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Re: Fw: Re: [xmca] Double Stimulation?



Hi Antti
It took me a little hunting to find the Engestrom&Sanino article, but found
it. Since it is published in open source journal, I am posting here so
others can see what Antti is referring to.
mike

On Sun, Jun 9, 2013 at 12:07 PM, Antti Rajala <ajrajala@gmail.com> wrote:

> Greg,
>
> You asked:
> ”My question is getting at where we locate "agency". In individuals alone?
> Or as possibly being distributed among multiple people and perhaps in
> amanner that isn't recognizable to the individual. But maybe there is
> aconcept for that that is different from "double stimulation.”
>
> I think that double stimulation can be analyzed not only at the individual
> level but at the collective level as well. Actually, the study of Engeström
> and Sannino (2013) that I referred to in my earlier email gives a nice
> example. The study also involves in some respects a similar situation as
> the one that you described having taken place with the workers in Malaysia.
>
> According to my reading, the study describes a change laboratory
> intervention taking place in a university library. The library as invited
> researchers to help them find new forms of work with research groups. A
> first stimulus emerges in the course of the change laboratory intervention,
> as a member of one of the research groups that the university library is
> delivering services says that they can find these services in the internet
> without the help of the library. Thus a problem emerges for the librarians
> to collectively produce a service that would be genuinely helpful for the
> research groups.
>
> In solving this problem, they organize their collective action with the
> help of a second stimulus, namely the concept of knotworking (Engeström,
> Engeström & Vähäaho, 1999) that the researchers have introduced in the
> beginning of the change laboratory. In particular, a new working group, a
> knot, is formed that starts to work with the emergent problem of inventing
> a useful service.
>
> What is in my opinion very innovative, Engeström and Sannino also provide
> an example of this second stimulus, the concept of knotworking, becoming an
> initial theoretical generalization that is reworked and enriched through a
> process of ascending from abstract to concrete as the intervention evolves.
> Specifically, in the end of the intervention, the concept of knotworking
> gives rise to many concrete, practical applications of the librarians' work
> at multiple levels of hierarchy.
>
> As for the unit of analysis, I think that the unit of analysis in the study
> is the intersection of several activity systems, the university libarary
> and the research groups, In terms of agency, one can maybe talk about
> shared transformative agency in which the subject is not an individual but
> a collective. (More about shared transformative agency, see Virkkunen’s
> paper in http://www.activites.org/v3n1/v3n1.book.pdf#page=43)
>
> Best wishes, Antti
>
>
> On Thu, Jun 6, 2013 at 6:57 PM, <ERIC.RAMBERG@spps.org> wrote:
>
> > forgot to send this to XMCA
> >
> > -----Forwarded by ERIC RAMBERG/spps on 06/06/2013 10:56AM -----
> > To: ablunden@mira.net
> > From: ERIC RAMBERG/spps
> > Date: 06/06/2013 09:05AM
> >
> > Subject: Re: [xmca] Double Stimulation?
> >
> > True true, the history of philosophy does lead there Andy.  But that
> leads
> > to my trepidations regarding ideology lacking in practice.
> >
> > What substance within conscious formation is measurable?
> >
> > I believe that answer has yet to be found
> > perhaps?
> >
> > eric
> >
> > -----xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu wrote: -----
> >  To: "eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity" <xmca@weber.ucsd.edu>
> > From: Andy Blunden
> > Sent by: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu
> > Date: 06/05/2013 08:42PM
> > Subject: Re: [xmca] Double Stimulation?
> >
> > Eric,
> > By posiing the problem as that of the Kantian dilemma, of unifying two
> > disparate abstractions, you determine the answer as from the history of
> > philosophy and the answer is Hegel's answer: "a formation of
> > consciousness" or Gestalt des Bewusstsein.
> >
> > Andy
> >
> > ERIC.RAMBERG@spps.org wrote:
> > > I believe that this discussion needs to involve "unit of analysis" for
> > > what it is that provides the mediational method.
> > > What unit of study can properly encapsulate that which is being
> observed?
> > > Activity? Concept? Word? Mirror Neuron?
> > > Oh my what a great temptest LSV did let out of the teapot
> > > eric
> > >
> > > -----xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu wrote: -----
> > > To: "xmca@weber.ucsd.edu" <xmca@weber.ucsd.edu>
> > > From: Achilles Delari Junior
> > > Sent by: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu
> > > Date: 06/05/2013 07:04AM
> > > Subject: RE: [xmca] Double Stimulation?
> > >
> > > Sure, Greg,
> > > Well, seems to me that "draw analogies between different domains of
> > > their worlds" is closer to "meaning construction" than to choice a
> > > "stimulus medium" to help memory tasks, for instance. The "double
> > > stimulation" is fine because introduces a kind of mediation between a
> > > stimulus and our response to the stimulus. But, following Vygotsky's
> > > formulations at that time this new series of "stimulus" (a nude, a
> > > word, etc) act also as a stimulus, a conditioned one. If you change
> > > you paradigm to the proposition that all sign implies any kind of
> > > "generalization process" (meaning) that differs in their structure and
> > > has a genetic construction (see the studies about concepts, for
> > > instance), a sign could not be only a second series of stimuli ruled
> > > by the same laws that a conditional reflex... As in "Instrumental
> > > method": S-------X-------R. Where the relation S---------R is a direct
> > > stimulus response relationship, but when you introduce a second series
> > > of stimulus "X" (double stimulation) you have an indirect stimulus
> > > response relationship, but the relation between S and X, and X and R
> > > remain a conditioned reflex relationship... "Draw analogies between
> > > different domains of our worlds" seem to mean that we are in transit
> > > between different words of signification, and culture is a human
