Social Situatedness: Vygotsky and Beyond

The concept of ‘social situatedness’, i.e. the idea that the development of individual intelligence requires a social (and cultural) embedding, has recently received much attention in cognitive science and artificial intelligence research. The work of Lev Vygotsky who put forward this view already in the 1920s has influenced the discussion to some degree, but still remains far from well known. This paper therefore aims to give an overview of his cognitive development theory and discuss its relation to more recent work in primatology and socially situated artificial intelligence, in particular humanoid robotics

Motivations and needs for adoption of the agricultural decision support system CropSAT in advisory services

This paper presents several strategies employed by advisors in relation to the use of a Swedish agricultural decision support system (AgriDSS) called CropSAT, which is free to use and funded by the Swedish Board of Agriculture. The research questions for the study were: How is extension affected and possibly altered when provided with CropSAT? 2) How can advisory strategies in relation to PA technology use be categorised? Fourteen crop production advisors were interviewed, and the collected data were analysed thematically. The findings revealed four different extension strategies in relation to CropSAT use: 1) I do not use it, 2) I use it if I have to, 3) I use it myself and tell the farmer how to fertilise, and 4) I use it with the farmer. The obtained results indicate that the strategies selected by the advisors varied based on the requests and needs of farmers, the advisors’ personal interests and competences, CropSAT functionality, and uncertainty about how to use it in practice. When using an AgriDSS such as CropSAT in advisory situations, the complexity increases because there are more parameters to consider, and thus it could be experienced as more difficult to make proper decisions. As a result of the combination of technology and agronomy, the advisors requested more support. We argue that this request must be met by research, the authorities and the companies responsible for developing the AgriDSS. We claim that in order to increase the use of AgriDSS to optimise crop treatment at the right time and on the smallest possible scale, there is a need for a change in mind-set by among both advisors and farmers in order to increase sustainability in agriculture

Mind the Body: How Embodied Cognition Matters in Manufacturing

AbstractEmbodied cognition can provide human factors and applied ergonomics practitioners with better embodied cognition design principles. This paper investigates and analyzes observational video-recorded data from an experiment that simulated a manufacturing environment. The operator was interrupted during a primary assembly task via a handheld computing device which delivered different classes of notifications. The focus is on the embodied aspect of notifications in an active environment, and why one class of notifications called mediated notifications failed at a specific point previously thought to be suitable. Guidelines for analyzing tasks from an embodied cognition perspective that complements and expands traditional human factors and applied ergonomics approaches were developed and are included

Dairy farmer and farm staff attitudes and perceptions regarding daily milk allowance to calves

The benefits of feeding calves more milk are increasingly being recognized by dairy farmers. However, most producers have still not implemented higher feeding plans. The aim of the present study was to gain a deeper understanding of farmer and farm staff attitudes, and the perceptions and factors considered in their decision-making regarding daily milk allowances. We collected data through focus group interviews with dairy farm-ers, farm managers, and calf-care workers who were selected using purposive and snowball sampling. In total, 40 persons (24 women and 16 men) joined a focus group interview (6 in all, each with 5-8 participants). Interviews were recorded, and recordings were tran-scribed and analyzed thematically. Participants had contrasting opinions about the minimum, maximum, and recommended daily milk allowances to their calves. Their suggested lowest daily milk allowance to sustain animal welfare ranged from 4 to 8-10 L and the maxi-mum allowance from 6 to 15 L. We found that farmers' and farm staff's choices and recommendations of milk-feeding protocols were influenced by a large number of factors that could be grouped into 4 themes: (1) Life beyond work, (2) Farm facilities and equipment, (3) Care of the calves, and (4) Profitability and pro-duction. Participants' considerations were similar and aimed to maximize daily milk allowance based on farm conditions. However, the allowances they described as optimal for their calves often differed from what they considered practically feasible. We found that the care of the calves and the well-being of the owners and the staff was central in the participants' decision-making, but that this care perspective was challenged by the social and economic sustainability of the farm. Most participants fed their calves twice daily and did not think that increasing that number would be practically feasible. Our results indicate that the participants' viewpoints regarding calves were important for their decision-making about milk allowances. We suggest that a more holistic perspective should be used when advising farmers about milk allowances, putting particular emphasis on the caring and social sustainability aspects of the individual farm

Some considerations about the development and implementation process of a new agricultural decision support system for site-specific fertilisation

