The following popped up on an email today at a University I work with and I thought that the research might be of interest to this group. I am unable to attend the session, due to prior work commitments, but will try and dig up the source paper.
Unstructured Meeting Organisation in Open Source Communities Professor Emma Bell, Professor of Management and Organisation Studies, Keele University, will be presenting at the next DPO seminar on Wednesday, 7 December, at 14:00, in Meeting Rooms 3 - 4 in the Michael Young Building. *Abstract:* In this paper we focus on the organisation of ‘unconferences’, an umbrella term that refers to a range of off-site meeting formats where there an explicit attempt to break down social hierarchies and develop organic forms of organization (Burns and Stalker, 1961). Also referred to as ‘camps’, unconferences have no pre-set agenda, are designed to be participant driven (Wolf et al., 2011), and are characterised by a ‘distinct lack of structure’ (Boule, 2011: 17). Drawing on a qualitative study of unconferences aimed at managers and management consultants, we assess the extent to which unconferencing enables the hierarchical power relations that characterise conventional off-site meeting organisation to be overcome (Bell and King, 2010; Ford and Harding, 2008). We find that unconferences go some way towards addressing interactional and performative dynamics that contribute towards unequal participation and exclusion in off-site meeting encounters. However, our analysis also highlights the powerful behavioural norms and group dynamics associated with off-site meetings which can result in these attempts at openness and sharing being undermined. Cheers, Andi Roberts Twitter: @Andi_Roberts Web: www.MasterFacilitator.com
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