Using Social Media to Capture and Convey Cultural Knowledge:

2013 46th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences
Using Social Media to Capture and Convey Cultural Knowledge:
A Case of Chamorro People
Tonia SanNicolas-Rocca
Colorado State University-Pueblo
tonia.sannicolas@colostate-pueblo.edu
James Parrish
Nova Southeastern University
jlparrish@nova.edu
Abstract
The purpose of the paper is to understand if
information and communication technologies,
specifically social media, are used to capture and
convey Chamorro cultural knowledge. Two data
collection methods were used to understand the
type(s) of Chamorro cultural knowledge that is
valued, and what social media is used by the
Chamorro people today to capture and convey
cultural knowledge. The results indicate that the
Chamorro people today share the core Chamorro
cultural values, and do use information and
communication technologies, including social media
to capture and convey Chamorro cultural knowledge.
1. Introduction
The purpose of this research is to explain the
importance of information and communication
technologies (ICT), specifically social media to
capture and convey indigenous cultural knowledge
through a case study within the Chamorro people of
Guam, a U.S. territory located in the Mariana Islands.
While most of the indigenous Chamorro cultural
knowledge is past down orally from generation to
generation, it is evident that the use of social media
can be used and is believed to be an effective method
for preserving, capturing, disseminating, and to learn
about the Chamorro culture.
A significant amount of attention has been given
to the capture and preservation of indigenous
knowledge using ICTs. Without the capture and
preservation of indigenous knowledge, cultures may
be lost due to Western innovation and culture.
[1] states that indigenous knowledge is collected
to revitalize endangered cultures, improve the
economic independence and sustainability of
indigenous communities and to increase communitybased involvement in planning and development.
With an increased understanding of the value of
indigenous cultural knowledge, many agree that the
1530-1605/12 $26.00 © 2012 IEEE
DOI 10.1109/HICSS.2013.593
3384
3386
use of ICTs can be employed to preserve, capture,
and disseminate this knowledge so that it can be past
down to future generations and shared with the
Western world.
This study focuses on the indigenous Chamorro
people of Guam. Guam is a U.S. territory, and has all
the modern technologies found in the U.S. [2] Due to
hundreds of years of colonization and loss of political
control, the Chamorro culture has experienced a
significant level of foreign influence, and therefore,
most of the ancient Chamorro culture is lost.
The Chamorro culture is currently endangered [3],
and most Chamorros believe that the culture is dying.
With the use of grants, funding provided by
businesses and government, and donations,
informational websites have been created to preserve
and disseminate Chamorro cultural knowledge.
These endeavors, and others, have been established to
preserve the culture such that it can be passed down
to future generations.
The remainder of this paper is organized as
follows: Section two discusses indigenous and
cultural knowledge. Section 3 discusses information
and communication technologies, including social
media. Section 4 lists the types of Chamorro cultural
knowledge. Section 5 presents our methodology.
Section 6 presents our results. Section 7 provides a
discussion. Section 8 includes our limitations and
future research. Finally, Section 9 offers a
conclusion.
2. Indigenous and cultural knowledge
2.1 Indigenous knowledge
Indigenous knowledge reflects the dynamic way
in which the residents of an area have come to
understand themselves in relationship to their natural
environment and how they organize that folk
knowledge of flora and fauna, cultural beliefs, and
history to enhance their lives [4]. According to [5],
Cultures are constantly changing. They change
by inventions, cultural transmission, diffusion, and
acculturation [3].
Inventions consist of new ways of doing things by
a society.
Cultural transmission is the process of transferring
knowledge from one generation to the next.
Diffusion is the process by which customs and
discoveries are borrowed from other cultures.
This takes place when there is contact between
cultures.
Acculturation is the process of cultural change
whereby one culture takes over elements from
another culture it has frequent contact with.
indigenous knowledge pertains to experiential,
locality-specific knowledge and practices of
medicine, as well as healing, hunting, fishing,
gathering, agriculture, combat, education and
environmental conservation developed by indigenous
people over the years.
[1] adds that indigenous knowledge has many
forms. It includes potentially patentable knowledge
about traditional medicines, foods, farm practices,
architecture and construction, handicrafts, artwork
and folk music. It includes knowledge about people
places, plants, animals, and historical events
associated with a particular community. It includes
cultural heritage in the form of traditional stories,
songs, dances and ceremonies that reflect beliefs
related spirituality, family, land and social justice.
Most IK is held in the minds and practices of
people, and is commonly held by communities rather
than individuals [5]. Some IK, however, is kept a
secret and is only shared amongst specific individuals
in a community [6]. IK isn’t necessarily old. For
example, recently established knowledge that is
based on existing knowledge can also be indigenous
[7].
A significant portion of indigenous knowledge is
passed down orally from generation to generation,
and is in danger of being lost unless it is formally
documented and preserved. According to [8], the
future problem solving by thousands of indigenous
people across the globe is uncertain. The rapid
change in the way of life of local communities has
largely accounted for the loss of IK. Younger
generations underestimate the utility of indigenous
knowledge systems (IKSs) because of the influence
of modern technology and education [9].