Precision agriculture provides important routes toward a more sustainable agriculture. Many farmers have the necessary technology to operate site-specifically, but they do not use it in practice, and available IT systems are not used to their full potential. This paper discusses how to reduce the so-called ‘implementation problem’ in order to improve the ongoing development process of a webbased fertilization project in Sweden. The intention of the project is to apply a participatory design approach, and some pitfalls on starting to use this approach in the development and implementation process are identified as well as some suggestions on how to reduce them

Challenges and lessons learned concerning learning in a social context in web-based education

Abstract This paper presents five identified challenges concerning learning in a social context in web-based education and discusses lessons learned on how to reduce these challenges in higher education. The study is primarily based on the authors' own experiences in conducting web-based education as well as on theories and research on learning and e-learning

Lantbrukares beslutsfattande och lantbruksrådgivning

Syftet med förstudien var att minska kunskapsgapet gällande lantbrukares beslutsfattande med målet att erhålla en djupare förståelse för lantbrukarnas beslutsfattande i praktiken. Lantbrukares beslutsfattande är en process som influeras av en mängd olika faktorer och som kräver att de är insatta i många specialiserade områden. Tidigare forskning inom området saknar ett helhetsperspektiv där både biologiska, tekniska, ekonomiska, etiska och sociala faktorer integreras utifrån lantbrukarnas livsvärld. Tre lantbrukare från Västsverige har ingått i studien, vilken har utförts som en multipel fallstudie, i form av arbetsplatsstudier, för att kartlägga de deltagande lantbrukarnas livsvärld, stödet från rådgivarna och diverse externa resurser t ex IT-verktyg. Denna kvalitativa forskningsdesign har resulterat i ett flertal detaljerade beskrivningar av hur val och beslut fattas på gårdsnivå än vad som är möjligt med mer kvantitativa metoder och statistisk analys av socioekonomiska variabler. Enligt forskare inom området ”farm management” saknas denna form av studier inom lantbruksdomänen och denna studie anses vara ett första steg i den riktningen. I rapporten lyfts ett antal faktorer fram gällande lantbrukarens livsvärld, rådgivningens roll samt IT-stödens inverkan och andra materiella artefakter. Rapporten presenterar en diskussion över det erhållna resultatet, olika synsätt och förklaringar till kunskap och tänkande samt ger förslag på fortsatt forskning. Rapporten avslutas med en mängd slutsatser, vilka kortfattat indikerar att lantbrukarens varande i världen är komplext och kan beskrivas som ett dynamiskt system utan tydliga linjära orsakssamband, vilket både är fascinerande och frusterande. Rådgivningstjänsten anses främst vara en stödfunktion och bollplank för mer löpande beslut gällande grödor, sprutning och gödsling medan de mer större och strategiska besluten initialt diskuteras i andra nätverk. Rådgivningen bedöms behöva utvecklas genom att gå lite mer utanför den ordinarie verksamheten och ta lite mer höjd på ett mer strategiskt plan för gården som helhet samt ytterligare ifrågasätta gängse rutiner och åtgärder

Fine-Scale Mapping of the 4q24 Locus Identifies Two Independent Loci Associated with Breast Cancer Risk

Background: A recent association study identified a common variant (rs9790517) at 4q24 to be associated with breast cancer risk. Independent association signals and potential functional variants in this locus have not been explored. Methods: We conducted a fine-mapping analysis in 55,540 breast cancer cases and 51,168 controls from the Breast Cancer Association Consortium. Results: Conditional analyses identified two independent association signals among women of European ancestry, represented by rs9790517 [conditional P = 2.51 × 10−4; OR, 1.04; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.02–1.07] and rs77928427 (P = 1.86 × 10−4; OR, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.02–1.07). Functional annotation using data from the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project revealed two putative functional variants, rs62331150 and rs73838678 in linkage disequilibrium (LD) with rs9790517 (r2 ≥ 0.90) residing in the active promoter or enhancer, respectively, of the nearest gene, TET2. Both variants are located in DNase I hypersensitivity and transcription factor–binding sites. Using data from both The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Molecular Taxonomy of Breast Cancer International Consortium (METABRIC), we showed that rs62331150 was associated with level of expression of TET2 in breast normal and tumor tissue. Conclusion: Our study identified two independent association signals at 4q24 in relation to breast cancer risk and suggested that observed association in this locus may be mediated through the regulation of TET2. Impact: Fine-mapping study with large sample size warranted for identification of independent loci for breast cancer risk

