Collectives and Their Artifact Ecologies

Concepts of Multi-artifact Systems in Artifact Ecologies

The artifact ecologies emerging from the increasing number of interactive digital artifacts, capable of communicating with each other, have created a situation where software applications no longer need to be limited by the physical boundaries of a single artifact. In order to take advantage of the full potential of this situation, we first need to establish a common understanding of the intera...

The Human-Artifact Model: An Activity Theoretical Approach to Artifact Ecologies

While devices of all shapes and sizes currently dominate the technological landscape, human-computer interaction as a field which is not yet theoretically equipped to match this reality. In this paper we develop the Human-Artifact Model, which has its roots in activity theoretical HCI. By reinterpreting the activity theoretical foundation, we present a framework that helps addressing the analys...

Intentional Collectives

This paper gives an upside-down view of the problem of collective intentionality by providing a treatment of the notion of intentional collective. Based on reviews of the relevant literature, we apply three formal-ontological tools of our choice (namely, DOLCE, D&S, and DDPO) to the definition of the notions of collection, agent, plan and collective, all underlying the concept of intentional co...

Enlargement, Geodesics, and Collectives

Generative Collectives

Analyzing generative group activities against the backdrop of an increasingly connected world, this theory development paper introduces the concept of "generative collectives" as a new framework for classifying internet-based collectives and a novel theoretical lens for explaining why some internet-based groups are more generative than others. Generative collectives are groups of people with sh...