Abstract
Human computation methods involving the use of real-time social media data have been used successfully to support humanitarian efforts for disaster-affected communities. Through an examination of various case studies, this chapter describes specific crowdsourcing methodologies applied to disaster relief, with attention to the challenges, benefits, and outcomes. Furthermore, consideration is given to potential methods that might combine more effectively the roles of machines and humans, such as adaptive systems, gamification, and high volume analytic techniques. A “call to action” concludes the chapter, endorsing a policy by which existing volume limitations on social media data access are suspended temporarily for humanitarian aid organizations during emergent crises.
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Notes
- 1.
See: “Debating the Value of Tweets for Disaster Response (Intelligently),” available online at: http://iRevolution.net/2012/12/17/debating-tweets-disaster.
- 2.
See TEDx Talk on “Crowdsourcing and Advanced Computing,” available online at: http://iRevolution.net/2012/10/21/crowdsourcing-and-advanced-computing.
- 3.
See: “How Crisis Mapping Saved Lives in Haiti,” available online at: http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/07/02/crisis-mapping-haiti.
- 4.
See: “Ushahidi and the Unprecedented Role of SMS in Disaster Response,” available online at: http://iRevolution.net/2010/02/20/sms-disaster-response.
- 5.
See: “How Crisis Mapping Saved Lives in Haiti,” available online at: http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/07/02/crisis-mapping-haiti.
- 6.
See: “How Crisis Mapping Saved Lives in Haiti,” available online at: http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/07/02/crisis-mapping-haiti.
- 7.
See: “Standby Crisis Mappers Task Force: Apply Now!” available online at: http://iRevolution.net/2010/09/26/crisis-mappers-task-force.
- 8.
Standby Volunteer Task Force: http://blog.standbytaskforce.com.
- 9.
Libya Crisis Map Deployment 2011 Report, available online at: http://blog.standbytaskforce.com/libya-crisis-map-report.
- 10.
See: “The [unexpected] Impact of the Libya Crisis Map and the Standby Volunteer Task Force,” available online at: http://blog.standbytaskforce.com/sbtf-libya-impact.
- 11.
Libya Crisis Map Deployment 2011 Report, available online at: http://blog.standbytaskforce.com/libya-crisis-map-report.
- 12.
See: “Maps, Activism and Technology: Check-In’s with a Purpose,” available online at: http://iRevolution.net/2011/02/05/check-ins-with-a-purpose.
- 13.
See: “Crowdsourcing Satellite Imagery Analysis for UNHCR-Somalia: Latest Results,” available online at: http://iRevolution.net/2011/11/09/crowdsourcing-unhcr-somalia-latest-results.
- 14.
See: “Thank You Video from UNHCR’s Deputy High Commissioner,” available online at: http://blog.standbytaskforce.com/thank-you-video-from-unhcrs-deputy-high-commissioner.
- 15.
See: “Crowdsourcing the Evaluation of Post-Sandy Building Damage Using Aerial Imagery,” available online at: http://iRevolution.net/2012/11/01/crowdsourcing-sandy-building-damage.
- 16.
- 17.
See: “OpenStreetMap in the First Month After the Haiti Quake,” available online at: http://www.maploser.com/2010/09/06/openstreetmap-in-the-first-month-after-the-haiti-quake.
- 18.
QCRI is a member of the Qatar Foundation: http://www.qcri.com.
- 19.
See: “How the UN Used Social Media in Response to Typhoon Pablo (Updated),” available online at: http://blog.standbytaskforce.com/how-the-un-used-social-media-in-response-to-typhoon-pablo-updated.
- 20.
See: “Mali Activation,” available online at: http://hot.openstreetmap.org/updates/2013-02-01_Mali_Activation.
- 21.
See: “Open Street Map’s New Micro-Tasking Platform for Satellite Imagery Tracing,” available online at: http://iRevolution.net/2011/09/07/osm-micro-tasking.
- 22.
- 23.
See: “Crisis Mapping Syria: Automated Data Mining and Crowdsourced Human Intelligence,” available online at: http://iRevolution.net/2012/03/25/crisis-mapping-syria.
- 24.
See: “Why USAID’s Crisis Map of Syria is So Unique,” available online at: http://irevolution.net/2012/11/27/usaid-crisis-map-syria.
- 25.
See TEDx Talk on “Crowdsourcing and Advanced Computing,” available online at: http://iRevolution.net/2012/10/21/crowdsourcing-and-advanced-computing.
- 26.
See: “Update: Twitter Dashboard for Disaster Response,” available online at: http://iRevolution.net/2013/02/11/update-twitter-dashboard.
- 27.
See: “Using Massive Multiplayer Games to Turksource Crisis Information,” available online at: http://iRevolution.net/2010/03/24/games-to-turksource.
- 28.
See: “League of Legends Bigger Than Wow, More Daily Players Than Call of Duty,” available online at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevangelho/2012/10/12/league-of-legends-bigger-than-wow-more-daily-players-than-call-of-duty.
- 29.
See: “Big Data Philanthropy for Humanitarian Response,” available online at: http://iRevolution.net/2012/06/04/big-data-philanthropy-for-humanitarian-response.
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Meier, P. (2013). Human Computation for Disaster Response. In: Michelucci, P. (eds) Handbook of Human Computation. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8806-4_11
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