Il lancio della campagna per l’aumento delle tesi di archeologia in provincia di Grosseto (#ioRestoaCosa) non è stato vano. Grazie al sistema di trasferimento delle menti, è stato intercettato da alcuni amici sardi che hanno una stazione di ascolto a Capo Marrargiu. Solo che nella trasmissione è saltato qualche bit, e quindi loro hanno recepito “io resto a Bosa“.
E’ un po’ che non ci passo, e chissà se dopo il ponte,a destra scendendo verso, sud c’è sempre “La Farmacia dei sani” (un’enoteca).
Mauro Tirannosauro si è unito da poco alla rete pibinko.org e sta suggerendo prospettive inedite per la Fase Bue, su cui si sta documentando. Per esempio, diceva che, anche se ci saranno alcune opzioni in più, sarà importante restare il più possibile a Cosa, e ha lanciato lo hashtag corrispondente. Perplessità sull’uso del camelcase…comunque: si prevede un’escalation di tesi di archeologia nella sessione invernale di lauree di quest’anno. Intanto Mauro T è al lavoro con altre analisi. Estote parati.
This is the elaboration of a draft presented live at Noisy-Champs, France, in February 2019. This “live poster” was proposed as a way to formalize a method to share the perception of credibility in participatory investigation.
A full report of the workshop where this poster was presented is here. The report includes the poster, but it might help to add that it was part of the discussion on “trajectories of participatory investigation”. The poster was drafted in about 15 minutes, while other working table rapporteurs were presenting the results of other sub-groups.
The method presented in this poster was considered original and innovative by the participants who provided feedback (in a group of about 25 people, with various roles in research and management of organisations working if the cultural or in the scientific sector).
The full poster is visible in the header of this article, and it is re-pasted at then end. Below we review its various parts.
please note: Examples made in the article are fictional, but inspired by various cases observed working in interdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder projects since 1994. The article has been beer reviewed by various collaborators of the pibinko.org network, and has been accepted for publication on the pibinko.org blog on April 27, 2020.
Acknowledged authors are Andrea Giacomelli (info@pibinko.org), C. Van Reeth, A. Vargiu, N. Zimmermann. The sketch on the right indicates seats at the discussion table during the last of three break-out sessions. CG is Claudia Goebel, the facilitator.
Let us also assume that investigation and participation ability are “orthogonal” (i.e. the perfect investigator is the worse “participator”).
Let us identify two actors. An investigator (I) and a “participator” (P).
Typical investigators are researchers, academics, etc.
Typical “participators” are people who are able to engage other people in coordinated activities. Could be the creator of a rock band, the coach of a village sports union, or the manager of a large event (e.g. an international summit).
We can represent the magnitude of their capability on an axis. The orientation of the axes and the intersection point is to be confirmed (rotate the screen as you see fit)
Examples of “capability” on P and I axes:
a “zero” Investigator: somebody who does not have a clue about the topic of the investigation
Investigators with increasing capability: they work on it. At their maximum, they will become Nobel prizes, or have equivalent recognition in their field.
a “zero” participator : someboedy ho never even invited two friends for a drink
High-level participators: all greato politicians, Hugh Hefner, etc.
We may also decide if these axes should have an origin on zero, or if negative values should be allowed. If not, how could we represent investigation activities which after years have not produced tangible results at any level of society? And how should we position subjects who discourage relations among people?
We introduce the concept of credibility.
Credibility must be referred to somebody who perceives it. CP is the credibility perceived by the “participator”; CI is the credibility perceived by the investigator.
The credibility perceived by someone needs to be about something. CP(P) is the credibility of the participator as perceived by him/herself. CP(I) is the credibility of the investigator as perceived by the participator. etc. for CI(I) and CI(P).
Examples:
There is an outreach meeting where researchers propose a participatory investigation activity to be launched in new region. The researchers are explaining the rationale of this effort, and providing some introductory background.
CI(I): I work for a big research institution. Hence, I am a good researcher. I will enlighten this community with my knowledge. They need us.
CP(I): These guys should spend more time working at construction sites. I can’t understand a work they are saying.
CP(I): Hey, these guys come from a university. They must be professors. I will do anything they say because I am a farmer and I don’t have a degree. (while in fact they are PhD candidates on their second year, replacing the actual professor because he had an schedule conflict with a tennis game with his pal).
