“community-based mapping isn’t ‘action research’, it is political action” (p.16).
Janis Alcorn in “Borders, Rules and Governance: Mapping to catalyse changes in policy and management” illustrates that mapmaking and maps have the power for social change—if you do it right. Community mapping can be abused as only an idea by researchers, NGO’s and consultants utilized in project proposals and reports. But Alcorn says the “real power of the approach is unleashed when the process is led by the community” (p.16). When this occurs there can be several benefits to a community, including increased cohesion, increased democracy, intra-community cooperation, and most importantly local control over land-use and resource exploitation. Several examples are given that depict how maps can influence or strengthen these things. In particular, how they can be used to negotiate with national governments that operate “outside” of local people’s interests.
Alcorn discusses community-mapping projects in Indonesia, Brazil and Philippines to demonstrate how communities can us maps to actively negotiate rights. Alcorn draws on these examples to outline steps for success in the mapping process to activate change. Emphasized in the process is that the mapmaker act as a facilitator and community members the decision-makers. At the same time, a strategic plan that provides room for continual evaluation of the process is key. Alcorn asks as the initial stage, “what is the political costs and benefits of mapping…”(p.9). Following a series of questions, this initial phase is focused on teasing out issues that may arise, and foreseeing potential conflicts with the map, before any work is done. Another step discussed is choosing from a range of technologies, recommending being open to different technologies that fit the initial goals and target audience of the map. Technologies reviewed include, sketch maps, 3D models and GIS. These different technologies may all be used to bring different information into the process, however, for communication to governments, computer generated cartographic representations tend to have the most impact.
Alcorn’s article lays out a process for engaging in community mapping for social change, emphasizing the benefits and the potential for it to go wrong. The article lays out a clear direction for practitioners including addressing issues around mapping strategies to reduce potential conflicts. She bring in several points that were addressed in Jeff Fox’s paper, including the point that many Indigenous communities like it or not, must in engage in mapping their territories or risk losing all control of their lands. Concerns with the appropriateness’ of technologies such as GIS, come to light as communities are forced to document their cultural values, in a particular way that is not necessarily conducive to their ways of knowing. Therefore, the mapping process may force communities to re-shape their knowledge to protect the very thing they seek to conserve through the map.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Conflict: Jeff Fox Maps the Commons
“…while maps can be an empowering tool, helping a local community define itself in relationship to the landscape and to the political forces that shape and influence it, maps can also be used to disinherit them” (p.4).
Jeff Fox, in his article “Mapping the Commons” explores the duality of mapping to empower people. In particular, he draws on examples of Indigenous mapping projects that seek to give cartographic power to communities. The tools of spatial information technologies, in all its various forms, can help solve land-use conflicts and boundary disputes. However, Fox illustrates there is several issues with cartographic representation within different cultural contexts.
Fox asserts that by utilizing the cartographic technologies to gain power, Indigenous people, are “telling alternative spatial stories” (p.3). However, they are trying to capture their own knowledge within a western knowledge framework. Fox discusses a fundamental aspect of western mapping--the four directions. He points to how various cultural groups do not recognize these four directions, such as the Zuni people and the Inuit who have radically different directional systems. How can western style mapping depict richly different and complex cultures? One proposal is to increase the practice of mapping with other methods in research such as participant observation that may capture the cultural and symbolic spaces that are difficult to depict.
Other issues arise in land-use mapping, where mind maps of traditional societies are transformed to paper maps, defining borders, and thus specific land rights between villages. In the communities discussed, the customary system of land representation was “fluid” which allowed for flexible interpretations of boundaries. The flexible boundaries in the peoples mind maps provided minimal conflict; the paper maps created new conflicts, and as a result in some examples resource managers, stopped the practice of mapping boundaries.
Fox concluded his review with the idea that is it a fine line between cartographies and research practices that simply reproduce power relationships, and one that works to break these down. So far, cartography has not found any definitive solutions. In this article a common end is drawn on by Fox with wisdom from Nancy Peluso that Indigenous people have to participate in mapping or they will quite literally be left off the map. Now how is that for empowerment! I will sum up with the old saying--can’t live [justly] with, can’t live [justly] without.
Jeff Fox, in his article “Mapping the Commons” explores the duality of mapping to empower people. In particular, he draws on examples of Indigenous mapping projects that seek to give cartographic power to communities. The tools of spatial information technologies, in all its various forms, can help solve land-use conflicts and boundary disputes. However, Fox illustrates there is several issues with cartographic representation within different cultural contexts.
