hybrid design practices - ubicomp 2009 workshop

some friends and I recently had a proposal for a workshop on hybrid design practices accepted to the workshops program of ubicomp 2009. whatever are hybrid design practices, you ask? here's a snippet from our cfp:

Current Ubicomp research and practice often go beyond interdisciplinarity. New hybrid practices are created, by synthesizing methods from multiple disciplines, such as design, ethnography, engineering, and sociology. This does not only imply crossing of disciplinary or epistemological boundaries, but also engagement across diverse cultural sites and perspectives. We take hybrid practices to mean day-to-day interdisciplinary practices that are often established beyond pre-designed institutional, disciplinary, or transdisciplinary boundaries. This hands-on workshop will focus specifically on hybrids that involve the design of ubiquitous computing systems, drawing together both individuals who have experience developing and using such hybrids, as well as those who have an interest in applying hybrid practices to their work.

Thus, this workshop explores questions such as:
• How might ethnographic field work be incorporated into design practice?
• How might design practice work be incorporated into ethnographic field ?
• How might fieldwork or design sketching be integrated more closely into the process of theorizing?
• What might theory-oriented design or design-oriented theorizing look like?
• What role can Ubicomp design practice play for cross-cultural and multi-sited explorations?

sound interesting? check out more at the hybrid design practices workshop webpage.

position papers due June 25 via email to Silvia (lindtner [at] ics.uci.edu).

activity triforce

for those of you who may be familiar with activity theory, the following might look familiar.

this is the usual depiction of Engeström's version of the activity theory model: one large triangle decomposed and subdivided into what appear to be other, smaller triangles. however, I just saw another, somewhat different depiction.


hm, interesting. for the moment, nevermind the slight differences in the naming of the nodes. instead, I would like to draw your attention to the similarity between this and another symbol, one I recall quite fondly from my childhood.


that's right, the Triforce from Nintendo's Legend of Zelda series. Engeström's analytic approach to human activity is really the modern day incarnate of the ultimate golden power from ancient Hyrule.

...ok, I'm done geeking out now, time to get back to work...