Abstract of Prutsalis talk to the Disasters Roundtable, National Academy of Sciences, March 21, 2012: Opportunities for Information and Technological Recovery
Tinkering with Justice 2.0: opportunities for citizen shaped innovationPatrick McCormick
My presentation, from the Australia panel at the 2010 Gov 2.0 Expo in Washington DC, outlining initiatives and case studies from the State of Victoria and Victoria Department of Justice
Mobile Internet's "Creative Destruction": Implications for Global Mobile PolicyMoving Media
Mobile Internet imbricated in current economic crisis & reshaping of geo-political & communication orders
not just mobiles + Internet, mobile Internet spans a complex assembly of emergent, hybrid media forms. From smartphones, tablets, and the apps phenomena, through new televisual ecologies and locative media, to pervasive computers, connected cars & smart cities.
Digital Communication Network empower a new generation of communicators and influencers, facilitate the formation of communities and develop open spaces for cross-training, sharing and creating media products and services, adapted to a dynamic information environment
Tinkering with Justice 2.0: opportunities for citizen shaped innovationPatrick McCormick
My presentation, from the Australia panel at the 2010 Gov 2.0 Expo in Washington DC, outlining initiatives and case studies from the State of Victoria and Victoria Department of Justice
Mobile Internet's "Creative Destruction": Implications for Global Mobile PolicyMoving Media
Mobile Internet imbricated in current economic crisis & reshaping of geo-political & communication orders
not just mobiles + Internet, mobile Internet spans a complex assembly of emergent, hybrid media forms. From smartphones, tablets, and the apps phenomena, through new televisual ecologies and locative media, to pervasive computers, connected cars & smart cities.
Digital Communication Network empower a new generation of communicators and influencers, facilitate the formation of communities and develop open spaces for cross-training, sharing and creating media products and services, adapted to a dynamic information environment
Leveraging A Wiki To Enhance Virtual Collaboration In The Emergency DomainConnie White
In a crisis situation, critical success factors include good preparedness, the availability of
trustworthy information and reliable people, and the responders' ability to improvise with the available, functioning tools. Wikis can be used as collaborative group support systems to support these activities, especially for communities of practice that must operate as high reliability organizations. The advantages of using a wiki are especially beneficial in volatile environments, such as those in the emergency domain, where critical real-time decision making is required. An international wiki - emergenciWiki.org - has been created and is being used by both practitioners and academics. The conclusions include that wiki features and functionality, which are important for safetycritical work, should add a minimum of bureaucratic overhead while helping to establish trust and a sense of purpose and community among the users, strengthening each individual user's accountability for their actions, or easing the evaluation of information reliability. (*note emergenciWiki.org project is over)
Statement for the Record of Heather Blanchard, Co Founder of CrisisCommons before the Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery and Intergovernmental Affairs, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, United States Senate on May 19, 2011
Transparency: Changing the Accountability, Engagement and Effectiveness of Aiddbw001
Homi Kharas
Senior Fellow, Global Economy and Development
The Brookings Institution
October, 2010
Abstract
There is a consensus that transparency is vital for aid effectiveness. That’s the good news. The bad news is that this consensus has existed for many years, yet transparency is still considered inadequate. New tools have opened up opportunities for change and reduced the cost of providing information, but changes in agency culture and incentives and high-level leadership are still needed to make progress. In some instances, there is a fear of the exposure created by a commitment to transparency. In other instances, efforts to promote transparency have fizzled with high costs of reporting and little use of the information collected. As the number of institutions involved in development rises, the benefits and challenges of greater transparency rise. The old ideas of centralized, unique databases are giving way to new ideas of decentralized, real-time information that can be merged with other data, presented in compelling visual ways, validated and enriched with feedback from beneficiaries, and systematically used by a wide range of stakeholders. There are three big gaps in transparency. At the global level, data is needed on large new players like non-DAC and private donors. At the recipient country level, the gaps between needs and resources must be identified. Finally, accountability of recipient governments and donors can be strengthened through beneficiary feedback and project evaluation.
