One More Post Related to Pattern Mapping

While I have launched into this project, it is important to note the rationale... The reason for this pursuit rests in the research result from my masters work. I have attached a link to the concluding remarks from the research report that addresses some of the issues, and potential areas for new research in the direction of patterns, their use in community empowerment, and civic intelligence in general.

Some of the issues that the conclusion touches upon include: problems with pattern complexity, adaptability of the pattern language, lack of tools for retrieval and visualization, need for additional processes for collaboration, the potential for process monitoring methods for supporting adaptability of programs/projects using patterns and pattern languages.

Here is the doc: Final Conclusions from Research on LV - Research Completed May of 2007

The Public Sphere Project

I just wanted to let everyone know that the Public Sphere Project is now officially a federally recognized non-profit in the US! After 5-plus years of work we finally got this thing official.

Check out the site, a couple of great people at the Evergreen State College are working to develop the site and a set of web applications to help build civic intelligence and promote the use of the Liberating Voices pattern language.

To check out the patterns please go to: Liberating Voices Online.

Yeah!

Liberating Voices and MIT - Check IT -The Book is Coming!

Liberating Voices: A Pattern Language for Communication Revolution
By Douglas Schuler (and a whole bunch of other people!)

(Click for link to MIT Press)

In recent decades we have witnessed the creation of a communication system that promises unparalleled connectedness. And yet the optimistic dreams of Internet-enabled engagement and empowerment have faded in the face of widespread Internet commercialization. In Liberating Voices, Douglas Schuler urges us to unleash our collective creativity--social as well as technological--and develop the communication systems that are truly needed.

Inspired by the vision and framework outlined in Christopher Alexander's classic 1977 book, A Pattern Language, Schuler presents a pattern language containing 136 patterns designed to meet these challenges. Using this approach, Schuler proposes a new model of social change that integrates theory and practice by showing how information and communication (whether face-to-face, broadcast, or Internet-based) can be used to address urgent social and environmental problems collaboratively.

Each of the patterns that form the pattern language (which was developed collaboratively with nearly 100 contributors) is presented consistently; each describes a problem and its context, a discussion, and a solution. The pattern language begins with the most general patterns ("Theory") and proceeds to the most specific ("Tactics"). Each pattern is a template for research as well as action and is linked to other patterns, thus forming a single coherent whole. Readers will find Liberating Voices an intriguing and informative catalog of contemporary intellectual, social, and technological innovations, a practical manual for citizen activism, and a compelling manifesto for creating a more intelligent, sustainable, and equitable world.


About the Author
Douglas Schuler is a member of the faculty at The Evergreen State College, former Chair of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR), and a founding member of the Seattle Community Network (SCN). He is coeditor of several books, including Shaping the Network Society: The New Role of Civic Society in Cyberspace (MIT Press, 2004) and the author of New Community Networks: Wired for Change.

Endorsements
"In this wide-ranging analysis of the role of information in society, Doug Schuler proposes a grand theory that weaves together disparate information and communication activities into an organized, synergistic fabric. He taps into the collective wisdom of citizens--both theorists and advocates--to develop a pattern language that can be used as a framework for rethinking how we build community and create a more humane, equitable future."
--Nancy Kranich, Former President, American Library Association, author of Libraries & Democracy

Revision to Previous Post - Write-Up

So Yishay made a great observation in the write-up that I previously posted. I responded to his comment, but it so apt that I think it warrants a posting unto itself.

Here is the comment and my response below:

Yishay -

all good, EXCEPT - I would start with f. First, get a system up and running with the minimal set of features you need to do a. Then add the features you need to do b, etc.

If you want to get people to buy into your plan, you need to show them something that moves. Then they'll tell you what's missing, and you can add it. People don't do well in abstract (unless they're mathematicians, computer scientists or theoretical physicists). They need an object to talk with.

Justin -

Thanks Yishay for this reminder as you are exactly correct in my opinion. Unfrotunately, I didn't articulate this point in the write up . But I did initiate the project in this manner.

After our discussion about ning as a platform for this project I went ahead and started site: MyCSA Network.

This served as the showcase piece that I sent to the decision maker on this project. After reviewing the site along with a few ideas driving the site, he told me to go ahead and produce a quick project proposal that addresses the rationale, the approach for building and maintaining the site.

So, going back to your comment, this just shows the need to be more methodical in recognizing the process of practice!

This is certainly important and underscores the need to effectively "enroll" potential users by showcasing something that can serve as a guide or reference for helping people conceptualize the types of things one hopes to accomplish. We all need to see or have something tangible to provide concrete evidence to our abstract ideas.

So here is the revision on Methodology Portion of the write-up to reflect this VERY important insight, informed by a pattern nonetheless!:

Methods for Design and Development:

• After defining an initial problem (see: rationale), build a base site with general functionality as a showcase.


• Extend Problem Definition (Interviews, Literature Review, Survey of Potential Stakeholders).


• Identify Specific Patterns linked to the Problem Definition (use: Liberating Voices, Learning Patterns, Conservation Economy.


• Adapt identified pattern to address specific program goals.


• Merge with Web 2.0 principles to guide decisions on final platform choice and subsequent implementation.


• Identify useful patterns for promoting and building user interactions on the final site, i.e viral marketing, mass mailers/e-mails, print media, word of mouth, blogging, etc...


• Iterate based upon user feedback to address potential emergent issues.

I would like to annotate my comment regarding the need to provide objects to talk with. Yes, it is critical, but simultaneously, it is just as critical to first understand what problems you are attempting to solve. So in looking at my own process it was the identification of a specific issue that initiated the idea to create a CSA focused social network. However, in the context of building any sort of participatory program the use of the pattern cited by Yishay becomes central as it can be used as a talking point to frame the rationale, purpose and eventuate an enrollment of potential users.

Quick Write-Up for a Pet Project...

Using Community-Change Patterns to Develop a CSA focused Social Network

Project Proposal #1:

Justin Smith

6/16/2008

Introduction and Rationale:

No longer is the web solely comprised of basic web pages made up of text based HTML, nowadays we have streaming video, audio and desktop application you can use through your favorite web browser. Along with the proliferation of these uses and software, a second wave has come along labeled Web 2.0. This marks an era defined by an explosion of social interactions and user generated content. People no longer have to be tech wizards to navigate and harness the power of this technology. These days all it takes is a few mouse click and one can have a full featured web site and be connected to old high school friends or publish an academic journal. These days a certain level of articifical intelligence is embedded within this massive brain we call the Internet. This makes it easy to aggregate content from various places that match and link individuals together based upon shared preferences, interests and activities. As a result of all of this, we can see that new ways of thinking and acting within this virtual environment are changing thinking and acting in the "world-of-the-real."

However, despite the opportunities afforded by Web 2.0 and social networking technologies, many are still left out and have not yet harnessed the possibilities. Of particular interest are the range of groups spread out across the US focused on building community through a reorientation of the production and consumption practices associated with the modern agri-food system. Though these groups have been able to foment a movement based upon ideals of sustainability and community interconnectedness, there is little evidence to suggest that their efforts are anywhere close to replacing the current system. And though these communities have begun to recognize the utility of the web, it seems they have not yet grasped the underlying opportunities for building greater connectivity among food producers, consumers and retailers on not only a local scale, but national, and even international scales. All one has to do to recognize the opportunities is to see how far the "Fair Trade Movement" has come by using information technologies that links producers, sellers, retailers and consumers in a global market place. This suggests opportunities for similar actions among locally focused groups that can both link people together to meet food needs, but also link people through the free-flow exhange of ideas, practices, problems and successes.

