HCC class lecture 15 comments

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HCC classlecture 15 comments
John Canny3/14/05
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Administrivia
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Activity Theory

• Developed primarily by Vygotskys student
  Leontev.
• Wertsch argues that Vygotsky took a similar
  notion of activity, as a given, but never
  developed it.
• Activity doesnt translate well into English,
  plus it is influenced by general Marxist
  principles.
• So well explore the ideas through several
  examples

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What is Activity?

• Activity is a sustained human behavior directed
  toward some Object, and using a stable set of
  tools.
• The Object is something like a motive, but it
  can be concrete.

Tools
Subject
Object
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What is Activity?

• A product development is example Activity.
• The designers are the subject of the Activity.
• They use a set of tools which could include CAD
  Software, real models, analysis software, email,
  text editors etc.
• The object(ive) of the Activity is to produce a
  product design.

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What is Activity?

• The product design activity map looks like this

Tools (CAD, Sim. SWEmail, Web, paper docs..)
Subject (designers)
Object (product design)
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What is Activity?

• The Activity perspective is different from the
  task perspective that has driven AI, HCI and
  CogSci.
• Activities are long-lived (weeks, months or
  years).
• There is not a goal that you reach, but an
  object that you evolve.

Tools (CAD, Sim. SWEmail, Web, paper docs..)
Subject (designers)
Object (product design)
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What is Activity?

• In task analysis, we are interested in dynamics
  the order of actions and the changes they
  produce.
• In Activity analysis we are most interested in
  things whose role in the Activity is constant.
• To represent a task, we might use a state chart
  or HMM.
• For an Activity we might use adata schema.

Tools
Object
Subject
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More Examples

• A research project is another example Activity.
• The researchers involved are the (group) subject.
• The set of tools will include research papers,
  lab equipment, analysis software, email, text
  editors etc.
• The object is a slipperier concept. It might be
  a particular research paper.Or the validation of
  a hypothesis.

Tools (papers,eqpt, SW, email,)
Subject (researchers)
Object(hypothesis)
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Example

• Marketing a product is a sub- or distinct
  Activity to product development.
• The Subject is the marketing staff.
• Tools include surveys, user studies, tradeshows,
  contacts,
• The Object is brand development.

Tools (Surveys, studies, tradeshows..)
Subject (Marketing staff)
Object (Brand developmt.)
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Example

• Elder Care is another example activity.
• The family members and professional care-givers
  are the subject.
• The tools are medicines, home-cooked meals,
  mobility aids, games, cars, phone and email,
• The object is the elders health and well-being.

Tools
Subject
Object
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More Examples

• Taking a university course, or teaching one.
• Winning a legal case.
• Maintaining the health of a patient.
• Designing (and building) a building.

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More Examples

• Writing a novel, or making a movie.
• Writing a song, symphony or opera.
• Playing a character, performing a song.

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More Examples

• Parenting
• Enjoying TV (watching, recording, buying DVDs),
• Gardening
• Cooking

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Activity hierarchy
Activity Theory concept
HCI/AImodel
Activity
??
Task analysis,task modeling
Action
Operation
KLM, GOMS, Epic
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Activity and Context

• Activity Theory is often described as a Theory
  of Context. But what does this mean?
• A good task-based UI provides affordances or
  actions that are ready to hand to support the
  task.
• An activity model provides the subject(s), tools
  and object that should be ready-to-hand for the
  activity.
• You can think of these as cognitive affordances.

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Activity and Context

• For example, in discussing a product development,
  a designer might mention
• The budget
• John
• Last weeks meeting
• The model
• Testers
• But each project member is probably part of
  several budgets, knows many people named John,
  goes to dozens of meetings a week, etc. What is
  going on?

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Activity and Context

• The activity localizes all of the tools
  (documents, programs, meetings etc.) that all the
  group members have used down to a manageable
  sized set.

Johns knowledge tools
Their project
Alices knowledge tools
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Activity Theory as a Method

• Sylvia Scribner traced Vygotskys developmental
  method
• Observation of current behavior in situ of a
  rudimentary behavior.
• Reconstruction of the historical phases of the
  cultural evolution of this behavior.
• Experimental production of the change from
  rudimentary to higher forms of behavior.
• Observation of this change.
• Engestrom argues this is the natural method to be
  applied in Activity theory.

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Discussion Topics

• T1 The best text analysis algorithms for a
  variety of tasks seem to use numerical (BOW or
  graphical models) of texts. Discuss what
  information these representations capture and why
  they might be effective.