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This is forwarded from Jon Ippolito, apologies for delay. Begin forwarded message: > From: Jon Ippolito <[log in to unmask]> > Date: 27 April 2008 00:25:07 BST > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Alternative models of governance > > Apologies for the shotgun approach...I'm on the road-- > > Katie wrote: >> Volunteer organisations (not just floss) can have a tendency to >> constitutional monarchy because volunteering is often about who has >> the capacity and energy at any given time. This can be good if the >> monarch(s) are careful with the informal power > they have. > > It sometimes seems from Euro-ethnic history that the best form of > governance we can hope for is a benevolent dictator. Joline Blais > argues that the original role of elders in many Native communities > offers a much better model for emergent > leadership. > > In the US government, the Supreme Court has the ultimate authority > over all lower courts. In the Haudenosaunee and Wabanaki confederacies > of the American northeast, intertribal councils had the highest > respect but the least power; councils at the > next level down garnered less respect but had more power, and so on. > So ultimately it was local people who made local decisions. > > Because of the respect accorded elders, however, it often transpired > that the entire confederacy would follow the advice of the oldest > members. This may seem the same outcome as if a benevolent dictator > were in charge, but because the process of > decision-making recognizes the local sovereignty of all members, the > system seems more equitable to everyone. > > Janet wrote: >> Some cultures do have this kind of focal length eg. "7th generation" >> thinking where you act in order to achieve an outcome for people who >> will be here in 7 generation's time. > > The "7 generations rule" comes from the Haudenosaunee, known to > outsiders as the Iroquois. > >> Being explicit about the kinds of participation and share and >> therefore revenue from shared work is useful. The contracts for >> collaboration are likely to be a good starting point for that kind of >> conversation. > > James Leach alluded to the work of the Connected Knowledge conferences > and the Cross-Cultural Partnership template, which is a framework > designed precisely to cover collaboration between two or more parties > with different cultural or personal > expectations: > > http://connected-knowledge.net/ > > jon > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------- Beryl Graham, Professor of New Media Art School of Arts, Design, Media and Culture, University of Sunderland Ashburne House, Ryhope Road Sunderland SR2 7EE Tel: +44 191 515 2896 [log in to unmask] CRUMB web resource for new media art curators http://www.crumbweb.org