Negotiated rhythms of mobile work: time, place, and work schedules

This study investigates the role of rhythms in the collaborative coordination of mobile work as well as in the individual actors’ comprehension and command of their work. Drawing on an ethnographic study of home-care work, we examine the ways in which temporal regularities or rhythms are formed and reinforced. Further, we analyse how the major temporal rhythms are configured and furnished by individual, collective, and social rhythms, and how these rhythms contribute to the collaborative flow of activities. Finally, we discuss how the concept of rhythms adds to an understanding of alignment and coordination in mobile and distributed work settings. Categories and Subject Descriptors H.5.3. [Information interfaces and presentation (e.g., HCI)]: Group and Organization Interfaces – asynchronous interaction, computer-supported cooperative work, synchronous interaction. General Terms Experimentation, Human Factors, Theory. Keywords Rhythms, mobility, temporal coordination, distributed c...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2005
• Where: GROUP
• Authors: Magnus Nilsson, Morten Hertzum
• Keywords: GROUP 2005, Home-care Work, Major Temporal Rhythms, Rhythms