AUT - Stephen Thorpe

Dr Stephen Thorpe

Deputy Head of School

Email: sthorpe _at_ aut.ac.nz

Links to relevant web pages:

www.aut.ac.nz/cms

Qualifications:

PhD - Auckland University of Technology (2009)
Diploma of Facilitation - Zenergy (2006)
BBus with First Class Honours (Information Technology) - Auckland University of Technology (2001)
Advanced National Certificate in Retailing - Manukau Institute of Technology (1997)
National Certificate in Retailing - Manukau Institute of Technology (1996)

Memberships and Affiliations:

Member of the International Association of Facilitators
Member of the Australasian Facilitators Network
Graduate Member of The New Zealand Computer Society
Member of the New Zealand Virtual Worlds Group
Co-founder and Member of the Virtual Life Education for New Zealand Society
Member of the NZ Chapter of the Usability Professionals Association
Member of the Auckland Chapter of the Social Media Club
Member of the Participation Community of Practice (part of New Zealand's E-government Strategy)
Member of the Amnesty International
Member of the Heart Politics NZ

Biography:

Dr. Stephen Thorpe is an academic, educator and group facilitator who specializes in group work in the online world. He is passionate about online group work, group facilitation and online collaborative technologies. His 2009 PhD from the Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand investigated the use of storytelling as a team-building process in the facilitation of online groups. Stephen also holds a Zenergy Diploma of Facilitation and a Bachelor of Business with First Class Honours from Auckland University of Technology where he has a background researching computer-assisted group work and teaching user-centered design, enterprise systems and computing technology in society.

He is Deputy Head of the School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences and the Programme Leader of the Bachelor of Computer and Information Sciences (BCIS). He is the Editor-in-Chief of Group Facilitation: A Research and Applications Journal; an international multi-disciplinary publication focused on the art and science of group facilitation published by the International Association of Facilitators. His areas of research interest include online groups, storytelling, virtual teams, e-Government, group facilitation, virtual worlds and education, multi-stakeholder engagement, collaborative consumption culture, information technology governance and computer mediated communication.

Teaching Areas:

Bachelor of Computing and Information Sciences
405702 Computing Technology in Society
407009 Research & Development Project
407712 Contemporary Information Systems
405021 Enterprise Systems

Research areas:

Virtual Teams
E-Government
Group Facilitation
Virtual Worlds and Education
Multi-stakeholder Engagement
Collaborative Consumption Culture
Information Technology Governance
Computer Mediated Communication

Research Summary:

Much of my work over the last 10 years has been involved in, and informed by, efforts in leading the development, at an international level, of the emerging profession of practicing group facilitators. This has involved four years on the Board of the International Association of Facilitators, two years as an Associate Editor and five as Editor-in-Chief of the Association’s Group Facilitation: A Research and Applications Journal, leadership at the regional level and co-convening facilitator conferences.

As an emerging profession, group facilitation has yet to develop a significant body of research knowledge – particularly in my own research area of group facilitation and group process in the facilitation of global virtual teams. The gap my research has focused on is in the area of how to effectively lead and facilitate global virtual teams through group process. It is multi-disciplinary research that is aimed to be relevant in contexts of organizational learning and development, group and system dynamics, collaborative technology, negotiation, mediation, leadership, decision-making, conflict resolution, cross-cultural contexts, and education. Some of my work, such as my PhD’s focus on storytelling processes in team building, brings new knowledge about the effectiveness of face-to-face facilitation processes using a range of online software tools (completed in 2009). Other work is research that informs facilitation practice through conference workshops, training programmes, consultation work and chapters in books for those learning and using facilitation skills in a wide range of group situations including distance learning and education, e-Government, virtual meeting support, multi-stakeholder engagement and virtual teams.

Current Research Projects:

Exploring satisfaction drivers for participants in collaborative consumption culture (CCC).
Secondary supervision of PhD (with Dr. Philip Carter, primary) - Keong Wong - Auckland University of Technology

Collaborative Consumption Culture is an amalgamation of aspects of peer-to-peer internet based economic activities that include trading, battering, lending, exchanging, gifting, renting and sharing of resources, products and services – all supported by computer mediated communication. Wong will be looking for correlation and influence factors between the different motivations of sharing and happiness as a part of participating in online collaborative consumption activities. It is anticipated that a theoretical model may be developed that may help identify the role of ICT and collaboration in influencing end user consumption.

