94 research outputs found
Transdisciplinarity seen through Information, Communication, Computation, (Inter-)Action and Cognition
Similar to oil that acted as a basic raw material and key driving force of
industrial society, information acts as a raw material and principal mover of
knowledge society in the knowledge production, propagation and application. New
developments in information processing and information communication
technologies allow increasingly complex and accurate descriptions,
representations and models, which are often multi-parameter, multi-perspective,
multi-level and multidimensional. This leads to the necessity of collaborative
work between different domains with corresponding specialist competences,
sciences and research traditions. We present several major transdisciplinary
unification projects for information and knowledge, which proceed on the
descriptive, logical and the level of generative mechanisms. Parallel process
of boundary crossing and transdisciplinary activity is going on in the applied
domains. Technological artifacts are becoming increasingly complex and their
design is strongly user-centered, which brings in not only the function and
various technological qualities but also other aspects including esthetic, user
experience, ethics and sustainability with social and environmental dimensions.
When integrating knowledge from a variety of fields, with contributions from
different groups of stakeholders, numerous challenges are met in establishing
common view and common course of action. In this context, information is our
environment, and informational ecology determines both epistemology and spaces
for action. We present some insights into the current state of the art of
transdisciplinary theory and practice of information studies and informatics.
We depict different facets of transdisciplinarity as we see it from our
different research fields that include information studies, computability,
human-computer interaction, multi-operating-systems environments and
philosophy.Comment: Chapter in a forthcoming book: Information Studies and the Quest for
Transdisciplinarity - Forthcoming book in World Scientific. Mark Burgin and
Wolfgang Hofkirchner, Editor
Effects of Asymmetry between Design Models and User Models on Subjective Comprehension of User Interface
This study attempted to discuss the design principles for enhancing usability in terms of asymmetry of mental models between users and designers. If the user model is asymmetrical to the design model, i.e., the degree of agreement between models is low and the user's mental model is not compatible with the actual system, the user cannot operate the system properly, which may cause errors. The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics of users who have asymmetrical mental models and identify what such users did not understand. Twenty-four subjects participated in an experiment that involved a digital camera operation task and mental model tests that measure the level of the agreement of the mental model construction in terms of functional and structural models. Initially, the participants were grouped based on mental model test scores: symmetrical mental model group (n = 17) and asymmetrical mental model group (n = 7). Then, the groups were compared in terms of performance and subjective comprehension. The comparison indicated that the symmetrical mental model group performed more quickly and accurately than the asymmetrical group. The results also confirmed that the asymmetrical mental model group had a lower level of comprehension in terms of understanding the device status, detecting and responding to device status changes, and understanding the hierarchical structure of the screen
Standardising the design of educational computer reading programs for children.
Educationalists working in the sphere of special education, psychologists and software engineers continue to
debate the efficacy of technology interfaces and the merits of information technology with regard to supporting
learning in children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and the need to standardise software design for
this group. This research argues that, for these children to optimise the use of this technology, it must be
designed to meet the learning needs and characteristics of this condition, and so a design/development standard is needed.
There is currently no instruction to aid educational professionals in choosing suitable computer programs that
can be employed to support learning to read in children with ASD. The present research offers a rigorous
comparative analysis of the multimedia conditions. A selection instruction (SI) was developed to facilitate the
choice of appropriate computer programs for children with ASD, and forms part of the pilot study for this
investigation, which was later modified and developed into an educational computer programs design standard. This SI serves as a set of guidelines that is intended to assist professionals and the parents/guardians of children with ASD in their search for good, useable programs that will assist in the acquisition of early reading skills by this group.
This research advocates the development of effective computer programs based on individualistic considerations and the stringent application of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) principles in the design of multimedia computer technology for children with ASD.
Two educational programs were employed in the investigation, and the data collection method included
quantitative (pre-tests; a comparative study of children with ASD and typically developing children in videorecorded
sessions, and post-tests) and qualitative (interviews, and an attitude questionnaire) methods. This approach was triangulated, thereby promoting the validity and rigour of the investigation.
The present research concludes that, although there were recorded gains in the application of computer technology to teach new words to children with ASD, there were problems relating to the appropriateness and suitability of the programs for the children employed in this research, as detected during the interviews and from the attitude questionnaires, noting the need for autistic preferences in the design and development of these educational computer programs.
This investigation offers a broader approach to the theoretical understanding and explanation of autistic
learning styles, reading methodologies and issues relating to the design, development and usability of multimedia computer technology. Attention is drawn to the inadequacy of the existing technology and research into ASD and how the disorder affects learning in these children
Environmental flow assessments are not realizing their potential as an aid to basin planning
Multiple planned dams in developing countries, mostly for hydropower, are threatening
some of the world’s great river systems. Concern over their social and environmental
impacts has led to hydropower being excluded from the sustainability term ‘green
energy.’ Better planning, design and operation of hydropower dams could guide where
to build and not to build, and how to mitigate some of their negative impacts. Impact
assessments presently done for dams include Cumulative Impact Assessments (CIAs)
or similar at the basin level, and Environmental Impact Assessments at the project level.
These typically do not detail how the river ecosystem could change and the implications
for its dependent social structures. A comprehensive Environmental Flows (EFlows)
Assessment does provide this information but is almost always not linked to the other
impact assessments. When done at all, it is often rudimentary; rarely basin-wide; and
almost always done after major development decisions have already been made. A more
effective approach for any basin targeted for hydropower or other large damdevelopment
would be to formally and automatically embed the requirement for a basin-wide, detailed
EFlows Assessment into a CIA. This should be done at the earliest stage of planning,
before dam sites are selected and allocated to developers. The EFlows method adopted
matters, as it dictates the scope and flexibility of a study. Rapid one-size-fits-all methods
do not provide the detail that governments and other stakeholders need to understand
the possible future of their river basins, negotiate and make informed decisions
The Humanities and the Digital
UIDB/05021/2020
UIDP/05021/2020The long history of human biological and cultural co-evolution has been, in its entirety, a history of the composition between the human and the non-human, a history of interactions and media- tions between the physical, biological, technological and symbolic dimensions of existence.The full recognition of this reality dictates the need for an extended ecological thinking that also imposes on the humanities. Their contribution to a general ecology is, in fact, crucial, as the latter cannot do without a critique of the Anthropos’s spiritual and cognitive primordiality and his exter- nalization in modes of perceiving, thinking and acting upon the world. Media studies have been central to this critique and to the post-human epistemology that emerged, in particular, through digital culture. Ecological thinking thus requires a cognitive ecol- ogy which, in turn, constitutes itself as a critique of mediation, increasingly necessary, as both cognition and existence are now permeated by informationalization, computation and algorithmic governance, forming a planetary scale digital environment.publishersversionpublishe
Wearables at work:preferences from an employee’s perspective
This exploratory study aims to obtain a first impression of the wishes and needs of employees on the use of wearables at work for health promotion. 76 employ-ees with a mean age of 40 years old (SD ±11.7) filled in a survey after trying out a wearable. Most employees see the potential of using wearable devices for workplace health promotion. However, according to employees, some negative aspects should be overcome before wearables can effectively contribute to health promotion. The most mentioned negative aspects were poor visualization and un-pleasantness of wearing. Specifically for the workplace, employees were con-cerned about the privacy of data collection
- …