Field Informatics . Toru Ishida Editor Field Informatics Kyoto University Field Informatics Research Group Editor ToruIshida DepartmentofSocialInformatics KyotoUniversity Kyoto Japan ISBN978-3-642-29005-3 ISBN978-3-642-29006-0(eBook) DOI10.1007/978-3-642-29006-0 SpringerHeidelbergNewYorkDordrechtLondon LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2012944566 ACMCodes:I.2,J.4 #Springer-VerlagBerlinHeidelberg2012 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpartof thematerialisconcerned,specificallytherightsoftranslation,reprinting,reuseofillustrations,recita- tion, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or informationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilar methodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped.Exemptedfromthislegalreservationarebriefexcerpts inconnectionwithreviewsorscholarlyanalysisormaterialsuppliedspecificallyforthepurposeofbeing enteredandexecutedonacomputersystem,forexclusiveusebythepurchaserofthework.Duplication ofthispublicationorpartsthereofispermittedonlyundertheprovisionsoftheCopyrightLawofthe Publisher’s location, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer.PermissionsforusemaybeobtainedthroughRightsLinkattheCopyrightClearanceCenter. 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Printedonacid-freepaper SpringerispartofSpringerScience+BusinessMedia(www.springer.com) Preface Field is defined here as “a spatiotemporal area that is difficult to grasp via any analytical and/or engineering approach due to the coexistence of various individuals and entities, which results in the unexpected occurrence of seemingly accidentaleventsthusnecessitatingourcontinuingcommitmentandcare”(Osamu Katai). Field informatics aims to provide solutions to various problems arising in thefieldfromthestandpointofinformatics. The components of field informatics are description, prediction, design, and transfer,andthemethodsforthesecomponentsrangewidely.Becausefieldinfor- maticsisanewresearcharea,itlacksafoundingmethod.Weconsiderthatvarious methodsofvariousoriginswillbeappliedtorealizedescription,prediction,design, andtransferinthefield.Forexample,letusconsiderthesocialgoalofrevitalizing hilly and mountainous areas amid increasing depopulation. Though all agree that creating anewbusinessmodelintheseareasisimportant,itisnoteasytofindan effective way of attracting people to hilly and mountainous areas. By using field informatics, however, situations can be described with remote sensing (Chap. 1), biologging (Chap. 2), human sensing (Chap. 3), and ethnography (Chap. 4); the effects of various options can be predicted with system dynamics (Chap. 5) and multiagent simulations (Chap. 6), and solutions can be designed using methods suchasinclusivedesign(Chap.7)andparticipatorydesign(Chap.8).Inaddition, the experience gained can be transferred by case writing (Chap. 9) and outreach communication(Chap.10). Fieldinformaticscanbeappliedtonatureobservation,socialparticipation,and innovation. Fieldinformaticsfornaturalobservationisanextensionoffieldwork,anduses both theories and methodologies to analyze information from fields scientifically. Field informatics can generate key technologies such as remote sensing and biologging to solve global problems such as food shortages and environmental degradation. The role played by informatics in natural observation involves collecting and accumulating data, and verifying and utilizing them in accordance withtheintendedpurpose. v vi Preface Althoughmanyspeciesareindangerofextinction,noeffectivecountermeasures arebeingtakenforeconomicreasons.Facedwithsuchproblems,fieldinformatics triestohelpendangeredspeciesandhumanscoexist,observingthebiospherewith varioustechnologies.Thefield,asaplaceofnaturalobservation,isalsoavenuefor the productiveand social activitiesof people. Mutual learning inconcertwiththe people living there enables us to interpret phenomena. Here, the field is a real society, in which a range of factors intertwine in complex fashion. For example, agriculture, forestry, fishing, and livestock industries are affected by the environ- ment, and also social systems such as politics and economy. Their problems and improvementscanonlybeunderstoodbyviewingthefieldasasystemconsistingof naturalandsocialactivities. Fieldinformaticsforsocialparticipationisaplacewherethereisinherentvalue and people who protect that value. The new science required here involves modelingthecomplexanddiversephenomenaarisinginthefieldandtransferring the resulting model to practitioners. Therefore, field informatics transcribes the words and deeds resulting from the actions of people and involves analysis and