Robot pain: a speculative review of its functions

Given the scarce bibliography dealing explicitly with robot pain, this chapter has enriched its review with related research works about robot behaviours and capacities in which pain could play a role. It is shown that all such roles ¿ranging from punishment to intrinsic motivation and planning knowledge¿ can be formulated within the unified framework of reinforcement learning.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Toward a Theory of Learner-Centered Training Design: An Integrative Framework of Active Learning

[Excerpt] The goal of this chapter, therefore, is to develop an integrative conceptual framework of active learning, and we do this by focusing on three primary issues. First, we define the active learning approach and contrast it to more traditional, passive instructional approaches. We argue that the active learning approach can be distinguished from not only more passive approaches to instruction but also other forms of experiential learning based on its use of formal training components to systematically influence trainees\u27 cognitive, motivational, and emotion self-regulatory processes. Second, we examine how specific training components can be used to influence each of these process domains. Through a review of prior research, we extract core training components that cut across different active learning interventions, map these components onto specific process domains, and consider the role of individual differences in shaping the effects of these components (aptitude-treatment interactions [ATIs]). A final issue examined in this chapter concerns the outcomes associated with the active learning approach. Despite its considerable versatility, the active learning approach is not the most efficient or effective means of responding to all training needs. Thus, we discuss the impact of the active learning approach on different types of learning outcomes in order to identify the situations under which it is likely to demonstrate the greatest utility. We conclude the chapter by highlighting research and practical implications of our integrated framework, and we outline an agenda for future research on active learning

From ‘motivational climate’ to ‘motivational atmosphere’: a review of research examining the social and environmental influences on athlete motivation in sport

This chapter is intended to provide a comprehensive review of the various theories of social and environmental factors that influence athletes’ motivation in sport. In order to achieve this, a short historical review is conducted of the various ways in which motivation has been studied over the past 100 years, culminating in the ‘social-cognitive’ approach that undergirds several of the current theories of motivation in sport. As an outcome of this brief review, the conceptualisation and measurement of motivation are discussed, with a focus on the manner in which motivation may be influenced by key social agents in sport, such as coaches, parents and peers. This discussion leads to a review of Deci & Ryan’s (2000) self-determination theory (SDT), which specifies that environments and contexts which support basic psychological needs (competence, relatedness and autonomy) will produce higher quality motivation than environments which frustrate of exacerbate these needs. The research establishing the ways in which key social agents can support these basic needs is then reviewed, and the review depicts a situation wherein SDT has precipitated a way of studying the socio-environmental influences on motivation that has become quite piecemeal and fragmented. Following this, the motivational climate approach (Ames, 1992) specified in achievement-goals theory (AGT – Nicholls, 1989) is also reviewed. This section reveals a body of research which is highly consistent in its methodology and findings. The following two sections reflect recent debates regarding the nature of achievement goals and the way they are conceptualised (e.g., approach-avoidance goals and social goals), and the implications of this for motivational climate research are discussed. This leads to a section reviewing the current issues and concerns in the study of social and environmental influences on athlete motivation. Finally, future research directions and ideas are proposed to facilitate, precipitate and guide further research into the social and environmental influences on athlete motivation in sport. Recent studies that have attempted to address these issues are reviewed and their contribution is assessed

The impact of goal orientation, self-reflection and personal characteristics on the acquisition of oral presentation skills

Although many educators help others to develop oral presentation skills, little research is available to direct the instructional design activities of these educators. In the present article an explorative study on university freshman is described, in which goal-setting, self-reflection, and several characteristics of the subjects during oral presentations were analysed. The research results emphasize the critical impact of motivational constructs, such as self-efficacy and goal orientation, next to the topic of the oral presentation on the acquisition of oral presentation skills

Emotional intelligence, reflective abilities and wellbeing in social workers

Research reportIn order to inform the curriculum and the development of supportive structures to support the work-related wellbeing of trainee social workers, this research project had several aims. It examined the key motivators to enter social work, together with the sources of social support and the coping strategies that students draw on to help them manage the demands of study and placement experiences Several emotional and social competencies (i.e. emotional intelligence, reflective ability, empathy and social competence) are also investigated as potential predictors of resilience. Also examined was whether resilience predicted psychological distress, and the role played by resilience in the relationship between emotional intelligence and distress was assessed

