In this article, we offer an overview of the philosophical and psychological literatures on expertise. Work so far has failed to engage with recent work in embodied and encultured cognition--in particular the notions of interactivity and semiosis. We suggest how bringing these concepts on board reveals new areas of research concerning the philosophy and psychology of expertise. We conclude with a brief synopsis of each paper.

Ecological-cognition approaches share the overall assumption that cognition is enacted, extended, embedded, and embodied. In this article, these basic assumptions are illustrated and critically evaluated from the point of view of gesture and film studies. In a theoretical introduction, the idea of metaphorizing as embodied interactivity is developed and connected with these basic assumptions of an ecological cognition approach to metaphor. Four case studies illustrate how metaphoricity in face-to-face contexts and in film viewing is enacted, extended, embedded, and embodied. (...) Examples from gesturing face-to-face and a case study of a television news report serve to illustrate how metaphors in these ecologies have important common characteristics: they emerge from metaphorizing as embodied interactivity. (shrink)

The success of social robots in achieving natural coexistence with humans depends on both their level of autonomy and their interactive abilities. Although a lot of robotic architectures have been suggested and many researchers have focused on human–robot interaction, a robotic architecture that can effectively combine interactivity and autonomy is still unavailable. This paper contributes to the research efforts toward this architecture in the following ways. First a theoretical analysis is provided that leads to the notion of co-evolution between (...) the agent and its environment and with other agents as the condition needed to combine both autonomy and interactivity. The analysis also shows that the basic competencies needed to achieve the required level of autonomy and the envisioned level of interactivity are similar but not the same. Secondly nine specific requirements are then formalized that should be achieved by the architecture. Thirdly a robotic architecture that tries to achieve those requirements by utilizing two main theoretical hypothesis and several insights from social science, developmental psychology and neuroscience is detailed. Lastly two experiments with a humanoid robot and a simulated agent are reported to show the potential of the proposed architecture. (shrink)

Many researchers are currently showing interest in researching consumers who are purchasing the products with the help of new tools, and new kinds of markets are emerging rapidly. M-commerce is a prevalent mode of marketing and is famous among young people of Pakistan. Current research is planned to check the status of consumer purchase intentions (PIs) using perceived influence, virtual interactivity, brand image, and brand expected value among customers who purchase their products with the help of m-commerce. Data was (...) collected from customers who were engaged in buying with the help of m-commerce by using the convenience sampling technique and 227 complete questionnaires were used in final analysis. This research examines the direct impact of perceived influence, virtual interactivity, brand image, and brand expected value on PIs and finds the indirect effect of brand image and brand expected value on the relationships of perceived influence and virtual interactivity with PIs. Results indicate that all the hypotheses of direct relationships are accepted except the hypothesis for the relation of virtual interactivity with consumer PIs. Virtual interactivity has an insignificant positive impact on consumer PIs. Brand expected value has a strong positive effect on consumer PIs among all. The current study proposed four mediational hypotheses. All the proposed mediational hypotheses are accepted. (shrink)

Philosophy’s engagement with mass media has often been ambiguous: many critical theorists, from Benjamin to Bourdieu, recognised the emancipatory potential of modern communication technologies, but they also denounced the economic, political and ideological forces at work in the creation and dissemination of public opinion. Looking at different media, these authors emphasised the dialectical tension between the plurality of the public sphere and different forms of control and manipulation. In the present paper, I argue that this line of criticism, albeit important, (...) is no longer sufficient. I claim that contemporary forms of communication, defined by a unique emphasis on interactivity, cannot be analysed simply in terms of the opposition between dominant and marginalised agents or discourses. In its most extreme form, interactivity leads to an implosion of the distinction between the sources and the targets of the information flow, which calls into question the very possibility of a meaningful communicative exchange. To clarify the nature of this phenomenon, I retrace the evolution of modern political communication, from live speeches to digital platforms and social networks, and discuss its implications for recent debates on political authority, participation and representation. (shrink)

Open peer commentary on the article “Lived Experience and Cognitive Science Reappraising Enactivism’s Jonasian Turn” by Mario Villalobos & Dave Ward. Upshot: We argue that Villalobos and Ward’s criticism misses two crucial aspects of Varelian enactivism. These are, first, that enactivism attempts to offer a rigorous scientific justification for its teleological claims, and second, that enactivism in fact pays too little attention to the nature of human phenomenology and intentionality, rather than anthropomorphically over-valuing it.

