Archive for the ‘Wikipedia’ Category

‘Wikipedia of Inuit knowledge’ captures hunting, weather data in Hudson Bay – CBC.ca

A new database is creating an encyclopedia of knowledge for Inuit observations of the sea ice, wildlife and land in and around Hudson Bay.

Inuit who live in the community of Sanikiluaq, Nunavut, have been noticing differences in their environment for years from sea ice freezing in ways it didn't in the past, to seals eating fish that they never used to. Now, thanks to a new technology called Siku, set up by the Arctic Eider Society, hunters will have a way to track those changes and share them with other Inuit.

Sanikiluaq elder Jimmy Iqaluq shares describes a frozen sea scape captured by an arial drone. (Submitted by Arctic Eider Society)

Joel Heath, the executive director of the society, calls Siku a community-driven database that can be used like a social media site. He says people are keen to share their stories, pointing to several popular Facebook groups that already exist for hunters in Nunavut.

"There's no way to mobilize that data," he says. "You'd have to scroll down forever through the feed to see what stories have been told."

Siku is different in that it turns observations and stories into searchable data. For example, Heath says Inuit hunters can take photos of sea ice, then enter the type of ice and its location into the app, along with the Inuktitut terms and traditional place names. The entry can be 'tagged,' with keywords, which makes it easy to search.

Heath says hunters can then go back and look up, "where did we go hunting, where were the seals, where were the other animals?"

A screen capture from the Interactive Knowledge Mapping Platform showing results from a community-driven research project to monitor water and ice along the Hudson Bay coast. (Submitted by Arctic Eider Society)

Siku which means sea ice recently won $750,000 from the Canada-wide Google.org Impact Challenge. The prize will be used to further develop the platform.

"We've already created profiles for wildlife and types of ice using Inuktitut terminology," says Heath.

Now they're working on integrating different Inuktitut dialects and adding profiles for different kinds of ice. Those will be turned into what Heath calls "'Wikipediasof Inuit knowledge."

Hunters like Sanikiluaq's Lucassie Arragutainaq have been noticing changes in the environment firsthand, especially in harvested animals.

"Inuit knowledge is often overlooked, including First Nations," he says.

"We will study the effects on the digestive tracts of these animals and the food chain. We will photograph and record everything."

Heath agrees that Inuit knowledge is often written off as anecdotal. He said the prospects of Siku hit home when he was doing a workshop in Nunavik and a student told him that people will finally believe what Inuit have been saying all along.

An example of an interactive educational feature exploring food web connections for a sea ice ecosystem. (Submitted by Arctic Eider Society)

"This is really going to allow the data that's always been a part of Inuit knowledge to be mobilized by Inuit, for Inuit," says Heath.

He says along with preserving Inuktitut terms and tracking environmental changes, it could potentially serve as a safety device for people going out on the land, and to be used to sway policy and development decisions.

Siku is currently being used by Inuit in the eastern Nunavut area of Hudson Bay, as well as by communities in Nunavik.

Heath says ideally the technology will eventually be used by Inuit across the Arctic.

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'Wikipedia of Inuit knowledge' captures hunting, weather data in Hudson Bay - CBC.ca

Angry South Africans change Gigaba’s name on Wikipedia – Citizen

Citizen reporter

Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba. Picture: GCIS

South Africans on the internet are really not taking Pravin Gordhans sacking well, especially now that he has been replaced with Malusi Gigaba. Since there is nothing they can do about him being our next finance minister, they decided to focus on what they could change.

Shortly after President Jacob Zumas announcement, the keyboard warriors rushed to Wikipedia and changed Gigabas name, though it has been corrected.

A screenshot of the page has been circulating on social media, showing that his name had been changed to Ignorance Malusi Nkanyezi Gigaga, from Knowledge Malusi Nkanyezi Gigaba.

Check out the hilarious change below:

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Not to worry if youre not pleased with the Cabinet reshuffle, apparently the president miscalculated the dates and was only meant to announce the the reshuffle tomorrow on April Fools Day.

