GIS - Practices Flashcards
GT
GIS (Geographic Information Systems/Science)
form of spatial analysis which overlays non-spatial data as a way to simply the complexity of the environment (Longley et al., 2015)
GIS emerged in 1854
with John Snow’s research into the Cholera Outbreak
Big Data
enabled GIS to advance but is problematic as it gives institutions and companies power as they have the capability to deal with this data
Big data has ethical concerns
through the ‘mosaic effect’ as the merging of characteristics lead to be people becoming identifiable (Longley et al., 2015)
Two main types of GIS research
Vector (coordinate, line and polygons) and raster (grid box data)
Attributes refer to the non-spatial information
nominal, geometry, ordinal, discrete and continuous
Deconstructing the map (Harley, 1989)
reveals the cultural and political messages embedded within maps e.g. thicker lines to denote european importance
Maps are associated with colonialism and imperialism
as they were used as tool to enact power, marginalise indigenous communities e.g. North America and legitimise their own knowledges (Harley, 1989)
GIS results in a high level of responsibility to the researchers (Monmonier, 2015)
as they have the control to convey certain ideas and messages
GIS posses ethical concerns (Cresswell, 2014) as it is often used as a tool for surveillance (Jefferson, 2017)
CLEARmap (Citizen and Law Enforcement Analysis and Reporting) is a policing map used in Chicago –> leads to the racialisation of citizens as crime is decontextualised and people are simplified to coordinates –> geographic and ethnicity are only elements retained –> map used in public perception
Counter-mapping was produced with the intent of
working against dominating power structures (Hodgson and Chroeder, 2002)
Counter mapping is possible
through open-source tools and online databases (Peluso, 1995)
GIS has a
code of conduct e.g. transparency as it has to follow the FAIR principles (Lucchesi, 2020) with indigenous collaborative research this includes encouraging self-determination
Critical GIS/ Feminist GIS
argues to focus more strongly on qualitative data over quantitative data to detangle power imbalances (Kwan, 2002)
People with disabilities produced maps highlighting the hostility of the high street
as a counter-mapping example to call for more inclusive urban planning (Kitchin, 2002)
GIS emerged in the second quantitative revolution
the first quantitative revolution occurred in the 1950s with the scientific method being encouraged within geography to attract more researchers (Cresswell, 2014)
The emergence of GIS and big data means that
the subjectivity and emotion in research is replaced by algorithms –> concern for human geographers (Cresswell, 2014) as sampling is no longer required –> paradigm shift within the discipline (Kitchin, 2013)
GIS is tied up with representation
as they can effectively depict complex data, though this can lead to ethical concerns (Elwood, 2010)
Wikipedia takes the IP address of those contributing
depiction of knowledge production (Hardy, 2010) - ethical concerns?
GIS can be useful e.g. georeferencing quotes from ethnographic research can provide more context and understanding to the research (Watts, 2010)
Google Earth has a Global Awareness Level to inform people of NGO work with hyperlinks –> increasing the number of actors within research (Elwood, 2010)
GIS is also valuable at creating a space in which emotional relations can be produced between geographically separated communities
e.g. Argentinian human rights and remembrance groups (Bosco, 2007).
Big data is defined as high-volume, real-time, high resolution data sets (Kitchin, 2013)
with the data coming in the form of directed data in digital means, automated data from phones and oysters or volunteered data like computer cookies (Kitchin, 2013)
Examples of respectful mapping research (Lucchesi, 2020)
Be open about positionality, work with local cartographers, respect insider information may not be shared, be open to non-western forms of mapping and respect local laws and traditions
Big data produces inequality concerns as the power to produce, collect, construct and store data will be those with access to funding and computational power on this scale (Graham and Shelton, 2013)
this will marginalise some knowledges and privilege others (Crutcher and Zook, 2009) –> likely producing a data shadow as some regions will be left unrepresented
Is GIS a tool
or a science (Pickles, 1997)
GIS is intrinsically a reductionist method with scalar mapping and is a western form of knowledge production (Olson et al., 2016)
indigenous knowledges may prefer to conduct mapping via a relational approach in which places of meaning are produced, overlaid with metadata explaining the teacher and wider ecological kinship relations (Oslon et al., 2016)
mapping sexuality through GIS actively puts people at risk
particularly if it is done in countries which persecute these individuals (Kwan, 2002)
The Global Indigenous Data Alliance –> principles to follow when conducting collaborative indigenous research
e.g. data is easy to access, can be easily interpreted, benefits local communities, and reflexivity is considered throughout the while research project (Indigenous Peoples Specialty Group, 2009 cited in Lucchesi, 2020: 166).
Counter mapping can deconstruct unequal power relations
feminist geographers using 3-D forms of mapping to understand the intersectionality shaping women’s experiences of place (Kwan, 2002).
critical cartography (Harley, 1989)
did not analyse power relations and multiple perspectives, but did emphasise the importance of deconstructing maps (Del Casino and Hanna, 2005).
