Hello, I am co-organising a session at the next AAG meeting on the
politics and cultures of sat nav. I hope it might be of interest to some
on the list.
cheers
martin
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Call for papers - 2008 Association of American Geographers Annual Conference.
15-19 April 2008, Boston, USA.
http://aag.org/annualmeetings/2008/index.htm
Situating Sat Nav: Questioning the TomTom Effect
Session organisers:
Chris Perkins and Martin Dodge
Geography, School of Environment and Development, University of Manchester
http://personalpages.manchester.ac.uk/staff/m.dodge/Situating_Satnav_AAG_CFP.pdf
Context:
Comprehensive in-car satellite navigation (Sat Nav) systems have rapidly
become affordable and 'must-have' mass-market accessories, advertised on
television and the focus of .scare. stories in the tabloid press. With
their driver's-eye position, dynamic maps and an authoritative voice
telling you where and when to turn, these archetypal geographical gizmos
depend on the 'magic' locational power of a cluster of unseen satellites
and the global reach of corporations marketing the latest consumer fad.
Sat Nav offers technologically sophisticated spatial data models of the
world, but the technology quickly sinks into taken-for-granted everyday
driving practices, such that its social and political significance is hard
to assess. The gadgets themselves take space on the dashboard and
windscreens, but also make new senses of space for the driver, well beyond
the car. What exactly is the nature of this TomTom effect?
We invite theoretically informed analyses questioning the social effects,
cultural meanings and political economy of in-car satellite navigation.
Suggested themes:
# The politics of the socio-technical infrastructures and corporate
practices underpinning collection and distribution of street maps and
points-of-interest databases.
# Consideration of the risks that flow from people's unwitting trust in
the truth spoken by their Sat Nav. How dependent are drivers on them? Do
they raise confidence, make driving safer and empower people with enhanced
mobility? Or is the promise of never being lost an illusion, hiding
navigational blind spots and a loss of geographical autonomy?
# The embodied practices of using Sat Nav and the ways in which these may
be associated with social power, e.g. gendered, classed, aged, etc.
Cultural meanings attached to Sat Nav. How people feel about granting
decision-making control over to software? Cross cultural studies of Sat
Nav.
# The efficacy of these systems. How to evaluate the accuracy of databases
and fidelity of routing algorithms when the internal workings are
deliberately 'black-boxed'. Impacts on aggregate trip behaviour, local
traffic flows through neighbourhoods, by-passing speed cameras and traffic
calming measures, etc.
# Map and voice interface design and its possible deconstruction.
# Hacking Sat Nav: artistic, playful, or subversive uses of the
technology.
# Navigational ethics, particularly relating to individual privacy and
community rights. The surveillant potential of Sat Nav as .spy in the car.
for states and corporations.
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Proposed papers in the form of a title and short abstract (250 words
maximum) should be submitted to Martin Dodge ([log in to unmask]) by
30th September 2007. Further details on the paper requirements and
registration for the AAG meeting are at
http://aag.org/annualmeetings/2008/index.htm
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