SotE or SooE?

Some implications of online spatial and interactive technologies, and the practices it supports, for State of

the Environment reporting?

Presentation to the State of the Environment reporting forumHobart Function and Conference Centre

16 November 2012

Alister Clark PhD Candidate

School of Geography and Environmental Studies University of Tasmania

Supervisors: Dr Lorne Kriwoken, Dr Jon Osborn, Dr Kate Booth and Dr Richard Mount

PLACES

The “Open” Geospatial Web 2.0

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Text

Sites

PEOPLE News

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Share

Link

Social practices / movements

• User generated content / ‘Produsers’ – create, add, share, link, reuse, adapt

• Distributed QA / curation – filter, tag, rate, comment, review.

• Social networking• Crowdsourcing, mass collaboration, folksonomy• VGI, Neogeography, Neocartography• Crowdfunding, Microfinance, Microwork, Gov 2.0,

Emergency 2.0, Where 2.0, etc.

What does this mean?

The world on our desktops c. 2005

The world in our handsc. 2010?

• More ways information is created and distributed.• Information can be added to, reused, adapted, curated in

almost anyway – complex adaptive systems properties…• The context – space, time, social - from which and for which

that information was produced can be made transparent

Issues with wider participation

• Data / information quality – accuracy, relevance, bias, representation, comparability etc.

• Access, motivation, literacy, time.

• Concerns over security, privacy, intellectual property

• Antisocial / malignant actions – vandalism, misinformation, vilification etc.

• Who is an expert /, who decides?

Downloaded 19/6/2012 from http://www.ala.org.au/

InteractContribute

ShareReuseAdapt

Rich, contextual, free, open information

What is Where, When, Who says so?

Contribute to planning for Victoria’s Parks(http://www.weplan.parks.vic.gov.au/home)

Help monitor fish movementshttp://www.redmap.org.au/.

www.feralscan.org.au

www.myswan.org.au

www.climatewatch.org.au

www.firenorth.org.au

www.birdata.com.au

Concerned about Coal Seam Gas

Mining?http://csg.getup.org.au/

Interested in food sustainability?http://www.localharvest.org.au/

Connecting Country

http://www.connectingcountry.org.au/interactive.html

Current Australian GW2 initiatives:

• Mainly focussed on a particular subject matter – value added if integrated / “mashed up”

• Mostly control the manner of interaction: subject matter, form of the subject matter

• Open in some ways to a greater or lesser extent, but limited ability to interact outside given structure, sometimes to reuse or adapt

• Trend is towards more applications and more openness?

Opportunities for SooE Reporting

• Access a greater range of data / information• Reporting is “live” continuously updated• Construct SOE more collaboratively• Support multiple / alternative views• Use geography to integrate across subjects, domains,

physical / values, qual. / quant.• Use context - spatial, time, social context to make

bias more transparent• Use existing platforms (SenseT) – for live, dynamic,

interactive and inclusive SooE.

Issues for SOE• Requires a mix of social and technological expertise

and resources• challenges current organisational culture – authority,

control, mode of operation• Change from plan and control, to engage and co-

create / guide.• Unanticipated / unintentional consequences are an

opportunity and a risk• Field new and very dynamic• Australian awareness / understanding?

Origins and history1993 - first web based GIS - OGC interoperability standards

- barriers: bandwidth, complex software and poor user interfaces.

2000 - Web 2.0 emerges- removal of selective availability of GPS signal - increased computing power vs. cost, speed, better software

and interfaces- crowdsourcing, P2P production, user generated content

2005 - Geospatial Web 2.0 emerges- Google Earth and maps launched- GPS enabled smart phones develop- Mapping API’s – “mapping mashups”- Neography, Volunteered Geographic Information