1
Disaster Management, Developing Country
Communities & Climate Change:
The Role of ICTs
NONITA T. YAP
University of Guelph, Canada
Edited by:
Richard Heeks and Angelica Ospina
2011
Centre for Development Informatics
Institute for Development Policy and Management, SED
University of Manchester, Arthur Lewis Building, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
Tel: +44-161-275-2800/2804, Web: http://www.manchester.ac.uk/cdi
The research presented in this publication is the result of the "Climate Change, Innovation and ICTs"
project funded by Canada's International Development Research Centre (http://www.idrc.ca). This
publication and other project outputs can be found at: http://www.niccd.org
2
Table of Contents
Executive Summary………………………………………………………………………………3
1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………..4
2. The Community in Disaster Management……………………………………..7
2.1 Other Actors………………….…………………………………………………………………8
3. Use of ICTs in Climate-Related Disaster Management…………………..9
3.1. Timely and Effective Delivery of Early Warnings to the ‘Last Mile’…………13
3.1.1 Radio and Television…………………………………………………………………………………....13
3.1.2 Satellite Radio………………………………………………………………............................14
3.1.3 Telephones (Fixed and Mobile)…………………………………………………………………….14
3.1.4 Cell Broadcasting..………………………………………………………………………………………..15
3.1.5 Satellite Remote Sensing and Other Technologies………………………………….....16
3.2. Rapid, Realiable Two-way Communication in Challenged Environments...17
3.2.1 Mobile Phones.……………………………………………………………………………………………….17
3.2.2 Wireless Ad-hoc Mesh Networks with GPS….……………………………………………….17
3.2.3 Internet and e-Mail.……………………………………………………………………………………….18
3.2.4. Radio……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….18
3.3. Creating a Common Operational Picture.…………………………………………….19
3.3.1 Geographic Information Systems (GIS)…….…………………….……………….………...…19
3.3.2 GIS, Satellite Remote Sensing, GPS……..……………………….…………………………...19
3.4. Establishing Transparency and Accountability…………………………………….20
3.5. Strengths, Weaknesses and Emerging Trends…………………………………….21
3.5.1 Advantages and Disadvantages…………………………….………………………………………22
3.5.2 Emerging Trends……………….………………………………………..………………………………..24
4. ICT Use, Disasters and Developing Countries: Some Reflections..…27
4.1. Institutional and Cultural Barriers.……………………………………………………27
4.2. Data Standardisation and Quality Issues..………………………………………….27
4.3. ICT Capacity Deficits.……………………………………………………………………….28
4.4. Grounds for Optimism.……………………………………………………………………..28
5. Strategic Recommendations……………………………………………………..30
5.1. Ensuring Continuity in Challenged Environments.……………………………….30
5.2. Bringing about Inter-agency Coordination and Cooperation.………………..30
5.3. Maintaining Transparency and Accountability.……………………………………31
5. ...
14 days agoDaniel Scott Information Technology Collapse.docxdrennanmicah
14 days ago
Daniel Scott
Information Technology
Collapse
Informed decision-making is an important aspect for working in the government. According to Milakovich and Gordon, provide some examples of how information technology can be used to assist bureaucrats in decision-making?
Bureaucrats are neither able to anticipate every significant problem nor does the government consistently attempt to respond to problems prior to the problem reaching heightened levels. In many situations, aAbsent national security or natural disaster concerns, the national government lacks consistency in its response policy to address specific problems that arise. Thus government usually has to respond, instead of being in a position of being proactive, to such things as earthquakes, wild fires, floods and terror attacks/attempts. (Milakovich, M. E., & Gordon, G. J., pg. 376).
As noted in our text readings; Frederick Taylor asserted a singular best practices approach to complete a task, absent consideration of the outside political impact or inside organizational dynamics; Max Weber failed to fully consider the inefficiency and misdirection of the organization; and Woodrow Wilson theorized a separation of politics and administration could be achieved. The culmination of these beliefs from founding scholars within the field, coupled with others, gave birth to oppositional schools of thought and ultimately an increase in citizen choice, participation and involvement with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), community service organizations, faith-based and nonprofit agencies. (Milakovich, M. E., & Gordon, G. J., pg. 382). I contend that information technology also played a role in the spread of information that made it easier for citizens/participants/recipients to become more aware on issues and in turn provide information or feedback in various forms of data that is used by decision makers. It has also increased awareness and afforded these various groups to share information, galvanize positions which impact bureaucracy decisions. At the core of bureaucracy plans is to have an organization that achieves what it was designed to achieve. Information technology can facilitate that goal set by the organization.
Information technology afforded the government bureaucrats the ability to resolve known and unknown problem that arise. The Plan-Do-Study-Act Cycle affords Bureaucrats the ability to plan, respond, study and act. Specifically data gathering, afforded by technology, affords the decision maker an opportunity to make a systematic investigation of alternative options and integrate evidence for and against each option.
Time-trend projection which affords the decision maker the ability to compare pre-program date with actual postprogram data of projects is another method. Information data can be accumulated over extended periods of time and allow for the creation of projection, then the decision maker can compare the actual r.
Proceedings of the 5th International ISCRAM Conference – WashiDaliaCulbertson719
Proceedings of the 5th International ISCRAM Conference – Washington, DC, USA, May 2008
F. Fiedrich and B. Van de Walle, eds.
Backchannels on the Front Lines:
Emergent Uses of Social Media in the
2007 Southern California Wildfires
Jeannette Sutton1, Leysia Palen1 & Irina Shklovski2
University of Colorado, Boulder1 University of California, Irvine2
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Opportunities for participation by members of the public are expanding the information arena of disaster. Social
media supports “backchannel” communications, allowing for wide-scale interaction that can be collectively
resourceful, self-policing, and generative of information that is otherwise hard to obtain. Results from our study of
information practices by members of the public during the October 2007 Southern California Wildfires suggest that
community information resources and other backchannel communications activity enabled by social media are gaining
prominence in the disaster arena, despite concern by officials about the legitimacy of information shared through such
means. We argue that these emergent uses of social media are pre-cursors of broader future changes to the institutional
and organizational arrangements of disaster response.