IK is unique to a given culture [10], and
represents peoples’ lifestyle [7]. To preserve IK such
that the culture is passed down to future generations,
it is important to capture the knowledge so that it can
be easily disseminated to others. It is evident that if
IK is not recorded and preserved, it will be lost and
remain inaccessible to other indigenous systems as
well as to development workers [5].
The continual change that most cultures
experience can, over time, lead to the loss of some
cultural traits. However, the worldview that is shared
by the members of the culture remains relatively
unchanged. This worldview is founded in the values
of the culture, or those things that the members see as
desirable or important. These fundamental values
serve to define the culture, and according to
Cunningham [3] they are the key to its maintenance
and perseverance.
Cultural continuity lies in the preservation and
transmission of indigenous knowledge [13]. Cultural
transmission embodies the passing on of culturally
relevant knowledge, skills and values from one
person to another person or from one culture to
another culture [14]. The transmission of indigenous
culture to the younger generation is of considerable
interest and importance as it relates to whether or not
the culture will survive pressure for assimilation into
mainstream society [14]. There are many channels
by which cultural knowledge and values can be
transmitted and increasingly, ICTs are playing this
role [14].
3. Information and communication
technologies used to capture, store, and
disseminate indigenous knowledge
2.2 Culture and cultural change
Information and communication technologies are
defined as “the building blocks of the Networked
World,”
and
include
telecommunications
technologies such as telephony, cable, satellite and
radio, as well as digital technologies, such as
computers, information networks and software [13].
These systems allow for the processing, storage, and
rapid dissemination of large amounts of information,
and have been used to capture indigenous knowledge
from places such as Africa [15, 13], Southeast Asia
[14], Australia [16], and India [17].
Culture is the shared knowledge and schemes
created by a set of people for perceiving, interpreting,
expressing, and responding to the social realities
around them [11]. According to [3], culture includes
language, art, music, humor, technology, beliefs, and
all that is characteristic of human social life. Culture
is learned through experience, participation and
observation within the community [12].
3387
3385
ICTs have the potential to remove “distance” and
keep individuals connected with family and other
community social supports through online cultural
forms, chat rooms and email, thereby allowing for
cultural transfer on an informal or formal basis [13].
According to [7], ICTs could be useful in the
following ways:
Capture, store and disseminate indigenous
knowledge so that traditional knowledge is
preserved for the future generation.
Promote cost-effective dissemination of
indigenous knowledge.
Create easily accessible information systems for
indigenous knowledge.
Promote integration of indigenous knowledge into
formal and non-formal training and education.
Provide a platform for advocating to improve
benefits from indigenous knowledge systems to
the poor.
Compared to traditional media, social media
allows people to actively engage in a communication
process not only as information receivers but also as
message creators [25]. Given the capabilities of
social media, we believe that it can be used to capture
and convey indigenous cultural knowledge.
4. Chamorro people
Chamorros are the indigenous people from the
Mariana Islands, which are located in the western
Pacific Ocean. There are eleven islands total.
However, only four are inhabited. The Mariana
Islands that are inhabited are composed of two
administrative units, Guam, a territory of the United
States (U.S.), and the Northern Mariana Islands
including the islands of Rota, Saipan and Tinian,
which make up a Commonwealth of the U.S.
According to Archeologist, the Chamorros first
occupied the islands approximately 4000 years ago.
The Chamorros have gone through cultural change as
a result of colonization and loss of political control
by the Spanish, Germans, Japanese and U.S. The
descendents of the ancient Chamorro people still
exist today, providing the social, cultural, economic
and political backbone of modern Guam. Despite
colonization and the loss of political control, the
Chamorro people have maintained a distinct cultural
and social identity to this day [26].
The Chamorro cultural, however, is endangered
[3]. As a result of the acculturation of the Spanish,
Germans, Japanese and Americans, the Chamorro
culture has experienced a significant amount of
change. The core of the culture, however, still
remains. While most of this knowledge has been
passed down orally, some Chamorro knowledge can
be found in books, DVDs, CDs, databases, and on
websites. This knowledge is listed in the next
section.
ICTs represent a crucial force for cultural change
[18]. [19] argues that ICTs have different modes of
use, that they are a socially contingent means of
communicating information and that the Internet is to
be seen as a modality of cultural transmission.
The Internet, which is today the most
sophisticated and modern way of interactive
networking, has offered global access to all kinds of
information generation and sharing across the world
[13]. According to [20], connectivity offers the
potential for enhancing cultural continuity and
rejuvenating community ties. [20] also states that
the Internet can greatly increase the capacity for
cultural interaction by removing physical barriers.
3.1 Social Media
Social Media is a group of Internet-based
applications that build on the ideological and
technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow
the creation and exchange of user generated content
[21]. Applications such as collaborative projects
(e.g., Wikipedia), blogs (e.g., Twitter), content
communities (e.g., YouTube, 671recipes,
Chamorroroots), social networking sites (e.g.,
Facebook, Myspace), and virtual games and social
worlds (e.g., World of Warcraft, Secondlife) are
examples of social media [21].
