Glossary

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

We will be adding more definitions soon.

A

Affordance (incl. Epistemic affordance) —  a dynamic multi-modal relation between the attributes of something in the environment and capacities of an agent in an interactive activity (after Greeno, 1994; Zhang & Patel, 2006). Accordingly, epistemic affordance is a relation between the epistemic abilities of an agent – to engage in certain kinds of knowledge activities – and epistemic features of the environment that afford his/her epistemic actions. See Chapter 7.8.

Artefact (incl. Epistemic artefact) — derives from a combination of classical Latin arte (“Skill in doing something.”) and factum (“A thing done or performed”). It embodies the bond between human knowledge, skill and matter which becomes expressed through action in emergent material and immaterial forms. Epistemic artefact is an artefact that serves an epistemic function in human knowledge-related activities. See Chapter 8.3.

Agency (incl. Epistemic agency) — ability or capacity to act or exert power (Oxford English Dictionary, 2015). Epistemic agency is the capacity that enables to perform certain epistemic functions or carry out epistemic actions that lead to a certain knowledge-related outcome. Chapter 7.2.

Assemblage (incl. Epistemic assemblage) — a mix of diverse entities found in connection with one another, in the same context, that constitute a unity which sustains over the time. Epistemic assemblage is “the amalgam of places, bodies, voices, skills, practices, technical devices, theories, social strategies and collective work that together constitute techno-scientific knowledge/practices.” (Turnbull, 2000, 43-44). See Chapter 5.5.

B

Blending or conceptual integration (incl. Material blending)  — a general mental operation that brings selective elements and relations from several diffuse ranges of meaning (conceptual spaces) into a single mental space. This composite mental space provides a new conceptual structure in which construction of new meanings becomes possible (Fauconnier & Turner, 1998). Material blend is a blend anchored in external material structure (Hutchins, 2005). See Chapter 11.5.

C

Conceptual integration — see Blending.

Concept (abstract, formal functional, contextual and actionable, threshold concept) — TBA

Context — see Environment.

Culture (incl. professional culture, knowledge culture, epistemic culture) — the distinctive ideas, customs, social behaviour, products, or way of life of a particular nation, society, people, or period. Hence: a group characterized by such customs, etc. (Oxford English Dictionary, 2015).  In professional practice settings, professional culture — “refers to the aggregate patterns and dynamics that are on display in expert practice and that vary in different settings of expertise.”  Knowledge culture — the whole set of structures and mechanisms that serve knowledge and knowing at a broad level of society (Knor Cetina, 1999, 8). It includes universal features and structures that characterise knowledge production at a global scale, such as scientific “paradigms” (following Knorr-Cetina, 1999, see Chapter 5.4). Epistemic culture — amalgams of different arrangements and mechanisms, within a given field — including institutional structures and procedures, material objects, human bodies, signs and histories within particular places — that work together and make up how we know what we know. Epistemic culture is the feature of micro-practices within a particular domain; it characterises the construction of machineries for knowledge construction within particular local settings (following Knorr-Cetina, 1999, see Chapter 5.4).

D

E

Environment or external world of an individual is an aggregation of entities that a person could sense, effect or be affected. Context is those aspects of the external world with which a person interacts with and is aware of. Situations are those dynamic constructions of a person that give meaning to his/her interactions with the external world and determine what part of the external world is in his/her current context and direct how his/her interactive experiences proceed (following Gero & Smith, 2007).

Episteme — “a system of ideas or way of understanding that allows us to establish knowledge <…> manners of justifying, explaining, solving problems, conducting enquiries, and designing and validating various kinds of products and outcomes” (Perkins, 2006, p42)

Epistemic beliefs — “epistemic” means of or relating to knowledge. Epistemic beliefs imply beliefs about knowledge.

Epistemic fluency — capacity to understand, switch between and combine different kinds of knowledge and different ways of knowing about the world.

Epistemic form — TBA

Epistemic game — TBA

Epistemology — “the theory of knowledge and understanding”. (Oxford English Dictionary, 2015)

Epistemological beliefs  —  meta-level beliefs (aka. theory) about epistemic matters – i.e., beliefs about epistemic beliefs. (Kitchener, 2002)

F

G

H

I

 Infrastructure (incl. Epistemic infrastructure) —

Inscription — (see also Representation)

Instrument

J

K

Knowing —

Knowledge —

L

M

Mediation — TBA

Mind — An embodied and relational process that regulates the flow of energy and information. The mind is a process that emerges from the distributed nervous system extending throughout the entire body, and also from the communication patterns that occur within relationships (Siegel, 2012, p3). See Chapter 6.1.

Multimodal — incorporating  several different modes, methods or systems (Oxford English Dictionary, 2015). Multimodal human interaction with the environment involves multiple human capacities for sensing and acting, such as multiple human senses: sight, sound, touch, smell, hearing.

N

O

Object — TBA

Objekt — TBA

P

Place — (see also Space)

Predmet –TBA

p-prims (phenomenological primitives) –TBA

Professional — TBA

Q

R

Representation (incl. internal, external representation) — (see also Inscription)

Resourcefulness (incl. Epistemic resourcefulness, Conceptual resourcefulness) —

S

Sign — TBA

Space — (see also Place)

Situation — see Environment.

T

Thing –TBA

Tool (incl. Epistemic tool) —

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

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