ABSTRACT
Activity theory is a body of related thought which has developed from the work of philosophers such as Kant and Hegel, the dialectic materialist thought of Marx, Engels, and Ilyenkov and the cultural-historical psychology of Vygostki, Leontev, and Luria. Despite this forbidding pedigree, it has also been proposed as a theory for human-computer interaction (HCI), computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW), and user-centered design (UCD). However, it should be noted that activity theory is better thought of as a descriptive framework rather than a predictive theory and the diversity of its origins is both a strength and a weakness, as much of its descriptive strength is shrouded in obscure terminology.