Social media provides users with the ability to
swap ideas, or to participate in activities and events,
while sharing their wider interests [22]. In general,
social media can be understood as online platforms
for interaction, collaboration, and creating/sharing of
various types of digital contents [23; 24].
4.1. Categories
knowledge
of
Chamorro
cultural
The Chamorro people take pride in their cultural
values and beliefs. Chamorro cultural knowledge
includes [3]:
Language. Chamorro is the name of the
indigenous language of the Mariana Islands. It is in
the Malayo-Polynesian Family [3; 27]. Although
many Chamorros speak the language, there are many
others who were not taught. This has had a huge
impact on the preservation of the Chamorro culture.
Food. Chamorro foods represent cultural choices
from their natural environment in the Mariana
Islands, and foods acculturated from other countries
3388
3386
Construction of homes. Chamorros built their
homes using latte stones. The latte stone was used as
a foundation on which thatched huts were built.
Today, Chamorros rely on modern construction
techniques and materials for homes and other
structures.
such as Japan, Spain and the Philipines. Many
cultural dishes are served daily and at Chamorro
fiestas, or parties.
Fishing. The Chamorros rely heavily on the
resources of the sea for their subsistence. Today, the
Chamorros fish in the rivers and sea. In the Mariana
Islands the United States federal government controls
the reef and the offshore areas. Citizens are generally
free to exploit the wealth of the sea with some
restrictions [28].
Agriculture - The ancient Chamorros were
horticulturists. Their agricultural practices took into
account the vegetation, phase of the moon (crescent,
gibbous, half, quarter), Chamorro calendar, and soil
conditions. Certain techniques were used such as the
swidden agriculture method, cultivation, and constant
mixed farming on the same plot of land. Today,
many Chamorros rely on modern farming practices.
Medicinal. Healing with herbs, magic, massage,
and personal power to heal the sick is used. Some of
this knowledge is considered a secret, and therefore
not shared with others. In addition to Chamorro
medicinal practices, modern medicine is used today.
Superstition. Chamorros have many superstitious.
Many of them involve women and children as they
are believed to be most vulnerable to the wraths of
evil spirits.
Way of life. Respect and interdependence are key
and central values in the Chamorro culture. Respect
for elders is expected, and those who show disrespect
are frowned upon. Interdependence is a powerful
concern for mutualism (within the family) rather than
individualism and it includes the living, dead,
animate, and inanimate.
Religion. The ancient Chamorros believed in
ancestral (spirit) veneration for health, safety and
good fortune. In addition to ancestral spirits, many
believe in other spirits such as the taotaomo'na,
duhendes, and fanague. With the acculturation of the
Spanish culture, Chamorros began to seek the
guidance and protection of Catholic Saints. When
Chamorros pray to these saints today for good
fortune in business, protection from evil, or even in
the finding of lost objects, they are still praying to
spirits [29].
Folklore and legends. Chamorros have many
local legends and folklore relating to stories of
strength, defeat, love, and disobedience. One, in
particular, derives from ancient Chamorro religious
beliefs, such as the taotaomo’na.
Taboos. The ancient Chamorros believed that
certain acts would anger ancestral spirits. As such,
Chamorros believe in many taboos that could lead to
illness or even death.
5. Research Method
This research uses a case study approach to
understand how social media is used to capture and
convey indigenous Chamorro knowledge. A case
study is “a research strategy which focuses on
understanding the dynamics present within single
settings” [30]. According to [31], this research
strategy is well suited when focusing on emerging
phenomena and to eventually induce theories. This
approach is recognized as a suitable approach by
many researchers to answer research questions such
as “why” and “how” things are done [32], and
therefore is appropriate to study the impact of ICTs
on indigenous knowledge [6].
Two data collection methods were used to
understand the use of ICTs, specifically social media
to capture and convey Chamorro cultural knowledge.
Initially, we conducted 15 semi-structured interviews.
Given the information we gathered from the
interviews, we created an online survey to better
understand how Chamorro cultural knowledge is
captured and conveyed using ICTs, specifically
through social media. This is presented in Section 6.
6. Results
6.1. Semi-structured interviews
Semi-structured interviews were given to fifteen
participants. Interviewees were between twenty-one
and sixty-nine years of age. There were eight males
and seven females. The purpose of the interviews
was to determine which indigenous Chamorro
cultural knowledge the interviewees use, share,
and/or perceive as valuable and worth preserving,
and what transmission mediums they use to share and
learn about the Chamorro culture. Interviewees were
asked the following questions. Additional questions
were asked based on their responses.
Do you share Chamorro cultural knowledge with
others? If yes, who do you share the knowledge
with?
What Chamorro knowledge do you share with
others?
How do you share Chamorro knowledge? Do you
share knowledge through books, music, dance,
3389
3387
DVDs, CDs, websites, email, YouTube, social
networking, orally/word-of-mouth, other?
