Information Gathering Is Associated with Increased Survival: A Field Experiment in Black-Capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus).

AbstractSampling, investing time or energy to learn about the environment, allows organisms to track changes in resource distribution and quality. The use of sampling is predicted to change as a function of energy expenditure, food availability, and starvation risk, all of which can vary both within and among individuals. We studied sampling behavior in a field study with black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) and show that individuals adjust their use of sampling as a function of ambient temperature (a proxy for energy expenditure), the presence of an alternative food source (yes or no, a proxy for risk of energy shortfall), and their interaction, as predicted by models of optimal sampling. We also observed repeatable differences in sampling. Some individuals consistently sampled more, and individuals that sampled more overall also had a higher annual survival. These results are consistent with among-individual differences in resource acquisition (e.g., food caches or dominance-related differences in priority access to feeders), shaping among-individual differences in both sampling and survival, with greater resource acquisition leading to both higher sampling and higher survival. Although this explanation requires explicit testing, it is in line with several recent studies suggesting that variation in resource acquisition is a key mechanism underlying animal personality.

Comprehensive reconstructions and predictive control for quadrotor UAV information gathering tracking missions based on fully actuated system approaches.

This paper introduces a novel approach to the comprehensive reconstruction and predictive control (PC) of the quadrotor UAV for information-gathering missions, employing fully actuated system (FAS) approaches. Unlike conventional PC methods applied to a quadrotor UAV with hybrid constraints, our work integrates reconstructions of the system model, hybrid constraints, and the receding horizon performance index into to an integrated tracking control scheme within the FAS-PC framework. Specifically, the under-actuated quadrotor UAV model is reconstructed into a full-actuated model to inject full-actuation properties. And the implicit hybrid constraints that arise from the model reconstruction are explicitly transformed and decoupled. Simultaneously, the cascaded predictive algorithm is established that the new time-varying input constraints are solved in each predictive horizon, and then the nonlinear optimization problem is decoupled into four linear convex optimization problems subject to the corresponding decoupled linear constraints and the pre-addressed input constraints. Within this framework, the intrinsic complexities, nonlinearities, and interdependencies of the quadrotor UAV system model, along with hybrid constraints and the optimization dilemma, are considerably diminished. This reduction significantly eases computational demands, enabling satisfactory real-time performance. Furthermore, the selection of predictive parameters guarantees the stability of the resultant tracking error closed-loop system. Finally, the efficacy of the proposed method is validated through two sets of flight missions, conducted via simulation and practical experimentation, respectively.

Companions' contributions to information gathering in Chinese outpatient clinical interaction.

Patients are commonly accompanied to visit clinicians in Chinese outpatient clinics. Although there has been extensive research on the roles of companions in asymmetric interactions within medical settings, there is a paucity of conversation analytic studies that examine the active participation and contributions of companions on an equal footing in medical consultations. How companions on an equal footing participate and contribute in Chinese outpatient clinical consultations remains under-explored. By employing video recordings of three-party consultations in the Chinese orthopaedic outpatient clinic as the data and adopting conversation analysis as the method, this study investigated how companions participated in and contributed to the information-gathering activity and how their contributions were interactionally negotiated and managed by clinicians and adult patients over sequences of interaction. We showed that companions negotiated epistemic rights in reporting and repairing the information about medical problems in the patients' epistemic domain and displayed different levels of encroachment on patients' epistemic rights by endorsing patients' responses, repairing the information in patients' responses, and offering information directly to clinicians. Companions also exerted deontic authority and shaped the trajectory of the consultations by hindering or facilitating the progressivity of the interaction. We argued that companions' contributions to the information-gathering activity might reflect the family-centred model of the doctor-patient relationship in the Chinese orthopaedic outpatient clinic. Clinicians are suggested to open up opportunities for companions' participation and contributions while respecting patients' rights, especially when there is a collision of knowledge claims between patients and their companions.

