Acting with Technology: Activity Theory and Interaction Design (Acting with Technology) Export

@book{citeulike:1146574, abstract = {{Activity theory holds that the human mind is the product of our interaction with people and artifacts in the context of everyday activity. <i>Acting with Technology</i> makes the case for activity theory as a basis for understanding our relationship with technology. Victor Kaptelinin and Bonnie Nardi describe activity theory's principles, history, relationship to other theoretical approaches, and application to the analysis and design of technologies. The book provides the first systematic entry-level introduction to the major principles of activity theory. It describes the accumulating body of work in interaction design informed by activity theory, drawing on work from an international community of scholars and designers. Kaptelinin and Nardi examine the notion of the object of activity, describe its use in an empirical study, and discuss key debates in the development of activity theory. Finally, they outline current and future issues in activity theory, providing a comparative analysis of the theory and its leading theoretical competitors within interaction design: distributed cognition, actor-network theory, and phenomenologically inspired approaches.}}, author = {Kaptelinin, Victor and Nardi, Bonnie A.}, citeulike-article-id = {1146574}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=citeulike09-20&amp;path=ASIN/0262112981}, citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=citeulike01-21&amp;path=ASIN/0262112981}, citeulike-linkout-2 = {http://www.amazon.fr/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=citeulike06-21&amp;path=ASIN/0262112981}, citeulike-linkout-3 = {http://www.amazon.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/0262112981}, citeulike-linkout-4 = {http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0262112981/citeulike00-21}, citeulike-linkout-5 = {http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=citeulike07-20&path=ASIN/0262112981}, citeulike-linkout-6 = {http://www.worldcat.org/isbn/0262112981}, citeulike-linkout-7 = {http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0262112981}, citeulike-linkout-8 = {http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?keywords=0262112981&index=books&linkCode=qs}, citeulike-linkout-9 = {http://www.librarything.com/isbn/0262112981}, comment = {"...some reasons for the shift to the term 'interaction design': it is not only computers, but digital artifacts of all kinds that interest us, and not only the computational abilities of such artifacts, but the totality of their potentials." p. 5 ---=note-separator=--- "Activity theory can help bridge the gap between insights about the need for broader perspectives and the need for specific tools for thought." p. 6 ---=note-separator=--- "In activity theory it is the \_doing\_ of the activity in a rich social matrix of \_people and artifacts\_ that grounds analysis." p. 9 ---=note-separator=--- [Activity theory's] "...tenets that are encapsulated in the notion of people acting with technology. These tenets are: an emphasis on human intentionality; the asymmetry of people and things; the importance of human development; and the idea of culture and society as shaping human activity." "In acting with technology, people deliberately commit certain acts with certain technologies. ...Activity theory distinguishes between people and things [as opposed to theories such as actor-network theory], allowing for a discussion of human intentionality." "Activity theory posits an asymmetry between humans and things - our special abilities to cognize through interaction with people and artifacts are distinctive from any sort of agency we could sensibly ascribe to artifacts. ...It is essential to be able to theorize intention, imagination, and reflection as core human cognitive processes. Accounts in which people and artifacts are the same deflect such theorizing. ...tools mediate between people and the world." p. 10 ---=note-separator=--- "It would be desirable to establish a practice of design in which the development of users - their ability to grow and change with technology - is of paramount importance." p. 11 ---=note-separator=--- "A theory offering a set of basic concepts to guide systematic exploration of the ever-expanding universe of complex and often confusing issues could be of enormous help in modern interaction design. Such a theory could support researchers and designers by structuring ways to approach the object of study, breaking down problems into smaller, more manageable subproblems, setting priorities, and establishing the relative importance of research issues. We believe that activity theory could be useful for such efforts." p. 27 ---=note-separator=--- "Activity theory...is a descriptive theory that identifies a number of fundamentally important concepts such as mediation. Second, it is an explanatory theory that suggests mechanisms explaining why and how certain phenomena take place (e.g., internalization and externalization). And, it is a generative theory, with application to problems of interaction design as well [as] continuing theoretical development." p. 28 ---=note-separator=--- "...the basic research method in activity theory is not that of traditional laboratory experiments but that of the formative experiment which combines active participation with monitoring of the developmental changes of the study participants. Ethnographic methods that track the history and development of a practice has also become important in recent work. Activity theory does not prescribe a