4,286 research outputs found
How Do You Like Me in This: User Embodiment Preferences for Companion Agents
We investigate the relationship between the embodiment of an artificial companion and user perception and interaction with it. In a Wizard of Oz study, 42 users interacted with one of two embodiments: a physical robot or a virtual agent on a screen through a role-play of secretarial tasks in an office, with the companion providing essential assistance. Findings showed that participants in both condition groups when given the choice would prefer to interact with the robot companion, mainly for its greater physical or social presence. Subjects also found the robot less annoying and talked to it more naturally. However, this preference for the robotic embodiment is not reflected in the usersâ actual rating of the companion or their interaction with it. We reflect on this contradiction and conclude that in a task-based context a user focuses much more on a companionâs behaviour than its embodiment. This underlines the feasibility of our efforts in creating companions that migrate between embodiments while maintaining a consistent identity from the userâs point of view
The multisensory basis of the self:From body to identity to others
By grounding the self in the body, experimental psychology has taken the body as the starting point for a science of the self. One fundamental dimension of the bodily self is the sense of body ownership that refers to the special perceptual status of oneâs own body, the feeling that âmy bodyâ belongs to me. The primary aim of this review article is to highlight recent advances in the study of body ownership and our understanding of the underlying neurocognitive processes in three ways. I first consider how the sense of body ownership has been investigated and elucidated in the context of multisensory integration. Beyond exteroception, recent studies have considered how this exteroceptively driven sense of body ownership can be linked to the other side of embodiment, that of the unobservable, yet felt, interoceptive body, suggesting that these two sides of embodiment interact to provide a unifying bodily self. Lastly, the multisensorial understanding of the self has been shown to have implications for our understanding of social relationships, especially in the context of selfâother boundaries. Taken together, these three research strands motivate a unified model of the self inspired by current predictive coding models
The scope of preserved procedural memory in amnesia
The finding that patients with amnesia retain the ability to
learn certain procedural skills has provided compelling
evidence of multiple memory systems in the human
brain, but the scope, defining features and ecological significance
of the preserved mnemonic abilities have not yet
been explored. Here, we tested the hypothesis that subjects
with amnesia would be able to learn and retain a broad
range of procedural skills, by examining their acquisition
and retention performance on five novel experimental
tasks. The tasks are based on real-world activities and
encompass a broad range of perceptualâmotor demands:
(i) the weaving task involves weaving pieces of fabric from
woollen strings, using a manual weaverâs loom; (ii) the
geometric figures task consists of tracing geometric figures
with a stylus as they move horizontally across a touch
screen monitor; (iii) the control stick task involves tracking
a sequence of visual target locations using a joystick control;
(iv) the pouring task consists of pouring 200 ml of
water from a watering can into a series of graduated cylinders,
from a point 20 cm above the cylinders; and (v) the
spatial sequence task involves learning an ordered
sequence of pushing five spatially distributed buttons without
visual guidance. Ten chronic and stable amnesic subjects
(nine with bilateral medial temporal lobe damage due
to herpes simplex encephalitis or anoxia, and one with thalamic
stroke) and 25 matching normal comparison subjects
were tested on three occasions: initial learning at time 1;
retention at time 2 (24 h later); and retention at time
3 (2 months later). Despite impaired declarative memory
for the tasks, the amnesic subjects demonstrated acquisition
and retention of the five skills; their learning slopes
over repeated trials were comparable with those of comparison
subjects. These findings indicate that preserved
learning of complex perceptualâmotor skills in patients
with amnesia is a robust phenomenon, and that it can be
demonstrated across a variety of conditions and perceptualâ
motor demands. The comparability of the tasks
employed in this study with real-world activities highlights
the potential application of this memory dissociation in the
rehabilitation of patients with amnesi
A Robot Model of OC-Spectrum Disorders : Design Framework, Implementation and First Experiments
Š 2019 Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyComputational psychiatry is increasingly establishing itself as valuable discipline for understanding human mental disorders. However, robot models and their potential for investigating embodied and contextual aspects of mental health have been, to date, largely unexplored. In this paper, we present an initial robot model of obsessive-compulsive (OC) spectrum disorders based on an embodied motivation-based control architecture for decision making in autonomous robots. The OC family of conditions is chiefly characterized by obsessions (recurrent, invasive thoughts) and/or compulsions (an urge to carry out certain repetitive or ritualized behaviors). The design of our robot model follows and illustrates a general design framework that we have proposed to ground research in robot models of mental disorders, and to link it with existing methodologies in psychiatry, and notably in the design of animal models. To test and validate our model, we present and discuss initial experiments, results and quantitative and qualitative analysis regarding the compulsive and obsessive elements of OC-spectrum disorders. While this initial stage of development only models basic elements of such disorders, our results already shed light on aspects of the underlying theoretical model that are not obvious simply from consideration of the model.Peer reviewe