Boosting Serotonin Increases Information Gathering by Reducing Subjective Cognitive Costs.

Serotonin is implicated in the valuation of aversive costs, such as delay or physical effort. However, its role in governing sensitivity to cognitive effort, for example, deliberation costs during information gathering, is unclear. We show that treatment with a serotonergic antidepressant in healthy human individuals of either sex enhances a willingness to gather information when trying to maximize reward. Using computational modeling, we show this arises from a diminished sensitivity to subjective deliberation costs during the sampling process. This result is consistent with the notion that serotonin alleviates sensitivity to aversive costs in a domain-general fashion, with implications for its potential contribution to a positive impact on motivational deficits in psychiatric disorders.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Gathering information about the world is essential for successfully navigating it. However, sampling information is costly, and we need to balance between gathering too little and too much information. The neurocomputational mechanisms underlying this arbitration between a putative gain, such as reward, and the associated costs, such as allocation of cognitive resources, remain unclear. In this study, we show that week-long daily treatment with a serotonergic antidepressant enhances a willingness to gather information when trying to maximize reward. Computational modeling indicates this arises from a reduced perception of aversive costs, rendering information gathering less cognitively effortful. This finding points to a candidate mechanism by which serotonergic treatment might help alleviate motivational deficits in a range of mental illnesses.

Is the information on infection prevention measures against COVID-19 reaching the target audience? A cross-sectional survey among eating and drinking services in Tokyo, Japan.

Objectives: The study aims to evaluate information gathering behaviour (IGB) and its effectiveness in eating and drinking services for infection control during COVID-19. Study design: A cross-sectional survey using anonymous self-administered questionnaires was conducted in October 2021. Participants were asked what IGB they use to obtain infection control measures, to what extent they understand the measures (and, if they do not understand them, what inhibits their comprehension), and which IGBs they do not currently use and why. Methods: The sample included 957 eating and drinking services in Ota City, Tokyo. The response rate was 14.5%. Binomial logistic regression was used to analyse the factors associated with the baseline characteristics using Stata v.17.0. Results: The highest proportion of respondents used television (88.0%); another large proportion (38.9%) used guidelines. Regarding difficulty in understanding the retrieved information, 'difficulty in coming up with specific actions' had the highest ratio for every IGB. Regarding reasons for not currently using IGB, 'it takes too much time to extract the necessary information' showed the highest ratios of all IGBs. Individuals over 60 years had a negative relationship with the use of guidelines and the Internet. Participants also advised that they did not use time-consuming guidelines. Conclusion: Current information dissemination methods for information on COVID-19 infection control may not successfully convey information or reach their target populations. This study indicates the need for specific expressions and layouts to effectively share information on COVID-19. Also, special means of communication must be established to cater to individuals aged 60 and above.

The Effect of Using Countermeasures in Interpreter-Absent and Interpreter-Present Interviews

Background: In two experiments we examined whether lie tellers, after reading articles about the Model Statement interview tool and/or about the verbal cues complications, common knowledge details and self-handicapping strategies, can successfully use countermeasures by adjusting their statements so that they sound like truth tellers. We also examined whether the presence of an interpreter affect these results. Method: In both experiments, truth tellers discussed a trip they had made; lie tellers fabricated a story. Participants were of Lebanese, Mexican and South-Korean origin. Prior to the interview participants in Experiment 1 did or did not receive information about (i) the working of the Model Statement tool and (ii) three types of verbal detail: complications, common knowledge details and self-handicapping strategies. In Experiment 2 the Model Statement Pre-Information factor was replaced by the presence/absence of an interpreter. Results/Conclusions: We found no evidence that lie tellers adjusted their responses after being informed about the Model Statement and / or the types of detail we examined. (AU)