Keywords
Crisis Informatics, disaster, information and communication technology, wildfire
INTRODUCTION
Disaster situations are non-routine events that result in non-routine behaviors. In times of disaster, people and
organizations adapt and improvise (Wachtendorf, 2004) to suit the conditions as needs demand. Even emergency
response organizations—which are strongly organized around locally- and federally-mandated protocols—adapt to
accommodate the situation particulars for warning, rescue, and recovery. Indeed, in the US, the organizational
structure that is activated during times of crisis is designed to be internally flexible. However, its ability to be
externally flexible when interfacing with the public is in doubt (Wenger, 1990; Buck, et al, 2006; Palen and Liu,
2007). Members of the public are known by sociologists to improvise in disaster situations, and are responsible for
leading important rescue and relief activities (Tierney, et al. 2001; Kendra and Wachtendorf, 2003; Palen and Liu,
2007). They leverage their own social networks to find and provide information outside the official response effort,
and to make critical decisions about, for example, heeding warning and making plans to evacuate (Mileti, et al., 2006).
These facts are often ignored during local and federal disaster management planning and policy implementation, with
the focus almost entirely on the role of the official response and their management of public-side activities. This
stance places public peer-to-peer communications as “backchannel” activity that does not have full legitimacy in the
information arena of disaster. However, the increasing presence of info ...
Access to the Internet has greatly expanded and the focus should now be on the willingness and ability of citizens to use it for productive purposes. The digital divide is now an issue that goes beyond the access gap, but also to be broadened to include underpinning divides, such as quality of access—the speed—and the ability to use it, if efforts to close the gap are to create real benefits. Our latest report Redefining Digital Divide reconsidered the nature of the digital divide and examined the strategies to overcome it in different countries. Download the full report on http://bit.ly/1a2p1iG
New Technologies in Humanitarian Emergencies and ConflictsDr. Chris Stout
By Diane Coyle and Patrick Meier
About the UN Foundation and The Vodafone Foundation Partnership
The United Nations Foundation & Vodafone Foundation Technology Partnership is a leading public-private alliance
using technology programs to strengthen the UN’s humanitarian efforts worldwide. Created in October 2005 with
a £10 million commitment from The Vodafone Foundation matched by £5 million from the UN Foundation.
The Technology Partnership has three core areas of focus: (1) to strengthen communications in humanitarian
emergencies though capacity building and support for disaster response missions that connect disaster relief
workers and affected families; (2) to support the development of mobile health (mHealth) programs that tackle
critical public health challenges and improve public health systems, decision-making and, ultimately, patient
outcomes; and (3) to promote research and innovation using technology as a tool for international development.
The UN Foundation and The Vodafone Foundation are among the founding partners of the mHealth Alliance.
More information about the Technology Partnership can be found at: www.unfoundation.org/vodafone.
Disaster Management Systems: Building Capacity for Developing Countries and ...Connie White
Some societies are more disaster prone than others due to their geographic location and the benefits provided by it. Man has co-existed in this sort of high risk/high return relationship with mother nature throughout history. Poorer societies tend to pay a higher price both in lives taken and damage – left with many secondary and equally devastating disasters that are sure to come. We know that for every $1 USD put into preventative measures, we save ~$7 that would have gone into post-disaster recovery and rebuilding efforts. There are many international agencies working to support a variety of needs in these grief stricken areas to help them build capacity and to help these societies better prepare for and respond to the disasters they will face. These efforts are guided by the Millennium Project Goals outlined in 2000. A lot has changed since then with respect to technology, mobile devices and humanitarianism. The objective of this paper is exploit how current efforts are creating capacity on the individual, organizational and 'enabling environment' levels. This paper explores the notion that a more concerted effort can be made at building Information and Communication Disaster Management Capacity in developing countries who are most susceptible due to proximity and to a lack of funds. A 'proof of concept' is provided
Anonos FTC Comment Letter Big Data: A Tool for Inclusion or ExclusionTed Myerson
FTC Comment Letter Big Data: A Tool for Inclusion or Exclusion. Filed on August 21, 2014.
Anonos has been working for over two years on technology that transforms data at the data element level enabling de-identification and functional obscurity that preserves the value of underlying data. Specifically, Anonos de-identification and functional obscurity risk management tools help to enable data subjects to share information in a controlled manner, enabling them to receive information and offerings truly personalized for them, while protecting misuse of their data; and to facilitate improved healthcare, medical research and personalized medicine by enabling aggregation of patient level data without revealing the identity of patients.
Disaster and crisis management is a global problem. Scenarios range from short-term localized events to those with widespread impact persisting for years or decades. From personal experience and research in the topic area, there is clearly a need for a technology “platform” that can integrate cross-disciplinary agencies, civilians, contractors, and any other conceivable stakeholder. These stakeholders (including the environment and the public) will benefit immensely from integration and standardization in a problem-solving environment, especially in light of the value of human life. This approach should lead to enhanced preservation of life and safety, reduced environmental impact, and overall improvement in disaster response and mitigation – irrespective of the disaster type or scale.
Sahana Software Foundation Overview Brief - Long, includes information about the Sahana Software Foundation, its history, capabilities, achievements, and includes screenshots of several notable projects using Sahana software products.
