scholarly journals Political Left and Right: Our Hands-On Logic

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 335-346
Author(s):  
Frits Bienfait ◽  
Walter E. A. van Beek

The origins and immediate vitality of the left/right divide which emerged in French revolutionary politics from 1789 can only be understood against the background of a much older classification dynamic based on the primacy of the right hand, first described by Robert Hertz in 1909. This dynamic infused political thinking first in Versailles and since 1815 in democracies throughout the world. In the process, the classical left/right polarity acquired a new dimension: the complementary notions of ‘accepting’ and ‘questioning’ the existing social order. An essential feature of both the age-old classical polarity and the ensuing political polarity is that they are intimately bound up with local and evolving social contexts: there is no single content-based definition of left and right. As long as the majority of us are predisposed to use our right hand when acting in the world, ‘left versus right’ will remain the most important political antithesis in western-type democracies.

1989 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 899-906 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lester J. Hunt ◽  
Mary Janssen ◽  
Jerry Dagostino ◽  
Barbara Gruber

The present study investigated the effects of the use of the left and right hands on haptic identification of letters which were presented in either a normal (0° rotation), downward (90° clockwise rotation), upside down (180° rotation), or facing upward (270° rotation) position. Each of the 80 right-handed subjects was given five series of randomly ordered presentations of sets of 8 letters of the alphabet. The subjects were asked to feel and then name each letter correctly as quickly but as accurately as possible. Times showed no effect of hand, but significant effects were found for different sets of letters, degree of rotation and a significant decrease in identification time was observed across the five series. Interactions occurred between hand and rotation as well as set and rotation. Errors showed a significant interaction of hand with degree of rotation; the right was superior at 0° but the left was superior at 90°. The results were discussed in terms of hypotheses of hemisphere function, mental rotation, and stimulus familiarity.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 310-334
Author(s):  
Viktor Pál ◽  
Leonardo Valenzuela Perez

Authoritarian regimes are often seen to be hostile toward the environment, albeit there is a growing body of literature suggesting a more nuanced image when it comes to authoritarian governments and the environment. However, several aspects of human-nature relationship need further clarification in non-democratic systems, both on the political left and right. In this article we aim to address that challenge by analysing Cold War economic and environmental goals and responses of the right-wing military junta in Chile under Pinochet and the Hungarian state-socialist, USSR-satellite regime under Kádár. By analysing two radically different political and economic approaches to economic catchup, while mitigating environmental costs on the way, this study aims to understand better the ecological motivations in authoritarian regimes operating diverse political and economic agendas.


Author(s):  
K. B. E. E. Eimeleus

This chapter looks at turns on the move with the right or left shoulder aligned with the corresponding ski. It distinguishes three important techniques that have gained currency in the world of sport. One of them pertains only to running skis while the other two require mountain skis with stable bindings. The first is the method for turning in place, used while descending from a mountain or over flat terrain on running skis, or on any skis that lack a stable binding and have a posterior center of balance. The next is the Christiania turn, which is carried out on the inner ski, that is, on the right ski when the turn is done to the right-hand side. Finally, the Telemark turn allows a skier to make a sudden stop as they are descending.


2004 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
pp. 1570-1578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael I. Garry ◽  
Gary Kamen ◽  
Michael A. Nordstrom

Motor performance induces a postexercise increase in corticomotor excitability that may be associated with motor learning. We investigated whether there are hemispheric differences in the extent and/or time course of changes in corticomotor excitability following a manipulation task (Purdue pegboard) and their relationship with motor performance. Single- and paired-pulse (3 ms) transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used to assess task-induced facilitation of the muscle evoked potential (MEP) and intracortical inhibition (ICI) for three intrinsic hand muscles acting on digits 1, 2, and 5. Fifteen right-handed subjects performed three 30-s pegboard trials with left or right hand in separate sessions. TMS was applied to contralateral motor cortex before and after performance. Number of pegs placed was higher with the right hand, and performance improved (motor learning) with both hands over the three trials. MEP facilitation following performance was short-lasting (<15 min), selective for muscles engaged in gripping the pegs, and of similar magnitude in left and right hands. ICI was reduced immediately following performance with the right hand, but not the left. The extent of MEP facilitation was positively correlated with motor learning for the right hand only. We conclude that the pegboard task induces a selective, short-lasting change in excitability of corticospinal neurons controlling intrinsic hand muscles engaged in the task. Only left hemisphere changes were related to motor learning. This asymmetry may reflect different behavioral strategies for performance improvement with left and right upper limb in this task or hemispheric differences in the control of skilled hand movements.


