System development is studied from the viewpoint of artefactsutilised during the design process. Different aspects of design artefacts arediscussed based on a pragmatic classification of design activities and aphilosophical notion of perception and representational artefacts.Statements about the relation between theory and design are made basedon materialist pragmatism.

System development is studied from the viewpoint of artefacts utilised during the design process. Different aspects of design artefacts are discussed based on a pragmatic classification of design activities and a philosophical notion of perception and representational artefacts. Statements about the relation between theory and design are made based on materialist pragmatism.

This paper contrasts the approach Thomas Edison used when dealing with his claim to have discovered a new force of nature, etheric force, to the approach he used to create successful inventions. It argues that he failed in this adventure into scientific theory making because an erroneous view of science led him to abandon techniques that made him America's most successful inventor. From this I ...

This paper presents a location sensing system “Spreha” for sentient artefacts. Our approach towards context awareness is to use sensor augmented daily life objects for context sensing. Some of these artefacts are static in nature, like a cabinet, a bed, a refrigerator, etc. The basic idea in Spreha is to use these static artefacts as reference points for identifying the artefacts that are mobil...