Boundary Objects and the Social Construction of GIS Technology

F Harvey and N Chrisman
Additional contact information
F Harvey: EPFL-IGEO-SIRS, GR-Ecublens, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
N Chrisman: Department of Geography, University of Washington, Seattle WA 98115, USA

Environment and Planning A, 1998, vol. 30, issue 9, 1683-1694

Abstract: The social construction of geographical information system (GIS) technology requires two-way relationships between technology and people. GIS technology, like any other technology, is more than a tool; it connects different social groups in the construction of new localized social arrangements. We examine several instances of how GIS technology involves social negotiation by using a construct of boundary objects developed in a social constructivist framework. Much like geographic boundaries, boundary objects separate different social groups at the same time that they delineate important points of reference between them. Boundary objects stabilize relationships through the negotiation of flexible and dynamic coherences. The negotiation of differences between different groups is fundamental to the construction of GIS technology. Social-constructivist theories and the concept of boundary objects open new ways to understand the relationships between technology and people. We illustrate the application of boundary object theory through studies of the use of GIS data standards and the definition of wetlands.

Date: 1998
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1068/a301683 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:envira:v:30:y:1998:i:9:p:1683-1694

DOI: 10.1068/a301683

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Environment and Planning A
Bibliographic data for series maintained by SAGE Publications ().