify the key issues, actions, rationales, and logics of appropriation linked to this public policy agenda. Empirically, we employ a semantic network analysis to identify policy frames of the two principal documents of the MIME issued in 2015 and 2018. Providing insight into the heterogeneous nature of MIME discourses and innovation policy in China, our study Sheds light on how social innovation derives from activism and connect with emerging creative cities discourse, entrepreneurship, and local economic development. Implication for the theory and practice of innovation policy are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the neural distinctions between actual tool use and pantomime, suggesting that these actions engage different cognitive processes and neural networks. It states that by using neuroimaging techniques and multivoxel pattern analyses, researchers demonstrate distinct activation patterns in brain areas associated with motor planning and execution.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of mental representation processes during the planning, reaching, and use phases of actions with tools commonly used toward the body (TB, e.g., toothbrush) or away from the body (AB, e.g., pencil). In the first session, healthy participants were asked to perform TB (i.e., making circular movements with the toothbrush near the mouth) and AB (i.e., making circular movements with the pencil near the desk) actions both with (i.e., actual use) and without the tool in hand (i.e., the pantomime of tool use). In the second session, the same participants performed a series of mental rotation tasks involving body‐ (i.e., face and hands) and object‐related (i.e., abstract lines) stimuli. The temporal and kinematic analysis of the motor actions showed that the time required to start the pantomimes (i.e., the planning phase) was shorter for the AB action than for the TB action. In contrast, the reaching phase lasted longer for the AB action than for the TB action. Furthermore, the TB pantomime was associated with the performance in the mental rotation of body‐related stimuli, especially during the planning and reaching phases, whereas the AB pantomime was more related to the performance in the mental rotation of object‐related stimuli, especially during the tool use phase. Thus, the results revealed that the direction of a goal‐directed motor action influences the dynamics of the different phases of the motor action and can determine the type of mental images involved in the planning and execution of the action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article shows the Effectiveness of Digital Teaching Materials for Theater Arts Subjects for Junior High School in the form of the Wellmime Technique-Based "Ku Pantomim" Android Application. These research instruments are interview guidelines, questionnaires, and observation sheets. The data is analyzed using the mixed method. The results and conclusions of this study show the effectiveness of development products by 79% with cryptic "interested" and practical, including: 1) andriod application usage book "Ku Pantomim" with syntax contained in learning design, 2) Adroid application "Ku Pantomim" and 3) Wellmime Pantomime Technique book in which integrated the principles of pantomime techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Al-Academy is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)