According to Thomas Lyson in his book Civic Agriculture, "CSAs are an important part of civic agriculture. They strengthen the local food economy and preserve farm land. A web of connected and cooperatively organized CSAs could represent a real and viable alternative to the mass-produced, homogeneous, imported produce found in most supermarkets today." Unfortunately, when one does a simple search on CSAs or CSA networks one finds a relatively small number of connected and cooperatively operated ventures that not only provide alternatives but that work to promote a full fledged food movement. That is not to say that locally-focused global networks do not exist, but rather they appear to be few and far between. Thus it seems that there needs to be a concerted effort on building up the necessary connections between one another to help foment a "true movement."

The question then becomes: How do we build vibrant networks that connect to both local relations, while supporting a global movement towards integrated efforts that enhance the role of local food producers and access to these production systems among local community members? Following developments in the use of systems thinking and the codification of knowledge related to the design, development and strategic use of these social technologies it can be argued that we have potential answers to these questions through the adoption of patterns and pattern languages. Essentially a pattern represents a general solution to a persistent problem and these pattern langauges represent a network of patterns that interact and reinforce one another to construct an effective and sustainable system. Based upon this work it is argued that "Liberating Voices" serve as the model for supporting the advance of the local food movement online.

Overall, "Liberating Voices" represents a pattern language for democratic communication, which proposes a set of social, communicative and design principles specifically geared towards confronting these challenges from both local and global perspectives. Using these sets of patterns it is thought that we as a movement of concerned citizens can effectively define the problems we seek to solve and then map out the technological solutions to address these problems. That is not to say that we will eliminate all problems, but rather it is possible that these efforts can provide a greater support network so that communities can eventually come together to tackle the range of other issues confronting the complex relationships between people and their food.

Vision:

Using the principles behind Web 2.0 thinking and patterns for communicative engagement articulated by "Liberating Voices" this project will work to develop technologies and practices tools that can be easily used by people with varying degrees of technical competence. Along with creating usable systems these technologies will fill in a gap in capacity and action among locally distributed and previously unconnected groups across the country and beyond. Together with these tools and the orientation towards supporting greater levels of interaction, there will be a special emphasis on Community-Supported Agriculture and the presentation of one soltuion to a range of issues that need to be confronted from within and outside the movement for a "civic agriculture."

Methods for Design and Development:

a.) Outline Problem Definition (Interviews, Literature Review, Survey of Potential Stakeholders)

b.) Identify Specific Patterns linked to the Problem Definition

c.) Adapt identified pattern to address specific program goals

d.) Merge with Web 2.0 princinples to guide deciisions on final platform choice and subsequent implmentation

e.) Identify useful patterns for promoting and building user interactions on the final site, i.e viral marketing, mass mailers/e-mails, print media, word of mouth, blogging, etc...

f.) Support an iterative design process that embraces user feedback and continual revision for an up-to-date system

Despite the methods presented above, it is clear that certain peices will fundamentally need to be in place. Such as a system to generate interest or location based groups, individual user pages, whether consumers, producers or unaffilitated supporters of a general movement. There will also need to be a way for users to locate geographically CSAs, as well as tools to help current CSAs who already have website generate more traffic through integrating these systems without complex programming skills. Likewise, there is a need for tools that can interface with current social networking platforms such as Facebook or MySpace as this will support future marketing, visibility and make navigation to and from a user's most popular websites easy and seemless.

Project Deliverables:

One social networking website and an associated research paper of journal quality that presents rationale, methodology, evaluation and conclusions for continual refinement of the technologies and practices of interactions used both on site and in face-to-face interactions. Provide on-going support to the development and maintance of additional services as suggested by users or emegent tools created out the community of Web 2.0 developers.

For more information on the methods, technologies and thinking behind the project please look at these resources:

What is Web 2.0? Web 2.0 as described on wikipedia (This is actually a great and easy to understand conversation)

What is Liberating Voices? A Pattern Language for Social Change

Updated DIAC-08 Abstract

ABSTRACT:
Through the ongoing process of globalization the world appears to be changing, and in this process there are obvious winners and losers. Often communities at the bottom of the economic and social ladder are those being the hardest hit. In response to the challenges of globalization communities and activists spread out across the globe are seeking strategic advantages through the uses of ICTs to enable effective advocacy. While the positive results sought through these networked associations are not always realized, there are numerous projects taking place around the world aimed at enhancing civil society’s capacity to mitigate the effects of globalization and empower local communities to define the trajectories of development.

In 2006, a study was conducted to analyze the relevance of one of these capacity-building efforts, “Liberating Voices” a program emphasizing the use of pattern languages as a method of supporting ‘civic communication.’ The study sought to evaluate whether effective networks exhibit the elements defined within the Liberating Voices database as archetypical patterns for effective communication and political transformation. The results of this study revealed that while the Liberating Voices project is not yet complete, various pattern configurations can be observed among effective instances of networked advocacy. This points to the opportunity to further study these patterns as approaches to capacity building for ineffective networks struggling to influence political discourse at local and global spheres of policy making.

KEYWORDS: Pattern Languages, Advocacy Networks, Community Information Systems

Model for Evaluation/Analysis/Diagnostic for Community Problem Solving (Excerpt from Thesis)

Chapter 5
Research Analysis
Identifying the Problem Space

With a description of events, a general problem space can be mapped out that depicts the case study elements as interconnected properties. This problem space can be developed by constructing a visual representation that presents a holistic picture of what was and is taking place within Jharkhand. Linking these pieces together can provide a window into shortcomings and highlight areas where the network could strengthen its capacity to engage. However, just as important, processes of highlighting relationships enables a clearer understanding of how the issues and problems of the case support each other to create a complex and difficult environment for political representation, responsive governance and empowering vs. debilitating social policies in the region.

For instance, it is obvious from the case report that the fear of displacement was a primary concern or problem. Following from this element an array of problems emerge that feed into, as well as flow from this specific issue. The concern over displacement was the consequence of a policy proposal initiated by the government and the Indian Military. This proposal is likewise linked to another problem, a lack of political influence. Figure-6 points to this, showing the link between the ability to influence political leaders and the level of informational access, which includes the ability to communicate and redistribute that information. As a point of reference, it was nearly two years before villagers acquired concrete evidence of the government’s initial proposal. As long as this information remained out of reach no catalyst existed to compel local groups to contest or attempt to influence political policies. And, without the community’s ability to communicate opposition it is nearly impossible to push for political redirection.

Figure Caption
Figure 6: Problem Map, depiction of problems as a system of issues.



This broadly relates to the structural blockages which correlate back to opportunity structures. Without a system, whether institutional or technological in nature that enables an effective two-way flow of information between political representatives and the region’s constituents, there would be no space through which to contest these policies. Thus, the ability to access channels for information consumption and production is fundamentally necessary for providing the communicative space to negotiate political alternatives. While this does not address the content of discourse, the level of informational access represents a precursor that links to a capacity for people to enjoy a supportive and representative form of governance (Day & Schuler, 2004; Dreze & Sen, 1999; Schuler, 1994).

Further analysis highlights other important connections, such as the relationship between poor compensation and the deterioration of economic livelihoods. While compensation links to institutional mechanisms that enable or hinder appropriate implementation of social policies, livelihoods relates back to concerns over forcible displacement. In this way, livelihoods also connect to problems of information awareness, with the government’s ‘notification of intent’ as being just one example. With these notifications often non-existent, the ability of villagers to protect resources was limited, resulting in the loss of livestock and other durable assets. Though the notification was issued, its affect did not reach the intended audience. Again, this issue connects back to the institutional problems associated with the ways the government chooses to implement its laws and policies.

