HCC class lecture 14Slide Number 2HamletPostrationalityA geometry puzzleWhat’s going on? Activity Theory 1.0Activity Theory Gaps:Activity Theory Gaps:Activities 2.0Activities 2.0Activities 2.0Activities 2.0Activities 2.0Action ChainsAction ChainsAction ChainsAction Chains – mental actionsActivities 2.0AspectExample: Elder care ActivityExample: Elder care ActivityExample: Elder care ActivityGoals of this workAnd perhaps…Comments?HCC classlecture 14John Canny3/16/09“What a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals!”“The earth, seems to me a sterile promontory, this mostexcellent canopy, the air, …, why, it appears no other thing to me than a foul and pestilent congregation of vapours.What a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals!And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust? Man delights not me: no, nor woman neither,…”HamletPostrationalityName borrows “post” from “post-structuralism”. Recall that structuralists look for universal structures in language or culture. Post-structuralists emphasized the importance of context and history. Rationality is often assumed as a universal structure. By “rationality” we mean decision-making based on systematic comparison of options using a “utility function”.A geometry puzzleDraw a series of 4 straight lines through all the points below, without lifting pen from paper:What’s going on? We call this “thinking outside the box” ☺We seem to be imitating solutions to similar problems rather than systematically exploring the options for this new problem.Activity Theory 1.0Activity theory was guided by some core Vygotskianprinciples: A genetic approach. Social learning: activities appear first on an inter-personal plane, then on an intra-personal plane.  Importance of context in activity. Language as a tool, speech as symbolic action. Tight relation between motive and action.Activity Theory Gaps:Activity Theory Gaps: Details on learning activities are sketchy: – There is a ZPD, but what determines what is doable alone, vs. with help, vs. not at all?– There are “genetic” discontinuities in development, but when and why do they happen? Activities don’t seem to be rich enough to capture common notions of “context”. Structure of group activities is still debated: There are several competing extensions.  An activity provides a map of what actions might happen in a situation, but avoids questions of what will happen.Activities 2.0Components: Subject/Actors Object Tools Action Chains Aspect Situations Roles/RelationsWe are talking aboutinternal (mental) models of activity.Activities 2.0Components: Subject/Actors Object ToolsThese are borrowed from classical AT. Since we are talking about a specific person’s view of the activity, we distinguish that person (the subject) from other actors in the activity.Activities 2.0Components: Subject/Actors Object Tools Action Chains Aspect Situations Roles/RelationsSituations are recognizable patterns that frame the activity (e.g. a chapel frames wedding activity)Activities 2.0Components: Subject/Actors Object Tools Action Chains Aspect Situations Roles/RelationsOccur in many formulations of group activities, e.g. in Engeström’s “rules” and “division of labor”Activities 2.0Components: Subject/Actors Object Tools Action Chains Aspect Situations Roles/RelationsAction chains are borrowed from E.T.Hall. They are related to the idea of “scripts,” but are more flexible.Action ChainsThink of a network of connected links (actions).Structure is hierarchical, defined by “landmarks” in the chain.Action ChainsSupports goal-directed behavior, with landmarks as goals.But also more opportunistic “foraging” behavior.Action ChainsExamples Hand-shaking Dialog, e.g. introductions and small-talk Musical performance Moving around the house Starting the car Team sportsAction Chains – mental actionsExamples Counting Pencil-and-paper arithmetic Permutation/exploration Systematic search Matching/assignment Meta-cognitive skills in learningActivities 2.0Components: Subject/Actors Object Tools Action Chains Aspect Situations Roles/RelationsAspect is intimately related to action chains. Aspect is the perceptual awareness of “where one is” in the activity, and hence, what to do next.AspectInformation needed to keep track of an action chain. Examples Hand-shaking: focuses on the location of the others hand, whether it is open or closed. Music in a band: attend to rhythm (drums) and dynamics. Counting: current object, count and a direction of progress. Chess: identity of pieces on the squares, location (square) of each piece. Introductions: Asked name, inquired about mutual friends, recent activities, opinions on a current event,…Example: Elder care ActivitySubject: A care-giving relativeActors: Other relatives, friends, doctors, nurses,…Pharmacists, insurers,…Object: The elder’s apparent health, as perceived by the subject. In practice only changes in health may be perceptible. Tools: Drugs, prescriptions, home instruments, medical instruments, claim forms, car, paper drug regimen, time/date triggers. Email, phone, sofa,…Example: Elder care ActivityAction Chain: Giving medication. From a printed schedule:poll for time, or associate meds with a daily landmark, such as dinner time. Gather pills from list. Give to elder one at a time.Aspect: Which med batch is current (morning, evening etc.). If handing over pills, do any remain in the hand?Medication Planning Activity: exercise.Example: Elder care ActivitySituations: Elder’s house Doctor’s office Pharmacy– Searching Aisles for meds– Queuing to payRoles and Relations: Role: “medication-helper” to cover subject and other actors who help with meds.  Relation: Connect “4 pm” with giving a batch of meds.Goals of this work Better design principles for unschooled users. Requires charting of quasi-universal activities among