An Open-Source Simulator for Cognitive Robotics Research: The Prototype of the iCub Humanoid Robot Simulator

This paper presents the prototype of a new computer simulator for the humanoid robot iCub. The iCub is a new open-source humanoid robot developed as a result of the “RobotCub” project, a collaborative European project aiming at developing a new open-source cognitive robotics platform. The iCub simulator has been developed as part of a joint effort with the European project “ITALK” on the integration and transfer of action and language knowledge in cognitive robots. This is available open-source to all researchers interested in cognitive robotics experiments with the iCub humanoid platform

Introduction: The Fourth International Workshop on Epigenetic Robotics

As in the previous editions, this workshop is trying to be a forum for multi-disciplinary research ranging from developmental psychology to neural sciences (in its widest sense) and robotics including computational studies. This is a two-fold aim of, on the one hand, understanding the brain through engineering embodied systems and, on the other hand, building artificial epigenetic systems. Epigenetic contains in its meaning the idea that we are interested in studying development through interaction with the environment. This idea entails the embodiment of the system, the situatedness in the environment, and of course a prolonged period of postnatal development when this interaction can actually take place. This is still a relatively new endeavor although the seeds of the developmental robotics community were already in the air since the nineties (Berthouze and Kuniyoshi, 1998; Metta et al., 1999; Brooks et al., 1999; Breazeal, 2000; Kozima and Zlatev, 2000). A few had the intuition – see Lungarella et al. (2003) for a comprehensive review – that, intelligence could not be possibly engineered simply by copying systems that are “ready made” but rather that the development of the system fills a major role. This integration of disciplines raises the important issue of learning on the multiple scales of developmental time, that is, how to build systems that eventually can learn in any environment rather than program them for a specific environment. On the other hand, the hope is that robotics might become a new tool for brain science similarly to what simulation and modeling have become for the study of the motor system. Our community is still pretty much evolving and “under construction” and for this reason, we tried to encourage submissions from the psychology community. Additionally, we invited four neuroscientists and no roboticists for the keynote lectures. We received a record number of submissions (more than 50), and given the overall size and duration of the workshop together with our desire to maintain a single-track format, we had to be more selective than ever in the review process (a 20% acceptance rate on full papers). This is, if not an index of quality, at least an index of the interest that gravitates around this still new discipline

Knowledge management as a key stone of sustainable welfare in the Italian rural areas

Sustainable well-being in the rural areas directly depends on their sustainable development. However, sustainable management in contemporary agriculture does not come easy for farmers due to different challenges and quality standards. To meet these challenges and to achieve sustainable development, the agricultural enterprises need an informational support. Therefore this article offers knowledge management as a tool for facilitating agricultural performance and enhancing quality of rural life.Practical application of knowledge management is quite complicated due to its intangible characteristics. Hence, the paper is targeted at developing sustainable organizational model of knowledge management affordable for small and medium enterprises. This model was created after content-analysis of the literature and was verified through an executed survey. The Italian agriculture was considered as a context for this study

A Formal Apology for Metaphysics

There is an old meta-philosophical worry: very roughly, metaphysical theories have no observational consequences and so the study of metaphysics has no value. The worry has been around in some form since the rise of logical positivism in the early twentieth century but has seen a bit of a renaissance recently. In this paper, I provide an apology for metaphysics in the face of this kind of concern. The core of the argument is this: pure mathematics detaches from science in much the same manner as metaphysics and yet it is valuable nonetheless. The source of value enjoyed by pure mathematics extends to metaphysics as well. Accordingly, if one denies that metaphysics has value, then one is forced to deny that pure mathematics has value. The argument places an added burden on the sceptic of metaphysics. If one truly believes that metaphysics is worthless (as some philosophers do), then one must give up on pure mathematics as well

Modeling the Financial Behavior of Population (I) – Conceptual Assignations

The paper shows a few conceptual assignations concerning the financial behavior of the population. Thus, there are defined attached predicates (the inclusion into the economic behavior category, the existence of a monetary factor, the action for goods and non-autonomous flows, as well as for goods and nominal flows), the sources that generate the financial behavior (acquisition of real goods and services, acquisition of financing sources, acquisition of saving sources), the process of non-autonomous financial flow formation and finally, there are identified categories of nominal flows attached to the financial behavior of the population.logic model, financial behavior, sustainability

First language in the classroom: the forbidden fruit?

