[Asis-l] Workshop: Developing Activity Theory in Information Studies (DATIS)

[David Allen [LUBS]]

Workshop
Developing Activity Theory in Information Studies (DATIS): building the AT community in IS
25th June 2018
At the European Conference on Information Systems, Portsmouth, UK
http://ecis2018.eu/call-for-workshops-or-tutorials/
Organizers:
Dr Boyka Simeonova, b.simeonova at lboro.ac.uk<mailto:b.simeonova at lboro.ac.uk>, Loughborough University, UK
Dr Stan Karanasios, stan.karanasios at rmit.edu.au<mailto:stan.karanasios at rmit.edu.au>, RMIT University, Australia
Professor David K. Allen, d.allen at lubs.leeds.ac.uk<mailto:d.allen at lubs.leeds.ac.uk>, University of Leeds, UK
Dr Jyoti Mishra, j.l.mishra1 at bradford.ac.uk<mailto:j.l.mishra1 at bradford.ac.uk>, University of Bradford, UK
Dr Alistair Norman, a.w.t.norman at lubs.leeds.ac.uk<mailto:a.w.t.norman at lubs.leeds.ac.uk>, University of Leeds, UK



Over the last two decades the use of Activity Theory has developed within the field of information systems (IS) (Allen et al., 2013; Karanasios & Allen, 2013; Karanasios 2018; Malaurent and Avison 2015; Simeonova, 2017), as well as related fields such as Human Computer Interaction (Kaptelinin & Nardi, 2006; Kuutti, 1996; Nardi, 1996), information studies (Allen et al., 2011; Spasser, 1999; Wilson, 2008; Hasan et al., 2016), organisation studies (Engeström 2000; Jazrabkowski 2003) and communications (Spinuzzi, 2012). However, while there is a growing community, the use and development of Activity Theory in IS remains underdeveloped and fragmented.



The purpose of the workshop is to strengthen and develop the community of IS scholars using Activity Theory as an analytic and explanatory framework to understand the relationship between information, knowledge, context, people and technology. While there is significant interest in this topic many of the researchers deploying Activity Theory are working as lone scholars within IS and related departments.



The aim of the workshop will be threefold:



1. Strengthen and build the community of scholars within IS using Activity Theory to understand the relationship between information, knowledge, context, 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.

Submission details and dates

·        Submission of short paper (500 words): 15th April 2018; should be e-mailed to Boyka Simeonova, b.simeonova at lboro.ac.uk<mailto:b.simeonova at lboro.ac.uk>, with the words ‘DATIS Workshop’ in the title.

·       Short paper submission is not required for attendance at the workshop.
Deadlines for submission: 15th April 2018
Notification of acceptance: 25th of April 2018



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.
Engeström, Y. (2000). Activity Theory and the Social Construction of Knowledge: A Story of Four Umpires.  Organization 7(2): 301-310.
Hasan, H., Smith, S., & Finnegan, P. (2017). An activity theoretic analysis of the mediating role of information systems in tackling climate change adaptation. Information Systems Journal, 27(3), 271-308.
Jarzabkowski, P. (2003). Strategic practices: An activity theory perspective on continuity and change." Journal of Management Studies 40(1): 23-56.
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
Karanasios, S. (2018). Toward a Unified View of Technology and Activity: The Contribution of Activity Theory to Information Systems Research. Information Technology & People (forthcoming).
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.
Malaurent, J. and Avison, D. (2015). Reconciling global and local needs: a canonical action research project to deal with workarounds. Information Systems Journal 26(3): 227–257.
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.
Simeonova, B. (2017). Transactive memory systems and Web 2.0 in knowledge sharing: A conceptual model based on activity theory and critical realism. Information Systems Journal, 1-20, doi:10.1111/isj.12147.
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.
Wilson, T. D. (2008). Activity theory and information seeking. Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, 42, 119-161.