Reenacting sensorimotor features of drawing movements from friction sounds

International audienceEven though we generally don't pay attention to the friction sounds produced when we are writing or drawing, these sounds are recordable, and can even evoke the underlying gesture. In this paper, auditory perception of such sounds, and the internal representations they evoke when we listen to them, is considered from the sensorimotor learning point of view. The use of synthesis processes of friction sounds makes it possible to investigate the perceptual influence of each gestures parameter separately. Here, the influence of the velocity profile on the mental representation of the gesture induced by a friction sound was investigated through 3 experiments. The results reveal the perceptual relevance of this parameter, and particularly a specific morphology corresponding to biological movements, the so-called 1/3-power law. The experiments are discussed according to the sensorimotor theory and the invariant taxonomy of the ecological approach

Conceptualising Political Parties: A Normative Framework

Political parties occupy a unique intermediate position between civil society and the public political realm and provide a hybrid and semi-institutional connection between the two domains. In this article I argue that, in order to preserve their unique and hybrid nature, political parties ought to balance partiality and unity and abide by a set of normative criteria, above all respect for party pluralism and for the institutional framework in which they operate. By complying with these criteria, political parties can convey values and interests in a way that favours democrac