Spatial Information Technology and Society: Ethics, Values, and Practice Jefferson Fox, Peter Hershock, and Krisnawati Suryanata
	The recent growth in the availability of modern spatial information technology-geographic information systems (GIS), low-cost global positioning systems (GPS), remote sensing image analysis software-has begun to make the power that comes from recording and controlling space available not only to state funded mapmakers but also to those who were traditionally disenfranchised by maps. At the same time, this newly acquired authority to define and exert control over the use of space compromises the customary uses it is intended to protect. Spatial information technology and mapping generally promote practices that shift attention and concern away from qualities of human/environment relationship to quantifiable limits on that relationship implied by boundaries/borders. The primary objectives of the project are to: 1) analyze the impact of mapping technologies and activities on the cultural and social dynamics of rural communities, 2) understand the social and political dynamics involved in enrolling in and employing/deploying new technologies, and 3) develop a general strategy for critically evaluating the ethical, organizational, and socio-political impacts of technology transfer. Since most research on the implications of spatial information technology has been conducted in North America, this project will fill a gap in understanding the impact of an importation of technology conceived and developed in societies with different developmental histories. The project will invite participants from seven organizations currently involved in projects that use spatial information technology for promoting community-based resource management in the Asia/Pacific region. In Asia, we will invite representatives from NGOs that seek to advance conservation goals and those that seek to empower rural communities. We will also invite one group each from Canada and the U.S. that have prior experience dealing with many of the issues we address here. The project is structured to allow participants to learn from each other's experiences, and to developing a more realistic understanding of the challenges and opportunities involved in adopting spatial information technology for promoting community based resource management. Workshop discussions will be distilled into a publication that will provide a state-of-the-art survey of methodology and issues as well as specify specific technologies and how they should be used. Project activities are designed to provide social activists with conceptual tools to assist them in evaluating the roles of spatial information technology in advancing their goals.
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