Open peer commentary on the article “Interactivity and Enaction in Human Cognition” by Matthew Isaac Harvey, Rasmus Gahrn-Andersen & Sune Vork Steffensen. Upshot: To sort out their differences with enactive theory, interactivity theorists would do better to focus on operational closure only insofar as it constitutes a condition of intrinsic normativity or self-regulated coupling.

Cybernetic theory and interactivity have much in common, including human interrelationships between modern technology and how they define and reveal the whole interactive process. Most of the key notions in both can be described as the system in conversation about the system, talking to each other through the information passed back and forth between the particular relationship in audiences and artworks. These similar languages are feedback, control, conversation and system thinking in the field of cybernetic theory and interactive artworks. (...) As can be seen, some concepts of the cybernetic are applicable to interactivity. So, how can cybernetic thinking be applied to interactive artworks? The purpose of this article is to explore the interplay of cybernetics theory and interactivity and the connection between cybernetic/system thinking and technological/interactive artworks by illustrating the similarity of characteristics and comparing the conversation of two network systems. The goal is to deconstruct and reshape their relationships by thinking of interactive artworks in the way of cybernetic thinking. (shrink)

The introduction of digital games and simulations into science museums has prompted excitement about a new "post-museum" pedagogy emphasizing egalitarianism, interactivity, and personalized approaches to learning. However, many post-museums of science, this article aims to show, enact rhetorical performances that lead visitors to narrowly targeted answers and hide the authority of the expert in a play of tactile and affective activities, thus operating in opposition to many of the basic ideals of the post-museum. The Brain and Cognition Exhibit at (...) the Hong Kong Science Museum serves as a case study for how a post-museum exhibit, through embracing interactivity and visitor-centered tasks, becomes a site where science is tested on and performed through visitors' bodies such that institutional prescriptions are applied. Visitors are not merely encouraged at this exhibit to learn about the brain through doing but are trained to see functional and dysfunctional brains and to then diagnose themselves and their children by playing games and taking brain-measurement tests. As a result, the interactive engagement of the exhibit creates a new space of public medicalization. Reflections and suggestions are offered at the end of the article. (shrink)

The interactive nature of the Internet is seen by some as a technological innovation that might boost participation in politics and civic affairs. That potential, however, is clouded by imprecise definitions of interactivity found among scholars and practitioners alike. Evaluation of state legislature Web sites found them to not be very interactive under most definitions of the term. Chief technology officers of the legislatures appear to differ as to which site features promote interactivity. The current state of these (...) sites may do more to encourage civic engagement than to promote interactivity. (shrink)

Building on McMillan's two-way model of interactivity, this study presents a three-way model of interactive communication, which is used to assess political Web sites' progress toward the ideals of cyberdemocracy and the fostering of public deliberation. Results of a 3-year study of state legislature Web sites, an analysis of the community networks, and a review of purely political sites such as MoveOn.org, RNC.org, and DNC.org are reported. Little deliberation was found on the legislature sites, but opportunities for such were (...) greater on the other types of sites. (shrink)

Open peer commentary on the article “Interactivity and Enaction in Human Cognition” by Matthew Isaac Harvey, Rasmus Gahrn-Andersen & Sune Vork Steffensen. Upshot: In contrasting an interactivity account alternative to variants on the enactive approach, the authors discuss the role of sense-making. They claim that their interactivity perspective, unlike enactive approaches, accounts for a dependency on “non-local” resources characteristic of many organisms. I draw attention to the cybernetic-enactivist perspective on homeostatic sense-making, which may fundamentally fail to explain (...) the operationally open nature of organismic regulatory processes better captured by Sterling’s notion of “allostasis.” This sense-making model appears to be more in line with Harvey et al.’s interactivity framework, focusing as it does on the regulatory effect of extrinsic “norms” rather than the cybernetic-enactivist focus on intrinsic “norms.”. (shrink)

