A look at the extraordinary ways the brain turns thoughts into actions—and how this shapes our everyday lives Why is it hard to text and drive at the same time? How do you resist eating that extra piece of cake? Why does staring at a tax form feel mentally exhausting? Why can your child expertly fix the computer and yet still forget to put on a coat? From making a cup of coffee to buying a house to changing the world around them, humans are uniquely able to execute necessary actions. How do we do it? Or in other words, how do our brains get things done? In On Task, cognitive neuroscientist David Badre presents the first authoritative introduction to the neuroscience of cognitive control—the remarkable ways that our brains devise sophisticated actions to achieve our goals. We barely notice this routine part of our lives. Yet, cognitive control, also known as executive function, is an astonishing phenomenon that has a profound impact on our well-being. Drawing on cutting-edge research, vivid clinical case studies, and examples from daily life, Badre sheds light on the evolution and inner workings of cognitive control. He examines issues from multitasking and willpower to habitual errors and bad decision making, as well as what happens as our brains develop in childhood and change as we age—and what happens when cognitive control breaks down. Ultimately, Badre shows that cognitive control affects just about everything we do. A revelatory look at how billions of neurons collectively translate abstract ideas into concrete plans, On Task offers an eye-opening investigation into the brain’s critical role in human behavior.

A groundbreaking meditation on our human-animal relationships and the moral code that binds it. Adam's Task, Vicki Hearne’s innovative masterpiece on animal training, brings our perennial discussion of the human-animal bond to a whole new metaphysical level. Based on studies of literary criticism, philosophy, and extensive hands-on experience in training, Hearne asserts, in boldly anthropomorphic terms, that animals (at least those that interact more with humans) are far more intelligent than we assume. In fact, they are capable of developing an understanding of "the good," a moral code that influences their motives and actions. Drawing on an eclectic range of influences—Nietzsche, T. S. Eliot, Disney animal trainer William Koehler, and Genesis from the Bible, among others—Hearne writes in contemplative, exploratory, and brilliant prose as she interweaves personal anecdotes with philosophy. Hearne develops an entirely new system of animal training that contradicts modern animal behavioral research and that, as her examples show, is astonishingly effective. Widely praised, highly influential, and now with a new foreword by New York Times bestselling author Karen Joy Fowler, Adam’s Task will make every trainer, animal psychologist, and animal-lover stop, think, and question.

"This will become the go-to resource for intranet projects" - Robert MillsCreate content that makes it faster for people to find what they need on the intranet than from a colleague. Learn user-centred design as you progress through this practical, stage by stage guide.Generally, people want information about a specific thing, fast, when they visit an intranet. They need it in as little time as possible, so they can get to a meeting, or enjoy their lunch break.This book outlines processes that put into practice these 3 essential principles for user-centred intranet content:1. Content reflects a staff need for it.2. Information is easy to find.3. Style, tone and language is optimised for users with little time to read and absorb content.Lizzie Bruce pours her experience of designing intranet content around staff needs for UK government into 100 pages of advice and techniques for creating usable, readable content.Includes: list of universal intranet tasks, glossary of user-centred design terms, project "shopping list", timeline planner, tips for stakeholder buy-in, and links to case studies and blogs.Every organisation planning an intranet redesign needs this book.

Applicable to educators across all disciplines and grade levels, this book provides the tools to analyze, design, and refine cognitively engaging tasks of learning.

One thing that separates human beings from the rest of the animal world is our ability to control behavior by referencing internal plans, goals, and rules. This ability, which is crucial to our success in a complex social environment, depends on the purposeful generation of "task sets"--states of mental readiness that allow each of us to engage with the world in a particular way or achieve a particular aim. This book reports the latest research regarding the activation, maintenance, and suppression of task sets. Chapters from many of the world's leading researchers in task switching and cognitive control investigate key issues in the field, from how we select the most relevant task when presented with distracting alternatives, to how we maintain focus on a task ("eyes on the prize") and switch to a new one when our goals or external circumstances change. Chapters also explore the brain structures responsible for these abilities, how they develop during childhood, and whether they decline due to normal aging or neurological disorders. Of interest especially to scholars and students of cognitive psychology, the volume offers thorough, multi-disciplinary coverage of contemporary research and theories concerning this fundamental yet mysterious aspect of human brain function and behavior.

Cognitive task analysis is a broad area consisting of tools and techniques for describing the knowledge and strategies required for task performance. Cognitive task analysis has implications for the development of expert systems, training and instructional design, expert decision making and policymaking. It has been applied in a wide range of settings, with different purposes, for instance: specifying user requirements in system design or specifying training requirements in training needs analysis. The topics to be covered by this work include: general approaches to cognitive task analysis, system design, instruction, and cognitive task analysis for teams. The work settings to which the tools and techniques described in this work have been applied include: 911 dispatching, faultfinding on board naval ships, design aircraft, and various support systems. The editors' goal in this book is to present in a single source a comprehensive, in-depth introduction to the field of cognitive task analysis. They have attempted to include as many examples as possible in the book, making it highly suitable for those wishing to undertake a cognitive task analysis themselves. The book also contains a historical introduction to the field and an annotated bibliography, making it an excellent guide to additional resources.

