Mobile A2K

Culture and Safety in Africa

Methodology guide

Mobile a2k Methodology Guide 1st Edition is our first attempt to guide the research implementation and to build a report and a discussion about it. It is focused on the comparative and interdisciplinary nature of the research, and it contributes to define and evaluate those slippery issues which express the potentiality and the need of this study. The guide is divided into three parts.

  1. The project description presents the project and what we want to accomplish. This part provides the necessary background on the research.
  2. The research components explain the tools and approaches we are using to implement the research.
  3. The terminology and literature review offer a better understanding of what we are talking about, though some essays and the fundamental literature review.

Thanks to open licenses, the structure of Mobile a2k Methodology Guide is based on the aca2k methodology guide (April 2008, www.aca2k.org), it is built upon its premises, it is modified to address our focus and it is made available, once again, to others.
During Mobile a2k Kick Off Workshop organised in Vico Morcote Switzerland in March 2012 and during the following editing phase, around twenty people have contributed in designing it. A second edition of the Mobile a2k Methodology Guide will be published by the end of 2013 and it will be reedited according to your feedback.

Mobile A2K Methodology Guide, 1st edition
15 October 2012

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Reviews

  • [expand title=”Review by Alfred Anangwe”]
    Review on Mobile A2K Methodology Guide, Mobile Access to Knowledge: Culture and Safety in Africa
    Alfred AnangweThe project description is excellent, the research components well explained and the terminology and literature review well presented. Therefore, my review is not elaborate. However, in my view, the issue of gender has not been adequately factored in the methodology guide. This is bearing in mind that men and women interact differently with the urban environment from a safety/security point of view as well as with cultural events and public art within the same environment. From a comparative perspective, there may be variations, as well as similarities in the way in which women and men experience security and safety in the geographical spaces under study (Johannesburg, Douala and Luanda. On this score, therefore, I advise that gender issues be considered. In particular, we may have to consider:

    1. How women experience urban safety and security differently from men (the issue of age for each gender considered). I have in mind issues such as gender-based violence in cities under study and there differential impact on men, women and children across varying age brackets. How do mobile technologies address gender-based violence now more prevalent in urban areas? Whereas in the past women experienced gender-based violence more than men, in cities like Nairobi, men are increasingly experiencing gender-based violence. The boy-child is threatened with sodomy today unlike was the case ten years ago.
    2. The relevance of cultural events and public art to gender-urban security nexus (gender representation and presentation in issues of urban security, cultural events and public art). Are both men and women adequately represented and presented in urban safety issues, public art and cultural events? How do men and women differently interpret cultural events and public art as well as security programmes in urban areas?
    3. Participation of either gender in public art exhibition and cultural events in the urban sector of cities under study (this underscores the issue of differential access to safety/security knowledge provided through mobile technologies, cultural events and public art as well as differentials in the production and provision of the same mobile technologies, public art and cultural events).
    4. We also need to address the issue of occupational security in urban areas. Certain occupations expose certain genders to insecurity/security than others. We need to focus on security in domestic/private spaces versus public spaces of the urban sphere. Which spheres or the urbanity are dominated by men and which ones by women and what are the implications of this on cultural events-public art-security nexus.
    5. Gender denotes a terrain imbued with the notion of economic and political power as well as cultural stereotyping. Culture defines certain roles and spaces for men and women differently. In this mix, women are made to occupy roles and spaces which command less prestige and power as well as low status in society. However, this is not always the case as women are culturally or economically privileged in some societies than in others. We need to analyze the extent to which this is mirrored in urban sectors and how it feeds into public art, cultural events and urban security.[/expand]
    6. [expand title=”Review by Fernanda De Maio”]
      Review on Mobile A2K Methodology Guide, Mobile Access to Knowledge: Culture and Safety in Africa
      Fernanda De MaioHo sfogliato più volte l’esito del vostro lavoro che trovo molto ben strutturato e organizzato. Ho guardato alcuni dei web site di riferimento e ho riflettuto su alcune questioni. Ti sottopongo le perplessità e alcuni interrogativi in ordine sparso consapevole che non riesco a essere penetrante rispetto alla revisione che avevi chiesto.