Antecedentes: Se analiza en dos experimentos si las personas que mienten, una vez han leído artículos sobre la entrevista estándar de obtención de la declaración y auto-depreciación sobre los problemas de los indicios verbales verbales, detalles de conocimiento común y las estrategias de autojustificación pueden utilizar eficazmente contramedidas para ajustar sus declaraciones de modo que parezca que dicen la verdad. También analizamos si influye en estos resultados la presencia de un intérprete. Método: En ambos experimentos, los sujetos que decían la verdad hablaban de un viaje que habían hecho, mientras que los que mentían se inventaban una historia. Los participantes eran de origen libanés, mexicano y surcoreano. Antes de la entrevista los participantes en el experimento 1 no recibían información sobre (i) el funcionamiento de la entrevista estándar de obtención de la declaración y (ii) sobre los tres tipos de detalles verbales: complicaciones, detalles del conocimiento común y estrategias de auto-depreciación. En el experimento 2 se sustituyó el factor información previa sobre la entrevista estándar de obtención de la declaración por la presencia/ausencia de un intérprete. Resultados/Conclusiones: Los resultados nos prestaron apoyo a que los que mienten ajusten sus respuestas tras ser informados sobre la entrevista estándar de obtención de la declaración o los tipos de detalles examinados. (AU)

Explaining education-based difference in systematic processing of COVID-19 information: Insights into global recovery from infodemic.

Systematic processing helps individuals identify misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic and serves as an individual-level measure to fight the infodemic. Highly educated people tend to engage in systematic processing more than their less educated counterparts. We follow a major part of the risk information seeking and processing (RISP) model to explicate this gap. An online survey (N = 1,568) conducted during the early stage of the pandemic in China showed that current knowledge and perceived information gathering capacity both positively mediated the association between education level and systematic processing. Although informational subjective norms were positively associated with systematic processing, we did not observe a significant difference in these norms between highly and less educated individuals. The results clarify the psychological mechanism underlying the education-based difference in systematic processing of the COVID-19 information and corroborate a relevant part of the RISP model. Moreover, our findings offer practical implications for facilitating individuals with less educational attainment to engage in systematic processing, thereby alleviating the negative impact of exposure to misinformation on them. These insights not only apply to managing the infodemic in China, but also inform the global recovery from the infodemic.

Hyperreactivity to uncertainty is a key feature of subjective cognitive impairment.

With an increasingly ageing global population, more people are presenting with concerns about their cognitive function, but not all have an underlying neurodegenerative diagnosis. Subjective cognitive impairment (SCI) is a common condition describing self-reported deficits in cognition without objective evidence of cognitive impairment. Many individuals with SCI suffer from depression and anxiety, which have been hypothesised to account for their cognitive complaints. Despite this association between SCI and affective features, the cognitive and brain mechanisms underlying SCI are poorly understood. Here, we show that people with SCI are hyperreactive to uncertainty and that this might be a key mechanism accounting for their affective burden. Twenty-seven individuals with SCI performed an information sampling task, where they could actively gather information prior to decisions. Across different conditions, SCI participants sampled faster and obtained more information than matched controls to resolve uncertainty. Remarkably, despite their 'urgent' sampling behaviour, SCI participants were able to maintain their efficiency. Hyperreactivity to uncertainty indexed by this sampling behaviour correlated with the severity of affective burden including depression and anxiety. Analysis of MRI resting functional connectivity revealed that SCI participants had stronger insular-hippocampal connectivity compared to controls, which also correlated with faster sampling. These results suggest that altered uncertainty processing is a key mechanism underlying the psycho-cognitive manifestations in SCI and implicate a specific brain network target for future treatment.

Beyond Observation: Manipulating Circumstances to Detect Affordances and Infer Traits.