single method of study. It only prescribes that a method be chosen based on the research question at hand. Unlike approaches wedded to a particular method, such as contextual enquiry, activity theory starts from the problem and then moves to the selection of a method." pp. 71-72. ---=note-separator=--- "In activity theory, the use of technology is * embedded in a meaningful context * not limited to information processing; and * operative at several levels, which have to be integrated." p. 77 ---=note-separator=--- "...by changing the perspective of researchers and practitioners, activity theory can make an impact on solving practical problems by helping to find a way to address a problem and to ask the 'right' questions". p. 97 "Accounts based on activity theory, on the other hand, however general and theoretical, provide clues on which aspects of the phenomena under investigation are more important and how these aspects are related to each other. ...the conceptual framework of activity theory [as opposed to that of ethnomethodology, which suggests keeping as much detail as possible and avoid generalisations] can be used as a descriptional and orientational framework that facilitates the handling and interpretation of empirical evidence about complex phenomena of the technological mediation of everyday practices." p. 97 ---=note-separator=--- ACTIVITY THEORY SUPPORTS FINDING MOTIVATIONS BEHIND ACTIONS "[In the development of a fitness system] Activity theory had a unique impact on the device's design, an impact that cannot be attributed to [any of the other methods used]: In terms of activity theory, the motivation for working out includes the desire to appear physically and athletically competent. As a result, the primary concern expressed by the users was a fear of looking foolish in front of the other people using the weight room. This fear caused the users to avoid trying new exercises, starting an exercise regime, or enlisting the aid of an expert to assist them. Showing ignorance in the weight room confounds the motivation for working out..." pp. 106-107 "...the main advantage of activity theory was in determining which components and functionality the system should provide, while human-computer interaction and industrial design were found useful in deciding how a system should be implemented after its components and functionality had been specified." p. 107 ---=note-separator=--- "...the concept of the object of activity is an analytical tool providing a means of understanding not only what people are doing, but also why they are doing it. The object of activity can be considered the 'ultimate reason' behind various behaviours of individuals, groups, or organizations. In other words, the object of activity is a sense-maker, which gives meaning to and determines the values of various entities and phenomena. Identifying the object of activity and it's development over time can serve as a basis for reaching a deeper and more structured understanding of otherwise fragmented pieces of evidence." p. 138 ---=note-separator=--- EXAMPLE TO CLARIFY THE OBJECT OF ACTIVITY VERSUS MOTIVE "...we propose to separate the notion of the motive from the notion of the object of activity. This implies that if there are several conflicting needs, these needs can correspond to either two different activities or different aspects of the same activity." pp. 148-149 "Consider the activity of a hunter, shpaed by the needs of food and self-preservation. The motives are to obtain meat of a slaughtered animal as food and to survive in the upcoming encounter with the animal. If both motives are strong enough (e.g., getting food is a matter of life and death, but the prey is very dangerous), the hunter is in a state of confusion and hesitation. One of the motives can dominate, and the hunter will either flee and face the risk of starvation, or assault the animal and face the risk of being killed. It is more likely, however, that the hunter's activity will be directed toward a desired outcome that makes it possible to attain both motives. For instance, the hunter can decide to chase the animal until it is tired and no longer presents a danger. In that case both food and self-preservation influence the hunter. The object of hunting activity, however - chasing the animal and killing it after wearing it out - is what gives the activity structure and direction." pp. 149-150 ---=note-separator=--- "...our position...is unambiguously pro-individual. We believe that analysis of human embeddedness in the world, of communication and collaboration within the social context, is of fundamental importance for understanding our relationship with technology. Human beings cannot be reduced to parts of larger-scale entities determining the nature and the meaning of the parts. It is true that individuals taking part in collective activities often have to abide by the rules, roles, and routines typical of collective work. However, it is also true that individuals do not always follow the rules, roles, and routines, and sometimes they even change them." p. 207 ---=note-separator=--- AGENCY "Producing effects, acting, and realizing intentions, while potentialities of certain kinds of agents, vary within the enactment of a specific activity. ...we can differentiate between types, or levels of agency. ...a preliminary typology including: Need-based agency. Human beings have both biological and cultural needs. To meet their needs, they form intentions and act from these intentions. Similar types of agency are manifested by social entities (even though they do not have biological needs) and higher animals (even though