Browsing by Subject "activity theory"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2

Fourth-Generation Activity Theory: An Integrative Literature Review and Implications for Professional Communication
(IEEE, 2019) Spinuzzi, Clay; Guile, David
Activity theory in its “third generation” (3GAT) has been used extensively to analyze case studies in professional communication and related fields such as information systems, workforce education, and computer-supported cooperative work. Yet 3GAT has known limits, and these limits are making it difficult to model, assess, and make recommendations for such cases. In this paper, we discuss these limitations, then overview and synthesize recent research pointing to a fourth generation of activity (4GAT). We find that this literature has two main foci: (1) Peer and social production and (2) Networked organization of labor and production. We conclude by offering implications for professional communication.
Scaling Change Labs: A Response to “From Mediated Actions To Heterogenous Coalitions: Four Generations Of Activity-theoretical Studies Of Work And Learning”
(Mind, Culture, and Activity, 2020) Spinuzzi, Clay
In “From Mediated Actions To Heterogenous Coalitions: Four Generations of Activity-Theoretical Studies of Work and Learning,” Engeström and Sannino discuss the fourth generation of activity theory as involving heterogeneous coalitions that are involved in intertwined learning cycles. They offer Change Laboratory interventions as a way to properly address learning in such coalitions. Here, I critically review this argument as offering a de facto public policy approach. I conclude by suggesting three ways to adapt Change Labs for this new scale of analysis.