COPE: Evaluation of a School-Based Intervention to Improve the Overall Mental Health, Resiliency, and Social-Emotional Development of Rural North Dakota Adolescent Youth

Approximately one in every four to five adolescent youth are affected by anxiety or depression yet fewer than 25% of adolescent youth are getting the mental health treatment they need (Foy, 2010). Without the ability to manage stress and cope effectively many youth are plagued with life-long disability. Researchers hypothesize that the underdevelopment of areas of the pre-frontal cortex and limbic systems during adolescence may render teens less able to successfully regulate emotions placing them at greater risk for anxiety, depression, and stress disorders (Ahmed, Bittencourt-Hewitt, & Sebastian, 2015). Due to the brain development that occurs during adolescence, research has suggested that teens may have a heightened propensity for learning and flexibility. Adolescence, therefore, may be a critical phase for the development of emotional regulation strategies and positive coping skills (Ahmed et al, 2015). The purpose of this practice improvement project was to implement and evaluate an evidence-based mental health prevention and treatment program, Creating Opportunities for Personal Empowerment (COPE), focused on the development of healthy behaviors and positive coping skills to improve the mental health and resiliency of rural North Dakota youth. The COPE program was offered to students at Wahpeton High School in Wahpeton, ND. COPE, a previously developed, seven-session, cognitive behavioral therapy skills building intervention was offered to eligible and interested students once weekly for seven weeks. Pre-and post-program evaluations, surveys, and screening tools were administered; prior to beginning the first session and immediately following the final session to ensure completion. Although not statistically significant, participant and facilitator feedback of the COPE intervention was encouraging. More than half of the participants showed improvement in depression and anxiety scores from baseline, and all participants reported newly learned skills for managing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in response to stress. Reviews of the program by participants were positive, with most students indicating that they would recommend the program to other students. Based on results of the evaluation, the COPE program has the potential to be an effective program and is well-accepted in helping to improve the mental health and resiliency of rural North Dakota youth.South East Education Cooperative (SEEC

Care in dairy farming with automatic milking systems, identified using an Activity Theory lens

Context: In Sweden, 34% of herds in official statistics 2021 (77% of the cows) have an automatic milking system (AMS) and keep 19% of the dairy cows. Objective: This study should be considered in relation to the rapid increase of digitalisation in agriculture. It aimed at investigating Swedish farmers' experiences and reflections in dairy farming concerning AMS use from a care perspective, based on two research questions: 1) What kinds of success factors and management challenges do farmers experience with AMS usage? and 2) How do farmers view their work environment in this kind of system? Methods: A mixed method approach was performed, using method triangulation through a questionnaire, interviews, and field visits. The Activity Theory (AT) was used as a theoretical lens to consider care practice in the dairy farming as a learning system. Results: AND CONCLUSIONS: Participating dairy farmers were found to be in a continuous learning process on different levels in their system, from detailed problems with an individual cow or the herd to the whole dairy system. Implementation of AMS required learning in order to manage, and thus care for, a system comprising of animals, technology, and humans, to increase business viability. In successful AMS use, willingness to learn, adapt to the local situation, and continually improve practice, or care as a patterning of activities, appeared to be the most important factors. With more people involved, differentiations were possible, which in turn accentuated the need for more trained staff who can perform more complicated tasks. The findings indicated high importance of experience and a 'stockperson's eye', in combination with tool-mediated seeing using data from the robot, in developing enhanced professional vision and good care. A good stockperson had broad competence combining a stockperson's eye with experience with robot data. One of the greatest challenges for dairy farms was finding a good stockperson as staff or advisor. Increased flexibility in work and better physical health were important driving forces for implementing AMS, while handling alarms was mentally stressful and gave different perspectives on AMS vulnerability. Overall, the analysis of the collected data showed that AMS had brought major, primarily positive, changes in daily work and increased work satisfaction for most farmers, with a clear majority of the respondents feeling good in their work situation and enjoying their work. Significance: Application of AT in studying AMS from a care perspective, represents a shift from traditional research that normally addresses technological inventions, to studying farmers' socio-technical system. The AT lens revealed the work practices in performing care, as a patterning of activities accomplished by a tinkering learning process, in the rich and messy matrix of humans, cows, and technology