Narrow Results

The problems of the nature of expertise and the possibility to create a copy of expert knowledge in the computer are the main themes for the paper. In the first part of this paper, a short survey of existing knowledge about expert behavior is given. The new method for the construction of exact copy of expert knowledge-CONSER is described. The utilization of new method gives new information about the striking ability of expert to recognize and classify the situations on the basis of their knowledge.

Learning in technology mediated learning environments is a complex process that varies across individual and group contexts. Complex learning environments that are mediated by technology require distinct concurrent methodologies that reveal when and where learning may occur. This paper describes the analysis of two technology-mediated problem-solving environments, one that uses concurrent methods to identify expertise, and the other that examines the influence of technology in a collaborative learning situation. The first example examines individual problem solving in the context of a stand-alone environment, BioWorld, whereas the second example examines the joint production of medical decisions with traditional and interactive whiteboard technology in a medical classroom. These examples demonstrate how concurrent methods add to our understanding of individual learning as well as the co-construction of knowledge in the context of clinical reasoning using technology.

Climate change-related extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and severe, requiring urgent action to effectively plan for them. While disabled women are one group likely to be disproportionately and negatively affected by disasters, they are often not included in disaster planning. This commentary paper utilizes McRuer’s Crip Theory as a lens to explore this topic, where the strength of disabled women’s capacity to positively contribute to effective disaster planning becomes evident. Their lived understandings of negotiating often unacknowledged barriers can act as useful tools to assuage the impacts of disasters. Their experiences are recognized under the rubric of crip theory as neither deviant nor “other”, but as capabilities worthy of mainstreaming. Disaster situations that may be seen as chaotic to those accustomed to services and environments that closely match their requirements, could be perceived as both familiar and resolvable to a disabled woman. In this way, disabled women can utilize their everyday problem-solving skills to help tackle these impacts, viewing them as circumstances to be methodically navigated and overcome. Enabling disabled women room at the planning table is neither luxury nor bonus, but essential. Participatory inclusion and successful planning for disabled individuals benefits a much larger swathe of society than initially anticipated, as illustrated in this paper by international examples of best practice. We all profit from more inclusive planning to create more accessible and inclusive communities.

Contemporary art is often challenging for the viewer, especially when it violates classic rules of representation. Also, viewers usually have little knowledge about this type of art, making its reception even more difficult. Our main research question was how the cognitive challenge associated with contemporary art affects eye movement. In particular, we aimed to assess the impact on eye movements of (a) object-related cognitive challenge in terms of image properties (syntactic and semantic violations) and (b) subject-related cognitive challenge (composite subjective estimate of image inconsistency, ambiguity, and complexity). The eye movements of expert and naive participants were recorded while they freely viewed digital copies of contemporary paintings (four groups of five paintings each, differing in the presence of semantic and syntactic violations). We found that neither violations nor art expertise alone predicted eye movements, although perceived, subjectively experienced cognitive challenge did. In particular, subject-related cognitive challenge was associated with an increase in visual exploration (longer and more numerous fixations, bigger area of exploration, and longer viewing time). The roles of object-related and subject-related indicators of cognitive challenge in perception of contemporary art are discussed.