What Chamorro knowledge do you value and find
important to pass on to future generations?
Do you speak, read and/or write in Chamorro?
How fluent are you?
Do you believe that the Chamorro culture is
dying?
ICTs, specifically social media they use to share and
learn about the Chamorro culture. However, the
goal of the online survey was to reach participants
located throughout Guam and the U.S.
The online survey was created using
surveymonkey.com and was accessible for two weeks
through Facebook.com, 671recipes.com, and
chamorroroots.com. The survey consisted of
22questions. However, we filtered questions 2-22 by
the first question which asks if the respondents are
Chamorro. Therefore, only responses provided by
Chamorros are analyzed. We received 111
responses from people who claim to be Chamorro.
Of the 111 participants, 42 are male and 69 are
female. Table 2 includes the ages of the participants.
Based on the responses from 15 interviewees, we
found that Chamorros share Chamorro cultural
knowledge with family (children, siblings, cousins,
etc.), friends, and co-workers, other Chamorros and
non-Chamorros.
All of the Chamorro cultural
knowledge described in Section 4.1 is shared and
valued by one or more research participants.
Although all participants believe that the Chamorro
culture should be passed on to future generations, the
knowledge they found to be most important was
language, way of life (respect for elders and nature),
and food/recipes. The research participants stated
that they share Chamorro cultural knowledge using
multiple transmission mediums. This information is
provided in Table 2.
.
Mediums used to
transfer indigenous
cultural knowledge
Age category
Number of Participants
Younger than 18
2
18-24
10
25-34
14
35-44
19
45-54
31
55-64
30
65 or older
4
Prefer not to answer
1
Table 2. Ages of research participants
Number of respondents who
stated that they use this
method to share indigenous
Chamorro cultural knowledge
The Chamorros from Guam have access to the
technical innovations found in the U.S. Table 3
includes the number of research participants who use
and/or have access to ICTs.
Books
1
Orally
15
Music
15
Dance
2
CD/DVD
5
Websites
4
Email
7
YouTube
3
Facebook or
14
Myspace
Twitter or blogging
2
Table 1. Mediums for sharing Chamorro knowledge
ICT
Number of Participants
Internet
109
Wireless network
99
Broadband (DSL/cable)
73
Cell phone
102
CD/DVD/CD-Rom
93
Table 3. ICTs used by research participants
Chamorros were asked to rate their knowledge
levels on different ICTs. Table 4 includes their
responses.
Based on the results found in Table 4, most of the
respondents believe that their knowledge levels of
ICTs are good or very good. Consistent with the
responses from the interviewees, survey participants
share cultural knowledge with family (106), friends
(104), coworkers (69), other Chamorros (94), and
non-Chamorros (82). Two respondents stated that
they do not share cultural knowledge with others.
Based on the results of the semi-structured
interviews, we created an online survey to capture
knowledge from a larger group of Chamorro people.
Information about the online survey and its results
are described next.
6.2. Online questionnaire: survey
Like the semi-structured interviews described in
Section 6, the purpose of the online survey was to
gain an understanding of the types of Chamorro
cultural knowledge Chamorros use, share, and/or
perceive as valuable and worth preserving, and what
3390
3388
Weak
Fair
Good
Very
good
0
11
22
0
13
1
15
26
17
30
16
24
65
27
61
Telephone
1
0
2
Broadband
2
4
12
Wireless
3
0
18
Network
E-mail
0
0
6
Cell phone
0
0
5
Table 4. Level of knowledge of ICTs
18
27
23
85
56
62
22
26
79
76
Internet
E-commerce
CD/DVD/CDROM
Cultural knowledge
Very
important
Quite
important
Fairly
important
Slightly
important
Not at all
important
Very
weak
ICT
Chamorro language
102 4
3
1
Methods of fishing
58 20 22 6
Construction of canoes
42 14 36 11
Medicinal
68 15 12 9
Food/recipes
102 7
1
0
Way of life
104 7
0
0
Music
82 18 8
1
Construction of latte
0
0
5 26
stones
Folklore
67 26 12 2
Dances
66 23 13 4
Superstitions
47 28 23 5
Table 6. Value of Chamorro cultural knowledge
Chamorros share cultural knowledge using
different transmission mediums. These transmission
mediums include oral (storytelling, instruction),
social networking sites, content communities or
informational website, email, song, and dance. Table
5 shows the number of recipients who share
knowledge using the different transmission mediums.
0
1
5
2
0
0
0
76
2
2
5
As stated earlier, ICTs can be used to support the
transfer of culture knowledge. Table 7 shows the
transmission mediums Chamorros use to learn about
their culture.
Transmission medium
Number of Participants
Orally (storytelling)
94.4% (107)
Social networking
72.1% (80)
(Facebook, Myspace,
Twitter)
Content Community
63.1% (70)
(671recipes.com,
chamorroroots.com)
Informational website
(historicguam.org,
guampedia.com)
Email
57.7% (64)
Songs
56.8% (63)
Dance
38.7% (43)
Table 5. Number of recipients who share knowledge
using the different transmission mediums.
