Social Media and the 2008 U. S. Presidential Election


Book Description

The 2008 U.S. presidential campaign offered a unique opportunity to evaluate the usefulness and applicability of social media technology in the American political environment. This study's assessment of the role that social media played during the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign confirms some widely held tenets of conventional wisdom about social media, but it also indicates that the role of social media as the new sine qua non of American politics is far from certain.




Visual Mismatch Negativity (vMMN): a Prediction Error Signal in the Visual Modality


Book Description

Current theories of visual change detection emphasize the importance of conscious attention to detect unexpected changes in the visual environment. However, an increasing body of studies shows that the human brain is capable of detecting even small visual changes, especially if such changes violate non-conscious probabilistic expectations based on repeating experiences. In other words, our brain automatically represents statistical regularities of our visual environmental. Since the discovery of the auditory mismatch negativity (MMN) event-related potential (ERP) component, the majority of research in the field has focused on auditory deviance detection. Such automatic change detection mechanisms operate in the visual modality too, as indicated by the visual mismatch negativity (vMMN) brain potential to rare changes. VMMN is typically elicited by stimuli with infrequent (deviant) features embedded in a stream of frequent (standard) stimuli, outside the focus of attention. In this research topic we aim to present vMMN as a prediction error signal. Predictive coding theories account for phenomena such as mismatch negativity and repetition suppression, and place them in a broader context of a general theory of cortical responses. A wide range of vMMN studies has been presented in this Research Topic. Twelve articles address roughly four general sub-themes including attention, language, face processing, and psychiatric disorders. Additionally, four articles focused on particular subjects such as the oblique effect, object formation, and development and time-frequency analysis of vMMN. Furthermore, a review paper presented vMMN in a hierarchical predictive coding framework. Each paper in this Research Topic is a valuable contribution to the field of automatic visual change detection and deepens our understanding of the short term plasticity underlying predictive processes of visual perceptual learning.




Yoga Pretzels


Book Description

A playful and easy way to teach yoga.




The Myth of Mirror Neurons: The Real Neuroscience of Communication and Cognition


Book Description

An essential reconsideration of one of the most far-reaching theories in modern neuroscience and psychology. In 1992, a group of neuroscientists from Parma, Italy, reported a new class of brain cells discovered in the motor cortex of the macaque monkey. These cells, later dubbed mirror neurons, responded equally well during the monkey’s own motor actions, such as grabbing an object, and while the monkey watched someone else perform similar motor actions. Researchers speculated that the neurons allowed the monkey to understand others by simulating their actions in its own brain. Mirror neurons soon jumped species and took human neuroscience and psychology by storm. In the late 1990s theorists showed how the cells provided an elegantly simple new way to explain the evolution of language, the development of human empathy, and the neural foundation of autism. In the years that followed, a stream of scientific studies implicated mirror neurons in everything from schizophrenia and drug abuse to sexual orientation and contagious yawning. In The Myth of Mirror Neurons, neuroscientist Gregory Hickok reexamines the mirror neuron story and finds that it is built on a tenuous foundation—a pair of codependent assumptions about mirror neuron activity and human understanding. Drawing on a broad range of observations from work on animal behavior, modern neuroimaging, neurological disorders, and more, Hickok argues that the foundational assumptions fall flat in light of the facts. He then explores alternative explanations of mirror neuron function while illuminating crucial questions about human cognition and brain function: Why do humans imitate so prodigiously? How different are the left and right hemispheres of the brain? Why do we have two visual systems? Do we need to be able to talk to understand speech? What’s going wrong in autism? Can humans read minds? The Myth of Mirror Neurons not only delivers an instructive tale about the course of scientific progress—from discovery to theory to revision—but also provides deep insights into the organization and function of the human brain and the nature of communication and cognition.




Cognitive Drill Therapy


Book Description

Cognitive Drill Therapy (CDT) is developed by Dr. Rakesh Jain, Ph.D. Clinical Psychologist, specifically for the management of phobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). It is a structured, directive and collaborative form of psychological treatment based on theories of conditioning, cognitive appraisal and linguistics.




