Critical Theory and Interaction Design
Critical Theory and Interaction Design

Author: Jeffrey Bardzell

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2018-12-04

Total Pages: 840

ISBN-13: 026203798X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Classic texts by thinkers from Althusser to Žižek alongside essays by leaders in interaction design and HCI show the relevance of critical theory to interaction design. Why should interaction designers read critical theory? Critical theory is proving unexpectedly relevant to media and technology studies. The editors of this volume argue that reading critical theory—understood in the broadest sense, including but not limited to the Frankfurt School—can help designers do what they want to do; can teach wisdom itself; can provoke; and can introduce new ways of seeing. They illustrate their argument by presenting classic texts by thinkers in critical theory from Althusser to Žižek alongside essays in which leaders in interaction design and HCI describe the influence of the text on their work. For example, one contributor considers the relevance Umberto Eco's “Openness, Information, Communication” to digital content; another reads Walter Benjamin's “The Author as Producer” in terms of interface designers; and another reflects on the implications of Judith Butler's Gender Trouble for interaction design. The editors offer a substantive introduction that traces the various strands of critical theory. Taken together, the essays show how critical theory and interaction design can inform each other, and how interaction design, drawing on critical theory, might contribute to our deepest needs for connection, competency, self-esteem, and wellbeing. Contributors Jeffrey Bardzell, Shaowen Bardzell, Olav W. Bertelsen, Alan F. Blackwell, Mark Blythe, Kirsten Boehner, John Bowers, Gilbert Cockton, Carl DiSalvo, Paul Dourish, Melanie Feinberg, Beki Grinter, Hrönn Brynjarsdóttir Holmer, Jofish Kaye, Ann Light, John McCarthy, Søren Bro Pold, Phoebe Sengers, Erik Stolterman, Kaiton Williams., Peter Wright Classic texts Louis Althusser, Aristotle, Roland Barthes, Seyla Benhabib, Walter Benjamin, Judith Butler, Arthur Danto, Terry Eagleton, Umberto Eco, Michel Foucault, Wolfgang Iser, Alan Kaprow, Søren Kierkegaard, Bruno Latour, Herbert Marcuse, Edward Said, James C. Scott, Slavoj Žižek

A Theory of Social Interaction
A Theory of Social Interaction

Author: Jonathan H. Turner

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Published: 1988

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 9780804714631

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In developing the most comprehensive theory of social interaction among humans to date, the author has also constructed a general theory of micro dynamics for sociology and social psychology. He does so by reviewing existing theories of the past and present, synthesixing these concepts into abstract models and principles of social interaction. In contrast to Talcott Parsons and many others, the book argues that social interaction, rather than action and behaviour, is sociology's most basic unit of analysis. This unit is conceptualized as involving three processes: (1) motivational, or the process of mobilizating and energizing interactive behaviour, (2) interactional, or the process of mutual signaling and interpreting with symbols, and (3) structuring, or the process of repeating and organizing social interactions in time and place. For each of these three constituent processes, the relevant theories are analyzed and then synthesized into composite models and general laws.

Computational Theories of Interaction and Agency
Computational Theories of Interaction and Agency

Author: Philip Agre

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 794

ISBN-13: 9780262510905

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Over time the field of artificial intelligence has developed an "agent perspective" expanding its focus from thought to action, from search spaces to physical environments, and from problem-solving to long-term activity. Originally published as a special double volume of the journal Artificial Intelligence, this book brings together fundamental work by the top researchers in artificial intelligence, neural networks, computer science, robotics, and cognitive science on the themes of interaction and agency. It identifies recurring themes and outlines a methodology of the concept of "agency." The seventeen contributions cover the construction of principled characterizations of interactions between agents and their environments, as well as the use of these characterizations to guide analysis of existing agents and the synthesis of artificial agents.Artificial Intelligence series.Special Issues of Artificial Intelligence

Acting with Technology
Acting with Technology

Author: Victor Kaptelinin

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2006-10-06

Total Pages: 347

ISBN-13: 0262112981

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Activity theory holds that the human mind is the product of our interaction with people & artifacts in everyday activity. This book makes the case for activity theory as a basis for understanding our relationship with technology. It describes activity theory's principles, history, & relationship to other theoretical approaches.

Social Interaction Systems
Social Interaction Systems

Author: Robert Freed Bales

Publisher: Transaction Publishers

Published: 2001-03-01

Total Pages: 417

ISBN-13: 1412834325

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Social Interaction Systems is the culmination of a half century of work in the field of social psychology by Robert Freed Bales, a pioneer at the Department of Social Relations at Harvard University. Led by Talcott Parsons, Gordon W. Allport, Henry A. Murray, and Clyde M. Kluckhohn, the Harvard Project was intended to establish an integrative framework for social psychology, one based on the interaction process, augmented by value content analysis. Bales sees this approach as a personal involvement that goes far beyond the classical experimental approach to the study of groups. Bales developed SYMLOG, which stands for systematic multiple level observation of groups. The SYMLOG Consulting Group approach was worldwide as well as interactive. It created a data bank that made possible a search for general laws of human interaction far beyond anything thus far known. In his daring search for universal features, Bales redefines the fundamental boundaries of the field, and in so doing establishes criteria for the behavior and values of leaders and followers. Bales offers a new "field theory," an appreciation of the multiple contexts in which people live. Bales does not aim to eradicate differences, but to understand them. In this sense, the values inherent in any interaction situation permit the psychologist to appreciate the sources of polarization as they actually exist: between conservative and liberal, individualistic and authoritarian, libertarian and communitarian. Bales repeatedly emphasizes that the mental processes of individuals and their social interactions take place in systematic contexts which can be measured. Hence they permit explanation and prediction of behavior in a more exact way than in past traditions. Bales has offered a pioneering work that has the potential to move us into a new theoretical epoch no less than a new century. His work holds out the promise of synthesis and support for psychologists, sociologists, and all who work with groups and organizations of all kinds.

