[GKD] Geographical Information Systems and the Developing World

[Bartlett, Darius]

Colleagues,

I have been eavesdropping on the GKD discussions for several months, and
it seems this could be a very useful forum to help me scope and frame
some research I plan to do early in the New Year.

My interest is in Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and related
technologies - including the development of Spatial Data
Infrastructures. Over the past decade or so, my work has taken me to
many parts of the world, including several Developing countries (Egypt,
India, Mauritania, Senegal, Kenya, etc.). Having seen the diffusion to,
and take-up of GIS in these countries, I have been struck by the reality
that this is a technology developed initially in and for the West,
that is now being transferred in various ways to other, non-Western
societies. This diffusion must inevitably carry with it many important
and interesting cultural / other implications and impacts.

I also get the strong impression that most transfer of GIS to developing
world countries has, so far, been through a top-down mechanism (the
technology brought in, and often even managed by, donors or outside
agencies from Western countries) rather than through bottom-up means
(local communities in Africa, Asia, Latin America, taking the initiative
to acquire and use GIS for their own requirements with only minimal
inputs from system vendors and Western interests).

Over the next six months, I hope to research some of these issues and
hypotheses. Questions that I have already identified, and would
particularly like to explore, include the very basic one:

*   Is GIS an appropriate technology for developing countries?

And, leading from this,

*   What are the social, cultural, economic and other impacts that may
attend diffusion of GIS to developing countries?
*   What are the main current models of GIS diffusion to and take-up
within these countries, and how do each of these models compare in terms
of impact and effectiveness?
*   To what extent are the cartographic and other metaphors embedded
in current GIS technologies relevant to the world views and geographies
encountered in non-Western societies?
*   What are the biggest success stories, and the heroic failures,
regarding the application of GIS within developing world countries?
*   What impacts does GIS have on the decision-making process in
non-Western societies, and how does - or should - this relate to
cultural and other nuances of the societies in question?

I am posting this message now, in the hope that GKD readers might help
me (a) frame the research and suggest any important questions they
believe I have overlooked; (b) point me in the direction of must-read
literature on the topic; and (c) help me make contact with key
authorities and other organisations or individuals who might be
particularly relevant to such research? I am especially interested in
making contact with people who can help bring a critical and analytical
eye to the role of GIS in these non-Western contexts.

In February I plan to attend the GSDI-7 conference in Bangalore,  and I
shall be spending much of the month travelling in India. I would be
particularly interested, therefore, in hearing from anyone who either
plans to also be at that conference, or who is based in India and would
be willing to talk to me.

Many thanks for your time, and best regards for the Christmas season to
one and all. While I have been silent on this forum till now, I have
greatly enjoyed your exchanges of views over the past year.

Darius Bartlett


*
Darius Bartlett   
Department of Geography  Roinn na Tireolaiochta
University College Cork  Colaste na hOllscoile Corcaigh  
Cork, Ireland
Corcaigh, Eire

Phone: (+353) 21 4902835 Fax: (+353) 21 4271980
Phone(GSM): (+353) 86 8238043
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Web: http://www.ucc.ie/staff/djb
*
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Re: [GKD] Digital Divide vs. Social Divide.

[Bartlett, Darius]

Yacine raises a very important, but I fear often overlooked point: any
technologies, ICTs included, should only be seen as a means to an end.
Acquisition of technologies should never, or at best very very rarely,
be seen as the end in itself.

And, partly adopting a role of Devil's Advocate, I can also see an
equally important question implied in Yacine's comments: the diffusion
of ICTs benefits both the consumer and also the provider. And it
troubles me somewhat that the latter, in many (most?) cases can often be
traced back to the large, frequently multinational  and essentially
western-based, corporations (naming no names, but I think we all know
who I mean!). We should never forget that these vendors (not
unnaturally!) have strong vested interests in developing new markets;
and those of the developing world - in particular in South and
South-east Asia - are probably the most significant of all of these in
terms of the numbers of people involved and the revenue they could
generate for the suppliers.  In such circumstances, adopting
technologies without also having full access to their underpinning
conceptual and operational foundations could be very risky, and creates
a culture of dependency, as well as having potential security
implications.

When I read Yacine's comments, I started wondering whether the marketing
strategies of at least some of these large multinational corporations
doesn't foster and, perhaps even depend on, the entrenchment of both the
digital and the social divide? After all, the acquisitive instinct is
one of the most powerful allies of the entire advertising / marketing
industry worldwide! We all want to be the kids with the newest and
fanciest toys in the neighbourhood, and the news and advertising media
hardly discourage such motives! I accept I am quite new to this forum,
but even within this GKD group, I have seen very little discussion of
these questions?

Comments anyone?

Darius

*
Darius Bartlett 
Department of GeographyRoinn na Tireolaiochta
University College CorkColaste na hOllscoile Corcaigh  
Cork, Ireland
Corcaigh, Eire

Phone: (+353) 21 4902835   Fax: (+353) 21 4271980
Phone(GSM): (+353) 86 8238043
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Web: http://www.ucc.ie/staff/djb
**


Yacine Khelladi [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

 We are sick and tired of the digital divide problem. The REAL problem
 is how are we going to use the Strategic opportunities offered by the
 ICTs to close the SOCIAL divide. And avoid digital divide initiatives
 that deepen the social divide. This is not a semantic problem, but a
 vision that encompasses all of our objectives, methods and actions, to
 use ICTs for sustainable human development.
 




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