Bonnie Nardi is an anthropologist best known as the lead author of
Information Ecologies: Using Technology with Heart . She is also well known for her work on
activity theoryActivity theory is a psychological meta-theory, paradigm, or framework, with its roots in the Soviet psychologist Vygotsky's cultural-historical psychology. Its founders were Alexei N. Leont'ev , and Sergei Rubinshtein who sought to understand human activities as complex, socially situated...
. She is a full professor in the Department of Informatics at the
University of California, IrvineThe University of California, Irvine is a public coeducational research university founded in 1965, located in Irvine, California....
. Prior to that, she worked at
AT&T LabsAT&T Labs, Inc. is the research & development arm of American telecommunications giant, AT&T. It also comprises elements of the former AT&T Laboratories, SBC Laboratories and BellSouth Laboratories.-History:AT&T Labs, Inc...
, Agilent, and
AppleThe apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family Rosaceae. It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits...
labs. She is considered a pioneer among anthropologists who are employed by high-tech companies to examine
consumers' behaviorConsumer behaviour referred to as the study of when, why, how, where and what people do or do not buy products. It blends elements from psychology, sociology,social, anthropology and economics. It attempts to understand the buyer decision making process, both individually and in groups...
in their homes and offices .
Her interests are in the areas of Human-Computer Interaction,
Computer supported cooperative workThe term computer supported cooperative work was first coined by Irene Greif and Paul M. Cashman in 1984, at a workshop attended by individuals interested in using technology to support people in their work. At about this same time, in 1987 Dr...
, more specifically in activity theory, computer-mediated communication, and interaction design.
Bonnie Nardi is an anthropologist best known as the lead author of
Information Ecologies: Using Technology with Heart . She is also well known for her work on
activity theoryActivity theory is a psychological meta-theory, paradigm, or framework, with its roots in the Soviet psychologist Vygotsky's cultural-historical psychology. Its founders were Alexei N. Leont'ev , and Sergei Rubinshtein who sought to understand human activities as complex, socially situated...
. She is a full professor in the Department of Informatics at the
University of California, IrvineThe University of California, Irvine is a public coeducational research university founded in 1965, located in Irvine, California....
. Prior to that, she worked at
AT&T LabsAT&T Labs, Inc. is the research & development arm of American telecommunications giant, AT&T. It also comprises elements of the former AT&T Laboratories, SBC Laboratories and BellSouth Laboratories.-History:AT&T Labs, Inc...
, Agilent, and
AppleThe apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family Rosaceae. It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits...
labs. She is considered a pioneer among anthropologists who are employed by high-tech companies to examine
consumers' behaviorConsumer behaviour referred to as the study of when, why, how, where and what people do or do not buy products. It blends elements from psychology, sociology,social, anthropology and economics. It attempts to understand the buyer decision making process, both individually and in groups...
in their homes and offices .
Her interests are in the areas of Human-Computer Interaction,
Computer supported cooperative workThe term computer supported cooperative work was first coined by Irene Greif and Paul M. Cashman in 1984, at a workshop attended by individuals interested in using technology to support people in their work. At about this same time, in 1987 Dr...
, more specifically in activity theory, computer-mediated communication, and interaction design. Prof. Nardi has researched CSCW applications and blogging, and has more recently pioneered the study of
World of WarcraftWorld of Warcraft, often referred to as WoW, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994...
in HCI. She has studied the use of technology in offices, hospitals, schools, libraries and laboratories.
http://darrouzet-nardi.net/bonnie/default.html
She is widely known among
librarianA librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs. Typically, librarians work in a public or college library, an elementary or secondary school media...
s - especially research, reference and digital librarians - for Chapter 7 of Information Ecologies, which focused on librarians as
keystone speciesA keystone species is a species that has a disproportionate effect on its environment relative to its abundance. Such species affect many other organisms in an ecosystem and help to determine the types and numbers of various others species in a community....
in information ecologies. Nardi's book inspired the title of a UK conference
Information Ecologies: the impact of new information 'species hosted, inter alia
, by the UK Office of Library Networking, now known by its acronym UKOLN, and led to a keynote address by Nardi at a 1998 Library of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress and is the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and holds the largest number of books. The head...
Institute on Reference Service in a Digital Age
. She had written Information Ecologies while a researcher at ATT Labs Research.
