Title: Beyond Nomadic: Mobility, Knowledge Work and Infrastructure

Date: Friday, May 9, 2014
Talk: 3pm
Location: 6011 Donald Bren Hall
Refreshments: 4:15 PM, to be served in the 5th floor lobby.

Ingrid Erickson
Assistant Professor
Department of Library and Information Science at the School of
Communication & Information
Rutgers University

Abtract: It is well documented, and indeed well discussed, that work in our current era is increasingly mediated by technology. At the same time, through economic forces such as the Great Recession and the expanded global economy, work has become more modular and project-based and less connected to fixed infrastructures common in manufacturing. Increasingly mobile and independent, many workers today act as professional satellites defined by their ability to dynamically orbit around clients, coworkers, and infrastructures themselves. These workers have been called ‘nomads’ for their highly mobile and dynamic work practices, yet we question whether this moniker clarifies the full extent of these work practices. This presentation focuses on conceptualizing and describing this category of worker and the associated work practices in an expanded frame, namely one begins to describe the interrelationships between mobility, knowledge work, and technological infrastructures.

Bio: Ingrid Erickson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Library and Information Science at the School of Communication & Information at Rutgers University. She graduated with a doctorate from the Center for Work, Technology and Organization in the Department of Management Science & Engineering at Stanford University in 2009. Her current research looks at the connection of mobile technology, social media and new forms of organized behavior. She is also interested in innovations related to collaborative work practices and digital media and learning.