Leveraging A Wiki To Enhance Virtual Collaboration In The Emergency DomainConnie White
In a crisis situation, critical success factors include good preparedness, the availability of
trustworthy information and reliable people, and the responders' ability to improvise with the available, functioning tools. Wikis can be used as collaborative group support systems to support these activities, especially for communities of practice that must operate as high reliability organizations. The advantages of using a wiki are especially beneficial in volatile environments, such as those in the emergency domain, where critical real-time decision making is required. An international wiki - emergenciWiki.org - has been created and is being used by both practitioners and academics. The conclusions include that wiki features and functionality, which are important for safetycritical work, should add a minimum of bureaucratic overhead while helping to establish trust and a sense of purpose and community among the users, strengthening each individual user's accountability for their actions, or easing the evaluation of information reliability. (*note emergenciWiki.org project is over)
Statement for the Record of Heather Blanchard, Co Founder of CrisisCommons before the Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery and Intergovernmental Affairs, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, United States Senate on May 19, 2011
Transparency: Changing the Accountability, Engagement and Effectiveness of Aiddbw001
Homi Kharas
Senior Fellow, Global Economy and Development
The Brookings Institution
October, 2010
Abstract
There is a consensus that transparency is vital for aid effectiveness. That’s the good news. The bad news is that this consensus has existed for many years, yet transparency is still considered inadequate. New tools have opened up opportunities for change and reduced the cost of providing information, but changes in agency culture and incentives and high-level leadership are still needed to make progress. In some instances, there is a fear of the exposure created by a commitment to transparency. In other instances, efforts to promote transparency have fizzled with high costs of reporting and little use of the information collected. As the number of institutions involved in development rises, the benefits and challenges of greater transparency rise. The old ideas of centralized, unique databases are giving way to new ideas of decentralized, real-time information that can be merged with other data, presented in compelling visual ways, validated and enriched with feedback from beneficiaries, and systematically used by a wide range of stakeholders. There are three big gaps in transparency. At the global level, data is needed on large new players like non-DAC and private donors. At the recipient country level, the gaps between needs and resources must be identified. Finally, accountability of recipient governments and donors can be strengthened through beneficiary feedback and project evaluation.
1
Disaster Management, Developing Country
Communities & Climate Change:
The Role of ICTs
NONITA T. YAP
University of Guelph, Canada
Edited by:
Richard Heeks and Angelica Ospina
2011
Centre for Development Informatics
Institute for Development Policy and Management, SED
University of Manchester, Arthur Lewis Building, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
Tel: +44-161-275-2800/2804, Web: http://www.manchester.ac.uk/cdi
The research presented in this publication is the result of the "Climate Change, Innovation and ICTs"
project funded by Canada's International Development Research Centre (http://www.idrc.ca). This
publication and other project outputs can be found at: http://www.niccd.org
2
Table of Contents
Executive Summary………………………………………………………………………………3
1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………..4
2. The Community in Disaster Management……………………………………..7
2.1 Other Actors………………….…………………………………………………………………8
3. Use of ICTs in Climate-Related Disaster Management…………………..9
3.1. Timely and Effective Delivery of Early Warnings to the ‘Last Mile’…………13
3.1.1 Radio and Television…………………………………………………………………………………....13
3.1.2 Satellite Radio………………………………………………………………............................14
3.1.3 Telephones (Fixed and Mobile)…………………………………………………………………….14
3.1.4 Cell Broadcasting..………………………………………………………………………………………..15
3.1.5 Satellite Remote Sensing and Other Technologies………………………………….....16
3.2. Rapid, Realiable Two-way Communication in Challenged Environments...17
3.2.1 Mobile Phones.……………………………………………………………………………………………….17
3.2.2 Wireless Ad-hoc Mesh Networks with GPS….……………………………………………….17
3.2.3 Internet and e-Mail.……………………………………………………………………………………….18
3.2.4. Radio……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….18
3.3. Creating a Common Operational Picture.…………………………………………….19
3.3.1 Geographic Information Systems (GIS)…….…………………….……………….………...…19
3.3.2 GIS, Satellite Remote Sensing, GPS……..……………………….…………………………...19
3.4. Establishing Transparency and Accountability…………………………………….20
3.5. Strengths, Weaknesses and Emerging Trends…………………………………….21
3.5.1 Advantages and Disadvantages…………………………….………………………………………22
3.5.2 Emerging Trends……………….………………………………………..………………………………..24
4. ICT Use, Disasters and Developing Countries: Some Reflections..…27
4.1. Institutional and Cultural Barriers.……………………………………………………27
4.2. Data Standardisation and Quality Issues..………………………………………….27
4.3. ICT Capacity Deficits.……………………………………………………………………….28
4.4. Grounds for Optimism.……………………………………………………………………..28
5. Strategic Recommendations……………………………………………………..30
5.1. Ensuring Continuity in Challenged Environments.……………………………….30
5.2. Bringing about Inter-agency Coordination and Cooperation.………………..30
5.3. Maintaining Transparency and Accountability.……………………………………31
5. ...
14 days agoDaniel Scott Information Technology Collapse.docxdrennanmicah
14 days ago
Daniel Scott
Information Technology
Collapse
Informed decision-making is an important aspect for working in the government. According to Milakovich and Gordon, provide some examples of how information technology can be used to assist bureaucrats in decision-making?
