The epistemology(s) of volunteered geographic information: a critique

Geo: Geography and Environment

Renée E Sieber¹ 

[1] E-mail address: 关键词: volunteered geographical information (VGI);    crowdsourcing;    epistemology;    geographical information;   

DOI  :  10.1002/geo2.10

来源: Wiley

【 摘 要 】

Abstract

Numerous exegeses have been written about the epistemologies of volunteered geographic information (VGI). We contend that VGI is itself a socially constructed epistemology crafted in the discipline of geography, which when re-examined, does not sit comfortably with either GIScience or critical GIS scholarship. Using insights from Albert Borgmann's philosophy of technology we offer a critique that, rather than appreciating the contours of this new form of data, truth appears to derive from traditional analytic views of information found within GIScience. This is assisted by structures that enable VGI to be treated as independent of the process that led to its creation. Allusions to individual emancipation further hamper VGI and problematise participatory practices in mapping/geospatial technologies (e.g. public participation geographic information systems). The paper concludes with implications of this epistemological turn and prescriptions for designing systems and advancing the field to ensure nuanced views of participation within the core conceptualisation of VGI.

【 授权许可】

CC BY-NC   
© 2015 The Authors. Geo: Geography and Environment published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers)

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