Weilenmann2003

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Weilenmann2003
BibType ARTICLE
Key Weilenmann2003
Author(s) Alexandra Weilenmann
Title “I can't talk now, I'm in a fitting room'”: formulating availability and location in mobile-phone conversations
Editor(s)
Tag(s) EMCA, Mobile phone, Location, Conversation Analysis
Publisher
Year 2003
Language
City
Month
Journal Environment & Planning A: Economy and Space
Volume 35
Number 9
Pages 1589–1605
URL Link
DOI 10.1068/a34234
ISBN
Organization
Institution
School
Type
Edition
Series
Howpublished
Book title
Chapter

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Abstract

In this paper I investigate the ways in which participants in mobile-phone conversations orient to each other's location, activities, and availability. By looking at data from recorded mobile-phone conversations, I use a conversation analytic approach to make initial observations on the character of mobile-phone conversations. I found that the frequent question “what are you doing?” sometimes caused a location to be given as part of the answer which shows how location, activity, and availability are strongly related. The participants thus obtained information about location, when this was considered relevant, through asking about activity. Location seemed especially relevant if it provided information about a future meeting. In some of the conversations where it seemed there was something going on where the ‘called party’ was located, the ‘caller’ reacted by initiating the conversation with a strategy which gave the called party a chance to end the conversation.

Notes