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Book part
Publication date: 22 July 2005

Yrjö Engeström

The chapter makes an attempt at hybridization between three relatively separate fields of inquiry: (a) theories and studies of collective intentionality and distributed agency…

Abstract

The chapter makes an attempt at hybridization between three relatively separate fields of inquiry: (a) theories and studies of collective intentionality and distributed agency, (b) theories and studies of social capital in organizations, and (c) cultural–historical activity theory. Employees’ collective capacity to create organizational transformations and innovations is becoming a crucially important asset that gives a new, dynamic content to notions of social and collaborative capital. In philosophy, sociology, anthropology and cognitive science, such capacity is conceptualized as distributed agency or collective intentionality. The task of the chapter is to examine the possibility that current changes in work organizations may bring about historically new features of collective intentionality and distributed agency. The understanding of these new features is important if we are to give viable content to the emerging notion of collaborative capital. After a conceptual overview, the chapter will first analyze a fictional example of distributed agency, then findings from the author's fieldwork in health care settings. In conclusion, the chapter will propose the notions ofobject-oriented interagency’ and ‘collaborative intentionality capital’ as characterizations of important aspects of agency and intentionality currently taking shape in work organizations.

Details

Collaborative Capital: Creating Intangible Value
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-76231-222-1

Article
Publication date: 20 October 2023

Komal Ghafoor, Tauqir Ahmad, Muhammad Aslam and Samyan Wahla

Assistive technology has been developed to assist the visually impaired individuals in their social interactions. Specifically designed to enhance communication skills, facilitate…

Abstract

Purpose

Assistive technology has been developed to assist the visually impaired individuals in their social interactions. Specifically designed to enhance communication skills, facilitate social engagement and improve the overall quality of life, conversational assistive technologies include speech recognition APIs, text-to-speech APIs and various communication tools that are real. Enable real-time interaction. Using natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning algorithms, the technology analyzes spoken language and provides appropriate responses, offering an immersive experience through voice commands, audio feedback and vibration alerts.

Design/methodology/approach

These technologies have demonstrated their ability to promote self-confidence and self-reliance in visually impaired individuals during social interactions. Moreover, they promise to improve social competence and foster better relationships. In short, assistive technology in conversation stands as a promising tool that empowers the visually impaired individuals, elevating the quality of their social engagement.

Findings

The main benefit of assistive communication technology is that it will help visually impaired people overcome communication barriers in social contexts. This technology helps them communicate effectively with acquaintances, family, co-workers and even strangers in public places. By enabling smoother and more natural communication, it works to reduce feelings of isolation and increase overall quality of life.

Originality/value

Research findings include successful activity recognition, aligning with activities on which the VGG-16 model was trained, such as hugging, shaking hands, talking, walking, waving and more. The originality of this study lies in its approach to address the challenges faced by the visually impaired individuals in their social interactions through modern technology. Research adds to the body of knowledge in the area of assistive technologies, which contribute to the empowerment and social inclusion of the visually impaired individuals.

Details

International Journal of Intelligent Computing and Cybernetics, vol. 17 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-378X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 October 2021

Xingfeng Huang, Rongjin Huang and Mun Yee Lai

This paper presented the learning process of a group of primary mathematics teachers who participated in two iterations of lesson design, enactment and reflection in a Chinese…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper presented the learning process of a group of primary mathematics teachers who participated in two iterations of lesson design, enactment and reflection in a Chinese Lesson Study.

Design/methodology/approach

An expansive learning theory was employed to examine the teachers’ learning process in lesson study (LS) on representing fractions on a number line. The evolution of a germ cell was utilized to feature the transformation of the object of activity from abstract to concrete through resolving contradictions among LS members. The videos of lesson planning, research lessons (RLs) and debriefing meetings were collected and analyzed to reveal the expansive learning process.

Findings

The analysis showed that the teachers expanded their learning through transforming the object from diffuse to concrete and expanded through consciously articulating the germ cell. The outcomes of object-oriented activity include improving the enacted lesson which promoted students’ conceptual understanding.

