This book offers a critical reconstruction of the fundamental ideas and methods in artificial intelligence (AI) research. By paying close attention to the metaphors of AI and their consequences for the field's patterns of success and failure, it argues for a reorientation of the field away from thought and toward activity. By considering computational ideas in a large, philosophical framework, the author eases critical dialogue between technology and the social sciences. AI can benefit from an understanding of the field in relation to human nature, and in return, it offers a powerful mode of...

This book offers a critical reconstruction of the fundamental ideas and methods in artificial intelligence (AI) research. By paying close attention to the metaphors of AI and their consequences for the field's patterns of success and failure, it argues for a reorientation of the field away from thought and toward activity. By considering computational ideas in a large, philosophical framework, the author eases critical dialogue between technology and the social sciences. AI can benefit from an understanding of the field in relation to human nature, and in return, it offers a powerful mode of...

This text deals with recent changes in the design of intelligent machines. New computer models of vision and navigation in animals suggest a different way to build machines. Cognition is viewed not just in terms of high-level "expertise," but in the ability to find one's way around the world, to learn new ways of seeing things, and to coordinate activity. This approach is called situated cognition. Situated Cognition differs from other purely philosophical treatises in that Clancey, an insider who has built expert systems for twenty years, explores the limitations of existing computer...

Likely places of learning in Japan include folkcraft village pottery workshops, the clubhouses of female shellfish divers, traditional theaters, and the neighborhood public bath. The education of potters, divers, actors, and other novices generates identity within their specific communities of practice. In this volume, a collection of nineteen case studies of situated learning in such likely places, the contributors take apprenticeship as a fundamental model of experiential education in authentic arenas of cultural practice. Together, the essays demonstrate a rich variety of Japanese...

Contributed by authors who write from various disciplinary perspectives, the essays in this book clarify the learning theories of Mikhail Bakhtin and address the application of his concepts to contemporary issues. In addition, the authors are joined by other scholars in a Bakhtinian dialogue. Together, they address questions that readers may have about Bakhtinian theory and its application to everyday teaching practices.

Understanding Practice brings together many different perspectives that have been applied to examining social context. From Ole Dreier's work on the therapeutic relationship, to Hugh Mehan's work on learning disabled students, to Charles and Janet Keller's work on blacksmithing, the chapters form a diverse and fascinating look at situated learning. A distinctive feature of the book is the wide range of theoretical and methodological approaches to the problem of understanding cognition in everyday settings.

Despite extraordinary advances in digital and communication technology over recent years, we know very little about the way these complex systems affect everyday work and interaction. This book seeks to explore these issues through a series of video-based field studies that look at the introduction of basic information systems in general medical practice, news production, the control rooms of the London Underground and computer aided design in architectural practice. It focuses in particular on social interaction and the way video-based field studies can inform the design, development and...

Despite extraordinary advances in digital and communication technology over recent years, we know very little about the way these complex systems affect everyday work and interaction. This book seeks to explore these issues through a series of video-based field studies that look at the introduction of basic information systems in general medical practice, news production, the control rooms of the London Underground and computer aided design in architectural practice. It focuses in particular on social interaction and the way video-based field studies can inform the design, development and...

Traditionally, human cognition has been seen and studied as existing solely "inside" a person, irrelevant to the social, physical, and artifactual context in which cognition takes place. This book reexamines the nature of cognition and proposes that a clearer understanding of human cognition would be achieved if it were conceptualized and studied as distributed among individuals; knowledge is socially constructed through collaborative efforts toward shared objectives within cultural surroundings, and that information is processed among individuals and the tools and artifacts provided by...

This 1998 book addresses current issues in the teaching and learning of maths by looking at the processes of formulating, interpreting and solving problems.