Citizen Engagement through Tangible Data Representation

Abstract

We begin with the premise that data literacy is a fundamental facet of citizen education in this information age, and that an engaged citizenry in a democracy not only requires access to data, but also the capacity to manipulate and examine the data from multiple perspectives. The visualization of data elucidates trends and patterns in the phenomena that the data represents, and opens accessibility to understanding complicated human and natural processes represented by data sets. Research indicates that interacting with a visualization amplifies cognition and analysis. A single visualization may show only one facet of the data. To examine the data from multiple perspectives, engaged citizens need to be able to construct their own visualizations from a data set. Many tools for data visualization have responded to this need, allowing non-data experts to manipulate and gain insights into their data, but most of these tools are restricted to the computer screen, keyboard, and mouse. Cognition and analysis may be strengthened even more through embodied interaction with data. We present here the rationale for the design of a tool that allows users to probe a data set, through interactions with graspable (tangible) three-dimensional objects, rather than through a keyboard and mouse interaction. We argue that the use of tangibles facilitates understanding abstract concepts, and facilitates many concrete learning scenarios. Another advantage of using tangibles over screen-based tools is that they foster collaboration, which can promote a productive working and learning environment. We speculate that collaborative data exploration can be a productive educational activity for citizens in their communities and in the classroom, and we suggest our tool as a means to do this.

Toward community‐inclusive data ecosystems: Challenges and opportunities of open data for community‐based organizations

“…Not all data are publicly available or systematically shared with everyone (Jofre et al, 2016). The proprietary nature of data formats is still a problem for data accessibility, especially when formats owned by corporations have wide usage (Jofre et al, 2016). Further, not all stakeholders of open data—such as citizens and minority populations—have equal access to data because of the different digital infrastructures and financial or educational resources that enable data access (Gurstein, 2011; Heeks, 2000).…”

“…For instance, open data can increase the transparency and efficiency of governments and businesses, which radically improves their accountability (United Nations Development Programme, n.d.). Access to public data encourages civic participation, helps monitor corruption, and facilitates making demands by tracking the quality and progress of services (United Nations Development Programme, n.d.;Jofre et al, 2016). Further, these data are important components of economic and social development, since they form the basis of policy and administrative decisions influencing social and economic welfare (Castro, 2014;Heeks, 2000).…”

“…One major barrier widely discussed by previous studies is the issue of limited access. Not all data are publicly available or systematically shared with everyone (Jofre et al, 2016). The proprietary nature of data formats is still a problem for data accessibility, especially when formats owned by corporations have wide usage (Jofre et al, 2016).…”

“…Another major issue is the lack of data literacy among citizens, especially from underserved populations or resource-poor communities (Jofre et al, 2016;Magalhaes, Roseira, & Strover, 2013;Sawicki & Craig, 1996). Generally understood as the set of abilities around the use of data (Wolff, Gooch, Montaner, Rashid, & Kortuem, 2016), data literacy includes the abilities to understand, find, collect, interpret, visualize, and support an argument using data, while ethically using the data (Prado & Marzal, 2013).…”

“…Mostly driven by the open government data initiative, open data are generally understood as data that are accessible, machine‐readable, free (or available at negligible cost), and have minimal limitations on their use (Bhargava et al, 2015). Many researchers argue that ensuring access to open data has the potential to enhance government accountability and transparency—improving service delivery and public administration while fostering citizensʼ participation in civil society (United Nations Development Programme, n.d.; Jofre, Szigeti, & Diamond, 2016; Veeckman, McCrory, & Walravens, 2017). Corruption was one of the main motivations behind the open government data movement, given its power to undermine human rights and economic development.…”