Transmission medium
Number of
respondents
98.2% (109)
52.3% (58)
Orally
Content community and
informational websites
Social networking site
41.4% (46)
Email
22.5% (25)
Television
25.2% (28)
CD/DVD/CD-ROM
17.1% (19)
Radio
29.7% (33)
Movies
8.1% (9)
Books
54.1% (60)
Songs
56.8% (63)
Dance
42.3% (47)
Table 7. Transmission mediums Chamorros use to
learn about their culture
According to [3], culture is founded in the values
of the culture, or those things that the members see as
desirable or important. Table 6 shows how
Chamorros rate the value of the different types of
Chamorro culture.
As per Table 7, it is evident that the Chamorro
culture is passed down orally from generation to
generation. Further, when asked if they think the
Chamorro culture is dying, 74.5% of those who
participated in the survey said it is.
When considering the use of ICTs, Chamorros
rely on content communities, informational, and
social networking websites to learn about their
culture. There are many websites that Chamorros
can use to learn about and share the Chamorro
culture. Table 8 lists the websites that respondents
stated they use to share and learn about their culture.
3391
3389
Capture
SNS
6.2.1. Use of the social networking websites to
preserve, capture and distribute Chamorro
culture. Social networking sites (SNS) such as
Facebook and YouTube can also support the
preservation, capture, distribution, and the
opportunity to learn about the Chamorro culture.
According to Table 9, 84.3% (94) respondents
believe (strongly agree or agree) that social
networking can be used to preserve Chamorro
knowledge, 77.5% (86) believe (strongly agree or
agree) that social networking can capture Chamorro
knowledge, and , 94.6% (105) respondents believe
(strongly agree or agree) that social networking can
be used to distribute Chamorro knowledge. Finally,
93.7% (104) Chamorros believe (strongly agree or
agree) that social networking can provide others with
the opportunity to learn about the Chamorro culture.
Following is an example of a thread that came
from 671recipes.com that can be accessed from
Facebook.com [33]. This thread was posted on May
21, 2012.
“Håfa adai, friends and family! With this
week being National Etiquette Week, let's hit
the "glass ceiling" in sharing all those
Chamorro etiquette passed down from our
elders, those we want to definitely pass
down to our children, and lastly, those that
some of us think have outgrown its use--
INT
CCI
Distribute
SNS
INT
CCI
Learn
SNS
INT
CCI
Strongly
Disagree
CCI
Disagree
Preserve
INT
Undecided
SNS
Based on the results in Table 8, most of the
recipients favor Guampedia.com (informational
website), 671recipes.com (content community) and
Facebook.com (social network) to learn about and
share Chamorro cultural knowledge. Table 9 depicts
how Chamorros use various types of ICTs to
preserve, capture and distribute cultural knowledge.
Agree
Table 8. Website Chamorros use to learn about and
share cultural knowledge
Strongly
Agree
35.1% (39)
22.5% (25)
61.3% (68)
56.8% (63)
37.8% (42)
56.8% (63)
2.7% (3)
1.8% (2)
1.8% (2)
One of the responses to the request (above)…
With English spoken more than Chamorro in the
home, we may not hear or see this too much, but
addressing someone, elder especially, is always
extended the titles of respect and endearment: Che'lu
for our contemporaries, Tan or Tun for an elder, and
any elder, even a nonrelative, we show utmost
respect by calling them Saina.
Type
Historicguam.org
Guampreservationtrust.org
Guampedia.com
671recipes.com
Chamorroroots.com
Facebook.com
Myspace.com
Twitter.com/personal blogs
YouTube.com
"been there, done that, doesn't work". Drop
in and share with Tun Kiko' Karabåo
standing by, your pride and joy in the spirit
of Chamorro INAFA'MAOLEK! :*)”
# of
respondents
who use
these
websites to
share
cultural
knowledge
16.2% (18)
12.6% (14)
30.6% (34)
45.9% (51)
28.8% (32)
71% (79)
1.8% (2)
3.6% (4)
2.7% (3)
Use
Website
# of
respondents
who use
these
websites to
learn about
the culture
59.5%
(66)
65.8%
(73)
71.2%
(79)
54.1%
(60)
61.3%
(68)
66.7%
(74)
65.8%
(73)
78.4%
(87)
75.7%
(84)
67.6%
(75)
82.0%
(91)
76.6%
(85)
25.2%
(28)
27.9%
(31)
23.4%
(26)
23.4%
(26)
25.2%
(28)
24.3%
(27)
28.8%
(32)
17.1%
(19)
19.8%
(22)
26.1%
(29)
15.3%
(17)
18.9%
(21)
12.6%
(14)
5.4%
(6)
4.5%
(5)
17.1%
(19)
9.9%
(11)
7.2%
(8)
4.5%
(5)
4.5%
(5)
4.5%
(5)
5.4%
(6)
2.7%
(3)
4.5%
(5)
1.8%
(2)
0.9%
(1)
0.9%
(1)
5.4%
(6)
3.6%
(4)
1.8%
(2)
0.9%
(1)
0.0%
(0)
0.0%
(0)
0.0%
(0)
0.0%
(0)
0.0%
(0)
0.9%
(1)
0.0%
(0)
0.0%
(0)
0.0%
(0)
0.0%
(0)
0.0%
(0)
0.0%
(0)
0.0%
(0)
0.0%
(0)
0.9%
(1)
0.0%
(0)
0.0%
(0)
Table 9. Use of ICT to preserve, capture, distribute,
and learn Chamorro culture
6.2.2. Use of the Internet to preserve, capture and
distribute Chamorro culture. According to [13],
the Internet (INT) is a sophisticated and modern way
of interactive networking, and has offered global
access to all kinds of information generation and
sharing across the world. According to the results of
the survey, Chamorros believe that the Internet can
help preserve, capture, distribute, and learn about the
Chamorro culture.
