Phil Turner
ABSTRACT
Motivation -- How can we account for the apparent easy with which we cope with the wide range of digital technology and the complex knowledge-rich environments we encounter everyday? An answer to this is that we rely a variety of fixes, workarounds (and so forth) which we may collectively describe as epistemic interaction. We employ epistemic interaction to scaffold our goal-driven, pragmatic behaviour.
Research approach -- Evidence for epistemic interaction has been gathered from a wide range of published accounts, not least of which is the related work in cognitive science, human computer interaction and Computer Supported Cooperative Work. We also illustrate an aspect of epistemic interaction with two short vignettes from a larger study.
Findings/Design -- Potentially the implications of this work are important to the ways in which we design and evaluate digital technology. If the epistemic aspects of our daily use of digital technology is as significant as we suspect, then perhaps we should be explicitly designing for epistemic interaction.
Research limitations/Implications -- This is a first attempt to identify and describe this form of interaction. So far it is based on a critical synthesis of substantial and diverse findings but it does require focussed empirical investigation to develop fully the concept and its applicability to everyday coping with technology.
Originality/Value -- The research makes a novel contribution to our understanding of how we use digital technology on an everyday basis.
Take away message -- epistemic interaction is a lightweight account of how we deal with the complexity of the technology and situations we encounter. It is intended to encompass the roles of external representation, appropriation, abduction and a range of other mechanisms.
Epistemic Interaction is a much more practically accessible concept than distributed and extended cognition to which it is related.
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