Context and Consciousness: Activity Theory and Human-Computer Interaction (Hardcover)

~ Bonnie A. Nardi (Editor) "What is activity theory, and how will it benefit studies of human-computer interaction?..." (more)
Key Phrases: tool mediation perspective, objectified motive, situated action models, Postal Buddy, Cambridge University Press, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Intended for designers and researchers, Context and Consciousness brings together 13 contributions that apply activity theory to problems of human-computer interaction. Understanding how people actually use computers in their everyday lives is essential to good design and evaluation. This insight necessitates a move out of the laboratory and into the field. The research described in Context and Consciousness presents activity theory as a means of structuring and guiding field studies of human-computer interaction, from practical design to theoretical development. Activity theory is a psychological theory with a naturalistic emphasis, with roots going back to the 1920s in the Soviet Union. It provides a hierarchical framework for describing activity and a set of perspectives on practice. Activity theory has been fruitfully applied in many areas of human need, including problems of mentally and physically handicapped children, educational testing, curriculum design, and ergonomics. There is growing interest in applying activity theory to problems of human- computer interaction, and an international community of researchers is contributing to the effort. Contributors: Rachel Bellamy. Susanne Bødker. Ellen Christiansen. Yrjo Engeström. Virginia Escalante. Dorothy Holland. Victor Kaptelinin. Kari Kuutti. Bonnie A. Nardi. Arne Raeithel. James Reeves. Boris Velichkovksy. Vladimir P. Zinchenko.

About the Author

Bonnie A. Nardi is Research Scientist in the Advanced Technology Group at Apple Computer and the author of A Small Matter of Programming: Perspectives on End User Computing.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 376 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (November 21, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262140586
• ISBN-13: 978-0262140584
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #589,981 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for Interaction Designers, March 10, 2007

By	Sean P. Goggins - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Nardi has edited a provocative compendium of theoretical expositions and methodological examples for the application of activity theory in the design of collaborative computing systems. In many ways, this book was ahead of its time. It's importance to the emerging disciplines of interaction design and design based research should not be underestimated.

One of my favorite books.

4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Its about the activity..., December 14, 2000

By	Michael Frankel (Cambridge, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This is a mind blowing collection of papers that would interest any enthusiast of educational frameworks/theories. It clearly states the implications of activity theory to instructional design/architecture, knowledge management and all that fun stuff. The first couple of papers, by Nardi, Kuutiti and others, are particularly provocative.