The limits of process: On (re)reading Henri Bergson
This article offers a reading of the work of Henri Bergson as it pertains to organizations through the lens of ideas drawn from critical realism. It suggests an alternative to interpretations based on a stark division between process and realist perspectives. Much of the existing literature presents a rather partial view of Bergsonâs work. A review suggests some interesting parallels with themes in critical realism, notably the emergence of mind. Critical realism has a focus on process at its heart, but is also concerned with how the products of such processes become stabilized and form the conditions for action. This suggests that attention might usefully be paid to the relationship between organizational action and the sedimented practices grouped under the heading of âroutinesâ. More attention to Bergsonâs account of the relationship between instinct, intuition and intelligence provides a link to the social character of thought, something which can be mapped on to Archerâs work on reflexivity and the âinternal conversationâ. This suggests that our analyses need to pay attention to both memory and history, to building and dwelling, rather than the one-sided focus found in some process theory accounts
A critique of Paulo Freireâs perspective on human nature to inform the construction of theoretical underpinnings for research
From Crossref via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: epub 2020-04-20, issued 2020-04-20Article version: VoRKate Sanders - ORCID 0000-0003-3516-7030
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3516-7030This article presents a critique of Paulo Freire's philosophical perspective on human nature in the context of a doctoral research study to explore âmuchnessâ or nursesâ subjective experience of wellâbeing; and demonstrates how this critique has informed the refinement of the theoretical principles used to inform research methodology and methods. Engaging in philosophical groundwork is essential for research coherence and integrity. Through this groundwork, largely informed by Freire's critical pedagogy and his ideas on humanization, I recognized the need to clarify my understanding of the concepts of persons and personhood and how this related to Freire's use of the term human beings. This clarification process is essential to ensure congruence between the theoretical principles that I draw from his work and my beliefs about persons, personhood and personâcentredness. The article begins with a brief introduction to the research, followed by an overview of Freire's philosophical perspectives, and subsequently, the critique process is presented and discussed. This process involved engaging with the vast literature and debates about what it means to be a person, to make sense of the often complex and contradictory arguments. Eventually, three headings emerged that helped me to frame my evolving understanding: Our species: human beings ; The kind that we are: human nature ; and This person that I am: personhood. Through this process of exploration, I recognized that Freire's perspective on human nature (a) foregrounded cognitive rationality, which presented itself as a limitation when considering my ontological beliefs and the focus of my research, leading me to draw on the work of Mark Johnson and his ideas about embodiment to help me to further develop my theoretical principles; (b) focused on the âcollectiveâ rather than individuals, which is a shortcoming in relation to personâcentred research that acknowledges the uniqueness of participants.21pubpub
Managing the Risk of Aggressive Dog Behavior:Investigating the Influence of Owner Threat and Efficacy Perceptions
Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase p110 Delta Differentially Restrains and Directs NaĂŻve Versus Effector CD8<sup>+</sup>Â T Cell Transcriptional Programs
Phosphoinositide 3-kinase p110 delta (PI3K p110δ) is pivotal for CD8+ T cell immune responses. The current study explores PI3K p110δ induction and repression of antigen receptor and cytokine regulated programs to inform how PI3K p110δ directs CD8+ T cell fate. The studies force a revision of the concept that PI3K p110δ controls metabolic pathways in T cells and reveal major differences in PI3K p110δ regulated transcriptional programs between naïve and effector cytotoxic T cells (CTL). These differences include differential control of the expression of cytolytic effector molecules and costimulatory receptors. Key insights from the work include that PI3K p110δ signalling pathways repress expression of the critical inhibitory receptors CTLA4 and SLAMF6 in CTL. Moreover, in both naïve and effector T cells the dominant role for PI3K p110δ is to restrain the production of the chemokines that orchestrate communication between adaptive and innate immune cells. The study provides a comprehensive resource for understanding how PI3K p110δ uses multiple processes mediated by Protein Kinase B/AKT, FOXO1 dependent and independent mechanisms and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) to direct CD8+ T cell fate
FoxK1 and FoxK2 in insulin regulation of cellular and mitochondrial metabolism
A major target of insulin signaling is the FoxO family of Forkhead transcription factors, which translocate from the nucleus to the cytoplasm following insulin-stimulated phosphorylation. Here we show that the Forkhead transcription factors FoxK1 and FoxK2 are also downstream targets of insulin action, but that following insulin stimulation, they translocate from the cytoplasm to nucleus, reciprocal to the translocation of FoxO1. FoxK1/FoxK2 translocation to the nucleus is dependent on the Akt-mTOR pathway, while its localization to the cytoplasm in the basal state is dependent on GSK3. Knockdown of FoxK1 and FoxK2 in liver cells results in upregulation of genes related to apoptosis and down-regulation of genes involved in cell cycle and lipid metabolism. This is associated with decreased cell proliferation and altered mitochondrial fatty acid metabolism. Thus, FoxK1/K2 are reciprocally regulated to FoxO1 following insulin stimulation and play a critical role in the control of apoptosis, metabolism and mitochondrial function
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