Language constitutes the dominant representational mode in science teaching, and lectures are still the most prevalent of the teaching methods in school science. In this dissertation, I investigate lectures from a multimodal and communicative perspective to better understand how teaching as a cultural-historical and social activity unfolds; that is, I am concerned with teaching as a communicative event, where a variety of signs (or semiotic resources), expressed in diverse modalities (or modes of communication) are produced and reproduced while the teacher articulates very specific conceptual meanings for the students. Within a trans-disciplinary approach that merges theoretical and methodical frameworks of social and cultural studies of human activity and interaction, communicative and gestures studies, linguistics, semiotics, pragmatics, and studies on teaching and learning science, I investigate teaching as a communicative, dynamic, multimodal, and social activity. My research questions include: What are the resources produced and reproduced in the classroom when the teacher is lecturing? How do these resources interact with each other? What meanings do they carry and how are these associated to achieve the coherence necessary to accomplish the communication of complex and abstract scientific concepts, not only within one lecture, but also within an entire unit of the curricula encompassing various lectures? My results show that, when lecturing, the communication of scientific concepts occur along trajectories driven by the dialectical relation among the various semiotic resources a lecturer makes available that together constitute a unit—the idea. Speech, gestures, and other nonverbal resources are but one-sided expressions of a higher order communicative meaning unit. The iterable nature of the signs produced and reproduced during science lectures permits, supports, and encourages the repetition, variation, and translation of ideas, themes, and languages and therefore permits, supports, and encourages conceptual development at the boundary between the mundane and discipline-specific cultures that students (have to) traverse in learning. It is only within this multimodal and dialectical communicative meaning unit that we can understand and investigate science teaching and learning as these processes naturally occur.

Etruscan art was greatly influenced by Greek art, which is especially apparent in the Etruscan funerary art. A common motif within Greek funerary art is the prothesis, the lying in state, which appears in Etruria during the sixth and fifth centuries BCE. However, the Etruscan scenes differ from the Greek scenes in that they portray a wider flexibility when it comes to gender roles. Women and men are not limited to gestures or positions within the scenes of prothesis. This in turn, along with other factors not discussed in this paper, has led to discussions of a more gender equal Etruscan society. Yet there is a specific gesture within the Etruscan scenes that is not found in the Greek material. The gesture in question, portrayed with both hands on the chest either in fists or placed one on top of the other, appears in other funerary art outside of the prothesis scenes. The aim of this thesis is to examine this gesture and its relation to gender and whether it is gender constricted. By analyzing and comparing funerary art limited to Chiusi and Vetulonia that includes the gesture, found in reliefs, statuettes as well as sculptures, this paper sets out to deepen our understanding of Etruscan gender roles. Since the material being examined is extremely restricted, the only thing an analysis of this size can determine is that there is indeed a gender constriction within the funerary art from the cities of Chiusi and Vetulonia, speaking to a possible wider occurrence within the entire Etruscan society. To delve deeper into the questions of gender roles and how they affect the Etruscan art, it is necessary to broaden the scope of material – both in form and origin.

La ritualité funéraire est en France depuis le tournant du 21ème siècle en profonde transformation, ce qui interroge fortement la relation entre la ville et la mort. Un certain rejet du cimetière standardisé et de ses contraintes s’exprime par le recours toujours plus fréquent à la crémation et à la dispersion. La matérialité de la cendre amène à une dématérialisation et une localisation plus diffuse des morts. Celles-ci sont renforcées par l’usage croissant de supports numériques (page memorial, réseaux sociaux, cimetières virtuels) qui ouvrent de nouveaux espaces-temps pour l’entretien de la relation aux morts et participent à redéfinir la spatialité du deuil. En outre, les considérations écologiques se révèlent aujourd’hui structurantes et bouleversent le domaine du funéraire tant au niveau pratique qu’au niveau des représentations. Nous faisons l’hypothèse que le tissage de notre relation aux morts passe par le corps, par ses mouvements et ses gestes qui matérialisent et donnent une ambiance à cette relation. Ainsi, à partir de cette approche sensible des ambiances, les dispositifs construits et paysagers sont appréhendés comme des mises en condition spatiales, temporelles, mais aussi corporelles, qui participent à la construction de la relation à la mort et aux morts et façonnent en partie le vécu intime du deuil. Les seuils, les rythmes et les gestes en jeu dans l’espace urbain sont des leviers pour la connaissance et la conception des relations entre l’urbain et la mort. En ce