Metaphor Analysis in Political Discourse Based on Discourse Dynamics Framework for Metaphor: A Case Study

Contrary to the pre-existing mapping and top-down instantiation from thought to language, Discourse Dynamics Framework for Metaphor(DDFM)argues that metaphor works mainly inductively upwards from the linguistic metaphor data, offering a tool for understanding people, revealing something of speaker’s ideas, affective aspects and values. This study is designed to apply DDFM to a political speech about fighting COVID-19 made by Xi Jinping, the president of the People’s Republic of China. Assisted by computer software, such as tables of Microsoft Office, to sort metaphors of each segment of this speech, this article investigates metaphors in the speech by progressive process of metaphor analysis of DDFM. It is found that: (1)The most frequently occurring metaphors are related to bodily action and body experience, which implies actions Chinese government will take.(2)The dynamically emergent systematic metaphors evolve as the discourse proceeds, conveying the political ideas and attitudes of Chinese government in fighting COVID-19.(3) Most of metaphors are conventionalized, which indicates the framing role of conventional metaphors in discourse. Thus, DDFM offers a new approach regarding metaphors in political discourse.

Effects of Simulated Microgravity and Hypergravity Conditions on Arm Movements in Normogravity

The human sensorimotor control has evolved in the Earth’s environment where all movement is influenced by the gravitational force. Changes in this environmental force can severely impact the performance of arm movements which can be detrimental in completing certain tasks such as piloting or controlling complex vehicles. For this reason, subjects that are required to perform such tasks undergo extensive training procedures in order to minimize the chances of failure. We investigated whether local gravity simulation of altered gravitational conditions on the arm would lead to changes in kinematic parameters comparable to the full-body experience of microgravity and hypergravity onboard a parabolic flight. To see if this would be a feasible approach for on-ground training of arm reaching movements in altered gravity conditions we developed a robotic device that was able to apply forces at the wrist in order to simulate micro- or hypergravity conditions for the arm while subjects performed pointing movements on a touch screen. We analyzed and compared the results of several kinematic parameters along with muscle activity using this system with data of the same subjects being fully exposed to microgravity and hypergravity conditions on a parabolic flight. Both in our simulation and in-flight, we observed a significant increase in movement durations in microgravity conditions and increased velocities in hypergravity for upward movements. Additionally, we noted a reduced accuracy of pointing both in-flight and in our simulation. These promising results suggest, that locally simulated altered gravity can elicit similar changes in some movement characteristics for arm reaching movements. This could potentially be exploited as a means of developing devices such as exoskeletons to aid in training individuals prior to undertaking tasks in changed gravitational conditions.

Out-of-Body Experience induced by hypnotic suggestion: phenomenology and perceptual characteristics

The aim of this study is the investigation of the perceptual and cognitive characteristics of Out-of- Body Experiences (OBEs) induced by hypnotic induction.Five participants selected for their experience with hypnotic inductions were induced into an OBE and were requested to verbally describe six selected images, either one or two per session, that were located in two different rooms that were hundreds of kilometers from the place where they were under hypnosis.Furthermore, their real-time phenomenological experience was investigated with respect to the minimal phenomenal selfhood (MPS) and the similarities with the characteristics of spatial and temporal perception reported in near death experiences (NDEs).On average, the participants correctly identified 46.7% of the images, whereas two independent judges correctly identified 66.7% of them, compared to a probability of 25% expected due to chance.The phenomenology of their out-of-body perceptual and cognitive experiences revealed a general commonality among all participants. All participants reported a phenomenological experience of a disembodied personal selfhood able to perceive simply by an act of will without the physical limitation of eyesight, to move in the environment instantaneously and exist in a sort of three dimensional world with no awareness of time.The validity of these first person verbal reports was discussed to determine whether they were due to real OBEs or to the participants’ or the hypnotist’s previous knowledge about OBE.

Re-thinking teachers’ body awareness to support well-being and resilience practices during COVID-19

In this paper, the concept of body awareness is introduced in view of supporting teachers’ well-being and resilience practices, with a focus on COVID-19 pandemic. Teachers experience high rates of stress and pressure to cope with current working conditions due to COVID-19 pandemic. Depression and anxiety related to teachers’ duties have been largely researched worldwide. Research is being done around well-being from different perspectives, mental health, emotional and spiritual well-being, among other research done. However, little research has been done associated with body experiences and awareness from a holistic dimension that focuses on developing well-being and resilience practices; a state of mind and body that goes beyond acquiring physical skills to develop better physical condition. Thus far, despite relevant reviews and works have been published in relation to well-being and resilience practices in education, there is a need to explore the body experience to support teachers’ challenges during COVID-19 pandemic. For doing so, this work aims to review literature on the concept of well-being to elaborate, first, on the importance of supporting teachers’ well-being during COVID-19 pandemic. Second, we elaborate on the concept of body awareness in education. Third, we briefly explore the concept of resilience in relation to teachers’ well-being. Last, we raise some critical remarks about body experiences in education post COVID-19, and the need of re-thinking well-being and resilience practices in the school community to face with uncertainty.

