Taos Institute

About: Taos Institute is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Narrative & Value (ethics). The organization has 14 authors who have published 23 publications receiving 246 citations.

Social Construction: Vistas in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology

Abstract: We explore here the potentials of a social constructionist orientation to knowledge for research and clinical practice. Dialogues on social construction emphasize the communal origins of knowledge. They stress the cultural basis of knowledge claims, the significance of language, the value saturation of all knowledge, and the significance of relationships as opposed to individuals. An initial illustration of constructionism in action centers on adolescent risk behavior. Such behavior is often constructed negatively within popular writings and the social science and thus ignores the meaning of such actions to the adolescents themselves. Discourse analysis indicates that for adolescents risky behavior serves important functions of enhancing group solidarity and establishing positive identity. A second illustration, exploring the implications of constructionism for therapy, places a strong emphasis on the therapist as a collaborator in the building of meaning. Traditional investments in diagnosis and treatment are replaced with the collaborative creation of new possibilities for action.

Feasibility of an AI-Based Measure of the Hand Motions of Expert and Novice Surgeons.

Abstract: This study investigated whether parameters derived from hand motions of expert and novice surgeons accurately and objectively reflect laparoscopic surgical skill levels using an artificial intelligence system consisting of a three-layer chaos neural network. Sixty-seven surgeons (23 experts and 44 novices) performed a laparoscopic skill assessment task while their hand motions were recorded using a magnetic tracking sensor. Eight parameters evaluated as measures of skill in a previous study were used as inputs to the neural network. Optimization of the neural network was achieved after seven trials with a training dataset of 38 surgeons, with a correct judgment ratio of 0.99. The neural network that prospectively worked with the remaining 29 surgeons had a correct judgment rate of 79% for distinguishing between expert and novice surgeons. In conclusion, our artificial intelligence system distinguished between expert and novice surgeons among surgeons with unknown skill levels.

From Moral Autonomy To Relational Responsibility

Abstract: . Given that the conception of the person as an autonomous agent is a cultural construction, inquiry is directed to its potentials and shortcomings for cultural life. While such a conception contributes to sustaining the moral order, it also supports an individualist ideology and social divisiveness. As an alternative to the conception of moral autonomy, I explore the potentials of relational being, an orientation that views relational process (as opposed to individual agents) as the wellspring of all meaning. Such an orientation sees all moral concepts and action as issuing from coordinated action. However, at the same time that relational process generates moral orders, so does it establish the grounds for “immorality” and social conflict, which undermines the relational process of creating moral order. Thus, a concept of “second-order morality” is advanced, which seeks to reestablish a more inclusive first-order morality. Responsibility for productive processes of relationship is invited. Recent innovations in dialogic practices lend themselves to relational responsibility.

Arts-Based Research in Education: A Review

Abstract: What is the difference between research that uses art, research about art, and research through art? Is arts-based educational research (ABER) a method or medium? What does arts-based research look like? How is it used and evaluated? Editors Cahnmann-Taylor and Siegesmund recruited an arresting array of contributors: paradigmatic pioneers, noted artistscholars, as well as newcomers to the field. This volume condenses the history, unique features, social contributions, and controversy into a readable, scholarly, and practical text. Each artist-researcher develops a chapter comprised of multiple elements: biography, explanation of intent, critique, photos and open-ended questions. True to ABER epistemology, these contributors cultivate more questions than answers. Key Words: Arts-based Research, Qualitative Research, and Education.