CALL for PAPERS - NCGIA Initiative 19

Initiative 19 Co-leaders - NCGIA (initiative19@wvugeo.wvnet.edu)
Mon, 13 Nov 1995 17:19:18 GMT

National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis
November 13, 1995

Initiative 19: GIS and Society: The Social Implications of How
People, Space, and Environment Are Represented in GIS

Open Call for Participation

On March 3-5, 1996, a 3-day Specialist Meeting will be held in
Minneapolis to further develop a research agenda for a new NCGIA
Initiative on GIS and Society. The meeting will be limited to
about 35 participants, selected on the basis of position
papers reviewed by the steering committee.

The Initiative will focus attention on the social contexts of
GIS production and use and address a series of conceptual
issues:

1) In what ways have particular logic and visualization
techniques, value systems, forms of reasoning, and ways of
understanding the world been incorporated into existing GIS
techniques, and in what ways have alternative forms of
representation been filtered out?

2) How has the proliferation and dissemination of databases
associated with GIS, as well as differential access to
spatial databases, influenced the ability of different
social groups to utilize information for their own
empowerment?

3) How can the knowledge, needs, desires, and hopes of
marginalized social groups be adequately represented
in GIS-based decision-making processes?

4) What possibilities and limitations are associated with
using GIS as a participatory tool for more democratic
resolution of social and environmental conflicts?

5) What ethical and regulatory issues are raised in the
context of GIS and Society research and debate?

These conceptual issues will be addressed in the context of three research themes:

* the administration and control of populations

* location conflict involving disadvantaged populations

* the political ecology of natural resource access and use

Persons wishing to participate in this workshop should submit a
position paper of 1,000-1,500 words, summarizing their research
interests and how they relate to the concepts and themes
outlined above. A brief outline of plans for continued research
on the topic should also be included. Submissions must be
received by November 30, 1995, and include a short biography
(maximum of one page) describing the author€s professional
experience and interests relevant to research in this area.
Submissions should be made by email to the address below using
plain ASCII text. Decisions will be made before January 1, 1996.
There will be no conference registration fee, and room and board at
the conference site will be provided to all participants. We
anticipate being able to cover most travel costs for participants

Initiative co-leaders:
Trevor Harris and Daniel Weiner
Dept of Geology and Geography, West Virginia University

Address for submissions:

Initiative19@WVUGEO.WVNET.EDU

Steering Committee

Helen Couclelis, UCSB
Michael Curry, UCLA
Trevor Harris, WVU
Robert McMaster, University of Minnesota
David Mark, SUNY Buffalo
John Pickles, University of Kentucky
Eric Sheppard, University of Minnesota
Daniel Weiner, WVU