Interest alignment and firm performance

This study derives testable hypotheses from their framework and thus provides an empirical test of interest alignment theory based on a sample of 69 management buyouts in the UK. The results of the multivariate regression model suggest that in this setting, interest alignment does have a significant influence on firm performance.competitive advantage; interest alignment; motivation; buyouts

Transcontextual model application in the prediction of veteran judo athletes’ life satisfaction

Background and Study Aim: Despite recognised benefits of regular physical activity for health, the percentage of individuals linking with a physical activity practice sufficient to confer health benefits is low. The aim of current work is knowledge about effects of an extension of the motivation trans-contextual model application, specifically in the prediction of life satisfaction by veteran judo athletes. Material and Methods: It was used a sample of 99 Portuguese veteran judo athletes of both genders, aged between 30 and 76 years (M = 42.61 ±9.75), where through questionnaires were measured: basic psychological needs satisfaction, motivation, planned behaviour variables and life satisfaction. Results: The structural equations model showed that autonomy perception positively and significantly predicts autonomous motivation. In its turn it positively and significantly predicts intentions. Conclusions: Life satisfaction is positively and significantly predicted by intentions. Results authorise to emphasise the importance of fostering autonomy, since this will favour autonomous motivation, promoting a higher behavioural control over the practitioners’ intentions, thus generating a higher life satisfaction.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Functions and mechanisms of intrinsic motivations: the knowledge versus competence distinction

Mammals, and humans in particular, are endowed with an exceptional capacity for cumulative learning. This capacity crucially de- pends on the presence of intrinsic motivations, i.e. motivations that are not directly related to an organism\u27s survival and reproduction but rather to its ability to learn. Recently, there have been a number of attempts to model and reproduce intrinsic motivations in artificial systems. Different kinds of intrinsic motivations have been proposed both in psychology and in machine learning and robotics: some are based on the knowl- edge of the learning system, while others are based on its competence. In this contribution we discuss the distinction between knowledge-based and competence-based intrinsic motivations with respect to both the functional roles that motivations play in learning and the mechanisms by which those functions are implemented. In particular, after arguing that the principal function of intrinsic motivations consists in allowing the development of a repertoire of skills (rather than of knowledge), we suggest that at least two different sub-functions can be identified: (a) discovering which skills might be acquired and (b) deciding which skill to train when. We propose that in biological organisms knowledge-based intrinsic motivation mechanisms might implement the former function, whereas competence-based mechanisms might underly the latter one

Factors that affect motivation towards english language acquisition in seventh grade students of a public elementary school in Parral

Tesis (Magíster en la enseñanza del inglés como lengua extranjera)The research presents the results of the identification and analysis of factors that characterize the motivation for the English Foreign Language Acquisition of seventh year students who belong to a Public Elementary school of Parral, seventh region, Maule in Chile. To investigate the factors that influence students’ motivation a mixed method research was carried out. The data was collected and analysed through qualitative approach and organized and presented in a quantitative manner represented by graphics. The information was compiled by two previously validated instruments, which consisted of a questionnaire for the teachers of the different subjects of the class and the psychosocial team who works with the students. A personal interview was applied to each student. Two major conclusions were obtained from the results of the analysis of the data collection; firstly students present a lack of motivation towards the subject of English as a Foreign Language as a product of the sociocultural environment in which they are immersed, secondly learners are exposed to language learning from puberty and not from the beginning of their first learning stages as postulates the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH).La investigación presenta los resultados de la identificación y análisis de los factores que caracterizan la motivación hacia la adquisición del inglés como lengua extranjera de alumnos de séptimo año básico pertenecientes a un colegio básico y público de la comuna de Parral, séptima región del Maule en Chile. Para investigar los factores que inciden en la motivación de los estudiantes se utilizó un enfoque mixto tanto cualitativo para la recolección y análisis de los datos y cuantitativo para la organización y presentación de la información representada en gráficos. La obtención de la información se hizo mediante dos instrumentos previamente validados, los cuales consistieron en un cuestionario para los profesores de los diferentes sectores de aprendizaje del curso y para el equipo sicosocial que trabaja con los estudiantes. Una entrevista personal fue aplicada a cada alumno. Dos grandes conclusiones se obtuvieron del resultado del análisis de la recolección de datos; la primera es la falta de motivación de los alumnos hacia la asignatura de inglés como lengua extranjera producto del entorno sociocultural en el cual están inmersos y la segunda es que los alumnos son expuestos al aprendizaje de la lengua desde el inicio de la pubertad y no desde sus primeras etapas de aprendizaje como postula la hipótesis del período crítico