Workshop 8: "Beyond Mobility: Studying Nomadic Work"

Organisers: Cristian Bogdan (KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm), Monika Büscher (Lancaster University), Luigina Ciolfi (University of Limerick) and Chiara Rossitto (KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm)

Workshop overview:
Recent years have witnessed a remarkable proliferation of portable technologies, twinned with ever more widely available connectivity and data services. This has contributed to a partial migration of work outside of traditional workplaces and working hours. However, while carrying out work at different physical locations is certainly enabled by the spread of portable technologies, mobile work cannot be merely regarded as a matter of space variability, detached and independent from the specifics of particular settings, situations, re-sources and activities. Studies of mobile workers and their usage of mobile devices have also begun to investigate how people make work possible in different places - re-discovering and developing 'nomadic' practices - and how work is achieved in these places. Insights from these studies reveal a large spectrum of variabilities and practices, articulated around different artefacts, infrastructures and locations. The term "mobility", we feel, has failed to address such complexities. We turn to the term 'nomadic' work, because it refers to the need for re-searchers to become aware of the dynamic practical achievement involved in making the most of, and working in different places. The workshop will discuss the challenge of understanding mobility as a situated and nomadic achievement and comprehensive of many different aspects, with particular attention to the re-consideration of analytical frameworks and of methodologies adopted to study it.

Who should attend:
For this workshop, we invite contributions from different backgrounds to explore 'nomadic' practices and the range of variables shaping them such as space and place. The aim is to develop a richer, more holistic framework for understanding situated practices of mobility, as well as opportunities and challenges for design. For a list of topics, please consult the workshop website: http://www.ist-palcom.org/activities/ECSCW/mobility/

The workshop will be a full-day event and will be open to a maximum of 15 participants.

More info at: http://www.ist-palcom.org/activities/ECSCW/mobility/

Dissemination:
During the workshop we will discuss on potential follow-ups, including a potential journal special issue (no negotiations or agreements have been made yet)

Submissions:
Position papers (2-3 pages long) should be submitted to Chiara Rossitto (chiara-1 AT nada.kth.se) by July 20st 2007.
Acceptance notifications will be sent by July 25th.