The turn to practice in HCI: Towards a research agenda

Kari Kuutti, Liam J. Bannon

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

This paper argues that a new paradigm for HCI research, which we label the 'practice' perspective, has been emerging in recent years. This stands in contrast to the prevailing mainstream HCI paradigm, which we term the 'interaction' perspective. The 'practice turn', as it has been dubbed in the social sciences, provides a conceptual frame to organize a variety of issues emerging in more recent HCI research. While this approach has been present in certain strands of HCI research for some time, it has not been articulated fully to date. In this paper, we provide a short account of the main tenets of this perspective, and then show how it can illuminate some of the recent debates within HCI. Our argument is one which does not seek to replace extant HCI theories, but rather to provide an alternative, complementary theoretical lens which may illuminate the present confusion among both researchers and practitioners as to the direction of HCI. The paper articulates a set of issues which can help direct HCI research programs, as well as highlighting the potential contribution of the HCI field to this practice approach itself, in terms of a more nuanced understanding of emerging practices.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationCHI 2014
Subtitle of host publicationOne of a CHInd - Conference Proceedings, 32nd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery
Pages3543-3552
Number of pages10
ISBN (Print)9781450324731
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014
Event32nd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2014 - Toronto, ON, Canada
Duration: 26 Apr 20141 May 2014

Publication series

NameConference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings

Conference

Conference32nd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2014
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityToronto, ON
Period26/04/141/05/14

Keywords

  • Interaction
  • Methodology
  • Practice
  • Research
  • Theory

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