The potential of IT governance frameworks for river resource management in a multi-stakeholder environment.
Secondary supervision of MPhil (with Dr. Brian Cusack, primary) - Bing Qian Zhang - Auckland University of Technology

Publications:

Refereed Journal Articles

• Thorpe, S. J. (2011). Using storytelling in the facilitation of online groups. Group Facilitation: A Research and Applications Journal, (11), 24-39.
• Thorpe, S. J. (2011). Sense of Place and Emotional Connections Using Collaborative  Storytelling in Second Life. International Journal of Information and Education Technology, 1(4), 292-297. Retrieved from http://www.ijiet.org/index.htm

Chapters in Books

• Thorpe, S. (2012). Facilitation online. In D. Hunter, The art of facilitation: The essentials for leading great meetings and creating group synergy [Kindle edition]. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com
• Thorpe, S. (2009). Facilitation online. In D. Hunter, The art of facilitation: The essentials for leading great meetings and creating group synergy (pp. 175-182). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Wiley.
• Thorpe, S. J. (2008). The use of storytelling in building online group relationships. In S. Kelsey, & K. S. Amant (Eds.), Handbook of research on computer mediated communication (pp. 551-569). Hershey PA: Information Science Publishing. doi:10.4018/978-1-59904-863-5
• Thorpe, S. (2008). Facilitating effective online participation in e-government. In New Zealand E-government 2007: Progress towards transformation (pp. 103-104). Wellington, NZ: State Services Commission.
• Thorpe, S. (2007). Facilitation online. In D. Hunter, The art of facilitation: The essentials for leading great meetings and creating group synergy (pp. 175-182). Auckland, NZ: Random House New Zealand.
• Hunter, D. & Thorpe, S. (2005). Facilitator values and ethics. In S. Schuman (Ed.), The IAF handbook of group facilitation: Best practices from the leading organization in facilitation (pp. 545-558). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
• Thorpe, S. (2001). E-learning as an Opportunity for Higher Learning Institutions. In A. Tayeb, J. Metzner, & L. Bornstein (Eds.) Education Without Borders (pp. 21-26). Abu Dhabi, UAE: CERT Publishing Centre.

Papers in Refereed Conference Proceedings

• Thorpe, S. (in press) Better online relationships. In P. A. Pullan (Ed.). Virtual Working: Proceedings of the Virtual Working Summit: 2011. Loughborough: Making Projects Work Press.
• Thorpe, S. (2011) Storytelling and building collaborative team relationships in Second Life. In Zheng, Y. (Ed.). Proceedings of the International Conference on Distance Learning and Education Technology. International Association of Computer Science and Information Technology, Singapore. 12. 16 Sep 2011.
• Thorpe, S. (2004). Online Storytelling in IS Research. In Cusack, B. (Ed.), The Proceedings of the 2004 NACCQ Post-Graduate Symposium (pp. 11-18). Auckland, NZ: Trumps.
• Thorpe, S., Carter, P., Baker, A., & Lough, B. (2002). The use of large interactive display surface (LIDS) prototype in graphics design teaching. In A. Williamson, K. Gunn, A. Young, & T. Clear (Eds.), Winds of Change in the Sea of Learning: Proceedings of the 19th Annual Conference of the Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (ASCILITE) (Vol. 2, pp. 889-892). Auckland, NZ: ASCILITE.

Keynote/Plenary

• Thorpe, S. (2011, June). Online Group Engagement with Storytelling. Keynote presentation at the Virtual Working Summit. Loughborough, UK.
• Hunter, D., Thorpe, S. Schwarz, T., Firkins, J. & Kneebone, S. (2007, November). “The next chapter:  Showcasing the purpose of facilitation. Plenary presentation at the Australasian Facilitators Network Conference - Adelaide, South Australia.