Tesis (Profesor de Inglés para la Enseñanza Básica y Media y al grado académico de Licenciado en Educación)Over the past years, the use of students’ first language (L1) in the classroom has been a highly discussed topic in the EFL classroom as well as in the field of second language (L2) teaching/learning research. There is a tendency that advocates communicative language teaching which suggests that L1 use should forbidden in the classroom. However, research has yet to discover whether L1 use has a positive or negative impact on L2 learning. Hence, the present study aimed to examine L1 functions and the impact of L1 use on L2 development. The present study was conducted in a private school in Santiago, Chile. The participants of this study (N = 34) were engaged in two collaborative writing tasks about the book they were reading in their English literature classes, and their discussions were audio-recorded and later analyzed. A quasi-experimental method was utilized in order to observe the influence that group work had on their L2 vocabulary development. The results demonstrated that the students’ L1 played a major role in their interaction while together working on the collaborative tasks, and it served for the development of L2 vocabulary. Specifically, the results suggest that the way in which individual learners contributed to interaction affected their learning outcomes.En los últimos años, el uso de la primera lengua de los estudiantes ha sido un tema altamente discutido en las salas de clases y en la investigación de la enseñanza de inglés como Lengua Extranjera. Existe una tendencia general de prohibir el uso de la primera lengua, sin embargo, aún existen vacíos sobre la influencia positiva o negativa que esta podría tener en el aprendizaje de vocabulario. El presente estudio se realizó en una escuela privada en Santiago, Chile. El propósito del mismo fue observar las funciones que cumplía la lengua nativa en la interacción de los estudiantes y cómo esto afectaba al desarrollo de la segunda lengua en alumnos de octavo básico con alto nivel de inglés. Los participantes de este estudio fueron involucrados en dos actividades de escritura colaborativa sobre el libro que estaban leyendo en las clases de literatura inglesa, donde sus discusiones fueron grabadas en audio y luego analizadas. Se utilizó un método cuasi experimental para observar la influencia que tuvieron sus discusiones grupales –utilizando su primera lengua—en el desarrollo del vocabulario en la segunda lengua. Se aplicaron evaluaciones pre y post con el fin de tener un registro del desarrollo del vocabulario de los estudiantes y las funciones que la lengua materna cumplió fueron codificadas como sugirieron DiCamilla y Antón (2012). Los resultados demostraron que la lengua materna de los estudiantes jugó un rol mayor en su interacción mientras desarrollaban en conjunto actividades colaboración, y sirvió para el desarrollo del vocabulario de la segunda lengua. Más aun, los resultados sugieren que la forma en la que alumnos contribuyeron individualmente en las discusiones afectó los resultados en sus aprendizajes

Evaluating the successful implementation of evidence into practice using the PARiHS framework : theoretical and practical challenges

Background The PARiHS framework (Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services) has proved to be a useful practical and conceptual heuristic for many researchers and practitioners in framing their research or knowledge translation endeavours. However, as a conceptual framework it still remains untested and therefore its contribution to the overall development and testing of theory in the field of implementation science is largely unquantified. Discussion This being the case, the paper provides an integrated summary of our conceptual and theoretical thinking so far and introduces a typology (derived from social policy analysis) used to distinguish between the terms conceptual framework, theory and model – important definitional and conceptual issues in trying to refine theoretical and methodological approaches to knowledge translation. Secondly, the paper describes the next phase of our work, in particular concentrating on the conceptual thinking and mapping that has led to the generation of the hypothesis that the PARiHS framework is best utilised as a two-stage process: as a preliminary (diagnostic and evaluative) measure of the elements and sub-elements of evidence (E) and context (C), and then using the aggregated data from these measures to determine the most appropriate facilitation method. The exact nature of the intervention is thus determined by the specific actors in the specific context at a specific time and place. In the process of refining this next phase of our work, we have had to consider the wider issues around the use of theories to inform and shape our research activity; the ongoing challenges of developing robust and sensitive measures; facilitation as an intervention for getting research into practice; and finally to note how the current debates around evidence into practice are adopting wider notions that fit innovations more generally. Summary The paper concludes by suggesting that the future direction of the work on the PARiHS framework is to develop a two-stage diagnostic and evaluative approach, where the intervention is shaped and moulded by the information gathered about the specific situation and from participating stakeholders. In order to expedite the generation of new evidence and testing of emerging theories, we suggest the formation of an international research implementation science collaborative that can systematically collect and analyse experiences of using and testing the PARiHS framework and similar conceptual and theoretical approaches. We also recommend further refinement of the definitions around conceptual framework, theory, and model, suggesting a wider discussion that embraces multiple epistemological and ontological perspectives

SYNALLAGMA AND FREEDOM OF CONTRACT - The Concept of Reciprocity and Fairness in Contracts from the Historical and Law and Economics Perspective

The problem of commutative justice has been widely analysed by the contemporary doctrine of civil law. Simultaneously there is a profound debate about the meaning of commutative justice and equivalence in exchange within the sphere of moral philosophy. All these issues seem to concern the problem of interdependence between parties. Such interdependence is called synallagma or the principle of synallagma. In this paper I would like to present the concept of synallagma in civil law and in philosophy of law. Since the dispute in both disciplines seems to be unresolved and inconclusive, I would like to present the two economic theories concerning synallagma as the strategic interaction between agents. The most appropriate tool to be implemented seems to be the game theory. In conclusion I would like to address the question whether substantial and objective equivalence in contracts is possible or under which conditions it is meaningful.