Fox asserts that by utilizing the cartographic technologies to gain power, Indigenous people, are “telling alternative spatial stories” (p.3). However, they are trying to capture their own knowledge within a western knowledge framework. Fox discusses a fundamental aspect of western mapping--the four directions. He points to how various cultural groups do not recognize these four directions, such as the Zuni people and the Inuit who have radically different directional systems. How can western style mapping depict richly different and complex cultures? One proposal is to increase the practice of mapping with other methods in research such as participant observation that may capture the cultural and symbolic spaces that are difficult to depict.
Other issues arise in land-use mapping, where mind maps of traditional societies are transformed to paper maps, defining borders, and thus specific land rights between villages. In the communities discussed, the customary system of land representation was “fluid” which allowed for flexible interpretations of boundaries. The flexible boundaries in the peoples mind maps provided minimal conflict; the paper maps created new conflicts, and as a result in some examples resource managers, stopped the practice of mapping boundaries.
Fox concluded his review with the idea that is it a fine line between cartographies and research practices that simply reproduce power relationships, and one that works to break these down. So far, cartography has not found any definitive solutions. In this article a common end is drawn on by Fox with wisdom from Nancy Peluso that Indigenous people have to participate in mapping or they will quite literally be left off the map. Now how is that for empowerment! I will sum up with the old saying--can’t live [justly] with, can’t live [justly] without.
Facebook draws a growing crop of farmers
Many in the ag industry are using Twitter and blogs to communicate, educate.
Published online on Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009
By Robert Rodriguez / The Fresno Bee
With a hand-held video camera, a computer and 800 cows, Barbara Martin of Lemoore is letting the world into her life as a dairy operator.
No, it's not a new reality television show. And Martin isn't craving her 15 minutes of fame.
But she is joining a growing number of farmers and others in agriculture who are using social media tools to communicate with each other, send out information and educate the public about agriculture.
Dairy operators have become especially skilled at launching Facebook pages, blog posting and using Twitter, a microblogging site.
Martin uses all three to tell the public about the family's 800-cow dairy. She launched her blog, "A Dairy Goddess's Blog," in late August.
When Barbara Martin shoots a video for her blog where she is known as Dairy Goddess, she just goes out and finds her favorite cow, Chica, holds the camera and narrates what is on her mind. She uses social networking tools such as Twitter and Facebook to connect with dairy people across the U.S.
For Martin, using social media and blogging is a way to dispel some myths about farmers and encourage a greater understanding of the slumping dairy industry.
She's blogged about everything from fixing the pricing structure for milk to sharing her childhood memories about growing up on a farm. Her most recent post is a video diary about her heifer Chica.
Martin and other dairy operators say their critics such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have used the Internet's power to portray them as cruel, greedy and corporate.
PETA has posted videos on its Web site showing animals being neglected on a Pennsylvania dairy.
"I want people to know about the people and families who run dairies in this country," said Martin, a third-generation dairy operator. "This is not a factory farm. We are a family who cares about their animals, and I want to show that."
Cindy Zimmerman, who co-owns a Missouri-based new media company with her husband, Chuck, said much of what's driving farmers to use Twitter, Facebook and even YouTube is the desire to raise the public's awareness about agriculture.
She said many consumers still don't understand the role farming plays in the economy and the challenges farmers face, including weather, pests and low prices.
"These new tools have become a way for the individual farmer to get their story out to the public," Zimmerman said. "And for some, this has become a way to connect with people that they never would have been able to do before."
Although it may be too early to tell whether Twittering farmers are changing public opinion, the effort to use social media shows no signs of slowing.
Among those who use social media is motivational speaker and new-media adviser Michele Payn-Knoper.
More than 2,000 people follow her posts on Twitter.
Payn-Knoper of Indiana hosts a session on Twitter called AgChat every Tuesday from 5 to 7 p.m., and she averages 100 to 200 participants. She's had as many as 500 people participating.
"Social media has become such an incredible information platform for farmers and agriculture," Payn-Knoper said. "And many are seizing that opportunity."
Payn-Knoper said more dairy operators are joining Twitter and Facebook largely because the industry has sponsored seminars on the topic. Other agricultural industries have been slower to latch onto the new technology.
Bob McKellar of Ivanhoe is a newcomer to Twitter. McKellar's Family Farm Fresh uses the site to promote its community-supported agriculture operation.
The farm delivers fresh fruits and vegetables to people who sign up and subscribe. Its Twitter site updates customers with the latest offerings or asks people whether they prefer plums soft or crunchy.
