Paul on The Human Vocation: R

The Human-Dimensions of Human-Computer Interaction commences a non-technical discussion about everyday computer usage and deals with the human-dimension or social context of effective HCI. It brings forward many of the hidden complexities of the human-dimensions of HCI, and owes to the educative nature of the techno-saga. The first three chapters are designed to set the background for the duality of the human/machine dimensions of HCI. Chapter four leaves the machine-side of the techno-saga to re-enter the usability context.

This book provides a refreshingly new perspective for investigating linguistic texts, which foregrounds models of the human. It presents a close reading of major linguistic theories in the twentieth century with a focus on three main themes: linguistic system and the individual speaker; social order; and linguistic creativity. The examination of these three fundamental themes concerning language and human nature, on the one hand, provides a fine-textured exposition on the implicit and explicit models of human nature endorsed by major theorists; on the other, it reveals the methodological dilemmas faced by linguistics. In light of the fact that the importance of considering posthumanist ideas is increasingly being underscored today, both within and outside linguistics, this focus on the human makes the book highly topical.