The understanding of congruent and incongruent referential gaze in 17-month-old infants: an eye-tracking study comparing human and robot.

Several studies have shown that the human gaze, but not the robot gaze, has significant effects on infant social cognition and facilitate social engagement. The present study investigates early understanding of the referential nature of gaze by comparing-through the eye-tracking technique-infants' response to human and robot's gaze. Data were acquired on thirty-two 17-month-old infants, watching four video clips, where either a human or a humanoid robot performed an action on a target. The agent's gaze was either turned to the target (congruent) or opposite to it (incongruent). The results generally showed that, independent of the agent, the infants attended longer at the face area compared to the hand and target. Additionally, the effect of referential gaze on infants' attention to the target was greater when infants watched the human compared to the robot's action. These results suggest the presence, in infants, of two distinct levels of gaze-following mechanisms: one recognizing the other as a potential interactive partner, the second recognizing partner's agency. In this study, infants recognized the robot as a potential interactive partner, whereas ascribed agency more readily to the human, thus suggesting that the process of generalizability of gazing behaviour to non-humans is not immediate.

Derechos de las personas con discapacidad en la pandemia por Covid-19. Síntesis rápida / The rights of people with disabilities in the Covid-19 pandemic Rapidreview

La pandemia por Coronavirus 2019 (Covid-19) ha profundizado las desigualdades preexistentes de las personas con discapacidad. Los afectados por Covid-19 se encuentran entre los grupos más vulnerables al ser uno de los grupos más excluidos de la sociedad. El objetivo del presente estudio esidentificarlas declaraciones y recomendaciones que las organizaciones supranacionales han emitido para garantizar los derechos de las personas con discapacidad en la actual pandemia. Se realizó una búsqueda amplia y sistemática; fueron consultadas 20 organizaciones y analizados 58 documentos en esta síntesis rápida. Los documentos encontrados fueron asignados en cuatro categorías dependiendo de su enfoque principal: principio de igualdad y no discriminación (25,8%), derecho al respeto de la dignidad inherente (10,3%), derecho a la accesibilidad (36,2%) y derecho a la salud (27,6%). Las organizaciones supranacionales hacen un llamado a los gobiernos a garantizar la protección y promoción de los derechos de las personas con discapacidad y a implementar medidas y estrategias razonables que aborden las necesidades especiales de esta población en la actual pandemia.

The Coronavirus 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic has deepened pre-existing inequalities for people with disabilities. Those affected by Covid-19 are among the most vulnerable groups as one of the most excluded groups in society. The objective of this study is to identify the declarations and recommendations that supranational organizations have issued to guarantee the rights of persons with disabilities in the current pandemic. A broad and systematic search was carried out; 20 organizations were consulted and 58 documents were analyzed in this rapid synthesis. The documents found were assigned into four categories depending on their main focus: principle of equality and non-discrimination (25.8%), right to respect for inherent dignity (10.3%), right to accessibility (36.2%) and right to health (27.6%). The supranational organizations call on governments to ensure the protection and promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities and to implement reasonable measures and strategies to address the special needs of this population in the current pandemic.