West meets East: Adapting Activity Theory for HCI & CSCW applications?

This is the introduction to a set of seven commentary papers. Activity Theory, with its roots in Soviet Communist society, is introduced and the relevant, critical concept of a three level hierarchy of human activity is summarised, along with a key proposal that for Western HCI and CSCW applications the utility of this hierarchy would be improved by the introduction of a new, intermediate level, called either ‘working spheres’ or ‘engagements’. A thumbnail sketch of each commentary paper is then provided. Analysis of these papers reveals a set of five ‘convergences’, ideas and conclusions that occur in at least two of the papers. This introduction concludes that while the problems of migrating and adapting Activity Theory to Western HCI and CSCW applications are here made visible, very similar issues arise when attempts are made using linguistically and culturally closer theories, methods and practices.