      1. La tesi di fondo della vostra ricerca sembra al contempo importante e ingenua. La maggior perplessità in particolare attiene all’idea che l’arte pubblica possa migliorare la sicurezza delle città, senza che al contempo trovino risposta ben più gravi condizioni economiche e sociali in cui versano le popolazioni urbane. È d’altra parte fondamentale negli slums e nelle aree marginali delle città del mondo trovare quegli spazi a più alta vocazione di interazione e scambio sociale per migliorarne e potenziarne le qualità come spazi pubblici. Pertanto è quanto mai utile il vostro approccio se tuttavia alle domande che già ne delineano i contorni aggiungeste le seguenti: lo spazio pubblico è ancora uno spazio fisico? È uno spazio della mobilità o della stanzialità? gli spazi infrastrutturali della mobilità sono davvero spazi della condivisione e della mixité o non contribuiscono a segregare? In altre parole rafforzerei lo sguardo da architetto.
      2. L’approccio o se vuoi il punto di vista è troppo eurocentrico e autoriale – p.e. nel capitolo 3 o nel quadro sinottico le citazioni di esperienze vanno da Venezia a Kassel, e gli artisti citati sono tutti ben inseriti nel circuito del mercato internazionale dell’arte e fanno un po’ storia a sé e anche quando si citano esperienze africane sembra quasi che esse assumano maggior peso se accreditate attraverso uno di questi circuiti fieristici.
      3. L’unica arte pubblica (nel senso della condivisione) – e lo dico da europea e napoletana che assiste da vent’anni a molteplici esperienze di arte pubblica nella propria città documentandole e diffondendole in diverse occasioni e pubblicazioni- in cui ho realmente percepito, di recente, uno stravolgimento del senso comune tra condizioni di marginalità e portato artistico, complice appunto la costruzione di un evento creativo, è il cinema. Penso ai film “Gomorra” e “Reality” di Matteo Garrone e a “Cesare deve morire” dei fratelli Taviani. Da una condizione negativa di marginalizzazione e cattività (quella degli attori di questi film) alla definizione di un progetto e di un evento di alto significato artistico (ma gli spazi reali non mutano la loro condizione al termine del processo creativo: Rebibbia resta ancora oggi il carcere di Rebibbia, e le Vele di Scampia restano ancora oggi simbolo di degrado, purtroppo). Restano fondamentali, per tornare all’intervento urbano attraverso l’arte e l’architettura, come esperienze di grande valore nel campo dell’invenzione di uno spazio pubblico la High Line di New York da voi citata e il Lungomare di Copacabana. Ma resta un interrogativo, ha senso comparare New York o Rio a Luanda, Douala e Johannesburg?[/expand]
      4. [expand title=”Review by Aude Guyot”]
        Review on Mobile A2K Methodology Guide, Mobile Access to Knowledge: Culture and Safety in Africa
        Aude GuyotJ’ai pu lire attentivement les 2 parties demandées 2.3 et 3.9. Je n’ai que très peu de remarques pour le 2.3 :
        n’y a-t-il pas des rapports de l’ITU plus récents ? 2007 cela me paraît un peu loin et je pense que l’on peut trouver des chiffres sur les taux de pénétration de l’internet mobile et du nombre d’abonnés mobile encore plus enthousiastes. Je vais regarder dans ce que j’ai, je te tiens au courant. par rapport à la mise en place de la plateforme Ushahidi et la possibilité donnée aux gens d’envoyer par SMS des rapports : il faut établir un n° où les gens pourront envoyer leurs SMS. Frontline SMS ne fournit pas de n° courts mais peut être paramétré avec des numéros longs. Voir ici pour plus d’infos : http://www.frontlinesms.com/user-resources/help/what-is-the-difference-between-short-andlong-codes/peut être qu’il aurait été intéressant de modéliser le fonctionnement décrit, de refaire un visuel/un schéma. j’ai été un peu dérangée par cette phrase dans l’introduction :
        “The use of computers with internet connection is very important from the researchers point of view for the improvement of the platform used to gather data, and for the cataloguing of information.”
        >> Cela arrive juste après qu’on fasse un constat sur le fait que le mobile a plus de potentiel en Afrique que l’ordinateur personnel, et l’internet mobile encore plus que l’internet fixe. Et je ne comprends pas bien pourquoi dans la phrase d’après on dit que c’est important d’avoir ces ordinateurs pour faire participer le public alors que justement le principe d’Ushahidi est de donner la possibilité aux gens en Afrique de contribuer via leur mobile. Parler de tablettes avec une connexion internet disponibles dans des tech hubs aurait déjà été plus intéressant. Je trouve sinon que c’est bien décrit, cela me semble assez clair.
        Pour le 3.9, ma remarque est plus globale : je pense qu’il manque vraiment une partie autour du crowdsourcing, UGC et comment aujourd’hui les TIC permettent aux gens non seulement d’avoir davantage accès au savoir mais de produire eux-même de la connaissance, des contenus et de les diffuser à travers le monde entier. Je pense que c’est également un point fort du projet MobileA2K et je suis surprise que cela n’ait pas été abordé. Juste quelques petites coquilles relevées sinon:
        dans le 2.3 : p.39 : 1er paragraphe, 2ème phrase > je pense que c’est une virgule après “for specific[/expand]
      5. [expand title=”Review by Sylvie Kandé”]
        Review on Mobile A2K Methodology Guide, Mobile Access to Knowledge: Culture and Safety in Africa
        Sylvie KandéMobile AK2: Culture and Safety in Africa is a comparative and interdisciplinary research project that documents and assesses the impact of cultural and public art on urban safety in three cities, Douala, Johannesburg and Luanda.
        I found the Methodology Guide detailed, thorough and informative. Here are a few remarks and questions that I elaborated for the purpose of improving the document:
        P. 8
        The core question (“How do cultural events and public art affect urban safety in African cities?”) seems somewhat unidirectional. It would be important to assess also, if time and resources permit, how urban safety affects public art.
        -Research questions should remain as neutral as possible, and not imply a preferred answer.
        Question 2 (“Can we assess these changes as positive according to a group of factors?”) reads as a leading question that also seems to end on a vague notion: what group of factors is the question referring to?
        -“Is the meaning of safety always positive?” For the reasons listed above, I would reformulate this question as “Does safety have a similar meaning for all parties involved?”
        -Hypothesis: the proposed definition of arts is quite indigent. Crucial elements of its definition, such as the expansion of imaginary, invention of new aesthetics and development of metaphors relevant for contemporary issues, are missing. Along with “higher liability, civil cohabitation and social cohesion,” outcomes of exposure to public art should also include raised consciousness about one’s condition, context and agency.
        -The Millennium Development Goals concerning education should be spelled out and include 2015, as it is the next important milestone on the “road map to implementation of the MDGs.”

