Corona Concerts: The Effect of Virtual Concert Characteristics on Social Connection and Kama Muta

The popularity of virtual concerts increased as a result of the social distancing requirements of the coronavirus pandemic. We aimed to examine how the characteristics of virtual concerts and the characteristics of the participants influenced their experiences of social connection and kama muta (often labeled “being moved”). We hypothesized that concert liveness and the salience of the coronavirus would influence social connection and kama muta. We collected survey responses on a variety of concert and personal characteristics from 307 participants from 13 countries across 4 continents. We operationalized social connection as a combination of feelings and behaviors and kama muta was measured using the short kama muta scale (Zickfeld et al., 2019). We found that (1) social connection and kama muta were related and predicted by empathic concern, (2) live concerts produced more social connection, but not kama muta, than pre-recorded concerts, and (3) the salience of the coronavirus during concerts predicted kama muta and this effect was completely mediated by social connection. Exploratory analyses also examined the influence of social and physical presence, motivations for concert attendance, and predictors of donations. This research contributes to the understanding of how people can connect socially and emotionally in virtual environments

Developing Musical Creativity Through Movement: Navigating the Musical Affordance Landscape

peer reviewedSchools too often undermine creativity, said Ken Robinson, an educationalist who has changed thinking on schools. In his famous TEDtalk “Do schools kill creativity?,” he argues that the undermining of creativity results from being too focused on children’s heads rather than on their bodies. In line with Robinson’s observation, music education has been criticized for a lack of creative approaches, and a focus on disembodied learning experiences. In our view, the development of creative and embodied approaches to music education needs a deeper understanding of the embodied processes that underlie creativity, especially with regard to the use of the body in music learning. Using a dynamic, relational, and action-oriented perspective on creativity, we connect creativity to the concepts of affordance navigation, metastability, and cognitive flexibility. Next, we elaborate on how body movement may support creatively exploring the musical environment and developing a deepened musical understanding through purposeful affordance navigation

Os espaços escolares no ensino das artes visuais em torno do enfoque da cognição enativa

This study derives from larger research carried out between 2018 and 2019, whose central focus was the body and emotions during visual artistic creation in school contexts. This paper addresses a part of its unit of analysis to identify the embodiment of school spaces involved in teaching and learning of visual arts. Theoretically, it posits from an enactive approach of embodied cognition where the body and space are a crucial part of artistic learning. Methodologically, it corresponds to a qualitative study that analyzed in depth interviews of 21 education professionals who worked as visual arts teachers in different schools from Santiago Chile. It concludes that the spaces for the teaching of visual arts in schools activated or inhibited the embodiment of artistic learning of students, as a result of cultural, aesthetic, and functional factors. It proposes to activate the resignification and embodied appropriation of school spaces destined for artistic learning, modifying or inhabiting alternative spaces beyond their physical and symbolic borders.Este artículo deriva de una investigación de mayor envergadura desarrollada entre los años 2018 y 2019, cuyo foco central es el cuerpo y las emociones durante la creación artística visual en contextos escolares. En esta ocasión aborda una parte de su unidad de análisis con el objetivo de identificar la corporeización de los espacios escolares implicados en la enseñanza y aprendizaje de las artes visuales. Teóricamente, plantea desde el enfoque enactivo de la cognición corporeizada que el cuerpo y el espacio forman parte crucial en el aprendizaje artístico. Metodológicamente, corresponde a un estudio cualitativo que analizó entrevistas en profundidad de 21 profesionales de la educación que ejercieron como profesores/as de artes visuales en diferentes establecimientos educacionales en Santiago de Chile. Concluye que los espacios destinados a la enseñanza de las artes visuales en los centros escolares, activaron o inhibieron la corporeización del aprendizaje artístico de los/las estudiantes, producto de factores culturales, estéticos y funcionales. Propone activar la resignificación y apropiación corporeizada de los espacios escolares destinados al aprendizaje artístico, modificando o habitando espacios alternativos más allá de sus fronteras físicas y simbólicas.Este estudo deriva de uma investigação alargada desenvolvida entre 2018 e 2019, cujo foco central é o corpo e as emoções durante a criação artística visual em contextos escolares. Nesta ocasião, aborda uma parte da sua unidade de análise com o objetivo de identificar a corporeização dos espaços escolares envolvidos no ensino e aprendizagem das artes visuais. Teoricamente, propõe, a partir da abordagem ativa da cognição corporatizada, que o corpo e o espaço são uma parte crucial da aprendizagem artística. Metologicamente, corresponde a um estudo qualitativo que analisou entrevistas aprofundadas de 21 profissionais da educação que exerceram como professores de artes visuais em diferentes estabelecimentos de ensino em Santiago do Chile. Conclui que espaços destinados ao ensino das artes visuais nas escolas, ativaram ou inibiram a formação da aprendizagem artística dos alunos, produto de fatores culturais, estéticos e funcionais. Propõe a ativação da resignificação e apropriação corporatizada de espaços escolares destinados à aprendizagem artística, modificação ou habitamento de espaços alternativos para além das suas fronteiras físicas e simbólicas

Differential navigational strategies during spatial learning in a new modified version of the Oasis maze

During spatial navigation, some typical parameters of learning have been observed, such as latency or path length. However, these parameters are sensitive to patterns of navigation and orientation that are not easily measurable. In the present study, we used a modified version of the Oasis maze and evaluated different parameters of learning, navigation, and orientation in different animal groups. Through a PCA (Principal component analysis) we found different factors such as learning, navigation, speediness, anxiety, orientation, path variability, and turning behavior. Each factor gathers different groups of behavioral variables. ANOVA analysis of those factors demonstrates that some of them are more strongly modulated by trial progression, while others by animal group differences, indicating that each group of variables is better reflecting one of these dimensions. To understand the nature of these navigation differences, we studied orientation strategies between animal conditions and across trials. We found that the main navigational strategy used by the animals consist of locating the target and directing their behaviors towards this area. When testing how this strategy changed after cognitive impairment or enhancement, we found that A beta Os treated animals (Amyloid beta Oligomers, Alzheimer animal model) have strong orientation difficulties at locating the target at longer distances. While animals with learning enhancement (exercised rat) do not show changes in orientation behaviors. These analyses highlight that experimental manipulations affect learning, but also induced changes in the navigational strategies. We concluded that both dimensions can explain the differences observed in typical learning variables, such as latency or path length, motivating the development of new tools that asses this two-dimension as a separate but, interacting phenomenon.Instituto Milenio, Biomedical Neuroscience Institute, BNI, Chile ICM P09-015F Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Cientifico y Tecnologico (Fondecyt), Ph.D. Conicyt fellowship, Chile 21150176 Guillermo Puelma Foundation, Chil