Though these shortcomings could be associated with a number of reasons, systemic corruption and cultural exclusion are often cited as the culprits (Corbridge & Harris, 2000; Dreze & Sen, 1999). These are perceived as influences leading to greater failures of institutional mechanisms that stifle accountability in government. As a result, the scope of the problem space is further extended by tracing access of direct political representation to these more abstract or high-level problems such as cultural exclusion. This has fed into the poor implementation of policies resulting in low-literacy, making access to and use of information more problematic (Dreze & Sen, 1999; Sen, 1999). Of course issues of literacy can be linked to more general concerns over income insecurity that often forces children to forego education in order to assist their families in earning a living (Dreze & Sen, 1999). Though these outlying elements may not be directly linked to the campaign, following this line of reasoning enables a view of a dynamic system with a range of conspiring forces that influence day-to-day realities as well as the capacity for advocacy.

By understanding how these pieces are fitting together it becomes clearer that one is working with a complex system represented by a web of interconnected components that are to some degree all influencing one another. Along with describing the complexity of the problem space, the case study also illustrates a parallel set of properties that converged to contest the immediate, as well as some of the structural or outlying problems here. With these observations in place the next step of the analysis revolves around identifying elements that emerged as solutions to the problem space.

Properties of Success

By developing a parallel diagram similar to defining the problem space, connections between the responses of the local community and the network in the case can be represented. These connections enable an analysis of how properties within the network influenced, and were also influenced by other supportive properties. Similar to comprehending the problem space, it is likewise possible to understand these properties as a system, constituting a whole, rather than just a conglomeration of pieces.

By tracing connections between various properties it can be recalled that one of the primary functions of the network was its usage of frames. This was enabled and supported through its link to the role of media production in communicating these frames to different groups. The network was able to use language in context specific ways depending upon who they were attempting to communicate with. For example, press releases geared towards the larger public sought to draw mental and emotional connections between the results of “British colonial rule” and the growing public angst over so-called “internal colonialism” (Roy, 2003). Framing was also used in the development of visual media products; while other media was produced in the form of research reports and op-ed pieces that drew connections between political corruption and the failure of democracy in India.

Figure Caption
Figure 7: Solution Map, represents elements developed by the network.



Extending this analysis it is apparent that media production is supported by the presence of multiple partnerships and extended associations which act as channels for the exchange of resources and expertise needed to carry out media development projects, as well as an outlet for distribution. In this case, Usages of ICT also act as both an inlet, as well as an outlet for the distribution of media, and can include the material resources needed to create the media, such as a digital video camera, computer or an audio recorder.

Referring back to the problem space defined earlier, it becomes clearer that without the ability to communicate, or the ability to utilize effective framing to engender responses from one’s audience, the capacity of the network is minimized. Likewise, without the material support, expertise or the systems of human and technological distribution available, the ability to produce and disseminate the media is also compromised.

Elements were also influenced by the opportunity structures and consequently those elements influenced the structures through the process of creative problem solving and adaptation that emerged out of the cooperative efforts of the network. This relates to how the broader network with its multiple partnerships provided access to government officials, opening up a space for the capacity of the network as a single agent to propose an alternative public policy, as well as influence thinking on current policy decisions. The relationships already in place through the presence of the Church and a culture that was initially community-centric provided a ready made structure suitable for perceiving and working with the blockages presented by the government.

Similarly, through the presence of perceptive leaders and community actors that possessed a multitude of social connections across different groups and geographic boundaries, the ability of the community to develop a broader network was made possible. Thus, opening the door for greater partnerships with NGOs and activist groups, extending to international organizations associated with indigenous rights issues. This was not only encouraged through the prior presence of cross-community relationships, but also through repetitive interactions among like-minded actors that supported a process of conscientization and the strengthening of a shared vision which helped promote a unified voice among constituents.

However, these processes did not take place in a vacuum and the prevalence of political space that allowed for ‘witnessing’ among affected peoples, or for discussions regarding the campaign was also a necessary element. Taken together these elements served as a powerful force for developing a sustained process of resistance which aided in the mobilization of peoples to partake in a variety of ongoing public demonstrations and mass protest.

This iterative process presents some interesting parallels with feedback loops, in the sense that collective meaning and vision was strengthened enabling the development of a structure that encouraged a deepening of relationships which served to support protests and rallies that eventually became a commonplace occurrence among villagers contesting the firing range. This depiction represents an emergent structure that was influenced by a series of inputs, resulting in a series of outputs that continually reinforced one another. Though most of these properties are arguably products of unintended consequence, rather than strategic decision making, they nonetheless point to a way of thinking about the construction of organizations and networks that supports holistic conceptions of how relationships among the parts can enable success.

However, it is difficult to assert that these elements will constitute the perfect conception of a network in all situations since the case is representative of a context specific situation, in a specific time and place. Yet, these elements are not far from what appears to constitute many of the primary problems cited throughout the literature on advocacy networks, whether they are local or transnational in nature. What often ends up making a difference revolves around the implementation of these patterns, or in perceiving structural opportunities for influencing powerful people, and thus the institutions the people control.

While the intent is not to merely reiterate already well documented research within the field, but rather the intention is to highlight that by identifying a problem space it is possible to begin thinking of how responses can become more consciously designed and tweaked to address specific institutional and structural blockages. Thus, the major thrust here is more towards a way of thinking about relationships for action, rather than in the pieces of action. It is however, still necessary to understand the elements of action in order to apply this alternative view, which brings up the last phase of analysis that attempts to match the case properties to the patterns of the pattern language.

Making the Connections

With a generic understanding of the major elements in the case study and how the pieces interacted within one another, it is now possible to begin the next stage of analysis. For instance: 1.) what additional opportunities (patterns) could further empower the network; 2.) do the properties of the case match the patterns in the pattern repository; and 3.) are there properties from the case that should be patterns, but are not?

To identify missing elements that could be useful for future action it is important to compare how the responses of the network link to the problems confronting the network. It can be argued that the network has room for an expanded role that addresses more of the institutional mechanisms at work. Certainly, the network provided a structure in which the local communities could overcome various obstacles, but the underlying reasons for these obstacles still exist, such as rampant corruption and low-literacy rates. Without understanding and addressing these additional forces locals could be left dependent upon outside support for their political legitimacy and civic capacity.

Based upon the relationships highlighted in Figure-8, it is apparent that a number of elements were not addressed, or dealt with in a direct way. There was little done regarding issues of corruption, or on problems of political exclusion, except through the usage of media production that sought to illuminate these problems. However, merely highlighting corruption does not necessarily change the institutional nature that supports such behavior. Though it can promote a political will to construct stricter legal rules and incentivise whistle-blowers, media production is only one step towards developing an atmosphere needed to address the institutional mechanisms at work.

Figure Caption
Figure 8: Problem/Response Diagram, depicting direct connections between issues and responses.



While the campaign was successful, the network served primarily as a channel for people to respond to the government by opening access to political discourse, and did not radically transform the environment that has perpetuated political exclusion in Jharkhand. In fact, it is now 2007 and the state government has failed to hold panchayats election for almost 30 years. Similarly, other than the recent discussions over reforms on rehabilitation and compensation polices, there remains little change in the mechanisms for voicing grievances or in the cultural practices and bureaucracies of the Indian civil services in the Jharkhand state.

The continued institutional problems can be related back to Jonathan Barker (a pattern contributor) who cites social advocacy as a predominately responsive or reactive phenomenon (Barker, 1999). While groups can be effective they rarely define new pathways for policy development, instead they tend to get caught in a continual defensive cycle. Looking at a list of past advocacy campaigns in Jharkhand it is possible to recognize that some have been successful and others not, but the primary problem is that there has been little move towards defining a new way forward. Apprehending such problems can open up opportunities for perceiving additional supportive patterns such as: Social Dominance Attenuation (Schuler, 2007), Grassroots Public Policy Development (Maranda & Schuler, 2007), or Free and Fair Elections (Schuler, 2006). There could be a number of patterns that could also support the development of literacy, such as Self-help Groups (Smith, 2007) or Informal Learning Groups (Smith, 2007), and perhaps Durable Assets (Smith, 2007) to promote economic security (some of which is already taking place).