        P. 9
        “By directly addressing the issue of safety, the research question involves citizens and their needs.” Here and throughout the document, there is a perplexing dichotomy between citizens (presented as city-dwellers, victims or perpetrators of insecurity, and art-consumers) and artists. A more nuanced view here would be advisable, as city-dwellers may very well be artists who create art in response (or not) to their living conditions; and citizens may be encouraged by public art to create their own.
        This binary vision may account for this troubling formulation : “the research question allows citizens to express themselves freely…” Can freedom ever be allowed?

        p. 30
        Why are 2.1 (Mapping) and 3.8 (Interaction design and maps on security in Africa) separate entities?
        The introduction to 3.8 hints at some considerations regarding maps that are lacking in 2.1, although in my opinion those considerations deserve a more forceful discussion, specifically the conquest/control mandate implicit in mapping. How can we ensure that “digital tools are democratizing the mapping process” (p. 68) in the “extreme contexts” the document is referring to?

        p. 32
        The first paragraph in the second column seems to equate the “presence of damages, rubbish” and that of “other objects/activities (i.e. street vendors, homeless people)”. If this is the case, a reformulation is mandatory. Or does the fact that street vendors and homeless people ‘colonize’ the space intended for the public display of artworks imply a larger number of people on the streets, thus a greater level of safety? In both cases, the verb “colonize” is inappropriate and confusing: how could citizens colonize their own city?
        Additionally, here and throughout the document, insecurity and criminality are more or less synonymous. What about danger and insecurity created by political confrontations and/or repression?

        p.36
        Questions 1 to 4. Other questions could address the way artwork is preserved and reproduced; and assess the availability of forums (other than the one provided by the Mobile A2K experience)for citizens to discuss and comment on the work.
        The pragmatism of the City of Johannesburg Public Art Policy, as summarized here, is perplexing.

        p.38
        Viewers could be asked about the existence of forums where the artwork can be discussed and commented on.

        p.40
        Another challenging aspect to consider regarding the use of communications technologies is the level of literacy both in Western and African languages of the various users/partners.

        p.59
        Prevention of crime. Is efficiency the only criterion used to define a successful public space?
        The expression “development of civilization” is outdated.

        p.66
        While Douala and Johannesburg were described in previous sections of the document (p.62 and 64, respectively), Luanda is evoked with a mere bibliography. Why?

        p.71
        The sweeping statement in the first sentence (”This research project starts from the common consideration that the African continent is characterized by a general limited access to knowledge (A2K)”) is misleading. There is no dearth of knowledge in Africa, or of access to knowledge, for that matter. The goal of the project should be expressed in a less disparaging way for the processes of knowledge production and dissemination that already exist on the continent. It should insist on the connections to be made with preexisting processes, networks and resources.
        [/expand]

      6. [expand title=”Review by Marta Pucciarelli”]
        Review on Mobile A2K Methodology Guide, Mobile Access to Knowledge: Culture and Safety in Africa
        Marta PucciarelliA pagina 6 “story of the project” nel paragrafo “douala ville d’art et d’historie” si parla di una mappa digitale di douala fatta da Bily Bidjocka accessibile via mobile. Parlandone con Didier, questo progetto in versione digitale non è mai stato realizzato. Vi chiedo, se possibile, di evitare di citarlo visto che è un lavoro su cui ci sto lavorando io e sarà poi uno degli output della mia ricerca.
        [/expand]
      7. [expand title=”Review by Isabella Rega”]
        Review on Mobile A2K Methodology Guide, Mobile Access to Knowledge: Culture and Safety in Africa
        Isabella Rega