Nardi's self-described theoretical orientation is "
activity theoryActivity theory is a psychological meta-theory, paradigm, or framework, with its roots in the Soviet psychologist Vygotsky's cultural-historical psychology. Its founders were Alexei N. Leont'ev , and Sergei Rubinshtein who sought to understand human activities as complex, socially situated...
", a philosophical framework developed by the Russian psychologists
VygotskyLev Semyonovich Vygotsky was a Soviet psychologist and the founder of cultural-historical psychology.- Biography :...
,
LuriaAlexander Romanovich Luria was a famous Soviet neuropsychologist and developmental psychologist. He was one of the founders of cultural-historical psychology and psychological activity theory.- Biography :...
, Leont'ev, and their students. "My interests are
user interfaceThe user interface is the aggregate of means by which people—the users—interact with the system—a particular machine, device, computer program or other complex tool...
design, collaborative work,
computer-mediated communicationComputer-Mediated Communication is defined as any communicative transaction that occurs through the use of two or more networked computers...
, and theoretical approaches to technology design and evaluation." She is currently conducting an ethnographic study of
World of WarcraftWorld of Warcraft, often referred to as WoW, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994...
.
Recently Nardi collaborated with Victor Kaptelinin and wrote Acting with Technology: Activity Theory and Interaction Design. This book discusses Activity Theory and it creates a base for understanding our relationship with technology.
Background
Nardi received her undergraduate degree from University of California at Berkley and her PhD. from the School of Social Sciences at University of California Irvine in 1977. Nardi also spent a year in Western Samoa doing postdoctoral research.
Nardi is married and has three children. Nardi blogs at
http://bon-blog.blogspot.com/
Nardi and Library Science
In her book, Information Ecologies Nardi passionately argues that “Human expertise, judgment and creativity can be supported, but not replaced by computer-based tools.” She argues that we can not, either with
technophiliaTechnophilia refers generally to a strong enthusiasm for technology, especially new technologies such as personal computers, the Internet, mobile phones and home cinema...
or
technophobiaTechnophobia is the fear or dislike of advanced technology or complex devices, especially computers. tech·no·pho·bi·a n...
, view technological change as “inevitable.” Rather, she challenges us to be critical users of technology who actively engage in conversation on the
social impactIn business and government policy, social impact refers to how the organization's actions affect the surrounding community. is also the name of a service provider to NGOs and international agencies....
s of technology. We must then, guided by our moral values influence society’s institutions, libraries for example, to adopt responsible technology use.
While all of this has clear application to the Information Science field, one can also look to Bonnie Nardi for her explicit praise of
librarianA librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs. Typically, librarians work in a public or college library, an elementary or secondary school media...
s. In a world that is becoming increasingly reliant on technology, her writings clearly spell two words for librarians—job security. As a designer of software herself, she has asked the question, “Could an “intelligent
software agentIn computer science, a software comp is a piece of software that acts for a user or other program in a relationship of agency. Such "action on behalf of" implies the authority to decide which action is appropriate...
” replace librarians?” and decisively responded, “No.”
In Information Ecologies she clearly labels librarians a “keystone species.” In biological terms, a keystone species is one that is critical to the survival of an
ecosystemAn ecosystem is a system of interdependent organisms which share the same habitat, in an area functioning together with all of the physical factors of the environment. Ecosystems can be permanent or temporary. Ecosystems usually form a number of food webs...
. To follow the analogy, a librarian is indispensable in the information ecosystem. While information is increasingly available via digital resources, librarians are irreplaceable in their ability to speak the language of search systems and then to retrieve that information.
She further praises librarians beyond their understanding of the necessary language to produce desired search results. Rather, it is the imperceptible skill of a librarian, via the reference interview, to guide the researcher to exactly what they want in. It is through a dialog of clarifying questions and restatement of assumptions that librarian and patron develop a strategy to meet the patron’s need and produce the best results.
Through experience, librarians also think of sources patrons may have overlooked, know of additional print/online sources and have the ability to connect patrons with otherwise proprietary information. Unlike computers, librarians develop a rapport with their patrons, enabling them to cater searches to the needs and search style they already expect from the patron. They even have the omniscience to recognize “false drops” and the ingenuity to renegotiate searches with updated/outdated language based on the style of a database. In essence, a librarian is the intercessor “with heart” between the patron and the information—someone who actually cares and wants to help patrons meet their objective.