Though like all patterns, the level of success would be dependent upon the capacity to implement such an approach, as well as additional patterns chosen to act as support elements. Nonetheless, Barker’s findings open a door for perceiving new options while calling for more proactive campaigns. While this list of possibilities is by no means an exhaustive list of either the opportunities or patterns available to leverage these opportunities, they do however point to the initial relevance of the patterns within the context of this research. To strengthen the relevance of these patterns it is necessary to provide a comparison between the identified responses of the network and the available list of patterns. By going through these patterns one can recognize a number of obvious correlations. In some instances there are direct connections while in other cases there are more general or abstract correlations.

In providing a comparison of these elements it is possible to recognize that the responses and patterns fit together nicely.

Table 1: Response-Pattern Matching, identifying correlations between responses and pre-defined patterns.

Community Network Mass Protest Repetitive use of political space Use of Frames Multiple Partnerships* Perceptive Leaders Unified Voice* Media Production Use of ICT Use of Shared Vision Understanding Opportunities Identifiable Policy Alternatives Witnessing

Community Networks Mass Protest Political Settings Strategic Frame 344 Civic Intelligence* Strategic Capacity Big Tent for Social Change* Indigenous Media/Tactical Media Tactical Media/AOI**/INAM** Shared Vision Opportunity Spaces Grassroots Public Policy Power of Story

(*) Patterns and Properties do not match, yet they may still be relevant. (**) International Networks of Alternative Media (148), Accessibility of Online Information (295). Patterns worth noting: Community Building Journalism (521), Civic Capabilities (721), Control of Self-Representation (315), Community Inquiry (636), Power Research (293), Multi-Party Negotiations for Conflict Resolution (710), Transparency (523) Open Action and Research Network (633). Patterns not found within the repository: Repetitive Interaction, Information Politics, Symbolic Politics, or Leverage Politics.


For instance, the usage of Peaceful Public Demonstrations, Shared Vision, Strategic Frame, and Community Networks all relate in a direct way with the case-study examples. There are other examples within the repository that match up as well: Tactical Media, Political Settings and Big Tent for Social Change. Indigenous Media is another type of media development that took place within the case study. In clarifying the problem and context of the pattern its relevance is apparent:

Problem –
Lack of representation in media production results in reduced diversity of ideas and perspectives in the media. This often results in manipulation, lack of political participation and knowledge about rights. It lessens opportunities to engage in politics or to assume responsibilities in government. Indigenous people who are denied their voice will find it difficult to fight oppression, work with allies, or maintain their culture. Without the means to make their voices heard, communities become atomized within themselves and invisible to the outside world.

Context –
Indigenous people in rural and urban areas in developing and developed countries around the world need to create —as well as use —information and communication systems to promote education, health, governance, cultural life and many other important values (Schuler and Alvarez, 2004).

Political Settings also relates and was discussed at some length already. Here Political Settings refers to: the basic physical units of collective political action, such as meetings and demonstrations. Essentially, each instance of a political setting has its own unique location in space and time, yet often regularly reoccurring (Barker, 1999 and 2007). Again, it is possible to see how these descriptions generally match-up with the case elements. For instance, the numerous public meetings, protests and coordinating events headed-up by the various organizations involved, all point to the usage of Political Settings.

Just as defining a problem space or providing a representation of responses, these related patterns can be presented as a visual, interconnected web. The Figure-10 provides one view of how these patterns can link while also representing their directional influence to one another. As in previous diagrams this model represents how these patterns relate and support one another. For instance, one can follow along from each pattern to understand their relationships: Strategic Frame is produced and disseminated through the use of Tactical Media, this media thus serves to help further develop a Shared Vision, whereas Shared Vision helps to enable the emergence of Mass Protest, which serves as a Political Setting that thereby reinforces the Shared Vision and thus provides feeds back into the use of Strategic Frame. Though there were other patterns at work within the case example, this snap-shot points to how these patterns work and correlate to the previous diagrams developed for analysis.

While the connections cited in Table-1 and Figure-9 appear to provide greater validity to the framework, some difficulties arise when trying to ascertain the relationships between those more generalized or amorphous patterns. For instance, opportunity spaces and civic intelligence do not appear to actually address a specific problem per se; instead, they represent emergent responses of the network or ways of perceiving environment. In this way these patterns appear to act as high level elements that lack a definite function in regards to a specific action. Yet, in reviewing these two patterns the role each play is tremendous.

Figure Caption
Figure 9: Sample Pattern Lattice, showing how pre-defined patterns link into a feedback loop.



The ability to understand one’s opportunity space represents an important component that is echoed throughout the literature on advocacy networks, and though it is unclear whether the network conceived of the structural blockages it faced (except through research provided by external partners) it would seem that its ability to adapt and act accordingly through a reliance upon other elements provided a greater level of strategic capacity for action. In this sense it seems likely that the usage of opportunity spaces drawn from both the literature and the case study reveals a point of relevance for both the pattern and perhaps as a suggestion to methodically perceive these spaces in the future.

In the case of civic intelligence one can think of the actual network as whole and its ability to collectively identify and resolve issues both internally and externally. As previously referenced, networks often emerge to address a host of problems that local constituents could not otherwise address on their own, due to problems of resources or institutional blockages that minimize their political capacity to influence policy or to contest dominate forces. In this way the emergence and subsequent growth of the network serves to increase a group’s civic intelligence which relates to the adaptive capacity of the network to find and implement creative solutions to problems. For instance, Keck and Sikkink’s Boomerang Pattern could be argued as a product of adaptive capacity for working around institutional oppositions.

Along with the ability to communicate, perceive problems and design solutions the research illuminates perceptible connections among these critical elements, and the potential for adaptation within a network. It is this adaptive capacity that is considered a central component of civic intelligence. Thus, the emergence of the network and all of its responses is a product of a certain level of civic intelligence and the more it was employed the more effective they got; simultaneously growing the collective intelligence as the network grew in number of associations and in power.

Overall, these correlations show that there is strong evidence that these patterns represent a number of important elements within the case. Similarly, the extended number of patterns defined within the pattern repository represents a range of additional opportunities available to increase capacity and extend thinking for considering a larger range of influential things that could derail activities.

However, even with these patterns available the literature and case present a number of elements that should probably be explicitly defined within the repository.
The most obvious examples would most likely be Keck and Sikkink’s ‘typology of tactics’ sited in the literature review which include: Information Politics, Leverage Politics, Accountability Politics and Symbolic Politics. The boomerang pattern could also be operationalized as a tactical approach to organizing and contrasting strategic partnerships among communities with little in the way of resources. Della Porta’s observation on the affect of having multiple partnerships and multiple affiliations also raises the need for patterns that address these elements. Another pattern is the usage of Iterative Interactions; though Political Settings does address this to some degree the pattern misses the importance of process orientated settings, meaning it is not an explicit function of the pattern. In this case, formalizing this focus upon the reoccurrence of using political setting can act in support of the Political Setting’s general function.

Conclusion

With this analysis a number of critical observations can be made regarding the relevance of the patterns and pattern language. The first of these observations relate to the set of specific questions posed above, and again follows here: 1.) what additional opportunities (patterns) could further empower the network, 2.) do the properties of the case match the patterns in the pattern repository, 3.) are there properties from the case that should be patterns, but are not?

Based upon the list of responses and communicative structures identified within the case and the patterns defined within the repository, it is clear that a number of correlations exist. The ability to see these relationships represents a very useful step in providing a comprehensive list of solutions to a number of difficult problems for enabling the workings of civil society and networked advocacy. However, it is also apparent that the pattern language remains incomplete as both the analysis and literature review have revealed patterns that have yet to be defined. This points to the evolving nature of the model and in fact it represents an adaptive and developing project that may never be complete or will always be in flux as people identify newer more effective patterns for working within complex social environments.

