Evolving grounded communication for robots

The computational and robotic synthesis of language evolution is emerging as a new exciting field of research. The objective is to come up with precise operational models of how communities of agents, equipped with a cognitive apparatus, a sensori-motor system, and a body, can arrive at shared grounded communication systems. Such systems may have similar characteristics to animal communication or human language. Apart from its technological interest in building novel applications in the domain of human-robot or robot-robot interaction, this research is of interest to the many disciplines concerned with the origins and evolution of language and communication.     

Studying radical organizational innovation through grounded theory

The main aim of this article is to study the social processes occurring during the implementation of radical organizational innovation. Our aim is to understand the nature of the development of radical innovation by identifying the social processes, that are taking place. The perspective for the analysis stems from “grounded theory” as a generative and inductive analytical strategy (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). An in-depth case study was thoroughly analysed. A total of 14 indepth interviews were conducted with key informants selected according to “theoretical sampling” criteria. The systematic use of the “constant comparative method” allowed us to differentiate grounded theories leading to a “conceptual saturation” of the categories generated from the empirical data. Results show the emergence of two basic processes, “learning” and “adaptation”, during the development of radical innovation. A “grounded” theory concerning the development of radical innovation is proposed, emphasizing the organization's selfregulating capacity for learning and adapting. Our results describe innovation as an adaptable response that causes disorder in terms of “a creative tension in the system”. Finally, the methodological implications of grounded theory are discussed with regard to the study of radical innovation. The requisites and limitations observed in using grounded theory are outlined.     

Building human-like communicative intelligence: A grounded perspective

Modern Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems excel at diverse tasks, from image classification to strategy games, even outperforming humans in many of these domains. After making astounding progress in language learning in the recent decade, AI systems, however, seem to approach the ceiling that does not reflect important aspects of human communicative capacities. Unlike human learners, communicative AI systems often fail to systematically generalize to new data, suffer from sample inefficiency, fail to capture common-sense semantic knowledge, and do not translate to real-world communicative situations. Cognitive Science offers several insights on how AI could move forward from this point. This paper aims to: (1) suggest that the dominant cognitively-inspired AI directions, based on nativist and symbolic paradigms, lack necessary substantiation and concreteness to guide progress in modern AI, and (2) articulate an alternative, “grounded”, perspective on AI advancement, inspired by Embodied, Embedded, Extended, and Enactive Cognition (4E) research. I review results on 4E research lines in Cognitive Science to distinguish the main aspects of naturalistic learning conditions that play causal roles for human language development. I then use this analysis to propose a list of concrete, implementable components for building “grounded” linguistic intelligence. These components include embodying machines in a perception–action cycle, equipping agents with active exploration mechanisms so they can build their own curriculum, allowing agents to gradually develop motor abilities to promote piecemeal language development, and endowing the agents with adaptive feedback from their physical and social environment. I hope that these ideas can direct AI research towards building machines that develop human-like language abilities through their experiences with the world.     

Well-suited partners: psychoanalytic research and grounded theory

Abstract

Research is a ‘core activity’ of ‘central importance in improving mental health and social care’ (NIME, CAMHS National Conference, 2005 CAMHS National Conference. January 2005. Research in CAMHS Conference Handbook January,  [Google Scholar]). This paper examines the philosophical issues confronted when considering psychoanalytic clinical research. It is argued that a well-suited partnership can be formed between psychoanalytic clinical research and Grounded Theory. The methodological issues encountered when using Grounded Theory to analyse qualitative clinical data are explored. The well-suited partnership formed between Grounded Theory and psychoanalytic clinical research has the capacity to provide explanatory mechanisms, findings that are translatable to routine clinical practice, and to discover new ways of grouping young people so that they are alike in the most significant aspects of their mental health presentations. This makes further clinical trials more reliable. Psychoanalytic clinical findings are used together with a range of material from different sources to develop concepts and theory that are readily accessible to the wider professional community. Illustrations will be provided from the author's doctoral research into Risk-Taking, Dangerous Behaviour.