McKellar, a farmer for more than 30 years, admits he doesn't know how to use Twitter, but he fully understands its potential. One of his employees does the Twitter posts.
"I have a computer and a cell phone, and to be honest with you I know very little about either one of them," McKellar said. "But what I do know is that these new ways can help reach people like we haven't been able to do before."
University of California cooperative extension specialist Matthew Fidelibus uses Twitter and Facebook to share his research on grapes with farmers.
State budget cuts have made it tougher for some UC farm advisers to reach growers through field meetings or personal visits to farms. To reach more farmers, Fidelibus has posted Twitter updates on how to deal with a recurring problem of powdery mildew, a fungal disease common among vineyards.
And while Fidelibus has become a regular on Twitter, his raisin farmer clients haven't quite caught up.
"The demographic of the raisin farmers we deal with is skewed more toward older growers, so we are not sure if they use this sort of technology or not," Fidelibus said. "But if we can dispel some of the myths about using Facebook and Twitter, then the potential to reach people could be huge."
Published online on Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009
By Robert Rodriguez / The Fresno Bee
With a hand-held video camera, a computer and 800 cows, Barbara Martin of Lemoore is letting the world into her life as a dairy operator.
No, it's not a new reality television show. And Martin isn't craving her 15 minutes of fame.
But she is joining a growing number of farmers and others in agriculture who are using social media tools to communicate with each other, send out information and educate the public about agriculture.
Dairy operators have become especially skilled at launching Facebook pages, blog posting and using Twitter, a microblogging site.
Martin uses all three to tell the public about the family's 800-cow dairy. She launched her blog, "A Dairy Goddess's Blog," in late August.
When Barbara Martin shoots a video for her blog where she is known as Dairy Goddess, she just goes out and finds her favorite cow, Chica, holds the camera and narrates what is on her mind. She uses social networking tools such as Twitter and Facebook to connect with dairy people across the U.S.
For Martin, using social media and blogging is a way to dispel some myths about farmers and encourage a greater understanding of the slumping dairy industry.
She's blogged about everything from fixing the pricing structure for milk to sharing her childhood memories about growing up on a farm. Her most recent post is a video diary about her heifer Chica.
Martin and other dairy operators say their critics such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have used the Internet's power to portray them as cruel, greedy and corporate.
PETA has posted videos on its Web site showing animals being neglected on a Pennsylvania dairy.
"I want people to know about the people and families who run dairies in this country," said Martin, a third-generation dairy operator. "This is not a factory farm. We are a family who cares about their animals, and I want to show that."
Cindy Zimmerman, who co-owns a Missouri-based new media company with her husband, Chuck, said much of what's driving farmers to use Twitter, Facebook and even YouTube is the desire to raise the public's awareness about agriculture.
She said many consumers still don't understand the role farming plays in the economy and the challenges farmers face, including weather, pests and low prices.
"These new tools have become a way for the individual farmer to get their story out to the public," Zimmerman said. "And for some, this has become a way to connect with people that they never would have been able to do before."
Although it may be too early to tell whether Twittering farmers are changing public opinion, the effort to use social media shows no signs of slowing.
Among those who use social media is motivational speaker and new-media adviser Michele Payn-Knoper.
More than 2,000 people follow her posts on Twitter.
Payn-Knoper of Indiana hosts a session on Twitter called AgChat every Tuesday from 5 to 7 p.m., and she averages 100 to 200 participants. She's had as many as 500 people participating.
"Social media has become such an incredible information platform for farmers and agriculture," Payn-Knoper said. "And many are seizing that opportunity."
Payn-Knoper said more dairy operators are joining Twitter and Facebook largely because the industry has sponsored seminars on the topic. Other agricultural industries have been slower to latch onto the new technology.
Bob McKellar of Ivanhoe is a newcomer to Twitter. McKellar's Family Farm Fresh uses the site to promote its community-supported agriculture operation.
The farm delivers fresh fruits and vegetables to people who sign up and subscribe. Its Twitter site updates customers with the latest offerings or asks people whether they prefer plums soft or crunchy.
McKellar, a farmer for more than 30 years, admits he doesn't know how to use Twitter, but he fully understands its potential. One of his employees does the Twitter posts.
"I have a computer and a cell phone, and to be honest with you I know very little about either one of them," McKellar said. "But what I do know is that these new ways can help reach people like we haven't been able to do before."
University of California cooperative extension specialist Matthew Fidelibus uses Twitter and Facebook to share his research on grapes with farmers.
