Browsing by Subject "activity theory"

Motivation. The motivation for this research was to analyse the everyday life of Tove Jansson´s Moomin family through the components of the activity theory. The study is theoretically based on the concepts of everyday life and family research on home, family, the everyday life and division of la-bour between family members, and on the Korvela´s (2003) home economic based interpretations of Yrjö Engeströms´s (1987) activity system diagram. The homemaking activities of the Moomin family are looked at through these concepts and interpretations. The aim of the study is to analyse the repre-sentation of everyday life in a work of fiction by using the methods of scientific research, and gather up a description of everyday life which can be compared to theoretical framework. The research question is: What is the activity system of the Moomin family? Methods. The research data was distinguished from the first two chapters of the book Comet in Moominland and includes 21 situations where homemaking activities of the Moomin family are de-scribed. The situations were distinguished from the story through following criteria: Two or more members of the family must be in active interaction with each other, or at least one member whose activity constructs home as a physical and emotional space. The research was directed by the research data, and elements of activity system – object, subject, mediating artefacts, rules, community and di-vision of labour – were used as a keys to gather and analyse data and to examine the results. The re-search data was reconstructed in table format, which helped to distinguish the everyday life activities and the possible repetitive activities of the Moomin family from the data. The results were collated with the theoretical framework, which outlined the everyday life system of the Moomin family. Results and conclusions. The Moomin family life is the like any family with children. Moominmam-ma carries the expressive role and main responsibility of the homemaking chores. She is the heart, which keeps everyday life running fluidly on all levels. Moominpappa fills the instrumental role in the family. He takes care of construction work requiring physical strength, and ensures the safety of the family by placing himself between the family´s operational environment and the outside world. The son, Moomintroll, and adopted son, Sniff, live everyday life of children, developing their identi-ties through play and shared interactional relationship. The boys´ growing independency expands the family´s operational environment and drives the family´s everyday life. By taking both children in equal consideration both through actions and communications, Moominmamma in developing a sense of community between herself and Sniff and the rest of the family. The arrival of the Muskrat brings with it the end of the world, which represents a new object to the family’s everyday activities. The family reacts both as individuals and as a community, but finally they respond to the challenges and changes in their operational environments as a co-operating unity.