Nardi in Her Own Words
Activity Theory
- Citation: http://www.darrouzet-nardi.net/bonnie/
Activity theory proposes that consciousness is shaped by practice, that people and artifacts mediate our relationship with reality. Consciousness is produced in the enactment of activity with other people and things, rather than being something confined inside a human head. Activity theory began in Russia with the work of
Lev VygotskyLev Semyonovich Vygotsky was a Soviet psychologist and the founder of cultural-historical psychology.- Biography :...
in the 1920s, continuing through his student Aleksey Leontiev, and then through students of Leontiev. This work has been influential in education, organizational design, and
interaction designInteraction Design is the study of devices with which a user can interact, in particular computer users. The practice typically centers around "embedding information technology into the ambient social complexities of the physical world." It can also apply to other types of non-electronic products...
. Activity theory works well with design because activity theorists have always tested their theories in practical ways and believe that application is an outcome of theory, not a separate activity. In some of my writings I have discussed how, as a psychological theory, activity theory can be scaled to collaborative settings without losing sight of individual participants in an activity.
Information Ecology
- Citation: http://www.darrouzet-nardi.net/bonnie/#pr4
There is a strong need to find new ways to think about the social and cultural changes that come with new technologies. I have examined some such changes with respect to the work of librarians and others discussed in Information Ecologies. Our limited ability to predict change coupled with enormous human
creativityCreativity is a mental and social process involving the generation of new ideas or concepts, or new associations of the creative mind between existing ideas or concepts. Creativity is fueled by the process of either conscious or unconscious insight...
has led to a situation of instability in which systemic effects of technological change can only be responded to after the fact. In the current global economy we have efficient ways of distributing technology but ineffectual means of addressing negative consequences (such as pollution from wireless devices). New political and social forms are needed. Movements such as green design, life cycle analysis, and cradle to cradle design address some problems and can be applied to digital technologies. Social changes are more difficult to characterize and require better theorizing. One of her interests is in what I call "placeless organizations" which are distributed groups dedicated to transforming practice. In the modern context they inevitably make use of computer-mediated communication as they attempt to "co-construct," in activity theory terms, the way things are done. Examples of placeless organizations are Open Source software development projects, Doctors without Borders, the World Trade Organization, and transformations in scientific disciplines from "small science" to "big science". Understanding how placeless organizations are effective with relatively few people is a current focus of my research.
Nardi Publications
Selected Bibliography
- Nardi, B., Schiano, D. and Gumbrecht, M. (2004). Blogging as social activity, or, Would you let 900 million people read your diary? Proceedings of the Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work. New York: ACM Press. Pp. 222-228.
- Nardi, B., Whittaker, S. and Bradner, E. (2000). Interaction and outeraction: Instant messaging in action. Proceedings Conference on Computer-supported Cooperative Work. New York: ACM Press. Pp. 79-88.
- Gantt, M. and Nardi, B. (1992). Gardeners and gurus: Patterns of collaboration among CAD users. Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computer Systems. Pp. 107–117.
- Nardi, B. and Miller J. (1990). An ethnographic study of distributed problem solving in spreadsheet development Proceedings of the Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work. Pp. 197–208.
See also
- information ecology
In the context of an evolving information society, the term information ecology marks a connection between ecological ideas with the dynamics and properties of the increasingly dense, complex and important digital informational environment and has been gaining progressively wider acceptance in a...
- information species
- digital library
A digital library is a library in which collections are stored in digital formats and accessible by computers. The digital content may be stored locally, or accessed remotely via computer networks...
- digital librarian
- Lucy Suchman
Lucy Suchman is Professor of Anthropology of Science and Technology in the Department of Sociology at Lancaster University. Before coming to Lancaster, she held the positions of Principal Scientist and manager of the Work Practice and Technology area at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center.She is a...
- Terry Winograd
Terry Allen Winograd is an American professor of computer science at Stanford University, and co-director of the Stanford Human-Computer Interaction Group...
- Mark Weiser
Mark D. Weiser was a chief scientist at Xerox PARC. Weiser is widely considered to be the father of ubiquitous computing, a term he coined in 1988.-Biography:...
- Paul Dourish
Paul Dourish is a computer scientist best known for his work at the intersection of computer science and social science. He is a professor at the University of California, Irvine, where he joined the faculty in 2000....
External links