Social perceivers seek to understand the opportunities and threats others potentially afford-for example, whether a teammate will behave tenaciously or a romantic partner, faithfully. We typically detect affordances and draw trait inferences by observing behaviors that reveal or predict others' likely intentions and characteristics. However, detection and inference from simple observation are often difficult (e.g., even dishonest people are frequently honest, people often mask unpopular beliefs). In such cases, we propose that people test, actively manipulating others' circumstances to reveal hard-to-observe affordances and characteristics. The Observation-Testing Model is a framework predicting circumstances under which testing is more likely to happen, which affordances and characteristics are more likely to be tested for, and which people are more likely to test and be tested. We identify preliminary support for the model from a range of literatures (e.g., employment assessment, coming-of-age rituals, dating processes) and identify areas needing further research.

In the Mind of the Ophthalmology Residency Applicant: Deciding Where to Apply, Interview, and Rank.

Objective This article characterizes the resources used by ophthalmology residency applicants when deciding where to apply, interview, and rank. Design Cross-sectional, online survey. Participants All applicants to the University of California-San Francisco ophthalmology residency program during the 2019 to 2020 and 2020 to 2021 application cycles. Methods A secure, anonymous, 19-item post-match questionnaire was distributed to participants inquiring about demographic information, match outcomes, and resources used to learn and make decisions about residency programs. Results were analyzed using qualitative and quantitative methods. Main Outcome Measures Qualitative ranking of resources used to decide where to apply, interview, and rank. Results One hundred thirty-six of 870 solicited applicants responded to the questionnaire, for a response rate of 15.6%. Digital platforms were ranked as more important resources than people (i.e., faculty, career advisors, residents, and program directors) when applicants were deciding where to apply and interview. Digital platforms became far less important when applicants were formulating their rank lists, at which time the program's academic reputation, perceived happiness of residents and faculty, interview experience, and geographic location were more important. When learning about residency programs, 100% of respondents engaged with program Web sites, and the majority engaged with program emails ( n =88 [85.4%]), Doximity ( n =82 [79.6%]), Reddit ( n =64 [62.1%]), Instagram ( n =59 [57.3%]), the FREIDA residency program database ( n =55 [53.4%]), and YouTube ( n =53 [51.5%]). All 13 digital platforms included in the survey were utilized by at least 25% of respondents, largely passively (i.e., reading rather than producing content). Respondents indicated that the most important topics to include on program Web sites were the number of residents accepted per year, current resident profiles, and resident alumni job/fellowship placement. Conclusion Applicants engage heavily with digital media in deciding where to apply and interview but rely heavily on their personal experiences with the program in deciding where to rank. Ophthalmology programs may facilitate recruitment of applicants by optimizing their digital media platforms.

Determinants of community pharmacists' information gathering and counseling practices during the management of minor ailments.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the determinants of community pharmacists' information gathering and counseling practices during the management of minor ailments in Qatar. METHOD: A cross-sectional study of 305 community pharmacists was conducted with a pre-tested 27-item questionnaire. Bivariate logistic regression was used to identify the determinants of information gathering and counseling practices. RESULTS: The response rate was 92.5% (282/305). A majority of the respondents (68.1%) were males, within the age range of 31-40 years (55.3%), work for chains pharmacies (77.3%), and were predominantly of foreign nationalities (94.7%). Patients' identity (91.1%), age (92.2%), symptoms (92.6%) and duration of symptoms (89.3%) were most frequent information gathered, while dose (99%), frequency (97.8%), route of administration (95.7%), and duration of use (92.9%) were the most frequent counseling information. Median information gathering score was significantly higher in females and among community pharmacists in chain pharmacies (p < 0.05), while median counseling practice scores were significantly higher among in chain pharmacies (p < 0.05). Consultation time of 6-10 min (OR = 1.75, 95% CI: 1.02-3.0, p = 0.04) and female gender (OR = 2.10, 95% CI: 1.16-3.79, p = 0.01) were significant determinants of information gathering, while age group (31-40 years) (OR = 1.84, 95% CI: 1.05-3.22, p = 0.03) and consultation time (6-10 min) (OR = 2.24, 95% CI: 1.31-3.86, p = 0.003) were significant determinants of counseling practices. CONCLUSION: The significant determinants of community pharmacists' Information gathering and counseling practices during the management of minor ailments were female gender and consultation time (6-10 min), and age group (31-40 years) and consultation time (6-10 min) respectively.