sens, nous identifions des intentionnalités particulièrement relevantes dans l’expérience du deuil (accompagner, entretenir, se recueillir, cheminer), qui sont mises en rapport avec les possibilités d’actions liées à l’espace construit et paysager. Ce travail permet de révéler des manques et des ressources, et ainsi, d’envisager le renouvellement des critères sur lesquels s’appuie la conception des espaces de la mort à l’échelle architecturale et urbaine. / Since the turn of the 21st century, the funeral rituality in France undergoes a profound transformation that strongly questions the relationship between death and the city. The more frequent practices of cremation and ashes scattering express a rejection of cemeteries standardisation and constraints. The materiality of the ash leads to dematerialisation and more diffuse localisation of the dead. These are reinforced by the increasing use of digital media (memorial pages, social networks, virtual cemeteries) that open a new space-time framework for sustaining the relationship to the dead and participate in redefining the spatiality of grief. In addition, environmental considerations reveal today a new deviation in the field of funerary both in practice and at the level of representation.We assume that weaving our relationship to the dead passes across the body, its movements and gestures that materialise that relationship while creating a special ambiance. Therefore, from this sensory approach dealing with urban ambiances, constructed and landscaped arrangements are perceived as a way for setting the conditions on spatial, temporal and bodily levels, that participate in establishing the relationship to death and the dead, and partly shape the intimate experience of mourning. Thresholds, rhythms and gestures captured in urban spaces are levers for understanding and designing the relationship between death and the city.In this sense, we identify certain intentionalities that are particularly relevant for the experience of mourning (accompany/support, maintain/sustain, reflect/meditate, travel/progress), which are seen in the light of action possibilities related to the built and landscaped environment. This work helps to highlight the different gaps and resources, and to consider renewing the criteria upon which the design processes of spaces related to death on architectural and urban scales is based.

L’objectif de ce travail vise l’approfondissement des connaissances sur le traitement des gestes sans signification en mémoire de travail. Cette recherche se décompose en 5 études réparties sur trois temps : la caractérisation de la structure dédiée à ces stimuli ; les stratégies utilisées spontanément ; l’optimalisation des performances par des stratégies induites. Nos deux premières études montrent que les gestes sans signification sont traités par une composante dédiée en mémoire de travail. Celle-ci fonctionnerait à la manière de la boucle phonologique de Baddeley, Allen et Hitch (2011) tout en étant distincte d’elle. Les deux études suivantes mettent en évidence l'utilisation spontanée d’une verbalisation qui sert à l’évaluation des performances, sans pour autant les améliorer. À la vision des gestes, des traitements mnésiques verbaux et moteurs opèreraient en parallèle, sans pour autant que les traces mnésiques se combinent. Enfin, la dernière étude établit que le rappel gestuel est facilité par l’utilisation d’une stratégie verbale induite. En revanche, les performances ne sont pas améliorées par une stratégie de répétition gestuelle. Une combinaison entre différentes traces mnésiques peut donc s’effectuer en cas d’induction d’une stratégie permettant la concordance entre geste et mot. La discussion de la thèse s’articule autour d’une mise à jour du modèle de Baddeley et al. (2011), par l’addition d’une nouvelle composante nommée « boucle motrice ». Les gestes semblant être particulièrement sujets au contexte, nous ouvrons également le cadre de cette recherche sur les théories de cognitions ancrées et incarnées (Wilson, 2002 ; Barsalou, 2008), ainsi que sur le modèle des processus imbriqués (Cowan, 2001) / The objective of this work is to improve knowledge on the treatment of meaningless gestures in working memory. This research is based on five studies divided into three phases: the characterization of the structure dedicated to these stimuli; strategies used spontaneously; and optimization of performance due to induced strategies. Our first two studies show that meaningless gestures are processed by a dedicated working memory component. This component operates like the phonological loop of Baddeley, Allen and Hitch (2011) whilst being distinct from it. The next two studies highlight spontaneous verbalization, which is used in metacognitive judgments of performances, yet without improving the latter. When participants are watching gestures, both verbal and motor encoding could operate at the same time, though without combination of memory traces. The last study shows that the recall of gestures is facilitated by the use of an induced verbal strategy. However, performance is not improved by a gestural strategy. By consequence, a combination of the different memory traces is possible when words match gestures. The discussion of the thesis is structured around an update of Baddeley’s model (Baddeley et al., 2011) by adding a new component called the "motoric loop". As the gestures seem to be particularly prone to context, we are also opening the framework of this research on theories of embodied cognition (Wilson, 2002) and grounded cognition (Barsalou, 2008), as well as the embedded processes model of working memory (Cowan, 2001)

