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

PRIMA — Privacy research through the perspective of a multidisciplinary mash up

Based on a summary description of privacy protection research within three fields of inquiry, viz. social sciences, legal science, and computer and systems sciences, we discuss multidisciplinary approaches with regard to the difficulties and the risks that they entail as well as their possible advantages. The latter include the identification of relevant perspectives of privacy, increased expressiveness in the formulation of research goals, opportunities for improved research methods, and a boost in the utility of invested research efforts

Personalised Learning: Developing a Vygotskian Framework for E-learning

Personalisation has emerged as a central feature of recent educational strategies in the UK and abroad. At the heart of this is a vision to empower learners to take more ownership of their learning and develop autonomy. While the introduction of digital technologies is not enough to effect this change, embedding the affordances of new technologies is expected to offer new routes for creating personalised learning environments. The approach is not unique to education, with consumer technologies offering a 'personalised' relationship which is both engaging and dynamic, however the challenge remains for learning providers to capture and transpose this to educational contexts. As learners begin to utilise a range of tools to pursue communicative and collaborative actions, the first part of this paper will use analysis of activity logs to uncover interesting trends for maturing e-learning platforms across over 100 UK learning providers. While personalisation appeals to marketing theories this paper will argue that if learning is to become personalised one must ask what the optimal instruction for any particular learner is? For Vygotsky this is based in the zone of proximal development, a way of understanding the causal-dynamics of development that allow appropriate pedagogical interventions. The second part of this paper will interpret personalised learning as the organising principle for a sense-making framework for e-learning. In this approach personalised learning provides the context for assessing the capabilities of e-learning using Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development as the framework for assessing learner potential and development

Extended Skin: Designing Interactive Content for Ubiquitous Computing Materials

Current research is inspired by the impact of digital media on disciplinary division. Sim- ultaneously, recognizes the difficulty of engineering (applied science) to consider the humani- ties as fundamental contributors in the process of making. Steaming from a design perspective, the intersection between art (design) and science, questions if these relations can open per- spectives on the matter of designing within a U.C. context, and fundamentally, introduces the question on how this can be done Furthermore, the motivation for this research arises from considering that innovation in technology is happening in the fields typically identified as engineering. And, despite this, the in-corporation of these inventions in life, considering some discussed exceptions, has not typ- ically been present in the concerns of design action and methods. Therefore, the challenge of current research is to contribute to the realm of ubiquitous computing, routed by design, to some degree aiming to contribute to the field. A deeper analysis into the subject of U.C., there is the realization that there is minority presence of the humanities in the discussion of U.C. (Dourish and Bell, 2011). Technological disruption offers continuous inspiration for design innovation within U.C. Furthermore, the inquiry labeled as “material turn” contextualizes a dialogue between nano- technology and traditional materials. Nanotechnology is applied to project development, while considering a human centred design approach. This focus is present throughout this disserta- tion. The research proposal describes SuberSkin, as a responsive surface that works as a screen. The exploration of aesthetical effects is focused on visual properties – using high con- trast between natural cork colors, dark and light brown. The proposal is highly experimental, and ultimately, aims to explore potential routes on cork research, linked to that of U.C. Thus, recreating and transforming this material into an intelligent surface. In sum, this thesis discusses displacement of disciplines suggested as having a positive impact in interdisciplinary thought and for future design. Therefore a methodology, "research through techne" is presented that illustrates this intention.A presente pesquisa é inspirada pelo impacto exercido pelos media digitais na divisão disciplinar. Simultaneamente, reconhece a dificuldade da engenharia (ciência aplicada) em considerar as humanidades como contribuintes fundamentais no processo de fazer. Partindo de uma perspectiva de design e da interseção entre arte (design) e ciência, questiona-se se essas relações poderão abrir perspectivas na criação no âmbito da Computação Ubíqua. Fun- damentalmente, introduz a questão de como poderá ser feito. A motivação para esta pesquisa decorre de considerar que a inovação tecnológica acontece nas áreas normalmente identificadas como engenharia. E, apesar disso, a incor- poração dessas invenções na vida, considerando as exceções discutidas, normalmente não está presente nas preocupações, ação e métodos de design. Portanto, o desafio da pesquisa é con- tribuir para o domínio da Computação Ubíqua, orientada pelo design. Uma análise mais pro- funda sobre o tema da Computação Ubiqua, constata que há na sua discussão uma presença minoritária das humanidades (Dourish e Bell, 2011). A disrupção tecnológica oferece inspiração contínua para inovação de design, e o mesmo se aplica no âmbito da Computação Ubíqua. Além disso, a pesquisa intitulada como “material turn” contextualiza um diálogo entre a nanotecnologia e os materiais tradicionais. A nanotecnologia é aplicada ao desenvolvimento de projetos, considerando uma abordagem de design centrada no ser humano. Este foco está presente ao longo desta dissertação. O projecto de pesquisa descreve SuberSkin, uma superfície responsiva. A exploração centra-se nos efeitos estéticos da cortiça, recorrendo a um contraste entre as suas cores natu- rais: castanho escuro e claro. A proposta é experimental e, em última análise, visa explorar potenciais linhas de investigação ligando a cortiça à Computação Ubíqua. E assim, recriar e transformar este material numa superfície inteligente. Em suma, esta tese discute o deslocamento disciplinar como tendo um impacto posi- tivo no pensamento interdisciplinar e no futuro da prática do design. Consequentemente, apresenta uma metodologia, "investigação através da techne" que a exemplifica

IDEAS: Interactive Database for Experimental Architecture and Spatial Practices

The interface of science and technology has become a fruitful transdisciplinary research field for spatial practices. To address this hybridization of space-related research, it is fundamental to ask what kind of practices are emerging within this context. To promote easy access and the dissemination of methodologies applied in innovative experimental spatial practices, the present study proposes the creation of a web-based Interactive Database for Experimental Architecture and Spatial Practices, IDEAS. Therefore, we will scope, observe, examine, and classify the digital cultural landscape in the 1960-2020 period. This paper describes the methodology applied to develop IDEAS.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio