The Implementation of Geographic Information Systems in Namibia
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by UEF Electronic Publications YHTEISKUNTATIETEELLISIÄ JULKAISUJA / JOENSUUN YLIOPISTO, YHTEISKUNTA- JA ALUETIETEIDEN TIEDEKUNTA; N:O 80 UNIVERSITY OF JOENSUU, PUBLICATIONS IN SOCIAL SCIENCES Emma Ndaendelao Noongo The Implementation of Geographic Information Systems in Namibia University of Joensuu Joensuu 2007 ii Yhteiskuntatieteellisiä julkaisuja / Joensuun yliopisto, yhteiskunta- ja aluetieteiden tiedekunta University of Joensuu, Publications in Social Sciences /N:o 80 Julkaisija Joensuun yliopisto Publisher University of Joensuu Sarjan toimittaja FT Kimmo Katajala Editor Vaihto Joensuun yliopiston kirjasto/Vaihdot PL 107, 80101 JOENSUU Puh. 013-251 2677, Faksi 013-251 2691 Email:[email protected] Exchange Joensuu University Library/ Exchanges P.O. Box 107, FIN-80101 JOENSUU Tel. +358-13-2512677 Fax +358 13 251 2691 Email:[email protected] Myynti Joensuun yliopiston kirjasto/ Julkaisujen myynti PL 107, 80101 JOENSUU Puh. 013-251 2652, 013-251 2677 Faksi 013-251 2691 Email:[email protected] Sale Joensuu University Library/ Sales of publications P.O. Box 107, FIN-80101 JOENSUU, FINLAND Tel. +358-13-251 2652, 251 2677 Fax +358 13 251 2691 Email: [email protected] Copyright © 2007 Joensuun yliopisto 1. painos ISSN 1796-8003 ISBN 978-952-458-915-4 Kannen suunnittelu: Esko Puranen Kansikuva: Jaakko Hosia, Tripolaris (1998; akryyli, 217 mm x 178 mm) Kannen tekninen toteutus: Joensuun yliopistopaino Paino: Joensuun yliopistopaino Joensuu 2007 iii Acknowledgments I will take this opportunity to thank individually, all those who have assisted me in one way or another with my PhD research. First of all, with my highest sense of gratitude, I am grateful to Prof. Ari Lehtinen who supervised the work I have reported in this thesis. I am indebted to him for providing incredible support and guidance for my research right from the beginning of this project, and for constructive comments and criticisms on the multiple draft versions of this thesis. I also extend my gratitude to Dr. Jaakko Suvantola who helped me formulate ideas in the early stages of this research, after my first project failed to stand ground. My heartfelt thanks are extended to my case study organisations: Walvis Bay Municipality, Central Bureau of Statistics and Tuyeni Community Research Centre, for the acceptance of my research within their settings. I am grateful to all the staff who gave their time for interviews for this thesis. I am also equally thankful to the entire Namibian GIS community for responding to my survey questionnaires. In addition, I extend my thanks to colleagues throughout the EMIN Network. To my fellow colleagues and friends Ndafuda Shiponeni, Kenneth Matengu and Juusi Semi, for sharing research ideas and stimulating discussions. Support from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism of Namibia is highly appreciated, particularly the support from the Permanent Secretary Dr. Malan Lindeque and the Director of the Directorate of Environmental Affairs Mr. Teofilus Nghitila. Thanks also to my colleagues from the Environmental Information Systems Unit. For financial and administrative support, I am grateful to the Namibian Ministry of Environment and Tourism, the Foreign Affair Ministry of Finland, and the Department of Geography of Joensuu University. I extend my gratitude to my husband Ronginus Nangolo and my sister Edvig Noongo for their love, understanding, encouragement and support. Acknowledgements also go to those people not listed here but they know that in some ways or another they helped to enrich this work. Honour to my God for seeing me through all. iv Abstract Noongo, Emma Ndaendelao. The implementation of Geographic Information Systems in Namibia. University of Joensuu, 240 p. Keywords: Geographic Information Systems (GIS), implementation, Namibia, organisation, innovation, Actor Network Theory (ANT) This thesis presents an in-depth empirically informed investigation of the implementation process of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in Namibia. The aim of the thesis is to contribute to a deeper understanding of the process of GIS implementation in developing countries. I argue that this aim could be realised from a social construction of technology perspective. In so doing, I adopted an interpretive stance, informed by innovation translation of actor-network theory (ANT) as a framework for understanding the complexities of interplays between social and technological entities. Empirical materials were gathered through exploratory survey questionnaires and descriptive case studies. In addition, participation at conferences with themes related to GIS implementation in developing countries and more particularly in Africa provided a wider understanding of perceptions of GIS users in Africa, regarding the implementation aspects of GIS technology on the continent. A literature survey and the author’s accumulated experience provided a valuable contribution to the research and guided the empirical research undertaking. The exploratory survey questionnaires was undertaken to investigate the perception of the Namibian GIS community regarding the implementation aspects and effectiveness of GIS technology in their respective organisations. The survey questionnaires were circulated to a total of 183 people, 73% of which have responded. The survey findings offered insight into the general characteristic of the human actors in the implementation process of GIS, the perceptions of the systems end users regarding the impacts of GIS, and the main challenges hampering the effective use of GIS technology. The need to study a complex topic within its organisational context led me to adopt a case study methodology. The purpose of the case studies was to pursue more fully issues raised in the survey questionnaire by discussion them at length with key persons, and to observe firsthand GIS implementaion. Using ANT framework, the case studies addressed the aim of the thesis by tracing the actors, associations, formation of alliances and delineating actor- networks involved in the implementation process of GIS, in three different organisational settings. ANT helped unpack the complexity inherent in the implementation process of GIS technology. The adoption and implementation of GIS involves the interplay of social and technological entities, as they negotiate, accept and reject translations, as well as they influence and impact one another. I argue that GIS implementation is an ongoing organisational process, in which the social and the technological entities cannot be easily divorced from each other, and requires them to be considered in relation to each other. v Table of Contents Abstract………………………………………….…………………………………………………ii Acknowledgement……………………………………………………………….………………..iii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................................................10 1.1. DESCRIPTION OF RESEARCH PROBLEM AND MOTIVATIONS ................................................................10 1.2. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND QUESTIONS ...........................................................................................12 1.3. THE TERM IMPLEMENTATION..............................................................................................................12 1.4. OVERVIEW OF NAMIBIA......................................................................................................................13 1.4.1 The Country ................................................................................................................................13 1.4.2. Major National Development Challenges..................................................................................15 1.4.3. Why GIS in Namibia ..................................................................................................................16 1.4.4. National arrangements pertinent to spatial data .......................................................................17 1.5. STUDY STRUCTURE.............................................................................................................................19 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................................................20 2.1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................20 2.2. AN OVERVIEW OF GIS: DEFINITIONS AND CONCEPTS ........................................................................20 2.3. THE FIELD OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS...............................................................................................25 2.3.1. GIS in the context of other Information Systems........................................................................27 2.3.2. Perspectives on IS implementation process ...............................................................................28 2.4. THE SOCIAL ASPECTS OF GIS.............................................................................................................30 2.5. FRAMEWORKS OF GIS IMPLEMENTATION ...........................................................................................34 2.5.1. Diffusion of innovation...............................................................................................................34 2.5.2. A typology of GIS implementation .............................................................................................36 2.5.3. The