Submitted by Daiane Santil (daisantil@gmail.com) on 2018-01-02T18:16:17Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese de Doutourado-DAIANE SANTIL COSTA.pdf: 2407317 bytes, checksum: edb3fd798762081a8d2985c0d22559fb (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria Auxiliadora da Silva Lopes (silopes@ufba.br) on 2018-01-08T13:16:32Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese de Doutourado-DAIANE SANTIL COSTA.pdf: 2407317 bytes, checksum: edb3fd798762081a8d2985c0d22559fb (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-01-08T13:16:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese de Doutourado-DAIANE SANTIL COSTA.pdf: 2407317 bytes, checksum: edb3fd798762081a8d2985c0d22559fb (MD5) / CAPES- Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Na interlocução com o outro, os movimentos gestuais podem complementar a fala, servem para dar pistas sobre como as pessoas estão pensando, esclarecer ou até mesmo, recuperar alguma informação ainda não encontrada na expressão oral. Por entender que os gestos e a escrita pedem interlocutores, sugerem olhares atentos e solicitam possíveis diálogos sobre a aprendizagem que se dá no interior da escola, esta pesquisa tem como objetivo geral analisar a função dos gestos como manifestação simbólica de alunos com deficiência intelectual na aprendizagem da língua escrita, a partir das interações que são estabelecidas em sala de aula e com isso ampliar a discussão sobre a apropriação da escrita por esses alunos na escola. Utilizou-se como estratégia metodológica o Estudo de Caso, de três jovens alunos com deficiência intelectual, matriculados em escolas comuns, uma pública municipal e outra particular, ambas, situadas na cidade de Salvador (BA). A observação participante das interações na sala de aula, a entrevista semiestruturada com os professores e a análise de documentos escolares como os cadernos, atividades e livros didáticos foram os procedimentos e técnicas adotados neste estudo. Buscou-se uma discussão sobre a relação entre o gesto corporal e a escrita desses alunos no espaço escolar, ancorada na concepção histórico-cultural do desenvolvimento humano e na perspectiva interacional da(s) linguagem (ens). Procurou-se responder à questão: qual é a função dos gestos de alunos com deficiência intelectual no processo de aprendizagem inicial da escrita a partir das interações estabelecidas na escola? A partir de uma análise microgenética, os achados encontrados apontam para um necessário olhar sobre as várias funções que os gestos podem revelar nas dinâmicas interativas da trama que envolve esses alunos: o estudante que escreve, o objeto (escrita) e seus interlocutores. Os gestos e a produção de escrita, em suas várias expressões, mais particulares em cada caso estudado, vista no percurso de desenvolvimento desses alunos, estabelecem elos entre cada sujeito e o mundo, consigo mesmo e seus interlocutores. Nas trocas que ocorrem na sala de aula, os seus leitores são imprescindíveis para a atribuição de sentidos a esses movimentos que esses alunos fazem diante do papel. Palavras-chave: Gestos- Escrita- Alunos com deficiência intelectual- Escola / ABSTRACT In the interlocution with the other, gestual movements can complement the speech, they work to give some clues on how people are thinking, to clarify or even to recover some information not yet found in the oral expression. Because they understand that gestures and writing require interlocutors, suggest careful supervision and ask for possible dialogues about learning within the school, The main goal of this research is to analyze the function of gestures as a symbolic manifestation of students with intellectual disabilities in writting learning. From the interactions established in the classroom, We will broaden the arguments about the acquisition of writing carried out by these students at school. A case study on three young students with intellectual disabilities, enrolled in common schools, a municipal public school and a private school, both located in Salvador city, were used as methodological strategies. Participant observation of classroom interactions, semistructured interview with teachers and analysis of school documents such as notebooks, activities and textbooks were the procedures adopted in this study. We thought to argue the relationship between the body language and the writing of these students at school ground, based on the historical-cultural definition of human development and on the interactional perspective of languages. We will try to answer the question: what is the function of students’s gestures with intellectual disabilities in the beginning og writing learning process from the interactions established at school? From a microgenetic analysis, the findings found point to a necessary look at the various functions which gestures can reveal in the interactive dynamics of the plot that involves these students: students’s writing, the object (writing) and their interlocutors. Gestures and the production of writing, in their various expressions, more specifically in each case We studied, seen in the course of development of these students, establish links between each subject and the world, to himself and his interlocutors. In the exchanges that take place in the classroom, their readers are indispensable concerning to attribution of meanings to these movements that these students make before the paper.

