Negotiating Use: Making Sense of Mobile Technology

This paper is based on a study of the ways in which a group negotiated the use of a new mobile technology. The group was made up of ski instructors who, during a one-week ski trip, were equipped with a mobile awareness device called the Hummingbird. The group was studied using ethnomethodologically...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Personal and ubiquitous computing 2001, Vol.5 (2), p.137-145
Main Author: Weilenmann, Alexandra
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Awareness
Computer applications
Ethnography
Ethnomethodology
Hardware
Mobile CSCW
Negotiations
Norms
Telecommunication equipment
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This paper is based on a study of the ways in which a group negotiated the use of a new mobile technology. The group was made up of ski instructors who, during a one-week ski trip, were equipped with a mobile awareness device called the Hummingbird. The group was studied using ethnomethodologically inspired qualitative methods, with the focus on the group members' different views of the Hummingbird's intended use. Negotiations of use occurred using two methods: talk and action. The users negotiated issues such as where and when to use the technology, and whether to consider the Hummingbird a work tool or a gadget for social events. Further, the empirical results clearly show how negotiations of new, mobile technology differ from stationary technology. © Springer-Verlag London Ltd.
ISSN:1617-4909
1617-4917
DOI:10.1007/PL00000015