A Nationwide Mystery Caller Evaluation of Oral Emergency Contraception Practices from German Community Pharmacies: An Observational Study Protocol.

To prevent unwanted pregnancies, oral emergency contraception (EC) with the active ingredients levonorgestrel (LNG) and ulipristal acetate (UPA) is recommended by the guidelines of the German Federal Chamber of Pharmacists (BAK). In this respect, community pharmacies (CPs) in Germany have a major responsibility for information gathering, selecting the appropriate medicine, availability and pricing, among other things. Therefore, it would be appropriate to conduct a study with the aim of investigating information gathering, a possible recommendation as well as availability and pricing for oral EC in German CPs. A representative nationwide observational study based on the simulated patient methodology (SPM) in the form of covert mystery calls will be conducted in a random sample of German CPs stratified according to the 16 federal states. Each selected CP will be randomly called once successfully by one of six both female and male trained mystery callers (MCs). The MCs will simulate a product-based scenario using the request for oral EC. For quality assurance of the data collection, a second observer accompanying the MC is planned. After all mystery calls have been made, each CP will receive written, pharmacy-specific performance feedback. The only national SPM study on oral EC to date has identified deficits in the provision of self-medication consultations with the help of visits in the CPs studied. International studies suggest that UPA in particular is not always available. Significant price differences could be found analogous to another German study for a different indication.

[Daily information-gathering behavior of natural disaster victims: Focusing on residents who experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Kanto-Tohoku Heavy Rainfall Disaster].

Objectives　To obtain suggestions for improving disaster-prevention literacy, this study elucidated the daily information-gathering behavior of residents living in areas affected by two Japanese natural disasters (the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 and the Kanto-Tohoku Heavy Rainfall Disaster in September 2015) and examined factors affecting life backgrounds and disaster experiences.Methods　In June 2017, we administered a cross-sectional survey using a self-administered questionnaire to 1,065 households in areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Kanto-Tohoku Heavy Rainfall. One person in each household responded to the questionnaire. Of 362 respondents (response rate 34.0%), 336 with definite attributes were analyzed. After ascertaining their daily information-gathering behavior, we applied binary logistic regression analysis, incorporating-as dependent variables-three variables previously used in times of disaster.Results　Of the respondents, 179 were men (53.3%); the average age (standard deviation) was 65.5 (10.6) years. Information-gathering modes used by more than half the subjects were "television," "newspaper," "conversation/word of mouth," "radio," and "community magazine" in descending order of use.　Examination of the factors of the three variables revealed the following. (1) Four variables were significantly and positively correlated with "conversation/word of mouth": "woman" (1.82 odds ratio [OR]; 1.05-3.15 95% confidence interval [CI]); "I have" a co-resident family member (OR, 2.46; 95% CI, 1.06-5.72); "I can expect" mutual aid from community residents (OR, 2.31; 95% CI, 1.27-4.21); and "I feel more" fear of typhoons and heavy rains now than before (OR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.04-3.18). (2) "Radio" has two variables with significant and positive correlations: "I have" a co-resident family member (OR, 3.22; 95% CI, 1.35-7.67) and "I was affected" by the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Kanto-Tohoku Heavy Rainfall Disaster (OR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.01.2.97). (3) Two variables are significantly correlated with "Internet service": "Age" has a negative correlation (OR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.88-0.94); "I can expect" mutual aid from community residents has a positive correlation (OR, 2.66; 95% CI, 1.19-5.93).Conclusion　Damage and fear instilled by natural disasters influence subsequent information-gathering behavior. Disaster prevention literacy in ordinary times can be improved because of the correlation between awareness of mutual aid in local communities and information-gathering behavior.

'Please tell me all you remember': a comparison between British and Arab interviewees' free narrative performance and its implications for lie detection.