State budget cuts have made it tougher for some UC farm advisers to reach growers through field meetings or personal visits to farms. To reach more farmers, Fidelibus has posted Twitter updates on how to deal with a recurring problem of powdery mildew, a fungal disease common among vineyards.
And while Fidelibus has become a regular on Twitter, his raisin farmer clients haven't quite caught up.
"The demographic of the raisin farmers we deal with is skewed more toward older growers, so we are not sure if they use this sort of technology or not," Fidelibus said. "But if we can dispel some of the myths about using Facebook and Twitter, then the potential to reach people could be huge."
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Harley's Ethical Dilemmas
“Maps should continue to reflect the values of society at large, as their history has shown us they have always done” (p.18).
JB Harley (1989) outlines some of the underlying ethical dilemmas in the discipline of cartography during his time. The discourse emphasizes the neglect of cartographers to engage in social discourse around map-making, and the content of the maps. He sees a “divorce” between the social and the technical aspects of cartography as underling the “crisis of representation”. In general, he characterizes cartographers as “passive reactors” rather than “active initiators”. This is because they rarely engage in the political process, but focus in on the technical aspects of mapmaking.
Society and the value norms of the time-period are reflected on the map, as they are in the history books, and the architecture. On a map this is represented through the place names. Harley, gives examples, of how place names reflect societal values, from the derogatory, racially charged names given to places such as Niggerhead mountain, to the renaming of locations in later times. Names simple published on a map gives them authority, Harley points out. On the other side, he discusses “restoring the map” for instance when the names are replaced by Indigenous pre-colonial place names (p.4). However, he reflects on what happens when the map changes, and those racist names are removed, like a history book being rewritten, he states “In seeking to destroy the past, we are in danger of destroying a witness to the roots of a racial bigotry that still divides our society” (p.15).
Harley argues for the redemption of the topographic map, claiming that it is more democratic—thus it holds higher ground than its counter-parts. In part this because it is published, on paper, and leaves little mystery to the data behind it. In comparison, geographic information systems (GIS) are non-maps, until the visual is presented, critiquing the movement of cartographers focus on GIS. The other concern he raises is the trend towards thematic maps, which represent specific kinds of information, and are ultimately—he argues—reductionist. In contrast the topographical map, is a whole “integrated picture” that has the ability to represent social, cultural and environmental artifacts.
Harley presents several interrelated arguments that relate all back to the same theme-- cartographers do not engage in ethical dilemmas enough. In his many examples of how values of society can be born, shaped and reflected through maps, he is trying to convince the cartographer to listen, watch and act. Maps are texts, as texts they allow for moral reflection.
JB Harley (1989) outlines some of the underlying ethical dilemmas in the discipline of cartography during his time. The discourse emphasizes the neglect of cartographers to engage in social discourse around map-making, and the content of the maps. He sees a “divorce” between the social and the technical aspects of cartography as underling the “crisis of representation”. In general, he characterizes cartographers as “passive reactors” rather than “active initiators”. This is because they rarely engage in the political process, but focus in on the technical aspects of mapmaking.
Society and the value norms of the time-period are reflected on the map, as they are in the history books, and the architecture. On a map this is represented through the place names. Harley, gives examples, of how place names reflect societal values, from the derogatory, racially charged names given to places such as Niggerhead mountain, to the renaming of locations in later times. Names simple published on a map gives them authority, Harley points out. On the other side, he discusses “restoring the map” for instance when the names are replaced by Indigenous pre-colonial place names (p.4). However, he reflects on what happens when the map changes, and those racist names are removed, like a history book being rewritten, he states “In seeking to destroy the past, we are in danger of destroying a witness to the roots of a racial bigotry that still divides our society” (p.15).
Harley argues for the redemption of the topographic map, claiming that it is more democratic—thus it holds higher ground than its counter-parts. In part this because it is published, on paper, and leaves little mystery to the data behind it. In comparison, geographic information systems (GIS) are non-maps, until the visual is presented, critiquing the movement of cartographers focus on GIS. The other concern he raises is the trend towards thematic maps, which represent specific kinds of information, and are ultimately—he argues—reductionist. In contrast the topographical map, is a whole “integrated picture” that has the ability to represent social, cultural and environmental artifacts.
Harley presents several interrelated arguments that relate all back to the same theme-- cartographers do not engage in ethical dilemmas enough. In his many examples of how values of society can be born, shaped and reflected through maps, he is trying to convince the cartographer to listen, watch and act. Maps are texts, as texts they allow for moral reflection.
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