The concept of “interactivity” has routinely been used to differentiate older analogue media and newer digital media. In this usage, interactivity has come to be defined as primarily a physical behavior from the person, as dictated by the media product, which has technological and/or content features that enable, promote, and require specific types and amounts of such activity. However, physical behaviors are only part of the processes involved in engaging with a media product. These also involve cognitive, affective (...) and interpretive behaviors. Additionally, what are considered the most important behaviors may vary in any given media reception situation. This paper reports on a study that considered interactivity as involving interpretive and physical behaviors together. In interviews about people's engaging with new and old media products, the processes of interactivity were mapped for their interconnected components. The results help illustrate the complexity of the concept. (shrink)

A second-person perspective in neuroscience is particularly appropriate for the study of communication. We describe how the investigation of joint language tasks can contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms underlying interaction.

The aim of this article is to explore website interactivity as discourse. Whereas the use of writing, images and layout in web design has been explored extensively, interactivity, that is, interactions between a web user and the website system, remains an underdeveloped area of discourse studies. To analyze interactivity as discourse, the article uses data from a research project on offline and online shopping for electronics, viewing the offline-online relationship as recontextualization in the sense that webshop (...) class='Hi'>interactivity represents and transforms in-store shopping actions. Using a methodology that combines analytical framework for interactive sites and approach to discourse analysis, the article maps cursor resources and interactive webshop features as actions and compares them to the actions that constitute in-store shopping. On this basis, the article offers reflections on how interactivity plays a defining role in the digital resemiotization of social practices. (shrink)

Individual creativity is standardly treated as an ‘internalist’ process occurring solely in the head. An alternative, more interactionist view is presented here, where working with objects, media and other external things is seen as a fundamental component of creative thought. The value of chance interaction and chance cueing — practices widely used in the creative arts — is explored briefly in an account of the creative method of choreographer Wayne McGregor and then more narrowly in an experimental study that compared (...) performance on a Scrabble-like word discovery problem. Subjects were presented with seven letters and given two minutes to call out three-to-seven-letter English words. There were three conditions: The tiles were fixed in place, subjects were free to move the tiles manually or the tiles could be randomly shuffled. Results showed that random shuffling was best, with manual movement second. Three reasons are provided: Shuffling is faster and cheaper than mentally thinking of candidates; randomizing strings covers the search space better than a deterministic method based on past successes; and randomizing is equivalent to adding diversity to a team, which is known empirically to lead to more creative solutions. (shrink)

