Spectators’ aesthetic experiences of sound and movement in dance performance

In this paper we present a study of spectators’ aesthetic experiences of sound and movement in live dance performance. A multidisciplinary team comprising a choreographer, neuroscientists and qualitative researchers investigated the effects of different sound scores on dance spectators. What would be the impact of auditory stimulation on kinesthetic experience and/or aesthetic appreciation of the dance? What would be the effect of removing music altogether, so that spectators watched dance while hearing only the performers’ breathing and footfalls? We investigated audience experience through qualitative research, using post-performance focus groups, while a separately conducted functional brain imaging (fMRI) study measured the synchrony in brain activity across spectators when they watched dance with sound or breathing only. When audiences watched dance accompanied by music the fMRI data revealed evidence of greater intersubject synchronisation in a brain region consistent with complex auditory processing. The audience research found that some spectators derived pleasure from finding convergences between two complex stimuli (dance and music). The removal of music and the resulting audibility of the performers’ breathing had a significant impact on spectators’ aesthetic experience. The fMRI analysis showed increased synchronisation among observers, suggesting greater influence of the body when interpreting the dance stimuli. The audience research found evidence of similar corporeally focused experience. The paper discusses possible connections between the findings of our different approaches, and considers the implications of this study for interdisciplinary research collaborations between arts and sciences

Ontological diversity in urban self-organization : complexity, critical realism and post-structuralism

As urban self-organization grows into a key concept in spatial planning-explaining spontaneous spatial transformations-the understandings and applications of the concept divert. This article turns to the ontological dimension of urban self-organization and scrutinizes how a critical realist and a post-structuralist ontology inspire theoretical practices, analytical tendencies, empirical readings, and subsequent planning interventions in relation to urban self-organization. This is illustrated with an example of the self-organized regeneration of a deprived street in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. With this contribution, we aim to create ontological self-awareness among planning scholars in studying urban self-organization and invite them to reflect on how their positions complement, deviate, and potentially challenge or inspire those of others. We argue that by clarifying ontological diversity in urban self-organization, theoretical practices and complexity-informed planning interventions can be further deepened and enriched

Introduction: What do we mean by 'transbordering Latin Americas'

This book, Transbordering Latin Americas: Liminal Places, Cultures, and Powers (T)Here, explores transbordering/transnational Latin American sociocultural and spatial conditions across the globe and across scales—from the gendered and racialized body to the national and transnational arena. What do we mean by “transbordering Latin Americas”? When we use the plural Latin Americas, we purposefully implode the notion of a unified, cohesive, and static Latin America and a corresponding singular identity—a way of being or being perceived as Latin American. The phrase “transbordering Latin Americas” thus comprises instances of that which can be defined as “Latin American” (which is, in turn, open to debate and transformation), which occurs through plurilocal societal relations—existing within, between, and above the traditional container spaces of national and continental societies without clear or stable “motherlands” (Pries 2004; Irazábal, 2012). Latin Americas in plural aims to push further the problematization of “methodological nationalism,” or the tendency to liken society to the nation-state. Indeed, despite its continuous undeniable importance in framing social dynamics, the nation-state has been debunked as the “natural” unit of the modern world and particularly as a useful one for the study of migration and diasporic phenomena (Duany 2011; Wimmer and Glick Schiller 2002). This book suggests the need to go beyond not only “methodological nationalism” but also “methodological continentalism” to effectively deconstruct and reconstruct the notion of multiple and fluxing Latin Americas

Learning with comments: An analysis of comments and community on Stack Overflow

Stack Overflow (SO) has become a primary source for learning how to code, with community features supporting asking and answering questions, upvoting to signify approval of content, and comments to extend questions and answers. While past research has considered the value of posts, often based on upvoting, little has examined the role of comments. Beyond value in explaining code, comments may offer new ways of looking at problems, clarifications of questions or answers, and socially supportive community interactions. To understand the role of comments, a content analysis was conducted to evaluate the key purposes of comments. A coding schema of nine comment categories was developed from open coding on a set of 40 posts and used to classify comments in a larger dataset of 2323 comments from 50 threads over a 6-month period. Results provide insight into the way the comments support learning, knowledge development, and the SO community, and the use and usefulness of the comment feature