However, despite the incompleteness of the patterns, the conceptual process of analyzing the connections among problems faced by the communities of the case study also revealed opportunities where some of these patterns could be used in more systematic ways to address shortcomings. This conceptual shift represents a critical piece of the research and speaks to both an opportunity for comprehending new pathways for action, and a shortcoming that insist upon yet another paradigm for how groups think about projects and the critical importance of understanding the relationships between the scope of elements involved in these complex social environments. And though the theory appears at first glance overly complex the idea of generalization can provide a more usable model worth consideration as it develops further.

Beyond providing an introductory evaluation of the theory of patterns, the analysis helped reiterate, as well as add validity and coherence to previous research on civil society and advocacy networks. For instance, though these patterns are generalized they still seem to shed light on the network itself as a strategic entity maneuvering and adapting to contest both immediate as well as institutional problems. Information and communication, the ability to form structures of opportunity to help mobilize and leverage resources among network actors, all played critical roles in the effectiveness of the tribal people’s campaign to oppose the Netrahat Firing Range.

These actions also showed that through connections to larger institutions and organizations, communities can facilitate deeper discussions on issues (connected to, but) outside the scope of their original and immediate concern. For example, though it was not explicitly clear in the case-study, the Netrahat campaign along with a number of other local movements in the region, such as the Koel-Karo Dam project provided a deeper more compelling context and impetus for renewed demands for a tribal state. This connection is evident when reviewing past discussions and literature on the modern tribal autonomy movement, as well as when one recognizes that many of the local organizations involved in these campaigns also played important roles in promoting the political cohesion necessary for encouraging positive responses from the Center government in Delhi. Likewise, through the network’s extended circle of partnerships it was able to link Netrahat to practices of displacement, adding to a national debate that has heated up over state and local-level policies surrounding development induced displacement. This highlights how geographically located issues can act as a set of interfaces to support some of these larger issues that exist outside the original area of focus. It is interesting to note how this process of extending the scope of debate relates back to a central idea of the pattern language which is to perceive and address those problems that can be addressed internally by small groups and communities themselves, as well as those problems that necessitate larger spheres of coordination.

With groups perceiving the relevance of tackling issues of immediate importance while facilitating in contesting the institutional and/or cultural practices that feed into entrenched practices of social inequalities, it becomes more than apparent that the range of actors, structures and mechanisms for expression, as well as the competing interests of various groups will add heavy layers of complexity to achieving social change. With the world becoming increasingly integrated and conflicts apparently more common it is necessary for traditionally weak organizations and communities to identify ways to systematically consider the scope of conspiring social problems needed to empower those who live at the bottom of the global social and economic ladder.

Visual Pattern Mapping

So this prototype project is turning out to be a very fun exercise. The basic structure is to use a relation db such as MySQL to store the coordinates of the SVG based visual map. The actual patterns that these images represent are to be stored as XML files following the PLML DTD (a suggestion I got from Yishay).

I haven't decided if I'm going to use a native XML database such as eXist, but for the time being I think I'm going to stick with a basic file-based storage system and use MySQL to deal with the visual mapping application. Note: I hear PostgreSQL would be better for this type of application.

Each primary component of a pattern and the language itself will comprise both a basic image associated with the pattern, forces and problem statement. Following Joanne Tippet's work with DesignWays, I think starting off with either a design goal or collaboratively defined problem statement that allows users to construct a pattern language will be an important piece of software. Hopefully, her work as well as the work taking place with the Public Sphere Project can benefit.

Now, this is not new idea per se, though I have been interested by the implications of such a project, but a similar project promoted and tested at the London Knowledge Lab has sought to promote a similar paradigm. However, I want this project to be the first step that will eventually support the use of past patterns. The system will query a pattern database based upon a search criteria. By using PLML, patterns will link each other together and in a sense help auto populate a basic starting pattern language to address a particular community problem.

Now, with the basic pattern mapping application already complete users could then amend and extend this generated pattern language and replace it with a more community generated one.

This is important I think, as the shear number of patterns that have emerged over the past few years has severely hampered the ability of pattern users to reuse components of knowledge. If we could search and provide semantic relationships between community developed knowledge it is hoped that we could be more able to use that knowledge in future projects.

Extending, Clarifying and Redirecting the Previous Post

After reading over my long, yet free thought exercise on expanding my research questions, I have had some time to think and reflect.

What do I think about this?
While I generated a lot of interesting ideas, but I think I really lost sight of the original research questions that drove me to investigate patterns.

Actually, much of my emphasis on patterns is based upon specific questions. Although these questions are not specifically centered upon particular environmental or sustainability issues, rather these questions are centered upon the use and application of patterns in relation to the work they are intended to support.

While patterns have become a central piece to a number of approaches to ecological design, the ways in which patterns are used seems ambiguous, similarly, how do outsiders who want to integrate pattern thinking into their work utilize past knowledge, or append their own insights into existing languages.

While environmental managers and eco-consultants make greater use of communication technologies to support their work, many of the systems that these people use seem inadequate. For instance, knowledge management systems that are geared towards the development of an evolving knowledge bank resemble nothing more than document repositories listing cases of past work (Take a look at CBNRM.net or FRAME). Now this isn’t necessarily the case among major business entities, but for the most part content even here retrieving knowledge seems difficult.

When reviewing these cases it seems difficult for outsiders to glean the central principles that make these projects successful. It would also seem difficult for even a long-time user to know where to look when attempting to integrate patterns that may have not been used by the designer, or when ongoing projects require a designer or community collaborates to identify alternative solutions to emergent forces.

For pattern users, the way they have sought to solve this problem has been to produce a number of pattern repositories that serve as a collection of acquired knowledge, either from other pattern repositories, research or personal design experience. Yet, even these systems feel lacking. For instance, take a look at the Liberating Voices project or Hillside.net, with hundreds of patterns it seems difficult to know where to start.

Furthermore, once patterns are identified and applied, how do we monitor their usage? If forces dictate that a pattern be adapted, then how do we capture that knowledge? Perhaps, these adaptations imply the need for other patterns to be added to a design language, yet how do we capture this process? This would seem important to any future work, as these are elements of a language that must be acknowledged.

Based upon this emphasis it would seem that my research questions might ought to reflect shortcomings in the usage of patterns, the systems we use to preserve, adapt and share patterns; as well as how communities and eco-managers collect and record patterns in order to generate their own pattern languages.

In a very generic way the list below represents a set of useful question to help orient this work, with patterns and pattern languages representing just one part of a series of possible solutions.

1. How do we support the development and retention of environmental literacy among communities?


2. How do we retain community knowledge that spans across multiple domains to include the environment, politics, culture, communications and economy?


3. How do we communicate this community knowledge to resource managers and development practitioners in coherent ways?


4. How do we adapt this knowledge over time, based upon feedback?


5. How do we connect this knowledge in ways that make it useful for complex, holistic decision-making?

Now, as one could see these questions are very broad, yet by contextualizing the questions in relation to current efforts to employ KM and other ICT based tools in the work of ecological design and natural resource management, these questions do seem to take on a more specific character.

If we are taking a KM approach then new question emerge as additional considerations must be taken into account:

1. How do patterns help in structuring KM solutions?


2. How do we support the viewing and searching of knowledge that exists across multiple dimensions?


3. Which approaches to pattern co-construction serve to build the greatest level of community centered environmental literacy?


4. With an emphasis on patterns and KM, what role might community ontologies play in usability?


5. What might be the best way to visually represent patterns as interconnected pieces of knowledge? Mind-maps? Concept Maps? Casual-loop diagrams (perhaps with explicit semantic relationships)?

