Abstract

One aspect of mobility is local mobility (Belotti & Bly 1996). This less obvious and flamboyant form of mobility concerns how people move within a given area such as their work place. One common place where local mobility would appear is in the office. Office work has changed over the years from strictly individual work where interpersonal communication was perceived of as a distraction to be avoided or even punished to a climate where close co-operation and frequent communication are key factors for achieving success (Ljungberg 1997, pp. 1). In such a setting it is logical to support communication to as great an extent as possible. However, most IT support is stationary, tied to the desktop, making it unsuitable for supporting co-operation and communication between locally mobile people. Now, we can see an emerging trend in mobile technology, which would make such support feasible. But with new technology and new use situations come new problems and limitations, as well as new possibilities. It is obvious that the support needed when on the move differs from the support needed when sitting at a desk (Kristoffersen and Ljungberg, 1998). In order to investigate this we conducted an empirical field study of personnel engaged in knowledge work in a traditional office setting, as reported in “Walking away from the Meeting room: Exploring support for mobile meetings” (Bergqvist et al, 1999). We briefly summarize the concept of mobile meetings here, followed by a discussion on the social implications of introducing the proposed IT-support for Mobile Meetings.

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