ABSTRACTS

MCA Abstracts
Vol. 21 (1)

The Object of Activity: Making Sense of the Sensemaker
Victor Kaptelinin
The concept of “the object of activity” plays a key role in current research based on activity theory. However, the usefulness of this concept is somewhat undermined by the fact that a number of problems related to its meaning and its contexts of use remain unsolved. This paper is an attempt to address some of these problems. The paper focuses on three potential sources of uncertainties and inconsistencies, which may be obstacles to a more fruitful application of the concept of the object of activity in both research and practice. The first source is difficulties related to translation of ideas, originally formulated by Alexey Leontiev in Russian, into English. The second source is different interpretations of the concept of the object of activity within two contemporary approaches in activity theory, the one developed by Alexey Leontiev and the one developed by Yrjö Engeström. Third and finally, the paper finds the original Leontiev definition of the object of activity as ”its true motive” problematic and calls for separating the object of activity from the motive of activity. The implications of that separation are discussed.

Objects and Motives in a Product Design Process

Sampsa Hyysalo
Activity theory seems a potential framework for analyzing the complexity of product design, because of its concern with mutual transformations of objects, collectives, and subjects. In turn, design work provides a rich ground for discussing the key concepts of activity theory. This paper uses an analysis of the development of a new health-care appliance to open up discussion about the notions of object and motive in activity theory.

Objects of Desire: Power and Passion in Collaborative Activity

Bonnie A. Nardi
This paper uses activity theory to analyze the conduct of collaborative scientific research, showing how the conceptualization of object is critical to understanding key aspects of scientific collaboration. I argue that the passions and desires behind objects of scientific research are missing in most accounts. I suggest refinements to the concept of object to make it more useful for understanding collaboration. The empirical grounding for the work is a study of a biotechnology research department in a large pharmaceutical company. Theory and empirical findings interact in the analysis; activity theory illumines important aspects of scientific practice, while at the same time, empirical findings suggest adjustments to the concept of object to deal more directly with issues of collaboration not emphasized in classical activity theory.

Object of Activity and Individual Motivation1
Reijo Miettinen
A.N. Leontiev introduced the philosophical concept of practice, or “objective activity” into psychology in order to reconsider its foundations, and in this context he elaborated the concept of the object of activity. This paper deals with the co-formation of an object of a collective activity and of the goals, motives and capabilities of individuals. This is discussed by taking as starting points the social and practical origins of human needs, the complex and contradictory nature of an object of activity and division of labour. The concept of artefact-mediated desire for recognition is introduced as a resource for making sense of the formation of the individual motives in collective work activities. The object-related individual capabilities that are generated in a collective activity are transferable to other activities, thus constituting the basis of professional recognition, identity and career aspirations. The nature of this co-evolution is clarified using the work of a biotechnical laboratory as an example.

Activity as Object-Related: Resolving the Dichotomy of Individual and Collective Planes of Activity
Anna Stetsenko
This paper suggests that the principle of object-relatedness, introduced by Vygotsky and expanded by Leontiev, can be used to conceptualize human subjectivity within a profoundly social view of human development. This is achieved by re-formulating the premises of cultural-historical activity theory to include the notion that material production, inter-subjective exchanges, and human subjectivity form a unified three-fold dialectical system. Focusing on the constant manifold transitions among components of this system as its modus vivendi reveals (a) individual and collective processes as being interrelated and co-evolving levels of activity and (b) the practical relevance of human subjectivity alongside the human relevance of material practices. Such an expanded view posits human subjectivity on a continuum of regulatory mechanisms of social practice, to which both individual and social processes belong. It is further conceptualized as a form of practical transformative pursuits in the world and as a lawful and necessary moment of human life endowed with the capacity to generate new activity cycles. The co-evolution of collective motives and personal goals, as well as the practical relevance of theoretical constructions are used as illustrations.