generalization.Theobtainedmodelmustbesharedbypractitionersinthefieldinan understandableform. However,onlyasubsetofinformationinthefieldcanbedetected,managed,and controlled. Therefore, if simply used by someone unaware of this limit, a misun- derstanding may arise in that the world becomes expressed only in terms of the obtainedinformation.Qualitativestudiesbasedonsocialsciencesaretobeapplied inparallelwithinformationtechnology.Furthermore,peopleinthefieldareforced to actively participate in dealing with accidental events that are hard to control. Therefore,informationshouldbeseenasdynamicandactiveratherthanstaticand passive. Fieldinformaticsforinnovationinvolvesdesigningandrealizinganinformation systemthatcontributestothehumancommunitythroughitsapplicationindifferent fields.Inotherwords,itcreatesinnovationviathemutuallearningofthedesigners andusersofinformationtechnology.Fromthisperspective,thefieldisasitewhere new narratives are generated with the support of technical feasibility in the near future rather than those for mere observation. Field informatics for innovation incorporates technological progress during the development period, and creates a scenariothatcanberealizedinthenearfuture. Resistance to new technology is often observed in the field. Also, the limits of explanations, which are due to the complexity of information systems, make it difficult to establish communication between researchers and people in the field. For example, pursuing the cause of software failure sometimes reveals a trivial manmade mistake. It is not always the case that the field is an easy place for computerscientiststogetinvolved.However,inthefuture,sincealargeportionof innovationswillbeborninthefield,moreattentionmustbepaidtoit. This book targets graduate students seeking tools and approaches for natural observation, field workers engaging in activities on social participation, and researchersandengineerspursuinginnovation.Fieldinformaticscanbeofbenefit tonotonlystudentsorresearchersbutalsotothoseinotherpositions.Forexample, Preface vii individualsinchargeofgovernmentcanutilizethemethodsoffieldinformaticsto formconsensusanddevelopactivities.Nonprofitorganizationscanusefieldinfor- matics to conduct social programs more effectively. Those with sites such as agriculture,forestryandfisheries,hospitals,andsooncanusefieldinformaticsto understandandsolvevariousproblems. The members of the field informatics research group in Kyoto University who contributed to the work represented in this book are as follows: Nobuaki Arai, Hiromitsu Hattori, Toru Ishida, Shigeo Matsubara, Kazuyuki Moriya, Yuu Nakajima,JunichiOkuyama,TetsuroSakai,andTakaakiTsujioftheDepartment ofSocialInformatics;OsamuKataioftheDepartmentofSystemsScience;Yutaka Yamauchi of the Graduate School of Management; Hajime Kita and Yuichi Nakamura of the Academic Center for Computing and Media Studies; and Takayuki Shiose of the University Museum. Reiko Hishiyama of the Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering, Waseda University, also joinedtheresearchgroup.Thespecialtiesofthemembersrangefrominformatics, engineering, agriculture, and sociology to pedagogy. The fields targeted by each memberalsodiffer,rangingfromenvironmentconservationtosocialeducationfor international cooperation. Specifically, the research activities of the biosphere in Southeast Asia—large-scale traffic simulations, participatory “mono-zukuri (the spirit to produce excellent products)” workshops, inclusive design workshops, distance learning, and intercultural collaboration—are included. Our research group, with such practical research activities as its background, is consolidating the various methods described herein as field informatics and providing lectures opentothepublic. ToruIshida July1,2012 . Contents 1 RemoteSensingandGeographicInformationSystems. . . . . . . . . . 1 TetsuroSakai 2 Biologging. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 NobuakiAraiandJunichiOkuyama 3 HumanSensing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 YuichiNakamura 4 Ethnography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 TakaakiTsuji 5 SystemDynamics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 KazuyukiMoriya 6 MultiagentSimulation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 ToruIshida,HiromitsuHattori,andYuuNakajima 7 InclusiveDesign. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 TakayukiShiose 8 ParticipatoryDesign. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 YutakaYamauchi 9 CaseWriting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 ShigeoMatsubara 10 OutreachCommunication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 ReikoHishiyama ix