These questions can go on and on. Yet, they all seem relevant to the work. However, along with the questions what are the assumptions underlying the orientation of these questions? Though a discerning reader might get this I need to make at least five of these clearly explicit for my own reference

1. Why KM systems? To support the growth and development of civic and networked intelligence for collaborative problem solving.


2. The task of supporting sustainability is a global issue requiring not only global action, but networks of individuals and community actors collaborating and working together.


3. The internet provides an effective medium to supplement face-to-face interactions for planning, monitoring and knowledge transfer.


4. Patterns coupled with the use of community ontologies within KM systems represents a possible approach to knowledge creation, knowledge transfer and knowledge retention.


5. Patterns represent an effective design paradigm for community based ecological design and resource management.

Of course these are just some of the assumptions, but these correspond to the larger more general assumptions driving the research in the direction of KM, patterns and community collaboration for ecological design and natural resource management. Out of this understanding it is possible to assess these assumptions and ask the questions listed above within a more specific context as connected to a specific problem area among resource mangers and community actors.

For this I will refer back to one of the primary questions put forth in the previous post:

How do (can) we sustain and support communities dependent upon non-timber forest products in the wake of degraded forests caused by commercial logging, invasive plant diseases, loss of biodiversity, alternating weather patterns and the intensified harvesting of non-timber products due to growing demand for such resources?

While the question addresses an environmental issue the implications touch upon both human and environmental systems. It spans a number of problem domains, such as economic livelihoods, potential political forces, cultural connections to land, the communication, planning and maintenance of natural resource based economies under threat from a multitude of human and environmental forces.

DIAC - 2008 (Call for Participation)

Twenty-one years since the first DIAC Symposium!

Tools for Participation:
Collaboration, Deliberation, and Decision Support

Directions and Implications of Advanced Computing Symposium Conference on Online Deliberation (DIAC-2008/OD2008)

Sponsored by Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility and UC Berkeley School of Information

University of California, Berkeley June 26 - 29, 2008
http://www.publicsphereproject.org/events/diac08/

At the dawn of the 21st century humankind faces challenges of profound proportions. The ability of people around the world to discuss, work, make decisions, and take action collaboratively is one of the most important capabilities for addressing these challenges.

Researchers, scholars, activists, advocates, artists, educators, technologists, designers, students, policy-makers, entrepreneurs, journalists and citizens are rising to these challenges in many ways, including, devising new communication technologies that build on the opportunities afforded by the Internet and other new (as well as old) media. The interactions between technological and social systems are of special and central importance in this area.

DIAC-08 combines CPSR's 11th DIAC symposium with the third Conference on Online Deliberation. The joint conference is intended to provide a platform and a forum for highlighting socio-technological opportunities, challenges, and pitfalls in the area of community and civic action. Technology enhanced community action ranges from informal communities of practice to democratic governance of formal organizations to large social movements.

We are especially interested in technology development that is already being tested or fielded. We are also interested in theoretical and other intellectual work that helps build understanding and support for future efforts. In addition to exploring social technology, we must at the same time understand and advance the social context
of technology, including its design, access, use, policy and evaluation, as well as intellectual frameworks and perspectives that inform technological as well as social innovation including requirements, case studies, critique and self-reflection, and infrastructures for future work.

Our areas of focus include but are not limited to: deliberative and collaborative systems, e-democracy and e-participation, mobilization and organization, negotiation, consultation, sustainability, community support systems, open source models, human rights, ecological awareness, conflict resolution, justice, transparency systems, media and civic journalism, media literacy, power research, citizen science, economic development and opportunity, peace and reconciliation, infrastructure development, policy, education, community networks, research and development for civil society, social software, virtual communities and civic intelligence.

We are currently interested in the following types of submissions: research paper and exploratory paper presentations (both of which will be peer reviewed), technology demonstrations, workshops and poster sessions. We are currently seeking co-sponsors who can help provide various types of assistance. We are also seeking donations and other support (including volunteer labor) to help make this event successful.

The DIAC symposia have resulted in six book publications (in addition to the proceedings). Although we don't have specific plans at this time, we are hoping to publish our seventh book based on this event.

Guidelines for papers and other submissions

All submissions must be made via the conference submission system on the DIAC-08 web site. Submissions should be written in English and foreign speakers are encouraged to have their submissions reviewed for language prior to submission. Submissions should be formatted for "US Letter" size using 11 point Times-Roman font. Research papers should be a maximum of 10 pages. Accepted research papers should be revised according to reviewer comments and resubmitted by the deadline. Workshop proposals (two pages) should include motivation, objectives, expected outcomes, intended audience, process (including specific description of how people will be engaged during the workshop). Taking a cue from PDC 2008, we are also interested in exploratory papers (4 pages), that reflect novel concepts, works-in-progress, reflections, manifestos or other ideas and issues that aren't currently suitable for a research paper.

Important Dates

• December 1, 2007 Submission system available


• December 15, 2007 Early registration begins


• February 15, 2008 Research paper submissions due


• March 15, 2008 Demonstration, workshop proposals due


• April 1, 2008 Notices of research paper acceptances


• April 15, 2008 Poster proposals due


• May 1, 2008 Late registration begins


• May 15, 2008 Completed research papers due


• June 26-June 29, 2008 DIAC-2008/OD2008

Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility

CPSR is a public-interest alliance of people concerned about the impact of information and communications technology on society. By sponsoring international, national, and local projects and events, CPSR serves as a catalyst for in-depth discussion and effective action in key areas.

UC Berkeley School of Information

Providing the world with innovative information solutions and leadership, the UC Berkeley School of Information conducts research, provides policy counsel, and trains information professionals in five areas of concentration including information design and architecture, information assurance, social studies of information, human-computer interaction, and information economics and policy.

Conference Chair:
Douglas Schuler

Program Chairs:
Todd Davies, Jerome Feldman, and Douglas Schuler

Related Conferences

We also recommend the Participatory Design Conference which will be held in Bloomington, Indiana, USA. September 30, 2008 - October 4, 2008. See PDC-2008. The theme of this 10th PDC is "Experiences and Challenges" and it is an excellent opportunity to reassess the achievements of the PD movement and to consider its future.

Economic Patterns: Constructing a Pattern Language for NRM

So I had written a previous post about my desire not to use Drupal and more specifically PHP for my research project. However, I have done some further in-depth analysis of the requirements for the proposed project and I think that considering the needs for a full featured system along with the ability to extend the system to meet some very specific needs, Drupal presents the best option. Like I said previously, it is cheap to host, the coding quality is much better than comparable PHP based systems and I actually do like the templating system they have developed.

Plus, I think Django will just be too much work to build and get up to speed for this project, and Plone is too expensive to host for the groups I’m working with.

I mean, it is a no-brainer. I don’t despise PHP as a language. It’s more that I prefer Python. In that sense I’m not a complete Python Nazi as some out there are.

In all honesty, PHP 5 is actually a pretty good language, it is easy and when compared to Python, PHP is definitely a much better language for the web, so why not use it? Plus, PHP and Flex work well together which provides greater opportunities for integration with the types of systems I’m focused on developing.

In continuing the search for relevant patterns for NRM this next section deals with issue of economics. This is undoubtedly an important element to supporting an effective and livable community. The pattern list drawn from the Liberating Voices! pattern repository follows as:

• Opportunity Spaces


• Community Networks for Developing Countries


• Whole Cost


• Networked Economies


• Restoring Balance to Intellectual Property Rules


• Change The Flow of Financial Information


• The Commons


• Participatory Budgeting


• "Dematerialization in the Banking Industry"


• Follow The Money


• Dematerialization


• Fair Trade


• Community Currencies


• Alternative Progress Indices


• Labor Visions


• Durable Assets


• Economic Conversion


• Self-help Groups


• Transaction Tax


• Open Source Everything

Again, these patterns were difficult to weed through. However, each of these patterns represent important elements to community empowerment and perhaps more importantly to the research of interest. Each of these are worth consideration. Yet, I would say that it is still important for us to begin thinking about meta-data or semantic annotations for accessing more patterns as contextually related to the work of Community-Based NRM.

