Siblings is the story of ten children, nine of whom are brought up by the eldest who, apart from being the narrator, is keen, capable and obedient to his parents. He has been taught to care for the other nine but also to control them. When the parents are dead and he is in charge, they try to resist him but it is not easy, such are the bonds that tie them together. This is set in a time of generational change from a strict and disciplined society, in which the acquisition of skills is crucial, to a society that is more relaxed (at least for those who don’t have such an elder brother), deskilled and drawn to consumerism. This novel is not just about the claustrophobic nature of the nuclear family; it is also about the interdependence of the powerful and the powerless, but in the end that bond has to be broken as the reader will discover.

Long description: This novel is based on the life of Linnaeus, the eighteenth-century, Swedish enlightenment figure famous for his taxonomy or scientific classification still used in biology. It principally concerns the different ways Linnaeus and his gardener interpret the world around them. The gardener perceives plants for what they are in themselves and Linnaeus for what they are in relation to other things. They never understand each other and the dialogues are wonderfully inconclusive.

This book has an important starting point in the conference held in Stockholm in May-June 1988 on Culture, Language and Artifidal Intelligence. It assembled more than 300 researchers and practitioners in the fields of technology, philosophy, history of ideas, literature, linguistics, sodal science etc. The conference was an initiative from the Swedish Center for Working Life, based on the project AI-Based Systems and the Future of Language, Knowledge and Responsibility in Professions within the COST 13 programme of the European Commission. Partidpants in the conference and researchers related to its aims were chosen to contribute to this book. It is preceded by Knowledge, Skill and Artificial Intelligence (ed. B. Goeranzon and I. Josefson, Springer-Verlag, 1988), Artifidal Intelligence, Culture and Language (ed. B. Goeranzon and M. Florin, Springer-Verlag, 1990) and Dialogue and Technology: Art and Knowledge (ed. B. Goeranzon and M. Florin, Springer-Verlag, 1991). The two latter books have the same conference connection as this one, and their aim is to present the contours of a research field with a multitude of issues that demands thorough investigation. The contributors' thinking in this field varies greatly; so do their styles of writing. For example: contributors have varied in their choice of "he" or "helshe" for the third person. No distinc tion is intended, but chapters have been left with the original usage to avoid extensive changes. Similarly, individual contribu tor's preference as to notes or reference lists have been followed.

This book springs from a conference held in Stockholm in May June 1988 on Culture, Language and Artificial Intelligence. It assembled more than 300 researchers and practitioners in the fields of technology, philosophy, history of ideas, literature, linguistics, social. science, etc. The conference was an initiative from the Swedish Center for Working Life, based on the project AI-Based Systems mzd the Future of Language, Knowledge and Re sponsibility in Professions within the COST 13 programme of the European Commission. Participants in the conference, or in some cases researchers in areas related to its aims, were chosen to contribute to this book. It was preceded by Knowledge, Skill and Artificial Intelligence (ed. B. Gbranzon and I. Josefson, Springer-Verlag, London, 1988) and Artificial Intelligence, Culture and Language (ed. B. Gbranzon and M. Florin, Springer-Verlag, 1990). The latter book springs, as this one, from the 1988 conference, and one further book will follow: Skill and Education: Reflection and Experience (Springer Verlag, planned autumn 1991). The philosophical and aesthetic interest of the contributions in the present volume is in large part due to the framework of the Dialogue Seminar, held regularly at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, in which several of the contributors have participated."

This book springs from a conference held in Stockholm in May June 1988 on Culture, Language and Artificial Intelligence. It assembled more than 300 researchers and practitioners in the fields of technology, philosophy, history of ideas, literature, lin guistics, social science, etc. It was an initiative from the Swedish Center for Working Life, based on the project AI-Based Systems and the Future of Language, Knowledge and Responsibility in Professions within the COST 13 programme of the European Commission. Participants in the conference, or in some cases researchers related to its aims, were chosen to contribute to this book. It was preceded by Knowledge, Skill and Artificial Intelligence (ed. B. G6ranzon and 1. Josefson, Springer-Verlag, London, 1988) and will be followed by Dialogue and Technology (ed. M. Florin and B. Goranzon, Springer-Verlag, London, 1990). The contributors' thinking in this field varies greatly; so do their styles of writing. For example: contributors have varied in their choice of 'he' or 'he/she' for the third person. No distinction is intended but chapters have been left with the original usage to avoid extensive changes. Similarly, individual contributor's preferences as to notes or references lists have been followed. We want to thank our researcher Satinder P. Gill for excellent work with summaries and indexes, and Sandi Irvine of Springer Verlag for eminent editorial work."