CP(P): My father and my grandfather have been on this land, taking water from that stream. We know how it works. Why do we need a “hydrogeologic model” (did I spell it right?)
These statements are fictional…but not far from reality (based on 25 years of attending events with different stakeholder groups in the same room).
There are of course a lot of cases which are less negative, and very much reasonable. But it helps to highlight the “bad cases”.
Having introduced these concepts…. A prerequisite condition is that there needs to be a will to start a participatory investigation effort. In absence of this, no need to go further.
Assuming there is a will to start a PI activity, before anything else P and I need to agree on the perception of credibility in its combinations: CP(P) needs to reasonably match CI(P) and CP(I) needs to reasonably match CI(I)
The matching process needs to happen…
…in a finite time (and using a finite amount of resources)
…with time and resources on a magnitude order lower than the expected joint effort.
Examples of “perception matching” efforts environments of different magnitude: an aperitif (to decide where we should have a pizza for dinner), a half-day meeting (before launching a utility survey involving subcontractors for two months)…etc.
At the end of our credibility perception matching phase…will P&I agree?
NO. IF P and I do not agree, i.e. CP(I) and CI(I) and/or CP(P) and CI(P) are very different, two two scenarios are possible: (1) the “reasonable path” and (2) the “You’ve got it comin'”.
The “reasonable path”. P&I can agree that when they met was not a good moment and/or setting to trigger a joint effort. They might want to wait and try again in the future. Or they might decide that they have no mutual interest to collaborate in the future. There will be a “no go” by at least one of the two parties (and, as in every relationship, there will always be one with a stronger “no go”). This can be declared more or less graciously.
Gracious “no go”:
[Rainy day – Living room – Franco Califano is on TV. Joe is casually flipping the pages of “Participatory Investigation and Country” Magazine. Phone rings. Joe answers]
Jane: Hi Joe Joe: Hey Jane, what’s up? Jane: Remember you invited me to go to the movies to see The Revenge of the Killer Chihuahua and of the Zombies? Joe: Yep, I got two tickets already. Pick you up at 8…right…? Jane: Well…you know…I got a really bad headache…maybe next week, ok? Joe: Jane…that’s fine Epilogue: Jane goes out with Jack, to see the Palla a 21 from Tuscany to Chicago documentary, and Joe stays at home, watching repeats of Space 1999.
…there can also be the case that, in spite of no matching of credibility perception, P&I decide to proceed anyway with the participatory investigation effort. Examples of considerations :
Hey, we got the funds, anyway.
Well, I’m not really sure these guys can develop this app, but Roger who is the CTO of a large company told me they’re ok, so they must be ok
In this case, the participator and the investigator have it coming, and they have a shared responsibility in one of these possible situations
The investigation starts. Things will go smooth until they go smooth. But, as in any human activity, issues are bound to happen. At this point, in absence of shared credibility perception, other factors will come into play
hope (the conclusions of the meeting were not really convincing, let’s hope next time it’s going to be more productive, and that it doesn’t rain during the social dinner)
re-enforced hierarchy (I am the project coordinator and I have two PhDs and I am the chair of a committe of an international organization, so you do what I say)
amplified prejudice + trust breach (I remember this guy didn’t feel like he was a good surveyor…well, surely he cooks really bad as well)
when hope fails… faith (Oh mighty Belushandir, lord of all participatory investigation activities, please make our report be delivered on time)
Hopefully, instead, the Participator and the Investigator will find a joint credibility perception condition.
How can this be confirmed? Well…it may not be simple to define it analytically, but there are lots of proxies: emails being answered within 48 hours (rather than 4.8 weeks), capability of greeting your counterparts with a good feeling, willingness to meet again, etc.
At this point, the joint participatory investigation effort should be started ASAP.
The credibility perception should also be conveyed to other stakeholders: issue a joint press release in all languages involved by your project; write a four-hand article (but not for a journal requiring one year for the review process); write it on the walls.
The whole thing should be re-assessed periodically, especially for PI efforts spanning over six months.
While the preparation of the milestone event for our little participatory lithology exercise [1] is under way….
..music is flowing, both in the form of our Lithobags, and thanks to Pietro “Raman” Crivelli from Piloni (Southern Tuscany). Peter is sending us before sunset either a song or a painting (e does both), asking to republish them and spread around to wish the universe a good night (see this link). Then:
20.4.2007, Scalvaia (SI)
Monday 20:
We started to publish the names of some of the analyzed samples (see article).
The Jug Band Colline Metallifere published its first track on Bandcamp.com (see article).
The Jug Band Colline Metallifere was invited to do something at a May 1st celebration event. More details will follow.
13th anniversary fo the first fundraiser for the palla a 21 to Chicago mission. In Scalvaia. i finanziamento della missione della palla a 21 a Chicago. A Scalvaia. More photos found on another external HDD (just kidding…it was the same one). Yet more memories emerge, for those who were there, and yet more incredibly strange characters appear, for those who were not there: see article, with the same note as above for non-Italian-reading folks.
Thursday 23: In the vault of New York’s Natural History Museum a portrait of teenage Mauro Tirannosauro was found. The shot is just after he had is first scooter. You can tell from the light in his eyes…this was around 70 million years ago: see the article. The portrait is also on sale by Tattistampa (same link)…Ben Stiller ordered ten copies.
To receive directly the weekly-or-so newsletter on Participatory Lithology, plus other initiatives by the pibinko.org network + Jug Band Colline Metallifere, please write to info@pibinko.org asking to be added to the mailing list.
In the search window below you can type something, and the system will tell you if the project is related to places or people whose names contain what you typed. Even a single character will do.
Clicking on the name, or nickname, of a participant, a new window will open with additional information on that person, if available (if not, you will see the main role he/she is covering, either as collector, classifier, entertainer, or sponsor).
You too can be part of the project. Check out the roles linked above, and write to introduce yourself.
Welcome to the home page of the International Lark Ski Association (ILSA). The association was created to promote and protect the discipline of skiing with larks around the world.
We are in the process of transferring contents from our old web site (now off-line) to the pibinko.org network web site.
In the meantime, for more information about ILSA, its activities, how to join, etc., please write to micalosapevo@pibinko.org specifying ILSA in subject of your message (together with any other information you would like to convey).
The workflow requires for each sample: at least one photo by a collector, at least two agreeing reviews by the classifiers, at least on song each day from the entertainers, and support by sponsors here and there.
With an approach strongly based on co-design, attention by various media, and the incredibly strange presence of a T-Rex following various aspects of our work, and occasionally singing, the project is gradually unfolding. Starting from a base team of ten people in Tatti, after four weeks it has engaged in participation about 35 folks, spread across five Italian regions. We have some 250 samples on the radar, and about 60 songs related in various ways to rocks, stones, and minerals, with both lists growing. The songs are broadcast via daily articles on the “Lithobag” series of articles by the Jug Band Colline Metallifere (surely in Italian, when possible also with an English translation).
A map of participants as of April 8, 2020.
After one month, it is finally possible to review some of the samples at the end of their review chain, with a lot of music in the background. You may see them either from the main gallery, with a beige background, while the samples still being reviewed have a white background. As an alternative, you may use this link. Please note that in the pilot phase of the project the sample pages are presented only in Italian (depending on audience response and sponsorship we will be glad to propose them also in English). At this point, entries are being validated day by day, so the list of “beige” samples will gradually grow.
Participatory Lithology continues, between resilience, a pinch of structured post-dadaism, and looking sometime around mid-May to present the final results of its pilot phase.
Il 23 marzo e 16 aprile 2020 ho tenuto un corso integrativo sull’Applicazione di metodi partecipati alla progettazione di interventi di tutela e valorizzazione interdisciplinare del cielo notturno per gli studenti del corso di Composizione Architettonica per la Laurea in Ingegneria Edile-Architettura dell’Università di Brescia (docente prof. Olivia Longo).
Il corso ha costituito lo sviluppo del convegno tenuto sullo stesso tema nel maggio 2019, con riconoscimento di crediti formativi professionali per ingegneri e architetti, sempre all’Università di Brescia. Durante il corso c’è stato anche un saluto
Vedere la Via Lattea di giorno – con Mauro Tirannosauro feat. Liliana Cafiero, video che spiega come vedere la via lattea di giorno, realizzato ad hoc per il corso.