Bureaucrats are neither able to anticipate every significant problem nor does the government consistently attempt to respond to problems prior to the problem reaching heightened levels. In many situations, aAbsent national security or natural disaster concerns, the national government lacks consistency in its response policy to address specific problems that arise. Thus government usually has to respond, instead of being in a position of being proactive, to such things as earthquakes, wild fires, floods and terror attacks/attempts. (Milakovich, M. E., & Gordon, G. J., pg. 376).
As noted in our text readings; Frederick Taylor asserted a singular best practices approach to complete a task, absent consideration of the outside political impact or inside organizational dynamics; Max Weber failed to fully consider the inefficiency and misdirection of the organization; and Woodrow Wilson theorized a separation of politics and administration could be achieved. The culmination of these beliefs from founding scholars within the field, coupled with others, gave birth to oppositional schools of thought and ultimately an increase in citizen choice, participation and involvement with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), community service organizations, faith-based and nonprofit agencies. (Milakovich, M. E., & Gordon, G. J., pg. 382). I contend that information technology also played a role in the spread of information that made it easier for citizens/participants/recipients to become more aware on issues and in turn provide information or feedback in various forms of data that is used by decision makers. It has also increased awareness and afforded these various groups to share information, galvanize positions which impact bureaucracy decisions. At the core of bureaucracy plans is to have an organization that achieves what it was designed to achieve. Information technology can facilitate that goal set by the organization.
Information technology afforded the government bureaucrats the ability to resolve known and unknown problem that arise. The Plan-Do-Study-Act Cycle affords Bureaucrats the ability to plan, respond, study and act. Specifically data gathering, afforded by technology, affords the decision maker an opportunity to make a systematic investigation of alternative options and integrate evidence for and against each option.
Time-trend projection which affords the decision maker the ability to compare pre-program date with actual postprogram data of projects is another method. Information data can be accumulated over extended periods of time and allow for the creation of projection, then the decision maker can compare the actual r.
Proceedings of the 5th International ISCRAM Conference – WashiDaliaCulbertson719
Proceedings of the 5th International ISCRAM Conference – Washington, DC, USA, May 2008
F. Fiedrich and B. Van de Walle, eds.
Backchannels on the Front Lines:
Emergent Uses of Social Media in the
2007 Southern California Wildfires
Jeannette Sutton1, Leysia Palen1 & Irina Shklovski2
University of Colorado, Boulder1 University of California, Irvine2
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Opportunities for participation by members of the public are expanding the information arena of disaster. Social
media supports “backchannel” communications, allowing for wide-scale interaction that can be collectively
resourceful, self-policing, and generative of information that is otherwise hard to obtain. Results from our study of
information practices by members of the public during the October 2007 Southern California Wildfires suggest that
community information resources and other backchannel communications activity enabled by social media are gaining
prominence in the disaster arena, despite concern by officials about the legitimacy of information shared through such
means. We argue that these emergent uses of social media are pre-cursors of broader future changes to the institutional
and organizational arrangements of disaster response.
Keywords
Crisis Informatics, disaster, information and communication technology, wildfire
INTRODUCTION
Disaster situations are non-routine events that result in non-routine behaviors. In times of disaster, people and
organizations adapt and improvise (Wachtendorf, 2004) to suit the conditions as needs demand. Even emergency
response organizations—which are strongly organized around locally- and federally-mandated protocols—adapt to
accommodate the situation particulars for warning, rescue, and recovery. Indeed, in the US, the organizational
structure that is activated during times of crisis is designed to be internally flexible. However, its ability to be
externally flexible when interfacing with the public is in doubt (Wenger, 1990; Buck, et al, 2006; Palen and Liu,
2007). Members of the public are known by sociologists to improvise in disaster situations, and are responsible for
leading important rescue and relief activities (Tierney, et al. 2001; Kendra and Wachtendorf, 2003; Palen and Liu,
2007). They leverage their own social networks to find and provide information outside the official response effort,
and to make critical decisions about, for example, heeding warning and making plans to evacuate (Mileti, et al., 2006).
These facts are often ignored during local and federal disaster management planning and policy implementation, with
the focus almost entirely on the role of the official response and their management of public-side activities. This
stance places public peer-to-peer communications as “backchannel” activity that does not have full legitimacy in the
information arena of disaster. However, the increasing presence of info ...
Access to the Internet has greatly expanded and the focus should now be on the willingness and ability of citizens to use it for productive purposes. The digital divide is now an issue that goes beyond the access gap, but also to be broadened to include underpinning divides, such as quality of access—the speed—and the ability to use it, if efforts to close the gap are to create real benefits. Our latest report Redefining Digital Divide reconsidered the nature of the digital divide and examined the strategies to overcome it in different countries. Download the full report on http://bit.ly/1a2p1iG
New Technologies in Humanitarian Emergencies and ConflictsDr. Chris Stout
By Diane Coyle and Patrick Meier
About the UN Foundation and The Vodafone Foundation Partnership
The United Nations Foundation & Vodafone Foundation Technology Partnership is a leading public-private alliance
using technology programs to strengthen the UN’s humanitarian efforts worldwide. Created in October 2005 with
a £10 million commitment from The Vodafone Foundation matched by £5 million from the UN Foundation.
