Olsen, Dorothy Sutherland (2010) “Old” Technology in New Hands: Instruments as Mediators of Interdisciplinary Learning in Microfluidics. Spontaneous Generations: A Journal for the History and Philosophy of Science, 4 (1). pp. 231-254. ISSN 1913-0465
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Abstract
In his article on radical innovation, Shinn (2005) examined the role of scientific instruments in innovation. This paper continues to investigate this theme, but the main focus is on how scientists or engineers from one discipline may learn from another and produce new knowledge and new technology. The paper looks at the role that tools and instruments developed by one discipline, in one environment, can play in the development of knowledge in a new environment. The theoretical basis for this study is Vygotsky’s (1978) concept of tool-mediated activity. The proposed conceptualisation views instruments as dynamic and suggests types of tool-mediated activities which may contribute to knowledge creation. The collaborative process of experimentation is examined and opportunities for knowledge creation are discussed in relation to the instruments used. Methods used are interviews and observations. The case study is a small multidisciplinary laboratory developing a new process for producing nanoreactors, with potential applications in pharmaceuticals and energy.
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| Item Type: | Published Article or Volume | ||||||
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| Keywords: | Scientific Realism; Epistemic Issues; Epistemology of Science | ||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism General Issues > Science and Society General Issues > Technology General Issues > Values In Science |
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| Depositing User: | Jordan Miller | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 11 Sep 2021 03:08 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 11 Sep 2021 03:08 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 17915 | ||||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | Spontaneous Generations: A Journal for the History and Philosophy of Science | ||||||
| Publisher: | The University of Toronto | ||||||
| Official URL: | https://spontaneousgenerations.library.utoronto.ca... | ||||||
| DOI or Unique Handle: | 10.4245/sponge.v4i1.11942 | ||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism General Issues > Science and Society General Issues > Technology General Issues > Values In Science |
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| Date: | 30 August 2010 | ||||||
| Page Range: | pp. 231-254 | ||||||
| Volume: | 4 | ||||||
| Number: | 1 | ||||||
| ISSN: | 1913-0465 | ||||||
| URI: | http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/17915 |
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