1. The presentation on "mirror neurons" is quite interesting -- especially, I think, since every child learns their "native" language wholly "by ear" (i.e., by listening and repeating what they hear, but also by recognizing and using liguistic structure). Note that illiterate people never learn their native language any other way.

With regard to your question about whether we have some "mirror neurons" for our behaviour on the internet, I can testify that we must have something of the sort for our interactions with others in "forums", such as those provided by Compuserve and other old-fashioned "bulletin board systems" like Salon's "The Well" and "Table Talk" that have been adapted with a web interface. New users learn how to behave by observation, regardless of whether the "forum" has any formal rules and policies, and it is not unusual to see how every regular participant's behaviour at least acknowledges, if not expressly mirrors, the behaviour of the other regular participants -- else, they become a pariah.

Posted at 8:04PM on Dec 18th 2005 by Stardance

2. B.2 Relevance to the objectives of the IST Priority
Recommended length – three pages
(Describe in detail the manner how the proposed project’s objectives contribute to the scientific, technical, wider societal and policy objectives of the IST Priority as stated in this call.)

The relevance of the ON-NS& T project on the IST Priority of the Call 4 2.4.10 as a centre of gravity but also in relation to the previous considered objectives addressed in the call 4., can be subdivided in “Scientific and Technological Relevance” and “Societal and Policy Relevance”.
Scientific & Technological Relevance.
a) To explore interaction between e. learning of individual and organization in order to explore a comparison among current and emerging ICT on the light of the advances of Neurological and Cognitive science studies aiming to define ad integration of contents and methods that can mutually enhance the e. learning processes for the individual and for the organization.
As a matter of facts the scientific & technological relevance of the ON-NS&T. proposal need to be seen both: from the one hand in the light of advanced consideration of Mental Ergonomics the project can obtain as a result better methodologies of application of ICT to human learning dynamics , and from the other hand the Project Consortium will develop a strategy of activities appropriated for the development and dissemination of new integrated contents and best practices bettering the utilization of ICT in various long distance and long life contexts in Europe.
Some considerations can express the Scientific & Technological Relevance that can be done from the ON-NS&T. Project by means a research on the comparison and assessment of traditional learning systems and ICT educational methodology .
The discovery of “mirror neurons” in the frontal lobes get a reflection about the potential relevance to human brain evolution and hence for the creative methodology of learning. Scientists have discovered a remarkable system they call mirror neurons that explains the modelling/mimicking process that is central to much human learning. Scientists all over the world are also exploring the relationship between mirror neuron activity and our ability to imagine our own planned actions, be empathetic, and develop articulate speech communication. Mirror neurons may thus eventually help to explain many teaching and e. learning ICT advancements in which cognitive and methodological modelling provides students with an effective behavioural patterns to follow – and also to help the overcoming of some disabilities (such as autism) in which children can't read the minds of others. Therefore tacking attention to the important function of Mirror Neurons that theoretically allow ‘virtual’ (off-line) information to be processed in computational ICT virtual models, it will be possible to enhance e. learning processes by means the development of computer simulation models based on "imitation learning strategy" in a way that will provide a unifying framework between ICT applied on educational field and Human Learning potential that can help to explain a evolutionary of mental abilities of intuition that have previously remained unexplained and inaccessible to innovative experiments, but anyway Mirror neurons obviously cannot be the only answer to all these possibility of evolution of human learning in an ICT innovative methodology and contents , based on computer “virtual reality imitation” in enhancing e. learning strategies, but the application of research on the neurological relationships among short and long term memory it will be a source of great relevance the ON-NS&T research on e. learning innovation because using ICT speech or writing or tools. In fact it is easy to understand that the brain exercise today by the use of ICT getting a large informational amount utilise more than before the short time memory instead of the long term memory processes. Therefore the results of the integrated studies of the ON-NS.T consortium may have served as a catalyst for the permanent learnability growth of individual and organization.

Also the Scientific & technological relevance ON-NS&T. project is in a long term will be come from the contribution to a new understanding of learning processes by exploring links between a large field of subject coming from different disciplines as well as , Biochemistry, Biology and Genetics and Post Genomics , and Neurology ( including psychology and pedagogy), that today can play a major explanatory role in the understanding of a number of human features of creative learning and ICT communication mental abilities , that can be develop an advanced cognitive sciences production , for improving a great effort and strong synergies on integrated science popularization of the results obtained exploring links between brain-learning potential, and scientific and humanistic cognitions and IC Technologies.
Focus of those multi-disciplinary actions and dissemination activities will be the innovation of formal and informal settings of education in Europe, especially giving the centre of attention to the METODS OF EUROPEAN KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT development where the “M.E.R.I.T” applications of the ON-NS&T project, will exploiting the shared and integrated contents and innovative pedagogical methods between e. learning innovation and knowledge management for improving European Knowledge Society.

“Societal and Policy Relevance”- Connecting Brain Processes to Educational Policies and Practices
The ON-NS&T project exploring the links between learning and ICT in an advanced trans-disciplinary cognition development will explore also the technological developments that pose problems and possibilities for renewing and sharing educational policy and practices in Europe. It is implies an application research operating within the framework of long-term research into the theory and applications of neural nets and computational intelligence and its dissemination to get a feedbach tha guarantee the understanding of potential users of ITC machine perception and innovative cognition about the an advanced interactive policy system of social e. learning organized on specific dimensions of e. learning situations /Ages/groups/Specific Subjects) all oriented to emancipate work-conditions in European Knowledge Society.

SEARCH FOR PARTNERS< write to LRE@UNIFI.IT

Posted at 8:04PM on Dec 18th 2005 by Paolo Manzelli