The Technology Partnership has three core areas of focus: (1) to strengthen communications in humanitarian
emergencies though capacity building and support for disaster response missions that connect disaster relief
workers and affected families; (2) to support the development of mobile health (mHealth) programs that tackle
critical public health challenges and improve public health systems, decision-making and, ultimately, patient
outcomes; and (3) to promote research and innovation using technology as a tool for international development.
The UN Foundation and The Vodafone Foundation are among the founding partners of the mHealth Alliance.
More information about the Technology Partnership can be found at: www.unfoundation.org/vodafone.
Disaster Management Systems: Building Capacity for Developing Countries and ...Connie White
Some societies are more disaster prone than others due to their geographic location and the benefits provided by it. Man has co-existed in this sort of high risk/high return relationship with mother nature throughout history. Poorer societies tend to pay a higher price both in lives taken and damage – left with many secondary and equally devastating disasters that are sure to come. We know that for every $1 USD put into preventative measures, we save ~$7 that would have gone into post-disaster recovery and rebuilding efforts. There are many international agencies working to support a variety of needs in these grief stricken areas to help them build capacity and to help these societies better prepare for and respond to the disasters they will face. These efforts are guided by the Millennium Project Goals outlined in 2000. A lot has changed since then with respect to technology, mobile devices and humanitarianism. The objective of this paper is exploit how current efforts are creating capacity on the individual, organizational and 'enabling environment' levels. This paper explores the notion that a more concerted effort can be made at building Information and Communication Disaster Management Capacity in developing countries who are most susceptible due to proximity and to a lack of funds. A 'proof of concept' is provided
Anonos FTC Comment Letter Big Data: A Tool for Inclusion or ExclusionTed Myerson
FTC Comment Letter Big Data: A Tool for Inclusion or Exclusion. Filed on August 21, 2014.
Anonos has been working for over two years on technology that transforms data at the data element level enabling de-identification and functional obscurity that preserves the value of underlying data. Specifically, Anonos de-identification and functional obscurity risk management tools help to enable data subjects to share information in a controlled manner, enabling them to receive information and offerings truly personalized for them, while protecting misuse of their data; and to facilitate improved healthcare, medical research and personalized medicine by enabling aggregation of patient level data without revealing the identity of patients.
Disaster and crisis management is a global problem. Scenarios range from short-term localized events to those with widespread impact persisting for years or decades. From personal experience and research in the topic area, there is clearly a need for a technology “platform” that can integrate cross-disciplinary agencies, civilians, contractors, and any other conceivable stakeholder. These stakeholders (including the environment and the public) will benefit immensely from integration and standardization in a problem-solving environment, especially in light of the value of human life. This approach should lead to enhanced preservation of life and safety, reduced environmental impact, and overall improvement in disaster response and mitigation – irrespective of the disaster type or scale.
Similar to Disasters Roundtable Abstract: Opportunities for Information and Technological Recovery (20)
Sahana Software Foundation Overview Brief - Long, includes information about the Sahana Software Foundation, its history, capabilities, achievements, and includes screenshots of several notable projects using Sahana software products.
Sahana Software Foundation presentation to the World Conference on Disaster Management, Toronto, Canada, June 25, 2012, delivered by SSF CEO Mark Prutsalis
SahanaCamp NYC Day 2 AM: Introduction to the Sahana Emergency Management System; system developed by New York City Office of Emergency Management for managing its all-hazards sheltering plan
Accelerate your Kubernetes clusters with Varnish CachingThijs Feryn
A presentation about the usage and availability of Varnish on Kubernetes. This talk explores the capabilities of Varnish caching and shows how to use the Varnish Helm chart to deploy it to Kubernetes.
This presentation was delivered at K8SUG Singapore. See https://feryn.eu/presentations/accelerate-your-kubernetes-clusters-with-varnish-caching-k8sug-singapore-28-2024 for more details.
Removing Uninteresting Bytes in Software FuzzingAftab Hussain
Imagine a world where software fuzzing, the process of mutating bytes in test seeds to uncover hidden and erroneous program behaviors, becomes faster and more effective. A lot depends on the initial seeds, which can significantly dictate the trajectory of a fuzzing campaign, particularly in terms of how long it takes to uncover interesting behaviour in your code. We introduce DIAR, a technique designed to speedup fuzzing campaigns by pinpointing and eliminating those uninteresting bytes in the seeds. Picture this: instead of wasting valuable resources on meaningless mutations in large, bloated seeds, DIAR removes the unnecessary bytes, streamlining the entire process.
In this work, we equipped AFL, a popular fuzzer, with DIAR and examined two critical Linux libraries -- Libxml's xmllint, a tool for parsing xml documents, and Binutil's readelf, an essential debugging and security analysis command-line tool used to display detailed information about ELF (Executable and Linkable Format). Our preliminary results show that AFL+DIAR does not only discover new paths more quickly but also achieves higher coverage overall. This work thus showcases how starting with lean and optimized seeds can lead to faster, more comprehensive fuzzing campaigns -- and DIAR helps you find such seeds.
