article

Sieber, R. E., and Haklay, M. 2015. The epistemology(s) of volunteered geographic information: a critique. Geo: Geography and Environment, doi: 10.1002/geo2.10.

Sieber, R. E. and Peter A. Johnson. 2015. Civic open data at a crossroads: Dominant models and current challenges. Government Information Quarterly 32(3): 308–315

Brandusescu, Ana, Renee E Sieber and Sylvie Jochems. 2015. Confronting the hype: The use of crisis mapping for community development. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies. 1–17 DOI: 10.1177/1354856515584320

Crisis mapping has emerged as a method of connecting and empowering citizens during emergencies. This article explores the hyperbole behind crisis mapping as it extends into more long-term or ‘chronic’ community development practices. We critically examined developer issues and participant (i.e. community organization) usage within the context of local communities. We repurposed the predominant crisis mapping platform Crowdmap for three cases of community development in Canadian anglophone and francophone. Our case studies show mixed results about the actual cost of deployment, the results of disintermediation, and local context with the mapping application. Lastly, we discuss the relationship of hype, temporality, and community development as expressed in our cases.

My comments at AAG 2012 provoke a twitter conversation and a journal article:

Haklay, Mordechai. 2012. Geographic information science: tribe, badge and sub-discipline. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 37(4): 477–481, October 2012

Peter A. Johnson and Renee E. Sieber. 2011. Motivations driving government adoption of the Geoweb GeoJournal. Online First™, 11 May 2011

Recent increases in the use of Web 2.0 and Geoweb technologies by citizens have led many governments to investigate the adoption of these technologies. This research examines the motivations driving multiple levels of government in Quebec, Canada to consider the adoption of the Geoweb within a context of rural development. We present results from a series of interviews with key government representatives that identifies the SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) of the Geoweb within provincial and municipal government. Respondents define two implementations of the Geoweb, informational and participatory, indicating that SWOT differs for each. This research concludes that for government to implement an informational Geoweb, there are few barriers, but that a participatory Geoweb will require a more substantial, and potentially long-term renegotiation of the relationship between citizen and government.