What does ushahidi stand for?

Ushahidi, which means ”testimony” in Swahili, is a website that was developed to map reports of violence in Kenya after the post-election fallout at the beginning of 2008. Ushahidi’s roots are in the collaboration of Kenyan citizen journalists during a time of crisis.

Who created Ushahidi?

Ushahidi

Founded 2008
Founder Erik Hersman, Ory Okolloh, Juliana Rotich, David Kobia
Type 501(c)(3)
Tax ID no. 2652079
Focus activism, mapping

Why was crisis mapping used in the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake?

This crisis map gathered thousands of crowd-sourced SMS and social media posts reporting damage and emergencies and visualized this data in the Ushahidi Haiti Crisis Map. As a result of the mapping, humanitarian intervention forces were able to carry out more targeted, efficient emergency relief.

How does crisis mapping work?

Crisis-Mapping technology uses data, reports, and other forms of information about individual locations and events to map them in real time. This information allows first responders and aid groups to identify people that need evacuations or resources and distribute those resources at locations to maximize their impact.

What does the crisis mapping tool Ushahidi do?

Ushahidi is a free and open-source platform that allows interested individuals and groups to create live, interactive maps. The platform can be used to combine citizen reporting with mapping and visualization tools to create a crisis map—a real-time, dynamic, multifaceted snapshot of how a crisis is evolving.

How did Haiti use crowdsourcing?

In Haiti, crowdsourcing provided an answer: we customized Ushahidi and CrowdFlower’s technology to allow hundreds of thousands of Haitians living outside the country to translate texts from Port-au-Prince in real time, and for free, via a public website. News of the site spread quickly through the Haitian Diaspora …

Why do we need GIS maps?

GIS can show many different kinds of data on one map, such as streets, buildings, and vegetation. This enables people to more easily see, analyze, and understand patterns and relationships.

What was the deadliest natural disaster not counting pandemics in world history?

The 1931 Yangtze River floods Excessive rainfall over central China in July and August of 1931 triggered the most deadly natural disaster in world history — the Central China floods of 1931.

How can a crisis map be useful in a natural disaster?

Crisis mapping is commonly used today to describe the holistic integration and visualization of location-enabled information to support a broad spectrum of humanitarian relief and emergency management activities [13].

Do artificial intelligence systems think exactly like human beings do?

Artificial intelligence systems must think exactly like human beings do. Web-based databases cannot be used to help investigators solve criminal cases. Hactivism is different from cyberterrorism.

How many volunteers organizations and countries participated in the Haiti crisis mapping effort?

Since then, HOT’s dedicated community has grown to nearly 200,000 volunteers, who have provided life-saving map data for 92 disasters and crises, and mapped an area home to 150 million people in more than 50 countries.

How is GIS used today?

Common uses of GIS include inventory and management of resources, crime mapping, establishing and monitoring routes, managing networks, monitoring and managing vehicles, managing properties, locating and targeting customers, locating properties that match specific criteria and managing agricultural crop data.

What are the 5 benefits of GIS?

The benefits of GIS generally fall into five basic categories:

  • Cost savings resulting from greater efficiency.
  • Better decision making.
  • Improved communication.
  • Better geographic information recordkeeping.
  • Managing geographically.

What is the scariest natural disaster?

A recent survey in the U.S. ranked the scariest natural disasters, with earthquakes and hurricanes topping the list.

How does GIS help in disaster mitigation management?

GIS is useful for hazard zone mapping and during emergency conditions mitigation of people can easily possible using these maps. GIS and RS are much beneficial in mitigation strategies and preparedness plans. Real-time geographic data can improve the allocation of resources for response.

What are the disaster mapping tools?

Mapping Tools

  • FEMA layers – Open Red Cross shelter locations and populations (LIVE), damage asessments.
  • Weather – this includes live river gauge data, radar, storm path, watches and warnings as well a flood extent data.
  • Infrastructure – Hospitals, childcare centers, schools, power plants, etc.

Why can’t AI take over world?

Can AI plan an invasion and take over the world? Absolutely not. AI cannot have a vision or purpose on its own except someone designs it that way. It cannot design itself that way (through deep learning) because deep learning is to improve the efficiency of what the AI was designed for.

What separates humans from AI?

The simple difference is that human beings use their brain, ability to think, memory, while AI machines depend on the data given to them. As we all know that humans learn from past mistakes and intelligent ideas and intelligent attitudes lie at the basis of human intelligence.

Can I make money with GIS?

GIS jobs can pay a wide range from working for $11/hour as a GIS Intern or GIS Technician to making over $100,000 as a GIS Developer.