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Begin New Search Topic Humanitarian Aid Author Charles Martin-Shields

1. Digitalisation and Flight: How Can Donors Leverage Digital Technologies to Support Refugees?

Author:
Charles Martin-Shields
Publication Date:
01-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Abstract:
This policy brief provides a review of how refugees use digital tools, gives examples from organisations deploying digital technologies in the field, and discusses the effectiveness of and the ethical issues surrounding the use of digital technologies to support refugees. By putting the needs of refugees at the centre of their digital strategies and working with implementing organisations, such as UNHCR and Mercy Corps, to develop technology solutions that meet the needs of refugees and field staff safely and ethically, donors can get the most out of digital tools for supporting refugees.//In der vorliegenden „Analyse und Stellungnahme“ wird ein Überblick über die Verwendung digitaler Tools durch Flüchtlinge gegeben. Des Weiteren werden Beispiele von Organisationen vorgestellt, die digitale Technologien einsetzen, und die Wirksamkeit sowie ethische Fragen im Zusammenhang mit dem Einsatz digitaler Technologien zur Unterstützung von Flüchtlingen erörtert. Durch Fokussierung auf die Bedürfnisse von Flüchtlingen bei der Entwicklung von Technologielösungen und die Zusammenarbeit mit Partnerorganisationen, die in der Lage sind, Sicherheitsstandards im Datenschutz zu erfüllen, wie z.B. dem UNHCR und Mercy Corps, können Geber digitale Tools bestmöglich zur Unterstützung von Flüchtlingen einsetzen.
Topic:
Humanitarian Aid, Migration, Science and Technology, and Refugees
Political Geography:
Europe, Germany, and Global Focus

2. The Technologist's Dilemma: Ethical Challenges of Using Crowdsourcing Technology in Conflict and Disaster-Affected Regions

Author:
Charles Martin-Shields
Publication Date:
11-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Institution:
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Abstract:
The growth of mobile phone technology and Internet access globally has affected peoples' lives in various ways. For the field of governance and conflict management, this has meant unprecedented levels of information sharing from within conflict and crisis zones. As Internet access has expanded across Africa, entities like Kenya's Ushahidi—which build digital maps to publicly display real-time SMS text messages and social media feeds geographically—have been changing the way that citizens share their experiences of violence as they are happening. Probably the most important of these technologies—mobile phones— have expanded exponentially across the developing world; many countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific have mobile phone market saturation rates of over 100 percent. The international development community has been actively developing tools and methods for using mobile phones for outreach and project monitoring for years; the governance and conflict management fields are beginning to find effective ways to use mobile phones and SMS text messaging. While there has been excitement about the way these technologies can improve the work of conflict resolution and governance professionals, less popular attention has been paid to the unique risks and ethical challenges associated with using these tools in highly unstable political and social environments such as conflict zones. In these types of situations, crowdsourcing raises ethical issues of privacy, transparency of purpose and data protection. However, having secure technical data collection and storage procedures are not sufficient because most security failures are due to human error. To ethically run a crowdsourcing program in a conflict or disaster-affected environment, organizations need to ensure that their staffs and the “crowd” participating in the project have been trained to use the technologies and assess the unique risks of the digital information environment. This article will review the literature on digital information regulation, explore how the crisis response and crowdsourcing fields have evolved their data protection procedures and review the current state of practice for humanitarian crowdsourcing ethics and data security
Topic:
Humanitarian Aid
Political Geography:
Kenya and Africa