Este trabalho apresenta um estudo analítico dos elementos melódicos e gestuais presentes em Notas Soltas (1978) para flauta transversal solo e Notas Irresponsáveis (1986/87) para trio de flautas transversais de Bruno Kiefer. O livro Introduction to Post-Tonal Theory de Joseph Straus é utilizado como referencial teórico para a abordagem melódica. Buscamos identificar quais são os padrões de escrita empregados pelo compositor e procurar relações entre as duas peças. Utilizamos o catálogo de Gestos Musicais apresentados por Luciane Cardassi em A música de Bruno Kiefer : "terra", "vento", "horizonte" e a poesia de Carlos Nejar. Através dos resultados dessas análises, procuramos entender como se dá a escrita idiomática do compositor, bem como encontrar traços em comum entre repertório escolhido para essa pesquisa e obras de Kiefer investigadas por outros autores. / The purpose of this work is to present an analytical study of the melodic elements and gestures in Bruno Kiefer’s pieces entitled Notas Soltas (1978) for solo flute and Notas Irresponsáveis (1986/87) for flute trio. The theoretical framework for the melodic approach is based on Joseph Straus’ Introduction to Post-Tonal Theory. The aim has been to identify the musical patterns employed by the composer and their relationship in both works. The catalogue of Musical Gestures compiled by Luciane Cardassi in A música de Bruno Kiefer: "terra", "vento", "horizonte" e a poesia de Carlos Nejar was also used. Through the analyses of these two works it was possible to understand the idiomatic character of Kiefer’s style, while finding common traces in other works by the same composer.

xv, 256 p. : ill. / This dissertation stages a reciprocal critique between traditional and marginal philosophical approaches to language on the one hand and interdisciplinary studies of speech-accompanying hand gestures on the other. Gesturing with the hands while speaking is a ubiquitous, cross-cultural human practice. Yet this practice is complex, varied, conventional, nonconventional, and above all under-theorized. In light of the theoretical and empirical treatments of language and gesture that I engage in, I argue that the hand gestures that spontaneously accompany speech are a part of language; more specifically, they are enactments of linguistic meaning. They are simultaneously (acts of) cognition and communication. Human communication and cognition are what they are in part because of this practice of gesturing. This argument has profound implications for philosophy, for gesture studies, and for interdisciplinary work to come. As further, strong proof of the pervasively embodied way that humans make meaning in language, reflection on gestural phenomena calls for a complete re-orientation in traditional analytic philosophy of language. Yet philosophical awareness of intersubjectivity and normativity as conditions of meaning achievement is well-deployed in elaborating and refining the minimal theoretical apparatus of present-day gesture studies. Triangulating between the most social, communicative philosophies of meaning and the most nuanced, reflective treatments of co-speech hand gesture, I articulate a new construal of language as embodied, world-embedded, intersubjectively normative, dynamic, multi-modal enacting of appropriative disclosure. Spontaneous co-speech gestures, while being indeed spontaneous, are nonetheless informed in various ways by conventions that they appropriate and deploy. Through this appropriation and deployment speakers enact, rather than represent, meaning, and they do so in various linguistic modalities. Seen thusly, gestures provide philosophers with a unique new perspective on the paradoxical determined-yet-free nature of all human meaning. / Committee in charge: Mark Johnson, Chairperson; Ted Toadvine, Member; Naomi Zack, Member; Eric Pederson, Outside Member

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro / Mesmo antes das crianças começarem a falar, elas utilizam gestos, como dar, mostrar e apontar. O início da comunicação gestual pode ser percebido muito cedo na infância humana, mas ainda não está claro como ocorre a progressão deste desenvolvimento. O presente estudo investiga o papel e as características do desenvolvimento gestual no primeiro ano de vida. Um bebê de sexo masculino e sua mãe foram observados longitudinalmente, a cada semana, do nascimento aos 12 meses de idade. A díade foi filmada em casa enquanto realizava atividades de rotina. Nas idades de 9 a 12 meses, uma vez ao mês a mãe foi solicitada a brincar com seu bebê em situação estruturada. Os vídeos foram analisados qualitativa e quantitativamente em termos