1 Places to Think With Non-Place and Situated Mobile Working (DRAFT)
Richard Coyne, Dermott McMeel, Martin Parker · 2001
In this paper we address the issue of mobile working from the point of view of two disparate sets of theories: those pertaining to concepts of distributed cognition, and those pertaining to non-place. In the process we consider the work environment of the peripatetic worker (designer) in terms of the apparatus of physical environment, social being and cultural setting. We draw on our findings from practical research into non-place and our work in sound design. We provide pointers for greater understanding of work environments and designing for mobile technologies that support designers on the move. Mobile work environments Some environments appear to be more conducive to working than others. This matching of work environment, task and the worker is dependent on a range of factors: a library is a quiet place close to reference sources; a private office provides freedom from distractions; conference rooms enable interaction and discussion. But there are other environments that some people, for some of the time, find necessary, and even enjoyable, as work environments, such as noisy railway carriages, busy coffee shops, boring airport waiting lounges, and windy park benches. The suitability of such places for work is rarely considered in their design, but in some cases such environments can be positively conducive to work. Clearly, no place suits all people, and all work tasks, all of the time. Furthermore, in the manner proposed by the early theorists of cyborg enhancement, the mobile cognitive worker can apply a range of personalised devices to customise their work environment via: personal mood enhancing sound systems (iPods), mobile phones, digital cameras, PDAs, laptops, and Bluetooth, wireless and other mobile network systems. The mobile worker is in the company of the contemporary urban flaneur who deploys mobile telephony and related network systems in the pursuit of leisure, pleasure, diversion and new forms of sociability (Bull, 2000; Laurier, 2001). We focus our research on mobile working that is cognitive, that is, working that we commonly describe as requiring thought, analysis, reflection, decision making, composing, writing, and designing, that can be assisted by tools available in the personalised mobile environment. Given the availability of such tools, is it possible for some architectural settings to be more conducive to effective thought than others? Can such environments and mobile tools can be designed to enhance thought? We conjecture that spaces and devices can be designed taking account of their cognitive aspects, though not in a direct and causal way. It is changes in setting, variety of environment, and dynamic movement across thresholds that contribute substantially to the effectiveness or otherwise of the contexts of mobile working.