they do not have cultural needs). Delegated agency. Various things and living beings can be said to clearly realize intentions, but these intentions are delegated to them by somebody or something else. These things and living beings are agents in the sense of acting on somebody else's behalf. For example, an animal such as a thoroughbred race horse realises the intentions of its breeders when it wins a race. But at other times the horse realises its own intentions, while grazing in the pasture or resting in its stall. Human society is of course set up so that humans delegate their intentions to other humans, even in the simplest societies where children help their parents, marriages are arranged to advance a clan's fortunes, and so on. The intentions of the individual subject and intentions delegated to a subject by others may be in accord, or they may create conflict and dissensions. Conditional agency. Anything and anyone can produce unintended effects. The Russian winter of 1812 did not target Napoeleon's army but undoubtedly contributed to its defeat. Truck drivers do not intend to create obstacles on highways, but they repeatedly do. Even without intentions, something or somebody may constitute a force - or condition - to be reckoned with." p. 247-248 "Every agent is capable of producing effects for which there is no intention. The more cultural things (living and non-living) we have in the world, based on human design and intention, the more possibilities we introduce for conditional agency, that is, for new kinds of unintended effects." p. 252 ---=note-separator=--- "...there is a need to develop activity theory by extending the meaning of mediation, providing an account of multiple actions and activities, developing analytical tools for creating procedural representations of activities, differentiating between actual and potential goals, further delineating the relationship between individual and collective activities, and integrating the study of emotions." p. 255 ---=note-separator=--- ENGAGEMENTS "Another approach to understanding goal selection more fully is the modification of the activity hierarchy to include an intermediate level between activities and actions, a level called 'engagements'. Engagements are chains of thematically connected actions, oriented toward a particular purpose, and framed within a particular object-oriented activity. In an office setting, examples of engagements might include long-term projects, the solution of crises, or special events such as speeches or parties. Engagements are typically named, often informally (e.g., the Wilson account, the server meltdown, the beach party for the sales group). They provide a level of structure and sense-making missing from discrete actions and high-level objects. Engagements relate to goals by helping people decide what goal to work on next, providing a more local context or sense of activity than objects or particular actions. ...The idea of engagements is preliminary and requires empirical analysis and conceptual elaboration before it can be useful in activity theory." p. 259-260 * This to me sounds very much like the concept of "An Experience"!}, day = {01}, howpublished = {Hardcover}, isbn = {0262112981}, keywords = {activity, activity\_theory, theory}, month = {October}, posted-at = {2007-04-17 18:21:08}, priority = {5}, publisher = {{The MIT Press}}, title = {Acting with Technology: Activity Theory and Interaction Design (Acting with Technology)}, url = {http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=citeulike07-20&path=ASIN/0262112981}, year = {2006} }

TY - BOOK ID - citeulike:1146574 L3 - citeulike-article-id:1146574 N2 - {Activity theory holds that the human mind is the product of our interaction with people and artifacts in the context of everyday activity. <i>Acting with Technology</i> makes the case for activity theory as a basis for understanding our relationship with technology. Victor Kaptelinin and Bonnie Nardi describe activity theory's principles, history, relationship to other theoretical approaches, and application to the analysis and design of technologies. The book provides the first systematic entry-level introduction to the major principles of activity theory. It describes the accumulating body of work in interaction design informed by activity theory, drawing on work from an international community of scholars and designers. Kaptelinin and Nardi examine the notion of the object of activity, describe its use in an empirical study, and discuss key debates in the development of activity theory. Finally, they outline current and future issues in activity theory, providing a comparative analysis of the theory and its leading theoretical competitors within interaction design: distributed cognition, actor-network theory, and phenomenologically inspired approaches.