[Air-l] road warriors

[Barry Wellman]

I am posting this query to both the Community list and the AOIR list,
because of its relevance to both.

I've been flying around a lot recently giving lectures and attending
conferences: to scholarly, governmental and corporate dot.com groups.

In so doing, I frequently encounter what _PC Magazine_ calls "road
warriors", albeit the opposite of Mad Max.

These are managers, professionals and technicians who spend a good deal of
time traveling, either between organizational offices, or to other
organizations or conferences. Modally, 2-4 days per week. They live by
computer-supported and 800-number contact back to their home base. If you
get into business lounges, you can see them pounding their laptops,
checking their emails, and talking via 800 numbers to their colleagues
elsewhere. They spend a lot of time in corporate hotels (e.g., the
misnamed Holiday Inn), bars, medium-priced restaurants, and airport
lounges.

Has anyone seriously studied such folks?
How do they sustain this mobile life?
What is their community, with work colleagues and friends -- and household
members?
Etc.

 Barry
 ___________________________________________________________________

  Barry Wellman        Professor of Sociology       NetLab Director
  wellman at 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
 ___________________________________________________________________