Information Natural Law And The Self Assembly Of Rhythmic Movement

Originally published in 1987, the introduction states: "the authors have successfully accomplished their program – to explain, based on physical representations, the observed relations among various parameters of wrist-pendulum oscillations. Thereby a set of new ideas and concepts, including those developed recently by the scientific school to which the authors belong, are introduced to biology. These concepts are closely related to the experimental data. This accomplishment makes the book especially attractive and demonstrates once more the productivity of applying physics to biology." "Clear language, simple figures, and physical examples illuminate rather complicated problems. These attractive features should make the book intelligible to a variety of investigators in the field of motor control, not only to the specialists with physical and mathematical education." From the foreword: " Kugler and Turvey have written strategic physical biology, and shown that, after all, dynamics (including both kinetics and kinematics) may support a unitary physical view of some of the profound operations of our brains... This is a grand start on what I hope is a larger program of demystifying behaviour."

Originally published in 1987, the introduction states: "the authors have successfully accomplished their program – to explain, based on physical representations, the observed relations among various parameters of wrist-pendulum oscillations. Thereby a set of new ideas and concepts, including those developed recently by the scientific school to which the authors belong, are introduced to biology. These concepts are closely related to the experimental data. This accomplishment makes the book especially attractive and demonstrates once more the productivity of applying physics to biology." "Clear language, simple figures, and physical examples illuminate rather complicated problems. These attractive features should make the book intelligible to a variety of investigators in the field of motor control, not only to the specialists with physical and mathematical education." From the foreword: " Kugler and Turvey have written strategic physical biology, and shown that, after all, dynamics (including both kinetics and kinematics) may support a unitary physical view of some of the profound operations of our brains... This is a grand start on what I hope is a larger program of demystifying behaviour."

There is a growing consensus in the human factors/ergonomics community that human factors research has had little impact on significant applied problems. Some have suggested that the problem lies in the fact that much HF/E research has been based on the wrong type of psychology, an information processing view of psychology that is reductionistic and context-free. Ecological psychology offers a viable alternative, presenting a richer view of human behavior that is holistic and contextualized. The papers presented in these two volumes show the conceptual impact that ecological psychology can have on HF/E, as well as presenting a number of specific examples illustrating the ecological approach to human-machine systems. It is the first collection of papers that explicitly draws a connection between these two fields. While work in this area is only just beginning, the evidence available suggests that taking an ecological approach to human factors/ergonomics helps bridge the existing gap between basic research and applied problems.

Intellectual Journeys in Ecological Psychology: Interviews and Reflections from Pioneers in the Field presents 12 in-depth interviews with prominent scientists associated with Ecological Psychology, rooted in James Gibson’s radical approach to perception. Featuring a mix of interviews conducted around the turn of the millennium with leading figures of Ecological Psychology, the book reveals discussions not previously found in publications and authentic personal perspectives about the early days of Ecological Psychology, a significant paradigm of post-cognitivist psychology. The interviews are supplemented by current reflections that bridge the past to the present. Each interview chapter also contains a brief biography of the interviewee and a list of their top ten most significant publications. An introductory chapter by Harry Heft provides an overview of Gibson’s theory and the post-Gibsonian theoretical landscape. A further chapter by the editors highlights lineages and patterns in the scientific careers and work of the interviewees. An epilogue by William Warren concludes the volume, addressing the current state and directions of Ecological Psychology. In the Appendix photographs taken by Sverker Runeson in the 1960s and 1970s show scenes and actors from scientific event in Ecological Psychology. This book will be beneficial to all researchers and students in the international community of Ecological Psychology. It will also serve as a starting point for those who wish to learn more about the movement and origins of Ecological Psychology.

Originally published in 1987, this title aimed to present an eclectic and biased account of the status of perception-action relationships in various fields at the time. The chapters can be divided into three sections. The first focuses on motor control, a neglected topic in the past and hence deserving the role of the starting point of this volume. In addition motor control provides a good background to discuss the clear sensory and perceptual effects. However, motor processes are also highly relevant to perception, which was usually less emphasized in the literature at the time. Therefore a special section is devoted to motor processes in perception together with the issue of integrating information from different sources. The book concludes with a section on attention and selection of perceptual information for subsequent action.

This comprehensive edited treatise discusses the neurological, physiological, and cognitive aspects of interlimb coordination. It is unique in promoting a multidisciplinary perspective through introductory chapter contributions from experts in the neurosciences, experimental and developmental psychology, and kinesiology. Beginning with chapters defining the neural basis of interlimb coordination in animals, the book progresses toward an understanding of human locomotor control and coordination and the underlying brain structures and nerves that make such control possible. Section two focuses on the dynamics of interlimb coordination and the physics of movement. The final section presents information on how practice and experience affect coordination, including general skill acquisition, learning to walk, and the process involved in rhythmic tapping.

There is a growing consensus in the human factors/ergonomics community that human factors research has had little impact on significant applied problems. Some have suggested that the problem lies in the fact that much HF/E research has been based on the wrong type of psychology, an information processing view of psychology that is reductionistic and context-free. Ecological psychology offers a viable alternative, presenting a richer view of human behavior that is holistic and contextualized. The papers presented in these two volumes show the conceptual impact that ecological psychology can have on HF/E, as well as presenting a number of specific examples illustrating the ecological approach to human-machine systems. It is the first collection of papers that explicitly draws a connection between these two fields. While work in this area is only just beginning, the evidence available suggests that taking an ecological approach to human factors/ergonomics helps bridge the existing gap between basic research and applied problems.