[open-government] [DW] Gurstein: Open Data: Empowering the Empowered or Effective Data Use for Everyone?

Sat Sep 4 20:44:22 UTC 2010

Dear Michael,

thats one of the past arguments why Governments continue
to charge for professional users as enterprises
since that cross-subsidiziation (towards the richt) would be unfair.

There are pros and cons for free data policy.

In fact 95 percent of the citizen do never use or re-use public data.
The figures of UK-groups with millions of members are not
significant for any other European country.

kind regards,

Gerhard

At 18:49 04.09.2010, Steven Clift wrote:

>An article that I highly recommended anyone pushing "open data" 
>review. - Steve
>
>See:
>http://gurstein.wordpress.com/2010/09/02/open-data-empowering-the-empowered-or-effective-data-use-for-everyone/
>
>Also, join the int'l Digital Inclusion Network if you are interested
>in "effective use" of open data for inclusion:
>http://e-democracy.org/di
>
>... big clip ...
>
>A very interesting and well-documented example of this empowering of
>the empowered  can be found in the work of Solly Benjamin and his
>colleagues looking at the impact of the digitization of land records
>in Bangalore. Their findings were that newly available access to land
>ownership and title information in Bangalore was primarily being put
>to use by middle and upper income people and by corporations to gain
>ownership of land from the marginalized and the poor. The newly
>digitized and openly accessible data allowed the well to do to take
>the information provided and use that as the basis for instructions to
>land surveyors and lawyers and others to challenge titles, exploit
>gaps in title, take advantage of mistakes in documentation, identify
>opportunities and targets for bribery, among others. They were able to
>directly translate their enhanced access to the information along with
>their already available access to capital and professional skills into
>unequal contests around land titles, court actions, offers of purchase
>and so on for self-benefit and to further marginalize those already
>marginalized.
>
>Certainly the newly digitized information was "accessible" to all on
>an equal basis but the availability of resources to translate that
>"access" into a beneficial "effective use" was directly proportional
>to the already existing resources available to those to whom the
>access was being provided.  The old story about the pauper and the
>millionaire having equal opportunity to purchase a printing press as a
>means to promote their interests can be seen as holding equally here
>as in the 19th century.
>
>Benjamin's meticulously documented paper shows how the digitization
>and related digital access to land title records in Bangalore had the
>direct effect of shifting power and wealth to those with the financial
>resources and skills to use this information in self-interested ways.
>This is not to suggest that processes of computerization inevitably
>lead to such outcomes but rather to say that in the absence of efforts
>to equalize the playing field with respect to enabling opportunities
>for the use of newly available data, the end result may be increased
>social divides rather than reduced ones particularly with respect to
>the already poor and marginalized.
>
>As well, this is not to argue against "open data" which in fact is a
>very significant advance and support to broad-based democratic action
>and empowerment but rather to argue that in the absence of specific
>efforts to ensure the widest possible availability of the
>pre-requisites for "effective use" the outcome of "open data" may be
>quite the opposite to that which is anticipated (and presumably
>desired) by its strongest proponents.
>
>An "effective use" approach to open data would thus be one that
>ensured that opportunities and resources for translating this open
>data into useful outcomes would be available (and adapted) for the
>widest possible range of users. Thus, to ensure the effective use of
>open data a range of considerations needs to be included in the open
>data process and as elements in the open data movement including such
>factors as the cost and availability of Internet access, the language
>in which the data is presented, the technical or professional
>requirements for interpreting and making use of the data, the
>availability of training in data use and visualization, among others."
>
>...
>
>More:
>http://gurstein.wordpress.com/2010/09/02/open-data-empowering-the-empowered-or-effective-data-use-for-everyone/
>
>Steven Clift - http://stevenclift.com
>   Executive Director - http://E-Democracy.Org
>   Follow me - http://twitter.com/democracy
>   New Tel: +1.612.234.7072
>
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