Action and Interaction
Action and Interaction

Author: Shaun Gallagher

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2020-04-09

Total Pages: 314

ISBN-13: 0192585312

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Shaun Gallagher presents a ground-breaking interdisciplinary account of human action, bringing out its essentially social dimension. He explores and synthesizes the different approaches of action theory, social cognition, and critical social theory. He shows that in order to understand human agency and the aspects of mind that are associated with it, we need to grasp the crucial role of context or circumstance in action, and the normative constraints of social and cultural practices. He also investigates issues concerning social cognition and embodied intersubjective interaction, including direct social perception and the role of narrative and communicative practices from an interdisciplinary perspective. Gallagher thereby brings together embodied and enactive approaches to action for the first time in this book and, in developing an alternative to standard conceptions of understanding others, he bridges social cognition and critical social theory, drawing out the implications for recognition, autonomy, and justice.

Context and Consciousness
Context and Consciousness

Author: Bonnie A. Nardi

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 428

ISBN-13: 9780262140584

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This work brings together a collection of 13 contributions that apply activity theory - a psychological theory with a naturalistic emphasis - to problems of human-computer interaction. It presents activity theory as a means of structuring and guiding field studies of human-computer interaction.

Interaction Ritual Chains
Interaction Ritual Chains

Author: Randall Collins

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2014-05-06

Total Pages: 465

ISBN-13: 1400851742

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Sex, smoking, and social stratification are three very different social phenomena. And yet, argues sociologist Randall Collins, they and much else in our social lives are driven by a common force: interaction rituals. Interaction Ritual Chains is a major work of sociological theory that attempts to develop a "radical microsociology." It proposes that successful rituals create symbols of group membership and pump up individuals with emotional energy, while failed rituals drain emotional energy. Each person flows from situation to situation, drawn to those interactions where their cultural capital gives them the best emotional energy payoff. Thinking, too, can be explained by the internalization of conversations within the flow of situations; individual selves are thoroughly and continually social, constructed from the outside in. The first half of Interaction Ritual Chains is based on the classic analyses of Durkheim, Mead, and Goffman and draws on micro-sociological research on conversation, bodily rhythms, emotions, and intellectual creativity. The second half discusses how such activities as sex, smoking, and social stratification are shaped by interaction ritual chains. For example, the book addresses the emotional and symbolic nature of sexual exchanges of all sorts--from hand-holding to masturbation to sexual relationships with prostitutes--while describing the interaction rituals they involve. This book will appeal not only to psychologists, sociologists, and anthropologists, but to those in fields as diverse as human sexuality, religious studies, and literary theory.

Orbital Interaction Theory of Organic Chemistry
Orbital Interaction Theory of Organic Chemistry

Author: Arvi Rauk

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2004-04-07

Total Pages: 360

ISBN-13: 0471461849

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A practical introduction to orbital interaction theory and its applications in modern organic chemistry Orbital interaction theory is a conceptual construct that lies at the very heart of modern organic chemistry. Comprising a comprehensive set of principles for explaining chemical reactivity, orbital interaction theory originates in a rigorous theory of electronic structure that also provides the basis for the powerful computational models and techniques with which chemists seek to describe and exploit the structures and thermodynamic and kinetic stabilities of molecules. Orbital Interaction Theory of Organic Chemistry, Second Edition introduces students to the fascinating world of organic chemistry at the mechanistic level with a thoroughly self-contained, well-integrated exposition of orbital interaction theory and its applications in modern organic chemistry. Professor Rauk reviews the concepts of symmetry and orbital theory, and explains reactivity in common functional groups and reactive intermediates in terms of orbital interaction theory. Aided by numerous examples and worked problems, he guides readers through basic chemistry concepts, such as acid and base strength, nucleophilicity, electrophilicity, and thermal stability (in terms of orbital interactions), and describes various computational models for describing those interactions. Updated and expanded, this latest edition of Orbital Interaction Theory of Organic Chemistry includes a completely new chapter on organometallics, increased coverage of density functional theory, many new application examples, and worked problems. The text is complemented by an interactive computer program that displays orbitals graphically and is available through a link to a Web site. Orbital Interaction Theory of Organic Chemistry, Second Edition is an excellent text for advanced-level undergraduate and graduate students in organic chemistry. It is also a valuable working resource for professional chemists seeking guidance on interpreting the quantitative data produced by modern computational chemists.

Structure, Interaction and Social Theory (RLE Social Theory)
Structure, Interaction and Social Theory (RLE Social Theory)

Author: Derek Layder

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-08-21

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 1317650662

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A central problem in contemporary social theory is that of providing an account of social interaction that does justice both to the self-monitoring capacities of the individuals involved and to the society that ‘frames’ the interaction. This book attempts to resolve this problem, arguing for an objectivist or ‘structuralist’ account which does not undervalue the importance of the indexical and negotiated aspects of interaction, and which takes seriously the Marxist-rationalist critique of empiricism and humanism and the associated idea that society should be treated as a supra-individual, preconstituted and constraining object of scientific analysis. First, Dr Layder pinpoints certain of the strengths and weaknesses of various schools of thought: social psychology (scrutinized in both its sociological and psychological forms), sociology, the Marxist-rationalist approach. Whilst rejecting the mechanistic or naively deterministic theories which are often associated with an objectivist stance, he argues that the productive activities of situated actors must be understood as existing in an articulated relationship with, and within, sets of preconstituted contextual constraints. This thesis is illustrated conceptually by the development of a framework which distinguishes two types and levels of social structure, with different modes of production and reproduction, and empirically by an analysis of aspects of interaction in the occupation of acting.