Two Examples of Active Categorisation Processes Distributed Over Time

Active perception refers to a theoretical approach grounded on the idea that perception is an active process in which the actions performed by the agent play a constitutive role. In this paper we present two different scenarios in which we test active perception principles using an evolutionary robotics approach. In the first experiment, a robotic arm equipped with coarse-grained tactile sensors is required to perceptually categorize spherical and ellipsoid objects. In the second experiment, an active vision system has to distinguish between five different kinds of images of different sizes. In both situations the best individuals develop a close to optimal ability to discriminate different objects/images as well as an excellent ability to generalize their skills in new circumstances. Analyses of evolved behaviours show that agents are able to solve their tasks by actively selecting relevant information and by integrating these information over time

Metaphor as categorisation: a connectionist implementation

A key issue for models of metaphor comprehension is to explain how in some metaphorical comparison , only some features of B are transferred to A. The features of B that are transferred to A depend both on A and on B. This is the central thrust of Black's well known interaction theory of metaphor comprehension (1979). However, this theory is somewhat abstract, and it is not obvious how it may be implemented in terms of mental representations and processes. In this paper we describe a simple computational model of on-line metaphor comprehension which combines Black's interaction theory with the idea that metaphor comprehension is a type of categorisation process (Glucksberg & Keysar, 1990, 1993). The model is based on a distributed connectionist network depicting semantic memory (McClelland & Rumelhart, 1986). The network learns feature-based information about various concepts. A metaphor is comprehended by applying a representation of the first term A to the network storing knowledge of the second term B, in an attempt to categorise it as an exemplar of B. The output of this network is a representation of A transformed by the knowledge of B. We explain how this process embodies an interaction of knowledge between the two terms of the metaphor, how it accords with the contemporary theory of metaphor stating that comprehension for literal and metaphorical comparisons is carried out by identical mechanisms (Gibbs, 1994), and how it accounts for both existing empirical evidence (Glucksberg, McGlone, & Manfredi, 1997) and generates new predictions. In this model, the distinction between literal and metaphorical language is one of degree, not of kind

A feedback model of perceptual learning and categorisation

Top-down, feedback, influences are known to have significant effects on visual information processing. Such influences are also likely to affect perceptual learning. This article employs a computational model of the cortical region interactions underlying visual perception to investigate possible influences of top-down information on learning. The results suggest that feedback could bias the way in which perceptual stimuli are categorised and could also facilitate the learning of sub-ordinate level representations suitable for object identification and perceptual expertise

Introduction: Layered Landscapes

This Special Issue of Arts investigates a series of creative projects focused upon and sited within certain peripheral landscapes of northern Britain ..

Ethnic Minority Personnel Careers: Hindrances and Hopes

Personnel departments often have particular responsibility for equal opportunities within their organizations. This paper explores equal opportunities within personnel departments themselves, in relation to the careers of ethnic minority personnel practitioners. Through primary research, it identifies a range of criteria which can affect personnel careers, of which ethnic origin is often one. However, although being categorized as of ethnic minority origin often hinders personnel careers, the paper reveals that it is sometimes possible for individuals who are so categorized to overcome that negative effect through demonstrating some of those other criteria. Thus, the paper suggests, it is not just organisational equal opportunities practices which may provide hope for ethnic minority personnel careers but also – and perhaps more importantly – the actions of the ethnic minority individuals themselves. Ways in which personnel departments might support these actions are discussed

Collaborative trails in e-learning environments

This deliverable focuses on collaboration within groups of learners, and hence collaborative trails. We begin by reviewing the theoretical background to collaborative learning and looking at the kinds of support that computers can give to groups of learners working collaboratively, and then look more deeply at some of the issues in designing environments to support collaborative learning trails and at tools and techniques, including collaborative filtering, that can be used for analysing collaborative trails. We then review the state-of-the-art in supporting collaborative learning in three different areas – experimental academic systems, systems using mobile technology (which are also generally academic), and commercially available systems. The final part of the deliverable presents three scenarios that show where technology that supports groups working collaboratively and producing collaborative trails may be heading in the near future

Project-based Learning Practices in Computer Science Education

The EPCoS project (Effective Projectwork in Computer Science) is working to map the range of project-based learning practices in UK higher education and to generate insights into what characterizes the contexts in which particular techniques are effective. In assembling a body of authentic examples, EPCoS aims to provide a resource that enables extrapolation and synthesis of new techniques. To allow educators and researchers to mine this material, EPCoS is systematizing it within a template-based catalogue, augmented with indexing and abstracting devices. Moreover, EPCoS is examining the process by which practices are transferred between institutional contexts, with a view to identifying effective models of the transfer process. Three key elements of transfer are the identification of appropriate practices, the selection of a practice for a purpose, and the integration of a chosen practice into the existing culture. Structured resources and process models are essential tools for supporting responsiveness in the current climate of continual change: the rapid development of computer technology is demanding new range and flexibility in project work, and EPCoS's mapping of project-based teaching allows practitioners to respond to these changes. This is one context in which educational research into how projects work can generalize to professional practice

The analysis of user behaviour of a network management training tool using a neural network

A novel method for the analysis and interpretation of data that describes the interaction between trainee network managers and a network management training tool is presented. A simulation based approach is currently being used to train network managers, through the use of a simulated network. The motivation is to provide a tool for exposing trainees to a life like situation without disrupting a live network. The data logged by this system describes the detailed interaction between trainee network manager and simulated network. The work presented here provides an analysis of this interaction data that enables an assessment of the capabilities of the trainee network manager as well as an understanding of how the network management tasks are being approached. A neural network architecture is implemented in order to perform an exploratory data analysis of the interaction data. The neural network employs a novel form of continuous self-organisation to discover key features in the data and thus provide new insights into the learning and teaching strategies employed