Carlos Alvarado’s Research on the Out-of-Body Experience

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Brain World or Life World? Critique of Neuroconstructivism

From a neuro-constructivistic point of view, the brain creates an internal simulation of the external world which appears as the phenomenal world in consciousness. This view presupposes in particular that the subjective body and the organic or objective body belong to two fundamentally different worlds, the mental and the physical. The spatiality of the subject-body must then be declared an illusion, for example by referring to dissociations of the subject- and object-body as in the rubber hand illusion or the phantom limb. However, this alleged virtuality of body experience can be refuted by the intersubjectivity of perception, which confirms the co-extensivity of subject-body and object-body. Subjectivity thus proves to be as embodied as it is spatially extended, that means, as bodily being-in-the-world.

Contribution of interaction force to the sense of hand ownership and the sense of hand agency

When performing willed actions, we have the unified and coherent experience of owning and controlling our body. Body ownership is believed to emerge from the integration of coherent multisensory signals, while agency is believed to emerge from the coherence between predicted and perceived outcomes of actions. As a consequence, body ownership and agency can both be modulated by multisensory conflicts. The contribution of active movement generation to ownership and agency has not been parametrically explored. Here, we investigated the contribution of interaction force between the agent and the environment to the sense of hand ownership (SO) and the sense of hand agency (SA). By combining robotics and virtual reality, we manipulated the sensorimotor and visual information during immersive scenarios to induce and quantify altered states of SO and SA. First, we demonstrated that SO and SA could be successfully manipulated by our experimental paradigms. Second, we showed that interaction force strongly contributes to SA, but to a lesser extent to SO. Finally, we showed that SO and SA interact beyond their common multisensory basis. Our results, based on two independent studies, provide a direct link between sensorimotor interactions and subjective body experience and demonstrate a new dissociation between SO and SA.

Facilitating Adaptive Emotion Processing and Somatic Reappraisal via Sustained Mindful Interoceptive Attention

Emotions are by nature embodied, as the brain has evolved to quickly assess the emotional significance of stimuli and output signals to the body’s viscera and periphery to aid adaptive responses. Emotions involve both implicit bodily and explicit narrative processes, and patients may experience transdiagnostic distress when bodily signals are not attended to and holistically integrated with explicit narratives about experience. Similarly, therapists may be trained in more implicit body-based approaches (i.e., massage/bodywork, physical and occupational therapy, and nursing/medicine) or more explicit narrative-based approaches (i.e., psychotherapy), and may lack training in skills that integrate both levels of emotion processing to aid healing and growth. To address these gaps, we propose a framework where the bridge between implicit bodily sensations and explicit narratives lies in cultivating mindful awareness of bodily sensations associated with emotions. This process brings subjective awareness to notice inner body experience (or interoceptive awareness) that is often outside of conscious awareness, so that it may be understood and re-integrated in more adaptive ways, which we call somatic reappraisal. Using clinical theory and example vignettes, we present mindful interoceptive awareness for adaptive emotion processing as a framework to cultivate and enhance somatic reappraisal. Mindful interoceptive awareness brings more focused and sustained attention to inner body experience; likewise, internal sensations associated with emotions become more granular, vivid, and can shift in ways that facilitate somatic reappraisal. Learning to sustain interoceptive awareness when engaged with mindfulness qualities of nonjudgment and compassion promotes an experience where new associations between emotions, meanings, and memories can be made that generate insights that are holistic and integrative. A clinical vignette is used in this paper to provide examples of this approach in psychotherapy. An example script for use in mindfulness groups is included, and resources are suggested for clinicians to gain more experience. Mindful interoceptive awareness for adaptive emotion processing is a clinical process that can be learned and applied by a range of clinicians to treat mental and physical health conditions that may benefit greater embodied awareness.

A Rationale for Teacher Change from a Bodyfulness Paradigm: An Experience in Higher Education

This article presents an exploratory and interpretative study on the development of self-reflection and self-knowledge in university teachers by an embodied experience. Dance Movement Therapy and Body–Mind Centering share the fundamentals of the paradigm of embodied cognition through a first-person full-body experience. Using these principles, a training program was designed and implemented in a cohort of 22 university teachers. The article offers details of the program and the adaptations necessary to carry it out in a higher-education context. The results of the qualitative analysis that was conducted suggested that the transformative learning paradigm could be useful to explain the process carried out by the participants. With the necessary limitations, the incorporation of awareness and attentive participation in bodily states and actions manifests as a transformative element in the teacher. The participants, despite initial resistance, see possibilities for applying this knowledge in their teaching practice.