} SN - 0262112981 TI - Acting with Technology: Activity Theory and Interaction Design (Acting with Technology) PB - {The MIT Press} KW - activity KW - activity_theory KW - theory N1 - "...some reasons for the shift to the term 'interaction design': it is not only computers, but digital artifacts of all kinds that interest us, and not only the computational abilities of such artifacts, but the totality of their potentials." p. 5 N1 - "Activity theory can help bridge the gap between insights about the need for broader perspectives and the need for specific tools for thought." p. 6 N1 - "In activity theory it is the _doing_ of the activity in a rich social matrix of _people and artifacts_ that grounds analysis." p. 9 N1 - [Activity theory's] "...tenets that are encapsulated in the notion of people acting with technology. These tenets are: an emphasis on human intentionality; the asymmetry of people and things; the importance of human development; and the idea of culture and society as shaping human activity." "In acting with technology, people deliberately commit certain acts with certain technologies. ...Activity theory distinguishes between people and things [as opposed to theories such as actor-network theory], allowing for a discussion of human intentionality." "Activity theory posits an asymmetry between humans and things - our special abilities to cognize through interaction with people and artifacts are distinctive from any sort of agency we could sensibly ascribe to artifacts. ...It is essential to be able to theorize intention, imagination, and reflection as core human cognitive processes. Accounts in which people and artifacts are the same deflect such theorizing. ...tools mediate between people and the world." p. 10 N1 - "It would be desirable to establish a practice of design in which the development of users - their ability to grow and change with technology - is of paramount importance." p. 11 N1 - "A theory offering a set of basic concepts to guide systematic exploration of the ever-expanding universe of complex and often confusing issues could be of enormous help in modern interaction design. Such a theory could support researchers and designers by structuring ways to approach the object of study, breaking down problems into smaller, more manageable subproblems, setting priorities, and establishing the relative importance of research issues. We believe that activity theory could be useful for such efforts." p. 27 N1 - "Activity theory...is a descriptive theory that identifies a number of fundamentally important concepts such as mediation. Second, it is an explanatory theory that suggests mechanisms explaining why and how certain phenomena take place (e.g., internalization and externalization). And, it is a generative theory, with application to problems of interaction design as well [as] continuing theoretical development." p. 28 N1 - "...the basic research method in activity theory is not that of traditional laboratory experiments but that of the formative experiment which combines active participation with monitoring of the developmental changes of the study participants. Ethnographic methods that track the history and development of a practice has also become important in recent work. Activity theory does not prescribe a single method of study. It only prescribes that a method be chosen based on the research question at hand. Unlike approaches wedded to a particular method, such as contextual enquiry, activity theory starts from the problem and then moves to the selection of a method." pp. 71-72. N1 - "In activity theory, the use of technology is * embedded in a meaningful context * not limited to information processing; and * operative at several levels, which have to be integrated." p. 77 N1 - "...by changing the perspective of researchers and practitioners, activity theory can make an impact on solving practical problems by helping to find a way to address a problem and to ask the 'right' questions". p. 97 "Accounts based on activity theory, on the other hand, however general and theoretical, provide clues on which aspects of the phenomena under investigation are more important and how these aspects are related to each other. ...the conceptual framework of activity theory [as opposed to that of ethnomethodology, which suggests keeping as much detail as possible and avoid generalisations] can be used as a descriptional and orientational framework that facilitates the handling and interpretation of empirical evidence about complex phenomena of the technological mediation of everyday practices." p. 97 N1 - ACTIVITY THEORY SUPPORTS FINDING MOTIVATIONS BEHIND ACTIONS "[In the development of a fitness system] Activity theory had a unique impact on the device's design, an impact that cannot be attributed to [any of the other methods used]: In terms of activity theory, the motivation for working out includes the desire to appear physically and athletically competent. As a result, the primary concern expressed by the users was a fear of looking foolish in front of the other people using the weight room. This fear caused the users to avoid trying new exercises, starting an exercise regime, or enlisting the aid of an expert to assist them. Showing ignorance in the weight room confounds the motivation for working out..." pp. 106-107 "...the main advantage of activity theory was in determining which components and functionality the system should provide, while human-computer interaction and industrial design were found useful in deciding how a system should be implemented after its components and functionality had been specified." p. 107 N1 - "...the concept of the object of activity is an analytical tool providing a means of understanding not only what people are doing, but also why they are doing it. The object of activity can be considered the 'ultimate reason' behind various behaviours of individuals, groups, or organizations. In other words, the object of activity is a sense-maker, which gives meaning to and determines the values of various entities and phenomena. Identifying the object of activity and it's development over time can serve as a basis for reaching a deeper and more structured understanding of otherwise fragmented pieces of evidence." p. 138 N1 - EXAMPLE TO CLARIFY THE OBJECT OF ACTIVITY VERSUS MOTIVE "...we propose to separate the notion of the motive from the notion of the object of activity. This implies that if there are several