A distributed cognition analysis of mobile CSCW

INTRODUCTION Mobile work is not equivalent with telework, but the two share some characteristics. Our definition of mobile CSCW (Computer Supported Co-operative Work) includes (1) Individual workers move among several locations, as required by the objects of activity being to at least some part located outside of the computer; (2) People working together may be physically separated. Let us at some length explain this definition. While telework means working at a distance from colleagues and/or customers, the mobile worker is “one whose ‘place of work’ isn’t fixed at all, and who needs to be effective in a range of different work settings [....] for example, field service engineers” (Dix & Beale, 1996). This does not imply total independence of any place. In fact, mobility is often required by the fact that certain places have to be visited it is hard to repair a telephone pole if you are not on the particular site. Another thing differentiating mobile work from telework is that in telework, the main activities typically take place “inside the computer,” e.g., working on a spreadsheet or supervising a computer from a distance, whereas in mobile work, impor-