da percentagem de ocorrência de categorias de gestos comunicativos de ambos os parceiros e de seus comportamentos. Cenários comunicativos foram identificados. O aparecimento de diferentes comportamentos e suas trajetórias de desenvolvimento foram registrados. As possíveis relações com o surgimento posterior de gestos foram discutidas, analisando comportamentos que se tornaram ou não precursores e o modo como eles tenderam a apresentar mudanças com o tempo. Alguns resultados interessantes foram observados: pré-apontar foi identificado desde os primeiros meses e apresentou declínio de ocorrência. Pré-alcançar foi identificado aos 5 meses de idade e declinou no mesmo período em que foi observado o aparecimento do gesto de alcançar, o qual tendeu a aumentar com o tempo. Virar a cabeça enquanto rejeição foi observado aos 4 meses. Conforme o bebê foi se tornando mais velho, ele passou mais tempo engajado com sua mãe e com objetos de forma coordenada. Desde o início do primeiro ano, a mãe exibiu gestos de mostrar objetos e apontar proximal declarativo. Comportamentos de atenção conjunta foram observados e tenderam a aumentar no período de 9 a 12 meses de idade. Gestos proximais e declarativos realizados pelo bebê ocorreram mais precocemente se comparados a gestos imperativos e distais. As transições observadas a partir dos cenários comunicativos não compartilhados rumo aos de natureza simbólica foram identificadas. Percentagens de tempo de cenários comunicativos não-compartilhados e atencionais primários diminuíram enquanto as de cenários atencionais secundários aumentaram, tornando-se predominantes no final do primeiro ano. Neste período, cenários convencionais e simbólicos surgiram, apresentando breve duração. Embora estes resultados não sejam conclusivos, podem contribuir para a compreensão das primeiras modalidades de comunicação mãe-bebê, ajudando a fornecer suportes para a discussão sobre a existência de precursores gestuais precoces. / Even before children begin to speak, they gesture like pointing, showing and giving gestures to communicate themselves. The beginnings of gestural communication can be seen very early in human infancy, but its still unclear how this developmental progression occurs. The present study investigates the role and the features of early gestural development in the first year of life. One baby boy and his mother were observed longitudinally and extensively every week from birth to 12 months of age. The dyad was video-recorded at home while performing routine activities. In addition, from infant age 9 through 12 months, at once a month, the mother was asked to play with her baby in a structured situation. The videotapes were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively in terms of the percentage of occurrence of specific categories of dyads communicative gestures and general behaviors. Mother-child communication frames were identified. The appearance of different behaviors and their developmental trajectories were registered. The possible links with the emergence of gestures were discussed, examining which infant behaviors became precursors of gestures and how did they change with age. Some interesting results were found: pre-pointing was identified since the first months of life and tended to decrease. Pre-reaching was identified at 5 months of age and decreased as soon as reaching appeared for the first time and tended to increase. Turning head away as rejection was observed at 4 months of age. As the baby became older, he spent more time engaged with his mother and objects in a coordinated joint attentional state, especially after 9 months of age. Early in the first year, the mother exhibited specific declarative and proximal gestures like showing and pointing. Occurrences of joint attention behaviors such as giving, showing, pointing, offering and point following were observed for both dyad members and tended to increase from 9 to 12 months of age. Infant proximal and declarative gestures tended to occur earlier than imperative and distal gestures. The transitions from non-shared to symbolic mother-child communication frames were identified. The percentage of time of non-shared and primary attentional frames decreased while the percentage of secondary attentional frames increased, becoming predominant at the end of the first year. At this period, conventional and symbolic frames emerged and showed brief durations. Although these findings are not conclusive, they may contribute to a better understanding for the first modalities of mother-infant communication and helps to provide some support to the discussion about the precursors existence of early gestures.

