Gestural similarity, mathematics, psychology: Hints from a first experiment and some applications between pedagogy and research

Can music and drawings be thought of as the results of physical gestures, and thus be compared? In this paper we summarize the conjecture of „gestural similarity“ developed in the framework of the mathematical theory of musical gestures. Then, we outline the history of an experiment involving mathematics, music, drawing, and psychology, aiming to evaluate the cognitive relevance of the conjecture. A simple visual form and a short homophonic musical sequence can be considered „similar“ if they can be thought of as produced by the same movements. Participants in an experiment were asked to assess the degree of similarity between given music examples and simple visuals (three visuals for each sound stimulus). Results were analyzed and con rmed the theoretical expectations. In addition, we describe some creative applications of this conjecture, including pedagogical and creative developments. In particular, we describe the music derived from a natural form, the essential structure of an ammonite, and the illusion of a „mathematical ocean“ with sounds and images. We discuss challenges of these techniques and the characteristics of spectrograms in relation with gestural similarity

A friend in need? The sino-Russian relationship under the coronavirus crisis in twitter: a Russian perspective

The paper focuses on the COVID-19 as a stress test to the Sino-Russian strategic partnership: has it driven Russia and China closer together, farther apart, or made no difference? Employing content analysis of official Russian discourse as expressed by the Kremlin, the Government, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), both via their official web pages (104 online publications) and Twitter accounts (260 tweets), this study focuses on the Russian twiplomacy as a more suitable mean to reflect the real-time changes of an evolving crisis. The analysis demonstrates that the Sino-Russian relationship extends beyond the "axis of convenience." It does not, however, correspond to the support expected from a consolidated (comprehensive) strategic partnership, nor does it achieve the intensity of soft balancing (vis-à-vis the USA) in a particularly polarized and politicized international context.This study was conducted at the Research Centre in Political Science (UIDB/CPO/00758/2020), University of Minho/University of Evora, and supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science through national funds

Should we teach primary pupils about chemical change?

Thirty six pupils from three 6th grade classes (ages 11/12, n=75) in Greece were interviewed pre and post intervention in a piece of research on explanations of chemical phenomena. Software concerning chemical phenomena was incorporated in a teaching scheme, where the particle theory was used. After 13 hours intervention, pupils' explanations were categorized in five discrete categories. Only a few pupils could give satisfactory explanations, involving the integration of particle ideas at the level of atoms. The idea of chemical change seemed to be very difficult for the majority of pupils. Implications for the teaching of chemical phenomena at young ages are discussed