Originality/value

This study made a unique contribution to understanding the learning process of teachers in Chinese LS from the perspective of expansive learning.

Details

International Journal for Lesson & Learning Studies, vol. 11 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-8253

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 November 2009

Liming Chen and Chris Nugent

This paper aims to serve two main purposes. In the first instance it aims to it provide an overview addressing the state‐of‐the‐art in the area of activity recognition, in…

1545

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to serve two main purposes. In the first instance it aims to it provide an overview addressing the state‐of‐the‐art in the area of activity recognition, in particular, in the area of object‐based activity recognition. This will provide the necessary material to inform relevant research communities of the latest developments in this area in addition to providing a reference for researchers and system developers who ware working towards the design and development of activity‐based context aware applications. In the second instance this paper introduces a novel approach to activity recognition based on the use of ontological modeling, representation and reasoning, aiming to consolidate and improve existing approaches in terms of scalability, applicability and easy‐of‐use.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper initially reviews the existing approaches and algorithms, which have been used for activity recognition in a number of related areas. From each of these, their strengths and weaknesses are discussed with particular emphasis being placed on the application domain of sensor enabled intelligent pervasive environments. Based on an analysis of existing solutions, the paper then proposes an integrated ontology‐based approach to activity recognition. The proposed approach adopts ontologies for modeling sensors, objects and activities, and exploits logical semantic reasoning for the purposes of activity recognition. This enables incremental progressive activity recognition at both coarse‐grained and fine‐grained levels. The approach has been considered within the realms of a real world activity recognition scenario in the context of assisted living within Smart Home environments.

Findings

Existing activity recognition methods are mainly based on probabilistic reasoning, which inherently suffer from a number of limitations such as ad hoc static models, data scarcity and scalability. Analysis of the state‐of‐the‐art has helped to identify a major gap between existing approaches and the need for novel recognition approaches posed by the emerging multimodal sensor technologies and context‐aware personalised activity‐based applications in intelligent pervasive environments. The proposed ontology based approach to activity recognition is believed to be the first of its kind, which provides an integrated framework‐based on the unified conceptual backbone, i.e. activity ontologies, addressing the lifecycle of activity recognition. The approach allows easy incorporation of domain knowledge and machine understandability, which facilitates interoperability, reusability and intelligent processing at a higher level of automation.

Originality/value

The comprehensive overview and critiques on existing work on activity recognition provide a valuable reference for researchers and system developers in related research communities. The proposed ontology‐based approach to activity recognition, in particular the recognition algorithm has been built on description logic based semantic reasoning and offers a promising alternative to traditional probabilistic methods. In addition, activities of daily living (ADL) activity ontologies in the context of smart homes have not been, to the best of one's knowledge, been produced elsewhere.

Details

International Journal of Web Information Systems, vol. 5 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1744-0084

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 August 2007

Harry Daniels and Paul Warmington

The purpose of this paper is to describe how Engeström's “third generation” activity theory, with its emphasis on developing conceptual tools to understand dialogues, multiple…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe how Engeström's “third generation” activity theory, with its emphasis on developing conceptual tools to understand dialogues, multiple perspectives and networks of interacting activity systems, has informed research into professional learning in multiagency service settings in England.

Design/methodology/approach

Researchers worked intensively with multi‐professional teams in five English local authorities. Through the use of developmental research work (DWR) methodologies, they sought to understand and facilitate the expansive learning that takes place in and for multiagency work.

Findings

Provisional analysis of data has emphasised the need to understand activity systems in terms of contradictions, which may be developed through reference to the notion of labour‐power; subject positioning and identity within activities; emotional experiencing in processes of personal transformation. The general working hypothesis of learning itself requires expansion to include notions of experiencing and identity formation within an account that includes systematic and coherent analysis of the wider social structuring of society.

Practical implications

The paper describes the beginnings of a refinement of DWR methodology, workshop methods and activity theory derived analyses of data generated through DWR.