conflicting needs, these needs can correspond to either two different activities or different aspects of the same activity." pp. 148-149 "Consider the activity of a hunter, shpaed by the needs of food and self-preservation. The motives are to obtain meat of a slaughtered animal as food and to survive in the upcoming encounter with the animal. If both motives are strong enough (e.g., getting food is a matter of life and death, but the prey is very dangerous), the hunter is in a state of confusion and hesitation. One of the motives can dominate, and the hunter will either flee and face the risk of starvation, or assault the animal and face the risk of being killed. It is more likely, however, that the hunter's activity will be directed toward a desired outcome that makes it possible to attain both motives. For instance, the hunter can decide to chase the animal until it is tired and no longer presents a danger. In that case both food and self-preservation influence the hunter. The object of hunting activity, however - chasing the animal and killing it after wearing it out - is what gives the activity structure and direction." pp. 149-150 N1 - "...our position...is unambiguously pro-individual. We believe that analysis of human embeddedness in the world, of communication and collaboration within the social context, is of fundamental importance for understanding our relationship with technology. Human beings cannot be reduced to parts of larger-scale entities determining the nature and the meaning of the parts. It is true that individuals taking part in collective activities often have to abide by the rules, roles, and routines typical of collective work. However, it is also true that individuals do not always follow the rules, roles, and routines, and sometimes they even change them." p. 207 N1 - AGENCY "Producing effects, acting, and realizing intentions, while potentialities of certain kinds of agents, vary within the enactment of a specific activity. ...we can differentiate between types, or levels of agency. ...a preliminary typology including: Need-based agency. Human beings have both biological and cultural needs. To meet their needs, they form intentions and act from these intentions. Similar types of agency are manifested by social entities (even though they do not have biological needs) and higher animals (even though they do not have cultural needs). Delegated agency. Various things and living beings can be said to clearly realize intentions, but these intentions are delegated to them by somebody or something else. These things and living beings are agents in the sense of acting on somebody else's behalf. For example, an animal such as a thoroughbred race horse realises the intentions of its breeders when it wins a race. But at other times the horse realises its own intentions, while grazing in the pasture or resting in its stall. Human society is of course set up so that humans delegate their intentions to other humans, even in the simplest societies where children help their parents, marriages are arranged to advance a clan's fortunes, and so on. The intentions of the individual subject and intentions delegated to a subject by others may be in accord, or they may create conflict and dissensions. Conditional agency. Anything and anyone can produce unintended effects. The Russian winter of 1812 did not target Napoeleon's army but undoubtedly contributed to its defeat. Truck drivers do not intend to create obstacles on highways, but they repeatedly do. Even without intentions, something or somebody may constitute a force - or condition - to be reckoned with." p. 247-248 "Every agent is capable of producing effects for which there is no intention. The more cultural things (living and non-living) we have in the world, based on human design and intention, the more possibilities we introduce for conditional agency, that is, for new kinds of unintended effects." p. 252 N1 - "...there is a need to develop activity theory by extending the meaning of mediation, providing an account of multiple actions and activities, developing analytical tools for creating procedural representations of activities, differentiating between actual and potential goals, further delineating the relationship between individual and collective activities, and integrating the study of emotions." p. 255 N1 - ENGAGEMENTS "Another approach to understanding goal selection more fully is the modification of the activity hierarchy to include an intermediate level between activities and actions, a level called 'engagements'. Engagements are chains of thematically connected actions, oriented toward a particular purpose, and framed within a particular object-oriented activity. In an office setting, examples of engagements might include long-term projects, the solution of crises, or special events such as speeches or parties. Engagements are typically named, often informally (e.g., the Wilson account, the server meltdown, the beach party for the sales group). They provide a level of structure and sense-making missing from discrete actions and high-level objects. Engagements relate to goals by helping people decide what goal to work on next, providing a more local context or sense of activity than objects or particular actions. ...The idea of engagements is preliminary and requires empirical analysis and conceptual elaboration before it can be useful in activity theory." p. 259-260 * This to me sounds very much like the concept of "An Experience"! AU - Kaptelinin, Victor AU - Nardi, Bonnie PY - 2006/10/01/ UR - http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=citeulike09-20&amp;path=ASIN/0262112981 ER -