Building an Integrated Approach to NRM with Patterns as Heuristics

Revisiting the post: Constructing a Pattern Language for Community Centered Information Systems

I decided that despite my focus upon NRM, presenting a holistic vision for community empowerment as defined within the New Community Networks would be an appropriate point of departure. For instance, without an effective infrastructure for community education, community based NRM can be severely hindered. Therefore, understanding some of the opportunities provided by the L.V. patterns could help point to useful elements to ensuring an integrated solution.

After traversing the pattern list at the new Public Sphere Project website, I was able to identify a set of potentially relevant patterns to the work of encouraging community building education.

Education Patterns–

• Using Internet to develop learning environments 2


• Computer Learning Centers in Public Housing Complexes


• Mobile ICT Learning Facilities


• Community-Based Information Technology Workforce Development


• After-School Programs and the Network Society


• Human Networks Bridging the Digital Divide in Rural Nigeria


• Online Museum


• Service-Learning


• Education InFormation


• Information Ecology


• Academics on the Web


• Academic Technology Investments


• Open Access Scholarly Publishing


• Informal Learning Groups


• Experimental School


• Thinking Communities

So we have this list of patterns identified as being associated with education. However, it becomes obvious that without a clear problem description or relevant context for application, many of these components might not make sense or have direct application to the types of issues communities are being faced with.

Similarly, beyond the issue of understanding context is the need to be able to refine the types of patterns that we draw upon. In collecting the patterns for this particular post I had to traverse through 160 patterns just to develop this list. It is clear that this list might be too large for specific community development projects.

Again, the question arises, “How do we make sense of such a dense collection of interrelated knowledge?” Of course this question also generates alternative questions, such as “What ways might we mitigate the complexity of a pattern language,” or “How might we customize the scope of a pattern search in order to ensure that only the patterns relevant to a community problem show up?”

To me this is the core of my research, though NRM is the identified field of study, I have already entered this field with a set of assumptions about the usage of patterns and pattern languages. Fortunately, these assumptions are not all that unverified as others such as Tippet (2004), Cowanand in many ways the work of Alexander himself provides a blueprint for community development and effective interaction with the constructed and natural environment.

However, methodologies for engaging in the construction of pattern languages are mixed, complex and in many ways problematic. Likewise, in using patterns, it seems that practitioners must develop a sort of cognitive linguistic extension of their normal lexicon to include that of patterns. However, this too can be difficult since the domains of patterns span various disciplines from Architecture, to NRM and Landscape Ecology, to Software Engineering and Cybernetic Systems to Social-centric Information and Communication. Often each of these domains contain hundreds of patterns that can make it extremely difficult to find the directly relevant ones.

While I will continue to post the patterns I think are relevant to my work under the framework proposed in Schuler’s New Community Networks, I think it must be understood that this list is in a sense general, and abbreviated in a very unscientific, and most likely biased way.

To get around this issue, I am continuing my work with building a search component around the L.V. system along with a visualization piece that can hopefully be applied to any of these pattern languages. Overall, I think the paradigm is an extremely useful construct that can be applied in a host of soft-system environments. That is of course, if and when we as scholars, practitioners and researches begin to take these shortcomings more seriously and make tools available for groups to more freely utilize these patterns and thereby construct their own context specific languages for solving community problems.

Tech Stack for CI (Revised)

In doing further research on available technology options for the visual learning in time and space application at CTLT, I have been considering a move away from Python and Django. Though I love the ease of working with these tools, I'm very interested in using flex to provide the UI and display of learning data.

So it seems that Flex provides an open SDK for PHP developers and not Python. Though a django developer has submitted a bridge for working with Flex, it still seems immature and I need to learn this fast rather than fighting with a system still in development.

With that said, I'm thinking PHP5 + Propel ORM + Flex, and since I will be using PHP I can't help but write a bridge to Drupal. Of course the application will need to integrate nicely with SharePoint as this is going to be the primary test case for using this custom app. However, I'm not using .NET and I'm not willing to write a custom web-part for this as the application must be available to CMS apps outside of the SharePoint MS paradigm.

So it will live as a standalone application in which others can build modules to extend and integrate into their own learning platforms. Plus, this way the application can be utilized for linking into the L.V. Patterns.

Generating Tag Fields for Individual Patterns: Networking our Patterns

After my evening walk of contemplation I began considering more deeply the idea of tags and providing more powerful ways to express interconnected meta-data as related to the Liberating Voices patterns.

Currently, the L.V. system uses a sort of quasi-tagging approach that defines categories and topics. For the most part these “tags” serve their proposed purpose. However, from my perspective it seems that the lack of dynamic capabilities minimizes the potential for filtering and organizing patterns. Instead, perhaps we should be thinking about ways to enable dynamic tagging where users can generate a folksonomy surrounding patterns.

This doesn’t mean we should get rid of what is already there, but rather we should extend the functionality of the system. It seems that the current terms being used are very high-level and generic. By keeping these more generic terms we can perhaps help frame the types of more user specific tags.

However, rather than merely providing a pathway to develop a folksonomy for the patterns, we must remember patterns exist in an often different way than a lot of content. For instance, patterns are keys or building blocks that exist with a multi-dimensional structure. In this way patterns possess relationships along a vertical as well as horizontal axis.

With this in mind perhaps we would instead want to start defining the levels of abstraction that patterns have by numerically describing the various levels. In this way a cluster of patterns would exist at a certain level. Now, L.V. has already categorized or clustered patterns but I do not think this is an explicit field in the database model. I think we need to add it!

To make this usable from a users standpoint, maybe a radio button describing the levels/categories and then some ajax call to the database would pull up all the tags related to a certain level, perhaps you could then define your own tag for the level within the hierarchy. Maybe we want to be able to annotate our tags and discuss the reasoning behind the categorization of the data in such a way. This annotation could in a sense point to related cases where the pattern was used and likewise show the relevance of the tag.

Why is this important to me? Well, because I am in the process of developing a listing of patterns related to my work, but that correlate directly to a previous post. I'm right now looking at education patterns as related to increasing information literacy and knowledge for natural resource management. An alternative and more tag friendly environment as well as way to search and filter through these tags would be great.

Fortunately, we have something like this in its infancy, but I think it will become a priority of mine in the near future as I attempt to build systems and processes to construct pattern languages based upon the L.V. repository.

Wow, I’m not sure if that made any sense, so I think it is worth a use case/interaction diagram at least.

Using SharePoint Web Services

In furthering the conceptualization of this Visual Learning application, I was first struck by the possible approaches to querying the needed data. While I am predominately visual and think in terms of how things might look when complete, I recognize that getting data out of SharePoint might be a bit more difficult task than in some other cases.

However, there is much discussion on the use of SharePoint's web services. Some focus specifically on aggregating content from other places to create mash-ups, while others do note the possible importance of getting data out of SharePoint.

So over the next couple of days I'm going to be looking into the process of accessing the SharePoint web services feature and see how well it works. To do this I think I'm going to attempt a script using the python and ZSI library, or PHP and the nuSOAP model.

Either way, it is my hope that the technology will stand alone, outside of SharePoint and yet still be able to work well with the various MySites WSU has. If it works with the MySites then I don't see why it wouldn't work with plone or drupal. One thing that might be an issue is the need to allow for an XML-RPC approach as both Plone and Drupal utilize rpc.

However, more in connection with patterns is the need of this application to be able query the Liberating Voices! patterns. If I can get the query and parsing bit of the application then Yishay maybe able to extend his Mind mapping application to enable through the web mapping. Both pieces together could prove to be a very cool and very powerful solution for visual knowledge representation.

