Developing Self-Awareness in Robots via Inner Speech

The experience of inner speech is a common one. Such a dialogue accompanies the introspection of mental life and fulfills essential roles in human behavior, such as self-restructuring, self-regulation, and re-focusing on attentional resources. Although the underpinning of inner speech is mostly investigated in psychological and philosophical fields, the research in robotics generally does not address such a form of self-aware behavior. Existing models of inner speech inspire computational tools to provide a robot with this form of self-awareness. Here, the widespread psychological models of inner speech are reviewed, and a cognitive architecture for a robot implementing such a capability is outlined in a simplified setup

Instrução Baseada em Equivalência no Ensino de Relações de Tamanho a uma Criança com Autismo

Several studies suggest that Equivalence-Based Instruction (EBI) is an effective method for teaching a variety of academic skills to individuals with autism. However, the efficacy of EBI for teaching equivalence relations involving the behavior of selecting a stimulus according to its physical size, the mathematical symbols for “larger than” (>) and “smaller than” () e menor que (<) e as palavras ditadas correspondentes (“maior que” e “menor que”) ainda não foi investigada. O objetivo do estudo foi verificar os efeitos da IBE na emergência de relações entre símbolos matemáticos e o tamanho físico de diferentes estímulos tridimensionais. Uma criança de 7 anos, do sexo masculino e diagnosticada com autismo participou do estudo. Um delineamento pré/pós-teste foi utilizado para avaliar a emergência das relações CB (símbolo-tamanho) após o ensino das relações AC (palavras ditadas-símbolo) e AB (palavras ditadas-tamanho). Os resultados indicaram aquisição das relações de linha de base e emergência das relações CB, sugerindo efetividade da IBE para ensinar relações simbólicas entre palavras ditadas, tamanho de objetos e símbolos matemáticos.Palavras-chave: Equivalência de estímulos, formação de conceito, matemática, autismo

Some psychosocial and cultural factors in the Arab-Israeli conflict: a review of the literature

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66497/2/10.1177_002200277201600210.pd

Mortality in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria

BACKGROUND Quantifying the effect of natural disasters on society is critical for recovery of public health services and infrastructure. The death toll can be difficult to assess in the aftermath of a major disaster. In September 2017, Hurricane Maria caused massive infrastructural damage to Puerto Rico, but its effect on mortality remains contentious. The official death count is 64. METHODS Using a representative, stratified sample, we surveyed 3299 randomly chosen households across Puerto Rico to produce an independent estimate of all-cause mortality after the hurricane. Respondents were asked about displacement, infrastructure loss, and causes of death. We calculated excess deaths by comparing our estimated post-hurricane mortality rate with official rates for the same period in 2016. RESULTS From the survey data, we estimated a mortality rate of 14.3 deaths (95% confidence interval [CI], 9.8 to 18.9) per 1000 persons from September 20 through December 31, 2017. This rate yielded a total of 4645 excess deaths during this period (95% CI, 793 to 8498), equivalent to a 62% increase in the mortality rate as compared with the same period in 2016. However, this number is likely to be an underestimate because of survivor bias. The mortality rate remained high through the end of December 2017, and one third of the deaths were attributed to delayed or interrupted health care. Hurricane-related migration was substantial. CONCLUSIONS This household-based survey suggests that the number of excess deaths related to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico is more than 70 times the official estimate. (Funded by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and others.

Towards a positive cross-cultural lexicography: Enriching our emotional landscape through 216 ‘untranslatable’ words pertaining to well-being

Although much attention has been paid to culture-specific psychopathologies, there have been no comparable attempts to chart positive mental states that may be particular to certain cultures. This paper outlines the beginnings of a positive cross-cultural lexicography of ‘untranslatable’ words pertaining to wellbeing, culled from across the world’s languages. A quasi-systematic search uncovered 216 such terms. Using grounded theory, these words were organised into three categories: feelings (comprising positive and complex feelings); relationships (comprising intimacy and pro-sociality); and character (comprising personal resources and spirituality). The paper has two main aims. First, it aims to provide a window onto cultural differences in constructions of wellbeing, thereby enriching our understanding of wellbeing. Second, a more ambitious aim is that this lexicon may help expand the emotional vocabulary of English speakers (and indeed speakers of all languages), and consequently enrich their experiences of wellbeing. The paper concludes by setting out a research agenda to pursue these aims further

Development and validation of a virtual reality haptic femoral nailing simulator

OBJECTIVE: To create a virtual reality (VR) femoral nailing simulator combining haptics and image intensifier functionality and then carry out validation studies to assess its educational value. DESIGN: The simulator consisted of a 3D virtual environment, a haptic device and 3D printed drill handle and a VR headset. The environment was created using a video game development engine, interfaced with plugins to allow haptic feedback and image intensifier functionality. Two tasks were created within the simulator as part of an antegrade femoral intramedullary (IM) nail procedure: proximal guidewire entry and distal locking.For the validation study, participants performed the above tasks on the simulator. Metrics were collected including time taken, number of X-rays and tool distance travelled and used to assess construct validity. A questionnaire was then completed to assess authenticity and content validity. SETTING: Simulator development in centre for simulation and engagement science laboratory. Validation study in a teaching hospital environment. PARTICIPANTS: Orthopedic specialist trainees and consultants. RESULTS: Surgeon experience (number of IM nails performed/postgraduate year) correlated with significantly improved task performance. More experienced surgeons took less time, used fewer X-rays and had greater economy of movement than less experienced surgeons. Authenticity and content validity were well rated, with criticisms primarily due to hardware limitations. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge this is the first orthopedic simulator to combine immersive VR with haptics and full image intensifier functionality. By combining multiple aspects of surgical practice within a single device, we aimed to improve participant immersion and educational value. Our work so far has focused on technical skills, demonstrating good authenticity, content and construct validity, however our findings show promise in other applications such as nontechnical skill development and assessment

Some Meteorological Characteristics of Significant Tornado Events Occurring in

A study was performed to determine meteorological aspects of environments in which thunderstorms produced both strong or violent tornadoes and flash floods within a limited temporal and spatial domain. It was found that the overwhelming majority of these episodes occurred in the spring and summer months and during the afternoon and evening hours. In most instances, at least some of the tornadoes were present when flash flooding was in progress. The ambient environment usually included an air mass that exhibited both relatively high convective instability and abundant lower-tropospheric moisture, including an average most-unstable CAPE of and mean surface dewpoint and precipitable water values of 708F (218C) and 41 mm (1.6 in.), respectively. Storm-relative helicity magnitudes indicated that the vertical wind shear ranged from marginally to moderately favorable for supercell formation in all cases. Surface patterns for each episode were generally similar to patterns earlier studies determined to be frequently attendant with flash flooding, in which preexisting surface boundaries acted to focus deep convection. Most events also occurred east of an approaching and welldefined upper-tropospheric trough and in the left-front or right-rear quadrant of an upper-level jet streak in which upward vertical motion is usually present