Category: gis

Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in Social Work: #MacroSW 1/19 at 9pm ET

gis1/19/17 New Resources:

  1. GIS PowerPoint Presentation and Treasure Hunt GIS activity from Robert Vernon, ACSW, Ph.D. Here is some information from Bob about these resources:

    1. Narrative for the opening PowerPoint slides:The cave drawing of a horse could be possibly directions on where to locate a weir and drive ’em off a cliff for a winter’s supply of horse-meat.   Sort of an early add for Safeway or Krogers…  (My interpretation)The Romans had extensive tax and census records on an individualized bases throughout the empire.The Domesday book was a complete census to inventory all of William’s holdings.The shot of Jane Addams includes ethnicity maps they created to pinpoint where various nationalities and cultures lived near Hull House.  The complete set is on display at Hull House over the fireplace.

  2. Chat Storify Archive!
  3. Chat statistics!

Geographic information systems (GIS) technologies have become a commonplace part of our daily lives. However, GIS technologies can also be used in social work practice for a variety of purposes including planning, education, and evaluation. Social work has a history with mapping going back to Jane Addams and her colleagues at Hull House. GIS mapping also seems to be a good fit given the person-in-environment perspective of the social work profession. While some social work professionals have adopted GIS technologies in their work, it has been a slow process overall.

GIS software has become more user-friendly but issues related to costs and the ethical use of data have hampered the growth of GIS technologies in social work. This chat will examine the potential uses of GIS technologies in social work practice. We will also explore potential issues with the application of GIS technologies in social work and how these can be overcome to promote their expanded use.

Join us for the #MacroSW chat on Thursday, Jan. 19 at 9 pm EST (6 pm Pacific) to discuss uses of geographic information systems in social work.

This topic is based on chat host Dr. Thomas Felke’s (@SocWrkDoc) work using GIS to examine various topics including poverty, homelessness, and food insecurity.

Questions to Discuss

  1. How do you currently use mapping technologies in your daily life?
  2. How do you think GIS could be used for your work?
  3. What ethical issues do you think arise with the use of GIS in social work?
  4. Why do you think the adoption of GIS technologies has been slow in social work?
  5. What would you need to incorporate GIS into your practice?

Resources