Activity Theory as a Framework for Accommodating Cultural Factors in HCI Studies

Abstract

This article is based on research conducted in the framework of an EU project aimed at enhancing knowledge management and setting up an eLearning platform. It focuses on one particular aspect, i.e. accommodating cultural factors in human-computer interaction (HCI) studies, of a wider ranging study which has been published as a doctoral thesis under the title "The Quest for a Theoretical Framework for eLearning and Knowledge Management Activities". For the purposes of this article, the eLearning dimension with associated models and concepts has been largely excluded from the dis- cussion. Similarly, the complex issue of defining culture and context and the different approaches to identifying cultural differences cannot be dealt with within the scope of this article.