A review of Table 9 shows that 93.7% (or 104)
respondents believe (strongly agree or agree) that the
3392
3390
specifically social media, are used today by the
Chamorro people to capture and convey cultural
knowledge. The picture that emerges indicates that
Chamorros value their culture, including their ancient
Chamorro culture. What is evident is that Chamorros
place most value on their way of life, language, and
food/recipes. These fundamental values are what
define the Chamorro culture.
Based on the results of the online survey, it is
evident that Chamorros rely mostly on the oral
transfer of knowledge to learn about and share their
culture. Given that 75.5% of those who took the
online survey believe that the Chamorro culture is
dying, it is important to recognize that they also
believe that ICTs can be used to preserve, capture,
distribute/convey, and learn about their culture.
There are many informational websites that are
used to capture Chamorro knowledge. These include
historicguam.com, guampreservetrust.org, and
guampedia.com (this list is not exhaustive). These
websites are informational and not considered
interactive. Guampedia.com, however, does allow
users to suggest a topic. Of these, 61.3% of the
research participants stated that they refer to
guampedia.com to learn about their culture. Less
than 36% of the respondents stated that they refer to
historicguam.com and guampreservetrust.org to learn
about their culture. What is interesting is that some
research participants stated that they share cultural
knowledge using the aforementioned informational
websites. 30.6% of the research participants stated
that they share cultural knowledge using
guampedia.org. 16.2% and 12.6% of the research
participants stated that they share cultural knowledge
on histricguam.org and guampreservetrust.org,
respectively.
Content communities are also used to learn about
and share Chamorro cultural knowledge. These
websites are 671recipes.com and chamorroroots.com
(This is not an exhaustive list). Of those surveyed,
56.8% and 37.8% stated that learn Chamorro culture
by referring to 671recipes.com and
chamorroroots.com, respectively. Furthermore,
45.9% and 28.8% of those surveyed stated that they
share Chamorro culture through 671recipes.com and
chamorroroots.com, respectively.
Social networking sites were also referred to in
the online survey. These websites include
facebook.com, myspace.com, twitter.com/personal
blogs, and youtube.com. Of these websites, 56.8%
and 71% of those survey stated that they use
facebook.com to learn about and share Chamorro
culture, respectively. The other social networking
sites were used less than 3.7% by those surveyed for
both learning about and sharing Chamorro culture.
Internet can be used to preserve Chamorro
knowledge. 86.3% (96) believe (strongly agree or
agree) that the Internet can capture Chamorro
knowledge. In addition, 95.5% (106) respondents
believe (strongly agree or agree) that the Internet can
be used to distribute Chamorro knowledge. Finally,
97.3% (108) Chamorros believe (strongly agree or
agree) that the Internet can provide others with the
opportunity to learn about the Chamorro culture.
6.2.3. Use of the informational websites to
preserve, capture and distribute Chamorro
culture. Content community and informational
websites (CCI) can also support the preservation,
capture, distribution, and the opportunity to learn
about the Chamorro culture. From Table 9, 94.6%
(105) respondents believe (strongly agree or agree)
that content community and informational websites
can be used to preserve Chamorro knowledge. 91%
(101) believe (strongly agree or agree) that content
community and informational websites can capture
Chamorro knowledge. In addition, 95.5% (106)
respondents believe (strongly agree or agree) that
content community and informational websites can
be used to distribute Chamorro knowledge. Finally,
95.5% (106) Chamorros believe (strongly agree or
agree) that content community and informational
websites can provide others with the opportunity to
learn about the Chamorro culture.
Following is an example of Chamorro history
from chamorroroots.com [34].
Don Justo dela Cruz (b. abt 1780). In 1819,
Don Justo dela Cruz held a variety of
positions. (Freycinet, 1819). He was Captain
of the First company of the Spanish Infantry,
Secretary to the Governor and the
Administrator of the Royal College of St. Jean
de Letran (aka Collegio San Juan de Letran),
established in 1669 by Father Diego Luis de
San Vitores). (Yamashita, 2009). During
Dumont d’Urville’s visit to Guam in 1829,
Don Justo told d’Urville that he was a direct
descendant of Matapang (Farrell, 2011). He
is also known as the “last pure Chamorro,”
from Captain Lousi de Freycinet of the
U’ranie (Monning, 2007). However so and in
contrast, according to Paul Carano, “it was
recorded that the last native believed to be a
pure blooded Chamorro died [in 1826].”