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Angry South Africans change Gigaba's name on Wikipedia - Citizen

Florida Man Gets Arrested, Blames It On Wikipedia – Crave Online

Photo:Jen Grantham(Getty)

Damn you, Wikipedia!

Justin Miret is a 22-year-old man who is not the brightest fella. Not only did Miret decide to drive with no insurance, but he decided to get behind the wheel of his car with a suspended license. But thats not even what makes him not so bright, because Miret actually blamed his arrest on Wikipedia.

Miret was caught running a stop sign in Port. St. Lucie, and police quickly discovered that his license had been suspended last year, so of course Miret was screwed. But while police was taking to Miret to jail, this is what he said:

Thats the last time I listen to Wikipedia about driving. It said I would just get a ticket.

Thats right, folks. This dude got behind the wheel of a car with no license or insurance because Wikipedia said it would be fine. No harm, no foul.

According to an arrest affidavit, Miret screamed at a policeman and balled up his fist to try to intimidate the police officer. Miret was of course arrested, complained about Wikipedia, and then was charged with a pair of misdemeanors.

What a guy.

h/t The Smoking Gun

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Florida Man Gets Arrested, Blames It On Wikipedia - Crave Online

Malusi Gigaba became finance minister and someone hilariously pranked his Wikipedia profile – The South African


Citizen
Malusi Gigaba became finance minister and someone hilariously pranked his Wikipedia profile
The South African
There's no stopping internet trolls when they want to have their say and unfortunately (or fortunately) Wikipedia lets you do just that. Shortly after Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan was sacked and replaced by Malusi Gigaba, someone decided to take ...
Angry South Africans change Gigaba's name on WikipediaCitizen

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Malusi Gigaba became finance minister and someone hilariously pranked his Wikipedia profile - The South African

FLORIDUH Man Arrested in Driving Incident Blames Wikipedia For Bad Legal Advice! – Gossip Extra

Justin Miret probably wont be getting any more legal advice from Wikipedia (via Facebook)

PORT ST. LUCIE Realtor Justin Miret, 22, picked the wrong stop sign to run Friday night in what developed into an odd and expensive ordeal.

Miret was pulled over for the moving violation by a St. Lucie County patrolman, whichfor most peoplewould just be a spot of bad luck resulting in nothing more serious than a small fine and possibly a brief court appearance.

The ante on this particular incident was upped considerably as the officer made the discovery that Mirets drivers license was suspended and he didnt have insurance.

Were one tempted to give Miret the benefit of the doubt and assume that hed merely been uncharacteristically forgetful about these little administrative matters, his response to the officer would likely be cause to think again.

Thats the last time I listen to Wikipedia about driving, Miret asserted boldly. It said I would just get a ticket.

You cant believe everything you read online (St. Lucie County Jail photo)

He followed this up with some screaming, then balled his fists to try to intimidate the patrolman, a foolproof strategy if ever there was one.

Somehow, this tactic didnt work, and Miret found himself arrested and loaded into the back of the officers police cruiser. While there, he continued to grouse about the quality of Wikipedias legal advice and attempted to slough off blame onto the popular website.

His almost palpable discontent with Wikipedia notwithstanding, Miret made no waves during his trip to the St. Lucie County Jail. His vehicle was towed and he was charged with misdemeanors, with an arraignment scheduled for April 11th. Presently, he is free on a bond of $1,125.

This isnt the only driving mishap Miret has suffered in recent memory. On his Facebook page in September, he posted, Someone just rear ended me getting off 95 on Gatlin. Everyone is okay but just so annoying. Dont freaking text and drive!

A fair point. Also: Dont freaking drive without a license or insurance.

Still, Miretposted the following quote to Facebook in October: They say we learn from our mistakes. Thats why Im deliberately making as many as possible. Soon Ill be a genius.

Lets hope so.

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FLORIDUH Man Arrested in Driving Incident Blames Wikipedia For Bad Legal Advice! - Gossip Extra