My impression, based on the telework literature I've seen, is that there is no real consensus among researchers as to definitions of telecommuting or telework (and hence, the huge disparity in assessments of its penetration/growth/popularity). Many, myself included, seem to use "telework" and "mobile work" interchangeably to refer to those who conduct "work" from multiple places, including their homes, cars, client workspaces, non-dedicated spaces at their employers, etc. My dissertation studied a group of network engineers who had no centralized office but rather spent their time at various client sites (much like Barry's road warriors, only my subjects had a more limited territory so they drove instead of flew), and I referred to them as "teleworkers." My impression from Barry's post is that he uses "telework" to refer primarily to home-based workers (correct me if I'm wrong). I'm curious as to others' thoughts on this subject. Additionally, a brief plug: many of the questions Ulla mentioned in her post will be considered at an NCA panel on telework in New Orleans. We'd love to see other researchers in this growing area there! Nicole -----Original Message----- From: air-l-admin@aoir.org [mailto:air-l-admin@aoir.org]On Behalf Of Barry Wellman Sent: Sunday, May 26, 2002 9:04 AM To: aoir list Cc: Bunz, Ulla K Subject: [Air-l] road warriors and teleworkers Ulla's post to the list made many useful comments, but there are only some equivalences between teleworkers and road warriors. (I speak as someone studying teleworking.) Road warriors have no fixed work address for much of the week. Therefore, their communication and community situations are different. Barry ___________________________________________________________________ Barry Wellman Professor of Sociology NetLab Director wellman@chass.utoronto.ca http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman Centre for Urban & Community Studies University of Toronto 455 Spadina Avenue Toronto Canada M5S 2G8 fax:+1-416-978-7162 ___________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Air-l mailing list Air-l@aoir.org http://www.aoir.org/mailman/listinfo/air-l