134,895 research outputs found
Action Selection for Interaction Management: Opportunities and Lessons for Automated Planning
The central problem in automated planning---action selection---is also a
primary topic in the dialogue systems research community, however, the
nature of research in that community is significantly different from that
of planning, with a focus on end-to-end systems and user evaluations. In
particular, numerous toolkits are available for developing speech-based
dialogue systems that include not only a method for representing states and
actions, but also a mechanism for reasoning and selecting the actions,
often combined with a technical framework designed to simplify the task of
creating end-to-end systems. We contrast this situation with that of
automated planning, and argue that the dialogue systems community could
benefit from some of the directions adopted by the planning community, and
that there also exist opportunities and lessons for automated planning
The virtual playground: an educational virtual reality environment for evaluating interactivity and conceptual learning
The research presented in this paper aims at investigating user interaction in immersive virtual learning environments (VLEs), focusing on the role and the effect of interactivity on conceptual learning. The goal has been to examine if the learning of young users improves through interacting in (i.e. exploring, reacting to, and acting upon) an immersive virtual environment (VE) compared to non interactive or non-immersive environments. Empirical work was carried out with more than 55 primary school students between the ages of 8 and 12, in different between-group experiments: an exploratory study, a pilot study, and a large-scale experiment. The latter was conducted in a virtual environment designed to simulate a playground. In this âVirtual Playgroundâ, each participant was asked to complete a set of tasks designed to address arithmetical âfractionsâ problems. Three different conditions, two experimental virtual reality (VR) conditions and a non-VR condition, that varied the levels of activity and interactivity, were designed to evaluate how children accomplish the various tasks. Pre-tests, post-tests, interviews, video, audio, and log files were collected for each participant, and analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. This paper presents a selection of case studies extracted from the qualitative analysis, which illustrate the variety of approaches taken by children in the VEs in response to visual cues and system feedback. Results suggest that the fully interactive VE aided children in problem solving but did not provide as strong evidence of conceptual change as expected; rather, it was the passive VR environment, where activity was guided by a virtual robot, that seemed to support student reflection and recall, leading to indications of conceptual change
Language as a disruptive technology: Abstract concepts, embodiment and the flexible mind
A growing body of evidence suggests that cognition is embodied and grounded. Abstract concepts, though, remain a significant theoretical chal- lenge. A number of researchers have proposed that language makes an important contribution to our capacity to acquire and employ concepts, particularly abstract ones. In this essay, I critically examine this suggestion and ultimately defend a version of it. I argue that a successful account of how language augments cognition should emphasize its symbolic properties and incorporate a view of embodiment that recognizes the flexible, multi- modal and task-related nature of action, emotion and perception systems. On this view, language is an ontogenetically disruptive cognitive technology that expands our conceptual reach
Rich environments for active learning in action: Problemâbased learning
Rich Environments for Active Learning (REALs) are comprehensive instructional systems that are consistent with constructivist theories. They promote study and investigation within authentic contexts; encourage the growth of student responsibility, initiative, decision making and intentional learning; cultivate collaboration among students and teachers; utilize dynamic, interdisciplinary, generative learning activities that promote higherâorder thinking processes to help students develop rich and complex knowledge structures; and assess student progress in content and learningâtoâlearn within authentic contexts using realistic tasks and performances. ProblemâBased Learning (PBL) is an instructional methodology that can be used to create REALs. PBL's studentâcentred approach engages students in a continuous collaborative process of building and reshaping understanding as a natural consequence of their experiences and interactions within learning environments that authentically reflect the world around them. In this way, PBL and REALs are a response to teacherâcentred educational practices that promote the development of inert knowledge, such as conventional teacherâtoâstudent knowledge dissemination activities. In this article, we compare existing assumptions underlying teacherâdirected educational practice with new assumptions that promote problem solving and higherâlevel thinking by putting students at the centre of learning activities. We also examine the theoretical foundation that supports these new assumptions and the need for REALs. Finally, we describe each REAL characteristic and provide supporting examples of REALs in action using PB
Social representations of feeding people with diabetes mellitus
The aim of this study was to analyze the social representations of the diets 34 patients of the Brazilian public primary care service diagnosed with type 2 diabetes with DM2, according to how they represent
their identity. Free association of words was used with responses to questions to survey social representations of food. Representations of identity were adopted from a previous study with the same participants.
Normal participants eat healthily, eat little, eat greens and vegetables, avoid sweets, have positive attitudes, and maintain healthy eating habits and regular blood glucose levels. Participants who accept having the disease do not eat a lot, do not eat everything, avoid sweets, have an attitude of acceptance, and maintain inadequate eating habits and uncontrolled blood glucose. Participants with difficulties do not eat everything, do not eat a lot, do not follow the diet and eat vegetables and fruits, and have negative attitudes and altered blood glucose.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
From research to practice: The case of mathematical reasoning
Mathematical proficiency is a key goal of the Australian Mathematics curriculum. However, international assessments of mathematical literacy suggest that mathematical reasoning and problem solving are areas of difficulty for Australian students. Given the efficacy of teaching informed by quality assessment data, a recent study focused on the development of evidence-based Learning Progressions for Algebraic, Spatial and Statistical Reasoning that can be used to identify where students are in their learning and where they need to go to next. Importantly, they can also be used to generate targeted teaching advice and activities to help teachers progress student learning. This paper explores the processes involved in taking the research to practice
The Space Object Ontology
Achieving space domain awareness requires the
identification, characterization, and tracking of space objects.
Storing and leveraging associated space object data for purposes
such as hostile threat assessment, object identification, and
collision prediction and avoidance present further challenges.
Space objects are characterized according to a variety of
parameters including their identifiers, design specifications,
components, subsystems, capabilities, vulnerabilities, origins,
missions, orbital elements, patterns of life, processes, operational
statuses, and associated persons, organizations, or nations. The
Space Object Ontology provides a consensus-based realist
framework for formulating such characterizations in a
computable fashion. Space object data are aligned with classes
and relations in the Space Object Ontology and stored in a
dynamically updated Resource Description Framework triple
store, which can be queried to support space domain awareness
and the needs of spacecraft operators. This paper presents the
core of the Space Object Ontology, discusses its advantages over
other approaches to space object classification, and demonstrates
its ability to combine diverse sets of data from multiple sources
within an expandable framework. Finally, we show how the
ontology provides benefits for enhancing and maintaining longterm
space domain awareness
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