7. Discussion
The study examined the types of Chamorro
cultural knowledge that is valued and what ICTs,
3393
3391
accelerating the use of ICTs, specifically social
media, to capture and convey the Chamorro culture.
From the data gathered in this study, Chamorros
rely heavily on the oral transmission of cultural
knowledge. When considering the use of ICTs,
Chamorros use and believe that ICTs, specifically
social media, can be used to capture and convey
Chamorro cultural knowledge.
10. Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Annie Merfalen with
671recipes and Bernard Punzalan with Chamorroroots.com
for their support with this research project.
8. Limitations and Future Research
11. References
This study focused on the Chamorro culture on
Guam. The islands of the Northern Mariana were not
included in this study. Including the people of the
Northern Mariana islands in a similar study may
generate different results. Therefore, we recommend
that future research should include Chamorros from
all of the Mariana Islands. In addition, this study
focused on the Chamorro culture. A study on the use
of ICTs to capture cultural knowledge in other
countries, villages, tribes, and the like may generate
different results. Future research should analyze the
use of ICTs, specifically social media to capture and
convey cultural knowledge from other places.
[1] Hunter, J. “The Role of Information Technologies in
Indigenous Knowledge Management”, Australian
Academic and Research Libraries, Vol. 36(2), 2005, pp.
113-128.
[2] World Factbook, Retreived on June 6, 2012 from
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-worldfactbook/geos/gq.html
[3] Cunningham, L.J. Ancient Chamorro Society, The Bess
Press, Inc., Honolulu, Hawaii, 1992.
[4] Semali, L.M. and Kincheloe, J.L. "What is Indigenous
Knowledge?: Voices from the Academy" Falmer Press,
New York, 1999.
9. Conclusion
This study evaluated the use of ICTs, specifically
social media to capture and convey Chamorro
cultural knowledge. Semi-structured interviews and
an online survey was used to capture information
from the Chamorro people of Guam, and to develop
an understanding of the value Chamorros place on
their culture, and if they believe that social media can
be used to capture and convey Chamorro cultural
knowledge. The evidence suggests that Chomorros
rely heavily on the use of oral transmission to pass on
their cultural knowledge to others. However, the
evidence also suggests that Chamorros use ICTs,
including social media, to capture and convey
cultural knowledge.
The study findings have some important
implications for anyone concerned with preserving,
capturing, and conveying Chamorro cultural
knowledge. First, although the oral transmission of
cultural knowledge is mostly used today, most
Chamorros believe that their culture is dying.
Second, the absence of ICTs to preserve, capture, and
convey the Chamorro culture may have an effect on
the preservation of knowledge considering the
number of respondents who use and believe that ICTs
can be used to preserve, capture, distribute/convey,
and learn about the culture.
With ongoing efforts to preserve indigenous
cultural knowledge, we argue the case for
[5] Ngulube, P. “Managing and Preserving Indigenous
Knowledge in the Knowledge Management Era:
Challenges and opportunities for Information
Professionals”, Information Development, Vol. 18(2),
2002, pp. 95-102.
[6] Toukam, D. and Wamba, S.F. “Contribution and Limits
of IT-enabled Codification and Dissemination of
Traditional Knowledge: Case of Bamiléké People”, 45th
Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences,
Maui, Hawaii, January 3-8, 2012.
[7] Lodhi, M.S. and Mikulecky, P. “Motives and Modes of
Indigenous Knowledge Management” Proceedings of the
2nd International Conference on Urban Sustainability,
Cultural Sustainability, Green Development, Green
Structrues and Clean Cars, Prague, 2011, pp.89-94
[8] Warren, D.M. “Indigenous Knowledge, Biodiversity
Conservation and Development”. Keynote address at the
International Conference on Conservation of Biodiversity
in Africa: Local initiatives and Institutional Roles, Nairobi,
Kenya, August 30 – September3, 1992. Retrieved on June
2, 2012 from http://ciesin.columbia.edu/docs/004-173/004173.html.
[9] Ulluwishewa, R. “Indigenous Knowledge, National
Resource Centres and Sustainable Development”,
Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor, Vol.
1(3), 1993, pp. 11–13.
3394
3392
[23] Eisenberg, B. Understanding and aligning the value of
social media. Future Now, 2008. Retrieved June 12,2012,
from http://www.grokdotcom.com/2008/11/07
/understanding-and-aligning-the-value-of-social-media/
[10] Warren, D.M. , “Using Indigenous Knowledge in
Agricultural Development”, World Bank Discussion Paper.
Washington, DC: World Bank. 1991.
[11] Lederach, J.P. Preparing for Peace: Conflict
Transformation Across Cultures, Syracuse University
Press. Syracuse, NY, 1995.
