We understand computers as mediators of human activity. Our focus is on the development of new interaction techniques, methods and theories for computer-mediated activities of work and everyday life. Human activity is mediated and cooperative and we are concerned with computer-mediated activities in a work setting as well as in public service, democracy, and the private sphere.

Our epistemological position is design-oriented, i.e. we aim to produce and validate knowledge in relation to technological and societal change. In addition we are concerned with knowledge that is applicable in practical change settings (by social stakeholders as well as system designers). Our modes of work include studies of technology in use, design experiments, theory building, interaction prototypes, development of methods for interaction design, assessment of technologies in use, and studies and analysis of computer mediated activities.

Results are expected to be contributions to new forms and architectures of interaction, theoretical concepts and methods addressing computer mediated activity and its mediators, and new interaction design methods.

The group works in the disciplinary discourse concerned with the definition of the situation of use. We work through a combination of empirical studies of computer-mediated activities, theoretical work, method development, and experiments with interaction techniques and architectures.

The group contributes to journals and conferences in the area of human-computer interaction (e.g. ToCHI, IJHCS, HCI Journal, ACM CHI, ACM DIS, NordiCHI, Interact) and Computer Supported Cooperative Work (e.g. JCSCW, ACM CSCW, ECSCW, Coop, ACM Group).

Our work applies many perspectives on human activity and its mediators, such as coordination, power, transparency, learning and intimacy. Of particular interest is the definition of suitable units of analysis for understanding and designing.

Read more about the groups’ background.