Towards a Theory Grounded Theory of Language

In this paper, we build upon the idea of theory grounding and propose one specific form of theory grounding, a theory of language. Theory grounding is the idea that we can imbue our embodied artificially intelligent systems with theories by modeling the way humans, and specifically young children, develop skills with theories. Modeling theory development promises to increase the conceptual and behavioral flexibility of these systems. An example of theory development in children is the social understanding referred to as “theory of mind.” Language is a natural task for theory grounding because it is vital in symbolic skills and apparently necessary in developing theories. Word learning, and specifically developing a concept of words, is proposed as the first step in a theory grounded theory of language

Understanding the policy instruments mix in higher education r&d : a policy scale development

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand the policy instruments mix in higher education research and development (HERD) using structural equation modeling. This modeling helps us to understand the total structure of the factors affecting the policy mix as well as its main actors in a political system. Design/Methodology/Approach: Thirty two identified actors (official institutions) through upstream documents were designed by the method of social network analysis in the form of a political network and their role in policy instruments mix was investigated through their amount of centrality in the network. Also, indicators affecting policy instrument mix were identified using the view of 13 Iranian higher education policy experts. These indicators were categorized in the form of causal, contextual, intervening factors, main phenomena, mechanisms and outcomes. Structural equation modeling was used to confirm the model. Findings: According to the results, the lack of policy logic is the main reason for the lack of justice in the policy instruments mix. Choosing a logic or theory of justice that is the basis of all the instruments in research and development decisions can lead to the integration of concepts and instruments mix. Practical Implications: There is no doubt that the dominant range of thought can have a greater impact on politics in any state, but choosing observers from other aspects of thought will always lead to more effective policies. Originality/Value: How to form policy instruments mix in policymakers' mind has not been investigated in any study so far, and this study explores the indicators governing policy instrument mix.peer-reviewe

Improving LLR Tests of Gravitational Theory

Accurate analysis of precision ranges to the Moon has provided several tests of gravitational theory including the Equivalence Principle, geodetic precession, parameterized post-Newtonian (PPN) parameters $\gamma$ and $\beta$, and the constancy of the gravitational constant {\it G}. Since the beginning of the experiment in 1969, the uncertainties of these tests have decreased considerably as data accuracies have improved and data time span has lengthened. We are exploring the modeling improvements necessary to proceed from cm to mm range accuracies enabled by the new Apache Point Observatory Lunar Laser-ranging Operation (APOLLO) currently under development in New Mexico. This facility will be able to make a significant contribution to the solar system tests of fundamental and gravitational physics. In particular, the Weak and Strong Equivalence Principle tests would have a sensitivity approaching 10$^{-14}$, yielding sensitivity for the SEP violation parameter $\eta$ of $\sim 3\times 10^{-5}$, $v^2/c^2$ general relativistic effects would be tested to better than 0.1%, and measurements of the relative change in the gravitational constant, $\dot{G}/G$, would be $\sim0.1$% the inverse age of the universe. Having this expected accuracy in mind, we discusses the current techniques, methods and existing physical models used to process the LLR data. We also identify the challenges for modeling and data analysis that the LLR community faces today in order to take full advantage of the new APOLLO ranging station.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures, talk presented at 2003 NASA/JPL Workshop on Fundamental Physics in Space, April 14-16, 2003, Oxnard, C

TURBOMOLE: Today and Tomorrow

TURBOMOLE is a highly optimized software suite for large-scale quantum-chemical and materials science simulations of molecules, clusters, extended systems, and periodic solids. TURBOMOLE uses Gaussian basis sets and has been designed with robust and fast quantum-chemical applications in mind, ranging from homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis to inorganic and organic chemistry and various types of spectroscopy, light–matter interactions, and biochemistry. This Perspective briefly surveys TURBOMOLE’s functionality and highlights recent developments that have taken place between 2020 and 2023, comprising new electronic structure methods for molecules and solids, previously unavailable molecular properties, embedding, and molecular dynamics approaches. Select features under development are reviewed to illustrate the continuous growth of the program suite, including nuclear electronic orbital methods, Hartree–Fock-based adiabatic connection models, simplified time-dependent density functional theory, relativistic effects and magnetic properties, and multiscale modeling of optical properties

