What was Riskr?
Riskr was the project associated with the thesis "Riskr: Implementation of a low tech web2.0 disaster service to monitor and share information related to local events". The project was deployed using a python web interface, and used the Twitter API to read and write messages to the Twitter social network. After the research project was complete, the service was shut down. The source code still exists, however the main outcome of this research was to provide an example of how a low-tech implementation of a disaster portal could provide simple benefits to users.
Original Abstract
The emergent field of disaster management using the World Wide Web has brought forth several disaster portals aimed at using technology to enhance user collaboration around disasters. However, with large social networks such as Twitter and Facebook arising with millions of users, it is possible that the potential for the analysis and sharing of collective intelligence is far greater than currently implemented systems allow. It is proposed that using existing social networks as a foundation will increase the accessibility of any disaster portal to users of that social network. This project aims to provide a set of guidelines to adhere to when creating a disaster portal, as well as testing this implementation to find any shortcomings in the implementation and whether there is merit in having interoperability between social networks and disaster portals. Through testing it is discovered that along with qualitative feedback indicating the implemented portal framework is sufficient for further work, there is quantitative proof that there is a benefit to using the social network Twitter as a middleware between users and the implemented disaster service. With these findings, the disaster portal goals are shared to further enhance to field of disaster management using online services, and interoperability between disaster portals and social networks is strongly recommended.
Publications
Riskr: a web 2.0 platform to monitor and share disaster information, 2015
International Journal of Grid and Utility Computing, Vol 6, No 2, 2015, pages 98-112. Journal Article published by IEEE
Disaster management that uses web-based technology to enhance user collaboration around disasters is an emergent field. A number of dedicated 'disaster portals' exist but they do not integrate large social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. These social networking sites can facilitate the analysis and sharing of collective intelligence around disaster information on a far greater scale by increasing accessibility to, and the use of, a disaster portal. This paper presents the 'Riskr' project, which applies a low-technological solution to creating a disaster portal fed by social networking messages. The system has been implemented using Twitter and tested by users to determine the feasibility. Results suggest the combination of online services and interoperability between disaster portals; and social networks can further enhance disaster management initiatives as 70.5% of the users were able to estimate the correct location of a disaster (e.g. fallen power lines, fire).
Riskr: A Low-Technological Web2.0 Disaster Service to Monitor and Share Information, 2012
15th International Conference on Network-Based Information Systems (NBiS), 2012, pages 311 - 318. Conference Proceedings published by IEEE
Disaster management using the World Wide Web is an emergent field that uses technology to enhance user collaboration around disasters. While there exist a number of dedicated 'disaster portals', large social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, can facilitate the analysis and sharing of a collective intelligence regarding disaster information on a far greater scale. Social networks have the potential to increase accessibility to, and the use of a disaster portal. This paper presents the 'Riskr' project, which applies a low-technological solution to creating disaster portals fed by social networking messages, and the strategies used in its development. The system has been implemented using Twitter and tested by users to determine whether there is merit in having interoperability between social networks and disaster portals. Preliminary results suggest there is some benefit in using Twitter as a middleware between users and the implemented disaster service. A usability study showed that 70.5% of the users were able to estimate the location of a disaster within a certain error margin. Furthermore, 95% of users were able to successfully adapt to using the system. The results from the Riskr project suggest that the combination of online services and interoperability between disaster portals and social networks can further enhance disaster management initiatives.