        Ho letto il punto 2.3 e il 3.9 e mi sembrano ben fatti, ovviamente, soprattutto il 3.9 lo spazio limitato a disposizione! J
        Ho un solo appunto, che vedi anche come commento nel testo, per il 2.3: l’utilizzo di ushaidi per la data collection phase è ancora attuale come descritto nella guide?[/expand]
      8. [expand title=”Review by Inge M. Ruigrok”]
        Review on Mobile A2K Methodology Guide, Mobile Access to Knowledge: Culture and Safety in Africa
        Inge M. RuigrokThe methodology guide for the project Mobile A2K is comprehensive. It tackles many relevant aspects and gives a good overview of the project’s approach to answering the research questions. Nevertheless, I find the second part of the guide (starting with paragraph 2.2. on process) of much better quality than the first part, which is too broadly formulated and therefore not very clear at times. Further down the methodology guide, paragraph 2.4 details the comparative character of the project, but it seems too short to me considering the importance (and complexity) of comparing the three case studies to each other, and to draw general conclusions. I think more details are needed here, e.g. the (theoretical) concepts to be used for comparison.

        As for the core terminology used, I would put paragraph 3 more at the beginning of the guide (or refer to it) since the purpose and rational of the project will become clearer when definitions are given beforehand. I started reading the guide thinking that ‘urban safety’ (or urban danger, for that matter) was not even defined, until I came to the comprehensive literature survey in paragraph 3.3. Perhaps here, reference could be made to the Millennium Development Goals, in particular MDG 7 (see: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/environ.shtml). By the way, the MDG on Education (goal 2) refers to primary education only, and not to the secondary and tertiary levels as is being suggested under ‘empirical viewpoint’ in 1.3 (pp. 8).

        Furthermore, as safety is a particular condition, and subjectively experienced, I like the methodology of ‘speaking around the artwork’, as described in the guide (pp.35). This seems a useful approach for assessing people’s perceptions on safety and how this has changed through art intervention. Perhaps more details could be given. There is also confusion here. It is now and then stated in the text that the art object/cultural event is ‘the subject’ of investigation but it seems to me that they are the ‘interventions’, in other words, ‘something’ that is being placed in an environment where a certain condition exists, namely ‘safety’ or ‘unsafety’. One’s goal is to measure how this intervention changes that condition, e.g. from unsafe to safe.

        Lastly, the information on Luanda is missing (paragraph 3.6) and very limited (in the time-frame). I assume that these texts on Luanda are still going to be added, as this obviously is crucial. There have been many more arts and cultural events taking place in Luanda since 1990, other than those organized by Fernando Alvim.
        [/expand]

      9. [expand title=”Review by Satomi Sugiyama”]
        Review on Mobile A2K Methodology Guide, Mobile Access to Knowledge: Culture and Safety in Africa
        Satomi SugiyamaMobile A2K: Culture and Safety in Africa seeks to address an issue that is essential for our everyday life: public safety. It plans to examine how cultural events and public arts affect urban safety in Douala, Luanda, and Johannesburg from the theoretical/methodological perspectives of several disciplines. The project takes advantage of the close relationships with local cultural institutions in these three cities, which is one of the strengths we should note. The research team will benefit from the local’s perspectives, gaining the insider’s perspectives and minimizing the prescriptive/ethnocentric risks that any outside cultural observers must be cautious. The local cultural institution will benefit from evaluating their work as the methodology guide points out. The local citizens are expected to benefit from gaining an opportunity to express themselves using the material and immaterial aspects of public arts by means of their mobile device. The project is an ambitious and valuable attempt that would benefit both scientific community and the local citizens/communities.

        An ambitious project also comes with numerous challenges. One of the challenges I saw in this version of methodology guide is how to generate the comparable data across cultures. The research team certainly acknowledges the challenge and emphasizes the importance of developing common scales, timeframe, data analysis methods, and so on, while paying attention to the culture-specific aspects. Ambiguity, or rather, “openness” of the methodological approach is inherent in this type of project at this stage, and I look forward to seeing how it shapes up after the first phase of the fieldwork.

        An interesting question to keep in mind might be how the use of mobile phones potentially contributes to the sense-making process of the urban space where the public art is installed and/or cultural events are held, as well as to the formation of urban safety perception. At this moment, the methodology guide discusses the mobile phone primarily as a means of data collection and dissemination of maps, but it might emerge as a more significant component in shaping the meanings of urban space and safety as the research team seeks to answer the research questions.

        I see a lot of demanding work in the upcoming year, but I trust that it would be a worthwhile effort, and I look forward to seeing the next phase of the project.
        [/expand]