[Air-l] Organisational differences?

[Julian Hopkins]

Hello Elizabeth,

Not directly relevant as it's more to do with open source, but I found an
article by Christopher Kelty very thought-provoking - particularly the
concept of the 'recursive public': a concept which he derives from Charles
Taylor and Michael Warner. He defines it as: "a particular form of social
imaginary through which this group [i.e. 'geeks': "hackers, lawyers,
activists, and IT entrepreneurs"] imagines in common the means of their own
association, the material forms this imagination takes, and what place it
has in the contemporary development of the Internet."

Kelty, Christopher. "Geeks, Social Imaginaries, and Recursive Publics."
Cultural Anthropology May 2005. 20.2:185-215. 29 Jun. 2005
<http://www.proquest.com>

What it says to me is that IT people are aware of the constitutive (limited
in various ways though) effect of software/hardware on how organisations are
develop and change; and they are also aware that they have more control, in
a practical/prosaic sense, over this process than others.

On a different level though, I have yet to meet many people who don't think
that their own job is more difficult and important than other's jobs...
Also, I've often thought of IT personnel as acting like some doctors -
believing that the 'patient' cannot understand the details and just telling
them what to do without explaining and considering that they may have some
useful input too.

Regards,

Julian

++++++++++
Julian Hopkins
Senior Lecturer
HELP University College - ADP
Kuala Lumpur
tel: +60 3 2095 8791 x2913
email: julianh at help.edu.my 
web: http://www.help.edu.my

*******************************************
Date: Mon, 16 Oct 2006 09:34:14 +0100
From: Elizabeth Van Couvering <e.j.van-couvering at lse.ac.uk>
Subject: [Air-l] Organisational differences?
To: air-l at listserv.aoir.org
Message-ID: <2E83E986-AAD1-4915-93EB-8B43CC57ADD0 at lse.ac.uk>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed

Hi everyone,

I wonder if anyone can lend some literature to the impression I have  
from interviewing a series of software engineers that their work in  
technology organisations is more valuable that the work of other  
parts of the organisation - e.g., "management", marketing,  
facilities, etc.

Thanks a bunch,

Elizabeth

Elizabeth Van Couvering
PhD Student
Department of Media & Communications
London School of Economics and Political Science
http://personal.lse.ac.uk/vancouve/
e.j.van-couvering at lse.ac.uk