- These are slides of the talk given at IEEE International Conference on Software Testing Verification and Validation Workshop, ICSTW 2022.
Why You Should Replace Windows 11 with Nitrux Linux 3.5.0 for enhanced perfor...SOFTTECHHUB
The choice of an operating system plays a pivotal role in shaping our computing experience. For decades, Microsoft's Windows has dominated the market, offering a familiar and widely adopted platform for personal and professional use. However, as technological advancements continue to push the boundaries of innovation, alternative operating systems have emerged, challenging the status quo and offering users a fresh perspective on computing.
One such alternative that has garnered significant attention and acclaim is Nitrux Linux 3.5.0, a sleek, powerful, and user-friendly Linux distribution that promises to redefine the way we interact with our devices. With its focus on performance, security, and customization, Nitrux Linux presents a compelling case for those seeking to break free from the constraints of proprietary software and embrace the freedom and flexibility of open-source computing.
Transcript: Selling digital books in 2024: Insights from industry leaders - T...BookNet Canada
The publishing industry has been selling digital audiobooks and ebooks for over a decade and has found its groove. What’s changed? What has stayed the same? Where do we go from here? Join a group of leading sales peers from across the industry for a conversation about the lessons learned since the popularization of digital books, best practices, digital book supply chain management, and more.
Link to video recording: https://bnctechforum.ca/sessions/selling-digital-books-in-2024-insights-from-industry-leaders/
Presented by BookNet Canada on May 28, 2024, with support from the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Le nuove frontiere dell'AI nell'RPA con UiPath Autopilot™UiPathCommunity
In questo evento online gratuito, organizzato dalla Community Italiana di UiPath, potrai esplorare le nuove funzionalità di Autopilot, il tool che integra l'Intelligenza Artificiale nei processi di sviluppo e utilizzo delle Automazioni.
📕 Vedremo insieme alcuni esempi dell'utilizzo di Autopilot in diversi tool della Suite UiPath:
Autopilot per Studio Web
Autopilot per Studio
Autopilot per Apps
Clipboard AI
GenAI applicata alla Document Understanding
👨🏫👨💻 Speakers:
Stefano Negro, UiPath MVPx3, RPA Tech Lead @ BSP Consultant
Flavio Martinelli, UiPath MVP 2023, Technical Account Manager @UiPath
Andrei Tasca, RPA Solutions Team Lead @NTT Data
LF Energy Webinar: Electrical Grid Modelling and Simulation Through PowSyBl -...DanBrown980551
Do you want to learn how to model and simulate an electrical network from scratch in under an hour?
Then welcome to this PowSyBl workshop, hosted by Rte, the French Transmission System Operator (TSO)!
During the webinar, you will discover the PowSyBl ecosystem as well as handle and study an electrical network through an interactive Python notebook.
PowSyBl is an open source project hosted by LF Energy, which offers a comprehensive set of features for electrical grid modelling and simulation. Among other advanced features, PowSyBl provides:
- A fully editable and extendable library for grid component modelling;
- Visualization tools to display your network;
- Grid simulation tools, such as power flows, security analyses (with or without remedial actions) and sensitivity analyses;
The framework is mostly written in Java, with a Python binding so that Python developers can access PowSyBl functionalities as well.
What you will learn during the webinar:
- For beginners: discover PowSyBl's functionalities through a quick general presentation and the notebook, without needing any expert coding skills;
- For advanced developers: master the skills to efficiently apply PowSyBl functionalities to your real-world scenarios.
Securing your Kubernetes cluster_ a step-by-step guide to success !KatiaHIMEUR1
Today, after several years of existence, an extremely active community and an ultra-dynamic ecosystem, Kubernetes has established itself as the de facto standard in container orchestration. Thanks to a wide range of managed services, it has never been so easy to set up a ready-to-use Kubernetes cluster.
However, this ease of use means that the subject of security in Kubernetes is often left for later, or even neglected. This exposes companies to significant risks.
In this talk, I'll show you step-by-step how to secure your Kubernetes cluster for greater peace of mind and reliability.
Generative AI Deep Dive: Advancing from Proof of Concept to ProductionAggregage
Join Maher Hanafi, VP of Engineering at Betterworks, in this new session where he'll share a practical framework to transform Gen AI prototypes into impactful products! He'll delve into the complexities of data collection and management, model selection and optimization, and ensuring security, scalability, and responsible use.
PHP Frameworks: I want to break free (IPC Berlin 2024)Ralf Eggert
In this presentation, we examine the challenges and limitations of relying too heavily on PHP frameworks in web development. We discuss the history of PHP and its frameworks to understand how this dependence has evolved. The focus will be on providing concrete tips and strategies to reduce reliance on these frameworks, based on real-world examples and practical considerations. The goal is to equip developers with the skills and knowledge to create more flexible and future-proof web applications. We'll explore the importance of maintaining autonomy in a rapidly changing tech landscape and how to make informed decisions in PHP development.
This talk is aimed at encouraging a more independent approach to using PHP frameworks, moving towards a more flexible and future-proof approach to PHP development.
