Since social life happens in the open, at least for the other participants in shared activities, Interaction Analysis is able to study systematically how people draw on many resources to organize their participation. These resources include

• language,
• gaze,
• body movement,
• the use of space, the physical surroundings, artifacts, and forms of technologies.

Technology is understood as the systematic production and use of tools, modified objects, intellectual systems etc. to achieve human goals in the world. Technologies allow human users to achieve these goals in a faster, more efficient, and maybe more convenient way than possible when acting without technology. Examples of technologies range from writing to combustion engines, from facebook to service robots. Technologies are created by humans for humans and require humans to interact with them.

InTech supports the multi-facetted research on Interaction and Technology in the Department of Design and Communication by disseminating and sharing methodologies, tools and training programs, exchanging and discussing ideas as well as results, and providing feedback, evaluation and critical discussions of ongoing research.

The researchers in this program have in common (a) they analyze human interaction in field-settings, interactive setups, and/or corresponding video- and audio-data (b) they view technology as part of the organization of participation, (c) they share the goal that results are practically relevant and can be applied, e.g. to design, innovation, change, improvement and instruction technologies.

Scientific study by interaction research has relevance for the study of sense making, social organization and order, shared and embodied cognition, learning in everyday and institutional environments, creativity and innovation, cultural artifacts and more.