Members
 |
Chair Dr. Pascal Béguin Full Professor Institute for work studies of Lyon Université Lumière Lyon 2 FranceEmail: pascal.beguin@univ-lyon2.fr |
 |
Co-Chair Dr. Francisco Castro Moura Duarte Programma de Engenharia de Produção Cidade Universitaria – Centro de Tecnologia UFRJ – Sala G209 Ilha do Fundão 21945-972 – Rio de Janeiro Postal 68507 Email: fjcmduarte@gmail.com |
Contact Dr. Pascal Béguin for more information or to join this Technical Committee
Email: pascal.beguin@univ-lyon2.fr
Background and Objectives
Interest in activity theories, which was long restricted to a small circle of specialists (mainly in psychology and educational sciences), has spread to ergonomics over the last few years. In August 2000, the International Ergonomics Association Council adopted an official definition, writing that “ergonomics is a systems-oriented discipline which now extends across all aspects of human activity”. And it was decided in July 2005, to form the Technical Committee “Activity theories for work analysis and design”.
Of course, activity theory refers to the pioneed research movement that developed in the USSR. But beyond the Russian school itself, several theoretical and empirical research movements concerned with activity (inspired by the Russian school or autonomous) have grown in parallel, sometimes over several decades. These different communities, throughout their history, have constructed activity-oriented perspectives that do not coincide on all points.
Objectives
- To develop a research community interested by cultural and historical approaches of human conduct in ergonomics.
- To document and to disseminate theories and methods based on these approaches for field analysis and design.
- To organize collaborative events for researchers and practitioners interested by this area.
Previous events
1st Symposium ATWAD, IEA 2006, Maastricht, Co-Chairs: L. Norros, C. Owen, M. Neboit
The aim of this first symposium was to better identify the activity-oriented approaches in ergonomics.
The two best papers were published in the French open-access journal @ctivites (Vol. 4, no 1 & 2). For more information, see: http://www.activites.org
Activity 2008, “Activity analyses for developing work”. 12-14 May, 2008: Helsinki, Finland
This second event was organized jointly with the Finnish research community (from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, University of Helsinki Center for Activity Theory and Developmental Work Research, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, and Verve), which plays a major role in the development and the dissemination of activity approach. There were 80 presentations centered on the following sub-themes.
- Interventions and intervention methodologies in developing work
- The concepts ‘work’ and ‘activity’ in ergonomic research
- Activity approaches in riish analysis and management
- New activity-driven design concepts