Mapping an emergent Open Data eco-system

The purpose of this paper is to explore a methodological approach to understand an emergent Open Data eco-system in developing countries and specifically tourism sector contexts. The conceptual and methodological bases using Actor Network Theory (ANT) and Social Network Analysis (SNA) are explored to understand their application to the Open Data phenomenon. Thirteen tourism industry officials in the public sector of five Caribbean countries were interviewed using a research instrument derived from the Open Data Research Network (ODRN) Common Assessment Framework for Open Data. The findings reveal an inter-connected emergent Open Data eco-system across five Caribbean countries

Towards a Scalable Digital Skills Training Architecture for Resource-Constrained Environments: The Case of Ayitic Goes Global in Haiti

In developing countries such as Haiti, which are marked by high unemployment and gender inequality, online education has the potential to change lives. Returns on education are particularly high in Information Communications Technology (ICT)-intensive jobs and IT outsourcing offers opportunities for remote employment, providing alternatives for economic diversification and job creation that are particularly relevant for youth and women. However, the problem faced by many developing countries, is that traditional models, frameworks, architectures and platforms for online learning do not lend themselves well to their context and, therefore, it is important to develop context specific platforms. This need for suitable platforms has motivated the research question that this paper seeks to address, that is, “What is the appropriate architecture that supports learning strategies for delivering scalable digital skills training in a resource-constrained environment?” We propose an architecture that was developed specifically for blended learning in resource-constrained environments and describe how a prototype for this was designed, built, and deployed in Haiti. The initial findings from the application of the architecture have been extremely positive and are reflected not only in the testimonials of the participants but also by the interest of other countries of the region to adopting the proposed architecture

Harnessing open data to achieve development results in Latin America and the Caribbean

These strategic initiatives are geared towards developing the open data ecosystems, testing and validating core “theories of change.” Based on information gathered prior to this phase, four strategic interventions are under way in key sectors related to the following issues: governance structures; capacity/community building; standards development; and, inclusion/cognitive divide. This collection of sector studies provides insights in determining the attributes, value-opportunities, enablers and constraints of an emergent open data ecosystem in Caribbean sectors of Community Tourism, Agriculture, and Protected Areas. Capacity building was demonstrated in the Community Tourism initiative; whereas the Protected Areas project highlighted lack of readiness

The Role of Ontologies in Disaster Recovery Planning

Disasters have the potential to cripple a country and those countries that are particularly susceptible to disasters must have adequate disaster recovery plans in place to ensure that the country can return to normalcy as soon as possible after the disaster. These plans will involve a number of autonomous entities that need to be able to communicate and coordinate their activities effectively. This paper describes how ontologies can be used to support this effective communication and coordination between entities and how they can help to ensure that the disaster recovery plan (DRP) is effective. The applicability of ontologies to DRPs will be demonstrated using a case study of an electric utility company in Jamaica, a country in the hurricane region

Market Basket Analysis in the Financial Sector – A Customer Centric Approach

Organizations often struggle with their efforts to implement data mining projects successfully. This is often due to the fact that they are influenced by success stories of others that glamorize the outcome of successful initiatives, while understating the persistent rigour and diligence required. Although process models exist for the knowledge discovery process their focus is often on outlining the activities that must be done and not on describing how they should be done. While there is some research in addressing how to carry out the various tasks in the phases, the data preparation phase is thought to be the most challenging and is often described as an art rather than a science. In this study we apply a multi-phased integrated knowledge discovery and data mining process model (IKDDM) to a data set from the financial sector and a present a new approach to data preparation for Sequential Patterns (SP) that facilitated the identification of customer focused patterns rather than products focussed patterns in the modelling phase

Un tremplin pour le crowdsourcing

En Jamaïque, une application pour portable affiche des informations agricoles à partir de données ouvertes. Les interfaces de programmation disponibles permettent d'ajouter les informations en temps réel fournies par les paysans pour leur offrir de meilleurs services

Springboard for crowdsourcing

In Jamaica, extending a mobile app's functionality with real-time information from farmers could create a service that is more practical for them and for extension officer

Diving into the vertical dimension of elasmobranch movement ecology

Knowledge of the three-dimensional movement patterns of elasmobranchs is vital to understand their ecological roles and exposure to anthropogenic pressures. To date, comparative studies among species at global scales have mostly focused on horizontal movements. Our study addresses the knowledge gap of vertical movements by compiling the first global synthesis of vertical habitat use by elasmobranchs from data obtained by deployment of 989 biotelemetry tags on 38 elasmobranch species. Elasmobranchs displayed high intra- and interspecific variability in vertical movement patterns. Substantial vertical overlap was observed for many epipelagic elasmobranchs, indicating an increased likelihood to display spatial overlap, biologically interact, and share similar risk to anthropogenic threats that vary on a vertical gradient. We highlight the critical next steps toward incorporating vertical movement into global management and monitoring strategies for elasmobranchs, emphasizing the need to address geographic and taxonomic biases in deployments and to concurrently consider both horizontal and vertical movements

Diving into the vertical dimension of elasmobranch movement ecology

Knowledge of the three-dimensional movement patterns of elasmobranchs is vital to understand their ecological roles and exposure to anthropogenic pressures. To date, comparative studies among species at global scales have mostly focused on horizontal movements. Our study addresses the knowledge gap of vertical movements by compiling the first global synthesis of vertical habitat use by elasmobranchs from data obtained by deployment of 989 biotelemetry tags on 38 elasmobranch species. Elasmobranchs displayed high intra- and interspecific variability in vertical movement patterns. Substantial vertical overlap was observed for many epipelagic elasmobranchs, indicating an increased likelihood to display spatial overlap, biologically interact, and share similar risk to anthropogenic threats that vary on a vertical gradient. We highlight the critical next steps toward incorporating vertical movement into global management and monitoring strategies for elasmobranchs, emphasizing the need to address geographic and taxonomic biases in deployments and to concurrently consider both horizontal and vertical movements