Simboličko ishodište za tekst predstavlja Malevičev »Crni kvadrat«, odnosno epistemološki prijelaz u teorijskom razumijevanju spomenutog umjetničkog djela: iz fenomenološko-ontološke perspektive ka psihoanalitičkoj interpretaciji istog. Putem aplikacije Lacanovog koncepta pogleda, povlačimo paralelu između simbolike Malevičevog kvadrata i primjera ekrana kroz opozicijsko sučeljavanje televizijskog i kompjutorskog ekrana. Definiranjem razlika između televizijskog i kompjutorskog ekrana reaktualiziramo i spomenuti Lacanov koncept, te ga u redefiniranoj verziji apliciramo na primjere kompjutorskog virtualnog prostora i identitet tzv. virtualnog subjekta. Tako uspostavljen problemski motiv obrađujemo i preko razmatranja (...) dihotomnog para interaktivnost/interpasivnost, sa naglaskom na modelu HCI , interakciji čovjeka i kompjutora. Paralela između umjetničkog objekta i suvremene medijske tehnologije, a sve u vezi sa subjektom koji se pita i time sebe konstituira, putokaz je prema pitanju koje predstavlja jedan od temeljnih interesa teksta, a ono glasi: o kakvom se konstruktu subjekta, odnosno formi njegova identiteta uspostavljenoj u prostoru virtualnog, zapravo radi?Symbolical starting point of the text is »Black Square« by Kazimir Malevich, or more exactly, an epistemological transition within theoretical understanding of the mentioned artwork: from a phenomenological-ontological perspective toward psychoanalytical interpretation of it. According to application of the concept of regard by Jacques Lacan, and regarding to oppositional distinction between television screen and computer screen, I am searching for a parallel between Malevich’s Square and symbolic of the screen. Process of definition of differences between television screen and computer screen is the way of re-actualization of previously mentioned Lacan’s concept, and I make an application of it on examples of computer virtual space and so-called virtually created identity. Primal theoretical problem of the text is working out through dichotomy interactivity/interpassivity with stress on the model of HCI that is interaction of human with computer. Parallel between an artwork and contemporary media technology, regarding to a human subject under self-questioned and self-created processes, leading us toward the question which is the one of main interests in the text: what is the model of self identity created within virtual space? (shrink)

We present empirical evidence from dialogue that challenges some of the key assumptions in the Pickering & Garrod (P&G) model of speaker-hearer coordination in dialogue. The P&G model also invokes an unnecessarily complex set of mechanisms. We show that a computational implementation, currently in development and based on a simpler model, can account for more of this type of dialogue data.

In classroom teaching, material objects like the blackboard play an important role. Yet qualitative research on education has largely ignored this material dimension of education and focused on interaction and discourse. Both dimensions are, however, closely related to each other. Material objects are embedded in classroom discourse and are transformed into knowledge objects by speech acts, and in turn structure discussions and constitute a point of reference for school lessons. Drawing on ethnographic research on classroom lessons in mathematics and science (...) classes in German high schools, we propose a perspective that recognizes both the materiality of teaching and its interactive dimension. (shrink)

This article analyses the phenomenology and ontology of videogames through the lens of semiotics. The difference between games and more traditional narrative models (such as those found in books and movies) lies on the structural level. The game narrative needs to be ‘written’ (played) before it can be ‘read’ (interpreted). Games provide fluidity of interactive immersion: the interface as the place of the merger between the player and the game. A connection, without delay, is established between the movement of the (...) player’s hands and the virtual movement across virtual space-times of the virtual characters/events on the screen. The connection is cybernetic, of course, and real. The actuality of the virtual is established as the action of the finger movements of the player. Games require at least a minimum degree of interaction. The player has a role as the master of the code, as the last string of code attached to complete the sequence. Such is the definition of the Cinematic under the formal demands of the Ludic: the defining-delimiting-restricting background which nonetheless, by its very (fixed) presence, provides the nurturing ground for the appearance and presence of (fluid) malleability as the ‘gap’ or ‘lack’ in the structure to be filled – in whatever manner – by the player in the act of his or her (world-constitutive) existential engagement. (shrink)

The text describes the research Geopartitura executed by the team MidiaLab Computer art research laboratory, that raises the thought about social artists and urban space. As a work of art it can be considered activist action. As a system, it is composed by software, database, locative media and mobile devices. The work was created to be performed as urban interactive cyberintervention, in order to interact with passers-by, a bias of social inclusion, transforming the urban landscape and its noises, at a (...) dimension of open space for discussion. As active and engaged art, presents the artist as social citizen. (shrink)

The objective of this study is to analyze the relationship between views and social interaction generated by YouTuber videos in Spanish. A quali-quantitative analysis is conducted on a sample of 100 videos, 10 YouTube channels, 997 minutes of video, with 116,934,321 views, 12,297,021 likes/dislikes, and 1,041,191 comments on YT, 306,000 retweets/favorites on TW and 140,852 comments, shares, and reactions on FB. The existence of social media tools on YouTube does not in itself guarantee interaction by users who prefer to watch (...) videos and adopt a passive attitude. In this analysis, we propose a social interaction indicator that takes into account the total number of social media reactions made on social networks and the age of the video. Cultivating realistic conversation and interaction on platforms with audiences numbering in the millions represents a serious challenge for YouTubers. (shrink)