Originality/value

The analysis offered represents an advance beyond second generation activity theory, which was concerned with single activity systems. The conceptual strands (upon labour‐power related contradictions, subject positioning, emotional experiencing) have been under‐developed in activity theory. This project exemplifies the complexities of the “dual motive” of object‐oriented activity systems.

Details

Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. 19 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-5626

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 August 2012

Xin Hong, Chris D. Nugent, Maurice D. Mulvenna, Suzanne Martin, Steven Devlin and Jonathan G. Wallace

Within smart homes, ambient sensors are used to monitor interactions between users and the home environment. The data produced from the sensors are used as the basis for the…

Abstract

Purpose

Within smart homes, ambient sensors are used to monitor interactions between users and the home environment. The data produced from the sensors are used as the basis for the inference of the users' behaviour information. Partitioning sensor data in response to individual instances of activity is critical for a smart home to be fully functional and to fulfil its roles, such as correctly measuring health status and detecting emergency situations. The purpose of this study is to propose a similarity‐based segmentation approach applied on time series sensor data in an effort to detect and recognise activities within a smart home.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper explores methods for analysing time‐related sensor activation events in an effort to undercover hidden activity events through the use of generic sensor modelling of activity based upon the general knowledge of the activities. Two similarity measures are proposed to compare a time series based sensor sequence and a generic sensor model of an activity. In addition, a framework is developed for automatically analysing sensor streams.

Findings

The results from evaluation of the proposed methodology on a publicly accessible reference dataset show that the proposed methods can detect and recognise multi‐category activities with satisfying accuracy, in addition to the capability of detecting interleaved activities.

Originality/value

The concepts introduced in this paper will improve automatic detection and recognition of daily living activities from timely ordered sensor events based on domain knowledge of the activities.

Details

International Journal of Pervasive Computing and Communications, vol. 8 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1742-7371

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 August 2007

Yrjö Engeström and Hannele Kerosuo

The purpose of this paper is to show how activity theory transcends the boundary between workplace learning and organizational learning.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to show how activity theory transcends the boundary between workplace learning and organizational learning.

Design/methodology/approach

Activity‐theoretical analyses examine collectives and organizations as learners. On the other hand, activity theory is committed to pedagogical and interventionist actions to change and learning characteristic of workplace learning.

Findings

Activity‐theoretical studies put an emphasis on the object, i.e. on what is done and learned together in inter‐organizational networks, instead of studying only connections and collaboration of networks. The theory of expansive learning enables a longitudinal and rich analysis of inter‐organizational learning and makes a specific contribution in outlining the historical transformation of work and organizations by using observational as well as interventionist designs in studies of work and organization.

Originality/value

The paper shows that activity theory and the theory of expansive learning provide useful analytical tools for the enrichment of studies in workplace learning, as reported in the articles included in this special issue.

Details

Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. 19 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-5626

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 September 2019

Ingrid Maria Carlgren

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the theoretical reflection on learning study as a research approach. The focus is on description and reflection on the methodology of

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the theoretical reflection on learning study as a research approach. The focus is on description and reflection on the methodology of learning study as paedeutic research. This research is for, not on, teachers, i.e. research into problems and challenges faced by teachers in their professional practice. Learning study as paedeutic research is about the content and processes of formation/Bildung in relation to specific learning objects. Its focus is on subject-specific ways of knowing as well as how such knowing is enabled through teaching.

Design/methodology/approach

The point of departure is a perspective on research approaches as practices, i.e. as activities with certain aims as well as ways of “making” knowledge. Based on a description of the knowledge machinery in a learning study, i.e. those mechanisms that together generate new knowledge, the knowledge claims that can be made are discussed together with the theoretical underpinning of the arguments. The knowledge machinery is described in relation to how it is organised around the delimitation and analysis of an object of Learning as well as designing and evaluating ways to make the critical aspects of this object of learning visible. As an epistemological underpinning, some aspects of pragmatic philosophical thinking regarding the relationship between theory and practice are outlined. Based on that the research process may be described as a development of means-ends relationships – from unconscious empirical relationships to conscious staging of internal and theoretical relations. Abduction is an important tool for this meaning-making.