Constructing a Pattern Language for Community Centered Information Systems

Returning back to the original focus of this blog I have begun to start thinking of the patterns that might be useful in constructing effective communication systems for natural resource management. The key here is not only providing the environmental information necessary for successful planning, but these systems are centered upon the human element, a central piece of systems design that can be overlooked or in many cases still under-appreciated.

Now, I can think of some pieces that might be useful for environmental monitoring of sustainability focused development such as, web-based GIS, systems modeling applications, weather and climate charts/graphs and maps. However, beyond the modeling and mapping applications that could be integrated, what other elements might we consider in constructing effective information systems?

The L.V. project presents a number of useful pointers that could be utilized for constructing these systems. Some of these patterns have already been mentioned, but I think it might be more useful to define the domains of interaction that could be taking place within the context of designing such systems. As a start this might be more effective than merely listing relevant patterns. Instead if we understand the meta-patterns at play then perhaps we can be more effective in understanding how our list of patterns integrates with one another.


(Source: Schuler, D. (1996). “New Community Networks: Wired for Change.”)

While this interconnected diagram presents some useful things to think about when considering how systems might need to enable community development, I think that environment must be added. With the Environment added to this diagram, I think it is possible to get a clearer picture of what we would hope for in a thriving, sustainable community.

The next step is to identify the patterns that fit under these larger headings. Once we have defined the patterns in relation to the larger elements at play then perhaps we can begin thinking about the systems and technologies that might be supportive of people’s movement in actualizing these fundamental elements.


Now, these patterns seems to address a number of technical as well as human-ceneterd patterns. However, the pattern langauge we see emerging remains at a fairly high-level and there needs to be an extension of these patterns or pattern lanaguage to include the lower-level or more specific patterns related to systems design.

In the next few posts we will explore these patterns as possible contributions to the construction of a gerneal P.L. for community centered environmental informatics.

Becoming more specific

Now, it is obvious that the proposed dissertation topic is somewhat abstract. After all, it could mean many things to different people; so let me attempt to clarify.

Short Disclaimer: This blog is not meant to show how topsy-turvy my brain is or that I can't commit to one project. Rather this blog is a way for me to voice interests, research ideas and document the process of refining my research objectives.

Ok, now that is out of the way (BTW, I'm certifiable! LOL!).

While the last post was abstract it pertains specifically to the original proposal I submitted to my dissertation chair and to the ES/RP program. The focus of this proposal was to emphasize the development and evaluation of effective community information systems for sustainable development, not just in the use of patterns to support NRM. So perhaps it is time to re-focus and as the topic of this post suggests, be more specific.

Anyway, going back to the topic community information systems (CIS), as the ideas of community memory and process-oriented development become increasingly important topics, the ability of groups to effectively enable these elements in their work becomes central.

Unfortunately, the capacity of groups to retain the emergent information glut coming out of these differing research agendas, projects and interests is undermined. Community Information Systems represent an interesting opportunity to address this problem. Likewise, with the growth of web enable services and tools it is becoming easier to integrate services such as GIS, conceptual mapping tools, complex simulation software and a number of other relevant applications into the mix of these CIS apps. This of course is in addition to the traditional tools such as blogs, message boards and chat services that have already been integrated into sites renamed as "social networking sites."

While CIS has been implemented for NRM before, it appears that many of the tools and case studies showing the use or problems associated with these tools is often confined to experts using the applications. There seems little use for actual community members (not to say it isn’t happening). Likewise, there is little information related to the participatory design process of these applications.

But CIS are much more interesting in that beyond their potential application for NRM, they can be useful in more integrated approaches to development. This means, as we have seen already in the field of informatics is that these tools can be used in literacy campaigns, provide locally relevant health information, disaster preparedness information, links to buyers and sellers of good within the local districts of a developing community and provide access to governance related information.

From my perspective CIS for NRM is just one function.

Anyway, the opportunities and problems I have seen have prompted an interest in CIS for supporting effective NRM and poverty alleviation that is at its very core interested in participation, memory and process.

Now, the patterns developed for L.V. are directly related to this issue in many ways and represent a core component to the effective design and implementation of systems that at their core support values of participation, social leveling, community and sustainability.

But do we know this for sure? We assume, and what do researchers like to do with assumptions? We like to test them!

With this in mind it is possible to begin thinking of how to test this. We can begin by describing the patterns we think link directly with enabling the types of information systems we want to develop. These patterns can then guide our development process. Of course, the research is again confronted with the issue of how to use these patterns in a coherent manner. This brings up the need for useful methods for understanding user requirements, not just of the system, but of the fundamental work they seek to accomplish. Through these methodologies as well as enabling systems to support the construction of a context specific pattern language we can then hope to develop something useful.

To evaluate, this can then be broken into three distinct levels; one the development of a context specific pattern language derived from the L.V. system (or larger system of patterns where the L.V. represents a part), two the evaluation of the system as it relates to the patterns that guided the design, and three, the actual use and effect in the community. What if any patterns did we miss, what patterns if any might help improve the system or its usefulness and so on.

NRM and Poverty Alleviation, and a rant into Meta-Languages:

In doing a short lit review of some interesting case examples dealing with NRM activities aimed at poverty reduction and mitigating desertification, I came across a number of documents addressing the role of participatory communication, indigenous knowledge, and adaptive process which address the negotiation and re-negotiation of community interests over time to construct effective NRM based development programs.

It is interesting that in reviewing the papers I noticed connections between a few of the patterns that have been listed by Liberating Voices and what has been described in these reports. I also noticed that some of the pieces discussed in the case studies touch upon patterns that represent placeholders in the L.V. project.

Here is the list of placeholders that might prove to be of special significance to this work (I don’t provide links because there is nothing in there):

Social Insurance
Networks of Learning
Civic Mobilization
Community Barter and Exchange Systems
Long View
Ecological Economics
Green Labor
Meaningful Evaluation
Linking Modern and Traditional Knowledge
Feminist Economics
Inter-Community Networks
Entrepreneurship
Knowledge System Diversity
Social Learning

Perhaps, it is time to revisit a number of these patterns to ensure the growth and applicability of Liberating Voices to this work. Unfortunately, this will need to wait a week or two as the L.V. project is currently in the process of moving to new server with a new a web address: http://www.publicsphereproject.org. To get to the patterns just go to http://www.publicsphereproject.org/patterns.

Anyway, once the move is complete (next two weeks), we can start the process of updating and perhaps filling in some of these blanks.

However, in thinking more deeply about these topics and the application of patterns it seems that we are beginning to need this meta-language that, Doug, Yishay and others have been considering. Perhaps the idea of this meta-language represents the focus of Alexander's Nature of Order.

Without going down each of these tracks in too much detail, perhaps this meta-language would be a language of values and goals. The idea is that these meta-patterns could serve as a compass for the types of actions that development practitioners take as well as how communities negotiate their own development in the absence of so-called experts. Such a meta-language would include principles of "Do-no-harm," "Supportive of Spiritual Wellness," "Commitment to Beauty," "Inclusion of Multiple Voices," and so forth.

But some might ask how would these meta-patterns inform development practice. Well, the idea of development is to support livelihoods in the generic sense. How people go about achieving this has been problematic and has included a dirty history of displacement, colonial style exploitation, famine induced through structural adjustment and so on. It was known that these policies of development would harm many, but the idea was that these approaches were acceptable for whatever reasons seemed to be good at the moment.

However, these exploitations have meant destruction of the environment and rape of people’s spiritual sensibilities, specifically within communities fundamentally rooted to their land and place. The lack of voice, the loss of beauty the forgetfulness of spiritual values and the utilitarian ethic so prevalent in Western Society has been an incredible source of pain for so many, and perhaps the end has not justified the means. Perhaps, the journey is just as important as the destination?