Selon l'Institut National de la Santé Mentale en Angleterre [NIME], la recherche est une “activité fondamentale” d'une “importance cruciale pour l'amélioration des soins en santé mentale et dans le cadre social” [Colloque National des Services de Santé Mentale pour Enfants et Adolescents, 2005]. Dans cet article, l'auteur étudie les problèmes auxquels sont confrontés les chercheurs en clinique psychanalytique. Il affirme qu'un partenariat tout à fait opportun peut être établi entre la recherche clinique psychanalytique et la théorie inductive ancrée dans le réel (“grounded theory”). Il explore les difficultés méthodologiques que soulève cette théorie inductive appliquée à l'analyse des données cliniques qualitatives. Ce partenariat tout à fait opportun entre la théorie inductive et la recherche clinique psychanalytique est capable de fournir des mécanismes explicatifs et des résultats qui peuvent être mis en application dans la pratique clinique ordinaire; en outre, il permet d'envisager de nouveaux regroupements par catégorie basés sur les aspects les plus significatifs de la pathologie présentée par les jeunes. Les contrôles cliniques complémentaires sont alors plus fiables. Les observations cliniques psychanalytiques sont associées à un éventail de matériel de sources différentes pour développer des concepts et des théories à la portée de tous les intervenants de ce secteur. L'auteur illustre ses propos à partir de sa thèse de doctorat de troisième cycle portant sur la prise de risque et les comportements dangereux.

Mots-clés: Recherche clinique psychanalytique, méthodologie de la théorie inductive ancrée dans le réel (“grounded theory”), philosophie de la science, psychothérapeute d'enfants, spécialiste de Niveau 3 des Services de Santé Mentale pour Enfants et Adolescents, refuges

Riassunto: La ricerca è ‘attività principale’ di ‘importanza centrale per il miglioramento della salute mentale e dell'assistenza sociale’ (NIME, CAMHS National Conference, 2005). Questo articolo esamina le questioni filosofiche che si incontrano quando si considera la ricerca clinica in campo psicoanalitico. Si sostiene che un buon rapporto di partnership possa essere stabilito tra la ricerca clinica psicoanalitica e la Grounded Theory. Vengono esplorate le questioni metodologiche che si incontrano quando si usa la Grouded Theory per analizzare dati clinici qualitativi. Il rapporto di partnership che si stabilisce tra Grouded Theory e la ricerca clinica psicoanalitica ha la capacità di fornire meccanismi di spiegazione, risultati che sono traducibili nella pratica clinica di routine, e di scoprire modi nuovi di raggruppare i giovani in modo che siano simili per gli aspetti pi[ugrave] significativi della loro presentazione in salute mentale. Tutto ciò rende pi[ugrave] affidabili ulteriori prove cliniche. I risultati clinici psicoanalitici vengono usati con una serie di materiali di origini diverse per sviluppare concetti e teorie che siano facilmente accessibili alla pi[ugrave] ampia comunità dei professionisti. Verrà fornito del materiale dal lavoro di dottorato di ricerca dell'autore sul comportamento di rischio e sul comportamento pericoloso.

Parole chiave: ricerca clinica psicoanalitica, metodologia della Grounded Theory, filosofia della scienza, psicoterapia infantile, Tier 3 Specialist CAMHS, rifugi

Forschung ist eine ‘zentrale Aktivität’ von besonderer Wichtigkeit in der Verbesserung von psychischem Wohlergehen und Sozialfürsorge’ (NIME, CAMHS Nationalkonferenz 2005) Dieser Artikel untersucht philosophische Fragestellungen, mit denen man konfrontiert wird, wenn man psychoanalytische klinische Forschung in Betracht zieht. Es wird argumentiert, dass eine gut funktionierende Partnerschaft zwischen psychoanalytischer klinischer Forschung und grounded theory hergestellt werden kann. Es werden die methodologischen Fragen, auf die man stösst, wenn man grounded theory benutzt, um qualitative klinische Daten zu analysieren, exploriert. Die gut funktionierende Partnerschaft zwischen ‘grounded theory’ und psychoanalytischer klinischer Forschung hat die Fähigkeit, Erklärungsmechanismen und Ergebnisse bereitzustellen, die routinemässig in klinische Praxis übersetzt werden können, und neue Arten der Gruppierung von jungen Leuten zu entdecken, sodass sie sich in den signifikantesten Aspekten ihrer Präsentierung ähneln. Weitere klinische Versuchsreihen werden dann mehr verlässlich. Es werden klinische Ergebisse zusammen mit einer Reihe von Materialien von verschiedenen Quellen benutzt, um Konzepte und Theorien zu entwickeln, die für die weitere professionelle Gruppe leicht zugänglich sind. Es werden Illustrationen aus der Doktorarbeit der Autorin über das Eingehen von Risiko und gefährlichen Verhaltensweisen gegeben.