> > > production that involves the "generalization" from a world to another,
> > > broader, maybe not exactly more precise, but "broader", in my opinion.
> > > I don't know...
> > >
> > >
> > > "In natural memory a direct associative (conditional reflex)
> > > connection A?B is established between two stimuli A and B. In
> > > artificial, mnemotechnic memory of the same impression, by means of a
> > > psychological tool X (a knot in a handkerchief, a mnemonic scheme)
> > > instead of the direct connection A?B two new ones are established: A?X
> > > and X?B Just like the connection A?B each of them is a natural
> > > conditional reflex process, determined, by the properties of the brain
> > > tissue. What is new, artificial, and instrumental is the fact of the
> > > replacement of one connection A?B by two connections: A?X and X?B They
> > > lead to the same result, but by a different path. What is new is the
> > > artificial direction which the instrument gives to the natural process
> > > of establishing a conditional connection, i.e., the active utilization
> > > of the natural properties of brain tissue." Vygotsky "The Instumental
> > > Method" (this is 1930)
> > > http://www.marxists.org/archive/vygotsky/works/1930/instrumental.htm
> > >
> > > But already in 1928:
> > >
> > > "Let us now compare the natural and cultural mnemonics of a child. The
> > > relation between the two forms can be graphically expressed by means
> > > of a triangle: in case of natural memorization a direct associative or
> > > conditional reflexive connection is set up between two points, A and
> > > B. In case of mnemotechnical memorization, utilizing some sign,
> > > instead of one associative connection AB, the others are set up AX and
> > > BX, which bring us to the same result, but in a roundabout way. Each
> > > of these connections AX and BX is the same kind of
> > > conditional-reflexive process of connection as AB." Vygotsky (1928)
> > >
> >
> http://www.marxists.org/archive/vygotsky/works/1929/cultural_development.htm
> > >
> > >
> > > See: "AX and BX is the same kind of conditional-reflexive process of
> > > connection as AB." --> The same kind... This paradigm will not be the
> > > same in 1933-34...
> > >
> > > "(Introduction: the importance of the sign; its social meaning). In
> > > older works we ignored that the sign has meaning. < But there is “a
> > > time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together”
> > > (Ecclesiastes). > We proceeded from the principle of the constancy of
> > > meaning, we discounted meaning. But the problem of meaning was already
> > > present in the older investigations. Whereas before our task was to
> > > demonstrate what “the knot” and logical memory have in common, now our
> > > task is to demonstrate the difference that exists between them.From
> > > our works it follows that the sign changes the interfunctional
> > > relationships." (Vygotsky, 1933-34)
> > >
> >
> http://www.marxists.org/archive/vygotsky/works/1934/problem-consciousness.htm
> > >
> > >
> > > And now?
> > >
> > >
> > > Thank you.
> > >
> > > Achilles.
> > >
> > > > Date: Tue, 4 Jun 2013 18:31:23 -0600
> > > > Subject: Re: [xmca] Double Stimulation?
> > > > From: greg.a.thompson@gmail.com
> > > > To: xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
> > > >
> > > > Achilles,
> > > >
> > > > Sounded interesting, but I'm not sure I followed you completely. You
> > say
> > > > that Strathern's quote seems like it has a broader application that
> > > "double
> > > > stimulation", but I could use some help with the rest of your
> message.
> > > >
> > > > If you have a few minutes, maybe you could try rephrasing?
> > > >
> > > > -greg
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > On Tue, Jun 4, 2013 at 4:11 PM, Achilles Delari Junior <
> > > > achilles_delari@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > In my undertanding, this is very broader and more powerful than
> > double
> > > > > stimulation... Double stimulation could be overcoming with another
> > > way for
> > > > > think signs than "medium stimulus" - See "The problem of
> > > consciousness"
> > > > > (1933-34), for instance. The more important will be not the
> > similarity
> > > > > between a nude and a word, but their difference, "before was
> > > forgotten that
> > > > > sign had a meaning" and "now" the meaning must be take in account.
> > > Double
> > > > > stimulation, in my understanding, do not resists to this new point
> > > of view.
> > > > >
> > > > > Achilles.
> > > > >
> > > > > > Date: Mon, 3 Jun 2013 06:19:04 -0600
> > > > > > From: greg.a.thompson@gmail.com
> > > > > > To: xmca@weber.ucsd.edu; lchcmike@gmail.com;
> > > antti.rajala@helsinki.fi
> > > > > > CC:
> > > > > > Subject: [xmca] Double Stimulation?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > I wonder if this quote by Marilyn Strathern can be productively
> > > connected
> > > > > > (not necessarily geneaologically, but ideologically) to the
> > > notion of
> > > > > > "double stimulation" (which I am just now trying to figure out):
> > > > > > "Culture consists in the way people draw analogies between
> > different
> > > > > > domains of their worlds" (1992: 47).
> > > > > >
> > > > > > -greg
> > > > > >
> > > > > > --
> > > > > > Gregory A. Thompson, Ph.D.
> > > > > > Visiting Assistant Professor
> > > > > > Department of Anthropology
> > > > > > 883 Spencer W. Kimball Tower
> > > > > > Brigham Young University
> > > > > > Provo, UT 84602
> > > > > > http://byu.academia.edu/GregoryThompson
> > > > > > __________________________________________
> > > > > > _____
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> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > --
> > > > Gregory A. Thompson, Ph.D.
> > > > Visiting Assistant Professor
> > > > Department of Anthropology
> > > > 883 Spencer W. Kimball Tower
> > > > Brigham Young University
> > > > Provo, UT 84602
> > > > http://byu.academia.edu/GregoryThompson
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> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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> >
> > --
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > *Andy Blunden*
> > Home Page: http://home.mira.net/~andy/
> > Book: http://www.brill.nl/concepts
> > http://marxists.academia.edu/AndyBlunden
> >
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