[AISWorld] Pre iSchools Workshop: Developing Activity Theory in Information Studies (DATIS)

[Stan Karanasios]

Pre iSchools Workshop: Developing Activity Theory in Information Studies (DATIS)



Sunday March 20, 2016

9:00am-5:30pm

Location: Loew's Philadelphia Hotel, Philadelphia, PA

Details on the iSchools conference: http://ischools.org/the-iconference/program/workshops/



Workshop organizing committee:

D.K.Allen: University of Leeds (UK)

Emma Forsgren: University of Borås (Sweden)

Stan Karanasios: University of Leeds (UK)/RMIT University (Australia)

Alistair Norman: University of Leeds (UK)

Boyka Simeonova: Loughborough University (UK)

Jyoti Mishra: Bradford University (UK)

Tom Wilson: University of Borås (Sweden)



Overview of the workshop:

Over the last two decades the use of Activity Theory has developed within the field of information studies (Allen et al., 2011; Spasser, 1999; Wilson, 2008), as well as related fields such as Human Computer Interaction (Kaptelinin & Nardi, 2006; Kuutti, 1996; Nardi, 1996), information systems (Allen et al., 2013; Karanasios & Allen, 2013) and communications (Spinuzzi, 2012). However, while there is a growing community, the use and development of Activity Theory in information studies remains underdeveloped and fragmented.



The purpose of the workshop is to strengthen and develop the community of information scholars using Activity Theory as an analytic and explanatory framework to understand the relationship between information, people and technology. While there is significant interest in this topic many of the researchers deploying Activity Theory are working as lone scholars within iSchools and related departments. The workshop will provide a unique opportunity to bring together early career researchers and more established researchers to discuss issues of interest and share research work. Therefore, this community building workshop provides an opportunity to: (1) introduce information scholars to the basic conceptual premises of Activity Theory focusing on the use, development and contribution of Activity Theory; (2) provide a forum to extend the development of Activity Theory; and (3) It will also provide a networking opportunity for scholars already utilizing Activity Theory and an opportunity to discuss the contributions iSchool scholars can make to the wider Activity Theory community.



We hope that the outcome of the workshop will be threefold:

1. Strengthen and build the community of scholars within iSchools and related departments using Activity Theory to understand the relationship between information, people and technology.

2. Provide an opportunity for scholars to reflect and gain feedback on work in progress or gain fresh perspectives.

3. Provide support for researchers that are starting to explore Activity Theory.



Workshop format:
The workshop will take place over a full day. The first half of the day will focus on providing participants with a basic overview of the conceptual premises of Activity Theory and on exploring the ways in which it has been used by information scholars. The second half of the day will focus on making connections between information scholars deploying Activity Theory, stimulate discourse and advance the use of the theory.



Detailed workshop timetable:

09.00:   Welcome, participant introductions, and overview of the workshop.

09:15:   Key note presentation: Professor Bonnie Nardi, University of California Irvine

10.00:   Working Panel: Experiences from the field: Three scholars present short papers on a current research project that they are working on identifying key challenges in the use of Activity Theory.

10.30:   Working Panel: Methodological challenges: Three scholars present short papers (five minute overviews) of key theoretical 'challenges' related to the use of Activity Theory and explore how they have resolved them within their research.

11:00:   Break.

11.30:  Short paper presentations.

12.30:  Concluding discussion: Insights on opportunities, open issues, and next steps. Some of these can be considered in the afternoon.

12.45:  Lunch break.



Afternoon session:

13.45:  Welcome and introduction to afternoon sessions.

14.00:  Short paper presentations.

15:30:  Breakout group work (organized by shared interests and themes): Tackling the challenges and opportunities of Activity Theory.

16:15   Break.

16.45:  Breakout group reports and discussion.

17:15:  Planning follow-on opportunities/outcomes and closing remarks.

17.30:  Workshop end.



Evening: Optional Dinner/social event to follow

Submission details and dates:

·         Submission of short paper (500 words): March 4th 2016

o    Short papers should be e-mailed to research.lubs at leeds.ac.uk<mailto:research.lubs at leeds.ac.uk> for the attention of Hannah Preston with the words 'iSchool Workshop' in the title.

o    Short papers will be circulated prior to the workshop.


Short paper submission is not required for attendance at the workshop.

Extended versions of the best contributions will be considered for a special edition of Information Research (http://www.informationr.net/ir/) and proceedings will be published on the AIMTech Research Centre website at the University of Leeds.



If you have any questions about the workshop please contact David Allen (da2 at lubs.leeds.ac.uk<mailto:da2 at lubs.leeds.ac.uk>) or Stan Karanasios (s.karanasios at leeds.ac.uk<mailto:s.karanasios at leeds.ac.uk>).


References
Allen, D., Karanasios, S., & Slavova, M. (2011). Working with activity theory: Context, technology, and information behavior. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 62(4), 776-788. doi: 10.1002/asi.21441
Allen, D. K., Brown, A., Karanasios, S., & Norman, A. (2013). How should technology-mediated organizational change be explained? A comparison of the contributions of critical realism and activity theory. MIS Quarterly, 37(3), 835-854.
Kaptelinin, V., & Nardi, B. (2006). Acting with technology: Activity theory and interaction design: The MIT Press.
Karanasios, S., & Allen, D. (2013). ICT for development in the context of the closure of Chernobyl nuclear power plant: an activity theory perspective. Information Systems Journal, 23(4), 287-306. doi: 10.1111/isj.12011
Kuutti, K. (1996). Activity Theory as a Potential Framework for Human-Computer Interaction Research. In B. A. Nardi (Ed.), Context and Consciousness: Activity Theory and Human-Computer Interaction (pp. 17-44). Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.
Nardi, B. A. (1996). Activity theory and human computer interaction In B. A. Nardi (Ed.), Context and Consciousness: Activity Theory and Human-Computer Interaction (pp. 1-8). Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.
Spasser, M. A. (1999). Informing information science: The case for activity theory. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 50(12), 1136-1138.
Spinuzzi, C. (2012). Working Alone Together: Coworking as Emergent Collaborative Activity. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 26(4), 399-441. doi: 10.1177/1050651912444070
Wilson, T. D. (2008). Activity theory and information seeking. Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, 42, 119-161.