Findings

Learning study can be described as a particularistic, theory-building research approach concerning the knowing of specific learning objects as well as how they can be taught and learnt. The knowledge that is generated in learning study is theoretical and describes aspects of the teaching and learning of specific objects of learning. The research process can be described in terms of specification where practice is gradually supplied with a more differentiated meaning. A learning study is organised around a specific object of learning that functions as an open and unfolding object of knowledge. It combines a practice-based development of theory with a theory-based development of practice.

Originality/value

The development of the thinking about learning study as research for, rather than on, teachers is paedeutical research. A contribution to reflection on the knowledge machinery and knowledge claims of such research.

Details

International Journal for Lesson and Learning Studies, vol. 9 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-8253

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 May 2016

Annalisa Sannino, Yrjö Engeström and Johanna Lahikainen

The paper aims to examine organizational authoring understood as a longitudinal, material and dialectical process of transformation efforts. The following questions are asked: To…

Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to examine organizational authoring understood as a longitudinal, material and dialectical process of transformation efforts. The following questions are asked: To which extent can a Change Laboratory intervention help practitioners author their own learning? Are the authored outcomes of a Change Laboratory intervention futile if a workplace subsequently undergoes large-scale organizational transformations? Does the expansive learning authored in a Change Laboratory intervention survive large-scale organizational transformations, and if so, why does it survive and how?

Design/methodology/approach

The paper develops a conceptual argument based on cultural–historical activity theory. The conceptual argument is grounded in the examination of a case of eight years of change efforts in a university library, including a Change Laboratory (CL) intervention. Follow-up interview data are used to discuss and illuminate our argument in relation to the three research questions.

Findings

The idea of knotworking constructed in the CL process became a “germ cell” that generates novel solutions in the library activity. A large-scale transformation from the local organization model developed in the CL process to the organization model of the entire university library was not experienced as a loss. The dialectical tension between the local and global models became a source of movement driven by the emerging expansive object. Practitioners are modeling their own collective future competences, expanding them both in socio-spatial scope and interactive depth.

Originality/value

The article offers an expanded view of authorship, calling attention to material changes and practical change actions. The dialectical tensions identified serve as heuristic guidelines for future studies and interventions.

Details

Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. 28 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-5626

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 March 2008

Christen Rose‐Anderssen and Peter M. Allen

This paper aims to develop an approach for improving linguistic skills to enhance work collaboration.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to develop an approach for improving linguistic skills to enhance work collaboration.

Design/methodology/approach

A framework has been developed using principles of complex systems thinking, cultural‐historical activity theory and theories of intercultural communication in an action research setting.

Findings

Organisational development and change are never a straightforward task, which the case clearly demonstrates. These are tension‐filled processes of continuously changing power relationships and distances between people. The development of shared sense making is an iterative learning process. Co‐developing shared communication strategies enhances dialogue and collaboration.

Research limitations/implications

A single and in practice unsuccessful case has been the basis of the research findings. Although saturation of data was therefore never reached, typical inhibiting factors were brought to the surface. Controversy and underlying inhibitions may not always be easy to detect in successful cases. The understanding from this unsuccessful case may therefore be helpful for further research.

Practical implications

Collaboration and change in the workplace are complex processes and are therefore difficult to implement. Collective approaches for developing communication strategies are highly dependent on including all affected actors.

Originality/value

The realisation of the complexity of organisational change processes is important. This creates an awareness of a need and responsibility for everyone affected to try and co‐develop the practices for change. It is the bringing together of the diverse experiences into learning processes through dialogue that facilitates these changes. There must be an appreciation that the outcome is still unpredictable in a process of change. Collective ownership of the changes is essential for success.

Details

Journal of Management Development, vol. 27 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0262-1711

Keywords

21 – 30 of over 54000