Theory of Mind Development in Deaf and Hard of Hearing Elementary Students

Theory of mind plays an important role in our everyday interpretation of interactions. Being able to analyze what people desire, know, and believe and recognizing these mental aspects may be false or different from our own is a key component of language, cognitive, and social development. Studies have shown that skills that fall under theory of mind (ToM) such as recognizing diverse beliefs, knowledge access, social pretend, and false beliefs typically develop during preschool age (Wellman & Liu 2004, Peterson & Wellman 2009). Specifically, false belief has been investigated the most and shows a distinct pattern of being more difficult for hearing three-year olds to understand, but not five-year olds. Within this body of literature, the influence of language and hearing ability have also been studied as key factors in how ToM develops in hearing children. However, children with hearing loss (DHH) represent a diverse population that are affected by even more aspects of environmental influences. Many studies have looked at small groups of DHH children who have hearing parents and some have compared them to deaf children of deaf parents. The present study involves 351 elementary-age children with hearing loss from across the USA. These students have diverse hearing abilities and different levels of access to spoken language and sign language. These children were given theory of mind tasks that include false belief, knowledge access, and social pretend. We explore the influence of language abilities, parental hearing status, amount of growth in a school year, access to language through audition, and communication modality. Through confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling, we find that language abilities predict theory of mind, above and beyond all other factors. This information can be used clinically to help target students who may be at risk for delayed theory of mind and help to establish interventions to reverse or prevent delays

A Study on the Founding Period of Steiner Kindergarten: Focus on the Practice of E.M. Grunellius

This paper aims to clarify how the early childhood education theory by Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) and the practice by Elisabeth von Grunelius (1895-1989), the successor Steiner himself acknowledged, are in accord with each other. Our examination reveals that the practice of Grunelius agrees with Steiner’s theory in the principle viewpoints of "modeling and imitation", "the development of the wholesome body", "fostering strength from children’s inside (interests, creative imagination and fantasy)”, "the influence of color on mind and body", "the emphasis on rhythm in daily life and in education" and "the dreaming like method". On the other hand, we acknowledge among elements Grunelius came to develop independently, "the addition of sandboxes and gardens to educational environment for children" and her "emphasis on infant's subjective will"

Theory-based user modeling for personalized interactive information retrieval

In an effort to improve users’ search experiences during their information seeking process, providing a personalized information retrieval system is proposed to be one of the effective approaches. To personalize the search systems requires a good understanding of the users. User modeling has been approved to be a good method for learning and representing users. Therefore many user modeling studies have been carried out and some user models have been developed. The majority of the user modeling studies applies inductive approach, and only small number of studies employs deductive approach. In this paper, an EISE (Extended Information goal, Search strategy and Evaluation threshold) user model is proposed, which uses the deductive approach based on psychology theories and an existing user model. Ten users’ interactive search log obtained from the real search engine is applied to validate the proposed user model. The preliminary validation results show that the EISE model can be applied to identify different types of users. The search preferences of the different user types can be applied to inform interactive search system design and development

Computational physics of the mind

In the XIX century and earlier such physicists as Newton, Mayer, Hooke, Helmholtz and Mach were actively engaged in the research on psychophysics, trying to relate psychological sensations to intensities of physical stimuli. Computational physics allows to simulate complex neural processes giving a chance to answer not only the original psychophysical questions but also to create models of mind. In this paper several approaches relevant to modeling of mind are outlined. Since direct modeling of the brain functions is rather limited due to the complexity of such models a number of approximations is introduced. The path from the brain, or computational neurosciences, to the mind, or cognitive sciences, is sketched, with emphasis on higher cognitive functions such as memory and consciousness. No fundamental problems in understanding of the mind seem to arise. From computational point of view realistic models require massively parallel architectures