Experts from a range of disciplines explore how humans and artificial agents can quickly learn completely new tasks through natural interactions with each other. Humans are not limited to a fixed set of innate or preprogrammed tasks. We learn quickly through language and other forms of natural interaction, and we improve our performance and teach others what we have learned. Understanding the mechanisms that underlie the acquisition of new tasks through natural interaction is an ongoing challenge. Advances in artificial intelligence, cognitive science, and robotics are leading us to future systems with human-like capabilities. A huge gap exists, however, between the highly specialized niche capabilities of current machine learning systems and the generality, flexibility, and in situ robustness of human instruction and learning. Drawing on expertise from multiple disciplines, this Strüngmann Forum Report explores how humans and artificial agents can quickly learn completely new tasks through natural interactions with each other. The contributors consider functional knowledge requirements, the ontology of interactive task learning, and the representation of task knowledge at multiple levels of abstraction. They explore natural forms of interactions among humans as well as the use of interaction to teach robots and software agents new tasks in complex, dynamic environments. They discuss research challenges and opportunities, including ethical considerations, and make proposals to further understanding of interactive task learning and create new capabilities in assistive robotics, healthcare, education, training, and gaming. Contributors Tony Belpaeme, Katrien Beuls, Maya Cakmak, Joyce Y. Chai, Franklin Chang, Ropafadzo Denga, Marc Destefano, Mark d'Inverno, Kenneth D. Forbus, Simon Garrod, Kevin A. Gluck, Wayne D. Gray, James Kirk, Kenneth R. Koedinger, Parisa Kordjamshidi, John E. Laird, Christian Lebiere, Stephen C. Levinson, Elena Lieven, John K. Lindstedt, Aaron Mininger, Tom Mitchell, Shiwali Mohan, Ana Paiva, Katerina Pastra, Peter Pirolli, Roussell Rahman, Charles Rich, Katharina J. Rohlfing, Paul S. Rosenbloom, Nele Russwinkel, Dario D. Salvucci, Matthew-Donald D. Sangster, Matthias Scheutz, Julie A. Shah, Candace L. Sidner, Catherine Sibert, Michael Spranger, Luc Steels, Suzanne Stevenson, Terrence C. Stewart, Arthur Still, Andrea Stocco, Niels Taatgen, Andrea L. Thomaz, J. Gregory Trafton, Han L. J. van der Maas, Paul Van Eecke, Kurt VanLehn, Anna-Lisa Vollmer, Janet Wiles, Robert E. Wray III, Matthew Yee-King

Task Analysis is not only the most important component of Instructional Design but also the most often misconstrued and poorly executed. Starting with this premise these authors have developed a complete reference and instructional text on Task Analysis. The Handbook of Task Analysis Procedures fulfills three distinct purposes. As an overview of the field it presents a comprehensive collection of functions, techniques and tools that can be used in a variety of settings. Thirty-five different procedures are cataloged and described in individual chapters. Providing flowcharts and examples, it is organized to instruct the reader on how to perform these techniques. Finally all chapters have been consistently structed making it an ideal reference book. Handbook of Task Analysis Procedures is designed to help the reader select a specific task analysis technique for a particular situation. Having done this, the reader can then refer to the appropriate chapter for his chosen technique. This chapter provides a statement of purpose, an overview, and applications. It then presents a step by step description of how to use the procedure. The chapter concludes with examples, an evaluation, and a complete set of references. Designed to be used in education and by trainers in the business sector, this volume is a unique reference book. Part I provides an overview of Task Analysis and describes the variables that affect how task analysis is performed. A decision table and discussion help the reader select specific techniques. The techniques are grouped in Part II, III, and IV according to their functional similarity--learning analysis, job analysis, content analysis. Part V describes information gathering tools. This Handbook is essential for the reader who believes that competent task analysis is a vital part of instructional design.

This volume extends the Task-Based Language Teaching: Issues, Research and Practice books series by deliberately exploring the potential of task-based language teaching (TBLT) in a range of EFL contexts. It is specifically devoted to providing empirical accounts about how TBLT practice is being developed and researched in diverse educational contexts, particularly where English is not the dominant language. By including contributions from settings as varied as Japan, China, Korea, Venezuela, Turkey, Spain, and France, this collection of 13 studies provides strong indications that the research and implementation of TBLT in EFL settings is both on the rise and interestingly diverse, not least because it must respond to the distinct contexts, constraints, and possibilities of foreign language learning. The book will be of interest to SLA researchers and students in applied linguistics and TESOL. It will also be of value to course designers and language teachers who come from a broad range of formal and informal educational settings encompassing a wide range of ages and types of language learners.

This comprehensive, forward-looking text is the first holistic research overview and practical methods guide for researching the role that affective and conative factors play in second language learners’ task performance and language acquisition. It provides a long overdue update on the role of the learner in task-based language teaching (TBLT). The book brings together theoretical background and major constructs, established and innovative methodological and technological tools, cutting-edge findings, and illuminating suggestions for future work. A group of expert scholars from around the world synthesize the state of the art, detail how to design and conduct empirical studies, and authoritatively set the agenda for future work in this critical, emerging area of language learning and instructional design. With a variety of helpful features like suggested research, discussion questions, and recommended further readings, this will be an invaluable resource to advanced students and researchers of second language acquisition, applied linguistics, psychology, education, and related areas.