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Thought Questions:
Discussion of Sieber (2006) led by Stephen, Susan, Wiley
Week 3, 10/8/07

(1) PGIS vs. PPGIS - Who defines the public? Should you set limits on who can provide input?
- Who defines the decision-makers? Helpful clarifications in WUN Lecture #1 by Robin Smith and Richard Kingson
- Public can be reached everywhere in cyberspace, so should everyone within a mouse-click be included?
- Cultural acceptance of PPGIS may vary, e.g., local govt. with more "power" over a community organization (Ghose and Elwood, 2003)

(2) Is PPGIS empowering? Is it an illusion of control?
- Technology can put up immediate barriers.
- What does it mean to empower? That's where effectiveness comes in. Evaluating effectiveness.
- To gain a new perspective on an issue or a region may be empowering
- To find a way to accomplish a goal may be empowering
- Just getting people together to communicate may be empowering.
- How long is the empowerment going to last?

(3) Does the definition of PPGIS change? Does the type of project or public it serves drive the definition? Does the definition change as the project progresses?

(4) How does one get the public involved? Can a project be successful with differing levels of involvement?
- Neighborhood strategic plans in Milwaukee
- Varying levels of functions, multiple levels of users (again, Ghose and Elwood, 2003)

(5) What are our potential roles (the roles of the academic or the technocrat)?
- the ivory-tower academic vs. the grassroot academic activist who gets out there into the community
- Whose agenda is it?
- Process vs. end-state
Every PPGIS should:

[ OrSt Seminar | UCGIS | World Universities Network | Email Dawn ]

Last update: October 22, 2007
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