Keywords: Psychoanalytische klinische Forschung, Methodologie der ‘grounded theory’, Wissenschaftsphilosphie, Kindertherapeut, Kinder-und Jugendpsychiatrischer Dienst, Zufluchtsorte     

Towards an ecologically grounded functional practice in rehabilitation

According to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, effective rehabilitation requires interventions that go beyond minimizing pathological conditions and associated symptoms. The scope of practice must include promoting an individual’s activity within relevant contexts. We argue that best practice requires decisions that are not only evidence-based but also theory-based. Perception and action theories are essential for interpreting evidence and clinical phenomena as well as for developing new interventions. It is our contention that rehabilitation goals can best be achieved if inspired by the ecological approach to perception and action, an approach that focuses on the dynamics of interacting constraints of performer, task and environment. This contrasts with organism-limited motor control theories that have important influence in clinical practice. Parallels between such theories and the medical model of care highlight their fundamental inconsistency with the current understanding of functioning. We contend that incorporating ecological principles into rehabilitation research and practice can help advance our understanding of the complexity of action and provide better grounding for the development of effective functional practice. Implications and initial suggestions for an ecologically grounded functional practice are outlined.     

Dyadic coping in coach-athlete relationships: A grounded theory

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to make an original contribution to sport psychology literature by offering a substantive grounded theory of dyadic coping in coach-athlete relationships. Specifically, this study aimed to capture the development and manifestation of dyadic coping for coaches and athletes operating in individual sports.DesignUsing constructionist grounded theory methodology as a guide, a theory of dyadic coping was constructed by the authors, 13 coaches, 15 athletes, and five sport and exercise psychology practitioners.MethodTheoretical sampling procedures ensured that data collection was directed by the developing theoretical concepts, rather than a set of predefined criteria. We conducted individual interviews (n = 16) with coaches and athletes, and one 90-min workshop with coaches, athletes, and sport and exercise psychology practitioners. Methodological rigor was enhanced by focusing on credibility, originality, resonance, and usefulness.ResultsThe theory proposes that when coaches and athletes appraise a stressor communicated in their dyad as significant and meaningful, they use dyadic coping to protect themselves and their coach-athlete relationships. This process is moderated by a number of personal (e.g., personality), relationship (e.g., length), and organizational (e.g., leadership behaviors) characteristics.ConclusionThe theory presented here represents a notable shift in thinking away from coping as an individual process and toward coping as an important interpersonal phenomenon. This type of coping can have long-term effects on coaches’ and athletes’ relationship functioning, well-being, and performance.     

Qualitative sales research: an exposition of grounded theory

The dominant research paradigm in sales research involves testing theory through empirical research. Nascent or underdeveloped research areas, however, may lack or have inadequate existing theories to explain sales-related phenomena. In these cases, sales researchers require a theory-generating methodological approach. Qualitative research designs are useful in this pursuit. The purpose of this article is to provide an exposition of one such qualitative research design – grounded theory. To this end, the foundational processes of grounded theory methodology are discussed. The results of a review of grounded theory examinations conducted in sales research are also provided, and current practices utilized by sales grounded theorists are discussed. Based on this review, future directions in substantive areas and methodological practices are provided. This article aims to serve as a resource for sales scholars wishing to know what grounded theory examinations have been conducted, how to implement grounded theory research and what avenues are available for future grounded theory sales research.     

Toward a grounded theory of self-regulation in mixed martial arts

ObjectivesThe purpose of the current study was to use a grounded theory methodology to better understand the psychological factors involved in training and competition in MMA.DesignA grounded theory methodology underpinned by an interpretivist epistemology was utilized in the current study.MethodsNine MMA athletes participated in formal, recorded interviews with one athlete participating in two recorded interviews. Additionally, observations and field notes from the first author were collected over a one-year period, and aided data collection and analysis. In line with grounded theory methodology (Weed, 2009), an iterative and constant comparison approach to data collection and analysis was employed until saturation was reached.ResultsThroughout data collection and analysis, self-regulation during a training camp emerged as integral to optimal performance. Motivation and ongoing evaluation aided fighters in their ability to self-regulate both external and internal factors related to training and performance. External factors associated with self-regulation consisted of the creation and maintenance of an ascetic routine through environmental regulation, social support, and structured amnesty. Internal factors associated with self-regulation consisted of deliberately induced pain and distress, which facilitated self-efficacy, and produced stress and fatigue.ConclusionsResults of the current study advance the scientific literature in sport psychology by examining the role of self-regulation in the performance of MMA fighters. As the popularity of MMA continues to increase, future research should also examine the role of self-regulation in other aspects of MMA (e.g., injury rehabilitation, life balance).     