SAP Sapphire 2024 - ASUG301 building better apps with SAP Fiori.pdfPeter Spielvogel
Building better applications for business users with SAP Fiori.
• What is SAP Fiori and why it matters to you
• How a better user experience drives measurable business benefits
• How to get started with SAP Fiori today
• How SAP Fiori elements accelerates application development
• How SAP Build Code includes SAP Fiori tools and other generative artificial intelligence capabilities
• How SAP Fiori paves the way for using AI in SAP apps
DevOps and Testing slides at DASA ConnectKari Kakkonen
My and Rik Marselis slides at 30.5.2024 DASA Connect conference. We discuss about what is testing, then what is agile testing and finally what is Testing in DevOps. Finally we had lovely workshop with the participants trying to find out different ways to think about quality and testing in different parts of the DevOps infinity loop.
Dev Dives: Train smarter, not harder – active learning and UiPath LLMs for do...UiPathCommunity
💥 Speed, accuracy, and scaling – discover the superpowers of GenAI in action with UiPath Document Understanding and Communications Mining™:
See how to accelerate model training and optimize model performance with active learning
Learn about the latest enhancements to out-of-the-box document processing – with little to no training required
Get an exclusive demo of the new family of UiPath LLMs – GenAI models specialized for processing different types of documents and messages
This is a hands-on session specifically designed for automation developers and AI enthusiasts seeking to enhance their knowledge in leveraging the latest intelligent document processing capabilities offered by UiPath.
Speakers:
👨🏫 Andras Palfi, Senior Product Manager, UiPath
👩🏫 Lenka Dulovicova, Product Program Manager, UiPath
Enhancing Performance with Globus and the Science DMZGlobus
ESnet has led the way in helping national facilities—and many other institutions in the research community—configure Science DMZs and troubleshoot network issues to maximize data transfer performance. In this talk we will present a summary of approaches and tips for getting the most out of your network infrastructure using Globus Connect Server.
FIDO Alliance Osaka Seminar: Passkeys and the Road Ahead.pdf
Disasters Roundtable Abstract: Opportunities for Information and Technological Recovery
1. Opportunities for Information and Technological Recovery
Abstract
Disasters Roundtable
Workshop #34
Washington, DC
Mark Prutsalis
Sahana Software Foundation
Disasters have a devastating political, economic, social, and human impact on individuals and
societies. As the trends of population growth and urbanization converge, the scale and impact of
disasters will continue to grow. According to a recent UN and World Bank report, spending on
disasters will triple to an estimated $185 billion per year by 2100. Major earthquakes in Japan
and New Zealand, floods in Thailand and Australia, and tornadoes in the United States, made
2011 the costliest year ever for natural disasters. Recovery from major disasters such as these
takes years, long after media attention has waned, public donations to charitable organizations
have dried up, and information is no longer easily shared between those organizations with data,
and those who need it.
Recent international disaster responses such as those to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti or the 2011
Sendai earthquake and tsunami in Japan can inform understanding of information and
technological recovery. Yet, it has been challenging to apply the international context to U.S.
disaster planning because domestic organizing principles (e.g., the National Response
Framework) and capabilities (e.g., a highly specialized and professionalized emergency
management sector) have differed greatly from the rest of the world. But the rate of adoption of
new technologies, broadband wireless, smart phones, and surprisingly resilient wireless networks
has narrowed the gap between the U.S. and even the developing world.
One best practice is building information systems based on open, published and widely used data
standards, which makes critical systems easier to recover and rebuild. Two years after the
earthquake in Haiti, there is still no national registry of hospitals and health facilities that
includes capacities and services offered — critical information to planning the recovery of the
public health infrastructure. The original Ministry of Health records were transitioned to a
proprietary system that was not sustainable, and succeeding efforts have not committed to an
open standard flexible enough to allow support for growth in the system by multiple agencies.
Many recovery challenges can be addressed by broader information sharing agreements and
MOUs established before a disaster occurs between entities with data and entities that will need
it. Disasters can also serve as catalysts in greater information sharing between organizations; this
provides a critical opportunity for recovery planning. During the crisis response phases of a
disaster, the information floodgates open. High resolution satellite and other imagery is
increasingly freely released as a public good by both government and commercial entities;
during recovery, when such data is just as critical, it is no longer available because it is
considered sensitive, proprietary, and highly valuable commercially.
2. A technical community of interest around missing and found persons information reporting is
taking a proactive approach in setting up an agreement on standards and data sharing between
such major stakeholders as the ICRC and American Red Cross with technology solutions
providers including Google, Facebook, and Sahana. The agreed framework defines the data
standards upon which systems will be built, along with agreements of what information will be
allowed as sharable between organizations and procedures for how to turn on and off shared data
based on governance decisions and international standards for humanitarian actions, privacy
concerns and local and national laws.
Finally, one of the biggest challenges is about how to accommodate spontaneous help from the
public that is of unknown quality. Social media is not a panacea for our information
management and real-time awareness needs; but we do need to understand how to appropriately
leverage these technologies in recovery planning. The way to address this is through
methodologies to categorize, validate, verify, assign weight to information gleaned from public
sources and build these measures into our decision-making support systems.