100 Yoga Activities for Children


Book Description

Fun and healthy yoga exercises for kids and adults. Many children do not instinctively understand the importance of relaxation and meditation. It can be a difficult concept to grasp for someone at a young age. Yoga can be an accessible and fun way for children to learn the advantages of de-stressing and relaxing. By starting yoga early, your children will develop their natural flexibility and balance while simultaneously releasing mental and physical tension. With the fun activities featured in this book, learn one hundred ways to introduce them to this healthy exercise, which could develop into a lifelong practice. Included in this book are sections discussing: • Relaxation • Meditation • Breathing • Mudras (Sanskrit for “gesture” or “attitude”) • Standing and sitting postures • Elongated postures • Games incorporating yoga Additionally, 100 Yoga Activities for Kids features full-color illustrations and diagrams on every page to aid in the explanation and instruction of each pose. Discover the amazing benefits of these elaborate and simple postures, and explore a fun and healthy activity to share together.




The Yoga Adventure for Children


Book Description

The Yoga Adventure for Children is an illustrated manual for teachers at primary schools and yoga teachers who wish to create children's classes. Featuring 80 drawings of poses, the book playfully acquaints children with yoga stretches and postures and the philosophy behind the practice. Blending yoga, play, dance, music, drama, and drawing, the book requires very little preparation before use. Parents too can share The Yoga Adventure for Children with their child at home. Practicing yoga together offers an opportunity to both parents and the child to laugh, play, and have fun together. Many yoga positions are inspired by animals and stimulate suppleness and strength, and all aspects of yoga are included in the games: relaxation, breathing, concentration, meditation, self-awareness, and visualization. Concepts like karma, chakra, and the elements are explained and developed without too much confusing detail. The games in this book can also be used to increase children's concentration and self-esteem, and to stimulate them to express more creativity, imagination, and better social skills.




Yoga For Kids


Book Description

Teach your kids about yoga and mindfulness with this mindful yoga activity book with more than 50 poses and activities. Yoga is a great way to teach children about relaxation, meditation, and peace - while having fun at the same time. This book includes yoga activities for kids and mindful games - they can stretch into tree pose, bend into butterfly pose, learn how to make a mindfulness jar, and find out why and how we should stretch through a series of fun yoga poses and sequences. Written by Children's Yoga Expert Susannah Hoffman, with a foreword by Oscar winner Patricia Arquette, Yoga for Kids guides children through each pose, to make sure they achieve maximum fun and mindfulness in their yoga practice. Parents are given notes on each pose, to let them know what benefits it brings and how to stay safe. Yoga for Kids shows that supporting a child's positive mental health doesn't need to be expensive, time-consuming, or difficult. Poses and activities help children to de-stress, focus, and get moving while having fun.




Paint a Double Rainbow


Book Description

You and Your Child: Be Mindful Together Mindfulness reduces anxiety and stress, improves focus and concentration, and creates calm--all attributes parents want for their kids. But what happens if you don't know how to practice mindfulness yourself? How do you teach it to your child? Paint a Double Rainbow provides 40 mindfulness activities for you and your child to do together, so you both reap the benefits as you develop a deeper connection. Whether you're savoring silent sandwiches, sharing moonlight gratitudes, or taking a chalk walk, this charming book helps you develop a mindful toolbox, incorporate mindfulness into your daily lives, and create deep and lasting bonds. Together, you can have fun exploring... • A QUICK GUIDE TO MINDFULNESS and its benefits • 40 FUN ACTIVITIES to practice mindfulness • STRESS- AND ANXIETY BUSTERS through breathing, strengthening your senses, focusing, being kind, imagining, and relaxing With this playful book, you and your child will discover how mindfulness for kids can transform your lives.




Embracing the Feminine Warrior


Book Description

You either go after what you want, or you don't. You either drive towards the greatness within, or you live in mediocrity. This book either is for you, or it isn't. Many of you will like me or you won't, but if you embrace what I am coaching on in this book, YOU WILL GET RESULTS and benefit from a rich harvest by embracing your Feminine Warrior. I have grown up hearing most of my life, "You are too intense. You don't say it in a nice way. You are weird. You look like Mufasa. I could never push that hard. You are too loud, too much, too BLAH BLAH BLAH!"The warrior dialogue I would say to myself was "Don't Cry. Hold it in. If you cry you are weak. I don't want anyone to help me. I will DO IT MYSELF! I have to do everything,"and more and more untrue statements that would anchor in pseudo soils and patterns.