Interaction in French as a Foreign Language: From the Concept Itself to Methodological Challenges. This paper proposes a theorisation of interaction anchored in the framework of sociodidactics, as a ‘linking concept’, and the different issues that arise from this position. This epistemological reflection focuses on interaction as a concept that allows to bring together several aspects of research. Thus, interaction as a concept allows us to weave links between different disciplinary traditions, between different theories and ways of analysing human interactions. (...) As an object and a tool, it makes it possible to link and considers the different participants in the research, their points of view, their imaginaries. This brings many challenges (relational, interpretive among others) to be met. (shrink)

The interactions between genetic and environmental risk factors contribute to the aetiology of complex human diseases. Genome‐wide association studies (GWAS) have revealed that most of the genetic variants associated with complex diseases are located in the non‐coding part of the genome, preferentially within enhancers. Enhancers are distal cis‐regulatory elements composed of clusters of transcription factors binding sites that positively regulate the expression of their target genes. The generation of genome‐wide maps for histone marks (e.g., H3K27ac), chromatin accessibility and transcription factor (...) and coactivator (e.g., p300) binding profiles have enabled the identification of enhancers across many human cell types and tissues. Nonetheless, the functional and pathological consequences of the majority of disease‐associated genetic variants located within enhancers seem to be rather minor under normal conditions, thus questioning their medical relevance. Here we propose that, due to the prevalence of enhancer redundancy, the pathological effects of many disease‐associated non‐coding genetic variants might be preferentially (or even only) manifested under environmental stress. (shrink)

Cognition in work teams has been predominantly understood and explained in terms of shared cognition with a focus on the similarity of static knowledge structures across individual team members. Inspired by the current zeitgeist in cognitive science, as well as by empirical data and pragmatic concerns, we offer an alternative theory of team cognition. Interactive Team Cognition (ITC) theory posits that (1) team cognition is an activity, not a property or a product; (2) team cognition should be measured and studied (...) at the team level; and (3) team cognition is inextricably tied to context. There are implications of ITC for theory building, modeling, measurement, and applications that make teams more effective performers. (shrink)

Between formal propositional knowledge and embodied skill lies ‘interactional expertise’—the ability to converse expertly about a practical skill or expertise, but without being able to practice it, learned through linguistic socialisation among the practitioners. Interactional expertise is exhibited by sociologists of scientific knowledge, by scientists themselves and by a large range of other actors. Attention is drawn to the distinction between the social and the individual embodiment theses: a language does depend on the form of the bodies of its members (...) but an individual within that community can learn the language without the body. The idea has significance for our understanding of colour-blindness, deafness and other abilities and disabilities. They say that love's a word. (shrink)

[Interactive and Immersive Practices; Critical Spatial Practices. The Augmented Reality of the Exhibition Space] The rise of installations, as well as immersive and interactive spaces, in both art and science museums has accustomed the public to heightened interactivity, leading to a better understanding of social, natural and scientific phenomena. These spatial systems have also paved the way for the production of innovative environments within exhibition design. This article aims to present a brief overview of the origins of immersive and (...) sensory practices at work in contemporary museums, and to evaluate the potential of these processes to generate critical thinking in the visitor. A concise description of the evolution of the operational and intellectual premise of these museums and their changing practices demonstrates the transformations that have occurred, their modalities, and their application in selected works, notably: The Weather Project by Olafur Eliasson presented at Tate Modern London; Diller + Scofidio’s media pavilion, Blur Building, in Yverdon-les-Bains in Switzerland; and the exhibition Sense of the City at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal. (shrink)

