CQU Rockhampton academics Dr Greg Whymark, Louise Hawkins, Jim Callan and Dr Deborah Peach have contributed to a book based on abstracts accepted for the First Congress of the International Society for Cultural and Activity Research (ISCAR).

The Congress will be held in Sevilla, Spain, from September 20-24 this year.

Three of the CQU book contributors (all except Jim Callan) will also present at the event.

Associate Professor Whymark, who co-edited the new book on 'Activity as the Focus of Information Systems Research', said it was important to look at Information Technology and other tools in an active context, considering the desired outcomes of activity and its social and cultural context.

He said the Congress would include papers by more than 1000 authors, talking across 4.5 days, with 15 timeslots each day, 10 concurrent sessions per timeslot and about 6 papers per session.

The CQU trio will be among 35 participants from Australia.

Dr Peach, representing the Faculty of Education & Creative Arts, will present a case study analysis that uses cultural historical activity theory to explain tensions and contradictions in the activity of university learning assistance services. Dr Whymark and Ms Hawkins are from the Information Systems discipline.

ISCAR is a scientific association that aims to promote and develop multidisciplinary theoretical and empircal research on societal, cultural and historical dimensions of human practices.

Photos: Dr Peach (maroon shirt), Louise Hawkins and Dr Whymark inspect their new book ahead of an international Congress in Spain.