An efficient coding approach to the debate on grounded cognition

The debate between the amodal and the grounded views of cognition seems to be stuck. Their only substantial disagreement is about the vehicle or format of concepts. Amodal theorists reject the grounded claim that concepts are couched in the same modality-specific format as representations in sensory systems. The problem is that there is no clear characterization of (modal or amodal) format or its neural correlate. In order to make the disagreement empirically meaningful and move forward in the discussion we need a neurocognitive criterion for representational format. I argue that efficient coding models in computational neuroscience can be used to characterize modal codes: These are codes which satisfy special informational demands imposed by sensory tasks. Additionally, I examine recent studies on neural coding and argue that although they do not provide conclusive evidence for either the grounded or the amodal views, they can be used to determine what predictions these approaches can make and what experimental and theoretical developments would be required to settle the debate.     

Evolution and process of spiritual awakening: A grounded theory study

The present study used a constructivist grounded theory (CGT) approach to explore, examine and develop a grounded theory (GT) of spiritual awakening conceptualisation and process. The authors used the interview data of 34 eminent spiritual teachers who have written books on spirituality, led spiritual retreats and conducted lectures and trainings on spiritual quest. These participants come from diverse backgrounds (e.g., American, Asian, European and Mexican), trainings (e.g., Buddhism, Yoga, Hinduism, Taoism, Christianity and other mindfulness traditions) and professional experiences. The data analysis of the interviews led to the development of the spiritual awakening evolution (SAE) model, explaining the process and evolution of spiritual awakening. According to this model, spiritual awakening evolves through four phases: an initial transient shift in perception, further practice to support spiritual development, surrendering and a continuous journey of spiritual development. As spiritual awakening experiences are transcultural, the SAE model can inform counsellors' understanding of clients' spiritual needs and the meanings of those experiences. Implications for counsellor practitioners, counsellor preparation programmes and research are discussed.     

Learning of control in a neural architecture of grounded language processing

Human cognition is characterized by three important features: productivity, dynamics and grounding. These features can be integrated in a neural architecture of language processing. The representations in this architecture always remain “in situ”, because they are grounded in perception, action, emotion, associations and (semantic) relations. The neural architecture shows how these representations can be combined in a productive manner, and how dynamics influences this process. The constraints that each of these features impose on each other result in an architecture in which local and global aspects interact in processing and learning. The architecture consists of neural “binding” mechanisms that produce (novel) sentence structures on the fly. Here, we discuss how the control of this binding process can be learned. We trained a feedforward network (FFN) for this task. The results show that information from the architecture is needed as input to learn control of binding. Thus, the control system is recurrent. We show that this recurrent system can learn control of binding for basic (but recursive) sentence structures. After learning, the binding process behaves well on a series of test sentences, including sentences with (unlimited) embeddings. However, for some of these sentences, difficulties arise due to dynamical binding conflicts in the architecture. We also discuss and illustrate the potential influence that the dynamics in the architecture could have on the binding process.     

Understanding responses to predictive genetic testing: A grounded theory approach

Abstract

In view of the absence of data concerning the understanding and experience of families in which one or more members have undergone predictive genetic testing, a pilot study using a qualitative methodology was conducted with members of families at risk for the late-onset genetic disease, familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). Semistructured interviews were conducted to elicit illness representations, with responses tape-recorded and analysed using a grounded theory approach. Several themes emerged. The most striking was that when genetic testing indicated an extremely low risk of developing the disease, there was a desire to continue regular bowel screening, even though it was experienced as extremely aversive. Possible explanations draw upon both other themes of the interviews, and psychological models. The role of “functional pessimism” and “uncertain wellness” in maintaining a high threat from the disease, and the role of reinforcement and the nature of tests in providing bowel screening with a high value are discussed.