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Improved Gaussian mixture model and Gaussian mixture regression for learning from demonstration based on Gaussian noise scattering
No full textLearning from Demonstration (LfD) is an effectual approach for robots to acquire new skills by implementing intuitive learning through imitating human demonstration. As one of the mainstream learning models for LfD, Gaussian mixture modeling (GMM) and Gaussian mixture regression (GMR) exhibit the advantages of ease of use and robust learning capabilities. To further improve the learning and regression performance of GMM/GMR, in this paper, improved GMM/GMR based on a Gaussian noise scattering strategy is designed. The main contributions of this study include: 1) the Gaussian noise scattering strategy is developed to eliminate the requirement of creating multiple demonstrations and overcome the jitter and sharp-turning defects of the demonstration; 2) based on a new evaluation criterion IBF and the sparrow search algorithm (SSA), GMM/GMR is optimized to achieve the balance of feature retention of the demonstration and the smoothness of the reproduced solution. Experimental results show that with the Gaussian noise scattering strategy, the geometric similarity of the reproduced solution and the demonstration increased for approximately 33.16 %, and the smoothness improved for 19.83 %. The challenges of underfitting and overfitting in GMM/GMR were effectively mitigated after incorporating the evaluation criterion IBF and leveraging SSA. This demonstrates the potential applicability of the improved GMM/GMR in practical industrial scenarios
From stigma to strength?:the interrelations between sexual identity stigma, well-being, and accepting communities on Instagram amongst sexual minority youth
No full textInitial evidence suggests that engaging with accepting communities on social media such as Instagram may inform sexual minority youths' sense of stigma and well-being. However, as existing research has predominately drawn upon cross-sectional or qualitative designs, it is currently unclear whether the positive experiences identified in previous research accumulate, endure, or evolve over time. We also know relatively little about whether engagement with accepting online communities is primarily a compensatory or enhancing behavior. Thus, drawing upon minority stress theory and broaden-and-build theory, this study explores the longitudinal reciprocal relationships between perceived stigma, well-being, and engagement with accepting Instagram communities. Three-wave panel data were collected from 460 sexual minority youth in the United States and Poland (M age = 18.58, SD = 1.64), and data were analyzed using a random intercept cross-lagged panel model. At the between-person level, engagement with accepting Instagram communities was positively associated with perceived stigma and negatively associated with well-being. No significant within-person associations emerged between perceived stigma and engagement with accepting Instagram networks. However, a positive reciprocal relationship was found between well-being and engagement with accepting Instagram communities. Cultural context had no moderating effect on the hypothesized model. Results suggest that whilst the interrelations between perceived stigma and engaging with accepting online networks may be short-lived, engaging with supportive Instagram communities may contribute to an upward spiral of positive emotions. Findings therefore extend the existing literature regarding the potential benefits of social media use amongst sexual minority youth. [Abstract copyright: © 2025 Foundation for Professionals in Services to Adolescents.
Acknowledging the crucial role of Max Glatt in the development of the Jellinek curve and the enduring relevance of his model of recovery from problem drinking:and the enduring relevance of his model of recovery from problem drinking
No full textInfluenced by Morton Jellinek’s (1946) ‘Phases in the Drinking History of Alcoholics’, Max Glatt (1958) developed a holistic model of problem drinking, a ‘V-shaped chart’, detailing the symptomatic descent to alcohol dependency and a subsequent pathway of rehabilitation towards recovery and a meaningful and purposeful life. However, shortly after Glatt’s concept was published, a misnomer emerged, whereby Glatt’s creation became known as the ‘Jellinek Curve’. The literature suggests that the role of both scholars in the development of the Curve has never been fully investigated, and so the current article addresses this oversight. Understandably, many will be unfamiliar with the concept but during the 1960s/70s and for some time afterwards it was extremely influential. Both Glatt’s and Jellinek’s expositions in this endeavour were based on data harvested from members of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), and the current article recognizes the symbiotic relationship between all three parties. The ‘Matthew Effect’, whereby eminent scientists with a high profile tend to get greater credit than scientists who have contributed equally to the same area of investigation but are less well known, may provide an explanation for the misnomer’s genesis. While Jellinek’s Phases model of the descent towards dependent drinking has been surpassed by more recent models of alcohol addiction, the Curve’s recovery slope, created solely by Glatt, remains relevant, with many of the steps outlined on his recovery slope present in contemporary models of recovery. Evidence suggests that Glatt’s model of recovery, in tandem with its application through his NHS model of residential detoxification and rehabilitation (that he began developing in the 1950s), was responsible for a successful two-year follow-up rate of 45% for problem drinkers. Currently, however, the recovery journeys of problem drinkers completing treatment are not being followed and consequently, their recoveries are not being measured and evaluated over time. To address this oversight, comprehensive and effective treatment and recovery models need to take a longer-term approach to post-acute research and support
Outcome trajectories for violent and sex offenders in recovery residences with a substance use disorder compared to non-offending residents
No full textObjectives: This study aimed to explore the outcomes for people convicted of violent and sex offences compared to non-offenders for people with a substance use disorder (SUD) residing in recovery residences (RR). Methods: We employed marginal structural models (MSM) to estimate causal effects on program retention, completion, and changes in recovery capital in Virginia (n = 757) from April 2020 to April 2023. Results: Violent offenders were significantly less likely to be retained than non-offenders. Sex offenders displayed unique outcome trajectories, including being more likely to be retained, more likely to complete their recovery programme, and less likely to have a negative discharge outcome. For sex offenders, recovery capital measures atrophied before discharge, although this did not affect the likelihood of future positive outcomes. Conclusions: Recovery residences should consider addressing retention for violent offenders and develop strengths-based community assets such as dedicated housing provision and specialist programs designed explicitly for sex offenders at discharge
Researching 'religion' in indigenous cultures
No full textThis chapter offers a constructive approach to studying ‘religion’ in Indigenous cultures by building on the work of Chidester, Fitzgerald and McCutcheon, while taking into account concerns expressed by Maori scholar Linda Tuhiwai Smith and the late Dakota scholar Vine Deloria, Jr., about researching Indigenous people and religion. First, I attend to conceptual issues regarding ‘indigenous’ and ‘religion’, and the gap between self-representation and scholarly classifications, before examining identification practices (from Bayart) as strategies for recognition as Indigenous or as an Indigenous religion, paired with the politics of refusal in the rejection of colonial classifications. I will also consider issues of legitimisation, power and privilege when evaluating an alternative classification, ‘traditional spirituality’, common in Canada. At the end, I suggest ways a critical religion approach can offer a way forward that also respects these differences in representation