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro / Mesmo antes das crianças começarem a falar, elas utilizam gestos, como dar, mostrar e apontar. O início da comunicação gestual pode ser percebido muito cedo na infância humana, mas ainda não está claro como ocorre a progressão deste desenvolvimento. O presente estudo investiga o papel e as características do desenvolvimento gestual no primeiro ano de vida. Um bebê de sexo masculino e sua mãe foram observados longitudinalmente, a cada semana, do nascimento aos 12 meses de idade. A díade foi filmada em casa enquanto realizava atividades de rotina. Nas idades de 9 a 12 meses, uma vez ao mês a mãe foi solicitada a brincar com seu bebê em situação estruturada. Os vídeos foram analisados qualitativa e quantitativamente em termos da percentagem de ocorrência de categorias de gestos comunicativos de ambos os parceiros e de seus comportamentos. Cenários comunicativos foram identificados. O aparecimento de diferentes comportamentos e suas trajetórias de desenvolvimento foram registrados. As possíveis relações com o surgimento posterior de gestos foram discutidas, analisando comportamentos que se tornaram ou não precursores e o modo como eles tenderam a apresentar mudanças com o tempo. Alguns resultados interessantes foram observados: pré-apontar foi identificado desde os primeiros meses e apresentou declínio de ocorrência. Pré-alcançar foi identificado aos 5 meses de idade e declinou no mesmo período em que foi observado o aparecimento do gesto de alcançar, o qual tendeu a aumentar com o tempo. Virar a cabeça enquanto rejeição foi observado aos 4 meses. Conforme o bebê foi se tornando mais velho, ele passou mais tempo engajado com sua mãe e com objetos de forma coordenada. Desde o início do primeiro ano, a mãe exibiu gestos de mostrar objetos e apontar proximal declarativo. Comportamentos de atenção conjunta foram observados e tenderam a aumentar no período de 9 a 12 meses de idade. Gestos proximais e declarativos realizados pelo bebê ocorreram mais precocemente se comparados a gestos imperativos e distais. As transições observadas a partir dos cenários comunicativos não compartilhados rumo aos de natureza simbólica foram identificadas. Percentagens de tempo de cenários comunicativos não-compartilhados e atencionais primários diminuíram enquanto as de cenários atencionais secundários aumentaram, tornando-se predominantes no final do primeiro ano. Neste período, cenários convencionais e simbólicos surgiram, apresentando breve duração. Embora estes resultados não sejam conclusivos, podem contribuir para a compreensão das primeiras modalidades de comunicação mãe-bebê, ajudando a fornecer suportes para a discussão sobre a existência de precursores gestuais precoces. / Even before children begin to speak, they gesture like pointing, showing and giving gestures to communicate themselves. The beginnings of gestural communication can be seen very early in human infancy, but its still unclear how this developmental progression occurs. The present study investigates the role and the features of early gestural development in the first year of life. One baby boy and his mother were observed longitudinally and extensively every week from birth to 12 months of age. The dyad was video-recorded at home while performing routine activities. In addition, from infant age 9 through 12 months, at once a month, the mother was asked to play with her baby in a structured situation. The videotapes were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively in terms of the percentage of occurrence of specific categories of dyads communicative gestures and general behaviors. Mother-child communication frames were identified. The appearance of different behaviors and their developmental trajectories were registered. The possible links with the emergence of gestures were discussed, examining which infant behaviors became precursors of gestures and how did they change with age. Some interesting results were found: pre-pointing was identified since the first months of life and tended to decrease. Pre-reaching was identified at 5 months of age and decreased as soon as reaching appeared for the first time and tended to increase. Turning head away as rejection was observed at 4 months of age. As the baby became older, he spent more time engaged with his mother and objects in a coordinated joint attentional state, especially after 9 months of age. Early in the first year, the mother exhibited specific declarative and proximal gestures like showing and pointing. Occurrences of joint attention behaviors such as giving, showing, pointing, offering and point following were observed for both dyad members and tended to increase from 9 to 12 months of age. Infant proximal and declarative gestures tended to occur earlier than imperative and distal gestures. The transitions from non-shared to symbolic mother-child communication frames were identified. The percentage of time of non-shared and primary attentional frames decreased while the percentage of secondary attentional frames increased, becoming predominant at the end of the first year. At this period, conventional and symbolic frames emerged and showed brief durations. Although these findings are not conclusive, they may contribute to a better understanding for the first modalities of mother-infant communication and helps to provide some support to the discussion about the precursors existence of early gestures.

The thesis regards nonverbal communication and its function in work suit. It concerns above all relationships among particular co-workers, businessmen and their clients or leading and work candidates.Comfortable atmosphere at work is important for better achievement and feeling of personal significance. Right use of nonverbal communication in business can help to make a good deal and affects trustworthy.The results showed that sum of nonverbal signals can tell us the opinion of the other person no matter what is he or she saying. What are you saying is not what are you thinking about. If you know this diference you can change somebody´s thoughts with right use of nonverbal communication. The research showed that it is not possible to make results or conclusions only with use of two or three nonverbal signals. It is important to compare more signals. The whole thesis showed that nonverbal communication is quiet important and can help us to build better relationships.