Validation of a Tamil version of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire using Rasch analysis

Background: Various assessment tools that explore and assess mindfulness are available. Keeping in view both the origin of and the literature surrounding mindfulness assessment tools, this study aimed to evaluate the workability of one widely researched tool, the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), for establishing cross-cultural generalizability and utility in the Indian context. Methods: We recruited 303 adults over 18 with proficiency in the Tamil language and no history of significant neurological trauma and/or psychiatric history. They completed a version of the 39-item FFMQ, which we had translated into Tamil (FFMQ-T). The psychometric properties of this scale were tested using the Partial-Credit model of Rasch analysis. Results: Iterative Rasch analysis could not resolve consistent misfit of the Observe facet items. Using a subtest approach, a higher-order fit of the FFMQ-T could be achieved after the deletion of additional items from each of the remaining four facets. The resulting final model for the FFMQ-T questionnaire was a four-factor solution with 22 items. Conclusions: This study concluded the usability of the new 22-item FFMQ-T. These results are not dissimilar to the other versions in similar populations, such as the Hindi version of the FFMQ. The ordinal-to-interval conversion tables provided here ensure that the FFMQ-T can be used with enhanced precision and parametric statistics

What Do Members of Parliament in India Think of Robots? Validation of the Frankenstein Syndrome Questionnaire and Comparison With Other Population Groups

India is the second largest country in the world in terms of population and thus a considerable market for potential future robot applications as well as a location for manufacturing and production. While work has started to explore attitudes towards robots, very little is known about the perceptions of robots in India, particularly of political leaders who have the ability to effect rapid change. The present study administered the 30-item Frankenstein Syndrome Questionnaire to 31 Lok Sabha (Lower House) and Rajya Sabah (Upper House) members of the Indian Parliament (MPs) as well as doctors (n = 94), medical students (n = 493), and engineering students (n = 1104) for comparative purposes. Because no information had been available about the psychometric properties of the scale for use in India, a prior Rasch analysis explored the suitability of the commonly used five-factor model. The five subscales did not possess sufficient reliability, and a more psychometrically robust 26-item two-factor model (positive and negative attitudes) was utilized instead. The results revealed a higher degree of positive attitudes in MPs and doctors as compared to the two student groups. Negative attitudes, on the other hand, were strongest in doctors, followed by students. MPs had significantly less negative views compared to all other comparison groups. This study provides valuable insights into attitudes towards robots in India. In general, MPs appear to have more favourable views than comparison groups in India. A slightly shorter and more parsimonious version of the Frankenstein Syndrome Questionnaire has now also been proposed, with improved psychometric properties

Robot-assisted therapy for learning and social interaction of children with autism spectrum disorder

This paper puts forward the potential for designing a parrot-inspired robot and an indirect teaching technique, the adapted model-rival method (AMRM), to help improve learning and social interaction abilities of children with autism spectrum disorder. The AMRM was formulated by adapting two popular conventional approaches, namely, model-rival method and label-training procedure. In our validation trials, we used a semi-autonomous parrot-inspired robot, called KiliRo, to simulate a set of autonomous behaviors. A proposed robot-assisted therapy using AMRM was pilot tested with nine children with autism spectrum disorder for five consecutive days in a clinical setting. We analyzed the facial expressions of children when they interacted with KiliRo using an automated emotion recognition and classification system, Oxford emotion API (Application Programming Interface). Results provided some indication that the children with autism spectrum disorder appeared attracted and happy to interact with the parrot-inspired robot. Short qualitative interviews with the children’s parents, the pediatrician, and the child psychologist who participated in this pilot study, also acknowledged that the proposed parrot-inspired robot and the AMRM may have some merit in aiding in improving learning and social interaction abilities of children with autism spectrum disorder

Investigating the Effects of Robot-assisted Therapy Among Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Using Biomarkers

Therapeutic pet robots designed to help humans with various medical conditions could play a vital role in physiological, psychological and social-interaction interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this paper, we report our findings from a robot-assisted therapeutic study conducted over seven weeks to investigate the changes in stress levels of children with ASD. For this study, we used the parrot-inspired therapeutic robot, KiliRo, we developed and investigated urinary and salivary samples of participating children to report changes in stress levels before and after interacting with the robot. This is a pioneering human-robot interaction study to investigate the effects of robot-assisted therapy using salivary samples. The results show that the bio-inspired robot-assisted therapy can significantly help reduce the stress levels of children with ASD

Social engagement of children with autism spectrum disorder in interaction with a parrot-inspired therapeutic robot

This paper presents a series of results from a pilot study with ten participants to evaluate if children with autism spectrum disorder exhibit more social interaction interests when engaging with the parrot-inspired therapeutic robot, KiliRo, compared to with another human. Three sessions, each with different activities such as talking and singing that either the robot and a human encouraged the children to engage in, were conducted to monitor 12 types of social engagement behaviours in participants to compare the effects of engagement with a human and a parrot robot. The behaviours were recorded and analyzed using real-time video data of the interactions. The results indicate a positive influence of introducing the parrot robot to children on their social interaction. Also, the analyses revealed a significant difference in each of the session conducted based on the assessed 12 attributes, providing some indications for the potential benefits of human-robot interaction in therapeutic settings for children with autism spectrum disorder

Head Pose Detection for aWearable Parrot-Inspired Robot Based on Deep Learning

Extensive research has been conducted in human head pose detection systems and several applications have been identified to deploy such systems. Deep learning based head pose detection is one such method which has been studied for several decades and reports high success rates during implementation. Across several pet robots designed and developed for various needs, there is a complete absence of wearable pet robots and head pose detection models in wearable pet robots. Designing a wearable pet robot capable of head pose detection can provide more opportunities for research and development of such systems. In this paper, we present a novel head pose detection system for a wearable parrot-inspired pet robot using images taken from the wearer’s shoulder. This is the first time head pose detection has been studied in wearable robots and using images from a side angle. In this study, we used AlexNet convolutional neural network architecture trained on the images from the database for the head pose detection system. The system was tested with 250 images and resulted in an accuracy of 94.4% across five head poses, namely left, left intermediate, straight, right, and right intermediate

Toward Robot-Assisted Psychosocial Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

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