We examined how much information British and Arab truth tellers and lie tellers volunteer in an initial free narrative. Based on cultural differences in communication styles we predicted that British interviewees would report more details and more complications than Arab interviewees (culture main effect). We further predicted that truth tellers would report more details and complications than lie tellers (veracity main effect), particularly in the British sample (Veracity × Culture interaction effect). A total of 78 British and 76 Israeli-Arab participants took part. The experiment was carried out at a British university and an Israeli university. Participants carried out a mission. Truth tellers were instructed to report the mission truthfully in a subsequent interview whereas lie tellers were asked to lie about certain aspects of the mission. The three hypotheses were supported for details, whereas for complications only the predicted veracity main effect occurred.

Children perform extensive information gathering when it is not costly.

Humans often face decisions where little is known about the choice options. Gathering information prior to making a choice is an important strategy to improve decision making under uncertainty. This is of particular importance during childhood and adolescence, when knowledge about the world is still limited. To examine how much information youths gather, we asked 107 children (8-9 years, N = 30), early (12-13 years, N = 41) and late adolescents (16-17 years, N = 36) to perform an information sampling task. We find that children gather significantly more information before making a decision compared to adolescents, but only if it does not come with explicit costs. Using computational modelling, we find that this is because children have reduced subjective costs for gathering information. Our findings thus demonstrate how children overcome their limited knowledge and neurocognitive constraints by deploying excessive information gathering, a developmental feature that could inform aberrant information gathering in psychiatric disorders.

Therapeutic decision-making in primary care pharmacy practice.

BACKGROUND: Therapeutic decision-making is a core element of pharmacy practice, however, little has been documented about how it is enacted in practice and how it can be theorised. OBJECTIVE(S): This study aims to contribute to pharmacy education and practice theory by investigating the correspondence between explanations from primary care pharmacists in clinical practice roles about how they make decisions related to medicines therapy and a theoretical model of therapeutic decision-making. METHODS: In this qualitative study, interview data from 10 pharmacists in primary care settings were analysed using a general inductive approach. The emergent themes were compared to a theoretical model of therapeutic decision-making. RESULTS: Eight themes were identified from the explanations of how participants were making therapeutic decisions in practice. The themes were found to correspond to at least one of the four steps of therapeutic decision-making in the model. Themes corresponding to the information gathering step were described most vividly, whereas, the themes corresponding to the reasoning, judgement, and decision steps were less well-articulated. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that the theoretical model can be useful to interpret empirical data about therapeutic decision-making in practice. These findings might provide a means for pharmacists to adopt language to better describe the steps in their therapeutic decision-making process to others, and especially, their colleagues and patients. Findings can be used by pharmacy educators to design learning opportunities for students about therapeutic decision-making.

Effects of collaborative consultation using iPad application in school-based occupational therapy: A single-arm pre-post pilot study.

INTRODUCTION: This pilot study examined the effect of collaborative consultation with teachers in school-based occupational therapy (SBOT) using iPad application for goal-setting-Aid for Decision-Making in Occupation Choice for School (ADOC-S). METHOD: A single arm pre-post intervention design was conducted at four preschools in Japan. The participants were 10 preschool teachers (10.5 ± 0.4 years of teaching), and 10 children (3.8 ± 0.4 years old; five boys). The teachers received three collaborative consultations (1 hr for each) from one occupational therapist. Firstly, the occupational therapist conducted an observational assessment of the child's school life, then the teacher and occupational therapist identified occupation-based goals for each child using the ADOC-S. Secondly, the teacher and the occupational therapist developed the graded goals using the Goal Attainment Scale (GAS) and discussed the daily intervention plan for the teachers to conduct. Thirdly, the occupational therapist followed up on the intervention process using GAS. The subjective outcome was measured at 10 point-satisfaction and performance score in each goal using Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM). The observed outcome was measured using GAS and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). RESULTS: All the participants including teachers and children successfully underwent the intervention process. Significant improvement was found pre-post and effect size (ES) was large on the COPM (ES; r = .85-.94), GAS (ES; r = .98-.99) and SDQ (ES; r = .64). All goals (30/30) exceeded expectations of GAS from zero to +2. CONCLUSION: Although there are some limitations and considerations which need to be resolved for future studies, our results suggest that ADOC-S would help build a rapport with a teacher in SBOT settings, and this collaborative consultation would facilitate a positive outcome.