2014 ◽  
Vol 85 (3) ◽  
pp. 408-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abraham N. Safer ◽  
Peter Homel ◽  
David D. Chung

ABSTRACT Objective:  To assess lateral differences between ossification events and stages of bone development in the hands and wrists utilizing Fishman's skeletal maturation indicators (SMIs). Materials and Methods:  The skeletal ages of 125 subjects, aged 8 to 20 years, were determined with left and right hand-wrist radiographs using Fishman's SMI assessment. Each subject was also given the Edinburgh Handedness Questionnaire to assess handedness. The skeletal ages of both hand-wrist radiographs were analyzed against each other, handedness, chronologic age, and gender. Results:  There were no significant differences overall in right and left SMI scores (P  =  .70); 79% of all patients showed no difference in right and left SMI scores, regardless of handedness, gender, or age. However, when patients were categorized based on clinical levels of SMI score for the right hand-wrist, there was a significant difference (P  =  .01) between the SMI 1-3 group and the SMI 11 group. Subjects in the SMI 1-3 group were more likely to show a left &gt; right SMI score, while subjects in the SMI 11 group were likely to show a right &gt; left SMI score. Conclusion:  Although no significant overall lateral differences in SMI scores were noted, it may be advisable to obtain a left hand-wrist radiograph and/or additional diagnostic information to estimate completion of growth in young surgical patients.


1985 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 471-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Peters

Experienced piano players can perform rubato, where one hand temporarily departs from a common time base. An experimental task that required performance with rubato-like characteristics showed that not only naive subjects, but also experienced piano players manifest interference between hands on this task. Performance was better when the preferred right hand took the rubato in both groups of subjects, in support of Mozart and Chopin's (Shaffer, 1981) admonition that piano players should take the rubato with the right hand.


Author(s):  
Sherma Zacharias ◽  
Andrew Kirk

ABSTRACT:Background:Constructional impairment following left vs. right hemisphere damage has been extensively studied using drawing tasks. A confounding factor in these studies is that right-handed patients with left hemisphere damage (LHD) are often forced by weakness to use their non-dominant (left) hand or hemiparetic dominant hand. Qualitative differences in the drawing characteristics of left and right hand drawings by normal subjects have not previously been characterized. The present study was undertaken to determine the qualitative differences between left and right hand drawings of normal subjects.Methods:Thirty right-handed, elderly subjects without a history of neurological disease were asked to draw, from memory, seven objects using the right and left hand. Half of the subjects were randomly assigned to draw with the left hand first, and half the right hand first. Right and left hand drawings were compared using a standardized scoring system utilized in several previous studies of drawing in focal and diffuse neurological disease. Each drawing was scored on eighteen criteria. Right and left hand drawing scores were then compared using the t-test for paired samples or the Wilcoxon matched-pairs testResults:Drawings made using the left hand were found to be significantly simpler, more tremulous and of poorer overall quality than drawings made by the same subjects using the right hand.Conclusions:The deficits found in left versus right hand drawings of normals are similar to those found in patients with LHD, suggesting that much of the drawing impairment seen following LHD is due to an elementary motor disturbance related to use of the non-dominant hand.


1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 403-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lester Hunt ◽  
Heidi Edwards ◽  
Kathryn Quest

The present study investigated the effects of the use of the right and left hands on haptic identification of letters of the alphabet. Each of the 64 right-handed subjects was given three series of randomly ordered presentations of the 26 letters of the alphabet. The subjects were asked to feel each letter and name correctly each letter as quickly but as accurately as possible. Analysis showed faster identification by those subjects using their left hands on Series 1 with no hand-differences appearing on Series 2 and 3. Significant over-all improvement in identification time occured with practice. The results were interpreted in terms of a novelty hypothesis of right-hemisphere function and an explanation of perceptual learning of letter identification.


2011 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 349-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Knowles

In 1881 William Powell Frith (1819–1909) exhibited a painting at the Royal Academy in London titled For Better For Worse (1881; oil on canvas; Private Collection). It depicts a well-to-do wedding Frith had witnessed in Bayswater (Figure 3). The newly married couple are represented crossing the pavement on a red carpet, just about to step into a waiting carriage pulled close to the kerb. The audience for their departure comprises a broad mix of classes and types. In his own description of this work, Frith identified the bride and groom, the bride's family and friends arranged on the steps of the house, plus a crowd standing behind the red carpet that included street boys, a Jewish second-hand clothes seller, and a policeman. In the foreground, on the left, a family of beggars approach from the street, while on the right-hand side, with his back to the viewer, stands a figure identified by Frith as an Italian boy with a monkey (2: 209–10).


Author(s):  
Mona Farouk M. Ahmed

The Quran is the holy book of Islam which has been almost translated to all languages of the world. The translation of the words of God is a great work which include a responsibility of conveying the accurate meaning of God’s words. The researcher of this paper studied the Korean language and participated in Korean-Arabic translations over twenty years. Accordingly, the researcher felt the responsibility of which she tries through this paper to shed the light on the Korean translation of Quran hoping for reaching the most accurate translation for Quran. This paper focused on one word of the noble Quran, tracing the Korean translation to examine its accuracy as a sample of other words that may include difficulties in the Korean translation. The choice of the word “wali: Guardian” was based on its Islamic specificity and its possible impacts on the right understanding of Islam. The study began with the definition of the word and its Islamic particularity. Then, the study presented an analysis of the Korean translation of the word through exploring the Quranic verses containing the word. Finally, the study gave suggestions for the accurate translation of the word which would include recommendations for the future translation of Quran. * This work was supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2018S1A6A3A02022221). * هذا العمل مدعوم من وزارة التعليم الكورية والمعهد الكوري القومي للبحوث (NRF-2018S1A6A3A02022221).


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