How can we confront the problems of diminished democracy, pervasive economic inequality, and persistent global poverty? Is it possible to fulfill the dual aims of deepening democratic participation and achieving economic justice, not only locally but also globally? Carol C. Gould proposes an integrative and interactive approach to the core values of democracy, justice, and human rights, looking beyond traditional politics to the social conditions that would enable us to realize these aims. Her innovative philosophical framework sheds new light on (...) social movements across borders, the prospects for empathy and solidarity with distant others, and the problem of gender inequalities in diverse cultures, and also considers new ways in which democratic deliberation can be enhanced by online networking and extended to the institutions of global governance. Her book will be of great interest to scholars and upper-level students of political philosophy, global justice, social and political science, and gender studies. (shrink)

In clinical trials, it is common practice to follow up significant interactions between the factors under investigation with subgroup analyses. Such analyses pose at least two analytical and interpretational challenges. The first challenge is that performing multiple subgroup analyses increases the likelihood of obtaining spuriously significant results. This has been acknowledged and relevant guidance exists in the medical literature. The second challenge is that the effects that are obtained at the level of subgroup are composite. This has yet to be (...) fully acknowledged and discussed in the context of medical research. This paper aims to fill this lacuna. Using a simple additive model, we use recent findings from the CHARISMA trial on the efficacy of clopidogrel in addition to aspirin in the treatment of patients at risk for atherothrombotic events to demonstrate quantitatively the composition of effects at the level of subgroups. In the simplest case of a design involving an interaction (two crossed factors, with two levels each, i.e. a 2 x 2 design), effects at the level of subgroup consist of influences that stem (i) from the incidence of the measured outcome in the study population as a whole; (ii) from the factor of interest (e.g. treatment vs. placebo); (iii) from the second factor (e.g. patient group membership); (iv) from the interaction between the two factors; and (v) from random error in the measured outcome. The value of the approach illustrated here is that it is generalizable to any research design irrespective of its complexity and that it prompts clinicians to consider the multiple causality underlying medical research findings. (shrink)

The temporality of intentions and actions in situations of social interaction can sometimes be paradoxical. I argue that in these situations it may sometimes be possible to conceive of individual acts that can, in a strong sense, be intended retroactively. This could happen when the relational patterns in social interaction literally alter the virtual structure of a participant's past corporeal intentions resulting in an odd experience of having intended something all along without knowing it. I propose that this possibility should (...) be interpreted as more than just a narrowly epistemic phenomenon. Examining this claim involves clarifying the enactive perspective on intentionality, which I do here. The enactive approach rejects the model of a causal relation between intention and action for one of an intrinsic qualitative relation between the two as facets of sense-making. I develop this idea and compare it with Merleau-Ponty's Fundierung model of the mutual relation between corporeal and reflexive intentionality to show that co-regulated moves/affections during social interaction may modulate both arcs of this relation, creating the possibility of a re-signification that alters not the actuality but the virtual tendencies that preceded the social act. (shrink)

Computers are increasingly interactive. They are no more transformational systems producing a final output after a finite execution. Instead, they continuously react in time to external events that modify the course of computing execution. While philosophers have been interested in conceptualizing computers for a long time, they seem to have paid little attention to the specificities of interactive computing. We propose to tackle this issue by surveying the literature in theoretical computer science, where one can find explicit proposals for a (...) model of interactive computing. In that field, the formal modelling of interactive computing systems has been brought down to whether the new interaction models are reducible to Turing Machines. There are three areas where interaction models are framed. The comparison between TMs and interactive system models is at stake in all of them. These areas are namely some works on concurrency by Milner, on Reactive Turing Machines, and on interaction as a new computing paradigm. For each of the three identified models, we present its motivation, sum up its account for interaction and its legacy, and point out issues regarding the understanding of computers. The survey shows difficulties for epistemologists. The reason is that these analyses focus on the formal equivalence between interactive models of computation and classic ones. Such a project is different from addressing how a computing machine can be interactive: in other words, which mechanisms allow it. (shrink)