[24] Universal McCann. “Power to the people: Social
media tracker Wave 3, 2008. Retrieved June 3, 2012, from
http://www.scribd.com/doc/3836535/Universal-Mccannon-Social-Media
[12] Bisin, A. and Thierry, V. Cultural Transmission. New
Palgrave Dictionary of Economics: Second Edition, 2005.
[25] Chan-Olmsted, S.M., Cho, M. & Lee, S. “Consumer
perceptions of social media: A Comparative study of
perceived characteristics and consumer profiles by social
media Types”, Paper presented at Association for
Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Annual
Convention, Denver, CO. 2010.
[13] Chikonzo, A. “The Potential of Information and
Communication Technologies in Collecting, Preserving and
Disseminating Indigenous Knowledge in Africa”. The
International Information and Library Review, Vol. 38,
2006, pp. 132-138.
[14] Harris, C.A. and Harris, R.W. “Information and
Communication Technologies for Cultural Transmission
Among Indigenous Peoples, The Electronic Journal on
Information Systems in Developing Countries, Vol. 45(2),
2011, pp. 1-19.
[26] Kanton Tasi – Guam's Draft Commonwealth Act.
Retrieved on June 6, 2012 from
http://web.archive.org/web/20100930025941/http:/www.ch
amorro.com/kantontasi/commonw.html
[27] Murdock, G.P. Social Structure. The MacMillan
Company, New York, 1949.
[15] Greyling, E. and McNulty, N. “The Number in My
Pocket: the Power of Mobile Technology for the Exchange
of Indigenous Knowledge”, Indigenous Knowledge
Technology Conference. Windhoek, Namibia, November
2-4, 2011.
[28] Lucas, D.L. and Lincoln, J.M. “A Report of the
Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council.
2010. Retrieved on June 1, 2012 from
http://www.wpcouncil.org/news/Press/2011/NIOSH%20Re
port%20on%20Guam%20Fishermen%20Safety.pdf
[16] Boyle, A. and Wallace, R. “Indigenous People and
E-nabling Technologies: An Analysis of Recent
Experiences in Northern and Central Australia.”
Kulumun. Journal of the Wollotuka Institute. Vol. 1(1),
2011, pp. 114.
[29] Bevacqua, M.L. ‘Contemporary Physical Evidence of
Ancestral Worship”. Retrieved on June 1, 2012 from
http://guampedia.com/ancestral-worship-today/
[17] Shankar, D. “The Epistemology of the Indigenous
Medical Knowledge Systems of India”. Indigenous
Knowledge and Development Monitor, Vol. 4(3), 1996.
[30] Eisenhardt, K.M. "Building Theories from Case Study
Research," Academy of Management Review, Vol. 14,
1989, pp. 532-550.
[18] Richards C. “From Old to New Learning: Global
Imperatives, Exemplary Asian Dilemmas and ICT as a Key
to Cultural Change, Education, Globalisation”, Societies
and Education, Vol. 2(3), 2004, pp. 337-353.
[31] Benbasat, I., Goldstein, D.K. and Mead, M. "The Case
Research Strategy in Studies of Information Systems," MIS
Quarterly, Vol., 11(3), 1987, pp. 369-386.
[32] Yin, R.K. Case Study Research: Design and Methods,
Sage, Newbury Park, CA, 1994.
[19] Leaning, M. “The Modal Nature of ICT: Challenging
Historical Interpretation of the Social Understanding and
Appropriation of ICT”, The Journal of Community
Informatics, Vol. 29(1), 2005, pp. 35-42.
[33] Retrieved on May 31, 2012 from 671recipes.com
[34] Punzalan, B. “Don Justo DeLa Cruz” Retrieved on
August 28, 2012 from http://www.chamorroroots.com/v3/
Freycinet, L.C. “An Account of the corvette L’Uranie’s
Sojourn at the Mariana Islands, 1819. Yamashita, V.
‘Colegio de San Juan de Letran’, referenced August 1,
2012,
Guampedia.com/Spanish-era-colegio-de-san-juande-letran. Farrell, D.A. “History of the Marian Islands to
Partition,” Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
Public School System, pg. 239. Monnig, L.A. “Proving
Chamorro: Indigenous Narratives of Race, Identity, and
Decolonization on Guam, 2007, Urbana, IL; University of
Illinois. Carano, P. “Guam at a Glance,” Guam Recorder,
1975, Vol 5(1), pg. 54. Guam: University of Guam.
[20] Nickerson, Marcia “Aboriginal Culture in the Digital
Age”. Policy, Politics and Governance, Vol. 10, 2005, pp.
1-8.
[21] Kaplan, A.M. and Haenlein, M. “Users of the World,
Unite! The Challenges and Opportunities of Social Media”,
Business Horizons, Vol. 53(1), 2010, pp. 59–68.
[22] International Telecommunication Union, “Measuring
the Information Society”, 2010, Retrieved on June 1, 2012
from http://www.itu.int/ITUD/ict/publications/
idi/material/2010/MIS_2010_Summary_E.pdf.
3395
3393