http://vitae.ac.uk/researchers/203641/The-coffee-club-theory-of-departmental-sociability.html Feed for The coffee club theory of departmental sociability en-gb http://vitae.ac.uk Never http://vitae.ac.uk/researchers/203641/The-coffee-club-theory-of-departmental-sociability.html No, take it forward and - in true scientific style - amend the theory to fit the additional evidence. It seems - given the number of comments on this thread - that this is an issue dear to many of our hearts. It might be an interesting question for any further surveys on research staff experiences? http://vitae.ac.uk/researchers/203641/The-coffee-club-theory-of-departmental-sociability.html http://vitae.ac.uk/researchers/203641/The-coffee-club-theory-of-departmental-sociability.html It seems that my theory does not account for the evidence! Do you think it is worth adapting or amending it to take into account geographical features and coffee quality, or should I abandon it? http://vitae.ac.uk/researchers/203641/The-coffee-club-theory-of-departmental-sociability.html http://vitae.ac.uk/researchers/203641/The-coffee-club-theory-of-departmental-sociability.html I think that when it comes to sociability in departments there are two factors: the type of social events and the amount. I think I would vaguely aggree with your hypothesis, but I think it is a predictor of the type of social event. I have been in a department with full provision of coffee, but was rather anti-social (due, I think, to geographical reasons). I also think there is a tendency (in my experience) for people in type 2 departments to know each other a little better than usual. http://vitae.ac.uk/researchers/203641/The-coffee-club-theory-of-departmental-sociability.html http://vitae.ac.uk/researchers/203641/The-coffee-club-theory-of-departmental-sociability.html About a year ago I moved from a department with a big, fully funded, recently refurbished coffee room to one with an unused, basement room with a couple of old, cruddy kettles. For me it made a big difference to the feel of the department and in the new place it seems people are much less open - even when it comes to letting 'outsiders' use their group's equipment. Two days ago I got an email saying the coffee room will be refurbished to encourage informal contact between academics. I think this is a great idea and I really hope it's used, rather than everyone continuing to hide in their offices with their own kettles. http://vitae.ac.uk/researchers/203641/The-coffee-club-theory-of-departmental-sociability.html http://vitae.ac.uk/researchers/203641/The-coffee-club-theory-of-departmental-sociability.html I like the theory - although I don't agree with it. I think it might be strongly influenced by layout of the buildings, etc (let's call it departmental geography). We are mostly a type 3 with our own pots, although some rooms are type 2, yet are a very sociable with both type 1 and type 2 events. I think this is down to the layout of the department - it is on 2 floors of a long, thin building. Each divided into offices of 1-6 people. These all run in a line on one side of the building, so we are separated and this is why individuals have their own coffee - or share within rooms. There is also a central machine but it is 4 floors down, so only really used at lunch/offical break times. I used to be in a more open-plan type office, with a type 2 coffee club, yet this was definitely a more clique-based type 3 social environment...which is why I think your model needs to take into account departmental geography. But I like the idea. http://vitae.ac.uk/researchers/203641/The-coffee-club-theory-of-departmental-sociability.html http://vitae.ac.uk/researchers/203641/The-coffee-club-theory-of-departmental-sociability.html Simon - I used to be in an interdisciplinary department which provided free tea and coffee for all its staff, in a common room, twice a day so as to encourage cross-fertilisation and general friendliness. Inevitably, the technical and administrative staff, the research students, and the physical and social science lecturers would all sit in separate corners... http://vitae.ac.uk/researchers/203641/The-coffee-club-theory-of-departmental-sociability.html http://vitae.ac.uk/researchers/203641/The-coffee-club-theory-of-departmental-sociability.html very interesting point! I used to work in an institute which held its canteen in high esteem- it was on the top floor, with generous space and everyone made use of it. Talking to people in other groups was very much encouraged, with senior academics regularly joining random groups. Skipping coffee or lunch was frowned upon. I think it worked to encourage collaborations. We had a great christmas party every year but apart from that it was no more sociable than other places I worked. In the fix your own place I worked in coffee breaks were not all that sociable. I have also experienced a hybrid between fix your own and a canteen (the canteen had funny opening hours to allow its staff breaks at say lunch) which was otherwise a type II place (pub on a Friday). So not sure the correlation holds up all the time. My first experience of office coffee outside academia is very positive: we have a fabulous coffee machine and as we hotdesk, making coffee for that day's neighbours is a real bonding ritual..... Cuppa, anyone? http://vitae.ac.uk/researchers/203641/The-coffee-club-theory-of-departmental-sociability.html http://vitae.ac.uk/researchers/203641/The-coffee-club-theory-of-departmental-sociability.html My department has a "fix your own" coffee approach (type 3?), but we do usually have coffee together every morning (though I usually drink tea). In addition, we have regular social events like Christmas parties, Spring BBQs, special occasion dinners (e.g., a new lecturer being hired) and a trip to the pub typically every Friday. I am not sure if this fits in with your theory, but I do find the social aspect of morning coffee valuable. I don't think coffee can break down the alls between and within departments, but I do think it is a good indicator of the walls that may exist. I may add this question to my list of interview questions too! http://vitae.ac.uk/researchers/203641/The-coffee-club-theory-of-departmental-sociability.html http://vitae.ac.uk/researchers/203641/The-coffee-club-theory-of-departmental-sociability.html Earlier this week I attended a conference about interdisciplinarity. One of the speakers directs a Research Centre on climate change, which is about to move into new premises. He explained, only half in jest, that one of the reasons he was looking forward to this was that the new building is to have a single, centrally-positioned coffee bar, with the intention of encouraging the natural scientists and the social scientists who belong to the Centre to socialise with each other. But perhaps he is being naive to think that coffee can really break down the walls between deep-set disciplinary cultures! Can anyone cite any precendents? http://vitae.ac.uk/researchers/203641/The-coffee-club-theory-of-departmental-sociability.html http://vitae.ac.uk/researchers/203641/The-coffee-club-theory-of-departmental-sociability.html Hmm -- I remember the time the departmental secretaries who ran the coffee club decided to quietly put us all on decaff. We didn't appreciate it. http://vitae.ac.uk/researchers/203641/The-coffee-club-theory-of-departmental-sociability.html