The transformation of scientific information through artifacts

We use artifact analysis to describe the process of scientific dissemination in a community-based program that informs parents and professional caregivers about early childhood development. We define this program as a network of information management and our unit of analysis are the sociocultural activities of dissemination, and the artifacts that shape them. Drawing upon activity theory, social networks theory, and distributed practice, we describe and analyze the impact, evolution, and sociocultural nature of understandings, goals, values, artifacts, actions, events, and organizational elements. Our data were collected through observations, field notes, focus groups, artifact collection, and stimulated recall interviews. Results suggest that as artifacts move from one environment to another, their role changes, often resulting in a loss or distortion of information. We describe how and why these problems are overlooked and the potential problems