Uncertainty promotes information-seeking actions, but what information?

Navigating an unfamiliar city almost certainly brings out uncertainty about getting from place to place. This uncertainty, in turn, triggers information gathering. While navigational uncertainty is common, little is known about what type of information people seek when they are uncertain. The primary choices for information types with environments include landmarks (distal or local), landmark configurations (relation between two or more landmarks), and a distinct geometry, at least for some environments. Uncertainty could lead individuals to more likely seek one of these information types. Extant research informs both predictions about and empirical work exploring this question. This review covers relevant cognitive literature and then suggests empirical approaches to better understand information-seeking actions triggered by uncertainty. Notably, we propose that examining continuous navigation data can provide important insights into information seeking. Benefits of continuous data will be elaborated through one paradigm, spatial reorientation, which intentionally induces uncertainty through disorientation and cue conflict. While this and other methods have been used previously, data have primarily reflected only the final choice. Continuous behavior during a task can better reveal the cognition-action loop contributing to spatial learning and decision making.

An Integrated Strategy for Autonomous Exploration of Spatial Processes in Unknown Environments.

Exploration of spatial processes, such as radioactivity or temperature is a fundamental task in many robotic applications. In the literature, robotic exploration is mainly carried out for applications where the environment is a priori known. However, for most real life applications this assumption often does not hold, specifically for disaster scenarios. In this paper, we propose a novel integrated strategy that allows a robot to explore a spatial process of interest in an unknown environment. To this end, we build upon two major blocks. First, we propose the use of GP to model the spatial process of interest, and process entropy to drive the exploration. Second, we employ registration algorithms for robot mapping and localization, and frontier-based exploration to explore the environment. However, map and process exploration can be conflicting goals. Our integrated strategy fuses the two aforementioned blocks through a trade-off between process and map exploration. We carry out extensive evaluations of our algorithm in simulated environments with respect to different baselines and environment setups using simulated GP data as a process at hand. Additionally, we perform experimental verification with a mobile holonomic robot exploring a simulated process in an unknown labyrinth environment. Demonstrated results show that our integrated strategy outperforms both frontier-based and GP entropy-driven exploration strategies.

The impact of learning opportunities on the development of learning and decision-making: an experiment with passerine birds.

Developmental context has been shown to influence learning abilities later in life, namely through experiments with nutritional and/or environmental constraints (i.e. lack of enrichment). However, little is known about the extent to which opportunities for learning affect the development of animal cognition, even though such opportunities are known to influence human cognitive development. We exposed young zebra finches (Taenopygia guttata) (n = 26) to one of three experimental conditions, i.e. an environment where (i) colour cues reliably predicted the presence of food (associative learning), (ii) a combination of two-colour cues reliably predicted the presence of food (conditional learning), or (iii) colour cues were non-informative (control). After conducting two different discrimination tasks, our results showed that experience with predictive cues can cause increased choice accuracy and decision-making speed. Our first learning task showed that individuals in the associative learning treatment outperformed the control treatment, while task 2 showed that individuals in the conditional learning treatment had shorter latencies when making choices compared with the control treatment. We found no support for a speed-accuracy trade-off. This dataset provides a rare longitudinal and experimental examination of the effect of predictive versus non-predictive cues during development on the cognition of adult animals. This article is part of the theme issue 'Life history and learning: how childhood, caregiving and old age shape cognition and culture in humans and other animals'.