Non-Refereed Conference Presentations

• Thorpe, S. (2011, November). Online Group Engagement with Storytelling. Workshop presented at the Australasian Facilitators Network 2011 Conference. Fremantle, Western Australia, NZ.
• Thorpe, S. (2009, December). Enhancing the effectiveness of online groups: online facilitation with storytelling. Workshop presented at the Australasian Facilitators Network 2009 Conference. Nelson, NZ.
• Sherriff , C., Thorpe, S., & Almerigi, S. (2009, September). Catch the Facilitation Wave! IAF in the Caribbean – What’s in IAF for YOU? Workshop presented at The International Association of Facilitators Latin America and the Caribbean Conference 2009. Bridgetown, Barbados.
• Thorpe, S. (2009, September). Enhancing online facilitation with storytelling. Workshop presented at The International Association of Facilitators Latin America and the Caribbean Conference 2009. Bridgetown, Barbados.
• Ruiz, R., Hunter, D., & Thorpe, S. (2009, September). Multi-stakeholder engagement. Workshop presented at The International Association of Facilitators Latin America and the Caribbean Conference 2009. Bridgetown, Barbados.
• Hunter, D. & Thorpe, S. (2009, September). Generating a quantum shift in group consciousness. Workshop presented at The International Association of Facilitators Latin America and the Caribbean Conference 2009. Bridgetown, Barbados.
• Thorpe, S. (2009, September). Enhancing online facilitation with storytelling. Workshop presented at The International Association of Facilitators European Conference 2009. Oxford, UK.
• Hunter, D., & Thorpe, S. (2009, September). Working in blended realities. Workshop presented at The International Association of Facilitators European Conference 2009. Oxford, UK.
• Ryall, K., Thorpe, S. & Golden, M. (2009, April). Facilitating across cultures and across generations: challenges and opportunities. Workshop presented at The International Association of Facilitators North America 2009 Conference. Vancouver, Canada.
• Thorpe, S. (2009, April). Enhance your online facilitation with storytelling. Workshop presented at The International Association of Facilitators North America 2009 Conference. Vancouver, Canada.
• McKinley, E., Ochre, G. Firkins, J., Hunter, D. & Thorpe, S. (2008, November) Facilitating Social Change. Workshop presented at the Australasian Facilitators Network 2008 Conference. Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia.
• Hunter, D. & Thorpe, S. (2007, November) The art of facilitation: Experiencing co-operacy and purposeful facilitation. Workshop presented at the Australasian Facilitators Network Conference 2007. Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
• Hunter, D. & Thorpe, S. (2006, November). Person-centered facilitation: Being there - self, other, group, purpose. Workshop presented at Australasian Facilitators Network Conference. Geelong, Australia.
• Thorpe, S. & Hunter, D. (2006, August). Mapping the field of facilitation. Paper presented at The 9th Annual International Association of Facilitators Asia Facilitators Conference. Singapore.
• Thorpe, S. (2006, January). The Effectiveness of Narrative in Facilitating Online Relationship Development.  Workshop presented at The Midwest Facilitators Network Conference. Chicago, IL.
• Thorpe, S. (2004, January). Online Facilitation. Paper presented at Heart Politics. Taupo, NZ.
• Thorpe, S. (2001, October). Online facilitation pilot study: An exploration of the Zenergy online group. Paper presented at AFN/ALARPM/IAP2/SCIAR. Brisbane, Australia.
• Thorpe, S. (2000, December). Usability testing for web-based travel agents. Paper presented at the 4th Annual New Zealand Tourism and Hospitality Research Conference. Auckland, NZ.
  

Editorials

• Thorpe, S. (2011). Editorial: The Inner Practice. Group Facilitation: A Research and Applications Journal, (11), 3.
• Thorpe, S. (2010). Editorial: Group Facilitation: A Research and Applications Journal, (10), 3.
• Thorpe, S. (2008). Editorial. Group Facilitation: A Research and Applications Journal, (9), 3.
  

Reviews

• Thorpe, S. (2011). [Review of the DVD Hot spots and tricky bits]. Group Facilitation: A Research and Applications Journal, 11, 56.

Thesis

• Thorpe, S. J. (2009, December 10). Enhancing the effectiveness of online groups: an investigation of storytelling in the facilitation of online groups. (Doctoral Thesis, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand). Retrieved from: http://aut.researchgateway.ac.nz/handle/10292/778

Refereeing

• 2012 - Masters Thesis – Social Forensics: Evidence Extraction Tool Capabilities - Auckland University of Technology
• 2011 - Masters Thesis - Risk Based Assessment of IT Controls Frameworks: A Case Study - Auckland University of Technology
• 2007 - Book Chapter - Digital Storytelling: From Artificial Intelligence to YouTube by Julie D. Woletz (Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Germany) - In S. Kelsey, & K. S. Amant (Eds.), Handbook of research on computer mediated communication (pp. 551-569). Hershey PA: Information Science Publishing. doi:10.4018/978-1-59904-863-5

Research Grants / Funding

• 2003 - Innovative Teaching and Flexible Learning grant for Usability Research of the Tutorial for Business Modelling (TBM) ($10,000).

Awards:

2011- Faculty of Design and Creative Technologies Award for Sustained Outstanding Service
2011 - Best Conference Paper - The 5th International Conference on Distance Learning and Education (ICDLE) Singapore 16-18 September.